The Holidays at Walt Disney World – A 2024 DVCR Social Media Team Member Trip Report!

Posted:  Events Holidays Trip Reports

November 19-24, 2024: 2 resort stays + 4 parks + 2 holiday parties = 1 epic trip!

Today, I want to give you a glimpse of what a David’s Vacation Club Rentals Social Media Team Content Gathering and Creation trip is really like. For five days in November, my teammate Kristen and I scrambled all over Walt Disney World, soaking up as much festive décor and ambiance as possible. Here is a day-by-day look at our trip!

 

November 19, 2024:

Our trip began when Kristen picked me up at around 4 a.m.! We made it to the airport in Detroit, got through security, had some breakfast, and boarded our flight. We arrived in Orlando around 1:30 p.m. and hopped in an Uber, which took us straight to Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground!

The dark brown log-cabin style exterior of the lobby at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. Over the red doors there is a brown sign reading “Fort Wilderness Reception Outpost; Wilderness Homes and Campsite Accommodations in which script.

This was our home for the first two nights of our trip, and we were met with an extra special greeting when we arrived! Fort Wilderness was celebrating its 53rd anniversary on November 19th, and the Cast Members celebrated with special photo ops, chocolate, and birthday buttons for guests!

After checking in, we left our luggage in the driveway to share a live-stream room tour of our One Bedroom Cabin on Facebook. Doing the live streams is one of my favorite parts of a Social Media Team trip, and I hope you had the chance to check it out because the Cabin was gorgeous!

Interior of a One Bedroom Cabin. The walls are cream colored with light wood paneling on the ceiling and behind the orange sofa. There is a Fort Wilderness mural with Mickey driving a camper above the couch, a full kitchen with white cabinets, and wooden dining table.

That night, we explored the resort and enjoyed s’mores and songs at Chip ‘N’ Dale’s Campfire Sing-A-Long and watched the start of Home Alone as it began that night’s Movies Under the Stars showing at the Campground Theater. After that, it was back to the Cabin to call it an early night. We had A LOT of plans for Day 2!

Characters Chip ‘N’ Dale and a cowboy singer with a guitar perform a sing along on an old wooden covered wagon turned into a stage.

 

November 20, 2024:

This morning, we were alllllllll about resort exploration! Neither Kristen nor I had stayed at Fort Wilderness before, so we wanted to check out the different amenities and the holiday decorations that had magically gone up overnight! 

It was a little too chilly for us, so we didn’t brave the pool, but it’s definitely on my wish list for another stay in the future. The waterslide looks so fun, and we got lots of pictures!

The brown and beige twisting tube waterslide at pool. To the left of the slide there are many green loungers, and a wooden water tower sits atop the waterslide.

After visiting the Tri-Circle-D Ranch and the dog park, we headed to the boat launch. I was off to check out the holiday décor at Bay Lake Tower and Disney’s Contemporary Resort, and Kristen was doing the same at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows. 

A gingerbread creation made to look like Cinderella Castle at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. There are blue and white wooden trees to either side of the castle, and a blue starry night background with a shooting star sits behind it.

After some solo adventures, we met up and made our way to Magic Kingdom to have lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern and get our first glimpse of the seasonal decorations in the park. We were then off to another resort as visions of gingerbread danced in our heads. It was time to set our sights on the life-size gingerbread house at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa! 2024 marked the 25th anniversary of the gingerbread house display, and it’s always a must-do for me when visiting WDW around the holidays. 

A life-size gingerbread house at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. The house is decorated with small Christmas trees inspired by various Disney characters, as well as a Santa statue and green and red foliage.

Animal Kingdom had Extended Evening Hours this night for Deluxe Resort guests, and since seeing that park after dark is so rare, we wanted to take full advantage of the opportunity. We boarded a bus from Grand Floridian and arrived at Animal Kingdom at twilight. The sparkles of the lights on the giant Christmas tree out front dazzled us both! It was absolutely stunning!

A giant Christmas tree decorated with multicolored animal and African inspired ornaments and lights sparkles under a twilight sky at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park.

We checked out the Tree of Life Awakenings: Holiday Edition and walked around the nearly empty park. Literally every ride available during the Extended Evening Hours was a walk-on, and it felt like we had the place to ourselves! I’d never ridden Expedition Everest at night, and it was incredible – a must-do if you love coasters!

Multicolored, wintery projections display on the Tree of Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park at night.

Seeing Pandora after dark is also a beautiful sight to behold, and we were able to ride both Avatar-themed attractions with no wait before the park closed for the night.

Because the Extended Evening Hours at Animal Kingdom ran from 6 p.m.-8 p.m., we still had more time for activities after closing! Kristen headed back to Fort Wilderness to check out the fare at Crockett’s Tavern, and I took an Uber to Hollywood Studios to watch the 9:30 p.m. showing of Fantasmic!

Characters including Steamboat Willie, Moana, Beast, Belle, Tiana, Naveen, and the 7 Dwarfs wave ribbons on a white steamboat float during Fantasmic!

After watching my favorite nighttime show, it was back to the Cabin and off to dreamland!

 

November 21, 2024:

While we had both fallen in love with Fort Wilderness, it was time to say goodbye to our cozy Cabin! The second part of our split stay was about to begin, and the friendly and helpful Cast Members from Bell Services loaded our luggage to transfer over to our next resort: Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa!

It was early, and our room at Saratoga wasn’t ready yet, so we grabbed a bus to Disney Springs. Christmas Tree Stroll, here we come!

The Haunted Mansion themed Christmas Tree at Disney Springs. The tree is decorated with purple, green, and silvery ornate ornaments, with a large green bride in a white wedding gown holding a bouquet of dried purple and brown flowers.

Among all the opportunities for holiday shopping, Disney Springs has a ton of themed Christmas trees to check out! My personal favorite is the Haunted Mansion tree, but they are all fantastic!

We received notification that our Studio was ready and made our way back to Saratoga Springs. We stayed in the Grandstand section and spent some time taking photos and videos of the room before unpacking and prepping for the night’s event: Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!

Garlands, wreaths, and a large Christmas tree with multicolored lights and ornaments decorate the buildings of Main Street USA at night as white pretend snow falls over the crowd of guests.

We arrived at Magic Kingdom, got our wristbands, and it was time to get the party started! We indulged in some sweet snacks and shopping and then split up so we could cover all the amazing offerings the event had in store!

Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse perform during Mickey’s One Upon a Christmas Parade at Magic Kingdom. The characters wear beige, green, and red holiday outfits, and the float is decorated with a multicolored Christmas tree and giant gift boxes.

Over the course of the night, Kristen and I met some characters, enjoyed Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks Show, Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas Parade, and Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration, and had a chance to ride some attractions such as the Jingle Cruise and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure with very low wait times. You also cannot miss the “snoap” (faux snow) on Main Street USA to end the night!

 

November 22, 2024: 

This morning Kristen and I split up again and I headed back to Animal Kingdom to see more of the Christmas décor and my very favorite, the Merry Menagerie puppets! These artisan-crafted animals are so playful and cute and never fail to make me smile!

A happy puppeteer in a white, wintery costume plays with a white mountain goat puppet. The puppet is decorated with light blue and gold designs.

Afterwards, I headed over to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas to see their Christmas décor, but the Cast Members let me know I was a little too early, and their festivities would be starting the following week. With that being the case, I moved on to Hollywood Studios to capture more photos and videos of their Christmas décor and meet Kristen for lunch!

We dined with Minnie and friends at Hollywood & Vine and after chatting with some of our favorite characters and feasting on the buffet, it was time for us to split up again! Kristen was headed to Disney’s Riviera Resort, and I was off to EPCOT!

Minnie Mouse wears her sparkly, red lace holiday dress at Hollywood & Vine restaurant at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

We were still a little too early to enjoy EPCOT’s International Festival of the Holidays this year, but there was still plenty of holiday spirit emerging around the park! 

I was really excited to check out Living with the Land – Glimmering Greenhouses. This attraction is a favorite for me year-round, but the Christmas touches and lights add an extra layer of holiday magic!

A green Living with the Land boat carrying guests enters a greenhouse where the plants and shelving are decorated with white, purple, green, blue, and pink twinkling Christmas lights.

After touring around World Showcase, it was time to snag a spot for Luminous The Symphony of Us. I had only seen this nighttime spectacular once before and it blew me away! The fountains, fireworks, lasers, music and more come together for a show that is truly moving.

Golden fireworks erupt in the sky over the white, purple, and pink lights and fountains of the Luminous The Symphony of Us nighttime show in World Showcase Lagoon at EPCOT.

Once back at Saratoga for the night, Kristen and I filmed some content for TikTok, showered, and chatted about our respective days as we got ready for bed. 

 

November 23, 2024:

As we’d been running around like crazy during the trip, we decided to set our alarms a bit later than usual, as we knew it was going to be a late night. I decided to get a jump start on packing as we were leaving the next day, and we enjoyed a low-key late breakfast in our room before preparing to head out. 

Originally, we had planned to visit Epcot that morning, but as their holiday festivities weren’t in full swing just yet, we hopped on the bus and headed to Magic Kingdom instead to get some extra sunshine-filled photos and videos of the Christmas décor in the park. 

Characters Chip ‘N’ Dale wave to the camera at Magic Kingdom. They are standing under a white gazebo decorated with green and red garlands and poinsettia plants.

We had a surprise visit with Chip ‘N’ Dale, snacked on some delicious Dole Whip treats, and did a little holiday shopping too!

We said our final goodbyes to Magic Kingdom for this trip and started making our way to Hollywood Studios. As the announcements for the future closure of Muppet*Vision 3D had just been made, we were eager to see the classic show again asap!

After the tour of the Muppets’ lab, it was almost time for Disney Jollywood Nights to start! This is a special ticketed event, but if you’re attending the party and are already in the park ahead of its start time, you can conveniently get your wristbands right by Muppet*Vision 3D!

A hand holds the green Disney Jollywood Nights 2024 map featuring a cartoon version of Gertie the dinosaur in a red Santa hat in front of a Christmas tree. The map is held up in front of the lit-up marquee for Muppet*Vision 3D and colorful Christmas decorations.

As the Jollywood festivities kicked off, Kristen and I made our way to Sunset Boulevard for the first showing of Disney Holidays in Hollywood, followed by a trip to the Twilight Zone on Tower of Terror and a speedy tour of L.A. on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, both of which had almost no wait!

Belle, Minnie, Mickey, Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, and an ensemble of dancers and musicians in holiday outfits perform on a stage decorated with red and gold gift boxes and silver and gold ornaments during the Disney Holidays in Hollywood show.

We then stopped at the Twilight Soiree at the Tip Top Club for a glamorous performance. This is one of my favorite parts of the entire party, as I love the glitz and sparkle of the old Hollywood golden age! 

A 4-person group plays music outside Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios. The female lead singer is dressed in a sequined white and silver gown and white fur shawl, and the 3 men playing instruments in the back wear white and black suits as fog rolls over the stage.

After listening to some swinging seasonal songs, Kristen and I split up to each attend a dance party. I loved the Pixar Disco and danced with Edna Mode and Mike Wazowski before meeting back up with Kristen for Jazzy Holidays at The Hollywood Brown Derby!

We enjoyed our festive fare and then found a spot to watch Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! This nighttime display uses lasers, fireworks, video projections, and more to tell a delightful holiday tale on the façade of the Chinese Theater.

Red and green lasers fill the sky above the Chinese Theater during Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! The theater is lit up with red and green projections that look like gift boxes, as well as Mickey Mouse at the top of the building.

Next up on our wish list for the night was Glisten! It’s a brand-new skating show full of toe-tapping tunes and icy tricks! We then followed that up with my favorite part of the night – a showing of What’s This? Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Sing-Along! I think that life-sized Jack Skellington puppet is genuinely amazing, and of course, I love the movie soundtrack too!

A black and white life-size Jack Skellington puppet performs on stage in front of purple, blue, and green curtains. Jack’s arms are outstretched, and he is looking upwards to the right.

The party was nearly over, so we capped it off by visiting some characters and dashing around Andy’s Backyard with Slinky Dog. By the time the party ended at 12:30 a.m., we were exhausted, but we sure had a fantastically festive night!

DVCR team member Stacy poses with characters Bert in his red, yellow, and white striped suit and hat and a penguin with a red bow tie from Mary Poppins.

 

November 24, 2024:

Our time had come to bid Saratoga a final farewell as we rolled our suitcases out and met our Uber to head to the airport. I’d never seen frost on the ground at WDW before, but it had been a chilly week!

Green golf grounds with light frost and early morning sunshine at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa.

We arrived at MCO and chatted about the magical memories we had shared during our trip before we boarded our flight. A few hours later, we were home!

Kristen and I truly had a blast on our trip, and if you’re visiting WDW over the holiday season, we hope you have a merry and magical time, too! 

 

~Stacy

Team members Kristen and Stacy pose in front of Mickey and Minnie Mouse topiaries and the Magic Kingdom Train Station, which is lit up blue, green, red for Christmas.

 

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