Surprisingly Great Best Weekend to Visit Disneyland! Dates, My Jam-Packed Trip Report, Tips

Disneyland during the holidays is one of the best times of year to visit the resort for all of the incredible decorations and offerings to celebrate the season. That said, it can be quite crowded in the parks throughout the holiday season. However, we found a perfect best weekend to visit.

Today I wanted to share one weekend during the holiday season that is surprisingly a great time to visit the parks for a fantastic guest experience with lower crowds and perfect atmosphere. You'll want to make note of these lower crowd dates to plan your holiday vacation. They are also great for consideration as you look ahead at the recently announced 2024 Disneyland special events.

I'll share why these dates have lower crowds and are actually protected to ensure the crowds are lower. Read on for our jam-packed trip report as we utilized our Mickey Visit morning strategy tips

Which is the best weekend to visit Disneyland in December?

The best weekend to visit Disneyland in December is the first weekend of the month. In 2023, the dates were December 2 and December 3. In 2024, Thanksgiving is late so the equivalent weekend is December 7 and 8. I wanted to share this article out that I wrote last year because it absolutely holds true as a fantastic time to visit. I'll be there again this year. You can see the predicted crowd levels on our Disneyland crowd calendar.

For those interested in visiting Disneyland to have a day touring the parks and experiencing attractions, these dates are perfect to visit the parks for a number of different reasons. I might even say that this is the best weekend of the year that there is for a first trip to Disneyland. The weekend is in directly in the middle of Christmas at Disneyland and features all of those great offerings running plus low crowds trying to get on attractions.

This bold statement and all of our following reasons that this is a great time to visit largely stem from the fact that the Disneyland Candlelight Processional is this weekend. The Candlelight Processional is a Disneyland event that is not publicized but happens during normal operating hours at the front of the Disneyland theme park. The event is a retelling of the nativity story with a celebrity narrator and hundreds of choir singers. The event has a private seating section for Disneyland Club 33 members, Disney executives, and other invited guests. While the event may sound enticing, I don't think this is the best weekend of the year to visit Disneyland because you should see the candlelight processional but because of the side effects of the processional occurring.

I don't have any evidence to back this up, but it appears that during the Candlelight weekend Disneyland actually offers fewer tickets and reservation slots for park guests because all of the people that are participating in the event. They may also allow fewer people into the parks because of the decrease in space during the evenings in the parks on Main Street. Regardless of if this is exactly true, we know for certain that there are a number of people in Disneyland that are more focused on seeing the Candlelight Processional than getting on attractions. This takes up park capacity in a good way and limits the number of people focused on riding attractions.

All of this is to say that the Candlelight Processional causes fewer people to be in the parks attempting to tour and see all of the standard offerings. In fact, during our recent Sunday that we were in the parks on this date we walked onto Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance with a 15 minute wait at 4 pm. We have found that the Candlelight Processional days at Disneyland are fantastic days to rope drop the parks and enjoy.

The other great effect of the Candlelight Processional is that every single Cast Member at the resort is on their top behavior and it feels like every park operations manager is out and about making sure that everything goes smoothly. I have never seen more Disney blue name tags (these are special name tags given to Cast Members honored for upholding the Disney legacy) working at the same time in the parks as I do on the Candlelight Processional weekend. They are all on their best behavior because senior leadership from Disney is known to be in attendance in the parks. We have seen Disney CEO Bob Iger and other leaders walking the parks the last two years on this weekend.

The weather in December at Disneyland is also fantastic. This weekend is almost always dry. I have been in the parks for almost every one of these weekends over the past 8 or so years and can't remember a time that rain came down. It is cold in the morning, sunny, and then cold again in the evening. With pants and a light jacket, you'll be perfectly prepared for a great day enjoying attractions.

You could argue that the period later in December starting December 20th when all Disneyland Magic Key Holders are blocked out from the parks completely could be less crowded because of the passholder base, but this wouldn't have the same effect as what we are describing. The reason that this first weekend of December is so great is that there are so many guests in the parks that are not focused on riding rides so the lines for the top attractions are far shorter. This actually flips in the back half of December when it is all tourists and the lines spike. This is actually when you could again see Genie Plus sell out.

Another reminder! The Disneyland Reservation window for tickets is now 180 days in advance so be sure to start thinking about making park reservations then.

I'll also add a personal note that amazing days like the one that I am about to describe below at the theme parks really give me a great sense of pride in the work that I do every single day here on Mickey Visit. After dedicating so much time to helping readers have a great trip and to evangelizing an experience that I love, having a fantastic parks weekend is one of the most gratifying experiences. The below was a great day that demonstrates the value of time spent at Disneyland and confirms to me why I continue to do what I do.

Now, on to my fun-filled trip report from Disneyland last weekend.

Trip Report of Disneyland December Weekend

Now, I'll dive into what we were able to accomplish throughout our day at Disneyland on December 4, 2023. We utilized a modified version of our Disneyland morning rope drop strategy combined with our Disneyland both parks one day itinerary. We woke up at the nearby Castle Inn and Suites and headed to the parks. Because we weren't staying on site at Disneyland we didn't have Early Entry at Disneyland. For that reason and because most of our group wasn't interested in Fantasyland that day, this was our itinerary.

Arrived at Disneyland pulled Haunted Mansion Holiday Genie Plus with a return time for 10 minutes later. On our way into the park we walked by the long line for the Disneyland hand pulled candy canes!

Walked on to Big Thunder Mountain. We actually considered riding twice in a row because it was so quick! During our quick moment here we Disneyland mobile order to schedule food for an hour later.

Then rode Haunted Mansion. The ride was still a walk on when we arrived so really could've saved Genie Plus for later that day if we had wanted to ride it again.

Walked up and grabbed our first Disneyland Christmas snack of the day (get our free Disneyland Christmas Foods printable here). The peppermint Mickey Mouse beignet was a great first bite of sugar in the morning. Good sign of things to come.

Rode Pirates of the Caribbean with a 5 minute wait.

Grabbed a quick photo for a secret story I’m working on for Mickey Visit coming soon (make sure you’re on the newsletter to receive it when I send).

We walked to Galactic Grill for our breakfast burrito and bagel sandwich. Around this time I checked Genie Plus for Disney California Adventure and pulled a Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! Genie Plus reservation.

Waited just 30 minutes for Space Mountain. Around 10 am I could see that the trend of a slow day was going to continue playing out. Peter Pan only had a 25 minute wait and Space Mountain only had a 20 minute wait posted.

Rode Star Tours. Note – we just got news on when new Star Tours scenes are debuting at Disneyland.

At this point it was almost 11 am and we strolled Main Street looking at the Christmas decorations and took a tree photo before crossing over to Disney California Adventure. During this time I also ordered lunch to eat in the newly completed San Fransokyo Square.

We stopped in the now closing hidden gem in the Disney Animation building before walking to Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! to ride. Right after scanning into the ride I pulled an immediate return time for Soarin' Over California.

After riding Guardians we grabbed a shawarma from the Shawarma Cart just outside the building. Note that there are actually two of these Shawarma carts.

We then walked to Soarin' to ride. Right after scanning in and BEFORE walking into the queue I quickly grabbed Genie Plus passes for the Incredicoaster to ride there just 20 minutes from then. Get your next Genie Plus before walking into the queue building because you will lose service.

Then we walked to Incredicoaster and rode. Toy Story Midway Mania was broken down when we were over there so I made note to keep an eye on that attraction in the app to aim for a multiple experience pass (see what that means here).

We then saw two great entertainment offerings – the Green Army Men and Mickey's Happy Holidays Cavalcade. Both of these offerings along with the Viva Navidad show that happens in this same area are demonstrations of what makes Disneyland during the holidays so special. There is just so much energy all going on at the same time!

We then enjoyed our lunch from the Lucky Fortune Cookery. The food here is fantastic and really leveled up with the Big Hero 6 overlay of the land. We loved the plant-based Yaki Udon and the Kaarage-inspired Crispy Chicken Sandwich. The Beef Birria Ramen was less impressive as the beef kind of got lost but still very good.

After lunch we check the Single Rider Line for Radiator Springs Racers. The line was visible from the front of the single rider line so it was a no-go! Not worth your time. It should not be visible before the bridge. Circle back here later!

We then enjoyed Mickey's PhilharMagic and asked the age old question of if Statler and Waldorf were still sitting up in their seats from when Muppet Vision 3-D was here.

Then we crossed back over to Disneyland for an afternoon that included using Genie Plus for Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, “it's a Small World” Holiday, the Disneyland Christmas Parade, riding Alice in Wonderland, and walking on to Rise of the Resistance around 4 pm.

We also rode Winnie the Pooh, grabbed my favorite peppermint brownie from Pooh's Corner, shopped around in Dok Ondar's Den of Antiquities and played with some Disney Star War lightsabers, and finally had dinner at Docking Bay 7. In general it was also a ton of fun to play around in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and see the characters and the fun show with Kylo Ren.

We then actually went and saw the Disneyland Candlelight Processional (we were super lucky to have a Disney connection invite us), but you could easily leave the parks in this moment to head to dinner or pop over to Disney California Adventure. The night before we enjoyed a dinner at the Hearthstone Lounge which I would definitely recommend and would have been a perfect addition to their itinerary.

We then hopped back to Disney California Adventure and in the final hour before park closing rode WEB Slingers and single rider for Radiator Springs Racers. We also grabbed an ice cream cone before heading over to World of Color to end the night.

As you can see above, generally we have a super low crowds day at Disneyland that was really easy to maneuver. All throughout there were also tons of magical touches and entertainment. Some of which I called out and other moments I didn't even add in.

Tips For Visiting During This Great Disneyland Weekend

If you do end up taking our advice and visiting during this hidden gem weekend next year, be sure to follow the below key tips. Generally the tips are about avoiding the crushing crowds associated with the Candlelight Processional event which allows for this to be such a great weekend.

1. If you are only visiting for one day, get a Disneyland Park reservation if you are able to. Based on our hypothesis above, the reservations for Disneyland Park are far more limited so you should see even fewer people starting their day in this park.
2. AVOID Main Street and Town Square between 5 pm and 8:30 pm if you are in Disneyland Park on these dates. This is where the Candlelight Processional takes place and the traffic here gets very congested and difficult to maneuver. The best place to be during this time is back in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge enjoying Rise of the Resistance with a lower wait like we did. During this time you could also enjoy other attractions in the back of the park. We even ate in Galaxy's Edge at Docking Bay 7 during this period of time. You could also be over in Disney California Adventure, but I would suggest staying in Disneyland Park in the back to enjoy some low waits.
3. Note that there is also a processional down the full parade route before the first showing of the evening (seen above). You could get caught by the parade route if you are not careful.
4. If you want to see a glimpse of the Candlelight Processional that we are talking about, you could walk out of the park during the showing. I'd recommend leaving during the second show if you want to see a glimpse.
5. Keep your eyes peeled for “famous” guests. A celebrity narrator will be at the resort to perform in the festivities as will senior Disney executives. This year the celebrity narrator was Brie Larson.

Again, note that you can easily visit Disneyland during the weekend this event is happening and avoid any negative crowd impacts completely by using the tips above.

So, in summary this first weekend in Disneyland will again be a great time to visit Disneyland in 2024 so you should consider looking ahead to lock in these dates. It continues to be the best weekend to visit Disneyland in December and perhaps the entire year.

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