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If you’re looking for the least crowded, best day to visit Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in 2013, circle Tuesday, December 10, 2013, on your calendar. That Christmas Party, on a Tuesday in early December, was the least-crowded event in 2012’s schedule.

If that date doesn’t fit in your schedule, last year’s crowds indicate that Tuesday Christmas parties are less crowded on average than parties held on any other day of the week.

Friday is the next-best day to attend a Very Merry Christmas Party. Thursday and Sunday are the busiest days, although that may be a bit skewed since Magic Kingdom often has morning Extra Magic Hours on Thursdays.

Unlike our analysis of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, the earlier Very Merry Christmas parties are not the least crowded. With the higher crowds arriving at Walt Disney World around the Thanksgiving holiday, many November dates rank among our most crowded.

Where you will find lower crowds for the Christmas parties is in the lull between the Thanksgiving and Christmas busy periods. Four of the five parties between December 3 and 10, 2013, are among our top 7 least-busy parties (we expect Sunday, December 8 to be a bit busier).

While there are no Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Parties during Thanksgiving week, the parties just prior to and just after that break are traditionally busy. The last few parties before Christmas are also quite crowded.

If you are considering other dates, here are our predicted rankings of attraction wait times at each of the 2013 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Parties. The changing date of Thanksgiving makes these estimates challenging. In addition, the opening of New Fantasyland in 2012 skewed many of our 2012 Christmas Party numbers. The new area’s official opening was December 6, 2012, the date of 2012’s busiest Christmas Party. The parties immediately following that date also saw high wait times, so we have adjusted our rankings accordingly.

[Please note that the military discount ends following the November 21 party, and the Annual Pass and Disney Vacation Club discounts end following the December 10 party, but are also not available for the parties on November 22 or December 6 or 8.]

Party Date Attraction Wait Times Rank Advance Purchase Price for an Adult Ticket Notes Tuesday, December 10, 2013 Lowest Wait Times $62 Tuesday, December 03, 2013 2 $62 Friday, December 06, 2013 3 $67 Friday, November 15, 2013 4 $62 Sold out 1 day in advance in 2012. Thursday, November 21, 2013 5 $62 Thursday, November 14, 2013 6 $62 Sold out 1 day in advance in 2012. Thursday, December 05, 2013 7 $62 Friday, November 08, 2013 8 $62 Sold out 1 day in advance in 2011 Tuesday, December 17, 2013 9 $62 Sunday, November 17, 2013 10 $62 Monday, November 11, 2013 11 $62 Sold out 1 day in advance in 2012. Sunday, December 08, 2013 12 $62 Friday, December 20, 2013 13 $67 Final Party of the year. Sold out 5 days in advance in 2012 and a month in advance in 2011. Lines for character greetings and parade viewing spots will be long. Thursday, December 19, 2013 14 $62 Sunday, December 15, 2013 15 $67 Friday, December 13, 2013 16 $67 Sold out 6 days in advance in 2011 Thursday, December 12, 2013 17 $62 Friday, November 22, 2013 18 $62 Sunday, December 01, 2013 Highest Wait Times $62 1st Party after Thanksgiving break. Sold out 1 day in advance in 2012. Lines for character greetings and parade viewing spots will be long.

To determine all of the above, we looked at posted wait times from key attractions including Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, it’s a small world, and The Barnstormer. We narrowed it down to times between 7pm and midnight, which is when the park is limited to party guests. Some quick notes about our research:

Our wait times only include attractions−not character meet and greets, special shows, or parades. The characters, in particular, often have long lines, especially for rare characters like the Seven Dwarfs. Regardless of which party you attend, some of the character lines will be long. If those are a must do, do them as early in the evening as possible.

In general the wait times during the Christmas parties are quite low, averaging only about 9 minutes. If there are any attractions that you have really been wanting to do, experiencing them during the Christmas party might just be the time.

If you are a data nerd like we are, you can find all of our wait time data for the Christmas parties on this Google spreadsheet.

Looking for more information? Erin Foster wrote an amazing overview of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party that will help you whether this is your first trip or your 100th (and if it’s your 100th, you might have a problem…being too awesome).

Now that you are armed with the most powerful weapon…knowledge, you can plan your 2013 trip to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. This blog post will help you find all of the party dates and prices.

Hopefully this analysis will help you choose the best Christmas Party to attend. Merry Christmas (a little early)!

Thanks!