The Disneyland Christmas parade is the must-see event of the holiday season at Disneyland. A Christmas Fantasy parade runs twice daily during the Christmas Disneyland season and includes a variety of Disney favorite characters plus adorable snowmen, gingerbread men, and reindeer, and concludes with a float of Santa in his sleigh.
A Christmas Fantasy is my favorite Disney parade and I watch it every year during my trips to Disneyland for the holidays. I love this parade and I am going to spend time describing all the best floats in this parade, my best viewing tips for the best view, and the options for reserved parade seating!
Keep reading for all the best information you need for the Disneyland Christmas parade. We visit Disneyland weekly and update all our viewing tips with the most recent strategies.
Discount Disneyland Tickets
Our favorite Disney-approved re-seller, Get Away Today, offers the best Disneyland discount tickets around. In addition to great discount prices, their customer service and easy support is absolutely fantastic. They have an entire department dedicated to making sure every order has a wonderful experience and they are on-call to help you during your vacation if you need them.
Get your discount Disneyland tickets here through our exclusive link!
Disney Ride Closure ALERTS, Major Changes, Secrets Revealed
Get alerts on closures, park changes, exclusive discounts, and free printables. Trusted by 100,000+ Disney fans & planners.
Buying tickets from Get Away Today is easy and convenient since all their tickets are sent electronically. You can take their vouchers and head straight to the gate without needing to wait in any ticket booth lines. They also offer layaway plans so you can pay off your vacation over time.
A Christmas Fantasy Parade
A Christmas Fantasy parade has been a Disneyland tradition since 1995! This parade is nostalgic for many Disneyland guests especially those that grew up going to the parks. This is the perfect memory to make with your children. My son still remembers his first time watching this parade and it’s one of his highlights every year at Disneyland Christmas.
The parade takes place at 3:30 PM and 6:30 PM.
The parade has seven different “units” or groupings, that follow before and behind each float. Let’s go through each unit of the parade and its accompanying parade float!
Opening
The opening of the parade includes the iconic music box float with a dancing ballerina and stuffed teddy bear. Toy soldiers march along the route playing trumpets and snare drums.
Santa’s Mail Room
This parade float features Mickey and Minnie, Chip ‘n’ Dale, and Pluto. There are also mailroom elves that perform on the float and next to it.
Welcome to A Winter Wonderland
This is one of the largest parade units featuring a variety of snowpeople, skiers, skaters,f followed by a large moving Christmas tree. The ending of this unit includes Anna and Elsa on a Frozen-themed float with Olaf.
A Recipe for Gingerbread Treats
This unit features Clarabelle Cow and dancing gingerbread cookies along with a gingerbread float.
Candlelight Christmas Ball 
This is one of my favorite parts of the parade! This unit of the parade is focused on the traditional Disney Princesses and their Princes along with ballroom dancers along the parade route.
There are a ton of characters featured in this section including Lady Tremaine, Drizella, Anastasia, Snow White and her prince, Tiana, Prince Naveen, Cinderella, Prince Charming, Aurora, Prince Phillip, Belle, and the Beast, Ariel and Prince Eric.
Santa’s Toyland 
This unit of the parade features popular Toy Story characters like Jessie, Green Army Men, Sheriff Woody, and Buzz Lightyear on top of a giant toy-themed parade float.
Santa’s Finale
The finale of the parade features dancers singing Christmas carols in front of a moving Christmas tree before Santa concludes the parade in his sleigh on the Finale float led by walking reindeer!
In the above video you can see this beloved parade from the viewing area in front of “it’s a small world” Holiday. More on our favorite viewing spot for the parade below!
Disneyland Christmas Parade Viewing Tips
The Disneyland Christmas parade follows the traditional parade route from it’s a small world to Main Street. The parade takes place first at 3:30 PM by “it’s a small world” Holiday and ends at Main Street. The second parade of the day starts at 6:30 PM on Main Street, U.S.A., and ends by “it’s a small world” Holiday.
I personally prefer viewing the evening parade since you will get to see all the holiday lights the parade includes. It just feels more magical to me!
Here are my top favorite viewing spots for the Disneyland parades:
- Close to It’s a Small World: This is the least crowded viewing area and offers plenty of space including access to restrooms and snack kiosks that is convenient for parents with kids. Plus you will have a great view of “it’s a small world” Holiday all lit up! It’s a magical place to wait.
- On the side of Alice in Wonderland: The perk of this spot is that it is located right by drinking fountains and bathrooms. But we love this spot since at this point in the parade route there’s no seating on the other side so all the performers will focus right on you!
- Near the Disneyland Hub: Cast members will put up ropes preventing guests from entering the parade route, once these ropes come up it’s a great place to grab a spot since cast members start removing them about an hour before parade time.
- Near the Disneyland fire station: Similar to the trick above, if you hover in this location about 20 minutes before the parade starts cast members will rope off the area in front of the fire station making it a great place to grab a last-minute front row spot.
For the holiday season, my favorite spot to watch A Christmas Fantasy Parade is by “it’s a small world” Holiday. My traditional plan is to make sure we’re in a good spot by 5 PM so we can view the lighting for “it’s a small world” holiday which typically takes place around 5:15 PM and watch the second parade that comes by at 6:30 PM. I typically coordinate a Disneyland Genie+ reservation for “it’s a small world” Holiday for right after the parade ends. Since the parade will be coming from the direction of Main Street, U.S.A. I would make sure the return time begins around 7 PM so you can hop right in line after the parade.
Another favorite parade spot I utilized during Disneyland Christmas is right in the middle of Main Street in front of Jolly Holiday Cafe with a view of the castle to the left and the holiday tree on the right. But we had to put in some serious time commitment for this spot especially since we sat on a bench! This ended up being over a three-hour wait. I don’t necessarily recommend this but for my family, it worked as I was able to just use this time to relax a bit and save my son’s spot while he enjoyed rides. When he came back, we got a mobile order from Jolly Holiday Cafe and ate on our bench which does help pass the time. If you view my photos in the above section, you can see what a lovely view this was! But I put in the work and time to get it. That might not be feasible for every family to do especially if you have limited time in the park.
The Plaza Inn Dining Package for the Christmas Fantasy Parade
Like most parades throughout the year, The Plaza Inn will offer a dining package with reserved viewing with a holiday-themed menu for A Christmas Fantasy Parade. This dining package includes a to-go meal you can eat on the Plaza Inn patio and a reserved viewing area for the parade along Main Street, U.S.A. This year’s dining package menu includes:
- Meal Options: Holiday menu of turkey, macaroni and cheese, seasonal vegetables, stuffing and cranberry sauce with a holiday dessert. Vegetarian options are also available upon request. Kids’ meals combine chicken tenders and macaroni and cheese with a choice of side, holiday dessert and a beverage.
- Price: $39.99 per adult and $24.99 per child (ages 3-9) – tax not included; gratuity not required
- Reservations made between 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM will receive a voucher for the day’s second performance of A Christmas Fantasy Parade
Reservations are recommended for all dining packages. You can make your reservation up to 60 days in advance on the Disneyland Dining site or by calling (714) 781-DINE or (714) 781-3463 between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM daily.
While it can be convenient to have a reserved spot, I do not recommend this unless you already planned on eating at the Plaza Inn. You can easily get a spot for the parade on your own without paying the extra cost of a Disneyland dining package.
A Christmas Fantasy Parade is my favorite Disneyland parade and it’s perfect for the holiday season. I hope you enjoy viewing it as much as our family does each year. Use our recommended tips to get the best viewing spot so you can get a great view for this holiday parade.
Start Planning Your Disneyland Vacation!
Don’t want to miss out on all the fun parade offerings this summer? Now is the perfect time to start planning your vacation! The best way to get started is by subscribing to our FREE deals newsletter here. Subscribers receive helpful planning tips, Disney deals exclusive to our readers, and access to the lowest-priced park tickets around. Check out our other helpful resources for planning your trip:
