Disney World Christmas 2024 Ultimate Guide
Our guide to Christmas 2024 at Walt Disney World offers tips for Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and hotels. It covers entertainment, crowds, food, free things to do, decorations, tips & tricks. Plus, what’s returning for the holiday season, dates & details. (Updated January 7, 2024.)
Walt Disney World has not yet released official dates or details for Christmas 2024–but a lot of what happens is consistent from year to year. Walt Disney World usually kicks off its Christmas celebrations the second weekend in November, so past precedent suggests that the holiday season will officially begin on November 9, 2024. The only exception would be EPCOT, which usually celebrates Festival of the Holidays from the day after Thanksgiving until day before New Year’s Eve.
That November 9, 2024 start day is within 2 days of the beginning of the Christmas season for the last several years, so we’d normally be highly confident in that prediction (give or take–it could also start on Friday). However, there’s a pretty big monkey wrench this year that casts doubt on that, which is that Disneyland has already released its full calendar for the 2024 and that is not when the holiday season is beginning out in California.
Instead, Disneyland will kick off the Christmas season on November 15, 2024. That’s a full week later than normal, and totally defies past precedent, guest demand, and the rest of their calendar of events–which also includes Halloween starting earlier. Although Walt Disney World and Disneyland are (obviously) on complete opposites sides of the country, they normally start Christmas on the same weekend.
We can’t make complete sense of why Disneyland is delaying Christmas, but we hope and suspect that it won’t impact Walt Disney World. (One possible explanation is that Veterans Day weekend is really busy at Disneyland, and moving the start of Christmas away from that will spread out crowds.)
Regardless, we’re standing by our prediction that Christmas kicks off on November 9, 2024 at Walt Disney World. Even though they normally kick off the holiday season on the same weekend, there are a lot of little ways that Christmas at Walt Disney World differs from Disneyland, and reasons why a full week delay would be bad for WDW.
Regardless of when it begins, the festivities will wind down the first week of January 2025, with Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend (January 8-15, 2025) being when the festivities unofficially wrap up. Before that, most substantive holiday offerings will end on December 31, 2024.
Walt Disney World has not announced an official end date for Christmas the last couple of years, which is because it’s staggered–entertainment concludes at the end of December, but decorations will stay up until the second week of January 2025. Even then, it’ll take a couple of weeks from start-to-finish on taking down the decor.
It’s also a near-certainty that the 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party will start on or around November 7, 2024 and continue several nights per week until around December 22, 2024. That would be consistent with the last couple of years. This is a big reason why we expect that Walt Disney World won’t wait to start the holiday season until mid-November 2024. Those parties are big business and they won’t want to wait to start them. (Disneyland doesn’t have Christmas parties.)
Speaking of parties, the big wildcard for 2024 is Disney Jollywood Nights, which is the Christmas Party at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Or at least was the event last year. After the first Jollywood Nights event was held last year, word of mouth was overwhelmingly negative.
Although the party improved markedly on subsequent nights, the first night meltdown led to ticket sales underperforming and the whole event falling short of expectations. It’s thus possible that Disney Jollywood Nights will be a one and done, and won’t return for Christmas 2024. We could see it going either way. If it is held, we have no clue when the first Jollywood Nights would occur–probably a few days after the first Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
In a nutshell, that’s what we’re currently expecting for Christmas 2024 at Walt Disney World. Obviously, all of that is entirely speculative, but informed by past precedent and what we’ve experienced over the course of the last 15+ years of visiting during the holiday season. If you want to be notified when official details for this holiday season or other Walt Disney World news is announced, subscribe to our FREE email newsletter!
Throughout this guide, we’ll provide our tips and tricks for best-experiencing the Walt Disney World at Christmas-time. This offers helpful advice for everyone from first-time guests to yearly visitors. It covers everything from holiday highlights to hidden gems.
This isn’t merely regurgitated press releases and generic info about Christmas at WDW. Instead, we provide a frank assessment of things and insight so you be best prepared to have a great time during the holidays–including what’s still missing as compared to a normal Christmas at Walt Disney World.
With that out of the way, here’s everything you need to know about Christmas at Walt Disney World. It should go without saying since official details haven’t been released, but what follows has not yet been updated for Christmas 2024. We’ll keep you posted about what, if anything, changes. For now, this should be about 95% accurate.
When to Visit
When wondering when to go to Walt Disney World for Christmas, the first question is often: how early can I visit and still get the Christmas experience? Earlier than you might think!
Decorating actually starts before Halloween and is finished after Thanksgiving–it all depends upon the location. As a general matter, you’ll start hearing the sounds and seeing the sights of Christmas before the holiday season officially begins. Same goes for even after it ends. Decorations come down quickly at EPCOT to prepare for the big New Year’s Eve bash, but everywhere else is not so fast.
Magic Kingdom is usually the first park to be decorated in full (due to the early start of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party), with the edible gingerbread displays in the Deluxe Resorts also going up quickly. See When Does Walt Disney World Decorate for Christmas? for further insight into each park and resort.
November and December are roller coaster months for crowds, with the weeks around holidays (Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Eve) seeing elevated attendance and other weeks being more moderate. Accordingly, much of November and December 2024 will have elevated crowd levels due to those holidays and school breaks.
However, there will be pockets of low crowd weeks that are ‘sweet spots’ for holiday time trips. Basically, these two months have very high highs–but also some lows. Check out our list of the 10 Best and 10 Worst Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World in 2024 & 2025. That includes several weeks in November and December. In fact, most weeks make one of those lists or the other!
You can also read more about crowd forecasts in our November 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar and December 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar. (Frankly, the best & worst weeks list is a more useful resource, though!)
On New Year’s Eve, there’s typically special entertainment at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. If you are thinking of visiting for the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, we highly recommend reading our Tips for Visiting Walt Disney World at New Year’s to avoid crowds and have a better experience.
Besides the crowds, there are a few other downsides to visiting during these two weeks. First is the room rates for on property hotels. The second is holiday surcharges at buffets and some other restaurants around property. Definitely keep these costs in mind if you’re approaching this from the perspective of savings.
On a tangentially related note, one common question we receive about “when to visit” for Christmas at Walt Disney World concerns filming of the ABC Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade. No, that isn’t filmed live. Read our Info About Disney’s Christmas Day Parade Filming for more info.
Now that Thanksgiving and Christmas specials are shot simultaneously, this usually starts in early to mid-November, with additional recording closer to Christmas, usually in early December. Dates and times are not announced, as the recording is not for public consumption. Don’t be disappointed if you miss this, as we cover in that post above, it’s not as exciting as it sounds, and can lead to congestion on Main Street and elsewhere in the parks.
Another way you can save money is by not purchasing Christmas gifts while at Walt Disney World. This is so tempting, and something we have done too many times (it’s Disney’s favorite time of year because guest spending on merchandise is through the roof!).
Instead, check out our Essential Disney Fan Gift Guide for great, money saving gift ideas for Christmas. You can save a ton of money by buying many of the same (and similar) souvenirs and gifts online instead of in the gift shops!
Okay, now that you know when to visit (or now that I’ve further confused you and made the decision even more complicated), let’s figure out what you should experience…
Magic Kingdom
We’ll start in the Magic Kingdom, which does the most for Christmas out of all of the Walt Disney World parks. No matter what the other parks do, there’s just something to be said for walking onto Main Street and seeing the “town” decked out for Christmas, and that grandiose icicle castle beckoning at the end.
Let’s start by taking a tour of Magic Kingdom at Christmas…
Cinderella Castle Dream Lights (MIGHT NOT RETURN FOR 2024) — As if suddenly dusted in a million ice crystals, Cinderella Castle shines like the galaxies, adding to the wintertime wonderment of the holidays in Florida’s Vacation Kingdom. And what a spectacle. That’s how Walt Disney World described the Cinderella Castle Dream Lights, and it’s true–all of it. The Dream Lights are nothing short of spectacular and absoluting entrancing.
No projections can match the more than 200,000 tiny white lights that illuminate Cinderella Castle and transform it into a veritable ice palace. On paper or even in photos, it might seem simple and commonplace. In person, the display is anything but that. The Dream Lights stop you in your tracks, with the resplendent physical display being an absolute jaw-dropper. Words, photos, and video absolutely cannot do it justice. I’m not normally one for the flowery language in Disney’s press releases, but even the company’s marketing teams undersell the Cinderella Castle Dream Lights. This is the highlight of the holiday season at Walt Disney World.
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party – This beloved after-hours party in Magic Kingdom is a special event that requires separate admission from your normal park tickets. Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party features all things Christmas, and occurs on select nights throughout November and December 2024.
Normally, there are a few elements of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party that also happen during daily operations closer to Christmas in Magic Kingdom. The major one of these is Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade, discussed below. For more information about MVMCP, read our Guide to the 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks – This show is not to be missed. Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks is a replacement for the Holiday Wishes fireworks show. As the name suggests, this nighttime spectacular is hosted by Minnie Mouse, celebrating the magic of Christmas with medleys of beloved holiday songs.
The fireworks feature “Wonderful Christmas Time” by Paul McCartney and other favorites. Projection mapping also features heavily, with the end result being that Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks evokes heartfelt moments of home and family, and the spirit of the season before an incredible finale. We’d highly recommend consulting our Best Magic Kingdom Fireworks Viewing Locations when it comes to picking a spot for watching Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime.
Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade — During Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, this parade is shown twice at night and features excellent lighting, ambiance, and SNOW on Main Street, USA. Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade also runs during the daytime in the week leading up to Christmas through New Year’s Eve.
While we strongly recommend watching the parade on Main Street for full effect. During the Christmas and New Year’s weeks, you can watch it from anywhere along its route without much of a difference in the experience. The floats are very cute, the music is catchy, and there’s a wide range of Disney and Christmas-y characters featured. It’s a must-see.
Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration Stage Show – In the days before Christmas, Mickey throws a holiday party and invites all of his friends, who sing Christmas Carols before the show is “is Christmas-wrapped up in one sensational, snowy, show-stopping finale.”
We love this stage show. It’s heartwarming, endearing, and a bit goofy (lowercase g). Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration is also incredibly popular, and the viewing area can be frustrating if you’re shorter. During Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, we recommend watching the last showing of Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration. Actually, we recommend the same during daily ops, too.
Jingle Cruise – The Jingle Cruise overlay consists of decorations in the show scenes and a special spiel from the skippers, who are “homesick” and wanting to celebrate Christmas. The queue is decorated and the boats receive Christmas-inspired names. While holiday overlays are divisive, we are big fans of the idea here and think Jingle Cruise is generally well done.
This gets popular during the Christmas season, so prioritizing it in your touring plan can be a good idea (see our 1-Day Magic Kingdom Itinerary for more recommendations). However, we prefer doing Jingle Cruise at night to get the full experience of the Christmas lights turned on.
Tomorrowland Ride Overlays – During Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, the special event features holiday-themed overlays of Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Space Mountain, and Tomorrowland Speedway.
It’s unclear whether all of these attraction overlays will return for Christmas 2024. Walt Disney World has confirmed that the Space Mountain holiday overlay will return, but not the other two. However, the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor and Tomorrowland Speedway overlays happened last year without much advance fanfare, so it’s still possible.
Cinderella Castle Holiday Projections – These are a rotating kaleidoscope of designs including festive stripes and dots, a whimsical Christmas sweater look, a jeweled winter castle, and a regal overlay of red, green & gold ornamentation.
Each of these is essentially an animated backdrop featuring scenes of Christmas. There are some moving elements and details, but it’s not a projection show. These are fine, but nothing special–better than nothing, but far worse than the Cinderella Castle Dream Lights.
Epcot
Epcot International Festival of the Holidays – Epcot has rebranded its Holidays Around the World as the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays. It’s still basically the same thing, just with a different name. There are Marketplace booths open around World Showcase offering different seasonal snacks from around the world.
Think of this as the “Epcot Food & Wine Festival Lite.” The Epcot International Festival of the Holidays will run from Black Friday until December 30, 2024. With that said, Epcot International Festival of the Holidays is about a lot more than just food. You’ll also find other entertainment options, decorations, and more around both World Showcase and Future World.
There you can also pick up maps for Chip and Dale’s Christmas Tree Spree, which is a paid scavenger hunt (akin to the Figment and Ratatouille ones during other festivals at Epcot). Chip and Dale are collecting ornaments for their Christmas tree, and you go around looking for them as they gather ornaments from holiday decorations in each World Showcase pavilion.
Candlelight Processional — Candlelight Processional is a retelling of the Christmas story by a celebrity narrator, along with a mass choir performing seasonal melodies, and a 50-piece live orchestra. In a normal year, Candlelight Processional runs nightly with performances at at 5, 6:45 and 8:00 pm. You can find the full lineup of celebrity narrators for the Candlelight Processional and more details by clicking here.
One tip for Candlelight Processional is to book a dinner package if you’re visiting when one of the popular narrators is in town. They’re not too much of a premium if you were already planning on eating a table service meal, and will save you tons of time. We were there for the second night of Neil Patrick Harris’ run a couple of years ago, and we saw people waiting in line FOUR HOURS before the show.
Your enjoyment of Candlelight Processional will depend on whether you like the traditional Christmas story and choir Christmas music. We love the music, but if you don’t like either, this may not be for you. Although the narrators show some personality, don’t expect Candlelight Processional to be “Comedy Hour with Neil Patrick Harris.” It’s not.
Holiday Storytellers – Throughout World Showcase in Epcot, there are international storytellers (most of whom are that country’s version of Santa Claus) who share traditions and tales from their native country. These Santas and other characters appear dressed in location-appropriate outfits and describe what happens on Christmas Eve and Christmas in their homeland. In addition to the Santas, representatives at the American Adventure describe the celebrations of Kwanzaa and Hanukkah.
The Storytellers can be hit or miss, and whether you want to spend the time seeing listening to their stories will depend upon your personal preferences. If you are on the fence, we’d recommend starting your tour around the World Showcase in Mexico (instead of Canada) as the most engaging Storytellers are near the beginning of the tour that way. If you don’t enjoy those countries’ Storytellers, chances are that you won’t enjoy any of the rest.
Living with the Land Merry & Bright Nights – In the Land pavilion, you can take a leisurely boat ride through the greenhouses of Living with the Land for a special, sparkling tour. Enjoy a peaceful cruise and view twinkling holiday light displays throughout the greenhouses.
We absolutely love Living with the Land. It’s one of the Walt Disney World attractions we do the most. We also absolutely love Christmas lights. Put those two things together, and we are squarely the target audience for Living with the Land: Merry and Bright Nights.
Unsurprisingly, we absolutely love this overlay. I could go on and on about this, gushing about the calming atmosphere, thoroughness, and understated simplicity of it all. Suffice to say, do not miss Living with the Land: Merry and Bright Nights!
‘Joyful! A Gospel Celebration of the Season’ – Joyful performs at the front of World Showcase from the end of November until the end of December throughout the day, rotating with other performers on the stage.
It’s a fun show, actually, it’s surprisingly good, but it’s still not an adequate replacement for the gorgeous Lights of Winter that were deemed obsolete a few years ago.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Sunset Season’s Greetings – This is a projection show consisting of vignettes from Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, Mickey’s Christmas Carol, the Muppets, and Toy Story, plus appearances by the Prep & Landing characters.
Normally, there are also giant projections on “billboard” screens around Sunset Boulevard, and synchronized lights on palm trees.
Echo Lake “Flurry of Fun” – This consists of decorations throughout the area, including the introduction of SANTA GERTIE! There are also oversized Christmas ornaments in Echo Lake, as well as a giant Christmas tree, and other decor.
There’s also decor on Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards, and the park once again feels appropriately festive for Christmas. It’s all very well done, and a nice addition to Disney’s Hollywood Studios this Christmas.
Minnie’s Holiday Dine – This Christmas-themed character meal at Hollywood & Vine is a ton of fun. Minnie’s Holiday Dine will once again be a buffet and offer character hugs, autographs, high-fives, etc.
We’ve done this, and shared our thoughts and photos in our Minnie’s Holiday Dine Review.
For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration – This Frozen show is always “holiday-adjacent” given the film it features, but during Christmas season, there’s a cute holiday finale, too.
Read our Christmas at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Info & Tips post for info on what else you should do at Disney’s Hollywood Studios during the holiday season.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
A few years ago, Animal Kingdom upped its holiday game significantly, debuting serious holiday overlays and offerings, with new entertainment and decorations in every single land–including Pandora: World of Avatar.
All in all, Animal Kingdom is great during the holiday season. Walt Disney World has really enhanced this park’s holiday offerings, and the Merry Menagerie in particular is simple yet pure and awe-inspiring.
Tree of Life Holiday Awakenings – Holiday Edition – These are projection-mapping vignettes that begin shortly after sunset and continue until park close. The Holiday Awakenings tell a series of winter tales, complete with a familiar and heartwarming holiday-inspired musical score.
Note that there are many evenings in December when Animal Kingdom closes before sunset. Plan accordingly.
Discovery Island Luminaries – The epicenter of the yuletide fun is on Discovery Island, where the area is in the midst of a celebration of winter. There are holiday decorations hand-crafted by the eclectic community of artists who make Discovery Island their home, including colorful, animal-inspired luminaries on the rooftops, wireframe bird-shaped lanterns, and themed garland adorning the buildings throughout the land.
The merriment on Discovery Island continues long into the night. The rooftop luminaries around Discovery Island create a warm and festive glow throughout the entire village, imbuing Discovery Island with a ‘winter wonderland’ elegance.
Merry Menagerie – During the day, Discovery Island is alive with a life-size “Merry Menagerie” of artisan-sculpted puppets that include reindeer, foxes, polar bears, penguins, birds, seals—and probably other critters we missed.
These winter animals are accompanied by serenading live musicians who mingle amongst guests and the Merry Menagerie of critters to create festive atmosphere. Seriously, these puppets are something special. See photos & video, and read more about Merry Menagerie and why we love it so much here!
Festive Flotillas – Animal Kingdom’s Christmas entertainment features festive flotillas that float around Discovery River. On one of these, you can see Santa Claus as he waves to a world-beat holiday soundtrack.
Another is the Discovery Island Drummers Festive Flotilla–feel the beat as a colorful group of percussionists cruise along the Discovery River, entertaining Guests like you on the shore.
Disney Springs
Christmas Tree Stroll – This features numerous trees each themed to a different Disney characters (including one dedicated to Mickey & Minnie, The Muppets, Tangled, and more!). Rather than being done as a distinct trail this year, it has returned as the “Christmas Tree Stroll” with spots scattered around Disney Springs.
Aside from the beautiful decorations, you can expect some live entertainment, holiday carolers, a street party, photo ops, and Santa Claus.
During the Christmas season, Disney Springs is insanely busy on weekends. On busy dates, there can be waits to enter Disney Springs as the complex closes to capacity. We don’t expect that to occur in November or December 2024 because the circumstances are different, but it’ll still be very, very busy.
For a lot of locals who don’t have Walt Disney World Annual Passes, Disney Springs is a way to enjoy free Christmas entertainment during the holiday season. These locals are most likely to visit on weekends. Add to that the normal mix of tourists, and you have huge crowds.
As such, we strongly encourage you to visit Disney Springs on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Arrive by 4 p.m. and stay until just after dusk, or arrive really late (after the parks close). Disney Springs will be busiest between 6 and 8 p.m. nightly. For everything else you need to know about making the trip, consult our Tips for Disney Springs at Christmas post.
Resort Hotels
Highlights include the Deluxe Resorts but other hotels are spruced up with wreaths and trees decorated with miles of garland, ribbon and glistening ornaments. The biggest draw of all is edible gingerbread houses, which are a staple of certain hotel lobbies during the holiday season. For where those will be this year, see Giant Gingerbread Houses & Displays for Christmas at Disney World.
We cover the details of each hotel’s display as well as a best plan of attack for visiting the hotels efficiently on our “Free Self-Guided Yuletide Tour” page. Definitely check this out if you want to visit the resorts to see their decorations. This is an itinerary for a single day, so if you’re looking for something longer, check out our 2-Day Yuletide Tour of Walt Disney World. We’ve heard from many readers who found our this to be a highlight of their WDW Christmas vacation!
We love these WDW Yuletide Tours so much that we do them every single year–sometimes more than once. We’ve had a lot of readers tell us they’ve really enjoyed following the steps of that tour, so we’d highly recommend checking it out, and potentially trying it for yourself!
Deluxe Hotels
Several Deluxe Hotels have either a large Christmas tree or a seasonal display that is well worth seeing. The great thing about most deluxe resorts is that they’re in close proximity to one another. You can easily reach the Grand Floridian, Polynesian, and Contemporary from the Magic Kingdom monorail station and Wilderness Lodge via boat.
Similarly, the Yacht & Beach Club and Boardwalk are easily accessible by foot or boat from Epcot or Disney’s Hollywood Studios. About the only Deluxe that is worth visiting that’s not easily accessible is Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Moderate & Value Hotels
There are some neat decorations at the Moderates and Values, and the decorations are all themed to the specific resort, which is pretty cool. If you have interest in a specific “style” of Christmas, you might want to check out a specific resort.
Same goes if you’re a really, really big fan of Christmas decorations. Everyone else probably should bother making trips to the Moderates and Values to see their decorations. While neat, it just isn’t worth the time.
The one exception to this might be Fort Wilderness. There are some awesome displays put up by long-terms guests on the campground loop. If you have time one afternoon, take a boat over from the Magic Kingdom, have dinner at Trail’s End, and enjoy some of these cool displays.
We’re already over 4,000 words, so we’ll wrap up this Ultimate Guide to Christmas at Walt Disney World here. Hopefully, it’s everything you need to plan your dream Griswold-style Christmas Vacation to Florida. In case it wasn’t already made clear, we truly love Christmas at Walt Disney World.
The holiday season is our favorite time of year in Walt Disney World. November and December offer a mix of perfect weather, entertainment, festive decorations, great holiday snacks, and so much more. If you’re only going to visit WDW once, make it during Christmas-time!
If you’re interested in learning more about hotels, our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page is a good place to start. For where to eat, try out our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews page. If you want to save money on tickets or determine which type you should get, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at unconventional things you should take on your trip. Once you arrive at the parks, our Walt Disney World “Ride Guides” are great for determining what to do and when to do it. For overviews of all of these topics and so much more, the best place to start is our comprehensive Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide to make the most of your experience!
Your Thoughts
What are your top tips for enjoying Walt Disney World during the holiday season? Have any questions about the holidays at Walt Disney World that aren’t answered here? Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below! Do you agree or disagree with our advice? 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!
I imagine anyone coming between Thanksgiving and December 17th have already reserved, so this information is late, but here it is anyway. The Pop Warner kids are coming on December 2nd. (Our stay begins the day after Thanksgiving, and ends December 2nd, so we’ll miss them this year. Normally we stay at Riverside, but the only rooms available were at POFQ. Strange).
The reason I’m posting this is because lots of Pop Warner cheerleaders stay at Riverside. So, if you’re looking for a quiet stay, chances are you may not find it there. At least, that’s been our experience for many a trip.
I wouldn’t put a lot of thought into it though, because it shouldn’t affect your trip all that much. Yes, you will see large groups of girls, with curls and colorful ribbons in their hair, dressed in cheerleading uniforms, around the hotel and in the parks, but they’re usually pretty well behaved. Besides, you’re at Disney World at Christmastime, what could possibly be better than that.
Struggling to make a choice here. We’re doing 4 days including a Friday MVMCP ticket. Would normally do a 1/2 day the day of MVMCP at HS, but wow… we can only muster up 4 REALLY WANNA DO things at HS this go round; far less than in our first 2 visits. Considering just doing a 3 day MYW ticket and being off Friday until we can enter the party at 4p. I’ve never taken a half day off, Is that a thing?
I think HS still offers a mostly full day for what we like to do there, but we always take the party day to explore the resorts all dressed in their Christmas finery. It seems like many people do that!
Hi love your blog, we are holidaying at Christmas and have booked Mickeys Christmas party, we are there throughout Christmas till new year, did we waste out money booking the party as I have read in your blog that the parades etc are shown after the last party through Christmas anyway?
Whether you wasted your money is a matter of perspective. The party will have lower crowds, special character meet & greets, and an exceptional atmosphere. However…it’s expensive.
It really depends upon your budget, how much the party atmosphere is worth to you, etc.
Thank you, was just worried that we will be seeing the whole thing again and again throughout the week for free! But like you say crowds will be less etc , its out 1st visit so it’s all new, want to make it as magical as possible!
Hi there, Noticed your comment about Rivers of Light and Pandora being open later during the holiday season in AK. Right now I see the website says 7:00pm. Do you think they will end up keeping it open longer than that?
With Hollywood Studios not having EMH at night, the night EMH hours are slim pickins’.
Thanks!
I presume You can’t use the dining plan for dining packages for Candlelight???
You can use the dining plan it just takes two credits.
Do you know when the Christmas decorations come down?
There’s no hard and fast date, but usually they start to come down the second week of January, taking about a week to be removed everywhere.
Hi tom,
Do you around what date the Christmas decorations go up at the resorts? Specifically Wilderness Lodge?
Hey Tom and Sarah ! I love your blog and have read probably every post! LOL I love how you go in such depth in to each and every post!
I have a question concerning the tickets for a Mickey’s very marry. So the tickets for that are SEPARATE than the actual park ticket, from rope drop to 4:00; when you can enter the park with a separate ticket? My significant other and I are planing a trip for December 14-18 and are a bit confused about this. If you’re already in the park and don’t have a ticket how will the cast members sort out who has a ticket and who doesn’t ??
We have never been to Disney world during Christmas and are really looking forward to this trip but are a bit hesitant about buying a SEPARATE ticket for this event. We are broke college kids so money is a bit tight. We did the math and just don’t see the separate ticket as feasible for us.
We are going during that time too and we have purchased the Merry Christmas Party tickets. Yes, they are separate from regular park tickets. The park closes at 6:00 pm and then re-opens for the Mickey Party from 7:00 pm- midnight. Hope that helps!
I imagine they do it the same way they do for the Halloween Party. When you arrive at the gate you show your ticket for the party and they give you a special wrist band before you enter the park. Over the course of the next hour or so, cast members look for people who do not have the wrist band and they will inform those people they must have the wristband to stay in the park for the party otherwise they will have to leave the park. Halloween party was definitely worth the price and I imagine the Christmas one is as well. Hope it works out for you to get to attend the Christmas party and I hope this helped answer your questions.
You are given a special bracelet when you walk in. If you do not have one, you will be shown to the exit. If you try to stay without one, you will be turned away from all rides, etc. because they look for that band. They also set up cast members at the entrances to each land and turn away those who don’t have the band on. You only get the band with th special ticket! Hope this helps.
What month do you start the Christmas lights in the magic kingdom for 2017
I love your reviews. My family and I are going to Disney Dec 4-10th 2017. It will be my sons first trip to Disney (Donny, age 2 1/2, Brody, age 1 1/2). We are huge Disney fans- both sides of the family. My mom, my husbands parents, my sister-in-law and a cousin are going to join us. You write that Animal Kingdom will be open nightly during the holiday season. I went on WDW park hours and I only see AK being open until 7pm. How do you know, do you know how late it will be open? We have a few other plans, so I’m trying to decide between being at Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios for one of our nights. Which would you do? We will go to both parks for sure, but I have one night open- and I’d like to spend it either at AK or HS based on best nighttime entertainment. Thanks so much!
You’ll be there the same time we will. My dear friend works at WDW and said that the new area in AK, Pandora, is AMAZING…. although it’s not Christmasy, it’s definitely amazing and worth the see. Another friend whose daughter was an intern there the last 6 months got to sneak peek Pandora and said the same thing! That alone sold me to definitely plan a night there and to see the River of Light event. I know that neither are holiday-ish but they both seem like they’d be amazing! 🙂 AK has always closed at 5 so I’m thinking that maybe 7 IS late for them now. HS likely has a better “night life” and is more ride-heavy…especially with Fantasmic and lots of options for dining…. I’m sure whatever you choose will be AWESOME!
Do you think decorations will be up in deluxe resorts by the Monday BEFORE thanksgiving (Nov 20)?
seems some of you didn’t even read the article, a few of the questions here are answered plainly if you would just read it
I grew up in Florida, 2 hours west of Disney World, and the only time to visit is at Christmas time. The weather is so much better than any other time of year, and the decorations, particularly at Magic Kingdom, make the place shine. For as much as it costs to visit, even for locals, I wouldn’t waste my hard earned money to go anytime, but when it looks its best. Those long ride lines are a lot easier to endure when it’s not 100 degrees outside too…just sayin.
Hello, I just found your website/blog and am so grateful for all the great info. First time traveler to Disney. Taking 20 year old and 16 year old kids. Wanted to stay at the Wilderness Lodge or Boardwalk Inns, but Disney website says “construction” is going on at each of these. Any suggestions as to how to anticipate how intrusive or limiting the construction at either of these locations would be? A third choice was Animal Kingdom lodge.
I visit The Magic Kingdom every year around the holidays. The Main Street decor was underwhelming this year2016. Really sloppy compared to last year. The wreaths had bows that were centered in every direction but the right way, and frankly looked like they were thrown up by drunks. Ornaments looked sun bleached and the wreaths and garlands look matted. Hopefully, someone from Disney reads this and fixes the problem, it’s still early in the season.
I have to 100%agree with this statement. I thought it was just me! 2016 was a huge disappointed, the décor was awful, dirty, hap-hazard and just not all like previous years. Even the parade was very ho-hum. I have reservations for this year but am seriously thinking about cancelling because of last years experience.
We arrive on 31 Dec and are there for a week. Will the Christmas decorations still be up and what are the crowds expected to be like.
Hello. I already have my pass and spending an extra 99U$ + tax is not in our budget. Is it possible to stay in the park enjoying rides other than the X-mas parade? How do they let regular pass holders out?
The park closes and you’re told to leave–just as it would any other night at closing time.
You’re only allowed to remain if you have a specific wristband that is given to people who have purchased the Christmas party tickets.
For others the Very Merry party can be a value. The ticket price that permits entrance at 4 p.m. and ends close to 2 a.m. is cheaper than a one day MK ticket during this time of year. While crowded, not nearly as bad as during the day when peak crowds lead to tiered closings. Who doesn’t love the “free” hot cocoa and cookies!!!
My family and I visited Disney World in November 2016 and purchased tickets for the VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS PARTY, November 15. The crowds were insane. I am not sure what else Disney can do to control people staying without tickets for these special events but I am sure there had to be thousands there without. We did not enjoy the party at all as we had anticipated. We had been planning this visit for over a year with my 7 year old grandson and could not wait for the tickets to go on sell for this party as we felt this would be so much added value to our trip to find we were totally disappointed after paying extra for the tickets. There were wall to wall people in the main street area. We were told there were 20,000 tickets sold per evening for this party but it felt and looked like triple that if not more. Everything else about our 10 day visit meet and in most cases exceeded our expectations.
There’s definately a great deal to know about this subject.
I really like all the points you have made.
Looking for information on anything special that happens on the actual Christmas eve and day. Anything of note that can’t be missed?
Does the Mickey Christmas party really end on the 22nd?! We arrive on the 23rd- d’oh!
Im actually looking into the info also! I’d be really surprised that Disney would not make anything special for those specific days! But so far no luck! All the blog are about the Christmas party that end on the 22nd
I do know there is a big parade on the 25th (Coast to coast parade?)
So Disney fanatics, does Disneyworld make any special events during Dec 24th and 25th?
Thanks!
Thank you for all the great information! We will be visiting Disney World in December 2016 and I feel ready after reading all of your helpful post. During our visit to Epcot, we chose to reserve the Candlelight Dinner Package instead of the Illuminations Dessert Party. In my immersion into “Disney World”, I read in a number of places that if you do the Candlelight Dinner Package you are also entitled to entrance to an Illuminations special viewing area. I haven’t been able to verify this anywhere. Is this true? Thanks!
No the dinner package gets you reserved seating for the processional. Still plan on showing up to the appropriate reserve area 45 minutes to an hour ahead of time. You may be able to “FP” reserved seating for the special illuminations show.
Will all of the stores at Disney Springs be opened on Thanksgiving?