WDW Christmas Decorations

[Dennis Bratnik]

I am getting conflicting information on when WDW has all their Christmas decorations up. On line, I am seeing the end of November. I just chatted with a CM and was told they are up by the first week in November. I am trying to book a trip for November/December 2016 but I want the decorations to be up.

 

[rwdavis2]

All of them? Not sure. Magic Kingdom will be decorate by the first MVMCP. Animal Kingdom and Wilderness lodges were decorated by the 12-13th of November.

 

[maltdizzy]

I believe Epcot is the straggler. Because of the Candlelight Processional, it often doesn't have all of its decorations up to closer to Thanksgiving weekend. Most of the other parks are decorated early November.

 

[Ceryssa]

As mentioned MK is decorated by the first MVMCP except for the tree, which comes later. I believe AK and HS are decorated somewhere around the middle of November, in time for Thanksgiving. The resorts begin putting decorations up around the 2nd week of November, I believe, they do some sort of lottery to decide which ones get decorated first. They are all done by Thanksgiving. Epcot is done in time for the first Candlelight Processional, the weekend after Thanksgiving. So if you go Thanksgiving week or anytime after, you'll be guaranteed to be able to see all the decorations.

 

[Indio]

We went the week before Thanksgiving a couple years ago. The decorations were up at all the parks and resorts. We were staying at the Grand Floridian and they were putting up decorations there every night. We'd wake up to something new each morning. The Osborne Lights were in full swing, MVMCP was going on - everything was happening except the Candlelight Processional and the Santas around the World at Epcot.

 

[Jenna319]

We are going 10/31 - 11/7. By the end of our week, MK will definitely be decorated for Christmas - crossing fingers they will have the castle lighting on 11/5. On 11/6, we are going to HS and it should be the 1st night for the Osborne Lights and that will definitely get you in the holiday spirit! We are staying at Grand Floridian and unfortunately, the gingerbread house won't be up that early - perhaps we will get to see them starting it but I doubt it....

 

[Jenna319]

Does anyone know what time the castle lighting at MK takes place? We have a BOG ADR at 520p on 11/5.

 

[Broncobilly83]

As you can see in my signature, we have done the early November trek numerous times recently, LOL, and while not experts, I think we have a handle on decorations. Most of the MK decorations will be up by the start of the first MVMCP. The big tree on Main Street will be up after the filming of the Christmas Day parade in early December. Usually the Osborne lights are a day or two after the first MVMCP. Last year, the lightings usually were around 6:15 to 6:30 PM

Most of the other parks will be decorated later in the month as others posted.

Resorts are the gamble however. Using Wilderness Lodge as the example, when we were there 11/07/12-11/13/12, the last night we were there, when we came back to the hotel, they were wheeling everything in to decorate, and when we awoke, the resort was unlike anything we had ever seen. Betsy spent 2 hours just snapping pics from all angles and locations, LOL. We loved it.

BUT when we returned 11/12/14 -11/18/14, later in the month than 2 years earlier, no decoration went up at almost any resort during that time, since they were focused on something else (I forget what as I type this, LOL). Not even the Gingerbread houses save Contemporary's was up by the time we left.

 

[Robo]

Does anyone know what time the castle lighting at MK takes place? We have a BOG ADR at 520p on 11/5.

6:15pm nightly.
And, again at 7:30pm (but NOT when there is a MVMCP that night.)

 

[scrapquitler]

I am getting conflicting information on when WDW has all their Christmas decorations up. On line, I am seeing the end of November. I just chatted with a CM and was told they are up by the first week in November. I am trying to book a trip for November/December 2016 but I want the decorations to be up.

Maybe some of them won't be up until closer to Thanksgiving, but I'm fairly sure that MK will be fully decorated by November 8th because that is the date of the first Christmas Party.

 

[marielynn724]

It's my understanding that they go up gradually through the month of November rather than all at once. One year I stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and they were starting to put up Christmas trees in the lobby, and that was the very first weekend of the month (around the 7th/8th of November). I believe everything is up in the parks and resorts by Thanksgiving.