The Christmas season is in full force now at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. As you may know, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is from 7pm to 12am on select nights through December 22nd, but guests with a valid ticket can enter Magic Kingdom as early as 4pm. We decided that we were going to start our evening early and head for the extremely popular Nightmare Before Christmas meet and greet with Jack Skellington as Sandy Claws and Sally. In this article, we’ll cover our arrival plan and how you can set yourself up for success by meeting with Jack and Sally before the party even starts!
As we noted, guests with a valid Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party ticket can enter Magic Kingdom as early as 4pm on the night of the party. We recommend that if you’re prioritizing the Jack Skellington meet and greet that you plan on getting to the Magic Kingdom entrance around 3:30pm. At 3:30, it’s likely that some guests will already be lined up, but the crowd won’t be overwhelming. On Very Merry Christmas Party nights, guests with a Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party ticket that wish to enter before 7pm should head to the far right of the main entrance. Cast Members will have lollipop signs that let you know you’re in the right spot.
Here’s a look at the 3:30pm crowd. Each touchpoint was probably 20-30 people deep, but it would get considerably more crowded in the next 15 minutes.
3:15pm to 3:30pm should be a good arrival time. Yes, you’ll have to wait a bit, but any later than that and you could find yourself at the back of the crowd above. Any earlier than that will put you closer to the front of the line, but it will mean more waiting. Like any touring plan, it’s a balancing act.
Cast Members will start letting guests into the park pretty much right at 4pm. From the main entrance, it’s a short walk to Town Square theater where you’ll be able to get right in line for Jack and Sally as long as you have a wristband designating you as a party guest.
We recommend getting in line right away to take advantage of “free” time. The vast majority of activities don’t begin until the official start time of the party at 7pm, but Jack and Sally consistently start meeting with guests before 7pm. During the first two Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party events this year, Jack and Sally started meeting with guests around 4:30pm. That means that even if the wait time is two hours, you’ll be done before the party officially begins. This is a massive advantage for a meet-and-greet line that will demand anywhere from a 60 to 120-minute wait throughout the party.
Here’s a look at the crowd that was in front of us, even though we were only about 25 guests behind the touchpoint when the park opened to guests at 4pm. Remember, there are probably close to 10 touchpoints in use when the party starts, so there could be 200+ party guests in the park before us.
The Jack Skellington and Sally meet and greet space takes over the unused Tinker Bell meet and greet area. Here’s a look around.
We waited about 60 minutes before meeting with Jack and Sally. All told, we waited for about 90 minutes if you count the time we waited before Magic Kingdom opened to Very Merry guests. 30 minutes of that was before the park opened, 30 minutes was in line before Jack and Sally began to meet with guests, and another 30 minutes was our wait time when the line started to move. Here’s a look at Jack and Sally!
Overall, we can’t think of a better tip than to arrive early at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Once you are in the park with your Very Merry wristband, Magic Kingdom is all yours. That means that you can even go ride attractions like a normal day guest or grab a bite to eat. If you’re planning on meeting Jack and Sally, we highly recommend doing so between 4pm and 7pm. Once the party starts, you’ll have non-stop things to do, so knocking one of the top meet and greets out of the way early will set you up for a night of fun!
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!