It’s time for a very MERRY CHRISTMAS with Mickey at his own Very Merry Christmas Party!!

He’s throwing this festive bash on select nights at through December 22nd, and it’s one of my absolute favorite Magic Kingdom events EVER. I get excited just driving in and seeing the inflatable snow Mickey and Minnie over the park’s entrance gate and getting my Party wristband!

Mickey knows that part of being a great host — which he totally is! — is having plenty of festive eats for his many guests.

After all, you need some treats to keep your energy up when there’s so much to do, like watching Elsa light up Cinderella Castle in A Frozen Holiday Wish (which YOU can watch, too, on our DFB Facebook page).

And, of course, there are some majorly merry fireworks with Holiday Wishes (you can watch those on our Facebook page, too!)

I never miss the Toy Soldiers marching in the Once Upon a Christmastime Parade!

Plus the party offers great chances to mingle with some Disney characters you may not regularly see.

Okay, Donald isn’t super hard to find… but Scrooge McDuck (he’s on the right) sure is!

And I totally dig the new show, Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration, with some old pals like the Three Caballeros and Clarabelle Cow.

Not a must-see, exactly, but still very cute.

Oh… and don’t forget that there’s SHOPPING to do!!

Eats

Yep. All this… AND food! As always, there are plenty of extra snacks available for purchase — and we’ll be checking those out, too — but something unique to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party are the Holiday Treats Cookie and Drink stations offering complimentary snacks included with your party admission.

Just keep an eye out for the light-up peppermint sticks to find the cookie locations as listed on the Party Guide.

Complimentary Cookies and Beverages

New this year, though, are different varieties of cookies and drinks at each treat stop. SO fun!

Cookie and Beverage #1: If you’ve attended the party previously, then you’re likely familiar with the Snickerdoodle Cookies and Hot Cocoa that can be found at Tortuga Tavern in Adventureland and Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies in Tomorrowland.

These are probably the best snickerdoodles I’ve ever had (super soft!), and the hot cocoa was kept at a not-too-hot temperature at most stops.

Cookie and Beverage #2: My favorite stop was Heritage House in Liberty Square, which had Ginger Molasses Cookies and Eggnog (non-spiked, but still delicious 😉 ) on hand! I’m not even an eggnog fan and I was super impressed! And the ginger molasses cookies were amazing!! Here’s a TIP: Heritage House is a great stop to grab cookies before you watch the Christmas parade from Liberty Square!

Cookie and Beverage #3: My other top spot was The Lunching Pad in Tomorrowland for the Peppermint Bark Cookies and hot cocoa. These are brand new to the party this year, and were basically chocolate chip cookies using peppermint bark instead of chocolate chips. Fun idea, and super delicious.

Cookie and Beverage #4: The Snowman Sugar Cookie is served with Spiced Apple Cider at Pete’s Silly Sideshow in New Fantasyland’s Storybook Circus. The apple cider was one of my favorite beverages this year!

And, as always, gluten-free and allergy-friendly Enjoy Life Chocolate Chip Cookies are available throughout the party as well.

Cookie and Beverage #5: The Snowman sugar cookie also pops up at Friar’s Nook in Fantasyland, where he’s paired with blue raspberry Snow Cones!

And while they’re unique, the blue raspberry snow cones aren’t the best — they’re made of that super “grainy” ice, as opposed to a finer shaved ice. Still, it’s a fun idea, the kiddos will love ‘em, and hey… they’re free with admission, so you may as well grab one 😉 !

Eats for Purchase

I am all for this new variety of free cookie goodness at the Party! But I also checked out the additional treats available for purchase, starting with an old favorite: the Pumpkin Spice Waffle Sundae at Sleepy Hollow.

This one used to be an offering at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, but — much to my chagrin — it didn’t return to that event this year. So I was SUPER pumped to find out it was making a return at the Christmas Party.

And guess what? It’s even BETTER. This fragrant, warm, autumn-spiced waffle is now topped with hard-scooped vanilla ice cream (and sprinkled with cinnamon!), instead of the quick-melting soft serve of yore.

The Holiday Tree Cupcake has returned to Gaston’s Tavern.

This cupcake isn’t huge, and the bright green color of the buttercream frosting — though in keeping with the tree theme 🙂 — can be a little off-putting.

But the base of this cake tastes great, and even unique due to the use of color to spice it up. (In the past we were told they used clove and star anise along with cinnamon to flavor the cake, but it honestly just tasted like vanilla to me this year. There was a slight peppermint flavor from the candy cane sprinkles on top.)

Overall, this was SUPER not worth the $5 pricetag.

Of course, more cupcakes are available at Main Street Bakery: the Chocolate Peppermint Cupcake and the Holiday Wish Cupcake.

And you can always stop by Plaza Ice Cream Parlor for a Holiday Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich or Peppermint Hot Fudge Sundae!

Secret Cookie!

And speaking of cookies… there is also a “Secret” Cookie up for grabs this year! It’s a super-big, wrapped version of the Snowman Sugar Cookie.

You can find these on the trail to the right of Le Chapeau — they open it up to party-goers only in order to improve traffic flow before the party begins.

Now, I can’t guarantee that this will be part of your Party experience 😉 , but on the night of my visit a few of the Cast Members handing them out looked suspiciously like…

… SANTA CLAUS!! Coincidence?!? 

I think not :)! After all, just leave it to Mickey to think through every last detail for his Merriest Party of the Year!

Are you attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party this year? Please let us know with a comment!