Hi Tracey and welcome to planDisney.
It sounds like you are planning quite the trip with a total of 19 guests in your travel party and I can totally understand you wanting to visit
Walt Disney World when the parks are all decorated for Christmas - it truly is the most magical time of the year!
The theme parks are generally dressed in all their festive splendour just in time for the first Christmas Special Events of the year to be held which include
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom Park and
Disney Jollywood Nights at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Based on the time frame for previous announcements, it is likely that the dates for the 2026 Christmas Special Events will not be released until around June 2026.
I can however tell you that the dates for the 2024 Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parties and Disney Jollywood Nights were announced on the
Disney Parks Blog on 24 June 2024. The first Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party was held on 8 November 2024 and the first Disney Jollywood Nights event was held the following day, on 9 November 2024.
As the 2026 dates are unlikely to be available for quite some time, if you are wanting to get your trip booked, I would recommend planning your visit for mid-late November in order to give you more chance of the Christmas decorations being up.
I myself, was at Walt Disney World from 6 - 10 November in 2024 and all of the theme parks and Disney Resort hotels which I visited during my stay were decorated for Christmas. The Gingerbread House at the
Grand Floridian Resort & Spa being one of my favourites!
I hope that this information has helped with the planning of your 2026 trip, Tracey. Please feel free to re-visit us here at planDisney with any other questions you may have.
Wishing you a magical holiday filled with memories which will last a lifetime!
Emma