WWYD question regarding switching a park ticket to a much more crowded day

[JennysSeven]

Not sure how to make a short post title that makes sense for what I'm trying to ask, lol...
We are booked at CBR for 12/11 - 12/19, and were planning on being in the parks for 7 days: the 12th through the 18th. We also have tickets for MVMCP for the night of the 17th. Here's what I'm wondering:
Since we can get into MK at 4pm with our hard tickets for MVMCP, I'm wondering if we should take the early part of that day "off" from the parks, and have a late breakfast or leisurely lunch at one of the resorts (perhaps make it a birthday meal w/cake, etc., for my son whose birthday is that day), and then use our 7th day ticket for Saturday the 19th, giving us essentially an extra half day in the parks over using a park ticket and MVMCP together on the same day. It seems like a no-brainer---except that the crowd calendars show everything going from medium crowds the 12th-18th to crazy crowds the 19th and later. Would we be crazy to trade a half-day in a medium-crowded park for a full day in an extremely crowded park? I'm trying to figure this out now before I book ADRs in 12 days. Thanks for any insight y'all have to offer!!

 

[BrianL]

I'd probably stick with the party day and the lower crowds. I assume the 19th is your checkout day and travel day? If so, you'll have to pack up, check your bags with luggage services, and all that stuff too. I'd probably want to just sleep in that day and make a leisurely exit.

 

[JennysSeven]

Yes, it's our check out day. We're driving, so it doesn't have to be a travel day. If we stayed, we'd most likely stay at a Marriott property in the area with points, and leave the next morning. I think I'm suffering from "Cram in ALL the Disney we possibly can" thinking right now, LOL!
Another consideration would possibly be if I could get hard-to-get ADRs on the 19th, since that's 180 + 8 for us, and while I'm a total noob at ADRs, from what I gather here the closer you are to that 10th day, the easier the tough ressies are to get. (I'm probably waaay over-thinking all this...)

 

[Lucius Best]

Since we can get into MK at 4pm with our hard tickets for MVMCP, I'm wondering if we should take the early part of that day "off" from the parks, and have a late breakfast or leisurely lunch at one of the resorts (perhaps make it a birthday meal w/cake, etc., for my son whose birthday is that day), and then use our 7th day ticket for Saturday the 19th, giving us essentially an extra half day in the parks over using a park ticket and MVMCP together on the same day. It seems like a no-brainer---except that the crowd calendars show everything going from medium crowds the 12th-18th to crazy crowds the 19th and later. Would we be crazy to trade a half-day in a medium-crowded park for a full day in an extremely crowded park? I'm trying to figure this out now before I book ADRs in 12 days. Thanks for any insight y'all have to offer!!

Why not both? You have 7-day tickets, it will only cost ~$10 per person to add an 8th day. Theoretically MK is less crowded in the morning on party days. You could do MK in the morning on 12/17, get a lot done, then lunch at a resort, before going back for the party. Then you can use 8th day ticket on 12/19. Would definitely agree with crowd calendars that MK and HS will be much more crowded that day.

Now, if you want to really get crazy, and cram in as much Disney as possible, you could even add a 9th day for your arrival day the 12/11. Only another ~$10 each, and with FP+, it is easy to book 3 FP for the afternoon/evening on your arrival day. That is what we usually do, but our goal is to cram it all in, and sleep when we get home.

 

[anniemae]

I think I would take the leisurely day, sleep in, late breakfast etc. and go on Saturday and stay at the Marriott.

 

[Spork24]

Depending on the age of your children, I think a more relaxed day before a Christmas party night is a good idea. It will give you guys more energy for nightime.

Plus, I think having a morning with nothing to do in the middle of vacation is a good thing.

 

[Hopefully]

I definitley would take the party day morning off, as a leisurely day. The party is late and everyone would be tired. Plus I would do a special "lunch" for your birthday boy.
Enjoy

 

[tink9702]

I'd take the party day off and do the cake with lunch. I'd go to the parks on Saturday and stay at the Marriott that night. AK is typically the least busy park on Saturdays but I'd go to any of the parks that last day that you wanted. At that point you'll be hitting things for the 2nd or 3rd time hopefully so it's all Gravy/bonus!

 

[robinb]

I have been at WDW for that weekend before Christmas and that Saturday will be just fine. I would go ahead and take the 17th off and go on the 19th.

ETA: It's only $11 more per person to upgrade from a 7-day ticket to a 8-day ticket so you may want to pay for the upgrade and go both days!

 

[scrapquitler]

Why not both? You have 7-day tickets, it will only cost ~$10 per person to add an 8th day. Theoretically MK is less crowded in the morning on party days. You could do MK in the morning on 12/17, get a lot done, then lunch at a resort, before going back for the party. Then you can use 8th day ticket on 12/19. Would definitely agree with crowd calendars that MK and HS will be much more crowded that day.

Now, if you want to really get crazy, and cram in as much Disney as possible, you could even add a 9th day for your arrival day the 12/11. Only another ~$10 each, and with FP+, it is easy to book 3 FP for the afternoon/evening on your arrival day. That is what we usually do, but our goal is to cram it all in, and sleep when we get home.

THIS! We always buy enough tickets for every day of our trip since the additional days are so inexpensive relatively speaking. Then even if we just do one or two things on those bonus days we still feel like we got a great value.

 

[JennysSeven]

I don't know why I didn't think about adding more park days. Y'all are right...at this point that is the least expensive part of our vacation, since the per-day rate is so low with as many days as we are staying. We have 8 days of DDP anyway, and with the new changes regarding kids being able to order adult items at QS locations, we can easily add another park day theoretically without adding OOP food expenses. I do like the idea of some time to relax before a party night, though. Maybe going at RD that day and then leaving for lunch and a quiet afternoon would be good. I know we can get in at 4 pm for the party, but it doesn't officially start until 7, correct? Would we miss anything going back to MK more like 6-ish? Would it be any easier/harder to get in/get around waiting a bit like that?

Planning this far in advance is giving me WAY too much time to overthink all my options!

 

[Lucius Best]

I know we can get in at 4 pm for the party, but it doesn't officially start until 7, correct? Would we miss anything going back to MK more like 6-ish? Would it be any easier/harder to get in/get around waiting a bit like that?

Yes, party starts at 7pm. Sure, front gate might be less busy around 6pm than 7pm. There are no FP during the party, but you can have FP reserved for before 7pm when you return to park.

 

[Mainemama]

I am going to recommend going with the rest morning before the party. Once my family discovered rest days, we have never looked back! Especially with the ages of your kids... Everybody can use a day to sleep in, spend some time in the pool or exploring other resort activities. This year our rest day was too cold for swimming, so my big kids went fishing and rented bikes after a picnic breakfast on the beach. I took my toddler for a relaxing walk and pony ride, followed by a TS lunch, just the two of us. This was all before our dinner reservation at 4:00 (HDDR). Can you tell it was one of my favorite vacation days? Go ahead and add a day for Day 1 and use tickets your last day, too, but make sure you have down time in the middle!

 

[5kidsmommy]

We always play it by ear. But we always have enough tickets for our check in and check out days. Even if they don't get used the cost isn't enough to make me fret.

 

[lroger01]

Wait until you're there to decide! If party day comes and a 1/2 day off sounds good, then take it. Or, maybe a park morning got rained out or a ride broke down earlier in the trip, so going back sounds good. Then the day before checkout day, decide if you need more park time and buy the extra day. Sure FP+ will be an issue that last day, but by then you've likely done all the must do's.