2023’s holiday season will be one for the record books at Walt Disney World, as the resort will be hosting TWO after-hours Christmas events: Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom and the brand-new Disney Jollywood Nights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
If you’re like most people, your holiday season is pretty busy, and if you only have time to make it for one of these events, you might be wondering which one is better. And while we can’t say definitively just yet as neither has happened yet for 2023, here are some important differences between the two that you might want to think about about before purchasing tickets.
1. Ticket prices
When it comes to how much you’ll pay to attend these events, both Disney Jollywood Nights and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party are about even, with the former’s tickets ranging from $159 to $179 and the latter costing $159 to $199 per ticket. Though there are a few peak event nights where the Christmas Party is $20 more expensive than Jollywood Nights, the increase isn’t really enough to say definitively that the Christmas Party is more expensive overall, especially because the Christmas party has more than double the event nights as well.
2. Event availability
And speaking of event nights, it is also important to factor in availability. Right now, there are only 11 dates available for Disney Jollywood Nights, after opening night sold out earlier this year. However, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party has plenty of availability still, with tickets currently on sale for 29 dates.
Though Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party may be a bit more expensive on some nights, it is definitely easier for guests to book since it has so many more event dates available than Jollywood Nights.
3. Special entertainment
Disney’s seasonal special events are in a class by themselves largely because of the thoughtful entertainment that is only available to event attendees, and in that respect, both Disney Jollywood Nights and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party will certainly delight guests. At Jollywood Nights, guests can enjoy the return of the Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! nighttime spectacular, as well as an all-new Muppets “live” holiday special featuring several Disney princesses and a Nightmare Before Christmas sing-along.
Though there’s some exciting new entertainment at Jollywood Nights, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is keeping things classic with Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration in front of Cinderella Castle and Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks show. Though these are all fan favorite returning entertainment options, we’d say that Jollywood Nights has the edge here as it has more new entertainment for guests to experience, instead of just repeating the same thing year after year.
Ultimately, these two events are pretty evenly matched in terms of price and entertainment variety. However, even though Jollywood doesn’t have a lot of availability if we had to choose just one event to go to this holiday season it would probably be the Disney’s Hollywood Studios event, as it has more new entertainment for guests to experience and will hopefully provide a fresher experience overall.
Of course, there’s no explicitly right or wrong answer when it comes to deciding which holiday event is right for you. For more information on both of these events you can check out Walt Disney World’s official holidays hub here.
