Unwrap the magic: 12 reasons to visit Disney Springs® this holiday season!

From a dazzling Christmas Tree Stroll and visits with Santa, to festive dining, live entertainment and a nightly “snow fall”, here are 12 reasons to visit Disney Springs® this holiday season.

If you’re visiting Orlando this holiday season, you’ll want to go to Disney Springs®. The free-to-enter shopping, dining, and entertainment complex transforms into a winter wonderland, offering a sleigh-full of holiday dining and festive activities for visitors of all ages. Let’s unwrap the magic and explore the special holiday dining and events awaiting you at Disney Springs®

Seasonal sips and treats

Whether you're craving a gourmet dinner or a light lunch, Disney Springs® offers some of the best restaurants in on Disney property. And during the holiday season, many of these restaurants offer seasonal menus and specialty treats. Here are our top food and beverage recommendations for the holiday season:

Amorette’s Patisserie

Amorette's Patisserie is not just a place to satisfy your sweet cravings; it's an immersive experience in the world of fine pastries and confections. Inspired by French cuisine with a touch of Disney magic, the restaurant offers a special menu of holiday-themed treats.

• Holiday Sweets Petit Cake: Layers of spice cake, cream cheese icing, and apricot jam with fresh apple compote and Italian buttercream.
• Mickey Winter Hat Dome Cake: Layers of vanilla chiffon, chai tea mousse, cranberry-cherry pâte de fruit, almond crunch, and brown butter ganache.
• Christmas Tree Cream Puff: Pistachio cream puff.
• Hot Cocoa Crème Brûlée: Hot cocoa crème brûlée with toasted marshmallow cream.
• Gingerbread Cheesecake and Mickey and Minnie Mouse Gingerbread Cookies.
• Santa Mickey Mousse: White chocolate mousse and dark chocolate mousse with crispy pearls.

Jock Lindsey’s “Holiday” Bar

Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar is a themed restaurant based on the Indiana Jones film series. Vintage aviation memorabilia, maps, and artifacts adorn the walls, creating an atmosphere that feels like a hangout for globe-trotting adventurers. During the holiday season, the water-front restaurant becomes Jock Lindsey’s “Holiday” Bar, boasting sparkling lights, festive decorations, and a special menu, including:

• O' Ham N' Cheese Trees: Puff pastry, Pitt ham, cheddar cheese, garlic herb butter and sugar plum jam.
• Naughty or Nice Deviled Eggs: Crispy ham with a sweet or spicy honey glaze.
• Here We Come A-Croquetting: Turkey croquettes, sweet potato purée, bacon-cranberry jam, turkey gravy and herbed gremolata.
• Jock's Famous Pigs in the Blanket: Debriziner sausage, puff pastry and cranberry mustard sauce.
• Popular holiday beverages: The Merry Margarita, Ginger Mule, Eternal Snow Fall, and the Hot Chocolate Grail Flight.

The Ganachery 

The Ganachery is a delightful chocolate shop offering a decadent and immersive chocolate experience. During the holidays, the shop offers whimsical holiday treats and confections, including:

• Gingerbread Mickey Chocolate Piñata: Milk chocolate piñata with crisp pearls and gingerbread toffee.
• Gingerbread-Pecan Toffee: Spiced toffee enrobed with milk chocolate and encrusted with toasted pecans and gingerbread crumbs.

• Mickey Chocolate-covered Gingerbread Cookies: Spiced gingerbread cookies enrobed in milk and dark chocolate.
• Chocolate Peppermint Bark: White and dark chocolate with crushed peppermint candy.
• Olaf Hot Cocoa Surprise: Milk chocolate shell filled with The Ganachery hot cocoa mix and house-made marshmallows.

Enchanting events, activities and holiday shopping

During the holiday season, Disney Springs® undergoes a magical transformation with dazzling decorations, live entertainment, meet-and-greets with holiday characters, and interactive experiences for guests of all ages. Below are the enchanting events and holiday activities that you can’t miss this year at Disney Springs®.

Disney Springs® Christmas Tree Stroll presented by AdventHealth

The Christmas Tree Stroll is a popular highlight at Disney Springs® during the holidays. This immersive experience invites guests to stroll around and encounter the themed trees. The attention to detail in the decorations is nothing short of extraordinary, making this stroll a must-do for families, couples, and Disney enthusiasts alike. Don't forget to have your camera ready for those picture-perfect moments! Pick up a complimentary map and match up the stickers at each tree. Once complete bring your map to one of the designated locations for a special gift. 

Meet Santa at Once Upon a Toy

The holiday season isn’t complete without a visit with Santa Claus. Now through December 24th, guests of all ages can meet and take pictures with Santa Claus at the Once Upon a Toy store in Disney Springs®. This attraction is popular, so a virtual queue through the My Disney Experience App will be in place to manage wait times and lines. Currently, a standby queue is not available. 

Nightly snow fall

Yes, you read that right! It can “snow” in Florida! Each night at the Disney Springs® Town Center, there will be an intermittent nightly “snow fall” from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Guests can walk through the Town Center as snow gently falls from the sky, creating a true winter wonderland. Be on the look-out for holiday-themed characters, snowflake roller skaters, and toy soldier stilt-walkers, as they are sure to make an appearance!

Holiday Brass Band

Thursday through Saturday until December 24th, you can catch the Holiday Brass Band at the Town Center at Disney Springs®.  Between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., the band will play holiday favorites as guests stroll through the winter wonderland, enjoying hot cocoa and seasonal treats from food and beverage carts.

Take holiday photos at Disney Photopass Studio

During the holiday season, you can get professional photos with your family and friends at the Disney PhotoPass Studio located in the Marketplace district. The studio offers a variety of holiday-themed Disney virtual backgrounds, perfect for a holiday card or special memento from your Orlando getaway.

Cast in Bronze Christmas Carillon

Each day from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Aerophile Park, you can see the Cast in Bronze Christmas Carillon, a one-of-a-kind mobile carillon consisting of 35 bells that have a total weight of four tons. In fact, it’s the heaviest instrument in the world! The bells play beautiful songs that are synchronized to lights for an impressive show. 

DJ Sleigh

Each night through December 30th, enjoy live music from DJ Sleigh at Disney Springs® Marketplace. Spinning joyful tunes and holiday classics, DJ Sleigh provides the perfect backdrop as shop and wander through the complex. 

Holiday shopping

The holiday season wouldn't be complete without a bit of gift shopping, and Disney Springs® has you covered. With more than 100 shops, including popular brand names and unique boutiques, Disney Springs® is a shopper's paradise. During the holidays, the shopping complex becomes even more spectacular. Explore a wide array of holiday-themed merchandise, including ornaments, apparel, and exclusive collectibles, and many stores offer special sales and promotions, making it an ideal destination for finding special gifts for family and friends. 

Disney’s Day of Christmas

Disney’s Day of Christmas is a year-round Christmas store with Disney-themed ornaments, stockings, gift wrap, and holiday décor. Shoppers can have ornaments and stockings personalized, and the shop has a special Frozen section dedicated to merchandise inspired by the iconic winter movie.

Visiting Orlando this holiday season? Stay at Caribe Royale Orlando, a Walt Disney World Good Neighbor® Hotel.

If you’re planning on visiting Orlando during the holiday season, there’s no better place to stay than Caribe Royale Orlando. The newly re-imagined, all-suite resort goes all out to provide a festive and entertaining getaway for guests of all ages. From a larger-than-life Holiday Chocolate Wonderland, to visits with Santa, holiday-themed scavenger hunts, and a Christmas Eve tree lighting ceremony, Caribe Royale Orlando will make your getaway magical and memorable.  

The resort boasts an array of resort amenities, including sparkling pools and water slide, six unique dining experiences, luxury spa, and on-site biking and fishing. And, when you stay at Caribe Royale Orlando—a Walt Disney World Good Neighbor® Hotel—shuttle transportation to all four Disney® Theme Parks and evening shuttle to Disney Springs® is included in your stay.

Book your stay here.