MVMCP according to Kenny the Pirate? :(

[NicholeB630]

Ugh so I just looked at his site and reading about the Christmas party. I choose our Disney trip dates based on crowds we are going Dec 6-14 although I know its never empty I thought this was a safe time with crowd ratings from 2/3 to 4/5 depending on the site you look at. Well we are doing MVMCP On Tuesday the 9th. He has it listed the order of dates that the party will be most crowded and he put that date as the 15th best date to go and there are only 4 dates under that. He says that going from the 6th - 13th is the worst time to visit that party? That makes no sense to me. How is the party so much more crowded in the early part of the month but Disney in General is way more crowded the further into the month you get. I understand the Pop Warner stuff going on but I read a lot of about that and everything said that you really wouldn't notice them unless staying at on the value resorts they stay at. Will we still have a good time or is it going to be unbearable crowded. I've already decided we will stay and do the second parade and hope crowds are lower by then.

 

[RSWA2]

What are you planning on doing outside of the 2nd parade?

Most people will say that it's only crowded on Main Street, at the 7 Dwarfs character greet line and the Jack 'Sandy Claws' character greet. In the past I've always gone to a party during the first few weeks of December. And yeah, for the most part, it's only too crowded on Main Street and where the treats are at. Remember a sold out party is much less crowded than a moderately busy day at MK.

 

[MommyMK]

You will be fine. We went to a sold out Halloween party on the 10/30 and it was fine. We got a pic with the dwarves, saw the first parade 1 family back from the rope line, saw the fireworks, went on a bunch of rides, met Anna and Elsa and trick or treated. I wouldn't worry.

 

[abyrd86]

We will also be there on the 9th for the party and this scares me. I have been hearing so many conflicting things about low crowds and then high crowds, good time to go and not good time to go. I thought for once I finally planned a good time to visit and now I just feel kind of let down thinking about what it was like when we visited in March...I hope SO much that it isn't that way this time!

 

[shh]

Ugh so I just looked at his site and reading about the Christmas party. I choose our Disney trip dates based on crowds we are going Dec 6-14 although I know its never empty I thought this was a safe time with crowd ratings from 2/3 to 4/5 depending on the site you look at. Well we are doing MVMCP On Tuesday the 9th. He has it listed the order of dates that the party will be most crowded and he put that date as the 15th best date to go and there are only 4 dates under that. He says that going from the 6th - 13th is the worst time to visit that party? That makes no sense to me. How is the party so much more crowded in the early part of the month but Disney in General is way more crowded the further into the month you get. I understand the Pop Warner stuff going on but I read a lot of about that and everything said that you really wouldn't notice them unless staying at on the value resorts they stay at. Will we still have a good time or is it going to be unbearable crowded. I've already decided we will stay and do the second parade and hope crowds are lower by then.

Yeah...I thought that timeframe would be good too, but have had no luck getting candlelight processional dinner pkg tics to any of the restaurants I wanted for the 9th either. I've been checking almost daily for months. Thought i may have had a better chance if we went to a Tues show early in the month...but no luck yet.

 

[Missyrose]

Ugh so I just looked at his site and reading about the Christmas party. I choose our Disney trip dates based on crowds we are going Dec 6-14 although I know its never empty I thought this was a safe time with crowd ratings from 2/3 to 4/5 depending on the site you look at. Well we are doing MVMCP On Tuesday the 9th. He has it listed the order of dates that the party will be most crowded and he put that date as the 15th best date to go and there are only 4 dates under that. He says that going from the 6th - 13th is the worst time to visit that party? That makes no sense to me. How is the party so much more crowded in the early part of the month but Disney in General is way more crowded the further into the month you get. I understand the Pop Warner stuff going on but I read a lot of about that and everything said that you really wouldn't notice them unless staying at on the value resorts they stay at. Will we still have a good time or is it going to be unbearable crowded. I've already decided we will stay and do the second parade and hope crowds are lower by then.

For starters, the MVMCPs end on Dec. 19. At that point, the holiday stuff opens to regular guests daily. So the more-crowded periods don't have parties to compare the early December ones to.

 

[Love Tink]

He says that going from the 6th - 13th is the worst time to visit that party? That makes no sense to me. How is the party so much more crowded in the early part of the month but Disney in General is way more crowded the further into the month you get.

The parties go from November 5 to December 19. There are no parties from the 20th (when many schools get out) through the end of the year. They can't shut down the MK at 7:00 during the super busy weeks at the end of the year.

So it makes sense that the parties would be less popular in November (except around Thanksgiving) and more popular in December, especially as the crowds start to build a bit going into the holiday season.

As for whether it would be too crowded to enjoy - from what I can tell based on peoples' opinions, a lot depends on your agenda. If you want to ride rides with short lines, you will probably be pleased. If you want to meet characters and buy merchandise, you might feel it is too crowded.

 

[abyrd86]

We could care less about the Dance Parties or the Celebrate the Season show or Tomorrowland Christmas show. My DS and DH will go straight for the rides after the parade and Frozen castle lighting and my DD and I just want to see the Frozen Castle lighting, the parade, get a t-shirt, and possibly meet the Princesses with the Princes. Other than that, not much else we want to do. Maybe it will all work out

 

[NicholeB630]

Ok thanks for the input I feel a bit better. I think we are going to avoid Main Street until fire works and the second parade. We will do dance parties, do a show or two and maybe ride a few rides. With our kids being so little I really want to be up front for the parade so I am praying we can get a great spot. I do have a question and hope you all read this. If we plan on doing the second parade at 10:30 but fireworks are at 9:30 what time should be find a spot for the fire works? I've been to Disney right before fireworks started and it was wall to wall people where you view them. Should we find our parade spot before the fireworks and stay there or just squeeze in anywhere we can see the fire works and once it clears out we will have time to find a new spot for parade? I've read it clears out a bit before the second parade so I have no idea how we should go about this. All I know is my kids will be sitting in the stroller during these crazy busy parts. Do you think they can see fireworks if sitting in the stroller or is holding them up to our level (not on shoulders) better for them? They are almost 6 and 2.5

 

[CampbellzSoup]

You're going to have a great time I had a SOLT OUT Halloween Party and did EVERYTHING.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

Going the same time, sort of (11th-15th) and there are things to be optimistic and pessimistic.

Optimistic: Many hotels still have vacancies, something I never saw with similar projected crowd levels on my August trip.

Pessimistic There are practically no ADRs. Almost everyday I'm there the only things to be found are The Plaza at really bad times or HBD. Stalking the ADR page has produced no success, unlike my last trip when I got everything I Wanted well past 100 days to go.

Bottom line is I think we really can't know what it will be like till we get there. Trying not to stress about it, if need be we can park hop. If the Christmas Party is insanely crowded, we'll just stake out a good place to see all the Christmas festivities.

 

[saskdw]

Ugh so I just looked at his site and reading about the Christmas party. I choose our Disney trip dates based on crowds we are going Dec 6-14 although I know its never empty I thought this was a safe time with crowd ratings from 2/3 to 4/5 depending on the site you look at. Well we are doing MVMCP On Tuesday the 9th. He has it listed the order of dates that the party will be most crowded and he put that date as the 15th best date to go and there are only 4 dates under that. He says that going from the 6th - 13th is the worst time to visit that party? That makes no sense to me. How is the party so much more crowded in the early part of the month but Disney in General is way more crowded the further into the month you get. I understand the Pop Warner stuff going on but I read a lot of about that and everything said that you really wouldn't notice them unless staying at on the value resorts they stay at. Will we still have a good time or is it going to be unbearable crowded. I've already decided we will stay and do the second parade and hope crowds are lower by then.

I don't think I agree with that assessment. I think Dec 9th will be a slower party. We have friends going to that 9th party and we are going to the 14th which I think will be busier than the 9th. We've been to 2 sold out party's and always had fun. All you have to do is get away from Mainstreet and the main hub and the crowds are extremely light.

 

[kcpinwdw]

I'm going on the 9th too. We went to a crowded halloween party last year and it was great. I've read some sights predicting the 9th to be one of the slower party nights, but even if it's not I'm sure it'll be great! See you there

 

[fnm]

we'll be there the 9th too, but i don't think it gets as crowded as people really think

 

[Raenstoirm]

People don't realize that the first two weeks of December are some of the busiest DVC days. Its really hard to get into a DVC at all in December.
But, we attended a sold out halloween party this year. We definitely noticed the crowds compared to the other party we attended the same week, but everything was still very doable. I wouldnt worry too much. It is still a slow week.

 

[letsgoreds]

It is a GREAT time to go (early December). It is definitely a 4/5 time period vs. 2/3 (that is a joke). You get Christmas, close enough to Christmas to feel Christmassy...without the INSANITY that is Christmas at WDW. Really, wall to wall people. During this time, ADR/FP+ can be challenging to find, but they are findable. Waits will be there, but just be smart with recommended park days/etc.

We went to the 12/10 party last year...and I didn't realize it was a sell out (part of me doesn't believe it was). We bought our tickets last minute, and the CM at BLT didn't think it was close to a sell out, who knows...I am someone that says she will NEVER go to a sell out party, and well, maybe I did...and enjoyed it! We were planning on second parade, but then my inlaws legs started to ache (we were at MK all day), so we squeezed in with some nice folks in Frontierland (they invited our two boys to sit up front with theirs). FWIW, the 12/10 party was one of the most recommended dates (least crowded) predicted for 2013. Who knows.

Here is a link to wait times for a sold out party...and it looks pretty good.
http://www.easywdw.com/uncategorize...-sold-out-mickeys-very-merry-christmas-party/

Don't forget to pick up your SOTMK Elsa card! Even if you don't play the game, the cards are GREAT free souveneirs, and the Elsa cards are selling for over $30/each on eBay, if you really aren't interested in them. My boys love collecting the cards/DS8 plays the game.

To recap, it is an awesome, AWESOME time to go. You will love the Christmas stuff (if you want a minnie green/red ears, buy now...they were sold out when we were there). Crowds will be there, but not scary. Take time at night to stroll the boardwalk area, popping in the YC/BC and BWI to look at decorations. If you have a car, head to WL and sit and play some cards in the lobby (buy a coffee/beer), and soak in the tree/decorations.

One of our favorite activities at the party was the encountering The Rusty Cutlass Band (singing/bell playing pirates). Just a bit of Christmas sweetness. The parties (including the apparently sold out ones) just slow things down in the parks. There are so many rides that are different/more fun at night, and with slower waits, you can enjoy them all (BTMRR, AstroOrbiter, Peoplemover, Speedway, Dumbo/Carpets, Jingle Cruise).

No frowny faces allowed...reserved only for those who don't have a WDW trip scheduled : (

 

[HopperFan]

Ugh so I just looked at his site and reading about the Christmas party. I choose our Disney trip dates based on crowds we are going Dec 6-14 although I know its never empty I thought this was a safe time with crowd ratings from 2/3 to 4/5 depending on the site you look at. Well we are doing MVMCP On Tuesday the 9th. He has it listed the order of dates that the party will be most crowded and he put that date as the 15th best date to go and there are only 4 dates under that. He says that going from the 6th - 13th is the worst time to visit that party? That makes no sense to me. How is the party so much more crowded in the early part of the month but Disney in General is way more crowded the further into the month you get. I understand the Pop Warner stuff going on but I read a lot of about that and everything said that you really wouldn't notice them unless staying at on the value resorts they stay at. Will we still have a good time or is it going to be unbearable crowded. I've already decided we will stay and do the second parade and hope crowds are lower by then.

This year the POP Warner resorts are All-Stars, Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs.

I've been to quite a few sold out Halloween Parties and I don't think I felt there was much difference between those and other parties that had sold a substantial number of tickets but not sold out. When I went to the MVMCP I didn't feel as much pressure as the MNSSHP, maybe it was no trick or treat, but the Christmas was more relaxing.

Best suggestion is to look over the maps and decide what you would like to do as far as special characters and special activities so you don't waste alot of time criss-crossing back and forth. Eat dinner before the party so you only have to snack later on. You will have a great time!