“Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol” Coming Soon To Disney+ & Disney Channel
Disney has announced details for the upcoming Christmas animated special, “Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol,” which will see the return of the fan-favourite elves on Disney+, Disney Channel, ABC and Freeform during the holiday season.
Marking the franchise’s return after more than a decade, “Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol” is the fourth installment in a series of popular animated holiday specials featuring Christmas elves from an elite organization tasked with preparing homes worldwide for Santa’s arrival.
The new special follows Christmas elves Lanny and Wayne, whose holiday mission goes awry, leaving Wayne convinced he’s in major trouble with Santa and accidentally revealing other merry mishaps. Magee, the North Pole Christmas Eve Command Center Coordinator and lover of eggnog lattes, brings along her pet arctic seal pup Nog to the office — kicking off endless hijinks.
Check out the teaser trailer below:
Original voice cast reuniting for the special includes Dave Foley as Wayne, a world-weary but dedicated Prep & Landing elf, alongside Sarah Chalke as Magee, the ambitious and eggnog latte-obsessed Command Center Coordinator, and Derek Richardson as Lanny, Wayne’s loyal friend and ever-agreeable partner. They will be joined by new cast members Manny Jacinto as Renato, the most sought-after massage therapist and holistic healer in the North Pole; Dulcé Sloan as Janice, a clerk at the North Pole Post Office; and Danny Pudi as Chef Geoff, the master chef at the Fruitcake Factory. Rounding out the cast is Christopher Swindle as The Big Guy, a.k.a. Santa.
Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton return to their roles as executive producers, and Colleen Evanson is co-producer and story editor. “Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol” is produced by Disney Television Animation, part of Disney Branded Television.
The new animated special will debut in the United States on Thanksgiving, November 27th 2025 on Disney Channel at 7:00 p.m. EST/PST, and it will be available the next day on Disney+, later in the season the elves will make their way to ABC and then to Freeform’s iconic “25 Days of Christmas” holiday programming event, making it the must-watch family event of the holidays.
No international Disney+ details have been confirmed, but expect to see it released globally since this release has a limited window of opportunity.
The previous specials “Prep & Landing” (2009), “Prep & Landing: Operation: Secret Santa” (2010), and “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice” (2011) are also available to stream on Disney+.
Roger’s Take: I really enjoyed the previous animated specials and try to watch at least one of them during the holiday period. I’m also really glad to see the characters are returning for more adventures, as this feels like the perfect project for Disney since it can be utilised across streaming and linear channels.
Are you looking forward to the return of “Prep & Landing”? Let me know on social media!
