Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party: 2019 Rainy Day Report
This rainy day report offers a recap of our experience at the first 2019 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. In it, we share commentary and dozens of new photos from this year’s holiday party at Walt Disney World. Before we even get started, we’ll preface this by saying it was an incredibly wet night–a downright “Disney Deluge” you might say–and consequently, this report is a bit incomplete.
If you’re looking for background info about the event, strategy for seeing as much as possible, or even addressing the threshold question of whether MVMCP is worth the money, consult our 2019 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Info & Tips post. We’ve already updated that following our experience at the first party night of 2019.
Essentially, this is run-through of our evening at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party–like a trip report except for only the special event. It’ll be rambling, anecdotal, and sometimes off-topic. Moreover, since we didn’t do everything during the MVMCP we attended, it’s incomplete and non-exhaustive from an advice and planning perspective…
In addition to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, we spent the weekend doing as much new ‘seasonal stuff’ at Walt Disney World as possible. We’ve already covered the Animal Kingdom’s Awesome Christmas Additions. Aside from Epcot and some of the resorts, the Christmas season is already in full swing at Walt Disney World. As such, we’ll have many new and updated Christmas posts in the near future, so stay tuned for that if you’re hyped on the holidays!
On that note, a quick plug before we get started: I’ve been working on our free 2019 Walt Disney World Christmas eBook, which is out now! It’s 100 pages with 200+ photos and tons of great tips & info for the holiday season at Walt Disney World. For more details on how to get this totally-free ebook, click here.
This Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party was a roller coaster of emotions for us. Never ones to pass up a chance on procrastinating, it sold out before we purchased tickets. This caused a mild freak-out, as the first night is literally the only one of the next several that we’d be able to attend. Fortunately, a friend came through in the clutch and was able to get us tickets.
After that, disappointment shifted back to excitement, especially as we watched the local news. The words “cold front” kept being thrown around for Friday. It sounded like rather than being hot and humid, the first Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party would offer sweater weather!
Then came the news of scattered showers. That would’ve been a downer, but if we’re being honest, we totally ignored that. The words “scattered showers” don’t catch our attention as much as “cold front.” The latter is about as rare as a unicorn, whereas the former is about as common as lovebugs in May. I didn’t even bring an umbrella to Magic Kingdom.
Of course, in hindsight this turned out to be a colossal mistake and oversight. This was not a passing afternoon shower, which was what appeared to be originally forecast. Instead, it was basically a drizzle cloud (scientific term) that parked over Magic Kingdom for the entirety of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Throughout the night, it opened and closed its valve (more science) to release precipitation of varying degrees of intensity.
Our day at Magic Kingdom actually began well before the party, as we sought to eat all of the new Christmas desserts. (See our Best & Worst Christmas Snacks at Magic Kingdom for the highs and lows of this endeavor.)
After eating our way around Magic Kingdom, we ended up in the hub shortly before A Frozen Holiday Wish, which was absolutely chaotic. We quickly left, taking a comparatively quiet vantage along the bridge to Tomorrowland:
If you don’t care about seeing the performers on stage, this is definitely a good alternative viewing option. You can see the projection mapping, castle lighting, and pyro at the end. Plus, the angle for photos is better.
We started our night at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party by heading back to Storybook Circus to meet Donald Duck & Scrooge McDuck, plus Daisy Duck & Minnie Mouse. These characters have moved inside under the big top of the Dumbo interactive queue, so now you get four characters while only waiting in one line.
The line was predictably long, but we raced back here right after A Frozen Holiday Wish, so we beat most of the crowd.
All told, I think we waited just under an hour for these 4 characters. That’s not terrible when considering that half of that time was before MVMCP even started.
I’m guessing we could’ve trimmed that down even further later in the night, but we’d rather spend more “normal day” time in Magic Kingdom than waste valuable party time. YMMV.
After that, it was off to Tomorrowland, which is home to the biggest additions of the 2019 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. There, you’ll find what we’ve dubbed the Totally Tinsel Tomorrowland Trio.
This consists of overlays to Tomorrowland Speedway, Space Mountain, and Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. The latter two have done overlays for different events–we really enjoyed the Monster World Halloween overlay, whereas the past Space Mountain “overlays” at Magic Kingdom have been unequivocally bad.
During this Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, we only had a chance to ride Tomorrowland Speedway. There isn’t an official name for this overlay (to my knowledge), but I did read an interview with one of the overlay’s designers who referred to it as Tomorrowland Speedway: Race Through the Holidays. That has a nice ring to it, so we’ll go with that.
I love the idea of Tomorrowland Speedway: Race Through the Holidays. In commentary for the announcement, I described what I envisioned for this overlay: “In my dream scenario, this is like a drive-through version of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, albeit scaled back considerably. Canopies of lights overhead, spinning globes, giant trees, and of course, Baby Sinclair.”
Unfortunately, everything in the second sentence is missing entirely (including the unconscionable omission of Baby Sinclair), but the first sentence nicely encapsulates Tomorrowland Speedway: Race Through the Holidays. It’s probably a bit more sparse than I’d like, but it’s still good.
In fact, Tomorrowland Speedway: Race Through the Holidays exceeded my expectations in terms of design. A lot of the props and lighting enhancements appear to be custom-made, and have a beautiful mid-century modern style to them. I figured these would be mostly off the shelf additions, so it’s nice to see some truly eye-catching stuff.
This approach makes sense, as having scenes with focal points helps carry the Tomorrowland Speedway: Race Through the Holidays overlay in areas where the lighting is more sparse. Around every turn, your eye is drawn to something new, and the final result is something that feels mostly complete. It’s a solid showing, and instantly the best party overlay for any Walt Disney World attraction. (Not that the bar was super high before.)
With that said, Race Through the Holidays has room for improvement. To draw a comparison, it’s not as comprehensive as the Villains Grove overlay of Redwood Creek Challenge Trail that Disney California Adventure did for Halloween. Villains Grove used a variety of projections and unique lighting effects so that almost every inch of Redwood Creek had new and mesmerizing lighting. It’d be cool to see some of that tech ported to Florida as Walt Disney World iterates on this overlay for next year.
However, the bigger problem with Tomorrowland Speedway: Race Through the Holidays isn’t the overlay–it’s Tomorrowland Speedway. I only ride this attraction when absolutely “necessary” and I’m reminded of why that is every time I do. There’s nothing futuristic about these stinky, headache-inducing vehicles. Their noise and smell definitely puts a damper on the holiday overlay.
In fact, we actually enjoyed watching Tomorrowland Speedway: Race Through the Holidays while devouring a Christmas Cookie Sundae from Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies under the covered tables near the Speedway than we did riding it. From this spot, we had a great view of our favorite decorations, and were directly under a speaker playing the ride’s music.
Speaking of which, I’m about 75% sure the Tomorrowland Speedway: Race Through the Holidays ride music is the Tokyo Disneyland Tomorrowland Christmas Background Music. That’s one of my favorite loops, and I really hope Walt Disney World completes the effect next year by doing dancing lights projected onto the roof of Space Mountain.
We’re looking forward to doing the holiday editions of both Space Mountain and Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor next time.
Unfortunately, the wait for Space Mountain was prohibitively long early in the event. By the time all of the waits dropped later in the night due to hours of the Disney Deluge, we were ready to just get out of there. Next time.
Assuming one of the other two overlays is good (my money is on Monsters), that means the Totally Tinsel Tomorrowland Trio is batting .667. Throw the criminally underrated A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas into the mix, and this is the unexpected powerhouse land of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. (Well, aside from Main Street.)
Sounds like WDW is horribly overselling this event to the point of mass overcrowding and resulting in a frustrating night!
You give such great reviews and advice on your site. I would like a search feature, which I don’t think you have, to look up any particular subject about Disney that you have covered before.
Gary A.
Hi Tom! Love your blog! Thanks for all your helpful info. We have an ADR for Tony’s at 4:00 and also tickets to the party. Two questions…1) You think I can grab our wristbands right before this? 2) Are Jack and Sally there again? My plan is to get in line to see them right after our dinner. Is 5:00 a good strategy time for that? Will they let us line up that early? Any help/advice would be appreciated. I guess that’s 4 questions
We did the party last night and the new fireworks show is incredible!! The show is focused heavily on the fireworks and the projections were basically just fluff. The show doesn’t give you the same “tug at your heartstrings” feelings that Happily Ever After does, but the fireworks themselves were the biggest/best I’ve ever seen. I’m normally not a huge fireworks person, but these impressed me.
Also, the Space Mountain overlay was different and neat. It wasn’t terribly festive, but they had red and green lasers all over the ride. It wasn’t overly bright, but you could actually see the tracks and other cars. Being able to see a bit made the ride feel different and the novelty of it was pretty fun.
We were there at the party on the 8th, and despite the rain had an awesome time! By chance we watched the fireworks from the carousel/mine train area & had a great view….probably because they were so close to our heads. We saw the first parade & Elsa light the castle both of which were great. A little tip I’ll reiterate- fast passes from 4-6 got us quickly through the only lines of the night – try it! One complaint was the free treats. Other than the welcome cookie my family agreed they stunk.
We booked our holiday from the UK to include the Mickey Christmas Party as we had heard such great reports about it. However it was such a disappointment. We totally get that Disney can’t control the weather, but to me the magic of Disney was absent. The crowds were horrific, the lines for the rides as long as a normal day in the park and the queues for the treats was unreal !
Felt like Disney had turned into Scrooge looking to make more dollars from guests than creating a magical experience.
Didn’t see any photographers around the park either except with characters.
We also were there on Nov 8th! Most miserable night ever!!! No Holiday show on stage, fireworks were a complete bust because of torrential downpour, smoke and clouds! Yes we watched the parade and it was only slightly raining, but not worth the money we paid for the evening. Purchased tickets in advance because this party was literally the reason we went to Disney in the first place and didn’t want to take the chance of it being sold out. We have done the Halloween party several times and once in the rain. The weather report was accurate and the night progressed as it was predicted. My thoughts are that it should have been canceled and money refunded but Disney isn’t going to do that . Let’s just put a parade on and mix that with sub par fireworks so that they didn’t have to refund all that money. Disney is no longer about a magical experience but all about making money ! By the way, it was my 10th trip and the last 3 or 4 trips have gone down hill consistently. It will be a long time if ever I spend thousands of dollars going again!! No Joke, if I even start thinking of it , I need only think about this recent trip. In my opinion, Disney is no longer Walts vision, but of how much money they can make !! The prices are outrageous on any level and leaves me to wonder how families can even afford it anymore. I know that as a family of 5 , I paid 8000.00 and am left with a bad taste in my mouth after this trip. Customer service no longer exists in Disney. Done
We were there too in the rain. We scheduled a long week so we started with Halloween and ended with Christmas. The rain was the downer. The forecast was off -some scattered showers with steady rain after eleven was predicted, but for the most part rain started by 9:30. And got worse. People steamed out during the fireworks. We ended up with great location but even my group, without me, left early. Much of the big explosions were completely invisible in fog and rain and it immediately got worse when the smoke settled in and failed to move. My group could not stand the smell and allergic reaction to the trapped smoke. And then at the end I was towards the front but the push down Main Street was almost dangerous. People just wanted out of rain ASAP. I got to the first store entrance where my group was waiting at the other end and the store was so packed that you could have walked off with merchandise and no one could stop you. The floor was so wet we were splashing through the store for the most part. I’m sure Disney took a big hit for cleaning shoplifting, damaged merchandise, and lost sales since you could not get to a register if you wanted too.
I do think Disney missed an opportunity. A total refund is a lot to ask for when weather is not in their control, but a credit for future use or a great coupon for merchandise or a free-in for another Christmas show would have acknowledged that we all got screwed by the weather. And they of course did not announce the shortened or cancellation schedule so anyone who stayed around for the second parade lost big time. And of course they could have anticipated the weather somewhat and been prepared at front door with a special coupon for future use. Most of us realize that a super good coupon still makes them money if designed correctly. Might even entice someone to make an additional trip and spend a ton more that now won’t happen. So I’m not totally bummed on Disney but as a small shareholder just disappointed that they did not do better.
We just came back from the Christmas party. It started raining and it has not stopped. We are staying in Disney Springs and we are soaked. Literally we have our shoes sitting in the bathroom hoping to dry them out. They were canceling events like the parade because of inclement weather. We spend a lot on these Disney vacations and this is our 17th visit to WDW. We have been to California 5 times. And even went to Disneyland Paris in 2018. This is our 4th Christmas party. Disney should really refund or give a partial refund to the customers when rain washes the event out. We are sitting in our room with the heat on 81. Very disappointed. We could have went to Europe with what we spent on this trip. It will be a long time before we come back.
We walked around until we were kicked out for not having a wristband since we didnt land any tickets. The decorations were beautiful and what we saw in the park was awesome. We watched fireworks from California grill, this is the worst I had seen the fireworks from there or the comparable top of the world lounge.
While it seems the weather made the evening wet and disappointing, the rainy night photos are absolutely gorgeous!!
Hi Tom
Your photo’s are outstanding all the reflection from the rain worked well. I felt like I was briefly there!
You can enter at 4 pm
I’m hoping to ride most of the rides open during the Party. I won’t be able to get any FastPasses since our three won’t be used at HS prior to the reservation window. How bad are the ride lines, and how likely is it that we’ll get to ride most rides? Anyone’s input appreciated! And, any strategies?
No fast passes are available for the party.
Last year, I took my niece as a birthday present. She was really only interested in getting cookies and riding rides. The list of rides we rode was a mile long. Especially as the night goes on (and the fireworks/parades start), the ride lines get shorter. We rode a ton and stopped to watch part of the fireworks and part of a parade.
Thanks for the info!
Sounds like we’ll have plenty of opportunity for rides. Can’t be more excited.
Now I will be singing “Spirit of the season” all day. And I have to say I love your Country Bear support. Keep it up. We had one year (maybe 06) when it was that Florida drizzle all night, it is just no longer fun. It’s completely different from a summer downpour when it’s 100 degrees out.
Do you have a list for who and where the meet & greets are for MVMCP? Thanks!
My husband, daughter, and I were there. It was a once in a lifetime event for us so we were incredibly disappointed. We didn’t get to see a single show and like you mentioned in your article the fireworks were even a bust. We were about three rows from the front, and five minutes in we literally could not even see the castle due to the smoke and rain. To make matters worse my daughter actually got hit in the head with a firework shell cap! The cast member told us to take it to guest services where we then had to wait in line for over an hour to speak to a guest service member. During this time my husband even had to miss the rainy day calvacade. My daughter and I got to watch from the steps of guest services. When we finally got to speak to someone she offered no apology and didn’t even ask if my daughter was OK. She simply told us to fill out an incident report. What a huge disappointment in Disney. I’ll never go back again
Never realized the problem with fireworks. Two of us still in town were in liberty square Saturday night. But a heavy northeast wind sent smoke right over us and my daughter also hit hit with part if a shell. It was a piece of cardboard about four inches square so no issue but I wonder if any of these are ever still hot or even burning when they land. If so Disney should warn about watching under the smoke cloud as falling debris could be an issue.
The one that hit my daughter was basically like a plastic wiffleball so it did hurt a bit, but she was mostly just frightened
Thank you. This was so informative what to do in the rain. FYI: We always go at Thanksgiving so we have 3 sets of Disney clothes–1) holiday, 2) rain and 3) we froze at Disney (things bought out of necessity while freezing. Each year we’ve been forced to add items). Last year while waiting for HEA a guy in shorts came running up to us yelling “where did you get those blankets” and then literally running to that store !
Thanks again
Lin from Texas
Sounds like a bust! I know you can be philosophical, given that you visit all the time, but I only get to this party every 5-7 years. I would have been pretty disappointed!!
It was a partial bust for sure. Mostly regret for what could have been. And having a costly ticket that was not refundable.
Love the trip reports and man i’ve got to say: THAT SWEATER YOU’RE ROCKING IS AWESOME!!
I watched the fireworks on the blog broadcast and it felt to me like the focus of the show was the fireworks and the projections were more enhancements – unlike Happily Ever After which (to me) is a projection show with some fireworks thrown in. However, it’s hard to tell if that’s really the case because of the smoke/rain. Did you get an impression either way?
That was definitely my impression, as well.
For me, that’s another reason why enhancing Holiday Wishes would’ve been a suitable route, but I understand why creating something totally new (that can be marketed as such) would be Disney’s preferred course of action.
Did I read somewhere something about the week of Christmas and this Very Merry Christmas Party being free? We are visiting 12/21-12/28 and I don’t want to buy the tickets if I don’t have to!
This will be our first time attending MVMCP. How early can you enter the park?
Your party ticket gets you into the park 3 hours before the party’s official start time.