The Gingerbread Lighthouse Display and Christmas Village at Disney’s Yacht Club (2023)

As we get back on track (no pun intended) with our holiday coverage, we’re stopping at Disney’s Yacht Club to check out the Christmas Village, train set, and gingerbread lighthouse display. New this year, the gingerbread lighthouse adds an extra touch to the holiday festivities at the resort.

Of course, the classic train set that loops the Christmas Village is still the star of the show. During our visit, numerous guests (young and old) expressed their delight over the train as it made simple loops through a snow-covered village, myself included. Below, we’ll look at a few photos of this year’s train set and preview the lighthouse. I’ve included a video of both displays toward the bottom of this article.

📝 This post is related to the holiday season in 2023. For our most recent updates, see our 2025 Christmas Guide. Or for a general overview, explore our entire Christmas coverage of Walt Disney World.

Yacht Club’s Christmas Village with Train Set

Each year, a large base for the Christmas Village and train set is installed in the Yacht Club’s lobby. Overnight, the entire display comes to life. Guests visit Disney’s Yacht Club throughout the holiday season to enjoy the display. The village sits on the Ale and Compass side of the lobby. It will be to the immediate right of the Christmas tree when you enter the lobby via the resort side.

Signage indicates when the train runs. The train needs to recharge from time to time. Per the sign, the train runs from:

• 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 a.m.
• 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m.
• 12:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m.
• 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.
• 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.
• 9:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m.

Here is a photo of Christmas Village and the gingerbread lighthouse taken from the 2nd-floor balcony.

The train set has an engine, one car, and a caboose.

I don’t know about you, but my sister and I loved playing with race tracks and train sets when we were younger.

If you have time, you might inspect a few of the village pieces.

Several people were speculating that the train set must be Disney-themed. It is, but a closer look will show many details representing Disney’s Beach and Yacht Club. Here is a sign advertising Hurricane Hanna’s Grill, the poolside quick service at Stormalong Bay, the pool shared between the resorts.

This village features a polar bear family drinking Coca-Cola, and a few are wearing Mickey Ears.

This treehouse with the Mickey-shaped cutout is the piece that stood out to me the most. When the weather was nice enough, we were always forced outside as children. If I wasn’t riding my bike (that was so endearing it had a name), I was in my treehouse or swinging from underneath.

It’s a darling display that will undoubtedly stir up some memories.

Here is Mickey’s village with Minnie, Pluto, Mickey’s Ear Factory, and Mickey’s Watch Factory.

This Frozen Village features Anna, Olaf, Elsa, and Kristoff in front of Elsa’s ice palace.

Santa’s Village makes up the center of the display. Unfortunately, we’ve had consistent rain this week, so the lighting wasn’t the best for pictures. Yacht Club’s lobby is generally dark, but this display sits near the window. So if you want to take photos of it, it’s best to go on a sunny day. However, it does have a warm glow on overcast days and after dark.

Yacht Club Gingerbread Lighthouse Display

Yacht Club’s gingerbread lighthouse sits directly between the Christmas Village and the windows. Pastry Chef de Cuisine Michael Craig created this new display. He used the blueprints from the Crescent Lake Lighthouse to make a quarter-scale design and, along with other Disney chefs, turned it into a work of gingerbread art.

Here’s a view from above.

The lighthouse has a working light that flickers on and off.

A decorative sign in front of the display shares how Chef Michael created a quarter-scale replica of the lighthouse to transform it into gingerbread.

Here is a video of the tree, Christmas Village, and Gingerbread Lighthouse.

Final Thoughts

If you’re visiting Walt Disney World over the holiday season, I hope you’ll have the opportunity to visit Disney’s Yacht Club. If not, I hope our Walt Disney World holiday coverage will bring some of the season’s joy to your home. Next, we’ll stop in for Christmas at Disney’s Beach and Yacht Club and take a look at this year’s Ducktales-inspired gingerbread carousel.

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.

In the Comments

What do you think of the Christmas Village and Gingerbread Lighthouse at Disney’s Yacht Club? Will you have time to see it this holiday season?