The white Christmas tree shirts are gone. Cast members at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party wore a new red holiday costume when the party opened its 2026 season at Magic Kingdom on Sunday, November 8.
The change follows the new cast costumes Walt Disney World rolled out for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in August, and it uses the same dark green bottoms that debuted with the Halloween look.
What The New Christmas Party Costume Looks Like
The centerpiece is a red long-sleeved collared shirt covered in a gold and white holiday print of gingerbread cookies, stars and swirling snowflakes. A large dark green bow is tied at the collar. Cast members pair it with dark green pants or shorts and a black belt.
Some cast members also wear a red bib-style apron that falls to just above the knee, so the look is not the same on everyone. Blog Mickey reported that the Tomorrowland cast members it met on opening night wore no apron or skirt, and that the apron option is for cast members working in restaurants.
What It Replaced
For years, the party costume was a white shirt printed with small evergreen trees, worn with red pants and a bright green bow tie, topped with a Santa hat. Another version paired a red and white candy-striped pinafore with a ruffled white apron, a red skirt and a peppermint-striped hair bow. Both were easy to spot in the dark, and plenty of regular partygoers came to think of them as part of the event.
Word of a change started before opening night. Cast members posted videos of themselves in the new look on social media ahead of the first party, and former cast members shared goodbyes to the old costume.
Fans Are Divided
Reaction has been mixed. One TikTok showing the new costume had drawn about 19,700 likes and more than 150 comments by the time WDWMAGIC reported on it, and the outlet described the response as leaning negative but fairly close. One commenter said cast members at the Halloween party have described their new costumes as cooler and more comfortable, which softened their view of the Christmas change.
The Halloween costumes got a similar split reception this summer, with many fans missing the old colorful uniforms. Disney has not put out a statement about the new Christmas costumes.
When You Can See Them
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party runs on 25 select nights at Magic Kingdom through December 22, from 7 p.m. to midnight. The cast members handing out wristbands are among the first people guests meet, so the new costume is hard to miss. It is not the only new thing this year either, with the new Stitchmas dance party bringing Lilo and Stitch into the lineup.
Tickets are getting scarce. Every November night has sold out, so guests hoping to see the new look in person will need a December date.
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