Your Guide to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in Magic Kingdom

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Planning a trip to Walt Disney World takes careful consideration and planning, sometimes for months in advance!

When deciding to visit Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival, I stumbled upon the fact that we would be in Orlando for Magic Kingdom’s first day of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and decided that our family would attend.

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What Is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party?

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, commonly known as MVMCP on the message boards and blogs, is a hard-ticketed event that guests can purchase to celebrate Christmas from early November through Mid December. Save up to $10 on Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Ticket!

MVMCP is an exceptional way to get you into the Christmas spirit, even when the temperatures are in the high 80s.

The Magic Kingdom closes at 6 pm for all regular guests, and MVMCP guests are allowed to enter the Magic Kingdom at 4pm to enjoy Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

If you are looking to spend one day at Disney World before the party that will work also!

Is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Worth The Expense?

Deciding if the prices of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is worth it really depends on your family. If you take a look at the ticket prices for this year, you will see that the ticket prices are different depending on what day you go.

Also buying a ticket ahead of time is cheaper than buying the ticket at the door. Many times these parties sell out ahead of time, so make sure you purchase your tickets as soon as you can.

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Since you can get into the park at 4 pm and can stay until 12 pm, it is up to your budget if the extra $95+ per person is worth it for 8 hours of less crowded fun.

We saved a little extra money on our tickets by purchasing everything with discounted Disney Giftcards. Need to learn my method? Head on over to How I Saved Over 13% on my Disney Cruise.

Still not sure? See everything that is involved with this special ticketed event below.

What Makes MVMCP Special?

Snow on Main Street

It doesn’t snow much in Orlando, but on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom is snows nightly! One of my favorite things is to walk down Main Street and see all the decorations, the icicle castle, and snow coming down!

It was a balmy 80 degrees when this photo was taken, but all of the snow distracts from the heat wave, and everyone in shorts! Walking down Main Street really put me in the Christmas Spirit, in early November.

Wristbands

Since the Magic Kingdom closes at 6 pm on the same day as Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, MVMCP guests receive special wristbands to distinguish them from any leftover day guests of the Magic Kingdom.

If you do not have one of these special wristbands on your wrist and visible, cast members will ask you to see the wristband.

When I was getting in line for Its a Small World, a group of people tried staying in the Magic Kingdom longer than they were supposed to. Since it was after 7 pm, they were asked to leave the park because they didn’t purchase a ticket to the event.

Lower Crowds

The Magic Kingdom can hold up to 100,000 people. In fact, there are multiple phases when it comes to closing down the parks. On our last trip, during December 2013, we a phase 3 closure for the Magic Kingdom, which means the park was packed!

Crowds at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party can vary from 5,000-20,000 people in the park. That sounds like a lot of people, but while we were there in 2018, many of the rides had waits for less than 20 minutes.

Quickly Riding Rides

In fact, we were able to walk onto Space Mountain, Speedway, The Little Mermaid, and the spinning teacups without much wait. Since we were traveling with mom, whatever rides she wanted to go on, we could use her handicap pass to bypass any of the rides with long lines.

The only rides that seemed to have a long line during the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party were the Seven Dwarfs Train ride and the Jungle Cruise.

Fast Passes are not accepted during the party, but you can use fast passes before the park closes between 4pm-7pm. We were able to secure a fast pass to the Haunted Mansion right before the party started, which had a 45-minute wait.

Accessible Pass Access During Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas

Since mom uses a Rollz Motion Rollator, we use an accessible pass to help us get around Walt Disney World (for those who are interested I will write a blog post all about the accessible pass soon!). The pass helps us with waiting in lines in a more comfortable area of the park. During Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas parties, fast passes and accessible passes are not technically avaialb.e

Most of the wait for the lines were between 5-30 minutes, so none of the waits were terrible. However, we noticed that most of the cast members allowed us to go through the accessible path during MVMCP to go straight to the line to give us additional room and time to board the rides.

While we were in line for Its a Small World at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, the accessible boat floated up at the same time we walked up. Luckily we were able to easily get mom on the boat and into her seat, and we had the entire boat to our selves. Once we got off of the accessible boat, we noticed that they didn’t load any able-body passengers and allowed the boat to float empty.

Unique Character Meet and Greets

One thing I loved about Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party was seeing all of the unique and rare characters walking around and the different areas of the Magic Kingdom where you can meet the rare characters.

Here is a listing of characters party goers can meet:
Santa – Main Street USA
Mickey Mouse – Main Street USA
Aladdin, Jasmine, Genie, and Abu – Adventureland
Captain Jack Sparrow – Adventureland
Moana – Adventureland
Peter Pan– Adventureland
Country Bears – Frontierland
Jack Skellington as Sandy Claws – Liberty Square
Ariel and Prince Eric – Fantasyland
Rapunzel & Flynn Rider – Fantasyland
Cinderella and Prince Charming – Fantasyland
Winnie the Pooh and Friends – Fantasyland
Snow White – Fantasyland
Seven Dwarfs – Fantasyland
Prince Aurora and Prince Phillip – Fantasyland
Elena of Avalor – Fantasyland
Minnie Mouse– Fantasyland
Scrooge McDuck– Fantasyland
Donald & Daisy – Fantasyland
Mary Poppins & Bert – Fantasyland
Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen – Fantasyland
Nick Wilde & Judy Hopps – Tomorrowland

I didn’t stop and take any photos of the characters, but the lines were not too long. I got super excited when we saw Snow White and her prince, Peter Pan, Captin Jack Sparrow and of course Winnie the Pooh and friends.

If taking individual photos with characters is something that is important to you. Make sure you make a game plan on when to get in line to see certain characters. When we were walking around all the lines seemed quite short, in fact, the longest lines seemed to be to take a photo with a floating lantern.

Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade

Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade runs two times throughout every MVMCP nights. Depending on what is on your agenda, you can watch the parade first (8:15 showing) and finish up rides and character meet and greets afterward.

Or you can wait around for the less-crowded parade at 11 pm and meet all the characters you want during the first parades because the lines historically decrease when everyone runs to view the parade and fireworks.

The parade is only available during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party until right before Christmas when crowds will be at their peak.

A Frozen Holiday Wish

You can catch a Frozen Holiday Wish any night during the holiday season when Elsa and Anna light up Cinderellas castle with frosted snow. Catching Elsa and Anna transform Cinderella Castle into a shining, icy palace is a must if you will not be in the Magic Kingdom any other night during your stay.

Holiday Wishes-Celebrate the Spirit of the Season

Fireworks are one of the many things that Disney does stunningly perfect. The Holiday Wishes (or would it just be Wishes now that original Wishes is no longer occurring in the Magic Kingdom) is one of the best fireworks shows because of the perfect execution with the light show on Cinderella’s Castle.

The Fireworks go off at 10 pm. If you are watching the fireworks and the 11 pm parade, make sure to scout out your spot. Immediately after the fireworks, there will be a mob of tired toddlers, cranky children, and pooped-out parents heading toward the exits.

Holiday Treats

Market Street
Mickey Santa Claus Sugar Cookie

When you first enter into Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, the first-holiday treat is a Mickey Santa Claus Sugar cookie. This cookie is by far the best cookie that we had at the Christmas party.

Adventure Land
Snowman Soft Pretzel & Snow Cone, Tortuga Tavern, near Pirates of the Carribean

Once in Adventureland, you can get a snowman Soft Pretzel and Snow Cone at the Tortuga Tavern. We opted to save the pretzels for last because we were hopped up on cookies and sugar.

We also opted to get the snow cone with no syrup on it, so we had extra ice to munch on in the evening.

Fantasy Land
A variety of Holiday Favorites, Pinocchio Village Haus, Near Prince Charming Regal Carrousel

Due to us going to the Haunted Mansion first, this was the first treat station that we went to. We were able to get all four cookies hot cocoa and sparkling juice. We got to taste all of the cookies while hanging out in the air conditioning before continuing on with the party.

We tasted the Ginger Molasses, Peppermint Crunch, Chocolate chip, and snickerdoodle cookies. The family agreed that the Peppermint Crunch cookies were the best from this group while the snickerdoodle were a close second.

Chilled Apple Cider and Dove Chocolate, The Friar’s Nook, Near Princess Fairytale Hall

Dove chocolates are my favorite, and I should have gone back for more! They had milk chocolate, dark chocolate and caramel filled chocolates. The Chilled Apple Cider was just ok, I actually preferred the hot chocolate even though it was 75 degrees outside.

Tomorrowland
Chocolate Chip Cookie and SnowCone, Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies Letter L on map

I was a little suspect that there were snowcones on the list of treats for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party but with 80+ degree weather, these snowballs were a real treat. My only complaint, as someone who worked at a snowball stand for 10+ years, is that the snowballs were pre-made and were allowed to melt and harden on the tray. If you want a snowball, get one from Tortuga Tavern, because they made them fresh.

Treats I did not venture to get

Now I know what you are going to say – how can I not run around Magic Kingdom and get all of the treats?? Well getting all of the festival favorites at our first stop ruined the running around. The only cookie (besides the Mickey Ornament cookie) that I would want seconds of is the Peppermint Crunch Cookie.

Liberty Square – Ginger Molasses cookie and Eggnog, Liberty Square Ticket Office, Near Sleepy Hollow

Fantasy Land – Peppermint Crunch Cookie, Storybook Circus Snacks, Near Storybook Circus Disney Junior Jingle Jam

Tomorrowland – Snickerdoodle Cookie and Hot Chocolate, Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe Near Tomorrowland Speedway

Seasonal Treats Available for Purchase

Even though Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party has so much to do that you might not be able to even think about eating between 4pm-12am, Disney does have some restaurants and seasonal treats available for purchase!

• Main Street Bakery (Main Street) Holiday Mickey Cinnamon Roll (available all day), Chocolate Yule Log (gluten friendly), Sugar Rush Jumbo Cupcake (available all day), Mickey Ornament Gingerbread Cookie – gingerbread cookie dipped in icing
• Plaza Ice Cream Parlor (Main Street) – Peppermint Ice Cream Sundae or Cone (available all day)
• Casey’s Corner (Main Street) – Ugly Sweater Brownie (available all day), Poutine Dog
• Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn (Frontierland) – Feliz Navidad Nachos, Three Caballeros Spiced Chocolate Yule Log, Churro Bites with Red and Green Sugar (available all day)
• Gaston’s Tavern (Fantasyland) – Gaston’s Cinnamon Roll, Vanellope Éclair
• Sleepy Hollow (Liberty Square) – Sandy Claws Dessert, Red Velvet Zero Waffles
• Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe (Tomorrowland) – Mickey’s Very Berry Lemonade, Holiday Burger
• Storybook Treats – Peppermint Soft-Serve Cone (available all day) Peppermint Soft-Serve Sundae (available all day) Scrooge McDuck Eggnog Custard (gluten friendly)
  Main Street – Casey’s Corner, Main Street Bakery, Plaza Ice Cream Parlor, The Crystal Palace* (until 8 p.m.)

We ended up not buying any additional Christmas treats but we did splurge and get the Sweet and Spicy Chicken Waffle Sandwich and Nutella and Fresh Fruit Waffle Sandwich. Both waffle sandwiches were quite good and I am happy to say that the Spicy Chicken Waffle sandwich actually had a little kick to it!

Can I Stay For Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party If I Spend The Day At Magic Kingdom?

The simple answer is no, you cannot stay in the Magic Kingdom for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party unless you bought a ticket to the event. Starting at 6 pm, cast members begin to ask guests to leave the park if they do not have the specials, MVMCP wristbands.

So Is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Worth It?

If you are looking for shorter lines, unique characters, a special parade and fireworks, and a way to spend 8 hours in the Magic Kingdom, then yes this is worth the ticket price!

If you are looking for a fantastic holiday treats or a relaxing evening in the Magic Kingdom, then this is not for you.

My Best Advice for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

We went to Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival the morning of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, and we were spent. We honestly didn’t make it until midnight even though we tried as hard as we could!.

Since you can get into the Magic Kingdom as early as 4 pm, I would use Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party as an excuse to sleep in, refresh and regroup, before heading out to the parks to party until midnight.

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