Walt Disney World Christmas 2020: Photo Tour, Decorations, Food, Characters

Originally Posted On: Walt Disney World Christmas 2020: Decorations, Festive Food, Holiday Characters (mickeyvisit.com)

 

The holiday season begins at Walt Disney World in November which allows for plenty of time for guests to plan a seasonal vacation to one of the Happiest Places on Earth! Typically you can expect the holiday decor to remain up until early January. This year’s holiday season runs from November 6th- December 30th. 

This year’s 2020 holiday season will look a bit different than usual but Disney is still dedicated to bringing holiday magic into the parks and we have all the details you need to know.

Read on to find out everything you need to know for enjoying the holiday season at Walt Disney World.

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2020 Holiday Season at Disney World

This year’s 2020 celebration will look a bit different as Disney aims to bring holiday magic to the parks while also maintaining health and safety standards. Unfortunately, the holiday cancellations this year include: Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and the EPCOT Candlelight Processional. Despite this, Disney World is still planning a magical holiday to bring joy to all their guests visiting this season.

The holiday season this year will run from Nov. 6-Dec. 30 for guests to enjoy festive decor, themed merchandise, seasonal food & beverage offerings and entertainment at Disney World.

Photo Tour of Disney World during the Holidays 2020

We recently returned from a trip to Disney World to experience the holiday season in full swing and we have plenty of magical pictures to share with you to get you in the holiday spirt!

Festive Decor, Character Cavalcades, Holiday Character Dining

Disney continues to be creative in their effort to create magic while also maintaining health and safety standards. Guests will be able to see festive flotillas at Animal Kingdom, holiday promenades at EPCOT, and festive motorcades at Hollywood Studios. The character cavalcades at Magic Kingdom will continue with Christmas floats, characters dressed in their holiday best along with gingerbread men, elves, and reindeer. The Toy Solders will also join the Main Street Philharmonic as they march through Magic Kingdom Park. Santa Claus will also still be present as he makes surprise appearances at all four theme parks, resort hotels, and Disney Springs.

When night falls guests can view special projection effects on Cinderella Castle in place of the Castle Dream Lights. The castle will be transformed into a rotating series of designs including a Christmas sweater and overlay of green, red, and gold.

There will also be socially distant character dining at Hollywood & Vine at Hollywood Studios beginning Nov. 6th which will include Santa Goofy along with Minnie and other friends dressed in their holiday best.

Disney Springs and Disney Resort Hotels

Guests can find Disney Christmas trees all throughout the retail, dining and entertainment locations in Disney Springs. In addition to standard holiday decor, guests can also experience snowfall in the Town Center, West Side and The Landing. Plus guests can still enjoy the Jock Lindsey’s Holiday bar with festive decor and a holiday menu.

The Disney Resort hotels will also have plenty of holiday decorations in their lobbies including fabulous Christmas Trees. Unfortunately, due to physical distancing guidelines the gingerbread displays will not be included at the resorts this year.

EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays

EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays will begin at EPCOT November 27 through December 30th featuring the popular Holiday kitchens around the World Showcase promenade. This will include favorite treats such as the American Holiday Table featuring Slow-roasted Turkey with Stuffing and Bavaria Holiday Kitchen with dishes like Cheese Fondue in a Bread Bowl.

There will also be entertainment to accompany the fantastic food with the returning group JOYFUL! inside the World ShowPlace for guests to enjoy their variations of R&B, Gospel, contemporary and traditional Christmas and holiday music.

The Voices of Liberty will also perform on the America Gardens Theatre stage for a concert of carols and holiday songs. We will keep updating with menu, entertainment, and tips for visiting the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays. Guests can also view holiday character calvcades at Epcot including Mickey, Anna & Elsa, Santa, and more!

Holiday Kitchens at Epcot

Here is the full list of Holiday Kitchens at Epcot to select from at this year’s Festival of the Holidays:

• American Holiday Table (American Adventure)
  Enjoy a seasonal salute—dig into traditional dishes reminiscent of grandma’s cooking at the American Adventure Pavilion.
• Bavaria Holiday Kitchen (Germany)
  Willkommen—help yourself to heartwarming holiday dishes and refreshing beverages at the Germany Pavilion.
• Citrus Blossom (Showcase Plaza)
  Toast the holidays with breathtaking beverages that include the Orange Cream Shake in a Souvenir Orange Bird Sipper Cup (non-alcoholic).
• Festival Favorites (World Showplace)
  From blackened bass to duck confit, from frozen s’mores to tropical eggnog—come and get your very own favorites!
• Holiday Hearth (World Showplace)
  Discover the hearth you’ll call home, with special desserts, milkshakes, hot cocoa and so much more.
• Holiday Sweets & Treats
  Rock around the Christmas tree with goodies sure to top the “nice” list—at Promenade Refreshments.
• L’Chaim! Holiday Kitchen (Between Morocco and France)
  Propose a toast to life—sink your teeth into classic deli noshes with a side of New York flair.
• Le Marché de Noël Holiday Kitchen (France)
  Feast on très magnifique fare, wine and specialty cocktails from the France Pavilion.
• Mele Kalikimaka (Showcase Plaza)
  Savor the flavor of fabulous, festive food and beverages from the islands of Hawa i‘i.
• Posadas Holiday Kitchen (Mexico)
  Feliz Navidad—celebrate with mariachi dancing and south-of-the-border fare at the Mexican Pavilion!
• Prost! (World Showplace)
  Spread some holiday cheer with a cool brew from some of the finest regional breweries.
• Sapphire Holiday Kitchen (Morocco)
  Spice up your life with the exotic flavors of North Africa—visit the Morocco Pavilion for intriguing cuisine!
• Shanghai Holiday Kitchen (China)
  Have yourself a merry little meal—tempt taste buds with popular plates and potables from the China Pavilion!
• Shi Wasu Holiday Kitchen (Japan)
  Please your palate with an array of festive dishes and drinks served at the Japan Pavilion.
• Tuscany Holiday Kitchen (Italy)
  Mangiare—savor a seasonal take on some of the world’s best-loved food and beverages at the Italy Pavilion!
• Yukon Holiday Kitchen (Canada)
  Jingle your bells with delightful dishes and libations from the Great White North—at the Canada Pavilion.
• Funnel Cake
  Satisfy your sweet tooth with a new holiday classic: Sweet Potato Casserole Funnel Cake.
• Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company®
  Salute the season with the usual selection of coffees, plus the tasty Caramel Tinsel Latte and Donut for the holidays.
• Refreshment Outpost
  Chow down on this year’s holiday surprise: Warm Brown Sugar Stuffed Pretzel with Soft-Serve Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce. (Sorry, guess it’s not a surprise now.)
• Refreshment Port (Showcase Plaza)
  Savor the flavor of holiday poutine and toast the season with specials like T.G. Lee Eggnog with Spiced Rum.

Cookie Stroll

The popular Cookie Stroll will return to Epcot this year! Guests can grab their Festival Passport as they move through the World Showcase to find all the 5 official Holiday Cookie Stroll locations. Each location you can purchase the cookie and stamp your passport. Once you’ve collected all the stamps, bring your Passport to the Sweets & Treats Holiday Kitchen to receive a complimentary Peppermint Minnie Cookie.

The official cookie stroll locations:

• Bavaria Holiday Kitchen at the Germany Pavilion
  Linzer Cookie
• American Holiday Table at the America Pavilion
  Chocolate Crinkle Cookie
• Yukon Holiday Kitchen at the Canada Pavilion
  Peppermint Pinwheel Cookie
• Festival Favorites at the World Showplace.
  Gingerbread Cookie
• L’Chaim Holiday Kitchen between the Morocco and France Pavilions
  Black-and-White Cookie

You can also purchase a Holiday Cookie Stroll cookie jar for purchase at one of the marketplace booths.

Seasonal Treats and Shopping

Half of the fun of enjoying a Walt Disney World Christmas is enjoying the delicious food and great seasonal shopping options! Walt Disney World will offer many seasonal themed treats and dishes in all of their theme parks that are worth trying.

In addition to treats, the shopping at Walt Disney world offers many Christmas and seasonal themed items sure to make someone on your Christmas list very happy.

The rest of this guide features highlights from a typical holiday season at Disney World which we will leave below for your reference for our readers planning 2021 holiday vacations!

Holiday Season in Disney World 2021

We fully expect the regular routine of the Disney World holiday season to return in 2021 so in honor of all the magic Disney can provide in normal circumstances, we’ve left our planning guide for a typical holiday season unaltered below to help you plan your 2021 vacations.

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

The 2020 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is unfortunately cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will keep the 2019 dates and prices below to help you plan for 2021 when we expect the party to return in full swing.

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party 2019 Dates:

• November: 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22 and 24
• December: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20 and 22

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party tickets range in price from $109 to $139 depending on the date you select.. We recommend buying them in advance not just to save money but they will sell out!

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party experience includes entertainment options such as:

• A Frozen Holiday Wish
• Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration
• Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade
• Christmas themed firework show
• A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas
• VoicePlay
• Club Tinsel
• Snowfall on Main Street
• Tony’s Most Merriest Town Square Party
  • This is a foodie centered event for an additional cost of $99 per person.

Most popular Magic Kingdom attractions are open during this party and you can expect shorter lines due to many guests enjoying the entertainment options. You can expect to see the Jungle Cruise transformed with holiday decorations into the Jingle Cruise during this party (and all seasonal dates).

During the party you can enjoy meet and greet from classic and popular Disney characters dressed in seasonal fashion along with rare appearances from Santa, Jack Skellington as Sandy Claws and Scrooge McDuck.

And don’t forget the food options! Complimentary seasonal sweets and beverages will be available all throughout the park. Several holiday treat locations will be open until midnight during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom is where most of the Christmas magic happens at Walt Disney World. This is the theme park where Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party takes place and so most of the best decorations can be viewed here.

Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade

During Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (and after the party dates end) you can enjoy Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade that takes place in the evening and features SNOW on Main Street, USA. The parade features a Christmas theme with bright lights and popular characters such as Anna, Elsa, Mickey, and Santa!

Holiday Wishes

The seasonal fireworks that take place in Magic Kingdom are called Holiday Wishes and they are breathtaking. Hosted by Jiminy Cricket, the fireworks include holiday-themed projection effects on Cinderella Castle along with seasonal classics such as:

• “Sleigh Ride”
• “Jingle Bells”
• “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
• “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
• “O Christmas Tree”
• “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”
• “Spirit of the Season”

Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks is the new fireworks show that debuted in the 2019 Christmas season, we’ll see if it returns for 2020!

This new fireworks show is hosted by Minnie Mouse herself and celebrates the magic of Christmas featuring well-known Christmas favorites such as “Joy to the World” and “Deck the Halls” to “Up on the House Top” and “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.”

Jingle Cruise

This Magic Kingdom attraction gets the seasonal treatment and renaming from Jungle Cruise to Jingle Cruise during the holiday season. Disney describes this holiday overlay as:

Jingle Cruise is again themed as if the Skippers are once again homesick for the holidays and decorated the attraction queue and boathouse with homemade decorations, gifts and items from back home. (If you listen carefully, you may also hear a holiday-themed radio broadcast playing in the background in the queue). The boats have been renamed to receive holiday names and the skippers are getting guests laughing with additional holiday jokes. The jungle has also received new seasonal supplies. Unfortunately, some missed their final destination falling deeper into the jungle.

Make sure that you don’t miss this holiday themed attraction on your visit which is open during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and regular park hours.

You can also enjoy new holiday enhancements to favorite attractions, such as Space Mountain and Mad Tea Party!

Epcot

Epcot has plenty to see and do during the holiday season including great food, a candlelight processional, and more!

Epcot International Festival of the Holidays

The Epcot International Festival of the Holidays take place through the end of November through December this holiday season. Keep checking back for specific dates as we get closer!

The festival is a celebration of international holiday traditions from around the world. This festival experience includes:

• An International Yuletide Extravaganza: featuring 11 holiday traditions of the 11 World Showcase nations
• Holiday Kitchens: featuring seasonal food from around the world at select kiosks around the park- nearly 25 in total!
• The Holiday Cookie Stroll: sample cookies from around the world including:
  • Bavaria Holiday Kitchen: Linzer Cookie
  • American Holiday Table: Gingerbread Cookie
  • Yukon Holiday Kitchen: Peppermint Pinwheel Cookie
  • Feast of the Three Kings: Chocolate Crinkle Cookie
  • L’Chaim! Holiday Kitchen: Black and White Cookie

You can read the full foodie guide to the Epcot International Festival of Holidays on the Disney World website.

Epcot Candlelight Processional

The Epcot Candlelight Processional is quite popular and due to this Walt Disney World offers dining packages available to help you reserve your spot.

In the Candlelight Processional you will hear the biblical story of Christmas typically told by a celebrity narrator and accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra and massed choir.

Animal Kingdom

At Animal Kingdom you can expect the park to be decked out in breathtaking holiday decor. This year Walt Disney World has made an effort to include a greater amount of things to do and see for the holiday season.

Discovery Island

This winter celebration at Discovery Island includes life-size, artisan-sculpted animal puppets that include reindeer, foxes, and polar bears. At night the rooftop will be filled with luminous lights and bird lanterns.

DinoLand U.S.A.

Enjoy holiday fun with Donald Duck and friends during the Donald’s Dino-Bash! In the evening guests can dance with Chip ‘n Dale at the new Holiday Hoopla Dance Party.

Tree of Life Awakenings

The Tree of Life will awaken during the holiday season with a new musical score and feature wintry tales.

Asia and Africa Celebrations

In Asia guests can enjoy glowing flowers, lanterns, and more where residents of Anandapur have decorated the theater district in celebration of Diwali––the festival of lights in India. In Africa, guests can enjoy more decorations in the village of Harambe that blends the style of Western traditions with authentic African celebrations.

Pandora – The World of Avatar

Guests can enjoy seasonal decor and handcrafted materials indigenous to Pandora to celebrate Christmastime at Pongu Pongu.

You can also find characters such as Mickey and Minnie dressed in seasonal attire at the Adventurer’s Outpost. Around the park you can also find characters such as Santa, Goofy, Baloo, King Louie, Donald, Chip and Dale dressed in seasonal clothes.

Hollywood Studios

There is plenty of entertainment to be found in Hollywood Studios for the holiday season along with fabulous holiday decorations.

Sunset Seasons Greeting’s

Sunset Seasons Greeting’s projection show is definitely worth a look as the Hollywood Tower becomes full of light including laser projections and snow!

When evening falls, the billboards transform into real life characters tell a tale of their love for the season.

These holiday scenes include:

• Mickey and Minnie reminiscing about a hometown Christmas as the scene shifts into a romanticized, Norman Rockwell-inspired town—starting in black and white before slowly changing into color.
• The Toy Story characters guessing which new toys are coming this Christmas as the scene becomes covered in holiday wrapping paper.
• The Swedish Chef from The Muppets babbling as only he can while the scene turns into giant gingerbread houses.
• And finally, Olaf pining over his holiday wish as iconic music plays and the scene freezes over into a Frozen winter wonderland—complete with dancing Aurora Borealis lights and projected falling snow.

“Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!”

This spectacular holiday show includes festive music, special effects, and Disney grade entertainment showing nightly November through December.

Santa’s Gone Missing.

This show centers around searching for Santa in this festive show with celebrity stars leading the entertainment.

Join the festive fun as the stars of ABC’s Prep & Landing search high and low for Kris Kringle. Landing nightly at Disney’s Hollywood Studios for a limited time, it’s Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!

The Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! Holiday Dessert Party is the reserved viewing and dining package option for this popular show in Hollywood Studios.

Echo Lake Holiday Decorations

Echo Lake gets a merry makeover with extra-large ornaments, colorful garlands and a giant Christmas tree centered on the water. Even Dinosaur Gertie will be festively dressed for the occasion!

Disney does not disappoint with their seasonal decorations so take the time to soak it in and enjoy!

Santa Greetings

Disney Springs also features a variety of entertainment for the holiday season such as:

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