Greetings, Allison! And thank you for bringing your question to planDisney! I'm happy to try and help.
One of the many offerings of the holiday parties at
Walt Disney World Resort is the opportunity to meet rarely seen characters or old friends in special outfits. It is one of the biggest draws of these events, so the lines do tend to get long. I attended
Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party last year with three of my daughters, and we opted to skip most of the character meet-and-greets for this very reason. Unfortunately, Disney does not offer any type of VIP experience to meet characters at either of the holiday parties or after-hours experiences.
I absolutely love
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party! The festive shows, themed treats, and exclusive parade somehow make Disney even more magical! Some of my most treasured family memories are from this event. My advice would be to skip the first night of the party and wait for at least the second or third. That initial event of the season tends to be one of the most crowded, outside of Christmas week.
While the party typically starts at 7 pm, guests with party tickets are usually allowed in the park at 4 pm. You can obviously enter earlier if you have a valid theme park admission. My advice is to get there early and queue up 30-60 minutes before they are expected to appear, as long as Cast Members are allowing it. You can often find this information on
Disney Parks Blog. I imagine this isn't ideal, but it would at least get you one character interaction.
Disney Private VIP Tours include a knowledgeable tour guide, help with planning, and access to the Lightning Lane entrances for all attractions and character meet-and-greets. It's pretty amazing, but it isn't cheap. Since most of the unique characters at the holiday parties are usually at spots throughout
Magic Kingdom Park without Lightning Lane entrances, a VIP tour would not be helpful.
Lightning Lane Multi-Passes are not available during the holiday parties.
Does your son qualify for a
Disability Access Service Pass? If so, this could be helpful in getting a return time for at least one character interaction that takes place with a traditional queue with Lightning Lane access.
Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse at Town Square Theater, as well as
Princess Fairytale Hall, often fall into this category.
Allison, it's my hope that your son meets all of his favorite characters. As the mom of a daughter who has a disability and her own set of challenges, I know what it means to see them light up with joy. I hope you get to experience some of your own magic, too. Please come back and see us if you have any other questions. We're always happy to help here at
planDisney!
Always Dreaming -
Elizabeth