Your Disney World holiday trip could be tripped up thanks to these NEW rules! Luckily, we’re here to keep that from happening! From restrictions to having to pay more to get into the parks, there are a few things you NEED to know before you go!
Magic Kingdom
Yes, it may be two months away, but it’s time to start planning ahead, especially since the holidays are some of the busiest times at Disney World! So, let’s go through some rules that you may need to work around during your vacation!
#1: Christmas Decorations Are Only For Hotel Guests
If you were hoping to see some of the holiday decorations at the hotels and you’re not staying there, you may be out of luck. In a post about the holiday season, Disney stated, “For guests staying at the resorts or for those with valid dining reservations, the Disney Resorts Collection offers a wide array of bright and merry holiday decor.” This means that guests not staying or dining at these resorts will not get to experience the holiday decor.
Wilderness Lodge
Disney has also confirmed that the large gingerbread house inside the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa will not return. Instead, the hotel will feature a few small gingerbread displays made by Disney’s culinary team. The gingerbread displays at the other resorts, including the castle at the Contemporary and the carousel at the Beach Club, are expected to return.
2024 Gingerbread House at Grand Floridian Resort
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#2: You May Need A Separate Ticket To Experience The Parks At Night
Yes, that’s right… You may be paying for TWO tickets when you visit Disney World during the holidays. Why? Well, that’s because Disney World hosts two Christmas parties during the holidays, which are separately ticketed events. Magic Kingdom holds Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party while Hollywood Studios holds Jollywood Nights. On these days, the parks will close early to the general public. So, if you’re hoping to spend a full day in the parks, you will need to pay for a regular day ticket, as well as a party ticket.
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
Of course, you have the option of purchasing either a day ticket to the parks that aren’t holding a Christmas party that night or purchasing a park-hopper ticket and spending the first half of your day in the party park while going to another at night. You also don’t HAVE to buy two tickets — if you just want to go to the Christmas party, you don’t have to buy a day ticket… You can just buy the party ticket at night!
Bo Peep at Jollywood Nights
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#3: You Won’t Be Able To Take The Disney Springs Buses Unless You’re A Hotel Guest
We saw transportation be limited during peak seasons last year, but now it is permanent. The buses and boats at Disney Springs now require guests to show a valid hotel or dining reservation to board. The dining reservations must also be within two hours of the reservation time. This means that guests will not be able to park at Disney Springs and hop on a bus to a resort. Keep this in mind if you’re staying off property this holiday season!
Disney World Bus
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#4: Mobile Ordering May Be Limited To Resort Guests
During peak seasons, the My Disney Experience app will limit Mobile Ordering to guests staying at their particular resort. Although this has yet to be confirmed for the holidays, it’s entirely possible that this will return during the holidays. We’ve seen this happen at Gasparilla Island Grill at the Grand Floridian Resort, Capt. Cook’s at the Polynesian Village, Contempo Cafe at the Contemporary Resort, and Geyser Point at Wilderness Lodge.
Geyser Point Bar & Grill
If you do find yourself getting hungry at a resort you can’t Mobile Order at, don’t worry — you should still be able to walk up to the quick-service restaurant and order in person! We don’t need any guests being hangry on their magical vacation!
FULL LIST: Disney World Quick Service Restaurants That Serve Breakfast and When They Open
#5: The Polynesian Resort’s Beach May Be Limited To Hotel Guests Only
Finally, you may not be able to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the Polynesian Village Resort unless you’re staying there. The resort’s beach offers a GREAT view of the fireworks show each night, and they even pipe in the soundtrack, so you know where you’re at in the show. Many guests either monorail hop or walk over from the Grand Floridian to watch them on the beach, but you may not be able to during the holidays. In the past, we’ve seen Cast Members stationed in the walkways to make sure no one is where they’re not supposed to be. Keep this rule in mind to save you some steps!
The Beach at the Polynesian
Keep these five rules in mind if you have a Disney World vacation planned for the holidays, so you can have a smooth and magical trip! Stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog for more Disney World news, updates, tips, and tricks!
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DON'T MISS A MOMENT
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MORE Disney World Holiday INFO!
Learn About Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
Get the Latest Information About the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays
Get All the Details About Disney Jollywood Nights
Everything You Need to Know About Disney World Holiday Dining and Events
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Are you headed to Disney World for the holidays? Let us know in the comments below!
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Are you headed to Disney World for the holidays? Let us know in the comments below!
NO, we no longer feel welcomed or valued by Wdw and they’ve taken away all the fun. Thankfully we have our memories. Instead we’ll enjoy SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Tampa plus ZooTampa who are all quite welcoming with fantastic Xmas decor and shows plus merch with free holds and pickups as you exit….a wonderful perk!
So, hypothetically speaking. If I was staying at Wilderness Lodge for Christmas week, I wouldn’t be able to skip a park day and do a monorail crawl?
Katherine, if you are a resort guest, staying at a resort, Wdw does not discriminate against you. You can use all the transportation options. Wdw is only telling day guests and locals who are not staying overnight at a resort that they are no longer welcome to use Wdw transportation unless they had a dining reservation and must use in a two hour window. Locals, even if they are DVC or AP, cannot otherwise use transportation i.e. buses and boats from Disney Springs. Anyone can pay to park at one of the four parks but not at the resorts unless you are staying there or have a dining reservation within two hours. Hope this is clear. In other words, Wdw does not want locals and day guests, even if they are DVC or AP, using buses or boats from Disney Springs or resort hopping. Wdw does not penalize or ruin dining and shopping experiences for resort staying guests.
This is not true. The restrictions only apply to transportation leaving Disney Springs. Non-resort guests can still take Disney transportation from all of the theme parks and resort hotels back to the theme parks, but I wouldn’t advise trying to take the transportation to Disney Springs if you are not a resort guest.
So as a resort guest we can use the disney transportation. I have a few questions…
1. Can I use the Disney Springs transportation (as a resort guest of Bay Lake) to go to Grand Floridian? Or do I have to go to ONLY my resort?
2. If I am a resort guest with a car and want to drive over to visit the Boardwalk(not necessarily the hotel, just the Boardwalk and shops/atmosphere), will I be able to park in the self park? I know resorts block people from parking during high occupancy times unless they have a dining reservation. But the Boardwalk is a destination attraction and hotel. Otherwise, I would have to go to a park or the transportation center to take transportation to Boardwalk?
Thanks in advance…
Hi Sam! Yes, you can absolutely board the Grand Floridian bus from Disney Springs. You are not restricted to taking transportation only to the resort where you are staying. Once you are at Disney Springs, you can board the complimentary bus heading to any Disney Resort hotel. The restrictions are in place for non-resort guests attempting to board transportation from Disney Springs.
In practice, driving and directly self-parking at Disney’s BoardWalk without a mobile order, table-service dining reservation, or hotel reservation is hit-or-miss. Because the BoardWalk borders EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, its parking lot is heavily guarded to prevent theme park visitors from taking up resort spaces. Guard enforcement depends on crowd levels and time of day. During peak hours (evenings or high-occupancy seasons), guards will typically turn away anyone without a confirmed mobile order or table-service dining reservation. During low-occupancy times, telling the guard you are visiting the shops/bakery might get you a 3-hour parking pass.
Since you are staying at a resort, however, your best bet might just to be to park at the TTC and take a resort bus over.