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Resort Hopping at Christmastime

This is one of my favorite times of the year to live in Florida. The heat and humidity of the summer are gone, and Christmas is in the air. The mild daily temperatures make it easy to decorate outside, so whole neighborhoods are lit up for the holidays. Walt Disney World has more decorations than my entire hometown did when I was growing up. It’s a fun time to visit the parks, but what I really love during this time of the year is resort hopping.

 

My family and I have an annual tradition. We’ll take a couple of hours one day near Christmas and visit several of the resorts. Sometimes we’ll try to time the Magic Kingdom loop with Wishes. We haven’t seen the giant gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian yet this year, and I hear that the display at the Contemporary has a Frozen theme this time around. I can’t wait to see them.

While we haven’t yet seen the Magic Kingdom resort decorations, we have seen most of them at the Epcot Resorts. The gingerbread display at Disney’s BoardWalk resembles an ice cream stand this year, and the rest of the decorations are beautiful. The decorations are also incredible at both the Beach and the Yacht Clubs. At the Yacht Club there’s a train that travels through a candy coated New England town. The Beach Club features a gingerbread carousel. I haven’t made it to the Swan or Dolphin yet this year, but their decorations are always breathtaking.

My favorite resort to visit during the holidays is Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. The giant tree in the lobby is always a highlight for me. The Lodge is incredible any time of year, but the Christmas decorations make it even better. After we’ve seen the inside we’ll always go out to see which animals are roaming about.

Don’t limit your resort hopping to just the Deluxe Resorts. While you may not find the gingerbread houses and gargantuan trees at the Moderate and Value Resorts, they still do it up for the season. Resort hopping during the holidays will get you into the Christmas spirit. It’s a great way to spend a day off from the parks, and you might visit a resort that you’ve never been to before and decide that it would be perfect for your next trip.

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About PaulaK

I grew up in Western Massachusetts. When I was nine my family went to Disneyland and I was hooked. I grew up, attended New England College in Henniker, NH and eventually moved to Virginia. I worked as a disc jockey, married and became a full time mom when our daughter was born. Fast forward several years. In 2010 we moved to Central Florida and my Disney obsession grew. I now work as a freelance writer and spend my spare time in the parks. Under the name Paula Brown I penned the novels Dream Wanderers and The Coffee Cruiser. I also am a co-author of Dining at Walt Disney World: The Definitive Guide. I'm obsessed with Star Wars, so this is a good time to live in Central Florida. I've been a vegetarian for well over a decade, a choice that my daughter eventually made as well. While my husband still hasn't joined us fully he has given up most meats except for seafood. I was relieved to find that vegetarian dining is not difficult at Walt Disney World.