We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. With the holiday weekend behind us, Disneyland is in full festive mode. Candlelight preparations are underway at the Train Station, candy cane season has officially begun, new characters are popping up across both parks, and even the robots are getting into the spirit… from a roving Christmas tree in Downtown Disney to an untethered Olaf making headlines overseas.
It’s also Cyber Monday, which means limited-time offers on the Gumball Rally, Walt’s Storybook Mansion tours, and Disneyland travel packages are all in play today. Meanwhile, construction continues across the resort, from Downtown Disney to Avengers Campus, and the first closures of the new year are starting to appear on the refurbishment calendar. And the impending start of the major DisneylandForward expansion!
And, of course, we’ve got the usual assortment of seasonal snacks, gingerbread creations, operational oddities (the Main Street tree had another moment), and some cheerful holiday scenes to round things out. Lots to cover this week… but let’s start with some holiday cheer…
🎄 Candlelight Processional Returns to Main Street
Every December, Disneyland pulls off one of its most ambitious holiday traditions and one of its most logistically complicated. The Candlelight Processional returns on December 6th and 7th, with performances at 5:30 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. each night. If you’ve visited the park this week, you’ve likely noticed the transformation already underway: risers have gone up at the Main Street Train Station, turning the entrance plaza into a temporary concert venue.
For anyone new to Candlelight, this is Disneyland’s oldest holiday tradition, dating back to 1958. A full orchestra, a massive choir arranged in the shape of a “living Christmas tree,” trumpeters lining the rooftops… it’s the kind of thing that would be a major production anywhere, let alone in the middle of a theme park that is very much still open to regular guests.
And then there’s the annual guessing game: Who’s narrating?
Disney keeps the celebrity narrator under wraps until the first performance, but the resort often taps someone connected to a current or upcoming Disney project. With Zootopia 2 now in theaters, we wouldn’t be shocked to see a familiar voice from that cast step into the spotlight. (Pure speculation, but half the fun is guessing.)
Unlike the days-long runs at EPCOT, Disneyland’s Candlelight only happens two nights a year, so seating in Town Square is reserved for invited guests. Everyone else can watch from standing-room areas, though be warned: those spots fill early, and Main Street gets congested as the day goes on. If you’re planning to see the show, keep an eye on park flow and give yourself more time than you think you need.
For anyone wanting the full backstory (the history, the logistics, the traditions, and why this event is such a big deal) our comprehensive guide is here:
The Magic of Disneyland Candlelight Ceremony: Narrators, Viewing Tips & History
It’s Candy Cane Time
The day after Thanksgiving (Nov. 28th) was the first day for Disneyland 2025 candy canes, and we were there at rope drop to get one of the very first canes of the year (#56 to be exact).
We got to Disneyland at 7 a.m. (one hour before the official opening time). When the gates opened at about 7:25 a.m., we headed straight for Main Street U.S.A., where a queue had already formed (a Cast Member with an inflatable candy cane marked the spot).
Once inside, the queue wound its way through the shop.
There’s a limit of one candy cane per person (but even babies can “buy” one). As we entered the store, the Cast Member said we were candy cane #56 (we were told they make fewer than 200 canes per day).
And if there’s any doubt whether Disneyland candy makers actually make these holiday treats, the proof is in the window.
Disneyland candy canes are available in different parks on different dates. Here’s where you can find them:
- Candy Palace & Candy Kitchen in Disneyland on December 2, 7, 9, 14, 16, 22 & 24
- Trolley Treats in California Adventure on December 1, 3, 8, 10, 15, 17, 23 & 25
We were told they’ll hand out wristbands (150 total) on each date and let guests know what time to return, but we were there so early that wristband distribution started behind us and we were able to buy our candy canes right away.
Check out our complete guide about the Disneyland holiday tradition:
Disneyland’s Famous Candy Canes Are Back for 2025: How To Nab One!
Cyber Monday News
It’s Cyber Monday, and Disneyland fans have a few limited-time offers to keep in mind — including a first-ever discount for the MiceChat Gumball Rally, a rare promo for tours of Walt Disney’s Storybook Mansion, and seasonal Disneyland savings from our travel partners.
MiceChat Gumball Rally 2026 – 20 Years of Villainy, Strategy… and Wicked Fun!
If the Rally sounds mysterious, allow the Villains to shed a little light:
Every year, hundreds of teams descend on Disneyland to compete in a simple — but wildly addictive — challenge:
Who can ride the most attractions in a single day?!
It’s part scavenger hunt, part strategy game, part controlled mayhem… and always one of the most memorable days you can have in the parks.
For this milestone year, the Villains are taking over the competition. Expect a wicked twist or two… perhaps even a few surprises that would make Maleficent raise an eyebrow. If you’ve ever said you’ll do the Rally “next year,” this is the one you won’t want to skip.
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS: NOW through then end of the day on Cyber Monday (December 1st), there’s an extra bit of mischief:
Teams of 3 or 4 can register for the price of a team of 2.
No codes, no spells — the discount applies automatically at checkout through Monday night.
If you’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to join the fun, the Villains have spoken!
🎄 This Holiday Season, Step Inside Walt’s Storybook Mansion
Looking for a meaningful gift for the Disney fan in your life? Holiday History Tours return to Walt Disney’s 1930s Hollywood Hills home — fully decorated for the season, including a towering 12-foot tree that sets the backdrop for a charming story from the Disney family’s own Christmas traditions.
Join house historian Dusty Sage for an intimate guided walkthrough of the beautifully restored residence, filled with history, quiet details, and a warm dose of holiday atmosphere.
💻 Storybook Mansion Cyber Monday Offer
To mark the holiday weekend, a limited $20 off ticket offer is available.
Use code CYBERMONDAY at checkout.
Only 25 codes are available.
🎅 New: One-Time Santa Tour — December 26 at 3:30 PM
A special surprise tour has been added for December 26th at 3:30 PM.
On this tour only, guests will:
• Explore the downstairs of the Disney Mansion
• Hear a heartwarming story about a memorable Christmas morning the Disney girls shared in the home
• Watch a vintage Christmas Silly Symphony in Walt’s private screening room
• Meet Santa inside the mansion (photos welcome)
This is the only tour of the season to include a Santa visit.
🗓️ General Holiday Tours
Regular Holiday History Tours are now open throughout December — each offering an inside look at Walt’s home, its seasonal decorations, and its remarkable history.
⭐️ Hurry – space is limited!
🔴 Walt Disney Storybook Mansion Tours HERE 🔴
CYBER MONDAY DISNEY TRAVEL DEALS
Adult tickets at the kids’ price are back for both Disneyland AND Walt Disney World! Our partners at Get Away Today have special seasonal offers for Disneyland, Walt Disney World, select cruise lines, and other family destinations. Check the details today — availability is limited.
🔴 Discount Disney Travel HERE 🔴
Character Connections
There’s been a surge of character activity around the resort this week — some seasonal, some cinematic, and some just delightfully random.
The gang from The Zootopia Police Department has arrived at California Adventure Officer Clawhauser, Judy Hopps, and Nick Wilde are meeting guests in the Hollywood Backlot. (Nick and Judy are wearing new costumes from “Zootopia 2”).
You’ll find the Zootopia characters in Hollywood Land behind Mickey’s Philharmagic. Their appearance times may vary, so check the Disneyland app under Characters for the most up-to-date schedule.
Keep an eye open for a Zootopia photo booth nearby.
Deadpool is also in town for the holidays, with his story time show in the Hyperion Courtyard next to Avengers Campus. For showtimes, check the Disneyland app under Entertainment.
In Plaza de la Familia, we spotted Isabela Madrigal and Luisa Madrigal chatting with a young guest.
Last but certainly not least, Chewbacca is celebrating the seasonal Wookiee holiday of Life Day in Galaxy’s Edge. You can see Chewie in his Life Day robe near the Millennium Falcon (but only after dark).
All Hail Your Robot Overlords
There are a number of robotics-related stories this week… And we’re here for it.
Meet Douglas Fir
Disneyland has a new roving Christmas Tree that surprises guests in Downtown Disney. We found him near the Monorail station and he was a huge hit. It’s particularly funny when he asks for a hug.
Olaf Unleashed
The lovable snowman from Frozen has been unteathered. Guests will soon find him wandering about the new World of Frozen at Disneyland Paris (he’ll also have a short stint at Hong Kong Disneyland.
The technology is amazing, but more impressive that he looks so cute and expressive.
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Last year, Disneyland tested a small Groot animatronic, but the character never ended up making regular rounds in the park. And some cute BD-X droids were briefly on display in Galaxy’s Edge.
Where would you like to see this technology show up next?
Water Drones
Disney Adventure World (the new name for the former Studio park at Disneyland Paris) will have an upgraded World of Color style lagoon show with aerial drones… and something new Disney is calling water drones.
We’re looking forward to seeing this aquatic technology in person, and have a feeling we might be seeing something like this pop up in the World of Avatar at Disney California Adventure in the future.
Check out our guide about the reimagined Disney Adventure World:
Disneyland Paris Transformed With New Shows, New Attractions & New Name!
Constructionland
Downtown Disney
Construction continues on the previous ESPN Zone building, which will house a new lululemon store.
The ceiling and lighting have been installed. It won’t be long before they add the display cases and merchandise.
At night there some new red lighting at the top of the building.
Construction on the new Porto’s hasn’t started yet on the site of the former Earl of Sandwich building (which is also the former La Brea Bakery building), but it looks like demolition could start soon.
The ticket booths at the west end of the esplanade will also be removed to make way for the large Porto’s restaurant.
Avengers Campus
Work continues on the two new attractions in Avengers Campus.
Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar (updated 11/26/25)
That didn’t last long… Last week we reported that the Disneyland refurbishment calendar had been cleared out for the first time in recent memory. But we also warned that the beginning of the year would bring new projects… and those projects are now hitting the calendar.
Currently Under Refurbishment
- Indiana Jones Adventure: December 1 – 3
Upcoming Refurbishments
- Grizzly River Run: January 5 – TBA
- Incredicoaster: January 5 – TBA
- Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind: January 5 – TBA
With both Incredicoaster and the Emotional Whirlwind closed on January 5th, it’s likely that the new Coco attraction will begin construction just behind them.
When complete, the parade gate area of Pixar Pier will look like the concept art below…
One project we haven’t seen hit the official refurbishment or construction calendars yet, but could appear at any moment, is the work connected to Disney California Adventure’s upcoming Avatar-themed land. Internal preparations have already begun, and the first visible step will be a major closure: Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue. The popular family attraction is expected to shut down in early January to clear space for the new project.
The show building for Pandora will be massive, stretching beyond the footprint of the Hollywood Pictures Backlot and into the current bus load/unload area east of the Esplanade. To support that shift, Disneyland will construct a new parking structure on the east side of the resort. Once that structure opens, the Toy Story lot and its fleet of buses will no longer be needed for daily guest transport.
Instead, guests will walk into the resort via a new pedestrian bridge over Harbor Blvd. — a long-planned improvement that should dramatically ease traffic flow and simplify the arrival experience.
The new Avatar expansion will take over the entire Hollywood Pictures Backlot and the transportation hub behind it, nearly doubling the size of the existing land. Alongside the new bridge and parking structure, Disney will also begin the long-anticipated reworking of the resort’s east-side arrival area, updating everything from security and bag check to ticketing, guest services, landscaping, and signage.
The Pandora + Harbor Bridge project is only the first phase of the resort’s long-term transformation. Once the parking structure opens and bus operations move offsite, Disney plans to develop a new entertainment district on the current Toy Story lot — complete with shopping, dining, hotels, and nighttime experiences.
And eventually, as outlined in the DisneylandForward plans, Anaheim has approved for Disney to build additional attractions or even a third theme park on the far west side of the resort. Early concept art shows immersive lands woven into a compact layout designed for modern park-going habits.
You can catch up on the big plans for the Disneyland Resort in our DisneylandForward coverage:
IT’S APPROVED!!! DisneylandForward Moves Forward What You Need To Know
This & That
There’s more news folks. Let’s take a look at the rest of the story…
Disneyland Live!
Dusty had a special Thanksgiving day live video last week. Curious what the park looks like on a beautiful 80º SoCal Thanksgiving Day? Follow along and you’ll be rewarded with a ride on Storybook Land, see the Christmas Fantasy Parade, and even delight in a California snowfall.
Let’s it snow, let it snow, let it snow…
We caught the snowfall in Downtown Disney during our weekly livestream on Thursday and it’s charming. Make your way to the west side stage in Downtown Disney starting at 6pm every night for a little winter magic… no theme park ticket required.
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Grand Californian Gingerbread House
The annual gingerbread version of the Craftsman-style hotel is back in the lobby. It took Disney pastry chefs 720 hours to create this year’s confection using 530 pounds of gingerbread, 480 pounds of powdered sugar, 60 pounds of fondant, 45 pounds of dark chocolate, 40 pounds of white chocolate, and 32 pounds of rice cereal treats.
The gingerbread Grand Californian also has 25 hidden Mickeys.
Here are a few to get you started…
And right next to the house is a spot to buy the famous Mickey gingerbread cookies.
Holiday Bites
In our ongoing effort to try all the holiday items in the park… we sampled the Filipino Feast Burrito at the Studio Catering Co. in California Adventure this week. With noodles, pork belly, and even a crunchy lumpia inside, it’s a real treat. We loved it.
We also mobile ordered the fresh-baked gingerbread cookies from Harbour Galley at Disneyland. They are DELICIOUS and served warm. Get them with the royal icing dipping sauce. You can thank us later.
Mobile Order No More
Five Disneyland candy shops no longer offer mobile ordering: Candy Palace and Pooh Corner in Disneyland, Trolley Treats and Bing Bong’s Sweets in California Adventure, and Disney Wonderful World of Sweets in Downtown Disney have all dropped the service.
Honestly, we hope to see mobile order removed from a few more spots in the future as the system can cause more of a hindrance than a help. Disney has destroyed the interior of Pizza Planet to shoehorn a long pickup table into a room designed for guests to quickly grab and pay for their own food. Unfortunately, they took a system that worked and made it worse with Mobile Order. The same is true at Hungry Bear and Jolly Holiday, where Mobile Order creates longer lines and unnecessary confusion.
Smoke Alarm
Last week, an Instagram post showed the Disneyland Christmas tree was “smoking.” The fire department had to respond, but the situation quickly resolved. Though the tree continues to have electrical issues and burnouts. Disneyland has had a lot of trouble with this tree over the last few years. But the replacement cycle for this tree is coming up soon and recent incidents will likely result in a new tree and more robust lighting system next year.
Starbucks is Back
After a back and forth between Starbucks employees and the company, the Downtown Disney location has re-opened… though you may find it operating at reduced hours while negotiations continue.
Did You Know?
Each week, Dusty recaps all the news from the Monday Disneyland Update in a video. Be sure to subscribe MiceChat’s YouTube channel so you don’t miss it!
Chip & Dale’s Holiday Ornament Trail
A fun seasonal activity in Downtown Disney is the Chip & Dale’s Ornament Trail (no theme park ticket required). Just purchase a map for $11.99 and look for character ornaments on trees throughout the Downtown Disney District.
Once you find the ornaments and place the corresponding stickers on your map, you can redeem it for your choice of Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale, or Stitch ornament (Pssst…. you’ll get an ornament even if you choose not to participate in the hunt).
We were told the Stitch ornament is the most popular by far, so if you’re a Stitch fan, grab him while you can!
2025 Holiday Guides
Tis the season for lots of merry theme park fun. But it can be hard to keep track of it all. But don’t worry, we’ve got all the info you need all in one place…
- Your Guide to Disneyland Holiday Time 2025 – Food, Entertainment, Merch & More
- Universal Hollywood Holidays 2025: Party with Harry, The Grinch, Mario & Luigi
- A Berry Merry Christmas: Your Ultimate Guide to Knott’s Merry Farm 2025
- UPDATED! Your 2025 WDW Holiday Guide
- Universal Orlando Holidays 2025: Grinchmas, Wizarding World Magic & More!
MiceShots
And now it’s time to share some blue sky-backed holiday photos… a rarity this holiday season due to all the rain we’ve had. But hopefully we’ll have more beautiful days between now and the end of the season.
One of our favorite holiday details is the Christmas tree above Jungle Cruise, which is decorated with found items from the jungle. Nothing captures the spirit of the season quite like piranha bones.
And, to wrap up our little tour… winter brings the changing of leaves in Southern California. We noticed lots of trees with dramatic colors, or even losing their leaves (not all trees in SoCal will do that, we stay quite green here year round). Add the holiday lights and decor and it’s truly one of the most beautiful times of year.
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Let’s Hear From You!
Holiday crowds, early morning candy cane lines, robots roaming around, Chewbacca in his Life Day robes, a smoking Christmas tree, and an Avatar land big enough to swallow Hollywood Land whole on the way VERY soon… it’s been a week.
What’s your take? What surprised you, what annoyed you, and what are you looking forward to most? Drop your thoughts below, we always love reading them!
