Hi Julie!
Welcome to planDisney. You're a girl after my own heart because I love taking time to explore the resorts. In fact, I often find myself making intricate transportation roadmaps to maximize my resort hopping experience. Lucky for you I've perfected a few different routes and would be happy to share my best tips.
You can certainly park at the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC) when you arrive for your magical day. As you know, your tickets for
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party will allow you entry to Magic Kingdom Park beginning at 4 p.m. But that doesn't mean you can't get an early start on the festive fun. Once you've parked you can board a Monorail or Ferryboat across Seven Seas Lagoon to Magic Kingdom Park. You'll arrive outside of the ticket tapstiles so you won't have to worry about needing daytime admission before the Christmas party kicks off.
However, there is one little tangle in your tinsel when it comes to the remainder of your plans. Though you can easily take the
Monorail to EPCOT from the TTC you will need valid admission in addition to a theme park reservation to enter EPCOT and exit at International Gateway where the
Disney Skyliner is located for the second part of your journey. But have no fear! If you want to visit
Disney's Art of Animation Resort before you jingle bell rock with Mickey and friends you can take a bus there directly from Magic Kingdom Park, bypassing EPCOT altogether.
I do want to suggest an alternate itinerary if "yule" allow. I'd recommend taking a bus to either Disney's Beach Club Resort,
Disney's Yacht Club Resort, or Disney's BoardWalk Resort first to tour the
gingerbread displays in each of the resort lobbies. The gingerbread Lighthouse at Yacht Club is brand new this year, and the Holiday Carousel at Beach Club is always a crowd-pleaser. Once you've toured all the merry and bright displays you'll be a short walk from Disney Skyliner where you can continue on to Disney's Art of Animation Resort for the rest of your holly jolly journey. Don't forget you'll need to transfer first at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, but it's usually a quick and seamless process.
If you don't want to wait for the complimentary cookies and beverages included with your Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party ticket, why not place a mobile order for a
Deer Holly Day Cupcake to enjoy while touring the Art of Animation grounds? It's sure to give you a burst of frosted sweetness and the energy you'll need to party until the end of the night. Once you've completed your resort tour hop back on the complimentary Disney Bus Service to Magic Kingdom Park to continue with the rest of your holiday bucket list. I attended the Christmas party for the first time just last week so I know firsthand all the festive fun that awaits.
I hope this helped Julie. If I can offer any further guidance please don't hesitate to jingle right on back to planDisney and
let me know.
Wishing you "snow" much fun,
Amy