Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 2013 Tips
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is a special hard ticket event held in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. For 2013, the party will be held on November 8, 11, 14, 15, 17, 21, & 22, and December 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, & 20. After December 20, the party entertainment is available to all day guests (and included in theme park admission), but waiting until Christmas week also means going during the busiest time of the year, and when rooms and dining are most expensive.
Here is our party review and tips for 2013, based upon our experiences attending the party for the last five consecutive years. The Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 2013 schedule has not yet been announced, but it will take place select dates in November and December. Ticket prices will vary for 2013 based upon whether you purchase in advance or on the day of, are a child or adult, and whether you have an Annual Pass, Disney Vacation Club membership, or some other affiliation that entitles you to a discount. In any case, the event is not cheap, starting at $57 for children with advance purchase on select nights and exceeding $70 for adults on the “Premium” night! To purchase tickets, visit Disney’s Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party page.
That said, if you’re visiting Walt Disney World in November or December, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is an absolute must-do! But more on that later. First, let’s provide an overview of the events to those who haven’t been.
Overview
Here are the things that Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party includes, that are unique to the parties (at least for November 8th through December 20th):
- Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade (VIEW OUR PHOTOS)
- A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas Show
- Celebrate The Season Stage Show
- Character Dance Parties (usually in the Golden Horseshoe and Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe)
- Holiday Wishes Fireworks
- Disney character Meet and Greets with characters dressed in their holiday attire
- Complimentary cookies and hot cocoa
- Snow on Main Street
It’s worth noting that after December 20, 2013 through the remainder of the holiday season, the standard daytime parade in the Magic Kingdom becomes Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, and the Holiday Wishes fireworks are shown nightly. This entertainment is arguably 75% of the draw for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, but in exchange for not having to pay extra to see these things, you will face some of the worst crowds of the year after December 18th. If you want the best of both worlds, there are some other tricks you can use. So obviously there’s a trade-off! Now that we’ve set forth what entertainment you can expect at the parties, let’s give you some more details, tips, and our review!
Tips
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party doesn’t offer as much entertainment or as many unique character meet & greets as Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, so utilizing some sort of advance plan to maximize your time isn’t really necessary. You should be able to tour at a much more leisurely pace, and still experience everything.
Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade – Given the excellent lighting, ambiance, oh, and SNOW on Main Street, USA, it’s one of the best places from which to view the parade (which steps off in Frontierland). We typically get a spot at the end of Main Street so the Castle is directly in front of us as we watch the parade. Most of the photos on this page were taken from that location, or near that location. You really must view this parade from Main Street. Nowhere else even begins to compare.
This is an absolutely awesome parade. Most people I know prefer the Boo to You parade over it, but I think I’m in the minority who prefers Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade. It has marching toy soldiers, dancing reindeer and gingerbread men, and ever the big man himself, Ole Saint Nick! The floats are cool, Chip & Dale are mischievous, and Mickey & Minnie are dressed in their holiday finery. I will admit that I have a soft spot for anything related to Christmas, but c’mon, how could you not love this parade?!
As far as touring goes, the second parade is usually less crowded, but we always like to watch both showings of the parade, as it’s really that good. If you watch the second showing and really enjoy it, you can’t go back in time and watch the first, so you may want to consider watching the first if you think you might want to see it twice. If you know seeing it once will be sufficient, definitely skip the first showing in favor of the second.
A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas Show – 2010 marked our first time attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party since the Tomorrowland theatre had been razed, so it was our first party not seeing Mickey’s Twas the Night Before Christmas. Well…I can’t say I totally hated A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas. Actually, it wasn’t as bad as I’ve heard some people say it is. It’s cute, and Stitch is not super annoying in it (actually, he’s cute and endearing), but it is no Twas. Not even close. Without regard to the ‘Twas’ show that no one can see now anyway, A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas is pretty fun. I had some of the songs stuck in my head afterwards, and the performers were fun. Make sure you at least give it a chance.
Celebrate the Season Stage Show – Celebrate the Season is a really fun show, although the story is not the greatest. The main attraction here is seeing all of the characters, dressed up in interesting costumes, acting oddly, and dancing. I don’t really think the story is even of paramount importance to enjoying the show, as it’s really fun to just watch the characters play dress-up in the Christmas setting.
Character Dance Parties – There are typically two of these, the better of which (by far) is in the old Golden Horseshoe building, and is called Woody’s Hootin’ Holiday Round-Up. If it’s a cold night, this is a great place to go inside and warm up for a bit, plus the lines for hot cocoa and cookies are usually fairly short here. The Golden Horseshoe looks great decked out for Christmas.
Holiday Wishes! – One of the highlights of the night is the fireworks show, Holiday Wishes. Holiday Wishes is amazing in its ability to thematically incorporate fireworks so they fit not only the name of the show, but more importantly, with the accompanying song lyrics. For those who have seen Holiday Wishes, who among you, when you first heard and saw the “O Christmas Tree” portion of the show didn’t melt a little inside? While the fireworks play an important role, the lyrics truly deserve more than just a passing mention.
I’ve long thought that the standard Wishes! fireworks spectacular was a little on the soft side lyrically, but perhaps I have formed this opinion after hearing how well Holiday Wishes’ soundtrack was assembled. I am not exactly musically-inclined, but I would like to think I know something well-done when I hear it. From its opening, with “Spirit of the Season” (which coincidentally is one my most played Christmas songs on iTunes; if you like Christmas music, you owe it to yourself to pick up the Walt Disney World Holiday Wishes CD
Character Meet & Greets – If you want to meet all of the characters at the Party, this is one area where you might want to employ a bit of strategy. First, get in line early (prior to 7 pm) for the Seven Dwarfs. It’s unclear where they’ll be appearing this year, but we expect them to be in New Fantasyland near the walls the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (unless it soft opens early).
As long as you visit the Dwarfs early before a line accumulates, you should be fine. The stars of the party, the Country Bears, rarely attract crowds (more like, “who are you?” questions) as they wander the parks, and they are an incredible amount of fun if you stick around to ‘play’ with the bears. If you happen to find them inside the Adventureland Veranda (the hot cocoa spot in Adventureland) or the Golden Horseshoe, you can really have some fun with them. We spent nearly an hour at one party doing this.
Mickey & Minnie are most accessible near the very end of the party, however, there can be small “rushes” on them as guests decide to visit them on their way out of the park. Keep this in mind when contemplating when you should visit them and Santa Claus.
Complimentary Cookies & Hot Cocoa – There are stations to get these all over the park. Although reasonable mind can differ on this, I think these free refreshments are delicious. Just thinking about them as I write this makes me hungry, and transports me back to memories of many a cold night sipping on hot cocoa to keep warm (it doesn’t work, but hey, why not try?!). Lines for refreshments can get bad near the front of the park (Crystal Palace especially) near the parade-time, but most of the time, you won’t encounter too bad of crowds.
Snow on Main Street - From what I understand, this isn’t “real” snow, but it sure does look like it! Children and adults alike watch in amazement as snow falls on dry pavement in Florida. This is really a special sight, and between this, the wonderful music, and the decorations, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party really does have that Christmas feeling!
Review
Like I said above, we’re huge Christmas fans. We’ve been going to the party at least once per year since 2007. In 2010, we went to three Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Parties. We went again a couple of times in 2011. In 2012, we only got one chance to go. Anyway, it should be clear that we absolutely love the Christmas Party. The Magic Kingdom gets decked out for the party, with cool decorations, snow, an excellent lighting package, and even different background music. It’s these little details that make the party worth the money for us–even if it is around $60 each for us. While some contend that you’re better off saving the money and seeing the fireworks and parade for free the week of Christmas, this is really just part of what the parties offer (not 75% of it as some many contend). The ambiance and other little details are what make these parties great. To be sure, if you’re on a limited budget and your trip includes dates before and after the Party ends, you should consider skipping the party. It’s also worth noting that these hard ticket parties used to be “known” for low crowds and, as a result, short waits. This is still true on certain nights, but it’s no longer the rule. Many party nights are just as crowded (sometimes more crowded!) as a normal night in the Magic Kingdom. So if you haven’t been to a Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in a few years, this is something that might have “changed” since your last Party.
However, if you’ve never been to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, love Christmas, and aren’t fond of Christmas-week crowds, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is definitely for you, and an event we’d recommend if your budget allows!
As far as value goes, if you’re not an Annual Passholder, attending a Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party actually becomes a more economical proposition. Simply purchase a Magic Your Way ticket for one fewer day than you otherwise would, and do our FREE self-guided resort hotel tour the morning of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, then head to the Magic Kingdom at 4pm. You’ll want to visit the resort hotels to see their decorations, anyway, so in effect you save yourself from having to purchase one day on your Magic Your Way Tickets by doing this (in other words, if you normally would buy a 5-day ticket for your trip, buy a 4-day ticket and follow this plan instead).
Granted, that additional day to your ticket that you otherwise would have purchased would have only added on $10-30 in cost to your total package, but if money is the issue, this should help in making Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party tickets more palatable, cost-wise. To save even more money on multi-day Walt Disney World tickets, we highly recommend Undercover Tourist, an authorized ticket broker selling CHEAPER tickets than you can buy directly from Disney. Between the day less on your tickets and the amount you’ll save by purchasing through Undercover Tourist, your Christmas Party tickets are basically free!
Overall, I think Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is worth the money, but I understand that it is expensive, and its prices continue to rise, reaching an all-time high in 2012 (it will likely increase again for 2013). I don’t see this trend reversing itself anytime in the near future. Like many things at Walt Disney World, it’s worth trying at least once! There are a lot of great free offerings at Walt Disney World during the Christmas season, from the Osborne Lights to Candlelight Processional, but we still feel Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is worth the money to do once per year if your budget allows. If the special offerings listed here don’t appeal to you, I would strongly advise you not to attend for the lighter crowds, because on some nights the lighter crowds turn out to be quite heavy. It’s definitely not worth the money if all you’ll do is attractions.
For comprehensive tips for planning your Christmas-time trip to Walt Disney World, check out our “Ultimate Guide to Christmas at Walt Disney World.”
If you enjoyed what you read and saw here, and are interested in more beautiful Disney Christmas photos and more tips, check out TouringPlans.com’s Disney Christmas eBooks.
The photos and text in these books are by me! The Walt Disney World Christmas eBook is 111 pages, with 150+ photos, while the Disneyland Christmas eBook is 92 pages with 125+ photos. You can even see some sample pages of these gorgeous eBooks here and here. DisneyTouristBlog readers get 25% off these Christmas eBooks by using discount code: DTB25
Your Thoughts…
What do you think of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party? Which aspect of the Christmas Party is your favorite? Are you going in 2013? Please share your thoughts in the comments!
28 Responses to “Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 2013 Tips”
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Outstanding report. You are so right about the location to photograph the parade. Not only is Main St. well lit, the popcorn lights on the buildings provide fantastic bokeh.
I assume photographing the parade is similar at Disneyland? We are really excited to visit Disneyland at Christmas for the first time! We can not wait to meet you!!
As a former SoCal resident, I have only seen DL at Christmas (btw: you’re going to LOVE Believe in Holiday Magic!), does it snow after Holiday Wishes like in Believe in Holiday Magic? Or does it just randomly snow at MVMCP? I don’t know which I would prefer. Snow randomly would be fun, but there’s nothing like the feeling of the snow falling at the end of Believe in Holiday Magic. Also, can I just say you’re never going to look at the Haunted Mansion or IASW the same ever again. DL at Christmas is the BEST! Can’t wait to read the trip reports. Is it sad that I’m already looking forward to the next trip reports when you haven’t even finished the current one? You’ve got me hooked for sure! Thanks for keeping the magic alive for all of us who can’t visit the world as often as we’d like.
Attending our very first MVMCP on 11/11!! since it’s one of the earlier parties, I hope it won’t be too crowded. Christmas is my favorite time of year so MVMCP at WDW would be absolute perfection!!
Awesome! Are you going to the Osborne Lights? It’s one of the few other things that will be ready for Christmas when you are down there, but luckily it is also one of the best Christmas experiences at WDW. Hope you love it!
I have seen the Osborne Lights before and they are BEAUTIFUL!! I saw them back when they were on Residential Street too in 2001. My sister, however, has never been during Christmas before so this will be her first WDW Christmas experience! She’s pretty pumped!!
Great review! We’ve always done Christmas at Disney on/immediately following December 25th, so we’ve always missed the party. This year we’re headed down the week after Thanksgiving and have tickets for the party on Dec. 4th and cannot wait. We are also huge Christmas nuts and love the parks at the holidays. Thankss for the review and the advice!
Great review Tom. I have been on vacation(non-Disney)and was away from my computer for a few days. Saw that you had posted the MVMCP review and couldn’t wait to read it, this December will be my first time attending it. I sat down with my computer and to fully appreciate what I was about to read I put on “The Spirit of the Seasons” in the background. Needless to say when I got to your part on Holiday Wishes’ soundtrack, I had a pretty good laugh. I guess great (Disney) minds do think alike.
Great pictures! We are going to attend the parade on the 18th. I can’t wait. Thanks for the tips. Although I also just wanted to know what camera you used to take these dramatic pictures!
I do trust all of the ideas you’ve introduced for your post. They are very convincing and will definitely work. Nonetheless, the posts are too brief for newbies. May just you please prolong them a little from subsequent time? Thanks for the post.
Great post Tom, and good tips. We’ll be attending our second party on Dec. 13. We had blast last year and are looking forward to going again this year, especially because we’ll have plan this time around. Our first party was a bit haphazard, but incredibly fun nonetheless. I’m sure my wife will try to beat her record of six consecutive rides on Space Mountain while I sat in Tomorrowland with our sleeping son! (Last year’s party that we attended was not that crowded and wait times were minimal, at least later in the evening.)
This is my one instance of WDW familiarity breeding contempt. I absolutely loathe the idea of these parties, and wouldn’t go unless given a ticket. It could be years of hooch rotting my brain, but I recall all these things, even the refreshments, once having been free throughout December (though that was many, many years ago. At one time the Candlelight Processional was a one-night event held in Town Square…yes, I’m that old). At least the Halloween parties offer something which can’t be seen any other way or time. Fifty-bucks-plus just seems like a total gyp for this event.
My December trip usually overlaps the start of “free” parade days, and the midweek crowds are nothing like those of actual Christmas week. See the parade, see the castle show, then bag it and watch the fireworks from Top of the World.
I wish I had seen this before we went last year! I agree about skipping it if you’re going close to Christmas day IF you don’t have kids or your kids are older than 13. We went thinking that it would be great and all this fun stuff to do that would be so unique and…we couldn’t tell the difference save for the cookies and cocoa when we went again a few days later (that wasn’t w VMCP night). The one thing my wife really REALLY wanted to do at the VMCP was get pictures of our kids with all 7 Dwarfs, but the line was unbelievable (hours), so we had to bail on it.
We would have liked to see the parade from Main St. but it was absolutely jammed down there…or so we thought. Turns out it was merely crowded.
With that in mind, if you are going there with kids 12 or under and plan on being there in the days before, of and just after Christmas, go to the VMCP if you can or at a minimum, go to the Magic Kingdom at night before the 23rd.
It will be crowded no doubt, but nothing like what it will be from about the 23rd on. We went to the party and went back on Christmas Eve which turned out to be a big mistake. It teetered on the edge of dangerously crowded in there on Christmas Eve. Huge throngs of people all jockeying to get in position to see the castle stage show, the projection show and Wishes pressed into an area so tightly, there was almost no room to move, but lots of people pushing to get somewhere. Tempers flared, many toes stepped on. Add the complete darkness when they “dim” the lights – meaning turn off, not lower the brightness – and it was crazy. Someone rolled over my foot with a wheelchair because we couldn’t see each other. Can’t tell you how good that felt at the end of the day.
Most significantly, we truly feared that one of our kids was going to get separated from us somehow and we wouldn’t be able to get to him/her immediately or necessarily know where they went. I’m not exagerrating. I had my daughter on my back and my wife put her arms around our son to make sure he didn’t get pulled away. It’s not the magical time on Christmas Eve you imagine unless you plan on doing all the stuff besides what you go to the Magic Kingdom for on Christmas Eve, but who’s doing that?
Again, if you have kids 12 and under, go to the VMCP, even if it’s crowded or avoid the Magic Kingdom at night the 23-25 if you can. It will be a much less stressful way to enjoy the season at the parks. Oh, I should note that we went to the last VMCP the first day we were there, which was the 18th or so.
Even if it’s super-crowded, you’ll be able to move at the Osbourne lights, or follow Tom’s tour of the resorts, you’ll have an equal chance of seeing Christmas-themed characters with much shorter wait times, possibly free cookies etc. I know how powerful the instinct is to go to the Magic Kingdom on Christmas Eve, I mean, the memories you imagine having are fantastic and you want that for the kids, but I’m just hoping that I can help someone else avoid the pitfalls. We had a good time on our trip, but that night just wasn’t at all what we wanted it to be like.
Dave
Man, I cans writes lots!
Great points. I think it all depends upon what you set out to do, too. We were in Walt Disney World for New Year’s Eve, which is also an INCREDIBLY busy day. We had a great time, but we weren’t in any rush to get anything done. Had it been our only trip of the year and had we wanted to do attractions, we probably would not have had a good time!
Hi.. I have gone to the xmas party 3 times and plan on doing so again this Dec. 11th. Sorry to say i have never really seen the whole parade… to busy have fun with every thing else in the park. This year maybe time to see it because I am bring my 4 year old grandson. The music and fireworks entertainers make the extra ticket price WORTH IT.
thanks kris
See you real soon!
oO
Definitely take the time to catch the parade. Well worth seeing!!!
I got excited to see your opening comment of the 12/8 start.
We arrive on the 7th and don’t have a ticket package starting till the 9th.
But the 1st night is 12/09.
Thanks for the tips! I experienced my first MNSSHP this October and loved the parade! I will be attending my first MVMCP Nov 12th and am really looking forward to it! Next to WDW, Christmas ranks very high on my list of favorite things so combining them just might blow my mind! One of my fondest Christmas memories is listening to a cassette of all the characters sing Christmas carols around the holidays.
By the way, I have been a long time fan of your blog and this is my first time commenting. You have great content and I absolutely love your photography! Both your blog and your photography are very inspiring to someone who is fairly new to photography and even newer to the blogging world. Thanks again and I am sure you will hear from me again!
Thanks for the kind words–glad you enjoy the blog! Enjoy your first MVMCP!!!
I have not been to the Christmas party in about 10 years. I live in Tampa and am going by myself on November 30. I am hoping it may not be that crowded but that is okay. I just love this night and it really puts me in the Christmas mood. Thanks for the tip on seeing the parade on Main Street. In the past I have seen it where it ends in Frontier Land. I am also staying at a value resort on property so I can take the shuttle to and from and can stay late at the park.
Great tips! I just have a question. We are going for our first visit Dec 2 and i’m trying to figure out what day would be best for MVMCP Dec 4 or Dec6? We have AK planned for the day on Dec4 and MK on Dec 6 (schedule MK before they announced Grand Opening and have Royal Table and Bibbi Boutique set for that day). Not sure it will be over crowded due to grand opening.
Thanks!! Any help would be appreciated.
What time does mvmcp start? 4pm or 7pm? I see that the regular park hours are till 7 pm. How do they get people out of the park before the party starts?
The party starts at 7 pm, but you can use your party ticket starting at 4 pm.
Great blog!! Going first time ever on 12/21. Can we really get there at 4pm? I know the tickets say 7pm. That will help lots to get to see everything…
Thanks again!
I ABSOLUTELY love Disney at Christmas. My family and I are SO excited to be going for 2 weeks this year. SO EXCITED.
We went in 2011 and had a blast. I did not realize until reading this that the Country Bears wandered the parks – we missed them. We also just missed the Tremaines, but got in Belle in her Christmas dress, the 7 dwarfs (they were back by Splash Mtn with a relatively short line), Captain Jack (somehow with no line at all) and many others.
As you say, I think the highlight of the party is Holiday Wishes (and in 2011 at least, the Magic, Memories, & You castle projection show). It was an expensive ticket, but well worth it to us.
Do you know or have a good guess at what times the parade runs? Thanks.