2026 Jollywood Nights Christmas Party: New Lounge, Disney Characters in Skating Show, Santa Gertie Merch
Walt Disney World has revealed what’s new for the 2026 Jollywood Nights Christmas Party at Hollywood Studios, including a stylish hideaway in the new-look Animation Courtyard, awesome Santa Duffy & Dinosaur Gertie merchandise, rare characters, Disney pals in the Glisten ice skating show, and more.
Disney Jollywood Nights is a separately ticketed, limited-capacity holiday event on roughly a dozen different nights from November 7, 2026 through January 5, 2027. That’s right–for the first time ever, Walt Disney World is extending the Christmas party into early 2027! As we’ll discuss below, those January dates might be attractive even if you’re “over” Christmas once the new year arrives.
During DJN, you can enjoy five festive hours from 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Note that November 2026 dates are set for select Saturdays and Mondays, with December events on select Saturdays, Mondays, and Wednesdays. In January 2027, events will take place on select Sundays and Tuesdays.
Tickets for Jollywood Nights went on sale in phases back in early to mid-July. All guests can now purchase tickets, and have been able to for nearly 3 months. Thus far, no dates have sold out, but this announcement could change that. Our assumption is that opening night will be the first to sell out, and it’ll go sometime this month. Other dates may not sell out at all, but Disney spaced out the first several parties more this year, so perhaps 2026 will be the first season that ever DJN sells out.
Let’s dig right into the date-specific pricing for the 2026 Disney Jollywood Nights:
2026 Jollywood Nights Dates & Ticket Prices
- November 7, 2026 – $179
- November 14, 2026 – $179
- November 16, 2026 – $169
- November 21, 2026 – $189
- November 23, 2026 – $194
- November 28, 2026 – $199
- December 5, 2026 – $194
- December 7, 2026 – $194
- December 12, 2026 – $199
- December 14, 2026 – $199
- December 19, 2026 – $199
- December 21, 2026 – $199
- December 23, 2026 – $199
- January 3, 2027 – $194
- January 5, 2027 – $189
Note that the November 7, 2026 Jollywood Nights is before Christmas officially starts at Walt Disney World, which is something to keep in mind if you’re planning a trip. You won’t see the daily entertainment that’s included in admission until the following Friday.
The good news is that both Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets: Obligatory Holiday Overlay and Alien Swirling Saucers: Lilypad’s Christmas Jams debut on November 4, 2026 and will be available during Jollywood Nights.
Our expectation is that the Muppets’ Obligatory Holiday Overlay will have a modest to lengthy line (don’t be surprised if it eclipses an hour at points of the night), whereas Lilypad’s Christmas Jams should be a perpetual walk-on. Just some expectation-setting in case you’re expecting the loop Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets: Obligatory Holiday Overlay endlessly as a walk-on to hear every Christmas song.
It will almost certainly have a measurable wait time throughout the evening. If your goal is repeating the Muppet’s Obligatory Holiday Overlay, Early Entry is your best bet, and ideally on a Jollywood Nights day, when park opening time is likely to get moved forward.
Speaking of attractions, Disney Jollywood Nights guests can enjoy after-hours access to the most popular rides at DHS. After-hours access to some of your favorite rides and coasters including the following:
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets: Obligatory Holiday Overlay
- Alien Swirling Saucers: Lilypad’s Jams
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
- Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After
- The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Toy Story Mania
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Walt Disney World doesn’t stress low waits with Jollywood Nights like they do After Hours, but our experience has been that wait times are minimal during the Christmas Party. (As noted above, the Muppets’ Obligatory Holiday Overlay will be the exception to that rule in 2026.)
Of course, we’ve only ever done the first event of the season in early November, and that’s disproportionately attended by people wanting to experience the holiday entertainment as opposed to attractions.
Here’s a rundown of what’s new at the 2026 Disney Jollywood Night Christmas Party…
New Checkin’ It Twice Lounge
Every glamorous holiday celebration deserves a stylish hideaway. New this year, the Checkin’ It Twice Lounge in Animation Courtyard invites you to step inside, sip, socialize, and soak up the atmosphere.
Featuring specialty beverages, a live DJ, and entertainment throughout the evening, this new lounge offers the perfect spot to unwind between shows and attractions. Stay tuned for more details on the menu at Checkin’ It Twice Lounge and Jazzy Holidays at Brown Derby when the Disney Jollywood Nights Food Guide is released.
This strikes me as a smart move to add lounge capacity and give guests an alternative (or addition) to Jazzy Holidays. The best location for this would be in a dressed-up area of the new Magic of Disney Animation building. I doubt there’s sufficient space for that, so I’m guessing it goes into the indoor dance party space.
Merry & Monstrous Rare Characters
The Monsters, Inc. crew is expanding their guest list! While Mike Wazowski returns to Pixar Plaza to keep the party going, guests will also have the opportunity to meet George Sanderson and Needleman from Monsters, Inc. for the first time during the event.
This isn’t the first time that George Sanderson and Needleman have ever appeared at Walt Disney World, but it’s definitely been a while. And it is their Jollywood Nights debut, which might be to what the announcement is referring, anyway.
More rare characters at Jollywood Nights is a good thing. I hope George Sanderson and Needleman aren’t coming at the expense of any other rare characters, and with Lotso, Partysaurus Rex, and Bing Bong all confirmed as returning, it doesn’t seem like they are. That’s good news!
Glisten Adds Disney Characters
This dazzling ice skating spectacular brings favorite holiday tunes in the center of the park, in front of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Several times each evening, take in graceful and skilled international champion skaters in Jollywood’s twist on the traditional ice show. The skaters perform routines set to a holiday soundtrack including original songs and Disney favorites like “Be Our Guest” and “When You Wish Upon A Star.”
For the first time at the 2026 Jollywood Nights, “Glisten!” adds a few familiar Disney friends. As world-class skaters glide across the rink in front of the Chinese Theater, keep an eye out for appearances from Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, and Genie, adding even more Disney character moments to the sparkling production.
The way this is worded suggests to me that the characters make appearances outside the skating rink, as opposed to on the rink. The latter would surely draw a crowd, as most guests probably haven’t seen Disney characters figure skate. It would also be challenging on the surface of this rink, and I’ve seen even the skilled skaters struggle at times due to the quality of the “ice.”
Regardless, adding characters is one way to increase the appeal of “Glisten!” Despite being the newest addition, it doesn’t draw nearly the same crowds as the marquee stage shows (nor should it–this is intentionally smaller scale, and more of a ‘come and go at your leisure’ diversion). Injecting some familiar characters might give it a bit of added ‘sparkle’ in audience eyes, to use Disney’s language.
2026 Disney Jollywood Nights Merchandise
Happy Ollie-days! Disney’s Jollywood Nights exclusive merchandise is ready for its big reveal.
From the festively-fun pullover, to the awesome apatosaurus Santa Dinosaur Gertie Loungefly bag and more merchandise full of style and sparkle, you are sure to leave this event brimming with seasonal cheer.
Gertie Jollywood Nights Loungefly Bag
The ultimate Gertie keepsake might just be the one that keeps all your park goodies. This Gertie Loungefly bag features Gertie in her Christmas attire and snow laying over her like a blanket. This Gertie bag truly commemorates your night at the park, featuring the icon herself!
Okay, I take back everything bad that I’ve ever said about Loungefly over the years. This is unequivocally awesome. As much as I’m not the target audience for Loungefly products, I want to be for this Santa Dinosaur Gertie bag. Some might argue that this bag is the most manly accessory that a guy can carry, with its purse-like qualities being more than offset by its awesome Santa Dinosaur Gertieness. Who knows, could make a pretty cool camera bag!
2026 Jollywood Nights Pullover
The 2026 Jollywood Nights Pullover carries the spirit of the holidays and wonder witnessed at Jollywood Nights with vanity lights, stars, snowflakes, and sparkles swirling around the sleeve. The front print reads, “Disney Jollywood Nights 2026” as Gertie wades in water, surrounded by sparkles and holiday ornaments.
One the one hand, this has Santa Dinosaur Gertie on it, so it’s instantly awesome. (I don’t make the rules.) On the other hand, it’s sounds like there’s nothing on the back, only a small graphic on the front, and a bunch of stuff on the sleeves. My personal preference is large graphic on the front and nothing on the sleeves, so I’m probably out. Too bad, as this would accessorize nicely with my new awesome apatosaurus camera bag.
2026 Jollywood Nights Headband
Featuring three iconic Jollywood Night guests, this headband has everything you need for your night out, no matter what you’re feeling. Want Gertie and Duffy as Santa front and center; you got it! Prefer a bow and Ollie greeting those who walk by? That works too! The bow is detachable, and the ears are double sided, meaning twice the fun.
Three original theme park characters on one piece of headwear? I never thought I’d live to see the day. I’m not the target audience for this, but Sarah is, and gives it her full endorsement.
Jollywood Nights Gertie Ornament
You can take Santa Dinosaur Gertie home with you and be reminded of your Jollywood Nights memories every time you decorate the Christmas tree with this cute ornament.
Our Christmas trees at home have an embarrassingly low number of dinosaur ornaments on them. Buying this is one small step towards rectifying that. What I’d really like to see next year is an ornament depicting Baby Sinclair through a window at the Osborne Lights.
Jollywood Nights Duffy as Santa Mug
Sips of hot chocolate taste so much sweeter when consumed via a cozy cup featuring a smiling Duffy as Santa. That’s just science. Obviously, this one is a must-own. Now that Dreamfinder and Figment are being reunited, Duffy is next on the agenda.
The Jollywood Nights merchandise is only available during Jollywood Nights at the shop near Frozen Fractal Gifts in Hollywood Studios.
Our Commentary
Disney Jollywood Nights is the newer of two holiday season special events at Walt Disney World, following in the footsteps of the classic and iconic Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom. If you’re not sure which is right for your family, we’d recommend reading Disney Jollywood Nights vs. Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
You could easily attend both and have unique and memorable experiences–that’s how little overlap there is. If your budget allows, we would recommend doing both. With that said, if we were average Walt Disney World first-time families and could only do one, that would be Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. It is the classic and iconic Walt Disney World holiday party, and it’s fun for guests of all ages and interests. I love DJN, but it’s more taste-specific.
As an annual attendee who hasn’t missed MVMCP since 2007, Disney Jollywood Nights is the more exciting and interesting of the two Christmas parties for me, personally.
A big part of this is that it changed more in its first few years than Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party has in the last decade-plus. If I could only choose one to attend as a Walt Disney World regular, it’d be DJN. If you’re debating whether to attend in 2026-2027, it’s worth reading our Disney Jollywood Nights Christmas Party Review.
Disney Jollywood Nights didn’t change much last year, but the early signs are pointing to Christmas 2026 seeing more new additions, tweaks to existing entertainment, and other enhancements. That’s good, because DJN still could use some appreciable plussing to put it on par with MVMCP.
Given that it’s still struggling to sell out, DJN is not quite in its “established event” cadence, which means Disney an incentive to continue changing and improving the party (unlike MVMCP, which is on autopilot).
Ultimately, I hope that Disney Jollywood Nights ends up exceeding expectations in 2026, now in its fourth season. There’s some excellent entertainment and kernels of great ideas with this Christmas party, but it still needs a bit more refinement to really stand out and sell out.
There are opportunities to incorporate all of the areas of Disney’s Hollywood Studios into the event. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge could have a Life Day celebration. Toy Story Land could do something. These are two of the most popular parts of the park, and yet, they’ve felt dead during Jollywood Nights. The two new ride overlays could be the foundation for their respective areas as a whole to shine more. Add Muppet Christmas Caroling Coach and transform that area to the Muppet Christmas Courtyard, and maybe Lilypad’s Christmas Jams Dance Party outside that device.
Disney Jollywood Nights doesn’t need major improvements like it did after the first year, but there’s still room and the need for growth if this event is going to be comparable to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom. For now, we’re both curious and cautiously optimistic. Here’s hoping Disney Jollywood Nights exceeds expectations again in Christmas 2026!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on anything new coming to the 2027 Disney Jollywood Nights? Will you attend the 2026-2027 Christmas party at Disney’s Hollywood Studios? If so, will you do it instead of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party or in addition to it? Agree or disagree with our perspective? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
