Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party - Review

Last December I went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party for the first time.   It's a special ticketed event celebrating Christmas at the Magic Kingdom. For 2012 the dates are November 9 to December 21, check the schedule for exact dates.  Tickets to the event allow entry to the park at 4pm, but the party doesn't start until 7pm. 

Terye and I started with an evening walk through of Swiss Family Tree House and then rode Jungle Cruise.  Both were unique experiences at night and both were empty.  At night there were a few interesting views of the Magic Kingdom from the Swiss Family Tree house.  Jungle Cruise is just at cheesy at night, but the darkness gives a different atmosphere. 

After those rides we went on line for the Seven Dwarfs, we got on the line a little before 7pm and there was an hour wait.  But, it is one of the few opportunities to get photos with all of them so we waited.  The dwarfs were really cute, and some of the kids there were really funny.  Like the kid who realized he was standing next to Grumpy and ran away.  While we waited we did each take an opportunity to take a quick walk around the park, I got us some free hot chocolate and cookies, one of the benefits of the event.

We got out of the seven dwarfs a few minutes before the parade and with the low crowds (one of the benefits of events like this) we got a decent spot.  The parade had some nice touches, like Scrooge McDuck. 

After that I planted myself in the circle in front of castle with my camera and tripod so I could photograph Holiday Wishes.  While we waited we got to view The Magic, the Memories and You, where they play music and show pictures of people in the park throughout the day, they did use holiday colors on the castle for this show.  Holiday Wishes were really nice, though Disney always has great fireworks, I particularly liked the colors they used.

Our last event of the night was the Christmas show in front of the castle.  Another nice little show and a chance to see the characters in holiday garb.  After that we decided to head back to the hotel.

One disapointment was a lack of Christmas Party merchandise, we only saw 2 T-Shirts and they weren't anything special.  But the party is great if you would like to get photos with characters, there are some special characters and if you go early the lines aren't as bad.  When I saw Captain Jack Sparrow he only had a few people in line waiting. 

There are a couple benefits of ticketed events like this; low crowds, cookies, hot chocolate, special parade, special fireworks and some other shows.  I'm not sure the $60 price tag is worth it.  I enjoyed the event, as did Terye, and I'm glad I went.  But, if I return to Disney during Christmas in the next few years I would probably skip it.  But I do think it's fun for a first timer.

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