I have always loved going to Disney, but experiencing it during the Christmas season truly takes it to a whole new level! Last weekend I headed down to Disneyland with some of my girlfriends thanks to Get Away Today {affiliate link} and The Grand Legacy at the Park. We spent the weekend playing and eating at The Happiest Place on Earth and had an absolutely amazing time. Today, I wanted to share my top 10 reasons to visit Disneyland at Christmas and give you a little peek at what the parks are like during the holidays.
Disneyland’s Christmas 2016 season runs until January 8, 2017. Obviously, this will be an extremely busy time of year at the parks, but if you’re a Disney fan, it will definitely be worth it! Weekdays and earlier in the mornings will be your best bet for lighter crowds especially if you can visit during the first two weeks of December.
The Festival of Holidays
The Festival of Holidays is located in Disney California Adventure and celebrates holiday foods and traditions from all around the world. There are 14 different themed food stands set up along the Pacific Warf walkway with a wide variety of delicious foods and drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic!) from different cultures. While you’re eating, you can enjoy street parties, musical ensembles, and other cultural celebrations. It’s a great way to take a little break from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the parks – just sit, eat, and enjoy!
I spent most of my time at the Yuletide Yummies stand and loved the frozen chocolate milk with whipped cream and sprinkles and the mocha yule log. And the pumpkin spice hot chocolate was really good too!
Viva Navidad! at Festival of Holidays
You can catch this high-energy street party several times per day in Paradise Gardens. It’s led by the Three Cabelleros and even Mickey, Minnie, and Mrs. Clause and Santa make an appearance. Grab your food at the Festival of Holidays marketplace and get ready to be entertained. Latin American flare meets Disney magic!
World of Color – Season of Light
This fourth edition of World of Color is definitely something you don’t want to miss! Enjoy all of your favorite Christmas carols and Disney characters with this magical, nighttime water spectacular. The 1200 fountains shoot water up to 200 feet in the air while the lights and lasers are so beautiful. This show is extremely popular so you will need to get a Fast Pass if you want a prime viewing location. This was definitely my favorite show so be sure to add it into your schedule!
Holiday Rides
Three popular rides at Disneyland Park are transformed for the holidays and you won’t want to miss them! “It’s a Small World” Holiday is now in its 20th holiday season and the 300,000 lights are absolutely amazing. The photo just really does not do it justice and it’s something that you really need to experience. Even if you choose to ride it during the day when the lines are a little shorter, be sure to head over at night to take in the lights.
Inside, they’ve added snowmen, icicles, and snowflakes while the dolls sing Jingle Bells and Deck the Halls in a variety of different languages. It’s a nice change from hearing It’s a Small World over and over again. 🙂
The Haunted Mansion Holiday is inspired by Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and I was amazed at how completely transformed it was. Santa Claws {AKA Jack Skellington} welcomes you to his Christmas celebration and you won’t want to miss the giant gingerbread house display {be sure to take a big sniff!}.
The Jingle Cruise is the last of the holiday rides and probably my least favorite of the three, although still worth the experience. The Skippers have become homesick for the holidays and have decided to decorate the queue and boathouse with a variety of Christmas ornaments. The same cheesy humor is present on the boat ride but with a holiday twist and lots of fruitcake jokes. If you have little ones, you may want to cover their eyes as you pass the tigers as there were a few headless reindeer lying on the ground. Eek!
Cars Land
My favorite area in California Adventure is Cars Land so I was super excited to see it all dressed up for the holidays! Each address along Route 66–from Flo’s V-8 Café to Luigi’s Casa della Tires–features creative holiday décor in the spirit of Cars. Make sure you visit both during the day and at night – it seems like a totally different experience as the sun goes down. Radiator Springs Racers continues to be an extremely popular ride so be sure to get your fast passes for this early in the day (they do run out!) or head over to line-up as soon as you can get into the park.
A Christmas Fantasy Parade
Find all of your favorite Disney characters {and of course Santa himself!} dressed up for the holidays in Disneyland’s “A Christmas Fantasy” parade. It’s not quite as spectacular as the evening parades with all of the lights, but still really enjoyable and full of that Disney holiday spirit!
I had to catch a snap of my favorite character too…
Disney Paint the Night Parade
The Disney Paint the Night Parade returns for selected nights during the holiday season. If you happen to be there while it’s showing, be sure to check it out! The floats and lights are amazing and you can still hit up both this and World of Color if you have a park hopper pass.
The Food
Thank goodness we walked so much while we were at Disneyland because I ate a ton of food!! In addition to all of the traditional Disney food favorites {can you say Dole Whips and Churros?}, there are a number of holiday themed treats that you can pick up throughout the park. The Rice Krispie treats are always a favorite of mine and who can resist them all dressed up for Christmas?
The candy cane beignets from Cafe Orleans are another limited-time treat not to miss and a great way to start off your morning! We grabbed a couple and headed off to the rides while the lines were shorter.
My favorite treats were these chocolate covered peppermint marshmallows. I even ran over to Downtown Disney the day we left so I could grab one more before heading home!
Sleeping Beauty’s Holiday Castle
The castle is always one of the highlights at any time of the year, but it’s truly spectacular at Christmas time. It’s covered in snow capped turrets and 80,000 sparkling Christmas lights that provide a magical experience. 4-5 times per night, you can catch the lighting ceremony at the castle complete with a “snow fall” of gingerbread scented snow along Main Street, U.S.A. I ended up seeing this by accident and I’m so glad that I did!
Believe… in Holiday Magic! Fireworks
A trip to Disney is just not complete without a fireworks show! The holiday fireworks, Believe…in Holiday Magic!, are set to instrumental versions of many traditional Christmas songs. While Mainstreet is always a popular location to view the fireworks, we watched from the rooftop patio at The Grand Legacy at the Park. It was a great view with the music being piped through – and no crowds to brave afterwards! If you are in the park, however, you will get to experience the post-show “snow-fall” on Mainstreet, U.S.A., New Orleans Square, and It’s a Small World.
Whew! It was a whirlwind couple of days but SO much fun! I can’t wait to go back with my husband and kids the next time. I must admit that it was a little strange being at Disneyland without them!
If you’re considering a Disneyland trip or even just a vacation to southern California, check out the amazing vacation packages and discount Disneyland park tickets at Get Away Today. You can even lock in the deal now with Get Away’s vacation layaway plan for a minimal down payment. Instead of buying Christmas presents this year, a family Christmas vacation may be just what you need! 🙂
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Beautiful post! Cars Land is my favorite too, so many details! So glad we could all experience it together! Can’t wait to do it again:0)
I had such a good time with you!! Thanks so much for inviting me!
I’ve been to Disneyland for both XMAS and HALLOWEEN and XMAS takes the cake!!!!! Ugh. I actually could totally go back before the end of the year – It just reminds me that the holidays are HERE!
I still haven’t been for Halloween yet and would like to experience that. But I LOVED Disney at Christmas!