Hello, hello fellow Disney connoisseurs! Welcome back to this installation of It All Started with a Mouse! This week, something very exciting happened in Disney World… they decorated for Christmas! I know, I know. Some of you may be saying “It’s too early for Christmas,” but I think it’s never too early to spread a little Christmas cheer. Obviously, Disney agrees with me, but did you know how long it takes them to decorate all of Disney World? One night. Yes, you read that right. One night. I may not sound believable, but it is. In this post, I’m going to tell you all the Christmas decor in Disney and how it’s put up in one night. Without further ado, let’s get to it!

Every year, Disney hosts it’s last Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (or Disney After Hours Boo Bash this year) in Magic Kingdom on October 31st. When the guests leave the park around midnight, the real magic begins. By the time they all come back on November 1st, every Halloween decoration will be put away and all the Christmas and holiday decor will be out in each park and resort.

This feat literally happens overnight. The cast members work year-round to get the holiday decor ready to be put out during this one night. On the night of October 31st, a special team of cast members works through the night, putting up every holiday decoration and each Christmas tree. There are nine “icon” Christmas trees in Disney World. There is one in each of the four parks and then one in the Grand Floridian, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge, Contemporary Resort, and Disney Springs. Many of these trees have custom-made ornaments. In all, there are over 10,000 ornaments and 250,000 lights used on all the trees found in Disney World. On Cinderella Castle, there are over 200,000 LED lights. The trees in the lobbies of the resorts range from 16 feet to 70 feet tall, and the lights on the icon tree at the Contemporary are actually painted street lamp bulbs. This makes the tree visible from 25 miles away.

Another unique decoration item is actually an edible one (and delicious at that). This is the life-size gingerbread house found in the Grand Floridian. This incredible gingerbread house is 17 feet tall and completely edible. They start making the honey dough in June and start baking the gingerbread in August. All in all, this takes about 6 months to complete. If you’re like me and just stand there in awe of this masterpiece, wanting to eat it all, you can actually buy pieces of the house to snack on, such as a shingle of the roof.

While Disney has many beautiful decorations and events for Christmas, there are also decor and activities for other holidays, such as Hanukkah. On Main Street, the candles on a menorah are lit each night of Hanukkah. There is also a live retelling of the Hanukkah Story in Epcot during the International Festival of the Holidays. This festival in World Showcase in Epcot also showcases many other holiday traditions around the world, which is really cool. It’s incredible to walk through the different countries and learn about how they celebrate the holiday season. Without a doubt, Christmas time is my absolute favorite time of year to visit Disney World. The decorations are beautiful and that special Disney magic really adds a whole other meaning to the Christmas spirit. I hope one day everyone is able to experience it!

P.S. If you don’t want to wait to be able to fly to Disney to see the beauty of Disney at Christmas and how Disney is decorated all in one night, there’s a PHENOMENAL documentary on Disney Plus called Decorating Disney: Holiday Magic.