Welcome to our trip report covering the start of Christmas Season at Walt Disney World! The primary purpose of trip reports is to supplement our existing content to let you know how our strategies are actually working at a given time! This post covers some small updates from around Walt Disney World!
About This Trip Report
This trip report covers a five-night visit to Walt Disney World for the beginning of Christmas season at Walt Disney World. Following the end of Halloween season, Walt Disney World takes a few days to transform into Christmas mode. You can read the full introduction in part 1.
We don’t know exactly how we’ll be breaking up this trip for the purposes of this report, but posts will go up here as we publish them:
Disney World Holiday Trip Report Part 1 — Introduction, Booking, and Arrival
Disney World Holiday Trip Report Part 2 — Updates from around Walt Disney World (you are here)
Disney World Holiday Trip Report Part 4 — Rainy Day at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
Disney World Holiday Trip Report Part 5 — Day at Animal Kingdom
Race Against the Sun
New at the Morocco Pavilion in Epcot is the “Race Against the Sun” exhibit. The exhibit showcases two races in Morocco, the Marathon of the Sands and the Rally of the Gazelles. It’s a cool exhibit and has a simple driving simulator. You can tap through some photos below:
Epcot Construction
Epcot is a huge construction zone right now. While most of the World Showcase is free from ongoing work, Future World is covered in walls. Here’s a look at some of the Future World construction (the aerial shots are from the inbound Epcot monorail):
As I recently wrote, the Epcot monorail now drops you off inside security. This is an enhancement to both guest experience and security, and I’m impressed with how quickly Disney got this done once the project started.
The construction on the Ratatouille ride and the France pavilion expansion also continues. The work is expected to be completed in Summer 2020, with May being a rumored window for the ride to debut. Our Walt Disney World construction calendar covers the projected opening dates of upcoming additions.
It’ll be fun to have a new ride at Epcot, but this is one we’re already pretty familiar with from riding it at Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris. Overall we actually don’t expect the ride to change much at Epcot.
I didn’t get any good pictures, but the World Showcase entrance (the Skyliner entrance) continues to be worked on. By comparison to the project at the front of the park, this seems to be taking forever. We had our longest lines of our visit at this entrance, so hopefully Disney is able to get this area finished before holiday crowds pour in.
Enchanted Rose & Gingerbread House
Grand Floridian’s main bar has reopened as Enchanted Rose. I don’t love it (I don’t dislike it either), but it does its job of being a sleek lightly themed hotel bar. Here’s a look:
The Gingerbread House at Grand Floridian was also under construction while I was there. It opens November 13.
Bridge to Magic Kingdom
Construction is ongoing on the bridge connecting Grand Floridian (and thus Polynesian and Transportation & Ticket Center) to Magic Kingdom. This project has no set completion date, though its looking like mid-2020 is a reasonable expectation.
Tron
Construction continues on the TRON coaster in Magic Kingdom. Here’s a look at the current status and what it looks like in Shanghai Disneyland. You can see the same exterior track shape and location of the main building.
The ride is scheduled to open in 2021. If rumors of a five-year exclusivity agreement on the Shanghai coaster are correct, then the ride would open no earlier than June 16, 2021.
Next In Part 3…A Day at Hollywood Studios
All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way.
Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.
When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And at 180 days out it's time to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!
Don't forget to master your Disney World FastPass+ strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom FastPass, Epcot FastPass, Animal Kingdom FastPass, and Hollywood Studios FastPass.
Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.