The Disney World Christmas parade returns to normal

Have you seen Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade yet this year? A few elements that were missing last year have returned!

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

The Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom has returned this year! But hurry, because this popular event is selling out fast. Only a couple event dates remain, so you will want to grab those tickets quickly if you want to attend this holiday event.

This year’s Christmas party brings back new and returning holiday offerings, including Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, complimentary hot cocoa and cookies, and plenty of fun shows – including “Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration” and “Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks”, fun holiday attraction overlays and much, much more!

Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade

Last year marked the return of a first full parade since the parks reopened after the pandemic. If you remember, Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade returned during the Very Merriest After Hours event. You can read Monica’s review of the event in this post HERE.

Though the parade returned, we did notice a few things that were missing. For example, the parade itself was not as full. Also, a number of parade floats were missing entirely all together. The ballroom dancers, Santa’s workshop, and Goofy’s gumball machine had all been cut from the parade.

Parade floats also seemed to lack characters and the number of toy soldiers marching in the parade was significantly less.

Back to normal?

This year’s first Christmas party was impacted by Hurricane Nicole and unfortunately, the parade was canceled. Instead, guests saw a holiday version of The Rainy Day Cavalcade. However, during one of the parties that followed, I (Maggie) was finally able to see it!

It is worth saying that this was my first time attending this event and seeing the parade. At the time, I did not notice anything different, other than the fact the parade that I saw did not end with snow on Main Street. I think this was due to some technical difficulties during the parade, as many of the floats had stopped for long periods of time throughout the parade.

Goofy’s Gumball Machine float made a comeback along with Santa’s Workshop, Santa’s elves, and the ballroom dancers. You can also see that the number of Toy Soldiers is significantly more than it was last year.

Elements that were missing from Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade have returned this year!

We are so happy to see these favorite parts of the parade return this year!

Have you attended Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party yet this year? Do you have plans to attend? Are you happy to see some of these parts of the parade make their return this year? Tell us about it in the comments below or share your pictures with us on our Facebook page. We would love to see them!