8 reasons to visit the Disneyland Resort during the Holidays!

Oh the holidays at Disneyland – is there anything more magical? I think not!  Disneyland resort during the holidays is always beautiful and it seems to get more spectacular every year. From the festive decorations to special shows, to treats you can only enjoy from November 12 – January 6th there are so many reasons to get excited about a Disneyland Resort getaway during the holidays. The Happiest Place on Earth just got Merrier! So I thought I would share 8 reasons to visit the Disneyland Resort during the Holidays!

1) The REAL Santa is there! 

Sure, your kids can meet Santa at the mall, the library, and maybe even at their school – but I can only assume the REAL Santa would spend his time at the Disneyland Resort, and from the looks of these pictures it is hard to deny the authenticity of this Santa Claus. My kids have met Santa several times, but they have said to me, “I know sometimes Santa is just a Santa helper, but that one is probably the real one.” a few times – and always at Disney!

If you are hoping to meet Santa on your trip to the Disneyland Resort you should know that he is at Elias and Company now through Christmas. Elias and Company is a store inside Disney California Adventure Park. When you enter Disney California Adventure Park you will find Elias and Company just to your left when you duck under the Golden Gate Bridge.

While there will be a line on the busiest of days, it is certainly no longer than at the mall and Santa takes great pride in giving each child personal time and posing for great pictures. I suggest visiting Santa first thing for the shortest line. We went to visit on a pretty busy Saturday morning and there were only 3 families ahead of us!

Seriously, the world’s best Santa!

Check out the beautiful Holiday time decorations, shows, and treats on the following pages…..

2) Holiday Decorations!

From the moment you step onto Main Street USA you are transported into a Holiday wonderland. You will hear sleigh bells on the horse drawn carriages, take a picture in front of a 60 foot tall Christmas Tree, and marvel at the snowy, sparkly Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.

I love seeing that beautiful blue sky with the holiday decorations across. So pretty!

Make sure to check out New Orleans  – I really love the bright colors used in their Holiday Decor!

There of course is beautiful Christmas and Holiday decor all over Disney California Adventure Park, but Radiator Springs is our family’s favorite!

And is there anything more festive than Sleeping Beauty’s castle covered in holiday ornaments and sparkly snow?!

There really isn’t!

Brace yourself, the next page involves Disney Characters dressed up for the holidays…..

3) Disney Characters Dressed up for the Holidays

We love taking pictures with Disney Characters. My littlest still thinks they are so real and they only live at Disneyland. It is so sweet to see her acknowledge that her favorite Disney friends are all dressed up for wintery holidays.

“Look Mommy!  Him has a Christmas sweater!  Awww dat is so cute!” – Little Miss C – direct quote

I mean….. Eeyore in earmuffs alone is worth the trek to Disneyland during the Holidays. Right?

Yes, that is ‘Mater in a Santa Hat. Little Miss C could barely handle the cute long enough to stand still for a picture.

*this one is from last year – look how little they were!*

Did you know you can ice skate at the Disneyland Resort now?  You totally can – click to the next page to find out where….

4) Ice Skating on Downtown Disney

Olaf’s Frozen Ice Rink is brand new this year!  If you are looking for a little Disney Holiday magic and aren’t quite sure you want to go into one of the parks you can still have a wonderful time on Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney offers awesome shopping, great restaurants, and live entertainment!  It is all dressed up in Disney Holiday style! A very cool addition this year is ice skating!

Ice Skating is offered 7 days a week on Downtown Disney during the holidays – check the photo below for all the times!

Ice skating is fairly reasonably priced – between $10 and $17 per person which includes skate and helmet rentals. Remember your socks or you can buy a pair for $3. I want to point out that there is an awesome discount for military so make sure to bring your proper Military ID if you have it!

Olaf’s Frozen Ice Rink is located on the Disneyland Hotel side of Downtown Disney. After skating you can warm up with a cup of hot cocoa, warm cookies, or something else from one of the Holiday timey treat stations just outside the rink!

Some rides are dressed up for the holidays including an all new attraction – check it out on the next page…..

5) Holiday Rides

We have enjoyed the Haunted Mansion‘s transformation to The Nightmare Before Christmas before, but we never miss it. I love that this is a special treat for Halloween and all the way through the New Year. Halloween and Christmas collide to make this fun tradition. Make sure to keep and eye out for Jack and Sally who are available for pictures during the holidays!  *Hot Tip* Make sure to grab a FAST PASS for the Haunted Mansion!  The line can get quite long especially during the holidays but a Fast Pass is a great way to bypass the line!

It’s A Small World Holiday. The holiday transformation of It’s A Small World is one of the sweetest things in Disneyland. I don’t think we have ever been to Disneyland without a ride on It’s A Small World – especially during Christmas time!

*NEW* Jingle Cruise – the classic ride “The Jungle Cruise” gets a merry twist and becomes the “Jingle Cruise”. My big kids LOVE all the scripted puns on The Jungle Cruise and really appreciated the new jokes. We loved all of the cheery decor all throughout the ride. The line seemed to be a bit longer than average but it is worth a few extra minutes I promise!

“That’s funny.” – Sister J; 8 years old

click through to see photos of Disney Holidays – Holiday Treats…..

6) Holiday Treats

Disneyland Resort is known for some of the cutest treats on Earth anyway, but you add a holiday into the mix and all of a sudden it is delicious cuteness overload. Disney’s caramel apples are always the best. These snowflake Mickey caramel apples are big enough to split and only available during the holidays!

The kids each enjoyed one holiday treat of their choosing on our first day – can you guess the theme?

Marshmallow Olaf on a stick was deceptively rich. My boy really enjoys sweet treats – and while this was fairly small he couldn’t finish it. I would suggest having two kids share this treat.

Little Miss C enjoyed a snowflake Frozen inspired cookie. She almost always chooses a cookie as her Disneyland treat – and this one reminded her of Elsa.

J enjoyed an Olaf sugar cookie. I believe you can get all of these Frozen inspired treats throughout the year, they technically are not holiday themed but since they were winter themed and they are crazy for Frozen we wanted them to get what they most wanted. #FrozenfortheWin

Cake pops at Disneyland are seriously so so good – and all these little Olaf’s lined up in a row – I can’t handle the cute.

Below is one of my personal favorite newest additions to Disneyland………….

It’s soup you guys.

I know what you are thinking “Kate, they had soup before at Disneyland, this is not news.”  Yes, they had soup but they now serve it in a souvenir cup!  WHAT?!  I know. OK, so I am not normally big on souvenir food and beverage items (should I admit that?). But this is totally something I got excited about. One – I love drinking soup out of cup. Second – I hope we can go back on a day that it is just a little bit chilly and we can drink our soup in a cup on the curb as we wait for the Christmas Fantasy Parade. I think this is such a great item for while you are in the park and also a fun little thing to bring home. While I might not reuse a soda sipper cup, we use these soup souvenir cups to pack warm food for the kids school lunches. They have reported back that it does keep the food warm until lunch time- nice!

Baymax Souvenir Sippers are kind of a phenomenon at Disneyland Resort right now. As I stated, I am not personally into a souvenir cup – but this one stole my heart. We didn’t get one this trip, but it might happen the next time. Unlike the traditional ‘picture of a cool character on a fancy cup’ souvenir sipper, this sipper is shaped like Baymax. Baymax has a removable straw in his back as well as a removable base. You can use the base to display his adorableness or remove it as a toy. It’s just justifiable on so many levels….. as I write this I am having some serious regrets about not bringing one home.

Kate, that is a Dole Whip, that isn’t a holiday time treat. Whatever, I ate it a couple days before Thanksgiving and Instagram was all “we totally like this picture.”  I just thought it was fun to point out that Christmas time in SoCal is often still lovely warm weather where it is totally appropriate to choose ice cream for your holiday treat!

Special Disney Holidays Parade & shows on the next page…..

7) Holiday Parade & Special Shows

• The Christmas Fantasy Parade in Disneyland Park is a tradition for our family. I remember seeing this parade growing up and it is so fun to watch my kids enjoying it now. An exciting update this year is the addition of Anna, Elsa, and Olaf to the parade!  The Frozen trio have their own float and I cannot explain to you how excited my girls were when they rounded the corner!

And here comes Santa again!

Disney Viva Navidad –  this festival celebrates Latino traditions with special parades, music, food, crafts, and more!  Disney Viva Navidad is held at Paradise Pier in Disney California Adventure Park.

I know this photo below is blurry, but I had to share – look at Goofy dressed for the party as a traditional Mariachi musician.

World of Color Winter Dreams – If you enjoy World of Color, you will love World of Color Winter Dreams during the holidays. Olaf joins the show and gives it a festive makeover.

Last but not least – check out a sneak peek in the Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa all dressed up for the holidays……

8)  Holiday Decor in the Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa

Even if you are not staying at Disney’s Grand Californian make sure to stop in the lobby!  This beautiful craftsman style hotel is the perfect setting for traditional Christmas decor. Check out the gorgeous tree in the lobby (I may or may have not laid down on the ground to get a photo that included both the kids at the bottom and the tippy top of the tree)

A team of bakers, engineers, and artists were working on the Grand Californian Gingerbread house while we were staying at the hotel. I have stayed at the Grand Californian before and it is always cozy and inviting, but when you add the smell of gingerbread to the lobby it is downright heavenly!  The ‘house’ is 12 feet wide and 7 1/2 feet tall!

If you are planning to spend some at the Disneyland Resort this Holiday season make sure to share your photos via social media!  Follow @Disneyland on Twitter and @Disneyland on Instagram – make sure to tweet questions and comments to @DisneylandToday (they totally tweet back!) – hashtag #Disneyland and #DisneyHolidays just for fun!