A trip to Disneyland for some is a once in a lifetime event or every few years. So it’s nice to be able to plan your trip knowing what events take place so you can decide on the best time for you. Below are the major events and holidays that take place each year. I won’t share all the events cause sometimes we don’t know them all.
Events and Holidays at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure
Lunar New Year is usually the 3rd week in January to the 2nd week in February.
Easter is celebrated in the spring with a fun Easter Egg scavenger hunt.
March and most of April brings the Food and Wine Festival to Disney California Adventure.
May and June bring lots of teenagers to celebrate Grad Nites. This affects both parks. Grad nite dates for 2020 are May 8, 9, 15, 16, 20, 26, 27, 29, 30 and June 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12, 13
Summertime is always crowded. Kids are off school and people take time off work for summer vacations.
Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort important information
September brings Halloween time in the parks. The opening weekend has been as early as the first full weekend in September. A few things to know about the preparation for this holiday. The Haunted Mansion changes to the Haunted Mansion holiday with Jack Skellington and other Nightmare Before Christmas guests. The ride is closed for about 2 weeks in preparation. Usually the last week of August and 1st week of September.
In September and October Disney offers a Halloween party called Oogie Boogie Bash in Disney California Adventure. It’s only on select nights. Tickets will go on sale as early as April for this fall event.
Christmas holidays at the Disneyland Resort important information
The last big celebration is the Christmas holidays in the parks my personal favorite. The opening weekend has been as early as the first full weekend in November. For this holiday another ride makes a big transformation, It’s a Small World becomes It’s a Small World Holiday. This transformation requires the ride to be closed as well. Normally it’s closed about 3 weeks, the last 2 weeks of October and the first week of November.
Then we start is all over again in January. But keep in mind that the 2 rides mentioned about have to change back and so they are typically closed in January. They are not closed at the same time. Typically the Haunted Mansion closes right after the end of the Christmas season (end of 1st week in January) for about 10 days. And then after it reopens It’s a Small World closes around the 3rd week of January to change back and reopens around the first week in February.
More TIPS for planning a trip to Disneyland
Something else to keep in mind when planning a trip is park hours. January and February tend to have shorter park hours. Same with September and some days in October and November. You can’t see park hours for your visit until 6 weeks out. You will find them on the Disneyland website here.
Also keep in mind with months like January, February and March you will find more attraction refurbishments because they are typically slower times of the year. But not so much anymore are they really slow, just less crowded is a better term. It’s just nice to keep that in mind when planning a trip. You can see the refurbishments as well on the Disneyland website 6 weeks out.
I hope knowing these events will help you plan your visit to the Happiest Place on Earth. For more tips and information check out my crowd calendar.
I also share when new or special events are coming up in my newsletter. So make sure you’re signed up so you don’t miss out on important information for planning your trip! Sign up for the newsletter on the home page. I only send emails when I need to share news or updates about Disneyland.
