We think the holidays at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park are definitely underrated! Naturally, an Animal Kingdom Christmas includes being immediately greeted by decor and music when you arrive, followed by the Merry Menagerie animal puppeteers. In addition, you'll see holiday decorations sprinkled in throughout the park, and even Asia is decorated for Diwali. And of course, you can meet Santa Claus and other characters in their festive best. Don't miss experiencing the holidays at Animal Kingdom!
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Overview of the Holidays at Disney's Animal Kingdom
The holidays are always an extra magical time at Walt Disney World Resort! Magic Kingdom hosts its Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas parties, EPCOT celebrates the season with the International Festival of the Holiday and Disney's Hollywood Studios is making new holiday traditions with the after-hours event Disney Jollywood Nights. (Yes, it's returning for 2024! We're so frogcited!) Comparatively speaking, Disney's Animal Kingdom has more limited holiday celebrations, but its extra decor and offerings still add some holiday magic.
You're first greeted by a larger-than-life tree at the entrance to the park. In Discovery Island, we always love interacting with the winter animal puppets. Penguins, foxes, polar bears and more come to life as part of the Merry Menagerie. Characters in DinoLand also get some festive outfits for the occasion, plus Mickey and Minnie at Adventurer's Outpost. The Disney Parks Blogs shared that Jolly Old Saint Nick will meet in all four parks. We can't wait to hear where he will be meeting in Animal Kingdom for 2024. We'll update this post once more details are announced.
Here's what to expect with the holidays at Disney's Animal Kingdom!
Christmas Decorations at Disney's Animal Kingdom
The holiday decorations start right away with the giant Christmas tree in front of the park entrance. PhotoPass photographers are stationed at the tree for a festive backdrop. You'll find small holiday touches by the entrance and in Africa, with the most holiday decor and entertainment in Discovery Island and DinoLand U.S.A.
Discovery Island
As the first land you see once you enter the park, the holiday decorations begin as you walk over the bridge into Discovery Island. The village is in the middle of celebrating the winter season, so you'll see lots of sparkling white holiday decorations. Animal-inspired luminaries line the rooftops ... we didn't see any frogs, but we love the colorful patterns!
DinoLand U.S.A.
DinoLand is rocking out for the holidays! There are decorations and a festive holiday playlist to enjoy in the land. All of the characters have adorable festive outfits and backdrops. You definitely feel the holiday spirit here!
Asia
In Anandapur, the theater district is decorated for Diwali, which is the holiday festival of lights in India. Glowing flowers and lanterns light up the pathway between Anandapur Theater and the waterfront stage, where you can see Chakranadi play.
Just because you're on an alien moon doesn't mean you won't find Earth's holidays being celebrated. In fact, the expats that inhabit Pandora love decorating during the most wonderful time of the year! During the holiday season over at Pongu Pongu, you'll find that the giant AMP suit has been draped with colorful Christmas string lights and adorned with a jolly Santa hat and beard. If you look closely, you'll also find ornaments made out of Pandora's natural materials featuring classic Christmas iconography, as well as animals native to Pandora.
My favorite decor in all of Animal Kingdom, though, is right in front of to the Pongu Pongu sign. To the left, you'll find both a normal human nutcracker and a larger Na'vi nutcracker and to the right, a beautiful menorah with a Star of David to celebrate the Festival of Lights.
Christmas Entertainment and Characters at Disney's Animal Kingdom
*Note: Listed below are the holiday entertainment and character interactions that were available for 2023. We have left them here for planning purposes. As of June 2024, Disney has confirmed the return of Merry Menagerie and character meet and greets with Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy in their holiday attire. Disney has also confirmed that Santa will be meeting in all four of the Disney World parks, Disney Springs and at the Disney Water Parks. We'll continue to update this post as specific details are announced.
Merry Menagerie
Discovery Island comes to life with life-sized, artisan-sculpted puppets of winter animals that include reindeer, foxes, polar bears, penguins and more. These "Merry Menagerie" puppets are accompanied by serenading musicians, and they interact with guests to create a fun and festive atmosphere. We love how adorable they are. You're even able to reach out to pet them. You don't want to miss this magnificent crew!
Characters and Festive Flotillas
To spread holiday cheer, most of the character flotillas receive a holiday overlay, and best of all, Santa Claus has his own boat! The festive flotillas circle around the entirety of Discovery River, so you can see them pretty much anywhere along the river. They hoppen about once an hour, and you can check the My Disney Experience app to see the timeframe for when each one is available.
Our favorite spot to watch the flotillas is along the boardwalk bridge that connects Pandora and Port of Harambe, as it gets low and close to the water. Our other favorite spot is near the former Rivers of Light stadium. Specifically, we prefer the bridge that connects Expedition Everest and Finding Nemo — The Musical theater. While it's high above the water, you have a good vantage point of the flotillas coming down the river, and it's close to where they come and go, so you may even see two boats cruise by each other. If you want to multitask, Flame Tree Barbecue also has some seating right by the water where the flotillas pass by. Once you see one flotilla, stick around because they closely follow each other. We saw three flotillas within 10 minutes!
Over at Adventurer's Outpost, Mickey and Minnie are all decked out in their holiday attire and so frogcited to meet you at their exploration headquarters!
Donald's Dino-Bash
Over in DinoLand, you can meet your favorite characters with festive outfits and backdrops! Hosting the Dino-Bash, Donald Duck sports a fabulous holiday outfit, with nods to his dinosaur friends. Fashionista Daisy Duck is rocking a matching outfit as well.
Just when I thought Chip 'n' Dale couldn't get more adorable, they have added festive accessories to their dinosaur costumes. Too cute!
Live Performances
In the village of Harambe, the inspiration of western traditions blends with the colors and textiles of African celebrations. The Tam Tam Drummers provide a lively performance — Tad and Lily had such a blast dancing along in the audience! Over in Asia, Chakranadi plays the sitar on the waterfront stage.
Tree of Life Awakenings
At the heart of Discovery Island, the Tree of Life awakens to tell a special series of holiday tales. Each story is told in a unique artistic style, complete with heartwarming holiday-inspired musical scores.
Keep in mind that the projections only hoppen once it gets dark enough (nowadays, it's usually completely dark after 6 p.m.). If the park closes earlier than sunset, you will not be able to see these shows.
Animal Kingdom Christmas — Festive Food and Seasonal Flavors
We can't wait to indulge in the festive goodies Animal Kingdom has to offer:
Creature Comforts (available Dec. 22 through 31)
- Mickey Holiday Mousse Dome: Amaretto-chocolate mousse, cherry-cranberry coulis, orange-chocolate cake, white chocolate glazeςage, and chocolate Mickey ears
Pizzafari and Restaurantosaurus (available Dec. 1 through 29; mobile order available)
- Merry Menagerie Cupcake: Gingerbread cupcake with cream cheese filling and frosting
Satu'li Canteen (available Dec. 22 through 31; mobile order)
- Peppermint Cream Cheese Mousse: Peppermint-cream cheese mousse, peppermint sauce, peppermint candy pieces, and chocolate cookie crumbs
Are you excited about the Merry Menagerie and festive characters at Animal Kingdom? What Christmas decorations are you looking most forward to?
Related: The Complete Guide to Disney World Christmas Events
Hoppy planning!
