Christmas at Disneyland. Does it get any better? My family doesn’t consider our holidays complete without a visit to the parks to enjoy the festive Disneyland Christmas season.
From fabulous seasonal food to vibrant holiday decor and spectacular shows, it simply can’t be beat Use this guide to make the most of your 2025 holiday season visit to the Disneyland Resort this year.
Is this your first trip to Disneyland (or the first time in a long time)? Here are our best Disneyland tips and the best rides at Disneyland Resort.
Disneyland Christmas 2025- Everything You Need to Know
When Does Disneyland Decorate for Christmas?
The official Disneyland Christmas 2025 season runs November 14 – January 7. As usual, Disneyland will be decked out in its holiday best with a massive, 60-foot Christmas tree in Town Square on Main Street. The tree has 3,500 lights, 1,800 Victorian-style ornaments, and 100 oversized faux candles. Holiday music is piped in, making the atmosphere cheery and fun.
Expect to see 80 wreaths, 120 bows, and 220 garlands measuring four miles in length on Main Street!
10,000 poinsettia and 10,000 cyclamen plants have been planted around the Disneyland Resort to keep the gardens festive as well. 300 additional trees are brought into the resort during this time of year to keep things extra festive.
The atmosphere is festive during the day but when the sun sets and the lights turn on, it becomes downright magical.
More than 25,000 sparkling lights drip down Sleeping Beauty’s Castle like icicles, and vibrant holiday decorations trim nearly every nook and cranny of the park. The ever-popular “Christmas Fantasy” Parade starring Santa Claus returns to put us all in the Christmas Spirit. Disney traditions continue with Disneyland’s “Believe… in Holiday Magic” fireworks show which is capped off with a snowfall finale.
New for 2025: In the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge area, Chewbacca will appear for the holidays wearing his Life Day robe, nodding to the Star Wars Holiday Special
Tip: Head to Disneyland mid-week during early to mid-December when the park is lower on crowds but high on holiday magic. Disneyland tickets are typically less expensive during these times as well. If you do visit Disneyland during weekends or busy holiday periods, take advantage of the extended park hours and Disney Genie + and Lightning Lanes to get the most out of your family’s Disneyland experience.
Christmas at Disneyland Park 2025
It’s a Small World Holiday
For over 20 years, the ride we all know and love has transformed into a holiday wonderland with “it’s a small world” Holiday. The ride’s 300+ audio-animatronic dolls take a break from singing the namesake song and instead belt out Christmas music- Deck the Halls and Jingle Bells in 10 different scenes throughout the ride.
Guests will have a “scentsational” experience on this ride. There will be cherry blossoms in Asia, cinnamon in South America, coconut in South Seas, and pine and peppermint in Europe.
The attraction is especially worth visiting at night when the front facade is illuminated with 50,000 lights and 350,000 mini-lights light up the surrounding trees and topiaries. Every quarter hour, the facade also features a brilliantly-colored projection show. It is so cute to watch the clock open and see wooden dolls from various nations do their little parade.
This attraction is very popular to be sure to utilize the Lightning Lane to avoid long waits in the queue.
Fun fact: It takes two dozen cast members 35 days to install the facade outside and 18 days to decorate the interior!
Haunted Mansion Holiday
Haunted Mansion Holiday continues to enchant visitors with its seasonal tribute to Christmas as celebrated in Jack Skellington’s Halloweentown from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
The ride is quite different from what you experience during the rest of the year and many regulars, my family included, think that the holiday version is even better than the original.
There are over 400 flickering candles and 100 jack-o-lanterns throughout the attraction. 7,500 square feet of snow covers the graveyard scene, and 1,000 tiny orange lights illuminate the trees. In all, more than two dozen additional animated figures are added to the ride during the holiday season.
For over 20 years a giant homemade gingerbread house has been in the Haunted Mansion ballroom and checking out the new house each year is something us regulars enjoy. This year’s gingerbread display took Disneyland Resort chef’s over 240 hours to create. The design features a Giant Gingerbread Zombie named Lil’ Franky, created by Dr. Finkelstein and his assistant Igor. It is five feet tall and six feet wide!
A Christmas Fantasy Parade
To celebrate the season, all your favorite Disney characters dance about during A Christmas Fantasy Parade. This parade first debuted in 1995 and has become an annual tradition. As a matter of fact, it is the longest running parade in Disneyland history!
Disney princesses, along with Mickey and his gang, make appearances alongside the guest of honor, Santa Claus. Marching tin soldiers, life-size gingerbread cookies, and rollerblading snowflakes join in the fun as well. There are 16 different parades in this festive parade, as well as two Christmas trees.
The parade usually runs a couple times per day but I prefer to watch it at night with the 25,000 lights adorning Sleeping Beauty castle in the background.
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Holiday Fun with Santa and Friends!
A new experience has been added to Disneyland Park for this holiday season. At the Fantasyland Theatre guests can meet Santa Claus and a few other favorite Disney characters. There will also be craft making and holiday sing-alongs to enjoy in this area.
Disney Christmas Food
An important part of any Disneyland holiday experience is enjoying some of the special treats which are only available during the holiday season. Every year specially selected desserts are available for purchase at several eateries around Disneyland. We tried our best to eat our way around the resort and barely scratched the surface!
Tasty treasures include the peppermint cake at Plaza Inn, peppermint holiday sundae and the peppermint cold brew float at Gibson Girl, holiday ornament macarons and Mickey gingerbread at Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe, peppermint Mickey-shaped beignets with peppermint bark dipping sauce at the Mint Julep Bar in New Orleans Square, holiday wreath funnel cake at Stage Door Cafe, and a gingerbread sundae at The Golden Horseshoe.
For a full list of the holiday food offerings at DIsneyland, check out the Disney Parks Blog.
There are also a variety of gingerbread Mickeys, cookies, candy pops, cupcakes, holiday caramel apples, marshmallow snowmen, macarons, and festive churros that can be found throughout the parks.
Holiday Time at Disneyland Guided Tour
If you still can’t get enough of Disney during the holidays, consider taking the Holiday Time at Disneyland Guided Tour which will give you an up-close look at what goes in to both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure’s holiday transformation.
In addition to the tour guests will receive reserved seating at the parade and holiday-themed treats. Reservations for this tour can be made online, at Disneyland City Hall on Main street or by calling (714) 781-8687.
Disneyland Holiday Merchandise
Another one of my favorite things to do during the holiday season is check out all the new merchandise. There are some extremely cute Christmas sweaters and jammies this year, and I couldn’t resist picking up a new Santa Mickey sweatshirt. I also found a Disneyland Christmas platter that I couldn’t resist and a Mickey snowman mug which had my name on it.
Loungefly backpack fans will love this year’s holiday gear and the holiday Mickey and Minnie plush are exceptionally adorable.
Ornaments are probably the most popular holiday items and you can get select holiday ornaments hand-personalized at the Plaza Point holiday shop on Main Street. You can also get ornaments personalized inside of Julius Katz & Sons in Disney California Adventure. These make for excellent gifts.
Holidays at Disney California Adventure Park
Disney California Adventure won’t take a backseat to its sister park during the Christmas season! Every year, DCA ups its game, creating its own winter wonderland full of fun! Santa can be found at the Redwood Creek Challenge as he has been in year’s past, but there is somuch more to get excited about!
Disney California Adventure Holiday Decor
Buena Vista Street is trimmed in its holiday best, complete with vintage-style ornaments. At the center of Carthay Circle is a 50-foot Christmas tree. Over on newly imagined San Fransokyo Square, themed garlands adorn the fronts of the restaurants. My favorite is the Chinese takeout-themed garland in front of Lucky Fortune Cookery.
Mickey’s Happy Holidays
“Mickey’s Happy Holidays” is a dance and sing along that has quickly become a DCA holiday tradition. Mickey, as well as various other Disney and Pixar characters, rock our to high energy music which is led by Holiday Toy Drummers.
Expect to see Mickey, Minnie, Chip n’ Dale, and even the Country Bears! The show runs twice daily as it makes its way through the park, stopping at Paradise Gardens and Carthay Circle for special show moments.
Christmas in Cars Land
Cars Land has been transformed into holiday wonderland- Radiator Springs style! Where else will you see trees trimmed with hub caps, bright orange tinsel encircling a tower of bright orange road cones, a snowcar, and a tow truck donning a Santa hat? Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters gets in the spirit as Luigi’s Joy to the Whirl and Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree is Mater’s Jingle Jamboree for the duration of the season.
The Cozy Cone Motel food stands have plenty of great holiday food offerings. Cozy Cone Motel 1 has a coffee chip churro. Cozy Cone Motel 2 is offering the Christmas Tree Cone which has peppermint soft-serve decorated with holiday sprinkles.
Cozy Cone Motel is offering a savory Chicken Pesto Cone filled with creamy pesto alfredo pasta, marinated chicken, balsamic glaze, bruschetta tomatoes, and Romano cheese. And finally, Cozy Cone Motel 4 has the Gingerbread Mule which is made with cinnamon whiskey, ginger beer, lemon juice, and gingerbread syrup.
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Viva Navidad
We love Viva Navidad which celebrates the Hispanic culture that such a big part of life in Southern California. The Three Caballeros host a street party in front of Paradise Gardens. There are featuring Mexican folklórico dancers, mariachis, Brazilian samba dancers, and giant mojiganga puppets as well as appearances by Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse on bikes!
On Monday through Friday evenings head to Buena Vista Street to enjoy A Musical Christmas with Mariachi Alegría de Disneyland & Miguel. It includes an appearance by Miguell from Coco and a singing of “Silent Night”.
Mirabel’s Gifts of the Season
Introduced in 2024, street performance starring many of your favorite characters from Encanto including Mirabel, her sisters, and Bruno! There are several songs and lots of dancing to keep everyone entertained. You can catch this show Monday through Friday during the holiday season outside of the Paradise Gardens Arch.
Disney Festival of Holidays
One of our favorite parts of the holiday fun being offered at Disney California Adventure is the Festival of Holidays that celebrates the diversity of the season and cultural traditions from around the world.
There are some new performing groups to keep things fun as well as returning favorites like Phat Cat Swinger and The Mistletoes. They will be performing all over the park at spots like Sonoma Terrace, Paradise Gardens Park, and the Hollywood Sound Stage.
Several food, drink, craft, and merchandise marketplace kiosks line the main drag from the entrance to Cars Land to Paradise Gardens. Be sure to grab a Festival of Holidays booklet from one of the park kiosks so you don’t miss a thing.
There is so much to eat (and drink!) at the Festival of Holidays. We suggest purchasing a Sip and Savor Pass at any of the Festival Marketplace carts. It will come on a lanyard and can be used to redeem eight food and non-alcoholic beverages at the festival. This year instead of pull tabs your lanyard will come with a barcode and pin key to use at the cash registers.
Some of the standout options this year include the new Sticky Toffee Pudding Macaron at Favorite Things, the Holiday M&M’S Éclair at Merry Mashups, and the returning Al Pastor & Pineapple Slider (now updated) at the Winter Sliderland-style booth.
Also look out for the Holiday Mash Bowl (chicken, cheddar mashed potatoes, turkey gravy & cranberry stuffing crunch) at Merry Mashups, and the Barbecue Pulled Pork Cornbread Bake at A Twist on Tradition.
Check out the Disney Parks blog for a full list of Disney Festival of Holidays offerings for 2025.
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Holidays at the Hotels of the Disneyland Resort
Be sure to stop by the gingerbread house in the lobby of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. The exterior of the gingerbread house resembles the outside of the hotel and stands nine feet tall! This year it will also feature Chip ‘n’ Dale in the same pjs theywear to the Mickey’s Holiday Pajama Party Breakfast at Storytellers Cafe inside of the hotel.
Hot chocolate and holiday-themed snacks will be offered at the nearby Grand California Hotel Lobby Cart.
Pixar Place hotel has 331 decorated trees celebrating 10 different Pixar films. There are over 6,500 ornaments on these tree and several were created by resort enhancement computer artists and glittered by hand.
If you are staying at any of the Disneyland Resort properties this season take time to check out their holiday displays, entertainment offerings, and special holiday menus. Disneyland Hotel features a retro theme with silver trees and bright colors.
Daisy’s Holiday Pajama Party Character Breakfast at Storytellers Cafe
A brand-new holiday delight for 2025 is the Pajama Party Character Breakfast — a cozy, festive way for families to start their day before heading into the parks.
Located inside the Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, guests are invited to arrive in their comfiest holiday pajamas and enjoy a special breakfast filled with seasonal treats while beloved Disney characters make the rounds in their own adorable holiday PJs.
Expect warm cinnamon-spiced dishes, festive pastries, and plenty of photo-ops with Mickey, Minnie, and friends dressed in whimsical sleepwear.
Mickey’s Christmas Carol Character Dinner At Goofy’s Kitchen
This year, the DIsneyland Hotel will also be hosting the Mickey’s Christmas Carol” Character Dinner, bringing the beloved Dickens-inspired story to life through dining and character appearances.
During this limited-time holiday experience, families can enjoy a seasonal buffet while meeting Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and other favorites dressed as characters from the classic film — think Mickey as Bob Cratchit, Scrooge McDuck as Ebenezer Scrooge, and more.
The dinner will be hosted at Goofy’s Kitchen inside the Disneyland Hotel, transforming the restaurant into a cozy, Victorian-themed holiday scene complete with storytelling moments, photo opportunities, and Christmas Carol–inspired décor. It’s an immersive holiday feast perfect for families who want an extra dose of Disney magic during the Christmas season.
Downtown Disney also gets into the holiday spirit with seasonal food and shopping as well as a capella carolers strolling and singing at night. They also have 12 decorated ornaments hidden throughout the district as part of the the new Chip and Dale’s Ornament Trail experience which can be enjoyed November 14 through January 7, 2026.
Guests can purchase an activity map at select shopping locations in Downtown Disney or one of the Disneyland Resort hotels to help their search and then redeem it at World of Disney or Disney’s Pin Traders for a holiday keepsake.
Lead photo by Disneyland Resort.
I was first attracted to the world of blogging because I was a mother of infant twins and I wanted to show others that if I could travel with two young kids and expose them to many adventures that would shape their lives, then so could they! I received my degree in Communications from UC Davis in 2000 and have had a passion for writing since I learned to use a #2 pencil many moons ago.
I am proud to have been featured as a top family travel writer by USA Today and have been featured in the Orange County Register, Huffington Post, CBS LA, MSNBC, Backpacker Magazine, and countless other publications over the years. I have also had the joy of working as a writer for some of my local tourism bureaus, Destination Irvine and Visit Anaheim, as well as providing my expertise on many projects including building family travel tourism in Peru and family-focused articles for Vail Resorts.
I have worked with the biggest players in the family travel industry including Disney Resorts, Disney Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Marriott, Hilton, Adventures by Disney, KOA, Visit Britain, Visit Norway, Visit California, Visit Florida, and so many more amazing organizations than I have space to list.
I currently live in Orange County, CA with my husband, twin son and daughter (who are now Seniors in high school!), three rescue dogs, and one rescue cat. My favorite things (besides travel) are the San Francisco 49ers, animal rescue, Mexican food, being outside, being crafty, and my ridiculously large crystal and mineral collection.
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