Walt Disney World‘s signature holiday event is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. This separately ticketed, after-hours celebration at Magic Kingdom is a tradition for many families who come back year after year for the event’s holiday ride overlays and showstopping parade. While the party mostly stays the same from year to year, there are always a few changes.
Ahead of the first Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party of the season, we have a look at what’s new for 2026. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including Disney World Christmas popcorn buckets and a first-of-its-kind WWE event at Disney World.
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Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 2026
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party returns to Magic Kingdom on select nights from November 8 through December 22, 2026. Ticket prices range from $189 to $229, depending on the date. See the full list of dates and ticket prices here.
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The star of the party is Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, one of Walt Disney World’s best parades. The procession includes over 100 performers and is capped off by the beloved march of the toy soldiers. Other entertainment at the party includes the Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration stage show and Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks.
Magic Kingdom rides are open during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, and many have much shorter wait times than they do during the regular operating day. A few even have holiday overlays exclusive to the party, like Space Mountain – Holiday Run! and Tomorrowland Speedway Race Through the Holidays.
Party attendees receive complimentary hot cocoa and cookies at stations throughout the park. Exclusive food for purchase and character greetings are also big draws of the event.
Those are the basics of what typically stays the same at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Let’s dive into 5 changes for 2026.
Stitchmas!
Stitchmas! is a new experience at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 2026 that seems to be part dance party, part scripted show.
Here’s the official description of Stitchmas from Disney:
“Celebrate Stitchmas! at an out-of-this-world holiday party. Dance, sing, and play along as Lilo and Stitch reminisce with some of their closest friends about holidays on the island. Make merry memories together as you rock around the tinsel tree!”
The tease of Lilo and Stitch’s “closest friends” could indicate appearances by some of Stitch’s fellow experiments.
Stitchmas! will be located inside Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café in Tomorrowland. This means that Disney Jr. Jingle Jam, which previously occupied this space during the Christmas Party, will not return this year.
Stitchmas! follows the debut of Stitch’s Masquerade Mashup, a new offering at this year’s Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party that featured Stitch, Lilo, and Angel.
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Popular Characters Move Location
Magic Kingdom’s special event parties feature meet-and-greets with rare characters who can’t be found anywhere else, as well as common characters dressed in special outfits or paired with fun combinations of other characters.
One of the most popular character greetings at both Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is the chance to meet Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, and Tigger all together. This is an adorable photo-op that many guests love. At the Halloween Party, the characters are dressed in Halloween costumes. At the Christmas Party, they all wear scarves.
Typically, the Hundred Acre Woods quartet has been stationed at Pooh’s Thotful Spot, the designated meet-and-greet area near The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in Fantasyland, where Pooh and Tigger (without Eeyore and Piglet) meet guests daily during Magic Kingdom’s regular daytime hours.
New for 2026, Pooh and company will move to Pete’s Silly Sideshow in Storybook Circus. This makes a lot of sense to me. Pete’s Silly Sideshow is a large, indoor location custom-built to handle popular meet-and-greets during the park’s regular operating hours for Minnie, Daisy, Goofy, and Donald.
Given the huge crowds that flock to meet Pooh and friends during the Christmas Party, Pooh’s Thotful Spot was likely becoming insufficient to manage such quantities of people, with its line frequently spilling into the Fantasyland walkway. Pete’s Silly Sideshow is better equipped to contain large crowds in a controlled space without interfering with pedestrian traffic.
Previously, Pete’s Silly Sideshow was where guests met the Seven Dwarfs during the Christmas Party, a meet-and-greet that’s no longer offered. In recent years, the space has hosted Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, and Scrooge McDuck during the Christmas Party.
New Merchandise Featuring Tally the Elf
Disney rolls out new merchandise for each season of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. The collection for 2026 features a surprise: Tally the Elf prominently illustrated on items like shirts and a picture frame alongside Mickey, Minnie, a reindeer, and toy soldiers.
Tally is part of Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade and became very popular in 2024 when social media clips went viral of the character telling guests if they were on the naughty or nice list. Tally’s popularity reached unsafe levels, and Disney changed the character for 2025, making his prominence in this year’s merchandise surprising. Read our analysis for a deeper history of the Tally character and another instance where he may show up in 2026.
Guests can purchase exclusive Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party merchandise at the Emporium on Main Street, U.S.A.
New Food
In recent years, the biggest additions to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party are the event’s new menu items. Disney World’s culinary teams introduce lots of new food each year that’s only available at the Party.
For 2026, a few of the 15 new menu items at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party include:
- Gingerbread Cheesecake Beignets at Golden Oak Outpost
- Pluto Reindeer Cake at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Café
- Sugar Cookie Soda at The Friar’s Nook
The collage above also pictures returning items Brr-Raspberry Slushy at Pinocchio Village Haus and Pig in a Blanket at The Friar’s Nook.
See the full list with photos of all new and returning food coming to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
New Popcorn Bucket
It wouldn’t be a Walt Disney World holiday season without new popcorn buckets, and the Holiday Train Bucket is exclusive to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party this year. It’s shaped like a toy train, and features Mickey, a reindeer, and an adorable Pluto wearing reindeer ears.
The Holiday Train Popcorn Bucket will be available at Main Street Snacks and Castle Popcorn, the two snack carts in front of Cinderella Castle.
See all the new holiday popcorn buckets and novelties coming to Walt Disney World this season.
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