7. Holidays at Universal Orlando

Image: Universal

Location: Orlando, Florida

Universal Orlando promises, "You've Never had a Holiday Like This." They're probably right. Both parks of Universal Orlando Resort get an extra layer of merry and mayhem at Christmastime.

At Universal Studios Florida, Universal's Holiday Parade featuring Macy's makes its way through faux Hollywood streets with giant inflatables to rival New York's best.  

At Universal's Islands of Adventure, Grinchmas takes over the whimsical Seuss Landing with a Who-liday spectacular. Even still, the highlight might be meet-and-greets with the especially-exhaustable, potbellied Grinch who's going viral for his appreciation of a simple onion.

Image: Universal

For many guests, though, the highlight of Universal's holiday celebration could be nothing but the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Diagon Alley is decked out for the season with marvel detail, but of course it's the already-snow-covered Hogsmeade that makes fans knees go weak. How couldn't it? The entire village is centered around Hogwarts Castle on the rocky cliffs above, where a nightly projection-mapping show sees snowfall that accumulates into a magical, musical crescendo. 

8. Holidays at the Disneyland Resort

Image: Disney

Location: Anaheim, California

The happiest place on Earth "just got merrier." So says the marketing around Christmastime at the Disneyland Resort... and you can see why. Because so many of Disneyland's guests are locals and generations-long repeat visitors, Disneyland takes seasonal celebrations to heart with impressive overlays that Walt Disney World intentionally avoids (lest they spoil a once-in-a-lifetime visitor's one chance to see the real version of a ride).

At Disneyland Park, wintertime enchantment overtakes Sleeping Beauty Castle and Main Street, U.S.A., blanketing each in a friendly layer of snow. "it's a small world" Holiday transforms the international cruise into an international carol, visiting reimagined wintertime scenes as the ride's characters wish joy to the world.

image: Disney

The park's biggest seasonal draw, though, is Haunted Mansion Holiday, with Jack Skellington and his Nightmare Before Christmas friends overtaking the manor and completely transforming the classic dark ride from Halloween through the New Year.

Across the Esplanade, Disney California Adventure has become a seasonal hub of its own by way of the Festival of Holidays, an Epcot-inspired food-and-wine overlay that also brings the fan-favorite ¡Viva Navidad! celebration to Paradise Gardens. Meanwhile, the 1920s Los Angeles-themed Buena Vista Street becomes a winter wonderland. For years, Santa Claus met eager guests in the Elias & Company department store there, though recently he's moved to the more rustic Grizzly Peak National Park, where nightly snowfalls turn the evergreen forest into a dreamy landscape.

Image: Disney

Cars Land gets in on the fun with a Cars-themed Christmas overlay to Route 66 and its two family flat rides, which become Luigi's Joy to the Whirl and Mater's Jingle Jamboree. And of course, World of Color: Season of Light has become a festive favorite.