Everyone has their own (sometimes strong) opinion on the appropriate time to celebrate the holiday season. Some people put their tree up as soon as the last trick-or-treater has gone home on Halloween night, while others staunchly oppose even listening to a Christmas song until after Thanksgiving.
If you are planning a fall or winter trip to Walt Disney World, you may be curious to know where the Central Florida theme park starts its holiday celebrations. The good news is that Disney World starts to deck the halls shortly after Halloween. However, with four theme parks and more than two dozen hotels (not to mention Disney Springs) to decorate, not every wreath can be hung, and every tree topped at the same time.
Read on to learn more about when each Disney World park and hotel decorates for the holidays, as well as how long you have to enjoy them before the decorations are packed away in the attic (OK, it’s actually a 160,000-square foot warehouse) until next year.
Magic Kingdom is the first park to get holly and jolly
If you’ve ever visited Disney World for the final Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party of the year and then returned the next morning to find the park almost entirely devoid of Halloween decor and instead festooned with lights, garlands and bows, you’ve seen Disney magic in action.
It can take a few days for the process to be completed, but the Magic Kingdom is pretty much transformed for the holidays within two to three days after the last Halloween party. This year, the final Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween party takes place on Halloween night. If you visit on Nov. 2 or later, you can expect to see the Magic Kingdom’s 65-foot Christmas tree, 590 garlands, 40 Christmas trees and 147 wreaths in all their glory.
By Nov. 2, you should also be able to ride the Jingle Cruise, Disney’s holiday take on the classic Jungle Cruise attraction.
Disney will continue to put the less-noticeable finishing touches on the park up until the first Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, which kicks off this year on Nov. 8. From then on, the Magic Kingdom is a full-on winter wonderland.
When the other three Disney World parks follow (Santa’s) suit
Disney World’s other three parks don’t get the same Halloween treatment as Magic Kingdom, so their holiday transformations aren’t as swift or immediate. Because Disney has so many halls to deck, some less noticeable decor starts going up in mid-October.
Related: What it’s like at Jollywood Nights, Disney World’s new party geared toward adults
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There is no official schedule that tells guests when exactly each park will be fully decorated, but Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios should be ready in time for the official start to the holiday season at Disney World, which falls this year on Nov. 12.
Before that date, you’ll slowly see tinsel, garlands, lights, trees and bows go up around each park. Since Disney’s elves work under the cloak of night, you’ll start to notice something new each day when you visit the parks until their merry job is done.
Epcot is typically the last park to receive the full holiday treatment since its holiday festivities start a bit later than the others. This year, the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays doesn’t begin until Nov. 29, allowing Disney’s decor team time to prepare the park after the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival ends on Nov. 23.
Disney’s resort hotels get all the trimmings by Thanksgiving
Disney’s resort hotels are transformed one by one between early November and Thanksgiving.
There’s no way for guests to know which hotels will get their holiday makeover each night, but you can usually expect to see each resort’s Christmas tree up and glowing by the second week in November. Some guests make it an annual tradition to visit during the predicted decoration dates so they can stay up all night and enjoy the fun (Champagne may or may not be involved).
Although all of the resorts have themed trees and decor, a handful of Disney World hotels also get an extra helping of holiday magic when Disney installs larger-than-life gingerbread displays at some of its Deluxe resorts.
A few of these delicious-smelling displays double as holiday sweet shops, including the life-sized gingerbread house at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, the gingerbread carousel at Disney’s Beach Club Resort and a miniature BoardWalk at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn. Disney usually announces the official opening date about a week or two ahead of time. Keep an eye on the Disney Parks Blog if you want to be among the first to know.
How long do holiday decorations stay up at Disney World?
Just because Disney World decorates early for the holidays doesn’t mean they keep the trees and lights up until March, like your neighbors down the street.
The holiday season at Disney World officially runs through Dec. 31, 2024. The holiday decor will likely begin to come down on Jan. 1, 2025, and the park will fully return to its every day (yet still magical) look by the second week of January.
Bottom line
Even Santa’s elves couldn’t install 29 large, custom trees (some up to 70 feet tall), 596 smaller trees, more than 1,000 wreaths, several miles of ribbon and millions of lights in one night.
If all you want for Christmas is to spend the holiday season at Walt Disney World, the parks and hotels will begin to feel merry in early November. But if you want to wait until it begins to look a lot like Christmas, you’ll want to wait until after Thanksgiving to visit.
And if you miss the holiday decorations this year, don’t worry — that’s just one more reason to plan a 2025 trip to Disney World.
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