Lights! Camera! Christmas!

Hello Disney Nerds, Johnny Hollywood here with a blog from my favorite park, Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  It’s early November which means Christmas is in full swing at Disney, and the studios came to play this year in a new way. Let’s take a walk around the park and marvel at the decorations and enjoy the Holidays at Hollywood Studios.

Starting off at the front park entrance, you find beginning at Crossroads and Oscar’s Gas Station, and continuing with every building down Hollywood Blvd., festive decorations. You will find colorful multiple garlands crossing the street, each with bells and a big Christmas wreath in the middle. These decorations are a tribute to the old Main Street U.S.A in the Magic Kingdom. In fact, the crowd favorite Christmas Ornaments Dancers are back in the display window of the Five and Dime store.

Taking a left at Keystone Street and heading to Echo Lake you will have to see how Gertie the dinosaur has been decorating the new stunning Christmas tree in the middle of the lake. Some of Gertie’s ornaments have fallen off the tree into the lake but they remain floating and light up at night.  The Christmas tree located on an island in the middle of the lake has very much of a California vibe. Pictures of Santa, reindeer and jingle bells surround the lake on lamp posts. There is even reindeer among the trees to the left of the lake that makes for a great photo opportunity. Photopass photographers are set up and standing by for some great memory shots. To the left of Echo Lake, by Indiana Jones, there is the Jingle Bam Gift Shop. The shop includes a great selection of mugs, sweatshirts, mouse ears for the holiday season. Just as with Pandora- the Land of Avatar at the Animal Kingdom, the newly designed Echo Lake is a totally different experience you will not want to miss, with a different look both at night and during the day. I encourage you to start your day at Echo Lake for a daytime view of the decorations and end your evening by returning for the night time holiday lighting decor.

The brand new Grand Avenue and Muppet Courtyard have beautiful garland decorations around the light posts, while Santa has made his return to the fire escape by It’s A Wonderful Shop.

Now, let’s visit the most anticipated part of the Christmas season, “Sunset Seasons Greetings” located on Sunset Blvd. Wow, you have got to see Mickey Mouse, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Swedish Chef, and Olaf tell their Christmas stories on video screens up and down Sunset Blvd. Those stories further come to life on the Hollywood Tower of Terror with sensational night time projection. It is very much like the Once Upon a Time show at the Magic Kingdom. Be sure to keep an eye out for the slinky dog roller coaster doing loops on the tower during the projection event. The show is fifteen minutes long and runs continuously throughout the night. Don’t dismay, the popular Tower of Terror is still operational to ride during the projection show. I found a great off the beaten path spot to view the Tower projection is to the right of Catalina Eddie’s in the Sunset Market.

We can’t leave out the Studios specialty food this holiday season. At Fairfax Fare and The Trolley Car Café you can devour an Olaf cupcake, red velvet whoopie pie, apple cranberry cobbler, gingerbread pop as well as enjoy a hot chocolate cocktail.

Why not round out your holiday filled evening with the Jingle Bell Jingle Bam show coming for the holiday that is projected on the Chinese Theatre. In mid-December, count on enjoying both the popular Star Wars A Galactic Spectacular as well as Jingle Bell Jingle Bam.

For a park that was at the child’s table, so to speak, last holiday season, this year the new holiday enhancements and spectacles have brought them to the adult table!

If you would like to go to Walt Disney World please contact The Disney Nerds Podcast official travel provider Once Upon a Time Travel.

May the Force be with you always!