Disney has just announced dates for the 2025 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) at Walt Disney World in Orlando, which takes place at Magic Kingdom on select evenings in November and December.

One of my biggest debates while planning my family’s Disney World vacation last year was whether we should get tickets to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. I had never been to a specially ticketed Disney parks event, but it seemed like it could be a lot of fun with a festive Christmas atmosphere, special parade and fireworks, low ride wait times, and Christmas cookies handed out everywhere. 

But it was more expensive than a regular park day (by $70 per person, since we were going when party prices were the highest), and the event gives you access to Magic Kingdom from 4pm til midnight (8 hours), which is 6 fewer hours than the park is typically open to regular guests (14 hours). Plus, I wasn’t sure that my kids could stay up late to take full advantage of the party. I scoured blogs, message boards and Facebook groups for reviews, and I found the reviews skewed positive but also somewhat mixed, with many people complaining about larger-than-expected crowds, difficulty enjoying as much entertainment as they wanted, and a lack of food available later in the night. I also worried about December weather possibly foiling our plans. On the whole, however, people seemed to rave about the party as an extra-magical Disney Christmas experience.

We were only planning one Magic Kingdom day, so it was either the party or a regular park day. Having been to Disneyland countless times, I thought MVMCP would be a unique way to experience its Orlando counterpart. I decided to bite the bullet and get the tickets, hoping for the best. 

And I’m so glad that I did because my family had an absolutely amazing time! I’ll go through our experience and strategy below so you can decide for yourself if it makes sense to go, and if you do decide to go, how to best take advantage.

What Were Crowds Like?

We went to the next-to-last party the week before Christmas in December. Crowds were a big concern of mine; that we would be paying more than a regular Disney park day for fewer hours, and therefore less time to ride rides. We didn’t need to ride every ride, but I wanted to make sure we weren’t spending a huge chunk of our party time in ride lines. 

The longest waits seemed to be for character meets (we skipped these) – particularly rare characters like Jack and Sally – and the most popular rides like Tron and Jingle Cruise. We went to the earlier parade at 8:30pm; we grabbed a spot in Liberty Square around 8:20 and had a great view. We showed up to the castle 10 minutes before the fireworks started and also had a great view. Some cookie lines seemed long but moved very quickly; we couldn’t have waited longer than two minutes. Many cookie stations had no lines at all, particularly later in the night. And most of the rides we did from 6pm on were walk-on (though these weren’t the top tier rides). So while there were a lot of people, it felt significantly less crowded than a typical park day.

What Was the Weather Like?

We got lucky. It was mild and humid; we wore t-shirts and jeans. No rain. My kids brought sweatshirts I specially purchased for the trip/party but only wore them a short while. 

But make sure to check the weather the day before you leave for your trip because the forecast changes all the time (and it’s not always accurate). The week before our trip, it was pretty cold in Orlando, so I had packed winter jackets we never touched and way more long pants than we needed.

Was it Hard to Get a Spot for the Parade and Fireworks?

It wasn’t. Many people suggested watching the later parade for lower crowds, but I didn’t know if my kids would make it. So we watched the 8:30pm parade from Liberty Square rather than Main Street, which can be more crowded. We got to our spot 10 minutes before the parade started and had a great view. For the fireworks, we watched from the right side facing the castle, just before the bridge to Tomorrowland. We got there also about 10 minutes before the fireworks started and had a great view. The show was pure magic, blew us all away.

Were There Long Lines to Get Into the Party?

We entered the park at 4:30pm and had very little lines or wait to get in. We had actually aimed to get there right at 4pm but made a miscalculation; we were coming from the Grand Floridian and left later than we had planned, and we also decided to take the ferry rather than the monorail. The ferry was a bit delayed; next time I would take the monorail.

As soon as we entered the party, we made sure to collect our party ornaments that were included with the tickets.

How Many Rides Did You Do?

We did 8 rides and saw 2 shows between 4:30 – 11:30pm:

1. Seven Dwarves Mine Train – purchased LLSP (more below)
2. Tron / Peter Pan (I’ll count this as 1 because my husband rode Tron while my kids and I rode Peter Pan) – Purchased LLSP for Tron, and waited 35 minutes for Peter Pan
3. Carousel – No wait
4. Small World – No wait
5. Country Bear Jamboree
6. Pirates of the Caribbean – No wait
7. Haunted Mansion – 10-minute wait
8. People Mover – No wait
9. Teacups – No wait
10. Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor

Can You Get Lightning Lanes?

YES! As it turns out, party guests can purchase Lightning Lane Single Passes for Tron and Seven Dwarves Mine Train for 4 – 6pm entry times, during the “mix-in” time before the party officially starts at 7pm. We really wanted to ride these and not spend too much party time in lines, so I got Tron for my husband and 7DMT for all of us. 

Note that these can be purchased either 3 days in advance (if not staying at a Disney resort hotel) or 7 days before your hotel check-in date if staying at a Disney resort hotel. Also make sure that your scheduled time is between 4 and 6pm, and that you redeem your pass before 6pm. After 6pm you will no longer be able to redeem these passes, and they are nonrefundable.

Lightning Lane Multi Pass cannot be used for the party, however.

That said, I personally felt that Seven Dwarves Mine Train was overrated and in retrospect not worth purchasing a Lightning Lane for/taking up party time for. I thought that Slinky Dog Dash in Hollywood Studios was a much more fun ride!

Were Your Kids Able to Stay Up Late?

We figured our 9-year-old would be fine, but we weren’t sure how our 5-year-old would do. They both did great and we stayed later than expected, leaving the party at 11:45pm. Whenever our kids started to drag or seemed tired, we just stopped by a cookie station to perk them up – ha!

Did You Get a Lot of Cookies?

We hit every cookie station, some multiple times. We usually just got one cookie each, but later in the night I sometimes asked for an extra. I didn’t want to hoard cookies (I seriously read about people taking home hundreds of cookies which just seems psychotic to me), but I wanted to have a few extra to enjoy on the plane the next day. I brought a tupperware container to keep some cookies in so they wouldn’t get crushed; they are pretty soft.

I had heard a lot about the delicious iced gingerbread cookies, but unfortunately they didn’t offer them at our party; instead they offered a snickerdoodle cookie. The 4 of us each had a different favorite cookie; my favorite was the peppermint sugar cookie, one of my kids liked the regular sugar cookie, my husband liked the caramel pretzel cookie and my other kid liked the red velvet best. 

Did You Do Anything Else?

We did the dance party in Tomorrowland which was a lot of fun!

We took several photos in the fun frames they had throughout the park.

My husband stopped by the Hall of Presidents.

Did You Miss Out on Anything?

They had stage shows throughout the night, which I actually wanted to see but my kids weren’t interested, and we had so much else to do, so we skipped those. I figured I can watch them on YouTube later.

We also didn’t do any character meets/photos; I regret that slightly, but we still had a blast. We did do the dance party in Tomorrowland so we got some character interaction there with Max and Santa Goofy.

I had wanted to ride the Jingle Cruise, but the wait times were pretty high most of the night and we ended up prioritizing other things.

I had also wanted to check out Santa’s Christmas Carnival which I’d heard had some fun kid crafts, Santa meet/greets, mini M&Ms and snow, but we just ran out of time.

We also had chosen not to watch the parade on Main Street where it snows. Our parade experience was still great; however, we ended up leaving the party at 11:45pm as the second parade was going down Main Street, and it was snowing. Wow, that snow was magical!! I can see why people want to watch the parade with the snow. Still, it was also a very cool experience just to walk through it, so I’m glad we got to do that as we left.

How Was the Food?

We had heard that food offerings, particularly dinner, were limited, so we instead had a large late lunch right before the party and mostly snacked for dinner. My kids did get a burger and fries at Pico Bills; other than that we got some popcorn and mostly ate the cookies. 

What Did You Do Before the Party?

Our goal was to take it as easy as possible before the party so our kids would have the energy to stay up later and walk as much as the party required. We slept in and mostly packed up our stuff in the morning to be ready to check out the next day. Then we took the bus to Magic Kingdom, and then the ferry to the Grand Floridian to have brunch at the Grand Floridian Cafe. There was also a giant gingerbread house display in the Grand Floridian lobby, so we took some time to check that out. Note however that in 2025 the Grand Floridian lobby will be undergoing refurbishment, and unfortunately they will not have their traditional gingerbread house on display. We really enjoyed our meal at the Grand Floridian Cafe – they serve brunch until 2pm! It was actually the best table service meal we had during our trip, and one of the most reasonable price-wise. Then we headed over to Magic Kingdom for the party.

Did You Have a Strategy?

I went in with a complete strategy, and I think that helped us accomplish so much. I knew which rides were our top priorities and where they were in the park in relation to each other so we didn’t really do much zigzagging. I knew where the cookie stations were and made sure we hit them all up as we walked towards rides. I knew what time the entertainment was and approximately where we wanted to be to view it. And I knew which attractions closed early so that we could make sure and do those first. I also purchased and scheduled our Lightning Lane Single Passes between 4-6pm.

I kept everything organized by making this map for myself using a scan of a party map I found on another blog. This might be extreme but it really helped guide us around the park with a rough schedule and visual layout.

I think this is essential because there is a ton to do and it does go by quickly. I definitely felt rushed at some times, but we were also having so much fun. Towards the end of the night we also relaxed a bit and followed the kids’ lead more in terms of which rides and shows to do, and how late to stay.

You also need to prioritize because you really can’t do everything. So we prioritized the parade, fireworks, rides and cookies. We left out character meets, stage shows and other specialty food.

Did You Wear Special Outfits?

We did! Let me tell you though, I had a tough time finding Disney Christmas clothes for my kids. I did get some cute hoodies on the Disney website on Black Friday, but most of the night it was too hot to wear them. I settled for some older Nightmare Before Christmas t-shirts they already had. For my husband, I found a great Jack Skellington Sandy Claws t-shirt at Old Navy (we are big NBC fans). And for myself I found this amazing ugly Disney Christmas sweater vest at Boxed Lunch.

I also got Jack Skellington Sandy Claws and Minnie Mouse light up necklaces from Five Below, which we all had fun wearing. (I also found a Sandy Claws beanie at Five Below, but it was way too hot to wear it!)

Was it Worth It?

For us it was 100% worth it! My kids love Christmas (I do too!) so this was an extra fun way to celebrate Disney-style.

Are there Any Alternatives?

Yes! Even if you don’t attend the Christmas Party, there are so many other wonderful ways to enjoy the holidays at Disney World:

• Beginning the day after the last Christmas Party (so, beginning December 22 in 2025) through approximately December 30, you’ll be able to catch the special Christmas Parade and Fireworks shows as a regular guest at Magic Kingdom.
• All the parks are decked out with extra holiday decorations throughout the holiday season, holiday entertainment, treats and more.
• There are a few season-long ride overlays like Jingle Cruise in Magic Kingdom and Living with the Land Holiday Lights in EPCOT.
• EPCOT’s International Festival of the Holidays offers tons of holiday-themed entertainment, food and activities for a variety of cultures and religions, culminating nightly with the spectacular Candlelight Processional.
• Resorts are also decked out, with many displaying elaborate Christmas trees or gingerbread houses.
• We caught some live holiday music at the Boardwalk, and beautiful Christmas decor at Cake Bake Shop.
• Disney Springs has a Christmas tree stroll.