Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party BEST Tips to Maximize Time 2024

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

You can read our full guide to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party to see a description of every special offering that is included in your party ticket along with dates, prices, and our review of the event. The party takes place at Magic Kingdom on select nights in November and December for the Disney World holiday season with dates leading up to Christmas often being the most crowded. The party is from 7 PM to midnight giving guests five hours of party time to navigate all the party exclusive offerings.

You can enter Magic Kingdom at 4 PM with a party ticket which also gives you the chance to get a head start on the party entertainment, with some options for lining up early for popular characters, or eating dinner before the event begins. I always take advantage of arriving at the parks the instant my ticket allows which gives me a chance to get photos before the event officially begins, grab our wristband, eat dinner, and just enjoy a relaxing start to the evening.

I have gotten fairly good at managing special events by creating a plan to see all the entertainment I prioritize, any characters on our list while still having the time to enjoy a quick ride or two. Let's get into our Mickey's Very Merry Christmas tips so you can maximize your time at this special Disney World event.

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Tips

Even though Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is a five-hour event, that time can go by really fast and you may find yourself wondering how to fit everything in! Part of the goal of our best tips for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is to help you prioritize the must-see experiences and get the most out of your experience. Let's go through the general tips for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas before getting into the entertainment and special offerings!

Arrive Early

Your ticket to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party includes early Magic Kingdom entry at 4 PM. Take advantage of that early access and arrive early to get a head start on the evening. You will also avoid longer lines that tend to build as it gets closer to the start time of the event.

Eat Before the Party

Make a plan to eat before the party starts at 7 PM. This way you're not using party time for dinner and can just snack on all the great holiday treats and free cookies! One of our favorite holiday food items at this event was the tamale and eggnog brownie- both found at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe!

Watch the Wait Times

Two of Magic Kingdom's most popular rides, Peter Pan and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, will have far lower wait times during the last two hours of the event. When we rode Peter Pan at 11:45 PM the line was a walk on even though it had a posted wait time of 20 minutes. If the time says 20 minutes, especially at the end of the night when Disney tends to inflate wait times, the ride is likely a walk-on.

Get Free Cookies & Drinks

Your ticket to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party includes unlimited free cookies and beverages at select stands throughout Magic Kingdom! These cookies are all pre-packaged so it makes it easy to grab some for later too. My son was so ecstatic about these free cookies that he said it felt like Christmas trick or treating and we ended up leaving with a handful he enjoyed for a nice Disney breakfast the rest of our Christmas trip.

Exclusive Popcorn Buckets

The Mickey Mouse Toy Solider popcorn bucket is exclusively sold at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party for $28 at select popcorn carts around Magic Kingdom. If this popcorn bucket is a priority for you, make a plan to grab this first thing, and do not wait! Collecting Disney popcorn buckets is a popular pastime for many guests and these might not last the whole party evening.

Rare Characters

All special ticketed events at Walt Disney World typically offer rare meet and greet chances. These lines can sometimes be long depending on the popularity of the character. The most popular characters are easily Jack and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas (more on this below!) but there are also a few other party exclusive characters.

The other rare and themed characters to find include Santa Claus, Santa Goofy, Scrooge McDuck, and the Seven Dwarfs from Snow White. We found that lines for these characters are pretty reasonable especially later into the event. I recommend waiting until the end of the night to meet these characters! If meeting characters is a big priority, keep in mind that waiting for characters can become time consuming as these lines always move slower. During our last party, we kept our meet and greets limited so we could enjoy everything else at the party.

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How to Meet Jack and Sally with Low Waits

Jack and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas are located on Main Street, U.S.A. during the party to greet guests. This is easily the most popular meet and greet at the event as these characters are not commonly seen in the parks.

There are two strategies to seeing these characters with low waits. First, you can line up early before the party starts. Cast members will often allow guests to start lining up as early as 4:30 PM even though the party doesn't officially start until 7 PM. While I wouldn't recommend lining up as early as 4:30 (this would mean an over two-hour wait no matter what!) you could pop by the line around 530 or 6 to see what it looks like, at least you're spending non-party time waiting rather than precious party time that could be spent doing other things.

A better option is to watch the parade on Main Street and walk straight into the meet and greet as Santa is going by. If you plan on watching the second parade (more on this below!) you could also meet them during the first parade which is the most popular parade time and eats up more crowds.
But be aware that meeting Jack and Sally can end up becoming a big time commitment during the event so one of our best Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party tips might be to skip this meet and greet if the line is longer than 30 minutes. Which it often is!

DAS Users

For guests who are using DAS at Walt Disney World (Disability Access Service), this meet and greet is one of the few options that offers a return time option for DAS users. Simply show the cast member at the front of the entrance your DAS on My Experience App and they will give you a written return time that equals the current wait of the character line. Once you return, you will wait in a separate line to meet Jack and Sally. Keep in mind, that you still may end up waiting awhile as character lines often move more slowly than attractions,

Best Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade Viewing

The holiday parade is exclusive to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, with the exception of Christmas week when it's shown to all guests daily along with the fireworks, and is the must-see entertainment at the event. There are two showings of the parade at the event: 8:30 PM and 11 PM. The first showing of the parade is always the most popular so if you are worried about getting a good spot, viewing the parade during the first showing is the best way to avoid the larger crowds. Plus you can enjoy the other offerings while so many guests at the party are viewing the first parade.

The best spot to watch the parade is anywhere on Main Street, U.S.A. to get the full charm of the experience with the Victorian setting and to experience the fake snow that Disney releases as part of the event. Any spot on Main Street is a good one so this should be your priority for seating.

To secure a curbside spot where you can sit down rather than standing room at the back of the crowd, you should plan on grabbing your spot 45 minutes to one hour prior to the parade starts. If you pick the second parade of the day, you may not have to wait as long for a spot. If you do not care about the Main Street, U.S.A. view (which we still think should be a priority!) the parade spots in Frontierland and Liberty Square will be easier to snag.

Minnie's Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks Viewing 

Minnie's Wonderful Christmastime fireworks are a nighttime spectacular exclusive to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. This Disney World fireworks show aligns with castle projections on Cinderella Castle so the best view for the fireworks will be one with a good view of the castle. During the show, Tinkerbell will also fly and you will have a better view of this if you can see the castle easily.

Castle projections align with the fireworks show so the best view will be one that includes a good view of Cinderella's Castle. Guests should plan on saving a spot at least 30 minutes (even earlier on busy part nights) to get a good spot. The nice benefit of fireworks at Walt Disney World is that Cinderella's Castle offers such a large viewing around that you often do not need to line up that early to get a good spot.

I do not recommend purchasing any of the dessert parties for the fireworks viewing, you can easily get a spot without paying for reserved viewing. Aside from the price, participating in a dessert party will also take up a lot more of your time at the event that can be spent enjoying other activities.

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Stage Shows

There are two stage shows at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party that take place in front of Cinderella's Castle. The new show this year, Frozen Holiday Surprise, is a castle lighting show that is led by Anna, Elsa, Kristoff and Olaf from the popular Frozen film. This is a seven-minute show that happens each night at 6:15 PM and 8:15 PM.

The second show, Mickey's Most Merriest Celebration, features music, snowfall, holiday songs, and Disney characters in front of Cinderella's Castle. The show takes place at 7:40PM, 9:25PM, 10:35PM, and 11:55PM.

Both of these shows are fairly easy to view and do not require much advance planning. Just make a note of the time of the showings so you can fit them into your evening, try to coordinate which showing you want to see with other offerings that are near the castle so you're not zig-zagging across the park without reason. The best place to watch is right behind the Partners statue in the castle hub that slights downhill. This slightly elevated view will give you a good view of the entire stage, castle, and fireworks that might accompany the show.

Disney World Christmas Attractions

There are five attractions that receive a holiday overlay for Christmas at Disney World and only four of them are available during Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party:

• Tomorrowland Speedway
• Monster, Inc. Laugh Floor
• Mad Tea Party
• Space Mountain
• Jingle Cruise (available all day)

Let's talk our best Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party tips for these attractions!

Out of all these, Space Mountain and Jingle Cruise are easily the most popular overlays. Most of the other attractions will have low waits, most will be walk-ons, for the duration of the party. Jingle Cruise is available to all guests as this is a consistent overlay during the holiday season. For this reason, I recommend riding it either before the party starts or on another day you're spending at Magic Kingdom. Hopefully, on a day you have Genie+ to use on this popular overlay!

Space Mountain will close shortly before the party begins and you may be able to hop in line for the attraction right before the party begins to ride with no wait. Another reason I recommend arriving right when your party ticket allows you to! Plan on lingering near the entrance just before party time so you're ready to get in line once it opens. The holiday lights inside Space Mountain give you a sense of what it would be like to ride the attraction with the lights on, with Christmas music blaring, making it a fun party experience.

As for the other holiday overlays, you can get a view of the holiday light on Tomorrowland Speedway from the outside along with the Mad Tea Party. If you have time to do them, great! But if not, they can be a skip. We always enjoy Monster, Inc. Laugh Floor but it's even better holiday style and I noticed more people are inclined to participate and there's just a more enthusiastic atmosphere during the party. Highly recommend experiencing this!

While all these overlays are fun, they're also not nearly as impressive as the type of overlays you see at Disneyland Christmas so it is a bit of a judgment call on if you want to spend party time on them.

Overall, the top priority of your evening should be the holiday parade and fireworks which is our top tip for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Everything else from there is a bit of personal preference on what your top priorities should be whether it is meeting characters, riding attractions, or taking advantage of the holiday walk up dance parties around the park.

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