No Gingerbread House at Grand Floridian for Christmas 2025 at Disney World
Walt Disney World has announced the refurbishment timeline and revealed the new Birdcage Lobby Bar Coming Soon to the Grand Floridian Resort. With this, there are impacts to the guest experience and offerings at the flagship hotel, extending through Christmas 2025. One such impact is no gingerbread display–this shares details and our commentary about the news.
Let’s start with quick background. A staple of the holiday season at Walt Disney World is the life-sized Gingerbread House at the Grand Floridian. Last year, this fan-favorite tradition celebrated its 25th Anniversary, and was officially open starting November 6, after beginning construction in mid-to-late October.
The edible display always draws a big crowd of guests eager to admire its white chocolate candy canes, edible snowflakes, sugar poinsettias, and an 88-pound white chocolate Santa. The gingerbread itself is baked with 1050 pounds of honey, 800 pounds of flour, and 600 pounds of confectioners’ sugar. The decorations feature 700 pounds of chocolate and feature over 10,000 pieces of gingerbread. The team spend over 500 hours baking the gingerbread and 480 hours bringing all the dazzling details to life.
To celebrate the 25 years of holiday tradition, there were 25 hidden Mickeys scattered throughout the Gingerbread House at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort last year. There was also a limited-edition collection of 25th anniversary merchandise including a pin, ornament, cookie jar, magnet, tumbler, t-shirt, and more available for purchase.
If our experiences the last few years were any indication, there’s also alway huge crowds and long lines in the lobby. We’ve come to view the Gingerbread House at the Grand Floridian somewhat like the Cinderella Castle Dream Lights: an investment made by Walt Disney World that paid big dividends in terms of sales–not necessarily in the booking of trips or resort stays, but via PhotoPass, food & beverage, merchandise, and more sales.
A visit to the Grand Floridian is a quintessential holiday-time experience, and it’s one of a few must-do stops on our Free Self-Guided Walt Disney World Yuletide Resort Tour. That’s what we recommend doing in the morning before attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (if you opt to do that upcharge) or perhaps just on your non-parks day. It’s one of our favorite things to do at Walt Disney World, and we make a point of doing it annually–along with separate visits to many of the hotels.
As with the other monorail loop resorts, it’s also easy to visit the Grand Floridian the same day you do Magic Kingdom. Whether it be before heading into the park, strolling over on the walking path for a midday break, or after the park closes (our favorite option), it’s worth the detour thanks to its elegant Victorian decor, grandiose icon tree, and the glorious gingerbread house.
That’s normally all true, but it sounds like it won’t be the case at Christmas 2025.
Walt Disney World has announced the following: As part of the ongoing enhancements at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, phased updates to the lobby, convention center and select areas will begin April 14. Portions of the lobby will close at times, and Guests may encounter changes to their path of travel.
While construction activity will be noticeable during daytime hours, efforts will be made to minimize disruptions, and all pools, dining and other amenities will remain available. As Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa continues its renovations, the gingerbread display will not be available during the holiday season in 2025.
On its face, this explanation makes sense.
Construction happening through late 2025 would definitely impact Walt Disney World’s ability to build the Gingerbread House at the Grand Floridian. As noted above, that usually starts in mid-to-late October.
So even if the lobby renovations are done by Veterans Day and the traditional kickoff to the Christmas season, that’s still not enough lead-time to have the Gingerbread House–which is constructed in plain sight in the lobby–done by then.
There’s also the reality that construction is always subject to delay, and even if the intent is to have the lobby done by early November or even mid-October, there’s no guarantee that’ll happen. There are a lot of moving parts and multiple teams involved in bringing the Gingerbread House to life, so the safe move is to simply err on the side of caution and cancel the fan-favorite display for Christmas 2025. It’s disappointing, but it’s pragmatic.
Some fans might wonder why Walt Disney World simply doesn’t relocate the Gingerbread House to elsewhere at the Grand Floridian.
My guess is that it’s a matter of crowds and congestion. That there’s nowhere else that can absorb the guest traffic that the Gingerbread House draws, and even if there were, that would spill over into the lobby. People aren’t going to come to the hotel for the Gingerbread House in the convention center or wherever, and not enter the lobby to also see its decorations (hopefully there’s still a Christmas tree).
If the lobby project is delayed and construction is still occuring in November or December that takes part of the space out of commission, that means more people crammed into an even smaller area. As much as we’d love to see Walt Disney World find a way to bring back the Gingerbread House for its 26th year, it probably comes down to pragmatism.
Longer-term, I can’t help but wonder about the future of the Gingerbread House at the Grand Floridian.
My first thought when looking at the Birdcage Bar concept art is that the lobby is going to be quite busy with that plus the Christmas tree and gingerbread house during the holidays. The main building is already a mad house during the holiday season, and this will just exacerbate it.
Not only will this be yet another thing that induces crowds in the lobby, but it will concentrate them. Frankly, I don’t know how the Grand Floridian is going to have this birdcage bar and Christmas tree and gingerbread house. Something’s gotta give–or move. My guess is that “something” will be the Gingerbread House.
It’s possible that the Grand Floridian will move the Gingerbread House into a different space for Christmas 2026 and beyond. As mentioned, there’s the convention center and other areas away from the heavily trafficked lobby.
But as also mentioned, they all result in the same issues with spillover into the lobby. Given that, we wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the Grand Floridian Gingerbread House never returns. To be abundantly clear, this is purely speculative on our part. Not even a rumor, and certainly not official.
I just know that Walt Disney World receives a lot of complaints from paying guests in the main building of the Grand Floridian each Christmas about noise and crowds, most of which are visitors to the hotel. At some point, I wouldn’t be surprised if those “win out” over the the lucrative merchandise, food & beverage sales of the Gingerbread House. Maybe the display will be back in 2026, but I feel like its retirement is inevitable–and probably by the time Villains Land opens.
Another possibility is the Gingerbread House moving to another resort entirely. In this case, it wouldn’t be “moving” so much as it would be Walt Disney World retiring one display and introducing another.
This has already started to happen, kind of. For the last few holiday seasons, Animal Kingdom Lodge has had edible animal displays. These have grown in scale and size, but still are not “big enough” to justify a dedicated trip from most guests. Introducing an actual Gingerbread Lodge (a la Humphrey’s Lodge from ~6 years ago at Wilderness Lodge) would tip the scales.
I’m of two minds about this. Selflessly, I would love more fans to make the trek to AKL and finally discover what’s unquestionably one of the top resorts at Walt Disney World, its tremendous culinary scene, brilliant themed design, etc. Selfishly, I love Animal Kingdom Lodge during the holiday season, and appreciate how quiet it is as compared to the monorail loop and Crescent Lake Resorts. I’d like to keep it that way. (I think it probably would stay that way given the transportation barriers.)
I also wouldn’t be surprised if Walt Disney World tried something similar with whichever Disney Vacation Club resorts they’re trying to sell. Incentivizing visits to Fort Wilderness over the holiday season with a cool display would be savvy as the campground really shines at Christmas-time. “Oh, by the way while you’re here, tour this new model DVC cabin that we’ve conveniently located in the Settlement!”
Visitors to the Grand Floridian and Polynesian Village Resorts and overcrowding has been an issue for a while. We’ve been warning readers about booking the main building of the Grand Floridian at Christmas for years, based on both our own negative experiences and reports from others.
Likewise, one of our biggest trepidations about the Island Tower at the Poly (aside from how hideous it looks on the outside) is the burden it’ll put on the resort’s already strained infrastructure. The resort’s DVC point inventory is not even close to fully sold out yet, and we’ve already seen some of these issues during recent visits.
Walt Disney World has attempted to address the problems with monorail loop resort traffic in recent years, while at the same time building new things to induce even more demand. This is precisely why they’ve restricted visitor parking at these (and other) resorts, limited Mobile Order at times, and required wristbands for fireworks viewing.
Ultimately, there are other measures that Walt Disney World could take to control crowds at the Grand Floridian and Polynesian that would help control crowds and allow the Gingerbread House to return. One would be requiring keycard access or confirmed dining reservations to gain entrance to the grounds. This is exactly what Tokyo Disney Resort does with both Toy Story Hotel and Fantasy Springs Hotel. I’m guessing Walt Disney World does not want to go that far, especially since they like to thread the needle on this type of thing (crowds equal revenue!).
It’s also entirely possible that I’m taking my own mental comparison of the Grand Floridian Gingerbread House to the Cinderella Castle Dream Lights too literally. In the latter’s case, it’s seeming more and more like a ‘temporary hiatus’ provided Walt Disney World cover for making a seemingly permanent decision they knew would be unpopular. For the most part, fans will be understanding that the Gingerbread House isn’t returning this year, as lobby construction is a logical explanation. And if it doesn’t come back in 2026, that’s quiet news, not a fresh announcement.
The reaction would be very different if Walt Disney World came out today and shared that the Gingerbread House is being permanently retired. Here’s hoping I’m overanalyzing this, being too conspiratorial, and the Grand Floridian Gingerbread House is back and better than ever for Christmas 2026!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of Walt Disney World cancelling the gingerbread house at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa for Christmas 2025? Think it’ll be back at Christmas 2026? 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!
Another cutback. Too many things will not be available in December 2025 for the constant price increases.
So more booze in Disney World. Sad times.
Every time we’re in Disney at Christmas the Gingerbread House is a must visit and we buy something every time. But it’s all about money with Disney and booze sells more than gingerbread.
It should be in restaurants or a lounge here and there. Not front and center.
Focus on family and kids.
Even MK is getting too boozy. It’s a shame people need to drink to get thru life or just Disney.
Sorry just my 0.02.
Is the tea room ever going to reopen at the Grand Floridian?
I think moving the gingerbread display to the convention center makes sense. It’s still close by, but would alleviate the traffic that is only going to get worse with the renovations. If they do move it there, they could even expand the space into more of a Christmas Village.
Stayed with our family of 20 for 8 nights first week of Dec 2024. Lobby & monorail crowds were a nightmare ALL DAY LONG!!! Bathrooms in main building packed and dirty constantly due to all the people. It was NOT enjoyable and we all decided we would NEVER stay there again during the Holiday season because of it. Paying $$$ for what is supposed to be the “Flagship Resort”, but instead it felt like a nonstop “free” theme park for locals. There aren’t really even words to describe what it was like. We tried to avoid even walking through the lobby unless we needed to go to the monorail. But there were even huge lines to use the elevators, which some of us had to use due to strollers. It was a nightmare. Other than the terribly disappointing resort experience , our trip was great (theme parks, dining, etc. )
I visited Grand Floridian the first week of Christmas last year. My group was staying at AKL and we booked lunch reservations at Grand Floridian Cafe’. We have done this in past years with no issues, but oh, good golly, it was pandemonium! The lobby was so crowded, we could hardly move. The line around the gingerbread house was so long we didn’t even try to get any gingerbread there. When we eventually made our way to the Cafe’, it was more pandemonium. Although we had a reservation, the hostess informed us it would be a twenty-minute wait. We 45 minutes and heard nothing. I checked in again and they assured us we would be seated in a few minutes which we were.
I chatted with our server and expressed my astonishment at the situation. She understood and explained many of the restaurant guests were not leaving after they finished eating. They were staying to chat and take pictures and video. Apparently, a lot of them were YouTube influencers. I’m not blaming the entire situation on influencers, but it seems they were at least part of the problem in the Cafe’.
Getting out the GF resort was yet another challenge. Monorail lines were huge.
Gingerbread house or no gingerbread house, I won’t be going back to the Grand Floridian during the Christmas season for any reason. (No rhyme intended.)
Ugh, we booked a trip first week of December as we have done multiple times before. Free skiing excludes that week specifically and now one of the things I was most excited to show my autistic son won’t be there.
AKL is the best Christmas Resort! Fight me!
great more booze, and less family traditions. Exactly where Disney is heading, didn’t they learn anything?
Drinking is a family tradition.
I think that sucks!
Going the first week of December and I thought the same thing when seeing the new concept art. We prefer Crescent lake resorts, but love a good monorail crawl seeing all the decorations. I’m ok with missing this one but would equally like to see it pop up elsewhere as you mentioned. The bigger issue is it will be my mom’s first time back in about 40 years…however, I definitely was planning on getting her to AKL to see their decorations and grandeur!
Stayed at GF week before Thanksgiving last year. ( We are retired , AP holders, visit every few months, stay at GF regularly).
This was not the best visit due to the constant insanity in the lobby because of the tree and house. Crowding and noise was awful. Monorail backed up due to all the increased crowd.
One group brought a picnic and proceeded to use the main pool ( though not guests at the hotel).
I did lodge a complaint.
I felt that Disney should have had better plans for limiting tourists.
We read later that they restricted some access over Christmas and new year weekends but feel they should have done it sooner.
The house o is cute but should be displayed in a non traffic area.
Paying guests should be allowed to enjoy their own lobby.
Totally agree. We had the exact same experience as yours and yes WDW limited non resort guest orders at the quick service place but we still couldn’t get 60 day out reservations at any of the nicer restaurants. We booked our DVC there over Christmas but were planning to move due to all the insanity during our last Christmas stay. We like Wilderness or AK. But now with this good news I think we will actually get to enjoy the resort where we want to stay!
I think the Grand Floridian gingerbread house as it was will disappear just like the dream twinkle lights on Cinderella castle . Sadly. The traffic was becoming a major issue at Grand Floridian during the holidays , especially for the monorail since you really cannot park at the Grand Floridian unless you’re an overnight guests . I am thinking they could move the gingerbread house to maybe the convention room areas next door or build something new near the wedding pavilion to accommodate the gingerbread house display. Another thing they may do is smaller gingerbread displays with less wow factor like they do at Boardwalk and Yacht club. I really enjoyed seeing the gingerbread house each year . Without that, I don’t really see any need to visit the Grand Floridian during the holidays since the decorations really had no wow factor for me . Lobby really needs a refresh .
Could they move the house to the convention center, assuming they have one at the GF? Several of the Gaylord hotels do an annual Christmas theme. They decorate inside and outside to the hilt. I had a business conference at the Dallas Gaylord last December and I was blown away. The main draws (Christmas village, their famous ice sculptures, merch, etc, was in the convention center. Seems like that could work.
Moving the house to the convention center is a great idea.
We saw the Gingerbread House in November 2024 with the family. The House was beautiful. The lines weren’t too long. We bought a couple of the cookies. Although the Gingerbread House was worth seeing the cookies were like eating cardboard. We’re very happy we didn’t purchase more. A friend had visited Germany last year and brought back some cookies. They were delicious!
Over all, our family found that the food in Disney World has gone way down hill. We did enjoy Ohana’s, Cinderella’s Castle and Artist Point, but the rest of the restaurants we visited were horrible. Woody’s Roundup was the worst. We used the food plan for our party of 12. We didn’t realize at the time, that they charged the 2 year old as an adult and he didn’t eat anything.
Last year there was small, but added gingerbread items to Animal Kingdom Lodge – Jambo House, Wilderness Lodge and the (I think it was?) Swan (or it was the Dolphin). A gingerbread structure did also reappear at Boardwalk. Saratoga Springs, Old Key West and Port Orleans need to have gingerbread structures.
Great news! Our other DVC is Animal Kingdom and we really enjoy being there at Christmas. It is definitely more low key but the added lobby bar and Christmas displays this year had the lobbys and lounges hopping even pre Christmas. I’m fine without moving the gingerbread house to AKL. It would be kind of fun at the campground if there is room!
Create a temporary space for the display at Fort Wilderness this year and next, move it over to Disney Lakeshore Lodge in 2027!
Maybe I am wrong but I have a feeling it will definitely come back. It seems like a “tradition” making people book – or so it seems reading articles.
It’s a tradition, but disproportionately for locals, Annual Passholders, and other guests to visit Grand Floridian at Christmas.
It’s somewhat like Whispering Canyon Cafe. Satisfaction data from guests eating there shows one thing; satisfaction from guests with rooms above the restaurant shows something very different.