Time to get Jolly!

After a somewhat rocky first year, a new and (seemingly) improved Jollywood Nights has returned to Hollywood Studios for a second year. Did Disney work out all the kinks of this highly anticipated Holiday event? We are here to find out!

This post will be updated throughout the evening as we experience more of Jollywood Nights, so make sure to keep checking back for the latest updates!

We are at the FIRST night of Disney Jollywood Nights 2024 and, of course, we are taking you all along with us! The event runs from 7:30PM until midnight, but with party tickets you can get into Disney’s Hollywood Studios beginning at 6PM. So, we made sure we were at the entrance and were ready to go by 6PM.

Jollywood Nights is a separately ticketed event that happens at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on select nights from November 9th through December 21st. New additions at Jollywood Nights this year include Glisten! “a stunning show on Hollywood Boulevard where international champion skaters perform breathtaking routines set to a vibrant holiday soundtrack”, a rockin’ dance party at Pixar Place, a behind the scenes look at The Muppet Christmas Carol, new Character experiences, an exclusive Wondermade sweet treat, special event merchandise, and “Spot the Mandalorian” in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. We are checking out everything that Jollywood Nights has to offer so let’s head in!

Getting Started

With a party ticket, you can enter Hollywood Studios as early as 6PM. Once we were scanned into the park, we made our way through the Fantasmic! bypass and got to see Ollie the Gingerbread Man on the way.

We ended up on Sunset Boulevard and were able to enjoy a lovely view of The Hollywood Tower Hotel. Now that we are inside, it is time to get the party started. Although the party doesn’t officially start until 7:30PM, but we can enjoy all that Hollywood Studios has to offer until then.

Party Map

You will also be able to pick up your party map once you are inside of Hollywood Studios! It will have all the information you need including details about entertainment, which attractions are open, dining locations, and more! Plus, it has Gertie on the front being adorable, so you really can’t say no to picking one up.

The map inside will give you a detailed look of all the locations of interest during the party! You will be able to take a look at Entertainment Highlights and see where you can meet characters, find PhotoPass photographers, and more. 

The map this year is jam-packed with information, and it is a hefty guide! It truly has all the information about the event, so you will want to make sure you pick one up on your way in. 

If you want to see EVERYTHING that is covered in the party map, we got you covered! Check out our post that covers the party map in detail. 

See everything that is in the Jollywood Nights map!

Food

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Disney event without some exclusive food and beverage, and we are ready to chow down on some festive treats! We started off with the Agent P Croissant from The Trolley Car Café. It is a waffle croissant dipped in caramel-chocolate and topped with mint cream, a chocolate hat, and M&M’S Milk Chocolate Candies, and you can get it for $5.29.

Next up, we tried the Samosas from Dockside Diner. These are plant-based and are potato and pea stuffed samosas with curried chickpeas, herb “crema,” and tomato-pomegranate chutney. You can grab them for $5.29.

We also stopped by Baseline Tap House to try out some treats! We got the Macaroni and Cheese Croquettes which are fried macaroni and cheese with aïoli dipping sauce. You can get them for $5.00. We also grabbed the Beer Margarita which is a blend of Patrón Silver Tequila, Cointreau Orange Liqueur, and lime juice topped with Scrimshaw Pilsner served over ice for $17.50.

Next, we headed over to ABC Commissary to pick up three different treats. We got the Cauliflower Taco which is chili pepper-lime dusted fried cauliflower on top of a corn tortilla with diced onions, cilantro, and a chipotle cashew “crema.” It is plant-based, and you can get it for $4.49. We also got the Taco ‘bout a Holiday Cookie! The taco is cranberry cheesecake-filled chocolate cookies dipped in cranberry-white chocolate topped with pistachio whipped cream, gold crispy pearls, chocolate holly leaf décor, and holiday sprinkles. It costs $5.79. Finally, we also got Coquito, which is coconut cream, coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, Bacardí Rum, and Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum topped with cinnamon and it costs $9.

We headed over to Pizzerizzo to try out a variety of treats! We started with the Italian Beef Sandwich which is sliced beef sweet and spicy peppers and Barilla Sweet & Spicy Pepper Pesto served with a side of au jus dipping sauce. It costs $6.99. We also tried the Caramel-Mocha Napoleon for $5.79. This treat is made with puff pastry and caramel mascarpone cream with a whipped coffee crémeux, salted caramel crispy pearls, chocolate curl, and sprinkles.

We also got the Snowppino for $8, which is Lemon sorbet, prosecco, grappa, and rosemary. As well as the Holiday Cheer for $9, which is Aperol Apéritif, vodka, Sprite, wild cherry syrup, and house-made rosemary simple syrup with an orange slice and rosemary sprig. Finally, we got the Cranberry Fizz for $4.99, which is cranberry juice, Sprite, wild cherry syrup, and house-made rosemary simple syrup with lime. 

At Market we got the Caramel-Apple Cider for $9, which is Werther’s Original Caramel, apple cider, cinnamon, and Ole Smoky Apple Pie Moonshine garnished with a sugar tuile served warm.

At Ice Cold Hydraulics, we tried the Duffy Brownie which is a Coca-Cola fudge-filled cherry-white chocolate chip brownie covered in Coca-Cola buttercream and a caramel-chocolate Duffy paw. It costs $5.99. 

As well, at Ice Cold Hydraulics, we got the Dark and Snowy for $9. It is a frozen blend of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey and Coca-Cola topped with sweetened coconut cream and cinnamon.

At Epic Eats we got the Warm Spiced Chai Cocktail for $9, which is made with Twinings Chai Tea, RumChata Cream Liqueur, vanilla syrup, and cinnamon.

When we left the party, we got an Exit Treat: a special box of Wondermade Champagne Marshmallows. They come in a Kermit and Miss Piggy box.

Y’all, if you’ve never tried Wondermade, they are SO good.

If you want to read our reviews of ALL the food we are trying, make sure you check out our food round-up post with all the deets!

Check out reviews of ALL the food we ate at Jollywood Nights!

Entertainment

There are multiple new entertainment options this year and we are checking them out! First up we are headed over to check out Glisten! which is a new show this year and it is a skating spectacular featuring international champion skaters set to holiday music.

Overall, we really enjoyed this new show, and we think you should add it to your agenda for Jollywood Nights. If you want to read our full review of Glisten! click right here!

We also watched What’s This? Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Sing-Along. This show takes place in the Hyperion Theater and will have you following two friends on a larger-than-life journey. You will also get to sing-along to some of your favorite songs from the movie!

As well, we stopped by to check out Disney Holidays in Hollywood. This is holiday extravaganza that features appearances from some of your favorite Disney characters and is hosted by Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. This is one of our favorite seasonal shows and it did not disappoint this year. It is returning from last year’s event and there have been a few updates this year. 

We also stopped by Sunset Boulevard to see the Tower of Terror Projections. These projections are lots of fun and feature scenes from iconic Disney movies!

You can also make your way over to The Hollywood Tower Hotel to visit the Twilight Soiree at the Tip Top Club. There is live music, festivities, and a bar. It is the perfect jazzy ambiance!

And of course, it wouldn’t be a celebration without some fireworks! We also watched the Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! Fireworks.

If you want to know more about the entertainment offerings at Jollywood Nights, we have a WHOLE post dedicated to our thoughts about ALL the exclusive entertainment, so make sure to check it out here!

Check out ALL of the entertainment available at Jollywood Nights!

Character Meet and Greets

In addition to special entertainment and treats, you can also meet some special characters at Jollywood Nights! We stopped by to meet Santa Duffy around 7PM and found that he already had a 50-minute wait! We will say that we don’t think Santa Duffy is your best bet for rope dropping at the event. He had a much shorter wait by the time we made it out of the meet and greet.

We also spotted Doctor Strange roaming around Grand Avenue. What a fun surprise!

As well, we visited Louie from TaleSpin over by Backlot Express!

We also saw Pinocchio!

And Jiminy Cricket!

We also traveled over to Batuu and spotted The Mandalorian and Grogu.

We also spotted Sadness at the Pixar Disco.

And we stopped by to say hi to Baloo!

And we spotted Panchito!

And even Lotso was out and about during Jollywood Nights!

Plus, Bert and Mr. Penguin!

To see all of the characters we saw during Jollywood Nights, check out our post with every character we met!

Take a look at all the characters at Jollywood Nights!

Merchandise

You may be thinking that we have already seen and done a lot, but we aren’t done yet! There is also a whole collection of Jollywood Nights exclusive merchandise, and we had to stop by to check it out. You can find lots of Ollie merchandise including Ollie Ears!

And an Ollie t-shirt! If you want to have a closer look at ALL the Jollywood Nights exclusive merchandise, check out our post that gives details on each item.

See ALL the Jollywood Nights exclusive merchandise!

Make sure to stay to DFB for all of your Disney World tips, tricks, and news!

Find out everything you need to know about Disney Jollywood Nights!

Are you attending Jollywood Nights this year? Let us know in the comments below!