Best & Worst Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Dates
This post rates the best & worst Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party dates based on which are likely to be the least and most crowded. November and December can have roller coaster crowds at Walt Disney World, so this is worth considering before buying tickets if your dates are flexible.
In addition to offering tips for choosing the best days of the week to attend, we highlight the dates that should be the least-crowded Christmas Parties. As we share in our Guide to the 2023 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, not every Christmas Party (MVMCP) is equally crowded. Some are so packed for the first parade that they feel like a busy day in Magic Kingdom. Other nights, there is a ton of room on Main Street for Fireworks, and every attraction is a virtual walk-on by 10 p.m.
With that said, we should note that last year, MVMCP was abnormally busy across the entire calendar. We mention this to prepare you for the reality that the 2023 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is likely to have heavy crowds. If you’ve done the party before but not since ~2018, you’re likely to experience a busier event than in the past, irrespective of which date you choose. “Least-crowded” here is a relative term.
Last year, every single MVMCP sold out. There’s a reasonable probability that the same will occur with the 2023 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Given that, you might think that this post is pointless. After all, sold out is sold out, right?
Maybe. For one thing, there’s no guarantee that every date of the 2023 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party will sell out. Although last year’s MVMCP sold out every single date, that was also during a period of pent-up demand–both for travel in general and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, specifically, as it had not occured in the prior 2 years.
With that said, it’s likely that Walt Disney World will increase prices significantly for the 2023 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party given how quickly last year’s event sold out. Higher prices mean a smaller pool of consumers will be willing/able to buy tickets. That pool still might be larger than the number of tickets available on some or all dates–but we don’t know that yet.
Beyond that, we’ve noticed in prior years that “sold out is sold out” is not entirely accurate when it comes to the Halloween and Christmas Parties.
Sold out dates closer to holiday weeks (e.g. Thanksgiving and Christmas) had significantly higher feels like crowds than those mid-week party nights in early November or December. We have no way of proving this, but a similar phenomenon has occurred with Disney Park Pass reservations. “Fully booked” doesn’t always have the same crowd levels or wait times.
Since there are a lot of 2023 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party dates, most of you planning week-long vacations to Walt Disney World probably have 2-3 options. If you only have 1 choice, well…this post won’t do you much good. On the plus side, that means you don’t have to deal with 6 p.m. Magic Kingdom closings on other nights of your trip. There are two rules of thumb that almost always apply when determining which party nights will be the least busy.
First, the cheaper nights are the less busy ones. We often say that Walt Disney World doesn’t offer discounts out of corporate benevolence–it’s in order to incentivize bookings. That same philosophy holds true with party ticket pricing (or even regular ticket pricing and hotel rooms).
There are several price tiers, so ranking the nights is a bit easier. In general, the cheaper dates are in November and early-December, and the more expensive dates are the week of Thanksgiving and throughout the month of December.
The idea behind the price tiers is to encourage guests who have the option of considering multiple dates to choose the cheaper one. It works, but only to an extent. Plenty of people will pay a few dollars more on an already expensive ticket for a date that works better with their schedule.
Let’s start with the limitations. First, most locals planning on attending non-school night parties aren’t going to change those plans to save $5 or so. Second, tourists who travel during school breaks are essentially stuck traveling during those breaks, so they aren’t going to do a mid-December party as opposed to the December 21 one.
The second rule is that school nights are the least busy nights, while Fridays and holiday breaks are the most busy times. A corollary to this rule is that Tuesday and Thursday nights are historically the least crowded nights of the week.
We’ve been attending the parties every year since 2007, and that rule has proven true in our experience, in what we’ve observed, and what we’ve heard from readers who have attended other evenings.
Putting these two rules together, it should be easy to spot the four best dates. Last year, those ideal Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party nights were:
- November 10 (Thursday)
- November 14 (Monday)
- November 15 (Tuesday)
- November 17 (Thursday)
While dates have not yet been released for the 2023 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, expect them to follow a similar pattern, within a day or two of the above dates.
If you are a local and can go whenever you want, I think these parties will be the least busy Christmas Parties of the year. In particular, I really like the November 14 and 15 party nights. These are after the initial rush of people (and bloggers!) wanting to be first to attend, but before most people really get into the festive spirit.
The November 9 night does have me a little nervous because that’s one day before Veterans Day, which is always a busy long weekend at Walt Disney World. That holiday always seems to catch people by surprise–including Disney’s internal crowd forecasters. It’s still likely to be a good party to attend since it’s a Thursday so early in the season, but it could surprise on the high side.
All bets are off the following week. Thanksgiving is typically one of the busiest weeks of the year at Walt Disney World, and there are fewer parties that week as a result of the crushing crowds (Disney doesn’t schedule MVMCP when regular crowds will be too high to allow for closing Magic Kingdom at 6 pm).
Consequently, the November 20 and 22 parties are both bad options. Ditto November 27. As the first party in several days, that’s going to be the only night many families can attend during their trips.
As far as December goes, basically Tuesdays are the best days, followed by Thursdays, followed by Sundays. Earlier in the month is better than later. Even though Pop Warner is now hosted at Universal, it remains a wildcard; there’s a decent chance they’ll do a group night at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
The final Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party will be the busiest of the year. With that said, there won’t be any material difference in crowds for any of the last 3 parties. They will all almost certainly sell out (even at those prices) and be busy. That is, unless there’s a freak blizzard that keeps crowds away–basically, something we couldn’t predict at this point.
Up until a few years ago, Walt Disney World didn’t do MVMCP that close to Christmas. In the past, they’ve avoided this because Christmas-week crowds make it impractical to close Magic Kingdom early.
There’s nothing unique about this year to make that not the case, so…good luck to anyone considering that party! I would recommend avoiding Magic Kingdom completely that day–and each of the last 3 party dates–transportation to get out of the park will be a nightmare.
Ultimately, you will have more considerations when planning your itinerary than just which Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is least crowded. Park hours will influence your decision. Weather might influence your decision. If you’re able to score an elusive ADR in a different park on a less-busy night, that might influence your decision.
We can’t stress enough that these predictions are exactly that. This is speculation, pure and simple. It’s informed by our experiences, not by any sort of insider information. We’re more than happy to offer a money-back guarantee (on our advice, not your tickets) should our predictions prove incorrect, though! 😉
We’ve updated our free Vacation Kingdom at Christmas eBook for the Christmas season! In order to receive your free copy, sign up for our (also free) newsletter if you haven’t already. You’ll receive a free download of that eBook, plus our Money-Saving Tips for Walt Disney World eBook as a thank you.
For comprehensive tips for planning your Christmas-time trip to Walt Disney World, check out our Ultimate Guide to Christmas at Walt Disney World. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Which days are your favorites for doing Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party? Do you have any experiences that contradict or support our advice? When are you planning to go this year? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Are there ever any extra tickets available at the gate the day of? Our family inadvertently purchased 6 tickets instead of 7… we tried to get another when we realized it but now the 22nd is sold out !
I can tell you that the Christmas Party On August 25 this year was very, very hot and humid. Yep, that’s when we went. The first “Christmas Party” was on the next to last day of our vacation.
That was the Halloween Party.
There are no good nights for Christmas Parties this year. We went last night on Tuesday, Dec 5th, one of the ones that was supposed to be the least crowded and it was sold out. One of the cast members told me it has been sold out for every party so far. For example at 6:30pm (30 minutes before the party officially started) there was a 2+ hour wait for the Seven Dwarves and forget trying to get around or find a spot for the shows/parade or fireworks. I have loved the Party in the past but $90 for 2 rides, meeting Santa Goofy, a show, Parade and the fireworks was not simply worth the expense. I don’t think we will be attending again.
Yeah…I’ve touched upon this in a couple of newsletters and Facebook updates, but these parties selling out has really come out of nowhere, especially after so many Halloween Parties did not. I’ll update this post later today to reflect that, as you’re absolutely right.
Pop Warner may be partly to blame for the sellouts in the past week (I checked this past weekend on a non-party day, and the wait for mine train was over 4 hours!), but it is not the whole story because December 17th and 22nd are already sold out as well.
If it reassures people, I’ve been checking my app for wait times every day as part of my planning, and I have seen that the Christmas Party nights still have consistently lower wait times than the non-party nights. Dwarves Mine train has typically been about 30-40 minutes on party nights after 7pm (remember, if you go between 6-7pm, you are still queuing up behind the non-party guests who got in line before 6pm).
Is 7pm the earliest you can get in the park with the se tickets?
You can arrive at 4pm with Christmas Party tickets. You will also be able to reserve fastpasses on the day of your party ticket before 6pm.
2 tkts avail to Mickeys Very Merry Xmas on a least crowded day – Tuesday, 11/28/17! These are extra as 2 family members are not able to go. If you’re wanting 2 tkts for a fantastic event please reply.
We went this week on November 14. We are glad we did however the crowds were crazy and seemed just as busy as the Monday (day before). We watched both parades and even the 11pm on was completely packed. We talked to someone who went on Sunday the 12th and said the crowds were insane as well. I was expecting a little less crowd. I think the extra cost does not really stop people. I would be curious to know how many were there.
Just bought four tickets for Dec. 10th!!! It’ll be my fourth time attending this party, and all my friends first! I think it’s so magical and worth every penny! I hope they will too!
We are also going on December 10th. We have done MNSSHP, but this will be our first Christmas party. Any advice? 🙂
We already bought our tickets for Nov 12 before reading this but I was pleasantly surprised to see the 12th as less busy. I hope so. It will be our first time going.
Us too!! We’ve got 14 of us. All our grandkids first time – 6 of them. We are so excited and can’t wait until 11/12; hoping it’s not overly crowded.
Awesome!! this helped a lot. I have one question. Pop Warner this year is from Dec. 2-9 I was planning on going to the part on Dec. 7th. would this be a good idea or should I wait till the following week? thanks any input would help, this will be my families 1st time to the very merry we normally do the not so scary.
Thanks
I have the same questions. I was planning on going Dec 5th but now that I know Pop Warner is the same week I’m thinking of going Nov 28th. I’d rather go in December and I’m local but I wonder how many of these Pop Warner crowds actually make it out to the park on event nights.
What is Pop Warner? How does it affect Disney? I’m thinking of buying tix for Dec 8th because my husband can’t do the 7th (which id prefer).
Ali. I just saw ur 10/24 comment re possibly attending Mickey very merry on 11/28. I hav 2 xtra tkts avail for that date that I just posted today (11/17). If that date is still on your radar & you need tickets please reply. Patti
Ps Toms blog listed 11/28 as great date.
I have purchased tickets for Tuesday, December 5th. This will be around my 20th visit to Disney, but my very first Christmas Party. My family did a Disney After Hours in January and that was amazing, so my kids want to do the Christmas version. I told them it’ll be much busier than what we experienced at After Hours, but luckily, this isn’t their first trip to Disney, so they will be happy to sit and enjoy the parades, stage show and fireworks and aren’t so concerned about getting on rides.
We’re taking 25 of our family and friends on December 8th. Last year, we went on a Thursday in early December and between 4-7 p.m. the crowd levels were insane. We’ve been to many MVMCP and MNSSHP and they seem to get more crowded every year. I’m hoping we can all make it to midnight as the crowds thin out so much between 10-12 (we mainly go for the rides) and transportation to get out isn’t such a nightmare at midnight (although people are much crankier/impatient). Or a big rainstorm around 8-9 p.m. usually clears the park out quite a bit! I wish we had another option than the 8th, but we’re only there for a long weekend. We’ll make the best of it and split up into smaller groups.
I am definitely in the same boat! my mom and my daughter and i are going that day but i picked it before i knew about the competition going on and it is a NIGHTMARE right now looking for a different hotel, we booked an all star but trying to get something different is proving impossible!!! enjoy that party! maybe we will cross paths!!!
We are thinking of going to the Christmas party on December 17 or 19th. Which date do you think will be less crowded?
We are thinking about getting tickets for November 16th (Thursday) what are the odds that this night won’t be too crazy packed?
I just bought a ticket for the November 28th Mickey’s Very Merry Holiday show before I read your post, So you think that night will be very busy for the event?
We are looking into going to the November 14th party. Do they sell out of tickets? Should we get tickets now or could we wait?
Hey Tom! I was hoping you could give me some of your expert advice! We are going to be in Disney Dec 16-21 (not ideal we know – thanks to all the winter weddings we have to attend). We are looking at MVMCP on either the 17th or 19th. the 17th is cheaper ($95) but on a Sunday. Whereas, the 19th is on a Tuesday, but more expensive ($105) and also one of the last three parties.
Which one do you think we would have better luck with crowds in?
Thanks,
Rebecca
We have 2 options..the first 2 parties of the year..Nov 9th and Nov 10th…can anyone advise which would be the best? They are both a more expensive party ticket…help!
I’m sure it is too late to answer the reason why Sunday will be cheaper is because Magic Kingdom will be less busy. Like the article said you will be contending with the people there for holiday breaks. Lovals will be avoiding Disney this close to Christmas.
How does Disney get the guest out of the park that don’t have tickets once the party starts, we are attending 11/12/17 and people will have been there all day how do they make them leave so that only the people with the Christmas party tickets are left?
crew members check thoroughly for those who do not have a band indicating they purchased tickets for the special event. They have crew members standing in the entrances of each world and all shops and those without bands will literally be herded out of the park. They won’t even allow you to a make a purchase without a band after 7pm.
They do this so efficiently that I was seriously impressed.
I recently visited during one of the ‘not so scary’ party nights and didn’t have a ticket and let me tell you, I felt like I was being quarantined. There was no way anyone could have stayed behind without having had a band. Even the cleaners in the bathrooms were weeding people out.
If you do decide to stay past 7pm on an event night, you are told to go the city hall where a ticket/band can be purchased but they are almost always sold out.
Hope this helped as this was one of my main questions before experiencing it myself.
Im on a budget so is it doable to do very merry xmas at disney world in 1 night? Or should i really consider 2 nights. Im flying from NY for 3 days and was hoping to squeeze in as much as possible
I was able to get a ticket for November 16th. I got a discounted one since I work for Mickey. Excited to go because this is my first year going, will become a yearly occurrence.