Review: The 2015 Edition of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (“MVMCP”)

MICKEY’S VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS PARTY: A REVIEW

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (“MVMCP”) is a special event that takes place during the Christmas season at Walt Disney World.

It requires its own ticket, which is entirely separate from regular Disney World tickets, and is only shown on certain nights from early November through mid-December.

(For more on MVMCP tickets and show nights, see this.)

Even though it is expensive (tickets for a family of four will cost over $200) it’s been part of this site’s Basic December Itinerary since the site opened, for a couple of reasons:

Going to it lets people save a lot of time. 

Disney limits the amount of tickets it sells to each show of MVMCP.  As a result, waits for the rides are low–most typically 10 minutes. For just how low, see Josh’s post here. Going to it and seeing some really popular rides with hardly a wait saves a ton of time that can instead be spent sleeping in or at the pool.

For example, above is the Space Mountain wait at a little after 9p at the November 8, 2015 party that I attended.

Going to it guarantees seeing an evening parade and fireworks. 

At the time of year the Basic Itinerary covers, the evening parade and fireworks at the Magic Kingdom may happen just a couple of times a week on non-MVMCP nights.  Sending people to MVMCP guarantees your family will have the opportunity to see an evening parade and fireworks.

Moreover, the parade and fireworks are unique. The fireworks are tied with those of the Halloween party as best of the year, and the parade has a fun Christmas theme!

I recommend people go to Walt Disney World in the early part of the Christmas season…so how can I not send them to this show?

It’s silly and fun!

In early November 2015 I had a chance to see it again, for the seventh time. The rest of this entry is the review of that visit. (Note that some of the photos are from my 2014 visit, as they turned out better that night…)

MICKEY’S VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS PARTY

There’s a couple of components to MVMCP.

Noted already are the parade and fireworks, both in special Christmas versions.

The parade, called Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, happens twice each night, at 8.15 and 10.30p.

I strongly suggest you go on rides during the first parade, and watch the second parade–crowds for the second parade will be much lower, and you won’t have to save a spot like the little guy above.

The parade begins with a bunch of characters…

…then Minnie and Mickey.

Frozen comes next with three floats, beginning with Anna and Elsa…

…then Olaf…

…and then Kristoff.

Next is Wreck-It Ralph…

…then Clarabelle Cow and Christmas cookies–I wonder why no resort is themed to Clarabelle?…

…then Goofy and Christmas candy.

Next up is a sequence of princess-themed floats.

Snow White and Cinderella get their own floats.

A closer shot of Cinderella.

One large float is fronted by the Beast and holds a passel of princesses.

The parade then shifts to a toy theme, including Woody and Jess…

…and toy solders.

Santa Claus is on the last float.

The fireworks, called Holiday Wishes, happen between the parades at 9.30, preceded by a special holiday version of Celebrate the Magic at 9.15p.

Also noted already are the rides.

• Not all rides are open, but all of the most popular ones are (there’s a list of what’s open on the brochure below).
• Because of the limit on tickets sold, the rides are pretty easy to get on to without major waits. The park will feel very crowded on Main Street and near the Castle, but this is because of all the people lining for the castle shows and the parade route.  Away from Main Street and Frontierland the park opens up and ride waits are quite short.

There’s some shows, some unique to this event.

Castle shows Celebrate the Season…

…and A Frozen Holiday Wish are the same as on regular MK evenings. The first is OK but not worth seeing at the mobbed 7.30 showing (the 10.05 or 11.20p show is the better choice), and the second skippable.

Only shown during the party are A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas in Tomorrowland…

…and a dance party in Cosmic Ray’s in Tomorrowland.

(The dance party formerly held at the Diamond Horseshoe in Frontierland was not on during my November 2015 visit.)  The first of these is quite lame, the second a cute way for your kids to burn off energy if they need to.

New for 2015 is “Voiceplay,” showing on the same stage as A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas at 8.10, 9.05, 10.10 and 11.05p.  This will please you in direct proportion to the joy you take in slightly thuggish boy band a Capella gestures towards Christmas songs.

There’s some fun other business: free cookies, free hot chocolate (locations on the map, and marked by candy canes), and snow!

There’s also character encounters, some rare. My first reaction to the bear was “that scarf must be warm.” Yes, my first reactions are often stupid.

You can spend a lot of time waiting in lines for characters–go for it if that’s your thing, but for most there’s much better ways to spend your time given the cost of this party…

I am a member of The Tuba Guy fan club, and am sorry I did not get a better shot…

Both sides of the 2015 MVMCP brochure are below–as always, click them to enlarge them.

Even though the party starts at 7p, Disney traditionally lets people holding tickets for it through the turnstiles beginning at 4p. Show up early, see some of the lower wait rides, and have dinner.  If you show up around party time, Main Street will be mobbed.  If the train is still running–the last run will be 6.45p or so–take the train to Frontierland or Fantasyland to avoid the crowds on Main Street and in front of the Castle.

FastPass+ is not available during the party–but it’s also not needed, as only Anna and Elsa and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train see major waits. If you want to see these, do them as late as you can stay up.

WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE NOT FOLLOWING THE BASIC ITINERARY?

As noted, this show is expensive, but worth considering if one or more of the following apply to you:

• You otherwise won’t see the evening parade and fireworks at the Magic Kingdom
• Your plans otherwise leave you short on Magic Kingdom time, and/or
• You are really a fan of Christmas

With kids old enough to be focused on rides, the right plan for MVMCP is to

• Show up early, and eat before the party
• Do rides until a little before 9, and then
• Position yourselves near the Castle for Celebrate the Magic, Holiday Wishes, and the second showing of the evening parade.
• After the parade, do more rides or see the shows!

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