It’s the end of summer, which means it’s time to start thinking about Christmas, right? No one else? Okay – you guys can start counting down the days until Halloween, and I’ll be alone, humming Christmas carols, and watching Miracle on 34th Street. But, as the summer does come to a close, it’s time to stop thinking about sweating to death in the Disney Parks, and start thinking about something else important – Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Today, we’re writing our guide to the holiday party this year early, so you can start planning your time (if you’re obsessive, early planners like us).
Party Dates:
The party dates for this year are as follows –
November: 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 18, 27 and 29
December: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18 and 22
As a general rule of thumb, November parties and weekday parties are less crowded (and less expensive) than December parties. That doesn’t mean that December parties are bad options by any means, as any Very Merry Party is better than no Very Merry Party. Tickets are non-refundable, even if there’s rain. It rained during our party last year, and they still did the parade, and the entertainment, and we still had a great time. We brought our umbrella, and things were fine. If anything, the rain drove the crowds out of the park and made things far less crowded.
Party Time:
The party begins at 7 pm, but you can get into The Magic Kingdom with your Very Merry Ticket as early as 4 pm. This allows you to buy one less day of park tickets and spend the morning touring Deluxe Resort Christmas decorations or Disney Springs. You can get into The Magic Kingdom a little early to ride a few rides, and eat some food before the party actually starts.
Party Entertainment:
Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmas Time Parade
This parade, in our opinion, is the creme de la creme of Disney entertainment. This parade is everything we love about Christmas and everything we love about Disney combined. They show it twice during each party, and we recommend seeing it both times (because it’s just that good). Try to catch a showing of it on Main Street U.S.A, where you can see the Castle, and all the lights behind the floats while you watch it, for a truly magical Christmas memory.
A Totally TomorrowLand Christmas Show
This Holiday show is on the Stage between Carousel of Progress and Space Mountain, and if you have to skip one thing during the party, we would suggest skipping this. It’s not our favorite, and features characters like Stich, Buzz, and the Monsters Inc. gang.
Holiday Wishes Fireworks
The Holiday Wishes Fireworks is a completely different fireworks show (unlike the Illuminations Holiday tag), and is set to a compilation of classic Holiday songs. It’s a classic show that shouldn’t be missed, and should be watched from the center of Main Street U.S.A.
Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration Stage Show
This is a new show this year, and will be replacing Celebrate The Season on the Castle Stage. Celebrate The Season was dated, but one of our favorites. We have high hopes for Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration Stage Show, as it features Mickey, and the show premiere is that he’s throwing a Christmas party for all his friends.
Voice Play
Voice Play is an a capella singing group (a la Pentatonix) that will be singing Christmas Carols every night at the party. It’s a nice festive touch, but not the most exciting thing in the world.
Elsa’s Holiday Wish
Elsa will be ‘freezing’ the castle each night with holiday lights (because apparently, Disney still can’t let Frozen go). The show is cute, and it’s beautiful to see the lights turn on, even if we enjoyed the show’s predecessor (Cinderella’s Holiday Wish) more than this current show.
Party Meet and Greets:
There are all kinds of party meet and greets that are worth your time at a Very Merry Christmas Party. Some of the longest lines are for the Seven Dwarves, and Jack Skellington. If it’s on your agenda to meet these characters, we recommend lining up for one of the other well before the party begins, and then heading immediately for the other after you meet one. Some of our personal favorite meet and greets are these fab five in their Holiday outfits, and the Country Bears having dance parties over in Frontierland. You can also get photos with reindeer from the Christmas parade.
Party Food:
As far as complimentary food goes, you can get unlimited snickerdoodle cookies and hot cocoa from treat stations. Treat stations are designated by inflatable candy canes. There are also festive treats around the park that are available for the party as well.
Party Merch:
Specialty party merch, such as t-shirts, pins, and ornaments, are available for purchase as well. The best place to buy these items is at the Emporium, after you’ve experienced the main activities the party has to offer.
All in all, we highly recommend spending the extra money to experience Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, even if it’s only once. It’s one of our favorite Holiday events of the year, and a Christmas tradition in our family.
Are you planning on going to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party this year?
Have a question, or not sure what to expect? Leave us a comment and ask us!
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