Are you planning a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth for the holidays? If so, you may be wondering when the best time to visit Disneyland in December is.

I love Disneyland in December, there are so many special touches, treats, festivals, decorations…and so much more so let’s learn about the best times to visit in December!

The Absolute BEST time to go to Disneyland in December!

I have been to Disneyland Resort in California several times throughout the year, and I have visited at various times during the holiday season. I have learned a lot of tips and tricks for planning the perfect trip to Disneyland in December…and I am excited to share them with you!

Why visit Disneyland in December

One word: HOLIDAYS….

But in all seriousness, December is a great time to visit Disneyland, especially if you love the magic of the holiday season.

Disneyland goes all out with holiday decorations, seasonal entertainment/special events, festive foods, and more.  It’s my favorite time to visit Disneyland!

Holiday Decor at Disneyland

Christmastime in Disneyland is a site to see! Festive decor, Christmas decorations, and Christmas lights adorn the entire resort including the Disneyland resort hotels, Disneyland theme parks (Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure), and Downtown Disney.  

Main Street is particularly charming with its classic Christmas wreaths and greenery, as well as holiday touches throughout the gift shops along Main Street.

The Disney characters get into the season, too, with special outfits just for the holidays! 

Christmas Celebrations at Disneyland in December

Though Disneyland doesn’t have a dedicated special ticketed event like Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, they do have special Holiday events like Disney Festival of the Holidays, Disney Festival Navidad, and Believe in Magic Holiday Fireworks.  

Special Holiday Overlays

Another great perk to visiting Disneyland in December is the special touches, aka ride overlays, they add to popular attractions. 

it’s a small world Holiday 

The popular boat ride through lands of children throughout the world is transformed every night at dusk.  It lights up with tons of twinkling Christmas lights and it’s beautiful! The ride itself also has a holiday transformation and becomes adorned with festive decor and popular holiday tunes!

Haunted Mansion Holiday

This unique holiday overlay shows Jack, from Nightmare Before Christmas, taking over the Haunted Mansion for a wonderful Halloween-Christmas smash-up.   If you like the Nightmare Before Christmas (NBC) movies you will love this overlay.  It’s colorful, fun, and the music is fantastic (though it is sometimes disappointing to classic Haunted Mansion fans as it’s a complete takeover by the NBC theming).  This holiday overlay runs through January 7th, as does the it’s a small world holiday.  

Holiday Fireworks at Disneyland

Believe…in Holiday Magic Fireworks is a spectacular fireworks show with a holiday twist set to holiday music and featuring “snow” on Main Street!

Holiday Castle Lighting at Sleeping Beauty Castle

November 15th 2024 through January 6th 2025 Sleeping Beauty Castle lights up with special holiday twinkling lights.  During this season the castle is already decorated with snow and festive decorations but seeing it light up at night is quite amazing!

World of Color (the Holiday Version)

Over at Disney California Adventure (DCA), the popular World of Color nighttime spectacular transforms into World of Color: Season of Light.  This holiday version features beloved Disney characters and their stories, as well as special Holiday lighting effects and music.  

Mater’s Jingle Jamboree

At DCA Mater loves to celebrate the holidays at his attraction Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree over in CarsLand.  During the Holiday season he transforms his junkyard and adorable tow trucks set to music attraction to a holiday celebration! 

Luigi’s Joy to the Whirl

Never wanting to be left out Luigi also decorates his fun little spinner car ride attraction for the holidays.  Joy to the Whirl features special seasonal lights, decorations, and fun holiday music. 

​Seasonal Treats

Disneyland and Disney California Adventure always do an amazing job at themed food and the holiday season is no exception.  They have seasonal holiday treats ranging from special holiday cookies, to candy canes to unique holiday themed popcorn buckets.

At the time of this posting Disneyland hasn’t announced it’s seasonal treats offerings but typically they offer:

• Festive Holiday Caramel Apples like a Santa Hat Apple, Snowflake apple
• Holiday Mickey, Minnie, or Snowman Cake Pops
• Peppermint Bark
• Gingerbread, Chesnut, Mint, or Chocolate Sugar Churros (to name a few)
• The VERY popular hand-pulled candy canes offered on select days in December at Candy Palace or Trolley Treats

Special Holiday Celebrations and Festivals

Disney Festival of the Holidays

This festival celebrates all of the special holidays of this season including Christmas, Kwanzaa, Diwali, Hanukkah, Three Kings Day, and Navidad.  It runs November 15th 2024 to January 6th 2025 and is built into your Disneyland and DCA tickets (so no extra charge).  It is inclusive of all of the above as far as special treats, decorations and holiday overlays, as well as special musical shows and even visits with Santa. 

Disney Viva Navidad

On select days, enjoy live musicians and dancers and José Carioca, Panchito, and Donald Duck in their holiday fiesta best at the Disney ¡Viva Navidad! Street Party! If this party is not available on the days you are visiting, you can enjoy seeing Mirabel from Encanto or Miguel from Coco in street performances that celebrate the holiday season!

Disneyland Crowd Calendar in December

So, the second best way to decide when to plan your trip to Disneyland in December is to look at a crowd calendar.

There are a few different crowd calendars out there, but we like to use the Undercover Tourist crowd calendar. They have a great system and we’ve found their predictions to be pretty accurate.

They also color code each day of the week to make it easy to find the least busiest days, and they list expected weather based on the average high temperatures and average lows.  

Just like the ticket prices, the parks are busiest around Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day. According to crowd calendars, the worst time historically to visit Disneyland in December is December 21st through December 31st, with crowd levels rated 10/10.  

In late December, the most popular attractions will have long lines, and the average wait times will be between 40 and 120 minutes.  

The Best Day to visit Disney in December

The least crowded day to visit Disneyland in December is December 3rd or 4th. The second least crowded days are immediately surrounding these days, December 2nd and 5th. So, the first week of December is generally the best time to go to enjoy the Holiday decor, festivities, and special events AND have 3-4/10 level crowds (at least based on prior years’ crowd levels and crowd calendar). 

Weather at Disneyland in December

Southern California in December is generally mild, but not always predictable. You can expect temperatures to range from 50-70°F for the most part but you may encounter colder weather, and rainy days.  It rarely ever snows, but the rain can be cold, so pack accordingly and keep an eye on the weather beforehand.  

Bring your layers, and check out my What to Wear to Disneyland in November blog, which applies to December as well!

The best way to visit Disneyland during the holidays

If you plan to visit Disneyland during the holidays, I recommend you have a plan! Here are some of my best tips for visiting during the busy days!

• Make your hotel reservation as early as you can.  The Disney hotels can be book up super fast! If you need help I can help- see my Get a Quote tab on this website!
• If you are visiting during the mid- to late December time frame, consider using Disneyland’s skip-the-line option, Lightning Lane Multi Pass and/or Lightning Lane Single Pass. This is very easy to use at Disneyland and can save you so much time! 
• Early morning is your sweet spot for lower crowds.  Annual passholders tend to show up a little bit later so rope drop can be the best time to hit all of the popular attractions! Check out my blog on the best Disneyland rope drop strategy if you need some help figuring out where to go first.   If you are staying at a Disneyland Resort hotel you can take advantage of Early Entry and get into both Disneyland Resort Theme parks 30 minutes early.  If you can access Early Entry I recommend getting there 30 minutes before Early Entry starts if you want to do the most popular attractions.  Non-Disney resort hotel guests should arrive 40 minutes before Park opening hours to try to get as much done on their list as possible.  

​The Wrap Up

If you’re looking for the best time to visit Disneyland in December, you really can’t go wrong with the first week of the month, particularly the first few days.  The holiday season is in full swing, and the crowds are still manageable.

If you can’t, you can still have a great time, but you’ll need to be prepared for larger crowds.

No matter when you go, be sure to check the Disneyland app for the latest information on park hours, entertainment, and more.  The weather is mild, the crowds are low, and the holiday decorations are beautiful. If you are planning a trip to Disneyland in December, I hope this helps you plan your trip.

If you are looking for a great place to stay, be sure to check out our article on the best places to stay near Disneyland.

What is your favorite time of year to visit Disneyland? Let us know in the comments below.