Gone are the days of spooky times on Main Street USA and Jack Skellington puppeteering. As the seasons change, Main Street USA trades pumpkins for wreaths and a Boo to You Parade for one with snowfall. We made it out to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party last night for the 2019 season and wanted to provide our Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party review to help you prepare for an upcoming visit or just see what the latest version of the Christmas party has to offer.

In this review and guide, we’ll talk about everything from logistics to treats, fireworks to wait times. The goal of this review isn’t only to come up with an opinion on if it’s “worth it” to attend the event this year, but to provide some commentary about the event as we take you through the various offerings. While some sites will have to add a disclaimer that Disney covered their costs, we paid 100% out of pocket for everything reviewed below, including our party tickets.

To quickly jump to a section of interest, simply click on the topic in the table of contents below. Note that we save touring strategy for the end of the review, after we’ve already explored the various offerings.

Dates and Pricing

Unlike Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, which seems to be getting longer and longer each year, Disney is somewhat limited in the dates they can cover given the fact that the Very Merry party ends a week or so before Christmas to allow for the Christmas crowds access to Magic Kingdom for the most amount of hours possible.

Here are the remaining dates:

• November: 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22, 24
• December: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 22

Even if Disney can’t necessarily add more dates, they can increase the cost of a party ticket, and things are getting expensive. Here are the online prices for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party:

• November 14, 17, 19, 21: $99/94
• November 12, 15, 22: $109/104
• December 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15: $109/104
• December 1, 6, 13, 17: $115/110
• December 19: $129/124
• December 20: $139/134

Those are some high prices, but there is an Annual Passholder discount worth about $5. Even so, there is a $40 price difference between the ticket we paid for and a ticket that someone might buy towards the end of the party. Such an extreme difference makes it tough to put a “value” on the ticket and decide if it’s “worth it”, but we’ll try to convey our thoughts in the remaining paragraphs.

Arriving and Checking In

Just like in year’s past, you’re able to enter the park with your Very Merry Christmas Party ticket starting at 4pm, or 2pm if you’re a Disney Vacation Club member. No matter what mode of transportation you’re using, there are dedicated tappoints at the front of the park for party goers to use to enter the park.

If you’re already inside of Magic Kingdom, there are a few areas within the park where you can check in and receive your party wristband.

Wristband distribution areas are located at Fantasy Faire, Tortuga Tavern, and between the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor and Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin in Tomorrowland. Distribution at these locations begins at 4pm, which is the same time the average guest can enter at the main entrance to Magic Kingdom.

Attraction Overlays

We spent the majority of our night enjoying the entertainment and exploring the attraction overlays. There were three all-new attraction overlays for 2019. Interestingly enough, all three attraction overlays are in Tomorrowland, forcing you to spend quite a bit of time in only one section of the park if you want to experience what’s new. We’ll go through each of the attraction overlays and add our thoughts and full video of each of the experiences.

Space Mountain

We’ll start with Space Mountain. If you’ve read any of our special event reviews in the past such as our 2019 Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party review or our Villains After Hours review, you might remember our disdain for the attempts that have been made for a Space Mountain overlay. While turning off the lights during the Not-So-Scary Halloween Party might have made it a scarier ride, it wasn’t an overlay so much as it was a way to save electricity.

Thankfully, we finally have a real attraction overlay for Space Mountain and it’s absolutely amazing! Special lighting effects and music make this an overlay worth experiencing, and maybe even more than once. As you can see in the video below, the special lighting effects illuminate the interior of Space Mountain briefly during your ride, giving you a truly special (and maybe frightening) look at the interior of the iconic attraction. The music was turned up loud enough to get to enjoy. Overall, Disney has done a complete 180 on the concept of an attraction overlay at Space Mountain, and all of our complaints about overlays of the past have been addressed. We really want to commend Disney on creating a special experience here and highly recommend that you fit it into your Very Merry Christmas Party visit this year. As far as logistics, the lines tend to be longer at the beginning of the party and die down towards the end of the party. Because we think you’ll want to reride, we suggest saving it for after the fireworks and maybe even after 11pm when the lines are more manageable and accommodating for a re-ride.

A bonus tip is to ride the PeopleMover and get some wonderful views of the holiday lights and music. If you’re not able to ride Space Mountain for whatever reason, we still recommend you jump on the PeopleMover (if there isn’t too long of a line), and check out the overlay from there. Typically it’s dark, but with the light and special effects, there is plenty to see!

Check out our full video of the full ride on Space Mountain as well as a look at the overlay from the PeopleMover below.

Tomorrowland Speedway

Next up is another wonderful overlay – the Tomorrowland Speedway. This overlay is brand new to the 2019 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and has been an exclusive to the party, not turning on for non-party nights. It remains to be seen if Disney will implement this or any other holiday overlays during Christmas week when the party is over.

At the Tomorrowland Speedway, you’ll cruise a festive freeway complete with holiday decor. We thought that this was a pretty good “version one” of the attraction overlay and hope to see each year get something new to really build out the concept of a drive-through Christmas light show. Here’s our full ride through video of the Tomorrowland Speedway holiday overlay!

Mad Tea Party

Guests can spin around to one of four different Christmas songs and lighting packages at the Mad Tea Party during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party this year.

While this is considered a new attraction overlay for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, we’ve seen a music and light show at the Mad Tea Party for two years now at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. While we still like the concept here, the other two attraction overlays that we’ve explored already are so strong that this comes in third place in our books. Here’s a look at the “Oh Christmas Tree” lighting package and song.

Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor

Finally, we’ve arrived at the final new attraction overlay for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party – the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. While the ordering of the attractions in our review was based on the order that we uploaded the videos to our YouTube channel, it also worked out that the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor is the last one to be discussed. We ended up liking this overlay the least, and not necessarily because of anything to do with the show itself.

Unlike at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, this is not a walk-through attraction, but rather a full show. While this works just fine during the day, your time at any special upcharge event is very limited and costly to waste. In this case, we thought that the overlay itself was fine and we enjoyed some new holiday backdrops and GCI (even if it looks like they dubbed new audio over existing character lip movements), but the time cost to experience the attraction was just too much for what it’s likely worth. Our total experience time was 40 minutes from the time we entered the queue to the time we left it, with only a 10 minute wait posted at the entrance. We even heard some guests next to us comment on how they waited less time for Space Mountain before they contemplated leaving the queue altogether.

We’ve uploaded a full video of the show to help you decide if it’s worth waiting in line.

Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks

When: 10pm

Of course, in addition to the attraction overlays, guests will be able to enjoy an all-new fireworks show called Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks. Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks show, hosted by the one-and-only Minnie Mouse, celebrates the magic of Christmas with medleys of beloved holiday songs, from “Joy to the World” and “Deck the Halls” to “Up on the House Top” and “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.” The holiday music aims to evoke heartfelt moments of home and family, as well as the festive fun of the season.

Just like Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party before it, Disney has ditched the old version of a Wishes seasonal variant and debuted a brand new show. The show contains projection-mapped scenes and decor on Cinderella Castle, timed nicely to the music and fireworks to create a classic new-age Magic Kingdom nighttime spectacular. The show contains melodies of beloved holiday songs that put you in the Christmas mood and combine them with an impressive projection mapping and firework display. Concerns that Disney would rely too much on projection mapping and not enough on fireworks seemed to have been done away with thanks to the strong debut of Happily Ever After, and the latest upcharge event firework shows build upon that trust.

As far as logistics go, we think that you will have a good view of the projection mapping and fireworks as long as you stay anywhere along Main Street USA from the hub back towards The Emporium and the Main Street Bakery. The further you go back, the more difficult it becomes to see the projections on the castle, although there isn’t a strong need to see the projections to understand the storyline and enjoy the show. That said, we went up near the front of the castle to provide you the best possible look at the new show in 4K resolution!

Entertainment

Part of any special upcharge event at a Disney park is usually the unique entertainment that you can experience. With the exception of the all-new fireworks show, there isn’t any new entertainment on the docket this year. We’ll briefly cover the entertainment and how you should experience it, if at all.

Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration

When: 7:40pm, 9:25pm, 10:30pm, and 11:55pm
Where: Cinderella Castle Forecourt Stage

Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration stage show, which debuted in 2016, finds Mickey and his pals inviting some of their friends over for an unforgettable Christmas party filled with music, dancing, color and fun! With every ring of the doorbell, more special guests drop by to join the festivities, each bringing a song or two in their own unique style. Clarabelle Cow arrives in full diva fashion belting out a holiday pop favorite, and Woody and Jessie ride in for a ho-ho-hoedown with country Christmas tunes. Donald’s amigos, Jose and Panchito from “The Three Caballeros,” stop in to wish everyone Feliz Navidad, and a flurry of friends from Fantasyland – everyone from Snow White and Dopey to Peter Pan and Wendy – fills the house for even more fun.

Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration is shown four times nightly (7:40pm, 9:25pm, 10:30pm, and 11:55pm). History would suggest waiting for the final show of the evening if you want to see it easily, but we found that we could walk up 30 minutes before the 9:25pm show and find a spot just as easily as the 11:55pm show. Ultimately, you can probably combine the 8:30pm parade, 9:25pm stage show, and 10pm fireworks and save the final 1.5 hours for rides and treats and that would work fine. If you have seen the show in the past, you can safely skip it as nothing has changed.

Once Upon a Christmastime Parade

When: 8:30pm, 11pm
Where: Along the standard parade route, kicking off in Frontierland and ending on Main Street USA

While we have a brand new fireworks show in Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks, and a variety of brand new attraction overlays, the Once Upon a Christmastime Parade returns to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party this year.

Delight in an entertaining display chock-full of good cheer on Main Street USA. The legendary street comes alive with yuletide spirit on select nights during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party! Snap memorable photos of dancing gingerbread men, marching toy soldiers and beloved Disney Characters as they float by, waving hello. There’s even a special appearance by Santa Claus—riding in to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. The parade steps off in Frontierland, eventually making its way past Cinderella Castle and down Main Street USA under a blanket of snow.

Again, wisdom tells us to wait for the 11pm showing and skip the 8:30pm showing. If you’re looking for the best possible view with the least amount of effort, it’s pretty easy to walk up and watch the parade with a minimal amount of waiting shortly before it kicks off at 11pm in Frontierland.

A Frozen Holiday Wish

When: 8:15pm
Where: Cinderella Castle

“A Frozen Holiday Wish” features Anna and Elsa in a show on the Castle Forecourt Stage as they light up Cinderella Castle.

This might be a bit tougher to see during the Christmas party due to higher crowds in the area thanks to the first parade and ending castle stage show. If you really want to see it, we’d recommend carving out time before the party officially starts at 7pm and seeing the first showing of A Frozen Holiday Wish as it takes place just after sunset with day guests able to watch as well. Unless you’re in a line for a character, you should feel good about knocking something off of your to-do list before the party even begins.

A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas

When: 7:45pm, 8:35pm, 9:25pm, 10:45pm, and 11:35pm
Where: Tomorrowland, Rockettower Plaza Stage near Carousel of Progress

This easily accessible stage show combines unique costumes with some better-than-expected entertainment as Tomorrowland friends (Buzz Lightyear, Stitch, and Mike Wazowski) host and out-of-this-world Christmas party. Because Tomorrowland is so attraction overlay heavy this year, we anticipate you’ll be in Tomorrowland a lot during the party. If you’re around, this show should be very easy to catch by simply walking up when it starts. We enjoyed the show for unique costuming and ease of access.

Here’s some wonderful footage from our friends at Mousesteps of the 2019 edition of A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas.

The Edge Effect

When: 8:10pm, 9pm, 10:20pm, 11:10pm
Where: Tomorrowland, Rockettower Plaza Stage near Carousel of Progress

This acapella group, while enjoyable to watch, isn’t anywhere near a must-do during an action-packed night where you’ll probably be bouncing from one thing to the next.

Club Tinsel and Disney Junior Jingle Jam Dance Parties

in addition to the above enertainemnt that is on a schedule, there are two dance parties that take place in Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe (Club Tinsel) and Storybook Circus (Disney Junior Jingle Jam). The dance parties are open during the duration of the party and are easily accessible. A wonderful option for your little one to burn off some of the sugary treats.

Merchandise

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Spirit Jersey – $64.99

Alex and Ani Bangle – $44.99

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party MagicBand – $34.99

Long Sleeve Shirt – $39.99

Mug – $24.99

Phone Cases – $29.99

Limited Release Pin – $15.99

Ornament – $24.99

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Tee – $32.86

Annual Passholder Phone Case – $29.99

Annual Passholder Limited Release Pin – $15.99

Annual Passholder Tee – $29.99

Complimentary Snacks and Exclusive Food/Drink

Complimentary Goodies

• Pinocchio Village Haus: Snickerdoodle Cookie, Hot Chocolate, and Fanta
• Storybook Snacks Cart: Snowman Pretzel
• Miner’s Cove: Peppermint Cookie
• Friar’s Nook: Chocolate Chip Cookie
• Lunching Pad: Ginger Molasses Cookie and Apple Cider
• Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café: Peppermint Cookie, Hot Chocolate, and Apple Cider
• Jungle Cruise: Ginger Molasses Cookie
• Tortuga Tavern: Snowman Pretzel and Fanta
• Golden Oak Outpost: Snickerdoodle Cookie
• Diamond Horseshoe: Chocolate Chip Cookie and Eggnog

In addition to the complimentary offerings, there are Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party exclusive offerings as well as daily offerings that are available to guests visiting Magic Kingdom without a party ticket.

Olaf’s Frozen Hot Chocolate Cake (Available Daily at Main Street Bakery, REVIEW) – Gluten-friendly chocolate cake layered with chocolate crispy pearls, chocolate panna cotta, and marshmallow fluff

Snowflake Brownie (Available Daily at Casey’s Corner) – Chocolate brownie decorated with sugar snowflakes and icing

Holiday Mickey Cinnamon Roll (Available Daily at Main Street Bakery) – A Mickey-shaped cinnamon roll garnished with red and green icing and a white chocolate Mickey Santa hat

Carved Turkey Sandwich (Party Exclusive, Available at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café) – Oven-roasted turkey with Applewood smoked bacon, smoked gouda, chipotle garlic aïoli, lettuce, and tomato on a roll

Christmas Cookie Milkshake (Available Daily at Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies, REVIEW) – Cookie butter milkshake topped with whipped cream and a Mickey marshmallow straw

Christmas Cookie Sundae (Available Daily at Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies) – Cookie butter soft-serve topped with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, sprinkles, and a white chocolate piece

Gaston’s Cheese Dip (Party Exclusive, Available at Gaston’s Tavern) – Beer cheese dip with smoked bacon bits served with breadstick antlers

Gingerbread Sundae (Available Daily at Storybook Treats) – Gingerbread soft-serve sundae topped with whipped cream, gingerbread pieces, and a Minnie Mouse waffle topper

An Orange Bird Christmas (Party Exclusive, Available at Sunshine Tree Terrace) – Orange-scented white chocolate mousse filled with orange curd on a citrus-almond cream cake with buttercream leaves and a white chocolate piece

Cherry & Pistachio Float (Available Daily at Aloha Isle) – Cherry and pistachio swirl soft-serve served over cold hot chocolate

Kakamora Float (Party Exclusive, Available at Aloha Isle) – Coconut soft-serve served on top of pineapple juice and non-alcoholic blue curaçao syrup topped with a chocolate Kakamora cake pop

Sven’s Carrot Cake (Party Exclusive, Available at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Café) – Carrot cake topped with cream cheese icing, sugar carrots, and a chocolate Sven piece

Jolly Tamale Christmas (Party Exclusive, Available at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Café) – Three house-made tamales filled with shredded chicken and your choice of toppings from the complimentary fixings bar

Christmas Churros (Available Daily at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Café and Outdoor Vending Churro Carts) – Mini churros topped with red and green sprinkles and served with chocolate dipping sauce

Santa Mickey Waffle Sundae (Available Daily at Sleepy Hollow, REVIEW) – Red velvet waffle topped with mint-chip ice cream, seasonal sprinkles, chocolate sauce, and peppermint powder

Tis the Season (Party Exclusive, Available at Cool Ship) – Chilled Fanta Orange mixed with cranberry juice and green apple popping pearls

To Be Jolly Float (Party Exclusive, Available at Plaza Ice Cream Parlor) – Peppermint iced coffee topped with vanilla ice cream, crushed peppermint, and a chocolate Minnie Mouse bow

Deck the Halls (Available Daily at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café) – Frozen eggnog topped with whipped cream, confetti sprinkles, and a chocolate bulb

Touring Strategy and Tips

With an exhaustive overview of the party out of the way, we wanted to offer our touring strategy to help you form a plan of attack to make the most of your Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party evening.

Arrive Early

You can get into Magic Kingdom beginning at 4pm (2pm if you’re a DVC Member), and you have full access to the park. It’s worth noting that although there are multiple spots within the park to pick up your party bracelet, you might find the shortest waits at the park entrance thanks to better staffing and tappoints. Either way, unless you have a must-meet character that you’re dying to get in line for immediately, getting in before 6pm or so should be fine.

A Frozen Holiday Wish

Unless you’ll be in front of Cinderella Castle anyway around 8pm, we recommend watching the early Frozen Holiday Wish castle lighting just after sunset and before party start. Unless you’re in a line for a character, you should feel good about knocking something off of your to-do list before the party even begins.

Prioritize Your Evening

With so many things to do at a special event such as Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, it’s important that you prioritize your evening. It’s likely that you might not be able to get to everything that you want to during the party, but if you prioritize your evening, you’ll ensure that you get to the must-do items first.

Some Characters Meet Early

We’ve put in the caveat “unless you’re in line for a character” a few times now, and that’s because every seasoned partygoer knows that select characters start meeting before the party officially begins at 7pm and lines build early.

One of the more popular meet and greet opportunities is Jack Skellington and Sally. The line will build right at 4pm (if not a bit earlier), and they should start meeting around 5pm. It’s always good to get one or more character meet and greets out of the way early so you aren’t missing some of the specialty entertainment or attraction overlays during the event.

Ride the PeopleMover

It’s odd for us to recommend riding an attraction that is fairly easily accessible during a normal visit to Magic Kingdom, but it offers some unique vantage points during the party this year. Make sure that you ride it after the party starts to get wonderful views of the Tomorrowland Speedway Christmas overlay and an extremely unique view of the Space Mountain Christmas overlay. It’s almost a must-do for superfans who want a really cool view of Space Mountain.

Space Mountain is a Must-Do

I’ve been extremely critical of the attempts that Disney has made in the past for overlays to Space Mountain, but all sins have (just about) been forgiven with the work they did to bring the Space Mountain Christmas overlay to life.

Of all the holiday overlays this year, the Space Mountain one will probably constantly pull the longest lines. Disney does have to close the attraction to “turn on” the overlay when the party starts, so a long line at 7pm is to be expected. If you can, we’d recommend saving it to the end of the party and betting on lower crowds.

Timing the Parade and Fireworks

This is where things can get a bit difficult. With some new entertainment and attraction overlays this year, it’s tough to get the timing right on everything. As we said earlier, your ability to prioritize various parts of the party will likely play a big role in your enjoyment of the party and if you’ll walk away feeling like it was “worth it”. Here’s how we approached the timing of entertainment as well as a few different options for how you could attack it.

Entertainment-First Approach

With an entertainment-first approach, you would prioritize entertainment over attractions and characters. With this approach, we’d recommend the following time chunks.

• 4pm to 7:30pm – ride attractions, maybe one holiday overlay like Tomorrowland Speedway at party start
• 7:40pm to 9pm – find a good spot for the parade, preferably near Cinderella Castle
• 9:15pm to 9:45pm – watch Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration in front of Cinderella Castle
• 9:45pm to 10:30pm – watch Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks from your parade viewing spot in front of Cinderella Castle
• 10:35pm to midnight – enjoy the party and lower lines for special holiday overlays. Maybe carve out some time for the late showing of A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas or head to one of the dance parties.

Attraction-First Approach

With an attraction-first approach, we’re going to try and knock out as many of the holiday overlay attractions as possible, keeping in mind that we want to still see the new fireworks show and maybe a parade if we’re lucky.

• 4pm to 9pm – knock out as many attractions as possible. While the special Christmas overlays for the attractions don’t start until 7pm, the Jingle Cruise is a daily offering that you can get in line for once you get inside the park.
• 9:30pm to 10:30pm – watch Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks from anywhere along Main Street USA. Because this is a projection show, you’ll have a much better view the closer you get to Cinderella Castle. That said, by picking an attraction-first approach, you’ve deprioritized premium viewing spots
• 10:30pm to 11:30pm – You can either choose to watch the parade from anywhere along the parade route, or head back into the park proper for more attractions during the last 1.5 hours of party time.
• 11:30pm to midnight – If you decided to watch the late parade, you’ll probably have about 30 minutes or so to ride an attraction or two. If you enjoyed Space Mountain, now is the time to jump back in line for the last ride of the evening with hopefully shorter waits

Character-First Approach

All bets are off with character meet and greets at a party. It’s tough to build a framework for success here beyond show up early and get comfortable with waiting. Like we said above, some characters meet early, so make sure you’re in line for those characters first if they’re a priority. We’d still recommend trying to work an attraction overlay or two in to your evening, putting Space Mountain ahead of the Tomorrowland Speedway in terms of what is a must-do.

It Will be Crowded

There’s really no way around this. Will you have some wait time wins? Yes. Overall, it will be crowded though. Ever since Disney started marketing the Disney After Hours events as “low wait time” events, it seems like Disney has drifted away from promising low waits during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. We saw an increase in capacity at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, and would expect a similar increase for the Christmas party.

Is It “Worth It”?

Just like anything, your mileage may vary in terms of where your expectations are for value and if Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is “worth it” or not. Between the new fireworks show and holiday attraction overlays, we’d definitely recommend attending a Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party this year. We think Space Mountain is a real winner and the Tomorrowland Speedway is a valiant effort at a first year overlay.

In terms of expectations, we were able to do all of the attraction overlays, fireworks show, parade, and stage shows in a single night. As long as you don’t go into the party expecting 5 minute waits on attractions (do an After Hours event for that), and keep in mind that compromise on entertainment or character meet and greets will leave you with more time to do one or the other well, you should be able to have an enjoyable evening at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

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Is there something that we missed or that you’d like us to expand on for our Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Review? Leave us a comment below or on our social media channels and we’ll be sure to answer it!