Visiting Walt Disney World during the holidays is made a whole lot easier when you know where to stay. While all Disney Resorts are great and bring the magic with fun snacks and decorated lobbies, some Disney Resorts simply feel better during Walt Disney World’s busiest time of year. Here are the Best Disney World Resorts for Christmas if you’re looking for easy transportation, fewer crowds, convenience, and a whole lot of Holiday surprises.
Visiting Walt Disney World For the Holidays means tons of magic. But it can also be overwhelming! This is why your Disney Resort choice is so important. Having been to Walt Disney World for Christmas, know that there are a lot of things that will try your patience, tolerance, and test your ability to function as a kind human being. Long lines, first-time visitors, family arguments, and a feeling of having to get it all done before you go can often leave you feeling defeated. As you can probably guess, these are not the things Disney Christmas Dreams are made of. That’s why we’re going to make it easy for you! These are the 5 Best Disney World Resorts for Christmas if you’re looking for the easiest and most fun places to stay for the holidays.
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Fort Wilderness Resort and Campgrounds
As girls who love a good fancy resort, our newfound love of Fort Wilderness Resort and Campgrounds was a surprise. But it is by far one of the Best Disney World Resorts for Christmas. With everything you need on-site, you can settle in and just enjoy the season. The Trails End Restaurant offers great family and budget-friendly options, and you can get takeout to bring back to your site too.
Transportation
Fort Wilderness Resort and Campgrounds transportation options include a Ferry to Magic Kingdom and access to Disney Buses. But for the transportation within the resort, you can rent a Golf Cart. We highly recommend getting a golf cart so you can make the most of your stay at Disney’s most expansive resort in the wilderness.
Amenities
Fort Wilderness has tons of amenities, which is why we also recommend it as one of the Best Disney Resorts for a Staycation. With a beach, ferry access, gift shops, trails, boating, archery, horseback riding, movie nights, and restaurants on the property there is so much to do here that it would take days to get through it all! Read all about everything you can do in our Fort Wilderness Bucket List.
Holiday Fun
This is our favorite part! During the holiday’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campgrounds get dressed up to the nines! Campers, RV’s, and Fort Wilderness Cabin guests alike all decorate their sites, and areas for the holidays. Complete with lights, trees, blow-up figures, and wreaths. Think Christmas lights, life-size castles, Cinderella carriages, the works. The possibilities are endless here, and you can easily make a night out of these festive holiday displays. This is one of our favorite places to be for Christmas. Rent a Golf Cart, grab a cocoa and make the most of it! Drive around the 22 campground loops and the rest of the resort to get a glimpse of all the festive decorations for Christmas.
The Grand Floridian Resort and Spa
The Grand Floridian Resort at Christmas is gorgeous. As Walt Disney World’s most expensive resort the Christmas decorations sure live up to the bill. With a huge lobby tree and a Disney Gingerbread tradition, Grand Floridian is a must-see for the holidays. So if you’re eager to check it out, but can’t stomach the high holiday cost, maybe only stay a night or two with a Disney Resort Hopping experience instead.
Transportation
The Grand Floridian is a Disney Monorail Resort, which means guests get access to the best, and fastest transportation in the parks. For guests at the Grand Floridian Resort, your first stop on the monorail is Magic Kingdom. Is that convenient or what??? And if you’re up for visiting the other monorail resorts or EPCOT, the monorail can get you there too! If you’re looking for no-fuss transportation that always leads you back to your resort, this may be the place to stay for you!
Amenities
As a resort and spa, the Grand Floridian Resort has amenities that any luxury resort would have. A hair salon, beauty parlor, luxury gift shops, and outdoor balconies for your best photoshoots. But it also has the new Enchanted Rose Lounge, 1900 Park Fare character dining with Cinderella and friends, and the Grand Floridian Cafe for easy brunches. You can also stroll the garden, have tea at the Garden View Tea Room, or dip your feet in the sand!
Holiday Fun
Featuring a life-size gingerbread house, that just fills the entire resort lobby with the most wonderful holiday smells, the Grand Floridian gingerbread house is a masterpiece in itself. The staff actually start creating this beauty in June! But it’s not only the gingerbread house or the lobby-size tree that make this one of the BEST Disney World Resorts for Christmas. You can also visit the little gingerbread shop where you can buy some of your favorite gingerbread treats, check out holiday merchandise, and snag seasonal treats at Gasparilla Grill. Stay here and let the Grand Floridian get you into the holiday spirit.
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Absolutely one of the BEST Disney Resorts for the Holidays, Disney’s Wilderness Lodge brings home everything we love about Christmas. With an amazing lobby-sized tree, a small gingerbread log cabin, cozy stuff in the gift shop, a warm fireplace, and S’mores Coffee over at Roaring Fork Café, everything you need for a cozy holiday is here.
Transportation
Just like Fort Wilderness Resort and Campgrounds, you can get access to Magic Kingdom via ferry and have bus access to all other parks and resorts. This is another resort where it’s not about having nearby transportation but about getting away from the hustle and bustle of the crowds, so take it in, relax and enjoy the resort!
Amenities
As a Disney Deluxe Resort, Disney’s Wilderness Lodge has luxury rooms, many with balcony views, restaurants on site, gift shops, a health club, spa, and a walking path to Fort Wilderness Resort and Campgrounds. you can even watch the Electrical Water Pageant from the resort beach. and if you’re really looking to break the bank there are also the DVC Copper Creek Villas on the property to accommodate larger families.
Holiday Fun
One of our favorite resorts at Christmas time the rustic charm of this resort is so cozy and inviting. With the 60-foot Christmas tree in the lobby, plenty of Disney resort decorations throughout, Christmas music playing, and their signature fireplace, this resort will give you a homey, relaxing holiday feel. We’d argue that during the holidays, it may actually be the Best Place to escape those Christmas crowds.
Caribbean Beach Resort
We definitely have a soft spot for the Caribbean Beach Resort at Walt Disney World. So it’s no surprise that it made this list, but we have a good cause! We promise. Frankly, nothing is more fun than Christmas on an island, and that’s the feeling of Caribbean Beach Resort at Christmas. Add in stellar transportation options and this may be the Christmas Vacation you were looking for.
One of our favorite parts about the Caribbean Beach Resorts is its location. You automatically feel like you’re getting away from it all, but with access to all the amenities. As one of the Disney Skyliner Resorts! you can hop the Skyliner and tour Disney’s Riviera Resort, Pop Century, and Art of Animation Resort. All have gorgeous Christmas Trees and decorations you can see through the holiday season.
Transportation
The Disney Skyliner hub is based at Caribbean Beach which means you get access to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios via the Disney Skyliner. And once at EPCOT, you can take the monorail switch at the TTC to head to Magic Kingdom. So if you’re looking for really easy transportation this is it.
Amenities
Beaches, Caribbean Restaurants, pools, and walking trails around the property make this an amazing resort to stay at for Christmas at Walt Disney World. We also love the easy access to Disney’s Riviera Resort for the Mickey a La Art Breakfast at Topolino Terrace. Being able to walk the trails across the resort is such a treat and a great way to de-stress!
Holiday Fun
Caribbean Beach Resort during the holidays gets a tropical tree in the lobby, island Christmas music, and holiday movie nights on the lawn! If you’re looking for relaxation, this is it.
The Beach Club
If you’re looking for an easygoing beachy Christmas, then Beach Club at Disney’s Boardwalk is the best place to stay. Let’s face it, the holidays can get stressful, but heading into the Beach Club’s lobby, scented with cucumber and aloe fixes almost everything.
Transportation
As a Disney Boardwalk Resort, The Beach Club has TONS of transportation options. You can walk to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, head to the front of EPCOT to catch the monorail to Magic Kingdom, visit the Skyliner Resorts from the International Gateway, or catch the bus.
Amenities
Oh, so many amenities. Our favorite things here are the beaches, fantastic gift shops, movies on the lawn, and the never-ending new Disney Snacks that show up in the bakery case.
Holiday Fun
The Beach Club is home to the Gingerbread Carousel. This resort has a 20+ year tradition of building a gingerbread carousel, themed with Disney characters, that is larger than life. So you can be sure to have gingerbread smells and whimsy to cheer you up every time you walk through the lobby. Have we convinced you to visit these resorts at Christmas? We sure hope so! Imagineers spend months working on resort decorations, so be sure to plan some downtime in your holiday trip to enjoy all that the season has to offer.
Hopefully, this has given you some amazing resorts to try out this holiday season at Walt Disney World. Be sure to let us know your favorite places to stay at Disney World during Christmas time. When it comes to Disney World Resorts for Christmas we don’t think you can ever have enough amazing choices to choose from.
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