Universal Orlando Resort Hosts Holiday Festivities

Universal Orlando Resort showed a bit of restraint waiting until after Thanksgiving to launch its Christmas celebration. That’s appreciated by us purists, but means you only have a short window of time to get yourself to the resort and enjoy the festivities. For a list of their offerings, read our earlier post.

I recommend arriving early and exploring both parks. They have a lot of decorations up and the Holiday Village has fun games and treats for the whole family. I would have liked to see more entertainment options like they had for Mardi Gras, but there was still plenty to see and the treats all smelled delicious.

This year marks the 10th year the Macy’s Holiday Parade has run through the streets of Universal Studios. In theory these are the floats and balloons from the actual parade in NYC and I think I saw a few (the Polar Bear float and some of the balloon characters), the rest are from past parades. But it is the next best thing to being at the real parade, and it was a balmy 78 degrees instead of 42 degrees.

The highlight of the parade was Santa Claus lighting the Christmas Tree. But you have to be standing near the tree (opposite the Macy’s facade near Revenge of The Mummy).

Also returning is Grinchmas – a fun ‘wholiday’ stage show. The show was moved indoors a few years ago, which means you won’t encounter any weather issues. You will have to leave Suessland in Islands of Adventure and venture to one of the Soundstages, however. I found all of the featured performers to be quite talented. That includes Max the dog. Definitely catch this show when you visit.

Wrapping up the evening on the studios side is a special concert from Mannheim Steamroller. We didn’t stay to see the whole concert, but if you like their music, like I do, it is fun to see it made live and in person.

Please join me below the fold for more photos of our special evening at Universal Orlando Resort for their Christmas celebrations:

Mannheim Steamroller