Everyone always loves when the fall decorations go up in a few locations around Walt Disney World, but the excitement for the Christmas decorations makes them go wild. The thing is, many often wonder when the transformation from fall to Christmas takes place and when those decorations go up…and it’s not always when people may think.
If you’re in a group such as I’m So Disney… or one of the many others on Facebook, you’ll often see the question repeatedly asked: When do the Christmas decorations go up at Walt Disney World?
At that point, the comments are usually bombarded with comments such as “November 1” or “the day after Halloween” or “overnight from Halloween to the first day of November.” Ok, sure, those aren’t always wrong…but they also aren’t always right.
Everyone has seen the time-lapse video which Disney officially released (shown below) that reveals how Magic Kingdom can be transformed into Christmas overnight. It’s really cool and really awesome, but there is much more to the question at hand.
Magic Kingdom
The very last Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party of each year can be on October 31st or November 1st, and sometimes, Magic Kingdom has some Christmas decorations up by the next morning. Having lived behind that park for many years now, that isn’t always the case. There have been years when fall decorations are still up for the first 3-4 days of November.
At that point, Christmas decorations begin going up and it may take a few days for them to be completed. Magic Kingdom will be fully decorated by the time of the first Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party which is typically anywhere from Nov. 7-9 each year.
And as you can see in the video below…it isn’t always in one night.
Epcot
Epcot kind of waits for the International Food & Wine Festival to finish up its dates eacah year before decorating for Christmas. Once the festival is over (usually in mid-November), the decorations go up rather quickly around the park and will be up in full in a day or two.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Studios has honestly started bringing forth a lot more Christmas enjoyment each year and have been decorating earlier. Looking at things in 2018, the star decorations on Sunset Blvd were actually up when the last week of October started.
With Sunset Seasons Greetings, Jingle Bell Jingle Bam!, and other events taking place at the park, the Christmas decorations are usually up and about by the first week of November.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
There aren’t a ton of Christmas celebrations and events that happen at Animal Kingdom, but the decorations are still beautiful. Sometime in the first week of November, the decorations begin going up, along with the tree, and they’re usually all up near the end of the week or into the beginning of the second week.
Walt Disney World Resorts and Disney Springs
Unlike with fall, you will see Christmas decorations everywhere you look at Walt Disney World which includes Disney Springs and the resort hotels. As with Animal Kingdom, all of those locations begin decorating during the first week of November and by the middle of the month, you will see things festive and bright.
Each year, the official dates for the Gingerbread House in Disney’s Grand Floridian to begin operating or for the Christmas Tree Trail at Disney Springs to open may and could change. Just make sure to always check the dates each year.
There is no set announced date for Christmas decorations to go up at Walt Disney World. It could be the first of November after an overnight transformation or it could be a little bit longer than that. You just need to know that it isn’t always immediate and things could change year-by-year.
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