Merriment and magic abound with entertainment, shopping and more
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Disney is sprinkling the magic of the holidays throughout its parks, experiences and products this season.
Whether celebrating on the east coast, west coast, on the high seas or enjoying at home, families will find enchanting experiences and merry-making to enjoy this season.
Walt Disney World Resort
As the 50th anniversary celebration of Walt Disney World Resort continues in Florida this holiday season, festive décor can be found throughout the resort. Iconic Christmas trees are on display across The Most Magical Place on Earth, including a 70-foot-tall tree at Disney’s Contemporary Resort.
The EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays presented by AdventHealth runs through Dec. 30 with special live entertainment, Holiday Kitchens around World Showcase, a Holiday Cookie Stroll and more. The Candlelight Processional, a beloved holiday performance and Disney Parks tradition, returns with a lineup of celebrity narrators telling the Christmas story, a choir of Disney cast members and a live orchestra. Celebrity narrators for this year’s event include actor Courtney B. Vance, actor Blair Underwood and Alton Fitzgerald White from Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway. Also returning this year is “JOYFUL! A Celebration of the Season,” a stirring and uplifting performance of music in celebration of Christmas and Kwanzaa, performing on the World Showcase Plaza Stage.
Disney Springs, the Walt Disney World shopping, dining and entertainment district, is transformed into a winter wonderland full of sparkling lights, enchanting décor and holiday surprises. A returning favorite, the Disney Springs Christmas Tree Stroll presented by AdventHealth, features 20 elaborately decorated themed trees, including “The Princess and the Frog” and an all-new tree inspired by “Black Panther.”
The holiday spirit can be enjoyed at Disney’s water parks with three refreshing holiday treats available at Blizzard Beach from Dec. 12 to Jan. 7. They include the Orange Bird Holiday Citrus Swirl DOLE Whip, Merry Merry Melon frozen cocktail and Peppermint Milkshake.
Disneyland Resort
Holidays at the Disneyland Resort is the most magical time of the year and the merry festivities take place now through Jan. 9, 2022. The parks are transformed into a magical holiday experience with spectacular décor that includes more than 25,000 poinsettia, cyclamen and flowering plants around the Resort, adding color, theming and seasonal magic, 50,000 twinkling LED lights that shine on sparkling “icicles” on Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle and a magnificent 60-foot-tall Christmas tree on Main Street, U.S.A., decorated with nearly 1,800 ornaments. Guests will enjoy a distinctly Disney holiday experience with beloved traditions that include the return of “A Christmas Fantasy” Parade and “Believe… In Holiday Magic” fireworks spectacular.
Guests at Disney California Adventure Park will create new memories during Disney Festival of Holidays as they discover the sights, sounds and tastes of a diverse season of celebrations, including Christmas/Navidad, Diwali, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Three Kings Day. The festivities include live entertainment, shopping for themed merchandise and culinary delights at eight Festival Food Marketplaces, including Holiday Duets, Winter Sliderland and A Twist on Tradition. A team of Disney chefs drew on inspiration from their own unique stories to handcraft some of the new festive foods on the marketplace menus this year.
At Pacific Wharf, guests will find holiday-themed menus with special food and drink to be savored while listening to The Mistletoes, an a capella ensemble that performs classic holiday songs with rhythm and soul. Here as well, younger guests will discover craft stations and cookie decorating kits to add to their holiday fun.
Disney Holiday Specials on ABC
A Disney holiday special airing Christmas Morning (10 a.m. – 12 p.m. EST/PST) on ABC will provide families opportunities to experience the magic of Disney right from home, featuring performances from Chance the Rapper, Jimmie Allen and more, along with magic moments for deserving, inspirational individuals.
Trevor Jackson will join Sherry Cola, Derek Hough and Julianne Hough in hosting the Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade. Orion Jean, an inspiring 11-year-old from Dallas, will be celebrated for his Race to Kindness campaign, which creates “missions” to give back to his community, including providing more than 100,000 meals, 500,000 books and 500 toys to date.
Another hero was celebrated during “The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration” special that recently aired on ABC. Louisiana State Principal of the Year Marco French was awarded $20,000 from Disney Imagination Campus for his tireless efforts to forge bonds with and care for his students and community in Shreveport. Two years after stepping into the role, he transformed the struggling elementary school and earned the distinction of becoming one of Louisiana’s Outstanding Schools. Disney Imagination Campus, located at both Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California, aims to provide a reimagined line of educational experiences for visiting student groups that harnesses beloved Disney franchises. “The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration” is available for streaming currently on Hulu.
Disney Cruise Line
On sailings through December 25th, the Disney Cruise Line fleet is decked from bow-to-stern with holiday cheer and entertainment during Very Merrytime Cruises. Holiday magic is unwrapped for the whole family with holiday decor, festive activities, Santa and Mrs. Claus, culinary offerings unique to the season and favorite characters in their finest holiday attire.
Disney Ultimate Toy Drive
As part of the Walt Disney Company’s efforts to inspire a world of hope, it is holding the 2021 Disney Ultimate Toy Drive benefiting the Marine Toys for Tots Program to provide toys to children in need this holiday season.
Disney kicked off the campaign on November 4th with a $500,000 donation to Toys for Tots during Good Morning America on ABC where co-anchor Michael Strahan and ABC News Correspondent Will Reeve announced the donation. Families and fans can join the Disney Ultimate Toy Drive and give back to those who need it most this holiday season by donating a toy online at shopDisney.com through this December 24th or by donating a new, unwrapped toy in person at Downtown Disney District at Disneyland Resort or Disney Springs at Walt Disney World through this December 14th.
Disney’s relationship with the Marine Toys for Tots Program began in 1947 when Walt Disney and his animators personally designed the original Toys for Tots train logo that is still used today. Learn more about the Disney Ultimate Toy Drive at Disney.com/ToyDrive.
Disney Consumer Products
This holiday season, Disney Consumer Products and shopDisney.com are teaming up to support Make-A-Wish with, “From Our Family to Yours: “The Stepdad,” a new animated short about togetherness and the power of storytelling. It features the new single “Love Runs Deeper” performed by Grammy Award-winning singer Gregory Porter.
Disney’s Minnie Mouse Plush and Journal featured in the video are available for purchase exclusively on shopDisney.com.
The new single celebrates Disney’s relationship with Make-A-Wish and as part of Disney’s holiday gifting, it is giving support valued at more than $2 million to Make-A-Wish International and its network of affiliates to grant life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses around the world.
The Disney Parks Blog Holiday Hub features an exclusive “Everything Holidays” section
Those wishing for extra special celebrations at home can check out the Disney Parks Blog Holiday Hub, featuring the Everything Holidays section, full of holiday-themed stories, recipes and activities families can enjoy right at home.
No matter the pace or the place, something festive and fun awaits this holiday season from Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.
