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Very Merry's 2026 Showtimes Match Last Year's, and Only Minnie's Fireworks Run Once, at 10 p.m.
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Very Merry's 2026 Showtimes Match Last Year's, and Only Minnie's Fireworks Run Once, at 10 p.m.

Michael Travels
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Disney has posted the entertainment schedule for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, and it holds no surprises: the times match last year's. The 2026 season opens at Magic Kingdom on Sunday, November 8, and runs on 25 select nights through December 22.

Blog Mickey and WDW News Today both reported the schedule on Friday, October 30, nine days before opening night. Blog Mickey's 2025 showtimes story is dated November 7, 2025, which was opening night itself last year, so party guests have more than a week longer to plan this time. Blog Mickey says this year's times are the same on every party night.

Illustrated Mickey Mouse in a Santa suit carrying a green sack of presents beside the words Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party 2026 Magic Kingdom

Disney's key art for the 2026 party. Image: Disney

The schedule

  • Mickey's Most Merriest Celebration, the stage show in front of Cinderella Castle: 7:40 p.m., 9:25 p.m., 10:35 p.m. and 11:55 p.m.
  • Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade: 8:30 p.m. and 11 p.m.
  • Minnie's Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks: 10 p.m.

The party runs from 7 p.m. to midnight, and party ticket holders can enter Magic Kingdom from 4 p.m. Blog Mickey listed the same parade, fireworks and castle show times for the 2025 party, with the parade running its standard route from Frontierland to Main Street, U.S.A. Neither 2026 report restates the route.

The one you only get once

Every big show on the list runs at least twice except the fireworks. Miss the 8:30 parade and there is another at 11. Miss the 7:40 castle show and there are three more. Minnie's Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks happens once, at 10 p.m., so that is the time to build the rest of the night around.

The schedule also hands you a shortcut. The 9:25 p.m. castle show and the 10 p.m. fireworks are both at Cinderella Castle, 35 minutes apart, so if you watch the 9:25 show you are already standing in front of the castle when the fireworks start.

Mickey Mouse in a green velvet jacket and red striped bow tie holding out his hands in front of a curtain of white string lights and a glowing snowflake

Mickey dressed for the holidays. Image: Disney

Two ways to run the night

Both plans below are built from the published start times only, so leave yourself room between shows.

Plan 1, parade early:

  • 4 p.m. to 7:40 p.m.: rides, treats and dinner. The Plaza Restaurant stays open until 8 p.m. on party nights, according to Disney's party food guide.
  • 7:40 p.m.: the first castle show.
  • 8:30 p.m.: the first parade.
  • 10 p.m.: fireworks.
  • After the fireworks: you have now seen everything once, so the 10:35 show and 11 p.m. parade are free time for rides, character meets and party snacks.

Plan 2, parade late:

  • 4 p.m. to 9:25 p.m.: rides, treats, the new Stitchmas! dance party at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe, and Santa's Christmas Carnival in Storybook Circus, where Blog Mickey reports Winnie the Pooh and friends are also meeting guests on party nights this year.
  • 9:25 p.m.: the castle show, then stay put.
  • 10 p.m.: fireworks.
  • 11 p.m.: the second parade.
  • 11:55 p.m.: the last castle show, which starts five minutes before the party ends.

What Disney has not posted yet

  • Stitchmas! times: Blog Mickey said on November 4 that the My Disney Experience listing for the new Lilo and Stitch dance party does not show set times yet.
  • Snack prices: Disney's party food guide from October 29 lists 55 items at 17 spots around Magic Kingdom, and none of them carry a price.

Square beignets dusted with powdered sugar and topped with gingerbread crumbs, red and white sprinkles and snowflake candies, beside a pine cone and red berries

Gingerbread Cheesecake Beignets, one of the 55 items on this year's party menu. Image: Disney Parks Blog

If you still need a ticket

Disney lists party tickets at $189 to $229 plus tax, priced by date. Blog Mickey's latest ticket check found 16 of the 25 nights already sold out. If yours is gone, the parade also runs in daylight for a TV taping on November 10 and 11, which we covered here, and no party ticket is needed for that.

Which are you doing first on your party night, the 8:30 parade or the 9:25 castle show?

Sources

Image credits: Disney (key art, Mickey); Disney Parks Blog (beignets).

Mentioned in this story

Check out our guides for more on each place in this story:

Magic Kingdom The Plaza Restaurant Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

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