Magic Kingdom to test earlier closing on Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party event nights

[_ZJ]

We were in the MK a few years ago with our 3 year old to see the castle lighting. We were up in the hub. Trying to exit the park after, while others were coming in for the party was a nightmare. At one point, we were literally stuck, shoulder to shoulder in the crowd, unable to move. The poor CMs were desperately trying to direct everyone. It was a mess. Something needs to be done.

Something has been done. Party entrants are now routed along the Main St bypass.

 

[Brad Bishop]

It would be easier for them to just close the park all day to regular guests and double the cost of the parties.

Too soon?

They could do that... but then they're missing out on that "sell the park twice" double income so they'd probably morph that into:
- regular ticket gets you in until noon
- Christmas bonus ticket gets you in noon-6PM (stop riding rides at 5PM)
- Christmas party ticket gets you in from 6-11PM
- A Very Merry Mickey After Hours Party Event (now with ice cream!) $300/person from 11PM-2AM (the park will be nearly empty and you'll get exclusive access to the rides and ice cream!)

What it all boils down to is: Do you want to see the MK at night decorated for Christmas? You're going to pay.
(Yes, I know there are something like 2 nights a week where there's not a party and you could head over - I could see them getting rid of those, too)

 

[Brad Bishop]

This change is most needed, there are way to many people trying to remain in the park for the party without paying.

At this point I'd argue that it's the party itself. It's most nights of the week, at an extra cost (if you buy multi-days it doesn't get you in) and people want to see the park at night and the parade.

I like MVMCP (and MNSSHP) but there's a point where it's gotten out of hand with both the number of nights and things that really ought to be included in your normal day's ticket (they're just selling the park twice). For MNSSHP you can get candy from barrels and for MVMCP you can stop by and get a cookie and hot chocolate. Those are the real "perks" to each event, when you consider that the parade for each, while pretty nice parades, could easily be included in a normal day's ticket.

I'm not saying that the people trying to cheat the system are right, mind you, just that the whole party thing (selling the park more than once each day) has gotten out of hand.

 

[Brad Bishop]

No need for a trial, it was standard practice in 2004 .. not sure when they stopped

Back in the day, the MK was largely empty between Thanksgiving and Christmas, save for the last two weeks of the year. I remember because I thought that was a great time to go because my birthday falls in there and it was great to see the MK with reduced crowds / fairly empty park. I don't know if that was still happening in 2004, though. I was just offering it up as a reason why they may close early during that time.

 

[ABQ]

The difference between now and 2005 is that there are literally 50% more parties than there were back then, but with 4 million more guests coming through the gates. From Nov 9-17 during my trip, there are SIX party nights versus THREE non-party nights. I actually support the idea of a break before the party to give MVMCP people what they paid for, but a 6PM close is too far. It's obscene.

These are great points and something I hadn't looked closely at when I saw the hours and party nights in the archive data for 2005. Thought is may be "obscene" as you say, the fact that folks buy up tickets to each of these parties, to the point of many being sold out, will give Disney no option but to run them as often as possible. They'd be crazy not to. Further, looking at the old hours info, running the parties more often camouflages the fact that they no longer run a unique night time parade as they had with Spectromagic in 2005.

 

[SpoiledBlueMilk]

I love this. I can see how it would suck for people who go regularly to the parks - FL residents and the like, but for people like me who schedule their trips around the party and focus their MK day around it, this means less crowds and more opportunity to ride. I'll take it.

 

[21stamps]

I think this will be fine for day guests, and party guests. Hopefully it will alleviate some of the crowds and wait times early on in the party. I'm also hoping that crowds during the day might be better if people choose to skip MK because of an hour. I don't know if it will really have an impact on that though..tbd.

 

[JoeCamel]

When we attended MVMCP last year, we were able to get FP+ without using a regular park entry ticket. The strategy was to book one for 4:30pm-ish, another for 5:30pm-ish, third for 6:30pm-ish, knowing we had a buffer for late FP+ arrival, in the event party guests did not get in at 4pm exactly.

@JoeCamel Where have you read that party tickets are blocked from FP+?

I forget but it is new this year.

 

[Kman101]

Now if they can only find a reason to throw parties in the spring and summer.....

They tried. Pirate and Princess Party. Best thing about that was the fireworks. The parade was sad.

 

[Grimley1968]

So those who are enjoying what they already paid for up to the expected 7 PM cutoff won't be welcome to continue doing so on MVMCP nights, but those who are willing to spend extra money in that last hour in the shops are welcome to stay until 7. Lovely.

Personally, I hope this "test" fails.

 

[wdwfan22]

At this point I'd argue that it's the party itself. It's most nights of the week, at an extra cost (if you buy multi-days it doesn't get you in) and people want to see the park at night and the parade.

I like MVMCP (and MNSSHP) but there's a point where it's gotten out of hand with both the number of nights and things that really ought to be included in your normal day's ticket (they're just selling the park twice). For MNSSHP you can get candy from barrels and for MVMCP you can stop by and get a cookie and hot chocolate. Those are the real "perks" to each event, when you consider that the parade for each, while pretty nice parades, could easily be included in a normal day's ticket.

I'm not saying that the people trying to cheat the system are right, mind you, just that the whole party thing (selling the park more than once each day) has gotten out of hand.

That's personal opinion though. If the holiday parties were not popular they wouldn't occur as frequently as they do. Like it or not they are here to stay and if you choose to visit during this time period it's something Guests have to deal with. And yes there are many Guests trying to cheat the system and stay for free. It's out of hand and that's why they are returning to early closing times.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Doesn't seem fair to those who are at Magic Kingdom for that day and not going to the Christmas Party I feel there are TOO many nights of the Christmas party and the Halloween Party when the regular guests get the short end of the stick.. It also makes the few nights MK is open without a party to be a crowded NIGHTMARE

I agree. That one day ticket isn't worth much if you have to leave at 6 or 7

Then go to Epcot.

 

[wdwfan22]

HOW DARE THOSE REGULAR GUESTS TRY AND GET ONE LAST RIDE IN?!?!?!?!? THE NERVE OF SOME PEOPLE!!!!!

It's good that MK is closing at 6pm for 13 of 22 days in December leading up to Christmas! Don't have an extra $400 to bring your family to the party? TOO BAD LOSER! Get a better job!!!!

They have 8 hours to enjoy the Magic Kingdom Park, that's more then enough time.

 

[stretchsje]

It was always my observation that the park would get really crowded from 5-7pm before a party anyway. As a day guest, I found myself leaving by 6pm just to avoid the crowds.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

It was always my observation that the park would get really crowded from 5-7pm before a party anyway. As a day guest, I found myself leaving by 6pm just to avoid the crowds.

This. Main Street was a nightmare at that time of day. This is purely a logistical decision.

 

[21stamps]

They have 8 hours to enjoy the Magic Kingdom Park, that's more then enough time.

..and most importantly, they are choosing to go to the park that day, knowing the hours available.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

The good news, in theory, is that party goers should be able to board whatever attraction they want at 6pm without threat of standby wait.

Not quite. Day guests will still be entering standby lines up to 5:59. Assuming a 90 minute wait for something like Mine Train at that time of day, it'll still be 7:30 before the day guests clear the standby lines. When you think about it like that, it becomes clear why this was necessary. A day guest entering the line for Space, Splash, Thunder, Peter Pan, or Mine Train at 6:59 under the old system would be in the park well past 8:00 on a party day, or even later during peak Thanksgiving / week-before-Christmas times when the standby lines are longer.

I say this as someone who would never buy a ticket to one of these parties, so it's not a matter of this policy benefiting me in particular. I did MNSSHP twice before and I considered it a tremendous waste.

..and most importantly, they are choosing to go to the park that day, knowing the hours available.

Yup. If Disney says "Magic Kingdom is open for 20 minutes today and it costs $900," the people who choose to attend anyways have nobody to blame but themselves.

 

[21stamps]

It was always my observation that the park would get really crowded from 5-7pm before a party anyway. As a day guest, I found myself leaving by 6pm just to avoid the crowds.

That's what we did last year.. left a little after 5 on the day we weren't attending MVMCP..
And on our MVCMP night we arrived around 6:30.

 

[DisneyJoe]

When we attended MVMCP last year, we were able to get FP+ without using a regular park entry ticket. The strategy was to book one for 4:30pm-ish, another for 5:30pm-ish, third for 6:30pm-ish, knowing we had a buffer for late FP+ arrival, in the event party guests did not get in at 4pm exactly.

@JoeCamel Where have you read that party tickets are blocked from FP+?

We had made FP+ for a client whose trip started before the first MNSSHP party but then extended into party time, so they had us make FP+ between 4pm and 7pm as we have always done. A few days later the client received an email stating that they didn't have enough tickets for the number of days of FP+ selected. When we called to inquire, we were told that you can no longer make FP+ with only a party ticket.

 

[21stamps]

We had made FP+ for a client whose trip started before the first MNSSHP party but then extended into party time, so they had us make FP+ between 4pm and 7pm as we have always done. A few days later the client received an email stating that they didn't have enough tickets for the number of days of FP+ selected. When we called to inquire, we were told that you can no longer make FP+ with only a party ticket.

That part isn't good news.