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PHOTOS and VIDEOS: We’re LIVE at the First Night of Merriest Nites at Disneyland!

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The holidays are officially here, folks, now that the after-hours parties are in full swing in the Disney Parks! And, we’re taking you with us to experience the very first Disney Merriest Nites (like…EVER) in Disneyland!

Get a load of that GORGEOUS tree!

There are plenty of eats, merchandise, entertainment, and more taking place around the park for fans to enjoy. Of course, we’re giving you a look at them ALL! So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get ready to jingle into Christmas time in Disneyland together!

Keep following along because we will be updating this post throughout the night!

Merriest Nites is a brand new holiday event at Disneyland Resort.

Merriest Nites Guide Map

Merriest Nites guests are able to enter Disneyland Park without a park reservation starting at 5PM. The event officially begins at 7PM. 

Getting Started

Here’s a look at the line when we arrived for the event.

Merriest Nites Entrance Line

There’s a full house at tonight’s event, with every ticket sold out!

It’s a full house!

Here’s a look at Main Street around 6:30PM. There was quite the crowd due to the blend of day time guests exiting and event guests entering the park all at once.

Main Street Crowds

The park was beautifully decorated!

We could stare at the tree all night, if there wasn’t so much to DO!

Sleeping Beauty Castle was stunning too.

Let’s get into the fun of Disney Merriest Nights at Disneyland

Eats and Treats

20 specialty eats and treats with sweet and savory options are available for guests during Disney Merriest Nites! And, it wouldn’t be the Disney Food Blog without sharing a look at them, now would it? One of the first treats we tried during the night was the Loaded Toffee Churro from the Tomorrowland Churro Cart, which was a Churro rolled in Toffee-flavored Sugar, drizzled with Chocolate Ganache with Chopped Almonds.

The Toffee Churro!

This one is available for $6.75.

We also had the Milk-n-Cookies Pretzel, which was a Cream Cheese-filled Pretzel covered with Icing, Chocolate Cookie Crumbles, and Sweetened Condensed Milk.

The Milk ‘n’ Cookies Pretzel!

You can get this one at the Tomorrowland Pretzel Cart for $7.75!

What would a Disney event be without some Dole Whip? Over at Tropical Hideaway, you can grab the Paradise Party Float, which is Blue Pineapple Juice Topped with Watermelon DOLE Whip! This one is available for $6.79.

The Frozen Flurry was glowing so bright we didn’t want to drink it (but we did, for science).

Party goers can try out the Enchanted Forest Fries loaded with buffalo seasoning, ranch, and cotija cheese.

Rancho del Zocalo had DESSERT NACHOS. Um, we’ll take three.

And this spot was serving up a hearty Pork Pozole.

Here you can spot Cast Member Charlie whipping up our serving!

If you’re a chocolate fan, you might want to RUN to Jolly Holiday Bakery where you’ll find the Sipping Chocolate with a Dipping Waffle!

Mobile Order is active during Disney Merriest Nites, so you can quickly put your order in before continuing to make your way around the event for the evening.

Entertainment

You can also catch plenty of entertainment around the park, including the Muppets, who are singing carols on the Main Street Transportation Co. Omnibus!

There were beautiful projections on the Matterhorn!

Not to mention the “A Christmas Fantasy” Parade! We spotted Mickey and Minnie…

…Anna and Elsa…

…Christmas toys…

…little snowmen…

…Green Army Men…

…Goofy and Pluto…

…and, of course, SANTA!

Photo-Ops

Guests visiting Disney Merriest Nites can enjoy an unlimited amount of Disney PhotoPass digital downloads with their tickets. And, there are plenty of photo-ops around the park to pose with your family and friends! Some of these photo ops take the form of fun photo walls, like this one in Adventureland! 

The Photo Wall In Adventureland!

Although official photo ops aren’t available with all of them, you’ll be able to spot the character “hosts” of each land during Merriest Nites! For example, we spotted Lilo near Tropical Hideaway in Adventureland.

Pluto also popped out to spread some Christmas cheer. Look at his little antlers!

Buzz Lightyear was REALLY getting into the fun. Then again, how could you not with those trees flashing behind you?

And he really didn’t stop dancing. Someone must have just changed his batteries.

We didn’t know we needed to see Donald dressed as Ebenezer Scrooge with a Jacob Marley Goofy by his side.

Merchandise

Looking for an exclusive souvenir to commemorate the first-ever Disney Merriest Nites? Then, you’re going to want to stop by Star Wars Launch Bay in Tomorrowland to find all sorts of themed items! It’s important to note that a mobile waitlist system may be put in place, where guests will have to add their name and phone number before waiting to receive a return text.

On the first night of Merriest Nites, a mobile waitlist was put into place and opened was set to open at 7:30PM PST. At Launch Bay, you’ll be able to find lots of merch including a long-sleeved shirt featuring all the characters “hosts” from the event…

A nice festive red!

…a short-sleeved shirt featuring Mickey & Minnie in their caroling outfits…

Aw!

…and items like an exclusive tumbler featuring the character “hosts,” a phone case with the same design, a limited-release pin featuring Mickey & Minnie in their Victorian outfits, and a special ornament!

So much merch!

Remember: you’ll be able to find all of this merch at Star Wars: Launch Bay in Tomorrowland.

Wait Times & Crowds

Since Disney Merriest Nites is an after-hours event, the wait times are a LOT shorter than they would be during the day. About an hour before the event, wait times were, for the most part, pretty typical. Popular attraction Big Thunder Mountain Railroad had a wait time of 40 minutes, while Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin had a wait of 20 minutes.

©Disney

Haunted Mansion Holiday, a ride that has gotten into the triple digits with its wait time, was a 40 minute wait.

©Disney

Similarly, Indiana Jones had a 55 minute wait, but Jungle Cruise had a low 10 minute wait time.

©Disney

Other popular rides like Peter Pan’s Flight, Pirates of the Caribbean…

©Disney

…Space Mountain, and Splash Mountain all had waits under an hour.

©Disney

As we make our way around Disneyland and Disney World for the holiday season, we’ll be sure to update you on everything you need to know. Also, follow along with us on Twitter for the latest updates! Stay tuned with DFB for the latest Disney entertainment and news!

Click Here to Read More About Merriest Nites!

What are you the most excited for during Disney Merriest Nites? Let us know in the comments below!

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Comments

  1. Back in the day, when Disney was “Magical”, it didn’t cost extra (in fact a lot extra) to enjoy Christmas at Disney.
    Sorry Walt, they stepped all over your idea.

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