Going to Disney World during the holidays is supposed to be magical. But with heavy crowds, events with limited capacity, and changing Virtual Queue rules, it could make you go full Grinch-mode and vacuum up all the decorations off Main Street.

But don’t worry. For over two decades, Guide2WDW has been helping millions of families have more fun on vacation with our Disney World tips and tricks. To make sure that your Disney vacation doesn’t make you want to cancel Christmas, I’ve put together 12 of my favorite tips for WDW during the holiday season.

My family has been going to Orlando during the holidays since the 90s – when I was a little kid in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt. These trips during November and December have some of my fondest memories, from seeing the Candlelight Processional for the first time to going to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. In this post, I’m using that experience to unwrap the secrets of Disney World’s seasonal offerings.

From where to find the best holiday decorations to the best times to go to avoid the crowds, these tips will help you simply have a wonderful time at Disney World.

The best part? You don’t even have to wait until Christmas morning. Let’s dive in!

Video: 12 Merry Tips for Disney World During the Holidays

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1: How to watch the Christmas party parade without paying for a ticket

Santa - Once Upon a Christmastime-Parade Magic Kingdom - Disney WorldOne of the biggest draws of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade. It is truly spectacular, and for some people, it alone is worth the price of admission.

But what if you don’t want to shell out up to $200 per ticket to go to the party?

You can still experience these as a regular park goer. During the week of Christmas, Magic Kingdom starts running this Christmas parade in the afternoon  for regular park guests.

The parks are so busy this week, they don’t even offer the holiday party because that would limit the park’s operating hours. It usually starts around December 23rd and goes through New Year’s Eve.

Magic Kingdom is extremely crowded that week, so in exchange for heavy crowds, you get some premium entertainment without having to pay extra. If you’re visiting that week, check out our article on how to beat the crowds at Disney World.

But what if you’re visiting another week? I can’t help you with the parade, but the next tip will help with the other big draw of the party: The fireworks.

2: Where to see the party fireworks outside the parks

The view from California Grill

Here’s a reason why you should always pay attention to the party schedule even if you’re not planning on going. On those nights, you can watch the fireworks, complete with the soundtrack, from outside the parks if you know where to go

If you eat dinner at certain restaurants at the monorail resorts, you can get a view of Magic Kingdom’s holiday fireworks. My favorite spot for watching these fireworks is California Grill, since you get incredible views from the top floor of the Contemporary as they pipe in the music.

Narcoosee’s at Grand Floridian is another great choice, since you can get waterfront views on the Seven Seas Lagoon. In the past, we’ve even been able to have a good view of the fireworks from the TTC.

What about Hollywood Studios?

Dining at Topolino’s Terrace or Toledo will give you a good view of the Jingle Bam fireworks that will play exclusively during the Jollywood Nights party, but in the past these restaurants have not piped in the music from the fireworks show.

3: Don’t skip one of the best parts of the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays

EPCOT Festival of the Holidays - Storytellers

There are a lot of reasons to get excited about the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays. There are decorations, food booths, and celebrities – I’ll get to that in a bit.

But it’s easy to overlook one of the coolest things that EPCOT does during the holidays, which are the International Storytellers.

Throughout the countries of the World Showcase, these storytellers will share a bit about the holiday traditions from their culture. It’s not as flashy as the other offerings, but it’s something that’s at the core ideal of EPCOT: to be able to connect with different cultures around the world and learn something new.

In a season about peace on Earth and good will to humankind, I just think seeking out these stories is a must-do.

4: The best way to guarantee a seat at Candlelight Processional

Candlelight Processional at Disney World

Candlelight Processional is another holiday tradition that my family never misses when we visit during the holidays.

With a choir, orchestra, and celebrity narrator, this tells the traditional Christmas story with a remarkable level of grandeur and pageantry. Those are just fancy words to say it looks pretty and sounds pretty too.

There are three shows nightly, but it is extremely popular. With celebrity narrators like Neil Patrick Harris, Sterling K Brown, and Brendan Fraser, it can be hard to secure a seat.

If you don’t want to line up at least 30 minutes to an hour early, here’s the best way to get a guaranteed seat: a dining package.

The Candlelight Processional dining package gives you access to a preferred seating section in addition to a multi-course meal for about $10-$20 more than what you would normally pay at the restaurant.

Now, some of these can get pricey, so here’s the route I always try to go for: you can get a counter service dining package at Regal Eagle Smokehouse for much cheaper.

These packages can only be bought same day, but they may not be available on peak days, so if you’re really interested in guaranteeing your spot, go for the Spice Road Table dining package for the next lowest price point.

Check out our Candlelight Processional Guide for the full narrator lineup, schedule, and more tips.

5: Know which rides have Seasonal Overlays

Living with the Land - Glimmering Greenhouses

While Disneyland has the most elaborate and well-known holiday overlays, Disney World actually has three rides that get a special holiday versions.

At Magic Kingdom, the Jungle Cruise turns into the Jingle Cruise, with holiday themed puns and shenanigans. Then over at EPCOT, Guardians of the Galaxy has a Holiday Remix, featuring an original song for the holidays. Living with the Land has my favorite holiday overlay, with some great decorations located throughout the greenhouses.

While not full-on overlays, there are two other attractions that have a bit of a holiday twist: Monsters Inc Laugh Floor at Magic Kingdom and the Frozen Sing-along at Hollywood Studios.

6: Where to find Santa at Disney World

Santa - Epcot Holidays Around the World

Looking for Santa at Disney World? He’s actually about as easy to find as Mickey Mouse, because Jolly Ol St Nick is everywhere around Disney property during the holidays.

He’ll make appearances starting in November all the way until December 24th. (I’ve heard he’s pretty busy starting that night.)

At Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, Santa makes drive by appearances in the Merry Motorcade and the Festive Flotilla, which happen periodically throughout the day.

But what if you want a meet and greet? You can meet Santa in the Gazebo in Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom and at the Odyssey at EPCOT

For a unique photo-op, you can see Santa in his Vacation attire at Blizzard Beach.

Santa also greets guests at Once Upon a Toy in Disney Springs, which brings us to the next tip

7: Know the Disney Springs Santa Virtual Queue rules

Virtual Queue page in the My Disney Experience app for the Santa Meet and Greet at Disney SpringsFor the Disney Springs Santa Meet and Greet only, there’s a virtual Queue. It works differently than the Tron or Guardians queue.

In 2023, the Santa Virtual Queue has new opening times. The queue opens five times a day: at 9 am, 11:30 am, 2 pm, 4:30 pm and 7 pm. You must be inside Disney Springs to join.

You can find the Santa Virtual Queue inside the Virtual Queues section in the My Disney Experience app.

8: Try the Christmas Tree Stroll at Disney Springs

Disney Springs during the Holidays

Here’s another bit of free holiday fun:

Throughout Disney Springs, you’ll be able to find 20 elaborately decorated Christmas trees. These trees will feature themes like Encanto, The Lion King, and Mary Poppins. But the best part is that there is a free scavenger hunt, featuring a holiday pin as a reward.

Last year, you could pick up a Disney Springs Christmas Tree Stroll map at these locations:

  • The Boathouse
  • Planet Hollywood
  • Under Armour
  • Amorette’ s Patisserie
  • Basin
  • City Works Eatery

9: Visit the Resorts During the Holidays

Gingerbread House - Grand Floridian
Disney

Some of my favorite holiday decorations aren’t in the parks.

They’re at the resorts, which get their halls decked to the nines every November and December. One of my favorite things to do during the holidays at Disney World is to Resort Hop using the monorail or the Skyliner.

Be sure to check out the resorts which have elaborate and massive Gingerbread Displays, like the walkthrough gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian.

10: Get to the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios holiday parties early

Magic Kingdom Toy Soldier Holiday Decoration

Disney World has not one, but two Holiday parties this year. Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom takes place from 7pm -12 am. Disney Jollywood Nights takes place from 8:30 pm – 12:30 am.

That doesn’t sound like a lot of time in the parks, and it isn’t. But partygoers can actually get into the parks earlier than the party start time.

For Mickey’s Very Merry, party guests can get into Magic Kingdom starting at 4 pm.

For Jollywood Nights, party guests can get into Hollywood Studios starting at 7 PM.

If you’re going to these parties, I would highly recommend getting to the parks 30 minutes before those times. Especially for Jollywood Nights, four hours of party time is not a lot of time, and there are going to be some highly in-demand activities, like the Tip Top club at Tower of Terror or the Holiday Variety Show hosted by Kermit and Miss Piggy, so you’ll want to make sure you can maximize your time.

11: Know the holiday party Virtual Queues – and why you might not want them

Stormtroopers in Rise of the Resistance at Disney World's Hollywood Studios

Speaking of time, you’ll also want to know the virtual queue openings for Tron Lightcycle Run and Rise of the Resistance for the parties.

Yes, you heard that right, both Tron and Rise will have a virtual queue during the parties.

No, I have no clue why Rise needs a virtual queue during this event.

And, seemingly just to keep things interesting, they both have different opening times.

The Tron Virtual Queue will open at 6 PM for party guests on Mickey’s Very Merry nights, and the Rise of the Resistance Virtual Queue will open at 8 PM for Jollywood guests.

However, here’s why I really would recommend against doing Rise of the Resistance during Jollywood nights, even though it’s one of my favorite rides: the experience takes too long!

Even if you walk straight to the room with Rey, it still takes about 20 minutes to go on the ride. With only 4 hours of party time, I’d recommend going on during regular park hours.

Tron is a bit better — the ride is really short, and you get to go on during the night, which is the best time to ride.

12: When It’s The Least Crowded at Disney During the Holidays

Magic Kingdom Holiday DecorationsDisney during the holidays is synonymous with crowds.

But that’s not always true.

The holiday season at Disney World really begins as soon as Halloween ends, so you have two months of holiday offerings. As I showed in my Busiest Weeks at Disney World article, the crowds only really come in full force the week of Thanksgiving and the week before and week after Christmas.

The other weeks in November and December can have more moderate crowds or be downright light depending on the week.

In the past, the first week of November has lower crowds, but not all the holiday offerings are available yet.

So for the best time to visit during the holidays, try to find some time after Thanksgiving week ends and before December 18th or so.

Going to Disney World those weeks can feel like a holiday miracle.

How To Simply Have a Wonderful Christmastime at Disney World

Frozen Holiday Surprise - Disney World

Planning a trip to Disney World during the holiday season? These holiday tips are just the beginning. Get in touch with our friends at Vacationeer for free Disney World vacation planning. Their travel agents can help you plan your vacation for no extra cost. They’ll make sure you get the most out of your holiday vacation at Disney World. Plus, they are Disney experts, so they’ll have their own recommendations and advice.

If more preparation is on your wishlist, our Ultimate Guide to Disney World During the Holidays breaks down all the holiday offerings across all four parks.  Plus, check out our famous Disney World tips section, featuring hundreds of pieces of advice to help you visit Disney like an expert.