Disneyland just debuted the launch of the Disneyland Christmas celebration across the resort. Decorations are everywhere, holiday music is filling the air, and the resort feels more magical than ever. I say that even after the first day of the holidays was quite rainy and wet yesterday while we were there. As the celebration kicked off, Disney added a couple of last-minute surprise changes to the celebration this year. These come after other changes we already shared.
I’ll dive into the specifics of the changes for 2026 and also give you an overview of some of the standouts from the holiday season at Disneyland this year based on our initial experience. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including a look at all the new Disney lands being built at theme parks around the world and details on the Disney and Universal military discount tickets.
Disneyland Christmas Changes For 2026 Celebration
The Holidays at the Disneyland Resort run from November 13, 2026 to January 6, 2027. The celebration stretches across the entire resort. Highlights include holiday versions of popular attractions including it’s a small world holiday, Haunted Mansion Holiday, Mater’s Jingle Jamboree, and Luigi’s Joy to the Whirl. This time of year also brings tons of entertainment across the parks with parades, live music, fireworks, a unique World of Color, and more. The feeling in the parks is generally enhanced by the decorations everywhere. Note: If you are planning a trip, be sure to check the prices from our travel partner for the biggest savings on hotels and tickets. They give Mickey Visit readers exclusive savings. CLICK HERE to book your trip now!
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Add to all of that the special Disneyland Christmas foods for 2026 and Disney Festival of Holidays foods for 2026. I’ll dive into some new favorites below. We also checked out the new Disneyland Christmas popcorn buckets for 2026 and all the Disneyland popcorn buckets in November 2026. We have a FREE printable of all the Disneyland Christmas and Disney Festival of Holidays foods in a FREE PDF printable. Click here to get your free copy.
Let’s dive into the specific changes for 2026.
On the first day of the holidays, Disneyland announced that a new Marvel show featuring Deadpool and Star Lord will take place in front of Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! in Disney California Adventure.
The show is called Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Dance Off! HOLIDAY EDITION and is about 11 minutes long. The show has Deadpool self-reverential jokes and fun holiday music. The two characters get the crowd fired up and dancing along.
On Main Street, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and their friends all have new outfits inspired by a wintry alpine gathering. My favorite part of the outfits is stitched in details themed to trains. On Mickey’s hat there’s a train track and on Minnie’s bow there is a locomotive.
Here’s an up close look at the two characters with their new outfits in the media center for the kickoff of the holidays. The other characters follow a similar motif.
This year, the Santa Claus meet and greet in Disneyland Park has moved from Fantasyland to Toontown. The Bluey show remains in the Fantasyland Theatre where the Santa Claus meet and greet took place last year.
In the old trolley barn to the right of Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, Disney has set up a new meet and greet space for Santa Claus. The space is themed with Toontown touches.
Disney calls this “A Toontown Christmas with Santa”. The Junior Woodchucks of the World have invited Santa to visit and decked the space out in jolly decor themselves. Guests can spot handmade scouting-inspired decorations, along with stockings for famous Junior Woodchucks like Donald Duck’s nephews Huey, Dewey, Louie and other beloved characters from the classic Donald Duck comic books, “DuckTales” television series and more. There is a very cute map on the wall tracking Santa to the meet and greet location. Here’s a look at the setup. Mrs. Claus was also in the meet and greet area when we were coming through.
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Note the very cute Chuuby bird, a character that was first introduced in Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, at the top of the tree but is now added in other spots in Toontown.
Guests can also meet Santa Claus at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail in Disney California Adventure Park or at any of the three on-property hotels, where his attire fits each hotel’s theme. We love the mid-century modern style of Santa Claus at the Disneyland Hotel.
In it’s a small world holiday, there are some fun details and prop additions that were highlighted by our friend at the LA Times, Todd Martens, who walked the ride with the set decorators before the ride was refilled with water and opened to the public for this year. These details were new to me and made me appreciate the overlay even more. The fireworks in the Asia scene were taken from the Main Street Electrical Parade when the finale float there was changed, seen below.
Another couple of fun facts from the LA Times article: every doll in the finale scene of the attraction gets some unique change for the holidays including something like the addition of holly, a choir book, or just a sparkle; the ride holiday decorations are actually stored inside the ride throughout the year in and around the ride boat flume; Disney made an effort to reduce the closure time for the holiday transformation which led to a four day shorter closure and an estimated 74,000 rides on it’s a small world for guests.
They also shared that the set designers can compare images from last year against their current decorating efforts to ensure that no small detail is missed during the ride transformation.
If it’s a rainy day when you visit, expect the wonderful A Christmas Fantasy parade to switch to a Christmas cavalcade offering. You’ll still get to see your favorite characters and Santa and Mrs. Claus come down the street on Main Street vehicles.
Jumping back to Disney California Adventure, there is another important change to note. Disney ¡Viva Navidad! is moving from Paradise Park area to Hollywood Land due to the ongoing construction of the new Pixar Coco-themed ride. This wonderful street party show features favorite Disney characters in their festive attire, live performances and entertainment.
That show only takes place on the weekends while “Mirabel’s Gifts of the Season” and “A Musical Christmas with Mariachi Alegría de Disneyland & Miguel!” take place on weekdays. Make sure to note this if your trip stretches over weekdays and weekends to be able to see both.
There is a contingency plan for “A Musical Christmas with Mariachi Alegría de Disneyland & Miguel!” if it is raining. They move that show into the Disney Theater just inside Hollywood Land where the Disney Jr. Show takes place during the day. We saw it in there and the atmosphere was almost better for young kids to take in the experience. It even snows inside! Seek that out if it is raining and the show is scheduled. We recommend the show rain or shine as a wonderful entertainment addition.
World of Color – Season of Light returns twice a day at 9 PM and 10:15 PM. Last year the holiday version of World of Color did not play in favor of running the 70th anniversary version of the show. We are excited to have this show back.
Also, stop and enjoy Mickey’s Happy Holiday character procession as it comes down the parade route! This is a cute show that’s low commitment and lots of characters in holiday costumes. It brings a great energy that kids love without the need to wait for a parade.
We tried a variety of the Festival of Holidays foods for 2026. Of the holiday foods this year, the Festival of Holidays offerings have more new items than the general holiday offerings across the resort. This year they have relied heavily on returning favorites and items that have stretched on from Halloween to the holidays. Based on analysis of the food guide, there are 12 new food items in Disney California Adventure and 8 new food items in Disneyland.
The Festival of the Holidays favorites that stuck out to us were the Sweet Potato Pecan Pie and the Turkey Tamale with gravy and cranberry sauce. We also tried the new Chicken Pot Pie Wings. The chicken was tender, but the gravy made it unnecessarily messy and difficult to eat balanced on a trash can.
One of the other new food items that just debuted at Pym Test Kitchen really stood out! This is the French Dip Grilled Cheese Sliced prime rib and mozzarella with onion mayo, caramelized onions, and beef jus served with potato bites. It was moist, tender, and delicious.
There are a couple of decorations changes that we spotted already this year. The firefly jars that were hung in the trees along the Grizzly Peak walkway have now been replaced by lights in the trees. They were a cute effect, but if they weren’t reliably working then I understand the change. The Christmas tree in Disney’s Grand Californian lobby isn’t up yet as of the first day of the holidays, though that is standard practice. We expect it soon.
The Gingerbread House in Disney’s Grand Californian lobby is up and culinary artists will be at work completing the addition in the coming weeks. I love getting to watch them work on finishing the details on the house.
We’ll be back at Disneyland throughout the holiday season bringing you updates on any further changes. Be sure to check out our full recap of other scheduled changes and shifts for the year including others for entertainment here. Also, read about a recent set of changes impacting rope drop at Disneyland. The Holidays at Disneyland are always my favorite time of the year due to the added layer of special offerings. Even with a rainy kickoff day, it was a wonderful return.
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