This past Saturday evening, I had the pleasure of attending A Jolly Holiday On the Lot with D23, via tickets purchased by Laughing Place from The Official Disney Fan Club. Below you will find dozens of my photos from this holiday-season experience, previously known in years past as “Light Up the Season.”
I arrived at the famous Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank ahead of the 4:00 PM start time for A Jolly Holiday On the Lot, and checked in at the tents located near the studio’s iconic water tower.
Walking from there over to the area of the lot where the event was being held, I saw that Disney and D23 had gone to great lengths to decorate the studio for this year’s holiday season. I also was able to scan a QR code on a sign to access the map for A Jolly Holiday On the Lot.
Shopping booths and kiosks from a variety of vendors were spread throughout the streets of the Burbank lot, among more holiday decorations. Unfortunately the studio’s movie theater was not accessible to guests this year– the Christmas-themed movie and TV special screenings had been one of my favorite elements of the previous iterations of this event I have attended.
One of the first characters I spotted was Goofy in his Santa Claus outfit.
A brass band nearby played a soothing rendition of “The First Noel” on their instruments.
A DJ stage was set up in the central area for trivia contests and other announcements.
I also saw some fun holiday-garbed animatronic figures of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Donald Duck.
The Disney Lorcana collectible card game from Ravensburger had its own tent where guests could learn how to play.
More shopping could be accomplished in the lot’s Studio Store and another tented section, where some exclusive merchandise items sold out very fast. There were also a number of food trucks and a fun-looking slide accessible to attendees.
Mickey Mouse was camped out in front of the lot’s Christmas tree, also decorated quite nicely.
Below are some more of the wintertime decor and tents around the studio for the event.
During my initial lap around the lot I passed our old pal Donald Duck decked out in his holiday season best.
Booths for complimentary popcorn and cotton candy, plus one where our friends at RSVLTS sold their incredibly cool collection of holiday-themed button-down shirts. 100% Soft also had a nice array of Marvel goodies available in their booth.
More characters I spotted along the way: Daisy Duck, Jack Skellington, and Pluto with reindeer antlers.
The north section of the lot felt the most wintry to me, with the Team Disney building’s Seven Dwarfs lit up for the season, Toys for Tots represented by the United States Marine Corps, and even Roy O. Disney, Minnie Mouse, Walt Disney, and Mickey Mouse dressed in Santa hats and red scarves via their respective statues in Legends Plaza. Plus there were more shopping booths and games for attendees in this area of the event.
I also wanted to note that the Animation building which houses Walt Disney’s office was undergoing some refresh work, with scaffolding up over this past weekend.
Down by the lobby of the Frank G. Wells building was the adults-only bar called the “Holiday Corner of Cheer,” and the interior housed an event-exclusive display of holiday costumes from parks and movies put on by The Walt Disney Archives.
By the time I completed that first lap around the lot, night had fallen on Burbank and A Jolly Holiday was lit up with all of its many colorful lights.
I thought this might be a good time to go visit Santa Claus himself, but unfortunately he was on his break.
Thankfully I could enjoy the choir of Disney Cast Members singing “O Come All Ye Faithful.”
And now that night had fallen, I found that Mickey Mouse had been swapped out with his lovely counterpart Minnie Mouse at the Christmas Tree, which looked rather wonderful after dark.
All told, I had a really terrific time at A Jolly Holiday On the Lot with D23, and I’ll cross my fingers that I get to attend the event again next year! For additional information on The Official Disney Fan Club, be sure to visit D23’s official website.