Happy holidays, Martha! Visiting Mickey during the Christmas season is a great way to celebrate the holidays!
Martha, one of the first recommendations that I’ll share is to be sure to visit Magic Kingdom!
Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade is exclusive to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party through November and most of December. This is a separately ticketed event that will conclude before your arrival to Disney World. However, Mickey has a bit of a Christmas gift for Guests. When the last Christmas Party is over (usually around December 21), the Christmas parade becomes part of the daily entertainment at Magic Kingdom during the daytime! So, you’ll still get to enjoy this exclusive event for the few days of the year that it is available! I recommend visiting Magic Kingdom earlier during your trip.
While I love Magic Kingdom, I recommend visiting EPCOT or Hollywood Studios on New Year's Eve. Magic Kingdom can sometimes reach capacity crowds on New Year's Eve, so one of the other parks might be slightly less crowded. At EPCOT, you’ll be able to enjoy nighttime fireworks. Over at Hollywood Studios, you can visit
Fantasmic! This nighttime spectacular takes Guests into Mickey’s imagination! This is my favorite of all the nighttime shows at Disney World!
If you’re looking for a day or evening to avoid huge crowds, pop on over to Animal Kingdom. My two favorite times of the day at this park are early morning when the park just opens and just after dark! The park is less crowded at these times, and the animals that call this park “home” tend be quite active during these times!
Here are my final recommendations…December 28 – Animal Kingdom, December 29 – Magic Kingdom, December 30 – EPCOT, and December 31 – Hollywood Studios!
Dreams do come true!
Jonathan