Christmas Party crowds and ride wait times

Right now, my wife and I are planning to attend the Christmas Party for our December trip. I was hoping it would remain an After Hours event as it was in 2021, but considering that the Halloween party switched back from the Boo Bash, I expect the Christmas party to do the same.

Anyhow, the party (unlike the After Hours event) seems like it is very crowded. I am wondering from those who have been what it “feels like” when you are there? And what about the ride wait times? One main reason we would go is to be able to hop on rides…but with a full party likely, I am wondering how realistic that is now.

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I went to the Christmas Party on a Sunday night in December 2019. I knew what my priorities (parade and FWs- a few attractions) and I had a blast. I knew when I got my parade spot early someone would try to push in front of me 2 minutes before the parade (they did). I also immediately went to my FW spot and enjoyed the early castle show from there, had a snack and waited for the fireworks.

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DH and I went on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019. Due to the light rain, the Christmas parade was cancelled, and they subbed a very brief cavalcade instead, which was a major disappointment. I don’t remember if other entertainment was also impacted by the rain, but it could have been. I think any rides we did had fairly short lines. That day MK was CL1.

We had also gone to the Halloween party that fall. It was so much more fun (great parade, so many people in costumes - especially clever ones).

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We were at the last party in 2018 which was probably one of the most crowded. We still did all the thrill rides, picked up a bunch of cookies at the various stops, and saw the fireworks and second parade without showing up early for either. Meets aren’t usually our thing but we did take 30 minutes to see Jack and Sally. Mine Train was the only ride with significant wait the whole time so we jumped in line at the end of the party and waited 40 minutes I think.

We attended the after hours version in 2021 right before Thanksgiving and it was noticeably less crowded but also shorter, so we probably ended up doing about the same amount of stuff. Manage your expectations and you’ll enjoy it.

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Thanks for the feedback!

I’m not sure what we’ll want to focus on/expect. It will be the last day of our 8 day trip, so kind of going out with a bang. We’re kind of in it for the whole Christmas vibe/ambiance…but being able to ride the rides we most care about with minimal wait is definite part of that. The parade and fireworks, as well. But, as I said, since we had kind of hoped this was going to be an After Hours event, the parade and fireworks weren’t a “must do” thing for us.

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Glad someone else is planning this far ahead! I hope it is the actual Christmas party and then maybe we will downgrade our ticket by a day since you are able to get into the park pretty early (or at least you use to, 4pm I believe) or use it as a make shift park hop (we just have standard 1 park tix).

I was looking at reports of the Tony’s Most Merriest party parade view event last night and hope that comes back but for less money for kids (it was $99/person). DH and I could drink enough wine to make it worth it but there’s not enough mozzarella sticks in the world to justify that price for a 5 yo.

We went twice in 2019, Tuesday, December 10th and Thursday, December 12th. If you want low crowds, go on a night it pours! :crazy_face:

Very crowded on the 10th (which was a sold out party), especially in the Hub area. We felt like sardines. Since we were going two nights and it was forecasted to rain on the 12th, we focused on the outdoor activities and a couple of meet and greets we really wanted to do.

On the rainy night, there were only scatterings of people after 9 pm. Before that, people were huddled under awnings and indoors. There weren’t dry places to sit.

On the 10th, the non rainy night, we walked by different lines during the party and they always seem to be long. So, I wouldn’t count on short waits throughout the night. On the non rainy night, we rode 7DMT twice, Tea Cups, and Space between 11:05 pm and midnight.

On the 12th, the rainy night, it was not a sold out party. People also left and I heard the next day that many people got tickets for another night. The ride lines were short for many of the rides but it was miserable being wet. If we wanted, we could have just ridden rides one after another.

We still have fond memories of the parties.

I compared the two parties here, if you are interested.

I also wrote about the parties towards the end here

and towards the end here

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We are hoping to do this as well…not use a park day ticket on the day of a Christmas Party and then plan to enter at 4pm and stay all night!

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We are thinking about the Halloween Party for our September trip. He’s all about it, I’m worried it’s going to be an oversold event like the parties became just before Covid.

We’ll probably go and I’ll just hope for the best.

We LOVED the after hours event last year, it was worth every penny! We’ll be attending the party this year as well, I’m praying it will be the same format. Practically every ride was a walk on!

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