Santa Claus Meet-and-Greet Coming to Animal Kingdom

Written by Joshua Posted October 15th, 2024

Last week was a slow news week for Disney. With Hurricane Milton bearing down on Central Florida, the Disney Parks Blog went mostly silent. They’re more than making up for lost time today. The blog’s latest story focuses on Christmas at Walt Disney World. Someone big is showing up this year, and not just on a flotilla. Santa Claus is coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Santa Claus at Animal Kingdom concept art. Copyright Disney. — Copyright Disney

“Over the last few years, you may have seen Kris Kringle waving to guests as he sailed around the waterways of Disney’s Animal Kingdom during the holiday cavalcades. This year, you can meet Santa Claus at the 75th Annual Dino Institute Holiday Party on the patio at Restaurantosaurus. As the guest of honor himself, Santa’s checked his list twice and invited everyone to join him in this festive new location as the students and faculty of the Dino Institute celebrate the season in (pre)-historic fashion  from November 12 to December 24. Bring the whole family, because a Santa sighting is perfect for the little ones!”

We love character flotillas, but meeting the big man in person will be a big hit for families.

Santa Claus on his Animal Kingdom flotilla

The Disney Parks Blog also highlighted the Merry Menagerie, one of our favorite holiday additions to Animal Kingdom. Those puppets (and their Cast Member friends) are absolute greatness.

The post also talked about Tree of Life Awakenings, which is good news for fans who want to experience Animal Kingdom after dark. The park usually closes before it’s dark enough to put on that show.