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It’s hard to decide which season to celebrate at Disney World because they’re all so fun! See how to experience two of them on a single trip.
Not So Spooky Season
October is one of the most popular months to visit Disney World. Not only is EPCOT’s Food & Wine Festival in full swing, but you’ll often find cooler temperatures. However, it’s still warm enough to enjoy the resort pools and water parks. Select resorts even offer trick-or-treating and pumpkin decorating contests.
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is an event not to be missed! There are beautiful Mickey pumpkins and amazing fall decorations lining Main Street, USA and great Halloween merchandise as well. Be sure to save room for the many great spooky treats available for a limited time only.
Disneyland guests have enjoyed Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit for years. Be sure to check out Marisol’s review HERE. This year, this scavenger hunt debuted at EPCOT.
Christmas Season
With the Christmas season comes the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, beautiful Disney Resort decorations and trees, gingerbread displays, Festival of the Holidays, and so much more! Guests can enjoy a cookie stroll during EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays.
Christmas really is fabulous at Disney World. Guests also enjoy the old-Hollywood style glam decorations at Hollywood Studios and amazing woodland displays at Animal Kingdom. Animal Kingdom features entertainment from the Merry Menagerie too. And, don’t forget EPCOT’s storytellers, Santa, and so much more. There are special holiday treats at every Disney World park, Disney resorts and Disney Springs.
Holiday Parties are the Best!
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party are not to be missed! Although they are both fantastic, the Halloween Party is my favorite. Take a look below and see why each of them are worth checking out.
Costumes
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is the only event that allows adult costumes. No other time can families coordinate costumes together in such a unique way. As an adult, I enjoy dressing up with my friends, too. I’ve dressed up as Ursula, Marie, and Boo from Monsters, Inc. My favorite was Ursula in 2018 because I got my face painted in Tomorrowland. Although you can get your face painted at other theme parks, this is currently unavailable at Magic Kingdom.
Even though Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party doesn’t allow adult costumes, don’t let that stop you from dressing for fun! There are endless options to wear festive and even coordinating outfits for the holiday season. Whether you shop online or while at Disney, guests come decked out in their favorite Christmas shirts, leggings, and ears. Part of the fun for both events is watching the creativity of other guests.
Characters
Yes, I’m an adult, and yes, I’m crazy about meeting ALL the characters. After all, at Disney doesn’t everyone feel like a kid again? I sure do! What makes parties over the top is not only the unique character meets but also the festive costumes they wear. Except for the week of Christmas, these costumes are unique to parties.
Entertainment
A third aspect of each party is unique entertainment offerings. Don’t miss the popular Halloween Hocus Pocus and Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration castle shows performed several times each night. Each party also features dance parties for kids of all ages.
Then, there are the magical parades. Boo to You is my favorite parade ever at Disney! It’s so wonderfully creepy and playful, and the song, “It’s Good to be Bad” plays in my head long after the evening ends. Then, the Christmas parade with the wonderful dancing reindeer, toy soldiers, and Jolly Old Saint Nick himself! There is something truly magical about Disney parades.
Fireworks
To make each party truly magical, Disney gives guests fireworks especially designed for each party. Whether you’re a Jack Skellington or Minnie Mouse fan, you don’t want to miss either one of these remarkable nighttime shows.
Choosing a Holiday
Have I made it even harder for you to pick which season to celebrate at Disney? Whenever you choose to visit, remember that it isn’t possible to see and do it all in a single trip. Since Disney is constantly changing things, unless you’re a local, I’m not sure it’s ever possible to see it all in one (or even a couple) visits.
When picking a season to visit, there’s a number of things to consider. First, look at the weather. Are you able to handle the brutal summer Florida heat? Or, do you want to avoid the hurricane season?
Next, take a look at EPCOT festivals throughout the year along with other seasonal happenings such as parties, runDisney events, etc.
Halloween 2020
It’s been a bucket list of mine for awhile now to go to the Magic Kingdom on Halloween. In 2020 I did just that! There was a full moon which added to the creepiness that evening. However, one huge thing was missing that year: Halloween Parties! Although I fulfilled my bucket list, I was hoping Disney would do something special for the evening anyway.
They did allow everyone to wear costumes that evening which was fun. And characters were decked out in their Halloween costumes greeting guests from the top of the train station. However, there was no trick-or-treating, no castle show or special cavalcades that year. It was a bit disappointing, but we enjoyed the fall decorations and had a blast anyway. Thankfully, the Halloween party is in full force this year!
How to Experience Both Holidays
One of the reasons I wanted to visit Disney World on Halloween is to see the Magic Kingdom transformed magically into the Christmas season. Did you know that Cast Members work all night to set up Main Street USA for the holidays? Check a video of the event HERE.
We set off for Magic Kingdom on November 1 with our Haunted Mansion shirts and had our picture taken under the Christmas Tree display on Main Street USA as a special picture of our trip. It was so special to experience both seasons in a 2-day span.
Not only that, but if you stay from Halloween until the first week in November, you can experience both parties, too! This year the first Christmas party is November 8. Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom don’t go all out for fall, but each of them begins putting up holiday decorations before Halloween. Resorts begin decorating around the first week of November, and EPCOT is last, beginning close to Thanksgiving. This is due to the Food & Wine Festival running through mid-November.
Would you consider going for both seasons? Or, have you experienced this? Please let us know in the comments below and on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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