Last Updated on September 18, 2023 by Heather
One of the most magical times of year to go to Disney World is Christmastime. Particularly because of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom. Celebrating the most magical time of year at the most magical place on earth is truly a spectacular experience.
What Is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party?
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is a yearly event that takes place at this park from November to December this is a separately ticketed event so if you’re planning to be at the Magic Kingdom on the same day a party takes place you will need an additional ticket to experience this event in the evening.
When Is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party?
The Christmas party this year will take place on 24 select nights this year between November 8th and December 22nd. It will feature over 25 special character meet-and-greet locations, a slew of holiday entertainment from dance parties to a spectacular parade, and a collection of treat stations where you can fill up on cookies and hot chocolate at no additional cost
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Map and Guide
Tickets For Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is a separately ticketed event as I mentioned earlier. Tickets are currently available by calling 407-WDISNEY or online at DisneyWorld.com
Prices for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party start at $179 (including tax) for adults and are $169 for children. DVC members, Annual Passholders and Military also have their own discounts on tickets for select nights as well.
All parties are currently SOLD OUT except December 13th and 15th. If you are an active duty or retired Military service member, you can get tickets to sold out nights on the day of at the Magic Kingdom guest services counter at the entrance of the park. Military ID is required at time of purchase and entrance to party.
If you’re wondering where to pick up party wristbands there are four specific locations. If you enter Magic Kingdom anytime after 4 p.m. you can easily pick up your wristband at the main entrance. Just before walking through the tunnels under the train station. If you enter the park earlier in the day with an annual pass or a daytime ticket you don’t have to go to the entrance of the park.
You can pick up your wristbands starting at 4 p.m., either at Tortuga Tavern in Adventureland, Monsters Inc Laugh Floor in Tomorrowland, Liberty Square and the front entrance of the park.
One more thing of note is that DVC members who have a party ticket, can enter the park even earlier at 2 p.m. Therefore even though the party officially starts at 7 pm you can get an extra few hours of fun inside the park.
What Attractions and Rides Are Open During MVMCP?
In the past couple of years, almost all of the attractions have been open for the party with a few exceptions. Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party is great if you want to enjoy a less crowded evening at Magic Kingdom. Attraction wait times go down significantly and you can enjoy your favorite rides without waiting too long in line.
But because there is so much to see and do at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party there are only a couple of rides that I can recommend that everyone should try to do.
Jingle Cruise
One attraction overlay we get during the holidays is the Jingle Cruise. The Jingle Cruise will return this year to the Magic Kingdom where skippers tell some of their not so great holiday jokes and a few show scenes include some holiday decorations.
Keep in mind that this is not a party only offering. Since 2014 Disney has featured this holiday version of the classic ride both during daytime hours and party nights from early November all the way until the end of the year.
If you’re visiting the park only with a party ticket this is a great attraction to do in that 4 to 7 p.m. time slot, just before lining up for a character meet and greet.
Tomorrowland Speedway
Earlier this year Disney announced that among other returning attractions with holiday overlays the Tomorrowland Speedway will transform into a festive freeway. When you drive down the track in your racecar, you’ll be surrounded by twinkling lights and decor.
I’m excited for this one because we love the Tomorrowland speedway and this seems like such an effective way to make it more fun than it already is!
Other Attractions with Holiday Overlays
Monsters Inc Laugh Floor turns their show into a holiday cheer filled adventure! Space Mountain – Holiday Run adds new festive lighting and holiday music. Finally, the Mad Tea Party becomes a holiday party with four combinations of lights and music added to the spinning ride.
Are There Special Foods Available To Eat?
Yes! If you’ve been to the Halloween party at the Magic Kingdom you know about the dozens of candy trails throughout the park. the Christmas party’s alternative to trick-or-treating our cookie stations where you can pick up some cookies and beverages at no additional cost.
Just to clarify this is different from the specialty treats that you can pick up at some locations for an additional price like the Christmas Wreath Donut or the Once Upon a Christmastime Tart. But these free cookie stations are dotted at various locations throughout the park and you can enjoy as much as you want without paying more money.
I want to quickly go over what treats were available at each location. It is very possible that Disney can change these offerings in the future, so make sure you come back and check this guide for confirmation on all the details. You can locate these cookie stations on the map with at Peppermint Sick icon and then there will be an inflatable Peppermint Stick out front of the location.
Adventureland
Disney serves up sugar cookies and eggnog at this location. The cookie has green frosting and white sprinkles.
Liberty Square
Inside Liberty Square you can find chocolate chip cookies and hot cocoa at Columbia Harbour House.
Fantasyland
There is only one stop in Fantasyland this year at Pinocchio Village Haus. At this stop you can find frosted gingerbread cookies and hot cocoa. This is also another location where you can find allergy friendly options.
Tomorrowland
Usually, you will find two treat stations here as well. Cosmic Rays Starlight Café had an army of cast members serving up classic snickerdoodle cookies and hot chocolate as well as allergy friendly cookies. Then just across the way at the Lunching Pad you can find sugar cookies and apple cider.
Special Dining Events
There are some special dining events at the Magic Kingdom for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party as well. These all come with reserved viewing areas for the big shows that take place near the front of the park.
Desert Parties
The dessert party at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is the next special dining event I’ll talk about. Normally I don’t think much about these, but since the fireworks are back this year I think that a few people will be interested in this for 2022. The thing I want to highlight is that there are actually two versions of the dessert party and both offer a reserved view of fireworks from different locations.
No matter what version you book the dessert party starts at Tomorrowland Terrace one to one and a half hours before the fireworks, where you’ll enjoy unlimited sweet treats, cupcakes, fresh fruits and cheeses, non-alcoholic beverages, sparkling wine and more. From there, things can move into two different directions.
- If you book the Tomorrowland Terrace version, where you can enjoy the show at a table inside the restaurant looking directly at Cinderella Castle this one is priced at $114 for adults and $69 for kids.
- The second and slightly cheaper option is to go for the plaza garden viewing area. After the dessert party, these guests will be escorted to the plaza gardens near the hub where you get to watch the show without stressing for a good spot because this is a roped-off area. This one is priced at $99 for adults and $59 for kids 3-9. I think this is a slightly better option because you’ll get a closer view of the projections on the castle. Both versions of the dessert party are available all 23 nights of the event it’s definitely a splurge and only really worth booking if you’ve done this party before and you’re just looking for a different way to celebrate.
How Crowded Is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party?
If you want to enjoy Christmastime at the Magic Kingdom, this is probably the best way to do it. Even on sold-out nights, this party has a significantly lower number of people in comparison to a normal day at the Magic Kingdom.
We all know that the week between Christmas and New Years is the busiest week at the Magic Kingdom. So Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is probably the best way to enjoy the Christmas season at the Magic Kingdom without the crowds.
What Entertainment is Available at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party?
The real treat at this event is all of the fantastic entertainment. The Christmas party has a slight edge over Halloween when it comes to entertainment because there are a couple of added offerings on top of the popular things, like the parade fireworks and stage show.
The Castle Stage Show
Mickey’s Most Marriest Celebration
Found on the stage right in front of Cinderella Castle! This musical stage show features a truckload of characters and it debuted in 2016. This is now a 20-minute musical extravaganza that will certainly put you in the holiday spirit. What I love most about this show is that there is music for everyone.
Woody and Jessie join in on a fun holiday hoedown, Panchito and Jose sing a great rendition of Feliz Navidad, and Clarabelle cow comes out and performs her own rendition of the hit song all I want for Christmas is you. This stage show had four performances at 7:40 p.m. 9:25, 10:35 and 11:55. Take my advice and watch the last showing if you can. It is much less crowded.
Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks
The Happily Ever After nightly fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom has certainly raised the bar of expectations for fireworks at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. This new show will use state of the art projection technology, lasers, and of course, shoot off hundreds of sparkling fireworks. This is all accompanied by festive tunes and hosted by none other than Minnie Mouse herself! This show only takes place once at the party at 10 p.m.
Now that Disney is adding projections on the castle I would suggest lining up a good 30 minutes prior to the show and get as close to the center of the hub as possible if a great viewing spot is a priority for you. However, if scoring a prime spot is not a big deal to you I can also suggest viewing the show from the Tomorrowland Bridge. You’ll still get a decent view of the projections from there.
Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade
Finally, we have the main event, Mickey’s once upon a Christmas time parade I think that this is currently the best parade Magic Kingdom offers. Sitting on Main Street as the snow falls and watching all the characters pass by is truly magical. The parade starts with Mickey and Minnie introducing all of their friends.
Of course have a frozen section of the parade where Anna and Elsa make their way down Main Street on their own carriage followed by Olaf and Kristoff. Princess fans will get to see all of the classic characters here like Snow White and the Seven Dwarves but the best is when the toy soldiers march down Main Street.
Of course, the parade ends with the arrival of Santa Claus himself. Mickey’s once upon a Christmastime parade usually takes place twice each night at the party at 8:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. The first showing is always much more crowded than the second so if you don’t have little ones I highly suggest you go to the 11 o’clock show. The parade starts in Frontierland by Splash Mountain and makes its way to the hub before coming down Main Street.
Tomorrowland Entertainment
Totally Tomorrowland Christmas Stage Show
Tomorrowland offers a great lineup of many entertainment offerings as well. This section of the Magic Kingdom sees a lot of action at the Christmas party. From 7:30 p.m. all the way to midnight some sort of show takes place on the rocket tower Plaza stage.
This is great for the younger guests or those of you who get a little overwhelmed with the big crowds at the hub area near the castle. Characters such as Buzz Lightyear, Stitch and Mike Wazowski all come out and sing some holiday tunes with along with singers and dancers.
Club Tinsel
Meanwhile, over inside Cosmic Rays Starlight Café, you can enjoy Club tinsel an all-night dance party. Which is a great way for little ones to blow off some steam. There’s usually a DJ spinning classic songs and you’ll probably find some polar bears and reindeers dancing around the restaurant as well. Club tinsel takes place from party start time at 7 p.m. all the way to midnight and you can get some free cookies in here as well.
This is a great spot for those of you with toddlers because the parents can enjoy a sit down break while the kids dance off some energy at the party.
Disney Junior Jingle Jam
In Storybook Circus and next to Pete’s Silly Sideshow really little toddlers can enjoy the Disney Junior Jingle Jam. This dance party is best if Club Tinsel is too packed and a little too loud. This corner is much quieter and away from all the crowds and kids will get to dance with their favorite Disney Junior characters.
Last year we saw Doc McStuffins and Vampirina here, it will be exciting to see who shows up this year.
What Character Meet & Greets Are At Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party?
Party characters change every year a little bit and this is the one feature that Disney doesn’t release prior to the start of the party. So I can try to give you a general idea of what to expect.
Even though the party starts officially at 7 p.m. some of the most popular characters have been known to come out as early as 6:00. So if one of the star characters is high on your list of priorities I would highly recommend you start the party by getting in line for those characters first.
If you aren’t sure then you can always ask a cast member nearby these locations to confirm who is coming out and at what time.
Main Street USA
Inside the Town Square Theater you can meet Mickey Mouse. This meet and greet is tricky because even though Mickey meets guests all day long he usually switches into his Christmas suit for the party starting at 7 p.m.
Main St. is also the place where you’ll find another one of those really popular meet and greets and that is to meet Jack Skellington dressed as Sandy Claws from The Nightmare Before Christmas. This is distinctly different from the Halloween party because he’s clearly in his Santa outfit with Sally.
Jack is extremely popular, so just like Moana if you want to meet him it’s best to line up for him first thing at the party or try your luck toward the end of the night. You can also find these characters at the Town Square Theater.
Adventureland
Moana has proven to be one of the most popular characters to meet at the parties. Her meet-and-greet location is near the pre-show area of the Enchanted Tiki Room.
You’ll also find characters from Aladdin at the Agrabah Bazaar. This meet and greet is also tricky because characters tend to rotate throughout the night. But you usually get to meet Aladdin in his Prince Ali costume with Abu or Genie together with Jasmine. You want to double-check what’s going on with a cast member before getting in line at this location.
Guests can now meet Jack Sparrow throughout the day across Pirates of the Caribbean where the pirate tutorial show used to take place.
You may find Peter Pan roaming around Adventureland in his holiday scarf so keep an eye out for him as well.
Frontierland
If you keep your eyes open in Frontierland you can usually find some of the country bears roaming the area in their holiday gear.
Liberty Square
Here you can meet the man of the hour, not Mickey but Santa himself! He will be located in the gazebo in Liberty Square.
I know that it’s probably really tempting to meet Santa during the party but I would like to point out that during the holiday season you can find Santa at alternative locations as well.
Guests can meet him at Hollywood Studios, Epcot, and even Disney Springs so I always suggest that if you want to meet Santa it’s best to do it in other places during your vacation, that way you can maximize your party time.
Fantasyland
Fantasyland always has the most character opportunities. You’ll find some princesses near the backside of the castle. Something that is really fun for the Christmas party is that the princes join their princesses. We’ve been lucky enough to have caught Snow White with her prince along with Sleeping Beauty with Prince Phillip. This is one of those cases where you get to do these meet and greets in just one line so that’s always a bonus.
The royal couple’s continue inside the princess fairytale hall, similar to the daytime offerings you have two different lines here. Each one has a pair of princesses and in this case, they’re joined by their princes. In one line you have Rapunzel with Flynn along with Tiana and Prince Naveen. The second line usually features princess Elena all by herself with Cinderella and Prince Charming.
Sticking a little bit more to the princesses let’s travel into the forest area of New Fantasyland where Belle could be found on her own in her blue dress inside Enchanted tales with Belle. Ariel and Eric were meeting guests together near Prince Eric’s village market as well.
If you really want to get a big group of characters together, this next spot features four characters in one. Just outside the Winnie the Pooh attraction, you can usually meet Pooh Bear along with Piglet, Tigger, and Eyore all in their holiday scarves together, which is such a great photo-op!
You can also find Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts and the Tweedle’s by the Mad Tea Party.
Storybook Circus
Heading into storybook circus we get some more of the classic characters all dressed up in holiday gear. Scrooge McDuck, Donald, Daisy and Minnie Mouse can all be found here. Then at the Disney Junior Jingle Jam you can find Santa Goofy, Timon and Doc McStuffins.
Tomorrowland
We’ve only seen one character meet-and-greet here in recent years at Christmas. It’s usually Nick and Judy Hopps from Zootopia. This is the only time I’ve seen the opportunity to get a photo with both of them. So if you catch up with Nick and Judy make sure you snag a pic!
Is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Worth It?
Yes, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is definitely a high priority for me now. If you have younger ones in your party they may want to experience more of those character meet-and-greets. If you have teens in your party you might want to go to more of the dance parties. It all comes down to personal preference and what you really want to see and experience. Just remember this as the biggest takeaway, your time is limited at the party so use it wisely. Do things that you couldn’t otherwise do at the Magic Kingdom and enjoy every moment.
So there you have it, my friends, all of the characters you may find at the party, and my full guide to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom. I know that Disney is going to release some more details as the year goes on. So please keep an eye on this guide (maybe bookmark it) for more information as soon as we have it. I love the holidays and this is one of my favorite events at Disney World during the winter season.
