Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is one of our all-time favorite things to do at Walt Disney World, and it’s the perfect way to kick off the holiday season! As soon as the park closes after the last Halloween party, the Halloween decorations come down, and the Christmas ones go up. Almost overnight, the Magic Kingdom is transformed into a Christmas wonderland, and about a week later, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party begins and runs until right before Christmas. We always make the trip down to Florida to start our holiday season with Mickey, and now, I’m sharing some of our best tips and tricks with you so you can enjoy a magical night at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, too!
MICKEY’S VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS PARTY TICKETS
The Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party dates were released in June 2024 for this year’s party, and tickets were available over the phone, online, and at the gate starting in July 2024. While it’s not imperative to buy tickets as soon as they’re released, the parties do sell out, especially the first one of the season, those around Thanksgiving, and the last party. Traditionally, Friday night parties are more crowded because locals can easily attend and not have to worry about work or school in the morning. Weeknight parties are typically the least crowded, especially those earlier in the season (barring the first party).
DATES FOR 2024
November: 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22, 24, 26, 27, 29
December: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party ticket prices range from $169 adults/$159 kids to $219 adults/$209 kids, and they must be purchased in advance. Parties typically start selling out in September, and the first night is usually the first to sell out. Double-check for discounts if you’re an annual passholder, DVC member, or eligible for military tickets because they could save you enough for a few Mickey ice cream bars! Note for military tickets: Buy them at Shades of Green, and they’re tax-free! Unfortunately, those eligible for military tickets can no longer purchase them at the gate on the day of the event for sold-out parties. Check out this post for more details on dates/pricing for military tickets.
ARRIVAL AT MVMCP
Like Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party runs from 7pm-midnight. But you can actually get into the park at 4pm (or a smidge earlier since they usually open the tapstyles around 345pm). They used to allow DVC members to get in at 2pm, but they haven’t brought that back post-pandemic. When it was offered, we took advantage of that perk and enjoyed a couple of extra hours in the park, which was great since we didn’t have park tickets.
We recommend NOT using a park ticket on your party day and instead spending it relaxing at your resort or resort hopping to check out all of the Christmas decorations, especially at the resorts on the monorail loop. The Christmas decorations at all of the Walt Disney World deluxe resorts are absolutely magical, but we especially love the Gingerbread House at the Grand Floridian and the Gingerbread Castle at the Contemporary.
If you arrive at the Magic Kingdom before 6pm (when it officially closes for day guests), head to the far right and make sure you go through one of the Event Entrance tapstyles. Once you’re through, a Cast Member will put a party wristband on your wrist, and the Christmas magic begins!
VERY MERRY GAMEPLAN
With the ages of our kids right now and the fact that for some years, our only time at Magic Kingdom is for the parties (Not So Scary and Very Merry!), the rides and treats are the biggest draws for our family. We make sure to arrive at the park by 4pm, and then go on as many rides as possible, AND eat dinner by 7pm when the party officially starts. In the past, we would also get the refillable popcorn bucket, but nowadays, the line for this can be over an hour long. Wasn’t the Pluto Christmas Sweater popcorn bucket cute, though?!
Once the party starts, we spend our time doing a mix of rides, treat stops, and enjoying the party entertainment, but we almost always skip the character meet and greets because the kids don’t want to “waste” park time in character lines. If meeting the characters (especially the popular ones) is important to you, make sure to get in line for your first choice well before 7pm (like at least an hour early) so that you don’t waste official party time waiting in line. This year, several of the character meet and greets actually started around 5pm- they were definitely checking wristbands so if you’re not really there for the party, don’t even bother getting in line.
Our approach to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party has changed over the years. When the kids were little, especially if we had no other park days, we focused on getting in as many rides as possible + treats. For our family, going to MVMCP allows us to spend 8+ hours in the park with lower crowds than usual, at night (which is our absolute favorite), enjoy some Christmas fun, and go on lots of rides with much shorter lines!
If you’re an annual passholder or are doing the party as part of a longer trip, I can absolutely see the appeal of doing character meet and greets and spending the bulk of the night focused on party-exclusive events and entertainment! Now that the kids are older, we tend to focus on party-exclusive foods, rides with holiday overlays, the parade, fireworks, and shows.
RIDES DURING MVMCP
We typically head to Tomorrowland once we’re in the park so that we can ride Carousel of Progress before the park closes for day guests (for some reason, it’s not open during either the Halloween or Christmas parties). While we’re there, the kids go on Space Mountain, and we all go on the PeopleMover at least once! TRON Lightcycle Run has a standby line during the party, though the wait typically gets shorter as the night goes on.
Our family LOVES the PeopleMover, so we go on it at least once every time we’re in the park – but usually way more than that!
For the holiday season, the Jungle Cruise transforms into the Jingle Cruise, and those silly skippers change up their puns and keep the holiday laughs going all the way through the new year. We often try to go on it while it’s still light out (which usually means before the park officially closes) and again in the dark to see all the Christmas lights.
The boats are decorated with Christmas ornaments and garland and take on Christmas-y names, too! Normally, we’re not fans of riding Jungle Cruise at night because it’s hard to see the “animals” but Jingle Cruise looks extra-festive once the sun goes down and the Christmas lights go on.
VERY MERRY (INCLUDED) TREATS
Once the party officially starts at 7pm, there are treat stops throughout the park where you can get (complimentary) snacks!
- Tortuga Tavern: Red Velvet Cake Cookie and Apple Cider
- Columbia Harbour House: Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookie and Hot Chocolate
- Gaston’s Tavern: Buttercream-Frosted Gingerbread Cookie and Eggnog
- Cosmic Ray’s: Buttercream-Frosted Tree Cutout Cookie and Hot Chocolate
- The Lunching Pad: Buttercream-Frosted Red Sprinkle Cookie
- An allergy-friendly option is available upon request
We don’t spend as much time getting free cookies as we used to since the variety has gone downhill over the years. Gone are the days of the snowman soft pretzel, the sno-cone, and the delicious peppermint crunch cookies (all pictured above).
MICKEY’S VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS PARTY EXCLUSIVE TREATS
While the quality of the included treats has dwindled, there are plenty of party-exclusive treats (for an extra cost) to make up for it. These sweet and savory options typically include a mix of past favorites and new choices, so there’s always something for everyone. The specialty food and beverage offerings are not sold until MVMCP officially starts at 7pm.
The Cheese and Chile Tamale from Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Café was one of our favorites last year, and it’s back again for 2024. The Disney Parks Blog has a complete Foodie Guide to the MVMCP options, so make sure to check that out before your trip.
MINNIE’S WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME FIREWORKS
Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks (replacing Holiday Wishes in 2019) is the exclusive Very Merry fireworks show, and should not be missed. The fireworks run every party night at 10pm.
The hub/Main Street is the best place to watch the show so that you can see all of the projections on the castle. However, if you don’t want to deal with the crowds by the Castle, Storybook Circus and the Rivers of America are both great locations to watch with fewer crowds.
If you want to see Tinkerbell fly during the show (weather permitting!), you have to make sure that you have a clear view of the castle and the sky towards Tomorrowland. You cannot see her fly if you’re far back on Main Street or in other areas of the park.
ONCE UPON A CHRISTMASTIME PARADE
The Once Upon A Christmastime Parade runs nightly during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at 830pm and 11pm starting in Frontierland and then making its way down Main Street. This is my absolute FAVORITE parade in the current WDW parade line-up and we stake out spots for it EVERY year. Before the parade begins, the snow starts to fall on Main Street, and it is absolutely magical!
If you’ve never seen it before, I would definitely add Once Upon a Christmastime to your must-do list! While Frontierland is less crowded, and you don’t have to get there as early to find a spot, it absolutely does not compare to watching the parade from Main Street, with the snow falling and Cinderella Castle in the background. Note: some of these pictures (like above) are from before 2020, and the (beloved) Dreamlights are on the castle.
The toy soldiers are the absolute best part of the parade!! And this is what Cinderella Castle currently looks like.
Those silly reindeer are a close runner-up, though!
And once Santa makes his way down Main Street, it really feels like the Christmas season has started!
MICKEY’S MOST MERRIEST CELEBRATION
Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration is another party exclusive that runs nightly at 740pm, 925pm, 1035pm, and 1155pm on the Castle Forecourt Stage. We love watching the 1155pm show because it doesn’t take up much party time and keeps you in the park past closing!
Aren’t these two the cutest?!
The END of the Night
We wrap up every night at Magic Kingdom with an ice cream cone from the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor while we watch all the guests walk down Main Street and out of the park. And once Main Street has cleared out, but before the Photopass photographers close up for the night (so sometime between 1230-1am), we get a family picture in front of Cinderella Castle. We all wore ugly Christmas sweaters for the party in 2018 (even though it was 85 degrees out!!) so I wanted to make sure that we had a great family picture of us in our sweaters!
Now that the kids are older, and not all of them come every year, we don’t always get a family photo. But I do make sure to snap a pic of whoever is there on an empty Main Street on our way out of the park.
And then we slowly make our way towards the exit, stopping every so often to turn around and snap a picture of Cinderella Castle at the end of an empty Main Street. We always have a magical time at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, so we keep going back year after year! It’s one of our favorite ways to kick off the holiday season, and even though it can still be hot in Florida in November, it feels like Christmas when you’re walking down Main Street in the snow! I do miss those Dreamlights, though!!
Things to Remember for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
- Dress up! Unlike the Halloween party, most people don’t wear full costumes, but many guests do dress up in festive shirts or Christmas pajamas. It’s so fun to see all of the people walking around the party in their Christmas-y best, and we try to get ideas for what to wear to our next party while we’re there!
- Get there early! While the party officially runs from 7pm-midnight and those are the hours for the exclusive party offerings, you can get into the park at 4pm with a party ticket. Spend your morning/early afternoon relaxing and arrive right before 4pm to maximize your time in the park
- Get lots of cookies! This year, the cookies are individually wrapped, so you can stock up and bring them home if you want. We often have around 40-50 cookies to bring home at the end of the night, and the kids love taking them to school for their lunch.
- Buy your tickets early! You don’t have to buy tickets as soon as they’re released, but if you want to go to the first, last, or a Friday party, definitely buy your tickets sooner rather than later.
- See if you qualify for any discounts! Tickets are EXPENSIVE, even more so than the Halloween party, but there are discounts for military, AP, and DVC for some of the November/early December parties, so double-check before you buy.
- Check the weather! While it’s the tail end of hurricane season, it is Florida, and rain is likely- we always make sure to bring disposable ponchos with us! Also, November and December can be really hot or really cold, so make sure to pack appropriately.
- Have fun!! Go with a plan, especially if you want to see a lot of the party-exclusive characters, but take time to soak in the atmosphere. There is nothing better than Magic Kingdom decorated for Christmas.
Have you been to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party yet this year?? Do you have any tips for a first-timer??
Looking for more holiday fun? Check out these posts: