Is the Christmas Party worth the price?

[ajollyholidaywithjo]

This year, we don't have as much time in the parks, so we won't be able to devote a day to Magic Kingdom. We feel like we will miss it though, so we are considering the party. Our group is all adults, and we are big ride people. Is it worth it? I've heard reports that it used to be, but lately they haven't been limiting attendance, so it's been really crowded.

Can anyone offer some insight?

 

[calitook]

I went the Sunday after Thanksgiving this year and really liked it. I didn't think it was overly crowded. I think the longest line was for Peter Pan and that was still probably under 30 minutes. Walk-on for Splash, and we hightailed it to "Jingle Cruise" right after the parade so that was also close to walk-on. The tickets are expensive, but I would 100% do this again, if I'm ever able to convince my husband to repeat going near the holidays.

 

[Her Dotness]

Since you're ride-focused, it might be a good deal.

What we've done is enter between 4:00-4:30 with an early ADR because we prefer TS to QS. Our strategy would work even better, IMO, with QS since you could grab a bite here and there as the urge hit.

After eating, we headed into the outlying areas and stayed there, going nowhere near the Hub or Main Street other than to hit The Emporium about 15 minutes before 7:00 p.m. if we wanted party-specific souvenirs. 7:00 has been when those can first be bought, which may be different currently. (It was pre-covid when we last did the party.) CMs don't let guests anywhere near the party souvies display until exactly 7:00, why we got near there that early.

Then, we'd head down to Casey's, cross Main Street and go along past The Plaza Restaurant to get into the back of Tomorrowland and work our way through Fantasyland to Frontierland and Adventureland, walking right onto most rides.

Hardly any crowds that way, because most people mob Main Street and the Hub to stake out prime parade-watching spots far in advance of the parade.

Near fireworks time, we'd wander back to the bridge that leads to Liberty Square and try for a spot on it to watch fireworks. You can see the projections from there as well as seeing stage shows somewhat.

We're usually intent upon leaving the park not long after fireworks so as not to get caught in the crunch to leave at party's end. Your mileage may vary, so good luck if staying to the end is your goal. Enjoy!

 

[kathy884]

I didn't care for it and it wasn't worth the price for me. It thought it was way too crowded (too many tickets sold -- The party I went to was a sold out one). Things like the cookies and hot chocolate were meh. What lots of people loved were special characters they normally don't see and special parades (even the parades were really crowded). For me, it was a one and done.

Not that I have done it, but it after hours options are available I hear that's what people who like to do lots of rides with short lines like. That's probably not offered during party season.

Sounds like this wouldn't work with your schedule, but what is really nice is the Magic Kingdom till 4 p.m. on a day when there is a party scheduled in the evening. This is a rare opportunity to go during the day with lower crowds. If you don't care that much about night time shows, it's really a great time to go IMHO. Might not be what you'd like to do, but maybe get a park hopper, go to the MK during the Christmas party day during the day and then go to another park in the evening. Just a thought.

 

[Apiary]

It was worth it when it was $100. At $199 I don’t think it is.

 

[pryncess527]

I thought it was worth it at $200. The park was magically empty, we got to ride anything we wanted and honestly it was just the perfect way to spend an evening at MK.

But this was my first Christmas at Disney (2022)

 

[Titanium]

I think we're going to try the party for 2023.

 

[Tonberry]

It seemed that there were way more people for the party than there was at MK during the daytime. I felt that it was pretty crowded, especially for the price we paid. Still, nowhere near as crowded as 2019's party, which was waaaaay oversold. Space Mountain even got up to a 30 minute wait.
It's still a good time though. Very festive and will definitely get you into the spirit.

 

[StacyStrong]

Wait, it’s $200 now?!??

 

[hes122]

We went in November 2019 and found it to be worth the investment. I think a lot depends on what you hope to accomplish during that time.

We (party of 3 adults) entered at 4:00 and managed to accomplish all of the following rides & character meets before we left at closing : BTMRR (FP+), Peter Pan (FP+), Haunted Mansion, Dumbo, Small World, Mad Tea Party, Winnie the Pooh, Space Mountain, Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, 7 Dwarfs (meet & greet) , Bert & Mary Poppins, Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum, and Pooh & Friends. We also watched the Frozen Wish show, the fireworks and the 2nd parade. We could've booked a 3rd FP+ attraction for the 4-6 window but it would've been tight and we opted for the freedom of not being rushed.

In comparison, we (party of 4 adults) went to MNSSHP in October 2018 and managed to do the following between when we arrived (shortly after 4) and party closing: Buzz Lightyear (FP+), BTMRR (FP+), Splash Mountain, dinner at Pecos Bill, POTC, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, HM, Peter Pan, 7DMT, & Space Mountain. We stopped at a few photopass spots, watched Hallowishes, the Sanderson Sisters show and the 2nd parade. The FP+ reservations were our 4th and 5th fast passes of the day because we had been at AK earlier in the day. We did not do any character meet & greets.

One of the big differences between our 2018 & 2019 trips is that we had park hopper tickets in 2019 and so went back to MK the next day to hit up a few things we hadn't done the night before. In 2018 that was our only time for MK.

Generally speaking I get more into the spirit of Christmas than I do at Halloween so that somewhat clouds my view of why I liked MVMCP better than MNSSHP.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We really enjoyed it, but it's overpriced IMO. We went this year before our toddler turned 3 so 2 tickets hurt less than 3.

The early parade was crowded but the fireworks were a dream (crowd wise) and we didn't wait in really any lines. Maybe 20 minutes for 7 dwarves? My kid rocks the late night hours so we stayed until the bitter end, dancing in the snow on Main St at midnight. Memories we'd be hard to repeat without a party ticket, but with AP's it's a big expense. If I were already buying a day ticket, I'd absolutely consider skipping parks during the day and just doing the party as we accomplished a ton.

I liked the Christmas party waaaaaay more than Halloween, but most of that is weather related.

Still unsure if we'll do it again this year.

 

[Marthasor]

I think it really depends on what you are hoping for out of the event. We love it, but we barely ride any rides - we use the party time to do all of the special party things - parade, shows, fireworks, specialty snacks - we may do the rides with the special overlays, but we barely ride any rides we would do during a normal park day. I think if this were they only way I could go to MK on any given trip, however, I would splurge and go to the party.

 

[Melissa622]

I went last year and felt it was 100% worth it. Since you're able to get in before park closing, we were able to watch the normal fireworks, then the party fireworks, and a parade. We were also able to ride space mountain x2, thunder mountain x2, 7 dwarfs, haunted mansion, pirates, peter pan, little mermaid, philharmagic, buzz lightyear, winnie the pooh, people mover, and possibly even more that I'm forgetting. We walked on every ride. The free snacks are a nice touch, and the atmosphere with the decorations and "snow" on main street was so fun to experience. I absolutely recommend going!

 

[SteveAZee]

How does it compare to an evening of EMH, just from the perspective of doing the attractions?

 

[Proud Cheapskate]

I don't think any after hours event is worth the money, period. My user name tells the story. Seriously though, I think Genie+ is well worth the money. If you can get to the parks at rope drop, fully utilize Genie+, I just don't see the point of spending money (and a crapload of it) on these after hours events. The only ones we ever did were the DVC moonlight madness because they were free.

 

[jimmymc]

If your main draw is attractions, you can get more done between 4 and midnight with the party than you can with an open to close MK day. Plus you get things like the cookies and Christmas parade.

I paid $149 for one of the early dates and it was well worth it. For reference, the price of going from a 3 to 4 day base ticket this December and adding Genie+ is about $140, so paying a bit more for the Christmas extras was worth it for me.

 

[Melissa622]

I don't think any after hours event is worth the money, period. My user name tells the story. Seriously though, I think Genie+ is well worth the money. If you can get to the parks at rope drop, fully utilize Genie+, I just don't see the point of spending money (and a crapload of it) on these after hours events. The only ones we ever did were the DVC moonlight madness because they were free.

When you add genie+ to the price of a park ticket it works out to be pretty much the same as the price of a Christmas party ticket, and I was able to get way more rides in than I would in a normal park day, all walk ons. Plus I got extra fireworks, parades, and as much popcorn, ice cream, cookies, hot chocolate, and bottled drinks as I wanted. To each their own, but I actually think parties are a much better value/use of money.

 

[Pyxie]

When you add genie+ to the price of a park ticket it works out to be pretty much the same as the price of a Christmas party ticket, and I was able to get way more rides in than I would in a normal park day, all walk ons. Plus I got extra fireworks, parades, and as much popcorn, ice cream, cookies, hot chocolate, and bottled drinks as I wanted. To each their own, but I actually think parties are a much better value/use of money.

The free popcorn, ice cream, and bottled drinks was a one off thing during covid. You can get those now with After Hours events, but not the Christmas party. You do get the cookies and hot chocolate.

 

[FastPasser.]

Nope, none of extra charge activities are worth it to me.

 

[floridavet]

We went pre-pandemic after me dragging my feet for years at the price. We were AP holders and the thought of paying an extra 125 for a half day in MK seemed silly. We finally went the last year before the pandemic and I was converted. Lines were shorter, I didn't have to wait at the mall for Santa since we got pictures with Santa at Disney with minimal wait, and the cookies were a nice bonus. This past year we went again but I was sad to see the prices were jacked up. At $160 a pop any value was lost. I wouldn't go again.