The holiday season is here! Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is a special ticket event at Disney’s Magic Kingdom and is one of my favorite events at Walt Disney World. It ranks right up there with Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Those are my 2 favorite events that take place at Walt Disney World. I love these special ticket events because the wait times are much lower for rides, you can meet certain characters that wouldn’t usually be out during a regular park day, it features exclusive fireworks, a parade complete with snowfall on Main Street, a great stage show, and other holiday-themed entertainment (plus unlimited cookies and hot chocolate!).

About

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party takes place from 7:00 PM to midnight on select nights in November through December 20th, 2024.  You must have a special event ticket to attend this event. If you visit Magic Kingdom on a party night and don’t have a special event ticket to the Christmas Party, you will have to leave at 6:00 PM. If you only have a party ticket, you can enter starting at 4:00 PM to give you time to ride some rides and get dinner before the event starts at 7:00 PM. I recommend a resort/rest day on your party day to give you plenty of time to rest and relax before the party since it will be a late night at Magic Kingdom. This event is very popular and will sell out in advance so it’s best to purchase your tickets as soon as possible.

 If you want to get in right at 4 PM, you’ll want to leave your resort about an hour before this to get in right at 4 PM. It will be busy at this time because a lot of people will do this. Be sure to stop and get your party ornament for each of you. It is super cute and they only hand them out until 8 PM. You will be directed to this location as you enter through the VIP entrance near Tony’s Town Square Restaurant.

Let’s talk about some of the awesome details of this event:

Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks

Minnie Mouse hosts Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks show. This  fireworks display celebrates the magic of Christmas with holiday songs featuring “Joy to the World” and “Deck the Halls” to “Up on the House-Top” and “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.” This show has perimeter fireworks which makes the finale a beautiful sight to see.

If you look for the iron fence around the bushes (near the Mickey and Minnie statues), try to stand along there. This way no one can stand in front of you and put a child on their shoulder and block all of your views for the fireworks. It’s a great location to be in. While waiting, you can see Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration which is a cute holiday party on the castle stage that starts before the fireworks and makes the waiting time between 9 and 10 go much quicker. Tons of characters come out on stage which is super cute. You’ll want to get to your spot at least 45 minutes before the fireworks start.
 
Everyone makes a mass exit after the fireworks. If you can hang out in front of the castle for about 5-10 minutes afterward, this gives people plenty of time to leave and board the monorail/buses. This will clear out Main Street and give you time to walk through Main Street while it is snowing. Mickey is on Main Street and usually has a low wait at this point and he’s in his cute Christmas outfit so it’s a perfect time to meet him (if you aren’t too tired!)

Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade

Along with the fireworks being one of my favorites of this party, Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade is SO cute! It has marching toy soldiers, dancing reindeer, and gingerbread men, and it also features an appearance by Santa Claus! The floats are so fun and even feature your character favorites like Chip’n’Dale, Mickey & Minnie all dressed in their holiday costumes.  One of the best places to watch the parade will, of course, be on Main Street thanks to the “snow” (more like SNOAP- Think fake snow and soap) that falls during the parade. Nowhere other than this location can really compare to watching the parade from here, but just know you will need to find a spot about an hour or hour and a half before the parade if you plan to sit on Main Street.

This parade steps off in Frontierland, so if you are okay with not sitting on Main Street, I like to find a seat near Peco Bills and get a front-row view of the parade. It’s not Main Street, but I still love the experience from here. I still get my seat about an hour before, just so that I know I will have a good view. You get to see the parade first, so once it’s finished you can ride some rides or get cookies while everyone else is still watching the parade.

 Usually, the second parade is less crowded, but we did see a lot of people waiting for this one as well.

Exclusive Party Food and Drinks

Magic Kingdom has a large lineup of Christmas snacks and desserts, which are available for purchase during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Some items are also available only during the event. You can mobile order a lot of these items from the quick service location. Check the My Disney Experience app to see all of the available options for you to choose from.

Cookies, hot cocoa, and other holiday refreshments come as part of your special event ticket for the party and you can find stations to get these all over the park, along with different cookies served at each of them in your party map that you’ll pick up when you arrive.

You’ll find a few stations lined with a big glowing blow-up to show where the free locations are. 

Tortuga Tavern (Adventureland): red velvet cookie and apple cider

Columbia Harbour House (Liberty Square): caramel pretzel chocolate cookie and hot cocoa

Gaston’s Tavern (Fantasyland): gingerbread cookie and eggnog

Cosmic Rays (Tomorrowland): Gree tree sugar cookie and hot cocoa

Lunching Pad (Tomorrowland): Red sprinkle sugar cookie and apple cider

Entertainment

A variety of entertainment is offered during the party. This includes:

Club Tinsel Dance Party

This show is located at Rocket Tower Plaza State in Tomorrowland. Join Santa Goofy, Max, Judy Hopps, Nicke and Wilde, and Chip’n’n Dale for a dance party.

Frozen Holiday Surprise

Join “Frozen” friends as they ring in the holiday season. This show runs nightly during regular park hours (6:15 p.m.) and during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (6:15 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.).  This is a “Frozen”-inspired show that illuminates the castle for the night.

Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration Stage Show

Mickey invites his friends over for a Christmas party filled with music and festivities. This show features so many characters, it is so fun to see who will come out. There is a show right before the fireworks, so this is a great way to entertain yourselves while you wait for a spot for the fireworks. You can also see this show at 11:55 PM which will likely be less crowded since it’s the last party of the night as the park is closing.

Disney Junior Jingle Jam

Dance with your favorite Disney Jr. characters like Timon, Vampirina, Fancy Nancy, and Doc McStuffins.

Santa’s Christmas Carnival

New this year, you’ll want to stop at Storybook Circus! You can meet Santa, take part in crafts and activities, and enjoy holiday snacks for purchase.

Character Meet and Greets

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party features a mix of party-exclusive characters, party-exclusive costumes on regular characters, and regular characters. Wait times for these meet & greets vary. One of the highest wait times will, of course, be Jack Skellington in his “Sandy Claws” attire and Sally, which are the most popular. Their meet and greet is located in Town Square Theater, and if you want to do it, you should get in line early, well before the party even starts. Jack and Sally typically start meeting shortly after the unofficial start of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (typically between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m.), and only guests who already have their wristbands may line up to meet them. During the middle of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, you can expect to wait 2+ hours for Sandy Claws and Sally, so get there early and do this first.

Other characters who are not exclusive to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party can still be found wearing their holiday outfits and meet outside in Storybook Circus. Check the party map to see all of the character meet and greet locatons.

Special Offerings during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks Dessert Party at Tomorrowland Terrace

The dessert party includes a fireworks viewing area, a dessert, and a non-alcoholic drink buffet. It does not include admission to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, which is to be purchased separately. (This means you’re paying once for the party, AND once for the dessert party.) The dessert party also does not include parade viewing but you will get a great view of the fireworks. The price is steep, so I wouldn’t recommend this for the Christmas Party so that way you don’t use party time for this event. However, the fireworks dessert party is sometimes offered on nights that are not a party night, so this may be something you want to do during that time.

Ride Overlays

Experience fun holiday surprises at Jingle Cruise, Mad Tea Party, Tomorrowland Speedway, Space Mountain, and Monster Inc. Laugh Floor. I love the Speedway because they have lights all throughout the race track. Jingle Cruise is also themed during the day, so you don’t have to spend time riding at night if you don’t want to use your party time for this.

Planning Your Party Night
Have a plan when going into this event. I would stick to special activities that only you can do during the party, especially if you plan to visit MK on another day. There are tons of special activities (like Santa’s Christmas Carnival where you can meet Santa), entertainment, meet and greets, etc. exclusive to the party so you’ll want to spend party time doing these things.
 
If you can make it a little later in the evening, a lot of people will leave after the fireworks and the crowds will really die down making wait times for everything super low. 

Overall Review

I absolutely love the Christmas Party.  Magic Kingdom gets decked out for the party, with cool decorations, snow, and holiday-themed background music. Yes, the party is expensive, but if you can afford to do it at least once, I would highly recommend it just to get to experience it.  Do I think it is worth it? Of course, because I love Christmas! What it really comes down to is whether you really want to do it. I love the parade, the fireworks, and just the overall mood during the party, but it’s really a personal decision.

What I always recommend to my clients is to skip purchasing a park ticket for the morning of the Christmas party and schedule a character breakfast or somewhere fun for that morning. Visit Disney Springs, or enjoy time at the resort pool until the early afternoon before the party begins. Even though the event doesn’t officially start until 7 PM, you can enter Magic Kingdom at 4 PM with your park ticket and enjoy 3 extra hours before the party even starts.

With all of that said, if Christmas celebrations appeal to you, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is an awesome event at Walt Disney World. If you’ve never been to a party, love Christmas, and don’t want to deal with those Christmas-week crowds, it is definitely for you, and an event I’d still recommend if your budget allows. If you have any questions about the party or anything Disney, I’m happy to answer!

If you are thinking about visiting during this holiday season, send me an e-mail! I would be happy to help you plan your trip at no cost to you! Molly@MarvelousMouseTravels.com

Love and Travel Dust,

Molly