Walt Disney World hosts extra events at their parks during certain times of the year. For Halloween, it's the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and for Christmas, you can find Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom.
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party this year began right after Halloween and runs on selected nights until December 22. After that, the parade that's exclusive to the party, Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, will be shown during the day in regular park hours.
We found much of the same things we saw when we last attended this party in 2016.
The parade was basically the same, but updated for the times.
The stage shows were similar and again updated.
The drinks, desserts, and merchandise were all new and different.
But even if some things were the same at the party, there were also a lot of new and different experiences. Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party only happens at this time of year, so it's good to be able to attend one, even if it's a second time around.
Let's take a look at some of the highlights of what we found:
We spend a lot of our time at the Magic Kingdom in Frontierland. It's one of our favorite spots to watch fireworks, and it's long been our favorite spot to watch parades.
Before a parade, there's usually a street show of some kind to keep folks entertained as they wait. This year, the usual group that wanders Frontierland playing country-based music for guests has re-branded themselves for the holidays. They're called the Reindeer Wranglers and they are playing all new (at least new to us) music. Their songs use old, familiar country melodies with new lyrics to fit their show. Here's a sample of their performance. Video by Donald Fink.
Food and Merchandise
During our evening at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, we found that we were busy with the parades, fireworks, stage shows, and all the maneuvering that went into positioning for a good photo of each one. We simply ran out of time to chase down the merchandise and food for the event. Fortunately, Alan Dalinka was at a press event the very next night and shared some of his images.
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Our Alan S. Dalinka speaks with Chef Bobby Rivera—a Chef at Cinderella's Royal Table—about some of the specialty food available this holiday season at the Magic Kingdom. Video by Alan S. Dalinka.
In the Stage show, Mickey's Most Merriest Celebration, Mickey invites his friends over for the Christmas holiday as the fun begins. Here's a brief moment from that performance. Video by Don and Bonnie Fink.
So, what does a special event like Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party bring to the table for an average guest? For us, it's not about the free cookies and eggnog, or even the specialty desserts. What it's about for us is the special shows, the parades, and the fireworks that can only be seen at one of these events.
For folks that don't have an annual pass, it can even pencil out to be more economical than a regular day pass. It usually costs a bit less than a regular day pass but still allows you into the park for a reasonable amount of time. Some will say that the parks are less crowded than at regular hours too, and indeed, that's the idea. On our visit to prepare this Photo Tour, the park was less crowded. Wait times for rides were pretty much non-existent.
There's a lot to do at these events too. We missed quite a bit in this Photo Tour because there was simply not enough time to do it all and still get the photos and videos we needed. So if you come, be sure to get a guide on your way in and plan your night. If you don't, you might end up with a chocolate chip cookie and a cup of eggnog when you really wanted Olaf's Frozen Hot Chocolate.
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