Kristenc’s This And That

Q:  We’ve never been to Mickey’s Pirate and Princess Party. How does it work? We’ll probably do a park in the morning that day then go back and rest and come back for the party. What time should we get there, how do we get in, do we get a wristband or something for the party, does the park close early for other guests those nights?

A:  Mickey’s Pirates and Princess Parties are hard ticketed events where ticket holders may enter MK as early as 4pm (although the official start time is 7pm) and regular Magic Kingdom day Guests leave the park when regular park hours end at 7pm. Your plan to visit a park earlier in the day followed by an afternoon of rest before returning for the Party is a good one. The party is filled with fun although it does run late into the night which can be hard on the litle ones. (I always avoid scheduling the first seating at a character breakfast the morning after attending an evening party.) A Cast Member can give you your wristband at one of the several marked stations set up throughout the Magic Kingdom. Many of the little girls dress up as their favorite princess, some even book an appointment at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique to be transformed into their favorite Princess by their Fairy Godmother-in-Training. Packages starting at $44.95 plus tax for a “Coach Makeover” which includes hair style and shimmering make-up.

We have attended this party and also Halloween and Christmas ones. I think all of these hard ticketed parties are well worth the extra money.

Your princess can walk through the different stations set up all around the Magic Kingdom and collect different colored necklaces. We also received a little loot bag in which to put the necklaces, and a Pirates of the Caribbean temporary tatoo. Sometimes they also have candy(although I didn’t see candy at our party in February).

The party will also have special areas set up where you can meet Captain Jack Sparrow, just incase your Princess is also a little bit of a Pirate.

They will roll out Cinderella’s Coach and you can have your picture taken with this special coach in the background. These special party pictures will also have exclusive Mickey’s Pirate and Princess Party related borders and images available to you when you create your online Photopass account and customize your pictures. My personal favorite pictures from our last party were the ones of our girls with Cinderella’s Coach in the background.

You can choose to attend different dancing parties with other characters.  Lines for attractions are also often much shorter.

If you have your pictures taken that night you should receive an exclusive Photopass card that you may use for a 40% discount on your next picture order (not valid for the CD, just the prints). You can receive this discount on all of your vacation pictures, even those from different Photopass cards, simply add them all to one Photopass online account. When adding this promotional code discount to your online account be sure leave the dashes out of the promotional code box. The code printed on the back of these special Photopass cards displays dashes, but the code with the dashes is more of a guideline. This discount is a great savings! Your party pictures will also have special party related graphics and borders that you can choose to add on to your pictures when you edit them on their website.

Finally, in my opinion, the greatest benifit is the ability to see the exclusive parade and fireworks. These two things, to me, are worth the price of admission. They are also things that you won’t ever see during any regular park day. When we attended one in February we saw Tinkerbell parade past us sitting at the top of a float and were able to take her picture.   

If you do choose to go, I think you and your Princess will love it. Dressing up as your favorite pirate or princess can really add to their fun! Mickey’s Pirate and Princess Party is a not-to-be-missed event, in my book!

Have a magical vacation!