Magic Kingdom Passholder reservations are already gone for Wednesday, November 11, one of the two days Walt Disney World is running Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade in broad daylight. The park’s Select button on the Annual Passholder reservation calendar is grayed out for that date, while EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom are all still open to book.
It took about a day. Disney added 2 p.m. performances of the parade on November 10 and 11, and BlogMickey spotted the November 11 calendar filling up the following morning. Magic Kingdom still lists its regular 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. hours that day; Passholders just can’t reserve it as their starting park.
Why These Two Afternoons Are So Popular
Most nights, Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade is a perk of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, which means a separate hard ticket and an after-dark Main Street. A daytime run on a regular park day is the rare chance to see the floats and Santa Claus without buying a party ticket, and these performances land early in the holiday season.
Daytime holiday parades at Magic Kingdom have traditionally been tied to filming for Disney’s annual Christmas parade special, which is why fans watch for these dates every fall. When Disney ran those performances in 2024, it closed Main Street, U.S.A., to guests and routed them backstage to keep them off camera. If that happens again, the parade’s full route still gives you options, with Frontierland and Liberty Square the likeliest spots for a clear view.
How Passholders Can Still Get In
A full calendar does not lock you out entirely. Annual Passholders, like guests with Park Hopper tickets, can visit a second park after they enter their first one, so you can reserve EPCOT, Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom on November 11, tap in there, and head to Magic Kingdom later. That hop depends on Magic Kingdom’s capacity at the time, so it isn’t guaranteed on what should be a busy afternoon.
Guests on regular date-based tickets are not affected the same way. Walt Disney World stopped requiring park reservations for date-based tickets in January 2024, so a one-day Magic Kingdom ticket dated November 11 still gets you in. That also means the park could be crowded well beyond the Passholder count, and anyone planning to stake out a curb should arrive early and expect the area near Cinderella Castle to fill first.
November 10 is the other daytime performance date. Availability on November 11 can change quickly if other guests cancel, so checking the calendar a few times a day is the simplest way to catch an opening before the 2 p.m. step-off.
We covered the parade schedule when Disney first added these performances, including what it means for Festival of Fantasy on those days, in our look at the November 10 and 11 daytime shows.
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