Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party: 2018 Photo Report
I attended Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party on November 15, 2018, and thought I’d share a recap of Magic Kingdom’s hard ticket special event, covering my thoughts, observations, and experiences–plus over 50 new photos from this year’s holiday party at Walt Disney World.
If you’re looking for step-by-step strategy, consult our Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Tips post instead. Basically, this is a trip report…but for just the Christmas Party. Like our other trip reports, this won’t get down to the brass tacks those of you trying to quickly plan might be looking for. It’ll be rambling, anecdotal, and sometimes off-topic. Sort of like vicariously experiencing the event for those of you who are not attending this year, or who are going later and want more of a ‘real world’ take on how things happened.
In addition to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, we spent the weekend doing ‘holiday stuff’ at Walt Disney World (and will continue to do so this week), and should have a lot more new and updated Christmas posts in the near future, so stay tuned to the front page of the blog.
The biggest difference in my experience at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party this year was going without Sarah. We were debating between a handful of dates, half-procrastinating on buying tickets, half waiting to see if any of our dates sold out, when a very generous reader contacted us and offered to give us tickets that she and her husband couldn’t use.
We took her up on the offer, but since that party isn’t until a bit later in the season and I “need” new Christmas photos (heavy air quotes there), we decided it’d make sense for me to attend an earlier party. However, since a single ticket was $94 after discount, we both thought that maybe I should just go alone.
In previous years, we’ve attended (and paid for!) as many as 3 parties in a single calendar year. Those were the days when full price party tickets were under $50 each, and crowds were nonexistent. Unfortunately, those days are long gone, and it’s now pretty difficult to justify buying tickets for a single party.
I’m debating whether to do another of these Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party reports from the one we attend together. It’ll likely hinge on whether I have photos to share and anything new to say. To that end, if you have any questions, things you’d like to see us cover, etc., please mention it in the comments. We love Christmas and I’m all for any excuse to do more posts about it, so please help me help you.
Upon entering Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, I headed down the parade crowd flow corridor, which had some photo ops, and the first of the evening’s free cookies.
The cookie was hard and didn’t taste very good, but I ate the entire thing on my way to Cosmic Ray’s “by accident” because I was so hungry.
The “plus” side (again, heavy air quotes) of attending MVMCP alone is that when you order something like the Holiday Burger at Cosmic Ray’s and spend 5 minutes photographing this culinary mutant from every angle right in front of Sonny Eclipse, everyone takes note of how cool you are.
Not that I don’t do plenty of the awkward things you see on the blog by myself, but a lot of times I make a point of having Sarah with me. With character dance party photos, for example, there’s a certain “safety in numbers” kinda deal. As a couple, we’re just a bumbling duo that can’t really dance, and is probably there for photos of characters. By myself, I’m a weirdo with a giant camera possibly trying to take photos of their kids because why would anyone want pictures of that Coca-Cola Polar Bear knock-off?! (But more on that later…)
But I digress. Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party started fairly uneventfully. After eating the Holiday Burger (and living to tell about it), it was still only like 5:30 p.m., so I made the rounds and took some sunset photos. It was an exceptional sunset, but that’s not really relevant to the event.
Following that, it was Main Street Bakery time for some Starbucks and the Yule Log. This was probably the longest line I had seen in Magic Kingdom thus far, which was otherwise pretty quiet. (With regard to the Yule Log, we’ll have a full post on Christmas desserts soon.)
I mostly just wandered around from then until the official start of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. I watched the lighting of the Cinderella Castle Dream Lights from a distance, took some photos in Tomorrowland, and checked out the character lines in Fantasyland.
Normally, we would line up for one of these meet & greets, but since it was just me, I opted to skip them. Thankfully, I might add, as the lines were really long.
Once the party officially kicked off at 7 p.m., I headed to Frontierland to see the Country Bears and watch the Reindeer Wranglers perform.
This live band, which performs during both the Halloween and Christmas parties, and the Country Bears are two of my favorite things about MVMCP.
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party immediately got off to a great start, as I was able to experience both of those things simultaneously.
It was hilarious watching Shaker and Wendell really getting into the dancing, playing air guitar and really busting some moves. This also got the crowd into it, most of whom probably wondered which Disney movie those crazy bears are from.
I also managed to get some glamour shots of a few of the Country Bears. As we’ve mentioned countless times elsewhere, the Country Bears offer the best interactions of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
I know many of you will assume I’m biased, but I swear to you I’m setting that aside here. If you’re looking for character interactions, what you’ll find in Frontierland with 0 wait is 1000% better than what you’ll have with the Seven Dwarfs with a two-hour wait.
If you simply know the names of the Country Bears, they will shower you with attention. You may not get the best photos of it thanks to the lighting outside in Frontierland (I’d recommend doing video instead of photos if you’re using a phone), but it’s so much more fun–and again, with no wait.
After watching their set and goofing around with the bears for a bit, I headed to Main Street to camp out for the first parade. Unfortunately, my favorite spot for Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade was reserved for media.
One of the other reasons we had waited to purchase MVMCP tickets was to avoid media day. It’s not that they add to the crowds or otherwise bother me, it’s that several of my favorite photo spots are roped off for the entire event on these days.
It’s bad enough that regular paying guests already have to work around the barrage of upcharge parties within the party and other reserved seating for the best views. Having even more of those unpredictably roped off is frustrating.
I completely understand and appreciate why Walt Disney World does it–media then have a glowing impression of the event because they didn’t encounter any of the friction encountered by regular guests like crowds, lines, or “paying for it.”
While standing in my alternate location, a family showed me the above picture of myself from our MVMCP Tips post and asked if it was me.
There’s a lot wrong with that goofy photo, but the worst thing is that I was wearing the exact same shirt for this party. As I was getting ready, I asked Sarah if she thought I had worn that shirt for the party before, and her response was, “I don’t think so, but maybe…it’s your Christmas shirt.”
So to that family, or anyone else aghast that I’d dare wear the same outfit to a subsequent Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (especially when seemingly everyone else makes a concerted effort to dress ‘cute’), you have my sincere apologies.
I also apologize to anyone I met if I was awkward or inept. “Friendly conversationalist” is one of the roles Sarah fills and the wheels can fall off fast if I’m forced to fend for myself.
After the parade (I’ve lumped all photos from both parades together on page 2), I headed to Club Tinsel, as one of my priorities for this party was getting photos of the dancing polar bears. I have no clue what, if anything, they’re based upon, but they remind me of bootleg Coca-Cola polar bears.
This really amuses me because Cosmic Ray’s is sponsored by Coca-Cola; why not make a deal with Coke to use the real thing? They might as well also add a vending cart selling half-price cans of Sam’s Cola while they’re at it.
My odd excitement about photographing these knock-off polar bears slowly subsided as they would never pose for me. Look, I get that this is a dance party and the concept is ineffective if everyone is just stopping for selfies and they do a prolonged photo shoot with some middle-aged dude brandishing a DSLR. However, there were double the number of characters on the dance floor that there were humans (none of whom were dancing, I might add).
These dumb bears were going out of their way to not have their photo taken, and while a rational person probably would’ve given up and moved along at that point, I did not. Already having passed the point of awkwardness, I dug in, waiting for a bear to turn and make unintentional eye contact with my camera. That never really happened, but at least I have 56 ‘candid’ photos of them. You may have won this round, bootleg Coke bears, but the war is far from over.
My series of unfortunate events continued, as I headed to Pinocchio Village Haus (the best spot for refreshments) only to find they were completely out of the Peppermint Crunch cookies.
If you read our Moonlight Magic Trip Report from earlier this year, you know that I’m a big fan of these cookies. Although I probably ate my weight in these cookies and didn’t ever need to consume another one after that event, I was nonetheless disappointed that Pinocchio Village Haus had run out.
Around this point, it was time for fireworks.
To be honest, photos of Holiday Wishes don’t look much different than “regular” fireworks, save for a couple of scenes–like the snowflakes projected on Cinderella Castle (above).
…or the ‘O Christmas Tree’ scene (above), which is one of my favorites.
This also demonstrates the extreme cropping powers of the Nikon D850. The first photo is cropped to a modest degree, with the second photo cropped significantly. Yet, in this version you definitely cannot tell, and even in the full size version, it’s not readily apparent.
Prior to settling on this spot, I had raced up and down Main Street, trying to figure out from where I should shoot Holiday Wishes. It was more crowded than I had anticipated, and spots farther up Main Street were taken, leaving me with something either off-center, or in the middle of Main Street.
Having a “brilliant” idea, I decided to double down on the poor location and go nearly to the end of Main Street. Almost no one was standing here…for good reason, as it’s a bad spot. It worked for me because I planned on shooting most of the show from here, and then racing back to the Christmas tree for the grand finale with perimeter bursts. It would’ve worked, too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids!
…Err, meddling kicks. No one was also at this spot, and I got my camera/lens switched and tripod set up just in time for the perimeter bursts in the finale. All was going perfectly, until I stepped back and kicked my tripod over…
Luckily, I did catch it and was able to get everything back into position for a couple of shots after the above one. In retrospect, this was overzealous and a dumb idea.
Even if it had gone perfectly, I wasn’t able to fully enjoy Holiday Wishes’ finale, which is one of my favorite ‘moments’ of MVMCP. For the next party, I might just put down the camera completely; it’s not like I have a shortage of Walt Disney World fireworks photos.
Tom, the looks on my grandson’s faces when they first attended the parade at age four, and caught sight of Mickey at the beginning, and Santa at the end, made whatever price we paid for those two parties (9 and 6 years ago) worth every cent.
My wife and I have attended as a couple the past two years, and while the parade didn’t make me feel like a four-year old again, it definitely made me feel less than 10. I wore my “Chip” hat, and the attention that hat drew from characters in the parade, and the elation I felt as a result, once again made it worth every cent. We have our tickets for the December 2nd party, and are very much looking forward to it.
Hi Tom. We were there the same night. We arrived around four and stayed till closing. Not many places giving out the cookies. Also long lines. Crowds were crazy.
We also went Tuesday night. Arrived at the same time. A little less crowded. Able to watch parade without being packed in.
I like going for the parties as it makes it more festive. Not really sure if it is worth it though.
Hope you enjoy your next party.
Great job on the photos although its a hard pill to swallow to see “Text Me Merry Christmas” photo since I loathe that portion of the show. The subsequent photo of Chip & Dale plus Pinocchio in Christmas attire put me in a good mood. I also loved the Country Bear photos. Last time I was at the party a couple of years ago, I had a blast hanging out with the Country Bears. I am glad Disney has been utilizing them daily at the parks. Too bad Sonny Eclipse didnt wear a nice Christmas sweater.
I like the 2012 photo appearance since that was my favorite version when Duffy was still around and Frozen & Wreck it Ralph weren’t constantly shoved in our faces all the time.
December 16th my husband & I are going for the first time to the Christmas party & we’re very excited. We tried getting the passes for the dessert party in Tomorrowland to watch the fireworks but it was sold out. We made the decision to book Tony’s Trattoria. They do a “party” but offer prime seating for the parade. Everything I’ve been reading lately says how awesome the parade is, so it seems like we actually lucked out.
“I cannot say all of this is “worth it” from any objective perspective”
This reminds me of a quote i have on my desk.
“I have long since given up on trying to financially justify owning any airplane, new or used. I own one because i can and i enjoy it – end of discussion!” author unknown
Hi Tom! I went to MNSSHP in September and it was amazing. There were practically no crowds and the entertainment was great. No more than 30 minute waits for headers like seven dwarves and space mountain. My question is this: Is the Christmas party similar to this, or should we skip it? If you don’t think the crowds will be low like this, then I’m definitely not spending $100 per person to watch a beautiful parade blocked by heads.
Thanks so much!
Great post and love all the pics Tom. I noticed you used both your Nikon D750 and D850 this trip. I suppose you don’t have a choice when quickly switching between lenses during the parade, but what happened to going lighter with the mirrorless? It seems your trending in the opposite direction with your shift to entertainment photography.
We went opening night. It was unseasonable warm and it was VERY crowded. I did enjoy the parades and fireworks and loved the atmosphere. That being said:
, The lines to see the characters were uunbelievable long. People started to line up for The Seven Dwarfs at 4:00. They closed the line down at 10:45 and the last person in line was seen at midnight. Disney really does need to do a better job with the meet and greets for events. I will say that the employees at the meet and greeet need some Pixie Dust sprinkled on them, they sure weren’t having a magical time.
I also feel that Disney needs to tell how many tickets they plan to sell and let you as a consumer know upfront so you can make an informed decision whether you want to spend that money and deal with the number of people, the double strollers and scooters every time you turn around. We were lucky they did not run out of any cookies,chocolate or pretzels on opening night. Shame on them to run out, no excuse, they know how many tickets are sold.
I will say I did like that in some areas strollers and scooters were told to move to the right to get snacks and that sure helped move the line. Disney
Hi Tom. I’ve always wanted to be there for the Kiss Goodnight. Did they do it at the end of the party?
Thanks , as always for your excellent and hilarious report!
I’m looking for a game plan/ tour plan to see all the entertainment and parades systematically- what makes the most sense to do when?
Thanks!!
Would your recommendation change for someone not buying multi-day park passes? We went on a trip in October and got 5 day PH+ tickets because it was the best deal (we probably could have gotten away with 3 day tickets but I was interested in seeing the evening entertainment at all 4 parks. In the end we did Illuminations twice, Happily Ever After, and the AK show). We found that was way more park time than we really needed. So the idea came up with was to come back in a year or two for a short trip during the Christmas season and just get a ticket for MVMCP and then do other non-park things like visit resorts to see Christmas decorations, brunch at California Grill (Which we missed out on last time), and maybe a meal at AK lodge. Plus other Orlando-area attractions.
To be honest MK was probably our least favorite park due to the crowds, and I’m not sure if this plan makes total sense based on your discussion about everyone being in the same area. Maybe if we plan to do a Tuesday party? I have plenty of time to decide since I won’t be going til 2019 or 2020.
My husband and I have gone every year and enjoy MVMCP. I was hesitant to go this year as the ticket price increased yet again and we are doing a full week at WDW in February 2019. But Christmas is a sentimental time and you are right, they certainly do holiday spirit really well. So we are going Dec 9. Hopefully crowds won’t be crushing.
One complaint I have from last year’s parade was the level of inconsideration amongst the attendees. Young childless adults had no problem jumping in front of families who had staked out their viewing place in advance. One little girl was nearly knocked over by a foursome of early 20-somethings. People jammed into the roped off areas at the last minute and the Cast Members allowed it. I felt badly for the families with children. My husband held a a 5-yr old grandchild of a couple during the parade just so she could see it safely. Her grandparents had been rudely pushed back after waiting over an hour. The holidays spirit apparently did not transcend to some attendees.
I will be attending my very first MVMCP on December 9th, as well! Though we are childless adults, I promise we are respectful and considerate of families and people who waited longer than us.
I’m heading to the party next week with husband and no kids, yay for me. I too promise not to bowl any kids down but if I’ve waited over an hour for my spot up front, I am not turning into someone’s personal babysitter while the parents are 3 rows back. WE all have to make the effort to go early to get the good spots. Yes it’s boring to wait but if it’s what you want then deal with it. Just my 2 cents
You are so correct about the rude folks. We were in a spot an hour prior to the parade. We had people nudging in front of us & to top that off they had those giant balloons to block any possibility of seeing around just a head. We were very disappointed. Just too many people & not enough viewing curb space.
I can’t believe you wrote that. The same thing happened to us. We were a group of 2 adults and one six-year-old grandson. We arrived in front of the castle 45 minutes ahead of time of the start of parade. we put or stroller along the curb side in a sideways position so one adult person plus my grandson can sit in front of the stroller during the parade. I stood next to the stroller on the curb saving my spot next to stroller. The one adult and grandson walked in front of castle to watch Xmas show while I stood next to sideways stroller. Just as the castle show ended and minutes before the adult and six year old came back a group of five 20 something years old came up off the street pushing my stroller over and knocked me – a 62 year old grandmother backwards really hard. I tried being nice and said excuse me we have been here for 45 minutes and you just knocked me and the stroller over. They replied sorry but we are here to watch parade. I told them to go in back of us as we were already here. The girl said too bad. No we are here. Well, being from NY I don’t put up with that. Although I never really say foul words I did that night. I told them get the “f” in back of me or I will knock you on your “a..”. She said with a nasty voice they were not moving. The family next to me stood up and the father was going to help but I put my hand up for him to wait. I stepped in the street in front of the young men standing in front of my knocked down stroller and then went up on the curb and pushed them back. I said sorry, I lost my balance. Then I put the stroller back along the curb. Now I went back into the street and stood in front of the two women. I then stepped up on the curb saying sorry while I pushed them back and said I am watching the parade from the curb so sorry. The one guy turned to his friends and said let’s get out of here. Everyone around me clapped and cheered as they left!!! Actually there should have been more security walking and patrolling so they could of handled the situation.
This was such a funny post. Thank you! Keep up the great work – can’t wait for the next report.
MVMCP is the biggest “up in the air” part of our planning & budgeting for our trip next year. We’ve been (im)patiently waiting for our favorite bloggers & vloggers to put their posts up, & sadly, from what I’m seeing, our early December 2019 trip is likely not to include this party. As you’ve said the heavy crowds & higher ticket prices are a big turn off, especially since it’s hard to justify spending an additional $500 (in our family of 5’s case) to get jostled by the crowds & possibly put my kids in an unsafe (or as “unsafe” as it can be by Disney standards) situation just to see a few characters in holiday finery & eat a couple of mediocre “free” snacks. My holiday sentimentality can only go so far. I think we’ll just ADR a Holiday Dine @ Hollywood & Vine meal, and enjoy all the regular holiday decor & shows at the parks unless Disney comes up with something totally spectacular for next year.
We went for the first time on opening night, November 8th. That night was sold out of course, and the weather was ridiculously warm (it had been all week, but tempeartures peaked that Thursday). And while I don’t have any experience from past parties to compare attendance levels to, the event felt very crowded – even on attractions. Areas like Main Street (where the magic of Christmas truly shines!) were overly congested all evening. It was nice to take in the party once as an experience, but I would much rather attend during the day when crowds are low and people choose to go on a non-party day. Two notes: The first was that I was amazed to see people gaining entry to the park early in the afternoon (presumably on a single day/park ticket), and becoming angry upon learning that it would close at 6 pm. The second is kind of a tip, but if you watch the Christmas parade in Frontier Land right when it starts, you can move on and do other other things when it concludes. Main Street is totally the ‘it’ place to watch the parade of course, but there is a ton of down-time (and bad filler entertainment) waiting for it to finally arrive there.
We will be there opening weekend Nov 2019. Were you bothered by the roped off media areas? Or were that not too noticeable?
Also does anyone happen to know if BOTH of the first 2 nights are “media” nights? Or is it just the very first night.
Great report! Did you get a chance to check out any ride wait times? Just curious as to how they compare to earlier in the day?
We were there on Friday 11/9, which was a sold out party. We do NOT go for meet and greets or to see the parades and stuff, we focus on riding the rides with lower waits. Main Street and the hub were MOBBED and the crowds were easily double from the last party we went to in 2015. The lines for the free treats were ridiculously long. That being said, the majority of rides we went on were walk-ons so for us it was TOTALLY worth it. As walk-ons we did:
Haunted Mansion 2x
Pirates of the Carribbean 2x
Splash Mountain 4x
People Mover
Aladdin’s carpets
Jingle Cruise
Winnie the Pooh
Small World
Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor
Swiss Family tree house
We waited for:
The longest wait we had was for 7DMT at @11:30 pm we waited 25 minutes
Buzz Light year @10 minutes (2x)
Tomorrowland Speedway @10 min
And we did 7DMT and Peter Pan with fast passes before the party. We also, unexpectedly, got to watch the second parade in Frontierland which was pretty great.
Hey Jill,
Thanks for this. We are going to be focusing on Rides as well. We’ve done the Halloween party twice, and know the insanity of the character meet and greets and Main Street as well.
KPM
Now they upcharge once inside the event? What did they upcharge for?
These used to be great with almost no lines but I’m glad I took my kids to them in the past. I can’t see paying $100/person for only 8 rushed hours of crowded Christmas.
As usual the Disney Greed Grinch seems to have stolen Christmas now!
Hi Tom,
Love your blog and have been following it for almost a year. I can FINALLY say we are taking our first trip to WDW next week and will be at the MVMCP on 11/29. Any idea when Moana actually starts her meet at the Tiki room, or if you noticed what time people were lining up for her? Thanks!
Sorry, but I barely even stepped foot in Adventureland this party. I’ll make a point of spending more time there during the next one and will report back!
Thank you!
We met Moana at the Halloween party, not sure what time she starts but we got there around 8:30 and waited about 20 minutes. (Which I thought was pretty good) She does spend a good amount of time with people.
2,000+ photos in a single evening. Wow. I sometimes struggle to pare/edit 1/4-1/3 that many photos. I admire your fortitue (and presumably streamlined workflow)!
For what it’s worth, over half of those are from the two parades. When shooting those, it’s mostly just a ‘dial in the settings, aim the camera, hold down the shutter, and hope for the best’ kinda situation.
And usually, if I’m lucky, “the best” means about 5% of whatever I shot during the parade is usable.
Very good post Mr. Bricker. I enjoy your writing and your photos. I’ve put several of your fireworks tips into practice. I do miss your direct posts on Flickr as the settings info was helpful as opposed to just the “posted from Instagram” tag.
I’m attending a MVMCP party soon maybe I’ll bump into you one day and we can share a some awakened conversation! Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for the posts!
You’re not the only one who misses Flickr. I far preferred the sense of community there, as well as the actual usability of the site. Instagram was developed for mobile, and it shows. Unfortunately, that’s where everyone is now, so that’s where I primarily post photos.
Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!