Holidays Around the ‘World – Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom

Every year the Walt Disney World Resort pulls out all the stops to celebrate the holiday season. Guests visiting the resort can navigate through a magical winter wonderland without the accompanying frigid temperatures. Experiencing all that Walt Disney World has to offer during the holidays is a near impossible task. In order to provide you with enough highlights of holidays around the (Walt Disney) World, Melanie and I teamed up on a two part series of posts to share the magic of Disney holidays. This first part will focus exclusively on Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, an annual holiday themed hard ticket event held at the Magic Kingdom. Stay tuned for part 2 of this series where we’ll bring you information from the other three theme parks and focus on Epcot’s Candlelight Processional.

On select nights through December 20, the Magic Kingdom plays host to a special holiday event that presents guests with exclusive access to special parades, unique character meet & greets, holiday treats, and the intricate Disney theme that families all over the world have come to associate with the parks. Perhaps the biggest draw to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade which features your favorite Disney characters, along with a very special guest at the end, navigating throughout the park interacting with kids and adults alike.

Cinderella took special notice of Melanie’s son, a Prince Charming in his own right, and gave him the royal wave. The highlight of the parade though has to be the toy soldiers who march lock and step with one another.

A certain white bearded man in red closes out the parade giving it the grand finale it deserves. If you watch the parade on Main Street, you will experience a dash of snow as only Disney can deliver. Be warned though that this is a popular viewing spot, but if you watch the second showing of the parade you can avoid most of the crowds.

Due to the limit on ticket sales for this hard ticket event, most of the popular attractions at Magic Kingdom have little to no wait. A new addition this year to the party is the holiday theme added to the classic attraction the Jungle Cruise. Renamed as the Jingle Cruise, the ride takes guests on a riverboat journey manned by a skipper who regales guests with tales of animal adventures in the dangerous Jungle. While the ride remains largely the same as it did under its normal name, the queue definitely contains holiday theming throughout. The reimagined attraction was very popular during our visit so we recommend hitting this attraction as soon as you arrive to maximize your time experiencing other aspects of the party.

Arguably even more popular than the Jingle Cruise are the various character meet & greets. If your family enjoys meeting their favorite Disney characters then you will not be disappointed at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Throughout the park you will have a number of different opportunities to meet characters in unique holiday attire. We chose to visit the Diamond Horseshoe in Frontierland so that we could partake in a dance party that featured Woody and Jessie from the Toy Story franchise. Melanie’s kids didn’t hesitate in joining the conga line and also doing their best impressions of the Macarena. If you’re interested in meeting characters but don’t want to necessarily get in a lengthy line for a simple photo-op, then the dance party at the Diamond Horseshoe is what you want to do.

All that dancing worked up everyone’s appetite so that meant that we needed to treat ourselves to the complimentary cookies and hot cocoa. You will find these delicious treats throughout the park with a minimal wait time. Feel free to take advantage of this add-on as often as you like. If you or a family member has a special dietary need then the cast members will be sure to accommodate you.

The Holiday Wishes Fireworks Show serves as the perfect nightcap to the holiday festivities. Backed by various holiday tunes, the fireworks light up across the night sky making them visible throughout the park. If you want to add a special holiday flair to the show and to your night as whole you should consider obtaining a pair of Glow With the Show Ears. This unique take on the classic Mickey ears hat features two ears that light up and sync with the music of the show. The ears light up with random colors during other times of the night and were a popular item among the guests visiting that night.

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party continues the annual tradition of Disney holiday theming for guests of all ages. The event is a separately priced hard ticket that is not included with regular admission to the park. This special celebration at the Magic Kingdom should be given consideration as you plan your holiday entertainment this year. However, please note that the other three Disney parks are not left far behind when it comes to Disney holiday magic. In part two of this series of posts, we will upgrade our animal adventures from the Jingle Cruise, attend perhaps the best musical show in all of Walt Disney World, and bear witness to an extravagant Christmas light spectacle that has to be seen to be believed.

What’s your favorite part of Disney holiday magic?

Disclosure: We were provided complimentary tickets to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.