Is the very merry christmas party worth it ?

[graywakemom]

Need some advice. Taking my 5 year old son on a surprise bday trip. We went last year and he has asked daily when we are going back - I think he might be a Disney kiddo!! Is the party worth the extra money for a kid his age ?! Any other advice for a December trip ?

 

[Haley]

I think it's worth it if he can stay up somewhat late. We took our dd to the Halloween Party and she was cranky and ready to leave by 8:30-9pm - so it probably wasn't worth it.

 

[AllThingsFigment]

I asked this same question not too long ago. It's such a hard decision to make since it depends on so many things. After thinking about it for a long time we had decided that I would just take our oldest to the party but then over the weekend we decided we would all go.

I haven't been so I can't say if it's worth it but I can tell you how we came to our decision. At first I was worried about our youngest two (20 months & 3) going since they are usually in bed early but even if they fall asleep I know they will enjoy it while they are up and once they do fall asleep they can just sleep in the stroller. Even though I know we will be going back to Disney it probably won't be at the same time of year again so I would hate to skip the Christmas Party and regret it later. We've been to the halloween party and really enjoyed it so I'm hoping the same will be the case with the Christmas Party.

Also we're going in November so the party will be our only chance to see the characters in their holiday outfits and I'm also hoping there will be an opportunity for the kids to meet Santa at the Christmas Party since he won't be in Downtown Disney until after our trip.

 

[mrsp1030]

We took our boys when they were 4 and 2. We did a character breakfast at Cape May in the am and then chilled at resort, took a great afternoon nap and then went about 5pm. Our boys loved it and stayed up to 11pm!

 

[mm1971]

If you are able to stay up late and take advantage of the extra ride time then yes.

The parade is fun and the special wishes for the holidays is good. Not as good as MNNSHP in our opinion, but still good. I would say that if you have never done it and you have the $$, then it's a good idea.

We enjoyed the party a lot and got to ride just about everything with little to no wait.

 

[binkblum]

Need some advice. Taking my 5 year old son on a surprise bday trip. We went last year and he has asked daily when we are going back - I think he might be a Disney kiddo!! Is the party worth the extra money for a kid his age ?! Any other advice for a December trip ?

I would have to say that it is worth it - if your son can take a nap prior to the party. It is so special - MK feels like it is having a Christmas party just for you. It is really a nice way to kick start your holiday season.

 

[MooskaMinnie]

The party is wonderful and so very worth it, in my opinion. No kids yet but we have traveled with a little one who had a blast at MNSSHP.

 

[uncc901]

What time does the party start and is it wise to just stay in MK all day? we have hoppers and were thinking about doing MK all the day of the party.

 

[TheDalys]

Went to the party last night (nov 15), parade was cancelled (very upsetting) due to rain. We went on the majority of the rides though and met the characters that are not out in the normal season. we tried to justify the price for missing the parade.

 

[grainsmommy]

What time does the party start and is it wise to just stay in MK all day? we have hoppers and were thinking about doing MK all the day of the party.

CM on the phone told me not to waste a ticket on MVMCP because the separate tick to get into the party will let us in at 4, so we wouldn't really get our money's worth out of our park hopper. He suggested we just have a restful day, get to MK at 4 and consider it a "bonus day" at the parks. We took his advice and added a day for DD and the resorts and effectively are turning our 4-day PH tix into a 6 day vacation.

 

[4fordisneyworld]

For us it is totally worth it. We do it every year we go in December. In fact we went to it twice last year! I have two daughters, 11 and 9 now. Even at their age, we take that day and have down time before the event and show up right around 4. Totally rested and ready to go the rest of the night Some people are all about the rides, which is fine, but we really go to enjoy the special characters, parades and the castle show. Just a magical evening for us.

Hope you enjoy your trip!!

 

[ChillyWilleys]

I guess I'll be the Debbie Downer. I was somewhat disappointed. That being said I only went once and if I knew then what I knew now I probably still would have gone, but done it differently. What ruined it for me was the parade. Amazing parade! So amazing that people line the streets and camp out before the party even starts. I foolishly waited until only an hour before it started to find a spot. It was far away and tight, not the best spot but ok. So naturally when it started a lady came right up to me, threw her kids in front of mine and wedged herself between me and the pole I was standing next to. So I had a very obstructed view. Once the parade was over it was just about time for fireworks, I have to say they were absolutely amazing. After that it only left time for a few rides, and we didn't see any of the characters because the lines were so long and we already felt we were short on time. Going back I would have skipped the parade the first time because they do a second one later which doesn't draw quite the same crowd. So I would definitely do everything else during the first parade and come back for the second. It was a good party, but worth the money for my family of 4? Not so sure. Maybe If I had done it differently.

 

[Moodyzblu]

We went last week and I have to say "YES" !! I wasn't so sure either because it IS expensive and a very late night .. but we enjoyed it a LOT !!
We would have enjoyed it more if we hadn't spent the whole night before in the ER (another story for another time) and so we were tired going into the party and didn't stay for the whole thing .. but we got there at 3:30 and they let us in about 3:45 .. we rode a few rides and then watched the parade and fireworks and then rode a few more rides and left. It was about 10:15 when we left, but still felt like we had a great time.
My boys are 9 years old and they really had a great time !

Here's a video featuring a few clips from the night .. I wish I had been feeling better and had footage of a few other things .. but this video shows what a great time my boys had .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLxyldaiQAQ

 

[capeseal]

It was worth it to us. We made party day a rest day for DD (5) and DS (2) so everyone had the energy to close the park that night. We rode rides and met characters early in the evening and then found a spot behind the castle to view fireworks just as they were starting. We were also able to line right in front for the later parade only 20 minutes before it started by viewing it in Frontierland. Had an incredible night. We chose not to bring the stroller so that we'd have an easier time getting around. DS rode on DH's strollers when he got tired. DD was so well-rested after simply swimming and relaxing at the resort that she ran right until 1 am. It was a completely magical party and we look forward to doing it again next year.