3. Transformative ride overlays

Image: Sam Howzit, Flickr (license)

We’re not talking about a few scare actors staking out the top of the Timber Mountain Log Ride: Halloween Hootenanny or a holiday light show wrapped around the spires of Hogwarts Castle, but rather full-scale overlays that completely transform some of Disney’s most iconic attractions. In the fall, the Nightmare Before Christmas overtakes New Orleans Square’s Haunted Mansion from the inside out, making Jack Skellington, Sally, and Oogie Boogie the new focus of the ghost-infected house as the Halloween-loving characters try to ready themselves for Christmas. In Tomorrowland, meanwhile, Space Mountain also gets a seasonal refresh as a variety of projections introduce a new host of ghosts into riders’ outer-space missions.

Across the Esplanade in Disney California Adventure, Halloween also makes its way over to Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark, where Rocket Raccoon needs some assistance fending off escaped creatures and riders take the plunge on the Collector’s faulty elevator over and over again.

The winter holidays see their share of ride overlays as well, albeit in not-so-spooky ways. Until recently, Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise became the “Jingle Cruise” during the winter months—an overlay, it should be said, that can still be enjoyed exclusively at the Magic Kingdom—while “it’s a small world” celebrates holiday traditions from around the world.

This, more than anything else, really helps the parks transform come holiday time. While many crowd favorites remain the same year-round, the “new” attractions that get rolled out for Halloween and Christmas are a special bonus and their limited shelf life makes it difficult for any avid Disney fan to justify skipping out on the parks during its busiest season.

4. Themed resort décor

Image: HarshLight, Flickr (license)

As if the castle shows, parades, seasonal performers, firework spectaculars, parties, ride overlays, and holiday character meet-and-greets weren’t enough to satiate even the most enthusiastic Halloween and Christmas participant, Disney’s incredible attention to detail trickles all the way down to their resorts and shopping districts, making each hotel and venue a holiday destination in and of itself.

This is most readily seen at the Walt Disney Resort around Christmastime, where Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort attracts mini crowds around the construction of its annual giant gingerbread house (and the fresh gingerbread that’s packaged and sold from that house, too!) and enormous themed Christmas trees, wreaths, and decorations are draped throughout the lobbies of just about every one of its 28+ on-property resorts.

Of course, it’s worth pointing out that resort decorations for other holidays—Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc.—aren’t rolled out with quite so much enthusiasm or on so large a scale, perhaps in part because no holiday comes close to drawing the kind of attention that Christmas does at the parks each year. For those staying on-property, the resorts’ seasonal décor serves to extend and amplify the holiday feeling for guests… from the moment they step on a Disney bus to the moment they arrive at the gates of the Magic Kingdom.

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What is your favorite holiday tradition to celebrate at the Disney Parks each year?