During the holidays at Disneyland, you'll find a variety of decorations, merchandise, entertainment, and more in celebration of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival also known as the Festival of Lights. The Hanukkah religious celebration spans eight days and commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem by lighting a candle each day of the festival, but throughout the holiday season at the Disneyland Resort you'll find Hanukkah celebrated.
During recent years, the celebration of various holidays has been more prominent across the Disneyland parks, most notably with the Festival of Holidays at Disney California Adventure. Keep reading for more information about how Disneyland celebrates Hanukkah and the decor, entertainment, and merchandise you can look forward to across the parks! We'll discuss all of the references and touches for the holiday throughout the parks.
Though we often refer to this holiday season as “Christmas at Disneyland”, the official Disney message is that this the “Holidays at Disneyland” and they say that because there has been a concerted effort to branch out from celebrating just the traditional Victorian Christmas. There has been a big effort to deliver celebrations for other holidays in the period and also other styles of celebration of even Christmas. Here we'll dive into what you can find for Hanukkah across the Disneyland Resort.
Hanukkah at Disneyland Dates
The Hanukkah celebration at Disneyland discussed below runs the same length as the Disneyland Holidays celebration. The dates for last year's celebration were November 10 through January 6. The holiday celebration in 2024 will begin on November 15, 2024. No end date for the 2024 holidays celebration has been announced yet.
Hanukkah at Disneyland Merchandise
At Plaza Point, the holiday shop on Main Street U.S.A., you'll find a collection of Hanukkah merchandise to celebrate the holiday, as pictured above and below.
Across the parks, there is Hanukkah merchandise available near almost all of the racks with holiday merchandise. You'll find these items in shops on Buena Vista Street and Main Street U.S.A.
You can explore merchandise like a Hanukkah plush with Mickey in blue and white holding a menorah, a Hanukkah shirt featuring Mickey and friends, a Hanukkah Minnie ear headband, a cute light-up blue Hanukkah Loungefly backpack, and a Hanukkah plate set. Disney previously shared that last year's Hanukkah collection was the largest to date!
There are also other menorah decorations around the top of the store that you can see in the Instagram shot below. Also, a shout-out thank you to Carlye Wisel for the below post which was one of the only ones that shared info on Hanukkah at Disneyland when no one else was, so I wanted to be sure to include in our article.
View this post on Instagram
Hanukkah at Disneyland Decor
At both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure, you'll find display windows with Hanukkah decor and merchandise.
On Main Street U.S.A. at Disneyland Park, you'll see Hanukkah merchandise and decor in the window of Disney Clothiers. You can see some of the merchandise mentioned previously in the picture below like the shirt, Loungefly, Minnie headband, and more, as well as a menorah and dreidels in the window display.
See a closer look at the Hanukkah decor displayed in the window above.
Over at California Adventure, in the window of Julius Katz & Sons on Buena Vista Street, you'll find a window decorated for Hanukkah including a dreidel garland, Hanukkah plates, Hanukkah gelt, and more, as seen below.
Hanukkah at Disneyland Festival of Holidays Craft-Making Tables
You can also explore the Festival of Holidays craft-making tables at Downtown Disney daily from 11 am to 5 pm, where you can make paper garlands in the colors of Christmas/Navidad, Hanukkah, Diwali, and Kwanzaa. See a picture of the garland below! We love the concept of this and think it's a really fun and heartwarming way to celebrate the holidays.
The area also contains signage for each holiday describing why they are celebrated and their significance.
Hanukkah at Disneyland Festival of Holidays
The Festival of Holidays at Disney California Adventure celebrates several holidays, including Christmas, Navidad, Diwali, Kwanzaa, Three Kings Day, and Hanukkah. As part of the festival, foods and entertainment inspired by Hanukkah will be featured at the park.
Mostly Kosher at Sonoma Terrace celebrates Hanukkah through a blend of klezmer, jazz, Latin, and rock. They perform daily at the Hollywood Lounge Stage with several performance times in the late afternoon and early evening.
As part of the Festival of Holidays soundtrack, you'll also hear songs like “Ma'oz Tzur”, “Oh Chanukah,” and “Happy Hanukkah” in the rotation. Some of these may have been updated as of last year.
You'll find festival marketplace offerings inspired by Hanukkah foods, like the Savory Kugel Mac and Cheese and Brisket Slider (two of our favorite foods we tried at the Festival of Holidays). In past years, the Festival of Holidays featured foods like Reuben Potato Bites, Loaded Latkes, Lox and Everything Bagel Nachos, and more.
Hanukkah Music at Disneyland Park
In addition to the Hanukkah-inspired entertainment at the Festival of Holidays, you'll be able to see a Hanukkah section featured in the Believe In Holiday Magic fireworks spectacular at Disneyland Park featuring an instrumental excerpt of “I Have a Little Dreidel.” See our favorite less crowded places to view the fireworks!
In Mater's Jingle Jamboree, the holiday overlay of Mater's Junkyard Jamboree in Disney California Adventure, you'll also hear Mater's fun twist on “I Have a Little Dreidel” themed around tractors with lyrics like “Oh, tractors, tractors, tractors, I love to watch ‘em spin, and when they get all tired, they stop and then I win!” in the song rotation for the attraction.
You can about the Festival of Holidays and Christmas at Disneyland for everything you need to know about celebrating the holidays at the parks, including entertainment, food, ride overlays, and more.
Plan Your Disney Vacation Today!
For the best resource and helpful information for planning your Disney trip, make sure to subscribe to our FREE Deals newsletter. We’ll provide you with helpful planning information, exclusive Disney deals, and access to the lowest-priced Disney tickets anywhere.
You can find more information on planning your vacation in our guides:
Related Posts
Disclosure: We have used all the products recommended on Mickey Visit. We may receive compensation when you click on links to some products featured.
I’m glad you finally are celebrating Hanukkah at Disneyland. Before you only had a small menorah in a window. Nice to see you are celebrating by showing the holiday in parks and stores. The holiday should have been celebrated every year. Just like you do Christmas The only one thing: Hanukkah is for eight nights. Should only be for that long. Not keep it going afterwards. That’s not right. That’s disrespectful for people who are celebrating Hanukkah.