Guide to 2026 Disney Jollywood Nights Christmas Party at Hollywood Studios

Jollywood Nights is a Christmas party at Hollywood Studios. Our guide to the event covers likely 2026 dates & details for Walt Disney World’s newest hard ticket event, entertainment & attractions info, character meet & greets, a comparison to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom, and more.

Let’s start with the basic details about Disney Jollywood Nights (DJN). This event will be held on select nights in Disney’s Hollywood Studios (DHS), offering a more refined holiday vibe, sights of sparkling décor, sounds of modern beats over classic holiday songs, tastes of craft cocktails and decadent dishes, selfies with rare characters, and stunning stage shows & spectaculars.

Disney Jollywood Nights is a separately ticketed, limited-capacity holiday event on roughly a dozen different nights from early November through late December. You can get holly and jolly for five festive hours from 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. during DJN. If you want to be notified when more details & 2026 dates are released, subscribe to our FREE Disney email newsletter for news & updates. For now, here’s everything you need to know about Jollywood Nights…

As noted above, Disney Jollywood Nights takes place from 7:30 PM to 12:30 AM. These are the event hours, when the park is closed to day guests and requires special event tickets. During this time, you can see special entertainment, meet characters, and otherwise enjoy the unique party offerings

Jollywood Nights special event ticketholders will be admitted to Disney’s Hollywood Studios as early as 5:30 PM (that’s 30 minutes earlier) on the valid date of their ticket. This early entry period is known as mix-in, because the park is open to both regular guests and event ticket holders during that time.

These date-specific event tickets do not require an additional day theme park ticket or theme park reservation. Note that the event hours and mix-in time differ from Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, which allows guests to enter Magic Kingdom earlier.

One of the most common questions we hear from readers is when will Walt Disney World announce Jollywood Nights Christmas Party 2026 dates? Our expectation is sometime between April and July. That’s a fairly wide range, but the historical release dates are all over the place.

Last year, dates and details for the Jollywood Nights Christmas Party were not revealed until July 9th, which was behind schedule by historical standards. In the years prior to that, DJN dates were announced between June 15th and June 23rd as part of “Halfway to the Holidays.” Disney didn’t do that ‘halfway’ event last year, and frankly, we don’t expect it to return in 2026.

Nevertheless, we do expect Walt Disney World to return to its previous cadence of releasing dates and details in mid-to-late June as opposed to July. Last year was a bit of an anomaly, as Disney Starlight Night Parade’s delay impacted other offerings. Although that parade is a totally different entertainment offering in a different park, it had a cascading effect on other announcements.

As for the event itself, our prediction is that the 2026 Disney Jollywood Nights Christmas Party will start on or around Saturday, November 7, 2026 and continue several nights per week until around Monday, December 21, 2026. Those dates are strongly supported by past precedent, but could end up shifting by a day or two.

Last year, tickets for Jollywood Nights went on sale to the general public in July, but the first date that sold out did not occur until mid-October. This was for the first event of the season: Saturday, November 8. The first date is the only one to sell out in each of the first three years of DJN.

The big change last year was that almost every Jollywood Nights date sold out. In the previous two years, only about half of the parties sold out. Between mid-October and mid-November, dates continued to sell out. By December 12th, all dates except December 17th sold out. That ended up being the only night that did not sell out.

Given the success of DJN’s third year, it wouldn’t surprise us if Walt Disney World tries to squeeze-in another few event nights, especially with Christmas falling on a Friday this year and crowd levels being lower that week last year. There were 13 parties last year; we wouldn’t be surprised if the 2026 Disney Jollywood Nights has 15 or more parties.

For reference, party dates & ticket prices for Disney Jollywood Nights last year were:

• November 8th – $169
• November 15th – $169
• November 17th – $159
• November 22nd – $169
• November 24th – $179
• November 29th – $189

• December 1st – $179
• December 6th – $189
• December 10th – $189
• December 13th – $199
• December 17th – $189
• December 20th – $199
• December 22nd – $199

You can buy tickets over the phone or online: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events/jollywood-nights/purchase/

For those keeping score at home, this is the same starting price as last year, and a $20 increase on the high end (previously $179). Our expectation is that those final two parties hit $199, and possibly the one during Thanksgiving week. Otherwise, the cheaper dates will be in November, with prices getting progressively more expensive deeper into December.

Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members can save $10 per ticket to Disney Jollywood Nights, valid for all event nights.

We’ve attended  Disney Jollywood Nights multiple times since its debut, and are happy to report that the last two years were a massive improvement over the inaugural season of the new Christmas party. To help you decide whether to buy tickets, it’s worth reading last year’s Disney Jollywood Nights Christmas Party Review.

The first year of Jollywood Nights was rough. So rough that it made Madame Web sound good by comparison. If you’re curious for whatever reason, our experience at the inaugural night of the event is covered in Disney Jollywood Nights Christmas Party Review: Good, Bad & Ugly. That’s now obsolete for planning purposes since so many changes were made.

Walt Disney World management and entertainment teams deserve kudos for taking the negative year one reviews panning the party to heart, and making major changes for its second season. From a planning perspective, we also have a 1-Night Disney Jollywood Nights Itinerary, if you already know all about the event, don’t need an overview, and just want tips & tricks.

Here’s everything else you need to know about Disney Jollywood Nights Christmas Party…

Jollywood Nights Entertainment

Disney Jollywood Nights will be packed with entertaining shows like What’s This? Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Sing-Along, Disney Holidays in Hollywood, and Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!

Starting with the latest updates, “Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!” is returning for Jollywood Nights, taking you on a festive journey to the North Pole with the elves from “Prep & Landing.” It’ll be back with a new, earlier showtime of 10 pm (last year it was at 12:30 am). This is presumably one of several changes that has been made to make the event more family friendly.

The Chinese Theater comes alive during “Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!” with holiday moments from Disney favorites like “Pluto’s Christmas Tree,” “Mickey’s Christmas Carol,” and “Beauty and the Beast,” all leading up to a sparkling finale that’s “So tinsel!,” as Lanny and Wayne would say.

Last year’s big addition was “Glisten!” – An All-New Skating Spectacular.

“Glisten” is a new dazzling ice skating spectacular set to your favorite holiday tunes in the center of the park, in front of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Several times each evening, take in the grace and skill of international champion skaters in an awe-inspiring twist on the traditional ice show.

Guess will be swept away by the grace of these skilled skaters as they perform breathtaking routines set to a vibrant holiday soundtrack including original songs and Disney favorites like “Be Our Guest” and “When You Wish Upon A Star.” Showtimes will be 8:10 p.m., 9:10 p.m., 10:30 p.m., 11:10 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. during the Jollywood Nights.

The highlight of the Christmas party is Disney Holidays in Hollywood, a star-studded variety show in the grand tradition of Tinseltown’s most beloved holiday specials – all with a twist of today’s Hollywood magic.

Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Tiana, Belle, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse are among the special guest stars, and there are plenty of surprises in store – including a brand-new original song by Tiana. Singers, dancers and live jazz musicians round out the talented cast of entertainers in this dazzling performance.

Jolly vignettes remind everyone that the holidays mean something special to each and every one of us. “Disney Holidays in Hollywood” will hit the stage at 8:15 p.m., 9:15 p.m., 11:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m.

Jollywood Nights attendees also won’t want to miss “What’s This? Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Sing-Along.” This show will be performed in the Hyperion Theater at 7:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m., 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m.

Enter a dreamlike adventure in The Hyperion Theater where Jack Skellington takes us on an ethereal exploration of “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Sing along to beloved songs from the iconic film and discover peculiar magic in unexpected places. Along the way, you’ll conquer Oogie Boogie and be encouraged to follow your curiosity.

The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) recognized “What’s This?” with the “Most Creative Winter Holiday Production” award at this year’s IAAPA Honors event. It beat out competitors from around the globe, including an excellent production at Universal Studios Japan. My personal view is that “What’s This?” is the second-best stage show at Jollywood Nights, but the sing-along does punch way above its weight.

Jollywood Nights Characters

Those aren’t the only characters–Disney Jollywood Nights event includes over 20 unique character experiences featuring both new and returning favorites.

Season’s Meet & Greetings at Echo Lake

• Phineas and Ferb
• Max Goof as Powerline
• Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers
• Santa Stitch
• Baloo and King Louie

Pixar Plaza Pals

• Mike Wazowski
• Edna Mode
• Frozone
• Joy from “Inside Out”

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Friends

• José Carioca and Panchito from “The Three Caballeros”
• Miguel from “Coco” (NEW)

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

• The Mandalorian and Grogu
• Chewbacca celebrating Life Day (NEW)

Toy Story Land

• Lotso from Toy Story 3
• Partysaurus Rex (NEW)

Grand Avenue

• Goofy and Pluto
• Bing Bong from Inside Out (NEW)

Walt Disney Presents

• Santa Duffy

Commissary Lane

• Donald Duck and Daisy Duck

Red Carpet Dreams

• Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse

Don’t forget PhotoPass digital downloads are included in your event ticket!

Food is also a big part of Disney Jollywood Nights.

As with last year, there are literally dozens of cocktails, light bites, and sophisticated snacks available at the counter service and table service restaurants, as well as outdoor vending locations around the park. Last year, lines for food & beverages at the event we attended were quite long, to the point that we didn’t want to waste valuable party time to pay even more money to eat. We heard reports that lines weren’t nearly as bad for food during subsequent DJN nights, though.

See the Full Food Guide for the Jollywood Nights Christmas Party for a rundown of the items available this year.

Speaking of which, the swankiest spot during Disney Jollywood Nights is Jazzy Holidays at The Hollywood Brown Derby. The restaurant transforms into a smooth jazz joint, playing holiday tunes amidst sparkling décor.

Here, you can sip craft cocktails and indulge in an exclusive menu of light bites while enjoying the music and ambiance of this classy establishment. Jazzy Holidays at the Hollywood Brown Derby will return–and continue requiring a reservation due to limited space.

This is a limited-capacity experience; reservations are strongly recommended to help you plan your evening. Make your Jazzy Holidays reservation here.

Another highlight is Twilight Soirée at the Tip Top Club in the courtyard outside the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Walt Disney World advertises this as a swingin’ celebration in the courtyard of The Hollywood Tower Hotel. Here, you can sip cocktails and unwind in style while a live band swoons and croons holiday tunes.

This exclusive event transports guests to a 1930s-style jazz lounge, complete with live holiday music at 7:30 p.m., 8:10 p.m., 8:50 p.m., 9:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m., 11:10 p.m., and 11:50 p.m.

Pixar Disco lights up Pixar Place with a holly jolly dance party featuring Edna Mode, Frozone, Joy, and other Pixar favorites. Come to Pixar Place from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., and between 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. to get moving.

Holiday Fiesta en la Calle is held at Coaster Courtyard on Sunset Boulevard at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, offering a lively Latin-inspired holiday street fair. Soak up Latin holiday music performed by spirited musicians while enjoying colorful decorations that bring the fiesta to life.

Meet José Carioca and Panchito from “The Three Caballeros,” and new this year, Miguel from “Coco” is joining in the fun. Food and drink at the Holiday Fiesta en la Calle are inspired by traditional Latin holiday flavors, with unique desserts and beverages that really capture the season’s warmth and spice.

Speaking of Coaster Courtyard, it’s back here where guests will be able to experience “Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After” for the first time during Jollywood Nights. This new stage show is also joined by “The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure” over in Animation Courtyard. Below are other attractions that’ll be open during DJN.

During last year’s Disney Jollywood Nights, guests could also enjoy after-hours access to some of your favorite rides and coasters under the stars. After-hours access to some of your favorite rides and coasters including the following:

• 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
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
• Slinky Dog Dash

Note that there are several changes to this list as compared to last year, with a few of the park’s more popular rides not being open for DJN. On the plus side, both new stage shows make the list.

While subject to change (meaning they could be added later), the following attractions are not part of the Jollywood Nights ride roster: Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run, Star Tours – The Adventures Continue, Toy Story Mania, and Alien Swirling Saucers. Here’s hoping that changes, but our guess is that these “underperforming” attractions were cut to offset the higher operating expenses (with equity performers) of the two added stage shows.

It’s already clear that Walt Disney World is further improving Jollywood Nights, and our expectation is that it’ll be better right from night one. What that means is still unclear. Our guess is that a lot of fans will be in “wait and see” mode, awaiting early reviews before taking the plunge.

In all likelihood, dates won’t sell out until after those come in–and then there will either be a run on tickets with more dates selling out…or not…based on whether the reviews are positive or negative. Last year, demand was not as strong for Jollywood Nights as it was for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, and it’s hard to imagine that changing unless there are hugely positive surprises at Disney Jollywood Nights.

If you’re a Floridian or Annual Passholder with a ton of flexibility and able to do one of the December dates for Disney Jollywood Nights, you can wait until reports come out from the first and second nights before deciding whether or not to buy tickets. No guarantees on that, but if you’re on the fence and don’t necessarily mind missing out, that’s probably what we’d recommend. (I’ll be there on opening night and will have a report ASAP afterwards.)

Disney Jollywood Nights is one of two holiday season special events at Walt Disney World. The other is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom. Although both are Christmas parties with limited attendance featuring entertainment and other offerings, there are just as many differences as there are similarities between the two events.

If you’re not sure which is right for your family, we’d highly recommend reading Disney Jollywood Nights vs. Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. That’s our point-by-point comparison of the characters, fireworks, entertainment, crowds, and more at each event. If budget allows, you could easily attend both and have unique and memorable experiences–that’s how little overlap there is.

That’s what we’ll be doing, but we’re also not the regular guests–we’re diehard fans who do this stuff year in and year out (and have a blog about it). If we were average Walt Disney World first-time families and could only do one, that would be Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Without a doubt.

In theory, Disney’s Hollywood Studios offering a holiday season event after park closing that serves as counterprogramming to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is a great idea. But as with anything, it’s very much contingent upon execution, and what we know about Disney Jollywood Nights thus far sounds makes it more of a toss-up than a sure thing.

I do appreciate that Walt Disney World appears to be trying to do something more sophisticated. This comes across very much in the spirit of old Hollywood, and focuses more on live music, performers, and atmosphere than it does on popular characters and rides. Obviously, those latter two things will be present to round out the roster, but they are not the focus of Disney Jollywood Nights.

So even if I’m a little concerned about the execution or whether there will be enough entertainment to justify the cost of admission (and keep crowds occupied–even limited-capacity events can have issues if ticket sales exceed compelling offerings), I do have to give Walt Disney World props for trying something different and more adult. We’ve wanted to see precisely this type of thing. Here’s hoping it’s fully fleshed out and a hit right out the door. (My prediction is that this will be feast or famine–either it’ll be a huge hit with its target audience or a total trainwreck.)

Another big thing that’s worth addressing is the impact that Disney Jollywood Nights will have on crowds throughout Walt Disney World. Christmas is an incredibly busy time of year at Walt Disney World, and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party already screws with crowds and attendance dynamics.

One of the bigger changes is that Disney Jollywood Nights is starting earlier, which means it’ll have more of an impact on attendance trends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios…and everywhere else. One of the advantages of doing an After Hours event is that it has minimal impact on crowds since those events occur after regular park closing. Day guests thus don’t “plan around” After Hours, since it doesn’t really impact them.

Families always complain about these events with later start times, as their kids go to bed earlier. While that’s a fair perspective, there’s also the bigger-picture of how hard ticket events disrupt crowd dynamics across all of Walt Disney World. It’s a balance. Last year, Disney Jollywood Nights didn’t throw a monkey wrench into crowds like MVMCP.

As we covered ad nauseum, this very dynamic at Magic Kingdom can be leveraged to the strategic advantage of savvy guests. It’s counterintuitive strategy, but it works consistently there. That’s our go-to approach to Magic Kingdom for August through December, and it works without fail.

The problem, as noted above, is that it’s counterintuitive. Additionally, most guests are not savvy or have good reason (no Park Hopper tickets, wanting to see Happily Ever After, etc.) for not wanting to embrace the approach. The fact that the strategy does work without fail is a testament to the fact that the hard ticket events are so disruptive to attendance dynamics, and that the scheduling of MVMCP and resulting crowds create headaches.

We shall see what happens at Disney’s Hollywood Studios with the 7:30 p.m. start time for DJN. My guess is that it will throw a monkey wrench into daytime crowds to some extent, but not nearly as much as MVMCP. Our recommendation will probably be the opposite of Party Season in Magic Kingdom as a result, which is that day guests should avoid DHS on dates when Jollywood Nights is scheduled in the evening.

Ultimately, it sounds like Disney Jollywood Nights will end up meeting or exceeding expectations in its third season and putting its problems fully in the rearview mirror. The stage shows during last year’s party were really good–no need to mess with those in any major ways. Other concepts, like the holiday lounges were good, but overpromised and underdelivered. All of that is easily fixable.

Beyond that, 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 and Toy Story Land could do something. All of the entertainment last year was concentrated in the front of the park, making the rest of DHS feel dead during Disney Jollywood Nights.

Nevertheless, it’s possible Disney Jollywood Nights is simply something that’s “not for you.” This is definitely more of a niche offering for adults, families without small children, and other demographics. It’s not attempting to be a crowd pleaser with something for everyone and iconic entertainment like Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

Either way, we’re both curious and cautiously optimistic. Disney Jollywood Nights improved a lot its second season, which doesn’t always happen. With that said, it sort of plateaued in its third year, so we’re hopeful that 2026 will bring even more incremental upgrades!

At the very least, the holiday/jolly-night party at Disney’s Hollywood Studios should put some crowds and demand away from Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, so that’s a win for longtime fans like me who love that time-tested event!

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YOUR THOUGHTS

Will you attend this 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? What do you think about Disney Jollywood Nights? Are you excited for Christmas 2026 at Walt Disney World? Do you agree or disagree with our perspective on this? 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!