We attended the 2025 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party in combination as a circle of relatives, and it used to be the primary time ever for Child Bricker to do the Magic Kingdom vacation season birthday party. This picture document and recap stocks our enjoy doing the most productive laborious price tag match at Walt Disney International with a baby.
In the event you’re searching for background data concerning the match, technique for seeing up to conceivable, and even addressing the brink query of whether or not MVMCP is definitely worth the cash, seek the advice of our Information to 2025 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party. We’ve already up to date that following our enjoy on the 2025 match.
Necessarily, that is run-through of our night at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party–very similar to our rope drop and Early Access reviews, which provide a snapshot of our days versus exhaustive recommendation. Since we didn’t do the whole thing throughout the MVMCP we attended (or anything else with reference to it), that is incomplete from a making plans standpoint. This is, until you’re attempting to determine whether or not Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party is “value it” with a baby.
We in point of fact wish to pressure the ‘incomplete’ a part of this MVMCP document. For the previous few years, my reviews from those particular occasions had been throughout my solo analysis journeys. Whilst they haven’t been birthday party itineraries within the strictest sense, I’ve attempted to exhibit how you’ll maximize your time on the match, arriving throughout mix-in and leaving after park last.
That is just about the other of that. It’s somewhat glaring that households with tots are going to perform much less, and we went in anticipating precisely that. If anything else, visiting the parks has change into tougher since our daughter, Megatron, became two. She now has robust reviews about what we do, but additionally doesn’t have the stamina to move nonstop from rope drop to park last. It used to be more uncomplicated when she used to be a toddler and lets (most commonly) simply lift on whilst she used to be asleep.
Spotting this truth, we didn’t arrive throughout mix-in. We as a substitute rested up on the lodge, and as a substitute confirmed up ~half-hour earlier than Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party began with the objective of creating it as deep into the development as conceivable.
We must observe that mix-in has change into an increasing number of common throughout each Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party and Mickey’s Now not So Horrifying Halloween Birthday party for the explanations mentioned in Magic Kingdom’s Combine-In Is Busier Than Ever!
We’ve witnessed this ourselves numerous instances throughout Birthday party Season this 12 months, together with different days of MVMCP. Some visitors are arriving kind of 2 hours earlier than mix-in even begins, possibly to rope drop Nation Undergo Musical Jamboree, afternoon genre. Or perhaps it’s for the Sally and Sandy Claws meet & greet. Who is aware of evidently.
As Annual Passholders, there’s in point of fact no benefit to us in doing mix-in. We have been at Magic Kingdom throughout the optimum hours within the morning, after which headed out for a long noon spoil.
Simply to place out night into standpoint, we attended Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party on a date when tickets value $189 according to grownup. Our overall value used to be $402.58 after tax and the AP or DVC bargain.
That is in truth probably the most we’ve ever paid for birthday party tickets. On the other hand, our birthday party used to be in truth at the decrease finish of the pricing spectrum, with maximum MVMCP dates in December costing $200 to $230 pre-tax. And tickets have offered out in report time, all however making sure upper costs and few adjustments subsequent 12 months.
This makes the hourly value of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party kind of $20 to $45 relying on which evening you attend, whether or not you depend mix-in as a part of the worth (clearly it isn’t in case you’re an AP), and many others. Our magic quantity used to be $40 according to hour…or so I was hoping.
Since we arrived after 6 pm, getting into Magic Kingdom used to be a breeze.
There used to be additionally, reasonably actually, a pleasant breeze. And it used to be already darkish out because of the sooner sundown time. A stark distinction to my enjoy again in August with Mickey’s Now not So Horrifying (or Horrifying Scorching) Halloween Birthday party. It’s too dangerous the 2 vacations can’t flip-flop, because it makes infinitely extra sense to put on a dressing up on this climate.
There have been greater than sufficient Forged Individuals scanning tickets, distributing wristbands, and many others. After this, we headed over to the Major Boulevard bypass hall that’s used as a ‘welcome’ space for MVMCP.
As discussed in earlier birthday party reviews, I’ve been doing those occasions solo for the final couple of years when Sarah used to be pregnant and Megatron used to be an toddler. This used to be Sarah’s first time attending MVMCP since 2022.
It used to be fascinating to listen to her observations after a 3-year hiatus. She had the fascinating standpoint of going incessantly–once or more according to 12 months beginning in 2007, and incessantly 2-Three times–to taking a multi-year spoil.
Accordingly, she had sufficient long-term enjoy to note the cumulative have an effect on of little tweaks that rare visitors would leave out, and that somebody like me felt extra steadily. There were a large number of little sure operational adjustments that she spotted, all of which I consider when stepping again, however felt them myself as extra of a sluggish boil over the previous few years.
Making this bypass extra horny with a DJ, characters, decorations, and picture ops is one such sure. It’s no longer that this didn’t exist earlier than–it’s been used for roughly a decade–it’s that Disney has progressed it and made the primary influence more potent.
Typically, our first prevent at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party can be a well-liked meet & greet.
The issues with that had been two-fold. First, we arrived too overdue to overcome the frenzy–we’d generally you have to be in line for even a mid-tier meet & greet by means of about 6:15 pm. Ready in lengthy traces isn’t an idea tots in point of fact perceive, in order that would’ve been difficult.
2d, Megatron sought after to do the Membership Tinsel dance birthday party in Tomorrowland. This used to be an objectively terrible thought, however I’ve attempted previously to give her with the laborious information and knowledge to fortify my technique. Like a commenter on social media, she unearths all of that unpersuasive.
Her argument is that Chip ‘n’ Dale dance with you at Membership Tinsel, and that’s a laugh. Onerous to dispute the good judgment in that. She additionally were given to look a bunny and a fox, two of her favourite animals.
After intently watching Chip ‘n’ Dale and bunny & fox at Membership Tinsel for some time, we headed to our subsequent prevent: Storybook Circus.
The largest addition for final 12 months’s Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party used to be Santa’s Christmas Carnival. This featured Storybook Circus remodeled into a vacation vacation spot for households full of completely satisfied Christmas cheer, pals from the North Pole—and Santa Claus.
To Sarah’s level (and she or he hadn’t even skilled Santa’s Christmas Carnival throughout MVMCP in the past–simply day by day ops), Walt Disney International iterated and progressed on Storybook Circus for the 2025 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party. There are new decorations, added atmospheric performers, and extra.
One explicit act that’s no longer brand-new, however is new to MVMCP is the circus performers, referred to as the “Jingle Jumpers.”
All people loved this act, Megatron incorporated. Shiny lighting fixtures, exaggerated mannerisms, and leaping round all are proper up her alley. And for the reason that we didn’t know when the Jingle Jumpers set instances would happen, it in truth did make sense to simply prevent and spot them previous within the match.
That is something value noting about Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party–if the clock is your pal, chances are you’ll as smartly do low stakes/friction issues within the first or two of the development. Traces don’t seem to be getting longer later for just about anything else, whether or not that be characters, cookies, or sights. Staring at atmospheric acts after knocking out your first high-profile persona in truth is savvy technique!
After this, we did Dumbo. Sure, that’s proper.
In the previous few months, Megatron has change into a large fan of flat rides at Disneyland after no longer having a lot passion in them or downright disliking them. They’re exciting to a courageous infant, while they had been in the past intimidating for a temporary duration.
This used to be the Walt Disney International commute of flat rides for us, and I’ve a newfound appreciation for them. (Simply to be transparent, I’ve by no means been an anti-flat rides snob. I’m on report being pro-flat rides, proper all the way down to arguing that changing “a trojan horse’s land” for Avengers Campus used to be a nasty thought. Now I’m in point of fact feeling that! However I digress.)
Suffice to mention, we did a large number of flat rides…together with at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party. I’m no longer going to recap they all, however by means of my tough calculation, that used to be about an hour of the development. That are meant to underscore the purpose that this MVMCP picture document & recap is no longer a blueprint for maximizing your time on the match.
After this, it used to be after all time for the Pete’s Foolish Sideshow meet & greet.
Probably the most large destructive adjustments to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party final 12 months used to be that the Seven Dwarfs meet & greet used to be retired. I might’ve been nice with this if it intended 7 distinct persona meet & greets somewhere else, which might’ve been an enormous capability win.
As an alternative, the geese–Daisy, Donald, and Scrooge–had been consolidated in combination at this one venue. Minnie used to be right here with them final 12 months, however she moved up entrance to seem with Mickey Mouse. I’m combined in this exchange. Having Santa Goofy and a few different distinctive characters again right here, showing on my own or in pairs, will be the absolute best consequence. Then again, we had a really perfect enjoy at this meet & greet.
We had been quoted a forty five minute look forward to Daisy, Donald and Scrooge McDuck, and that’s nearly precisely how lengthy it took.
That’s a in point of fact lengthy look forward to a baby. The target strategy to this meet & greet can be pre-queueing or doing it on the very finish of the evening. I did the model of this at MNSSHP this 12 months lovely with reference to middle of the night (I’m in truth stunned the queue wasn’t lower) and there used to be actually no person in line.
After all, “wait till 11:45 pm for no wait” isn’t precisely life like recommendation with a baby. Therefore the road being lengthy at this hour, and no longer at 11:45 pm. Our choices had been both to attend, come again later and hope for the most productive, or skip it fully. As even commuting takes extra time–and “dangers” driving Dumbo once more–we opted to attend it out. Sarah and Megatron took a rest room spoil midway by way of to combine issues up. It labored out nice.
The meet & greet used to be unbelievable.
The characters in point of fact take their time with each and every birthday party and make it really feel like a different enjoy. This can be a excellent or dangerous factor, relying in your standpoint. Had been this a meet & greet at Oogie Boogie Bash, the wait time with a line the very same duration would’ve been quarter-hour or much less. They’re a lot more environment friendly and run the ones like meeting traces.
The disadvantage to a shorter wait is that it feels like an meeting line. There’s most often a little bit extra grace granted with a baby than, say, a TikTok influencer, nevertheless it’s nonetheless rushed. This felt particular and used to be a lot more memorable. Megatron used to be grinning ear to ear, mentioned it later, and it yielded a Christmas card picture for us (almost certainly with out the Santa Claus head).
Pete’s Foolish Sideshow exits into a present store, so we spent a while in there testing each and every to be had choice.
Longtime readers may know that Disney Vacationer Weblog has no longer, traditionally, been a really perfect useful resource for products information. With few exceptions (Figment, Muppets, Nation Bears), my perspective in opposition to products is mainly “it exists.” Maximum of additionally it is pricey.
The excellent news for memento fanatics is that each one you need to do is give it a while and Megatron will paintings the circle of relatives farm as our products correspondent. She has robust memento reviews, all of that are sure. She recommends you purchase the whole thing, particularly stuff that’s comfortable.
Whilst we’re at the subject, I wish to give props to the Walt Disney International products crew at the 2025 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party product line. It’s the most productive I’ve observed in years. Perhaps ever.
The graphics are nice, the whole thing is tasteful–simply an all-around unbelievable task. My simplest proceedings are that, even if there are more than one t-shirts, all of them apply the similar formulation of designs at the again and just a small graphic at the entrance. To each and every their very own, however I choose the huge design at the entrance.
My different factor is a not unusual one, which is that the mug isn’t dishwasher secure. I guess Disney does this to chop prices, however that makes it a non-starter for me. I’d slightly pay $5 extra for a mug I will use with out ruining it after I by chance put it within the dishwasher, like every standard grownup doing dishes within the 12 months 2025.
After that, we stuck the bootleg Coca-Cola polar bears who at the moment are doing a devoted meet & greet close to the doorway of Storybook Circus. That they had an excessively quick line.
I’m an established fan of those bears, and am in point of fact happy that Santa’s Christmas Carnival provides them a extra outstanding function. They was in Cosmic Ray’s, busting a transfer as a part of the dance birthday party.
I am hoping their subsequent promotion is to Mickey’s As soon as Upon a Christmastime Parade. I feel we will be able to all agree that the only factor it’s lacking is a Polar Bears, Penguins & Snowman unit.
In truth, I would like if Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party featured extra low-stakes characters like this. I might take a 5-minute look forward to those polar bears over 55 mins for Sally & Sandy Claws any day of the week.
Our infant loves bears and has no clue what Nightmare Ahead of Christmas even is. Whilst she acknowledges many Disney characters, she additionally simply loves hugging cute animals. This is the reason I’ve a newfound appreciation for the free-roaming Nation Bears, and I didn’t suppose it used to be conceivable to like them extra!
After leaving Storybook Circus, we did precisely that–extra low-stakes characters, picture ops. We additionally ducked into Cosmic Ray’s for cookies and that dance birthday party, which used to be no longer a success with Megatron.
This stuff took 5-10 mins each and every, and it used to be pleasing to knock them out in fast succession. Just about each and every princess or prince we encountered had a manageable line.
If Megatron had been a pair years older, this is able to’ve been superior. The one drawback is that she has no clue who any of those royal {couples} are, so they simply appear to be lovely strangers to her. And strangers, even lovely ones, are risks.
After doing a pair meet & greets in Fantasyland, it used to be transparent she’d slightly journey the carousel.
So we did that.
Unsurprisingly, there used to be no line and so they had been permitting visitors to re-ride with out getting off. This used to be a stark distinction to our very busy days within the parks, so Megatron and Sarah took complete benefit. Since my discuss with had twin functions–refining our technique guides and having a laugh, I headed over to Frontierland to take a look at the parade crowd.
Something I’ve spotted within the final two years is that parade crowds have got worse for the primary efficiency, particularly in Frontierland. It was useless again right here for the primary parade, or with reference to it.
The crowds have undoubtedly come with reference to normalizing between Frontierland and Major Boulevard. The latter continues to be busier, however there’s now not a large disparity. A minimum of, on the subject of the primary parade. In reality, you could possibly discover a higher The town Sq. spot final minute than you must in Frontierland. (Precisely that took place to me at Halloween.)
Frontierland continues to be much less busy for the second one parade. However even then, The town Sq. is somewhat laid again and no longer just about as dangerous as the principle segment of Major Boulevard or the Central Plaza in entrance of Cinderella Citadel (which is worse for footage, anyway).
My simplest objective used to be testing the crowds, so I didn’t keep for the entire efficiency.
After rejoining Sarah and Megatron in Fantasyland, we wandered round a little bit earlier than heading again to fulfill Belle in her wintry weather get dressed. There are a few face characters Megatron acknowledges and likes, and Belle is one in all them. (Anna and Elsa are the 2 large ones, however their line used to be too lengthy.)
We needed to fulfill Winnie the Pooh and pals, who’re a few of Megatron’s favourite characters, however the lengthy line coupled with the proximity to bedtime made it a non-starter.
At roughly 9:15 pm, we put Megatron within the stroller and she or he used to be out nearly straight away.
She’s a theme park child, which is to mention that she will be able to sleep by way of anything else, so our evening persevered. Sarah in point of fact sought after to take a look at a few the cookies (I’m no longer even kidding–it used to be all her!), so we did that.
For the ones retaining rating at house, Sarah’s favourite is the Buttercream-Frosted Gingerbread Cookie. You already know she loves a candy deal with when she eats a couple of!
My favourite is the Scorching Cocoa Cookie, which Sarah hated. “Tom” and “hate” don’t seem to be phrases that cross in combination when discussing cookies. I ate multiples of the whole thing, for the sake of Very Essential Analysis.
Joking apart, this 12 months’s cookie lineup is in point of fact robust. I nonetheless leave out the Peppermint Crunch and Ginger Molasses Cookies from ~2018-2019, however the transfer to Cheryl’s Cookies is a web sure. We might or won’t have recouped a large number of our price of MVMCP by way of cookies, and I might or won’t ship a dozen to my dad versus a Cheryl’s Cookies subscription.
Differently, we most commonly simply wandered round for the following half-hour, absorbing the ambience.
Despite the fact that Megatron can sleep by way of anything else, we break up up for the fireworks.
I arrived to a nearly absolute best spot ~quarter-hour prematurely. By means of showtime, Major Boulevard used to be with ease crowded. Quite a lot of respiring room, however regularly busier nearer to Cinderella Citadel.
It’s because some visitors stake out one spot for the fireworks, degree display, and parade. That makes the Central Plaza nearly nightmarish, even because it’s completely delightful deeper again. In the event you watched from close to the Christmas tree or The town Sq., it’d be blissfully uncrowded.
Utterly reverse reviews on the two ends of Major Boulevard, which is a great microcosm for why some folks whinge about crowds be terrible at MVMCP and others reward how useless the park is. Each reviews are conceivable relying at the choices visitors make.
We regrouped to fulfill Winnie the Pooh and pals.
Most certainly gained’t be the use of this picture for our Christmas card, however I do to find it fun that Piglet is pretending to push the stroller. You’ll’t inform from the picture, however Pooh identified there used to be a gentle shining down at once into the highest of the stroller and lined that along with his fingers. That used to be candy.
In point of fact want lets’ve finished this one whilst Megatron used to be unsleeping, however simply in looking at different interactions, we completely made the precise choice in prioritizing the geese. Pooh and pals are nice, don’t get me unsuitable. The entire bundle is solely higher in Pete’s Foolish Sideshow; the lighting fixtures is healthier and there’s additionally extra space, making it extra conducive to interactions.
After that, we walked round for a little bit.
The plan used to be to dip into the Minnie & Mickey Mouse meet & greet in The town Sq.. The couple used to be again assembly in combination for the primary time in years, and concept it’d be great to have a photograph from that.
Sadly, the road used to be 60 mins lengthy…and regarded it. Assembly characters simply isn’t the similar with out Megatron, and we wouldn’t have waited in an hour-long line although she had been unsleeping. Doing this meet & greet proper earlier than–or throughout–the second one parade is most often savvy technique, and I’d consider that’ll be true once more at later events throughout the season.
Since we had been close to the entrance of the park, Sarah made up our minds to name it an evening and go away. I stayed for the second one parade, final degree display, and a little bit extra wandering to test issues out. And naturally, amassing much more cookies for Very Essential Analysis. Listed below are my footage from the final hour or so of MVMCP:
In the long run, we had an incredible circle of relatives enjoy at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party even supposing our daughter simplest skilled a fragment of what the development has to provide. I’ve gotta admit that as we had been status at Membership Tinsel after which driving Dumbo to begin the development, the primary issues going by way of my head had been the according to minute greenback value and alternative value.
Then I noticed the smile on Megatron’s face. How glad she used to be at the dance ground with Chip ‘n’ Dale. The “thrill” of getting the wind in her face when looping the carousel, teacups, and Dumbo. The enjoyment of hugging an off-brand Coke polar endure. Even taking part in “too many” Christmas cookies with my health-conscious spouse.
Whilst I completely may just put an exact worth on each and every of the ones issues, our daughter’s reactions had been precious. The similar is going for the joys we had as a circle of relatives, or even simply the 2 people after she fell asleep. That is the ‘lightning in a bottle’ form of magic that made us fall in love with Walt Disney International within the first position, no longer the checklist-style MVMCP final touch I’ve been doing on my own for the final couple of years.
A large a part of this is the truth that we’ve finished all of this earlier than, and may have a possibility to do all of it once more. Lets simply glide, doing no matter Megatron sought after to do, realizing that she used to be having a laugh and wouldn’t have regrets about what she used to be lacking.
We’ve additionally (most commonly) discovered to mood our expectancies and no longer give in to FOMO or the force of doing the whole thing. We’ve watched different households do that over time, and promised ourselves we wouldn’t make the similar mistake. (More straightforward stated than finished occasionally.)
If we had been first-timers or one and finished visitors, we may’ve felt otherwise. Or perhaps no longer. There’s a explanation why Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party sells out quicker with each and every passing 12 months. It’s really a particular particular match, and that’s true although you spend $80.40 of the birthday party flying excessive with Dumbo.
For complete pointers for making plans your Christmas-time commute to Walt Disney International, take a look at our Final Information to Christmas at Walt Disney International. For Walt Disney International commute making plans pointers and complete recommendation, you’ll want to learn our Walt Disney International Shuttle Making plans Information and similar articles.
YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you ever attended the 2025 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Birthday party, or the development in any respect in the previous few years? What used to be your enjoy with MVMCP? Ideas at the crowds, leisure, meals, or the rest? Any ideas of your individual so as to add? Agree or disagree with my review of the development? Listening to from you is part the joys, so if in case you have questions or feedback, please percentage under!
