Hi,
We will be down at Disney the week from November 6th to the 13th and it seems if they have the Christmas Parties return to Magic Kingdom, they should start that week. We will have young children who are unable to stay up for those events and would like to avoid scheduling on a Christmas Party day to avoid the early closing. Does anyone know how crowds are during the day at Magic Kingdom on Christmas Party vs. non-Christmas Party days generally? Unfortunately Disney hasn’t released dates yet. But trying to start planning to the extent I can.
Thanks,
Ben
Generally the day of the party the crowds have been a lot lower. The days without a party tend to be very crowded since those are the only days the regular night time shows play.
I’ve purposefully gone to the MK on Christmas party days a few times now because it is generally less crowded than the non-Christmas party days. With little ones those days will be your best bet, and then either a relaxing dinner/pool evening or hop to another park if you’ve feeling up to it.
Christmas Party days will - in a typical year - be a lot less crowded for the same reason you cite. People don’t want to “waste” an MK day on a day when it closes early. Non-party days are the only days the regular night-time events (if there are any this year) will take place, and some people will just do a party ticket vs. a full day ticket, so they don’t get in until later. In weeks when there are several parties scheduled, the non-party days are - again, in a typical year - significantly more crowded. Who knows what the party and/or hours will look like this year, but normally I would say your best bet with little ones would be to go on a party day and just stay until the party starts.
I would say going on a party day is a good idea if you plan on leaving before 4. At 2:00 DVC members have been able to get into MK with a ticket. At 4:00 party guests can enter (both old rules). As it approaches 6:00 the CMs start blocking walkways and stopping anyone without a party ticket.