Credit: Erica Lauren, Inside the MagicDisney’s Hollywood Studios is reaching deep into its history for one of its newest holiday reveals.
Walt Disney World has officially shared a first look at several additions coming to Disney Jollywood Nights in 2026, and one of the park’s original icons is getting a much bigger role this Christmas season.
This Hollywood Studios favorite dates all the way back to the park’s opening year in 1989. Now, 37 years later, Disney is bringing that piece of park history back in a major way for its after-hours holiday celebration.
And fans will have several ways to take the returning favorite home.
Disney Confirms Gertie’s Major Holiday Return
The 37-year-old icon in question is Gertie the Dinosaur, and there’s an important distinction to make about her newly announced return.
Gertie herself never left Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The massive dinosaur has remained a fixture along Echo Lake and continues to stand inside the park today.
Instead, Disney is officially bringing Gertie back to the spotlight through Disney Jollywood Nights merchandise for 2026. The longtime Hollywood Studios icon is returning to the event’s merchandise lineup in a major way, appearing across several newly revealed pieces.
Disney World unveiled its first look at the collection ahead of this year’s festivities, showing off Mickey ears, apparel, bags, collectibles, and other holiday items.
Gertie isn’t simply tucked into the background, either. Disney has made the opening-day icon one of the recognizable faces of this year’s collection, starting with a new headband that pairs her with another Disney favorite.
Gertie and Duffy Share a Holiday Headband
Disney’s newest Jollywood Nights Mickey ear headband pairs Gertie and Duffy in a distinctly festive design.
One side features Gertie, while the other puts Duffy in the spotlight. A bright red bow sits between the ears, immediately giving the headband a Christmas feel.
Disney also placed a gold ornament in the middle of the bow, adding another holiday detail to a design clearly made for Jollywood Nights.
For guests who want Gertie to have an even bigger presence in their holiday collection, however, Disney has another option that takes the dinosaur theme much further.
Gertie Takes Over a New Loungefly Bag
One of the biggest pieces in the newly revealed collection is a Loungefly bag inspired by Gertie herself.
Rather than simply placing the dinosaur on the front of a standard bag, Disney shaped the design around the recognizable Hollywood Studios icon.
Gertie wears a festive Santa hat, while a red Christmas ornament dangles from her mouth. That small touch gives the bag plenty of personality while tying the Hollywood Studios original directly into the Christmas celebration.
It’s also one of the clearest examples of just how prominently Disney is bringing Gertie back into its Jollywood Nights merchandise this year.
The dinosaur’s holiday takeover doesn’t stop with accessories, either.
New Jollywood Nights Sweatshirt Features the Original Icon
Guests looking for holiday apparel will also find Gertie incorporated into a new blue Disney Jollywood Nights sweatshirt.
The design features the Jollywood Nights logo surrounded by a cute star pattern that fits the event’s old-Hollywood-inspired Christmas atmosphere.
Gertie appears wearing her Santa hat near the area where a pocket would normally sit. Her placement makes it look as though the dinosaur is popping into the design instead of simply appearing as another logo in the middle of the shirt.
That gives Disney another way to feature the 37-year-old icon while making each piece of the collection look different.
Collectors will find her elsewhere, too.
Gertie Joins Duffy on a New Jollywood Nights Pin
Disney is also bringing Gertie into the 2026 pin lineup.
The new design brings together several recognizable pieces of this year’s Jollywood Nights collection, including Gertie, Duffy, and a festive Jollywood gingerbread character.
“Jollywood Nights” appears along the bottom of the pin, connecting the collectible directly to the Hollywood Studios holiday event.
With multiple characters sharing the design, the pin gives guests a smaller way to remember the event without committing to a larger piece of merchandise.
But Disney has one more Gertie collectible designed specifically for the Christmas season.
Gertie Gets Her Own Christmas Ornament
The Hollywood Studios original also takes center stage on a new Disney Jollywood Nights ornament.
The smiling dinosaur wears a Santa hat and holds a bright red ornament, continuing the Christmas look Disney uses across the new collection.
Disney also placed “Jollywood Nights 2026” along the bottom of the ornament.
That date makes the piece especially tied to this year’s event, potentially giving returning Jollywood Nights guests a way to mark their 2026 visit.
It also completes a merchandise lineup that gives the longtime park icon a much larger presence than a single appearance on one souvenir.
A 37-Year-Old Hollywood Studios Favorite Returns to the Spotlight
Disney’s newly revealed collection makes the meaning behind this return clear.
Gertie isn’t physically returning to Disney’s Hollywood Studios because she never left. She remains standing along Echo Lake just as she has for decades.
Instead, Disney is bringing back the 37-year-old opening-day icon to the Jollywood Nights merchandise lineup and putting her front and center across several new 2026 pieces.
From Mickey ears and a Loungefly bag to a sweatshirt, pin, and Christmas ornament, the dinosaur is getting a major holiday presence this year.
For an icon whose history stretches all the way back to the park’s opening in 1989, it’s a fitting way to celebrate 37 years at Hollywood Studios while introducing another generation of guests to one of the park’s most recognizable originals.
