With some great updates the last few years, Animal Kingdom has becomes a fan favorite during the holiday season. In this post, we discuss how the park is transformed in celebration of Christmas and Diwali, complete with pictures and tips for getting the most out of your visit!
When do the holidays at Animal Kingdom Start?
The holidays kicked off on November 12 at Animal Kingdom. While some decorations and merchandise were available earlier, Merry Menagerie and the Santa Claus greeting debuted on November 12.
Animal Kingdom Holiday Decorations
When the park goes all out, Animal Kingdom actually has a more diverse range of decorations than Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.
You can break down the holiday decorations pretty quickly by location (pics follow). A large Christmas Tree is added outside the park. Discovery Island has lanterns around the main hub of the park along with some standard decorations (e.g. garland). Dinoland USA has a ton of Christmas lights and other typical Christmas decorations (trees, snowman).
Asia has lanterns around the Anandapur Theater, celebrating Diwali. Africa has holiday flags and “improv” decorations, like wreaths made of bicycle wheels and bottlecaps. And Pandora has a small section of Christmas-inspired decorations at Pongu Pongu.
In general, the decorations in Africa and Pandora are best viewed during the day when you’ll be able to appreciate the details. The Discovery Island, Asia, and Dinoland USA are better at night when their illumination really elevates things. Here are some galleries from past years (use the arrows to click through)…
Animal Kingdom Tree
Discovery Island Decorations
Dinoland USA Decorations
Asia Decorations
Africa Decorations
Pandora Decorations
Animal Kingdom Holiday Entertainment
On the entertainment side of things, there are two significant holiday offerings, both confirmed to return for 2024: Merry Menagerie and Tree of Life Awakenings (Holiday Version, select nights only).
Merry Menagerie
The Merry Menagerie is arguably the highlight of the holiday celebration at Animal Kingdom. Life-size animal puppets roam the center of Discovery Island during the day, interacting with guests.
The exact lineup of puppets rotates, but we’ve seen polar bears, penguins, birds, and a few others. The puppets are accompanied by a live musician as well. These are super fun to interact with, and we highly recommend taking a few minutes to hang out with them.
Here are some photos:
Tree of Life Awakenings
Tree of Life Awakenings is the projection show that occurs on the Tree of Life from nightfall until the park closes. It’s actually a collection of several shows lasting a few minutes each. For the holiday season, you’ll see some of the segments featuring holiday elements.
Other Holiday Entertainment at Animal Kingdom
In the past, some of the Animal Kingdom streetmosphere would add holiday elements—maybe special music or costumes. These vary by year and by what entertainment is ongoing in the park. If you check the “Entertainment” listings in the Disney World app, you’ll see the current listings.
Animal Kingdom Holiday Characters
Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse are in holiday outfits for their meet & greet at Adventurers Outpost (returned in 2024). Additionally, the characters at Donald’s Dino-Bash! and Tusker House restaurant can sometimes be seen in holiday outfits.
As always, you can find the character greetings listed on the My Disney Experience app.
Meeting Santa at Animal Kingdom
Santa will be doing greetings at Animal Kingdom in 2024, a marked departure from previous years. He will greet at Restaurantosaurus as part of the “75th Annual Dino Institute Holiday Party” (which sounds like a fun holiday overlay, too).
Animal Kingdom Holiday Merchandise, Food, and Drink
The go-to resource for snack information is the official Disney Parks Blog Foodie Guide (2024 Edition). There you’ll find a list of the snacks available at all the parks, along with the locations and dates they’re available.
Besides the Foodie Guide, we recommend browsing through the mobile order menus and keeping your eyes open on signs throughout the park. It can happen that a snack stand gets something small (but delightful) that doesn’t make the guide.
The bulk of the holiday merchandise at Animal Kingdom is going to be the same you see at the other parks. Besides that, you’ll find some unique ornaments available on Discovery Island.
Finally, there are a few small snack items available throughout the park. These have actually changed at least once during the season, so just check the park map for the holiday icon to see what’s being offered (you can use the app’s dining menus for specific listings).
Learn More About The Holidays at Walt Disney World
Want to learn more about Christmastime at Walt Disney World? For starters, we've got a Guide to Christmas at Walt Disney World, which introduces you to everything you need to know.
Need more specifics? You'll want to read about the park that gets the most Magical decorations in our post on Christmas at Magic Kingdom. You'll also want to read about Flurry of Fun—the Christmas celebration at Hollywood Studios—and the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays.
But the flaghsip event of the season is Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party—and our guide has you covered with everything you need to know. Or check out the quick version in our 12 Tips for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.
Last but not least, let's not forget that the celebrations don't stop at the parks! You can visit our post on Christmas decorations at the Disney World hotels to see how even the hotels get into the spirit!
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 don't forget to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!
Don't forget to master your Disney World Lightning Lane Guide and 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 Lightning Lane Strategy, Epcot Lightning Lane Strategy, Animal Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, and Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane Strategy.
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.