Disneyland, Go Informed Podcast, Theme Park Touring

My Epic Disneyland Christmastime Photos and Trip Report

December 14, 2022
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Disneyland castle with Christmastime lights at night

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It’s hard to beat the spectacle of Disneyland Resort during the holidays. Giant Christmas trees, lights and garlands everywhere, and seasonal food and flair all blend into an extra-magical atmosphere. Below are a few of my favorite Disneyland Christmastime photos, as well as some top tips from this trip. To see more of the album, along with my discussion about the trip, be sure to hop over to this live Facebook video.

These are the show notes for Go Informed Podcast episode 78. Click below to listen, or find it on your favorite podcast app, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

Go Informed Podcast episode 78: Disneyland Christmastime trip report

These photos are from my November 2022 trip to Disneyland. The holiday season was in full swing, officially starting in the middle of November each year.

We spent 4 days at Disneyland, staying in the Grand Californian Hotel. Here are a few things I highly recommend, based on our experience on this trip.

As always, we made a few blunders on this trip, which you’ll hear me discuss on the podcast. A couple of them even made my top ten park touring mistakes list here. If you want to know what NOT to do, be sure to check it out.

Stay in a Disneyland hotel

The hotels

The Disney-operated hotels at Disneyland are:

Early theme park entry every day

Guests staying in one of the three Disney-operated hotels receive a 30 minute early-entry into the parks every day. Even though it doesn’t seem like much time, it’s actually a huge advantage.

We were able to leverage early admission to get a double rope drop each day. This gave us a head-start on Radiator Springs Racers and Rise of the Resistance, even though these two headliners are not included in Disneyland’s early entry. Find out how we did it here.

Convenience

The Disneyland hotels are all within easy walking distance to both the Disneyland and California Adventure theme parks. Disney’s Grand Californian hotel is the closest to both parks and even has its own entrance into California Adventure.

Fly into John Wayne/Santa Ana airport

The closest airport to Disneyland is John Wayne/Santa Ana (SNA), less than 30 minutes from the resort. If your trip is only to Disneyland you won’t even need to rent a car, just catch a quick Uber or Lyft ride, then do everything on foot.

Use Genie+ at Disneyland

Genie+ is Disney’s new version of FastPass. It allows guests to reserve time slots to skip long attraction wait times (this is called Lightning Lane). It’s not free, and you’ll have a less-than-simple app to deal with, but it really does make Disneyland touring much easier.

The first day of our trip was during a holiday weekend but we still had no problem reserving Lightning Lanes for top attractions. You can add Genie+ to your Disney vacation package so it’ll be activated automatically on every day of your trip.

At Disneyland, Genie+ also includes unlimited PhotoPass photos, which includes ride photos and those taken by the PhotoPass photographers around the parks.

Quick start guide to Genie+ and Lightning Lane

Disneyland Christmastime photos

Here are photos of some of the locations and Disneyland Christmas decorations mentioned in this podcast episode.

The Disneyland Christmas tree

Disneyland’s Main Street USA at Christmastime

Christmastime on Disneyland's Main Street — Christmastime on Disneyland’s Main Street

The Disneyland castle during Christmastime

Disneyland's castle decorated for Christmas — Disneyland’s castle decorated for Christmas

Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion Holiday

Disneyland Haunted Mansion Holiday decorations — Haunted Mansion Holiday is one of the most popular Disneyland Christmastime attractions. Use Genie+ to score a Lightning Lane so you can skip the long line.

Disneyland Haunted Mansion Holiday — The Nightmare Before Christmas themed Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay lasts from mid-September until early January.

BTW, Halloween is also an amazing time to visit Disneyland. Here are 13 reasons why you should consider visiting Disneyland during Halloween season, from my newsletter.

The spectacular holiday lights on It’s a Small World

Disneyland Small World holiday lights — Disneyland’s Small World dazzles after dark with thousands of vibrant holiday lights.

The Disneyland castle Christmas lights

Trader Sam’s Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel

Inside Trader Sams at the Disneyland Hotel — Located near the Disneyland Hotel’s pool is the tiny Trader Sam’s Tiki Bar. Complete with light and sound effects, it’s like Disneyland’s Enchanted Tiki Room has transformed into a cozy rumpus room bar.

Disneyland’s Blue Bayou restaurant

Disneyland Blue Bayou restaurant — Literally located inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, Disneyland’s Blue Bayou restaurant is a one-of-a-kind theme park experience. Sip champagne and savor prime rib while you watch the boats pass by on the bayou.

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel lobby Christmas tree

Disneyland Grand Californian Hotel lobby Christmas tree — Disneyland’s Grand Californian Hotel lobby truly lives up to its name, with a Christmas tree to match. Be sure to stop by and take a look on your holiday season Disneyland visit.

Giant gingerbread house in the Grand Californian Hotel

Gingerbread house construction at Disneyland's Grand Californian Hotel — Every year Disney’s pastry chefs create an enormous Gingerbread house in the lobby of Disneyland’s Grand Californian Hotel. Visit in mid-November and you might catch the construction of this incredible, edible, structure.

Christmastime in California Adventure’s Cars Land

Tow Mater in his Christmas hat at Cars Land Disneyland — Tow Mater in his Santa hat at Cars Land Disneyland.

Cars Land Christmas tree at Disney's California Adventure — The Cars Land Christmas decorations are delightfully creative.

Christmas decorations in Cars Land at Disney's California Adventure — An air-filter Christmas garland in Cars Land at Disney’s California Adventure.

Disney’s California Adventure Festival of the Holidays

Festival of the Holidays dancers at Disney California Adventure — California Adventure’s Festival of the Holidays features international entertainment and food.

Early theme park entry for Disneyland hotel guests

Disneyland Castle view from Fantasyland — As on-site hotel guests, we were granted a 30 minute head start in the parks. Here’s a virtually empty Fantasyland.

Disney California Adventure Early Entry — Disney California Adventure Hotel Guest Early Entry. Yep, we were in the first elevator of the day on Mission Breakout.

An empty Avengers Campus during California Adventure hotel guest early entry. Both Web-Slingers and Mission Breakout were walk-ons (that means NO wait) during our 30 minute early entry head-start.

More theme park touring tips

Here on GoInformed.net, and on the Go Informed Podcast, you’ll find tons of tips for your trip to Disney and Universal. Here are a few of the most popular posts:

Join the mailing list for twice-monthly bonus tips

Want more tips, delivered straight to your inbox? Be sure to join my email newsletter list here!

Catch my weekly live Disney parks discussions on Facebook

This post and podcast episode were originally shared in a live Facebook chat. Tune in to my @goinformednet Facebook page Thursdays at 11am Pacific to join the conversation!

Thank you Joey McGirr, also known as The Disney Hack, for joining me in the live discussion. You can find more of Joey at TheDisneyHack.com.