"Official" Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party 2017 - Believe in the Magic

[MaC410]

Hey all, so last night I watched a vlog of someone attending last year's MVMCP. They arrived at the park close to the party start time and it looked like they were lead through a back way down main street. This back way had some photo opportunities and CMs handing out rather large snowman cookies wrapped in plastic. Is this how it typically goes for parties? Do they lead all the people arriving through a special way and hand out these cookies?

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Here's a question: the parade starts at 11:00 (for the second show) in Frontierland, correct? How long does it take to arrive in Town Square?

If I had to guess I'd say 15-20 minutes. Let me try to research this or maybe someone else will come along.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Hey all, so last night I watched a vlog of someone attending last year's MVMCP. They arrived at the park close to the party start time and it looked like they were lead through a back way down main street. This back way had some photo opportunities and CMs handing out rather large snowman cookies wrapped in plastic. Is this how it typically goes for parties? Do they lead all the people arriving through a special way and hand out these cookies?

That is the Main Street bypass. You enter in the corner that is past Mickey's Town Square meet and greet. You don't have to walk that way once you enter, but they do encourage it during MNNSHP and MVMCP to help with traffic flow. I see no reason not to go that way unless you just have to have the view of the castle as you walk down Main Street.

 

[JennLTX]

If I had to guess I'd say 15-20 minutes. Let me try to research this or maybe someone else will come along.

Thank you!!!

That is the Main Street bypass. You enter in the corner that is past Mickey's Town Square meet and greet. You don't have to walk that way once you enter, but they do encourage it during MNNSHP and MVMCP to help with traffic flow. I see no reason not to go that way unless you just have to have the view of the castle as you walk down Main Street.

Since we've got APs we'll already be inside the park. Just to confirm, we don't have to go out and come back in again, right? It's possible to get the party bands elsewhere?

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Thank you!!!

Since we've got APs we'll already be inside the park. Just to confirm, we don't have to go out and come back in again, right? It's possible to get the party bands elsewhere?

Yep, there will most likely be three locations. They might already be listed on the first post. Of course I'd wait until after the first party and see if those are confirmed.

 

[focusondisney]

Hey all, so last night I watched a vlog of someone attending last year's MVMCP. They arrived at the park close to the party start time and it looked like they were lead through a back way down main street. This back way had some photo opportunities and CMs handing out rather large snowman cookies wrapped in plastic. Is this how it typically goes for parties? Do they lead all the people arriving through a special way and hand out these cookies?

The Main Steet bypass was newly opened last year. It was not really busy when we arrived for our party, so we were not directed there by CMs. But I knew about it from reading here. There was some type of sign, I just don't remember what. Anyway, I was glad we went that way. Yes, we did get the snowman cookies & had a few photos taken. It was a nice addition with decorations & Christmas music playing. Started off our night in the holiday spirit!

 

[Cluelyss]

If I had to guess I'd say 15-20 minutes. Let me try to research this or maybe someone else will come along.

More like 20 minutes. Here's a photo from MNSSHP last year, taken by the flagpole as the parade was arriving. Parade start time was 11:15, clock on Main Street shows 11:35.

 

[kate3177]

Just linked our Christmas Party tickets to MDE. We're going Dec. 22nd, and I know it's going to be crowded being the last night to go. But we are going to be at Magic Kingdom earlier that week for a regular park day, and I wanted to end our trip with the party. We're staying at BCV at the beginning of our trip and BLT at the end. So being able to walk back to our hotel was another reason to go with the last party. Haven't been to one in eight years and am so excited to see the parade, fireworks, and special characters. My girls were 2 and 4 on the last go around so we didn't make it to the end. Hopefully this time we'll be able to stay for the whole thing. Are there normally long lines for the cookies? I know that's going to be a big deal to my girls, but I'm not going to tell them about multiple stops if it eats up a lot of time.

 

[monique5]

Just linked our Christmas Party tickets to MDE. We're going Dec. 22nd, and I know it's going to be crowded being the last night to go. But we are going to be at Magic Kingdom earlier that week for a regular park day, and I wanted to end our trip with the party. We're staying at BCV at the beginning of our trip and BLT at the end. So being able to walk back to our hotel was another reason to go with the last party. Haven't been to one in eight years and am so excited to see the parade, fireworks, and special characters. My girls were 2 and 4 on the last go around so we didn't make it to the end. Hopefully this time we'll be able to stay for the whole thing. Are there normally long lines for the cookies? I know that's going to be a big deal to my girls, but I'm not going to tell them about multiple stops if it eats up a lot of time.

Maybe we will see you there. VGF for beginning of our trip and BLT for end. So we'll be at VGF on party night, boat ride was nice after Halloween party last year so we'll do that this year too, but walking with no wait to BLT was nice the last time we attended MVMCP.

Typically there is not a long line for cookies. There should be several locations. When party map is released, map will be in Post #1.

I just purchased our tickets! Woo-hoo!

 

[Travelstovegas]

Hi, everyone! I've been reading this thread with much interest, and I completely understand that once the first few parties happen, more details will come out that will make subsequent planning much easier. Our party night is 12/10, so I have plenty of time to plan still, however, I'm wondering a couple of things & would appreciate any feedback.

I have seen recommendations that it's a good plan to grab a curb seat on Main Street for the first parade about an hour before parade time if you want to ensure a front row view. Regardless of what time the first parade starts (8pm/815pm), the general idea is probably that my family group of 10 (5 adults, 5 kids, 2 strollers), may want to find a spot around 7pm. I know there's a second parade, but some of the younger members of our group may not be able to stay awake until then, so at least as of now, we are feeling pretty firm on wanting to do the first parade.

But - then I see the suggestion that if you want to meet the 7 Dwarfs, you should start lining up around 6pm. This is probably the only special character photo op that our group would like to do. We'd love a picture of all 10 of us with the 7 Dwarfs. So, even if we lined up at 6pm for them, they may not start their meet & greet until 7pm, which is the official MVMCP start time. And even with luck on our side, we probably wouldn't be finished getting a photo with them until 730pm at the very earliest, which already puts us past the time we should have grabbed a parade spot.

So... is there any way to accomplish both watching the first parade (somewhat) decently AND getting a photo with a popular character(s)? Again, if we did the second parade or if we waited until close to party ending time (11pm-midnight) to get a photo with the Dwarfs, the possibility is that a few of the younger kiddos would either be asleep or actually would have left the party early to go back to the hotel. Realistically speaking, should we come to the conclusion that we will only be able to do one of these options (watch first parade at a good spot OR meet the 7 Dwarfs)?

Also - this question is for MVMCP but also Disney in general - what do you do with the strollers at parade time? We have two 6 year olds, two 4 year olds, and one 18 month old in our group & will have 2 side by side double strollers. If we all sit on the curb, where do we put the strollers?

Thanks for any advice, it's much appreciated!

 

[Cluelyss]

Hi, everyone! I've been reading this thread with much interest, and I completely understand that once the first few parties happen, more details will come out that will make subsequent planning much easier. Our party night is 12/10, so I have plenty of time to plan still, however, I'm wondering a couple of things & would appreciate any feedback.

I have seen recommendations that it's a good plan to grab a curb seat on Main Street for the first parade about an hour before parade time if you want to ensure a front row view. Regardless of what time the first parade starts (8pm/815pm), the general idea is probably that my family group of 10 (5 adults, 5 kids, 2 strollers), may want to find a spot around 7pm. I know there's a second parade, but some of the younger members of our group may not be able to stay awake until then, so at least as of now, we are feeling pretty firm on wanting to do the first parade.

But - then I see the suggestion that if you want to meet the 7 Dwarfs, you should start lining up around 6pm. This is probably the only special character photo op that our group would like to do. We'd love a picture of all 10 of us with the 7 Dwarfs. So, even if we lined up at 6pm for them, they may not start their meet & greet until 7pm, which is the official MVMCP start time. And even with luck on our side, we probably wouldn't be finished getting a photo with them until 730pm at the very earliest, which already puts us past the time we should have grabbed a parade spot.

So... is there any way to accomplish both watching the first parade (somewhat) decently AND getting a photo with a popular character(s)? Again, if we did the second parade or if we waited until close to party ending time (11pm-midnight) to get a photo with the Dwarfs, the possibility is that a few of the younger kiddos would either be asleep or actually would have left the party early to go back to the hotel. Realistically speaking, should we come to the conclusion that we will only be able to do one of these options (watch first parade at a good spot OR meet the 7 Dwarfs)?

Also - this question is for MVMCP but also Disney in general - what do you do with the strollers at parade time? We have two 6 year olds, two 4 year olds, and one 18 month old in our group & will have 2 side by side double strollers. If we all sit on the curb, where do we put the strollers?

Thanks for any advice, it's much appreciated!

The dwarfs have historically started meeting at 6:20. So ideally you would want to line up closer to 5/5:15. This will ensure you are one of the first through the line, and will be done by 7, easily.

 

[monique5]

Hi, everyone! I've been reading this thread with much interest, and I completely understand that once the first few parties happen, more details will come out that will make subsequent planning much easier. Our party night is 12/10, so I have plenty of time to plan still, however, I'm wondering a couple of things & would appreciate any feedback.

I have seen recommendations that it's a good plan to grab a curb seat on Main Street for the first parade about an hour before parade time if you want to ensure a front row view. Regardless of what time the first parade starts (8pm/815pm), the general idea is probably that my family group of 10 (5 adults, 5 kids, 2 strollers), may want to find a spot around 7pm. I know there's a second parade, but some of the younger members of our group may not be able to stay awake until then, so at least as of now, we are feeling pretty firm on wanting to do the first parade.

But - then I see the suggestion that if you want to meet the 7 Dwarfs, you should start lining up around 6pm. This is probably the only special character photo op that our group would like to do. We'd love a picture of all 10 of us with the 7 Dwarfs. So, even if we lined up at 6pm for them, they may not start their meet & greet until 7pm, which is the official MVMCP start time. And even with luck on our side, we probably wouldn't be finished getting a photo with them until 730pm at the very earliest, which already puts us past the time we should have grabbed a parade spot.

So... is there any way to accomplish both watching the first parade (somewhat) decently AND getting a photo with a popular character(s)? Again, if we did the second parade or if we waited until close to party ending time (11pm-midnight) to get a photo with the Dwarfs, the possibility is that a few of the younger kiddos would either be asleep or actually would have left the party early to go back to the hotel. Realistically speaking, should we come to the conclusion that we will only be able to do one of these options (watch first parade at a good spot OR meet the 7 Dwarfs)?

Also - this question is for MVMCP but also Disney in general - what do you do with the strollers at parade time? We have two 6 year olds, two 4 year olds, and one 18 month old in our group & will have 2 side by side double strollers. If we all sit on the curb, where do we put the strollers?

Thanks for any advice, it's much appreciated!

Parade: MNSSHP 1st parade is now @ 9:15pm vs. the usual 8:15/8:30, so can't say. If MVMCP follows suit then PP have posted in MNSSHP that 9:15pm (not on Main St. until 9:30ish), 10:15 fireworks, 11:15pm (2nd parade), so no real time between 1st parade and fireworks/fireworks and 2nd parade. So not recommending 2nd parade as better. Main St. is snow so more PP, 1hr early.???

7D: Now meeting @ 6:15 during MNSSHP, and same for MVMCP in the past. So probably the same for MVMCP.

Parade & Strollers: I typically see kids sitting in strollers at edge of curb in front of parents, since can't be on street during parade, have to be on sidewalk.

Also, this year MK will close @ 6pm on nights of MVMCP. A lot of unknown info at this time.

 

[Sprockie]

Just booked our first MVMCP tickets for the night of my DD's 16th birthday! We've never been, and looking forward to the (hopefully) very short lines and Xmas decorations. Not interested in characters at all, but definitely the fireworks and parade. Hopefully we'll be able to stay up! We're early risers and early to bed. This party may kill us (in a good way).

 

[Sarahraegraham]

I know this isn't party-specific, but if anyone is still looking for FoP FPs go check now, they dropped a bunch earlier today!

 

[pkondz]

I know this isn't party-specific, but if anyone is still looking for FoP FPs go check now, they dropped a bunch earlier today!

Thanks! Took advantage of that.

 

[DisneyDork1969]

I have seen recommendations that it's a good plan to grab a curb seat on Main Street for the first parade about an hour before parade time if you want to ensure a front row view. Regardless of what time the first parade starts (8pm/815pm), the general idea is probably that my family group of 10 (5 adults, 5 kids, 2 strollers), may want to find a spot around 7pm. I know there's a second parade, but some of the younger members of our group may not be able to stay awake until then, so at least as of now, we are feeling pretty firm on wanting to do the first parade.

Wasn't it just announced that holding spots for parades would no longer be allowed by Disney?? I'm not sure if this is for party nights or every night...

 

[siskaren]

Wasn't it just announced that holding spots for parades would no longer be allowed by Disney?? I'm not sure if this is for party nights or every night...

Apparently it's a big issue at Disneyland for locals in particular to hold spots for hours, which makes it hard for people to get through. As far as I know, it's not a problem at WDW.

 

[DisneyDork1969]

Apparently it's a big issue at Disneyland for locals in particular to hold spots for hours, which makes it hard for people to get through. As far as I know, it's not a problem at WDW.

Ahhhhh...Gotcha...good to know...

 

[KDE]

Does anyone know if you need to have a party ticket linked to your account prior to booking dinner during the Christmas party? I haven't bought party tickets yet because I'm waiting to see when/if we can get a BOG dinner reservation. I'm afraid if a reservation would become available that I wouldn't be able to book it because I don't have a party ticket yet.

 

[monique5]

Does anyone know if you need to have a party ticket linked to your account prior to booking dinner during the Christmas party? I haven't bought party tickets yet because I'm waiting to see when/if we can get a BOG dinner reservation. I'm afraid if a reservation would become available that I wouldn't be able to book it because I don't have a party ticket yet.

The website states yes, and it's (dining during party) on a separate link from regular ADRs. However, PP posted booked ADR without ticket. With that being said, if make ADR & when you check in don't have party ticket (wristband), you'd be turned away; if have party ticket (wristband), you'll be seated.