December07 Park Hours/Wishes/Illuminations etc

[Colorado Belle]

Maybe it's just me, but I just noticed that December park hours are posted...Have they just recently come out or have I been in a cloud????

Anyhow, I'm all about WISHES and not doing the MVMXP this year, so I needed to make sure that I could 'fit' WISHES and night time rides at MK on at least one night of the December trip. Looks like the only late hours MK is on Monday, not open (for MVMXP on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday) . WEdnesday night is open (til 8) but we had MGM scheduled after Chef Mickeys.

Looks like MGM is open late on Sunday...so that's a possibility to see Osborne lights and Fantasmic and rides then. It might be worth considering changing Osborne lights /TOT to Sunday night so that there would be enough time to do Osborne and TOT (and of course RnR for the intrepid) . Then, on Wednesday, after Chef Mickey...people could go over and catch the 8pm WIshes at MK next door. Just an idea!!!! don't want to ruffle any feathers!!! But maybe a better use of time?

I love December Xmas decs up everywhere...but I hate it when the parks close early....I'm not an early morning person and there is already a 2 hour difference in coming east...and I love certain rides at night...so this one night of late hours at MK is really cramping my style!!!!:D

[jiggerj]

Link! :)

December Park hours Magic Kingdom (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/calendar/parkhours/calendarHome?id=MKCalendarParkHoursMonthlyViewPage&date=20071201)

[Colorado Belle]

Thank you! I guess I could have tried to put up a link...but glad to see that someone did it for me! Thanks Laura!

[idratherbeinwdw]

Looks like MGM is open late on Sunday...so that's a possibility to see Osborne lights and Fantasmic and rides then. It might be worth considering changing Osborne lights /TOT to Sunday night so that there would be enough time to do Osborne and TOT (and of course RnR for the intrepid) . Then, on Wednesday, after Chef Mickey...people could go over and catch the 8pm WIshes at MK next door. Just an idea!!!! don't want to ruffle any feathers!!! But maybe a better use of time?

:D

I would rather not change anything to Sunday night. We already have 3 events that day, and who knows what time you will be done with the welcome meet you have planned? I think it is too much for the first day of arrival, and for most folks it will be their first day. Besides, MGM will more than likely be very crowded on a sunday that is EMH. TOT may have no FPs left for late arrivals, and will most likely have a long line without FPs.


There are other Wishes options for you, especially if you don't mind not seeing them from the MK. I plan to view the show from my BWV balcony on one of the nights of MVMCP. I realize that's not the "real" wishes, but if anything the party fireworks are even better. You're staying at BW too, so that might be an option for you.

Or, as you are not signed up for Illuminations/jellyrolls on Wednesday why not go see Wishes at the MK that night?

I am sorry, but I really don't want to mess with the schedule unless there is no choice. I am also sorry it's not convenient for you, but I hope you can work around the existing plans.

If you decide you'd rather do wishes than Osborne on Wednesday that's fine, feel free to start another thread. Those who would rather go to Wishes can do so, those that prefer Osborne can do that.

[Colorado Belle]

Mar, thanks for your suggestions on how I might see WIshes from various vantages, but Yep, I'm 'a right in front of the castle WIshes girl' as Rozzie, Stimpy, Kathy and Ron and Jiggerj and Pam will tell ya...at least one time per trip. It seems that Monday is the only time I can do Wishes plus ride the rides at night...Which is why I had to poop out of the Illuminations dessert Monday night, tho I wish wish wish I could be two places at once. I certainly don't think of that night's festivities being 'inconvenient for me'...I just can't do MK any other night cause of MVMXP early closings. Drats.

But I actually posted the December park hours so that other people, especially those with family /kids/'rents, could see what the new park hours were for all the nights and mornings and try to maximize their own time/park strategy.

As for Sunday late hours at MGM, people who arrive early on Sunday might want to hit the pool party in the afternoon and then bag the Bellevue Welcome Party in order to hit MGM all evening. I'm thinking the Bellevue Welcome will be over by 7:30 . I'd been planning on joining friends at Boardwalk/Epcot for dinner and Illuminations after the Bellevue if I wasn't too tired, but now I might walk over to MGM instead. Did I mention I love the parks at night ? and guess I must be lucky, but I find the late nights less crowded rather than more. I guess at MGM most people watch FAntasmic so TOT and RNR are usually walk ons.Of course I like it that most people don't go to late night park hours because they think it will be crowded (Shhh, don't tell them this is but a rumor).

Re change in Chef Mickey dinner to Wednesday: I was the one who first posted that as long as we were in MGM by 7:45 we'd be able to do the Osborne lights. I still feel pretty sure that we can still make it to the lights because they always leave the lights on for the after Fantasmic crowd. But at the same time, the opportunity to also get a group photo on TOT...something we were planning on doing that night...probably won't work now, unless we rush outta Chef Mickeys and have immediate transportation to MGM. You have to admit that walking from CR to WIshes would be easier than trying to get over to MGM...Yes, I understand how difficult it is for some people to change schedules once they have their own schedule in place.

Anything other than ressies and tours, I'm a little like Captain Jack...more like guidelines. I'm going to try very hard to make all the committments I've already signed up for...whew there's a lot! I don't think for any of us it's a matter of convenience or trying to schedule things around our personal schedules...I think its a matter of trying to fit in things like Chef Mickeys and the hayride and MVMXP that only happen on specific nights and then fitting the rest of the stuff in in between times. I don't know how those of you with little ones manage to do it all...but here's hoping with a little pixie dust that we'll all get to do a bit of everything!

[kathyseb]

Who would have guessed that MK would close so early almost every night.

We have never been there first week in December. We normally go down for only one week and it is the week right after Thanksgiving.

So two weeks this time of the year is a new thing for us.

All I can say is Thank God Ron and I have two weeks to fit everything in.
If I could not do a late night at MK, I would feel like I was missing something.

But I checked the schedule and they are open late on 11-26, so we will have to get our fix in then!!!!

[erikthewise]

Last year they had the standard Wishes at 6:00PM on many if not all MVMCP nights. It was not put on the schedule until sometime in late summer or fall. I remember because I had a 5:30 ADR at Tony's for our MVMCP night, and when I found out about the 6:00 Wishes I tried and tried to move our ADR back to 5:00, but just couldn't. (Experience helped me out: we just showed up at 5:00 and got seated almost immediately.)

I anticipate there will be 6:00 Wishes on MVMCP nights this year too. No promises!

[Colorado Belle]

Great News! Thanks, Eric, for that bit of information...You know I have this memory of a MVRXP party night, after Thanksgiving when I was there on a pay it forward trip from Tony the Frog,that there was a 'rumor' of something just like that...a regular Wishes for the people who paid for a full day in MK and then got shunted out for MVMXP. Maybe there were complaints???? I know that if I were paying for a day pass that I'd feel really sad and probably gyped not seeing Wishe on the day I was there. Yes, I know that Disney publishes the hours in the parks in advance, but I think lots of people just don't plan and schedule as much as MO people do. I'm glad that Disney responded to the problem in this way,
I know it's expensive to do double fireworks....but this sure makes me feel better about Disney!

Kathy, I 'm glad that you guys will have 2 weeks in the World...wow! I'm a little jealous, but then last year I had a couple days in August, a week in Sept and then back for 5 days in October and then 4 in December.....so I really can't complain ever again about my usual 'commando' trips of the past ! And I know how much Illumniations means to you guys (and still thank you for sharing your secret spot with me!!!) and that you know how much Wishes means to me. Well maybe with ERic's information..I can get a few licks of Wishes in this trip!. Yippee!!!

Paraphrasing Buzz: To WISHES ...and beyond!

[erikthewise]

ColoradoBelle,

I did hear that the 6:00 Wishes was part of the "new" crowd control approach at MVMCP (and MNSSHP?). Instead of closing the park to non-party guests at 6:00, they left it open until 7:00 for them, the time that the party starts. Part of the deal is that they get their Wishes show, which is also a way of telling them "it's time to leave now!".