Nine Tips for Seeing the Gingerbread Houses at Disney World

Last December, we had the opportunity to cross an experience off my “bucket list”: seeing the gingerbread houses at Walt Disney World in Florida! Spoiler alert: The gingerbread houses and holiday decorations lived up to the hype and exceeded my expectations. We encourage everyone to make a pilgrimage to the Disney World resort area sometime in November or December at least once to see the holiday magic first hand!

Visiting Disney World during the holidays does require some planning and securing reservations ahead of time to save time and money (two invaluable things when at Disney- or any other adventure!). This week, we’re sharing our tips for planning a trip to specifically explore the gingerbread houses and decorations at the resorts that host the gingerbread houses. 

Note: This post does not include visiting any of the parks or staying at any of the resorts (although we have full features of the Contemporary Resort and the Polynesian Resort on the blog!) 

Where to see the Gingerbread Displays in 2025:

• Contemporary Resort (on the monorail near the Magic Kingdom)
• Beach Club Resort (located near the back entrance to Epcot and the Skyliner)
• Boardwalk Inn (located near the back entrance to Epcot and the Skyliner)
• Wilderness Lodge (located at the far end of the Seven Seas Lagoon) Note: We didn’t get the opportunity to visit because the exhibit was closed from 2019-2024.
• Animal Kingdom Lodge (located near Animal Kingdom Park)

Nine Tips for Seeing the Gingerbread Displays:

1. Take note of the dates: Check here for the most up to date information, but typically, the gingerbread displays and concessions are usually open from mid November through January 1st of the new year.  Decorations throughout the parks, and in some of the resorts, go up on November 1st (literally overnight after Halloween) and are taken down around January 1st.
2. Make multiple dining reservations 60 days before your visit. Having a dining reservation at a resort allows visitors to park on property for up to four hours, which is a great option for guests just visiting for the day. Given the locations of the gingerbread houses and popular resort attractions, we chose to make a breakfast reservation at Grand Floridian resort, lunch reservation at the Boardwalk resort, and early dinner reservation at Animal Kingdom Lodge.  Having a dining reservation also guarantees you access to the resort in case large crowds lead to staff regulating who can come and go on resort property. 

3. Visit the resorts early in the day, and make dining reservations on off peak hours (an early breakfast around 7:30am, lunch around 11am, and dinner around 4pm). You’ll avoid major lines and crowds and have the opportunity to take lots of photos by yourself. The one drawback for early morning: the bakeries and gift kiosks are not usually open at the gingerbread displays until 9am.  
4. Park at one the resort and then take Disney transportation to nearby resorts. Disney transportation is like a ride all on its own (at least for non thrill seekers like me) and we loved hopping around resorts, while still respecting the time limits on our car parking. Options include:
   1. The Monorail: We parked at the Grand Floridian for breakfast, and then took the monorail and hopped on and off at the Contemporary and the Polynesian to see the displays at those resorts.
   2. The Boats: We also took a boat from the Polynesian resort across the Seven Seas Lagoon back to the Grand Floridian; other routes include stops at the Wilderness Lodge. There’s also a boat that goes between resorts on Crescent Lake, including the Beach Club/ Yacht Club resorts, Boardwalk resort, Swan and Dolphin resorts, Hollywood Studios, and the back entrance to EPCOT.
   3. The Skyliner: We walked from the Beach Club/ Yacht Club to the Skyliner entrance, just outside the entrance to EPCOT and took the Skyliner to the Riviera Resort. The Skyliner also makes stops at Caribbean Beach Resort and Pop Century Resort, Art of Animation Resort, and the entrance to Hollywood Studios park. 

5. Check out the ingredient lists, on placards next to each display. Each gingerbread display has a unique recipe (check out the ingredients listed in POUNDS!) and statistics on the varying lengths of time to create the display (all in the dozens and dozens of hours!)
6. Try and count the Hidden Mickeys at each display. The artists and bakers of each gingerbread display include outlines of Mickey Mouse’s iconic profile throughout the displays, in everything from the ginger bricks to apparel worn by characters to the scenery. The number of Hidden Mickeys varies at each display each year and usually has some symbolic significance. 

3. Purchase a souvenir at one of the gift shops. Each year, resorts offer different souvenirs celebrating the gingerbread houses (besides edible ones!) like trading pins, decorations, and housewares. Popular items tend to sell out early in the season (when we visited on December 22nd, 2024, every resort was out of trading pins). Try checking here and here for new arrivals and if Disney posts gingerbread house themed souvenirs online.
4. Highlights of each gingerbread display:
   1. Grand Floridian Resort: The largest gingerbread house of them all, there is a concession kiosk INSIDE the house. The house was on display behind the massive (almost 40 feet tall!) Christmas tree in the main lobby of the resort. There were various famous Disney characters and scenes, and an 88 pound white chocolate Santa. There was a line for treats about an hour before the shop opened (around 8:30am) and we were grateful we got there around 7:30am to see all sides of the gingerbread house. The menu included Disney themed gingerbread and brownies  and drinks. Note: There will not be a display in 2025 as the main lobby is undergoing renovations.
   2. Contemporary Resort: A more modern version of Cinderella’s Castle, the 17 foot tall by 25 foot wide display (made of over 4,000 castle gingerbread bricks!)  is located at the end of the main floor behind the gift shops. The display is up against a wall so you can only see three sides of it. Be sure to look for several Hidden Mickeys throughout the display. Concessions include drinks, linzer cookies, cakes, hazelnut logs, tarts, and cookies. 
   3. Boardwalk Resort: The Americana themed resort has tons of patriotic decorations and gingerbread house that is a replica of the Boardwalk Deli. Be sure to look for almost two dozen Hidden Mickeys. The concessions menu includes caramel corn cookies, loafs, and sugar cookies. 
   4. Beach Club Resort: The Beach Club gingerbread display is a working carousel with four horses made completely out of gingerbread. In 2024, the horses pay homage to A Christmas Carol. The concessions at Beach Club are located directly behind the display, and the menu includes cookies, bundt cake, macarons, steollen, and brownies.  In 2024, the display celebrated the 24th year of the carousel with 24 Hidden Mickeys.
   5. Animal Kingdom Lodge: The display is in the lobby of the resort, off to the side of the massive 40 foot tree and includes a life size zebra, giraffe, and flamingo all made of gingerbread. Concessions include gingeraffe cookies, cocktail drinks.
   6. For 2025, the gingerbread house display at the Wilderness Lodge will return! Specific details and themes have not been announced (as of the publishing of this post) but definitely leave time to visit the Wilderness Lodge.
   7. ** there is a sixth gingerbread display inside Epcot at the American Pavilion, but we did not purchase theme park tickets and could not visit. 

3. Admire other unique holiday decorations at parks and resorts. Check out the nautical themed decorations and train exhibit at the Yacht Club Resort (connected to Beach Club): The massive display (guests can walk around the entire display) includes a working miniature replica Skyliner, an animated figure shoveling snow, and several replica buildings. The Polynesian Resort and Wilderness Lodge also have impressive tree displays and lots of themed decorations. 

If your family has some free time (a couple of hours is plenty of time),  head to Disney Springs for the annual Christmas Tree Stroll. Guests can pick up the guide from several shops throughout Disney Springs and find the matching sticker for each of the 20 trees decorated to celebrate a Disney character, movie, or attraction. Submit your completed stroll scavenger hunt and receive a free souvenir (a different souvenir each year!). Some stores also offer discounts and promotions during Stroll dates. The trees are on display from mid November through the first weekend in January. See the full map here and more information here.

There are also themed Christmas trees located throughout Disney World, at all four parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom), and every resort. See the full list here. 

Looking for other advice on visiting Disney World? Check out our index of posts here, including our full features of the Contemporary Resort and Polynesian Resort and our dining recommendations.