Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party: 2018 Photo Report
The photo above is not from this Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party–it’s from 2012. It’s one of my favorite Once Upon a Christmastime Parade photos, and it’s mostly the result of dumb luck. I used settings that were a compromise between capturing action and landscape photography. No action photographer in their right mind would use what I did there…but it worked!
One of the biggest changes in Disney photography since I started is the focus on entertainment. Back in the heyday of the Flickr community, there were only two popular accounts that revolved around photos of performers, and one was the mother of two well-known princesses.
Today, some of the most popular (and best!) Disney Instagram accounts post photos solely of parades, shows, and meet & greets; some of the most talented photographers take it seriously. I have friends who have assembled their camera bags with an eye towards difficult-to-shoot parades like Boo to You and Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade.
I’ve only recently started to take entertainment photography seriously. It’s not something that previously interested me, but I have a competitive streak. As I’ve shifted my emphasis from the ‘parade landscape’ to the actual characters and performers, I’ve found myself enjoying it more. It’s a fun and engaging type of photography, but also an incredibly challenging and frustrating one.
There are so many moving parts (literally and figuratively) when photographing a parade, and it’s really tough to get the stars to align–just in terms of things that are outside your control. Usually when this does happen, as luck would have it, my camera and lens decide it’s a good time to briefly miss focus. (But don’t worry, I nail focus on every single photo when performers are looking away from the camera, are blinking, or otherwise have ‘drunk’ looks on their faces!)
Anyway, that’s all a long-winded preface to these photos from both parades, in an attempt to explain-away why some of these are mediocre:
The last 90 minutes of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party was the busiest for me, as I raced around trying to accomplish as much as possible as the crowds finally started to subside. This is typical of any hard ticket event–families with small children typically leave after the fireworks, cutting crowds roughly in half.
The mass exodus at this party wasn’t quite what I was expecting, especially given the chillier weather. (Despite me plugging our Winter Packing Guide for Walt Disney World regularly, most Florida tourists overlook the possibility of anything but sunshine and heat.)
I’ll attribute that entirely to in-park announcements made informing guests that the second parade would be less crowded, and that there was “more fun” after the fireworks.
By my count, there were three such announcements, and while they partially quashed my hopes for a ghost town after 11 p.m., they are definitely a savvy move on Disney’s part.
I managed to get a lot done at the end of the party, thanks in part to not camping out at all for the second parade.
Being four rows back definitely hurt my photos, but it allowed me to see some other entertainment and enjoy some of the “free” cookies and hot chocolate at the party.
If Mariah Carey knows about this scene in Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration, I wonder how she feels about it?
The more I see that show, the more I love it. It’s so delightfully tongue-in-cheek, while also featuring some great music and performances. I still don’t like the inclusion of ‘Text Me Merry Christmas’ but it doesn’t bother me as much. I get what they were going for with it, even if I think it pushes things a tad too far.
Otherwise, I don’t really have much to say about any of the entertainment.
Maybe I’ll muster up some additional thoughts for a (potential) second party party report, but this one is already getting pretty long, and I still need to wrap things up with some parting thoughts and random photos from this MVMCP interspersed.
As with the Halloween Party, I’m guessing the attendance cap was raised on Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party this year.
This party was not sold out, yet it felt busier than the last couple of sold out Christmas Parties we’ve attended. I’d hazard a guess that Disney is offering several thousands of additional tickets for the event.
People often point to these seasonal events as having ‘limited attendance,’ which implies that Walt Disney World is artificially capping attendance at lower levels. I’d argue that this misses the point.
These events unquestionably have lower attendance than an average day in Magic Kingdom, but that is out of necessity because of the way guests distribute themselves in the park.
On an average day in Magic Kingdom, most guests at any given moment are either in line for attractions or sitting in restaurants. The number of people on Main Street and in front of Cinderella Castle fluctuates, increasing around the time of parades and fireworks, but is still the minority of guests.
During the holiday parties, fewer guests are choosing to spend time in attractions and restaurants, and more are congregating along the parade route and in the hub/Central Plaza. Raising the attendance cap doesn’t cause guests to redistribute themselves to attractions or restaurants–it causes more to crowd into the same already-packed areas.
Accordingly, there’s only so many tickets Walt Disney World can sell to these events from a guest comfort standpoint. That number can be pushed, but without concerted efforts to change guest behavior, there is a point when “comfort” shifts to “safety” and no more tickets can be sold. (At a couple of Halloween Parties, we’ve witnessed downright unsafe congestion in front of Cinderella Castle after the fireworks and before the stage show/second parade.)
This is where things like those in-park announcements or even the attraction overlays at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party come into play. Getting guests into the lines for Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, and Mad Tea Party is a great way to make Magic Kingdom feel less crowded…or sell more tickets and make it feel just as crowded as before. Ditto these announcements.
Even well after MVMCP ended, there were still a ton of people on Main Street, and a slew of PhotoPass photographers, each with long lines behind them.
The above photo was taken at roughly 1 a.m., and was shot during a relatively uncrowded window. Immediately after this, a bunch more people came towards the end of Main Street, and looked like they were going to be there a while, so I gave up.
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party once again increased in price this year, with most dates now over $100/night. With the AP/DVC discount, my advance purchase price was $94 after tax.
To be totally honest, there is absolutely no way to justify this price from anything but an emotional or sentimental perspective.
It used to be the case that you could point to the lower crowds, special entertainment, included snacks, and festive atmosphere and come up with a compelling argument.
Now, the crowds are heavier (in this case, Magic Kingdom was less crowded the same day prior to the party starting), prices higher, long waits for any of the exclusive entertainment, and upcharges within the event make that a tough sell.
Yet, we keep going and will continue to do so.
There is something about seeing the snow fall on Main Street, marveling at the toy soldiers march in formation, rocking out with Liver Lips & Big Al in Frontierland, eating ‘free’ cookies and hot cocoa until we can’t eat any more, and hearing Jolly Old Saint Nicolas in Fantasyland that just puts a smile on my face.
I cannot say all of this is “worth it” from any objective perspective. I am wholly cognizant of the fact that I have a blind spot for the holiday season, and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, in particular.
Sarah and I have been doing these parties together for over a decade, and some of my best and most vivid memories at Walt Disney World are of the parties.
Doing MVMCP alone was certainly not the best way to make more memories together, but it did make me a bit wistful and nostalgic. As I walked around, I kept being reminded of this or that we had done at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Parties in the past, causing me to chuckle or smile to myself.
For me, this is what makes the Christmas Parties worth attending, and why I can’t imagine missing a year–I love being reminded of old memories and wouldn’t want to pass up the chance to make new ones.
Obviously, this is a very personal reaction, and not everyone is going to have the same sentimentality about the event. I feel like I’ve used this same (or similar) rationale the last few years as a way to justify it.
Honestly, unless something major changes–a huge price spike, major entertainment change, or restructuring of the event–just assume the same holds true every year going forward.
Nevertheless, I think it’s worth mentioning one last time because, at its core, Christmas is a sentimental time of year.
A large part of the holiday is structured around tugging at the heartstrings, and I think this is becoming increasingly true as young people lean into all things Christmas–from the music to the foods to the decidedly bad yet delightful Hallmark Channel movies.
Overall, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party still delivers in all of the ways that matter to us, and we’ll continue to attend every year–even if we cringe at how much we’re paying in the process. If exorbitant prices and heavy crowds are what it takes to get our favorite Walt Disney World Christmas “fix,” then so be it. The party oozes holiday spirit, and it’s this je ne sais quoi quality that will keep us returning year after year even if we cannot justify it from any logical perspective. It should go without saying, but your mileage may vary.
P.S. – I took over 2,000 photos at this Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and did not have time to get post edited for this post. We will have a ton more in our updated (and totally free) Walt Disney World Christmas eBook, which we’ll release Thanksgiving weekend. For more details on how to get this totally-free ebook, click here.
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 Walt Disney World trip planning tips and comprehensive advice, make sure to read our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide and related articles.
Your Thoughts
Have you attended Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Walt Disney World this year? In previous years? Any thoughts of your own to add? Agree or disagree with my assessment of the event? Hearing from you is half the fun, so if you have questions or comments, please share below!
Question regarding cameras…this will be our first year going, and for lots of reasons, may be our only opportunity. I am only just learning my DSLR. I struggle with wanting good pics, but also not wanting to be behind the camera fighting settings all night long. Do you have a post you’d recommend that has photos you have taken with your phone by chance? I’ve been pretty happy with my iPhone photos. Thanks for a great blog! I look forward to getting to read the latest each week!
Speaking of the cookies, just found two left over from MVMCP last year in a popcorn bucket. The look exactly like they did the night I got them.
Now that the cookies are individually wrapped, have you noticed a reduction in quality? We enjoyed the cookies served at the last couple parties we attended. I like that there are a variety of cookies being served now but I’d prefer to pay for fresh. At $100+ per ticket, I’d like Disney quality cookies vs grocery store. Thoughts?
Apparently (and I had this rude awakening last year), the cookies always have been individually wrapped and purchased in bulk from a third party vendor. This is just the first year that Disney is not unwrapping them before serving them.
At one point, maybe they were made in-house, but since switching over to multiple varieties, the cookies have been individually wrapped.
We attended the party for the first time on Nov 12. The crowds were so much better than the night before and we timed our visit to the seven dwarfs for after the fireworks and waited maybe 10 minutes. We appreciated your tips – they were spot-on!
We also attended the 11/15/18 party and didn’t think the crowds were that bad. We arrived at MK shortly after 4pm and loved waiting 10-15min for rides and seeing all the decorations. This was our first MVMCP so I have no comparison to gauge it against but we really enjoyed it. The snack line at Pinocchio was long but it moved fast and we were out of line in less than 10 min and got the peppermint crunch cookie -sorry Tom 😉 I love that cookie now. Glad I brought a ziplock to bring home our extras. For the four of us I don’t think I’d do it every year based on cost but I’d like to definitely go back again. Maybe MNSSHP
Hi! Our photopass photographer bumped into you sometime while you “raced up and down Main Street, trying to figure out from where I should shoot Holiday Wishes.” I tried to say hi and thanks (for your informative blog) after our photo but you had already “raced” away! This was my family’s first MVMCP (your precious posts made me nostalgic for an experience I’ve never had) and I love being festive but it did seem quite crowded and almost hard to enjoy. I was one of the last boats on it’s a small world bc I wanted to take a bunch of empty park photos as we exited through Main Street. It was still so crowded as we were leaving. We couldn’t even watch the first parade bc people were lining up so early. We actually enjoyed the lower park crowds during the day up until 4pm on the earlier party night Tuesday. We got so many things done that we only rode Jingle Cruise at the party. That being said, I’m already on the fence about going back next year. Sorry this got so long winded. Mostly wanted to say hi I saw you while you were busy taking your 2,000 photos and thanks for the blog!
I think part of the problem of the raising prices is that it has become an increasingly well-known “Disney Hack” that people can buy this ticket and attend the MK from 4PM-1AM for a special event which is “less crowded” than an additional day to their ticket which costs almost as much.
For those visiting WDW with a 2 or 3-day base ticket and who add on a day (possibly even their day of arrival) via this method, the party continues to represent great value even with a $100 price tag. For everyone else with park admission covering all days, the value is really poor.
It seems to me that the right thing to do would be to offer a very generous discount – say 50% – to annual passholders. This group is the one getting ripped off here. There’s no reason this couldn’t be a revenue-neutral change.
Of course, with people like Tom willing to pay $95 despite owning an AP, they might have limited motivation to do something so generous – in fact, AP-owning locals and frequent visitors are probably extra-likely to pay, due to becoming “bored” with the parks and being interested in seeing a “new” Magic Kingdom. And I’m sure Disney would argue that by discounting your ticket by $5, they are refunding far more than 1/365th of your A/P cost!
Try being a none resident visitor who has to pay top wack to enter the park and has to try and squeeze in what they can in 2 weeks. We have to pay a lot more for that 2 weeks than an resident pays for a year.
Hello!! I just went to the party last week, and it was so crowded it was not enjoyable. I was devastated. We just wanted to get away from the crowds and we didn’t even ride rides. We should have though as the lines weren’t too bad according to the app. We skipped most food lines of snacks due to their length and I can honestly say I don’t think we will go back. I am obsessed with Christmas, and loved the stage show, but the crowds did me in. Also, Magic Kingdom the day before (non-party day) was so crowded I would have thought it was June. I was under the impression that November before Thanksgiving was slower, but I was so wrong. I could see why you love the party for sure, but I wish disney would have kept the lower number of tickets to make it feel more special.
One of your funnier posts – thanks so much! And my take away is that your absolute happiness depends on Sarah (and maybe peppermint cookies) which is super cute.
My boyfriend is a reindeer Wrangler and I showed him your story! Thanks a million. They do not get alot of recognition none in the program. This is their 2nd year. They do not do Halloween. Different guys. They were Pirates at a different year. He loves Disney and is excited to perform there. A dream come true. Love Acapella group in Tomorrowland and of course the Country Beats. I was single also on my visit. Not too crowded on Veterans Day. Great photos and read
I would really love to take my family to MVMCP. I went in 1996, 2001, 2009,all before I met my husband and had a kid. We plan to foster to adopt in 2 years, so that would make us a family of 4 by then. We so get a military discount, but it still just seems incredibly out of reach to addthat cost to a vacation… and in 3 years, it will likely be over $100/person w/discounts, I’msure.. for sentimental reasons, I’d love to make it happen. But for financial reasons, I doubt it’s possible for most families.
I feel the same about the party. We used to go every year but with the price increases, as a party of 4, it’s too steep for us. We have AP, so it’s hard to justify. I remember way back when we used to get a free family pic included along with the cookies and hot cocoa. These were taken in the area that is now Monsters Inc.
I think the pics of the parade came out great!
Hi Tom, my husband and me attended several of the Christmas parties and at first, it was nice with not too many crowds and the price was manageable. But year after year, it began getting much too crowded, which sort of took away from the magical experience, plus the prices are starting to go through the roof. (It still doesn’t stop the crowds ha ha ha) But now that we have a young toddler girl, it is nice to see the look on her face when she sees all of the characters and the special attractions. Thank you for mentioning visiting The Country Bears because alot of those other characters (Pooh and Tigger) have enormous lines, and many times they will leave before you get a chance to have your picture taken with them. If and when we go this year, we will make sure to visit Frontierland to see those bears with our little one. I know about those Faux Coca Cola bears in Cosmic Rays because during the 2017 MVMCP we ate there and watched them on the dance floor. I think it would be great to just use Olaf and Sven on that dance floor if they want to use the Disney characters that are from cold climates.
I find the faux-lar bears weird, too. I got the opportunity to hear the designer of Coke’s Disney Springs store speak a couple of years ago and he said the arrangement they made to allow their bear to do meet & greets at the store was a first – the only non-Disney character ever to be allowed to do so on property. Seems they could extend that to these party appearances.
We love Disney and MVMCP. We too were there on Nov. 15th. That being said we were not very happy when trying to get a photo with Santa Goofy at the end of the evening and they just got up and left leaving us and and another couple without photos. I could see if it were 12 or after but there was 10 minutes to go. We paid a lot of money for tickets and they could at least stay until midnight. I even tried to get a picture of him but they kept walking and turning around so you could not get a picture.
As an occasional solo traveler, I found your commentary of Sarah being the ‘friendly conversationalist’ hilarious. Hope to see you in the parks in a few weeks!
-Michael