In 2025, Disneyland Resort will commemorate its 70th anniversary with a multi-month celebration that will feature limited-time entertainment, such as the brand-new World of Color Happiness! evening show at Disney California Adventure. Additionally, there will be new costumes for the meet-and-greet characters, collector merchandise, and specialized food and drinks. The celebrations will begin on May 16, 2025.
However, there are other significant celebrations taking place. Sorted by date, these additional highlights will be arriving at Disneyland in 2025:
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Jan. 17 through Feb. 16:
Lunar New Year at Disney California Adventure Park.
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Jan. 21 through Feb. 13 (select nights):
Disneyland After Dark: Sweethearts Nite.
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Jan. 24:
Anaheim Duck Days.
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Feb. 8 and 15:
Celebrate Gospel.
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Feb. 28 through April 21:
Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival.
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March 4 and 6:
Disneyland After Dark: 90s Nite.
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March 28 through May 11:
Seasons of the Force (a Star Wars-themed festival).
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April 8 through May 6 (select nights):
Disneyland After Dark: Star Wars Nite.
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May 16:
The Disneyland Resort 70th Celebration kicks off.
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June 16 and 18:
Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite.
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Aug. 22 through Oct. 31:
Halloween Time.
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Aug. 22 through Nov. 2:
Plaza de la Familia (a celebration of D a de los Muertos).
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Nov. 14 through early 2026:
The holidays begin here.
There are also a few other expansion projects with tentative dates. A large portion of that is centered at Downtown Disney, the free outdoor retail area that is close to the theme parks. For instance, the Parkside Market dining hall and the Disney Wonderful World of Sweets store are expected to open in early 2025.
The top Disneyland events in 2025
The following is a list of the major Disneyland events scheduled for 2025, arranged chronologically:
Jan. 17 through Feb. 16: Lunar New Year
Disney California Adventure Park will celebrate Lunar New Year like it has in previous years. Food and drinks with Asian influences will be available for purchase, and there will be a Mulan-themed procession—basically, a miniature parade.
Jan. 21 through Feb. 14 (select nights): Disneyland After Dark: Sweethearts Nite
The theme park offers a variety of themed evening events that can be purchased separately, including Disneyland After Dark. Sweethearts Nite is the first in the 2025 series. The after-hours events offer unique celebrations that you won’t find anywhere else, in addition to providing guests with access to the rides with wait times that are usually less than normal.
A royal cavalcade, which is essentially a procession, a ball where you may dance with Disney princes and princesses, and distinctive projections on the castle and other focal points are all aspects of Sweethearts Nite.
Feb. 8 and 15: Celebrate Gospel
Popular musicians and local choirs perform at two gospel concerts at Disneyland’s Fantasyland Theatre.
Feb. 28 through April 21: Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival
With cooking demos and pop-up food vendors offering tiny tastes, this yearly festival highlights food. Compared to your typical theme park dinner, these are usually a little more inventive and delicious.
April 8 through May 6: Disneyland After Dark: Star Wars Nite
The upcoming Star Wars-themed Disneyland After Dark event will take place on a few nights in April and May. It will coincide with the previously mentioned Season of the Force. Think of it as a Star Wars version of the daytime event.
In addition to a ton of Star Wars food and products, there will be special entertainment like a lightsaber demonstration and the Fans of the Force Costume Cavalcade.
June 16 and 18: Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite
In 2023, Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite made its premiere. It is returning in 2025 following a successful second edition in 2024.
The themed nighttime event, which requires separate tickets, will take place over two evenings throughout Pride month. The after-hours events offer unique celebrations that you won’t find anywhere else, in addition to providing guests with access to the rides with wait times that are usually less than normal.
Aug. 22 through Oct. 31: Halloween Time
Nearly every area of the Disneyland resort is decorated for Halloween, making it a huge spectacle. Among these is a quaint pumpkin festival on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland. Additionally, several rides receive overlays with a Halloween theme. Most notably, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas serves as the inspiration for the Haunted Mansion’s temporary transformation into Haunted Mansion Holiday.
Additionally, Disneyland hosts an after-hours Halloween party dubbed the Oogie Boogie Bash, which requires a special ticket. It will take place at Disney California Adventure Park on a few nights in the fall of 2025 and provide trick-or-treating around the park.
Aug. 22 through Nov. 2: Plaza de la Familia (a celebration of D a de los Muertos)
The D a de los Muertos event takes place at the same time as the Halloween celebrations. The celebration observes the Day of the Dead, a holiday honoring departed loved ones. There will be decorations throughout El Zcalo Park at Disneyland.
The celebrations at Disney California Adventure Park are centered around the movie Coco. This includes meet-and-greets with Miguel, the film’s protagonist, as well as storytelling and singing inspired by the movie.
Nov. 14 through early 2026: Holidays
The Disney winter holidays start shortly after Halloween. Although there aren’t many details available for 2025, the winter holiday celebrations at Disneyland Christmas 2024 featured a lights show on It’s a Small World and Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle.
A Christmas Fantasy Parade, Believe In Holiday Magic fireworks, and the World of Color Season of Light water fountain and light show are examples of seasonal entertainment.
Mickey-shaped gingerbread is one of the limited-edition foods that Disney uses the holidays to promote. Churros come in a range of seasonal tastes, such as sugar plum churros with marshmallow dipping sauce, chocolate sugar churros with peppermint dipping sauce, gingerbread churros, and chestnut churros.
Why getting the entire Disneyland 2025 calendar upfront is such a big deal
Planning and budgeting for your next trip to Disneyland is made simpler by being aware of the 2025 schedule. You’ll have time to search for travel and hotel discounts or purchase tickets to well-attended events before they sell out.
The greatest airfare offers are often discovered one to three months in advance for domestic flights and two to eight months in advance for foreign tickets, according to the travel alerts website Going. Disneyland visitors now have more time to sign up for travel notifications so they can take advantage of discounts during those crucial booking windows as they are aware of the activities that take place throughout the year.
Additionally, travelers with limited funds may have more time to save for a trip and possibly even apply for a travel credit card thanks to the extended notice. The prior announcement window might not have provided enough time for those who apply for credit cards during vacations in order to take advantage of promotional deals or higher spending incentives.
It should be simpler to plan (and budget for) a Disneyland vacation with a calendar covering the entire year 2025.
Other ways to save on a Disneyland vacation
Disney is currently offering several ticket discounts, such as:
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Cheap tickets for kids:
Disneyland Resort in California is running a limited-time offer for kids. For visits between Jan. 7 and March 20, 2025, kids between ages 3 through 9 can nab one-day, one-park tickets for as low as $50 per child.
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Discounts for Disney+ subscribers:
If you subscribe to Disney s streaming service, Disney+, you can buy athree-day, one-park-per-day Disneyland tickets
for $330, which is the standard price for just two days. That alone could make signing up for Disney+ worth it. The
Disney+ ticket deal
is valid for visits to Disney s Anaheim theme parks between Nov. 18 and Dec. 27, 2024.
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SoCal resident discounts:
If you live near Disneyland, you might also qualify to buy discounted theme park tickets for visits before the busy summer season starts again. Right now, Disneyland is offeringthree-day tickets for customers with eligible Southern California zip codes
:
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Three-day, one-park-per-day ticket for $199 ($66/day).
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Three-day Park Hopper ticket for $289 ($96/day).
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Three-day, one-park-per-day ticket with Lightning Lane Multi Pass for $295 ($98/day).
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Three-day, Park Hopper ticket with Lightning Lane Multi Pass $385 ($128/day).
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Three-day, one-park-per-day ticket for $199 ($66/day).
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Three-day Park Hopper ticket for $289 ($96/day).
You can still visit Disneyland on a tight budget if you are unable to take advantage of such ticket deals.
NerdWallet is written by Sally French. [email protected] is the email. @SAFmedia on Twitter.
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