Disney Confirms This Beloved Holiday Tradition Will Not Return in 2026 After 27 Years
Disney Confirms This Beloved Holiday Tradition Will Not Return in 2026 After 27 Years
Colson ThayerThu, June 25, 2026 at 3:26 PM UTC
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A life-size gingerbread house inside Disney's Grand Floridian Resort lobbyCredit: Alamy Stock Photo -
The giant gingerbread house in the lobby of Disney World's Grand Floridian Resort will not return in 2026, officials confirm
Instead, the hotel's culinary team will create miniature displays to be featured throughout the resort
The tradition began in 1999 and often featured displays measuring over 14 feet tall
A beloved holiday tradition at Walt Disney World will not return for the 2026 season, Disney has confirmed.
On Wednesday, June 24, Disney Parks began announcing details about the holiday festivities coming to both Disney World and the Disneyland Resort this year. Included in the rollout were the return of events like Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, Jollywood Nights at Disney's Hollywood Studios and the annual holiday overlay of attractions like the Haunted Mansion and “It's a small world.”
However, one tradition was notably absent from the announcements: the annual life-size gingerbread house display in the lobby of Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.
A life-size gingerbread house at Disney's Grand Floridian ResortCredit: Alamy Stock Photo
The yearly decoration saw the resort's pastry team crafting a super-sized Victorian-style house out of sweets like chocolate, honey and gingerbread. The tradition often featured displays measuring over 14 feet tall and required more than 400 hours to bake and 160 hours to decorate, per D23.
Disney World officials confirmed to PEOPLE on June 25 the traditional gingerbread house at Disney's Grand Floridian will not return for the 2026 season. Instead, the culinary team will work on new miniature displays that will be featured throughout the resort.
The news comes nearly two years after fans were last able to see the Grand Floridian display. For the 2025 season, the gingerbread house took a hiatus in order to accommodate renovations to the hotel's lobby.
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Instead, the park constructed displays at five different hotels, according to WDW Magazine: the Contemporary Resort, BoardWalk Inn, Beach Club Resort, Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Wilderness Lodge.
The tradition reportedly started in 1999 and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2024. Throughout the early 2000s, it was often featured on Travel Channel's Holiday Magic at Walt Disney World special, hosted by Samantha Brown.
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This year, the holiday festivities at Walt Disney World will officially begin on Nov. 13 and run through Jan. 6, 2027. Although the Grand Floridian's iconic gingerbread house will not return, the park promises to bring “larger-than-life holiday decor” to its more than two dozen hotels, per the Disney Parks Blog.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
