Welcome to our ongoing series of photo tours of the Walt Disney World theme parks during the 2025 holiday season…at night! Previous installments in this series took a look at Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We’re headed out to Disney’s Animal Kingdom to take a walk around the park to capture the glow of holiday lights after the sun goes down. With the time change, it’s easier to catch the holiday lights at Disney’s Animal Kingdom before the park closes. That said, if you want to see it all, you’ll have to hustle! Here’s our photo tour of the holiday lights around Disney’s Animal Kingdom during the final 90 minutes of park operations.

Nighttime Tour of Holiday Decorations at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

We arrived at Disney’s Animal Kingdom around 5:35pm. On the day that we visited, sunset was scheduled for 5:31pm. That means that our photo tour will start with some evening glow in the sky, and get darker as we make our way around Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

The goal was to start in DinoLand USA, given that it is the least decorated it has been in years due to ongoing construction, and then make our way through Asia, Africa, Pandora – The World of Avatar, and then finish on Discovery Island.

First, here’s a look at the park entry as the sun set and the first lights started to turn on for the evening. We’ll be back for a look at Discovery Island as the final stop of our evening.

Colorful Disney's Animal Kingdom entrance decorated for a festive occasion with guests entering.
Colorful Christmas decorations at the River Depot with lights and greenery.

DINOLAND USA HOLIDAY DECOR

Heading over to DinoLand USA first, we find very few decorations compared to years past due to the ongoing maze of construction walls as part of the transformation of the area into Tropical Americas. As a reminder, this is the final Christmas for DinoLand USA, with the remainder of the land set to close in February 2026.

Colorful Christmas tree decorated with ornaments, lights, and dinosaur stickers at Disney.
Colorful Christmas lights and ornaments decorating a tree at Disney World.
Vintage restaurant sign with "Cactus" and "Burger" on rustic building at sunset.
Colorful illuminated dinosaur figure in a lush Disney World themed garden at dusk.
Colorful dinosaur ornament decorated with string lights in a lush garden at night.
Colorful decorated Christmas trees with vibrant lights and ornaments at night.
Illuminated blue Christmas tree at Disney World holiday festival.
Colorful Christmas lights and decorations at Disney World during the holiday season.
Colorful holiday-themed cottage decorated for Christmas at Disney World.

DIWALI DECORATIONS IN ASIA

The Diwali decorations have been installed since October, but they provide a nice glow as the only holiday decorations in the Asia section of Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Colorful hanging lanterns illuminating a walkway at dusk in Disney World.
Colorful hanging lanterns and string lights at dusk in Disney World park.
Colorful lanterns and string lights hanging above a park pathway at dusk.
Colorful Indian-themed lanterns and string lights at twilight in Disney World area.
Colorful illuminated mandala projection on stone path at outdoor tropical themed area.
Colorful lanterns and string lights hanging over festive fairground scene at night.

AFRICA HOLIDAY DECOR

In Africa, the theme is recycled and found materials for holiday decorations. This land in particular invites guests to take a closer look to try and find the themes behind the decor. Different sections of the land have different recycled and found materials that are used to create unique wreaths and garland throughout the area. Here’s a look around!

Colorful outdoor Halloween decoration featuring lanterns, a bicycle, and spooky items.
Colorful desert-themed holiday tassels and ornaments hanging from a string under a wooden roof.
Colorful Christmas garland with ornaments and ribbons hanging inside a festive space.
Colorful bottle cap art decorating a rustic window display at Disney World.
Colorful African art display in a rustic shop window at night.
Colorful African art pieces displayed in a window during an art exhibition.
Festive holiday wreath with colorful ribbons and ornaments hanging outside.
Majestic ancient tree with festive Christmas decorations and colorful lights underneath.
Vibrant Christmas tree illuminated under a large tree at night.
Colorful Christmas tree decorated with lights under thatched roof at Walt Disney World.
Colorful decorative hanging art with vibrant lights in a rustic setting.
Colorful handmade holiday ornaments hanging under a "King" sign at Disney World.
Brightly lit colorful artistic light installation on a rustic wall with geometric patterns and a window.
Vibrant outdoor scene at dusk with visitors walking past themed rustic buildings and decorative lights at Disney World.
Colorful outdoor dining area with string lights and rustic decor at Disney park.

PANDORA – THE WORLD OF AVATAR HOLIDAY DECOR

In Pandora – The World of Avatar, only a small portion of the land is decorated. This is due to the holiday season not being something that the Na’vi celebrate. That said, the area around the Pongu Pongu snack stand has been decorated by the ex-pats from Earth who are looking for a seasonal reminder of their home planet.

Colorful illuminated robot exhibit at night with crowd of people, Disney-themed event, festive atmosphere, celebration at theme park, Tropical setting, Walt Disney World.
Colorful robot figure decorated with Christmas lights at Disney World nighttime event.
Colorfully decorated Battle Droid Christmas parade float at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge night event.
Colorful wooden animal wind chime hanging on a festive string at night.
Colorful dragon-shaped decorations hanging on a decorated string at night, illuminated by soft lights.
Colorful carved nutcracker and tribal figure decorations on wood shelf at Disney theme park.
Shalom menorah with a Star of David on top, placed on a vintage radio set with wooden and metal objects in the background.

DISCOVERY ISLAND HOLIDAY DECORATIONS

Our final stop of the evening is on Discovery Island, which acts as the hub of holiday activities. During the day, guests can enjoy the wonderful Merry Menagerie animal puppets. At night, the Tree of Life comes alive with seasonal projection shows as the buildings of Discovery Island glow around it.

Colorful illuminated tree at nighttime with Disney park visitors, Disney World evening entertainment.
Festive Christmas wreath decorated with lights and ornaments on a blue wooden wall.
Brightly lit Riverside Depot shop at night with Christmas decorations and colorful signage.
Colorful painted fish clock with festive holiday decorations at Riverside Depot.
Colorful holiday decoration featuring illuminated bird figurines and festive greenery.
Colorful Discovery Trading Company shop decorated for the holidays at night.
Colorful squirrel illuminated at a nighttime holiday display with festive greenery and lights.
Colorful illuminated bird lantern at Disney World holiday display.
Colorful owl lantern illuminated at night during Christmas festival at Disney World.
Decorated Christmas garland with ornaments at night at Disney theme park.
Colorful illuminated bird decorations on a festive, decorated outdoor structure at night.
Colorful lanterns with animal designs hanging outside a decorated building at night.
Colorful Disney-themed building decorated with festive garlands at night.
Colorful tropical-themed Christmas garland with ornaments and wooden animal figurine.
Festive Christmas wreath with greenery, lights, and colorful ornaments hanging indoors.
Colorful discovery trading company store at night with holiday lights and decorations.
Colorful themed buildings decorated for holidays at night in Disney World.
Colorful nighttime scene at Disney World's themed shopping and dining area.
Decorated elephant sculpture with Christmas lights and ornaments at Disney World.
Festively decorated window with Christmas greenery and lanterns at night.
Festive holiday decorations on a streetlamp at Disney World during Christmas season.

As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!

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