The Holidays at Universal Orlando are quite special! The hotels come alive with special activities, giant Christmas trees and delectable foods. The parks also have much to offer. Here is just a little of what is offered at the Universal Orlando parks during the holidays.
Meet Earl
The holiday mascot for Universal Studios is the friendly squirrel Earl. You can find Earl in the tree in New York City (he’s hiding, so you’ll have to search for him), in the Tribute Store as well as a meet & greet next to the Central Park Crepes.
Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s Balloons
The Holiday parade at Universal Studios occurs nightly (weather permitting) and features GIANT character balloons of Universal favorite characters. The floats also feature fun character from Dreamworks movies!
The parade starts across from Mel’s Dine In and heads down Hollywood Blvd. Our favorite spot to view the parade is in New York City (close to Finnegans Bar & Grill). The Christmas tree comes alive as Santa enters “New York City”.
Food
In all 3 parks and in City Walk, there are yummy seasonal offerings to choose from!
Here are a few of our favorites from around the parks:
Battery Park
Turkey Dinner Sandwich- $12.99
artisian cranberry bread, roasted turkey breast, brie cheese, orange cranberry aioli
EggNog Bar
Classic Nog- $15.50
with Bacardi 4year aged rum
Seuss Landing™
Hop on Pop
Grinch™ Hot Chocolate Bomb- $8.99
Grinch™ themed hot chocolate with chocolate ornament filled with marshmallows and red candied hearts
PRO TIP: If you would like to dine in City Walk, we recommend reservations, as the restaurants can be extremely busy during the holidays.
Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Diagon Alley
Christmas in London is a magical time! And after dark is our favorite time to be there. The Christmas lights around Diagon Alley will have you wishing everyone a Happy Christmas!
Be sure and grab a HOT Butterbeer while you are there! You can find them at The Leaky Cauldron and The Hopping Pot.
Hogsmeade
Every night during the holiday season, Hogwarts comes alive with a special Holiday light show. It takes place from dusk until park close nightly.
You can grab a hot Butterbeer in Hogsmeade as well. You will find them at The Three Broomsticks and Hog’s Head.
Grinchmas at Islands of Adventure
We all know how much the Who’s LOVE Christmas and during the holiday season, you can see it for yourself at Seuss Landing! Grinchmas is a time for Who’s and Grinch’s to come together and celebrate the magic of the season!
The Who’s wander around Who-ville have a blast taking photo’s with the guests.
The Grinchmas Wholiday Spectacular
A live show that takes place on Seuss Landing throughout the day during the holiday season. Beginning at 10:15am the show runs every hour through 6:30pm. Arrive 20 minutes prior to your selected show time, although we recommend arriving an hour prior for the best seats.
They do offer popcorn & snacks for purchase and the Seuss popcorn bucket is available.
City Walk
Believe it or not, it DOES snow in Florida (well, sort of) and you can find it at City Walk throughout the Holiday Season. Just look for the giant snowflakes and then keep your eye on the sky!
Universal Orlando Resort truly knows how to do the holidays. For the 2025 season, the holidays run from November 21 through December 31st!
There is also an Earl meet & greet in City Walk and many dining options with holiday flavors.
To learn more about what’s available at the Universal Resorts during the holiday check out Universal Orlando Hotels at Christmas. Learn more about this upcoming holiday season too.
Magical Memory Planners is a U-Preferred Agency.
