The holiday season is in full swing! There is no better place to celebrate than at Walt Disney World.

This week’s Travel Chat features one of Must Love Travel’s advisors, Jill, who recently spent a week at Walt Disney World with her daughters. She had a great time, taking in all of the holiday decorations and festive, magical touches sprinkled throughout the theme parks and resorts.

Her favorite experience was Minnie’s Seasonal Dining at Hollywood and Vine, a character meal in Hollywood Studios park.

Check out our Travel Chat video to hear the excitement in Jill’s voice as she shares her holiday Disney vacation!

The holidays are right around the corner, and although they may look a little different this year, the Walt Disney World Resort will still be having a massive holiday celebration! Let’s take a closer look at this year’s festivities.

It’s important to note that operating in a new environment and complying with Disney’s current health and safety measures means this year’s holiday celebrations will be significantly reimagined. But that does not mean it will not be special! Disney is going above and beyond to make the 2020 holiday season as festive and memorable as possible.

The official festivities kick off on November 6 and run through December 30, 2020. You’ll be able to enjoy the same festive decor, themed merchandise, seasonal food and beverage offerings, and holiday entertainment that you’ve known and loved for years. And don’t worry about Santa Claus, he’ll be making special pop-up appearances at all of the Disney Parks and Disney Springs. 

Character Cavalcades, flotillas, promenades, and motorcades will continue to showcase your favorite characters with a special holiday twist. Be on the lookout for some Walt Disney World holiday favorites to appear, including gingerbread men, elves and reindeer, toy soldiers, and live holiday music.

There will be a special projection on Cinderella Castle this year, creating a festive look and providing a colorful backdrop for holiday photos. 

If you want an extra special holiday meal, Minnie Mouse will be hosting a yuletide gathering at Hollywood & Vine at Hollywood Studios. The characters will be dressed in their holiday best, including Santa Goofy.

Disney Resort hotels will also be decked out for the holidays, but it is important to keep in mind that gingerbread displays will not return this year. It will also be much harder to visit hotels to view the decorations, as each hotel is minimizing the number of people allowed in. If you aren’t a guest of the hotel, the only way to visit would be to have a dining reservation. 

Starting on November 27, 2020, Epcot will begin their annual International Festival of the Holidays, with special holiday food offerings and seasonal live music.

Will the Walt Disney World Resort look a bit different this holiday season? Yes, of course. But will it still be special, magical, fun, and memorable? Absolutely! Disney loves to celebrate and will continue to delight guests, creating festive memories to last a lifetime.

If you are looking for a unique, and surprisingly affordable, way to experience the Walt Disney World Resort, consider renting a private boat! Private boat rentals are available at both the Epcot Area and Magic Kingdom Area Resorts. I recommend renting a boat from one of the Magic Kingdom Resorts, as there is so much more to see on the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake.

The Seven Seas Marinna at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort offers multiple types of small boat rentals for 2 – 10 guests. The 8 – 10 passenger boats can also include a driver if you’d prefer to just sit back and enjoy the experience. 

I recently spent one-night after a Disney Cruise at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, and we decided we did not want to do a park but rather spend the day simply enjoying our Resort and all it has to offer.  After a few hours at the pool, we decided to rent a 2-person Sea Racer from the Seven Seas Marina and spent about an hour and a half exploring the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake.

This was a very special way of seeing the Monorail Resorts on the Seven Seas Lagoon, but my favorite was sailing past Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and exploring Bay Lake. If you aren’t familiar, Bay Lake sits behind the Contemporary Resort and is where Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground is located.

We were able to get an up-close look at the new Cabins built for Copper Creek at Wilderness Lodge. You can see these Cabins from the water taxi, but it was nice to take it at our own pace and get really close.

There’s plenty of active fish and game warden’s out on the lakes at all times, making sure everyone is staying safe. And when that giant ferry comes through, they certainly make sure all of the smaller boats stay out of the way!

Our hour and a half experience cost about $80, and was worth every penny! It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon outside of the parks. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

View of Grand Floridian from the water