A Deep Dive Into Holiday Matsuri 2024

As long-time Florida residents and lifelong otakus, there is no event that we look for year after year other than Holiday Matsuri. Holiday Matsuri also known as “Holmat” is a yearly celebration of anime, otaku culture, and East Asian media all decked out in fancy holiday decor. Holmat has been a central Florida staple for nearly two decades attracting cosplayers, creators, guests, gamers, and anime connoisseurs; each year expanding and growing into an event that rivals large events such as MegaCon Orlando, MomoCon, and Anime Weekend Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia. For several years now, BN’K on Tour has had the privilege to provide coverage and report on all of the amazing things that event has done, and in 2024 we were privileged to be invited back to provide coverage once again. If you’ve been following our coverage of this event over the years, you’ll know that 2023 was a particularly testy year for Holmat, with large changes to dates, an extremely serious health situation, and visible conflicts with the hotel that has held the event for nearly a decade. In this review, We’ll not only provide our thoughts and coverage of the event from 2024, but also we’ll be providing a bit of a retrospective of the event. The intention is to not only provide you with an overview and look into what Holiday Matsuri has done in the past, and for their most recent 2024 showcase, but also a look at the path Holiday Matsuri is forging ahead, and spoiler alert: Holiday Matsuri’s future looks brighter and better than ever.

A Bit of History on Holiday Matsuri

Holiday Matsuri debuted in December 2011, celebrating “anime, video games, sci-fi, celebrity guests, cosplayers, artists, costume and cosplay contests, parties, and more.” The event has always had a big heart with Holmat’s original about-page sharing its benefit ball which would contribute to Toys for Tots which it still does to this very day. The event was a smash hit among anime fans and fandom nerds alike, and each year the event existed, it continued to grow in size and notoriety. What started as a small event in the Doubletree Orlando and Embassy Suites, expanded into a huge event capable of taking up residence at the Orlando Convention Center with several different staple events that fans have come to expect each year. Holmat has come to be known for its cozy and friendly atmosphere, diverse and well-curated markets, fun performances, and fantastic guests, and between 2016 and 2023 its gorgeous host hotel, the Orlando World Center Marriot. However, Holiday Matsuri has grown beyond its smaller venues and small crowds with the event pulling in tens of thousands of guests eager to celebrate the holidays and their favorite fandoms at this one-of-a-kind event. 

New Year, New Venue

Longtime attendees of Holiday Matsuri will tell you that before 2024, a large part of the draw for attendees was the stellar venue Holmat had acquired in the World Center Marriot. The venue was breathtakingly beautiful with amazing photo ops, comfortable rooms, and a fairly easy-to-navigate floor plan. However, over the years it was clear that there was disconnect or possibly contention between the venue and the convention. Many guests had made statements of slightly less than friendly hotel staff, limited spaces in popular panels and events, and specifically last year, a pretty unnerving and increased police presence and extremely inconvenient convention dates with the event being shifted from its historically held weekend dates to a midweek run which agitated many attendees. You can read our full breakdown of our 2023 convention experience here. Despite the issues with the World Center Marriot, there was certainly some apprehension among attendees about the venue change, but much to everyone’s surprise the new venue was not only a much-needed change, but it also showcased how much more Holmat can grow as they pull out all of the stops with their debut at their news convention location the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC). We’ll revisit the venue in more depth later in this review, for now, we just wanted to highlight that despite the discomfort with a venue switch, the Holiday Matsuri team executed a phenomenal move and made the best of their first time in a new venue.

Check-in and Pre-Registration

Stepping into the new venue for the 2024 showcase was a bit of a surreal experience. The BN’K team
grabbed our tickets on Thursday evening for badge pick-up before the festivities jumped off. Upon entering we were greeted by a few pre-convention cosplays and a bit of confusion as the pathway to registration wasn’t very clear from the digital map provided on the app. We eventually found our

destination after following a train of other nerds decked out in their Kigurumi onesies and nerdy PJs. The main bit of confusion came from there not being adequate signage for badge pickup on the upper floors for attendees at the host hotel connected to OCCC, The Hilton Orlando. There was another large conference happening that weekend which could be the reason for the lack of signage for fear of potentially confusing guests of both events, but an increase of signage would have helped navigation as many attendees from both events seemed a bit confused, asking the staff on the ground floor directions. Once you were on the proper level, it was apparent where you were and registration was clearly labeled with brightly colored volunteers and appropriate signage.

Registration flowed smoothly which is not a new development as Holiday Matsuri has perfected the art of an efficient registration line. For the 2024 showcase, the line moved even smoother with volunteers offering 18 plus wristbands to attendees with IDs present, and grabbing your badge was as simple as presenting the QR code sent to your email. Though the line was rather long, it took no more than 15 minutes to grab badges that came pre-looped with lanyards. 15 minutes does seem like a long wait, but considering the number of people that came to pre-registration and the typical lines for registration for events of similar size, Holmat knocked it out of the park with flying colors. Perhaps it could be due to the tenure of the team attending conventions, but this is one of those things we deeply appreciate about Holiday Matsuri.

Opening Ceremony and First Impressions

The BN’K on Tour team loves a good opening ceremony! The Opening ceremonies at a convention set the tone for the event, deliver pertinent information to attendees, and help the attendees get more acquainted with the event organizers and coordinators. 2024 was an especially crucial year for Holmat given everything previously addressed, but the opening ceremonies went as they normally do, swimmingly well and then some. Some highlights from the opening ceremony were just the transparency from the Holmat team. They made it clear that there were going to be big changes that we veteran attendees wouldn’t be used to such as the introduction of large sponsors and sponsored content being more visible than it had been in previous years. They not only showcased the sponsors but also explained how they helped the event and what they were adding to the experience. 

Additionally, they took time to cover event highlights such as their new installment Oshi Oasis, a newly created V-Tuber space that would host their V-tuber guests as well as V-Tuber concerts, and guest Sébastien Masuda, the legendary kawaii designer and icon. Also, it was nice to see long-time hosts and convention staffers who’ve been integral to Holmat over the years on a new stage in its new venue. It helped to bring in those feelings of familiarity and nostalgia which made the team feel much less apprehensive about experiencing the convention. All in all, ceremonies weren’t too long or drawn out, it was rather to the point and helped to provide some clarity and anticipation for the weekend ahead.

Getting Around 

Approaching the convention on Friday, on the front lawn of the Orange County Conventions Center (OCCC) stood a massive Christmas tree and large Holiday Matsuri-themed banners which are customary for the event. Holiday decor and the convention mascots Holly, Naughty, and Nice were featured throughout the various halls of the event, and the convention’s well-known green, red, and white color palette could be seen everywhere. Holiday Matsuri covered a massive amount of space split into three areas: the OCCC, the host hotel, The Hilton Orlando, and the Rosen Plaza Hotel, the home of another beloved Orlando Convention, Anime Festival of Orlando. Although to be fair, Holmat only took up the lower half of the Hilton and one of the large ballrooms at the Rozen and predominantly filled the OCCC. 

The convention split its programming between the three venues sporadically with late-night events occurring at the Hilton and Rosen and during the day, special and main events, most panels, the vendor hall, and artists alley being hosted in OCCC. The layout of the event was pretty clunky in some areas. The panels were in disconnected areas through OCCC and the Hilton, there was plenty of space for the vendor hall but the artist alley bottlenecked in a way that didn’t make sense given the large space available on the marketplace floor. Despite the disproportionate spacing and inconsistent placement of panel rooms, what was a complete upgrade from the World Center was the amount of space available in the panel rooms and in the main event spaces. Attendees could comfortably sit in all of the fan-hosted panels without issue. 

Regarding navigation, the mapping for the event was difficult to understand. It took an entire day to fully understand where most of the placements were for events and panels and our team still ended up lost and confused when trying to navigate the area. We are Orlando locals, so navigating OCCC wasn’t too much of a headache however, it came down to trying to plan our day and map out the events we wanted to attend, we quickly realized that panels were halls or even buildings apart with no time to traverse the area due the sheer size of the venue. Luckily, Holmat staff are incredibly kind and helpful so we did get a lot of answers by frequenting the information desks. Although, there could be more clarity added to the mapping of the event. In addition to the mapping, there was a severe lack of printed signage at this event. With an event this large, a digital map, unfortunately, did not suffice and added to the frustration of navigating a new space at the event. 

Additionally, the convention had a huge skywalk that connected three hotels, The Hilton Orlando, The Rozen Plaza, and The Rozen Hotel to the convention center which makes it mostly convenient for getting to and from the event. The trek from the hotel through the skywalk to OCCC was quite the odyssey and left us pretty spent, considering that we had to do this to get several different events throughout the weekend. This was especially true in the case of evening events where the trek between hotels ate up so much time between events we would miss events we really wanted to attend. 

Our suggestions for the layout and navigation issues are as follows: adding more printed signage to the floor to help people traverse the event, consolidating the panels and similar events to one specific floor or area of the convention center, outlining clearly on the program where 18 plus events will take place, and adding large printed maps to the floor with ‘you are here’ indicators to help attendees self navigate. Clearer signage and layout simplification could drastically improve issues with navigation.

Inclusivity, Representation, & Accessibility 

Holiday Matsuri is a convention that is always striving to be better than before, and in the case of the convention’s dedication to being an inclusive event, we’ve seen this commence year after year. However, this year felt like Holmat was taking bigger strides than ever to make this event more accessible and inclusive than it had been before. Starting with opening ceremonies, Holmat organizers and staff made sure to highlight in detail the accommodations available through the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) table at the event. Upon visiting the table you could get a variety of accommodations including badge signifiers for attendees with disabilities like epilepsy, information on accessibility tools made available by the event, ASL translators at events, and additional accommodation upon request. These efforts in addition to the increased building accessibility of the OCCC made this year’s event one of the most accessible events the BN’K team attended in 2024. 

As far as representation is concerned, there were so many amazing inclusions for representation, such as guests and fan panels. Holiday Matsuri has always been an incredibly diverse event with a range of celebrity and cosplay guests from different backgrounds, so that much isn’t new to this event, however in the past regarding panels, it was difficult to attend or find panels discussing topics of race, gender, body positivity and the like, however this year, the improvement was clear. Panels about diversity were well-curated, and they selected talented and knowledgeable hosts for these panels. Additionally, these panels were in similar areas or even in the same room so if you wanted panels that discussed important topics you could do so and it wouldn’t be a hassle to attend them all!

In regards to accessibility, as mentioned when discussing disability, 2024 Holmat is probably one of the most accessible events of the year that the team attended, not just in the way of the ADA table, and a more accessible venue, but also in the way of digital accessibility. Any information you needed regarding policy regarding public health, safety, inclusivity, the event’s code of conduct, you name it, was made available via the Holiday Matsuri mobile app that the convention has maintained for around 5 years now. The text was in legible, easy-to-read font, under easily discernible and easy-to-navigate tabs. 

Some additional areas of accessibility and inclusivity were the addition of the Quiet Room, hosting the Carolina Manga Library, and the inclusion of a kid's corner called Chibi Holmat. The inclusion of a Quiet Room at any large event is always a pleasant sight as it’s pretty easy to get overwhelmed and overstimulated at events like anime conventions. Holmat’s Quiet Room was simple enough, just a clearly labeled space in a room with chairs and tables. It would’ve been nice to see some small activities there as well like simple crafts, stress balls, fidget toys, or even a black-out space for people who need to calm their nervous system down, but the inclusion of the room was a great addition nonetheless. The Carolina Manga Library is always a treat to see at conventions with its expansive comic and manga offerings, cozy and quiet setting, and ample seating, although a nice to consider in the future would be some rented couches and love seats to increase that cozy library vibe. Many attendees would spend their whole weekend in the manga library, so adding that additional touch would really bring the experience over the top and potentially increase visitors to the area. Lastly, Chibi Holmat was a welcomed addition to the Holmat lineup as the BN’K team has suggested this for years! Holmat is such a wonderful convention but typically skews older in our opinion due to the evening programming. Chibi Holmat felt like a big jolt of Christmas energy with families, and friends hanging out making paper crafts, coloring ornaments, and even taking pictures with Santa! This was by far one of our favorite new aspects of the con this year.

There are a handful of opportunity areas though. Although this event was largely accessible, some areas were difficult to navigate and would be even more so for attendees with mobility issues. These areas include the extremely narrow Artist Alley that for some reason bottlenecked the further you walk through it. What starts as evenly spaced and comfortable rows of vendors drastically squeezed into these small corridors of space making it pretty uncomfortable to shop in the Artist Alley, as standing in front of booths eliminates more of the narrow walk space. This lack of accessibility also applied to some booths in the vendor hall as well, with vendors leaving out large boxes or obstacles in front of them without clearly labeling them leading to what we saw and experienced as a tripping hazard as two of our teammates tripped over some booths unlabeled displays or boxes. This also applied to the game room, which we’ll touch on in full later. While wonderful and filled with tons of cool stuff, trying to get to it all was difficult. The walkways were narrow, games were scrunched together in a way that made it a bit uncomfortable to stand or sit at games, and overall some of the space was so inadequate it felt like there wasn’t space for the items we had in our hands or on our back.

Events & Activities at Holiday Matsuri 

One thing Holiday Matsuri has always excelled at is programming. There is typically always something fun and exciting to get involved with, and they generally do a good job of providing different experiences for different kinds of attendees. 2024 was no different. This year, they expanded their offerings quite a bit. Starting with the Exhibitor Hall, this space hosted the vendor marketplace, Artist Alley, Oshi Oasis, and guest tables. The exhibitor hall was huge and yet there was definitely space to be filled out, which considering the switch in venue, come 2025, the space will surely be filled out more. The marketplace was pretty standard as far as conventions are concerned but was exciting to some brands you don’t typically see at other Florida conventions such as 6% DokiDoki and Ghost Girl Goods who were fashion guests this year. The Artist Alley was filled with absolutely talented artists and creators as an Artist Alley should be and was still worth a trek through despite the previously mentioned narrowing of the walkway. 

Oshi Oasis is the evolution of Holmat, which has invited V-tuber guests over the last few years. The v-tuber community has certainly exploded in recent years and creating a dedicated space for these creators to be showcased and featured was a delight to see. Holmat had quite a few V-tubers including some fairly popular creators like DokiBird and Bouy Afuru. There was also a stage in the Oshi Oasis where the V-tubers held performances, which was a real treat to experience. In addition to the Oshi Oasis, there were also the guest tables which had a diverse batch of guests for literally every fandom making it a great spot for meeting your faves. Holiday Matsuri has always excelled at booking great guests so a stellar line-up was expected, but still appreciated.

The panels were great this year and there were honestly too many to count but some of our standouts were the fan panels Plus Size Cosplay hosted by Kaye Cosplay, Writing (Better) Fanfiction hosted by LV Hartley, Black Excellence hosted by Quill, From Fro to Fantasy hosted by Sanley Jeanne, and Orlando Geek Scene hosted by Larry Furry and Andrew Peirson. Our favorite convention panels were Cardboard Suit Gundam hosted by Holmat Hangouts and the Baulder’s Gate Voice Actors panel. In addition to the panels, there were also tournaments, concerts, experiences, and parties to enjoy. One of our favorite tournaments was the Beyblade Tournament hosted by Rage Gear Props. The energy in the room was top-notch! There were also a ton of video game tournaments, but we’ll discuss that a bit later. As far as concerts go, you can't talk Holiday Matsuri without talking about their iconic Idol Fest and this year featured some truly showstopping performances from Gulity Pulse, IllixCitie, and Berry. Additionally, there were performances from Risa Mei and Somnio Strings which were just one-of-a-kind performances. Regarding experiences, there was the maid cafe experience hosted by Dreamland Maid Cafe where Idol Berry also participated as a guest maid and even did a performance. There was also the Fakestar fashion show which featured previously mentioned designers Ghost Girl Goods and 6% DokiDoki as well as models from the local j-fashion scene here in Orlando and Central Florida.

When it comes to events there are plenty of events for every kind of nerds including more mature events that happen in the evening. In addition to all of the other events mentioned previously, there was the highly anticipated Winter Cosplay Championship where highly skilled cosplayers compete. There was also the iconic Itasha Car display in the Exhibitor Hall, Late Night Karaoke, and tons of great demonstrations and workshops that you could join such as It Has Pockets! Hosted by Melanie Jasmine and Crafting Cuteness: A Totebag Workshop hosted by 6% DokiDoki. 

In the evening, you could attend parties and raves such as the Holiday and K-Pop Raves hosted at the Hyatt and the CosRave rave hosted at the Rosen Hotel. The raves were entertaining as they usually are and the team had a delightful time. We got to see Tiny Waves who always put on a fantastic show as well as other stellar DJs throughout the weekend. It was confusing locating all of the different events as each rave was in a different hotel or location, contributing to the issue of having to walk long distances to get from one event to the next. As far as the Holiday Rave moving forward they may consider creating another general rave space for attendees over 18 as the Holiday Rave was rated “G” but the DJ played music that used heavy profanity, there were drinks available in the rave hall, and based on our experience, there was no badge check before entering the hall. 

As for the other after-hours popular events such as the Hottest Men in Anime which featured a performance from Shadom Music a topnotch nerdcore rapper who put on an impeccable show, the Bro Cafe, the Cosplay Deviants: Cosplay Contest, and the many 18+ panels, if you could get to them they were a delight to experience. The larger events had large ques that started an hour before the event started and if you weren’t in line or you got here late, unfortunately, you would not be able to get in, so our best tip when attending Holmat, especially if you want to attend popular events is to get to plan ahead for the events you want ahead of time. Overall the programming for Homat was superb we just hope that moving forward there is a more streamlined approach to where events are and more information as to where events are located.

HOLMAT X CEOTAKU

One of the biggest changes that came to Holmat this year was the addition of the Central Florida popular gaming convention CEOtaku. CEOtaku is an anime-focused Fighting Games convention hosting tournaments in and celebrating popular Japanese games such as Grandblue, Street Fighter, and King of Fighters. CEOtaku not only hosted most of the gaming tournaments that happened throughout the weekend, but they also hosted the arcade and pretty much the entire gaming aspect of Holiday Matsuri. CEO gaming are masters in the gaming space so Holmat collaborating with them was not only an easy choice but a beneficial one for both long-time CEOtaku attendees and Holmat fans as both groups not only get the opportunity to enjoy their favorite convention they also got to enjoy the other at no additional cost. 

Some additional benefits for CEOtaku are that folks who typically apply for the CEOtaku show as artists and exhibitors now get the opportunity to apply for a larger show, of course, the competition may be a bit steeper, but if the artist or vendor is accepted they now get to be a part of a larger marketplace. This is for any of the other loyal fans or contributors to CEOtaku who probably would’ve attended Holmat, now get access to two events giving them a larger audience and or community.

There were complaints that the team had with CEOtaku over the weekend, the first we already addressed earlier which was the ineffective use of space specifically regarding the arcade area, but the second was just the distance from the other activities to the CEOtaku part of the event. The signage wasn’t clear on how to get there, the distance to this portion of the event was steep as it was hosted in the Hyatt, and while the arcade was open late (we’re certain it was open 24hrs), you’d have to travel far to get to it if you didn’t stay in the Hyatt hotel where it was being hosted. Despite this, CEOtaku was a wonderful and honestly exciting addition to Holiday Matsuri’s 2024 showcase.

Accommodations & Event Pricing

When it comes to conventions we focus a lot on what happens at these conventions but not so much on how you’ll get there, where you’ll stay, and other important accommodations necessary for you to have a pleasant time as an attendee outside of the event itself. I think Holiday Matsuri’s move to the OCCC particularly improved accommodations such as parking and boarding accommodations. Parking is ample and you have several options surrounding the convention center regardless if you are staying in one of the several surrounding hotels. You could park in the OCCC parking lot, local parking garages, or Point Orlando and while the prices vary, you can find some fairly affordable daily parking given you aren’t afraid to walk at the most a block or two. If you are staying at a surrounding hotel, you will have to pay for hotel parking which varies from about $20 -$30 or cheaper depending on your stay rate. Boarding options greatly improve with three hotels to choose from or even local Air Bnbs. While the World Marriot was a lovely hotel, it was certainly not a cheap one even with the hotel block discount. However, with the three hotels, the Hilton, Hyatt, and the Rosen, you had more choices when it comes to room pricing. 

Food was probably the biggest change to Holiday Matsuri as for years at the World Marriot attendees could enjoy the small cafe, the Japanese steakhouse, or the various food trucks Holmat would bring out. This year, all of the food options were through OCCC or any surrounding business, which honestly makes sense with how much of an undertaking it must’ve been to move to a much larger venue. At the same time, the food options at OCCC are certainly some of the poorest options you can consume which has nothing to do with Holmat and everything to do with the convention center itself. The food options were appealing putting it kindly and ridiculously priced based on what was being served. There were certainly better options at the surrounding hotels so if you happened to stay at the Hilton, Hyatt, or Rosen you definitely had better food options. It is common when conventions work with venues, some venues include a non-compete or no outside food clause with prevents events from bringing in outside food options or limits when or what food they can sell or distribute in the vent. Of course, it’s not clear what the agreement between Holiday Matsuri and OCCC is, but it would amazing if they could work out some kind of agreement to bring the food trucks back. 

Regarding event pricing, Holiday Matsuri has probably one of the best event pricing models of events currently operating at its size. With its tiered pricing options starting at $80, it stands out as fairly affordable especially if you know you are going in advance as many attendees do. The event at its most expensive $110, after tax, is closer to $120, for what this event offers at a base price, if you do none of the other paid events, it offers a lot to do which makes the cost well worth the experience. As with any event you plan on attending, planning early is essential, however with Holmat, planning early can equal big savings. 

Communication, Staff & Policy

Holiday Matsuri is a very communicative event with various channels for attendees to gather information about the different happenings of the event. You can join the Holmat Discord Sever, Facebook Group, follow their Instagram, visit their website, or utilize their mobile app. The discord server is well organized and has plenty of places for you to send feedback and connect with folks in the community. The Holmat IG page contained most of the event updates including guest announcements, application openings, event reminders, and general promotion. During the event they also had plenty of information booths and tables to answer any questions you may have had. 

The Holmat mobile app deserves special highlight as it implemented some much-needed improvements. Some of our critiques for the 2023 showcase were a lack of clarity on whether an event had an extra cost to participate and on the rating of events. This year, all events had general ratings and were clearly labeled with appropriate indicators. The mobile app also was the easiest way to manage your personal schedule, although it would also be advantageous if the website version was also as easy to use. What makes the mobile app over the top is special events and panels/workshops are split into separate tabs like the gaming events, and if panelist socials were hyperlinked you could check out your host.

Holmat and OCCC staff were both helpful and friendly going above and beyond at times to assist us and others throughout the weekend. They were clearly identifiable and made themselves visible so you didn’t have to hunt down help. Staff at the hotels were kind as well, especially the Hilton staff as we asked them what felt like half a dozen questions during pre-registration. Staff and volunteers did a decent job at crowd management but there was still some confusion when it came down to queuing for events. It felt like in general Holmat could use some additional staffing as there were moments where it felt the staff-to-attendee ratio was significant and it was difficult to organize attendees where they should go, and in only a few cases, specifically during the evening events staffing seemed to dwindle and we had a more difficult time getting directions or questions answered.

Holmat policy is the best in the convention space. Truly second to none. The policies themselves are easy to understand, clear, and inclusive as well as readily available. In addition to the policies themselves, Holmat makes policies even clearer in policy graphics which helps when you have frequently asked questions about bag policies, restricted attire, and anything involving safety. 

Final Thoughts, Our Rating, and Should You Go To Holiday Matsuri?

Holiday Matsuri is one of the team's favorite conventions and long before we started reviewing the event, we were long-time attendees. Throughout all of Holmat’s changes, this year was probably its biggest year of change, and considering all of its hiccups and flaws, the Holmat still put on one of the best conventions of 2024. Holiday Matsuri is a convention that started its run with a dedication to community, and that dedication is brighter than ever this year. We could tell they were listening to us, the attendees and fans. For years con-goers have been asking for a kids and family zone and that happened. V-tuber fans have been asking for more V-Tuber guests and they gave us a whole Oshi Oasis! 

Holiday Masturi has always felt like a convention that feels like home and despite the big changes the cozy, fun, familial atmosphere hasn’t shifted or left. It’s probably this quality that makes Holmat not just a Central Florida staple, but a region staple and it seems like after this year the only way Holmat can go is up. 2024’s showcase was certainly one for the books and an indicator that the future of this event is brighter than ever and capable of getting nothing but better. With all that being said, it’s time for the big question, should you spend your 2025 holiday at Holiday Matsuri?

For the 2024 Showcase, we rate Holiday Matsuri with an 8 out of 10. The event had issues with navigation, spacing, and some smaller points such as staffing and food quality but overall the event is better than it’s ever been and it has plenty of room to grow. It’s still by far one of the best conventions to attend in the state and beyond that a wonderful holiday experience for those who want a fun and nerdy spin on their end-of-the-year activities. If you are in Orlando, Florida December 19th-21st, 2025 you should be going to Holiday Matsuri, and if you your not in Central, Florida it’s one to travel for.