[katied69]

We are going in Dec. 2004, I was wondering if it is worth the extra money to do the after party at MK or not. Also we are going on a cruise too so do you think we should do a character breakfast or are the characters on the cruise enough. Also, how are all the Santas at Epcot, Is it exciting to hear about all the traditions in each land or will it confuse my kids, 8,10,12 (the 8 year old still believes.)

[mickaholic4077]

Welcome to Disney Central,Katie. Yes,the Very Merry Christmas Party is worth doing. I haven't been on the Disney Cruise,so I can't answer you there. I'm sure someone who has done the cruise will be able to tell you if the characters are there enough. I am sure that they will be,though. Also,the Santas around the world were great. I am sure everyone in your family will love them.

[iluvwdw]

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is WELL worth the $$ to do it! Buy your tickets in advance for a nice discount. We just came back a few weeks ago and had the most magical vacation, and MVMCP had a lot to do with it! We walked on every ride and attraction, EVERY SINGLE RIDE was open, the whole park was so festive, free hot chocolate and cookies all night long, whenever you got in the mood...oh, also free family portraits and a free pin! The atmosphere was SO GREAT!

I can't wait to go back in December! :D

[CowboyMickey]

We went on the 14th last month, and whilst neither of us "do" christmas, we decided to go to see what it was like, and we really enjoyed it. The shows were good, the fireworks spectacular, and as has been said, all the rides were open. Definitely a different atmosphere than during the day.

The crowds were much bigger than we thought though.

The one negative aspect of the evening was that there were evidently quite a few people at the Party who had not paid for it...you could see them scurrying away whenever a CM approached. (For those who don't know, each person with a ticket is issued with a colour coded wristband on entry. In the first hour or so of the evening, CMs were checking out guests to see if they had a wrist wrap or not, then getting them to leave if they didn't...however there were no checks further into the event. Non-payers wouldn't have got the badge, or the 'free' photo, but we didn't see people checking wrists when we were boarding rides or getting our hot chocolate)

But yes, I'd still recommend it, even if it's just a one-off to see what it's like. Doing the Jungle Cruise at night is totally different from during the day (yes folks, it's darker!:D)

CM

[Huakai]

Originally posted by iluvwdw
We walked on every ride and attraction, EVERY SINGLE RIDE was open, the whole park was so festive, free hot chocolate and cookies all night long, whenever you got in the mood...oh, also free family portraits and a free pin! The atmosphere was SO GREAT!

How did you get the free pin? DD and I had to pay for ours. :hmmm

[KarenT]

We have gone to the Christmas party for the last four years. We go the first weekend in Dec. The parade is great. All the characters are dressed in thier hoilday outfits. The snow (real) on mainstreet is something to see!:)
I would reccomend going. We were able to go on all rides without waiting for more than a few minutes.:D
It is a lot of fun and worth the price. Buy early ( order on line) and you get a little bit of a discount.
Karen

[Amneris]

There are PLENTY of characters on the cruise! Don't feel pressured into doing a character meal at Disney. There's about 4 meet and greet sessions each day. I've heard characters come to the children's clubs too -- but I don't have a kid to put them, so I don't know! :) There's also a character breakfast, and it's just like the ones at WDW with characters coming around and posing for pictures etc. The only different is they may not come around more than once; I can't remember how quick we got out of there, but we only saw the characters once. The chipmunks did a cute little dance in the middle of breakfast too. This was on a 7 night cruise, but I can't imagine they'd cut something so "Disney" out of the shorter cruises!

[iluvwdw]

Originally posted by Huakai
How did you get the free pin? DD and I had to pay for ours. :hmmm

Each member in our family got a pin! They are free to everyone attending the party. They hand them out at the TTC, and they also hand them out when you are going to take your free Christmas Party picture! Where did they charge you money for these???:dazed :hmmm :bandit

[mrsmouse]

The party at MK is well worth it. We go the end of Nov beginning of Dec every 2 years and always to the party. Last time we had dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern and then walk out the restaurant door to view the parade. Excellent viewing area and it was so convenient after dinner. We're going to try the Crystal Palace this time when we go down end of November.

[iluvwdw]

Originally posted by SANDY TYSON
We're going to try the Crystal Palace this time when we go down end of November.

We did Crystal Palace when we went in December. We walked out of the restaurant at about 6:30p, and they were already starting the festivities in front of the castle!!! It was a great start, to a wonderful evening!!!!! :D