2020 Christmas Cancellations & Entertainment at Disney World
Walt Disney World has announced details about Christmas–both what’s coming and what’s cancelled in terms of entertainment, decorations, food, etc. at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Disney Springs, and the hotels. This year, WDW will celebrate the holiday season from November 6, 2020 to December 30, 2020, which is actually the normal start date (albeit an early end date).
In this post, we’ll share what was announced and offer some thoughts about visiting–including park hours. We’ve been anxiously awaiting this news, and are pretty excited. While the low crowds that have resulted from various cutbacks by Walt Disney World have been nice, we’re ready for the holidays. Thankfully, we’ll get Halloween and Christmas pretty much back to back for the next four months.
The Christmas news is ultimately a mixed bag. This confirms some of our suspicions about cancellations of popular holiday-time offerings, but Walt Disney World is also doing more than expected. Plus, we can draw some positive inferences about other things (like park hours!) that have not yet been announced. Let’s dig into the details!
We’ll get the bad news out of the way first. There will be no Cinderella Castle Dream Lights nor will Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party be held in Magic Kingdom. Pretty disappointing, but anyone who has followed our recent posts knew the writing was on the wall for both.
Additionally, Candlelight Processional will not be held at EPCOT. We reported over a month ago that the performers had been notified of this, so no huge surprise. Gingerbread displays will not return to the resort hotels this year, either. (That tidbit is a new-to-us development.)
Per Walt Disney World’s announcement, all holiday offerings that “draw big crowds will be on hiatus this year as well.” While the announcement does not officially address them one way or the other, we’re guessing that means the following will NOT happen for Christmas 2020:
- Merry Menagerie (critter puppets) at Animal Kingdom
- Tree of Life Winter Awakenings at Animal Kingdom
- World Showcase Holiday Storytellers (Santas) at EPCOT
- Sunset Seasons Greetings at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- A Frozen Holiday Wish at Magic Kingdom
- Christmas Tree Trail at Disney Springs (see below)
Now, let’s turn to what is coming back, and new-for-2020 Christmas entertainment at Walt Disney World…
First, Santa Claus will make time for special pop-up appearances at each park and Disney Springs, waving and exclaiming holiday wishes to all. We’re guessing he’ll be incorporated into the character greetings and cavalcades–but will not be doing up-close encounters or meet & greets.
Some of Walt Disney World’s official announcement is vague, like the statement that guests will be delighted by the sight of “festive flotillas” at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. We’re guessing this means Discovery River Character Cruise with garland on the boats and the characters wearing scarves and other winter-time accessories.
Additionally, there will be holiday promenades at EPCOT and merry motorcades at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which should similarly offer holiday overlays on the current character greetings. We’d caution against getting overly excited for any of this. These should be nice touches, not bona fide Christmas entertainment.
From the sounds of it, Magic Kingdom will offering something more substantive. There, the character cavalcades will take on a special holiday twist, with Christmas friends on festive floats in their holiday finest.
Notably, these will include Gingerbread Men, Elves, Reindeer, and the iconic Toy Soldiers doing their march through the park, along with the Main Street Philharmonic, bringing musical holiday cheer for all to hear.
When dusk falls over Magic Kingdom, special projections will give a festive look to Cinderella Castle this year, providing a colorful backdrop for photos. The appearance of the castle will be transformed with a rotating series of designs including a whimsical Christmas sweater and a regal overlay of red, green, and gold ornamentation.
Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime has tested multiple times in the last few weeks after hours, minus the pyro. However, it does not appear that Magic Kingdom will present that full projection show. Probably a smart move, given that would cause guests to congregate on Main Street.
Moving along to food, Minnie Mouse will be hosting a yuletide feast at Hollywood & Vine at Disney’s Hollywood Studios with the return of Minnie’s Holiday Dine (which we absolutely love) beginning November 6, 2020. Santa Goofy will be there, along with Minnie and others in their holiday finery.
EPCOT will also celebrate in culinary style with highlights from the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays beginning November 27, 2020. Holiday kitchens will return around World Showcase promenade with favorites like American Holiday Table featuring Slow-roasted Turkey with Stuffing, Bavaria Holiday Kitchen with dishes like Cheese Fondue in a Bread Bowl, and more.
Continuing with EPCOT, guests will be invited to step inside World ShowPlace to enjoy the sounds of JOYFUL!, who present a journey through R&B, gospel, contemporary, and traditional Christmas and holiday music. Additionally, the Voices of Liberty will bring their incredible 8-part harmonies to the America Gardens Theatre stage for a special concert of favorite carols and songs of the season.
Walt Disney World has done a great job with health safety thus far, but given everything we now know, it seems downright irresponsible to have a group singing indoors. Then again, Walt Disney World still is not encouraging outdoor dining and offers an indoor Relaxation Station, which are other questionable decisions. At least the Voices of Liberty are performing in an open-air setting.
Bouncing from the parks to Disney Springs, guests will discover Christmas around every corner with a collection of elaborately-decorated Disney Christmas trees spread throughout this retail, dining and entertainment destination. (Our guess is that this is the alternative to Christmas Tree Trail.)
In the evening, there will be a magical snowfall in Town Center, West Side and The Landing to add an extra touch of wonder to holiday shopping. And to top it off, Jock Lindsey will once again be turning his hangar bar into Jock Lindsey’s Holiday Bar complete with delightful holiday décor and a delicious limited-time menu filled with festive favorites.
Finally, Walt Disney World resort hotels will be decked out for the holidays, with their lobbies featuring iconic trees and other festive flourishes. Definitely good news for fans of Wilderness Lodge, Grand Floridian, Animal Kingdom, and other holiday favorites.
The lack of gingerbread houses is disappointing, but understandable given the logistics and how guests congregate around them. Plus, if we had to pick between the trees and the houses, we’d choose the former!
While there are some disappointing cancellations for this Christmas at Walt Disney World, all of that was to be expected. Same goes for most of the announced entertainment and offerings. Still, it’s nice to have confirmation and clarity on all of that.
This still leaves a couple of big unanswered questions…
First, what will in-park decorations be like beyond Magic Kingdom?
It would appear that Main Street will feature its normal Christmas decorations, aside from the Cinderella Castle Dream Lights. However, what about EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom? (Or even the other lands of Magic Kingdom, for that matter.) There’s no point in illuminated decor if the parks are closing before sunset, which brings us to the second question…
Second, what will park hours actually be in November and December 2020?
As park hours have been released week by week (through November 21, 2020 at this point), we’ve been operating under the assumption of a later than normal start date for Christmas. After all, it doesn’t make a ton of sense to close the parks right around sunset if there’s Christmas entertainment and decor.
Presently, Magic Kingdom is scheduled to close at 6 pm on November 6, 2020. Sunset on that date is 5:36 pm. In a normal year, the first showing of “A Frozen Holiday Wish” is presented at 6:15 pm in early November. That’s typically when dusk begins and the earliest time when it’s sufficiently dark for a castle lighting–or projections.
It seems unlikely that Magic Kingdom will continue closing at 6 pm, while starting the Cinderella Castle projections 15 minutes later. That would encourage guests to linger around after park closing and congregate on Main Street, which is obviously contrary to current health safety goals. (Even right now, Main Street is busiest the hour after park closing–imagine how much worse that would be if Cinderella Castle were cycling through projections.)
More likely, the November 2020 hours that have been posted on DisneyWorld.com thus far are merely boilerplate placeholders. That’s the most logical explanation, and there’s plenty of past precedent for it. (Basically, every single month for the last several years before this March!)
Short of Imagineering building some sort of literal bubble around Walt Disney World and artificially manipulating daylight and nighttime hours, that’s our best guess as to what’s happening and what will happen. (Of course, we wouldn’t put anything past Imagineering!)
Consequently, we’d expect park hours to be extended beginning November 6, 2020. The big questions are whether they will simply be adjusted for later openings and later closings, or if this will be a true extension. Additionally, will only Magic Kingdom see its schedule tweaked, or will this be done across the board at all the parks?
We don’t have any insight or credible predictions there. Our hope is that all parks will be extended. As we’ve stated countless times now, the current schedule with earlier closings makes very little sense given current guest demographics at Walt Disney World.
Ultimately, as with the Halloween announcement before it, these details of Christmas-time at Walt Disney World have us really excited. Not so much about the substance of the entertainment or decorations, but the fact that Walt Disney World is doing something, that it’s more than just decorations on Main Street USA, and the very real possibility that park hours will be extended.
Beyond that, one of the big things being cut is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, a hard ticket event that has become overcrowded and overpriced in recent years. The other major cut is Candlelight Processional, and that almost requires an expensive dining package to see. The lack of Cinderella Castle Dream Lights and reductions elsewhere are disappointing, but not nearly as bad as things could be given the circumstances.
In short, this news has us feeling at least somewhat reassured about the rest of the year at Walt Disney World. Of course, plenty still remains to be seen–including confirmation of evening hours–but we’re nevertheless more cautiously optimistic than we were when sharing our last Walt Disney World News & Rumor Roundup. Here’s hoping our renewed sense of hope ends up being justified!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of this Walt Disney World news? Thoughts on mid-to-late November 2020 park hours? What about Christmas entertainment, decorations, and various offerings this year? Will you be disappointed if there aren’t lights up for the holidays? Do you like or dislike big-nose Figment? Hopeful that Journey into Imagination will reimagined at some point in your lifetime? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? 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!
Based on shortened park hours do I need two days at magic kingdom instead of two days at Hollywood studios?
Or do I need two days at both parks and maybe skip Epcot?
Two days at DHS is serious overkill unless you want to be REALLY sure you get on Rise of the Resistance.
No gingerbread houses or party? That blows.
Has there been any word on whether Disney will have their normal Christmas day show on ABC filmed this year? Just wondering as that tends to be a crowd heavy event for filming. Wondering if they will try something different or just scrap it altogether.
No official word. My guess is that either they don’t film in the parks, or film before/after park closing. It’s also possible that the entire thing is filmed at Disneyland before the park reopens. That would be simpler, and wouldn’t require talent and production crews to fly in from LA.
Regardless, I do not see it happening during normal operating hours at Walt Disney World.
Re: Christmas Day on TV
I was wondering the same thing!
Also thought maybe they’d just use old footage?
Do you think they will do the Papa Noel’s at the Countries in EPCOT? Want to bring the family for Christmas and that might push the wife into letting us go.
No, I do not.
This is fine but I really want to know what’s happening in the New Year. Are AP sales opening back up? Will capacity go up?
I guess no one really knows. I was finally able to book my staycation thanks to a great rate for credit card point to hotel point conversion. We have 3 days off property FREE. The hotel isn’t even open yet. I guess they are preparing for more capacity to open some of the off property hotels.
I’m not paying $83 a day for Florida resident admission to the parks though plus memory maker. It’s not happening. Bring back AP sales! I want my Gold Pass again.
I’m sure the locals are eating this up, and anyone that only needs to hear the D word.
If all you’re looking for is an empty park to be open and look nice, you’ve got it. But that’s not what I fell in love with. Nor do I want to spend a week, not a day or an evening only at the parks like the locals can and leave and go home and behave normally. It’s mask all the time, stay away from everyone, do this, don’t do that. I’m saving your life! This is all for you Mr. customer. Don’t worry WDW, I’m staying safe. I may be back at some point or I may not. Your lose, because despite anyone’s thoughts, the bottom line is $$$$. We’ll continue to travel and visit and find other magical spots that god has created for us to see. I’m respectful of the decisions made, but don’t necessarily agree. I want the magic back, as that’s what I fell in love with. Until then, enjoy what has become just an amusement park with expensive real estate. But for you locals, it’s the 100s of thousands of families that came to WDW faithfully and spent money like a drunken sailor that helped fund and allow for what you see today.
I am not a local, but I live within 3 hours of the parks. As an AP, Disney basically could care less for the Florida APs. We hardly can get pass reservations now and when we do, we are now apparently limited to 3 days per week with no park hopping. So, the parks are getting low attendance, because they are basically only allowing park tickets and resort guests in. All this to say, they do not care about the locals.
Thanks for keeping everyone informed! Has there been any talk of when club level services (including club lounge) will be open? We have re-scheduled twice and are now scheduled for a trip in late January at Yacht Club. Trying to weigh the pros and cons of rescheduling until mid-March based on a recent predictions you offered for increased openings in general. Thanks!
I haven’t heard a single word about Club Level. I wouldn’t expect it back in 2020. Mid-March 2021 is probably a best case scenario for that (and other things) to return at this point.
With regard to the Christmas Tree Trail, I took this line from their blog post:
“guests will discover Christmas around every corner as they come across a collection of elaborately-decorated Disney Christmas trees spread throughout”
to mean that the “trail” aspect won’t happen, but that those trees will be spread around Disney Springs. Who knows.
Yeah, you’re probably right.
We are scheduled for a Christmas return and I agree with your happy assessment. So glad to hear there will be live Christmas music . Never expected the candlelight procession to be on. I see no reason why they can’t put up the lights unless it’s the electric bill. I would have thought they could do the gingerbread houses but you made sense of that.
We will definitely do the Minnie’s Holiday Dine at your recommendation. And yes if you have to choose…Trees over gingerbread houses (if you have to choose).
We were there not long ago and the ten hours were fine and in fact nine would work as well with the low numbers but we definitely want evening hours at the holiday season. Better they open later and stay open into the early evening than close at six or seven. Come on Disney, it’s Christmas.
“I see no reason why they can’t put up the lights unless it’s the electric bill.”
Park hours. What’s the point in putting up the lights if the parks will only be open ~30 to 90 minutes after sunset? (Or in the case of Animal Kingdom, not at all.)
That’s why we’re optimistic that those hours will change. We shall see, though!
What is Minnie’s Holiday Dine? Our trip is scheduled for Nov 18-25 and I’ve never heard of this
Oh yay! This post makes me so happy! We’ve never been to Disney at Christmas and had to reschedule from may to December and I’ve been nervous about it but now I’m just excited!
Dude, put some dates on your articles.
Thanks so much! My husband and I are planning a trip for November and this is extremely helpful! Is there any word/prediction on when Food and Wine festival is ending?
I have no idea whatsoever. They’ve tried a couple different approaches with the gap between the two events in the last few years. My guess would be mid-November, but I truly have no clue.
Even scaled back, it still sounds like fun. I’m only disappointed that I won’t be able to see the candlelight processional at EPCOT
As long as there’s no surge of the virus (always possible), we will be there first week of December
Scaled back? This is non-existent. I don’t know how anyone can justify spending the amount of money it requires only to be given a percentage of the ROI. I, for one, can’t wait until Disney returns to normal. The park segment will not last going down the cyclical cycle it is currently progressing on.
My husband and I just read your update and it’s confirmed our plans for the first week of Dec. We are both in our 60’s and try to make each trip a little different than the last (new activity, new resort, etc). Disney cancelled our WL reservations, moved us to GF, but we opted for Riviera. I’m sure this will be a trip to remember. For those of us that live far away, thank you for the great articles and pics. It helps us keep a “young at heart” attitude in today’s environment.
We are scheduled for a Christmas return and I agree with your happy assessment. So glad to hear there will be live Christmas music . Never expected the candlelight procession to be on. I see no reason why they can’t put up the lights unless it’s the electric bill. I would have thought they could do the gingerbread houses but you made sense of that.
We were there not long ago and the ten hours were fine and in fact nine would work as well with the low numbers but we definitely want evening hours at the holiday season. Better they open later and stay open into the early evening than close at six or seven.
Any thoughts if the a Art Festival will happen this year?Steve
My guess is that the 2021 Epcot Festival of the Arts will happen in name only, if at all.
Yeah, I don’t see how the Festival of the Arts can happen. We were at Disney during the 2020 festival and EPCOT was by far the most crowded feeling of the 4 parks (worse than even Hollywood Studios with the Rise of the Resistance crowds). Maybe if they greatly reduced the number of booths *and* moved them into the actual World Showcase pavilions instead of just along the main path by the lake; at times that got so crowded you could barely move.
Does this mean trees, decorations and any sign of “Christmas” will vanish after 12/30? We are flying in on 12/31 and staying the first week of January and hoping to enjoy a little bit of Disney Christmas… Did I read that right?
The decorations going down is usually a gradual process that begins after Marathon Weekend, except in EPCOT (where it happens quickly since it’s the “big” NYE park).
With so much being different this year, it’s really difficult to say what’ll happen. I’d anticipate seeing some decorations up into early January 2021–just no entertainment.
Glad you asked, I was going to as well. I figured all the shows/entertainment would be gone, but glad there’s some hope that the decorations/lights will still be up Marathon weekend. hopefully gonna be there for my 40th birthday, but MK day for us will be the Tuesday after the marathon, so who knows if there will be much left at that point.
Any predictions on NYE park hours/operations? (I know you don’t have a crystal ball). We are really curious on how Disney is planning to handle that this year.
Without fireworks, I don’t see any park staying open until midnight. However, that’s just a guess–and yours is as good as mine on that front!
Well that’s a bummer! We’ve been at Christmas before, but never NYE, and I managed to get 2 weeks off (the last 2 of December so we could be there for Christmas and New Years!) this year, which never happens! We were looking forward to NYE at EPCOT for our first time. But now it doesn’t seem worth it. But I don’t know when I will ever be able to take this time of year off again. So I’m torn between going and missing out on our main reason for going (NYE) or sitting at home with nothing to do (but plenty of money to do it!) since at this point I can’t change my vacation dates.
And here I was all ready to NOT go back for a while! I really need to stop reading your blog, it keeps tempting me down to Orlando. But as today I was looking at my local fall offerings here and crossing the Renaissance fair off my list since masks won’t be mandatory at it, I once again find myself turning to Disney. I’ll probably be in Florida in December anyway, and the last time I saw Christmas at Disney was in 1996…
Thanks for the quick post as I recently saw the post on DPB. We are passholders who live out of state and were planning on our first Christmas time visit this year (early December). With no parties, and lack of hours (we visited in July this year, so can’t get refunds), I really don’t think it makes sense for us to return until things get back to normal.
It really devalues our annual passes with no Halloween or Christmas festivities (super discount on xtra party tickets), no fireworks, and no Candlelight Processional. I understand Disney is putting safety over everything, but sure hurts when we renewed our passes and our daughter is only 9 one Christmas time. Appreciate your blog and hope you get to write about good things soon.
Do we think that Halloween decorations will be up until Nov 6th?