Matthew Morrison and Emma Bunton with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. (Photo: Matt Stroshane/Disneyland Resort)
The Christmas season is a time for holiday magic, and no one does that quite like Disney!
If celebrating the joy of the season with the ‘happiest place on Earth’ is a festive tradition in your home, then you’re going to want to check out the lineup for all THREE of the Disney Parks Christmas specials that are coming to ABC and Disney Channel!
The celebration specials will transport the magic of Disney Parks and Disney Cruise Line to viewers with merry performances and lots more! You will also get an exclusive look at upcoming Disney Parks attractions — including Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, opening soon at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at both Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California.
Check out the lineup and schedule for all three specials below!
Jesse Palmer (Photo: Troy Harvey/Disneyland Resort)
The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration
Airing: Thursday, Nov. 28, from 8:00–10:00 p.m. EST
Network: ABC and on the ABC app
Join hosts artist Matthew Morrison, singer-songwriter and TV host Emma Bunton, and TV host Jesse Palmer as they present the two-hour prime-time special on Thanksgiving night from Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Resort in California. This magical celebration will feature celebrity musical performances among a flurry of Disney holiday entertainment. During the prime-time special, viewers will be treated to several Disney Parks sneak peeks, including a behind-the-scenes look into Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, opening in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge on Dec. 5, 2019, at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida and Jan. 17, 2020, at Disneyland Park in California.
Musical performers and songs include the following:
• Sting and Shaggy – Performing: “Silent Night (Christmas is Coming)”
• Portugal. The Man – Performing: “Happy Christmas” & “Merry Christmas Everybody”
• Pentatonix – Performing: “Deck the Halls” & “Here Comes Santa Claus”
• Ingrid Michaelson and Andy Grammer – Performing an all-new original holiday song!
• Ally Brooke – Performing: “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”
• Lindsey Stirling – Performing: “Carol of the Bells”
Hosts Emma Burton (aka ‘Baby Spice’) and Matthew Morrison will also perform! Bunton will perform “Santa Baby” while Morrison will take on a holiday medley of “When You Wish Upon A Star”, from the upcoming album Disney Dreamin’ with Matthew Morrison, & “Let it Snow”.
PENTATONIX (Photo: Steven Diaz/Walt Disney World Resort)
Disney Channel Holiday Party @ Walt Disney World
Airing: Friday, Dec. 13, from 8:00-8:30 p.m. EST
Network: Disney Channel
Disney Channel’s “ZOMBIES 2” stars Meg Donnelly and Milo Manheim will co-host this holiday party with artist Matthew Morrison, treating fans to a magical holiday celebration featuring performances from Shaggy, Pentatonix and Disney Channel stars Issac Ryan Brown (“Raven’s Home“), Ruby Rose Turner (“Coop & Cami Ask the World”) and Kylie Cantrall (“Gabby Duran & The Unsittables”) broadcast from Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and aboard the majestic Disney Fantasy – part of the Disney Cruise Line fleet.
During the special, viewers will enjoy exclusive Disney Parks sneak peeks, including a first look at Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida in spring 2020 and Disneyland Park in California in the future. Viewers will also get an exclusive look at the Disney Channel Original Movie sequel “ZOMBIES 2,” premiering on Disney Channel in 2020. Additionally, “BUNK’D” stars Scarlett Estevez and Israel Johnson will host a special family segment highlighting the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots program.
Musical performers and songs include the following:
• Meg Donnelly – Performing: “Home for the Holidays”
• Issac Ryan Brown and Ruby Rose Turner – Performing: “12 Days of Christmas”
• Kylie Cantrall – Performing: “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”
• Pentatonix – Performing: “Here Comes Santa Claus”
• Shaggy – Performing: “Jamaican Drummer Boy”
Ally Brooke (Photo: Steven Diaz/Walt Disney World Resort)
Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade
Airing: Wednesday, Dec. 25, from 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. EST, 9:00-11:00 a.m. CST/MST/PST*
Network: ABC and the ABC app
Disney’s annual Christmas celebration airs Christmas morning on ABC hosted by artist Matthew Morrison, singer-songwriter and TV host Emma Bunton, and TV host Jesse Palmer. Joining as co-hosts are ABC’s “black-ish” star Marsai Martin with Hollywood Records Artist and Disney’s “The Lion King” star JD McCrary, who voiced young Simba in the live-action film. Presented from Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Resort in California, the show features the Christmas Day Parade down Main Street U.S.A., heartwarming stories and amazing celebrity performances. Among the exclusive Disney Parks sneak peeks planned for this special are Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida in spring 2020 and Disneyland Park in California in the future, plus Avengers Campus coming to Disney California Adventure Park in California in 2020. Viewers will also get a special look at “the most magical flight on earth”: the newly opened Disney Skyliner gondola system, connecting Walt Disney World Resort guests to two Disney theme parks and four resorts, including the new Disney’s Riviera Resort, opening Dec. 16.
Musical performers and songs include the following:
• Sting – Performing: “Soul Cake”
• Shaggy – Performing: “Christmas with Friends”
• Pentatonix – Performing: “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”
• Ingrid Michaelson and Grace VanderWaal – Performing: “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”
• Portugal. The Man – Performing: “White Christmas” & “Feel it Still”
• Ally Brooke – Performing: “Christmas Through Your Eyes”
The cast of the new Disney+ original “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” will perform a high-energy medley from Disneyland Resort.
Update 11/24/19: A new non-Disney Parks special has been announced!
Holidays Unwrapped
Airing: Sunday, Dec. 8, from 8:00-8:30 p.m. EST
Network: Disney Channel
For an additional holiday special, Raven-Symoné will host “Holidays Unwrapped”, a Disney Channel music event! The “Raven’s Home” star will perform during the half-hour special along with fellow Disney Channel stars Issac Ryan Brown, Navia Robinson, Sky Katz (“Raven’s Home”) and Kylie Cantrall (“Gabby Duran & The Unsittables”).
The event will also feature the television premiere of the “Descendants 3” music video “Audrey’s Christmas Rewind,” along with appearances by Anneliese van der Pol, Jason Maybaum (“Raven’s Home”) and the cast of “BUNK’D”.
*Airtimes vary, check listings.
Stay merry!