Disney and Universal Studios theme parks are known for a lot more than just their rides and attractions. Both park operators host an array of seasonal and holiday events and festivals to keep guests coming through the gates year round.
The ever popular and most crowded events at Disney World and the Disneyland Resort are during the holiday season from early November to just before Christmas, as Disney World's Magic Kingdom hosts Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom, along with Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas Parade down Main Street. Disneyland has its annual seasonal overlay for "it's a small world" and Haunted Mansion and also presents its A Christmas Fantasy Parade around the same time.
At Halloween time, Disney's (DIS) Magic Kingdom in Orlando presents Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, while Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., offers the Oogie Boogie Bash.
Both Comcast's (CMCSA) Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida feature The Awesomest Celebration of the Season, while Universal Hollywood and Islands of Adventure host Grinchmas, during the holiday season. The Christmas season is also celebrated in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter lands at Universal Hollywood, Universal Florida and Islands of Adventure.
Universal Studios in Hollywood and Orlando also celebrate Halloween in October with their Halloween Horror Nights.
Each year, Disney World's Epcot features the International Festival of the Arts which currently runs through Feb. 20, 2023, and includes culinary arts, performing arts, visual arts, and the popular annual Disney on Broadway Concert Series in the American Gardens Theatre.
The theme park also hosts the International Food and Wine Festival from mid-July to sometime just before Thanksgiving, then presents the International Holiday Festival from sometime around Thanksgiving until the end of December. Disney has not yet revealed the specific dates for these festivals this year. It will also host the International Flower and Garden Festival March 1 through July 5.
Six Flags
Six Flags Hosts Special Events
Disney and Universal Studios rival Six Flags Entertainment (SIX) keeps busy all year trying to compete, offering its own lineup of annual special events. Each of the 15 Six Flags amusement parks, not including the company's waterparks, celebrate Spring Break, July 4th, the Halloween season's event Fright Night, Oktoberfest and Holiday in the Park from late November to Jan. 1.
Some of the Six Flags amusement parks celebrate events that others do not. Six Flags St. Louis has its own Physics Day, and Six Flags Darien Lake goes one step further with Math & Physics Day. Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Ill., has Physics Days and Math and Science Days. Magic Mountain in Valencia, Calif., and Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, Calif., host high school and middle school band students for Music in the Parks.
Many Six Flags parks have Grad Nite for high school seniors, and events for Cinco De Mayo and St. Patrick's Day.
Mardi Gras Coming to Six Flags
Taking a page from Universal Studios Florida's Mardi Gras, which runs through April 16, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom introduces its first Mardi Gras Festival Feb. 11-26, featuring music, flavors and culture of New Orleans, its website says.
Guests can listen to live music, watch the Six Flags Mardi Gras Parade and maybe catch some beads. The festival will include the French Quarter Cafe, featuring Gumbo over rice that's made with chicken and sausage with shrimp included for an extra charge, plus cornbread. Diners can also enjoy a cinnamon roll dressed up like a King Cake. Bourbon Street Eats offers Shrimp Po Boys and fried okra, and Cajun Kitchen serves shrimp, sausages, corn on the cob and cornbread. You might even find some jambalaya and beignets at the park.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio's Mardi Gras Festival has been underway since Jan. 14 and will wrap up on Feb. 25. Six Flags Great America has booked its first Mardi Gras Festival a little later in warmer weather June 16-18.
