At Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, unless you’re brave enough to visit on the busiest week of the year, almost all festive entertainment is locked away behind a mile-high paywall. So, is it really worth laying down all that money?
There’s no getting around how hideously expensive this party is. Prices vary by date, but for my party on December 1st, admission to the 5-hour event set me back a cool £145. It’s worth noting that this does include access to Magic Kingdom for an additional 3 hours before the party officially kicks off at 7pm. For UK guests it’s unlikely this will be a benefit given our standard 14-day tickets, but for anyone who doesn’t already have a lengthy admission ticket, this perk does make the pricing pretty favourable against a regular day ticket to the World’s most visited theme park.
Very Merry offers a host of festive entertainment, ride overlays, exclusive characters and most importantly, all the free cookies and hot cocoa you can consume! The majority of the park’s attractions are also available to experience, but it’s worth noting that not all of the rides are available. I was probably one of about 3 people at the party heartbroken that Carousel of Progress wasn’t operating!
There’s no doubt that there is more on offer at this party than you’ll ever be able to experience in five hours, so the type of evening you have is entirely dependent on your preferences. But never fear, whether you’re a character hunter or a ride addict, there will be something for you in this line-up.
In my event time I managed the following:
- Both showings of Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade
- Two performances of Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration
- Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks
- Monsters Inc Laugh Floor party overlay
- Tomorrowland Speedway party overlay
- Space Mountain party overlay
- Mad Tea Party party overlay
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
- Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover
- One photopass photo
- 22 cookies (collected – not eaten!), 4 cups of cocoa, 2 cups of apple cider, and 1 cup of eggnog
Entertainment
The headline attraction of the party is undoubtedly its unbeatable line-up of festive entertainment. Whilst it is not all strictly exclusive to the party – the parade and fireworks are both viewable by day guests during Christmas week – if you’re not visiting during the busiest week of the year, this remains your only chance to experience these shows.
Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration
I was lucky enough to score a perfect spot, just in front of the stage, for the first showing of the night for Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration. With such a perfect view, I was sure I’d only need this one viewing to enjoy what I anticipated to be a run-of-the-mill, cheesy castle stage show. Of course, that was before I watched what is now one of my all-time favourite theme park shows, and my favourite castle stage show by a mile.
The show features an array of classic Disney characters joining the live-singing hosts to perform a series of Christmas songs. This started off a bit dubious with a song about texting, but as soon as Clarabelle Cow rocked up channelling her inner Mariah, I was sold. By the time a stage overflowing with favourite characters was lined up to sing the best song from the greatest Christmas movie to ever exist – It Feels Like Christmas from A Muppet Christmas Carol – I was just about ready to set up camp and drink in every performance. For both Disney fans and anyone who enjoys a bit of festive cheer, this is an absolutely essential part of an evening at Very Merry.
Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade
I need to break some bad news to you guys. If you’re watching Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas parade, you’re going to need to try to get a space on Main Street. Yes, it’s the most popular parade spot, and thus the biggest pain to score, but trust me on this one. It’s worth it.
As a sucker for a parade – and Christmas – I made sure to catch both performances, watching once from Liberty Square and once from Main Street and I cannot emphasise enough how superior the experience on Main Street was. In fact, watching from Liberty Square almost immediately made me double down on my plan to watch both showings, so lacklustre was the atmosphere. This is definitely due in part to my particular spot, which was directly opposite a floodlight. This light served to suck any joy away from the lighting on the individual floats and just offered a very utilitarian atmosphere, even with the Rivers of America flowing behind. I’d been hunting for a spot when a kind, elderly Floridian couple offered me a space next to them in ‘the highly coveted spot we grab every year’. Someone should really tell them… Anyway, not only is the lighting on Main Street far superior – I mean, nothing can beat that Main Street glow -but throughout the entire parade the air swirled with snow. Well, snoap. Friends, as beautiful as it is, if you have sensitive eyes or skin this may not be the spot for you. There is a LOT of snoap. On top of all this, Main Street also featured a roaming entertainment/hype team building anticipation prior to the show and a photopass photographer taking photos by request.
TL;DR: Watch the parade on Main Street!
As for the parade itself, this might just be the best I’ve seen. (I really do try to rein in the hyperbole, honest!) It’s just so long, there are so many floats and so many performers! The floats themselves are spectacular and diverse even feature scents – the gingerbread smell was delightful! The sight of the toy soldiers marching in unison, or the band of reindeer dancing is enough to make even the grinchiest soul feel festive. It’s just a really, really wonderful parade.
Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks
Time to get a tiny bit spicy. I wasn’t blown away by Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks. As a fireworks show, it’s really quite spectacular. The fireworks are spread far wider across the sky than in regular shows and are more plentiful. It really was a sight to behold. Plus the projections on the castle are really fantastic, utilizing the castle’s layout beautifully. So, why didn’t this really click with me? I think I just expected some sort of story or at least the involvement of Disney properties. Instead, the show was predominantly pretty green and red projections as instrumental Christmassy music played. It was nice, but never felt distinctly Disney to me. Sure, the obligatory Tinkerbell flight was included but it felt out of place, happening entirely due to guest expectation rather than any narrative purpose. The firework finale was so grand in spectacle that it was impossible to walk away unhapy though, so I was still filled with festive cheer as I left to enjoy the rest of my evening. But, of all the key entertainment this is the show I’d probably have skipped the second performance of if there was one.
Other Offerings
In addition to the headline entertainment, there are a handful of supporting shows including two dance parties and A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas. I didn’t really get a chance to experience these, as low-budget entertainment for young guests wasn’t a priority. But, I did walk past the start of Tomorrowland Christmas and caught the arrival of Mike Wazowski so it gets a thumbs up from me!
Attractions
Overlays
The party offers four attraction overlays, in addition to the available-as-standard Jingle Cruise. The extra-festive attractions include Space Mountain, Tomorrowland Speedway, Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, and Mad Tea Party. As these attractions are all relatively close together, it was surprisingly easy to knock them out at the beginning of the party. Of the overlays, Space Mountain is undoubtedly the most popular – and for good reason! During the event, the usual score is replaced by rock instrumentals of Christmas songs as red and green lights flash, so much so that the track is often illuminated. The lights also offered an exciting – for a nerd like me at least- ‘lights on’ view of the coaster when viewed from the PeopleMover! Double win. This was an incredibly fun ride experience, and one I’d definitely do multiple times on a future visit! I managed to save valuable time riding this prior to the official start of the party, just check with the ride host that it’s ‘switched over’ before getting in line!
However, Space Mountain wasn’t actually my favourite overlay of the evening. That accolade goes to Tomorrowland Speedway, with its gorgeous festive lighting offering an experience somewhat akin to driving a silly little car through Lightopia (other light trails are available). I’m no fan of this ride ordinarily – fossil fuel powered cars in TOMORROWland?! – but zipping along (read: bumping from side to side on the guide rail) through rainbow-coloured light displays made for quite a special experience.
The other two weren’t particularly noteworthy, though I am a total sucker for Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. The overlay here was cute and very nicely done, with all of the graphics switched up for festive alternatives – even Roz’ sweater! The show is largely the same as normal, just with jokes switched up for a more festive alternative. For example, instead of referring to ‘Eiffel Tower’, it’s ‘North Pole’. Mad Tea Party was mostly just red, green and blue lights with some jaunty festive music. Fun enough as a walk-on, but certainly not worth waiting for.
Low Waits(?)
Of the many reasons guests may choose to attend the party, low waits on Magic Kingdom’s attractions may be a winner for those on a tight schedule. So, were the waits actually that low? Well, that depends on what you’re aiming to ride! If you’re expecting to walk straight on to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Jingle Cruise or Peter Pan’s Flight, you’ll be disappointed. Mine Train and Jingle Cruise held pretty solid 40-minute posted waits throughout the evening, with Peter Pan trailing slightly on 30. The good news? Almost everything else (except rides with party overlays) was 10 minutes or less, even at a sold-out event. Meaning, if you just want to smash through Magic Kingdom this is actually a pretty decent opportunity to do just that. Personally, this isn’t how I’d spend the evening but I did make the most of the opportunity to walk straight on to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, a guilty pleasure of mine that had been posting a hideous 95-minute wait during our regular visit. (Boy I’m glad I scored a walk-on, that is definitely the worst version of Buzz that I’ve ridden!)
Food and Drink
When you think of food and drink at Mickey’s Very Merry, you think of one thing: cookies. Throughout the park, quick-service locations are set up at treat stations, ready to hand you all the free cookies and cocoa you could wish to enjoy. There are five locations throughout the park, each offering a different option from the following cookies:
- Chocolate Chip (Cookie Rating: 2/5 – the chips do not taste like real chocolate)
- Snickerdoodle (Cookie Rating: 5/5 – deliciously cinnamonny, chewy and sweet)
- Green Iced Sugar Cookie (Cookie Rating: 4/5 – a very solid, sweet vanilla cookie)
- Red Iced Sugar Cookie (Cookie Rating: 4/5 – it’s the same, but red)
- Iced Gingerbread (Cookie Rating: 4/5 – a delicious gingerbread cookie, but the icing made it overwhelmingly sweet)
The majority of locations offer a cup of – surprisingly delicious – hot cocoa alongside your cookie, with the exception of The Launching Pad (apple cider, it’s just apple juice really) and Tortuga Tavern (eggnog). I found all locations except Tortuga also asked how many cookies I wanted, allowing me to ask for a second and get quite the haul in a relatively short amount of time.
On the flip side, the number of quick service locations being used for cookie distribution did leave quite a gap in the food offering should you wish to consume anything that wasn’t predominantly sugar. In fact, the only places I found offering anything savoury were Cosmic Rays (half cookies, half regular service) and Caseys Corner. But, both locations had very sizable lines and with no mobile order available, would have eaten up a significant portion of my evening. As such, I had popcorn and cookies for dinner. Fine dining if you ask me! In hindsight, I’d definitely recommend making sure you eat a good meal before things kick off for the evening!
There were a few food items available that were exclusive to the event, but none of them seemed likely to be vegetarian so I sadly didn’t get to try any of those.
Characters
For many hardcore Disney fans, the characters are what truly make these parties worthwhile. If you’re a character hunter, these events often offer a unique opportunity to score some character meets that you simply will not find anywhere else. With this in mind, I found it quite frustrating that the characters weren’t specified on the map, with just character locations marked generically. Even with the markings on the map, I was very surprised to see such a long line waiting for the Enchanted Tiki Room until I saw the sign for a Moana meet! The only thing I can say for sure is that Jack and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas meet in Mickey’s Town Square location, thanks to their wait actually being posted in the app – and regularly posting a wait into multiple hours. So, if character hunting is your bag, be ready to wait. If you really do want the rare characters, you need to decide whether that’s going to be worth the majority of your party time. Personally, I enjoy a meet but am not a hunter by any means. Instead, I just waited until I saw a photo op with no line, and ended up with quite a cute photo with Tinkerbell in a lantern.
In an unexpected, but much appreciated touch, all attendees also received a free tree ornament and A4-ish print of the event’s artwork. The ornament is surprisingly good quality, it’s really quite weighty, and cute. Very surprisingly, these did turn out to be the only merch available with not even an event-specific pin available for purchase. Saved me some money at least!
So, is it worth it? Again, this depends entirely on the sort of guest you are. Personally, I’m an absolute entertainment fiend, with Christmas shows being my very favourite, so this was always going to be a win for me. I’m very happy to say that, for me, this was very much worth the ticket cost. If you’ve only got one day in Magic Kingdom and want to fly through as many attractions as possible, this may also work well for you (especially whilst After Hours events aren’t currently offered). However, if you’re someone who’s indifferent to entertainment and characters, I’d perhaps think twice about whether you want to attend. It’s an awful lot of money to spend if you aren’t all in. It’s worth noting that my experience is most likely not reflective of a usual night at Very Merry. I was on my own, speed walking between shows and cookie stops, and didn’t eat a meal to save time – adjust expectation accordingly!
Of course, in my opinion parks like Magic Kingdom ought to be offering festive entertainment like this thorugh the normal operating day. But when every Very Merry night this year is already sold out, why would they?
Claire
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coasterclaire.co.uk 