Disney Jollywood Nights is in its third year. It’s a special ticketed Christmas event that takes place at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Disney Jollywood Nights isn’t the same as Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. It focuses more on the glamor of the holiday season. Some say that it’s “more adult”, but it’s still family friendly.
My daughter and I attended on the final night in 2023. In 2024, we went right after Thanksgiving. Both years, our Annual Passes were blocked out. We returned this year on December 10, when we weren’t blocked out. That meant that we could arrive whenever we wanted, and just check in inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios. That saved a lot of time, the line outside when we arrived was long!
We decided to get in line for the Life Day Chewbacca meet and greet before the official 7:30 kickoff of the event. I was glad that we did, a Cast Member told me that Chewie consistently has a wait time of an hour or more. When he came out, we waited only a few minutes. The line was fairly long by then. Meeting Life Day Chewbacca, for me, was worth the price of the ticket. I watched The Star Wars Holiday Special when it was on live in 1978. Years later, I bought a bootleg copy on VHS at a convention. During this meet and greet I felt like a kid again! Chewbacca was wonderful, as always. I think he realized how this was an important moment for some of us geeks.
For my daughter and me, our primary focus of Disney Jollywood Nights was meeting characters. Five hours isn’t nearly enough time to see them all! We decided to pick and choose the most important characters to us. Santa Duffy came in a close second after Chewbacca. Partysaurus Rex was so much fun! While in Toy Story Land we met Bo Peep, who did a great job of communicating without talking. Mickey and Minnie are always must meet. We also waited for Donald and Daisy, who were kind of crammed into a tight spot on Commissary Lane.
Speaking of tight spots, Disney Jollywood Nights felt more crowded this year. Disney’s Hollywood Studios always feels crowded these days, in part because of all the construction. Next summer, The Magic of Disney Animation will open, and hopefully that will help to cut down on some of the congestion. Disney has already announced that Disney Jollywood Nights will be back in 2026.
Not all characters had meet and greets. Goofy and Pluto were part of a DJ dance party this year. We saw them in Echo Lake and later in Grand Avenue. Over in Pixar Plaza, there was another dance party, called Pixar Disco. We saw Sadness, Edna Mode, Frozone, and Mike Wazowski when we stopped by. Sadness played the role to perfection!
We caught two of the shows. Disney Holidays in Hollywood features Mickey, Minnie, Kermit, Miss Piggy, Tiana, and Belle. This show will continue to be must-see for us each year. It’s fun, and it’s a good opportunity to sit down for a little while. We also watched the ice skating show Glisten! It might just be me, but it felt bigger this year. An ice skating show is such a good fit for Disney Jollywood Nights.
This year, we skipped Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! Honestly, that’s my least favorite Disney fireworks show. We also didn’t see What’s This? Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Sing-Along. We just didn’t have time. We did stop by Twilight Soiree at the Tip Top Club, just in time for the final song of the set. What we heard was fantastic.
I don’t usually order food during special ticketed events, but we decided to stop by Backlot Express for the Sleigh Bell Brussels Sprouts. They were quite good, and it was another chance to sit and chill for a few minutes.
One of the draws for many people for Disney Jollywood Nights is the low Wait Times. We weren’t there to ride, but we couldn’t turn down a 20 minute wait for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance! We were in the first briefing room in six minutes. I love that ride.
People often ask how to dress for Disney Jollywood Nights. We saw quite a mixture. People were wearing everything from extreme formal to matching pajamas. I think fewer people dressed up this time. I saw more Christmas shirts and sweaters than anything else. It was a cool evening, I don’t know if that had anything to do with it. It did feel less glamorous from a guest perspective than the other two years.
We wrapped up our evening with a chilly ride on Slinky Dog Dash. It was walk on, how could we resist? When we left, we were given Christmas tree ornaments. They’re a small picture frame.
Disney Jollywood Nights is my favorite special ticketed event at Walt Disney World. Our evening wasn’t sold out, and as I write this, there are still tickets available for a couple of the parties. You may not get cocoa and cookies like at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, but that’s okay. I still highly recommend Disney Jollywood Nights!