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Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party … In July!

by Makena W.

Happy holidays! Okay, so I might be 174 days early, but “Christmas in July” is close enough for me! One of my favorite Disney moments was flying down to Disney World in early December of 2008. The decorations were up and I was going to the Very Merry Christmas Party! There are tons of things that orchestrated together create the greatest party on the planet, so let me break it down. First there is…

Timing
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas parties usually last from an early park closing to around midnight.  I thought this was cool because it was just like extra magic hours but with benefits! Not to mention, the darkness of the sky at midnight complements the lights scattered around the park. Plus, the castle looks even brighter! But also keep in mind the…

Weather
Living in the Northeast, I was looking forward to being out in the December air at midnight without a jacket or even a sweatshirt on. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as warm as we expected it to be. We had to buy a sweatshirt with the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) logo on it for my brother and me to keep us at a comfortable temperature. Weather is important, but something even more important comes in the form of…

Characters
When children come to the Walt Disney World resort, they are more excited for Mickey Mouse than Space Mountain. Characters are a big deal to them. But some people never grow out of that stage, like me (I really hope Merida is on the Disney Dream in November!) The Characters at MVMCP are dressed in the best holiday attire I have ever seen and LOVE to take pictures. During this special celebration is the only time that I have seen ALL seven dwarfs (not just Dopey) out as a group for pictures! There are also character dance parties that I unfortunately didn’t attend, but I heard that they are fun and take a lot of energy out of you! Of course, there is also…

Food
When you think of Christmas time, what treats do you think of? Some people like me think about hot chocolate and warm sugar cookies. Well, during the Christmas Parties, Disney has carts set up with complimentary hot cocoa and cookies! Yes, it is really free! What could be better? The Hot chocolate was one of the best cups I have ever had and the sugar cookies tasted just like those that you find in the bake shop: scrumptious! Why not eat your cookies and drink your hot cocoa while watching…

Wishes
Wishes is my favorite firework show on Disney property. I love the music and the message it teaches everybody watching. It makes me cry every time! But hearing the sound of a sleigh bell while the castle was getting “de-icicled” from top to bottom made me cry right then! The music used really puts you in the holiday mood and the fireworks themselves are bigger, better and louder! Jiminy Cricket still narrates this show in his charming way and Tinkerbell still flies out to Tomorrowland. The storyline is a little different from the standard Wishes show, but I would prefer Holiday Wishes over regular Wishes any day! Who could celebrate the holidays without a…

Parade
From the first float to the last, this show by itself was worth the extra money to go to the party. The parade had numerous floats between the big snowflake that had blue letters that spelled “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade and Santa Claus himself. My favorite float is Clarabelle Cows’ Gingerbread house. When it goes by, it seems like Main Street smells like Gingerbread! (hmmm…) I loved the horses in the parade. One horse even pulled Donald and Daisy! How cute! All the residents from the Hundred Acre Wood were there, including Christopher Robin. Before the parade, I had never seen him in real life! This really excited me. Another little detail I love is that they took characters like Peter Pan and Alice and added scarfs that matched their outfits. Even though it was a little thing that some people don’t notice, I thought it was very thoughtful considering they are in Florida when the temperature never drops under 50 degrees. I would rather watch this parade on Christmas every year than the one on ABC! The parade was astonishing, but the most shocking party of the party was…

Snow?
Floridians rarely see snow like we in the Northeast do! So when I heard it was going to snow on Main Street, I was confused. Was Disney going to get a big Air conditioner and make rain clouds that will turn into snow? (Hey, if anybody could do it, Disney could!) Or would they cut out a bunch of snowflakes and drop them from the sky? Both of those ideas were wrong, and what actually happened was ten times better than having paper rain from the sky. Snow actually fell! Well, something like soap fell. That’s the next best thing, right? It’s as close as Disney is going to get now! Maybe someday Disney can make snow fall on command and chill the ground enough for it to accumulate. Another notable party of MVMCP was…

Merchandise
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party has special merchandise that you can only get during the celebration. As mentioned before, my brother and I both got sweatshirts that showed that we were at the Very Merry Christmas party. I still have this sweatshirt and it still fits! On it is a picture of Mickey, Goofy and Donald as snowman looking over Magic Kingdom with the words “Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party” printed at the bottom in red and green. We also got pins because we are pin collectors. Mine was Tinkerbell on top of a red holiday bell and Austin’s was Chip and Dale building a snowman. Overall, the merchandise was gorgeous not matter what design you bought. But my absolute favorite part of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party was…

Attractions
Of course, attractions aren’t specific to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party: they are always there! Regardless, it is a whole different experience during MVMCP. Not as many people are in the park which makes for shorter lines. To me, the Cast Members also seemed happier. The only downside to this is that not all attractions are open. When I went in 2008, these were the attractions that were open: Pirates of the Caribbean, the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Swiss Family Treehouse, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan’s Flight, Dumbo, Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel, PhilharMagic, Snow White’s Scary Adventures (R.I.P), The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh, Mad Tea Party, It’s a Small World, Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, Space Mountain, Astro Orbiter, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Stitch’s Great Escape, the Peoplemover, the Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor and all of Toontown (it was still there in 2008). My favorite ride experience during this time was Big Thunder Mountain. My family and I have to hop on the “wildest ride in the wilderness” at least once whenever we visit the Magic Kingdom. As luck would have it, we have never had to wait over 20 minutes to board. The shortest time we waited was during the Very Merry Christmas party. We literally walked down the ramps and right into the front seat of the mine train! How many times does that happen? Well, during MVMCP we took the loop from te exit, up the ramp and back into the mine car four times in a row! The cherry on the ice cream (or 21 cherries on a “kitchen sink”) is that when you are slowly climbing up that hill, you get an amazing few of the castle. And just like I mentioned before, if you ride it very late at night the castle looks even brighter.

This is what Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party was like in December of 2008. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holidays! Things might have changed since then (actually, I’m sure things have changed). Sadly, this holiday season I won’t’ be able to make it to “The Merriest Party on Earth” so I won’t be able to see what is new and exciting. I’d love to hear your favorite MVMCP memory! Leave a comment below!

This Week’s “Where in the World?” is inspired by Christmas in July. It is also a very detailed picture and it’s going to be hard to figure out.

See ya REAL soon!
Makena

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About Lou Mongello

Lou Mongello is a former attorney who left the practice to pursue his passion, and is now a recognized Disney expert, author, speaker, and host of WDW Radio. Learn more…

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