Ultimate Guide to Jollywood Nights

Jollywood Nights is the NEWEST specialty ticketed event at Walt Disney World and possibly the BEST Holiday celebration in the Orlando Area. You DO NOT want to miss it!

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Unlike Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party there is no parade but so many character meet and greets, three specialty shows and an unforgettable fireworks spectacular. This event is from 7pm until 12:30am and there is so much to do, make sure to have a plan or at least an idea of which festivities you'd like to prioritize. Let's break down the key events of the evening so you know what to spend your time on. 

The event map is more of an event pamphlet and there's a lot to dissect. So, let's breakdown each section and go over what you cannot miss. 

First, on the front and back of the map are the event icons - Gertie who you may recogize from around Echo Lake at Hollywood Studios. Ollie the Gingerbread Man is the exclusive icon for Jollywood Nights.

The first full page of the map has all of the character meet and greets, but you have to flip the page to find where each of them are located on the map. 

Character

Here's my recommendation on how to maximize the character meet and greets. 
​Santa Duffy is the hot ticket meet and greet and you may think to get in line for him first, BUT at the end of the night his line was only 20 minutes long. So, if you are willing to wait until midnight, that is when I recommend getting in line for Duffy. The other popular meet and greet is Santa Stitch, and his line was around 20-30 minutes all night. I recommend seeing him either before the fireworks show or imminently after, as that will give you enough time to wait and not miss any of the shows or the fireworks show.

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Most of the other characters had very short wait so you can meet them at any time. There is one character that is not listed on the guide and does not have a formal meet and greet. Marvel fans will not want to miss Doctor Strange. He is a walk around character just outside of Muppetsland before entering Galaxy's Edge. 

Attractions

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Here is a look of the middle section of the map for Jollywood Nights - this highlights the attractions and dining experiences that are open during the event. It is important to note that not all quick services are open during the event so if you'd like a full service meal make sure to get it before 6pm because that is when most of the dining locations close that are not open during the event.

All of the attractions had much shorter wait times than during the day, and the only long one was Slinky Dog Dash which experienced wait times up to 50 minutes but averaged 30 minutes throughout the night. Rise of the Resistance was around 30 minutes for the beginning of the evening but after 10pm all of the lines dropped and Rise of the Resistance became a walk on for the rest of the night. If you're looking to ride attractions this event is great for short wait times, and many of the rides had little to no wait for most of the evening including Smuggler's Run and Tower of Terror. I would recommend fitting in the rides around the event exclusive festivities. The wait times did fluxuate throughout the evening but during the shows is always a great time to hit rides, especially since there are multiple show times for everything except the fireworks show. 

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Food

Here's all of the specialty food that can be found for an additional cost at Jollywood Nights. The food is pretty spread out throughout the park and most of the quick service locations stay open as well, just note that Backlot Express does not, so there are not chicken nuggets or hamburgers available during the evening, but there are so many other food options available. There are also so many fun drinks - non-alcoholic and alcoholic available.
Here are the snacks and drinks you don't want to miss! 
Kermit's Frozen Banana Shake - found by Tower of Terror this white chocolate caramel swirl shake topped with matcha whipped cream is shockingly light. 
Buffalo Spring Rolls - these are absolutely FANTASTIC and can be found right outside of Pixar Place, where there's also a dance party. These are the perfect combination of spicy and savory. 
Jollie's Vegan Gingerbread Bites - found at several snack carts around the park, these are small and bite size and perfect for eating as you walk around the park and enjoy all of the other festivities. 
Holiday Cheer (alcoholic) - this drink is from PizzaRizzo and is great if you are waiting in the long line for Santa Duffy or to grab after you meet him. It is sweeter than some of the other drinks offered and has an interesting cranberry cookie taste.

Stage shows

Miss Piggy & Kermit the Frog in Holidays in Hollywood

Oogie Boogie in the Nightmare Before Christmas Sing-a-long

There are three stage shows spread out across the park and all three are completely different. 

Holidays in Hollywood is held in the theater of the stars (where the Beauty and the Beast stage show goes on during the day). This show has Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, Mickey & Minnie Mouse, Tiana and Belle where they all sing different songs that share their meaning of Christmas. It's showtimes are 8:15pm, 9:15pm, 11:15pm & 12:15am. 

What's This? Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas Sing-a-long is exactly what the title sounds like. Hosted in the Hyperion theater where you can find the Frozen sing-a-long during the day, this Nightmare Before Christmas Sing-a-long is so much fun for Nightmare Before Christmas fans and Oogie Boogie even makes an appearance. This show happens at 7:30pm, 8:30pm, 9:30pm, 11:30pm & 12:30am. 

Glisten! is the newest edition to Jollywood Nights and has real ice skaters on the stage in front of Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway.  Make sure to see it at 8:15pm, 9:15pm, 11:15pm and 12:15am. The last showing of this has the best opportunity for up close seating. 

Fireworks

Viewing for Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam!

There is one fireworks show at 10pm - Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam! This is a revival of an old fireworks show with some new editions. This show only has one appearance at 10pm. I recommend not getting too close to Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway as the projection show goes onto the buildings on both sides of it. This show is only about 16 minutes long, but definitely worth seeing! There's no bad viewing in the area, but make sure to get there at least 15 minutes so you can find a spot to see.  

How I recommend going about the event 

Unlike Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party you do not need to get there early to maximize the night as none of the events start until 7pm and you can't get in line for any of the event exclusive events until 6:45pm. I recommend starting with the shows as the lines for the characters and the rides get shorter throughout the night. There are also two dance parties, one is a Latin dance party by the Star Wars Launch bay and near a character meet and greet for Jose/Panchito. 

This is the schedule I'd recommend following
7:30pm - Nightmare Before Christmas Show
8pm - Any character that's NOT Stitch or Duffy
8:30pm - Snacks by Tower of Terror
9:15pm -Holidays in Hollywood Show
9:45pm - head to Fireworks 
10pm - Fireworks 
10pm-11:30pm - Santa Duffy then Stitch
11:30pm - Rides and finishing characters 
12:15am Glisten!

All of the shows can be done in any order, but I recommend them in this order based off of the other character meet and greets and food locations around each one. At for meeting characters also make sure to stop by the dance parties!