18 Best Holiday Events for Kids in Central Florida (2026)

Four dates are all that is left of Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, and the cheapest of the four runs $219 a ticket. The other seventeen events on this list are still wide open. The order you buy them in matters more than the list.

Inside a 9-degree tent in Kissimmee, forty carvers spend more than a month cutting eleven scenes from The Polar Express out of ice, five two-story slides included. Celebration starts snowing over its town square on November 28 at 5:30 p.m. and repeats it every night through New Year's Eve without charging a dollar.

Eighteen holiday events for kids in Central Florida made the cut. Ten come with a GetOut membership. The Magic Kingdom party is the only one that can disappear while you read this.

Buy it first if anyone in the car is old enough to stay up past eight. Then plan the rest by weather and by drive. The good December nights are the cool, dry ones.

Holiday Events for Kids in Central Florida at a Glance

Every event below, with its area, best age and running time.

The Theme Parks That Do Christmas Best

Five parks run a holiday program this year. Four of them come free with the ticket you were going to buy anyway.

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (Magic Kingdom)

Twenty of the twenty-four party nights are gone. Four remain: December 10 at $219, December 13 and 15 at $224, and December 17 at $229, before tax. The party runs 7 p.m. to midnight, and a party ticket lets you into Magic Kingdom at 4 p.m., three hours before it starts.

The parade goes twice, at 8:30 and 11. Fireworks land at 10. Space Mountain runs a holiday soundtrack, the Jungle Cruise turns into the Jingle Cruise, and the cookies and cocoa are free at stations through the park with an allergy-friendly version on request. Stitchmas in Cosmic Ray's replaced the Disney Junior dance party, so the smallest kids dance with Stitch and Angel.

A four-year-old asleep by eight misses the fireworks. A seven-year-old talks about that parade for a year.

EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays

November 27 through December 30 is festival season at EPCOT, and the price is whatever a ticket costs that day. Storytellers work the World Showcase pavilions with holiday legends from each country, Santa sits for photos, and the Candlelight Processional brings a celebrity narrator and a massed choir to the American Gardens Theatre with a 50-piece orchestra behind them.

For kids, the engine is the Olaf scavenger hunt through traditions Olaf has lost around the park. The Holiday Cookie Stroll trades completed stamps for a treat at the end. Living with the Land runs its Glimmering Greenhouses overlay, and that boat ride past beds of lights is the best rain plan in the park.

Holidays at Universal Orlando

Universal starts November 14 and keeps going to January 3, with everything on a park ticket. Grinchmas takes over Islands of Adventure with the Whos of Who-ville and a live retelling of the Grinch story. The Holiday Parade featuring Macy's balloons rolls through Universal Studios. Christmas in the Wizarding World spreads across three parks this year, and Epic Universe adds Snoggletog in How to Train Your Dragon's Isle of Berk.

The Grinch and Friends Character Breakfast needs its own reservation, and it goes fast. The Holiday Tribute Store at Studios costs nothing to walk through and holds the parade merch.

SeaWorld Orlando's Christmas Celebration

Six weeks of lights start at SeaWorld on November 6 and run to January 4, and all of it comes with the cheapest ticket of the five. The Sea of Trees floats on the lagoon after dark, Rudolph's Christmas Town brings the reindeer and Bumble out for photos, and Winter Wonderland on Ice runs select dates from November 7 to January 5. Santa meets families inside Expedition Odyssey: Fire and Ice.

Two smaller celebrations fold into the same weeks. Hanukkah gets nightly menorah lightings in Sesame Street Land from December 4 to 12, and Kwanzaa runs kinara lightings from December 26 to January 1. A GetOut membership hands you one General Admission ticket, picked for a date and emailed to you.

Christmas Town at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

The tree at Cheetah Hunt Plaza lights at 7 p.m. on November 13, and Christmas Town stays open through January 4. The Holly Jolly Express loads families onto the park's train for holiday songs and a pass through the 65-acre veldt where giraffes, rhinos and zebras live. Rudolph's Winter Wonderland adds life-size storybook scenes and character meets.

Two shows anchor the entertainment: Lights of Wonder and A Very Merry Cirque. A Christmas Character Dine runs December 19 and 20. One General Admission ticket a year comes with GetOut.

Families stretching the trip west along the Gulf can pick up GetOut Florida Emerald Coast stops between Tampa and the Panhandle.

Light Shows and Falling Snow

Four of these run after dark, and one is a tent kept at 9 degrees.

ice! Featuring The Polar Express (Kissimmee)

Gaylord Palms hands out blue parkas at the door, because the attraction holds at 9 degrees. Eleven scenes from The Polar Express fill 20,000 square feet, carved by forty artisans from Harbin, China, and five two-story slides drop riders through Glacier Gulch. Kid pace gets through it in about 90 minutes.

Outside the tent, Alpine Village adds ice tubing on Snow Flow Mountain, a snowball build station, a carousel new this year and Santa photos. Adults pay about $31 to $41 depending on the date. The whole thing runs November 13 through January 3.

Dazzling Nights at Leu Gardens (Orlando)

Leu Gardens plants a light walk through 50 acres, and timed entry every 15 minutes keeps the paths moving. Slots run 5:30 to 9 p.m. from November 20 through January 3, and the gates stay open on Christmas night.

Adults pay $35 to $56 and children 4 to 12 pay $33 to $53, with ages 3 and under free, all by entry slot. The garden sits 10 minutes from downtown Orlando. Parking is off site on a free shuttle, and valet costs extra.

Now Snowing in Celebration (Celebration)

Snow falls over the town square every night from November 28 through December 31, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., including Christmas. It costs nothing and needs no ticket.

Skating, photos and the train ride cost extra. Weeknights are calm, and the Saturday before Christmas is shoulder to shoulder by 7 p.m.

Trees of Light at Fun Spot America (Orlando and Kissimmee)

Fun Spot lines Main Street with Christmas trees decorated by community groups, and the lights stay up through the season. On November 18 at 6:30 p.m. the Orlando park runs a free drone show with thousands of drones and pyrotechnics, the one night to plan around.

Admission and parking are free, and rides cost separately by the wristband or single ticket. GetOut covers one General Admission at either park, Orlando or Kissimmee, and the offer works at one of the two.

Animals, Swamps, and a Gator Claus

Christmas in the Wild at ZooTampa (Tampa)

ZooTampa strings one of Tampa Bay's largest light displays across its walkways on select December nights, and the event opens at 4 p.m. for anyone paying the $34.95 evening admission. Members and Zoo Fun ticket holders get in without the fee, and the first night, November 27, belongs to members.

Santa holds photos, holiday shows run through the evening, and the signature animal encounters go winter themed. A penguin enrichment and a rhino meet each need their own booking.

Holiday Ho, Ho, Ho-Down at Gatorland (Orlando)

Six dates carry the Gatorland holiday: December 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 and 20. The event comes with admission, so adults pay $34.99 and kids 3 to 12 pay $24.99, with ages 2 and under free. The park opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 5.

Gator Claus sits for photos, Krampus Croc turns up for the older kids, and craft vendors set up along the boardwalk. The show schedule fills the afternoon.

Scan the membership at the gate on arrival.

Croc Encounters (Tampa)

Ninety minutes buys a guided tour with hands-on time for tortoises, turtles and a small gator, feeding and petting included. The earlier GetOut guide to the Florida-Tampa and Central Florida membership put this sanctuary on its short list.

Tours run through the holiday weeks. The offer is one guided tour admission with the animal interactions included, redeemed online with a promo code from the app.

LEGOLAND, Where the Bricks Do Christmas

Christmas Bricktacular at LEGOLAND Florida (Winter Haven)

Christmas Bricktacular fills select dates from November 21 through January 3, and all of it comes with a regular park ticket. The tree lights on November 20 at 6 p.m., the night before the first event day.

New this year is a drone show with a LEGO Santa, flown December 5, 12 and 19 through 30, plus an interactive light trail that fills as families work through the activities. Reindeer Refuel lets kids feed the reindeer LEGO carrots, and the North Pole Postal Service takes letters to LEGO Santa through December 24. Gingerbread Kitchen and Yeti's Brick Build are the two new walk-through rooms for younger kids.

The park runs its Kids' New Year's Eve on December 31 on the same ticket, covered in the next section.

Anyone driving down from Atlanta can break the trip with GetOut Georgia venues around the city.

Indoor Stops for the Holiday Week

Five stops that keep working when the forecast turns, all on the membership.

Clearwater Ice Arena (Clearwater)

Public skate sessions run all year. GetOut covers two general admissions a quarter, public skate times only, and skate rental is separate.

Skate World of Tampa (Tampa)

Glow skate nights are the draw. One admission a year comes with GetOut, rental is extra, and Sundays are the night the offer skips.

Celebration Station Clearwater (Clearwater)

Go-karts, mini golf and an arcade sit on one property, with a prize counter at the end. One attraction comes free with the membership, and which attractions run changes with the time of day, so a morning visit and an evening visit are different trips.

Daytona Lagoon (Daytona Beach)

The water park side belongs to summer. December belongs to the dry side, and the offer to take is the two-hour dry attraction pass.

American Space Museum (Titusville)

A hall of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo artifacts on the Space Coast, with tributes to the astronauts who flew them. Walk in without a reservation, and one General Admission comes with GetOut. An hour from Orlando, and drivers continuing north on I-95 can add GetOut North Carolina.

New Year's Eve for Kids in Central Florida

The last night of the year splits into two kinds of parties in Central Florida: the ones that count down early and the ones that end with fireworks at midnight.

LEGOLAND runs the friendliest version. Kids' New Year's Eve on December 31 comes with a regular park ticket, and the fireworks go up early enough that the celebration finishes before bedtime.

SeaWorld rings in 2027 with fireworks over the lagoon on December 31, included with park admission. Busch Gardens runs a daytime party on December 31 and closes with its own fireworks finale. Universal's parks and CityWalk both run New Year's Eve programming, and CityWalk needs no park ticket. Families who would rather trade the lagoon for a desert countdown can compare it with holiday events for kids in Las Vegas.

Show up without a plan and you pay three gate prices. Pick the park whose countdown fits your bedtime, then spend December 30 on the free options.

Every Date in One Place

The same eighteen, with dates, rain cover and the membership line.

Compare the Choices

Start with the constraint and work backward to the venue.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which holiday events in Central Florida are free for kids?

Now Snowing in Celebration charges nothing at the gate and runs nightly from November 28 through December 31. Fun Spot America also lets families in and parks them for free; only the rides cost.

Which of these run on Christmas Day?

Dazzling Nights stays open on December 25, and Now Snowing snows over Celebration that night. LEGOLAND lists December 25 among its Bricktacular dates, and SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Universal all run their holiday programs that day.

When do the Central Florida holiday events start?

SeaWorld opens first, on November 6. Busch Gardens starts November 13, ice! at Gaylord Palms the same night, and Universal November 14. Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party has been running since November 8. LEGOLAND's tree lights on November 20, and Dazzling Nights opens that same evening.

What is the cheapest way to see several of these?

A GetOut membership covers ten of the eighteen, and most venues allow one visit a year while Clearwater Ice Arena allows two a quarter.

What can we do indoors if it rains?

ice! at Gaylord Palms is the obvious one, held indoors at 9 degrees. The two ice rinks, Celebration Station, the dry side of Daytona Lagoon and the American Space Museum all sit under a roof, and EPCOT's Glimmering Greenhouses boat ride keeps you dry inside the park. A longer list of wet-day options lives in 11 indoor activities for kids in South Florida.

Which events need a ticket bought in advance?

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is down to four dates. ice! and Dazzling Nights both sell timed entry and sell out on weekends. The Grinch breakfast at Universal needs its own reservation. Everything else takes a walk-up ticket or a membership scan.

Start With One Night

Pick the night by weather. A clear, cool evening belongs at Leu Gardens or along Busch Gardens' lit paths. A wet afternoon belongs at the ice rink, the ice tent in Kissimmee, or a museum with a roof.

Two pairings save a drive. In Kissimmee, ice! at Gaylord Palms and Now Snowing in Celebration sit 15 minutes apart, which turns one evening into two stops. In Tampa, Christmas Town at Busch Gardens and Christmas in the Wild at ZooTampa run the same nights, and the first one takes the membership.

If the Magic Kingdom party is still on your list, buy it before you plan anything else. The rest of December will wait. Five tips for getting the most out of the membership this winter covers the logistics once the plans are set.

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