The Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Wasn't What I Was Expec…

Where do I even begin? My thoughts are as chaotic as the crowds in the Magic Kingdom.

I first want to say that I still love Disney and I know that they are being boycotted against for the Israel and Palestinian issue. My experience at the holiday party is solely my experience and doesn't necessarily reflect the experiences of others.

What first started out as excitement to see the fake snow on Main Street to grabbing a ton of free cookies throughout the park ended up being rather disappointing. Before even entering Magic Kingdom, an endless crowd stood waiting for the ferry as we were told that the ferry would be faster than the monorail.

After waiting in line for an hour and three ferries later, we finally walked onto the boat, careful not too lose each other in the swarms of people.

I kept wondering what other people were thinking as the boat grew closer to the entrance of Magic Kingdom. “Were they just as annoyed as me?” I decided to brush off my thoughts and wait in line for the green wristband that would grant me access to the special event.

But my thoughts were only covered with a light sheet that could easily be unraveled. A part of me was prepared for the crowds levels as it wasn't the first time we've been to the Disney parks near Thanksgiving, but I would later find out that my anxiety was high, leaving me no choice but to think about isolating myself for weeks afterwards.

We rounded a corner from Main Street to find ourselves nearly consumed by a dense crowd of kids and families trying to take photos with people dressed in eye-catching costumes. I could see the top half of Cinderella's castle amidst Santa hats and people dressed with festive colors.

After escaping the first dense crowd, I honestly wanted to head to a restaurant to try a holiday dessert as I somehow thought I would have the energy to go around Magic Kingdom and consume all of the free cookies and expensive holiday treats. But I was so wrong despite the crowd being cut in half once 6 pm rolled around.

I have to admit that I'm not much of an amusement park person mainly because motion sickness prevents me from riding intense rides like Space Mountain and the Teacups. So you will always find me sitting alone on a bench waiting for everyone else to come back from the rides.

As we grabbed our free cookies and hot cocoa, that's when my anxiety really started to set in. I almost felt trapped and I could feel it begin to take over when the cast members of the Haunted Mansion opened the doors to the first room where we all stand in a circle. At this point, a part of me wanted to stay for the parade, so I could see the magical lights of the parade floats come to life with the Disney characters, but the other part of me wanted to go back to serene peacefulness of my hotel and avoid having to fight the crowd once the parade ended.

So after two hours later of waiting for my sister to get off the Tron ride and dining inside a Mexican restaurant with loud kids, it was time to exit the park as everyone else sought out a spot to watch the parade.

Through this experience, I am now more aware of what brings me joy and what completely drains me. I, of course didn't share every single thing that we did so not to spoil the experience for others who choose to go.

But I can confidently say after going to Disney for so many years, that I've grown out of it and there are other places that I would rather explore and spend money on.

Here are a few perks if you manage to buy Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party tickets:

Access to free treats and special holiday treats throughout the park.

Don't have to wait in line for a long time for most rides. (This might not apply to Tron and other majorly popular rides even with virtual queues.)

Less people in the park

Have the ability to watch the Frozen event

Watch Mickey's Christmastime fireworks and parade with less people.

Character greetings and dance parties

Cons of Event:

Prices of tickets are EXPENSIVE and this ticket is separate from the usual Magic Kingdom ticket. (You can spend upwards of $800 for a family!)

Long wait times for rides even with virtual queues

Very difficult to get tickets closer to the holidays

Can take forever to get into the park as everyone tends to show up before the event starts.

I didn't really have a plan going in for what events I wanted to see or places I wanted to go for treats, which is probably why I was so overwhelmed. It does help to plan in advance if you do decide to attend this Christmas party.