Did you know that Splash Mountain in the Magic Kingdom in Orlando will be closing as of January 23, 2023 for a complete retheming based on Tiana? Be sure to ride by the 22nd if this is one of your favorites.

The holidays have arrived at Disney World in Orlando! All of the parks and resorts are decked out in their holiday finest.

Cinderella Castle is providing a gorgeous backdrop for holiday projections. Huge Christmas trees and gingerbread houses have sprung up everywhere! Christmas music is pumping thru the speakers. The smell of holiday treats is wafting thru the air. Can you picture it now?

The Magic Kingdom is hosting the Very Merry Christmas Party on select nights. I did a post on it awhile back so I won’t rehash everything here. Check out the party post.

EPCOT will be hosting the Festival of the Holidays and the Candlelight Processional with tons of fun foods and new narrators, respectively. Check out my festival post about this also.

There will also be new entertainment and holiday storytellers around the World Showcase, including Canadian Holiday Voyageurs, Las Posadas with Mariachi Cobre, the Chinese Lion Dance and more.

The exciting new ride, Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind, will even have a new seasonal playlist! Have you ridden that yet? It’s such a cool ride!

Make sure to catch the Santa Claus Merry Motorcade, where old St. Nick will travel up Hollywood Blvd at Hollywood Studios.

At Animal Kingdom, see the Tree of Life Awakenings – Holiday Edition, where the iconic tree shimmers each evening to holiday music. The flotillas will also have holiday touches and the Merry Menagerie puppets will again roam Discovery Island. They’re really amazing!

Many resorts will also have holiday decor, treats, and gorgeous trees or gingerbread houses. Be sure to go resort hopping. You don’t need to be staying there to visit them.

Disney Springs is also joining in the festivities with many shops and restaurants offering holiday specials. You can also partake in a Christmas tree scavenger hunt with the Christmas Tree Stroll.

The PhotoPass service will also have special holiday themed shots. Don’t forget to ask for them.

As you can see, there are so many ways to celebrate the holidays at Disney World. I haven’t even mentioned all of them. For more details, visit the Disney World Holidays page.

Feel free to contact me if you want to chat about your Disney trip. We’re in the process of planning our own holiday Disney trip. We love the holidays at Disney! So excited!

Pics ©Disney

So many changes have occurred in the last month or two at Disney World in Orlando! Here’s a quick summary. If you want more details on any of them, feel free to contact me.

Dining

• You can cancel table service dining reservations (besides prepaid ones) in the MDE app up to 2 hours before the reservation now. Previously, you had to cancel by the day before, else you’d incur a $10/person penalty.
• These restaurants are opening again:
  • Monsieur Paul – Oct 18, 2022
  • Kona Cafe – Nov 1, 2022
  • Akershus Royal Dining Hall – Nov 4, 2022
  • Takumi-Tei – Nov 23, 2022
• Tusker House all meals and Crystal Palace and Cape May Cafe breakfasts are back to self serve buffets instead of the post-Covid reopening family style.
• Pooh and friends have returned to Crystal Palace.
• Stitch and friends have returned to Ohana breakfast.

Parks

• Fantastic is reopening at Hollywood Studios on Nov 4, 2022! There are some changes and new scenes. Previews of the show look awesome!
• Blizzard Beach water park is reopening on Nov 13, 2022 with some new Frozen touches.
• Typhoon Lagoon water park will be closing for refurbishment on Nov 13th once Blizzard Beach reopens.
• Genie+ pricing is now going to vary based on how busy the day is rather than being a flat $15 each. It can range from $15-25 dollars approximately. You won’t know the exact price until you go to buy it each morning though, so have some wiggle room in your budget. The Individual Lightning Lane prices were already variable but most of those have increased as well.

• YES! Park reservations are still required and will be required into the foreseeable future, so make sure to make your park selection as soon as you buy your park tickets. You can always change parks later, but this way, you have access to some park each day incase they run out.

Resorts

• There are currently several discounts for Disney resorts for Disney Visa card holders, Disney+ subscribers, Florida residents, US military personnel, and Annual Passholders thru early 2023. Availability is limited and gone already for some dates, so be flexible and book ASAP.
• The Disney Skyliner will be closing for routine refurbishment from January 22-29, 2023. You will need to take the Disney free buses instead.

Events

• Christmas decorations are starting to go up at the parks!
• The first Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party starts on Nov 8, 2022 and occurs on select dates through Dec 22nd. Many of the dates are sold out already, so buy your tix soon if you’re interested in going.
• The EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays starts Nov 25 – Dec 30, 2022. Check the festival page for the latest list of narrators for the Candlelight Processional.
• The EPCOT International Festival of the Arts dates have been announced: Jan 13 – Feb 20, 2023.

I’ll update as more changes occur. As always, feel free to contact me if you want to chat about your Disney trip.