Disney World Events and Happenings

Disney World Events happen all year around, really they do. Yes, Dad's favorite time is Christmas where Disney goes all out. There are lights, parties, snow, the jolly elf himself...It's just a great time of year to go on a DIsney World vacation. The rest of the year have some pretty good happenings too.

Disney World Events - Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

Photo by Don Sullivan

OK, Dad knows, not everyone can go to Disney World at Christmas, so here's a list of special happenings all year long. A month-by-month breakdown of the special events at Disney World. At the end of each month there is a link to the monthly Dad's Special Events Guide. Dad's Monthly Events Guides are a comprehensive look at each event with dates, descriptions, times, locations, and Dad's unique opinion of each event.

Try them out. You'll love them...

Trust me.

January • February • March • April • May • June • July • August • September • October • November • December

DISNEY WORLD EVENTS

January - Happy New Year

January starts out with a bang! Literally. Disney has a New Years fireworks display at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney Hollywood Studios, and at Downtown Disney. (Disney never has fireworks at Animal Kingdom.) Truly amazing fireworks displays.

After the fireworks end, Christmas is still in session. Yes, Christmas stays around until the first Sunday after the 1st, then it all disappears. The Disney World Marathon happens the first full weekend.

Christmas at Disney World

Disney does Christmas up right. All of the parks, the hotels, the restaurants, they all dress up for the most wonderful time of the year. Christmas is truly a special time at Walt Disney World.

Dad's Christmas at Disney World page

Walt Disney World Marathon

Each January Disney hosts over 30,000 runners for the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend. The half-marathon is run on Saturday, and the full blown 27 mile marathon is run on Sunday. The marathoner's wind their way through the property ending in Epcot. "You're all are crazy." - Dad

Dad's Disney World Marathon page

February

February Disney World Events bring love, ESPN and baseball to Disney World. What a country.

Valentines Day at Disney World

Love is in the air on February 14 at Disney World. Or is it? (See Dad's Valentines Day Rant)

Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie ...

Spring Training for the Atlanta Braves starts around the the end of the month. games are played for about 3 weeks in Champion Stadium in Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex.

March

March is sports month at Disney World. This year, ESPN the Weekend has been cancelled. That leaves Atlanta Braves Spring Training.

Atlanta Braves Spring Training continues throughout the month of March.

Epcot's International Flower and Garden Festival

March brings an incredible concert line up to Epcot's American Gardens Theater for Epcot's International Flower and Garden Festival. There are concerts that bring a who's who of '70's Rock and Roll bands to Epcot. There's lots of gardening tips from gardeners all over the world. The Festival starts in March and runs through the end of May. A great time for a Spring Disney World vacation.

Dad's Epcot Flower and Garden Show page

If Easter comes in March the Easter Disney World Events will happen in March. There are special dining options, and a meet and greet opportunity with Mr. and Mrs. Bunny in the Magic Kingdom. Most of the hotels have some special happening tied to Easter.

April

Spring is in full force in April. Flowers take center stage this month.

Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival continues.

May

May is a slow month for Disney World Events until the big one shows up ... The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival ends it's run.

Mother's Day offers special dining options. (Paid for by Dad, I'm sure. and imagine this, there's no Dad's Day offerings. I'm suing ... Hey Dad's lawyer ...)

Star Wars Weekend

Star Wars Weekends
in May and June

Star Wars Weekend happen all over the Disney's Hollywood Studios in May and June. There are special appearances by characters from the movies. (Be warned, there are also fans dressed as characters.) Both pose for pictures. Parades have celebrity guests from the movies.

Help me Obi Wan Kenobi, You're my only hope.

Dad's Star Wars Weekend page

Gay Days at Disney World

In 2012, Gay Days come to Walt Disney World in May. This year the party starts on May 31.

Gay Days at Disney World. Events are scheduled Thursday through Sunday. One park is featured each day and most of the activities will be centered there. There has been some concern over the last few years about some of the attendies.

Let me be clear, this is not a Disney sanctioned event, but you should know about it.

Dad's Disney Gay Days page

June

June is the start of summer on the calendar and the start of the summer events at Disney World. Summer brings crowds and crowds mean extra entertainment.

Gay Days lasts through June 4.

Sounds Like Summer

June is the start of summer and the Sounds Like Summer Concert Series comes to the America Gardens Theater at Epcot. There are 3 shows nightly. Some great Tribute bands perform. Bands with names like 2U which is a U2 tribute band (got that?). These bands put on great shows. Check them out.

My wife and I took a Disney World vacation a long, long ago and ran across one of these Disney World Events. It was the highlight of our trip. Dad and Mrs. Mom stumble on to one of these great Disney World events.

Dad's Sounds Like Summer page

July

It's a hot as a firecracker in Disney World during July.

The Sounds Like Summer Concert Series continues.

July 4th. Independence Day. Fireworks day. The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney Studios, and Downtown Disney all have special firework shows with patriotic music.

August

August is a slow month for Disney World Events and Happenings.

The Sounds Like Summer Concert Series concludes.

September

September is the end of the summer and the beginning of holiday months at Disney World.

Night of Joy

The Night of Joy is held the first weekend of the month. The Night of Joy is a celebration of contemporary Christian music held at the Disney Hollywood Studios. The biggest performers in Christian music bring down the house.

Dad's Night of Joy page

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

Goblins and Ghosts roam the Magic Kingdom during Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. The party is held on selected day throughout the months of September and October. There's a special parade and fireworks show. There's also Trick-or-Treating in the park. Children of all ages are invited to wear the Mickey-est costumes. You'll have a ghoul of a good time.

Dad's Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

October

October is full of food, music and gobblins.

International Food and Wine Festival

October brings Epcot's International Food and Wine Festival to the Disney World Events calendar. Drinks and appetizers from countries around "the world" are featured. There are special seminars, guest speakers and special dinner party's thrown by Disney Chefs.

Dad's International Food and Wine Festival page

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party continues through the month.

November

Photo by Don Sullivan

November starts the busy season for Disney World Events, and Disney World happenings.

Epcot's International Food and Wine Festivalconcludes.

The Children's Miracle Golf Classic is played on the Magnolia and Palm courses. All the pro golfers bring the families and come to Walt Disney World to play in this annual event.

Thanksgiving brings out the feedbag. Special menus are available at most of the restaurants (for special prices). (It's sad that Disney almost ignores Thanksgiving. I love Christmas, but in the good old days, it didn't start until the day after Thanksgiving.)

Christmas at Disney World

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go...

Just like everywhere else, Christmas comes early to Walt Disney World. Christmas is the biggest of the Walt Disney World Events. The hotels decorate their lobbies with Christmas trees, garland, tinsel, lights and any other decoration you can imagine. (You've got to stop by the Grand Floridian and see the Gingerbread House.) The parks magically transform into Christmas Wonderland. In Epcot each country has their "Santa" come out and tell their story.

Their is no better time at Disney World. Christmas Disney World Events start before Thanksgiving, but the day after Thanksgiving, all of the decorations appear. It's magic. (Actually it's a lot of work done overnight.)

Dad's Christmas at Disney World page

December

"I'm dreaming of a White Christmas..."

And a White Christmas you can have in the Magic Kingdom during Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. You and 20,000 of your friends can enjoy cocoa and cookies with Mickey and Friends. It actually snows (actually it's soap crystals, but it looks like snow) on Main Street. It's beautiful.

Holiday Wishes is preformed on party nights and on selected nights throughout December.

In Epcot you the Candlelight Processional is preformed twice nightly in America Gardens Theater. If you like Christmas music at all this is a must see event. A choir and orchestra sing and play Christmas Carols while a guest narrator reads the story of Jesus' birth. It's one of our favorite things at Disney World.

Not to be outdone Disney's Hollywood Studios hosts the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights. The Osborne Family of Little Rock Arkansas worked with Disney to bring their million light display to the Studios. It's truly an impressive site.

There are sleigh rides, decorations, special parades, special shows, carolers, and Christmas cheer everywhere during the month of December.

Christmas is the best time to visit Walt Disney World to see all the great Disney World Events.

Ask Dad

If you don't see your Disney World Event listed here, why not Ask Dad. Dad knows everything about the Walt Disney World Resort and is proud to share his knowledge (and sometimes his ignorance) on a whole variety of topics. Here are some of the Events questions that Dad has answered ...

Yes, Dad has all the answers (and if he doesn't, he's pretty good at research). Come on over and test him out.

Dad's Ask Dad page

Sponsor Ads

Dad's Bottom Line

Disney World Events are what Disney does best. It separates them from all of the other theme parks. It doesn't matter when your Disney World vacation is, winter, spring, summer or fall you will probably be there during an event.

Oh, yeah, Dad really likes them too.