Intro
Going to Disney World during the holidays is one of the most magical experiences! I am so happy that I was able to visit this year right before Christmas and see all the holiday excitement. There is so much to see and explore that I am already planning a trip back for next December so I can explore even more!
Breakdown
- Theme: Holiday Trip
- Length: Long weekend
- Age and Group: Solo trip (adults)
- Spending: $
Check-In
I typically take an early morning flight when I travel, but this time I changed it up and took a late night flight instead!
Luckily, Mears Connect runs transportation 24/7 out of the Orlando airport, so even if your flight is delayed, you will still have a ride to your resort! There was a bit of a wait for Mears, but the staff was working really hard to get more cars, shuttles, and buses to accommodate everyone.
By the time I made it to Pop Century, it was around 2am, so I was very anxious to get to my room and get settled in!
Day 1: Hollywood Studios, Resort Hopping, & Magic Kingdom
My first day started just a few hours after getting into the resort, but who needs sleep at Disney anyway?!
I hopped on the Skyliner (the biggest perk of staying at Pop Century) and made my way over to Hollywood Studios to start the day.
Hollywood Studios
Rides
When I made it to Hollywood Studios, Rockin’ Rollercoaster was a walk on, so I headed there for my first ride of the day!
After a quick breakfast, I met up with a friend and we walked over to Galaxy’s Edge. We did the Single Rider line for Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run and had an Individual Lightning Lane for Rise of the Resistance.
Disney Genie+ was really a huge success today! We were able to get on three rides at Hollywood Studios using Disney Genie+ and could continue using it at Magic Kingdom when we park hopped.
With Disney Genie+, we got on Toy Story Mania, Rockin’ Rollercoaster again, and Slinky Dog Dash!
Food
For breakfast, I grabbed a quick pastry and coffee from Joffrey’s. If you want to find the best place to get coffee with the shortest lines at Hollywood Studios, head to the Joffrey’s right outside the exit of Tower of Terror. It is typically a lot less crowded and a perfect place to start your day.
Lunch at Hollywood Studios was at ABC Commissary. This spot has really improved a ton in the past few years. It still serves your basic food, but a lot more elevated, so it is a great option for a quick service restaurant!
Resort Hopping
On the way to Magic Kingdom, I wanted to stop by a few of the monorail resorts to see the Christmas decorations. We started at the Polynesian to see the tree and just take it all in!
Next, we got on the monorail and made our way over to the Grand Floridian. If you visit Disney World during the holiday season, you absolutely have to check out the giant gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian. The Grand Floridian lobby is always beautiful, but add in the smell of gingerbread and it really can’t get any better!
Now, it is time to hop over to Magic Kingdom!
Magic Kingdom
Rides
We already had a Lightning Lane for Haunted Mansion, so that was a great way to start the day at Magic Kingdom! Next, it was time for some rides in Tomorrowland, so we got on the People Mover and Carousel of Progress.
The next Lightning Lanes were for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Pirates of the Caribbean. We were able to get on both of those rides before grabbing dinner and watching Enchantment, the firework show at Magic Kingdom!
We ended the night in the best way, with a ride on Space Mountain!
Food
After hanging out in the Grand Floridian lobby, I was really craving some gingerbread! So, it was time to pop into the Confectionary and get the biggest Mickey gingerbread cookie I have ever seen.
Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe was on the menu for dinner, where they serve classic Mexican food in an old western themed restaurant.
For Enchantment, we really lucked out and were able to meet up with some friends who were on a VIP tour. VIP tour guests get preferred viewing in a section of the hub grass for Enchantment and it was truly a magical experience!
Day 2: Magic Kingdom, Resort Hopping, Animal Kingdom, & Disney Springs
My second Disney day was packed full of fun adventures around the parks, Disney Springs, and some of my favorite resorts!
Magic Kingdom
Rides
I started the day at Magic Kingdom and ran right to my favorite ride, Space Mountain. I love rope dropping at Magic Kingdom and heading straight to Tomorrowland, where Space Mountain is typically a walk on.
Next, I made my way over to Frontierland for a chilly morning ride on Splash Mountain. In late January, Splash Mountain will be closing down to be reimagined with a Princess and the Frog theme! I am so excited for this change and cannot wait to ride it once it is completed with the new theming.
Food
I enjoyed a coffee from Main Street Bakery on the hub grass this morning to really take in all the Magic Kingdom atmosphere, before hopping to some resorts!
Resort Hopping
One of my new favorite things to do at Disney is to take the boat from Magic Kingdom to Wilderness Lodge. It is such a picturesque and relaxing ride, that you almost forgot you are just outside of Magic Kingdom!
Wilderness Lodge is quickly becoming one of my favorite resorts and visiting during the holiday season is a must! The lobby is so beautifully decorated and the tree is really something you need to see.
After spending some time at Wilderness Lodge, I headed over to my all-time favorite resort, Animal Kingdom Lodge!
Animal Kingdom Lodge is another resort that you should definitely check out during the holiday season. In 2021, Animal Kingdom Lodge started getting into the gingerbread tradition, by making a “Ginger-affe” or a giraffe made of gingerbread! This year, they added to the tradition, by building a gingerbread baby zebra as well. These gingerbread structures are so fun to check out and I can’t wait to see what they do next year!
Food
Before heading out, I grabbed a quick lunch at the Mara. The Mara is a quick service location at Animal Kingdom Lodge and is famously known for their Zebra Domes! Zebra Domes are a dessert made of mousse, cake, and white chocolate. They kind of taste like tiramisu and I really recommend trying them when you are at Animal Kingdom Lodge. I enjoyed my lunch while watching animals on the savannah from one of the many viewing locations around the resort.
After lunch, I took a Disney bus over to Animal Kingdom! I love visiting Animal Kingdom Lodge before or after a trip to Animal Kingdom. They are so close to each other, making transportation a breeze.
Animal Kingdom
Rides
I didn’t have much time at Animal Kingdom, but I was able to get to a few rides and attractions. I met up with a friend and we made our way over to Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! This is a short, stage show that follows the adventures of Nemo, Marlin, Dory, and all their friends. The music, production, and acting in this show is truly spectacular. If you have time in your Animal Kingdom day, I would recommend checking out a show!
After the show, I joined the Single Riders Line for a quick ride on Expedition Everest. This was it for Animal Kingdom today, as we had to head to our next resort for some exciting dinner reservations!
The Contemporary Resort
I was so excited to be able to snag some dinner reservations for one of my dream restaurants, California Grill! California Grill is located on the top floor of the Contemporary Resort and is one of the finest dining experiences you can have at Disney World.
We got in a little early so we could explore the resort, since this was actually the first time I had been to the Contemporary! I loved exploring the lobby and even getting to tour a DVC villa at Bay Lake Tower.
Food
Once it was time for our reservation, we were able to check in at the desk in the lobby and then take the elevator up to the restaurant. We were seated at the perfect table, right by the window overlooking Magic Kingdom. To me, that view was worth the price of the meal entirely. However, the food was also amazing! Currently, they are serving a prefix menu to celebrate the 50th anniversary. The Contemporary is also celebrating their 50th anniversary, so this menu focuses on the restaurant’s history and most memorable meals.
The highlight to me (besides the view that almost brought me to tears), was the dessert sampler. This dessert, called the “Five Magical Bites 50 Years in the Making”, was a selection of five desserts from five different chefs at California Grill. Each chef was asked to pick their favorite dessert and those five were chosen for this dessert plate.
Overall, this is an experience I cannot wait to do again. I am excited to hopefully be able to check it out after the 50th Anniversary, to really be able to explore the full menu.
To close out the night, I grabbed a bus to Disney Springs for some snacks and shopping!
Disney Springs
I unfortunately missed the Virtual Queue for Gideon’s Bakehouse and as many of you probably know, that was really terrible news. Gideon’s is a fairly new bake shop at Disney Springs, where they serve the most amazing (and giant) cookies, cake, and coffee. It is also my absolute favorite place at Disney World. Next time, I will be sure to get to Disney Springs early to ensure I can get my Gideon’s!
I needed to grab a few gifts and souvenirs, so I went to World of Disney for some shopping. World of Disney is the main, large Disney shop at Disney Springs and has everything you need!
Day 3: EPCOT
This trip was a quick, long-weekend trip, so it is sadly my last day at the parks. But, I am so excited to spend the day at EPCOT to check out the Festival of the Holidays!
I got in line for the Skyliner to head to EPCOT and start my day! As a note, the line for the Skyliner from Pop Century was extremely long this morning. With the holidays being such a busy time, I would encourage you to plan for a longer wait for any Disney transportation. If you have reservations or need to get to the parks at a certain time, I would add some extra travel time into your schedule if visiting during a busy season!
Rides
There were only a few rides that I wanted to be sure to get on today and I was able to ride those both twice!
I was able to get both a Virtual Queue and an Individual Lightning Lane for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. This new ride is a must-do at EPCOT! It is also a ride that you will want to check out during the holidays, because it does have a holiday overlay.
Typically, when you ride Guardians of the Galaxy, you will get one of six songs (Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Conga, September, Disco Inferno, I Ran, and One Way or Another). However, during the holidays, you will ride along to “Run, Run, Rocket”, a fun, themed version of the Christmas song, “Run, Run, Rudolf”!
Another classic ride at EPCOT with a holiday overlay is Living with the Land. This is one of my favorite and most underrated rides at EPCOT. During the holidays, they do an overlay called “Glimmering Greenhouses”. They add lights, decorations, and special holiday plants! We rode this ride twice to be able to experience it while the sun was out and once when it was a little darker, to really see all the lights.
Food
One of the main events for today at EPCOT was checking out all of the Festival Food Booths in World Showcase! I love all of the EPCOT festivals and this was actually the first time I was able to visit during the Festival of the Holidays. This festival includes so many unique experiences, such as the Cookie Stroll and the Holiday Storytellers!
I started the day with my first cookie and a coffee from Connections Cafe. The Cookie Stroll during the Festival of the Holidays at EPCOT is a chance to try five different cookies and get a fun, completer treat! To start, grab a Festival Passport, which can be picked up at various locations around the World Showcase. The Festival Passport will have a page where you can collect stamps for each cookie you try! If you want to see another similar experience, check out my blog post from the Food and Wine Festival where I completed Emile’s Fromage Montage!
I’ll list out below the cookies that I tried for the Cookie Stroll. Luckily I had a friend with me to help eat all these cookies, because you really do get full after the first few!
Cookie Stroll
- Connection Cafe: Sugar Cookie
- Noche Buena Cocina: Alfajores
- Yukon Holiday Kitchen: SNICKERS-Doodle Cookie
- American Holiday Table: Chocolate Crinkle Cookie
- L’Chaim: Black and White Cookie
- Bavaria Holiday Kitchen: Linzer Cookie
Even though all the cookies were amazing, my friend and I definitely had a few favorites. The Alfajores, SNICKERS-Doodle Cookie, and the Chocolate Crinkle Cookie were our top three!
For dinner, I grabbed the Cheese Fondue from the Bavaria Holiday Kitchen booth. I really loved this meal and it was the perfect break from all the cookies I had been snacking on most of the day!
Before the park closed, we ran over to Holiday Sweets and Treat to get our completer treat from the Cookie Stroll! The prize for finishing the Cookie Stroll is, surprise, another cookie (and a fun pin)! If you are planning to do the Cookie Stroll, I would recommend doing it with a friend. Another idea could be to bring some bags so you can bring them home with you easily.
Extras
If I am being honest, the reason I planned this holiday trip was solely to see the Candlelight Processional! The Candlelight Processional is a performance, where a celebrity narrator reads the Christmas story. In addition, an orchestra and choir sing some of your favorite holiday songs!
They announce the celebrity narrators before the festival starts every holiday season. This year, Mariska Hargitay (best known as Olivia Benson on Law and Order SVU), was going to be one of the speakers! Since she is one of my favorite actors, I knew I had to be there.
To be sure I got a good seat, I purchased a day of dining package from the Regal Eagle. There are dining packages that can be purchased ahead of time, however, they are typically more expensive and sell out really quickly.
If you want to get a day of dining package, I suggest lining up outside the Regal Eagle at least an hour before it opens. Once they open, they will bring you in to purchase a lunch off the prefix menu ($40/person) and you can select which show you would like to see, based on what is available. There is a 5:15pm, 7:00pm, and 8:30pm show, giving you plenty of opportunities!
If you aren’t able to get a dining package, I would recommend lining up outside the America Gardens Theater in the American Pavilion pretty early, especially if the narrator is drawing a big crowd!
After the amazing show, we grabbed some hot chocolate, found a spot for Harmonious, and enjoyed the fireworks!
That’ll do it for this quick, holiday themed vacation! I hope to get back to Disney World next holiday season because there is still so much to explore. Have you ever taken a holiday trip to Disney? Let me know in the comments!
Overview
- Check-In Day: Pop Century Resort
- Day 1: Hollywood Studios, Resort Hopping, and Magic Kingdom
- Rides: Rockin’ Rollercoaster, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Rise of the Resistance, Toy Story Mania, Rockin’ Rollercoaster, Slinky Dog Dash, Haunted Mansion, Transit Authority People Mover, Carousel of Progress, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Pirates of the Caribbean
- Food: Joffrey’s, ABC Commissary, Confectionary, and Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe
- Day 2: Magic Kingdom, Resort Hopping, Animal Kingdom, and Disney Springs
- Rides: Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Find Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond, Expedition Everest
- Food: Main Street Bakery, the Mara, California Grill
- Day 3: EPCOT
- Rides: Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Living with the Land
- Food: Regal Eagle Steakhouse, Cookie Stroll, Festival Food Booths
