Deck the halls…joy to the world…and jingle bells, jingle bells — it’s Christmas and, for so many, the most beautiful time of the year. And now that you have all those song titles in your head (sorry, I couldn’t resist), I’d like to share a brief recap on an extraordinary Christmas event that you can only experience at Walt Disney World® — Disney Very Merriest After Hours.
As you read this post, you might be unfamiliar with Disney After Hours events, and you may be curious to know what they are. I was once there myself. In short, Disney After Hours events are precisely what the title implies, which occurs after closing hours of specific Disney Parks. And for Walt Disney World®, the events most often happen at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Disney After Hours events require advance tickets purchased before visiting. Sometimes you can take a risk and buy tickets once you arrive at the Disney Park hosting the event; however, it is not advised. As a bit of a plug for Minnie’s Travel Boutique, you can always book tickets for Disney After Hours events through one of our travel agents, especially if you’ve booked with someone on our team before.
Disney Very Merriest After Hours is a newly holiday-themed event for 2021 at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. The official hours of the event are from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.; however, guests for this event can enter the park at 7 p.m. Two extra hours before the start of Disney Very Merriest After Hours allow regular day guests and event guests to enjoy Disney Enchantment, the new nighttime fireworks, and Cinderella Castle-extravaganza — a beautiful and brilliant centerpiece to the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World®.
If you have never visited Walt Disney World® before, or maybe you have and never attended a Disney After Hours event, I most certainly recommend adding this magical extra to your Disney package in the future. This year, believe it or not, marked the first time my wife, Kristen, and I enjoyed a holiday-themed event at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Simply put, we are believers now.
As a nighttime guest for Disney Very Merriest After Hours, we got to eat, experience, do, and see, and enjoy so much. We have always liked closing out a full day at any Disney Park at Walt Disney World®, and honestly, we prefer leaving shortly after the evening fireworks or projection shows. We’re not a “stay up late” kind of couple, we like our Disney rest, and the idea of staying up past midnight is not something that really excites us. Nonetheless, we thought…why not? After all, we are Disney vacation planners, and Disney Very Merriest After Hours must be explored.
Let me tell you — it was worth it. Every minute. Every show. Every experience. Every free snack. Every Disney Cast Member conversation. Every attraction. All of it — worth it. Our night at Disney Very Merriest After Hours was genuinely magical. And we will attend this type of event in the future. It was a memorable and wonderful time.
You may be asking yourself, “What makes this event so magical?” or “Why would you spend more money to attend a four-hour event when you can spend less money for an all-day ticket?” Two good questions; hopefully, the following recap will help answer.
The magic of Disney Very Merriest After Hours is simply what you allow yourself to make of it. It is not a Christmas Party. As a ticketed event, it is designed to enable guests extra time to visit attractions with little to no wait times and lesser crowds while offering a little additional entertainment. With any Disney After Hours event, it’s essential to expect these things so you won’t be surprised and fully embrace them.
Kristen and I got to experience a lot, not everything, but certainly a lot. Our absolute favorite experience of the night was the full-length Christmas parade. Yes, that’s right, a full-length parade — Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade. There are no full-length parades during the day at Disney Parks, and “thanks” to COVID-19, they are broken up into sections called Cavalcades. So, to have a big Christmas-themed parade that included Santa Claus was remarkable, especially since we love Disney parades. There was also a brand-new special Christmas stage show at Cinderella Castle — Mickey & Minnie’s Very Merry Memories with Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Donald and Daisy Duck, Chip and Dale, and the whimsical, flirtatious Clarabelle Cow. Panchito and Jóse Carioca from The Three Caballeros also made an appearance. As fans of Disney characters, the show was so much fun. Disney Very Merriest After Hours also included another nighttime spectacular, Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks. That’s two Disney fireworks specials in one night!
When it came to attractions at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, there were some nice Christmas overlays as Jungle Cruise became Jingle Cruise and Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor included some holiday jokes. Because the crowds were lower, I think we waited for a max of 20 minutes for an attraction, which was Jingle Cruise. It’s a popular attraction, so that was to be expected. All other attractions were minimal to no wait.
The in-person entertainment was also a lot of fun. There were special Disney sightings of characters throughout Disney’s Magic Kingdom, such as Winnie the Pooh and friends from the Hundred Acre Wood and the Country Bears — Big Al wanted my cookie. And speaking of food, Disney Very Merriest After Hours included complimentary soda and bottled water, popcorn (always a must-have), Mickey ice cream, and frozen fruit bars, along with Gingerbread cookies. Does Big Al like Gingerbread cookies? Who knew? Guests could purchase holiday-themed drinks, as well. And the Reindeer Wranglers, a talented-musical group, was also stationed in Frontierland offering seasonal songs with a holiday-country twist that you couldn’t help but bring out your inner country-twang and sing along.
Speaking of live entertainment, the best nighttime dance party this side of the North Pole was happening all event long in Tomorrowland — Club Tinsel Dance Party. Kristen and I totally danced and had some boogie-fun with Disney Cast Members and our DJ-host, Stitch. If anything, this dance party, plus the full-length Christmas parade, made the night for us. You cannot help but dance, smile, and enjoy yourself.
I don’t like to complain nor offer negative remarks; however, my one let-down for the event was the Disney PhotoPass options. Kristen and I continuously invest in Disney MemoryMaker with the Disney PhotoPass system to get those fun, imaginative, and magical pictures on every Disney vacation. And while Disney PhotoPass was available during Disney Very Merriest After Hours, the lines were often long. Unfortunately, we only had our Disney MemoryMaker pictures taken by two Disney PhotoPass photographers. We were a little sad, though we made do with lots of selfies. And speaking of pictures and selfies, we did get our photo taken with several Disney princesses (Cinderella, Rapunzel, Tiana, and Elena of Avalor). The most special Disney character moments were with the main cheese himself, Mickey! We were the only ones in line when we saw him, and we probably got five whole minutes together before the next guest arrived. We talked with him and shared Christmas jokes, and he even liked our Christmas sweaters featuring his adorable face. The Disney Cast Member was especially helpful as he offered to take photos from my phone so it wouldn’t be a standard selfie. Again, as Disney fans and as owners of Minnie’s Travel Boutique, Kristen and I absolutely enjoyed this wonderful Christmas moment. We are very thankful for our time with Mickey Mouse during Disney Very Merriest After Hours — one we will never forget.
Closing out our night at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, we went for one final stroll down Main Street, U.S.A. Much to our excitement, we got snowed on. Yes, during Disney Very Merriest After Hours, you have snow fall on you — in Florida, no less. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy snow falling on them not just at Walt Disney World® but also in Orlando, Fla.? I was so happy to see Kristen smiling from ear-to-ear dancing in the snow that I forgot to capture a picture of her (ha). At least I have the memory of us together in the snow during the “World’s Most Magical Celebration” at her favorite Disney Park.
Final thoughts…the ticket price is a little high for a shortened time of Disney Park entertainment; however, we thought it was worth it. As a guest of Disney Very Merriest After Hours, we had low to no wait times for attractions, free snacks, fun and memorable entertainment, beautiful fireworks, and enjoyed Christmas cheer around every corner! This magical investment will most certainly be on our Christmas list for all future trips to Walt Disney World® during the Christmas season. And we hope it will be for you, as well — Merry Christmas!
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Minnie’s Travel Boutique has over 20 travel agents located throughout the country. Our travel agency’s knowledge of Disney products has earned us the distinction of being named an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. We were given this special designation by Disney due to our agency’s ongoing focus and commitment to planning customized, magical trips to the Disney Parks, Disney Cruise Line®, and other Disney vacation destinations worldwide.