MVMCP - Should we or shouldn't we

I'm trying to decide if the $200+ is worth it for MVMCP in a couple of months. I know there are very mixed feelings on the worth of the price, and on MVMCP vs MNSSHP, but the question I'd really like answered is this: What/Who can we do/see at the party that we won't be able to do/see during non-party time.
Can we see Santa elsewhere on property during December? Can we find characters dressed up for Christmas elsewhere? Is the parade any different than the one we see on tv? Is the parade/fireworks worth the price of admission?
Thanks!

in my opinion I think everyone should experience it once. If you can afford it. we went there the day that they were filming the parade for TV. it was kinda weird. there was no music playing. I think they must put it in after. the floats were amazing though. the coolest part was if you didn't want to stick around for the parade that day then you could go behind mainstreet !!!!! and you came out in tomorrow land near the restrooms btwn the carosel of progress and space mountain. it snows on main street, you get choc chip cookies and hot chocolate at select locations. the fireworks show is amazing as well as the dance parties and the show at the castle. you can def see santa during the regular hours during the holiday season.

We tried the party last year. It was fun and I'm glad we tried it, but I can't say we would ever do it again.

I'm not sure of all the special meet & greets, but I remember you could meet Santa and I think Mickey and Minnie dressed in holiday clothes. The girls opted to meet other characters that night, so we didn't see them. You can see Santa in DTD and we did that the next day. There was no one there at all, so we walked right up. The guy playing Santa was awesome and we have great pictures of it. I don't know about seeing characters in holiday clothes on non-party days. We were just passing through and only went to MK for the party.

I remember enjoying the fireworks, but can't remember much about them. The parade was really cute, but I don't know if it was the same as on TV. We've never watched it on TV.

We passed on the free hot chocolate and cookies. The lines for them were not short and we didn't want them enough to wait in line. My biggest regret is that we missed the snow on Main St. We were doing a lot of rides since it was our only night in a park. We could have stayed later to see it, but we were all really chilly and tired.

Hope this was helpful!

You can see Santa at DTD. You can see some characters dressed in winter attire elsewhere, but many of the them are exclusive to the party. The parade is not exactly the same as what you see on Christmas morning, but many of the floats are similar.

Basically with MVMCP you're paying for the parade and fireworks. There's a couple of other shows that are okay and some exclusive meet n greets, but it mostly boils down to the parade and Holiday Wishes (which you can actually see from any area around Magic Kingdom, so that's not technically exclusive).

You'll get all kinds of reviews, both good and bad. I agree with an earlier poster, if you can afford it, try it. We have done it three times. Our second time was the best. The first time we seen the parade but the rest of the time we enjoyed rides and attractions with lower crowds. Our second time, the game plan was the same, but we noticed a huge increase in the crowd levels and it was difficult to get on the E-ticket rides. So, for our last time, we decided to focus on the Christmas activities, various shows, enjoy cookies and hot chocolate then get a good spot for the parade and fireworks. Well, the crowds were horrible. We got to the castle for the stage show, then tried to make our way over to tommorrow land for the stage show...Literally elbow to elbow. I swear the whole state of Florida was trying to do the same thing! We finally got over there and waited over an hour for the show to start. Very poor setup. Stage is not high enough for people to see when standing in front of the stage. Show was excellent. After the show, it was close to time for the fireworks. Same scenerio with the crowds. So, for our $$, we got to see two 20min shows, 1 parade and 1 fireworks show. That may have been our last Christmas party.

We have done it once, even twice for the Halloween party. Now with the prices what they are, we won't do it again. I agree with the others, try it once. Sure we had a good time but IMHO the price is just not worth the extra cost :spend: for 4+ hours to visit the park.

Another thing to try to avoid is watching the taping of the Christmas parade. We have seen the parade taping, again once, not about to do that again. They have to get the perfect shot so you will see the floats back up quite a few times during the run of the taping. Crowds were absolutley insane, we beat a hasty retreat to Epcot and enjoyed the rest of our day there. We were able to catch all the Christmas/Holiday tradtions that all the World Showcase countries have to offer.

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Originally Posted by IloveJack

. . . but the question I'd really like answered is this: What/Who can we do/see at the party that we won't be able to do/see during non-party time.
Can we see Santa elsewhere on property during December? Can we find characters dressed up for Christmas elsewhere? Is the parade any different than the one we see on tv? Is the parade/fireworks worth the price of admission?
Thanks!

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Depending on when you are going, Santa will be at Magic Kingdom during the day. He will also be with Mrs. Claus at Epcot.

Most of the characters I saw were not really dressed up for Christmas. They might have a hat or a scarf but that was about it. And some of them life Donald was available to meet during regular hours with his holiday outfit. That may be different this year now that Donald has a regular spot for his meet and greet in Storybook Circus. For the Halloween party this year, Goofy was in his regular Barnstormer outfit. The special characters are usually the Seven Dwarfs, and the princesses meet with their princesses. You may also get the Tremaines and Peter with Wendy.

The parade was okay. The night we went was very rainy and the cloud cover was so thick, I could barely see the fireworks.

I am glad I went once but I don't think the fireworks/parade are worth the extra price. There are so many other holiday things to see and do at WDW at Christmas time that really don't cost anything extra.

Depends on where you're at with your budget. The money can be much better used else where if you're on a tight budget but I would go once if it's feasible.

My wife and I attended our first MVMCP in December and we had a blast. The castle was beautiful, the parade and fireworks were outstanding and we loved walking up and down Main Street USA while it was "snowing."
With ticket prices continuing to go up with no end in sight, we've gotten to the point where we've stopped buying MYW tickets and end up going to a couple of parties (MNSSHP and MVMCP) instead. We're able to get a discount using our DVC membership and the MK is the only park we're really interested in visiting anymore.

i would say that I enjoyed it the first time, the second time, not so much.
it can get very crowded, especially around the castle during the parade and fireworks. I mean where you can't even move.

Like pretty much everyone before me has said - your budget should be a big factor in deciding on this - but count me as one who recommends the party. It's something that should be experienced once. That said, the lines for the photos and free cookies (do they still do that?) were really, really long. However, we loved the fact that the lines for the rides were fairly short and we got to ride everything quickly that we missed earlier in the day due to the regular crowd lines.