Category: Budgeting

One of my very favorite times to visit Walt Disney World is during the Christmas Holiday Season.  I LOVE seeing all the resorts and theme parks decorated for the holidays, and I love the little “extra” holiday magic and cheer that seems to permeate WDW at this time of year.  Having said that, however, I do want to add that I tend to avoid the ACTUAL holidays as the crowds Thanksgiving week and the week before and after Christmas tend to be INSANE, with parks reaching capacity and actually closing to additional guests on some days.  The last time I went for the week of Christmas, we were in the Magic Kingdom on a day the park closed to additional guests at 10 a.m.!!    The crowds were crazy.  Standby lines were up to four hours for some attractions, and it was uncomfortable and difficult to even just walk around.  Moods were challenging and finding the holiday spirit was a little more difficult than usual.  I don’t enjoy the parks as much when they are that crowded, so I tend to avoid that time of year. (Note: It is ABSOLUTELY possible to go and have a great time during the holidays, as long as you set your expectations properly, plan ahead and pack your patience.  I don’t want to imply you can’t have a terrific vacation at this time of year—it’s just a little more challenging.  I’ll cover that in a separate upcoming post.)

I have found that by visiting in mid-November or early December, I can enjoy most of the benefits of the Holiday season at Walt Disney World without the Thanksgiving or Christmas crowds.  If you are lucky enough to visit WDW during this time of year, I highly encourage you to take some time to visit some of the resorts to see their Holiday decorations—each resort decorates differently, and in accordance with that resort’s overall theme.  I’ll talk about “Resort Holiday Décor” (another favorite topic) in a separate post, AFTER our upcoming vacation when I hope to get some updated pictures, time permitting!

Many of Disney’s holiday festivities can be enjoyed with your regular park admission.  Hollywood Studios Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! And Sunset Seasons Greetings are included in a visit to Hollywood Studios this year, and Epcot’s International Festival of the Holidays and classic Candlelight Processional are both part of your standard Epcot visit during the season.

At the Magic Kingdom, however, many of the “special” holiday activities are part of a special ticketed event: Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.  Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) begins in November and runs several evenings per week through Christmas.  On the days when the party is held, the Magic Kingdom will close early to regular park guests.  If you are visiting WDW during this time, I strongly suggest you check the party dates and plan to visit the Magic Kingdom on a non-party date, unless you have park hopping tickets and can visit a different park in the evening, once the park closes.

MVMCP requires separate admission, and includes special shows, parades, character greetings, merchandise and fireworks only offered during the parties.  The tickets are on the pricey side, so deciding if MVMCP is right for your vacation takes some consideration.

PRICING

Pricing varies for the party, based on the day.  Weeknights earlier in the season are a little more economical….the most expensive dates are after Thanksgiving and peak a few days before Christmas.  MVMCP occurs on 24 nights, starting on Thursday, November 9 and running through Friday, December 22.  In November, the dates fall primarily on Thursdays and Fridays, with a couple Sundays and Tuesdays.  There are no parties Thanksgiving week.  In December, it’s most Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Prices start at $89 for adults (plus tax) and $84 (plus tax) for children, ages 3 – 9 for early parties and rise to $95 for adults (plus tax) and $90 (plus tax) for children after Thanksgiving, and peak at $109 (plus tax) for adults and $104 (plus tax) for children just before Christmas.   There are a couple Fridays in December with $99 (plus tax) tickets for adults and $94 (plus tax) for kids.

Note: Disney Vacation Club Members do have access to slightly discounted pricing…but for select nights. For the early parties in November, DVC members can save $7 per ticket; later in the month, the savings drops to $4 per ticket—and there are no DVC tickets available after December 12.  Annual Passholders have access to the same discounts as DVC members.

You can click here to buy tickets direct from Disney: Disney MVMCP

Undercover Tourist: You can save $7 off the price of the regular Adult ticket by purchasing through Undercover Tourist here: Undercover Tourist MVMCP

Note: UT prices include tax where Disney ticket prices don’t add the tax until you check out.  This sometimes can cause confusion, so I wanted you to be aware.

UPDATE: Some December dates have already sold out this year, including December 8, 19, 21 and 22.

SCHEDULE

The party officially starts at 7 p.m. and runs until 12:00 a.m.  Guests with party tickets can enter the Magic Kingdom as early as 4 p.m., but party-related events, characters, and merchandise will not be available until after 7 p.m.

Something they started last year that will be continued this year is that the park will close to regular day guests without party tickets at 6 p.m.  That should significantly help with the crowds at the beginning of the party. In past years, some day guests would stay and enjoy some of the atmosphere, shows and merchandise without having purchased a party ticket, and this created some frustration and larger than anticipated crowds for party guests.  Day guests couldn’t access any rides without a party ticket, but if they avoided cast members, they could still enjoy some of the other benefits.  Hopefully, the extra hour before the party start will help the cast members move most day guest stragglers out before the party starts.  While I understand the frustration of day guests not wanting their day to end early, if I pay extra to attend a special ticketed event, I expect that everyone else enjoying the event with me has also paid the premium.  Disney does a good job of alerting guests that there will be a party that evening and the park will be closing early, so guests can plan to attend a different park that day if they choose, or if they have park hopping privileges, they can “hop” to a different park at 6 pm when the Magic Kingdom closes.

To maximize the value of this pretty expensive ticket, I recommend you plan to be at the Magic Kingdom at or near 4 pm.  This gives you the opportunity to enjoy a few rides and have an early dinner before the party begins, and gives you a little more park time for your party dollar.  Fast Past Plus reservations are not available during the party, but you should be able to book a couple for the late afternoon.  Remember, Fast Pass Plus windows are one hour, and you have a grace period of 10-15 minutes after the window closes to use them.  You may want to try and book a 3:30 FP, a 4:30 FP and a 5:30 FP if there are attractions available that work for you.  Arriving at 4 p.m., you’re within your 3:30 – 4:30 window for the first attraction.  No FP+ will be available after 6 p.m.

Guests with Party tickets will be issued a wristband.  You MUST have a wristband to ride attractions, shop or dine after 7 p.m., once the party has begun.  If you enter the party at 4 p.m., you will get your wristband then.  If you are in the park on a regular admission prior to 4 p.m., (I don’t recommend burning a regular park day on a day when you have a party ticket unless you are an Annual Passholder) there will be stations at various places where you will be able to show your park ticket and get your wristband.  Yes, Disney will sell same day party tickets to day guests in the park who want to stay for the party—unless the party is already sold out.  Same day tickets are priced higher than purchasing in advance.

The official show and parade schedule for 2017 has not been released yet as the first party is not until November 9.  I will update once the “official” schedule is out there.

But unofficially, based on last year’s schedule, I think there are a few things we can count on:

It will SNOW on Main Street.  At many points throughout the evening, SNOW will fall.  For those of us from snowy climates, this may not be that exciting.  But for thousands who NEVER see snow, this is a relatively big deal.  And, I have to admit, does add to the Holiday magic.  (Protect your cameras though…the “snow” has soap in it and is not great for those expensive lenses.)

Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade will happen twice during the party.  Once relatively early and once later in the evening.  Last year, the times were 8:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.  Note: that’s the time the parade will depart from it’s starting point in Frontierland near Splash Mountain.  Depending on where you go to watch the parade, your time to see the parade may vary.  Generally, the first parade is more crowded than the second, although if you go on a very busy/popular/sold out night, it is likely that BOTH parades will be very crowded.  This is a big highlight of the party for me—it’s one of the best parades Disney does, second only to the Halloween themed Boo to You parade featured during the Halloween parties.  Note: After the parties end just before Christmas, Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade will happen during regular park hours for a few days, so if you ARE going to be in the park during Christmas, you CAN see this parade during the day without a Party ticket.  I really like seeing it at night though.

Holiday Wishes Fireworks will happen between the two parades.  Last year was at 10:00 p.m.  I LOVE fireworks, and Disney fireworks are just AMAZING.  Holiday Wishes is another favorite of ours.  This is another MUST NOT MISS part of the parties for us.

Frozen Holiday Wish will happen twice during the evening.  This is the short “mini-show” where the castle’s holiday icicle lights light up for the evening.  The first show was at 6:30 p.m. last year, so day guests could see it as well as party guests.  The second show was at 8:15 p.m.  Generally, both of these are pretty crowded, but the second will be less crowded than the first.   (Note: This happens every night during the holiday season, usually at 6:30 p.m., so this is one party event that you don’t have to be at the party to see, you can see it on another night if that works better for you.)  I am a BIG fan of the icicle castle, my husband will tell you I take dozens of pictures of it every trip during this time of year…but the extreme crowds in the hub and on Main Street for this make it a hit or miss, no big deal for me personally.

Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration (Castle Forecourt Holiday Show) will happen several times during the evening.  Last year’s times were 7:40 p.m., 9:25 p.m., 10:30 p.m. and 12 a.m.  This holiday themed show features Mickey and Minnie as well as many other characters and runs about 25 minutes.  For us, this is a must-not-miss show, so we will try to catch it sometime during the party.

Totally Tomorrowland Christmas will happen several times during the evening.  This is a cute show at the back of Tomorrowland, and features Stitch, Buzz Lightyear, and Mike Wozowski and is upbeat and fun.  It’s around 15 minutes long.  Last year’s times were 7:40 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 9:20 p.m. and 10:45 p.m.  This one is cute but unless we happen to be back there when it is happening, we don’t tend to catch it.  Too much else to do!

Character Greetings will happen throughout the party.  Another big highlight of MVMCP is the special Character Greetings you may not be able to get any other time.  Some characters have special Holiday/Winter attire, and sometimes there are characters (Scrooge McDuck) that you NEVER see.  One really popular staple is Jack Skellington in his Santa suit.  Once this year’s information with specific characters and locations is released, I will update this post.

DINING

There are “complimentary” treats available during the party to party guest.  Usually there are four locations that feature treats.  Last year, you could find Hot Cocoa and Snickerdoodle Cookies at the Tortuga Tavern in Adventureland; Hot Cocoa and Peppermint Bark Cookies in Tomorrowland at the Lunching Pad; Eggnog and Ginger-Molasses Cookies in Liberty Square at Heritage House and in Fantasyland, you could find Apple Cider, Sugar Cookies and Snow Cones at Pete’s Silly Sideshow.  There are healthy options available upon request.

In addition, some of the Quick Service spots that remain open during the party (this is LIMITED, so I recommend you have dinner BEFORE the party—besides, you don’t want to spend time sitting down and eating when you could be enjoying all the party festivities!!!) offer “special” items only available during the parties.  These are NOT free, but can be fun “Special” treats.  Last year’s special treats includes Holiday Tree cupcakes, Peppermint hot fudge sundaes, Frozen Snowflake cupcakes and holiday cookies.

Most restaurants close early on party nights, so plan to eat early.  Again, you probably don’t want to spend party time eating dinner.  Our very first Holiday party we didn’t plan for dinner, and didn’t realize how limited dining options would be after 7 p.m.  We ended up getting room service at 1 a.m. back at our hotel!  Don’t assume all the Quick Service places will be open—Pinocchio’s Village Haus becomes a treat station and Columbia Harbour House closes completely.   You can make Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) for sit down restaurants up until the party starts; if you don’t have a party ticket, be advised that they will ask you to leave the park after you have finished dining.  I recommend planning either a late, big lunch and snacking during the party or doing an early dinner (before 6 p.m.).  This year, we’ve got reservations at Liberty Tree Tavern at 5:25 p.m. on party night.  We’re planning to enter the part at 4 p.m. and hitting a couple of rides before dinner, then we’ll be all set for the party!

ATTRACTIONS

Most, but not all, attractions are open during the party.  Usually, less active attractions like Carousel of Progress are closed.  Generally speaking, party crowds are lighter than a typical busy Magic Kingdom day, and there are no Fast Pass Plus reservations so everything is standby lines.  Usually, lines for the attractions that are open are significantly shorter than during a regular day, especially later in the evening.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is the newest “big” attraction—it tends to still have long lines, even during the parties.  If possible, get a pre-party fast pass to minimize your wait time for this one, or plan to visit it near the end of the night.  I wasn’t successful in my Fast Pass mission, so I will be keeping an eye on the wait times here throughout the night.  It’s our first night of vacation, and our first time back in three years so hitting our favorite attractions IS a priority for us…just not the only priority.

Obviously, sold out parties and more popular evenings are busier and have longer lines than earlier, less congested parties.  If you plan to attend a party closer to Christmas, be prepared for heavier crowds.  If you set your expectations properly, you will still have a great time—you just may have to be a bit more strategic.

Disney has not yet officially announced which attractions will be open during the party, but usually all the most popular attractions are open.  One of the best values of the party for us is being able to walk on (or have very short waits) for most of our favorite attractions.  It can still be a struggle to get everything done though, so make sure you take a look at everything you want to do during the party and plan your attraction visits AROUND the special party events.  You don’t want to be riding It’s a Small World and miss the special, party only Fireworks, if the fireworks are important to you.  Yes, riding all your favorite attractions with short lines is AWESOME, but most likely, you will be visiting Magic Kingdom at least once more during your trip—make sure you get the most bang for your park ticket and take advantage of the party activities you won’t be able to do on a regular day.  If that Scrooge McDuck meet and greet is important, prioritize that over a third time on Pirates, know what I mean?  Don’t let time get away from you.  The actual party time is 5 hours, 7 p.m. until 12 a.m.  That’s actually NOT a lot of time with all the activities and character greetings going on.  Pick your most important activities and make sure you work everything else in around those.

PHOTOPASS/MEMORY MAKER

If you’ve been reading this site for awhile, you already know that I am a BIG proponent of PhotoPass and Memory Maker.  For me, photos are my FAVORITE souvenir.  Writing this blog, looking through photos of past parties and park visits brings back feelings and memories—it’s hard to top having visual captures of special moments and memories.  I mean, the moment my husband proposed is forever captured in a PhotoPass picture—it’s a running joke between us that I drag my husband and any other family members traveling with us to as many PhotoPass photographers as I think I can get away with before they kill me.  Some family members are more understanding of this than others. Note to self: Death is a quick way to ruin a vacation!

Unless it’s a really short trip, or you just REALLY don’t like getting your picture taken, I highly recommend purchasing Memory Maker before your trip.  If you have an annual pass, Memory Maker is included with your Annual Pass.  Here’s a link to my detailed post about PhotoPass and Memory Maker: Disney PhotoPass/Disney Memory Maker

During the parties, there are usually some special “Magic Shots” or “Animated Magic Shots” that are available ONLY during the parties.  If you aren’t familiar with “Magic Shots” these are the pictures where a PhotoPass Photographer “adds a little magic” to the picture after he/she take it.  Some “Magic Shots” from last year’s MVMCP included Toy Soldiers, Tinkerbell in her Holiday outfit, Jack Skellington’s dog Zero, and the “Kringle Krew” dancing through pictures in “Animated Magic Shots”.

PhotoPass Photographers will be at many locations around the party, and they stay out until after the party ends and the park closes, so take LOTS of pictures.  The more you take, the better the odds are that you will LOVE some of the finished results!  I like to play the odds! 😉

After the party, you’ll find special borders and stickers available to you for the pictures taken during the party.

Note: If you DON’T have Memory Maker, Disney DOES offer a one day option for $59.99 that you can have guest relations add to your account—If you think there’s a remote chance that over the course of 5 hours (or 9 hours if you enter the park at 4 pm) you’ll like at least 5 pictures enough to want to keep them, this is a DEFINITE MUST.  (Of course, if you’ve read any of my other posts, you know that I recommend you get Memory Maker for your trip anyway—if you already have Memory Maker, your party pictures will automatically be part of it, along with the special party-only borders and stickers.)

ADDITIONAL OPTIONS

Disney offers a Holiday Wishes Dessert Package for an additional price.  Each package includes desserts and beverages and special fireworks viewing areas.  The Fireworks Holiday Dessert Party at Tomorrowland Terrace features reserved seating throughout the experience, both during the Dessert Party and during the fireworks.  Tickets for this package are $79 for adults and $47 for children ages 3-9 (tax not included).  This is IN ADDITION TO your ticket for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

The Fireworks Holiday Dessert Party with Plaza Garden Viewing includes desserts and (non-alcoholic) beverages and a seating area for the dessert portion of the party; after dessert, you are led to a standing room only viewing area in the Plaza Garden.  Tickets for this package are $59 for adults and $35 for children ages 3-9 (tax not includes).  This is IN ADDITION TO your ticket for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

If you would like to book either of these experiences, call 407-939-3463 or book online at Disney MVMCP Dessert Party Options

I am a fan, generally, of Fireworks Dessert Parties, especially for very crowded park days.  In fact, we have tickets for the Plaza Garden Viewing party for another night during our trip, primarily for just that reason.  The park will be crowded, and we LOVE Disney Fireworks and getting good pictures of them are very important to us.  The parties are a good way to insure you have a great spot to view the fireworks and who can resist lots of desserts?  I don’t think the Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Pary is the best value—while you’ll have seating the whole time, it’s a lot of money for a chair and it’s not the best spot for the Fireworks.  I was really happy when they added the Plaza Garden option as it’s more economical and, I believe, a better spot to see the fireworks.  We’ll find out when we get there in November!  I’ll be taking pictures and posting my review after our trip.

BUT: Even though I am a fan of the Dessert Parties in general, I do NOT think they are worth it for the parties.  Unless money is just NOT an issue at all for you, and you could potentially attend more than one party during the season, I don’t think the Dessert Party (either one) is a good value during the limited party time.  Basically, you’ll end up spending 1 hour or more at the Dessert Party, and while that will include the fireworks, it’s a BIG CHUNK of party time where you won’t be available to do other party activities.  Or you’ll cut your dessert party time short (potentially missing out on the treats you are paying for) to enjoy more of the party activities.  I think it’s a losing proposition.  The party ticket is already pretty pricey, and then to add another $60-$80 (plus tax!) on top of that just seems pretty excessive to me.  In addition, the party crowds ARE smaller than a regular park day, so I don’t think it’s as important to set aside a special viewing area for the Fireworks.  We’ll find out for sure when we are there in November; I’ll be posting a review of this year’s party and our personal experience after our trip.

The MVMCP Fireworks Dessert Party might make sense for you if you’re attending a sold out party, have issues standing for long periods of time, or if you have big issues with the crowds; if you can afford it, and it makes sense for you and your traveling group, go for it.

BOTTOM LINE: IS IT WORTH IT?

Everyone is different, and I encourage you to think about your unique situation to determine if this is a good value proposition for you and your traveling party.

Things to consider:

Ages of Your Group:  If you have very young children, you may not want to attend an event that keeps them up past midnight.  Alternatively, you may choose to leave the party early to protect their bedtimes (and your enjoyment with them the next day 😉 ).  If this is the case, your party time shrinks from 5 – 9 hours (if you enter the park at 4 p.m.) to 3 – 5 hours.  The party may NOT be a good value at that point—you have to evaluate what activities you could complete in the available time to determine if there’s enough value for it to make sense for YOU.

What you have planned for the next day: If you have a BIG day or really early start planned for the next day, you may NOT want to do a party that lasts until Midnight.  We tend to MAXIMIZE our party enjoyment which means we stay as long as we can, until they basically kick us out 😊.  Think about how long it will take to get back to your resort.  Depending on where you are staying and how big the crowds are for the buses and monorails, it could be 2 am before you are in bed.  This year, we have an Epcot day planned for the next day, with a 9 am park open.  I will probably make breakfast in our room, so hopefully we won’t have to get up until 7ish…and we can walk home from the Magic Kingdom, so even staying late, we should be in bed by 1ish.  Think about what you’ll do the next day.  Can it be a rest day?  Or a sleep really late day?

Do you (and the rest of your group) enjoy the holidays?  If yes, the party is a big YES.  If NOT, avoid the party—you will NOT be able to escape Christmas music and holiday magic if you attend MVMCP.

Finances: There is not getting around it: These party tickets are pricey.  A few years ago, tickets were under $60, and the decision was a LOT easier.  Now that tickets are nearing $100 for what is, essentially, a five-hour event, the decision is not as clear cut.  However, the party does include a LOT of value.  The parade and the fireworks alone are worth the cost of admission TO ME.  Your mileage may vary.   Short attraction lines and unique character greeting opportunities are extra value FOR ME.  Throw in free cookies and special PhotoPass Magic Shots and I’m THRILLED.  But everyone is different.  For us, this meant working a couple extra weekends to make enough extra $$ to be able to do it.  It also meant NOT doing a couple other things we might have done otherwise…but for us, this has a lot of value, and is an important component of this year’s vacation.

Souvenirs: Are you a pin collector?  Do you always try to find that one t-shirt that no one else has?  The parties feature unique merchandise that is ONLY available during the parties (and sometimes at outlets a few months later, haha).   Last year’s party only merchandise includes several shirts, a Christmas ornament, a special magic band, and some special pins, including a limited release pin only available for Annual Passholders.  The pins almost always sell out, as does most of the other limited edition special “Party Only” merchandise.  Disney has not shared what this year’s merchandise will be, but one of the advantages of attending a party earlier in the season is that you are much more likely to have a lot more to choose from than later in the season.  They don’t re-order; once it’s gone, it’s gone.

So…is it worth it for YOU?  I’d love to know what you decide.  For us, it’s absolutely worth it.  We LOVE the Christmas parties.  I am SO excited that we are kicking off this year’s trip with the party—it will be a GREAT way to celebrate our anniversary and our return to Disney.

I can’t wait to share with all of you our party-going experience after our trip!  22 days to go!

Happy Dreaming!

Brooke