Tuesday's Tips: Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

"It's the most wonderful time of the year..." Christmas carols are ringing, cookies are baking, and snow is lightly falling. Which sounds wonderful, except that it's November(isn't it too early to be celebrating Christmas?) we live in Central Florida(so, no real snow. Ever.), and it is too hot to be baking cookies(it was 85 yesterday). It all only means one thing: Christmas has come to the Walt Disney World Resort! And with Christmas comes one of the best nights of the year. Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party! 

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas.... 

Walt Disney World does two hard ticket events every year. One is the Halloween party, Mickey's Not So Scary. We had a fabulous time at that one last September, so naturally, when November came, and the temperatures dropped from 95 to 80, it was obviously time to celebrate Christmas! We attended Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party last Thursday, and it was a blast! Here is an overview of our experiences :)

Main Street is so beautiful with snow :) 

We arrived early, because we wanted to do a nice dinner at Tony's Italian Restaurant first. Tip: Use your party ticket to enter the park at 4pm, and then go have a good dinner. That way you don't waste precious party time eating anything but hot cocoa and cookies! It was lovely to sit and enjoy our pasta while watching Main Street come alive as dusk fell. The lights turned on, the street began to clear, and the strains of Christmas carols washed over us. Yes, it was the perfect night for a Christmas Party!

After our lovely dinner, the fun began! Christmas time is here, happiness and cheer, fun for all the children call their favorite time of year! :) Our first stop was the Seven Dwarfs. Tip: If you want to see the Seven Dwarfs, head to their line around 6:30-6:45. We were in line by 6:40 and had met the Dwarfs by 7:30, leaving plenty of party time left. Their line does become very long, by the middle of the party you would have to wait an hour and a half to meet them. Tip: If you happen to be going to both the Halloween Party and the Christmas Party, DO NOT meet the Dwarfs at the Halloween party. Use that time to meet all the other characters that are not at Christmas Party, like Jane and Terk. Then, meet the Dwarfs at Christmas Party. 

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me ;) 

While waiting in line for the Dwarfs, I did our very first cookies and cocoa stop! Because the cookies and cocoa are complimentary and unlimited, you can send one or two members of your party to get the treats while the rest wait in lines. The Cast Members will give you as many cookies and cocoa as you want :) Seriously, one of my favorite parts of Christmas Party. I love the cookies and cocoa way more than Halloween candy! When we went, the cookie of choice was snicker doodles, but I have heard that sometimes there are different options.

I forgot to take pictures of the cookies....I am a terrible blogger sometimes ;) 

Our next stop was to check out Peter Pan and Wendy. I had heard that they did a meet and greet with Mr. Smee and Captain Hook, but tonight it was just Peter and Wendy. While Peter Pan is one of my favorite characters, I knew that I could meet him everyday at Magic Kingdom, so we decided to do a search for more unique characters. Usher in Daisy, Donald, and Scrooge McDuck! These characters were so much fun to meet. They are up by Storybook Circus this year.

I love these ducks! Donald and I had a wonderful conversation about where to purchase one
of his amazing hats, then Daisy compared our hair bows. They are so much fun! 

Their line did take quite a while, I believe we were in line for about 25 minutes. By this point, it was about 8:15 and we were on to our next character: the lovely leading lady, Minnie Mouse. Mickey gave her a beautiful new dress to wear this Christmas, and she even has a bracelet to match! Be sure to mention her shoes, they are so sparkly! No wonder that girl and Daisy Duck get along so well... ;)

We had a few minutes after meeting Minnie, so we stopped by A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas. This cute little stage show features a cast of dancing characters, in addition to Stitch, Buzz, and Mike Waceswki. If you have a chance, stop by here during your time.

Okay, so I have no pictures of that either...it was just a fail night!
But doesn't my dear friend Alexis look lovely? 

Now, as soon as that ended, we wandered into the Hub for one of my favorite parts of the party: Holiday Wishes! The fireworks show was incredible, and definitely worth getting a spot on Main Street or the Hub. The Christmas carols ring out as the red and green sparkle across a dark sky. There is really nothing like it. The best part? The snow that falls on Main Street afterward! Yes, it does snow in Florida. ;)

Candy Cane Castle! 

Snowflake Castle 

Christmas version of Celebrate the Magic! This is Giant Present Castle! 

There are two showings of the parade, the first is at 8:15 and the second is 10:30. We chose to see the second parade, using the time during the first to meet characters. In between the fireworks and the parade is a castle show called Celebrate The Season. Whatever you do during the Christmas Party, DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW. It was easily the highlight of our night! If you ever wanted to see Donald do ballet, Goofy accomplish the splits, or two chipmunks Russian dancing, this the the place for you! It is easy to do the 10:05 castle show and then get a spot for the 10:30 parade.

 

After the amazing show, it was on to the parade! I knew I wanted to watch it from Main Street, because of the falling snow. If you have never seen the Once Upon A Christmas parade from Main Street, do yourself a favor and try it this time! I picked up some cookies and hot chocolate from the Crystal Palace right before the parade.

Look at the snow! 

There is truly nothing like sitting on Main Street, listening to Christmas music, eating cookies and hot chocolate, and watching the snow lightly fall. Nothing truly says Christmas is here!!!!!

Cinderella's Carriage pulled by a team of miniature horses  

By this point, we were exhausted, so we had just a few more stops before heading home. We popped into the Diamond Horseshoe to see Woody and Jessie, then wandered through Agrabah. Aladdin and Abu meet here during the party. Finally, it was a few last pictures on Main Street before our Christmastime had come to an end.

Dance party in the Horseshoe! 

We had an amazing time at the Christmas party. I loved it! My mouth is watering thinking about the cookies and hot cocoa. If I didn't work all week, I was seriously tempted to go again. The tickets are not cheap, but if this is your only chance to experience Christmas at Disney, you should go! However, if your trip falls after December 20th, then all the party things become part of everyday life. The shows, parade, and fireworks are the normal routine for the week of Christmas. So, besides the unique characters and the treats, everything else will be included in your park ticket.

Let's fly away.... 

Merry Christmas everyone!