I have always wanted to be able to celebrate Christmas while in a Disney park. Sadly, due to my schedule, I’ve never been able to make that dream a reality. As luck would have it, last year, all the stars lined up in a such a way that I was able to book a trip to be in Disney World during the week of Christmas. I wanted to share with you my experience as a first timer of doing Christmas in Disney World.
We have traveled to Disney World at various times of the year but this was going to be our first trip during the winter months. I had read and researched various weather reports, trends, average rainfalls, average high/low temperatures etc.
Tip #1: If you plan on traveling to Disney World during December is to prepare for all kinds of weather! I would pack everything from tank tops and shorts all the way to sweatshirts, jackets and yes even gloves. We found that the temperature was all over the place and no two days were the same! Coming from Maine, we are used to the cold but there were some nights that we were genuinely cold. If you pack more clothes than you think you will need, I do not think that you’ll be disappointed. I would also suggest packing several shoes with you. This tends to be the rainy season in Florida and having multiple shoes that you can dry out in your room will be beneficial to you.
On arrival, we checked into our resort (Coronado Resort) in a basic room. There was a substantial line when we checked in but nothing that was going to dampen our mood. We were in Disney after all!! Once checked in, we headed for Magic Kingdom.
Tip #2: If you are going in a group, I recommend looking into investing in group shirts. We had several shirts made for our trip. These shirts were a huge hit with cast members and can also help when trying to locate various group members in a crowd.
Along with the usual attractions in Disney World, Christmas time offers a large array of holiday options to enjoy. We did our best to enjoy as many as we could. Here are some of the highlights of the holiday festival options:
EPCOT:
EPCOT really embraces the holidays and I’ll admit that this was my favorite park during the holidays. The highlight for me were all the story tellers from each country. Performers/story tellers in each country talking about the Christmas history and traditions from their country. My favorite story tellers were from Norway. The performers shared a wonderful story and very interactive with the crowd. They shared great information while being genuinely entertaining at the same time.
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party:
This was my first time attending this party! It was a fantastic experience even though it was raining the night we went. We put on our ponchos that we purchased in the park and made our way through the park. We enjoyed the cookie stroll, where we got to enjoy various Christmas cookies from various parts of the park. The only complaint that I had about the cookie stroll was the lack of gluten free options available to guests. My daughter was given boxed cookie that were gluten free but said that she was a little disappointed that there weren’t better options for her.
Holiday Dessert Party:
We decided to splurge on the holiday dessert party with guaranteed seating in the plaza. The food was delicious and there were much more gluten free options available for my daughter. The chef and cast members were fantastic with her at making accommodations for her! I think that the best part of the dessert party was having our own private viewing area in the middle of the hub. We got a great view of the castle lit up in it’s holiday theming. The picture below is one of my favorites from our trip!
Holiday Decorations:
One of the best parts of being in Disney during the holidays are all the decorations and Christmas theming. No detail is overlooked, and it truly makes the entire property even more magical. One suggestion I would highly encourage is to take the time to visit as many resorts as possible in order to see their Christmas decorations and Christmas trees that they have in their lobbies! You will not be disappointed!
Disney Springs:
No visit to Disney World is complete without a visit to Disney Springs. A large hub of restaurants and shopping to fulfill any shopper’s wildest dream! The Christmas theming continues all throughout Disney Springs. A hidden gem within Disney Springs is the Christmas Tree Trail! This is a can’t miss display for all Christmas fans. This display is a collection of a multitude of various Christmas trees decorated in a multitude of themes. You get to discover each specially themed Christmas as you walk down the “Christmas tree trail”.
We are so happy that we took the time to experience Disney World during Christmas! My final piece of advice to anyone looking at visiting Disney during the Christmas holidays would be this: manage your expectations. Understand that the parks will be busy all the time and that some parks will reach capacity on various days, especially Christmas. With some planning and a little bit of patience, you will be to enjoy the most magical time in Disney World
