Reviews of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (Magic Kingdom)
Reviewed by annat856 Review Date: 02/18/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We attended the Christmas party 12/11/12. It was still sticky out and my hubby thought we were all crazy for drinking hot cocoa but we loved it anyhow! We didn't go to a park earlier in the day but stayed "home" at Bay Lake Tower. Then arrived at 4 pm for the party. Started things right with a trip around on the railroad. We went on the newly redone Dumbo rides. Space Mtn and other attractions in Tomorrowland. We ate dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern, a favorite of my family's. Saw the parade, dance party and fireworks and then off to Adventureland. We went on Pirates multiple times ( my boys love it) Magic Carpet at least 3 times in a row! Wonderful time & great memories! Oh and we got some very nice pics of the kids with photopass.
Pros:
MK open late! Fireworks, parade and dance parties!Cons:
it's florida so it might still be hot and or sticky outReviewed by caleal Review Date: 03/26/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
I loved attending MVMCP. I plan to return to the park for the holidays and Christmas party as much as I can in the future.
I was a little unsure about only entering the park starting at 4 PM, but there's much fewer people than normal and I still got to do all the rides and attractions that I wanted to. I actually got off the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin only to get right back on with no line- three times in a row. (What can I say, I love that ride.)
The park is absolutely beatiful all done up for Christmas, both during the day and at night with the lights. The cocoa and cookies are a nice touch.
The best part is obviously all the special shows and parades - this year they did a wonderful show projected against the castle, followed by fireworks which were amazing. The parade down Main Street was fun, with all the floats and characters dressed up for the holidays. They even make it "snow" with a type of foam. I can't wait to go back!
Pros:
decorations around the park, special shows, few crowdsCons:
None!Reviewed by Kbdurr12 Review Date: 11/09/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
Before going to my first MVMCP I read all of the reviews. Many reviews complained either about how packed the park was or people that didn't buy special tickets being able to enjoy the party anyways. Well let me tell you! We went last night for the first party if the season, which has been sold out for over a week. It wasn't packed full of people at all. We were able to get right onto rides, got to have a front row seat and sit for the parade by the castle, enjoyed the fireworks in peace, also we walked right up and got cookies and hot chocolate with little to no waiting at all. It was amazing. Also, we saw many, many, many people getting escorted out by cast members when they did not have a bracelet. We saw a couple trying to enjoy the splendor for free and a cast member came up and told them to leave, the people wouldn't leave and kept yelling at the cast member. Ten minutes later, security came and took them out. Cast members are not playing around, if you didn't pay to enjoy the party then you are gone. They had cast members spread out every couple of feet checking for bands and security near by to escort people. I'm sure some people do get by, but disney is taking the measures needed to ensure it is a private event. It was a very awesome night and I would recommend it for everyone to try at least once.
Pros:
Everything!Cons:
NoneReviewed by Bailey Review Date: 11/17/2013
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
We had a wonderful vacation at Disney this year with the exception of MVMCP. We attended this event on 11-14-13, the last day of our trip. Crowds are awful. It is our opinion that asking guests without the special bands to leave is simply not working. It seems the only thing it truly keeps them restricted from is riding rides. We noticed many there without bands. I am also handicapped and we were unable to even move thru crowds because walkways were not kept clear. Putting masking tape on the sidewalk to keep the paths clear wasn't helpful. The cast members trying to help just seemed to give up at some point. It was just too much for them to handle effectively. My husband at one point was both verbally and physically assaulted by another guest for doing nothing more than trying to move us thru the crowd. People thought we were trying to steal their spot. While Disney can't control rude behavior of guests we did feel they had a responsibility to at least keep the walkways open for safety reasons at best. We love Disney and will recover from this unpleasant experience to vacation there again but will not buy tickets for special ticketed events again until Disney can figure out a better way to clear the park of those who didn't pay to stay. One last note, we did talk to Guest Relations. Their attitude is pretty much we already have your money stay, don't stay...whatever. We didn't stay. Upon returning to our hotel we spoke with other guests who also chose not to stay. Terrible waste of our money.
Pros:
decorationsCons:
crowdsReviewed by Ohiost13 Review Date: 11/20/2013
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
We didn't feel the wristbands were policed very well. The character lines were long and most times were closed. The stage in Tomorrowland needs to be higher so everyone, especially children can see without looking at the back of heads. The projection show on the castle was not different than the night before. It did NOT snow on Main St. And, the 2nd parade was delayed twice and then CANCELLED! Then our daughter cried the rest of the night and never got to see Santa. It was a very light rain, but stopped by 11 p.m., so they should've gone through with the parade. It didn't rain hard, it didn't pour, lightning or thunder. We, Disney customers, were out in the elements, the Disney cast members should've been too. Including the photo pass photographers with tripods. They could've held an umbrella or clipped an umbrella to their tripod, but they all went indoors. This party did not deliver on their promise. We are very disappointed. We could've added an extra day to our passes a lot cheaper and stayed in the park and watched the parade, the projection show on the castle and the fireworks, just like a lot of people did, without having to spend the extra money for the party.
Pros:
NoneCons:
No snow and cancelled Christmas paradeReviewed by fireman Review Date: 11/25/2013
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
We went on Nov. 21, not really crowded but the park was actually less crowded before party. I won't waste my money on this again. The fireworks were ok and parade was same ol same ol. I'd rather save my money next time and do something less crowed and more fun.
Pros:
free hot chocolateCons:
no differnet than any other dayReviewed by nursenita Review Date: 11/29/2013
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
I was disappointed, the night was no different then a regular night at Christmas time. You can only eat so many cookies and it was the same cookie at every location. Also it only limited the people without bands to the rides, other then that everyone just walked around freely. I saw no one ask anyone to leave or attempt to ask.
Pros:
snow on main street, smaller crowdsCons:
no diferent then a regular night at christmas timeReviewed by jlk806 Review Date: 12/09/2013
Rating: (6) Recommended
We were very excited to get to go to Disney in December, we attended the MVMCP this past Thursday, December 5th. If we were not AP holders, and had to buy tickets for the visit we may not have sprung for the extra money for the party, but we got the DVC discount so I believe it was about $180 for the 3 of us with tax (me, DH, and our 5 year old son). Ordered the tickets a month in advance so I cant remember exactly.
Anyhow, we entered the park a little after 4 and got our wristbands, we had fastpass + lined up for 3 rides so we went to do that and a couple other rides until it was time for the party. At just after 7, we went to Tomorrowland Terrace (one of the complimentary treat locations) and there was no line. My son has nut allergies, so he was given a special package of chocolate chip cookies, as the snickerdoodle cookies are made in a facility with nuts. He enjoyed it, and my husband tried the regular cookies and said they were good.
The castle show was a nice show, but we just had a bad spot to watch, off to the side by the walkway to adventureland, where everyone was walking in front of us. There was no where else to move to, but we still got to see the show and it was nice. We then moved and managed to get a semi-decent spot in the crowd about 1/2 way down Main Street for the parade. They brought out some street entertainment, got the kids involved in dancing and stuff in the street to music to keep them busy while we waited for the parade to make its way down (the parade starts at the end of frontierland). The parade was truly magical and we loved it. My son was singing along and so excited. It was great. After the parade I made the mistake of deciding to run to Cosmic Rays to get an order of chicken nuggets for all of us to share as we had dinner at about 3. My husband stopped with our son by the Plaza restaurant to watch the Castle dream light show (which he apparently loved) and I ran to Cosmic to get the nuggets, but by the time we got back we were trapped in that spot to watch the fireworks. It wasn't a bad spot to watch but we usually like to watch from the end of Main street where its less packed. We had planned to leave after the 9:30 fireworks, as those were the things we wanted to see, and our son wanted to head back to the hotel. After the fireworks was a disaster, it was so jammed on that walkway in front of the plaza restauarant no one could move or breathe. Some people were shoving to get over to Tomorrowland and others shoving to get the other way to Main street. It was a disaster this one woman kept ramming my husband with her scooter. One cast member tried to jump in and direct traffic but it was no use. It took a good 20 minutes to get out of that mess.
- All in all, everything we saw we enjoyed, but was it worth $180? Not sure. The same stuff we paid big bucks to see many others were enjoying for free, as we saw several people without wristbands walking around. There is no good way to enforce it, I saw a couple cast members checking but I also saw one group get asked if they had wristbands and when they didn't were pointed to the exit but the second the CM turned around they ran off the other way into the crowd. Its just not fair they need to develop a better way to clear the park out of non-ticketed guests, they really do.
Pros:
Parade, Castle Stage ShowCons:
Beyond PackedReviewed by Lovethesouth Review Date: 12/10/2013
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
Visit WDW often (FL resident)....This was our 4th MVMCP and probably our last until Disney can fix the crowd problem. We attended 12/5/13 (sold out). We have visited many times and know that there are always going to be crowds in the MK, but what we experienced this night was completely unacceptable. The crowd on Main St and around the castle between the parades and during the fireworks was unimaginable! Standstill is a big understatement. NO ONE was able to move. Walkways completely blocked, people pushing, yelling, and cursing. Disney can't control people's actions but they can and should create a better environment for these events, considering the cost. For a starter, reopen those two paths on each side of the castle so that there are more avenues to move people in and out of the area. Unbelievable that the management continues to disregard this matter. For this reason, we will spend our money on other things.
Pros:
—Cons:
Cost/lack of crowd controlReviewed by astutoa Review Date: 12/14/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
I'm not sure why the ratings are so low. This was our first trip to MVMCP, though we visit MK a few times a year, and after reading some of the reviews, I was very nervous that we'd be stuck in massive crowds and really not enjoy ourselves. But I have to say it was quite the opposite. We attended on Sun, Dec. 8. We visit MK many times a year, and at this party, we had the best position we've EVER had for fireworks, the parade, and very little wait time in lines...usually only as long as it took us to walk through the waiting area. The cookies and hot chocolate were nothing exceptional, but certainly satisfied us. I'd read that no one checked wristbands so many people were there who shouldn't be. Though I never saw anyone escorted out, I personally witnessed the cast members checking wristbands just to enter a store. And the crowds certainly thinned quickly after 7:00 pm. We all thought it was absolutely magical...one of the best days/nights we've EVER had at MK.
