Hallmark's First Original Disney World Movie Premieres November 28, and Lacey Chabert Spent a Month at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge to Shoot It

Lacey Chabert spent about a month based at a Walt Disney World hotel last winter, and the reason has finally been dated. Hallmark's first original movie made with the resort now has a premiere slot, and it is a big one.

Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True debuts Saturday, November 28, on Hallmark Channel, then arrives on Hallmark+ the following day. Blog Mickey reports that Hallmark Channel confirmed the date in a social media post, and puts the start time at 8 p.m. WDW News Today reported the same November 28 date, crediting Laughing Place's report from Hallmark's Television Critics Association panel.

That places it two days after Thanksgiving, on the Saturday of the holiday weekend, inside Hallmark Channel's 17th annual Countdown to Christmas block.

The official poster bills it as a Hallmark presentation of a Disney love story, with the Hallmark+ release flagged in the corner. Image: Hallmark Channel and Disney, via Disney Parks Blog.

The first time these two have made a movie together

Hallmark says it has been making Disney-licensed products for decades, but Disney bills this as the first original movie Hallmark Channel and Walt Disney World have made together. The collaboration went public on the Disney Parks Blog on December 6, 2025, after Chabert's appearance from Magic Kingdom Park during Hallmark Channel's The Hallmark Christmas Experience: A Hometown Holiday special.

Hallmark's chief brand officer, Darren Abbott, leaned hard on the history in that announcement.

"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," Abbott said.

Disney's Sally Conner, VP Global Content, framed the park itself as the co-star: "Storytelling is at the heart of both Disney and Hallmark, and that magic shines even brighter during the holidays. 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."

What the movie is actually about

Chabert plays Lindsey, who is in Florida for a Christmas trip with her extended family and then discovers that the guest in the room next door is Philip, played by Travis Van Winkle, a man she had already endured one catastrophic first date with. He is on a family trip of his own. Their paths keep colliding around the resort, the hostility softens, and a wish Lindsey makes in Cinderella fountain does the rest.

Richard Kind, Christy Carlson Romano, Taegen Burns and Asher Alexander also star, and Patrick Renna turns up in a cameo. Ryan Landels both wrote and directed.

Disney's December 2025 announcement art, with Chabert flanked by Mickey and Minnie at the Partners statue. Image: Disney, via Disney Parks Blog.

They shot it in the actual park, during the actual season

Cameras rolled at Walt Disney World starting in December 2025 and kept going through the holiday season, per WDW News Today, which also reported that Chabert based herself at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge for roughly a month during the shoot.

Blog Mickey photographed the production at Magic Kingdom on January 12, 2026, working at Cinderella's wishing well, a different castle-area spot from the Cinderella fountain named in Disney's synopsis. The outlet said the scene appeared to be a glass slipper moment between Chabert and Van Winkle, shot days before the park's holiday decorations were due to come down.

There is merchandise attached, of course

Disney says a co-branded Disney and Hallmark collection inspired by the film is coming for this holiday season, covering greeting cards, ornaments, gifts and gift wrap, among other items. It will be sold at select Hallmark Gold Crown stores, on Hallmark.com, and at other retailers that Disney said would be named later.

Disney's announcement did not say whether the collection will also be sold inside the parks.

Sources

• Disney Parks Blog, "New Hallmark Holiday Film Coming to Disney World"
• WDW News Today, "Release Date Announced for Hallmark's 'Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True'"
• Blog Mickey, "'Holiday Ever After' Disney World Hallmark Channel Movie Sets Premiere Date"
• Blog Mickey, "PHOTOS: Hallmark Channel Holiday Movie Filming 'Glass Slipper Moment' at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom" (January 12, 2026)
• WDWMagic, "Hallmark's Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True Gets Premiere Date"

Image credits: Featured key art via Blog Mickey, courtesy Hallmark Channel and Disney. Film poster via Disney Parks Blog, courtesy Hallmark Channel and Disney. December 2025 announcement art via Disney Parks Blog, courtesy Disney.