Soooo going to MVMCP and have two dinner choices booked. We can head to Grand Flo pre party and get to see the giant gingerbread house and eat dinner at 5pm at Citricos which looks amazing. I’ve never done either of those things. Then after dinner we could make the party before/by the 7pm official start via monorail.
OR
We could get the party early and eat at Skipper Canteen at 420pm which I’ve eaten at 3 times and so love giving us more time in the park pre-party. My only focus pre-party would be dinner and Jingle Cruise (which I’ve ridden in previous years and at DLR) so neither of these experiences is new but they are good ones. However this also gets us in the park before the official start with our first focus on rides. I’ve seen in other reports that rides like Space Mountain begin before official start so this gives a chance to maybe complete more during the party as well since I’d like to try all the ride overlays and see the special shows. (I don’t care about characters or cookies so I think we can maybe do it all? But this gives a better shot.).
Having read some of your previous trip reports and knowing you’ve been to WDW a lot, I voted for Citricos for you. I think it would be a lovely pre-party meal and you can also see the gingerbread house. I thought it would “set the tone” for the evening and it would be festive.
I agree. I’d prefer it 100%. It would be more relaxing start as well. But then that person that likes to collect everything says I won’t be able to complete all the party things and I go back and forth. Lol
We had to make a similar decision. Originally we were going to do Steakhouse 71 just before going into MK for the party…but we ultimately moved S71 to another night, and booked instead SC earlier (4:30) so that we are already in the park earlier.
So I picked SC. However, in our case we have never eaten at either location, so both will be new for us.
Getting into the park early with an ADR and skipping the MVMCP entrance build up gets my vote. With an ADR won’t you get to walk right up to a side entrance and bypass the mob?
I’m not sure. I know for breakfasts and park entry you can but not sure about parties. I was going to try to get there at 3pm to be safe. So another benefit in my head for Citricos was not dealing with that mob but if an ADR also helps there goes that benefit.
Also, we’re staying at OKW so a benefit in my head of Citricos was getting to take an Uber to GF and monorailing over instead of using the bus. But I think nowadays it might be easier to get an Uber to the Contemporary than it used to be during Covid? Or do they still check if you have an ADR? I tend to Uber except to MK and that bus has made me late to MK before.
I believe this has to do with when the queue is cleared after park close. If line is short they can flip it sooner.
I haven’t been to Citricos but isn’t it one that takes a long time? I would be nervous about dinner ending and getting in before the party starts. But that’s just me and my always early issues
It’s signature, right? So I would plan minimum 90 minutes
That said, @gingerSnaps543222 claims to be a collector of all but has done SC x3 so it seems obvious that she needs to collect Citricos at Christmastime and the gingerbread house. Which as @motherofdaughtersthree suggests she could do at some other point in her trip but I can attest that these sort of best laid plans put off til later often get not done at all.
Yes, I would expect it to take 90 minutes sans dessert which is okay by me because I am trying to give up processed sugar ever since my appendicitis/appendectomy episode.
This part is prolly TMI so ignore if you’re short on time LOL! I looked up all the things that cause inflammation and processed sugars were on the list pretty high up. I’m a firm believer in one change at a time or you’ll certainly fail hence I just picked sugar (red meat, processed meats, processed grains also on the list). I know I can’t get appendicitis again, but I figure it can cause similar issues with other internal organs and I never want to go thru that hell again or anything even close to it.
Hence me not caring about the cookies at the party!
What does worry me is if we get to the monorail station at 6:30ish I think we can make the front entrance by 7pm easily but is there still a line once that initial 4pm rush is thru? If there is that would make Citricos a no go for me.
As far as other nights go: This is a very short trip and the first night we’re doing Disney Springs which I really want to do the tree stroll and see that area and I’ve currently booked Raglan Road (which was another dilemma for me cuz I’ve been there and like it a lot but I’ve never seen the music but I also want to try Wine Bar George and Jaleo and adult girls’ trips seem like the best opportunity as hubby isn’t really into wine bars but he loves whiskey so he’ll gladly do RR with me again).
The last night we could maybe do Citricos before our flight because we both have TSAPrecheck, can just travel with a carryon and have a 9pm flight but again that might be more stressful cuz we’ll need to have our luggage ready to go and leave at 6:30pm…so it’d be that same time crunch.
And the other full day is Epcot day with Candlelight Processional meal package at Le Cellier (which is also killing me cuz I’m dying to try Takumi Tei as I LOVE sushi like a LOT but there’s no way I can do both of those in one day either and I’m also dying to see the CP! LOL too many dilemmas for one forum post!).
What I’ve seen in the Youtube videos I’ve watched is that it is dependent on how long the regular park line takes to clear out which closes at 6pm. So if that line is less than 60 minutes the ride will begin operating early.
