One must-see attraction during the holiday season are the impressive gingerbread houses at Disney World.
This year, there are seven displays in total and six of them can be seen for FREE because they are located at resorts instead of inside a park!
In today’s post, I’ll take you on a tour of each location, so you can decide which ones are worth visiting during your stay.
So grab a gingerbread cookie and let’s devour everything there is to know about the gingerbread houses at Disney World.
2024 Schedule for Gingerbread Houses at Disney World
If you’re just looking for a quick schedule on when the gingerbread houses will be up, here it is:
- November 6: Grand Floridian Resort
- November 8: Contemporary Resort
- November 12: BoardWalk Inn
- November 24: Animal Kingdom Lodge
- November 29: CommuniCore Hall at Epcot (NEW for 2024)
The premiere date for the Beach Club Resort gingerbread carousel was not announced in advance, but is now available.
Epcot’s CommuniCore Hall
New in 2024 is a gingerbread replica of the iconic Spaceship Earth. This display is housed over in CommuniCore Hall near the main entrance of the park.
It made its debut on November 29, 2024, just in time for Epcot Festival of the Holidays. I am super excited about this one and can’t wait to see it!
Now let’s get into the remaining displays, all of which are located at resorts and can be seen for free, as a ticket or annual pass is not needed to see them – nor do you need to be a guest.
Disney’s Beach Club Resort
Next, over at the Beach Club Resort is a breathtaking gingerbread carousel that actually moves!
Returning for the 23rd year, this display has a new carousel theme each year. I can’t wait to see what it will be in 2024!
Last year the theme was DuckTales in honor of the scavenger hunt at Epcot that had launched roughly a year prior.
They’ve got holiday snacks and drinks for sale, as well, including German stollen bread and a hot chocolate flight.
As of November 3, 2024, the return date for this impressive display is not yet known, but it usually returns before Thanksgiving Week, and usually before BoardWalk Inn, which opens November 12.
Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
Moving on to the BoardWalk Inn, the gingerbread house here is modeled after the nearby BoardWalk Deli.
This display is smaller than the others, but the team definitely didn’t skimp on the details! You can look inside the deli, where you’ll see Mickey and Minnie Mouse making Christmas cookies.
Speaking of Christmas cookies, the pop-up shop here sells a Christmas Tree pop, a plant-based gingerbread shingle, a caramel corn cookie, and other tasty items.
In addition to the deli replica, there are twin Christmas trees set up next to the display and a giant Christmas tree with twinkling lights outside.
The BoardWalk Inn gingerbread display will be up in full on November 12, 2024.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge – Jambo House
Next on this tour is Animal Kingdom Lodge – Jambo House. Here, you can marvel at a life-sized giraffe and zebra, both made from gingerbread.
These cuties have become so popular that they’ve even been named – ginger-affe and Debra the zebra. How cute!
When I first heard about these two, I was expecting to see massive animals given that they were described as “life-sized,” but keep in mind that they are life-sized babies. Ginger-affe is still a whopping 7 feet tall, though!
I actually appreciated this because I could marvel at all of the details even though I’m on the short side.
Anyway, aside from the gingerbread displays, the Christmas tree at Jambo House is absolutely magnificent, as are the lobby decorations. Plus there are snacks and drinks for sale, including a ginger-affe gingerbread cookie!
While there, I recommend stepping outside to see if you can spot any real animals on the savannah. I was able to see a giraffe, zebra, and a swimming pelican!
Ginger-affe and Debra the Zebra will be hanging out in the Jambo House lobby starting November 24, 2024.
Disney’s Contemporary Resort
The Contemporary Resort’s holiday display is a massive 17 foot tall gingerbread castle, in honor of the iconic Cinderella Castle at nearby Magic Kingdom.
It’s located on the same floor as the monorail, behind Bayview Gifts and Fantasia gift shop.
2024 will be the 13th year for this display, and each year the team adds a new 5-legged goat. The goat is a tribute to the 5-legged goat in the giant mural on the elevator housing, which was painted by none other than Mary Blair, a famous artist who worked at Disney.
As with the other resorts with a gingerbread display, you can also get snacks and drinks at the pop-up counter, such as a 5-legged goat cookie.
The gingerbread castle is on display starting November 8, 2024.
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Arguably the most popular of the bunch is the Grand Floridian gingerbread house. It’s kind of like a kid’s playhouse, but adult-sized!
This massive, life-sized structure doubles as a pop-up shop that sells snacks and drinks nearly all day.
Per a report from Disney, it takes the baking team more than 500 hours to make all of the gingerbread pieces and nearly the same amount of time to assemble it.
It features an 85 pound chocolate Santa, as well as poinsettias and snowflakes made from sugar, white chocolate candy canes, and other Christmas-y adornments.
In addition to the adorable gingerbread house, the decor at the Grand Floridian is so beautiful – especially the massive Christmas tree. Even without the gingerbread house, I’d recommend stopping by!
The Grand Floridian gingerbread house started construction before Halloween and will be open starting November 6, 2024. It should be open roughly through New Year’s Day.
Tips for visiting the gingerbread houses at Disney World
Given how spread out all the displays are, I recommend breaking down your visits to coincide with when you’ll already be nearby.
Unless you live near Disney World and aren’t pressed for time to do other things, that is!
Here’s my suggested breakdown:
- Rope drop Animal Kingdom, then hop on a resort bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge – Jambo House around 12-1 PM. Afterwards, it’ll be time to park hop and you can catch a resort bus to your next park or head over to Disney Springs to see the Christmas Tree Trail.
- When visiting Magic Kingdom, carve out some time to do a monorail hop to the Contemporary Resort and Grand Floridian Resort and see the displays.
- When visiting Epcot, grab some lunch at Regal Eagle or a few of the nearby festival booths. Then, pop into the American Adventure building to see the gingerbread displays. Afterward, take a break from the crowds and exit through the International Gateway and walk over to the nearby resorts: BoardWalk Inn, Beach Club, and Yacht Club.
Previous gingerbread displays at Disney World
To keep things fresh, Disney switches things up every now and then! Here are a few display locations that have had gingerbread displays in recent years, but do not have one in 2024.
Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
Brand new in 2023 was the gingerbread lighthouse at the Yacht Club resort, which was modeled after the real-life lighthouse nearby on Crescent Lake. Unfortunately it has not returned for 2024.
The good news is that the Yacht Club has the Christmas village display, complete with a working train, in addition to its beautiful nautical-themed Christmas tree.
Epcot’s American Adventure pavilion
In 2023, Epcot’s American Adventure pavilion was home to a few gingerbread replicas of American landmarks from DC: the Lincoln Memorial and the Martin Luther King, Jr. statue.
Unfortunately these mini gingerbread displays did not return for 2024, nor did new replicas. Instead, we have the new Spaceship Earth over in CommuniCore Hall.
It also had a gingerbread house that looked like the pavilion building itself with a few wintery additions, like a dog putting a letter into a “letters for Santa” mailbox and carolers on the balcony.
As much as I love the new display, it was really cool to see these mini displays showing landmarks from Washington DC. I was kind of hoping each World Showcase pavilion would eventually get their own mini displays, too.
Imagine gingerbread replicas of the Eiffel Tower, Wall of China, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Big Ben. Maybe even of Cinderella’s Castle, too! Maybe in the future, they’ll expand this fun addition to the holiday activities and decor at Disney World.
What’s your favorite holiday gingerbread display at Disney World?
The holidays are a magical time at Disney World, and the gingerbread house displays are a perfectly sweet addition to the festive atmosphere.
My favorite display this year is the carousel at the Beach Club Resort, followed by the BoardWalk Deli at the BoardWalk Inn.
I’m crossing my fingers that next year we’ll finally get a display at the Polynesian Village Resort. Perhaps a surfboard and palm trees or a life-sized Lilo & Stitch!
Overall, all of the displays are absolute works of art that must be seen to be believed. It also makes for a fun, leisurely activity for adults and kids alike, so I hope you’ll take time out of your Christmas vacation and check them out.
Have you seen these displays yet this year? Which one was your favorite? Let’s chat in the comments below.
About the author
Meg Frost is the creator of The Park Pixie, where she covers Disney World, Disney+, and Disney fandom.
She holds an M.A. in Journalism from Northeastern University and B.S. in Communication & American Studies from University of Miami in Florida.
This post was originally published December 14, 2023. It was last updated December 16, 2024.
