Disney’s Jollywood Nights Guide (The 2025 Edition)

Jollywood Nights returns to Disney’s Hollywood Studios for its third year of glitz, glam, and holiday cheer. This extra ticketed event offers a unique blend of entertainment, rare character appearances, and exclusive dining experiences. In our guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know for the 2025 Jollywood Nights, including event dates, entry times, what’s new this year, and tips for making the most of your evening. It’s going to be one festive holiday party!

Party Dates

Disney Jollywood Nights returns to Disney’s Hollywood Studios on select evenings in November and December.

• November: 8, 15, 17, 22, 24, 29
• December: 1, 6, 10, 13, 17, 20, 22

In 2025, the party takes place on select Saturday and Monday evenings in November. Then, in December, it will be offered on select Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.

New for 2025: Guests can enter the park as early as 5:30 p.m. This allows more time to soak up the atmosphere, dine, or experience attractions before the party officially begins at 7:30 p.m. The event runs until 12:30 a.m. So this year, you’ll have up to 7 hours to enjoy the fun when you arrive early! (Note, however, that exclusive party events won’t start until 7:30 p.m.)

Related: Jollywood Nights Ticket Dates Announced for 2025

New in 2025

Disney has revealed a few early details about what’s new at this year’s Jollywood Nights. According to the official announcement, guests can look forward to new treats, character appearances, and entertainment offerings. Here’s what we know so far:

• See Miguel at Holiday Fiesta en la Calle (New location near Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith)
• Enter the park at 5:30 p.m., before Jollywood Nights starts. (Earlier than Ever Before) 
• Enjoy two new shows at Hollywood Studios, The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure and Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After.
• Snack on the new Backlot Express Restaurant specialty menu (More Details at a Later Date)
• A new Jollywood Nights merch collection will debut for the 2025 event.

We’ll add more details here as they’re announced, or see our official list of what’s new at Jollywood Nights this year here.

What to Expect at This Year’s Event

So far, Disney has confirmed the following entertainment, characters, and other offerings for the 2025 Jollywood Nights event:

Entertainment

• Disney Holidays in Hollywood
• What’s This? Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Sing-Along
• Glisten! Skating Show
• Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!

Disney Holidays in Hollywood

Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy host this festive stage show at the Theater of the Stars on Sunset Boulevard. (This is where Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage is offered during the day.) Expect appearances by Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Belle, Tiana, and more! This darling performance blends classic Hollywood flair with a holiday twist.

Showtimes: 8:15 p.m., 9:15 p.m., 11:00 p.m., and 12:00 a.m.

What’s This? Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Sing-Along

This charming sing-along invites guests to step into the world of Halloween Town and Christmas Town at the Hyperion Theater. (This is where the Frozen Sing-Along is held during regular park hours.) With Jack Skellington as your host and a gentle “snowfall” setting the scene, you’ll join in to sing favorites like What’s This and Sally’s Song.

Showtimes: 7:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m., 11:30 p.m., and 12:30 a.m.

Glisten! Skating Show

Back for 2025, Glisten! brings holiday magic to the plaza in front of the Chinese Theater at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Watch world-class skaters glide, twirl, and jump rope on a glowing synthetic rink! The scene is set to classic holiday tunes and original Jollywood songs! Where else can you see skaters perform outdoors in Central Florida?

Showtimes: 8:10 p.m., 9:10 p.m., 10:30 p.m., 11:10 p.m., and 12:00 a.m.

Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!

This high-energy fireworks spectacular is exclusive to Jollywood Nights. Each evening at 10:00 p.m., watch the sky above the Chinese Theater light up with projections, lasers, fireworks, and more! Starring Wayne and Larry from Prep & Landing, the show follows their mission to save Santa. It also features scenes from Beauty and the Beast, Mickey’s Christmas Carol, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. If you have a MagicBand+, remember to have it charged so you can see the synced effects.

Dance Parties and Street Gatherings

• Twilight Soirée at the Tip Top Club
• Pixar Disco lights up Pixar Plaza 
• Holiday Fiesta en la Calle

Twilight Soiree at the Tip Top Club

This 1930s-style jazz lounge allows guests to enjoy a few tunes and take a spin around the courtyard. You can find the Tip Top Club in the courtyard of the Hollywood Tower Hotel on party evenings.

Live Music Performances: 7:30 p.m., 8:10 p.m., 8:50 p.m., 9:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m., 11:10 p.m., and 11:50 p.m.

Pixar Disco in Pixar Plaza

Step onto the dance floor in Pixar Plaza with characters like Edna Mode, Frozone, Joy, and other Pixar favorites.

Held Nightly During Jollywood Nights from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and then again at 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

Holiday Fiesta en la Calle

This year, the Holiday Fiesta en la Calle moves to the Coaster Courtyard on Sunset Boulevard. This lively fair is where the party comes to life. Expect live music, colorful decorations, and some pretty fun characters! Jose Carioca and Panchito Pistoles return from The Three Caballeros, joined by Miguel from Coco, who’s making his Jollywood Nights debut!

Characters

• Phineas and Ferb 
• Max Goof as Powerline 
• Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers 
• Stitch dressed as Santa 
• Baloo and King Louie 
• Mike Wazowski 
• Edna Mode 
• Frozone 
• Joy from “Inside Out” 
• José Carioca and Panchito (The Three Caballeros)
• Miguel (Coco)
• Duffy (dressed as Santa)
• Mickey and Minnie Mouse
• Donald Duck
• Daisy Duck
• Goofy
• Pluto
• The Mandalorian
• Lotso (Toy Story)

For more on characters and their locations, see our guide: The Complete List of Characters for Jollywood Nights in 2025.

Attractions

So far, Disney has confirmed that the following attractions will be available during this year’s event:

• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance  
• Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith 
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway 
• Slinky Dog Dash 
• Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After
• The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure

Based on the past two years, we also expect the following attractions to be available:

• Alien Swirling Saucers
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• Star Tours: The Adventure Continues
• Toy Story Mania!

When more attractions are confirmed, we’ll add them here and to our list of attractions at Jollywood Nights in 2025.

Dining During the Party

To date, we don’t know many details about dining options at Jollywood Nights. We’ll add dining details as soon as they’re announced. For now, we do know the following:

Jazzy Holidays at The Hollywood Brown Derby

If you love The Hollywood Brown Derby, you’ll probably enjoy Jazzy Holidays. This reservation-recommended event allows guests to relax and enjoy craft cocktails and small plates from an exclusive menu. A live pianist sets the mood as you enjoy festive flavors in an elegant setting. Reservations will open in mid-September. (This is similar to a regular dining reservation where you order off a menu and pay for your order at the end of your meal period.)

Specialty Food and Beverage

We’ll share our foodie guide once this year’s items are announced. Check back soon for more details!

Final Thoughts

At only three years in, Jollywood Nights is still young and without meaning this as critically as it sounds, it hasn’t quiet yet found its way. Those things take time. That said, the party allows for a charming evening in a park that we believe should always be open late, especially at Christmas. With the glowing neon lights, jazzy holiday tunes, and nostalgic Christmas vibe of years past, we believe Jollywood Nights is worth the ticket. The rides, characters, and entertainment are kind of a bonus. That is, if you love Hollywood Studios like we do.

If you’re going for the attractions, you can likely do well. We personally haven’t ridden anything during the evenings we attended the party to date. Those who love characters will be delighted to find rare fan-favorites like Max Goof, Phineas and Ferb, and Santa Duffy, among others. You might not be delighted to find long lines. Our experience has been extreme, but I think that’s common when you always go to the first night of an event. I’ve seen plenty of reports where guests met characters with minimal waits. Your experience may vary, depending on the evening you attend.

If you’re trying to decide between Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and Jollywood Nights, that’s going to be a tough call. I would have a hard time missing the Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom. As I kind of touched on above, Jollywood Nights is more about the vibe with extras and the event entertainment at the Christmas Party truly commands the ticket price. I’m not saying that the entertainment at Jollywood Nights isn’t great. It’s just not an incredible parade or heart-warming holiday fireworks. But if you’ve done all that plenty of times already, Jollywood Nights might be a fresh change. Who knows? You might enjoy the evening but end up with a wistful longing that leaves you missing the Christmas Party.

Both special events offer great characters and the opportunity to experience attractions with shorter than average waits. If those are your “big things” then you might compare the two and go with the event that offers the most bang for your travel party. Regardless of what you choose, we hope you have fun!

For more special events at Disney World this year, you might like the following:

• Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Guide (2025 Edition)
• Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Guide (2025 Edition)

You might also enjoy our entire guide to Christmas at Disney World in 2025.

More Planning

Resorts Gal specializes in Disney World Resorts, Characters, and Dining. Explore our resources, including our Disney World Resorts Guide. It provides an overview of everything you need to know about the Disney Resort Hotels. For dining, our Disney World Dining Guide is an excellent place to start. Our Disney World Transportation Guide is a wonderful resource for planning your routes. It’s one of our most popular resources. If you plan to meet characters in the parks, we have an updated list of Disney World Characters. It includes every available character meet-and-greet in the parks and where to find rare characters throughout the year. Lastly, our Disney Parks Guide provides a complete overview of all four theme parks and water parks.