Magic kingdom closing hours on days with Christmas Party

N

nd140

New Member
Some days in November park hours are only until 7pm, because Christmas Party starts at that time. I don't understand how they would 'kick out' people with regular daily admission tickets exactly at 7pm, or does it mean than theoretically they can still stay at the park after 7pm and be able to watch the parade and fireworks? I understand that they will not have access to rides, but will they have access to watch the parade? Does the parade go the same route as the regular light parade?
 
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sxeensweet

sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
nd140 said:
Some days in November park hours are only until 7pm, because Christmas Party starts at that time. I don't understand how they would 'kick out' people with regular daily admission tickets exactly at 7pm, or does it mean than theoretically they can still stay at the park after 7pm and be able to watch the parade and fireworks? I understand that they will not have access to rides, but will they have access to watch the parade? Does the parade go the same route as the regular light parade?
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They will escort you out if they see you do not have a special party wristband etc. I have watched them do this many times. You MAY get lucky but even if you do I would not feel right staying when others paid extra for these things and you did not. That's just me but I would never do that. We always pay for the parties like we are supposed to. Not judging at all just giving how I would feel doing that.
 
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wdwmagic

wdwmagic

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nd140 said:
Some days in November park hours are only until 7pm, because Christmas Party starts at that time. I don't understand how they would 'kick out' people with regular daily admission tickets exactly at 7pm, or does it mean than theoretically they can still stay at the park after 7pm and be able to watch the parade and fireworks? I understand that they will not have access to rides, but will they have access to watch the parade? Does the parade go the same route as the regular light parade?
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They go person to person checking for wristbands, including along the parade route. Best bet is to not even try to stay beyond 7.
 
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dreamfinder

dreamfinder

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Pretty much the same way they clear the parks at the end of the night. CMs start at all the "leaves" of the park (rides, shops, etc) and start checking wrist bands of everyone there. Anyone who has no wrist band, is pushed towards the exits. As the "leaves" get cleared, the CMs start joining up and clearing the "branches", the pathways connecting all the "leaves" working towards the front of the park. Eventually they get to the "trunk", Main Street, and a literal wall of CMs moves down the street checking bands. If you have a band you are allowed to go past them, otherwise you get pushed towards the exit. Yes, some people may sneak through, but the mouse likes his money and works hard to make sure no one gets anything they shouldn't.
 
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FrostyNaples

FrostyNaples

Well-Known Member
nd140 said:
Some days in November park hours are only until 7pm, because Christmas Party starts at that time. I don't understand how they would 'kick out' people with regular daily admission tickets exactly at 7pm, or does it mean than theoretically they can still stay at the park after 7pm and be able to watch the parade and fireworks? I understand that they will not have access to rides, but will they have access to watch the parade? Does the parade go the same route as the regular light parade?
Click to expand...

I felt this way at first about the "kick out", but then took a step back and looked at the situation.

It's pretty simple, you know the park hours ahead of time. Then you question, why does it close @ 7pm? You ask, or find out online, it's because of a ticketed event.

So simply plan to either buy an event ticket, or not got those days or get there at open, 10hrs is still plenty of time to get your Disney fill.
 
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CAPTAIN HOOK

CAPTAIN HOOK

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dreamfinder said:
As the "leaves" get cleared, the CMs start joining up and clearing the "branches", the pathways connecting all the "leaves" working towards the front of the park. Eventually they get to the "trunk", Main Street
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I like the terminology used here - is this your own or a term used by Disney CM's ?
 
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Tinkerbella16

Tinkerbella16

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derelicte19 said:
Personally, I'm glad to see them cracking down on stragglers staying after the park closes to regular guests. If you want to watch the parade and fireworks, pay extra for it like everyone else.
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ME TOO! Can you imagine how many people who didn't have a ticket to these parties, were getting to do things for free?! I am glad they are cracking down on this also. I seen a lot of CM's whos jobs were to just get those people without a ticket to the exit of the park, when I went to the xmas party last year. They were everywhere and did a great job!
 
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PolynesianPrincess

PolynesianPrincess

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FrostyNaples said:
I felt this way at first about the "kick out", but then took a step back and looked at the situation.

It's pretty simple, you know the park hours ahead of time. Then you question, why does it close @ 7pm? You ask, or find out online, it's because of a ticketed event.

So simply plan to either buy an event ticket, or not got those days or get there at open, 10hrs is still plenty of time to get your Disney fill.
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I agree with this 100% because most people know MK is closing early due to the party and those without park hoppers typically choose other parks to visit that day. We went to MK on a day they had a MNSSHP scheduled and the park was as empty as I have seen it in years. Splash Mountain was a walk on at 1pm on a HOT September day. So sometimes reduced hours are better because there are less crowds.
 
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dreamfinder

dreamfinder

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CAPTAIN HOOK said:
I like the terminology used here - is this your own or a term used by Disney CM's ?
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That is my own, no idea if they use something similar. Just happens to be an easy way to try to explain the process.

nd140 said:
thank you all for replies, I've read this post http://land.allears.net/reviewpost/showproduct.php?product=221 and it seems like many are complaining that crowds are unmanageable because a lot of people are trying to stay for the party without wristbands, that is what I'm afraid of - I'll buy the ticket for the party and will end up in a stand still mad house.
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They do a good job of clearing people out. However, what you do need to understand is that they still allow something like 20k guests in for the party. (Just pulling this number out of thin air, someone else may have a more accurate number) So it is a smaller crowd than during a normal park day. However, the main attractions during the party for most people are the parades and fireworks since you can see the rides during the day/non party times. So most people do line the parade route to see it, causing the park to feel much more crowded than normal since fewer guests are in the queue for rides. There are people who go to the party just for rides (no MK day during their trip) and end up having little to no waits for most rides as the people are elsewhere.
 
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Rob562

Rob562

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Oh, for the days when the Party hours were 8p-1am. The park would close at 7, and entering Party guests would be ushered into Tomorrowland where the attractions stayed open. Party guests who were in other lands at 7pm would be directed toward Tomorrowland.

Then the rest of the park would open to Party guests at 8, earlier if they completed the sweep of non-Party Guests before that.

-Rob
 
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