Christmas in the Disney parks is an extra magical time but Disney Springs has some of the best Christmas magic around!! From decorations to special treats and entertainment, Disney Springs is a must do, as Stacy would say, during the holidays. This is one of our favorite places to enjoy the festivities in Disney so I thought I would share with you all the things there are to enjoy over the holidays in Disney Springs!
Decorations
Disney Springs is so beautiful at Christmas time! There are decorated trees everywhere for the Christmas Tree Stroll that we will talk more about later, lights on the palm trees and cute little decorations all over the place! You can find cute buoy snow people by the Boathouse, peanut reindeer by Paddlefish, cute little penguins by Enzo’s Hideaway, it’s so fun to walk around and find them all!
All the stores and restaurants are decorated too! What is unique here is that each place has it’s own style of decorations. Even the palm trees that are always lit get a Christmas makeover with red and green lights added. Of course no Disney Christmas is complete without a giant Christmas tree at the center and this one does not disappoint! It is huge and beautiful and about every 15 minutes it “snows” around it! Of course it’s the signature Disney snoap but still very magical!
Entertainment
Disney Springs always has great entertainment offerings with bands and DJ’s playing on all the different stages and at the lounges and restaurants but this time of year it’s kind of stepped up. On top of the great bands there are roaming entertainers too! Last night we saw roller skating snowflakes, stilt walking Nutcrackers and one of Santa’s elves driving a sleigh around and talking to people about their Christmas lists. Last year we saw a really great traveling group performing Christmas carols with light up instruments in front of the big tree. There truly is something to see and enjoy everywhere!
Food and Drinks
What would Christmas in Disney be without special food and drinks?? You can find specialty cocktails like the Christmas Old Fashioned at the Boathouse and the Cosmic Poinsettia at The Edison. Most restaurants and snack shops have all kinds of Christmas themed food but of course Amorettes has the cutest and most instagram worthy snacks! Jock Lindsay’s Hangar Bar turns into the Holiday Bar and is completely decked out for Christmas and has a menu to match. There are even red and green or naughty and nice deviled eggs. Most of the other restaurants have their own holiday overlays and they are so much fun!
At the Ganachery you can find an Olaf Hot Chocolate, Amorettes has Christmas petite cakes and even the drink carts have specialty Christmas themed drinks available! There are really endless treats and drinks available all over Disney Springs.
Photo Ops
Of course there are lots of places to take pictures too! You have the Season’s Greetings sign at Town Center, all the little props throughout the park and the Photopass Studio! Inside the Photopass Studio by Marketplace Coop you can get fun green screen Christmas pictures and they even have a fun backdrop that is so cute for a family PJ picture with some props!
Merchandise
I mean, what is anything in Disney without merchandise?? The biggest Disney store in the world is located at Disney Springs so your options are pretty good here for merchandise shopping. They have pretty much all the Christmas merchandise available at World of Disney but you can also find non Disney merchandise at all the individual retailers. Corkcicle has some beautiful holiday designs! I had to have the Loungefly Disney Christmas ears, they are so cute!
Christmas Tree Stroll
One of my most favorite things about Christmas at Disney Springs is the Christmas Tree Stroll! There are different themed Christmas trees placed all over Disney Springs, Haunted Mansion, Passholder, Moana and more! You can grab a map from Planet Hollywood, City Works, Crystal Arts, Joffrey’s and the LEGO store. Then you go around and find all the trees, placing the associated sticker on that map location. Once you are done you return to one of the distribution locations for a special surprise! I love doing this because I love seeing all the trees and it’s just a nice way to walk around and explore Disney Springs. It’s one of the things I recommend most to people asking about things to do in Disney at Christmas time. Plus, it is FREE!
Meet Santa!
No Christmas celebration would be complete without a visit to Santa’s workshop! You can join a virtual queue in Disney Springs to go and see Santa! Last year this was at Once Upon A Toy but Disney has stated it will be over by Pin Traders this year. No matter how big my boys get, I will forever make them go and see this Santa, they are the best! You can find a QR code to scan for the virtual queue on signage around Disney Springs and on the My Disney Experience app.
Conclusion
Needless to say, I love Christmas in Disney Springs! I feel like it’s very whimsical and fun without the hustle and bustle of the parks. It can be just as busy as the parks of course but there are just so many shops and restaurants that you can always find something to checkout. The fact that they do have the “snoapfall” in Town Center but the big tree makes me so happy every year and it is just so pretty! There is truly something for everyone with all the restaurants and entertainment offerings. You absolutely need to take a day or evening to go and experience Christmas at Disney Springs, you will not be disappointed!
As always, thank you for reading along and supporting my little blog! Thursdays are my favorite days because of all of you! I hope you all have the most magical day and Merry Christmas!