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One of the must-do holiday events at Walt Disney World is the Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail. It is all-around fantastic — and free.
I walked through the trail for the first time in December and, wow, I was blown away by the theming, details, and creativity. Disney never ceases to amaze me.
If you’ve never visited the Christmas Tree Trail, you have to. The experience is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m through Jan. 5, 2020. The trail is located in the Marketplace near Once Upon a Toy and behind Earl of Sandwich.
For those unfamiliar with the Christmas Tree Trail, it is literally a trail of Disney-themed Christmas trees (22, to be exact) inspired by beloved movies, parks, attractions, and characters. You can take your time as you walk through and I highly recommend taking photos of each tree, because each one is unique and beautiful.
And with that, let’s take a look at the trees!
Walt Disney World Parks
Beauty and the Beast
Mickey & Minnie
Sleeping Beauty
Aladdin (NEW for 2019)
The Princess & the Frog
The Little Mermaid
Frozen
Mulan
Sow White
Dumbo
Toy Story
Cinderella
Star Wars
The Haunted Mansion
Pinocchio
Peter Pan
The Lion King (NEW for 2019)
Mary Poppins
Villains
Fantasia
Tangled
In addition to the trees, there are also fun, creative, and cute Disney-themed posters throughout that you’ll wish you could to take home and hang on your wall.
Good news: this year, there is merchandise inspired by the posters. You can find the merch, along with other items at The Elforium inside the trail. There’s even Noelle Kringle’s Café, where you can purchase treats, including popcorn and souvenir buckets (yes, even the Mickey Christmas tree!).
Here are just a few of the many posters:
Oh, and guess what? There’s even a spot in the trail to meet Santa Claus at “Santa’s Chalet”. Santa is only available to meet through Dec. 24 and he appears Sundays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
There is a particular system to follow. Here’s how it works:
- You’ll check in at the podium with one of Santa’s helpers and give them your number
- You can then go shop, eat, and do whatever else rather than waiting in line
- Once it’s your turn, you’ll receive a text message
- You must return to the podium within 10 minutes and then you can get in line
The line for Santa can get long, so I recommend getting to the podium as early as possible.
And that is the Christmas Tree Trail. If you’ve only ever seen photos or videos of the trail, you really need to visit it in person. It’s even better seeing it with your own two eyes. I really need to go back, especially to experience it at nighttime when the trees are all lit up. The Christmas Tree Trail is yet another fantastic holiday experience at Walt Disney World.