The Holiday Season is our family’s favorite time to go to Walt Disney World. Between Halloween and Thanksgiving, the resort transforms into a holiday wonderland. There are so many fun family activities, we have a hard time fitting it all in! This is my son Johnny’s list of kid-approved holiday happenings around Walt Disney World. Let’s not leave Santa waiting!
Merry Menagerie at Animal Kingdom
The Merry Menagerie brings artisan-sculpted animal puppets to life. The puppets made their debut in 2019 and were dearly missed in 2020. I am so happy to see their return this year. Johnny just loves petting and interacting with the puppets.
For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration at Hollywood Studios
At Hollywood Studios, the popular Frozen Sing-Along gets a holiday makeover. The show ends with Olaf, Ana, Elsa, Kristoff, and the narrators singing songs from Olaf’s Frozen Adventure. This is your chance to sing along to “That Time of Year” and “When We’re Together” among other songs from that holiday special. And a Frozen Sing-Along wouldn’t be complete without some snow! This is one of Johnny’s favorite shows throughout the year, and the addition of Olaf makes the holiday edition complete.
Olaf Holiday Tradition Expedition at Epcot
Following the Frozen theme, Olaf sets off on an adventure at Epcot with Olaf’s Holiday Traditions Expedition Scavenger Hunt. Find Olaf around the world showcase collecting holiday traditions to share. You may purchase a map for $9.99 and collect a prize. Our family is big fans of the Epcot scavenger hunts and we never miss one. Johnny loves to follow the map and find all of Olaf’s newly found holiday traditions.
Christmas Tree Stroll at Disney Springs
The Christmas Tree Stroll is back again this year, and now encompasses all of Disney Springs. You can pick up a map at select locations and receive a prize (button) for completion. And of course, you can always look for the trees without the map, but in this case, the map and prize are free!
With 20 different trees, everyone in the family is sure to find one they love. It’s a great option to pass the time waiting to see the man in red!
Mickey’s Christmas parade at Magic Kingdom
If you are lucky enough to be visiting the Magic Kingdom starting December 21st you will be able to see Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade. Until that date, the parade is exclusive to the Very Merriest After Hours holiday party. So if you’re in Magic Kingdom later this month, be sure to take advantage of this entertainment offering! The parade will be held twice daily through New Year’s Eve.
Holiday Storytellers and Entertainment at Epcot
The Holiday Storytellers and entertainment are a great way for kids to learn about holiday traditions in other countries and have some fun too. With 11 different stops around the World Showcase, you see a few or visit them all— as many as you or your kids can handle.
Holiday Storytellers in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Italy, and our favorite, Norway, tell stories of their country’s Christmas holiday traditions. It’s the perfect accompaniment to eating something tasty from one of the nearby food booths.
Holiday Cookie Stroll at Epcot
The Holiday Cookie Stroll is part of the Festival of the Holidays food booths, and it’s oh-so-tasty. You can purchase 5 cookies at select locations throughout the World Showcase and receive a 6th cookie for free.
This year the cookie options are the SNICKERS-Doodle, Black and White, Chocolate Crinkle, Linzer, and Gingerbread cookies. The sixth (free) cookie is a special 50th Anniversary shortbread ornament.
The cookies change every year. Here’s our journey from a previous year for you to enjoy:
Get Your Cookie On at Epcot’s International Festival of the Holidays
Holiday Ride Makeovers
While the Holiday ride makeovers aren’t always a huge hit with my son Johnny, they still add to the holiday cheer. In Epcot, Living the Land receives a light Holiday overlay each year. This time of year it’s a good evening ride with holiday lights and festive decorations. Johnny’s favorite decorations are the sand snowmen. But he likes to spot all the new things and point them out.
The Jungle Cruise at Magic Kingdom transforms to the Jingle Cruise with added holiday decorations and the skippers spread holiday cheer throughout the journey.
Here’s a look at the World Famous Jingle Cruise from 2019:
Climb Aboard the World Famous Jingle Cruise at Walt Disney World
Santa, Santa, and more Santa
Of course, we can’t forget to mention Santa. There is quite a list of where you can see him too! It doesn’t matter how often we see him, Johnny always loves to get in a Hello to jolly old Saint Nick. At Animal Kingdom, Santa waves from his Floatilla as he goes around Discovery Island.
In Hollywood Studios, Santa can be spotted cruising down Hollywood Boulevard in his custom convertible.
If you’re looking for some up close and personal time with Santa, you can visit him at Epcot and Disney Springs. Santa can be found at Epcot in the American Experience a few times a day. The exact times for meet and greets can be found in the My Disney Experience app.
Over at Disney Springs, you will find Santa at Once Upon a Toy in the Marketplace. This is our preferred location to visit Santa. Enter a Virtual Queue when you arrive at Disney Springs… then go eat, shop, or take part in the Christmas Tree Stroll while you wait. You have a one-hour return time window. When we visited, our wait was about 10 minutes in line once we checked in.
Santa at both Epcot and Disney Springs took plenty of time to interact with kids and adults alike. However, current mask regulations require guests to leave masks on while taking photos.
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Let’s Hear From You
There you have it, Johnny’s must-do holiday list at Walt Disney World. And thankfully these aren’t just kid-only activities, so that means us adults get to have some fun too. Did we miss any of your child-friendly holiday favorites? I’d love to hear what’s on your list! Please share your thoughts and tips in the comments!
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