Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

End of the year: Christmas pine trees and Santa Claus ornaments are gradually starting to appear in malls and on the streets, Panettone and chocotone invade supermarkets (and my kitchen) and if you go into a store, there is 80% of chance you can hear Simone singing “So it’s Christmas…”. Apart from Simone’s music, I LOVE this time of year. There is a unique joy in the Christmas atmosphere anywhere in the world, but this feeling is even stronger at Disney. If you have a trip to Disney scheduled in November or December, this tip is for you: Disney’s Christmas Party.

Dubbed Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (Hard name!), Disney’s Christmas party takes place on select dates later in the year at the Magic Kingdom. If you saw our post about the Halloween party, you’ll get the scheme of the Christmas party quickly, because despite the different theme, the structure of the party is very similar.

What is it and why should I go to Mickey’s Very Mery Christmas Party?

Disney is a master at preparing parties and I think that at Christmas they do it even more than at the others. Every day at this time of year the parks are decorated, Christmas carols play in the streets and a more Christmas parade takes place in the parks during normal opening hours.

In addition to all this programming, Disney has this Christmas party where, in addition to having a few more hours to enjoy the parks, there are special attractions for the event such as a fireworks show and an exclusive Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party stop (from now on onwards, called MVMCP here).

In 2020, the Magic Kingdom Christmas party will not take place due to the pandemic. The parades, character encounters and fireworks shows haven’t been happening since the reopening, and as they are an essential part of the party, it has been suspended this year. Still, some special celebrations will take place at the park.

Christmas special night stop

In my opinion, the MVMCP stop is definitely the best stop Disney has ever made, I highly recommend it. It’s to die for!

It happens twice on the nights of the party, usually at 8:30 pm and at 11:00 pm. The second presentation is usually easier to get a better place to watch, as I explain better in the tips at the end of the post 😉

Special Fireworks Show: Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks

In 2019, Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks debuted, a new special fireworks show with a Christmas theme and hosted by Minnie. It only happens once a night, so plan to be posted in a good place to watch it. Usually the fireworks show takes place at 10pm.

Special Characters Meet & Greet

In addition to parade and fireworks, the party also allows you to find several characters to take pictures. There are many and are scattered throughout the park, most in Christmas costumes.

You can find them everywhere, including Santa Claus and Mummy too, but I draw great attention to Uncle Scrooge who is a super cool character and SUPER rare to find in the park. In fact, his only appearance this year is during the Christmas party, so take your chance and secure your photo.

Special show in front of the castle

The show “Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration” brings Mickey, his friends and many other guests to his Christmas party, as this is a season to celebrate with friends.

Participating in the show are Minnie, Donald, Pluto, Goofy (all in Christmas costumes) as well as Alice, Peter Pan, Jessie (and maybe other Toy Story characters), Snow White, Dopey, Pinocchio, Jiminy Cricket and even our dear Zeca Carioca!

The show is performed a few times during the night (usually 4 times), so plan to see at least one!

A Frozen Holiday Wish

It’s the Cinderella Castle Lighting Ceremony at Magic Kingdom, which formerly starred the characters from the movie Cinderella and in recent years has been bringing the characters from Frozen.

This show takes place twice on Christmas party nights, usually at 6:15 pm and 8:15 pm.

In 2020, this show won’t happen and the castle won’t be lit like that, but it will receive different Christmas themed projections during the night.

Free Snacks

To make it even better, in addition to all the cafeterias and restaurants in the parks, Disney usually gives (that’s right, give and not sell) some treats to party guests.

Basically hot chocolate and sugar cookies (called snickerdoodles) are often distributed in different parts of the park. And you’ve probably noticed that it’s very rare for Disney to be giving things away free of charge, so if you go to the party, have fun! 🙂

Normal park attractions

Besides, of course, you can still enjoy most of the park’s attractions that are open for you to enjoy your party night. I hardly visit attractions myself because I prefer to see the special things of the event, but when I see a 7 dwarfs roller coaster with 5 minutes in a row, I can’t contain myself and I enjoy it too!

The novelty for 2019 was that some attractions had a special decoration:

• Tomorrowland Speedway: the drive had a special setting amidst Christmas trees and Christmas lights
• Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor: The show had special editions during the party
• Space Mountain: It was full of Christmas lights and music
• Mad Tea Party: the attraction of the cups also had a new combination of lights and Christmas music.

Events paid separately

Disney also offers two events that are paid separately from the party ticket, and that’s why I don’t pay much attention to them because the ticket is already expensive enough, right? But they are:

• – Fireworks Dessert Party, similar to the event that normally takes place in the park, you pay an extra amount to eat some desserts and drinks and see the fireworks show from a VIP seat
• – Tony’s Most Merriest Town Square Party: an extra package with appetizers such as cheese, pizza and cookies and a reserved place to watch the second Christmas stop. In 2019, it cost US$99 + fees

Other attractions

In addition to everything I’ve listed above, the party also brings other smaller but no less cool attractions, which happen several times during the night of the party. Some of them:

• The Totally Tomorrowland Christmas Show: themed presentation with characters like Stitch, Buzz Lightyear and Mike Wazowski
• Edge Effect: choral performance singing a cappella at Tomorrowland
• Club Tinsel: party with music inside Cosmic Ray’s
• Storybrook Circus Dance Party: Disney Junior Characters Party at Fantasyland

How to find all this?

If you’re afraid of getting lost when you get to the party, you don’t have to worry, okay? The event map indicates the times of the fireworks show, parade and presentations in front of the castle. In addition, the map is also marked all the points to take pictures with characters, pick up cookies and hot chocolate and even where you can go to the dance floor with some characters.

What do you need to do to go to MVMCP?

Well, you need a ticket to the party, which usually costs anywhere from $100 to $150 depending on the day and in advance. Tickets are sold separately from the park entrance ticket, and it is sold on Disney’s official website, at ticket sales points, including VPD Travel (our sales website), in addition to being available at park ticket offices .

With the ticket you will be entitled to enter the Magic Kingdom in the late afternoon (from 4pm) on the day of the party and not before that. Note that the party is at the Magic Kingdom, but you don’t need a park ticket to go to the party at night, just the party ticket.

At the same time, if you used a Magic Kingdom park ticket day on a Christmas party date, you will have to leave the park just before it closes to the general public (usually 6pm) and MVMCP guests only may remain there.

This is a point of many doubts so let’s just recap to ensure there is no confusion. Come on:

• I used the park entrance ticket to spend the day at Magic Kingdom on a day where there will be MVMCP but I didn’t buy a ticket for the party:
• Everything is fine. I don’t think it’s the best value for money, but you can do it without any problems! Enjoy your day and you’ll have to leave the park before the party starts. And if you have any smart-ass thinking you’ll go unnoticed and be able to stay in the park, don’t be fooled because they’ll ask you to leave the park until you do. It is worth mentioning that I do not recommend visiting the park on the day of the party, for two reasons:
• 1.) You have fewer hours to enjoy the park than if you had gone on a day without a party, and you paid the same amount you would have paid for a ticket on a day with more hours of open park. In other words, your “park time” has become more expensive.
• 2.) There are great chances that you will miss the Happily Ever After, a beautiful and unmissable fireworks show that is not usually presented on party days. That’s because during the party there is already another fireworks show for those who paid. In other words, you paid your ticket to the Magic Kingdom and didn’t even see one of the main attractions in the park. I don’t think it’s worth it. To learn how to check whether or not there will be a Happily Ever After presentation, stops and the park’s opening hours on the day you want to visit it, click here.
• I don’t have a ticket to spend the day at Magic Kingdom but I bought a ticket for the Christmas party:
• That’s fine too. Your party invitation will specify the time the party starts, but you can go a little earlier. Here comes the super tip! When you link your party ticket to your My Disney Experience account, you’ll be able to schedule Fastpass+ for that day for the time that park admission is allowed until park time closes for non-party visitors (at general from 4 pm to 7 pm). This is your clue that you can get into the park early, which I highly recommend.
• Can I book Fastpass+ during the Christmas party?
• During the party you will not be able to schedule Fastpass+ because this benefit does not work during the event. Anyway, the queues at the attractions are already considerably shorter.
• I bought a ticket to spend the day at Magic Kingdom and go to the party at night on the same day: That’s fine too. Enjoy both the day at the park and the party at night. Once again, I personally prefer not to go to the Magic Kingdom to spend the day at the park on a party day because you pay the same price for the ticket as you would on other days and the park closes earlier, no fireworks show or the traditional stop. It’s a personal preference, as I said, and you can safely choose to do a marathon MK+ christmas party, but I prefer to do everything in one day and get more park hours and more attractions for what I’m going to pay.

Disney Christmas Party Dates 2021

As I said, the party takes place on selected nights in November and December and prices may vary depending on the day and in advance of purchase.

The Christmas party dates has not yet been announced for 2021 and since it did not took place in 2020, will use the 2019 for reference:

November: 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22 and 24
December: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20 and 22

Tips for Enjoying the Disney Christmas Party

Although delicious, the Magic Kingdom Christmas party is fast and some activities can be well attended. It’s easy to get lost in that crowd of stimuli and fail to enjoy what’s really unique about the event.

So that that doesn’t happen, here are my top tips for you to get the most out of this event:

• Get there early: this tip is golden and will help you with virtually any programming in Orlando. In the case of the Christmas party, my tip is to arrive as soon as you are allowed in to get the most out of your investment and programming.
• Avoid the first stop: at this party, despite having fewer people in the park, everyone follows the same stimuli and ends up doing the same thing. Although there are two stops, the first is always MUCH more crowded than the second. Even because it’s later, a lot of people prefer to leave before the second stop so it’s much easier to get a good place to watch it, take your photos or record your videos. The place I most like to watch this parade is also the most popular: in front of the Christmas tree in the park, where you see the cars always arriving with the castle lit at the end of Main Street! Beautiful, but much more viable in the second performance. The parade is beautiful, so I won’t be surprised if you want to see it twice, but if you have to, please carefully consider leaving it for the second edition.
• Choose what else you want to do: it’s amazing how quickly time goes by and it’s really hard to do everything you want during Disney’s Christmas party. You can spend all your time just taking pictures with characters if you go crazy. As you can’t do everything, choose what is most important to you at this party and focus on these activities. I advise you not to miss the parade, the fireworks show, the castle show and even pick some nicer characters you want to see. The rest is profit!
• Enjoy what’s different: still thinking about the lack of time to do everything available at the event, don’t get distracted by what’s available every day there. Since it’s up to you to choose, my tip is to choose what happens only at this party and leave the rest to do in the normal days of the park.
• Have a lighter schedule during the day: days in the parks end up being quite exhausting and at a certain point in the trip, the body starts to feel. I used to think that this only happened to me because I’m old inside, but I found that it happens to everyone (whew!). As the party takes place at night, for you to have a rush to enjoy, avoid a very busy schedule during the day and save your energy to stay at the Magic Kingdom until midnight.
• Be prepared for the photos: in addition to the characters in special costumes, the entire castle is lit up and the entire park is beautiful. It’s a great opportunity for photos, so I always advise you to look a little better to register this moment. Nothing exaggerated, of course. You will still be at an amusement park, right? But don’t forget the photos when choosing your outfit. And if your hair is slightly similar to mine, here’s the tip to take the pictures as soon as you arrive because the second that foamy snow falls on my hair, I look like Diana Ross. hahaha If you end up leaving it for later, the tip is to take your pictures at the castle at the end of the party, when Main Street will be much emptier.
• Get in the mood: Christmas is Disney’s most beautiful season, so get in the mood for celebrations and leave your worries, fatigue and even the cold aside! Making the event worthwhile is more up to you than anything else. 😉

Frequently Asked Questions about Disney’s Christmas Party, MVMCP:

Even though I know I will be repetitive at some points, to ensure that all the information is clear, I have listed the answers to the most frequently asked questions we received about this party, even some that have already been answered before.

Do I run the risk of running out of tickets if I leave to shop there?

As Disney only offers a limited amount of tickets per day, to ensure that the park doesn’t get too crowded, there is always a risk involved in leaving to buy only for the day.

But with the exception of the busiest days, tickets hardly sell out so far in advance. In other words, if you want to pay cash for your ticket there in Orlando, at the beginning of your trip, chances are you’ll get at least availability on a party date during the period you’ll be there.

Just remember to buy tickets as soon as you get there and don’t leave it for the day of the party.

What time does the party start?

It can vary but in general the parties start at 7pm and people with tickets to the party can enter the park from 4pm (times may change).

With the party starting at 7pm, anyone who does not have a ticket for it must leave the Magic Kingdom by that time.

Can I go to Magic Kingdom during the day and then party at night?

Maybe yes. For this you will have to have a normal ticket for the day (9am – 4pm) + a ticket for the party (4pm – midnight).

Anyway, my recommendation is NOT to do this as I detailed at the beginning of this article and I also talk a little bit in the answer to question 6.

Can I just go to the party?

Maybe yes. To do this, just buy a ticket for the party and your entry will be free in the middle of the afternoon.

Will I miss the fireworks if I don’t want to go to the party?

Yes. On feast days, the fireworks presented will be the special ones and the normal Happily Ever After (Magic Kingdom fireworks show) is not presented.

So I always recommend: go to Magic Kingdom on a normal day, to enjoy the park from start to finish including the fireworks show, and set aside another afternoon/night to go party only and enjoy the special fireworks show: Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks.

How is Disney going to get me out of the park if I don’t want to go to the party?

Disney has a super-efficient scheme in which dozens of employees sweep the downtown park outside in search of anyone missing their party ID bracelet and escort them to the park entrance.

For the “smarts” who manage to escape the fine-tooth comb, all attractions inspect people’s bracelets before letting them in, as well as food outlets. In addition, park security guards keep an eye out for everyone and escort intruders to the door.

Simple, isn’t it? So if you’re heading to Disney this time of year, here’s my strong recommendation for you to consider Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party on your schedule.

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