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Reasons to Visit Disneyland During Christmas Time in 2017

We’ve partnered with Disneyland to bring you the features of the Disneyland during Christmas time! Be sure to read all the way through to get our best tips! If you happen to book travel through a link in this post, it won’t cost you a thing, in fact, you save money and we may get a small commission and for that, we are very much appreciative!

Be sure to read all the way to the end to see how to get the discount on tickets!

We just returned from a fun family vacation at Disneyland Resort! We were lucky enough to experience everything Disney has to offer during their Holiday Celebration! From peppermint treats to Christmas carols, the holidays at Disneyland are a perfect place to celebrate. Here we are breaking down why YOU should visit Disneyland during Christmas time!

Quick tips for visiting Disneyland during Christmas:

You’ll definitely want to get multi-day park-hopper passes so you can enjoy everything the parks have to offer during the holiday. Check out the special deal on 3-day park hoppers here!
Holidays at Disney get busy, I recommend going the first week of December as we’ve found this is one of the lesser busier times.
Start your day early, it is less busy first thing in the morning. If you stay at a Disney hotel and get a 3-day park hopper, you can also get a Magic Morning hour! This means you get in before non-hotel guests do!
To make the most of your trip, check out the MaxPass where you can get your fast passes through an app! You’ll also get PhotoPass images you can download at no additional cost!
If you want to make sure you see and try everything, check out our big list of Holiday must-sees, below!

In no particular order, here are the 10 things you’ll want to see at Disneyland Resort and Disney’s California Adventure this holiday season!

Holiday Themed Rides (DCA and Disneyland) – check out these fun holiday themed rides!
- Luigi’s Joy to the Whirl – Sing and dance with Luigi to some holiday favorites!
- Mater’s Jingle Jamboree – includes 6 fun holiday songs sung by Mater.
- Haunted Mansion – inspired by “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas” complete with Characters from the movie and a real gingerbread house. When you go through the ride, you actually smell it!
- Small World – This ride is dressed up with more than 400,000 twinkling lights. The popular attraction transforms for the holidays, celebrating children around the world and the holiday traditions of their countries. As a special treat this holiday season, FastPass is available for this attraction.
Holiday Fireworks (Disneyland) – The holidays come to life at night! Here’s our tip, watch near the Small World Ride. You’ll get to see the ride all lit up before the fireworks start and once they begin, you’ll see a fun nighttime themed show to go along with the fireworks!

Disney Viva Navidad (DCA) – Join The Three Caballeros for a colorful street party of musicians, dancers and giant mojiganga puppets! You’ll definitely want to be standing so you can sing and dance with the parade!

(photo credit Disneyland Resort)

(photo credit Disneyland Resort)
Festival Of Holidays Food and Entertainment (DCA) -a celebration of diverse cultural festivities, inspired by Christmas/Navidad, Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa and Three Kings Day. Guests enjoy food and beverage inspired by the holidays at 12 Festive Foods Marketplace locations, and they discover fun around every corner with uplifting music and dance performances, street parties, cavalcades and more!
World of Color Season of Light – (DCA) – The World of Color Season of Light is a beautiful light show on the water in Disney’s California Adventure that features your favorite Christmas carols and characters! 120 characters from more than 30 Disney and Disney•Pixar animated films appear during this nighttime spectacular. Here’s a tip – you’ll want to make sure you grab a fast pass in the AM. To secure a good spot, get there early and then log onto the Paradise Pier wifi. You’ll get to play a fun game while waiting where you can win the opportunity to control Mickey’s wheel of color! How cool is that?!
Christmas Fantasy Parade (Disneyland) – This parade is so fun! It features your favorite characters on their own holiday-themed floats! This parade runs throughout the day, making it easy to plan on when you will want to see it.
- Make sure you arrive early to find the best-possible viewing spot—especially if you plan to see the show along Main Street, U.S.A.
- There are also excellent viewing spots near “it’s a small world” Holiday and Matterhorn Bobsleds.

Holiday Sweets (DCA and Disneyland) – There are endless amounts of sweets that are featured during the holidays. From Gingerbread men to Santa Mickey cupcakes, there’s a treat for everyone. If you are going to try just one thing, try the candy cane beignets and pair it with a creamy Disneyland hot cocoa.
Holiday Time at the Disneyland Resort” Guided Tour (DCA and Disneyland) – Take a tour of the holiday features at both Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure. This 2.5 hour tour goes into the details about how they decorate for the holidays and even gives you some lesser known facts about Disneyland and Walt Disney himself! You’ll also get holiday treats, a collectible souvenir, and reserved seating at the Christmas Fantasy parade! We loved our tour and would definitely do it again as they said they change it up every year! If you go and see Cristoff the tour guide, tell him we said hello!Holiday Decorations – One of my favorite things about any Disney park is the details that are in everything that you can see and that definitely comes through during the holidays. As you can see, the rides above are beautifully themed but there are so many more decorations. Our favorite being the castle which is decorated with over 50,000 lights. It’s beautiful during the day but breathtaking at night!
The Disneyland Christmas tree is also a beautiful sight and stands 60-feet tall and is complete with decorations from top to bottom.
If you see the one in Disney’s California Adventure, you may notice that for the first time they have decorated a Disneyland Christmas tree with tinsel!

Cars Land is adorned with special holiday décor throughout Radiator Springs, with decorations that reflect the unique personalities of the “Cars” characters who live there.
- Here’s a challenge if you go, look for the different trees throughout both parks. You may see some you are surprised to find like this one for Adventureland!
- Be sure to stop in the Disney Hotel lobbies if you aren’t staying in one. All three Hotels of the Disneyland Resort deck the halls with festive lobby displays, immersing guests in the seasonal style of each hotel.
  - Inside the Disney Grand Californian is a 7.5-foot-tall gingerbread house. It took 500 pounds of icing, 60 gallons of frosting, and a 25-member team to construct this impressive confection.

Holiday Merchandise – More than 50 new holiday items are available for shoppers seeking the ideal gift. To bundle up, Disney style, new arrivals include “ugly sweater”-themed apparel and headwear, and some popular holiday accessories return with all-new twists. Be sure to look for the fun food souvenirs like the ornament stein, the Pluto popcorn bucket, and the holiday coffee mug!

**Find out more here about visiting Disneyland during the holidays here – https://disneyland.disney.go.com/events-tours/holidays-at-the-disneyland-resort/

**If you are looking to save money on your visit, check out our post here including coupon codes- http://cleverpinkpirate.com/ways-save-money-disneyland-vacation/

**Give the gift of Disneyland this holiday season with anything from annual passes to fun theme park merchandise – https://disneyland.disney.go.com/gift-disney-vacation/

Merry Christmas!
Right now through Getaway Today, you can purchase adult tickets at kid prices!

There are NO blackout dates AND it’s the most popular ticket offer!
Not only is it Adults at Kids’ Prices, it’s based on 2017 prices – so you can get 2018 tickets for lower than our regular 2017 prices.
It can be combined with the Disneyland Resort Hotel sale (save up to 25% on select dates), Extra night free hotel offers, and exclusive Get Away Today hotel perks for the most savings.
These can be purchased with the Layaway Plan – only $125 down!

Hurry, this sale ends at 11:59pm MT on Cyber Monday, November 27, 2017.

The Christmas Trees of Disneyland

I adore Christmas time. So when we went to Disneyland, I was in heaven with all of the decor. Especially the Christmas Trees! I thought I would share most of the trees we found in the park! As you may see below, my favorite trees were in Cars Land!

Disneyland Christmas Trees

Holiday Treats at Disneyland for 2019

I love visiting Disneyland during the holidays, it’s our favorite time to go! The decorations are just breathtaking and it’s been a tradition of ours for years. One thing I have also grown to appreciate is the treats that Disneyland has to offer. And thanks to social media, I feel like Disney has really upped their game when it comes to holiday desserts, drinks, and food!

Let’s start with some fun classics. I feel like you can’t go to Disneyland and NOT get the rice krispies treats. For that reason, these came in at our all-time classic favorite.

Disney always seems to surprise me when it comes to their delicious Beignets that are only found in New Orleans Square at Disney. At the Mint Julep bar, you can find the classic peppermint but at Cafe Orleans, you can find the delicious Hot Chocolate Mickey Mouse Beignets! One year did pumpkin and I think those will still remain one of my favorites but these chocolate ones are almost a tie!

Our underdog surprise at Disneyland this year was the Santa Hat Macaron filled with mint chocolate! This was definitely my favorite treat this year. These can be found at Jolly Holiday and guess what, you can order it through the app so you don’t need to wait in line!

Also found at the Jolly Holiday was the Gingerbread Cookies, is there anything better than a classic gingerbread cookie?

The one dessert you will want to share with your family and friends are these delicious whoopie pies from the Golden Horseshoe.

You really can’t go to Disneyland without enjoying a churro, so of course, I had to try a few of the holiday ones. This year, Disney and DCA have quite a few of them!

Our favorite churro was the turtle one from Frontier Land that tasted just like pecan pie, sweet and crunchy!

If you have some downtime, head on over to the Plaza Inn. They have a few desserts that everyone can share. I really enjoyed the classic pumpkin pie but the yule log treat and holiday cake were also quite delicious.

The gingerbread funnel fries from DCA’s Award Weiners were another favorite sharable treat.

Not to be missed is the Festival of Holidays at Disney California Adventure. We bought the sip and savor pass and snacked our way around the different stands. A bonus was we found out that you can order food from ANY booth and they will put in your order for another booth so no waiting in multiple lines. We don’t drink much but I tried the hot bourbon cider and it was delicious!

This Churro Yule Log was almost too sweet for me but was still a great way to end the night.

Here are our tips for scoring holiday treats at Disneyland:

Be sure to grab the treat list when you grab your map in the morning.
If you aren’t in a hurry to do rides, go to the stores first! The candy stores were freshly stocked at the opening of the parks and there were NO lines!
Order through the app! While not available for all treats, you can order most of the holiday treats through the app.
If you want to order treats from a busy restaurant, make a reservation.`
If you can’t find an ideal time for a meal, make a reservation at an off time and go for dessert only (we did this for both Cafe Orleans and Blue Bayou).
Some of these desserts are definitely sharable so make sure everyone in your group gets something different so everyone can try a little of everything!
You can ask the cast members who are providing the treats for a box. We were able to take some treats home this way.
Disneyland makes handmade candy canes but they are only available on certain days. Be sure to grab them before they sell out! You can find more about them here – https://disneylanddaily.com/candy-canes-at-disneyland/
Don’t forget about the treats that include a souvenir! We bought the Mickey popcorn Christmas Tree buckets (shown above) and the Jingle Bell Sipper (shown below).
You can plan your foodie adventures before you go by visiting these links:

Don’t forget about other souvenirs like the coffee mugs!

Even little Baby B got her own cupcake for her birthday!

If you want to show your love for Disney Holiday Desserts, check out their fun Minnie and Mickey Mouse headbands like these gingerbread ones!

How to Use Disneyland’s MaxPass

Thank you Disneyland for hosting our stay and allowing us to partner together so we can experience Disneyland’s MaxPass!

On our recent trip to Disneyland, we took advantage of Disneyland’s MaxPass for the very first time. I must say, we are hooked! Disneyland’s MaxPass is an app feature that allows visitors to manage their Fastpasses from the app along with unlimited digital downloads of Photopass photos. Gone are the days where one of us takes all of the tickets and swiftly walks to the FastPass kiosks because now, you can manage everything in the Disneyland app! We also no longer have to go across the park to get the next FastPass! Plus, we have access to all of our photos, for free! Here’s something you may not know, for the last 4 years I have used Disney PhotoPass photos for our Christmas cards so I definitely love the PhotoPass feature.

Here’s what you get with Disneyland’s MaxPass

Get Unlimited Disney PhotoPass Downloads for the Day – Share an entire day’s worth of Disney PhotoPass memories with family and friends! You’ll even be able to access photos taken on select attractions and during select Character dining experiences. Magic Shots are also included. Simply ask your Disney PhotoPass Photographer to pose you for a Magic Shot, and a select Disney Character or fun surprise will appear in your photo after it’s taken.
Make FASTPASS Selections from Your Mobile Device While You’re in the Parks – With this electronic option, you won’t need to walk over to a kiosk to secure a FASTPASS entitlement—you can simply make a FASTPASS selection (subject to availability) using the Disneyland app and then scan your code at the entrance when it’s time to experience the attraction.

Here’s how to use Disneyland’s MaxPass:

Download the Disneyland app.
Enter the park you wish to visit using your tickets.
Open the Disneyland app.
Tap the circular character icon at the bottom of the screen.
Sign in to the app with your Disney Account.
Tap “Get FASTPASS”.
Select all Guests who wish to use the Disney MaxPass feature—if someone is not listed, link their ticket or pass.
Purchase the Disney MaxPass feature for any Guests who do not already have it.
Make your FASTPASS selections and enjoy your Disney PhotoPass downloads.

Disneyland’s MaxPass Tips:

It is $10 per ticket, per day. You can purchase the tickets with the MaxPass or add it at any time!
You cannot schedule FastPasses until you get into the parks. Everyone in your party must be scanned into either one of the parks then one person can manage them on the Disneyland app.
You can schedule one at a time but look for the periods where you can schedule the next one as it will let you hold more than one at a time!
Once each person party scans their FastPass for a ride, you can schedule another ride right there in line!
If someone chooses not to ride, you can cancel the pass through the app.

For Fastpasses:

Tap “Get FASTPASS” to make your FASTPASS selection and receive a Return-Time window.
When it’s time to enjoy the attraction, head to the FASTPASS Return entrance and hold your mobile device up to the scanner so it can read your FASTPASS code.
Schedule your next FASTPASS once time has lapsed and/or after scanning your current FASTPASSES.

For PhotoPass Photos:

Be on the lookout for the photographers who are available at several scenic locations throughout Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park—at Character Experiences, select dining locations, special events and more. You can also find them wandering the parks, seeking to capture magical moments of you and your entire family. When you find them, stand in line and grab a photo!
Select attractions even have cameras positioned in just the right spots to catch your priceless, in-the-moment expressions. You’ll just need to remember to link your 8-character Attraction ID, located on the preview wall, to your Disney account. Some of our favorite rides with photos include Radiator Racers, Space Mountain, and Guardians of the Galaxy’s Mission Breakout!
Download the day’s photos from your Disney PhotoPass gallery before they expire which I have found to be 30 days.

Here are a few of our photos:

Check out Disneyland’s MaxPass info, here – https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/maxpass/

Need tickets to Disneyland? Check out our ways to save money at Disneyland including discounts on Disneyland Admission Tickets.

Ways to Save Money on a Disneyland Vacation

Disclosure: There are affiliate links within this post which means if you make a purchase, it will cost you nothing but I’ll get a small referral fee. Thank you! One of the questions I always get about going to Disney is “How Can I Go to Disney and Save Money Too?”. There are plenty of ways to save money on your next Disneyland vacation and we’re sharing our favorite ways to save, below!

Current Money Saving Specials on Tickets at Disneyland

Right now through Getaway Today –

This sale is only for 4 days for the July 4th Holiday! Good anytime this year!

4th Day Free on Disneyland Resort Park Hopper Tickets
Valid for travel throughout 2019
Must be booked by Friday, July 5, 2019 (Four days only!)
Can be combined with our 4th night free Anaheim area hotel specials

This year is an awesome time to go to Disneyland! Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is open and crowds have been low. It’s anticipated to be an awesome summer, followed by an exciting Halloween Time (September 6 – October 31) and Holidays at the Disneyland Resort starting mid-November.

PACKAGE DEAL –

Holiday Inn Anaheim Resort (September 16 – 20)
4-night stay –Includes 4th Night Free
Free breakfast – Get Away Today Exclusive and $128 value
4-Day Park Hopper Tickets (2 adults and 2 children)
Total = $1,898 – That’s only $474.50 per person!

This is actually during Halloween time and is a GREAT price for a 4 person 4 day visit to Disneyland and California Adventure Parks!

Tips For Planning Your Disneyland Vacation:

When do you want to go – often the hotels will be less expensive during the off-season which is typically in late January, February and some weeks in March (non-Spring Break weeks). If you go during the holidays, avoid the actual holiday weeks like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
How many days you want to visit the park – the more days you purchase the more you save per day.
Where to stay – staying close to the parks allows you to avoid paying for parking at the parks. You can either walk or pay a small fee for a taxi or Uber (we’ve used Uber many times at Disney).
- Get $15 in Lyft credit by using my promo code – CleverPirate – https://www.lyft.com/invite/CLEVERPIRATE
- Get $5 off 3 rides with Uber – https://www.uber.com/invite/8fwm9

Tips for Buying Disneyland Tickets and Packages through GetawayToday.com:

There are often sales through GetawayToday.com for Disneyland Tickets. I try to keep this post updated with the most recent sales!
Use my promo code: CleverPirate to save on vacation packages!
You can find special prices for hotel packages as well like 3rd night free and reduced prices at the Disney hotels!
Can’t afford a Disney vacation today? You can also put your vacation on layaway through Getaway Today!

Look for these specials when searching for packages:

Buy multiple days – the price per day goes down drastically!

You get also get packages that include other local theme parks!

Saving money on Food and Souvenirs at Disneyland:

There are a few ways you can save money while in the park as well!

Split a meal – We usually get small meals throughout the day, share a meal at lunch and then pick something larger for dinners like burgers at Smoke Jumpers Grill or pizza from Pizza Port!
Bring your own snacks and drinks (no coolers or alcohol).
Buy your Disney gift cards from Target.com with your Redcard. When you use your Target Red Card, you will save 5% and yes, you can buy them online!
Ask for Disney gift cards for wedding gifts, birthdays, and Christmas!
Bring your own souvenirs like autograph books that are kid’s diaries from the dollar store.
Become an annual pass holder!
One thing we started doing is creating a “fund” for our annual visits. We sell things around the house and add everything to the fund. The kids have learned to save money and contribute to it so we can make it a family thing (and the kids can learn how to save for something fun too).

Is the Disneyland Annual Pass Worth It?

I truly believe that if you will go more than twice to Disneyland, the passes are very much worth it. Plus it comes with perks! Check out this post where I break down the Disneyland Annual Passes – http://cleverpinkpirate.com/tips-planning-stress-free-disneyland-vacation.

Well that about sums it up! Did I miss any? Let me know if the comments!

Disneyland at Halloween Time

We’re providing you with the tips you need to visit Disneyland during the Halloween season! Amongst our tips you will find the best way to save money. When you purchase tickets through our links, we get a small commission and you save money. WIN WIN!

Have you visited Disneyland at Halloween? During the month of October, you can find the park full of Halloween decorations like pumpkins and delicious Autumn treats!

Before you plan your Disneyland Halloween vacation, be sure to get the best deal! Right now with Getawaytoday.com, you can get adults at kid prices when you book 3-day park hoppers!

Book online at https://www.getawaytoday.com?referrerid=7451 Be sure to use my code CLEVERPIRATE to maximize your savings! this sale can be combined with Extra Night Free hotel specials and used with the Layaway Plan.

NEW in 2017 and back for 2018 at Disneyland:

Cars Land:

We are so excited to see that Disneyland’s Cars Land is decorated for the season! Actually, nothing really in Disney’s California Adventure park was decorated for the holiday before so we are very excited to see the new view in just a couple of weeks!

Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark – Once the sun sets each evening during Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort, Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! will transform into Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark.

Find out more here – https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2017/09/top-new-experiences-for-halloween-time-at-the-disneyland-resort/

New Photopass Opportunities:

Photos courtesy of the Disney Parks Blog

Take pictures with some of your favorite characters! Read more here –

Bewitching Disney PhotoPass Opportunities at Disney California Adventure Park During Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort

A few other things include special holiday treats and a new gingerbread house in the mansion!

Ice Cream Nachos

Get the Ice Cream Nachos at the Golden Horseshoe in Frontier Land! This is perfect for a family of 4 to share!

Poison Apple Drink in Carthay Circle

Did you know that you can get drinks in Carthay Circle and sit in the lounge? We loved these cute Poison Apple drinks!

Butterscotch Beignets

This year, they retired the pumpkin beignets and switched them out for butterscotch. I was pretty bummed when I heard this but these are amazing and are almost if not just as good as those pumpkin ones!

Sally and Jack Skellington

Technically, this duo has always been around for Halloween but Disneyland gave them their own spot! The line was a bit of a wait but it was well worth it. Also, the lovely Sally has now moved into the Haunted Mansion with Jack so after you get photos, check out the ride! I highly recommend getting fast passes.

Day of the Dead

Check out the tribute to Dia De Los Muertos in Frontier Land.

Edible Halloween Treats at Disney’s California Adventure

Yes, these are all edible treats!

Giant Mickey Pumpkin

This giant pumpkin is one of my favorite things during Halloween time.

Reasons to visit Disneyland at Disneyland at Halloween Time

Haunted Mansion at Halloween Time

The mansion is taken over by Jack Skellington and the rest of the Nightmare Before Christmas Cast. You can see how Jack decorated the mansion during this holiday season along with how the original ghosts who occupy the mansion partake in the festivities. My favorite party is always at the end. I won’t spoil it for you but I promise it’s a fun sight to see. It is one of the best things to do during Halloween but be sure to get fast passes so you aren’t waiting an hour or so!

Here’s a tip for Haunted Mansion at Halloween time, get a fast pass to avoid the long lines!

Plus take a family photo right next to the mansion!

Disneyland Pumpkins

There are many pumpkins decorated around Disneyland during Halloween time.

Dress up like your favorite Disney Character

So technically, you could dress within the guidelines of Disney and do this all year round but it’s more fun to do during Halloween!

Characters in Costumes

It’s fun to see all the Disney characters dressed up for Halloween!

Halloween Souvenirs & Treats

Pumpkin Beignets

Yes, these are real and yes, they are absolutely amazing. They taste like a pumpkin donut of awesomeness. You need to eat at least one during your visit in October.

Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy

During the Halloween season, this is dressed up with scary ghosts and when I say scary, these aren’t your cartoon ghosts. The projections are awesome but can be intense for some. I had never experienced something like this before though and I thought it was pretty cool!

Bonus: The Goats!

What about Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party?

If you are considering doing this in the future, start checking in July or August and know these will almost always sell out before they have a chance to be available that day.

You can still see the other fun views of Disneyland during the 60th anniversary like the Paint the Night Parade!

Tips for Visiting Disneyland During the Holidays

It’s no secret that we love Disney and visiting the parks. However, Disneyland during the holidays is one of our favorite things to do. We went to the parks just recently and had an amazing time. I love seeing all of the decor and enjoying the treats. It’s just a magical time to visit Disneyland. If you have a trip planned over the holidays, I wanted to share a few tips with you that helped us during our visit. These two weeks during the holidays are the busiest the parks will see so know it will be crowded but can still be a LOT of fun!

Tips for visiting Disneyland During the Holidays

Download the Disneyland app. I can’t speak enough about how helpful the Disneyland app is. You can do the following:
- Find out ride wait times
- Find the closest bathroom
- Show and parade times
- Search where your favorite character is just by typing in their name
- Find the restaurants and links to make table reservations
Get your fast passes first thing in the morning! With the crowds, most of these are guaranteed to be out before noon. If you wait in line for some of these the wait times can get up to 2 hours! With a fast pass, your wait is usually less than 20 minutes if that.
- Rides to get your fast passes ASAP:
  - Radiator Racers
  - World of Color show (See the Winter Dreams show!)
  - Hyperspace Mountain
  - Indiana Jones
  - Star Tours
  - Haunted Mansion
  - Splash Mountain
Reserve your dining tables before you go! The lines to eat at the restaurants and even the carts were long. We waited probably 45 minutes just at the Jolly Roger for a quick breakfast. Remember to bring snacks for in between meals!
Avoid peak times if possible. We did everything in the AM and in the later afternoon and evening when it seemed to be most crowded. It will be VERY crowded in lines and walking in between the lands. On the peak times we did some more low key things.
Must sees during the holiday time:
- The big trees in both Disneyland and California Adventure.
- Small World at night is spectacular!
- Sleeping Beauty’s castle looks dazzling in the evening as the diamonds for 60th anniversary and the lights sparkle on the castle.
- Haunted Mansion ~ see Jack Skellington and enjoy a fun tour of the mansion with it decorated by Jack and his friends!
- Cars Land ~ See all the houses and trees decorated for the holidays!
- Winter Dreams World of Color show ~ Olaf presents a fun and beautiful show that will make every heart melt for the holidays.
- Olaf’s Snow Fest ~ Meet Olaf and play in the snow and even do some sledding! Parents can play too!
- Santa! He’s over at Disney’s California Adventure.
- A Christmas Fantasy Parade
- Jingle cruise ~ The Jungle Cruise takes you on the adventures of finding where their holiday shipments went.
Find your holiday treats early, they may sell out fast! I personally love the gingerbread Mickey Mouses!
Need a break? Head on over to some places that do shows that aren’t overly crowded like Mickey’s Magical Map, the Good Dinosaur (Bug’s Life Theater) and Path of the Jedi. Also find a bench near the outskirts of the park or a table in one of the bigger outdoor seating areas. I think it’s important to take breaks during the visits during the holidays because it can get very crowded which can be stressful and even draining. We sat down and just enjoyed watching others and enjoyed our holiday treats.

Holiday Activity Advent ~ Countdown to Christmas 2013

Can you believe Christmas is 2 weeks away! We always try to do a Christmas Advent countdown, sometimes with chocolate and sometimes with activities! Last year I shared our 12 days til Christmas Advent calendar here: http://cleverpinkpirate.com/2012/12/12/12-days-of-christmas-advent/

This year we are back with a brand new activity advent! This time I did a 24 day one because I involved it in our Disney Reveal for our trip to Disneyland.

First I created the Advent bags out of large paper lunch bags from Walmart and Washi tape. Then I utilized my Silhouette machine to cut out numbers 1-24.

Here are a few examples of what I included in our calendar.

Day 3: This is the day we revealed to the kids that we were going to Disneyland! I put these cookies in the bag

I really lucked out in finding these cookies. They are at Walgreens for only $.99!

It came with a note that said:

“Pack your bags
We are on our way
After school gets out
Today!”

Day 4: This was the Disneyland Gift Card reveal the morning at the hotel that said “Let’s have some fun”

I purchased these at the Disney Store, no fees and the kids can use them all over the park including at the little treat stands!

Day 5: This bag included fun Disney candy!

Day 8: The activity was driving around looking at Christmas Lights except we also did a scavenger hunt! Find our Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt list here: http://bit.ly/ChristmasLightScavengerHunt

Other Days included: An ornament for each child for the tree, candy canes & chocolate! I also included a few days where we will pay it forward with random acts of kindness. I also used a lot of ideas from the activity advent from the link above!

Holidays at Disneyland and 7 Reasons We Fell In Love with Disneyland All Over Again!

We went on a vacation to Disneyland last week. We are no stranger to Disneyland, in fact my kids have been more times than they can probably count. What made this time different was we went during the holidays. We have not been during that time since Clever Teen was a wee one. We also did something different, we went for multiple days. Usually we try to cram two parks into one day but decided to make it last!

Here are the 7 reasons we loved visiting Disney during the holidays!