The week before Thanksgiving to New Year's Day are the busiest times to visit Disney World. Everyone wants to see the Christmas Decorations the seasonal snacks, and many schools are out for the holidays. The parks are crowded, and long lines for food and rides are expected. What if I told you that you could have some Christmas Magic at Magic Kingdom and not have to deal with the large crowds?
Every year, on select nights, Magic Kingdom hosts Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. It is a separately ticketed event that starts in November and runs through the week of Christmas. You can enter the park as early as 4:00 PM even though the party doesn't actually start until 6:00 PM. You do not have to have a park reservation or park tickets for this. You just have to purchase the Party Tickets for the night you would like to go.
My family and I were able to experience our first Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party a few weeks ago, and it was so worth it. We did not go to any parks this day. We specifically choose the party to hit Magic Kingdom. The party ran from 6:00 PM to Midnight. We arrived at the park a little after 4:00 PM.
As soon as you walk into Main Street USA, you are submerged in Christmas decor. The tree was up, the wreaths were on the light poles, and the sounds of Christmas Music was playing. I don't know about you but as soon as I round the corner and see the Castle tears come to my eyes. It is just so magical.
We had eaten a late lunch in the day because we knew there would be limited quick service locations open, and those were always busy. We made sure we could try some of the yummy snacks though.
The crowd was pretty light since a lot of people were leaving the park that didn't have party tickets. We looked on the app and noticed that the line for Mine Train was about 20 minutes. So, we headed that way. This was the first time we had ever been in the standby line because we always had a FastPass for this ride. If you have ever been in the standby line then you know that it has some interactive sections which my family loved.
After we got off, we decided it was time for some snacks. So, we headed over to Sleepy Hallow. I got the Apple Cider float, and my son got a turkey leg. We all eat on the turkey leg; it was so big. After we got our snackss, we headed over to Big Thunder Mountain. We waited about 15 minutes for that. After that, we headed over to The Haunted Mansion. We only waited 10 minutes for that. When we came out of the ride our magic bands lit up and we heard bells ringing. We didn't know what that meant until we asked a cast member and she told us it was time for Cookies and Hot Chocolate. So, we jumped in line. The cookies were still nice and warm and the line moved fast.
Then we headed over to Adventure Land to hit Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise with its Christmas overlay. After Jungle Cruise, the kids wanted to do the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. It is something they do every time we go to Disney. So, My husband, our friend, and I stayed below and waited for them. I went over to Sunshine Tree Terrace to grab some drinks and was just joking around with the Castmember at the window. She noticed my Orange Bird Magic Band and Pixie Dusted me with a cup of Orange Swirl Ice Cream. I shared it with my husband and it was so refreshing.
We then decided to head over to the People Mover and Space Mountain. While we were getting ready to cross we got the beginning of the Christmas parade. We saw so many characters and of course the big guy himself, Santa. As we were crossing after the parade we noticed it was snowing on Main Street.
We road Space Mountain first and only had a 10 minute wait. It was really neat to see the Christmas overlay with the Green and Red lights and playing a rock version of Jingle Bells. When we got off, the line was still low so we went back through the standby line and got back on. When we came out the second time the fireworks had just started. We had a really great view and just stood there and watched. Then, we walked over to the People Mover, which my husband, oldest daugher, Son and Nephew had never rode before. If you never have rode the People Mover you get the best pictures of the Castle from there. My family loved going inside Space Mountain and seeing it.
We didn't even stay until midnight, but felt like we really didn't need to. During the party we got to ride every single large attraction that my family loves, snack, watch the Christmas Parade, and see the Fireworks show.
I know what you are thinking, that is a lot of money for just a few hours in the park. It was totally worth the cost in my opinion. For the rest of our trip we had Genie+ and didn't get to ride as much as we did the night of the party.
I hope you get the chance to attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in the future. Even though tickets for it are not out yet for 2023 we can still book your trip with a refundable deposit of $200. Then we can let you know when the party tickets will be released. Just contact one of our Story Guides today.
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