Characters at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party?

[PeterPan1985]

Hey guys...my family is going to WDW is December, and we're planning on doing MVMCP. I did the party years ago, but don't member a heck of a lot of it. I do, though, remember that we found a lot of characters that were rarely out during normal park hours. Any of the past of current "friends" of the characters know who is going to be out this year at the party? We're hoping for the country bears and some of the princes!

Thanks guys!

 

[rkelly42]

Also how long is the park closed to other guests and how many tickets do they usually give out for it? I just didnt know if the crowd level for the rides would be way down and hoping it lasts for a couple hours.

 

[mickeysaver]

Hey guys...my family is going to WDW is December, and we're planning on doing MVMCP. I did the party years ago, but don't member a heck of a lot of it. I do, though, remember that we found a lot of characters that were rarely out during normal park hours. Any of the past of current "friends" of the characters know who is going to be out this year at the party? We're hoping for the country bears and some of the princes!

Thanks guys!

I am not so sure what to tell you. I was there last year, but it was a "family reunion" situation and the characters that caught my attention were not Disney creations. :ROFLOL:

For a pretty darn good guide to where to find the characters, I like this site...http://www.wdwinsiders.com/character_finder.php The photos and descriptions aid in the quest for characters. The site is still pretty new, but it is already pretty helpful. Most of the usual suspects are out at MVMCP that you would find during the day, but usually, they are in holiday attire instead of their standard appearance. I have never seen a Princess's Prince out at a party, however, I have seen Robin Hood's Prince John. I have seen some of the Country Bears out, but some of them were out in April during the day when I was there.

:xmas: Good luck! I am looking forward to MVMCP too! We are going to be there on the 6th and the 8th. :sohappy: Maggie

 

[mickeysaver]

Also how long is the park closed to other guests and how many tickets do they usually give out for it? I just didnt know if the crowd level for the rides would be way down and hoping it lasts for a couple hours.

At 4pm, you can enter the MK with only your MVMCP in hand. They issue you a bracelet to allow you to buy stuff, ride rides, and stay in the park past 7pm. Around 6:30pm, the CM's start making a big push to rid the park of guests without MVMCP bracelets on. They do a really good job, IMHO. In that period of time from about 5:30pm to about 7pm, I feel that the park is pretty darn crowded, but around 7:30 pm, it seems that the crowds for the party have started to really get scattered around the park and it gets to the point where I really start to enjoy the experience. We usually try to do dinner during the day guest to party guest crowd swap time. I don't feel that we are missing anything at that point.

Depending on what you want to do at these parties, the answer of how crowded is it can really vary. Another big factor is what day of the week you are attending and if there were prepurchase discounts on the tickets. I have noticed that the Sunday and Tuesday night parties seem to be the better nights for us to go. The locals come out of the woodwork on the other party nights, especially if there is an AP discount. I am not that much into the party specific shows or the parade. I do enjoy the fireworks though. We love to use the party as a great way to enjoy some of our favorite rides without long wait times. I am not saying that I have not seen wait times around 45 minutes on some party nights for some of the rides, however, I just skip them and come back later, if it's a must do. The crowds tend to abandon the park after the fireworks and the remaining crowds become super thin after the second parade. It's all a matter of patience and timing. :animwink:

As to the number of tickets sold, it's a trade secret, however the rumor mill does report the number to be around 25,000/night if you believe the rumors.

Happy planning! Maggie