{"id":50831,"date":"2016-12-15T10:06:34","date_gmt":"2016-12-15T16:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/?p=50831"},"modified":"2021-11-12T15:55:01","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T21:55:01","slug":"best-things-orlando-christmas-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/best-things-orlando-christmas-day\/","title":{"rendered":"The best things to do in Orlando on Christmas Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Orlando<\/a>\u00a0feels\u00a0festive regardless of the time of year, and things get only\u00a0merrier during the holidays. For an extra dose of holiday\u00a0cheer\u2014or if you’re skipping the holidays entirely\u2014venture out to one of these Orlando places that are open for business on December 25.<\/p>\n

ALSO:<\/strong> 10 great Orlando attractions that aren’t Disney<\/a><\/p>\n

ATTRACTIONS<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Disney

Disney characters parade down Main Street, U.S.A., at Magic Kingdom during “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade.” | Photo courtesy of Ryan Wendler<\/p><\/div>\n

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party\u00a0transforms Disney’s Magic Kingdom<\/a><\/strong>, into a winter fairytale complete with an ice-covered Cinderella’s Castle, lively stage shows and a parade that brings snow flurries to\u00a0Main Street, U.S.A. Visitors can even score free cookies and hot chocolate throughout the park.<\/p>\n

New this year at Disney’s Hollywood Studios<\/a><\/strong> is Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!,<\/em> a nightly event that brightens the darkness with fireworks, special effects and holiday music.<\/p>\n

It wouldn’t be Christmas\u00a0without the\u00a0Macy\u2019s Holiday Parade, which\u00a0fills the streets of Universal Orlando Resort<\/a><\/strong> with the same balloons you saw at the Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, plus additional floats and entertainment.<\/p>\n

\"At

The live stage show, \u201cGrinchmas Who-liday Spectacular,” is part of Universal Orlando Resort\u2019s Holidays celebration.<\/p><\/div>\n

Experience a dazzling\u00a0retelling of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas<\/em>\u00a0at\u00a0Universal\u2019s Islands of Adventure<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0The theme park’s Seuss Landing presents the Grinchmas Who-liday Spectacular,<\/em> featuring original music by Mannheim Steamroller through January 1.<\/p>\n

You could buy your kids a LEGO set for Christmas (and curse as you step on them in the middle of the night) or you could bring them to\u00a0LEGOLand Florida’s<\/a>\u00a0Christmas Bricktacular,<\/strong>\u00a0featuring a life-sized Christmas tree, Santa, reindeer and sleigh all made out of, well, you know.<\/p>\n

RESTAURANTS<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The luxurious\u00a0Grand Bohemian Hotel Orlando<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is serving up a Christmas lunch buffet and a four-course sampler dinner at its Boheme Restaurant.<\/p>\n

Get your entertainment and food in one place when you\u00a0make reservations\u00a0for\u00a0Loews Portofino Bay<\/a><\/strong> at Universal Orlando Resort. The hotel’s casual Trattoria del Porto offers\u00a0a holiday buffet with carving stations, pasta, seafood, desserts and second buffet just for kids.<\/p>\n

\"Photo

Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World<\/p><\/div>\n

Even if you don’t splurge on a room at the swanky Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World<\/a><\/strong>, treat yourself to a mealat the resort’s restaurant Ravello. The Italian-inspired\u00a0Christmas Day buffet includes carved meats, roasted duck, pasta, a kids’ buffet and more.<\/p>\n

The Columbia Restaurant<\/strong><\/a> in Celebration (the Disney planned community just south of the parks) will offer a selection of Christmas features in addition to its usual\u00a0Cuban and Mediterranean fare.<\/p>\n

Dig into the holiday buffet at Rosen Centre Hotel<\/a><\/strong>, featuring everything from turkey and ham to seafood and desserts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HOTELS<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Photo

Photo courtesy of the Dolphin Hotel<\/p><\/div>\n

Linger in the lobbies of Disney’s\u00a0side-by-side Swan<\/a><\/strong> and Dolphin<\/a><\/strong> hotels for in instant happiness boost. The Swan features a life-sized Santa scene made from 2,000 pounds of chocolate. Not to be outdone, the Dolphin’s lobby boasts a 45-foot-tall Christmas tree with falling snow.<\/p>\n

Get your cold-weather fix during ICE!<\/em> at Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center<\/a><\/strong>, an incredible display of hand-carved ice sculptures. This year’s theme is Charlie Brown; also look for the traditional Nativity scene.<\/p>\n

\"Orbitz,<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Orphaned on Christmas Day? There’s still plenty to do in and around Orlando.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":53241,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[56,5,44],"tags":[423],"class_list":["post-50831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-disney","category-family-travel","category-florida","tag-orlando-vacations"],"acf":{"api_active":false,"api_title":"","api_excerpt":"","api_featured_image":false,"api_lob":"Hotels"},"posts_api_cpm_point":[{"name":"","description":"","email":"","thumbnail":"","address":"Orlando, FL, USA","latitude":"28.5383355","longitude":"-81.37923649999999","icon":"\/images\/icons\/marker.png"}],"yoast_head":"\nThe best things to do in Orlando on Christmas Day | Orbitz<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/best-things-orlando-christmas-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The best things to do in Orlando on Christmas Day | Orbitz\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Orphaned on Christmas Day? 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