Christmastime in Disneyland About This Page:

[AGentlRose]

We've been to Walt Disney World in November and December and love the holiday decorations and special events. I was wondering about Disneyland:
When does Disneyland have their decorations up? Are there special events like Epcot's Candlelight Processional and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in California? We did see the Haunted Mansion Holiday last October and loved the Halloween/Christmas overlay.

[HeatherD]

We go to Disneyland every December, since discovering how wonderful it is at Christmastime back in 2003 (we used to go in May prior to that). When we were planning our trip to WDW, we arranged it to be in December because we figured if Disneyland is this cool, how awesome will WDW be???? Turns out, I was a little disappointed with WDW. In the parks, they can't compare to Disneyland!

Disneyland has decorations everywhere, usually up mid-November (well before Thanksgiving). Small World is completely covered in fairy lights. They do not have MVMCP, but you get several of the "exclusives" of that party for your normal ticket price - snow on Main Street, by Small World and (I believe they added) Frontierland after the holiday fireworks, Christmas parade (no special shows or hot cocoa). They do have a Candlelight Processional, with celebrity narrators, but it's only one night and it's held in front of Main Street Station.

WDW doesn't change any of their rides, but Disneyland does. They change Haunted Mansion (as you mention) starting at Halloween and they change Small World in November. In the past, Santa's even had a home at Rudolph's Reindeer Round Up behind Frontierland. As that's now the Celebration Dining Hall, I'm not sure where Santa will be this year....

Disneyland isn't as big as WDW. They don't do elaborate gingerbread stuctures at the resorts. They don't offer extra parties for an additional fee (I'm not a fan of MVMCP, however, anyway). But, WDW can't hold a candle to what Disneyland offers to the regular guest during the holidays!

MIL was considering skipping our annual trip this year, to save some money. However, she's realizing that it just won't feel like Christmas without a trip to DLR, so she's socking away money to be able to go. Give it a try and see for yourself!

[eff051102]

We were at DL in Nov. 2005 (several days before Thanksgiving) and I
really don't remember any Christmas decorations. I did however notice the
tons of people there so that might have been why I didn't notice the decorations.

[AGentlRose]

Thanks. So glad to hear about the Disneyland decorations. We were thinking about going for a couple of days the week before Thanksgiving, thought we might catch some holiday decorations. We already have plans in place for a Nov 25 - Dec. 4 trip to WDW. I think that for Dec. 2010, we'll be going to Disneyland instead, it sounds wonderful.
I do have a question about the Candlelight Processional. Since it is only one day, I'm guessing it is very crowded. How far in advance do they announce the date?

[HeatherD]

I do have a question about the Candlelight Processional. Since it is only one day, I'm guessing it is very crowded. How far in advance do they announce the date?

I'm not sure, since we don't go specifically for it. However, I do believe it's usually held the first or second weekend in December. I could be wrong about it being a one-time event. Perhaps it's over that weekend or something? Since it's in the open air, anyone can hear it going on. However, the way they do it is the processional is set up on the train station and in front of it, facing the park. The audience is seated going all the way back to the Christmas tree. Traffic is carefully monitored, as it is during parades and such, to keep gapers' block at a minimum. But it's never appeared "packed to the gills" to me. I just figure tickets may be a bit harder to come by.

Someone more knowledgeable than me may be able to shed light on it, if they've attended it....

[AGentlRose]

Thanks, since this is my favorite Christmas show at WDW, I would love to see it if we decide on a December Disneyland visit. I remember, a long, long, long time ago, they only had the Candlelight one night and it was at the Magic Kingdom, and they were also set up in front of the train station facing Cinderella's Castle. It was so crowded, that in order to exit the park, they directed through the back alleys/managers' parking area behind the Emporium.