Santa Claus is Coming to Santa’s Marketplace at Disney Springs This Holiday Season
Santa Claus will have a new location at Disney Springs during the 2024 holiday season. His meet-and-greet will be held at Santa’s Marketplace hosted by Bauducco. Santa’s Marketplace will be inside the former Star Wars Trading Post at Disney Springs Marketplace near Pin Traders. This meet-and-greet will be available between November 8th and December 24th.
Here is a map of the location of Santa’s meet-and-greet at Disney Springs. It’s also near Rainforest Cafe, which is always a good point of reference because you can see the fire shooting from the volcano from most places in the Marketplace.
Per Disney, guests can join the virtual queue at a designated time once they arrive at Disney Springs. You’ll need location services turned on so the app can recognize your location. Here are the times when guests can join the queue:
- 9:00 AM
- 11:00 AM
- 1:00 PM
- 3:00 PM
- 6:00 PM
Disney notes the following details about the virtual queue on their website:
- You must be at Disney Springs to enter the virtual queue.
- One person in your party can request to join the virtual queue for your entire party. They will receive a push notification when your party is ready to return. This push notification will open to a link to a digital entry code. If you are unable to find your digital entry code, select the 3-line “hamburger” icon in the app and select “Virtual Queues.”
- There is a maximum party size of 10 people.
- The virtual queue is subject to availability.
- A standby queue will not be available.
Here is an example of when we joined the virtual queue last year at 3:00 p.m. We were in group 39 and had an estimated 70-minute wait to meet Santa. We were called back at 4:20 p.m. (80 minutes later) and were met with a short line when we arrived. We had to wait in line for approximately 10 minutes to meet Santa.
I don’t know about you, but we prefer the virtual queue to meet Santa rather than waiting in line. When you arrive at Disney Springs, you’ll open the app and select “virtual queues” from the home screen. The Disney Springs Santa meet-and-greet will appear as an option.
If the current queue has been filled, you’ll want to set an alarm on your phone to join the next queue. I would set it to 1-minute before the next queue drop so you can join it as soon as it opens. For example, I set my alarm for 2:59 p.m. to join the 3:00 p.m. queue.
It’s also important to note that Disney does an incredible job decorating the Santa meet-and-greet locations in the parks and at Disney Springs. If you’re even slightly interested in having a family photo taken during the holidays, these are the places to do it.
Here are a few more places to meet Santa Claus at Disney World this holiday season.
Santa Claus Meet-and-Greet Coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2024
Where to Meet Santa Claus at Epcot (Location and Photos)
Where to Meet Santa at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Location, Details, and Photos)
A New Santa Claus Meet-and-Greet (Santa’s Christmas Carnival) to Debut at Magic Kingdom for the Holidays
While you’re at Disney Springs, you might also take the time to write a letter to Santa at Once Upon a Toy! You might also enjoy one of the many festive Christmas treats at Disney Springs during this holiday season. Our foodie guide details where you can find them!
Specialty Treats Coming to Disney Springs for the 2024 Holiday Season
In the Comments
Have you ever met Santa Claus at Disney Springs? What do you think about the virtual queue option? Let us know in the comments section below.
