With Thanksgiving come and gone and Christmas right on our doorstep why not get into the Christmas spirit with a little thought of Disney holiday cheer. Many of us will not have the opportunity to go to Disney for the holidays season. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting around the holidays and working there shortly after, and at Walt Disney World it does seem like the happiest time of the year.
It doesn’t take long before it begins to look a lot like Christmas. Like many neighborhoods now, Disney seems to become a winter wonderland overnight. The dedicated decoration crews at Disney out do themselves year after year. You can be in the park one day and it is completely normal, but return the next and it is a holiday paradise. Decorations befitting the parks themselves as well as the holiday season adorn every park and every resort. Not an inch is left undecorated, and decorations often change from year to year so you can go back year after year and see something different.
In Walt Disney World they not only decorate with lights and garland but they create something extra magical, gingerbread houses. These aren’t just your normal everyday gingerbread houses. These are huge! They put up a few different gingerbread houses at select resorts: the Boardwalk, Contemporary, Grand Floridian, as well as the Yacht and Beach Clubs. These gingerbread houses change yearly, with different themes and decorations, and this year the one at the Contemporary even has a Frozen theme. At the Grand Floridian it is usually a life size display that is large enough to sell mini gingerbread from! Talk about a little bit of magic to brighten up your day!
Some of the best parts of being in Disney around the holidays are the special events that you can’t see any other time of the year. Magic Kingdom hosts Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party where you can visit the park for some extra magic hours, milk and cookies, a special parade and fireworks show, and special character meet and greets that you can’t get any other time of the year. Hollywood Studios has the Osborne Family Light Show. Take a stroll down the Streets of America and see the holiday lights come alive. Epcot has Holidays from around the world with tales of how families around the world celebrate the holidays. Epcot also hosts the Candlelight Processional, telling the story of Christmas with songs and music. Animal Kingdom has a special holiday parade as well.
Don’t miss out on the special shows that are in all of the parks, especially in front of the castle at Magic Kingdom with the Frozen characters, which is new this year. If you can’t make it to Disney this year you can catch a glimpse of the show online, Disney has posted it on their website or it can also be found on YouTube.
Whether you can make it to Disney for the holidays or not, you can still enjoy some of the Disney magic. Keep an eye on your TV for the Christmas specials or add a little Disney flair to your holiday decorations. No matter how young or old you may be, you can celebrate a little extra Disney magic this holiday season whether you can make it there or not. I wish you all a very merry holiday season and as always have faith and trust, and special holiday pixie dust!
Find out how the FREE services of a Disney World travel agent can make planning your Disney vacation simple and STRESS FREE! PLUS from December 1-31, book a Disney World, Disneyland or Disney Cruise vacation package with me and I will make a donation in your name to charity. Learn more about the charities that The Affordable Mouse is supporting this year and please help us “pay it forward”!
Jess was born and raised on Long Island, New York but once college began so did her adventures. She’s lived in Florida, Wisconsin, and now South Carolina. Her family is part of the Disney Vacation Club and has been visiting since she was a little girl, and continuously goes every year. Besides being a big Disney fan she has also been a Disney Cast Member working in Magic Kingdom, and she counts it as one of the most magical experiences. She worked with everyone’s favorite elephant Dumbo, Cinderella’s Carousel, and Mickey’s Philharmagic. Jess has also visited Disneyland, Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, and gone on two Disney Cruises. She has so many great memories from Disney besides running half marathons and 5ks, birthday parties, and family reunions. If asked where she would want to go it is almost always Disney, and when asked why, it is almost always because she can eat awesome gluten free food! And it doesn’t hurt that there is always faith, trust, and pixie dust with magic in the air!
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