Category — 6. The Christmas Season at Walt Disney World
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (“MVMCP”) in 2016
DISNEY WORLD’S SPECIAL CHRISTMAS PARTY IN 2016
While Christmas itself is December 25 of course, Walt Disney World provides a special Christmas celebration at the Magic Kingdom many nights in November and December.
This celebration is called “Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, or “MVMCP” for short.
At the party, many of the Magic Kingdom’s rides are open, and cookies and hot chocolate, special events, and different Christmas parades and fireworks, and even snow (!) are offered.
The official Disney World page for this event (where you can also buy tickets) can be found here. For a review of the 2016 version of MVMCP, see this.
MORE ON MICKEY’S VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS PARTY
This party occurs from 7p-12MN on certain evenings at the Magic Kingdom in November and December.
The 2016 dates for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party are as follows:
- November 2016: 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 18, 27 and 29
- December 2016: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18 and 22
You need to buy a special ticket for this party. This ticket is different from regular Walt Disney World park admission tickets.
- The special party ticket does not allow you to enjoy the rides and attractions of the Magic Kingdom before the the Party starts–you need a regular ticket for that (note that you can usually enter and enjoy the rides as early as 4p–although your ticket will say 7p)
- Regular tickets used to enter the park earlier the day of a Party do not give you access to the Party–you need to have the special Party ticket
The party tickets are expensive, so why would first-time visitors be interested? A couple of potential reasons
- Evening fireworks shows are rare this time of year, so going to one of the parties is a way to guarantee you can see them
- Operating hours at the Magic Kingdom are shorter this time of year, so the Party allows you more time there within the same visit
- Walt Disney World sells only a limited number of tickets to each party, so the evening can be less crowded, particularly compared to whenever the Magic Kingdom is doing evening Extra Magic Hours that week
Many families go the first time for one of these reasons…and then going becomes a tradition!
On the other hand, families following one of the standard 8-night itineraries on this site will see the fireworks and evening parade, and have plenty of time at the Magic Kingdom. For that reason, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is not designed into this site’s pre-Thanksgiving itineraries.
It is, however, built in to this site’s Christmas-oriented Basic Itinerary, which works for the three weeks beginning the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
For details on what the party offers, suggested approaches, etc., see this!
Here’s the 2016 brochure–as always on this site, click to enlarge:
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March 25, 2016 8 Comments
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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November 10, 2015 12 Comments
Disney World Crowds: Christmas 2015 and New Year’s 2015/2016
DISNEY WORLD CROWDS FROM LATER DECEMBER 2015 TO EARLY JANUARY 2016
Disney World sees its highest crowds and prices of the year in the later third of December and the beginning of January, in the week that includes Christmas, and the next week that includes New Year’s Eve.
This is for a pretty basic reason: kids are out of school these weeks.
However, not every school district has the same break schedule.
In 2015/2016, more kids are out New Year’s week than early in Christmas week, but there’s still plenty enough on break Christmas week to wildly crowd the parks…
SCHOOL BREAKS AND DISNEY WORLD CROWDS
Most years, there two typical sorts of breaks:
- Long breakers–districts that take at least 2 full weeks (and three weekends) off
- Short breakers–districts that take off as close to only December 24 to January 1 as they can
In 2015, a Friday Christmas, and the patterning of school breaks around it, will make it easy for many families to head to Walt Disney World either week.
But the Friday New Year’s Day results in no schools re-opening between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
So almost all kids will be off all of the week that includes New Year’s Day, and unlike some years–like 2013–both weeks will be really lousy all week long.
ACTUAL 2015-2016 CHRISTMAS SEASON SCHOOL BREAKS
The chart above illuminates this.
It’s based on data from a weighted sample including more than 160 of the largest relevant US public school districts.
(For how the database is built, see this.)
The weekends are in black and the two holidays–Christmas and New Year’s Day–in red. Click the image enlarge it.
You can see that many breaks begin Saturday the 19th, with hardly any kids on break before then, but almost 30% of kids are still in school the first three weekdays of Christmas week.
By Christmas Eve, though, everyone is out, and pretty much everybody stays out of school through January 3, 2016.
A few–very few–breaks continue past January 3.
So I’ve classed both weeks as 11/highest crowds, but of the two, New Year’s week will be the worse.
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June 9, 2015 No Comments
New Year’s Eve 2015/2016 at Walt Disney World
2015 NEW YEAR’S EVE AT DISNEY WORLD
New Year’s Eve festivities and fireworks will happen on December 31, 2015 at Disney World’s Epcot, Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios theme parks, and also at the Magic Kingdom on December 30.
The Animal Kingdom has no special New Year’s Eve fireworks, but will–for the first time– be offering a “New Year’s Eve Street Parti” in Africa’s Harambe Market from 3:30p to 8:30p.
Hours may be extended, but here’s what’s currently scheduled:
- Epcot is scheduled to be open until 1a on New Year’s Eve; Disney’s Hollywood Studios until midnight for the general public, and 2a for Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests; and the Magic Kingdom until 2a
- The Magic Kingdom will have Wishes at 6.30p, and special New Year’s Eve fireworks at 11.50p
- Epcot will have its Illuminations fireworks show at 6p and 11.40p, plus DJs in various pavilions.
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios will have fireworks at midnight
- Note that alcohol is not available at the Magic Kingdom, but is available at Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios
The Magic Kingdom will have the same fireworks at the same times on 12/30. This date will likely be a little less crowded than 12/31.
DISNEY WORLD PARK CLOSURES ON NEW YEAR’S EVE
Disney closes parks due to crowding often on New Year’s Eve. “Closes” means closed to additional guests–those in the parks do not have to leave.
See this for more on how Disney World park closings work.
The Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios are the most likely parks to close, and Animal Kingdom the least likely.
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May 19, 2015 63 Comments
December 2015 at Walt Disney World
OVERVIEW: DECEMBER 2015 AT DISNEY WORLD
This page reviews December 2015 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes; and ends with week by week summaries.
Early December, with lower crowds, lower prices, and wonderful Christmas decorations and events, has the best weeks of the year to visit.
Later December with Christmas and New Year’s weeks has the highest crowds and prices of the year.
Park closings to additional guests are common in this period, as are 8a openings and daily morning Extra Magic Hours.
December also has a special party, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, a special evening event–with its own ticket–that has become a family tradition for many.
DECEMBER 2015 CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Early December is one of the less crowded periods at Walt Disney World.
Later December–beginning the 19th in 2015–is the most crowded time of the year at Walt Disney World.
On a crowd scale of 1-11, the week beginning 11/28 has a crowd rating of 3/low, the week beginning 12/5 4/low-plus, the week beginning 12/12 3/low, and the weeks beginning 12/19 and 12/26 11/highest.
However, because of the crowd effects of the Christmas Party, even the first three weeks you can face higher much waits if you go to the parks on the wrong days. See this for how to avoid these crowds.
See this for more on 2015 crowds at Disney World.
DECEMBER 2015 PRICES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
December 2015 prices begin 10% higher than the lowest of the year at the values, 8% higher at the moderates, and 10% higher at the deluxes.
On 12/11, they increase to 45% higher than the lowest of the year at the values, 30% higher at the moderates and 16% higher at the deluxes.
On 12/18 prices go to 80% higher than the lowest of the year at the values, 50% higher at the moderates, and 33% higher at the deluxes.
Value and moderate prices stay at this level the rest of the month; prices at the deluxes go up one more time on 12/25 to 55% higher than the lowest of the year, and stay at this level the rest of the month.
See this for more on 2015 resort hotel prices at Walt Disney World.
DECEMBER 2015 DEALS AND DISCOUNTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Deals are available for December 2015. Details are here.
DECEMBER 2015 WEATHER AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Average temperatures trend down over December, and weather becomes quite variable. Days can be perfect, or quite cool.
Click the image, or go to Weather and When to Go to Disney World, for more on temperatures.
DECEMBER 2015 SPECIAL EVENTS
December brings delightful Christmas festivities to Disney World:
- At the Magic Kingdom, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party—a special event that requires its own ticket—runs on many nights through the first two-thirds of the month. Later in the month, its signature events—a special Christmas parade, and special Christmas fireworks—are available to all guests. Christmas decor is in place by the night of the first party–in 2015, November 7
- At Epcot, the evening fireworks show Illuminations has special Christmas additions. In addition, most nights Christmas carols are sung by massed choirs in the Candlelight Processional. Many of the countries in Epcot’s World Showcase have special Christmas events as part of Epcot’s Holidays Around the World program. Epcot’s special events usually begin the Friday after Thanksgiving
- At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the Christmas celebration is the Osborne holiday lights in the Streets of America area. The evening opening ceremony is typically 6p.
NEW YEAR’S EVE 2015/2016 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
New Year’s Eve festivities and fireworks will happen on December 31, 2015 at Disney World’s Epcot, Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios theme parks, and also at the Magic Kingdom on December 30.
The Animal Kingdom has no special New Year’s Eve fireworks, but will–for the first time– be offering a “New Year’s Eve Street Parti” in Africa’s Harambe Market from 3:30p to 8:30p.
Hours may be extended, but here’s what’s currently scheduled:
- Epcot is scheduled to be open until 1a on New Year’s Eve; Disney’s Hollywood Studios until midnight for the general public, and 2a for Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests; and the Magic Kingdom until 2a
- The Magic Kingdom will have Wishes at 6.30p, and special New Year’s Eve fireworks at 11.50p
- Epcot will have its Illuminations fireworks show at 6p and 11.40p, plus DJs in various pavilions.
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios will have fireworks at midnight
- Note that alcohol is not available at the Magic Kingdom, but is available at Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios
The Magic Kingdom will have the same fireworks at the same times on 12/30. This date will likely be a little less crowded than 12/31.
DECEMBER 2015 OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Park operating hours vary by the day, and sometimes change without notice. It is rare for hours to be shorter than Disney has publicized, but Disney may lengthen them in response to unanticipated crowds.
The best way to keep up with operating hours is to check Disney’s official calendars, usually available six months in advance.
These calendars can be found by clicking the following links:
WEEK BY WEEK COMMENTS FOR DECEMBER 2015 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD BY ARRIVAL DATE
The week rankings that follow below are from 2015 weeks to visit, ranked in order, and are designed for first-time visitors who do not know whether or not they will return.
Click the image for a calendar view of 2015 weeks (when open, keep clicking to enlarge.)
- 11/28/2015 Low prices at values and deluxes, moderate prices in moderates. Low crowds. Crowd ranking=3. Week ranking=1. Recommended week. Use the Basic December Itinerary, but swap Wednesday and Thursday
- 12/5/2015 Pop Warner Week. Low prices at values and deluxes, moderate prices in moderates. Low-plus crowds. Crowd ranking=4. Week ranking=2. Recommended week. Use the Basic December Itinerary, but swap Wednesday and Thursday
- 12/12/2015 High prices at values and moderates, moderate-plus prices in deluxes. Low crowds. Crowd ranking=3. Week ranking=3. Recommended week. Use the Basic December Itinerary, but swap Wednesday and Thursday
- 12/19/2015 Christmas week. Highest prices at values and moderates, higher prices in deluxes. Highest crowds. Crowd ranking=11. Week ranking=45. Use the FastPass+ Higher Crowd Itinerary, but swap Tuesday and Wednesday in both the itinerary and its To-Do List
- 12/26/2015 Christmas week. Highest prices at values, moderates, and deluxes. Highest crowds. Crowd ranking=11. Week ranking=47. Use the FastPass+ Higher Crowd Itinerary, but swap Tuesday and Wednesday in both the itinerary and its To-Do List
MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD
- For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
- For the best and worst times to visit, see this
- For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
- For the 2015 Crowd Calendar, click here
- For the 2016 Crowd Calendar, click here
- For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
- For 2015 price seasons, see this
- For projected 2016 price seasons, see this
- For weather at Walt Disney World, see this
Want a second opinion? Then check out my book lol.
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May 12, 2015 40 Comments
November 2015 at Walt Disney World
OVERVIEW: NOVEMBER 2015 AT DISNEY WORLD
This page reviews November 2015 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes; and ends with week by week summaries.
Mid-November has some of the best times of the year to visit Disney World, with cooler weather, low crowds, low prices, and fun special events.
The beginning of the month is not so good, with moderate crowds from Jersey Week. Thanksgiving week, with high crowds and higher prices than the rest of the month, should be avoided.
NOVEMBER 2015 CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
November has high, low and moderate crowd weeks.
On a crowd scale of 1-11, the week beginning 10/31 has a crowd rating of 5/moderate minus, the week beginning 11/7 3/low, the week beginning 11/14 2/low, and the week beginning 11/22 10/higher.
However, because of the Christmas Party and the Food and Wine Festival, you can face higher much waits if you go to the parks on the wrong days. See this for how to avoid these crowds.
See this for more on 2015 crowds at Disney World.
NOVEMBER 2015 PRICES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
November 2015 prices begin 10% higher than the lowest of the year at the values, 8% higher at the moderates, and 10% higher at the deluxes.
Other than a bump over the Jersey Week (11/6 to 11/8) weekend, prices stay this level until November 21 at the values and moderates and November 24 at the deluxes, when they bump for Thanksgiving. On November 28th, prices revert to the same as at the beginning of the month.
See this for more on 2015 resort hotel prices at Walt Disney World.
NOVEMBER 2015 DEALS AND DISCOUNTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Deals are available for November 2015. Details are here.
NOVEMBER 2015 WEATHER AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Early November weather can be about as good as Orlando gets. Over the course of the month, lower and much more variable temps emerge. Days can be perfect or quite cool.
Click the image, or go to Weather and When to Go to Disney World, for more on temperatures.
NOVEMBER 2015 SPECIAL EVENTS
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party has its last show November 1..
The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival continues through November 16.
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party kicks off November 8.
NOVEMBER 2015 OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Park operating hours vary by the day, and sometimes change without notice. It is rare for hours to be shorter than Disney has publicized, but Disney may lengthen them in response to unanticipated crowds.
The best way to keep up with operating hours is to check Disney’s official calendars, usually available six months in advance.
These calendars can be found by clicking the following links:
WEEK BY WEEK COMMENTS FOR NOVEMBER 2015 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD BY ARRIVAL DATE
The week rankings that follow below are from 2015 weeks to visit, ranked in order, and are designed for first-time visitors who do not know whether or not they will return.
Click the image for a calendar view of 2015 weeks (when open, keep clicking to enlarge.)
- 10/31/2015 Jersey Week. Low prices at values and deluxes, moderate prices in moderates. Moderate-minus crowds. Crowd ranking=5. Week ranking=15. Use the FastPass+ Lower Crowd Itinerary, but swap First Sunday and Wednesday in both the itinerary and its To-Do List
- 11/7/2015 Low prices at values and deluxes, moderate prices in moderates. Low crowds. Crowd ranking=3. Week ranking=7. Recommended week. Use the FastPass+ Lower Crowd Itinerary, but swap First Sunday and Wednesday in both the itinerary and its To-Do List
- 11/14/2015 Low prices at values and deluxes, moderate prices in moderates. Lower crowds. Crowd ranking=2. Week ranking=4. Recommended week. Use the FastPass+ Lower Crowd Itinerary, but swap First Sunday and Wednesday in both the itinerary and its To-Do List
- 11/21/2015 Thanksgiving week. High prices at values, moderate prices in moderates and deluxes. Higher crowds. Crowd ranking=10. Week ranking=40. Use the FastPass+ Higher Crowd Itinerary, but swap First Sunday and Wednesday in both the itinerary and its To-Do List
- 11/28/2015 Low prices at values and deluxes, moderate prices in moderates. Low crowds. Crowd ranking=3. Week ranking=1. Recommended week. Use the Basic December Itinerary, but swap Wednesday and Thursday in both the itinerary and its To-Do List
MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD
- For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
- For the best and worst times to visit, see this
- For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
- For the 2015 Crowd Calendar, click here
- For the 2016 Crowd Calendar, click here
- For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
- For 2015 price seasons, see this
- For projected 2016 price seasons, see this
- For weather at Walt Disney World, see this
Want a second opinion? Then check out my book lol.
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April 13, 2015 50 Comments
