Disneyland Christmas 2026 Ultimate Guide

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Our ultimate guide to Christmas 2026 at Disneyland & Disney California Adventure offers tips & tricks for visiting during the holiday season. This provides info about seasonal ride overlays, fireworks, parades, entertainment, parties, decorations, and dates.

Christmas at Disneyland starts on November 18, 2026 November 13, 2026. After previously announcing a later start date, Disneyland moved forward the date. The Holidays at the Disneyland Resort will now begin November 13, 2026 and conclude on January 6, 2027. The “earlier” November 13, 2026 start date is now in-line with recent precedent, but late by long-term historical standards, and disappointing given that Halloween gets longer each year.

We’re locals who normally visit the parks weekly, and Christmas is our favorite time of year at Disneyland. We’ll be booking a hotel for the Holiday Time kickoff so we can stay late and be up early, and we’ll have updates on everything new & returning once the holiday season starts. If you want to be notified when Christmas posts are published or other Disneyland news is announced, subscribe to our FREE email newsletter!

Here’s hoping that next year, Christmas at Disneyland begins on November 5, 2027. I’d even settle for the following Tuesday!

For over a decade, Holiday Time at Disneyland began on the Friday of the Veterans Day long weekend. That would be November 6, 2026. Instead, the actual start date is a week later, on November 13, 2026.

The delay is disappointing, especially with Christmas being one of the busiest times of year at Disneyland. The first week after Veterans Day used to be a time for reliably low crowds…which might be why Disneyland has delayed the start of Holiday Time.

What’s New & Returning for Christmas 2026

On a positive note, World of Color – Season of Light is officially confirmed as returning for Christmas 2026! The Season of Light version of the nighttime spectacular was not presented last year due to Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary, when the Happiness version was shown. Season of Light has been fairly on and off over the years, despite being the #1 or #2 version of the nighttime spectacular. We cannot wait to see it again.

Another addition for Christmas 2026 is the debut of Santa’s new location at Mickey’s Toontown Trolley Barn, near Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin. No details have been provided about Santa’s Toontown Trolley Barn, but permits were filed earlier this year for conversion of the 1,500 square foot space from storage into a meet & greet. Hopefully this becomes a permanent character spot and Roger Rabbit appears here after the holidays!

On the way to see jolly St. Nick, little ones and their families can stop by “Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” in Disneyland to wiggle and dance as Bluey and her sister, Bingo, continue to make appearances at the Fantasyland Theatre. The second part of this is why the first part is changing. To the surprise of no one with small children, Bluey is immensely popular.

Accordingly, “Bluey’s Best Day Ever!” is replacing “Holiday Fun with Santa and Friends!” at the Fantasyland Theatre. Selfishly, this is disappointing. “Holiday Fun with Santa and Friends!” was always way less busy than “Bluey’s Best Day Ever,” and a great way to escape the crowds. But that also pretty easily explains why it’s happening. Disneyland obviously needs to keep Bluey around, even if I’d personally prefer the calmer seasonal offerings. Thankfully, our toddler loves both!

Otherwise, what Disney has announced for Holiday Time at Disneyland mostly amounts to confirming the return of fan-favorite entertainment. See: What’s New, Returning & Changing for Christmas 2026 at Disneyland & Disney California Adventure for a full rundown.

New 2026 Christmas Character Costumes

As for what else will be new for Christmas 2026, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and some of their friends will don new holiday attire that captures the spirit of holiday travel and a wintery alpine gathering created just for Christmas 2026. Beyond the mice, these characters usually include Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Pluto, and Clarabelle.

These costumes change every year and are a huge hit with fans, and make for fun merchandising tie-ins. Meeting the characters for Christmas can be a tad tricky. All of these meet & greets are in Town Square, but the locations aren’t clearly marked, the characters rotate, and most do not have PhotoPass. If you want to meet them, your best bet is being in Town Square between 9:45 am and 2 pm, which is when most of them appear.

Failing that, some of them are back out in the evenings. Those appearances are more sporadic, and characters are not out during the fireworks or parade. Another option is seeing them at the very beginning of the day, shortly after Disneyland opens and they appear at the Train Station; they also do the same thing at the end of the night. This is not a meet & greet, but you can get selfies and see them much more easily.



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