Hallmark and Walt Disney World Team Up for First-Ever Original Holiday Film
Hallmark Channel and Walt Disney World teamed up for the first time on an original holiday romance, Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True, starring Lacey Chabert and Travis Van Winkle and filming on location at the resort. Hallmark has set the premiere for Saturday, November 28 at 8/7c, during its 17th annual Countdown to Christmas, with next-day streaming on Hallmark+. A co-branded Disney and Hallmark collection follows in the 2026 holiday season.
Hallmark Channel and Walt Disney World are teaming up on an original holiday romance for the first time, Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True, starring Lacey Chabert and Travis Van Winkle. It films on location at Walt Disney World in Florida, a first for Hallmark at the resort, and premieres Saturday, November 28 at 8/7c during Hallmark Channel's 17th annual Countdown to Christmas. A co-branded Disney and Hallmark merchandise collection follows in the 2026 holiday season.
Key Details
- Film: Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True
- Premiere: Saturday, November 28, 2026 at 8/7c on Hallmark Channel, during the 17th annual Countdown to Christmas, streaming the next day on Hallmark+
- Filming: on location at Walt Disney World in Florida, the first Hallmark film made at the resort
- Cast: Lacey Chabert, Travis Van Winkle, Christy Carlson Romano, Justin Bruening, Richard Kind, Bryce Dufee, Taegen Burns and Asher Alexander, with a Patrick Renna cameo
- Written and directed by: Ryan Landels
- Co-branded merchandise: greeting cards, ornaments, gifts and gift wrap, at select Hallmark Gold Crown stores, Hallmark.com and other retailers, in the 2026 holiday season
The first Hallmark film made at Walt Disney World
Hallmark and Disney have put their names on the same products for decades. Neither had put its name on an original movie with the other until this one. Disney announced the film during Hallmark Channel's broadcast of The Hallmark Christmas Experience: A Hometown Holiday, with Chabert appearing live from Magic Kingdom Park.
The other half of that announcement was where the movie gets made. Production shoots on location at Walt Disney World, so the cast and crew work inside the parks and the resort hotels instead of rebuilding them somewhere else. No Hallmark film had been made at the resort before.
Hallmark has since set the date
Disney's announcement gave a season rather than a date. Hallmark Channel has now posted one: the film premieres Saturday, November 28 at 8/7c and streams the next day on Hallmark+. That is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Hallmark's page for the film also carries a first look at it.
The same page bills the movie as starring Chabert, Van Winkle and Christy Carlson Romano, with Justin Bruening and Richard Kind. Bruening was not among the names Disney listed when the film was announced.
What Holiday Ever After is about
Lindsey, played by Chabert, brings her extended family to Walt Disney World for Christmas. The trip goes sideways when she finds out that the room next door belongs to Philip, played by Van Winkle, a man she had recently endured a disastrous first date with, and who is there on a family trip of his own.
Their paths keep crossing over the course of the stay, the frost starts to thaw, and the two find they are not so different after all. The holiday wish Lindsey makes in Cinderella fountain is what tips the rivalry toward romance.
The rest of the cast is Richard Kind, Christy Carlson Romano, Bryce Dufee, Taegen Burns and Asher Alexander, with Patrick Renna in a cameo. Ryan Landels wrote the script and is set to direct.
The Kansas City connection behind the partnership
Hallmark framed the movie as an extension of a relationship that started with greeting cards.
"The partnership between Hallmark and Disney dates back decades, when a shared Kansas City connection and friendship between Hallmark's founder, J.C. Hall, and Walt Disney himself led to our first-ever licensed products, including the very first greeting card featuring Mickey Mouse," said Darren Abbott, Chief Brand Officer at Hallmark. "We're thrilled to expand our relationship beyond the products we create together and onto the screen with this heartwarming and joyful Christmas movie that embodies the very best of both brands."
Disney's half of the announcement leaned on the resort as a filming location rather than a product tie-in.
"Storytelling is at the heart of both Disney and Hallmark, and that magic shines even brighter during the holidays," said Sally Conner, VP Global Content. "We're thrilled that Walt Disney World will serve as the immersive setting for a Hallmark holiday movie highlighting the cheerful festivities of the season. Across our theme parks, resorts, and beyond, countless unique stories unfold and new memories are made every day with our guests. This film is a wonderful way to share that joy and pixie dust with fans everywhere."
Co-branded holiday merchandise coming in 2026
A product line inspired by the film arrives for the 2026 holiday season: greeting cards, ornaments, gifts, gift wrap, and other items Hallmark has not detailed yet. It will be sold at select Hallmark Gold Crown stores, on Hallmark.com, and at other retailers to be named later.
The ornaments are the piece most likely to matter to park collectors, since Hallmark ornaments and Disney parks merchandise already share a lot of the same shelves at home.
What this means for Disney fans
Neither company has said which parks, resorts or locations appear on screen, or when production takes place, so there is nothing here to plan a trip around. What the film offers is a feature-length look at Walt Disney World at Christmas: the decorations, the resort hotels, and a plot that turns on a wish made in Cinderella fountain.
The merchandise collection lands in the same season as the premiere, so the cards and ornaments arrive alongside the movie rather than a year behind it. Air time and streaming details are posted at HallmarkChannel.com.