The Ultimate Guide to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is a special ticketed event select nights November through December after hours at the Magic Kingdom. The party officially starts at 7pm but guests can get into the park starting at 4pm. There's so much to do so here's the Ultimate Guide to help maximize your time

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This event is full of specialty character meet and greets, exclusive treats, Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, and Minnie's Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks show. Because there are so many things to do it is best to have a plan.

Here is the event map!

and the event guide to go with the event!

Specailty Merch

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party has a lot of event merchandise! Normally, I would recommend heading straight to the Emporium to get the merch, but this time I recommend waiting a little bit into the night and heading into Mickey's Startraders next to Cosmic Rays. All of the event merchandise is there with less of a wait and less chaos of the Emporium. 

Characters

There are so many specialty characters at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Here I will break them down by which lands in Magic Kingdom then give advice on which ones to prioritize at which times of night. 

Main Street USA
Mickey Mouse - Town Square Theater (right)
Jack Skellington and Sally - Town Square Theater (left) 
Princess Elena - Town Square Theater (exit)

Adventureland 
Captain Jack Sparrow - outside of Pirates of the Caribbean 
Moana - inside the Tiki Room 
Friends from Aladdin (rotating Jasmine, Genie, Aladdin and Abu) - across from the Magic Carpets of Aladdin on the edge of the store

Liberty Square 
Mary Poppins - in the gazebo behind the Christmas shop 
​Princess Tiana and Naveen - on the Liberty boat 

Fantasyland 
Anna and Elsa (in their Christmas outfits) - Fairytale Princess Hall 
Cinderella and Prince Charming - Fairytale Princess Hall 
Rapunzel and Flynn Rider - Fairytale Princess Hall
Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip - behind the turrets next to the carousel 
Snow White and the Prince - turrets across from Seven Dwarfs Mine Train 
Belle - enchanted tales with Belle
Ariel and Eric - to the left of the Little Mermaid attraction 
Friends from Winnie the Pooh (Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore) - to the left of the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 
Friends from Alice in Wonderland - by the Mad Tea Cups on the side by Cosmic Rays
Mirabel and Bruno - in Mirabel's regular meet and greet location 

There are three major meet and greets, Jack Skellington in his Sandy Claws suit, Minnie, Donald, Daisy and Scrooge McDuck and Anna and Elsa in their winter Christmas outfits. 
The BEST time to meet any of these characters is during the parade or fireworks show, but if you don't want to miss either of these make sure to head there imminently after. Jack Skellington had a line over an hour for most of the evening but when right after the fireworks show we waited only 25 minutes. To see Minnie, Daisy, Donald and Scrooge we went right to their meet and greet location and were in line for them before their meet and greet location before it opened at 7pm. 

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Food

There are so many treats to try at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and there's no way to eat them all in one night, so make sure to look at the  map and decide which ones are a must try for you. There are many treats that are not shown in the map, but you cand find all of them in the My Disney Experience App. 
The best way to get all of the treats and snacks without waiting is to mobile order them! 
The one must try snack I'd recommend is the giant red velvet Mickey Waffle with peppermint ice cream. This can be found at Sleepy Hollow where funnel cakes are sold. 

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Cookies & Cocoa 

There are so many FREE treats included with the event ticket that it is almost not needed to spend more money on additional treats. Look for the candy cane poles on the map to find the free cookies. There are many different flavors around the park including sugar cookies, red velvet, and gingerbread. All of the cookie stops also have specialty drinks they have eggnog, apple cider or hot coco. These are all included in the event ticket! There are also allergy friendly options available at each location. 

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Parade & Stageshows 

Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade goes twice at the night once at 8:30pm and once at 11pm. There are two strategies I recommend if wanting to see the parade and it just depends on what works for you and your family.
ONE – if you have younger kids or just don’t want to be at the party super late, I recommend seeing the first parade. There truly isn’t a bad place to watch it as it starts in Frontierland and ends on Main Street USA, however, my favorite place to watch it is to the righthand side of the hub by the castle. Inside by the partners statue of Walt and Mickey fills up quickly but that is a great area to watch the parade if you are going to stay in one place for the fireworks. Frontierland and Liberty Square are also really great places to watch from if you want it to be less crowded and don’t care about being on Main Street. 
TWO – if you are willing to stay till the later parade there is a strategy, I have that allows you to see the parade TWICE and beat the crowds out. At around 10:45 go to the start of the parade route. This is highlighted on the map by a Toy Solider head icon between Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Peco’s Bill. Go to the side by Peco’s Bill so Pirate’s of the Caribbean is behind you. Watch the parade from this location and immediately as the parade has passed you make your way to Main Street via Adventureland. Cut through the shops on Main Street and make sure to cross the street to Guest Services and watch from the steps there. Once the parade is over, from there the park is closed and you will be able to get out before the mad rush and see the parade twice!

If you choose to watch the parade from Main Street the street will fill with snow making the experience extra magical. If you want to watch it on Main Street, make sure to get there at least 45 minutes ahead of time to get a good spot. 

There are two incredible stage shows you don't want to miss! Frozen Holiday Surprise is at 8:15pm and is a must see for fans of Frozen, especially fans of Olaf - as he is the host of the show. 

Mickey's Most Merriest Celebration has four showings throughout the night one at 7:40pm, 9:25pm, 10:35pm and 11:55pm. I recommend seeing one of the showings right before the parade and watching it from a parade spot closer to the castle. Viewing is good from anywhere around the hub and getting closer is not necessary for a good view. 

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The Toy Soldiers during Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas Time Parade

Minnie's Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks Show combines projections, fireworks and music

Fireworks

There is only one fireworks show at 10pm called Minnie's Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks show and it is not something you want to miss. Projections are an important part of this show so make sure to be close enough to the castle to see them. Any part of the hub area is castle viewing is good!