Five of Our Favorite Walt Disney World Christmas Trees

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Everywhere you go

There’s a tree in the Grand Hotel

one in the park as well…”

It’s the holiday season! The stockings are hung above the fireplace at our house, and a festive wreath adorns our front door. It’s my absolute favorite time of year, a season for crackling fires, mugs of hot cocoa, and Bing Crosby crooning about snow on Christmas. The yule tide spirit has descended on Walt Disney World as well. Main Street U.S.A. has become a winter wonderland, the Jingle Cruise has returned to Adventureland, and Gertie the Dinosaur has donned her Santa Claus hat in Hollywood Studios. Some of my favorite parts of the holidays at Walt Disney World are the Christmas trees. They can be found no matter where you travel on property: in Disney Springs, in the resorts, and in the parks. 

This week, let’s take a look at some of our favorite Walt Disney World Christmas trees.

The Disney Springs Christmas Tree Stroll

Okay, so we’re starting the list off by cheating a little. Technically, this is 20 different Christmas trees. They are spread throughout the neighborhoods of Disney Springs, and there’s even a scavenger hunt involved in seeing them all. Pick up a map from Amorette’s Patisserie, Basin, The BOATHOUSE, City Works Eatery & Pour House, or Under Armor Brand House, and then mark off the trees as you find them. Once you’ve seen them all, take your map to one of the redemption locations and you’ll receive a prize!

Every tree is elaborately themed, and absolutely gorgeous. Some of the tree themes this year include the Haunted Mansion, Frozen, Star Wars, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Raya and the Last Dragon, Black Panther, Mickey and Minnie, and more. Each one is a wonder and a delight to look at, and you can easily pass hours examining every intricate detail and decoration on the trees.

Wilderness Lodge

There’s a Norwegian word for coziness: hygge. It refers to a sense of, “comfortable conviviality with feelings of wellness and contentment.” I think that is the perfect way to describe the interior of the Wilderness Lodge at Christmas. The interior decor always feels comfortable: the lighting, the natural wood decorations, the feel of a turn of the century National Parks lodge, not to mention the Grand Fireplace. It’s the very picture of cozy.

Add in a towering Christmas tree and it’s pure perfection. As you walk around the base of the tree, you can see all kinds of amazing decorations: woodland critters, glowing teepees, tiny canoes, and miniature lanterns with the silhouettes of animals on them. It’s breathtaking, and really makes you want to just curl up on of the nearby couches while visions of sugar plums dance in your head.

Disney’s Polynesian Resort

I am an unabashed fan of all things Tiki. Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room is one of my all-time favorite attractions, and I think that Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto is a masterpiece of theming and design. It should come as no surprise that I love the Christmas Tree at Disney’s Polynesian Resort. True to the resort’s theme, the tree is covered with little pineapples, plumeria, woven ornaments, sea life ornaments, orchids, antherium, and sea shells. It’s a tropical explosion. All you really need is Bing singing about how, “Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas day,” and you’ve got the perfect mood for an island holiday.

As an added bonus, if you stroll around you’ll notice that the tiki figures have gotten dressed up for the holidays as well. They’ve been adorned with wreaths that let you know they are ready for a Christmas luau. 

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

If I were to pick my personal favorite of all Walt Disney World’s Christmas trees, I think it would have to be the tree at Animal Kingdom. It sits at the entrance to the park, and is covered in ornaments inspired by the natural world. At the base of the tree, there are Christmas presents and a host of beloved Disney characters like Kanga, Tigger, Piglet, and others. There are masks on the tree, as well as woven decorations (including a rather colorful hidden Mickey), animal figures and stars made of wood. It perfectly fits the ambiance of Animal Kingdom, and is a great picture opportunity before making your way into the park.

As a side note, once you get inside, be sure to check out the Christmas decorations in the Harambe area. They’re made of found objects, like soda bottle caps, bicycle tires, and other bits of reclaimed junk. They’re amazing.

Main Street U.S.A.

The Christmas tree on Main Street is probably the definitive Walt Disney World Christmas decoration. Even outside of the holidays, Main Street feels like you’re strolling through a Norman Rockwell painting. Add in the Christmas tree and it becomes even more picturesque. The tree, which greets you upon entering the Magic Kingdom, is adorned with over 2000 decorations and 6,000 LED lights. In honor of the 50th anniversary, some of the typical red elements have been swapped out for gold, and that goes for the rest of the decorations on Main Street as well. While a picture down Main Street with Cinderella Castle in the background is hard to beat, I’m convinced that a picture from behind the Partners statue that includes the Christmas tree, the train station, and the lights on Main Street all aglow, is every bit as magical. Once you’ve gotten that picture, make sure to spend a little bit of time perusing the window displays on Main Street. They’re always a delight, and you’ll find the story of Mickey’s Christmas Carol told in a few of them. 

The Magic Doesn’t Stop There

This is, of course, an incomplete list. We didn’t even get to the amazing Christmas tree in the Grand Floridian or outside the Contemporary. In fact, every resort has its own Christmas tree and they’re all beautiful. Then, there are the other displays, like the mouth watering gingerbread houses. It really is the most wonderful time of the year.