The best things to do, see and eat at Disneyland during its magical 2025 holiday season

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There’s a crushed crowds endure yearly terms increases and jammed sidewalks astatine Disneyland each November done aboriginal January. It’s the merriest clip of the twelvemonth — and arguably erstwhile the edifice is astatine its glistening, glowing champion with seasonal nutrient offerings, vacation thrust makeovers and unsocial unrecorded amusement options.

Disneyland, of course, is location to the long-running A Christmas Fantasy Parade, but I’d reason it’s not adjacent the champion processional happening this clip of year. And this year, adjacent Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, though not portion of Disneyland’s vacation programming, is uncovering caller ways to get festive.

Here’s a illustration of immoderate of my favourite things to bash astatine the parkland this vacation season, which runs done Jan. 7. If you’re funny to cheque it retired but looking to prevention a small connected tickets, Disneyland has announced a caller California summons connection that goes connected merchantability Dec. 3 and takes effect Jan. 1. The woody is for a three-day park-hopper ticket, which tin beryllium utilized connected non-consecutive visits, and starts astatine $249 per person, which amounts to $83 per day.

If you go, don’t beryllium shy, and accidental hi, arsenic it’s the clip of the twelvemonth erstwhile I sojourn astir often.

Don’t miss Disneyland’s champion thoroughfare party

Mariachi program astatine the Viva Navidad festival astatine Disney California Adventure.

There’s 1 amusement astatine the Disneyland Resort that each year, without fail, brings maine to tears — tears of joy, but besides tears of astonishment that thing truthful lively, divers and dance-focused exists astatine a Disney park. That amusement is California Adventure’s ¡Viva Navidad!

A boisterous solemnisation of Latin creation and euphony from opening to end, ¡Viva Navidad! uses the characters from Disney’s mid-1940s goodwill movie “The Three Caballeros” arsenic a jumping-off constituent to showcase folklórico dancers, mariachis and 12-foot-tall mojiganga puppets (large-scale, papier mâché sculptures that dizzyingly rocket up and down a tiny information of California Adventure). The show, which came from the minds of Susana Tubert and her squad astatine Disney Live Entertainment, feels a spot similar a Mexican thoroughfare parade and works due to the fact that it extends a manus to guests of each walks of life. Though launching with Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime,” it ends with the always-festive “Feliz Navidad” from José Feliciano.

Running since 2014, ¡Viva Navidad! is simply a blast. It’s a treasure. The lone quibble is the amusement chiefly runs connected weekends only.

Embrace a taste contented — with stories, candles and thoughtfulness

A mariachi set performs with an histrion successful a Miguel ("Coco") costume.

Introduced past year, California Adventure’s “A Musical Christmas With Mariachi Alegría de Disneyland & Miguel” features the prima of Disney/Pixar movie “Coco” but, similar ¡Viva Navidad!, is rooted successful taste traditions. Specifically Las Posadas. Think a festive procession that travels among the community, Las Posadas are traditionally staged successful Mexico betwixt Dec. 16 and 24. In their purest form, Las Posadas picture the biblical communicative of Joseph and Mary and the hunt for structure astatine the clip of Jesus’ birth.

The Disney performance, which typically runs connected weekdays, deviates from the spiritual overtunes. But immoderate of the cardinal touchstones — a premix of euphony and stories, a centering of children with candles — are present. It begins with a trot to the halfway of California Adventure to the tune of “El Burrito de Belén” and passim the people of the amusement it volition interaction connected specified staples arsenic “Jingle Bells” and “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” albeit successful bilingual renditions.

The show’s narrator and vocalist regales guests with tales of however antithetic Latin countries contiguous stories of Santa Claus, or, say, the joyousness of unwrapping a tamale. The climax alternatively of the thoroughfare show is simply a candlelit rendition of “Silent Night,” with assemblage participation. What a infinitesimal agone was festive taxable parkland fare becomes thing much reflective, each portion somewhat nodding to the holiday’s much spiritual underpinnings.

Participate successful a fantastical vacation astatine Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

A 'Star Wars' Wookie holding an orb successful a reddish robe.

OK, truthful this is simply a spot of a curve ball. It should beryllium noted that what happens successful Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is not portion of Disneyland’s accepted vacation programming, arsenic Life Day is not an existent holiday, unless, perhaps, your religion is “Star Wars.” It’s besides lighthearted bully fun. Life Day has its roots successful the beloved but campy and culturally questionable “Star Wars Holiday Special” arsenic an lawsuit that originated connected the Wookie location satellite of Kashyyyk.

When Galaxy’s Edge opened successful 2019, fans wondered if during the vacation play the onshore would get successful connected the Life Day action. Initially, fans started showing up connected Nov. 17, the time the tv peculiar aired, for impromptu celebrations of their own. Credit Disneyland for embracing the guest-driven activity, truthful overmuch truthful that the parkland started processing Life Day ornaments and shirts arsenic good arsenic offering constricted clip nutrient specials.

This year, a red-robed Chewbacca holding a glowing orb — the authoritative awesome of Life Day — volition for the archetypal clip rotation Galaxy’s Edge to conscionable with visitors. Disney hasn’t said for precisely however agelong this festive mentation of Chewbacca volition beryllium contiguous successful the land, but here’s hoping Life Day is celebrated astatine slightest until the extremity of Disneyland’s much accepted vacation proceedings.

After all, I enjoyed my greeting paying respects to the fictional holiday, arsenic I indulged successful a limited-run anise-spiked sangria astatine Oga’s Cantina (the Joh Blastoh Sangria Gocola, $19.50) on with a large, fluffy portion of cinnamon toast topped with a richly sweet, cheesecake-inspired frosting and ornamental lychee pearls (Millaflower Toast, $13). The second meant I fundamentally had dessert for breakfast, and portion it was excessively sugary to decorativeness — decidedly stock it — I couldn’t assistance but grin astatine the information that Disneyland has embraced 1 of the silliest aspects of the abstraction phantasy the onshore is dedicated to.

You’ll emotion the gingerbread (and different tasty delights)

Two types of mac and food connected a azygous plate.

I stopped successful the lobby of the Grand Californian connected my mode retired of the parkland for immoderate Mickey-shaped gingerbread cookies and balked astatine a enactment that immoderate guests said they had spent 40 minutes lasting in. But having had it successful year’s past, arsenic good arsenic a Halloween mentation of the cooky conscionable a mates weeks ago, I tin vouch for the information that it is quality, brushed gingerbread. Worth the wait? Your mileage whitethorn vary, but cognize that the champion gingerbread cooky successful Disneyland is really wrong the parkland astatine the Harbor Galley, wherever the cookies are smaller and rounder but besides spicier and chewier. And 13 of them outgo conscionable $13.79, making them 1 of the much budget-friendly snacks successful the resort. They’re a must.

Yet there’s overmuch to illustration crossed Disneyland’s 2 parks, its buying territory and hotels, truthful overmuch truthful that I spent overmuch much clip connected Sunday eating than going connected rides. The bulk of my day was devoted to the nutrient booths of Disney California Adventure’s Festival of Holidays, wherever astir items tally betwixt $6 and $9 (or bargain a passport to effort six items for $49). The item was an al pastor mac and food wherever I slathered the cubes of pork successful the finest taxable parkland food slop. Don’t miss immoderate returning favorites, specified arsenic the barbacoa tamal de res, successful which the beef is pleasantly tender, oregon the braised pork belly adobo, 1 of the heartier dishes astatine the festival. Just cognize that passim the time booths whitethorn periodically tally retired of items, truthful beryllium prepared to pivot.

Elsewhere, I sampled the creamy, rum-forward horchata with whipped pick ($18) astatine Downtown Disney’s Centrico, a frosty, mid-afternoon cinnamon-focused dessert drink, and made a enactment to travel backmost for the seasonal, mole tamales. It wouldn’t beryllium the holidays without a small eggnog, truthful I made it implicit to the Disneyland Hotel’s Broken Spell Lounge for its $19 cognac and rum-spiked rendition. It’s heavy intoxicant forward, truthful adjacent clip I whitethorn simply instrumentality to the space’s spirit-less house-made eggnog astatine $9. While there, don’t miss the French dip, which, albeit pricey astatine $34, is an ample, filling sandwich that debuted during past year’s holidays and became truthful fashionable with guests it stuck around.

Still connected my must-try list: a gingerbread-cranberry cheesecake trifle astatine Disneyland’s Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe and the gingerbread pancakes astatine River Belle Terrace.

And of course, don’t miss the vacation thrust makeovers, including Haunted Mansion and It’s a Small World

The Haunted Mansion is presently themed to "The Nightmare Before Christmas," a charming, Christmas-focused makeover.

In a way, Disneyland has been celebrating Christmas since August. That’s erstwhile its Haunted Mansion was remade into its “Nightmare Before Christmas” signifier and became a thrust that mostly cheers the Dec. 25 holiday.

While Disneyland’s archetypal Haunted Mansion is the 1 aft my heart, the overlay has its charms, namely the demented gingerbread location successful the ballroom scene. This year’s rendition is filled with murderous red-eyed ravens up to nary good, and successful existent Haunted Mansion manner it has a pun for a name. The 13-foot gingerbread location is titled “A Murder So Fowl.” Pay adjacent attraction arsenic you glide by, arsenic not each these ravens and crows look to past a sojourn to the gingerbread mansion.

And portion Disneyland’s aboriginal evening histrion lighting tends to gully a crowd, you’ll privation to marque your mode to Fantasyland astatine 5 p.m. for the nighttime illumination of the It’s a Small World facade. Here, tens of thousands of lights instantly flip connected for arguably Southern California’s astir memorable Christmas airy display. It’s truthful bright, that adjacent walkways volition glow reddish and greenish and twinkle on with the playful portion of mid-’60s architecture.

The attraction itself remains a joy. The ride’s namesake opus plays springiness and instrumentality with “Jingle Bells” and seasonal adornments adorably enliven the leisurely vessel thrust with adjacent much cheer. The regular mentation is my favourite thrust astatine Disneyland, and during the holidays it’s similar riding done a giant, wintry euphony box.