I got to spend some time at Walt Disney World during the holidays last year, and now I’m feeling the need to go again. We may be nearly two months away from Christmas, but for many like myself who love to visit Walt Disney World during the holidays, the season truly starts once The Grand Floridian Gingerbread House is built in the hotel lobby. It’s so much more than just a decoration, and it’s finally here. What's more, it’s set to open very soon.
The Grand Floridan Gingerbread House isn’t simply a massive building made of sweets, it’s an actual shop where gingerbread and other sweet tweets are sold, with more than a few exclusive items you won’t find elsewhere at Walt Disney World resort. It's set to open for business officially on November 7. The Disney Food Blog shared a detailed look at this year’s building, and as usual, it looks far too amazing to ever want to eat it.
Gingerbread houses, along with Christmas trees, are some of the best ways to celebrate the season. Every resort hotel at Walt Disney World has a tree with at least one unique ornament, making each one worth checking out. We also get to see beautiful displays like the Gingerbread House at the Grand Floridian. The Grand Californian Hotel & Spa at Disneyland Resort also gets a cool gingerbread display, but it’s just a display and not an actual shop, so it isn’t nearly as big.
Holiday decorations are a massive undertaking at Walt Disney World. There’s an entire team who works overnight every night, systematically adding the decorations to the various parks and resorts every night for weeks on end until all the work is done. And then they get to do it all again in January to take everything down. It’s absolutely incredible, and much appreciated by guests.
Christmas has also come to the other Disney coast, as the massive tree that sits in the square at Disneyland Park was put up overnight. It looks incredible as usual. Considering that Halloween at Disney Parks just ended it's pretty impressive how quickly the turnaround happens, though some of the holiday decorations actually went up before Halloween was over as a way to save time.
The Christmas tree is now up at Disneyland! ✨🎄✨ pic.twitter.com/9v0D5a5VyWNovember 6, 2023
Disneyland Resort at the Holidays has its own list of incredible decorations and events that fans will want to take advantage of. The only thing missing is some sort of after-hours holiday event. Walt Disney World is set to have two of them this year, with Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom and the brand new Jollywood Nights event at Disney's Hollywood Studios. But Disneyland is not having any. Either way, both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort are looking ready for a wonderful season.