"Official" 2022 Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

[TCRAIG]

Also at the party tonight - loved the fireworks - rest was ok - crowds were heavy and lots of screaming over-tired little ones… probably won’t do again next year…I still like MNSSHP better.

 

[Debbie Jean]

Was there last night and didn’t find the crowds anything other than what I expected. The fireworks are absolutely wonderful! Had a great spot in Frontierland for the second parade and no issues finding a place up front for the final performance on the Castle stage at midnight… loved them both! I think the trick is to plan them later rather than earlier if you can.

Jingle Cruise was awesome and I loved the holiday overlay of Laugh Floor which is always one of my favorites.

Cookies were fine… but I can buy cookies LOL It was everything else that made it worth the ticket price.

 

[SteveAZee]

At the party now. Had to evacuate on Pooh then went over to Mine Train, it was broken down. Other than that, having a great time.

Phrasing?

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Here right now and it is NOT crowded

 

[CampbellzSoup]

 

[RoyandWalt]

Phrasing?

 

[AussieFan8]

How late are the shops on Main St. open after the party ends at midnight?

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Trust me I’ve been doing these parties since 2016 this was so much more less crowded than ever

 

[TCRAIG]

Trust me I’ve been doing these parties since 2016 this was so much more less crowded than ever

And I’ve been going at least that long as well - to me - it felt more crowded than Wednesday’s EMH - probably due to all the big double strollers full of crying kids and ECVs (I use an ECV myself so this is in no way a dig).

 

[scrappinginontario]

And I’ve been going at least that long as well - to me - it felt more crowded than Wednesday’s EMH - probably due to all the big double strollers full of crying kids and ECVs (I use an ECV myself so this is in no way a dig).

A Christmas party probably will be busier than EMH which is restricted to only Deluxe resort guests.

 

[disneylover102]

I’m going to the party tonight (12/11) and was able to buy genie+ and an ILL for Mine Train! As I’ve been stacking so far this morning I’ve made a couple observations:


1. While you obviously would be denied entry if you tried to scan in to the park before 4, genie+ lets you book rides for any time of day (just whatever time is available). I actually saw that Buzz was down during early entry and booked a LL for it for 8:05. So just before 8:00 I was issued a multiple experience pass (which was my intention). For 7DMT I could choose any time that was still available which included times in the late morning and early afternoon. Obviously though I chose a later time (4:10-5:10 to be exact)

2. The new app update where you can modify your time is extremely helpful. Since for genie+ rides you’re stuck with the next available time things might not always be late enough like I woke up at 7 kind of expecting Jingle Cruise to run out super fast but it stuck around a 1:30-ish return time for a while. So once 8:00 hit and I was able to buy Mine Train (since that’s when MK opened) I just went ahead and booked Jingle Cruise for the time that was available (1:45) and went back to bed. I woke up just before 10:00 since it was almost time to be able to book something else and I was able to modify Jingle Cruise to a 5:05 PM return time which is exactly what I wanted. Modifying did NOT start over the 2-hour waiting period to book something else. So at 10:00 I booked Peter Pan for like 2:00 or something like that. Around 11:00 I was able to modify it to 3:00 and just barely (it’s about 11:30) I was able to modify it to 3:30. I did just change it for Space at 11:45 since Space just went down so I’ll probably re-reserve Peter Pan but the point here is that if you buy genie+ for the party just book whatever time is available and you can modify it later without restarting the 2 hour clock

I’ll do a full report on the party and how genie+ went after it’s over

 

[disneylover102]

Here’s my report from MVMCP 12/11:



As I said in my last post I bought both genie+ and an ILL for 7DMT. Before I go into the details on that I’m just gonna say I’m mostly a ride person so I didn’t watch the fireworks, parade, etc.



Also I’m gonna explain a trick I’ve discovered in the genie+ system that I don’t think is super well-known. It’s been discussed in the Disneyland forum but I don’t know about here. If a ride is broken down during your return window you are (most of the time) issued a multiple experience pass valid on most rides in the park. In the case of Magic Kingdom, those passes are valid on anything except for Space, Jingle Cruise, 7DMT, or Peter Pan unless the pass actual comes from one of those then it will be valid on that ride as well (so a pass from Space would still not be valid on JC, 7DMT, or PP). If you get one of these passes it’s completely bonus so you can technically book that ride again. So sometimes when a ride is down and a return time isn’t super far away I’ll book it in case it stays down long enough. Something else that I’ve discovered about these is if you make a normal genie+ reservation for any of the rides the multiple experience pass (MEP) is valid on, the return time doesn’t matter and once you scan into the ride it’ll know you have a valid pass but it’ll use the “normal” one you have reserved.



So here’s when I reserved everything (approximately, I don’t remember everything exactly)



Midnight last night: purchased genie+

7-7:40-ish: kept looking to see if Jingle Cruise passes were late enough yet but they weren’t

7:40-ish: Buzz was down, booked for 8:05

7:59: issued MEP from Buzz

8:00: booked 7DMT for 4:10

8:00: booked Jingle Cruise for 1:45

9:59: modified Jingle Cruise to 5:05

10:00: booked Peter Pan for 2:00

11:27: modified Peter Pan to 3:00

11:28: Space went down, modified Peter Pan to Space at 11:45

11:40: Space came back up and no MEP had been issued so modified to Peter Pan for 3:55. It’s important to note these last 4 steps were all under the pass I booked at 10, so even when I modified back to PP I was still eligible to book something else at 12

12:00: booked Thunder for 3:20

1:20: Space went down, modified Thunder to Space for 2:00

1:59: issued MEP from Space and rebooked for 2:30

2:30: issued MEP from Space and rebooked for 3:00

2:40: Space came back up without another MEP issued so modified it to Thunder at 4:25

4:30: booked Space for 5:00

4:35: booked Splash for 4:45 (after scanning into Space Mountain)



So to summarize it, these are all the passes I had:

MEP from Buzz

2 MEPs from Space

3:55-4:55: Peter Pan

4:10-5:10: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

4:25-5:25: Thunder Mountain Railroad

4:45-5:45: Splash Mountain

5-6: Space Mountain

5:05-6: Jingle Cruise



I got to the TTC at about 3:10. The express monorail was down and the resort monorail had a long line so I took the ferry. I walked right onto the boat which left after a couple minutes so I was lucky. I got to the park entrance at about 3:25 and there were already a decent amount of people lined up. The event entrances were the right half (the side closest to the buses) while the left half (the side closest to the monorail) were for regular ticket-holders. Cast members were actually going through the line scanning magic bands (or tickets) on their tablets and giving out wristbands before letting people in. I got mine scanned a little before 3:45. A little before 3:55 they let everyone in and they gave out the ornaments at the bypass on the right side on Main Street.



I hurried over to Peter Pan and waited about 10 minutes. Then I did 7DMT and waited about 10 minutes. Then I did Space 3 times (due to the fact that I had 2 MEPs valid on it) and waited about 5-10 minutes each time (it was faster for me because I was a single rider). Then I did Jingle Cruise and waited about 5 minutes. Then I did Thunder and waited about 10 minutes. Then I did Splash and this was when I learned you can actually technically use LL after 6 if you have a wristband and obviously still have a valid LL such as a MEP. So it was 6:01 and I scanned into Splash and waited less than 5 minutes. Then I went back to Thunder and waited only a few minutes.



So that wraps up the LL portion of my day. Obviously it was very successful! Definitely worth the $15 for genie+ and $10 for Mine Train. Because JC and PP are must-dos but only one time must-dos, it’s really nice that I got them done today so I don’t have to worry about them the rest of the week when I’m park hopping and have a while extra list of rides to book. Of course those 3 rides on Space were awesome.



So after this point I headed over to Space for the Christmas overlay. I assumed it probably wouldn’t be a super short wait since it was just starting up and the party hadn’t technically started yet. I got in line at about 6:50 and the line was stretching back to the Lunching Pad. It moved really fast I assume once they actually started the overlay and I was on in about 35 minutes. I’m looking at wait times on the app during past parties I knew the line would die down but just in case it broke down later I didn’t want to risk not getting on the Christmas version when that was one of the main reasons I bought a MVMCP ticket in the first place.



After that I got a handful of cookies at the Lunching Pad (I brought a little bag to fill up) and then went over to Splash and walked on 4 times. Then I did Thunder which was a few minute wait since the parade had just ended. Then I got a bunch of cookies from Tortuga Tavern, Columbia Harbor House, and Pinocchio Village Haus. Then I did the teacups which was a few minute wait. That’s when Space broke down…



So then I did Tomorrowland Speedway which was a few minute wait and then I got a bunch of cookies from Cosmic Ray’s. At this point the fireworks were starting and I figured 7DMT would have a short wait so I did that and waited about 10 minutes. Then I went over to Monsters Inc Laugh Floor and waited 5 or 10 minutes just for the next show. While doing that Space came back up and by the time I got there the line was backed up all the way to the entrance. I figured out why when I got closer to the front. It was because only one side had come back up. Still, it could’ve been worse. It only took 35 minutes.



When I got off it was about 11:30 and it looked like if I got back in line I wouldn’t be off by midnight so I figured I might as well do another ride with a shorter line first and then come back. I went to see how long Mine Train was and I wasn’t sure there either. Peter Pan was a walk-on so I did that and then got back in line for Space just before midnight. The line was stretched a bit outside the entrance at that point. I think it was because of the parade. That time it honestly moved pretty slow and ended up being about 50 minutes.



Overall I had an amazing time and it was worth every penny. I was extremely success during those first couple hours with genie+ and it was really nice being able to be able to go on pretty much anything with a pretty short wait except for Space Mountain. Based on the wait times I’ve looked at during other parties though it seems like I just got unlucky with Space Mountain tonight with it breaking down and only running one side. Other than that I don’t know that the night could’ve gone better. I filled up my bag with cookies so I’m all set for the rest of the week! If I’m ever at WDW during Christmas time again I’ll definitely go to MVMCP again. Between all the after hours events I’ve been to (Oogie Boogie Bash, Sweethearts Nite, and Star Wars Nite at Disneyland and an Earidescent Evening at Hollywood Studios when I was in the Disney College Program) this was definitely my favorite!

 

[glocon]

You definitely sound like a pro Disneylover102!
What a great night!!

 

[Castlequeen5]

Here’s my report from MVMCP 12/11:



As I said in my last post I bought both genie+ and an ILL for 7DMT. Before I go into the details on that I’m just gonna say I’m mostly a ride person so I didn’t watch the fireworks, parade, etc.



Also I’m gonna explain a trick I’ve discovered in the genie+ system that I don’t think is super well-known. It’s been discussed in the Disneyland forum but I don’t know about here. If a ride is broken down during your return window you are (most of the time) issued a multiple experience pass valid on most rides in the park. In the case of Magic Kingdom, those passes are valid on anything except for Space, Jingle Cruise, 7DMT, or Peter Pan unless the pass actual comes from one of those then it will be valid on that ride as well (so a pass from Space would still not be valid on JC, 7DMT, or PP). If you get one of these passes it’s completely bonus so you can technically book that ride again. So sometimes when a ride is down and a return time isn’t super far away I’ll book it in case it stays down long enough. Something else that I’ve discovered about these is if you make a normal genie+ reservation for any of the rides the multiple experience pass (MEP) is valid on, the return time doesn’t matter and once you scan into the ride it’ll know you have a valid pass but it’ll use the “normal” one you have reserved.



So here’s when I reserved everything (approximately, I don’t remember everything exactly)



Midnight last night: purchased genie+

7-7:40-ish: kept looking to see if Jingle Cruise passes were late enough yet but they weren’t

7:40-ish: Buzz was down, booked for 8:05

7:59: issued MEP from Buzz

8:00: booked 7DMT for 4:10

8:00: booked Jingle Cruise for 1:45

9:59: modified Jingle Cruise to 5:05

10:00: booked Peter Pan for 2:00

11:27: modified Peter Pan to 3:00

11:28: Space went down, modified Peter Pan to Space at 11:45

11:40: Space came back up and no MEP had been issued so modified to Peter Pan for 3:55. It’s important to note these last 4 steps were all under the pass I booked at 10, so even when I modified back to PP I was still eligible to book something else at 12

12:00: booked Thunder for 3:20

1:20: Space went down, modified Thunder to Space for 2:00

1:59: issued MEP from Space and rebooked for 2:30

2:30: issued MEP from Space and rebooked for 3:00

2:40: Space came back up without another MEP issued so modified it to Thunder at 4:25

4:30: booked Space for 5:00

4:35: booked Splash for 4:45 (after scanning into Space Mountain)



So to summarize it, these are all the passes I had:

MEP from Buzz

2 MEPs from Space

3:55-4:55: Peter Pan

4:10-5:10: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

4:25-5:25: Thunder Mountain Railroad

4:45-5:45: Splash Mountain

5-6: Space Mountain

5:05-6: Jingle Cruise



I got to the TTC at about 3:10. The express monorail was down and the resort monorail had a long line so I took the ferry. I walked right onto the boat which left after a couple minutes so I was lucky. I got to the park entrance at about 3:25 and there were already a decent amount of people lined up. The event entrances were the right half (the side closest to the buses) while the left half (the side closest to the monorail) were for regular ticket-holders. Cast members were actually going through the line scanning magic bands (or tickets) on their tablets and giving out wristbands before letting people in. I got mine scanned a little before 3:45. A little before 3:55 they let everyone in and they gave out the ornaments at the bypass on the right side on Main Street.



I hurried over to Peter Pan and waited about 10 minutes. Then I did 7DMT and waited about 10 minutes. Then I did Space 3 times (due to the fact that I had 2 MEPs valid on it) and waited about 5-10 minutes each time (it was faster for me because I was a single rider). Then I did Jingle Cruise and waited about 5 minutes. Then I did Thunder and waited about 10 minutes. Then I did Splash and this was when I learned you can actually technically use LL after 6 if you have a wristband and obviously still have a valid LL such as a MEP. So it was 6:01 and I scanned into Splash and waited less than 5 minutes. Then I went back to Thunder and waited only a few minutes.



So that wraps up the LL portion of my day. Obviously it was very successful! Definitely worth the $15 for genie+ and $10 for Mine Train. Because JC and PP are must-dos but only one time must-dos, it’s really nice that I got them done today so I don’t have to worry about them the rest of the week when I’m park hopping and have a while extra list of rides to book. Of course those 3 rides on Space were awesome.



So after this point I headed over to Space for the Christmas overlay. I assumed it probably wouldn’t be a super short wait since it was just starting up and the party hadn’t technically started yet. I got in line at about 6:50 and the line was stretching back to the Lunching Pad. It moved really fast I assume once they actually started the overlay and I was on in about 35 minutes. I’m looking at wait times on the app during past parties I knew the line would die down but just in case it broke down later I didn’t want to risk not getting on the Christmas version when that was one of the main reasons I bought a MVMCP ticket in the first place.



After that I got a handful of cookies at the Lunching Pad (I brought a little bag to fill up) and then went over to Splash and walked on 4 times. Then I did Thunder which was a few minute wait since the parade had just ended. Then I got a bunch of cookies from Tortuga Tavern, Columbia Harbor House, and Pinocchio Village Haus. Then I did the teacups which was a few minute wait. That’s when Space broke down…



So then I did Tomorrowland Speedway which was a few minute wait and then I got a bunch of cookies from Cosmic Ray’s. At this point the fireworks were starting and I figured 7DMT would have a short wait so I did that and waited about 10 minutes. Then I went over to Monsters Inc Laugh Floor and waited 5 or 10 minutes just for the next show. While doing that Space came back up and by the time I got there the line was backed up all the way to the entrance. I figured out why when I got closer to the front. It was because only one side had come back up. Still, it could’ve been worse. It only took 35 minutes.



When I got off it was about 11:30 and it looked like if I got back in line I wouldn’t be off by midnight so I figured I might as well do another ride with a shorter line first and then come back. I went to see how long Mine Train was and I wasn’t sure there either. Peter Pan was a walk-on so I did that and then got back in line for Space just before midnight. The line was stretched a bit outside the entrance at that point. I think it was because of the parade. That time it honestly moved pretty slow and ended up being about 50 minutes.



Overall I had an amazing time and it was worth every penny. I was extremely success during those first couple hours with genie+ and it was really nice being able to be able to go on pretty much anything with a pretty short wait except for Space Mountain. Based on the wait times I’ve looked at during other parties though it seems like I just got unlucky with Space Mountain tonight with it breaking down and only running one side. Other than that I don’t know that the night could’ve gone better. I filled up my bag with cookies so I’m all set for the rest of the week! If I’m ever at WDW during Christmas time again I’ll definitely go to MVMCP again. Between all the after hours events I’ve been to (Oogie Boogie Bash, Sweethearts Nite, and Star Wars Nite at Disneyland and an Earidescent Evening at Hollywood Studios when I was in the Disney College Program) this was definitely my favorite!

Thank you for all the specific details especially with Genie+. We will be there starting Saturday and plan to use it for the first time. Our party isn’t until Tuesday, so we should have plenty of practice by then. Your post was very helpful!

 

[disneylover102]

Thank you for all the specific details especially with Genie+. We will be there starting Saturday and plan to use it for the first time. Our party isn’t until Tuesday, so we should have plenty of practice by then. Your post was very helpful!

Of course! Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[MrWreckless]

We went to the party on 12.12 and here are a couple of my thoughts.

Dont pay attention to the standby wait times. I dont know if they just stop updating them after a certain point in the day or keep them high just because, but they are extremely wrong. We noted the posted time and the actual waits we experienced.

7DMT - Posted 55 - Actual 17
Jingle Cruise - Posted 60 - Actual 8
Peter Pan - Posted 45 - Actual 18
Splash Mountain - Posted 20 - Actual walk on
BTMR - Posted 25 - Actual 10

Outside of those everything else was walk on or under 5 minutes. Well i should state we didnt test Space Mountain because one of the kids isnt tall enough for that one yet.

IMO the genie stacking on a party day isnt necessary unless you want to maximize your time with meet and greets. When waits are that short i actually enjoy walking through the actual queue instead of skipping everything and going through the LL. The two longest waits we had all night were taking pics with Moana and Captain Jack. After that we were done with characters.

 

[Alexis56578]

Anyone else going on the 15th starting to get worried about the weather?

 

[RogueX]

Anyone else going on the 15th starting to get worried about the weather?

Me. I'm flying in from Boston that day and really hoping it's not going to be a wash out for the party.

 

[Castlequeen5]

Anyone else going on the 15th starting to get worried about the weather?

We arrive on Saturday. The weather looks questionable for part of our trip too. I’m going to keep my eye on it this week. I may buy ponchos before we go and pack some water shoes. Our party is next Tuesday. I definitely hope it doesn’t rain then.

 

[maryj11]

What time does the 8:30 parade get to Main Street? I’m still trying to come up with a plan to watch the first parade and go to a 9:00 check in for the dessert party. Check in early for the dessert party or watch the parade first then check in. We go to the party tomorrow .