Disney Magic of the Holidays

Growing up in Florida, we've gone to DIsney World many times over the years.  I had never been during the holidays and I just HAD to go.  Christmas is all about family, but Disney celebrates the holidays from November through December.  Just like in the shops, Halloween goes down and BOOM it's Christmas.  Even with COVID, Disney is filled with holiday cheer.  The parks all get dressed up in their finest holiday decor and it just adds that extra bit of wonder.  Plus this is a cooler time for Florida so you won't be sweating nearly as much.

​People would think that Disney would be empty around the Holidays, but that isn't really the case.

If you are thinking of spending the week of a holiday in the park, then you should expect crowds.  Historically the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years are the BUSIEST weeks, with Magic Kingdom always hitting max capacity.  If you plan your trip for the other weeks of November and December though you can find the crowds to be pretty sparse.  We went the week after Thanksgiving and crowds were low and ride times were all mostly short.

Each park has it's own set of holiday fun.  We only went for a quick trip to visit Epcot and Magic Kingdom, but every park has it's draw during this season.  Hollywood Studios does projections on the Tower of Terror and even Galaxy's Edge does it's own celebration of Wookie Life Day.
Animal Kingdom's Tree of life has it's own holidays lighting and you can find Holiday flotillas going down the river with you favorite characters decked out for the festivities.

Magic Kingdom

The first place anyone thinks of in Disney World is Magic Kingdom.  The park is covered in wreaths and lights.  There are holiday treats and merchandise that you can only find in the parks during this season.
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I loved the Fa la la la Funnel cake.  The cavalcades that are filling in for the big parades even include Santa Clause making his way around the park.

There is SO much holiday merchandise in every park, I know we went a tad overboard with purchases this time around.

Epcot - Festival of the Holidays

We were honestly concerned that the kids might not enjoy Epcot as much.  Boy were we wrong!  They had a blast, they loved trying the foods and even enjoyed the educational rides.  I had never thought they would enjoy Living With the Land...  

The Festival of the Holidays begins after Thanksgiving and goes on till New Years Eve.  We got to taste a variety of foods from around the world with a distinct holiday twist.  My favorites were from the Hawaii stand.  I can never say no to the food and drinks around Epcot!  There was an extra bonus that kids just loved!

Kidcot is usually a fun little way for the kids to learn and explore the World Showcase in Epcot.  It has been modified for COVID, but the special surprise was the new Olaf's Holiday Tradition Expedition.   

It was a scavenger hunt to find Olaf on his sleigh in each of the major country pavilions.  It was only $8 and you get one of three special Olaf cups for finishing it.  The kids loved looking around each country trying to find where Olaf was hidden.

This was one of my favorite trips to Disney!  It was certainly nice to visit when the weather was cold.  We had to buy my daughter a new jacket because she had underestimated how warm her jacket was.  We created a bunch of fond memories from this trip and came back with a suitcase of holiday loot.

Let us know if we can make your next trip as Merry as ours.
Remember when it's time to plan for Disney. It's Mouse O'Clock!