Christmas Time at Disneyland

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”

We were hosted by Disneyland to come and see all of the holiday festivities, so today I am going to share them with all of you! We absolutely love Christmas time at Disneyland, it really is even more magical than usual. Something about the lights, the music, the parade, even seeing your favorite characters in their outfits is so much fun! Here is a list of must see activities you should put on your list…but remember to ALWAYS check your Disneyland app for any time changes! The holiday magic runs from November 8th-January 6th.

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Christmas Lights/Decorations:

• Tree’s – Disneyland and DCA both have tree lighting moments, check your app for that day’s exact time. There is also a tree at Downtown Disney.

Shop my skirt HERE and my sweater HERE

Matching “Oh Happy Day” shirts are from Happiest Tee’s on Earth

• Sleeping Beauty Castle – Wintertime Enchantment with snow, music and lights 7:30 & 8:30

• Small World lights start at 5:15

• Redwood Creek Challenge decorations and themed activities. Go on a treasure hunt for presents to lead you to the answer for a holiday riddle, ride on a pretend reindeer on the zip line, meet Santa, decorate cookies (additional charge for the cookies), and just have fun running around!

• Main Street – both parks are decked out with all the holiday decor and have Christmas music playing. We love to just walk down Main St and soak it all in.
• Cars Land – There are trees made of tires and snowmen with road cones for a nose, everything is absolutely adorable!

Christmas Parade:

Most days there are two parades at 3:30 & 6pm (some days there is only one parade at 4pm, so make sure to check the schedule). If you are planning on leaving right after the parade I suggest sitting somewhere on Main Street so you can find the exit quicker. If you sit near Small World, which is pretty with all the lights, you will be the furthest from the park exit and it will probably be crowded right after the parade. If it is a two parade day the first parade begins near Small World and the second parade begins near Town Square. There is RESERVED seating if you book a dining package at Plaza Inn which includes a meal and VIP seating for the 6pm parade. CLICK HERE for the details.

World of Color “Season of Light”:

The holiday World of Color is at DCA at 8:15 and can be viewed around Paradise Bay on a first come first serve basis. There are fast passes available for the show, but are usually gone pretty quickly if you aren’t there in the morning. You can also do dining OR dessert packages for reserved seating to the show.

Atmosphere shows:

• Disney VIVA Navidad  Street Party at DCA (near the Jumpin Jelly Fish ride) 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:30, 5:30, 6:30.

• Holiday Toy Drummers at DCA (across from the Little Mermaid ride) 11:30, 1:30, 3:00, 5:00.
• Mickey’s Happy Holidays Show at DCA (2 spots to watch: across from Little Mermaid OR at Carthay Circle) 12:30 & 4:00 (if it’s a hot day I suggest going to the 4pm show so it’s not so sunny b/c neither spot has shade).
• Dapper Dans singing your favorite Christmas songs at Disneyland on Main St 10:30, 12:30, 1:20, 2:00, 3:00, 4:30, 5:20.
• The Dickens Yuletide Band at Disneyland on Main St. 2:00, 3:15, 5:00, 6:36, 7:30, 8:30.
• Disney Holiday Dance Party at Disneyland at the Tomorrowland Terrace stage 7:30-8:00.
• Snowfall along the Rivers of America 6:05 & 7:05.

Food:

So we definitely love food, but our kids are probably the pickiest eaters on the planet, so we don’t always get the chance to try out all the new foods at Disneyland. Luckily they had a few items for us to try at a media event before we headed into the park. I will say if you are gluten intolerant, like myself, the holiday themed choices were a little slim, but the great part is that you can also ask the chef for an alternative (when at an actual restaurant, not a walk up kiosk).

You can choose to do a sip and savor pass at DCA which buys you 8 coupons for the festival foods marketplace kiosks and dining locations. Each pass is $56 (excludes alcohol), annual passholder discounts available. Participating kiosks are…

• A Twist on Tradition
• Brews and Bites
• Favorite Things
• Grandma’s Recipes
• Holiday Duets
• Making Spirits Brights
• Merry Mashups
• Winter Sliderland

Participating restaurants are…

• Cappuccino Cart
• Cocina Cucamonga
• Pacific Wharf Cafe
• Paradise Garden Grill
• Smokejumpers Grill
• Sonoma Terrace
• Willie’s Churros

***If you want more info on food choices visit my friend’s blog; Jenny from Disney Hungry!

Fireworks “Believe in the Holiday Magic”:

The Holiday fireworks show begins at 9:30pm and you will want to sit either near the castle or small world for special lights.

Santa:

You can see Santa in a few different locations (because Santa is magical like that). Here are his where abouts…

• Disneyland in Critter Country at Pooh’s “thotful spot”
• DCA at the Redwood Creek Trail

• Disneyland Hotel
• Grand Californian Hotel (our personal favorite to sit by the fireplace, meet Santa and hear carolers sing)

• Paradise Pier Hotel

Christmas themed characters: 

All the characters are out and are in their festive outfits. Our favorite places to see them at Disneyland are around Town Square and Toon Town. For DCA we can usually find our favorites around Buena Vista Street.

Special Season themed rides:

• Mater’s Jingle Jamboree in Cars Land at DCA
• Luigi’s Joy to the Whirl in Cars Land at DCA
• Small World Holiday at Disneyland

• Haunted Mansion Holiday at Disneyland

Hotels: 

All the hotels have Santa come for a visit and they all have adorable Christmas themed decorations. Our favorite is the Grand Californian Hotel. It has a huge lobby with alternating live music; either a piano player or Christmas Carolers. There is a larger-than-life gingerbread house where you can find tons of hidden Mickey’s and a lovely fireplace to sit and warm up with a hot cup of coco. They sell sweet treats, hot apple cider and coco in the lobby and you can also meet Santa in the later part of the day. Honestly, it’s our favorite place to go if we need a relaxing spot when the park is crowded or to just soak in the holiday magic.

Merchandise:

 It wouldn’t be Disney without all the adorable themed merchandise!;) You can find holiday goodies everywhere and trust me when I say it’s all so fun. The ears, the jersey’s, the pj’s, it is so, so good!

“Holiday Time at the Disneyland Resort” Guided Tour:

This is a separate ticket price of $99 per adult (15% discount for annual pass holders), for a Disney guide to show you all the magic of the parks during a 2 hours tour. It also allows you to have reserved seating for the Christmas parade with hot chocolate and sweet treats. Tours run at 12:45, 12:50, 3:30, 3:35 weekdays and weekends.

There are also special VIP Tours all year long that include valet parking, fast passes for ALL rides, VIP seating for shows, parades and fireworks. These tours run about 6 hours in length and are $500 per hour.

Have you ever been to a Christmas time at Disneyland? Or any Disney Park? What is your favorite part?

And here are a few of my favorite Disney sweaters if you are looking for something new to wear this holiday season (and I even included some for the entire family).

You can also check out Lunar New Year HERE, which is coming up soon. Or you can read about Valentines Day HERE.