Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is a special event held after Magic Kingdom closes for the day on select nights in November and December. This post covers what’s new and missing from the 2024 MVMCP, with our assessment as to the good & bad of various additions and subtractions.
The first thing you need to know is that not much changes from year to year. If you’re planning on attending the 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) and last did it 5 years ago, it’s still about 90% the same. In fact, you may not notice any changes whatsoever, as a bunch of the differences are fairly minor and easy to miss.
Suffice to say, if you’re a first-timer attending the 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, this is not your best or singular resource since it’s only covering the 10% that’s different. For everything you need to know about this event–beyond what’s new–see our Ultimate Guide to the 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!
Basically, this post is for MVMCP veterans who want to prioritize the things that are different for the 2024 event. Since you cannot meet every character and see all of the entertainment at the 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in a single night, this type of prioritizing is paramount. You’re going to have to pick and choose, because you simply cannot do it all.
It’s also for Walt Disney World regulars, longtime fans, and locals who have done MVMCP before and want to know if it’s worth it to do again in 2024. Whether there’s enough that’s new to you to justify doing it again, or if you should sit out another year and do something different.
Spoiler: it probably isn’t. Not only because not much has changed with the 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party versus last year or even 2019, but also because Walt Disney World has added another event as counterprogramming: Disney Jollywood Nights. Whether you did that Christmas party in its inaugural year or haven’t at all, it’s worthy of consideration. Check out our Disney Jollywood Nights Christmas Party 2024 Review: Wow, What a Difference a Year Makes! (The subtitle really says it all.)
Anyway, here’s a look at what’s new and still missing from the 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party…
What’s New for 2024 at MVMCP
Frozen Characters & Costumes – The first semi-notable change for 2024 is the Frozen characters switching over to updated costumes that they already wear in the Frozen Holiday Surprise stage show. These fresh looks can also been seen in the Anna and Elsa meet & greet in Princess Fairytale Hall and during Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade.
The Frozen unit in that has actually changed a decent amount. The ground-level performers are no longer axe-wielding ice cutters, but are instead Arendelle villagers with (I assume?) traditional Nordic holiday items. The costuming is nicely done and the accessories look authentic to me, someone who knows nothing about Arendelle customs.
Unfortunately, this is the only unit in the parade that’s seen any material changes. There are other subtle details the expert eye (or someone who spends way too much time editing parade photos) could spot, but nothing worth mentioning. This is disappointing, in my view, as portions of the parade have become tired and Boo to You has seen a variety of positive refreshes in the last couple years.
Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Music – The much more significant change to Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade is the music, which has an almost entirely new arrangement. Thankfully, the iconic theme song is still woven throughout the parade–so no need to worry about that.
What’s changed is the accompanying music, with the other songs swapped out from most units. The parade now uses several songs from The Nutcracker, along with classic holiday favorites. The end result is a soundtrack that’s simultaneously more uptempo, elegant, and traditional.
Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade “purists” might be apprehensive, but the people I know who have been attending for a decade-plus all loved the new music–me included. It didn’t even take time to grow on me. It clicked instantly, to the point that even after only 2 viewings (versus 50+ of the previous parade, plus probably hundreds of listens to the soundtrack at home), the new version is already my favorite.
This might be embarrassing to admit, but I don’t think I had ever heard “The Holly and the Ivy” with lyrics. I didn’t even realize that’s the song title, and apparently, it’s one of my top 5 most-played Mannheim Steamroller tracks! Anyway, that’s my personal favorite addition, and I think all of the new music fits the spirit of both the parade and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party as a whole. Perfect song choices.
Freebies – Guests are once again given a keepsake ornament when entering Magic Kingdom’s bypass corridor as a welcome to the event. No fancy poster print on the way out of the event, but regardless, this is still a net addition as compared to 2019. It’s also better than the box of treats given to guests at Disney Jollywood Nights.
Another change is with the cookie and drink distribution locations and variety. These have been gradually scaled back over the last few years, presumably to nudge people towards the paid food & beverage. Personal tastes obviously vary, but I find the selection to be a massive downgrade as compared to 2019. (Objectively speaking, that’s true–there’s less variety now.)
Crowds – This one depends on your frame of reference. Since we’re making some comparisons to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party over the last 5 years, it’s worth noting that the 2024 event feels noticeably less crowded than 2019. This isn’t a new development as of this year, though.
We discussed this at length last year in Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is Less Crowded! The overall experience is much more pleasant than it was back in 2018-2019 when it was routinely oversold. The only significant crowds we encountered were on and around Main Street before, during, and after entertainment. Once again, I was able to meet Jack and Sally with a wait time of less than 10 minutes!
With that said, if your frame of reference is Disney Jollywood Nights, the ‘feels like’ crowds are worse at the 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Going from one event to the other on consecutive nights was quite the contrast, as everything at Jollywood Nights felt more relaxed and laid back.
All Standby Lines – Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is the newest attraction in Magic Kingdom, and it uses a virtual queue (for now) during regular operations. This virtual queue can be highly competitive, and fill up within seconds, especially during peak season dates–and there are a lot of those in November and December.
During MVMCP, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure uses a standby line. Not-so-coincidentally, it’s also one of the longest lines throughout the party, with a wait time hovering around 30 minutes throughout the entire event. However, I’d expect actual wait times to be much lower, assuming no breakdowns (big assumption).
I didn’t do Tiana’s during the 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party because I’ve done it a dozen-plus times, and party time is limited, so its unique entertainment is my emphasis. Nevertheless, I view this as a positive change–not every party guest has the same priorities as me (a good thing!), and if others want to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure on loop, they should have that option.
Santa’s Christmas Carnival – The biggest addition for the 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, which see Storybook Circus as it is transformed into a must-visit holiday destination filled with joyful Christmas cheer, friends from the North Pole—and, of course, Santa Claus.
Prior to the party, I was under the erroneous impression that this is a Santa Claus dance party, which sounded like a fun concept. It’s not that, though. It’s essentially a new snowfall, lighting and decor package for Storybook Circus, with stilt walkers around the entrance of the area and a Santa Claus meet & greet in the covered relaxation area. There’s also my personal favorite, the bootleg Coca-Cola polar bears who are doing a dedicated meet & greet near the entrance of Storybook Circus.
The atmosphere back in Storybook Circus is a marked improvement, and there’s a much better energy thanks to the Christmas lights, snowfall, and uplighting on the buildings. All of that is nicely done. Same goes for the Santa Claus meet & greet.
The problem is that all of the other characters back here have been consolidated inside Pete’s Silly Sideshow, meaning that Minnie, Daisy, Donald, and Scrooge all meet together at this one venue. I’m not a fan of this approach, and didn’t do this meet & greet because the line was prohibitively long.
What’s Missing from 2024 MVMCP
Seven Zero Dwarfs – As you might’ve gathered since it’s where they previously met, we’re sad to report that the Seven Dwarfs do not have a meet & greet at the 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
For what it’s worth, this is pretty much the playbook from the MNSSHP–consolidating the other meet and greets and replacing the Seven Dwarfs. The difference here is that Santa’s Christmas Carnival did add other characters and atmospheric entertainment. It’s still a net loss, but it’s not as bad. Not only that, but Santa Goofy relocated to the Club Tinsel dance party. (Personally, I think Santa Goofy should be a marquee character with a dedicated meet & greet and unique backdrop, but what do I know.)
We’re on the record saying that Walt Disney World should replace the Seven Dwarfs with separate meet & greets. That, cool as it was, having all of the dwarves together wouldn’t be as good as a half-dozen or so separate meet & greets in their place. The problem is that this is not the trade Disney has made.
Cinderella Castle Dream Lights – That’s right, I won’t shut up about this anytime soon. The larger-than-life Cinderella Castle Dream Lights are once again a conspicuous omission from Magic Kingdom throughout this holiday season. This continues to be a big blow to the atmosphere of the event, and if Walt Disney World isn’t going to bring back the Dream Lights, they should at least get different, more Christmas-y projections for Cinderella Castle during MVMCP.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Cinderella Castle Dream Lights, they were absolutely glorious and no amount of words, photos or video can do them justice. No projections can match the more than 200,000 tiny white lights that illuminated Cinderella Castle and transformed it into a veritable ice palace. The Dream Lights would stop you in your tracks, with the resplendent physical display being an absolute jaw-dropper.
The Cinderella Castle Dream Lights were the highlight of the holiday season, and it’s a huge shame that Walt Disney World has declined to spend the money to bring them back in the last couple of years. Make no mistake, money is entirely what this boils down to. Every other excuse for not doing Dream Lights is just that–an excuse.
Toy Soldier Marching Band – Toy Soldiers are still in Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, and remain one of the highlights. Given that, you might be curious about why this makes the list. It’s because the band part is still cut from the parade–only the marching happens.
This is a bigger loss than it might seem if you’ve never seen Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade. The veritable army of Toy Soldiers was impressive, and hearing them perform music as they marched was so downright magical. The Toy Soldier unit is still cool, but it does not have the same wow-factor in its current form.
A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas – Last year’s quiet loss of this campy, cult-classic show was a big blow for us and other enjoyers of fun the world over. When ‘A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas’ initially debuted over a decade ago, it replaced Mickey’s Twas the Night Before Christmas, to the angst of many fans (including us). Mickey’s Twas the Night Before Christmas was an excellent, legitimately good show.
I could go on and on about what made ‘A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas’ an underrated, sleeper sensation. I’ll spare you that, and instead say that it was quintessential weird Disney with heart. ‘A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas’ was a lot like Stitch: endearing mischief.
Regardless, this stage show still hasn’t been replaced. This is a particularly notable contrast with Disney Jollywood Nights, which added more entertainment this year. Meanwhile, the 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party offers less than it did a decade ago when tickets cost a fraction of their current price.
Ultimately, not a whole lot has changed in the substance of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party between 2019 and 2024. There have been a few minor additions in the last couple of years, but no major sources of excitement. The biggest upgrade this year is probably the new parade music, and that’s not exactly a reason to drop ~$199 on tickets.
As repeat visitors, our view is that the event feels stale. That’s what we wrote last year, and it’s even more true in 2024 for two reasons. The first is that even less changed year-to-year, and there haven’t really been any enhancements to write home about since 2019. The second is that Disney Jollywood Nights improved a lot this year, and made massive changes from last year to 2024. As we wrote in our review, that event changed more in one year than MVMCP has over the last decade-plus.
Our hope is that, at minimum, the 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party gets a shot in the arm on par with what Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party has received over the last couple of years. Frankly, MVMCP needs much more than that–the event could really use a new piece of major or at least medium-tier entertainment, especially after losing a stage show. Wholesale updates to the the parade also need to happen–I’d love to see new floats, as some of these are ancient.
With that said, it’s important to underscore that this is not an answer to the question: “Is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party worth doing or worth the money?” If you’re a first-timer, what’s new or unchanged is more or less irrelevant, since everything is new-to-you. A lot of it doesn’t change for good reason–it’s iconic. But if you’re a Walt Disney World regular who has yet to purchase tickets and is on the fence about the 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party or Disney Jollywood Nights, I’m more inclined to recommend the latter. It’s made massive sophomore season improvements, and is now worth your time and money. Take a year off from MVMCP, it’ll still be there–probably pretty much the same–in 2025, 2026, 2027, etc.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What are your thoughts on what’s missing and been added or restored to the 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party? Excited to attend this year’s event? Will your family be buying or sitting it out? What are your thoughts on additions and subtractions relative to price increases for MVMCP since 2019? Do you agree or disagree with our perspective on this? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
