Disney Ends Santa Claus Run Across All Parks, Religious Celebration Ends
At Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort, the holiday season never ends slowly. One moment guests are posing with Santa under snowfall on Main Street, U.S.A., and the next morning, Christmas entertainment quietly vanishes as the parks begin their post-holiday transition. This week marked that shift. Santa Claus has officially been removed from both resorts now that Christmas Day has passed, signaling the end of the 2025 holiday season.
Disney previously outlined Santa’s appearance window clearly. As stated on the Disneyland website, “Santa and the reindeer arrive on November 14th and will stay at the Resort through Christmas Eve.” With Christmas Eve now behind us, his scheduled departure is complete. Santa will almost certainly return next season, but Disney has not announced dates or entertainment plans for 2026.
The End of the Season
For many families, this moment lands with a sentimental sting. Santa’s presence is more than a character meet-and-greet. He anchors the holiday environment across both coasts, appearing in parades, greeting children for photos, and closing out entertainment offerings that define November and December at Disney. His exit signals that the resort is shifting out of peak Christmas programming and into its New Year operational rhythm.
Even though this departure happens every year, guests still react to the change. During the final days before Christmas, lines to visit Santa stretched long across both parks as families scrambled for one more photo, one last candy-cane moment, or a final holiday card snapshot in front of the castle. By December 26, Santa was gone from schedules, meet-and-greets retired, and holiday offerings quietly began their wind-down.
Disneyland Resort hosts Santa in several locations each December, including Disney California Adventure, Festival of Holidays spaces, Storybook-style photo backdrops, and, traditionally, Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. Over at Walt Disney World, Santa appears at Magic Kingdom parties, in EPCOT World Showcase pavilions, inside Disney Springs, and along holiday parade routes. Santa is one of the most recognizable seasonal characters across Disney property, often viewed as the emotional heart of the holiday overlay.
With The Holiday Scale Back?
Now that he has made his scheduled exit, holiday theming will gradually scale back. Garland and decor linger temporarily, especially at Magic Kingdom where Christmas removal is a multi-week process. Seasonal treats remain available for a brief window, nighttime entertainment begins to shift, and the parks pivot toward end-of-year celebrations and refurbishment season. EPCOT Festival of the Arts sits just weeks away.
What remains unknown is the scope of next year’s holiday calendar. Disney announces Christmas offerings later in the year, typically mid-summer, alongside party ticket releases, merchandise previews, and food guides. Fans will look for signs like updated entertainment auditions, rehearsal activity, or early decor permits. Santa will return, but the when remains part of the anticipation.
These next few days represent a unique liminal phase at Disney parks. Holiday decorations stand tall while Santa has already stepped back to the North Pole, leaving a magical imprint without his physical presence. Families will still stroll under wreaths and castle lights for a short while longer, snapping lingering festive photos and soaking up the final moments of the holiday atmosphere.
Santa’s seasonal departure is routine, expected, and yet it never feels casual. Disney builds Christmas into months-long celebrations filled with nostalgia and pageantry, only to let it evaporate overnight. The contrast is powerful. One evening, Santa waves atop a parade float. The next, his spot is empty and the parks prepare for a new year.
For now, guests will wait eleven months for Santa’s return. Until then, his memory lives in Christmas-morning snapshots and vacation videos, a reminder that Disney magic shifts constantly from one season to the next.
And as soon as August or September marketing rolls out, families will once again refresh websites and mark calendars, ready to ask the question that circles every year:
How soon until Santa comes back to Disney?
