Disney World Decorates All Their Hotels For Christmas With Stunning Decorations

Disney World’s hotels are must-see holiday destinations in their own right. From massive gingerbread houses and Christmas-themed castle displays to Polynesian-themed trees and gingerbread carousels, the Disney World hotels are nothing short of amazing during the holidays.

As an Orlando local who visits the Disney World hotels weekly, I always recommend planning a resort hopping day, especially during the holidays. The thing is, not enough guests know how to plan their resort hopping day, what to see, and what to experience to get the most out of the holiday decorations. This guide shows you our top holiday resort hopping itineraries so you know exactly where to go and how to get there. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including news about changes at Disney World and a new robotic Olaf figure. See all the current sales, including the Disney World Black Friday sale, Universal Studios Hollywood Black Friday sale, Universal Orlando Black Friday sale, and the Disneyland Black Friday sale.

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This Fan-Favorite Gingerbread House is Missing This Year

Unfortunately, one of the most iconic gingerbread houses at Walt Disney World won’t be returning for 2025.

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort lobby gingerbread house has been a tradition for the last 25 years with its incredible detail and beautiful craftsmanship. Drawing crowds to the resort during this holiday season, this unique holiday staple at Disney World won’t be returning due construction and space constraints. Disney just wrapped up a big chunk of this resort transformation and shared updates on the ongoing work.

This makes complete sense since the Grand Floridian lobby gingerbread house is massive! However, we are hopeful that this gingerbread icon will return for 2026!

Trust us when we say this: there are a lot of special holiday decorations to check out at the Disney World resort hotels.

This includes the holiday icons that guests love to visit every year. Take, for instance, the gingerbread displays at some of the Walt Disney World Deluxe resorts, which draws crowds upon crowds. However, if you’re visiting the resorts, don’t miss out on the details of each hotel’s holiday decorations, which are themed after each resort’s theme. And of course, don’t miss out on the special holiday themed food and drinks!

Here’s our top holiday resort hopping itineraries.

Unlike our Magic Kingdom resort hopping itinerary, checking out the holiday decorations at the Magic Kingdom resorts includes a few more stops.

If you’re staying at a Disney World hotel or are a Disney World annual passholder, start at the Transportation and Ticket Center. This gives you direct access to the monorail. Otherwise, park at Disney Springs (since it’s free) and take the bus to the first hotel on the Monorail Resort loop.

Here’s how I would personally plan my holiday resort hopping day through these hotels.

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

You can see the current Christmas display at Disney’s Grand Floridian in the photo above. Check out the brand new lobby bar seen on the left side of the photo. This was part of the ongoing lobby construction which led to the Gingerbread House not being put up this year.

• Marvel at the beautiful Christmas tree in the main lobby

• Look at the grand holiday decorations around the main lobby

• Sip on the Grand Cosmopolitan at Enchanted Rose Bar – this location is upstairs

Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

• Check out the holiday decorations at Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto and sip on one of the holiday-themed drinks (the Tropical Snowstorm is a favorite of mine)

• Explore the island-themed holiday decorations at the Grand Ceremonial House

• Marvel at the Christmas tree near the check-in counter

The highlight of this resort during Christmas is the Trader Sam’s transformation. They keep it particularly tropical in keeping with the theme of the resort. The real highlight of this tour comes in two stops.

Disney’s Contemporary Resort

• Marvel at one of the biggest Christmas trees on Disney World property, just outside the entrance to the Contemporary

• Vote for the best Cast Member-made Christmas wreaths

The decorations here are all more modern in keeping with the Contemporary Resort theme. They also pull in some of the flat Mary Blair style based on the massive mural by the artist.

Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resort

From the Contemporary Resort, you can take a water taxi directly to Wilderness Lodge or Fort Wilderness. This is the highlight of this tour.

• Look at the massive Christmas tree in the main lobby

• Marvel at the lineup of gingerbread displays along the main lobby

• Take a bite of a holiday sweet treat from the shop in the main lobby

It’s a big deal that gingerbread displays are back here this year. There hasn’t been a display here since 2019. This resort is the perfect holiday setting. Make sure to add this stop to your tour.

Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campgrounds

From Wilderness Lodge, you can take a water taxi or bus directly to Fort Wilderness.

• Explore the entire resort to look at the guest-created holiday decorations

• Take your loved one on a holiday-themed “sleigh” ride

Walk into the barn area which is all lit up and decorated for the holidays.

Like hopping the Monorail resorts, hopping around the EPCOT resorts is simple and convenient, but with one major difference: you can simply walk around to visit each hotel without using transportation.

If you’re staying at a Disney World hotel or are a Disney World annual passholder, start at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This gives you direct access to the Disney World Skyliner. Otherwise, park at Disney Springs (since it’s free) and take the bus to any one of the following hotels.

Here’s how I would personally plan my holiday resort hopping day at the EPCOT resorts:

Disney’s BoardWalk Inn

• Explore the resort’s Coney-style boardwalk-themed holiday decorations and Christmas tree in the courtyard

• Take a bite of a holiday sweet treat from the shop in the main lobby

Disney’s Beach Club Resort

• Explore the resort’s beach themed holiday decorations

• Take a bite of a holiday sweet treat from the shop in the main lobby

Disney’s Yacht Club Resort

• Marvel at the holiday display in the lobby – a miniature mountain village with Disney character cameos!

• Explore the resort’s New England-style yacht club themed decorations and Christmas tree in the lobby

Be sure to look for the train circling the display! Kids (and plenty of adults) will love looking at all the little details.

Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin

• Chocolate holiday display

• meet Santa and Mrs. Claus (in Floridian Christmas attire)

Read here more about why we love the Swan and Dolphin as a hotel option.

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Don’t Forget Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

To get to Animal Kingdom Lodge, either walk through EPCOT to take a bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge, take a bus from the EPCOT resorts to Animal Kingdom and transfer to get to Animal Kingdom Lodge, or take rideshare.

• Marvel at the special themed Christmas tree

If you’re a massive fan of Christmas decorations and love the different themes of the resorts, this list may be worth your while! For a handful of these resorts, you can take Disney’s Skyliner to enjoy the different offerings. We love that transportation system and it makes this into a perfect afternoon spent seeing more decorations. I also always find myself thinking, “could I stay here next time?”

Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort

The holiday decorations inside Gran Destino Tower are always a treat to see, along with the massive Christmas tree in the lobby. You can access Coronado Springs by taking a bus from Animal Kingdom or by taking a bus from Disney Springs.

Disney’s Riviera Resort

The Riviera Resort‘s French-Italian holiday theming never lets us down. You can access the Riviera Resort via the Skyliner from Hollywood Studios or EPCOT, or you can take a bus to the Riviera Resort from Disney Springs.

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

The island-style holiday decorations at Caribbean Beach Resort is always fun to explore! You can take the 5-minute walk over to Caribbean Beach Resort from the Riviera Resort or access it via the Skyliner from Hollywood Studios or EPCOT, or you can take a bus to Caribbean Beach Resort from Disney Springs.

Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside and French Quarter

The New Orleans-style holiday decorations are one of the most unique you’ll find at Disney World. You can access either of the Port Orleans Resorts via bus from the Disney Springs bus stop or the Sassagoula River Cruise from the Marketplace at Disney Springs.

Disney Springs

And while not technically a resort, we can’t leave Disney Springs out of this list! The Christmas Tree Stroll is a fun way for families to explore the area, with different Christmas trees themed after different Disney movies and attractions. Additionally, many restaurants and lounges serve special holiday-themed food. Some of my favorite foods are at Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar. Check out our recent review of the holiday version of this Indiana Jones-themed bar.

READ MORE – How to Resort Hop Year-Round at Disney World

This holiday resort hopping article was inspired by our popular year-round resort hopping article that brings you through all of the great details and unique offerings at so many of the Walt Disney World resorts.

Check out our full resort hopping itinerary to find even more fun things to do across Walt Disney World resort outside the theme parks.

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