Orlando’s Christmas

There’s simply no argument about it. Christmas is our favourite time of the year, and Christmas in Orlando is our favourite place to be for the festive season, with an absolute treasure trove of events, decorations and pure Christmas sparkle.

For fully two months, Orlando is a Yuletide gem, packed with extra elements and happenings virtually everywhere you look and, if you have never been to Central Florida during what they call “The Holidays,” then prepare to have your minds suitably blown by the vast outpouring of seasonal charm on offer.

The theme parks all put on their festive finery, and there are additional programmes to enjoy at each of Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, LEGOLAND Florida and Busch Gardens. You will also find a wealth of extra glitter and glitz at places like Leu Gardens, Gatorland, ICON Park, Wekiva Island, Lake Eola, Winter Garden and, especially, the Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee.

It all starts on November 2 with the first of the Aquatica water park’s Beach Nights series of Christmas movies under the stars, and finishes on January 7 with the final day of SeaWorld’s Three Kings Celebration, which features special performances to mark the nativity journey of the Three Kings.

Christmas at Disney

In simple terms, all of the theme parks turn on the style from early November and right the way through to the start of January. They all differ slightly in when they kick off the season, and they each have their own style, especially the Magic Kingdom where they offer the additional night-time (and separately-ticketed) event of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, with masses of extra shows, characters and style (on select nights from Nov 8 to Dec 20), and also now at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, where they will be staging the second annual Jollywood Nights party, adding some movie glamour to the holiday cheer (select nights from Nov 9 to Dec 21).

Disney’s Animal Kingdom joins in the festivities with their own brand of seasonal merriment, including a Holiday edition of the Tree of Life Awakenings show at night and the Merry Menagerie in Discovery Island (a series of large-scale, artisan-sculpted puppets of polar animals), while Mickey and Minnie will be on hand in their best festive gear. The park will also be home for a new event, the Dino Institute Holiday Party, featuring a special character-filled set-up for Santa amid a spectacular lighting arrangement, all during regular park hours from Nov 12 to Dec 24.

Over at EPCOT, things start a bit later than the other parks due to the Food & Wine Festival running until November 23, but we will see the return of the International Festival of the Holidays on November 29 (through to December 30), and this is definitely an annual highlight. It features the unmissable Candlelight Processional – the musical story of Christmas with a full orchestra, choir and celebrity narrator three times each evening – as well as traditional Holiday Storytellers around World Showcase and live music at the gospel-style JOYFUL! A Celebration of the Season show. Various holiday kitchens provide tastes of the season to complete a full festive picture here. And don’t miss the seasonal atmosphere at Disney Springs, where the signature Christmas Tree Stroll is dedicated to various Disney films and there is nightly “snowfall” through the Town Center area.

Universal and SeaWorld

The Christmas scene at Universal Orlando is well established by now, and it consists of three main set-piece events. Start with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade (in Islands of Adventure), where Hogwarts Castle puts on a stunning night-time projection show called The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts and the resident Frog Choir adds some suitably seasonal songs to their repertoire. Over at the Diagon Alley version of the Wizarding World (in Universal Studios), singing sorceress Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees put a holiday spin on their performances, too.

Then there are the humongous balloons of Universal’s Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s, which float through the streets of Universal Studios in the headline Yuletide parade that also features Santa in the finale float. For film fans, look out for appearances by the Minions from the Despicable Me films and a welter of characters from DreamWorks Animation’s Shrek films. Back in Islands of Adventure, there is then the annual get-together with the residents of Whoville as they present all the musical entertainment of The Grinchmas Who-liday Spectacular, starring the Grinch.

We have to admit to a sneaking liking for the Christmas decorations of SeaWorld best of all, though. This is a park that really knows how to turn on the festive style with an array of magnificent set-piece showcases, including the popular Sea of Trees and Rudolph’s Christmas Town, as well as snow flurries in the Waterfront area of the park and the ice-skating spectacular of Winter Wonderland on Ice. There’s also the don’t-miss night-time cavalcade of the Sesame Street Christmas Parade, plus the fun shows of Mrs Claus’ Magic Kitchen and the return of the wonderful O Wondrous Night stage presentation. And, like Universal’s seasonal presentations, it is all included with regular park admissions. See more at

The Rest of Orlando

Just because you’ve seen the theme parks doesn’t mean you’ve seen Christmas in Orlando. In fact, you might want to prioritise some of these presentations throughout the city to get the full picture of The Holidays hereabouts. Start at Lake Eola Park Downtown after dark, where there are several superb programmes, including the Christmas Tree Show (Dec 6 to Jan 6), a chance to Meet Santa (Dec 7-22) and a nightly Snowfall four times a night around Lake Eola House (weekends Dec 6-22).

There are more scintillating light shows at Leu Gardens, where the Dazzling Lights are now a family tradition and a truly original presentation, while the whole of ICON Park on International Drive becomes a genuine winter wonderland, complete with iconic Santa Workshop Experience, which is one of THE seasonal highlights in this glittering tourist corridor. Not to be outdone, there are also special events at Wekiva Island, complete with (another) Santa’s Workshop and “snow” flurries, the brilliant Asian Lantern Festival at Central Florida Zoo, and – especially for the young ‘uns – the Colorful Christmas at the Crayola Experience at the Florida Mall.

Best of all, perhaps, is the annual Alpine-inspired festive fantasyland land that is the Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee, which is pretty much Christmas Central from November 15 to January 4. With a signature Cirque: Spirit of Christmas show, gingerbread decorating, snowball throwing, snow tubing and much more, this is an action-packed adventure in seasonal fun, topped off by the unmissable ICE! Experience, a mind-boggling array of massive ice sculptures linked into one, larger-than-life showcases that this year feature the movie Elf and a journey in the company of Buddy the Elf. Are there ice slides, we hear you ask? You bet! And this is simply the most entertaining Christmas cracker this side of the North Pole – among a city that is tailor-made for Yuletide splendour.

What are your best Orlando Christmas memories? Tell us about them on our Facebook, X and Instagram pages.