Disney has announced that Disneyland will be receiving a Christmas Party this year! For years, Christmas parties have been all the rage in Magic Kingdom but they have never made their way over to the west coast. That changes in 2021! In this post, we’ll cover all of the details of the party before giving a little bit of commentary.

Disney Merriest Nights will be on select nights in November and December at Disneyland Park as a separate ticket event. The event will be reduced capacity and is only five nights total so it’s far from what we see at Walt Disney World. The prices reflect that too with a $165 ticket cost ($175 for the first party). Merriest Nights will run from 8 PM to midnight with guests being able to enter the park at 5 PM.

As the host of the party, Mickey Mouse will welcome guests to the party on Main Street, U.S.A. Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and their friends will join in the fun, traveling in a special coach with Christmas carol sing-alongs, Muppet antics, and a few chickens! Forget any reasonable commentary I write below, Muppets making an appearance is worth any price!

Over in New Orleans Square, Princess Tiana plans to ring in Noel with guests at her bayou-inspired celebration. In Frontierland, Miguel from the Disney and Pixar film “Coco” will be wishing everyone Feliz Navidad with a jolly dance-filled fiesta. Three more character-hosted holiday parties await you with a tropical party hosted by Lilo & Stitch in Adventureland, a wintertime celebration with Elsa in Fantasyland, and Buzz Lightyear taking the holidays to new heights in Tomorrowland. The parties will feature enhanced entertainment such as themed photo backdrops, character sightings, and themed specialty food and beverage offerings within the event.

Attendance at this separately ticketed holiday event offers guests limited-capacity, after-hours access to Disneyland park attractions and entertainment. Select attractions will be available, including the seasonal transformations “it’s a small world” Holiday and Haunted Mansion Holiday, along with a special viewing of “A Christmas Fantasy” Parade. Guests will also receive unlimited PhotoPass downloads at the party. There will also be special merchandise, snacks and character meet & greets offered.

Disney Merriest Nights will run on Nov. 11, Nov. 16, Nov. 30, Dec. 7, and Dec. 9 with tickets going on sale September 14th, no earlier than 9 AM. Like Oogie Boogie Bash, this will sell out very quickly even with a high price tag. Buying as soon as the tickets go on sale is advisable.

Now that we’re through the details, our commentary will sound pretty familiar to what it always is with these hard ticket events. If money is no issue, then go because this sounds like a blast! The amount of extra items offered at this party is impressive and will make for a memorable night. Unfortunately, that price tag is extremely high and we have a hard time swallowing that.

Seemingly, this announcement points to the Christmas parade being offered during normal park days and not just the event so that’s not as much of an extra benefit as it may seem. The character interactions and these six different parties is where guests will see the value and, to be sure, they do seem very cool. As I already mentioned, the Muppets doing Christmas Carol things sounds like a childhood (who am I kidding, it’s an adult) fantasy to me. But paying $165 for that is quite steep.

It’s good to see that Disneyland has limited the amount of nights the party will run, as Disneyland Resort only has so much capacity anyway. Not having multiple weeks overrun with an early closure to standard ticket guests is good for everyone involved, especially the consumers. That does make the party an even more exclusive ticket though so, if you decide Disney Merriest Nights is for you, get your tickets ASAP.

What do you think of Disney Merriest Nights? Let us know in the comments, along with any questions you might have! If you are planning a trip to Disneyland, then check out our planning guide. If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages.  You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email.  You can do all of that on the right side of this page.  Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!