Christmas in Orlando 2026: The Complete Guide to the Season

Christmas in Orlando means snow on Main Street, ice at 9°F and shorts at lunchtime. Here's the whole season in one place for 2026: what's on, what's free, what sells out and how to plan it.

The quick version

• Biggest ticket: Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, November 8 to December 22. Most nights are sold out.
• Best for kids: ICE! at Gaylord Palms and LEGOLAND's Christmas Bricktacular.
• Best free night: Winter Park on December 4, or Lake Eola the same night.
• Best without a car: the Snow, Ice and Lights tour, with hotel pickup, on Wednesdays in December.

Christmas at the theme parks

• Magic Kingdom: Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Select nights, November 8 to December 22. It's a separate ticket, $189 to $229 plus tax.
• EPCOT: Festival of the Holidays. November 27 to December 30, with admission.
• Universal: Grinchmas, the holiday parade and the Wizarding World. November 14 to January 3, with admission.
• SeaWorld: Christmas Celebration. Select dates from November 6, with admission.
• LEGOLAND: Christmas Bricktacular. Select dates, November 21 to January 3, with admission.

Details: Universal and SeaWorld at Christmas.

Ice and snow

• ICE! at Gaylord Palms, November 13 to January 3. The Polar Express, carved from ice.
• Now Snowing in Celebration, free and nightly from late November through December 31.
• Ice skating, with outdoor rinks around town.

Christmas lights

• Dazzling Nights at Leu Gardens, select nights November 20 to January 3.
• Magic of Lights at Daytona International Speedway, a drive-thru show from November 20 to January 2.
• Christmas on the Coast, a small-group evening trip from Orlando to see Cocoa Beach neighborhood lights, with cocoa and cookies, on Fridays and Saturdays.
• Nights of Lights in St. Augustine, The lights run November 21 to January 18, and the tour from Orlando currently shows Sundays in December.

The full list is in Orlando Christmas lights.

Free Christmas events

• November 20: I-Drive tree lighting at 6 PM.
• December 4: Lake Eola tree lighting downtown, or Winter on the Avenue in Winter Park.
• December 5: Winter Park's Christmas Parade at 9 AM.
• December 4 to 22: The Merry Market at Lake Eola, free to walk through. See Christmas markets.
• Select nights, November 19 to December 25: Holiday Nights at Sunset Walk. More in Kissimmee at Christmas.

Weather

Christmas Day normally runs about 73°F in the afternoon and 51°F at night. Bring layers, and see December weather and what to pack below. Water parks usually aren't the plan.

Crowds

• Lightest: Early December, on a weekday.
• Busy: Weekends in mid-December.
• Busiest: The week from Christmas to New Year's, one of the fullest of the year at every park.

Book timed tickets early for ICE! and Dazzling Nights. Parks are open on Christmas Day, but plenty else isn't. See what's open on Christmas Day.

A slower day between parks

Long park days need a break:

• Bottle-feed a baby highland calf at Mini Moo Land, 10% off through us, then cuddle the highland cows.
• An airboat tour at Boggy Creek, 10% off through us. (I'm Boggy Creek's marketing manager.)
• Manatees at Blue Spring, where cool December mornings bring the crowds of manatees.

Plan the rest of your trip

• New Year's Eve in Orlando
• Orlando dinner shows, ranked

See every Orlando deal

December events week by week

Confirm details with each event before you go; holiday schedules change.

Early December

• Friday, December 4: the Lake Eola tree lighting at the amphitheater starts Downtown for the Holidays. Winter on the Avenue in Winter Park runs 5 to 9 PM.
• December 4 to 20: Oh, What Fun! Holiday Festival at Lake Nona Town Center, on select days. Check the festival site for the daily schedule.
• December 4 to 22: the Merry Market on the east side of Lake Eola runs Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays plus December 17, 21 and 22, 5:30 to 9:30 PM.
• Saturday, December 5: besides Winter Park's 9 AM parade, there's the Winter Garden Christmas Parade on Dillard Street (10 AM) and the Winter Springs Winter Wonderland Parade at Winter Springs Town Center (4 PM).
• December 5, 12 and 19: free holiday movies on the East Lawn at Lake Eola, 7 PM: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Elf and A Christmas Story.
• Sundays at Seneff Arts Plaza: free holiday movies outside the Dr. Phillips Center: Elf on December 6, Rudolph on December 13 and The Year Without a Santa Claus on December 20. No tickets needed.

Mid-December

• Saturday, December 12: the free Violectric Holiday Show at the Walt Disney Amphitheater, Lake Eola, 7 PM. The same day: Holidays at Heritage Square, with free admission all day at the Orange County Regional History Center and hours until 8 PM, and the Poinciana Villages Christmas Parade in Kissimmee at 11 AM.
• Sunday, December 13: Sensory Night at Lake Eola, 5:30 to 9:30 PM, a quieter evening for guests with sensory needs.

Late December

• Tuesday, December 22: the Cure Bowl, 5 PM, the first of Orlando's three bowl games.
• Tuesday, December 29: the Pop-Tarts Bowl at Camping World Stadium, 5:30 PM on ESPN.
• Thursday, December 31: New Year's Eve fireworks at the theme parks, Lake Eola and around town.
• Saturday, January 2: the Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium, noon on ABC (SEC vs. Big Ten).

Bowl days mean traffic downtown, especially around Camping World Stadium on December 29 and January 2.

All month at Lake Eola and downtown

• Eola Wonderland Christmas Tree Show, hourly from 5:45 to 9:45 PM, December 4 to January 6, plus the Holiday Stroll of lit trees into downtown.
• Holiday Projection Show on the Orange County Regional History Center, every 15 minutes from 5:30 to 10 PM, December 4 to January 2. Free.
• Santa, the Grinch's Lair, a holiday train and snowfall at Lake Eola on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through December 20. Santa and the Grinch use a virtual queue: scan the QR code on site, and the line can close before 9 PM.

December weather and what to pack

From National Weather Service normals (1991 to 2020):

• December: highs about 76°F on December 1, easing to 72°F by December 31 (74°F for the month). Lows about 53°F, dropping to around 50°F by the end of the month. About 2.5 inches of rain, mostly from passing cold fronts rather than summer-style afternoon storms.
• November: highs average 78°F (about 81°F on November 1 and 76°F by November 30) and lows 58°F, with about 1.8 inches of rain, one of the driest months of the year. Thanksgiving, November 26, normally runs about 77°F in the afternoon and 56°F in the morning.

Averages hide the swings. A few times each winter a cold front drops Orlando into the 40s for a night or two, sometimes lower, and a strong one can push a night into the 30s. Spend a week here in December and you'll almost certainly see at least one night in the 40s. The record low for Christmas Day is 21°F (1983) and the record high is 86°F, so check the 10-day forecast before you finish packing.

Also good to know: hurricane season ends November 30, and daylight saving time ended Sunday, November 1, 2026, so the sun sets around 5:30 PM. Plan outdoor things for earlier in the day. Mosquitoes and humidity drop off too.

What to pack:

• Layers: T-shirts and shorts for the warmest afternoons, plus a fleece or light jacket and long pants for mornings, nights and light shows.
• A real jacket, not just a hoodie, if the forecast shows lows in the 40s.
• Closed-toe shoes for ICE!, which is kept at 9°F. Sandals aren't allowed on the slides.
• Sunscreen and sunglasses. The Florida sun is still strong in December.
• A swimsuit, maybe. Heated hotel pools are fine. Outdoor water parks usually close or run reduced schedules in winter, and the ocean on either coast is chilly for most people by December. The springs stay in the low 70s all year, but some close to swimming for manatee season.

Cold or rainy day? WonderWorks, SEA LIFE Orlando and Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition are all indoors on International Drive. (Viator links earn us a small commission at no extra cost to you.)

December crowds and tours to book

• December 1 to about 12: the sweet spot. Parks are decorated, and the crowds are fairly manageable.
• Mid-December: busier each weekend.
• December 19 to 25: very busy as schools let out.
• December 20 to January 3: peak season at every park and attraction. Book tickets, dinners and parking early.

Most park holiday events come with admission, but Disney has two separate party tickets: Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and Jollywood Nights.

More to book (Viator links earn us a small commission at no extra cost to you):

• The Snow, Ice and Lights tour includes ICE! admission as well as hotel pickup.
• Christmas on the Coast runs Fridays and Saturdays through December 26.
• The holiday fireworks helicopter tour flies on select nights.
• Cold December mornings bring manatees into the springs. You can swim with them in Crystal River.
• Mini Moo Land's baby calf bottle feedings are at 10 AM, 1 PM and 4 PM, and tickets are 10% off through us. (I'm Boggy Creek's marketing manager.)