We are in Orlando nov 9-16 and want to do magic kingdom I don’t want to pay for the Christmas party and the regular ticket so I need to go in the morning till 7 or go for the party at 4 and leave at midnight. I am more into the rides what would you suggest. I did 2 plans and I still can’t really tell which is better I love using extra fast passes and I know you can’t with the party but supposedly lines are short. Any help Please.
Are you just doing the one park day? If so I’d do the party. The rides will mostly be walk on plus you’ll get free cookies and cocoa and you will pay less for your ticket. Plus you’ll get to see Holiday Wishes which is an awesome display.
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If you’re buying a DIS ticket for all the days you’ll be in ORL anyway, the cost of one extra day is very low. Looks like the difference on 7 day park hoppers versus 8 days is only ~$10. So I’d suggest figuring out if the cost of the Xmas party on its own is worth it and just get a regular ticket for all the days you’re there so you could do another park in the morning if you want.
Now if you’re not doing WDW for the whole time you’re in Orlando, that’s a much different equation. If you’re debating a 1 day ticket to MK vs. the party ticket, I’d likely just do the party ticket as it’s cheaper and a unique experience. The rides have no FP+ queue after 7 which makes loading better and many folks will be doing the special events (parade, character meets, etc.) making the rides even less crowded than normal.
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Yes we are only doing one day the whole week at magic kingdom. I have a 5 year old girl. Me and my 5 year old went last year and hit everything we wanted to using the fast passes. She doesn’t talk about the fireworks the main thing she remembers are meeting the princesses and also the under the sea ride. My main goal is to see the princesses again and also rides. I should have looked at the crowd calendar better before I booked not realizing there was a party. Or would you go one one of those days without the party but the crowd calendar is 8.
The park is officially open to non-party guests until 7:00, but party guests start pouring in at 4:00. Based on my experience by 6:00, the park is miserable - at least in the the MS area. Took me 20 min to fight my way from POC to the exit. And every CM I saw subtly (and sometimes NOT so subtly) let me know I should be leaving. The most UNmagical Disney experience that I’ve ever had. If I EVER decide to go to the MK on a party day again, I will pre-plan to leave by 4 and hop to a different park.
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Man what a bummer maybe I should just skip magic kingdom all together. I loved it there last year but this year maybe its just not worth it. If I leave the park at 4 animal kingdom and hs close at 7 which I am sure it would take me an hour to make the switch and epcot 10 but I don’t think there is much to do at epcot for her. Is it really worth it. I guess I am down to going to Magic Kingdom on a crowd level day of 8, or just the Christmas party (I am worried she wont get to see the princesses without huge lines) or skip magic kingdom all together and just go to animal kingdom on Monday this year. I attached a pdf unless anyone else sees something I don’t
olando.pdf (114.6 KB)
I’m presuming you’re doing a full week at DIS, but only MK one day since you’re talking park hopping. Given that I’d look to do MK on either Sunday or Tuesday and enjoy the lower crowd levels, 5 and 4 respectively. Plan on rope dropping the parks at 9AM and getting the important stuff done early so you’ll be looking to leave in the 4PM range when the party crowd kicks in. If you have park hoppers, jumping to either Epcot (Monorail ride, Frozen Ever After and/or a character meal at Akershus or Garden Grill would likely be great for a 5 year old girl) or jumping to AK to catch the new night time festivities (Tree of Life, night time safari & if you’re lucky River of Lights). If you won’t be at AK at night the rest of the week, I’d definitely do AK on the park hop. Or after a long day at MK from rope drop you can always head back to the resort to relax and swim.
The party is fun - I’m glad we did it once last year, but if you’re going mainly to meet princesses & enjoy rides, I’m not sure you’d get ~$70 per head out of it. If you wanted to meet the characters only available at the party or see the Xmas parade/fireworks then it’s likely worth it and it’s certainly fun to do at least once sometime. It’s not a cheap adder to an already expensive vacation though…
We are there a week not staying on property and only going to the parks one day.
Oh - I guessed wrong then. If you are only doing 1 day at the Parks I would likely do the Xmas party then. You can get in at 4PM so you’ll have 8 hours in the park which is likely enough as a 5 year old can handle plus you’ll save around $30 per person or so just doing the party over a regular 1 day admission. Try to book FP+ at 4-5-6PM so you can get some FP+ in prior to the party when it will be busiest. Booking a princess FP then might be wise as you can check the character boxes early and then during the party do the rides. The other party activities will soak up some people and no FP+ queue will help with the wait times for the rides…
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Thank You everyone I think I am going to just do the party.
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Lines for the regular meet and greets will be manageable, the lines for the special ones like Sandy Claws or the seven dwarves will be the long ones. You could also book an early dinner at 1900 Park Faire. Get Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine and the stepsisters all done at once. Then head into the party.