A fun thing about living in Orlando over the holiday season is watching boat parade and there are two floating by this Saturday December 11th. The first will be held on the St. Johns River starting at 6pm from the Catfish Bend (Marker 36) and will travel south and finish around 8pm at the end of Lake Bereford. You can watch from a few different places along the way, including Ed Stone Park and the Lake Beresford Yacht Club. The other great boat parade will be in Winter Park, where you will enjoy holiday theme lighted boats as the float past the shorelines of lakes Virginia and Osceola. There will be pre-parade activities will be held at the Albin Polasek Museum, which will include music, food and parking. Another location you can watch the boat parade is at Dinky Dock.
You can also head down to Old Town Kissimmee where the streets will be turned into a “North Pole Fantasy” and at 6pm the Festival of Lights Parade will begin. The Kissimmee Civic Center will be offering VIP seating and from 2pm until 5pm you can visit with Santa.
There are a few different options this weekend for some holiday fun in the Orlando area, so no matter what side of town you are on you can find something fun to do.
Come out to Seaworld and celebrate the holidays with some of you wet friends. Orlando is home to some wonderful sea animals and you can celebrate with holiday shows. Shamu is getting in the holiday sprit with the Christmas miracles show and Clyde and Seamore the sea lions help you Countdown to Christmas. Sesame Street is decked out for the holidays but Abby Cadabby is having trouble understanding what it’s all about. Elmo and the other caracters help her understand what Christmas is all about in a fun sing-a-long. The water will be frozen at the ice rink where skater will put on the Winter Wonderland show. There is even a Polar Express Experience where you little one can hope on board for a trip to the North Polo and a visit with Santa.
End off your evening with fireworks choreographed to holiday music. The holidays are coming alive in the Orlando area so get out and enjoy this celebration.
Step back in time at the Osceola County Historical Society to celebrate Christmas the way they did in Orlando back in the 1800s. The houses will be decorated in the simple fashion of the time. Your guide will tell you stories of how the families celebrated Christmas on a Cracker homestead. The kids will enjoy learning the games that children played in the 1800s and the traditions of their Christmastime.
The village will be celebrating a Cracker Christmas the weekend of December 18th and 19th. See how the early inhabitants of Orlando got ready for the holiday season at the Pioneer Village.
Over 400 cheer/dance squads will gather in Orlando next week to compete at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The squads will be in town to compete for the Pop Warner National Championship, and they will compete in age group brackets and also skill level. The squads competing have won 1st or 2nd place at their regional competitions this year. This will be an exciting competition that the entire family will enjoy. These kids have worked very hard to get to this level so come out and cheer them on as compete for the National Championship.
The cheering and dancing begins on Monday December 6th and runs through Friday at the ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando.
Orlando will be welcoming Trans-Siberian Orchestra on December 12th for a show at the Amway Center from 3pm until 7pm. This show is a wonderful way to get your entire family in to the holiday spirit, with its great music and use of synchronized lighting. Trans-Siberian Orchestra has been ranked as one of top touring groups.
This exciting concert will keep everyone engaged for the entire show. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra will only be in Orlando for one day so don’t miss out on December 12th.
Join the Mayor of Orlando, Buddy Dyer as he kicks off the holiday season at the Amway Center Plaza with the Holiday Lights Orlando. The festivities begin on December 6th at 5pm. The festivities include the Orlando Magic Fan Fest, the tree lighting ceremony and the lighting of the menorah. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet your friends out in Downtown Orlando and start your holiday season.
There will also be a holiday musical entertainment for you to enjoy along with tasty treats. If you want to spread holiday cheer to others you may bring a toy donation which will be collected by the DJs from XL 106.7 for their Baby DJ fund. Make sure you keep an eye out for Santa who will be stopping by to enjoy the festivities in Orlando.
The beautiful display of lights has come to Orlando this holiday season with the Wonderland of Lights. This display spans a mile of Osceola Heritage Park where some of the lights soar 3 stories high in the sky. You family will be able to marvel at the creative displays of lights while the family listens to the festive music.
If you feel like getting out and enjoying the beautiful winter Orlando night you can walk through Santa’s village. Bring the kids by to have their pictures take with Santa and to whisper those wishes in his ear. Don’t for get your skates so you can take a spin around the ice skating rink.
The entire family will love this wonderful holiday experience, so pack up the car and drive on through the Wonderland of Lights.
Orlando is getting in the holiday spirit and now where is that more evident than at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, where you can experience holiday lights. The millions of glittering lights are perfectly synchronized to holiday music. You will be amazed as you walk down the streets where there are entire buildings blanketed in twinkling lights. Keep on the look out for Santa and his reindeer glittering across the sky. There is a twirling carousels made out of lights. About every 10 minutes the lights dim then come back to life right in front of your eyes creating a spectacular scene.
This spectacular exhibit was started by the Osborne family at their home in Arkansas. As the display grew the decided to share their wonderful creation and found a permanent home with Disney World Resort. So they brought their wonderful lights and music to the Orlando area for your enjoyment.
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Wonder where you can see it snow in Orlando? Well head on out to Celebration for the 12th annual snowing event, it will be snowing at 6, 7, 8 and 9pm. Enjoy the caroling by the strolling Charles Dickens Carolers. Bring your little figure skater for a spin around the ice rink that is open daily from 4-10pm. On Saturday November 27th from 5:30-9pm join them for the Tree Lighting Ceremony which will feature live music and a special entrance by Santa Claus. This will be a fun family event. Don’t miss the horse draw carriage rides and hop on board the Celebration Express train.
Bring the kids out to see snow in Orlando and see the lighting of the tree.
Epcot in Orlando has been transformed to show how the holidays are celebrated around the world. Every evening join in as a celebrity narrator tells the Christmas story with a 50 piece orchestra and a mass choir during the Candlelight Processional at the American Gardens Theatre. This is a wonderful way to get in the holiday spirit, but this event is so popular it fills up quickly. To ensure that you will have a seat for the event you may wish to add on the Candlelight Dinner Package that includes a delicious dinner, your seating for the event and prearranged fireworks viewing.
This is a great way to get everyone ready for the holidays in Orlando. Bring the whole family for a fun day at the park then stay for this spectacular event.
Step back in time at the Osceola County Historical Society to celebrate Christmas the way they did in