There are a few past Walt Disney World holiday traditions I always find myself reminiscing about this time of year. I’m excited for all of the new festivities since a lot has changed since my last winter visit to the parks, but I’m always a little nostalgic for the holiday events that are no longer around.
Admittedly, most of my past holiday Disney trips took place during a specific timeframe. As such, I’m missing things that may feel a little specific to 2011-2017-ish. Still, most tof these experiences were long-standing Disney traditions that I simply have nostalgia for from going to the parks throughout college and after graduation during my Disney College Program.
If most of your Disney trips took place pre-2010s or if you’re new to the holiday season at the resort altogether, some of this list may not resonate. (And that’s totally fine! If you’re missing different things or love the holidays the way they are, please share in the comments! I’d love to know if it’s just me on some of these….)
Before I get into the main topic of this post, I do think it’s important to discuss that while we’ve lost a lot of my favorite Disney World holiday experiences, we have gained some really notable additions. In Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Jollywood Nights seems to have recovered from a bumpy start last season and looks like a really fun event this year, especially for adults. I haven’t been to Jollywood Nights yet, but am excited to hopefully check it out in person next year. (The fact that I haven’t been yet also means I can’t compare it to a now-defunct holiday event at Hollywood Studios that I absolutely loved, so it will be interesting to see how the two compare, if at all.)
While not new this point, but new compared to some of the events I’m missing, I have to mention that I love the Jingle Cruise. This seasonal overlay to Adventureland’s Jungle Cruise attraction is a truly welcome addition to a Disney park that really wasn’t lacking in the holiday spirit department at all (which to me, shows that the company is capable of giving us “extra” holiday fun even in a park that already has plenty happening between the regular daytime Christmas festivities closer to December 25 and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party).
EPCOT continues to offer Candlelight Processional, which while I am not religious at all and can recognize some of the backlash toward that element of it, I really do love. It’s a festive event I look forward to when I’m in EPCOT during the holiday season. One of my most memorable visits with family during my College Program also centers around Candlelight Processional, when I booked a dining package at Via Napoli and took my grandparents to the show. This year, in addition to all the regular features of the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays, the park has also dressed up CommuniCore Hall with new holiday festivities, including an 8-ft. tall gingerbread Spaceship Earth, which looks pretty sweet, if you ask me.
And in Animal Kingdom, who can complain about the Merry Menagerie? The Merry Menagarie is a 10/10 addition to the park, and combined with some of the seasonal decor and snack around Animal Kingdom, this park has actually become one of my favorite places at Disney World during the holidays. (I might be biased because it’s my favorite park, but c’mon, who doesn’t liek the Merry Menagerie?!)
What’s missing then? Here are the past Walt Disney World holiday traditions I’ve been missing:
Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights
It’s time to pour (yet another) one out for the Streets of America section of Hollywood Studios, and the added loss of this space for seasonal events like one of the best holiday experiences at Disney World to date: The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. I spent a lot of time on the Streets of America during my second College Program when I worked at Lights, Motors, Action! (RIP), so this one is extra special to me.
I can cover the history of the Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights in another post, but in short, this was a light display originally created by a dad in Arkansas for his daughter that continued to grow each year and ultimately led to issues with traffic and congestion in their residential area, prompting Disney to acquire the lights to display in the park. The lights were synchronized to music, with cycles running through their choreographed routine taking place throughout the evening after the sun set.
Strolling through Streets of America with all of the displays is hard to beat in my memory as far as Disney holiday experiences go. I remember grabbing a coffee or hot chocolate or when I was old enough, a seasonal cocktail from one of the carts that would pop up on New York Street, and just hanging out with friends and family and enjoying the lights.
With the Streets of America removed to make way for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land, the lights had their last season in 2015. Since I haven’t been to Jollywood Nights yet, and really since that is an entirely different and separately ticketed event, it’s difficult to say how the current Hollywood Studios holiday experiences compare; Either way, the Osborne Lights are missed for sure.
Cinderella Castle Dream Lights
I need to preface this section by reiterating that I LOVE Frozen (2013). I love Frozen II (2019), I’m literally listening to the soundtrack as I write this. Elsa is one of my top…3… favorite Disney characters. I am someone who should be thrilled by the addition of any new Frozen additions to the parks.
I also LOVE Cinderella (1950). (Actually I love the 2015 live-action remake, too. And I usually do not love the remakes!) I will never get over the fact that 1. The Cinderella Castle Dream Lights are gone (or replaced by projections, I guess), and 2. We now have this weird light show where Elsa adds the ice (projections) to the castle after she is peer-pressured by other Frozen characters to do so, while openly acknowledging that IT ISN’T HER CASTLE.
The Cinderella Castle Dream Lights being replaced with projections feels like a real-world, or okay–Disney World, instane of practical effects vs. CGI in movies. I get it, CGI is easier, more cost-effective, whatever else, but there are so many times where practical effects are just going to look so much better. This is one of those times. The projections look great during the fireworks, but there was something so magical about walking down Main Street, U.S.A. and seeing the Dream Lights that simply cannot be replicated with projections.
On top of this, we now have Elsa lighting Cinderella Castle when it used to be the Fairy Godmother. I hate to sound picky about which fictional character is lighting the castle, but like….It’s Cinderella Castle. Elsa even points out during the current show that she is a guest in this kingdom, so what are we doing here?? I love Frozen, and would love Elsa to decorate some other structure with ice, but I honestly put Disney’s decision to remove the Dream Lights up there with the loss of the Great Movie Ride.
Televised Disney Christmas Parades
When I was a kid, I looked forward to watching the Disney Parks parade every year on Christmas morning. While my family took sort of frequent trips to Disney World, we rarely went during the holidays. Until my College Program, most of my memories of the Magic Kingdom’s parade were from watching it on TV in my parents’ living room.
Back then, you would see most of the parade as it’s regularly performed in the parks, with a couple of celebrity sightings and musical numbers, and of course, some advertising for various Disney Parks and products sprinkled throughout. It’s not that the current televised version is “bad” necessarily, it’s just different and doesn’t have the same feel as the old ones.
These days, it just has a totally different feel. It’s more commercialized, and is roughly 70/30 ad/parade. It’s fine, but not the nostalgic look at the parade I remember from when I was younger. (At least we can always watch streams of the regular parade and old filmings on YouTube! I do love the opening number of the 2013 parade with Neil Patrick Harris.)
Disney now televises additional holiday programming from the parks in recent years on top of the parade. I don’t think any of these have necessarily been a must-watch, but they’re still fun with musical performances and updates from the parks. (This year’s “Wonderful World of Disney: Holiday Spectacular” airs on ABC on December 1 at 8:00 PM ET, and will be streamed on Disney+ and Hulu beginning Dec. 2.)
As an aside, going to the filming days for the parade is somehow really fun and really boring at the same time. I’ve been a couple of times, and it’s definitely cool to be there during it but is actually kind of a long day because of how many times they need to re-shoot each section of the parade. I haven’t been to the Holiday Spectacular filming, but those look really fun where it’s mostly musical performances (this year’s had Elton John!)
Did I miss any ‘ghosts of Christmas past’ at Disney World? If I had experienced it firsthand, Lights of Winter would have made this list for sure, but please let me know if you’d add anything else to this list below!
