Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 2017 Review At Walt Disney World

On Friday, November 17, 2017, my adult daughter and I attended Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. We couldn’t have asked for better weather, as the sun went down the air turned cool but not cold, and there was no humidity and no chance of rain. It was the perfect evening for the party.

If you’re attending either of Mickey’s Parties, your ticket will allow you into the Magic Kingdom at 4:00pm, even though the event doesn’t officially start until 7:00. We arrived a little bit after 5:00. We scanned our tickets and received wristbands. Once we entered the park there was a special section open on the right for party guests. They were handing out the first of the cookies. My daughter is allergic to dairy, so a very friendly Cast Member gave both of us gingerbread men that were allergy free and also vegan. It was a great way to start a fun evening.

Disney has made a change for 2017, one that makes a lot of sense. Instead of closing at 7:00, the Magic Kingdom officially closed at 6:00pm. That gave guests who weren’t attending the party a chance to browse the shops on Main Street, U.S.A. before they left, there wasn’t a huge rush to try to get everyone out. That also meant that the lines for the rides cleared out before the party. After 6:00, you needed to show your wristband in order to get in line. In fact, we needed to show our wristbands several times during the first couple of hours of the party. The Cast Members were nice about it, and it wasn’t an inconvenience.

Cookies and hot chocolate are included in the cost for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. This year, they have stepped it up a notch. You can still get your fill of cookies and hot chocolate, but there are other treats. Eggnog, chocolate milk, sparkling cider, and regular cider are all available. Additional treats include Snowman Soft Pretzels and Dove chocolates. Sno-Cones are also available, I’m not sure if they should fall under food or beverage. Most of the treats are listed on the map. If you’re looking for regular cider, try Pinocchio Village House. For some reason that one is marked as “a variety of holiday favorites” on the map. The treat locations were easy to find, they’re marked with a candy cane striped inflatable near the entrance. There was also a Cast Member at each entrance to answer questions. There was one slight disappointment with the treat locations, and that was that the allergy friendly options were the same Enjoy Life cookies. It would have been nice for my daughter to have more of a variety, especially since we were given gingerbread men when we arrived. The Snowman Pretzels were vegan like the regular park pretzels. One Cast Member told us that they weren’t, but then another one showed my daughter the ingredient list so we knew for sure.

The special holiday entertainment is a big reason why many people attend Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, and in 2017 it doesn’t disappoint. Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration features your favorite characters and plenty of holiday songs. A Frozen Wish stars the sisters, plus Kristoff and Olaf. During it Elsa turns Cinderella Castle into an ice palace. Since A Frozen Wish takes place only once, the entire area was packed. Disney never disappoints with a parade, and Mickey’s Once Upon a Time Christmas Parade features many classic characters and a few Christmas ones as well. My personal favorite of the special entertainment was Holiday Wishes. The show is beautiful, and there’s a simplicity to it that you don’t often find in Disney fireworks anymore.

Characters are another reason why people attend Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. The lines for the characters were shorter than when we attended Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party back in September. There is a rare chance to meet all seven dwarfs. Also popular were Moana, Captain Jack Sparrow, and several princesses with their princes. For some guests, a chance to meet some characters who don’t often greet is reason enough to buy a ticket.

The Magic Kingdom was more crowded than I expected it to be, but we still were able to get a lot done. The lines for the rides were either short or manageable, I’ll take a 30 minute wait for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train any day! I did wish that they would cut down a little bit on the fake snow, at the end of the night when we were leaving more than one person started to cough because they had inhaled it. But that’s just a minor complaint. Overall, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party beautifully captures the magic of the holiday season. It runs on select nights through December 22.