The year is going by quickly, and Disneyland is already sharing news about what to expect for its holiday celebration. This is a very popular time to visit, with festive decor and foods, special ride overlays, and seasonal entertainment in the parks. While many elements of the Christmas celebration stay the same from year to year, there are a few notable differences in 2026 you should be aware of.
Below, we will break down the new changes and reveals that Disney just shared, as well as what you can expect when visiting during the celebration. One is a pretty unexpected change that young families will be happy about. Keep reading for all of the details! Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including amazing new Indiana Jones ride details just revealed, and when Disney World’s major new rides may open.
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Disneyland Christmas Changes in 2026
Christmas at Disneyland is returning in just a few months, with favorite offerings like the seasonal parade and fireworks show, “it’s a small world Holiday,” themed foods and drinks, and much more.
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The first change to the season was previously announced but very easy to miss, since it was a fairly recent adjustment. Disneyland unexpectedly changed the start date of the holiday celebration to November 13, extending it to be nearly a week longer. When they had shared the original start date at the end of last year, we were surprised to see it unconventionally starting on a Wednesday. However, they have adjusted this to the standard start, with the celebration now kicking off the second week of November.
The festivities run from November 13, 2026 through January 6, 2027, so there is plenty of time to visit and enjoy the holiday offerings. This wide range of dates gives visitors the flexibility to visit during times of lower crowd levels to avoid the peak crowds during the last week and a half of December.
New this year, Mickey, Minnie, and the rest of the crew on Main Street will appear in new outfits that aim to evoke “the spirit of holiday travel and a wintery alpine gathering.” Disney typically only reveals the outfits for Mickey and Minnie and then shares the looks for the rest of the group (Chip, Dale, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, and Clarabelle) right before the start of the celebration. These new looks are pretty cute! It’s always fun to see the characters in their special seasonal outfits.
The biggest holiday change to note is that Santa will appear at a new location this year, allowing for the popular Bluey show at Fantasyland Theatre to continue during the holidays. Now, Santa will meet guests through December 24, 2026 at Mickey’s Toontown Trolley Barn near Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin in Disneyland. He will also appear at his other standard locations throughout the resort, but this meeting spot is new as of this year.
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For the past few years, Holiday Fun With Santa & Friends has taken place at the Fantasyland Theatre, where guests can enjoy entertainment offerings and activities like meet-and-greets with Santa and Disney characters, music performances by The Dickens Yuletide Band, storytime, sing-alongs, crafts, and snacks. The Disneyland website stated up until this morning, when the page was deleted and the language was removed, that this was scheduled to return in 2026 to the space, meaning Bluey would not operate. However, with this new change, the Bluey show will continue to run at Fantasyland Theatre.
We were originally surprised that Disney would boot a very successful offering from the space, even if just temporarily, so this change makes sense to us. This does seem to mean that the rest of the activities and offerings of Holiday Fun With Santa & Friends will not be returning this year. It seems like, based on this new information, the only thing that will be preserved is the meeting with Santa in a new location.
For guests who are interested in staying onsite, they can take advantage of a new 2026 Disneyland Resort Hotel offer. Starting September 22, guests can book to save up to 20% on select stays of three or more nights at Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, Pixar Place Hotel and The Villas at Disneyland Hotel for stays from October 11 – December 18, 2026.
In addition to these new changes in 2026, many of the traditional Christmas offerings are returning to the parks. This includes “World of Color – Season of Light” at Disney California Adventure Park, which did not run last year due to the 70th anniversary celebration show running. We’re happy to see this holiday show return. At Disneyland Park, both “A Christmas Fantasy Parade” and the “Believe… in Holiday Magic” show with fireworks and snowfall will return.
As per usual, Haunted Mansion Holiday runs through the holidays, and “it’s a small world” Holiday, Mater’s Jingle Jamboree, and Luigi’s Joy to the Whirl all get special overlays.
The Disney Festival of Holidays returns to Disney California Adventure, featuring six food marketplaces across the park and plenty of entertainment. The celebration will include the return of the “Mickey’s Happy Holidays” cavalcade and Paradise Garden Bandstand live performances, as well as “A Musical Christmas with Mariachi Alegría de Disneyland & Miguel!“, “Mirabel’s Gifts of the Season,” and the Disney ¡Viva Navidad! Street Party on select days.
The holiday character dining experiences with seasonal menu items and characters in themed outfits will also return, running from November 16, 2026, through January 3, 2027. Disney shared that reservations will be available on Disneyland.com at a later date. This includes Goofy’s Kitchen Celebrates the Holidays! at Disneyland Hotel, Daisy’s Holiday Pajama Party at Storytellers Cafe at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, and Mickey’s Christmas Carol Feast at Storytellers Cafe at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.
Disney will also release a full lineup of limited-time holiday foods and beverages for the 2026 celebration across the resort. Make sure to join our Mickey Visit newsletter below to be the first to see the holiday foods and other news about the celebration as it comes.
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