California Disney Parks Add Global Twist to Holiday Festivities

Disneyland Paris in Paris, France, on Nov. 20, 2021. Handout/Getty Images

Disneyland is bringing a global twist to its holiday celebrations this year.

From Nov. 11 to early January, its Festival of Holidays will return, featuring holiday-themed festivities and cuisine from Mexico, India, Central America, and other countries.

In this handout photo provided by Disneyland Resort, guests are waved to by workers as they take in the sights and sounds of Main Street U.S.A. at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif., on April 30, 2021. Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images

California Adventure

The “World of Color Season of Light” light show will return to Disney’s California Adventure park after two years of cancellation due to the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020 and refurbishment closure the year after.

The show features projections of Disney and Pixar film scenes onto a wall of water mist hundreds of feet high. The display additionally includes fireworks and lasers all set to music.

For a Latin flair, the theme park is also offering what Disney officials are calling a “street party” of “The Three Caballeros”—a classic Disney trio featuring Donald Duck and other Latin-themed characters—as they host Christmas, known as Navidad, as celebrated in Spain and South America.

The party will take place at Paradise Gardens Park at California Adventure multiple times throughout the day and features Spanish dancers, Mariachis, Brazilian Samba dancers, and more, with special appearances by Mickey and Minnie.

Visitors attend Disney California Adventure theme park in Anaheim, Calif., on Feb. 25, 2020. David McNew/Getty Images

Food lovers are also in for a treat at California Adventure, which will feature eight locations throughout the park where guests can savor dishes representing Christmas, Latin America’s Navidad, India’s Diwali, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa’s African-based fare, and Three Kings Day, an Eastern Christian celebration commemorating the three wise men visiting the baby Jesus.

Santa Claus will also return at both parks to greet guests of all ages. Also on hand will be Christmas cookie decorating, multiple Christmas-themed dance parties, and parades.

Disneyland

Disneyland’s longest-running parade, “A Christmas Fantasy Parade” will also return to Main Street USA with its classic floats, including a traditional 60-foot Christmas tree.

Also beginning November 11, Sleeping Beauty’s Castle will be decorated with its classic winter regalia, complete with a colorful lighting ceremony followed by realistic “snowfall” each evening.

Adding to the festivities is the return of the “We Believe in Holiday Magic” fireworks show. This nostalgic display—now over 20 years old—can be viewed from multiple locations throughout the park, including at “It’s A Small World” and “The Rivers of America.”

Fireworks explode over The Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, Calif., on May 4, 2005. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Disneyland’s “Haunted Mansion” will additionally take on the holiday theme, with characters from “A Nightmare Before Christmas” greeting guests and spreading Halloween-themed fun intertwined with Christmas hijinks throughout the ride.

On the other side of the park, the “Tomorrowland” terrace will be hosting nightly holiday dance parties with Disney characters.

“It’s A Small World” will receive its own holiday makeover both inside and out, with a newly Christmas-themed lighting display and dancing and singing puppets paying homage to their respective country’s holiday traditions.

For families looking for a special Santa meet and greet, the park’s “Critter Country,” where St. Nick will be on hand, accompanied by Winnie the Pooh and his pals from the Hundred Acre Wood.