Can you believe it?! It’s almost time for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!
We love the holidays and LOVE how Disney World gets fully into the spirit with all the cheerfully curated Christmas trees, festive wreaths, glittering garland, and aroma of sugar and spice. As you can imagine, there’s a ton of work that goes into all that decorating, so let’s have a look into what it takes to prep Magic Kingdom for the holidays!
As you know, Disney goes hard for the holidays, especially with how they decorate the parks. With Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party coming up, Disney shared what it takes to get Walt Disney World ready for the season.
Of course, it takes a lot of planning to transform Walt Disney World’s parks and resorts for the holidays. Sometimes, the Disney teams only have a few hours or days to pull it all off! “One of the most unique things is when we transform from Halloween to Christmas. It appears that we have decorated in just one night but actually, it takes us three nights to decorate Magic Kingdom. When we decorate Disney’s cruise ships, we have less than six hours,” Lisa Borotkanics, Disney’s manager of holiday services, told ABC News.
Here are eight things you need to know about seasonal decor found across Walt Disney World Resort:
1. There are 29 “Icon Trees” that are between 15 and 70 feet tall. Another 596 trees range from two to 14 feet tall. Stars and toppers for trees can be up to seven feet wide and weigh more than 200 pounds.
2. The largest tree is 70 feet tall. Located at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, it weighs more than 33,000 pounds and has 1,200 individual branches. The tree is decorated with 16,000 lights and more than 200 custom light-up ornaments.
3. The life-sized gingerbread house at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is made with more than 10,000 individual pieces of gingerbread. This year’s house has 23 hidden Mickeys – one for each year it’s been on display.
4. In total, Christmas trees throughout the resort feature more than 12,000 branches and are made from more than 110 tons of steel. Decorating all those trees takes more than 15,000 oversized ornaments and 260,000 lights.
5. Disney Springs is the location with the most decor, with nearly 2,000 individual pieces including trees, garlands, ornaments, and other festive details.
6. Nearly 5,000 garlands are hung throughout Walt Disney World Resort. Together they cover a distance of nearly nine miles. On top of that, 1,700 wreaths are installed each year.
7. The Holiday Services Team maintains, installs, and removes more than 40,000 individual pieces of decor each year across 780 locations at 41 properties. Those include Walt Disney World Theme Parks and Resort hotels, Disney Cruise Line ships, and more.
8. Holiday decor installation begins Halloween night and is complete by Thanksgiving. The Holiday Services Team that makes this magic happen consists of 50 year-round cast members and up to 90 seasonal cast members that join the team each year.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how theme parks, resorts, and Disney Springs are transformed for this magical season:
We’ll continue to keep you updated with more holiday Disney news, so make sure to follow along for more so that you never miss a thing.
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DON'T MISS A MOMENT
OF HOLIDAY MAGIC
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MORE Disney World Holiday INFO!
Learn About Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
Get the Latest Information About the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays
Get All the Details About Disney Jollywood Nights
Everything You Need to Know About Disney World Holiday Dining and Events
Kenh says
Disney in holiday dress is awesome.