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Life

5 Things To Expect When Going to Disney During The Holidays

Chelsea Kun
Bailey McBride
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at PSU chapter.

Ah, yes, Disney — the happiest place on Earth and personally my favorite place besides Penn State. The happiest place on Earth is extra special during holidays, like Christmas and Halloween.

Though Halloween is technically not a holiday, in Disney World it is certainly a special time of year. Decorations, parties, and candy fill the streets of Magic Kingdom until Oct. 31, so it’s safe to say this “holiday” season in Disney is starting now. After that, it changes to different decorations, more parties and candy, except you may see Santa. Christmas is another special time of year in Disney with unreal experiences. 

There are some things you should expect when visiting Disney during Halloween or Christmas — some that will make your experience like you will never forget. 

It will be crowded

Disney is notorious for being crowded during these times. What do you expect? Disney has a lot of attractions that you only get to see during the holidays, so of course it would attract large crowds. You should expect to wait in long lines and make your way through crowds. 

There will be a lot of beautiful decorations 

Disney holiday decorations are insane. The craziest part about it is the cast members — which is what Disney calls all their employees — who decorate the park do it all overnight. All of the parks are decorated but Magic Kingdom, especially Main Street, has the most decorations. It’s just something you have to see for yourself.  

You will “party” it up

During Halloween and Christmas there are different parties: Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party during Halloween and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party during Christmas. They are ticketed events that happen on certain days, and there are special shows, character meet-and-greets, and other cool things. Mickey certainly knows how to party better than any Penn Stater.  

You might fall into a sugar coma

You can’t have Halloween without Trick-or-Treat or Christmas without cookies, and in Disney there’s a lot of each. During the parties, they serve sugary snacks, some for free. There are even ticketed dessert parties that serve a buffet full of sweet and savory sweets. It’s a sugar coma waiting to happen, but a totally-worth-it sugar coma. 

 

Some of the rides might be different

Disney World will give the rides a holiday overlay to give guest a Halloween or Christmas feel on the rides. For example, on Space Mountain during Halloween, they shut off all the lights so it is completely dark. During Christmas, there are little hints of decoration on the Jungle Cruise, and the name is changed to the Jingle Cruise. There are many more examples of ways the rides give guests a Christmas feel. 

Above all, it will be Disney unlike anything you’ve ever seen. 

I am a senior majoring in Digital and Print Journalism at Penn State University, so I absolutely love to write. I am originally from Easton, Pennsylvania (no I did not grow up in the Crayola Factory). I love to sing, and I am a huge Kelly Clarkson fan! I literally have every single Kelly Clarkson lyric in the history of ever memorized. On a normal day, you'll most likely find me cuddling with my dogs and watching Disney movies.
Bailey McBride is a Senior at Penn State University pursuing a Broadcast Journalism degree with minors in Political Science and Digital Media Trends & Analytics. She is a sister of Delta Gamma. She enjoys making hyper-organizational lists and looking at future pups to adopt. Her dream job is to be Press Secretary of the White House.