Overview
December is a great time to visit Disneyland for the joyful Christmas Disney experience. The entire resort is decked out with holiday decorations including massive Christmas trees, lights, beautiful decor, and music. The holidays permeate the Parks with fun holiday food and merchandise. It’s Christmas everywhere you look.
The entertainment schedule is about as good as it gets with Parades, Fireworks, and other entertainment. Disneyland celebrates the holidays starting in mid-November through the first week of January. Every day in December is Christmas at Disneyland.
November and December are our personal favorite months to visit Disneyland because of the amazing holiday experiences. Check out our article on Best Times to Visit Disneyland for more about our favorite times to go.
Disneyland 70th Anniversary Celebration
Disneyland celebrates it’s 70th anniversary from May 2025 through Summer of 2026. The official anniversary date was on July 17th, 2025.
There are 2 primary offerings for the 70th anniversary. The Paint the Night Parade is amazing. It probably won’t run during Christmas though because Disneyland has a wonderful Christmas parade that runs at night also.
- Paint the Night Parade – this is a huge fan-favorite that hasn’t run since 2018. It’s a brilliant nighttime electrical parade with over a million LED lights. It’s visually stunning with lots of popular Characters. This is a must-see Parade. It probably will not run during in December because there is a Christmas Parade.
- New Animatronic figure of Walt Disney – There is a new show staring an animatronic figure of Walt Disney himself. It’s in the Disneyland Story theater which had the Presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln show. This new show is Walt Disney – a Magical Life and it’s now a major new attraction for Disneyland.
Other offerings for the 70th include fun new foods, anniversary decor, and a game using a key you can buy. The Toy Story ride in California Adventure Park has some extra point opportunities. These extras are all good fun, but the main draw is the two items mentioned in the bullet points above.
Christmas in the Parks
There are many special activities for the holidays:
- Meet Santa in the Parks and Disney Hotels
- The Haunted Mansion Ride changes to Haunted Mansion Holiday. It has a stunning Nightmare Before Christmas overlay that is a must see.
- The Small World ride facade is decorated with thousands of Christmas lights. It’s spectacular at night.
- The Disneyland Castle is decked out for Christmas with lights and snow. It’s beautiful.
- Festive Food Marketplace Food booths in California Adventure Park deliver some more varied cultural festive food options. Lots of fun and excellent food and drinks to try.
- Christmas Fantasy Parade at Disneyland Park
- Believe in Holiday Magic Fireworks at Disneyland Park
- World of Color – Season of Light holiday show at California Adventure Park
- Classic Disney Characters in their holiday outfits
- Other holiday entertainment
- For experts, there are select days that offer fresh, hand-pulled, 18 inch large candy canes. It’s a big deal to get one. It involves lining up at Candy Palace (Sunday, Tuesday) or Trolley Treats (Monday, Wednesday) before Park opening. They give you a return time. We’ve never done it, but they look amazing and it’s on our Disneyland bucket list.
We never miss the holidays at Disneyland. We think Disneyland brings happiness and joy all year long, but it’s especially happy at during the holidays.
Weather in December
The biggest downside to Disneyland in December is the colder weather. Average temperature highs/lows are 70°/48°. Average days with rain is 4 days which isn’t bad compared to most of the U.S., but it’s a lot of rain for Anaheim.
While this doesn’t sound cold, there is a chill in the air. It’s not great pool weather, so it’s probably less important to get a hotel with a great pool.
Crowds in December
The early weeks of December are good for crowds with mostly average wait times for the first 2.5 weeks. Then things get busier starting the Friday before school holidays. It’s very busy during the weeks of Christmas and New Year’s.
The best crowd calendar available is at Thrilldata.com because they collect the most data on wait times and that’s where we get our information.
All Magic Key Annual Passholders are blocked out on the weeks of Christmas and New Year’s. The Parks are still incredibly crowded.
If you go on busy school break days, you can manage crowds:
- Buy Lightening Lanes
- Become Lightening Lane experts because crowds eat up the availability early
- Sequence rides like a Pro
- Arrive 1 hour before Parks open
- Make dining reservations 60 days in advance
- Take afternoon breaks when Parks are jam packed
Summary
December is a great time to visit Disneyland if you’re excited about the holiday cheer that Disneyland delivers. We love it! This is usually our longest trip because there is so much to see and do during the holidays at Disneyland.
We avoid the school holiday period in late December. If that’s the only time you can go, then we say go.
Thanks for reading this and please check out our full website for lots more content. We at the Bippity Club wish you the very best and hope you enjoy an awesome Disneyland trip!
