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.)
Well it’s April 15 and we are in a “stay at home” state. YES we did attend the first MVMCP in November 2019 and YES we were soaked. We had 10 in our party, including a 1 yr old, 9 & 10 year old. Some of us tried to stick it out but we really missed out on the majority of the fun of the party. We have attended one in the past and as I’ve read more about it, I feel like we missed 85% of the fun. We were staying an additional 4 days and had I known to ask, we might have been able to attend the Monday night party. What a terrible disappointment.
I’m so surprised to see the Frozen Holiday Wish left out. That was the most magical memory I have from when our daughter was younger. The joy on her face was worth every penny of the Christmas party ticket!
The photos in this post make me crave another “Sarah’s style” post! I want to know what sandals she’s wearing for the rain and how she keeps her hair so un-frizzy in florida 🙂
We were there for the first party. We had ponchos but our wet shoes and the outdoor queues were a misery. I did not like space mountain–all they did was change the stars from white to green and red and add music, and the lights were a bit too bright exposing everything that was meant to stay hidden on that ride. I did like the low wait times which I am sure were aided by the weather but it definitely did not feel festive!
We were in Epcot on the 8th In the rain and saw the “watered down” version of EPCOT Forever which was a disappointment. We were fortunate enough to attend the Christmas party on Nov 12th and had a wonderful time. The crowds were very manageable. We were able to meet all the characters that we had hoped for, including Santa Goofy.
The new fireworks show is incredible! We go every year and sometimes experiment with watching them from various locations such as the Treehouse, Fantasyland and last year with my kids sound asleep at the tables at Sleepy Hollow. This year we found a spot right in the hub and I was so grateful that we did. We stayed in this spot for the second parade and even though we missed the snow , it was Just so beautiful seeing the characters and floats with the illuminated castle as the backdrop. It truly was a wonderful night.
Deluge is right ! I was there with my family , it was the first party we had ever attended and our last night in WDW. We trudged through and made it till the end , hoping the rain would end at some point , but alas, it never did.
We still had fun riding the jingle cruise, people mover, space mountain, and buzz light year , got to meet my favs Judy hopps and slick nick, and doing laps through the empty cookie lines (at least we were stocked up on snacks for the flight back?) , but without the fireworks , Christmas shows, or parade (we STUPIDLY skipped the first one) , it did feel like a big bust and not the joy filled spectacular we were hoping for to kick off the holiday season. Oh well – I’m sure we’ll try again someday !
Btw I’m a big, big fan of this blog and thought you guys might be there for the first party and was super jazzed when I saw Sarah’s post earlier in the week at Wilderness Lodge where we were staying ! I kept a lookout but never saw you although based on your photos we must have been nearby during the fireworks! Was hoping to thank you in person for years of help and entertainment ! 🙂
Hey has anyone ever watched the fireworks from the top deck of Swiss Family Treehouse ? Seems like could be a good view from there … wonder if it’s a popular spot ?
I was there. It was wet. SO wet. But my husband and I left the kidlet and grandma safely in the room and made the best of it. We had a blast sailing through rides, navigating the light crowds and laughing till our sides hurt at the “absurdity of it all”. Honestly, one of the best times of a 9-day long WDW vacation!
I took my oldest to the final Halloween party of the season November 1st. A couple months ago I realized I had committed an egregious parenting fail when my 9 year old told me he has never seen Country Bears. It was my intent to correct this at the Halloween party, which was our only park time on this trip. However, I did not realize that the Jamboree closed at 6:00!! We arrived about 6:20 to this discovery, and I realized I would have to continue to accept this failure a bit longer. I drowned my sorrows in a dole whip and a walk through the treehouse. Until next time, Country Bears…
I have the same problem with the evening parties. We did both this year by careful scheduling of our ten day trip. Not only are several attractions limited or closed early but all the sit down food apparently also closes. We had a three year old and wanted real food and not walk up burgers and fries but found nothing available. When the park is sold out you would think it would be wise to keep everything open. Especially at the prices for the party.
We just returned from the same length of trip – over both party weekends and Food & Wine. I too was disappointed in the lack of services open (and the lines for what is) during the party hours in light of the size of the crowd. Lesson learned.
We were at the third MVMCP on 12th November 2019. In our opinion it was too crowded and we did not wait in line for any rides although to be fair after 11pm it would have been easier for some. We chose a spot near Liberty Square for the first parade as we were in that area at the time the crowds starting to line up ready. I started out with a good view, being on a mobility electric scooter but not in an area roped off for wheelchairs etc. I will second your suggestion to watch both shows as an extremely large, tall man proceeded to stand in front of his grandson ?and child’s mother. The two latter then pushed the rope out, blocking the children’s view next to me in their pushchairs naturally resulting in their parents moving pushchair back from rope and holding children on the rope, one on shoulders. We did get a better spot and saw the second parade which seemed shorter than previous years – I didn’t see ‘the fairy godmother ‘ but loved the gingerbread men, reindeers and my favourite in this parade the marching Christmas soldiers. Mickey and Minnie in their birthday outfits. Saw Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration from a roped off wheelchair section on the righthand side of hub whilst lined up for Minnie’s Fireworks which didn’t really hold our interest but we loved the new firework show, some really great new effects in the air along with the Christmas music. Couldn’t see projections on castle very well so be interested watching our video back later. We were able to get cookies and hot chocolate with moving short lines but not many places had the hot chocolate. We left shortly after the last parade in order not to get stuck in crowds, which had at times been frightening on a scooter in the previous month, which proved a good move. We have decided it was the last time we will do the Chistmas and Halloween party for the extra prices asked and all the high prices for food and merchandise. As our annual pass had just expired we were unaware it cost an extra $69 for a photopass for this event.
My daughter and I were there for the deluge last Friday. The rain initially was manageable and she really enjoyed the overlay on the speedway, but the lack of shows and general sogginess of the evening made it sort of hard to get into the spirit for us. As veterans who have done the party many times we were able to cope (camping out in country bears three times in a row helped immensely) buy we overheard lots of very unhappy guests both during the party and during our bus ride back to CBR. Disney doesn’t control the weather (yet) but i do feel like more of an effort might have been made to offset the shortcomings of the offerings the rain necessitated. Free ponchos would have been a nice gesture, for instance. Overall I just feel sort of bad for first/only timers who attended this event the first night.
Tom, where did you buy your Disney Christmas sweater this year?
I need to go back and read your blog about the crowds at the Halloween party because as first timers this year, the Halloween party was a massive disappointment. We were also at Friday’s first Christmas party of the season. We have younger kids (10 and 7) so while we would have enjoyed the parades, fireworks, and special entertainment, we took the opportunity to ride with lower crowds and avoid the rain. However, by 10pm, my 10 year old was freezing and her wet shorts were causing some serious distress. Although I had prepared for the rain and had an umbrella and rain jackets, I didn’t prepare with extra clothes so we are now owners of some flashy Minnie Christmas leggings. If we lived closer, or had more time off school, I would try for a re-do and really experience the party. This was closer to an after hours event than a Christmas party for us. There needs to be snow on Main Street to really experience the full Christmas Party effect for us.
I have to add! The overlay on Space Mountain might be my favorite ever. It’s not my favorite ride mostly because I don’t care for not seeing where I’m going. The lighting is just enough to give you an idea of the twists and turns and it’s all set to music. My husband and I both got off commenting about how great it was.
Your first picture with the castle reflected in the center of the Main Street reflections is incredible, even for someone who takes as many beautiful pictures as you do. WOW!
That said, I just thought I was disappointed by my MVMCP experience last year when I regretted not bringing thermal underwear in the near-freezing weather, but this experience would have been even worse.
Thanks for the trip report. For what it’s worth, I’ve hated “Wonderful Christmastime” since long before it was cool to do so. 🙂 I wonder it the sentimentality-factor of the new show would increase watching it closer to actual Christmas instead of the week after Halloween. Time will tell!
It was a very rainy night filled with ups and downs. Our family was first timers and the highlight of our night was being right in front of the “frosted” castle during the parade- Peter Pan and a few others came over to my two young boys to “play” in the bubbles of their (overpriced) Mickey bubble makers. Besides that, the people mover was a nice distraction as my young boys and senior parents rode it 2-3 times to see all the Holiday decorations they could while staying (relatively) dry. And we actually scored a few mint cookies that hit the spot as we rode the ferry back to transportation 🙂 tastiest cookies ever 🙂 all in all, it was crazy and a bit disappointing, but we survived to tell our story 🙂
I like your sweater and Sarah’s Duffy bag. I am happy Country Bears still have a presence in the Christmas Party plus no major changes to the parade (I cringe when Disney shoehorns new IP into Halloween or Christmas parade like years past). I watched the live stream of new fireworks show. The projections were impressive and I like the addition of Minnie Mouse but I prefer the soundtrack of Holiday Wishes. The style of music of the new show (and Happily Ever After) doesnt tug at my heart strings like Holiday Wishes or original Wishes.