Holidays at the Walt Disney World® Resort Are Always a Magical Experience

The magic of the holiday season at the Walt Disney World® Resort starts November 28th with the official kick off of the season at each Theme Park. Here are some of the special holiday happenings around our world:

Magic Kingdom® Park - Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party* on various nights throughout Nov. and Dec.

Epcot® - World Showcase comes alive with Holidays Around the World, a showcase of the diverse traditions of food, fun and entertainment from across the globe. Each evening a Grande Finale just for this special time of year will be presented during IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. Also at Epcot® is The Candlelight Processional**, a joyous retelling of the Christmas story by a celebrity narrator accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra and a glorious mass choir. There are three shows nightly at 5PM, 6:45PM and 8:15PM from Nov. 28th - Dec. 30th at the America Gardens Theatre.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios™ - Come see the trees, spinning carousels, 3-D and motion-based displays at the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. Guests will bask in the glow from dusk until park closing, Nov. 28-Jan. 4, 2009, on the Streets of America.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park - Mickey’s Jingle Jungle Parade will make you jump and jive with joy in a jungle full of Holiday fun! Downtown Disney® Area - Holiday shopping is easier than ever at Downtown Disney with a menu of offerings throughout this retail playground. Holiday-themed décor, colorful light displays, plus photo opportunities with old St. Nick himself*** offer yuletide cheer during the Festival of the Seasons from Nov. 28th -Dec. 24th.

*Admission to this event requires a separate ticket. ** Please note that narrators are subject to change without notice. ***At the Downtown Disney® Marketplace

- Santa’s Chalet, Disney’s Photopass Service available or you can take your own pictures: Nov. 15th-27th from 5-10PM & Nov. 28th-Dec. 24th from Noon-10PM.

Sea World has replaced Odyssea with a new show called “A’Lure, The Call of the Ocean” which is the official name of the new show in the park’s Nautilus Theater. The show combines the talents of flying athletic performers, gravity-defying aerial tumblers and amazing silk yo-yo artists to tell the spectacular tale of sea sirens whose hypnotic calls have lured men into their underwater lairs for centuries. 

Two Amazing Theme Parks. One Incredible Holiday!

Get ready for a one-of-a-kind holiday celebration at Universal Studios Orlando®

Resort, December 6th through January 1st. Join in the fun at Universal’s

Islands of Adventure® as Seuss Landing™ is once again transformed into

Grinchmas™… featuring a live musical performance of “How The Grinch

Stole Christmas.” Next door at Universal Studios,® the Macy’s Holiday

Parade™ fills the streets with new balloons and floats, marching bands,

colorful performers and more, followed by a dazzling tree lighting. All the

fun and festivities are included with your theme park admission! And for

an extra special holiday experience, treat the family to a Grinchmas

Character Breakfast (separate fee applies) on select dates at Islands of

Adventure. It’s an entire universe of holiday fun and excitement, December

6th through January 1st, so be sure to purchase your Universal Studios Tickets

through The Official Ticket Center.

Water Park Fun & More:

Walt Disney World Magic Your Way Base Ticket with the Water Park Fun & More Option, Guest can choose to utilize Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course. This option will officially take the place of Downtown Disney® Pleasure Island nightclubs after September 27th. Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course is a 9-hole walking course, providing beginners and families with smaller children a pleasant outing. It is also a nice practice tune-up for the more advanced player, or the busy traveler who may not have time to play an entire 18 holes. Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course is located next to Disney's Magnolia Golf Course in the  Walt Disney World Magic Kindgom® area.

*Tees are required and subject to availability. 

T-Rex Is On The Way

The new T-Rex restaurant is causing quite a stir in the Downtown Disney® area. The 30,000-square foot restaurant will become home to many dinosaurs, Audio-animatronics and stationary. Two dinosaurs were delivered and unloaded in preparation for the restaurant’s grand opening. The largest dinosaur, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, is estimated to be 45-feet long from snout to tail and will be the intimidating figure that greets Guests when the location opens in October.

The restaurant will have water, fire and ice elements with features like an ice cave, a Kitchen of Fire, a meteorite shower every 20 minutes and an aqua bar complete with a 6,000-gallon shark tank and a large octopus with mechanical tentacles. Kids will be entertained and educated with a Build-A-Dino, a Discovery Dig to excavate fossils and interactive Paleo screens.

Water Park Fun & More:

Walt Disney World Magic Your Way Base Ticket with the Water Park Fun & More Option, Guest can choose to utilize Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course. This option will officially take the place of Downtown Disney® Pleasure Island nightclubs after September 27th. Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course is a 9-hole walking course, providing beginners and families with smaller children a pleasant outing. It is also a nice practice tune-up for the more advanced player, or the busy traveler who may not have time to play an entire 18 holes. Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course is located next to Disney's Magnolia Golf Course in the Magic Kindgom® area.

*Tees are required and subject to availability. 

New Experience at Epcot® to Educate Guests

Innoventions at Epcot® focuses on teaching your Guests new concepts while entertaining them and each new exhibit continues to prove this.

StormStruck: A Tale of Two Homes opened August 26th and allows your Guests to experience a simulated storm including rain, hail and lightning.

Throughout the experience your Guests learn about the newest research relating to weather and the latest innovations that can keep their home safe. Guests can learn how wind-resistant their house is, how a hip-shaped roof (slopes down to the eaves at all four sides) is more aerodynamic and therefore stronger in windstorms and how doors that open outward can add strength to the door frames. The 3,000-square-foot exhibit is hands-on, interactive and has a 4-D theatrical experience. By providing information on how families can protect themselves and their homes from hazardous weather, the hope is that this exhibit will help make Guests more aware, take more precautions and be better prepared for future weather incidents.

StormStruck is approximately 15 minutes long and parents should be advised, the demonstration may be too realistic for small children. The exhibit is slated to run for three years.

Night of Joy at Disney's Hollywood Studios:

This event is regarded as one the top comtemporary Christian music events in the country. It features a 16-act lineup September 5-6 from 7:30pm to 12:30am that includes artist, Chris Tomlin, Casting Crowns, Aaron Shust, MercyMe, tobyMac, Rebecca St. James and Marcos Witt.

Now in its 26th year, Night of Joy is moving to a new venue, Disney's Hollywood Studios. Here, guests can combine an evening of rockin' Christian music with the thrills and chills of Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith and the shoot-'em-up fun of Toy Story Mania!!

Oh No, It's Raining, What Can We Do?? 

Disney Quest is an Indoor Inactive Theme Park, which is part of the Water Park Fun & More option. Disney Quest Indoor Interactive Theme Park is five stories of interactive fun and hours of action for a nominal price and its a great way to maximize the magic even when its raining!!!