Reviews of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (Magic Kingdom)
Reviewed by Fitzboyzmom Review Date: 12/17/2013
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
We attended the party on December 12th (second time we have attended). It was less crowded than I have seen in the past, but still pretty difficult to maneuver around. We loved the snow on main street and ended up with a very good spot for the parade (we never attempted to find a spot on main street because it was just too crowded).
We were excited to go for 2 reasons. One, for the special sorcerer card and for the event pins. We went to the fire house with our ticket for the card. We were told that we had to have our ticket and our wrist band. We went to ask the cast members near the Christmas tree for a wrist band and were told that we had to either go to the rose garden or adventure land or go out of the park and back in...really? So, some nice cast member took pity on us and asked someone to go get us wrist bands. We got our card and headed down to find pins. There are no more individual pins...at all, anywhere. There was a set if you chose to pay that much or wait in the VERY LONG line. We did not. When I asked the cast member, he just said they were all limited editions and they are gone...sorry. That is absurd on December 14th. As an aside, I purchased the 2 pins I wanted on ebay from people who were selling multiple of the same pins...gee, wonder how they ran out so fast. Perhaps Disney should limit the number of pins you can buy. There were also monstrous lines for all the merchandise locations. Not fun.
While we attended, we were asked many times to show our wrist bands and could not do anything, including enter a store without showing our bands. We saw some people being escorted out and thought they had stayed without a ticket and were being shown out. Not so. 3 nights later, we had a 7PM reservation at Be Our Guest. I did not even realize that it was another party night. It was our last night and we had a really lovely dinner. Totally ruined when we walked out and were not able to leave because there were about 10 cast members outside the door blocking our way. They asked us if we were going to the party. When we said no, one of them told us that they would escort us out. We felt like criminals being lead out because we had done something wrong. It was humiliating and just left such a bad taste in my mouth.
I know that Disney has been criticized for allowing people to stay without tickets. But this time you basically could do nothing except see the parade and fireworks. Why in the world would they treat people like that? I think they should risk a handful of people maybe staying to see the parade or fireworks instead of humiliating all of them.
I won't say I will never do something, but as a DVC member and annual pass holder who spends tons of time and money in Disney World, I am extremely disappointed. I took my step mother on this trip and was embarrassed.
Pros:
Snow on Main StreetCons:
Treatment of Park GuestsReviewed by dandnmom Review Date: 12/26/2013
Rating: (5) Recommended
We attended on 12/19 - for the money paid, not sure it was worth it. The lines to see the parades, fireworks, etc were just wayyyy too crowded - felt like a sardine. Didn't get much hot chocolate or cookies (not that I need it- LOL) b/c the crowds near Main Street were just too busy. One main reason to go was to see "unique" character meet n greets - line for 7 Dwarfs was 1&1/2hrs - really- forget that... Did have a lot of short lines for rides which was nice. It was all just too much in too short of time - go to see special events or go to have short lines for the rides and skip the other offerings - but not both b/c you'll be unhappy like me.
Pros:
parades, short lines for rides, kids enjoyed dancing w/ WoodyCons:
too busy - couldn't see most of characters meet-n-greetReviewed by MissDawn Review Date: 11/08/2014
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
We went to the opening night this year. The crowds were terrible. It was like a regular park day. We have gone to the Party before and it was much less crowded.
At the beginning of the night, every time we took a step, we were being asked to show our bracelets. After about an hour, no one asked anymore, and people clearly did not have one. I noticed many people not wearing bracelets in the lines.
The fireworks were nice, but again, with being such a crowded night, finding a space to view was nearly impossible. We arrived at the park around 5, and people were already camped out for the night in front of the castle for the evening.
The cookies were not very tasty, and the hot chocolate was gone in about three sips. Also, the lines were extremely long everywhere for snacks.
The snow on Main Street was very pretty and so was the castle after Elsa "froze" it.
I don't think I will personally return to the party due to the large crowds and the high price tag...
Pros:
Special parades fireworks musicCons:
Expensive CROWDEDReviewed by cinderella3 Review Date: 11/20/2014
Rating: (4) Recommended
My family and I attended the Christmas party in 2013 and it was the highlight of our Disney trip. This year, not so much. My favorite part of the party was the parade, castle show and fireworks. The parade was at least twice as long last year. Last year they had everything that was in the electrical parade in with the Christmas parade. This year none of the electrical parade floats were included. They also cut out other parts of the parade. They did add some Frozen floats but not enough to make up for all they took out! The parade lasted maybe 10 minutes long and we had to stand there for 2 hours just to hold our 2nd row spot to view the parade. Didn't even stay for the castle show as we were so tired of standing in the same spot with two small children that long. It was such a disappointment. That being said, I do think the ticket is worth it if you want short wait times on the rides. You could ride more rides during that party than you could all day long during regular park hours. The snow on Main Street is still beautiful of course but you can't really stand there and enjoy it. That street is packed. When we arrived three hours before the first parade, there wasn't anywhere to stand to view the parade from Main Street. There are some great character meetings available as well with the characters dressed in Christmas costumes. That was fun for the little ones. Hot cocoa and cookies were not as good as last year either and we had to wait in line quite a while for them. Overall, I would do it again just to ride the rides without lines. Had I known how utterly disappointing the parade was going to be, we would have used that 2 hours much more wisely. Just a few notes-I entered the price I paid for the tickets however I don't remember the cost exactly. It was in that neighborhood though. Also, we attended November 14, 2014 and last year we attended the exact same week in November but it was a Monday night instead of a Friday night.
Pros:
Short lines for rides, snow on Main Street, special character meetingsCons:
Parade VERY shortReviewed by KarissaB1 Review Date: 11/30/2014
Rating: (7) Recommended
This was our second time attending the VMMCP (11/16) and it was okay. This event is probably the best way to get on the rides in the least amount of time. Last time we came in 2012, we took time to watch the parade and see the snow on Main Street. This time we skipped all of that and did character meet and greets and as many rides as possible. One in my party did get the cocoa and cookies. Cocoa was warm at best and the cookies were so-so. Overall, I would pay again just because of the lines being shorter for attractions. Do not fret if you cannot afford to go or cannot pay the extra $$, you are not missing that much.
Pros:
Shorter linesCons:
PriceReviewed by Disney Ranlin Review Date: 12/07/2014
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
This was the first time we attended MVMCP (12/2)and I'm sad to say it will be the last. While we enjoyed the parade, the park was too crowded. We were in place to see the first parade at 6:00, before the event even started. We waited in the same spot for over 2 hours. The younger children ages 7 and 8 were unable to see the castle shows. It seemed that the Disney cast members kept filling the area in front of the castle and it was difficult to clear the area before the parade started. We did enjoy the parade. The performers were amazing and the floats were beautiful. We were all so looking forward to this event and the adults were disappointed. I feel like the event is oversold. While I will continue to love Disney and keep coming to the parks, I honestly cannot recommend this event to anyone.
Pros:
ParadeCons:
CrowdsReviewed by disneyrn77 Review Date: 12/13/2014
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
So not worth the money. Ridiculously overcrowded (attended Tuesday 12/2) and couldn't enjoy anything. No one ever checked our wristbands (we had on long sleeves so they weren't visible). Clearly many people were not wearing bands but got to stay for free. It's very frustrating to spend the amount of money we did and see so many people without bands not being asked to leave. They should do it like the old days where they close the park and empty everyone out. The re-open for people with a ticket. This was defintiely a huge disappointment for us. We had much more fun during the day in the park. It was much less crowded and more enjoyable for all of us.
Pros:
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ChaosReviewed by jdetrick Review Date: 12/13/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
The night we went was sold out, and there were indeed a lot of people. However, that didn't mean the lines had long lines; wait times were half or less what they had been during the day. Still worth going to.
Pros:
—Cons:
—Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 12/20/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
Our last time attending the party was 2012, and it was not a great experience, in part due to our own lack of planning. This year we attended on 12/18 and had a great time. The party was sold out but I didn't think the park felt crowded at all.
We entered early and did some rides before lining up to meet the Seven Dwarfs at 5:30pm. At that time, there were three groups ahead of us (one or two people each). The Dwarfs came out by 6:50 and we were on our way before 7. By 7:45 I had also met Snow White & Snow Prince and Aurora & Prince Philip, as well as Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore.
After that we headed to Main Street for the 8pm castle lighting, which we viewed from the Liberty Square side of the hub. My only complaint is that better crowd control is needed in this area to help keep walkways open. Our view of the stage was slightly obstructed but we could see the castle itself just fine.
We proceeded to Pecos Bill for dinner around 8:15 and could see/hear much of the first parade as it passed by. Also stopped in for some cocoa (very good) and cookies (just okay) at Tortuga Tavern before heading to the Adventureland bridge to watch Celebrate the Magic and Holiday Wishes. Our view was clear, if not straight on, and the bridge remained fairly uncrowded. After the crowds dissipated we went to the stage to view Celebrate the Season at 10:05. This was a very cute show.
Then we went on to Liberty Square for the 10:30 parade. Unfortunately, the handicapped viewing area was already full and cast members were very unhelpful in assisting us. We ended up near the rope just by the Diamond Horseshoe with a pretty good view.
After the parade it was time for characters in Storybook Circus. I met Minnie and Santa Goofy with minimal wait and then Daisy, Donald, and Scrooge after about 20 minutes. Finally, I caught part of the Totally Tomorrowland Christmas Show, which was not that great, and met my mom on Main Street. She was disappointed that the Confectionery closed promptly at 12, and went to get a snack in the Emporium, where there were long lines and not enough cashiers. After obtaining a few photopass pictures, we left around 12:15. There was no wait for the resort monorail at that time.
We definitely got our money's worth this time around, even with the elevated cost for this date. The only thing I wanted to do that we just didn't have time for was the Frontierland dance party. If you go in with a plan and try to avoid Main Street as much as possible, you'll have a great time!
Pros:
Special characters, parade, fireworks, showsCons:
Main Street crowd controlReviewed by tcohen24 Review Date: 12/22/2014
Rating: (6) Recommended
We attended on 12/16/14.
This was out first MVMCP. My favorite part was the Christmas Parade . We attended the first parade which was very crowded and people were holding their spots on Main Street about an hour before. The parade itself was worth it. My children loved the snow on Main Street. The lighting of the castle was very pretty but we were too far back to actually see the show.
My girls wanted to meet Mickey and were able to do that with a 30 min wait which seemed the same on any given day.
It was very crowded. We were able to do the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train which was only a 40 min wait for Stand By which was less then what a normal day might be ( average stand by wait while we were there was 60-80mins) .
The meet and greets were crowded and the holiday dance parties were fun and less crowded.
I don't know if I would do it again for the price it cost it may not be worth it. Our children are 11 and 7 yrs old and couldn't stay up to midnight. I think if you do go , make sure you have a plan about what you really want to do while there.
The cast members were checking wrist bands and there were some people we saw who tried to avoid paying and were asked to leave.
