The holidays are a unique time in Orlando. Sure, the higher temperatures make it a little hard to get in the festive spirit (wearing shorts in December really throws you for a loop), but no matter what the thermometer says, there’s a certain magic that comes around this time of the year. 2020 brought a host of changes to the holiday events around Orlando, but it has also given way to new opportunities like Jolly Creek Holiday Festival and Marketplace.

Disclosure: We were invited to the event during a media preview, but all of our opinions are our own.

What is Jolly Creek Holiday Festival and Marketplace?

From the creators of Scream n Stream comes a cute, festive Christmas event. There really is something here for everyone: food and drink, entertainment, activities, vendors, and, of course, Santa. This outdoor event takes place Fridays to Sundays through December 2020 with a few additional days of the week closer to Christmas.

Getting There and Parking

Similar to Scream n Stream, Jolly Creek Holiday Festival and Marketplace is located at the same location as Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures. Depending on where in Orlando you are coming from it can be anywhere from thirty minutes to over an hour away.

There is a large, open field right as you enter and attendants direct you where to park. Parking is included in your ticket.

Breaking Down Jolly Creek Holiday Festival and Marketplace

Live Entertainment

One of the largest entertainment draws for Jolly Creek is the Jolly Creek Society Orchestra. This crew may be familiar to Disney fans as they played in the Grand Floridian lobby for more than 32 years. Unfortunately, due to Covid, they were released from their contract. Thankfully, new experiences like Jolly Creek are here to help. Given all of the entertainment cuts around the city, it’s really neat to see a group like find a new home.

Two vocal groups round out the entertainment offerings: The Mistletones, a pop a capella group, and The Vocalitas, an all-female retro-sound trio.

Food and Drinks

If you find yourself needing a snack or a drink, there are plenty of options for purchase. During our media preview event, we tried out the Feast Tots. It was a bed of tater tots topped with turkey, stuffing, and cranberries. You can’t go wrong with totchos, and we really liked this holiday twist.

Other food options include a Holiday Turkey Sandwich, ornament pretzels and cheese, cookies, and other standard Boggy Creek Airboat Adventure offerings.

There is a bar as well with two signature cocktails: the Florida Frosty (A Winter-Spiced Cranberry Sprite with Svetlana wine-based Vodka), and the Christmas Coca-Cola, (A Coca Cola with Cinnamon Whiskey). We really liked the Christmas Coca-Cola as the best of the two. There are also non-alcoholic options as well including hot cocoa, eggnog, apple cider, and Coca Cola products.

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If you want a fun snack, buy one of their s’mores kits. There are three varieties of s’mores kits at $6.50 each, and two gluten-free options for $9.

Scavenger Hunt

We love scavenger hunts. We’ve done them at Universal with the Holiday Tree Trail and always participate during the scavenger hunts at the different Epcot festivals. When we found out there was a scavenger hunt at Jolly Creek Festival and Marketplace, we dropped everything and started right away.

There were six Aly-Gators hidden around the festival area and we needed to find five to claim our prize. We won’t spill the beans on where they are, but keep your eyes peeled high and low. This is a cute, free activity and we walked away with a cute souvenir. 

Marketplace

You may be asking yourself, “The event is called Jolly Creek Festival and Marketplace, what’s up with the marketplace?” There is a section at the entrance of the venue where there are several local vendors selling their products. It ranges from ornaments to soap to dog treats and more. 

Holiday Fun

This event is packed with holiday fun. The entire area is covered with beautiful holiday lights, Santa is there to greet you and take pictures from a safe, socially-distanced location (he traded in his sled for an airboat helmed by the gator Gingersnap), and every once in a while you’ll be treated to snoap.

The one part that really stood out to us were the Elves. They were a high-energy group that went around and interacted with everyone and really brought the holiday cheer to life. We found that they remembered us throughout the night and they were so fun and friendly. One of our favorite parts about Scream n Stream were the performers, and we think a few of them traded in their gory outfits for tights and elf shoes. Either way, they really added a lot to the event.

Pricing

Pricing for the event varies from $22 to $37. Want to go on Christmas day? It’s probably going to cost you more than a random Sunday. If you purchase a date-specific ticket, you’ll save 35%, so plan ahead.

Something we really liked about this event is that similar to its Halloween counterpart, proceeds of the event go to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. More than any other year, it’s important to give back. 

They also have a Seasons Greetings Pass which gets you access to 23 nights of the event. Pricing for adults is $135, children under 10 are $129, and children under 3 are $15. 

Our Verdict

Finding family Christmas activities outside of the theme parks can be difficult, but activities like Jolly Creek Holiday Festival and Marketplace help. Families can easily plan to spend the night surrounded by lights, music, activities, and fun, all without breaking the bank. The distance may be a bit on the far side, but it’s well worth the drive to have a night filled with Christmas cheer.