Walt Disney World has introduced the refurbishment timeline and revealed the brand new Birdcage Foyer Bar Coming Quickly to the Grand Floridian Resort. With this, there are impacts to the visitor expertise and choices on the flagship lodge, extending by way of Christmas 2025. One such affect isn’t any gingerbread show–this shares particulars and our commentary in regards to the information.
Let’s begin with fast background. A staple of the vacation season at Walt Disney World is the life-sized Gingerbread Home on the Grand Floridian. Final yr, this fan-favorite custom celebrated its twenty fifth Anniversary, and was formally open beginning November 6, after starting building in mid-to-late October.
The edible show at all times attracts a giant crowd of visitors desperate to admire its white chocolate sweet canes, edible snowflakes, sugar poinsettias, and an 88-pound white chocolate Santa. The gingerbread itself is baked with 1050 kilos of honey, 800 kilos of flour, and 600 kilos of confectioners’ sugar. The decorations characteristic 700 kilos of chocolate and have over 10,000 items of gingerbread. The crew spend over 500 hours baking the gingerbread and 480 hours bringing all of the dazzling particulars to life.
To rejoice the 25 years of vacation custom, there have been 25 hidden Mickeys scattered all through the Gingerbread Home at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort final yr. There was additionally a limited-edition assortment of twenty fifth anniversary merchandise together with a pin, decoration, cookie jar, magnet, tumbler, t-shirt, and extra obtainable for buy.
If our experiences the previous few years had been any indication, there’s additionally alway large crowds and lengthy strains within the foyer. We’ve come to view the Gingerbread Home on the Grand Floridian considerably just like the Cinderella Fort Dream Lights: an funding made by Walt Disney World that paid large dividends when it comes to gross sales–not essentially within the reserving of journeys or resort stays, however by way of PhotoPass, meals & beverage, merchandise, and extra gross sales.
A go to to the Grand Floridian is a quintessential holiday-time expertise, and it’s one of some must-do stops on our Free Self-Guided Walt Disney World Yuletide Resort Tour. That’s what we advocate doing within the morning earlier than attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Celebration (in case you decide to do this upcharge) or maybe simply in your non-parks day. It’s one in every of our favourite issues to do at Walt Disney World, and we make a degree of doing it yearly–together with separate visits to lots of the lodges.
As with the opposite monorail loop resorts, it’s additionally simple to go to the Grand Floridian the identical day you do Magic Kingdom. Whether or not or not it’s earlier than heading into the park, strolling over on the strolling path for a noon break, or after the park closes (our favourite choice), it’s well worth the detour due to its elegant Victorian decor, grandiose icon tree, and the wonderful gingerbread home.
That’s usually all true, but it surely sounds prefer it received’t be the case at Christmas 2025.
Walt Disney World has introduced the next: As a part of the continuing enhancements at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, phased updates to the foyer, conference heart and choose areas will start April 14. Parts of the foyer will shut at instances, and Visitors might encounter adjustments to their path of journey.
Whereas building exercise might be noticeable throughout daytime hours, efforts might be made to attenuate disruptions, and all swimming pools, eating and different facilities will stay obtainable. As Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa continues its renovations, the gingerbread show won’t be obtainable through the vacation season in 2025.
On its face, this rationalization is smart.
Development taking place by way of late 2025 would positively affect Walt Disney World’s capability to construct the Gingerbread Home on the Grand Floridian. As famous above, that often begins in mid-to-late October.
So even when the foyer renovations are accomplished by Veterans Day and the normal kickoff to the Christmas season, that’s nonetheless not sufficient lead-time to have the Gingerbread Home–which is constructed in plain sight within the foyer–accomplished by then.
There’s additionally the fact that building is at all times topic to delay, and even when the intent is to have the foyer accomplished by early November and even mid-October, there’s no assure that’ll occur. There are a number of transferring elements and a number of groups concerned in bringing the Gingerbread Home to life, so the protected transfer is to easily err on the aspect of warning and cancel the fan-favorite show for Christmas 2025. It’s disappointing, but it surely’s pragmatic.
Some followers would possibly marvel why Walt Disney World merely doesn’t relocate the Gingerbread Home to elsewhere on the Grand Floridian.
My guess is that it’s a matter of crowds and congestion. That there’s nowhere else that may soak up the visitor visitors that the Gingerbread Home attracts, and even when there have been, that may spill over into the foyer. Individuals aren’t going to return to the lodge for the Gingerbread Home within the conference heart or wherever, and not enter the foyer to additionally see its decorations (hopefully there’s nonetheless a Christmas tree).
If the foyer venture is delayed and building remains to be occuring in November or December that takes a part of the house out of fee, which means extra folks crammed into a good smaller space. As a lot as we’d like to see Walt Disney World discover a option to deliver again the Gingerbread Home for its twenty sixth yr, it most likely comes right down to pragmatism.
Longer-term, I can’t assist however marvel about the way forward for the Gingerbread Home on the Grand Floridian.
My first thought when wanting on the Birdcage Bar idea artwork is that the foyer goes to be fairly busy with that plus the Christmas tree and gingerbread home through the holidays. The principle constructing is already a mad home through the vacation season, and this can simply exacerbate it.
Not solely will this be yet one more factor that induces crowds within the foyer, however it should focus them. Frankly, I don’t understand how the Grand Floridian goes to have this birdcage bar and Christmas tree and gingerbread home. One thing’s gotta give–or transfer. My guess is that “one thing” would be the Gingerbread Home.
It’s doable that the Grand Floridian will transfer the Gingerbread Home into a unique house for Christmas 2026 and past. As talked about, there’s the conference heart and different areas away from the closely trafficked foyer.
However as additionally talked about, all of them end in the identical points with spillover into the foyer. On condition that, we wouldn’t be in the slightest degree shocked if the Grand Floridian Gingerbread Home by no means returns. To be abundantly clear, that is purely speculative on our half. Not even a rumor, and positively not official.
I simply know that Walt Disney World receives lots of complaints from paying visitors in the primary constructing of the Grand Floridian every Christmas about noise and crowds, most of that are guests to the lodge. Sooner or later, I wouldn’t be shocked if these “win out” over the the profitable merchandise, meals & beverage gross sales of the Gingerbread Home. Possibly the show might be again in 2026, however I really feel like its retirement is inevitable–and doubtless by the point Villains Land opens.
One other risk is the Gingerbread Home transferring to a different resort solely. On this case, it wouldn’t be “transferring” a lot as it might be Walt Disney World retiring one show and introducing one other.
This has already began to occur, form of. For the previous few vacation seasons, Animal Kingdom Lodge has had edible animal shows. These have grown in scale and measurement, however nonetheless will not be “large enough” to justify a devoted journey from most visitors. Introducing an precise Gingerbread Lodge (a la Humphrey’s Lodge from ~6 years in the past at Wilderness Lodge) would tip the scales.
I’m of two minds about this. Selflessly, I’d love extra followers to make the trek to AKL and eventually uncover what’s unquestionably one of many prime resorts at Walt Disney World, its great culinary scene, sensible themed design, and so on. Selfishly, I really like Animal Kingdom Lodge through the vacation season, and admire how quiet it’s as in comparison with the monorail loop and Crescent Lake Resorts. I’d prefer to maintain it that approach. (I believe it most likely would keep that approach given the transportation limitations.)
I additionally wouldn’t be shocked if Walt Disney World tried one thing comparable with whichever Disney Trip Membership resorts they’re attempting to promote. Incentivizing visits to Fort Wilderness over the vacation season with a cool show can be savvy because the campground actually shines at Christmas-time. “Oh, by the best way when you’re right here, tour this new mannequin DVC cabin that we’ve conveniently positioned within the Settlement!”
Guests to the Grand Floridian and Polynesian Village Resorts and overcrowding has been a problem for some time. We’ve been warning readers about reserving the primary constructing of the Grand Floridian at Christmas for years, based mostly on each our personal destructive experiences and studies from others.
Likewise, one in every of our largest trepidations in regards to the Island Tower on the Poly (other than how hideous it seems on the surface) is the burden it’ll placed on the resort’s already strained infrastructure. The resort’s DVC level stock just isn’t even shut to completely bought out but, and we’ve already seen a few of these points throughout current visits.
Walt Disney World has tried to handle the issues with monorail loop resort visitors lately, whereas on the identical time constructing new issues to induce much more demand. That is exactly why they’ve restricted customer parking at these (and different) resorts, restricted Cellular Order at instances, and required wristbands for fireworks viewing.
In the end, there are different measures that Walt Disney World might take to regulate crowds on the Grand Floridian and Polynesian that may assist management crowds and permit the Gingerbread Home to return. One can be requiring keycard entry or confirmed eating reservations to achieve entrance to the grounds. That is precisely what Tokyo Disney Resort does with each Toy Story Lodge and Fantasy Springs Lodge. I’m guessing Walt Disney World doesn’t wish to go that far, particularly since they like to string the needle on one of these factor (crowds equal income!).
It’s additionally solely doable that I’m taking my very own psychological comparability of the Grand Floridian Gingerbread Home to the Cinderella Fort Dream Lights too actually. Within the latter’s case, it’s seeming increasingly like a ‘non permanent hiatus’ supplied Walt Disney World cowl for making a seemingly everlasting determination they knew can be unpopular. For essentially the most half, followers might be understanding that the Gingerbread Home isn’t returning this yr, as foyer building is a logical rationalization. And if it doesn’t come again in 2026, that’s quiet information, not a recent announcement.
The response can be very completely different if Walt Disney World got here out at this time and shared that the Gingerbread Home is being completely retired. Right here’s hoping I’m overanalyzing this, being too conspiratorial, and the Grand Floridian Gingerbread Home is again and higher than ever for Christmas 2026!
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Find out about lodges on our Walt Disney World Lodges Critiques web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Critiques. To save cash on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Suggestions for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets submit. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys submit takes a novel take a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Journey Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, one of the best place to begin is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for every part you want to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you consider Walt Disney World cancelling the gingerbread home at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa for Christmas 2025? Assume it’ll be again at Christmas 2026? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we may help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even while you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
Walt Disney World has introduced the refurbishment timeline and revealed the brand new Birdcage Foyer Bar Coming Quickly to the Grand Floridian Resort. With this, there are impacts to the visitor expertise and choices on the flagship lodge, extending by way of Christmas 2025. One such affect isn’t any gingerbread show–this shares particulars and our commentary in regards to the information.
Let’s begin with fast background. A staple of the vacation season at Walt Disney World is the life-sized Gingerbread Home on the Grand Floridian. Final yr, this fan-favorite custom celebrated its twenty fifth Anniversary, and was formally open beginning November 6, after starting building in mid-to-late October.
The edible show at all times attracts a giant crowd of visitors desperate to admire its white chocolate sweet canes, edible snowflakes, sugar poinsettias, and an 88-pound white chocolate Santa. The gingerbread itself is baked with 1050 kilos of honey, 800 kilos of flour, and 600 kilos of confectioners’ sugar. The decorations characteristic 700 kilos of chocolate and have over 10,000 items of gingerbread. The crew spend over 500 hours baking the gingerbread and 480 hours bringing all of the dazzling particulars to life.
To rejoice the 25 years of vacation custom, there have been 25 hidden Mickeys scattered all through the Gingerbread Home at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort final yr. There was additionally a limited-edition assortment of twenty fifth anniversary merchandise together with a pin, decoration, cookie jar, magnet, tumbler, t-shirt, and extra obtainable for buy.
If our experiences the previous few years had been any indication, there’s additionally alway large crowds and lengthy strains within the foyer. We’ve come to view the Gingerbread Home on the Grand Floridian considerably just like the Cinderella Fort Dream Lights: an funding made by Walt Disney World that paid large dividends when it comes to gross sales–not essentially within the reserving of journeys or resort stays, however by way of PhotoPass, meals & beverage, merchandise, and extra gross sales.
A go to to the Grand Floridian is a quintessential holiday-time expertise, and it’s one of some must-do stops on our Free Self-Guided Walt Disney World Yuletide Resort Tour. That’s what we advocate doing within the morning earlier than attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Celebration (in case you decide to do this upcharge) or maybe simply in your non-parks day. It’s one in every of our favourite issues to do at Walt Disney World, and we make a degree of doing it yearly–together with separate visits to lots of the lodges.
As with the opposite monorail loop resorts, it’s additionally simple to go to the Grand Floridian the identical day you do Magic Kingdom. Whether or not or not it’s earlier than heading into the park, strolling over on the strolling path for a noon break, or after the park closes (our favourite choice), it’s well worth the detour due to its elegant Victorian decor, grandiose icon tree, and the wonderful gingerbread home.
That’s usually all true, but it surely sounds prefer it received’t be the case at Christmas 2025.
Walt Disney World has introduced the next: As a part of the continuing enhancements at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, phased updates to the foyer, conference heart and choose areas will start April 14. Parts of the foyer will shut at instances, and Visitors might encounter adjustments to their path of journey.
Whereas building exercise might be noticeable throughout daytime hours, efforts might be made to attenuate disruptions, and all swimming pools, eating and different facilities will stay obtainable. As Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa continues its renovations, the gingerbread show won’t be obtainable through the vacation season in 2025.
On its face, this rationalization is smart.
Development taking place by way of late 2025 would positively affect Walt Disney World’s capability to construct the Gingerbread Home on the Grand Floridian. As famous above, that often begins in mid-to-late October.
So even when the foyer renovations are accomplished by Veterans Day and the normal kickoff to the Christmas season, that’s nonetheless not sufficient lead-time to have the Gingerbread Home–which is constructed in plain sight within the foyer–accomplished by then.
There’s additionally the fact that building is at all times topic to delay, and even when the intent is to have the foyer accomplished by early November and even mid-October, there’s no assure that’ll occur. There are a number of transferring elements and a number of groups concerned in bringing the Gingerbread Home to life, so the protected transfer is to easily err on the aspect of warning and cancel the fan-favorite show for Christmas 2025. It’s disappointing, but it surely’s pragmatic.
Some followers would possibly marvel why Walt Disney World merely doesn’t relocate the Gingerbread Home to elsewhere on the Grand Floridian.
My guess is that it’s a matter of crowds and congestion. That there’s nowhere else that may soak up the visitor visitors that the Gingerbread Home attracts, and even when there have been, that may spill over into the foyer. Individuals aren’t going to return to the lodge for the Gingerbread Home within the conference heart or wherever, and not enter the foyer to additionally see its decorations (hopefully there’s nonetheless a Christmas tree).
If the foyer venture is delayed and building remains to be occuring in November or December that takes a part of the house out of fee, which means extra folks crammed into a good smaller space. As a lot as we’d like to see Walt Disney World discover a option to deliver again the Gingerbread Home for its twenty sixth yr, it most likely comes right down to pragmatism.
Longer-term, I can’t assist however marvel about the way forward for the Gingerbread Home on the Grand Floridian.
My first thought when wanting on the Birdcage Bar idea artwork is that the foyer goes to be fairly busy with that plus the Christmas tree and gingerbread home through the holidays. The principle constructing is already a mad home through the vacation season, and this can simply exacerbate it.
Not solely will this be yet one more factor that induces crowds within the foyer, however it should focus them. Frankly, I don’t understand how the Grand Floridian goes to have this birdcage bar and Christmas tree and gingerbread home. One thing’s gotta give–or transfer. My guess is that “one thing” would be the Gingerbread Home.
It’s doable that the Grand Floridian will transfer the Gingerbread Home into a unique house for Christmas 2026 and past. As talked about, there’s the conference heart and different areas away from the closely trafficked foyer.
However as additionally talked about, all of them end in the identical points with spillover into the foyer. On condition that, we wouldn’t be in the slightest degree shocked if the Grand Floridian Gingerbread Home by no means returns. To be abundantly clear, that is purely speculative on our half. Not even a rumor, and positively not official.
I simply know that Walt Disney World receives lots of complaints from paying visitors in the primary constructing of the Grand Floridian every Christmas about noise and crowds, most of that are guests to the lodge. Sooner or later, I wouldn’t be shocked if these “win out” over the the profitable merchandise, meals & beverage gross sales of the Gingerbread Home. Possibly the show might be again in 2026, however I really feel like its retirement is inevitable–and doubtless by the point Villains Land opens.
One other risk is the Gingerbread Home transferring to a different resort solely. On this case, it wouldn’t be “transferring” a lot as it might be Walt Disney World retiring one show and introducing one other.
This has already began to occur, form of. For the previous few vacation seasons, Animal Kingdom Lodge has had edible animal shows. These have grown in scale and measurement, however nonetheless will not be “large enough” to justify a devoted journey from most visitors. Introducing an precise Gingerbread Lodge (a la Humphrey’s Lodge from ~6 years in the past at Wilderness Lodge) would tip the scales.
I’m of two minds about this. Selflessly, I’d love extra followers to make the trek to AKL and eventually uncover what’s unquestionably one of many prime resorts at Walt Disney World, its great culinary scene, sensible themed design, and so on. Selfishly, I really like Animal Kingdom Lodge through the vacation season, and admire how quiet it’s as in comparison with the monorail loop and Crescent Lake Resorts. I’d prefer to maintain it that approach. (I believe it most likely would keep that approach given the transportation limitations.)
I additionally wouldn’t be shocked if Walt Disney World tried one thing comparable with whichever Disney Trip Membership resorts they’re attempting to promote. Incentivizing visits to Fort Wilderness over the vacation season with a cool show can be savvy because the campground actually shines at Christmas-time. “Oh, by the best way when you’re right here, tour this new mannequin DVC cabin that we’ve conveniently positioned within the Settlement!”
Guests to the Grand Floridian and Polynesian Village Resorts and overcrowding has been a problem for some time. We’ve been warning readers about reserving the primary constructing of the Grand Floridian at Christmas for years, based mostly on each our personal destructive experiences and studies from others.
Likewise, one in every of our largest trepidations in regards to the Island Tower on the Poly (other than how hideous it seems on the surface) is the burden it’ll placed on the resort’s already strained infrastructure. The resort’s DVC level stock just isn’t even shut to completely bought out but, and we’ve already seen a few of these points throughout current visits.
Walt Disney World has tried to handle the issues with monorail loop resort visitors lately, whereas on the identical time constructing new issues to induce much more demand. That is exactly why they’ve restricted customer parking at these (and different) resorts, restricted Cellular Order at instances, and required wristbands for fireworks viewing.
In the end, there are different measures that Walt Disney World might take to regulate crowds on the Grand Floridian and Polynesian that may assist management crowds and permit the Gingerbread Home to return. One can be requiring keycard entry or confirmed eating reservations to achieve entrance to the grounds. That is precisely what Tokyo Disney Resort does with each Toy Story Lodge and Fantasy Springs Lodge. I’m guessing Walt Disney World doesn’t wish to go that far, particularly since they like to string the needle on one of these factor (crowds equal income!).
It’s additionally solely doable that I’m taking my very own psychological comparability of the Grand Floridian Gingerbread Home to the Cinderella Fort Dream Lights too actually. Within the latter’s case, it’s seeming increasingly like a ‘non permanent hiatus’ supplied Walt Disney World cowl for making a seemingly everlasting determination they knew can be unpopular. For essentially the most half, followers might be understanding that the Gingerbread Home isn’t returning this yr, as foyer building is a logical rationalization. And if it doesn’t come again in 2026, that’s quiet information, not a recent announcement.
The response can be very completely different if Walt Disney World got here out at this time and shared that the Gingerbread Home is being completely retired. Right here’s hoping I’m overanalyzing this, being too conspiratorial, and the Grand Floridian Gingerbread Home is again and higher than ever for Christmas 2026!
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Find out about lodges on our Walt Disney World Lodges Critiques web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Critiques. To save cash on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Suggestions for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets submit. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys submit takes a novel take a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Journey Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, one of the best place to begin is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for every part you want to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you consider Walt Disney World cancelling the gingerbread home at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa for Christmas 2025? Assume it’ll be again at Christmas 2026? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we may help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even while you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
Walt Disney World has introduced the refurbishment timeline and revealed the brand new Birdcage Foyer Bar Coming Quickly to the Grand Floridian Resort. With this, there are impacts to the visitor expertise and choices on the flagship lodge, extending by way of Christmas 2025. One such affect isn’t any gingerbread show–this shares particulars and our commentary in regards to the information.
Let’s begin with fast background. A staple of the vacation season at Walt Disney World is the life-sized Gingerbread Home on the Grand Floridian. Final yr, this fan-favorite custom celebrated its twenty fifth Anniversary, and was formally open beginning November 6, after starting building in mid-to-late October.
The edible show at all times attracts a giant crowd of visitors desperate to admire its white chocolate sweet canes, edible snowflakes, sugar poinsettias, and an 88-pound white chocolate Santa. The gingerbread itself is baked with 1050 kilos of honey, 800 kilos of flour, and 600 kilos of confectioners’ sugar. The decorations characteristic 700 kilos of chocolate and have over 10,000 items of gingerbread. The crew spend over 500 hours baking the gingerbread and 480 hours bringing all of the dazzling particulars to life.
To rejoice the 25 years of vacation custom, there have been 25 hidden Mickeys scattered all through the Gingerbread Home at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort final yr. There was additionally a limited-edition assortment of twenty fifth anniversary merchandise together with a pin, decoration, cookie jar, magnet, tumbler, t-shirt, and extra obtainable for buy.
If our experiences the previous few years had been any indication, there’s additionally alway large crowds and lengthy strains within the foyer. We’ve come to view the Gingerbread Home on the Grand Floridian considerably just like the Cinderella Fort Dream Lights: an funding made by Walt Disney World that paid large dividends when it comes to gross sales–not essentially within the reserving of journeys or resort stays, however by way of PhotoPass, meals & beverage, merchandise, and extra gross sales.
A go to to the Grand Floridian is a quintessential holiday-time expertise, and it’s one of some must-do stops on our Free Self-Guided Walt Disney World Yuletide Resort Tour. That’s what we advocate doing within the morning earlier than attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Celebration (in case you decide to do this upcharge) or maybe simply in your non-parks day. It’s one in every of our favourite issues to do at Walt Disney World, and we make a degree of doing it yearly–together with separate visits to lots of the lodges.
As with the opposite monorail loop resorts, it’s additionally simple to go to the Grand Floridian the identical day you do Magic Kingdom. Whether or not or not it’s earlier than heading into the park, strolling over on the strolling path for a noon break, or after the park closes (our favourite choice), it’s well worth the detour due to its elegant Victorian decor, grandiose icon tree, and the wonderful gingerbread home.
That’s usually all true, but it surely sounds prefer it received’t be the case at Christmas 2025.
Walt Disney World has introduced the next: As a part of the continuing enhancements at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, phased updates to the foyer, conference heart and choose areas will start April 14. Parts of the foyer will shut at instances, and Visitors might encounter adjustments to their path of journey.
Whereas building exercise might be noticeable throughout daytime hours, efforts might be made to attenuate disruptions, and all swimming pools, eating and different facilities will stay obtainable. As Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa continues its renovations, the gingerbread show won’t be obtainable through the vacation season in 2025.
On its face, this rationalization is smart.
Development taking place by way of late 2025 would positively affect Walt Disney World’s capability to construct the Gingerbread Home on the Grand Floridian. As famous above, that often begins in mid-to-late October.
So even when the foyer renovations are accomplished by Veterans Day and the normal kickoff to the Christmas season, that’s nonetheless not sufficient lead-time to have the Gingerbread Home–which is constructed in plain sight within the foyer–accomplished by then.
There’s additionally the fact that building is at all times topic to delay, and even when the intent is to have the foyer accomplished by early November and even mid-October, there’s no assure that’ll occur. There are a number of transferring elements and a number of groups concerned in bringing the Gingerbread Home to life, so the protected transfer is to easily err on the aspect of warning and cancel the fan-favorite show for Christmas 2025. It’s disappointing, but it surely’s pragmatic.
Some followers would possibly marvel why Walt Disney World merely doesn’t relocate the Gingerbread Home to elsewhere on the Grand Floridian.
My guess is that it’s a matter of crowds and congestion. That there’s nowhere else that may soak up the visitor visitors that the Gingerbread Home attracts, and even when there have been, that may spill over into the foyer. Individuals aren’t going to return to the lodge for the Gingerbread Home within the conference heart or wherever, and not enter the foyer to additionally see its decorations (hopefully there’s nonetheless a Christmas tree).
If the foyer venture is delayed and building remains to be occuring in November or December that takes a part of the house out of fee, which means extra folks crammed into a good smaller space. As a lot as we’d like to see Walt Disney World discover a option to deliver again the Gingerbread Home for its twenty sixth yr, it most likely comes right down to pragmatism.
Longer-term, I can’t assist however marvel about the way forward for the Gingerbread Home on the Grand Floridian.
My first thought when wanting on the Birdcage Bar idea artwork is that the foyer goes to be fairly busy with that plus the Christmas tree and gingerbread home through the holidays. The principle constructing is already a mad home through the vacation season, and this can simply exacerbate it.
Not solely will this be yet one more factor that induces crowds within the foyer, however it should focus them. Frankly, I don’t understand how the Grand Floridian goes to have this birdcage bar and Christmas tree and gingerbread home. One thing’s gotta give–or transfer. My guess is that “one thing” would be the Gingerbread Home.
It’s doable that the Grand Floridian will transfer the Gingerbread Home into a unique house for Christmas 2026 and past. As talked about, there’s the conference heart and different areas away from the closely trafficked foyer.
However as additionally talked about, all of them end in the identical points with spillover into the foyer. On condition that, we wouldn’t be in the slightest degree shocked if the Grand Floridian Gingerbread Home by no means returns. To be abundantly clear, that is purely speculative on our half. Not even a rumor, and positively not official.
I simply know that Walt Disney World receives lots of complaints from paying visitors in the primary constructing of the Grand Floridian every Christmas about noise and crowds, most of that are guests to the lodge. Sooner or later, I wouldn’t be shocked if these “win out” over the the profitable merchandise, meals & beverage gross sales of the Gingerbread Home. Possibly the show might be again in 2026, however I really feel like its retirement is inevitable–and doubtless by the point Villains Land opens.
One other risk is the Gingerbread Home transferring to a different resort solely. On this case, it wouldn’t be “transferring” a lot as it might be Walt Disney World retiring one show and introducing one other.
This has already began to occur, form of. For the previous few vacation seasons, Animal Kingdom Lodge has had edible animal shows. These have grown in scale and measurement, however nonetheless will not be “large enough” to justify a devoted journey from most visitors. Introducing an precise Gingerbread Lodge (a la Humphrey’s Lodge from ~6 years in the past at Wilderness Lodge) would tip the scales.
I’m of two minds about this. Selflessly, I’d love extra followers to make the trek to AKL and eventually uncover what’s unquestionably one of many prime resorts at Walt Disney World, its great culinary scene, sensible themed design, and so on. Selfishly, I really like Animal Kingdom Lodge through the vacation season, and admire how quiet it’s as in comparison with the monorail loop and Crescent Lake Resorts. I’d prefer to maintain it that approach. (I believe it most likely would keep that approach given the transportation limitations.)
I additionally wouldn’t be shocked if Walt Disney World tried one thing comparable with whichever Disney Trip Membership resorts they’re attempting to promote. Incentivizing visits to Fort Wilderness over the vacation season with a cool show can be savvy because the campground actually shines at Christmas-time. “Oh, by the best way when you’re right here, tour this new mannequin DVC cabin that we’ve conveniently positioned within the Settlement!”
Guests to the Grand Floridian and Polynesian Village Resorts and overcrowding has been a problem for some time. We’ve been warning readers about reserving the primary constructing of the Grand Floridian at Christmas for years, based mostly on each our personal destructive experiences and studies from others.
Likewise, one in every of our largest trepidations in regards to the Island Tower on the Poly (other than how hideous it seems on the surface) is the burden it’ll placed on the resort’s already strained infrastructure. The resort’s DVC level stock just isn’t even shut to completely bought out but, and we’ve already seen a few of these points throughout current visits.
Walt Disney World has tried to handle the issues with monorail loop resort visitors lately, whereas on the identical time constructing new issues to induce much more demand. That is exactly why they’ve restricted customer parking at these (and different) resorts, restricted Cellular Order at instances, and required wristbands for fireworks viewing.
In the end, there are different measures that Walt Disney World might take to regulate crowds on the Grand Floridian and Polynesian that may assist management crowds and permit the Gingerbread Home to return. One can be requiring keycard entry or confirmed eating reservations to achieve entrance to the grounds. That is precisely what Tokyo Disney Resort does with each Toy Story Lodge and Fantasy Springs Lodge. I’m guessing Walt Disney World doesn’t wish to go that far, particularly since they like to string the needle on one of these factor (crowds equal income!).
It’s additionally solely doable that I’m taking my very own psychological comparability of the Grand Floridian Gingerbread Home to the Cinderella Fort Dream Lights too actually. Within the latter’s case, it’s seeming increasingly like a ‘non permanent hiatus’ supplied Walt Disney World cowl for making a seemingly everlasting determination they knew can be unpopular. For essentially the most half, followers might be understanding that the Gingerbread Home isn’t returning this yr, as foyer building is a logical rationalization. And if it doesn’t come again in 2026, that’s quiet information, not a recent announcement.
The response can be very completely different if Walt Disney World got here out at this time and shared that the Gingerbread Home is being completely retired. Right here’s hoping I’m overanalyzing this, being too conspiratorial, and the Grand Floridian Gingerbread Home is again and higher than ever for Christmas 2026!
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Find out about lodges on our Walt Disney World Lodges Critiques web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Critiques. To save cash on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Suggestions for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets submit. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys submit takes a novel take a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Journey Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, one of the best place to begin is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for every part you want to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you consider Walt Disney World cancelling the gingerbread home at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa for Christmas 2025? Assume it’ll be again at Christmas 2026? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we may help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even while you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
Walt Disney World has introduced the refurbishment timeline and revealed the brand new Birdcage Foyer Bar Coming Quickly to the Grand Floridian Resort. With this, there are impacts to the visitor expertise and choices on the flagship lodge, extending by way of Christmas 2025. One such affect isn’t any gingerbread show–this shares particulars and our commentary in regards to the information.
Let’s begin with fast background. A staple of the vacation season at Walt Disney World is the life-sized Gingerbread Home on the Grand Floridian. Final yr, this fan-favorite custom celebrated its twenty fifth Anniversary, and was formally open beginning November 6, after starting building in mid-to-late October.
The edible show at all times attracts a giant crowd of visitors desperate to admire its white chocolate sweet canes, edible snowflakes, sugar poinsettias, and an 88-pound white chocolate Santa. The gingerbread itself is baked with 1050 kilos of honey, 800 kilos of flour, and 600 kilos of confectioners’ sugar. The decorations characteristic 700 kilos of chocolate and have over 10,000 items of gingerbread. The crew spend over 500 hours baking the gingerbread and 480 hours bringing all of the dazzling particulars to life.
To rejoice the 25 years of vacation custom, there have been 25 hidden Mickeys scattered all through the Gingerbread Home at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort final yr. There was additionally a limited-edition assortment of twenty fifth anniversary merchandise together with a pin, decoration, cookie jar, magnet, tumbler, t-shirt, and extra obtainable for buy.
If our experiences the previous few years had been any indication, there’s additionally alway large crowds and lengthy strains within the foyer. We’ve come to view the Gingerbread Home on the Grand Floridian considerably just like the Cinderella Fort Dream Lights: an funding made by Walt Disney World that paid large dividends when it comes to gross sales–not essentially within the reserving of journeys or resort stays, however by way of PhotoPass, meals & beverage, merchandise, and extra gross sales.
A go to to the Grand Floridian is a quintessential holiday-time expertise, and it’s one of some must-do stops on our Free Self-Guided Walt Disney World Yuletide Resort Tour. That’s what we advocate doing within the morning earlier than attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Celebration (in case you decide to do this upcharge) or maybe simply in your non-parks day. It’s one in every of our favourite issues to do at Walt Disney World, and we make a degree of doing it yearly–together with separate visits to lots of the lodges.
As with the opposite monorail loop resorts, it’s additionally simple to go to the Grand Floridian the identical day you do Magic Kingdom. Whether or not or not it’s earlier than heading into the park, strolling over on the strolling path for a noon break, or after the park closes (our favourite choice), it’s well worth the detour due to its elegant Victorian decor, grandiose icon tree, and the wonderful gingerbread home.
That’s usually all true, but it surely sounds prefer it received’t be the case at Christmas 2025.
Walt Disney World has introduced the next: As a part of the continuing enhancements at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, phased updates to the foyer, conference heart and choose areas will start April 14. Parts of the foyer will shut at instances, and Visitors might encounter adjustments to their path of journey.
Whereas building exercise might be noticeable throughout daytime hours, efforts might be made to attenuate disruptions, and all swimming pools, eating and different facilities will stay obtainable. As Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa continues its renovations, the gingerbread show won’t be obtainable through the vacation season in 2025.
On its face, this rationalization is smart.
Development taking place by way of late 2025 would positively affect Walt Disney World’s capability to construct the Gingerbread Home on the Grand Floridian. As famous above, that often begins in mid-to-late October.
So even when the foyer renovations are accomplished by Veterans Day and the normal kickoff to the Christmas season, that’s nonetheless not sufficient lead-time to have the Gingerbread Home–which is constructed in plain sight within the foyer–accomplished by then.
There’s additionally the fact that building is at all times topic to delay, and even when the intent is to have the foyer accomplished by early November and even mid-October, there’s no assure that’ll occur. There are a number of transferring elements and a number of groups concerned in bringing the Gingerbread Home to life, so the protected transfer is to easily err on the aspect of warning and cancel the fan-favorite show for Christmas 2025. It’s disappointing, but it surely’s pragmatic.
Some followers would possibly marvel why Walt Disney World merely doesn’t relocate the Gingerbread Home to elsewhere on the Grand Floridian.
My guess is that it’s a matter of crowds and congestion. That there’s nowhere else that may soak up the visitor visitors that the Gingerbread Home attracts, and even when there have been, that may spill over into the foyer. Individuals aren’t going to return to the lodge for the Gingerbread Home within the conference heart or wherever, and not enter the foyer to additionally see its decorations (hopefully there’s nonetheless a Christmas tree).
If the foyer venture is delayed and building remains to be occuring in November or December that takes a part of the house out of fee, which means extra folks crammed into a good smaller space. As a lot as we’d like to see Walt Disney World discover a option to deliver again the Gingerbread Home for its twenty sixth yr, it most likely comes right down to pragmatism.
Longer-term, I can’t assist however marvel about the way forward for the Gingerbread Home on the Grand Floridian.
My first thought when wanting on the Birdcage Bar idea artwork is that the foyer goes to be fairly busy with that plus the Christmas tree and gingerbread home through the holidays. The principle constructing is already a mad home through the vacation season, and this can simply exacerbate it.
Not solely will this be yet one more factor that induces crowds within the foyer, however it should focus them. Frankly, I don’t understand how the Grand Floridian goes to have this birdcage bar and Christmas tree and gingerbread home. One thing’s gotta give–or transfer. My guess is that “one thing” would be the Gingerbread Home.
It’s doable that the Grand Floridian will transfer the Gingerbread Home into a unique house for Christmas 2026 and past. As talked about, there’s the conference heart and different areas away from the closely trafficked foyer.
However as additionally talked about, all of them end in the identical points with spillover into the foyer. On condition that, we wouldn’t be in the slightest degree shocked if the Grand Floridian Gingerbread Home by no means returns. To be abundantly clear, that is purely speculative on our half. Not even a rumor, and positively not official.
I simply know that Walt Disney World receives lots of complaints from paying visitors in the primary constructing of the Grand Floridian every Christmas about noise and crowds, most of that are guests to the lodge. Sooner or later, I wouldn’t be shocked if these “win out” over the the profitable merchandise, meals & beverage gross sales of the Gingerbread Home. Possibly the show might be again in 2026, however I really feel like its retirement is inevitable–and doubtless by the point Villains Land opens.
One other risk is the Gingerbread Home transferring to a different resort solely. On this case, it wouldn’t be “transferring” a lot as it might be Walt Disney World retiring one show and introducing one other.
This has already began to occur, form of. For the previous few vacation seasons, Animal Kingdom Lodge has had edible animal shows. These have grown in scale and measurement, however nonetheless will not be “large enough” to justify a devoted journey from most visitors. Introducing an precise Gingerbread Lodge (a la Humphrey’s Lodge from ~6 years in the past at Wilderness Lodge) would tip the scales.
I’m of two minds about this. Selflessly, I’d love extra followers to make the trek to AKL and eventually uncover what’s unquestionably one of many prime resorts at Walt Disney World, its great culinary scene, sensible themed design, and so on. Selfishly, I really like Animal Kingdom Lodge through the vacation season, and admire how quiet it’s as in comparison with the monorail loop and Crescent Lake Resorts. I’d prefer to maintain it that approach. (I believe it most likely would keep that approach given the transportation limitations.)
I additionally wouldn’t be shocked if Walt Disney World tried one thing comparable with whichever Disney Trip Membership resorts they’re attempting to promote. Incentivizing visits to Fort Wilderness over the vacation season with a cool show can be savvy because the campground actually shines at Christmas-time. “Oh, by the best way when you’re right here, tour this new mannequin DVC cabin that we’ve conveniently positioned within the Settlement!”
Guests to the Grand Floridian and Polynesian Village Resorts and overcrowding has been a problem for some time. We’ve been warning readers about reserving the primary constructing of the Grand Floridian at Christmas for years, based mostly on each our personal destructive experiences and studies from others.
Likewise, one in every of our largest trepidations in regards to the Island Tower on the Poly (other than how hideous it seems on the surface) is the burden it’ll placed on the resort’s already strained infrastructure. The resort’s DVC level stock just isn’t even shut to completely bought out but, and we’ve already seen a few of these points throughout current visits.
Walt Disney World has tried to handle the issues with monorail loop resort visitors lately, whereas on the identical time constructing new issues to induce much more demand. That is exactly why they’ve restricted customer parking at these (and different) resorts, restricted Cellular Order at instances, and required wristbands for fireworks viewing.
In the end, there are different measures that Walt Disney World might take to regulate crowds on the Grand Floridian and Polynesian that may assist management crowds and permit the Gingerbread Home to return. One can be requiring keycard entry or confirmed eating reservations to achieve entrance to the grounds. That is precisely what Tokyo Disney Resort does with each Toy Story Lodge and Fantasy Springs Lodge. I’m guessing Walt Disney World doesn’t wish to go that far, particularly since they like to string the needle on one of these factor (crowds equal income!).
It’s additionally solely doable that I’m taking my very own psychological comparability of the Grand Floridian Gingerbread Home to the Cinderella Fort Dream Lights too actually. Within the latter’s case, it’s seeming increasingly like a ‘non permanent hiatus’ supplied Walt Disney World cowl for making a seemingly everlasting determination they knew can be unpopular. For essentially the most half, followers might be understanding that the Gingerbread Home isn’t returning this yr, as foyer building is a logical rationalization. And if it doesn’t come again in 2026, that’s quiet information, not a recent announcement.
The response can be very completely different if Walt Disney World got here out at this time and shared that the Gingerbread Home is being completely retired. Right here’s hoping I’m overanalyzing this, being too conspiratorial, and the Grand Floridian Gingerbread Home is again and higher than ever for Christmas 2026!
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Find out about lodges on our Walt Disney World Lodges Critiques web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Critiques. To save cash on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Suggestions for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets submit. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys submit takes a novel take a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Journey Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, one of the best place to begin is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for every part you want to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you consider Walt Disney World cancelling the gingerbread home at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa for Christmas 2025? Assume it’ll be again at Christmas 2026? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we may help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even while you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
