At Walt Disney World Resort, the holiday season is designed to dazzle. The parks glisten with lights, exclusive merchandise fills the shops, and parades turn Magic Kingdom into a nightly spectacle. Families flock to Orlando year after year in search of memories that blend Mickey Mouse magic with Christmas tradition.
Yet those memories don’t come cheap. For many visitors, December at Disney has become synonymous with sky-high prices — and they just keep climbing.
Crowds surge around Thanksgiving and continue through New Year’s, driving up demand for limited-capacity events. Special ticketed parties are often the only way to experience holiday-exclusive entertainment, locking guests into a cycle of add-ons that stretch even the most carefully planned vacation budgets.
At Magic Kingdom, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party runs on select nights in November and December. Tickets start at $169 and climb to $229, depending on the date. The after-hours event (which is already sold out for some dates) features Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, a fireworks show set to holiday music, snowfall on Main Street, and unlimited cookies and hot cocoa throughout the night.
Over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Jollywood Nights is back for its second season. Guests pay $159 to $199 per ticket for a mix of live entertainment, jazz-style holiday music, specialty treats, and exclusive character meet-and-greets. Last year’s event included stage shows with the Muppets, a holiday sing-along, and rare character appearances like Phineas and Ferb and Santa Duffy.
Even EPCOT, which hosts the popular Festival of the Holidays as part of standard park entry, has its own upcharges. The park’s beloved Candlelight Processional, featuring celebrity narrators retelling the Christmas story, requires a dining package that ranges from $41 to $110.
$200 Dinner With Santa
This year, one of the highest-priced experiences comes not from inside the parks, but from Disney’s BoardWalk. The Cake Bake Shop, an independent restaurant that opened in 2024, is hosting a Dinner with Santa event priced at $200 per adult and $150 per child.
The offering runs on four dates — November 18, November 25, December 2, and December 9. A three-course dinner is included, with Champagne and cocktails for adults, hors d’oeuvres, entrée options like beef bourguignon or roasted chicken, and seasonal desserts. Kids can choose from chicken tenders, pasta, or cheeseburger sliders.
Guests receive up to three drinks, a digital photo with Santa Claus via Disney PhotoPass, and a gift to take home.
Still, sticker shock has sparked conversation online. “Yikes. Why will people pay for that when you can meet him all over the parks?” wrote one X, previously known as Twitter, user.
Another wrote: “This might be one of the signs of the apocalypse!”
When it debuted last year, The Cake Bake Shop drew criticism for charging $23 for a slice of cake — higher than its other locations outside Disney property.
The backlash prompted some price adjustments, with The Cake Bake Shop ultimately lowering the cost of some items. Despite the changes, Dinner with Santa makes clear that high prices remain part of the brand’s model.
Meeting Santa Elsewhere at Disney World
Those unwilling to splurge on a sit-down dinner still have options. Santa Claus traditionally appears across Walt Disney World during the festive season, with many locations free to access.
At Disney Springs, Santa’s Marketplace uses a virtual queue in the My Disney Experience app. EPCOT will host him inside CommuniCore Hall for the 2025 season and also features international counterparts such as Père Noël in France and Father Christmas in the United Kingdom. Norway’s Barn Santa is also a guest favorite.
In 2024, Santa greeted families at Restaurantosaurus in Animal Kingdom, though construction in what remains of DinoLand U.S.A. leaves his 2025 return uncertain. Disney’s Hollywood Studios previously hosted him at It’s a Wonderful Shop on Grand Avenue, a space now closed to make way for a new Monsters, Inc. land.
Santa often makes appearances at Blizzard Beach and is a fixture of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, where he headlines Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade. That parade eventually shifts into Magic Kingdom’s daily entertainment lineup once the after-hours events end.
Where’s your favorite spot to meet Santa at Disney World?
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