When Does Disney World Decorate for Christmas?

Walt Disney World celebrates Christmas in all four of its theme parks now along with the Disney resort hotels and Disney Springs.

The holiday decorations at Walt Disney World are truly spectacular and a large part of the appeal of visiting during the Christmas season.

So that begs the question, when does Disney World decorate for Christmas?

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is the ticketed holiday event that takes place at Magic Kingdom on select nights in November and December. The party takes place from 7PM to midnight but guests with party tickets can enter starting at 4PM.

This is one of the big holiday events at Walt Disney World and is easily the most popular. You will see the most extravagant decorations for Christmas in Magic Kingdom just as you see the same for decorations for Halloween. The castle will receive holiday projections (sadly, the Dreamlights won't be returning this year- more on this below!) and all of Main Street will be decorated.

The first date of the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is November 8th this year and the last date for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party falls on October 31st. That gives Walt Disney World about one week to get all the Halloween decorations down and put up the holiday ones in Magic Kingdom! Sometimes if you time it just right, you can be in the parks for this transformation from Halloween to Christmas which can be pretty magical. Disney won't wait until the last minute to get the holiday decorations up, they will start immediately after the last Halloween party ends.

The dates of the Halloween and Christmas parties at Magic Kingdom are usually the best way to pin down the dates we'll see the holiday decorations go up. Since Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party starts a few days before the official holiday start date, you will see decorations go up the earliest in Magic Kingdom.

Will the Castle Dream Lights Return?

Prior to COVID, Cinderella Castle would get the star treatment with the Castle Dream Lights. The castle would be adorned with thousands of glittering icicles and the entire castle was breathtaking. We still see this similar treatment over at Disneyland during Christmas but seeing it on a castle as large as Cinderella Castle was beautiful. Unfortunately, these lights seem to be a relic of the past as Disney has not brought them back since 2019.

In their absence, the castle has been lit up with projections that change throughout the night, and last year introduced a new Frozen show (replacing the Frozen show that previously celebrated the lighting of the Castle Dream Lights) with projections. Many Disney fans, myself included, would love to see these lights return. This is one area where I don't think a budget cut is logical, this effort goes a long way in customer satisfaction, especially with rising costs for travel. Disney never usually skimps on Christmas and I hope to see those return! Last year Cinderella Castle was adorned with the Walt Disney World 50th Celebration decorations which made many of us think that once the decorations came down, the lights would return. Sadly, it's not looking good for a return of the Castle Dream Lights as more time goes on.

The castle projections are stunning even if they aren't as impressive as the lights, but they still draw a crowd! Guests can guarantee to see projections on the castle during Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party which starts on November 8th. The official start to the holiday season is November 12th at Walt Disney World but I expect we'll see Magic Kingdom fully decorated by the 8th.

Jollywood Nights Hollywood Studios

Jollywood Nights is a new party for Hollywood Studios which is an after-hours style ticketed event. Disney Jollywood Nights will take place after Hollywood Studios closing time on select nights in November and December. This new event features the return of “Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!” which, before the party's debut last year, hadn’t returned to Disney World since 2019.

The first Jollywood Night party takes place on November 9th. You can expect to see all the decorations finished at Hollywood Studios by November 9th in time for the party. It is likely you will start to see decorations go up the week leading up to it as Disney usually spends the week before the official holiday start date to begin decorating.

To compare Disney Jollywood Nights vs. Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, read our guide ranking these two Walt Disney World Christmas parties. 

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EPCOT Christmas Decorations

When does Walt Disney World decorate for Christmas… in EPCOT? Well, the popular Festival of the Holidays doesn't officially kick off until just after Thanksgiving with the Candlelight Processional and marketplace booths around the World Showcase featuring holiday foods. But you will still see the theme park decorated for Christmas by the official start date of the holiday season. Just keep in mind the main events of Festival of the Holidays don't start until after Thanksgiving.

Guests will start to see the holiday decorations go up in the first week of November leading up to that official holiday date. But since the official start date isn't until November 12th, there is no guarantee you will see significant decorations or holiday events before that date.

EPCOT usually decorates with lights, wreaths, multicultural holiday decor in the World Showcase, and holiday colors projected onto Spaceship Earth. But there are also some hidden decorative gems to find like at the EPCOT aquarium which included a Hanukkah menorah in one of the fish tanks last year!

Living with the Land also puts on an impressive light display for the holidays. This year, there is a special new tour “Behind the Seeds: Glimmering Greenhouses” that coincides with the start date of the Festival of Holidays on November 29, so the Glimmering Greenhouses overlay will be fully lit and ready to enjoy by then.

Animal Kingdom Holiday Decorations

So when does Walt Disney World decorate for Christmas… at Animal Kingdom? In recent years we've seen a much larger inclusion of holiday decor and celebrations at Animal Kingdom which has been a welcome addition. The Tree of Life will light up with holiday projections celebrating the winter solstice throughout the duration of the holiday celebration at Disney World.

Like the other three parks, you will start to see trickles of holiday decorations leading up to the official Walt Disney World holiday start date.

Disney Springs Christmas Decorations

When does Disney World decorate for Christmas at Disney Springs? Disney Springs fills the area with themed Christmas trees, lights, wreaths, and more during the holiday season. Since this is a large project comparable to the work that goes into decorating some of the theme parks, you will see decor start to arrive early before the official holiday season start date.

You might see holiday merchandise displays go up first in many of the Disney-owned retail shops with decorations soon to follow.

Disney Hotels Gingerbread Houses & Decorations

When does Disney World decorate for Christmas at the hotels? Every Walt Disney World resort receives some level of holiday decorations even if it's just some garland, wreaths, and a Christmas tree in the main lobby. The deluxe resorts are the ones that truly go all out for the holidays with bookings at these hotels being even more in demand this time of year due to these extravagant decorations.

Many of these deluxe hotels will also include large gingerbread house displays. The most famous of these is the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. This resort is easily the most popular to visit for the holiday season as it decorates with a massive Christmas tree, the large gingerbread house which is a replica of the hotel that even includes a merchant store inside the gingerbread house!

These gingerbread displays are large so they will often go up in steps that many guests will be able to track the progress of. The Grand Floridian Gingerbread display last year took almost a full week with many eager Disney guests tracking the progress. Due to the popularity of this gingerbread house and the goodies sold inside, Disney will wait until the official start day of the holidays for the house to be officially open. This logic typically applies to the other resorts with gingerbread displays.

As for when these gingerbread houses come down, Disney typically starts disassembling many of them right away on January 1st so keep that in mind if these gingerbread houses are top of your list!

As soon as the Halloween season at Walt Disney World ends, you will start to see those holiday decorations pop up instantly as Disney works hard to decorate the entire resort for the holidays.

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