Everyone loves a good Christmas party. Throw in Mickey and it’s sure to be a delight. My family had the pleasure of attending in 2019 and of all of our trips so far, it was my favorite!
We opted for a quick trip the weekend two weeks before Thanksgiving and found the crowds and weather to be pleasant. Since it was a quick weekend, we chose one park to be the highlight of our trip, Magic Kingdom. In hindsight, we could have selected another park since we were going to be going to the party but my kiddos were little and Magic Kingdom filled all our needs. So, we spent all day Saturday at Magic Kingdom and rested up Sunday before heading over to the party! On party nights, Magic Kingdom closes to guests without party tickets early creating a less crowded atmosphere for your party enjoyment. The party didn’t kick off until 7:00 pm but party guests are allowed to enter at 4:00 pm. We like to take advantage of all of Disney time so we scooted over to the park about 3:00 pm to get in line.
Because regular guest are required to leave, the park opens up a fancy back alley to the right of Main Street to alleviate traffic congestion. This is where you will receive your wristband and where you get the party started with a festive stroll to your first taste of complimentary holiday cookies and cocoa of the night! Along this path you have some fantastic photo spots as well as the opportunity to purchase commemorative merchandise exclusive to the party. We opted for the classy Christmas pin. The end of the alley drops you out next to The Plaza Restaurant and from there the park is yours!
In the next three hours, we took advantage of the attractions that did not have a holiday overlay and those we had to do again like Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Pirates of the Caribbean. (Which we got stuck on… but that’s a whole other story)
Now, off to the party!
There is so much that can be done in such a short amount of time and I think we managed to cover quite a bit. During the party you have the opportunity to get your picture with Disney characters in their Christmas best. For my family, we’re all about how many attractions we can cram into our day. This was especially important the year we went as it was the first time Disney had planned to do attraction overlays with a holiday twist. During the party, a handful of attractions get a holiday makeover with holiday music and themed lighting. There is nothing like spinning your teacup on Mad Hatter to the point of no return to strobing red and green lights. I do recommend you limit your cookie intake before tackling that attraction.
Quite a few attractions in Tomorrowland received the holiday overlay. Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor busted out some fantastic holiday dad jokes. What a great time to be “that guy”! You can even cruise around a few dozen decorated Christmas trees on Tomorrowland Speedway. Slow and steady just like you’re riding around looking at Christmas decorations at home. The anchor piece has to be Space Mountain. Unfortunately, this was the one we were unable to ride. It was having a bit of stage fright and had a delayed opening and long lines throughout the evening. Not the best combo when you have little ones hopped up on sugar. On the other side of the park, you have Jingle Cruise. While this overlay is seasonal and not just the party, it’s still nice to ride this attraction at the party.
While bouncing from attraction to attraction, we were scooping up all of the complimentary cookies, cocoa and hot apple cider. No exaggeration, I easily had a dozen cookies while at the party and took just as many back to our hotel room. I still think of the molasses cookie! If your kids eat cookies like I do, they are going to be so sugar crazy. What to do with all that energy? You dance of course.
Also in Tomorrowland at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe you can dance your heart away at Club Tinsel. This epic dance party goes all night; well, 7:00 – midnight. Or, you can catch a showing of A Total Tomorrowland Christmas Party with some of your favorite Tomorrowland characters. For the younger crowd, you can dance the night away at Disney Junior Jingle Jam at Storybrook Circus. So feel free to drop in, dance off some sugar then run off to enjoy another attraction.
In addition to the holiday attractions, the party offers fantastic and festive stage shows with Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration. This stage show occurs multiple times throughout the night and has live performers singing and dancing to a holiday medley. It’s one of the ways to see your favorite characters in their holiday best.
Another way to catch your favorite characters is the Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade. We caught the parade from the starting gate in Frontierland. We may not have had the perfect backdrop that is Cinderella’s Castle or Main Street but because we chose this location, we got a front row view of the parade without throwing elbows. This parade had it all! Gingerbread men, princesses in their holiday wear, dancers, toy soldiers (my favorite), Mickey and Minnie , and of course Santa.
Finally, one of the things Disney does best; fireworks! At the time, our littlest was not a fan of fireworks. Since she had such an issue with them, we opted to watch them from Main Street near the train station. Although, it still didn’t prevent her from crying! Despite my daughter being upset, this was still a great view and we were able to get a few good photo ops with Cinderella’s Castle and Main Street. We were even in the perfect location to watch everything unfold as snow fell all around us. We went nonstop all night wearing out our kiddos. A cast member took pity on us and offered as a double stroller that my too big for kids promptly feel asleep in!
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party was such a wonderful family event and one I hope to experience again. Great attraction overlays and family entertainment make this an event you don’t want to miss.
Want to attend this party yourself? Better act fast. At the time of this writing, the following dates marked through were already sold out.
| Date: | Ticket Price: |
| Nov Dec 1, | Guest 10+ $169 Guest 3-9 $159 |
| Dec 11, 13, 15, 16 | Guest 10+ $179 Guest 3-9 $169 |
| Dec | Guest 10+ $199 Guest 3-9 $189 |
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