Ducks Days at Disneyland: 2025 Dates & Details

The Anaheim Ducks and Disneyland Resort are hosting an event for fans in honor of the NHL hockey team. This guide to this ‘mighty milestone’ covers everything you need to know: 2025 dates, details, things to do, and more. Plus, we share commentary about our thoughts on this limited-time celebration. (Updated December 18, 2024.)

If you’re a Disney fan of a certain age, it doesn’t matter where you live, your other NHL allegiances, or even if you like hockey in the first place. You are a Mighty Ducks fan. It’s like the Anaheim Angels or, to a lesser extent, the Orlando Magic. Perhaps you don’t actively cheer on any of these teams today, but you hold a special place for them in your heart.

You probably already know their history. In case not, the NHL team was originally founded by the Walt Disney Company in 1993 as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, a name inspired by the 1992 Disney film, The Mighty Ducks. That was a team of losers led to greatness by the legendary coach Gordon Bombay and one of the all-time greatest plays in sports, the Flying V. According to 7-year old film critic Tom Bricker, The Mighty Ducks is one of the greatest movies of all-time. (Rotten Tomatoes seems to disagree with that–yikes. Won’t be revisiting the movie to find out whether it still holds up.)

The 1990s really were a wild time for the Walt Disney Company. Reborn, like a phoenix rising from Arizona, thanks to Michael Eisner and Frank Wells bringing the company back from the brink and massively growing it during what they dubbed the “Disney Decade.” A lot of stuff happened in the parks, and just as much didn’t. We often focus on how Walt Disney World and Disneyland changed during that era of explosive growth.

But can we stop for just a second to appreciate that Disney made two sports movies, The Mighty Ducks and Angels in the Outfield, and then went on to create those franchises in real life?! That is absolutely wild. Granted, they “only” acquired a stake in the already-existing California Angels, but they built the Mighty Ducks from the ground up as an expansion team. It’s nuts. A lot has changed in professional sports since then and I can’t imagine something like this ever happening now. Suffice to say, the 1990s were a different time.

As a result of the Disney connection, a generation of kids became fans of the Mighty Ducks NHL team. It probably also didn’t hurt that the club was surprisingly good for an expansion team, and got even better a couple of years later thanks to the dynamic duo of Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne, the Finnish Flash. The latter is still engaged with the club and in the community–he just opened a bakery next to his (excellent) steakhouse in Laguna Beach!

The Mighty Ducks were really good in the early 2000s, but despite their success atop the Western Conference duking things out with Detroit, couldn’t win a Stanley Cup. Disney sold the team in 2005, they were renamed as the (not-so-mighty, I guess?) Anaheim Ducks for the 2006-2007 season, and won their first (and only) Stanley Cup. They will always be the Mighty Ducks to me.

Anyway, here are details about the 2025 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Days at Disneyland…

Dart over to Disney California Adventure and Downtown Disney for an exciting one-day event celebrating the Anaheim Ducks on January 24, 2025. (It’s referred to as “Ducks Days” because it has been a two-day event in the past. Not sure why Disneyland shortened it to a single-day celebration in 2025–last year’s celebration seemed well-received.)

Special Activities at Disney California Adventure

In Hollywood Land, experience an action-packed slate of fun-filled activities throughout the day, including:

• Fan Headquarters in Hyperion Courtyard – Test your hockey skills with themed activities, take part in immersive photo opportunities and interact with other fans and Anaheim Ducks DJs!
• Ducks Take Over Hollywood Land – Find themed “Duck”-cor on Hollywood Boulevard and throughout the Hollywood Backlot. You can also snack on themed eats like the Chicken-Fried Steak Burrito and browse event merchandise available for purchase for a limited time.
• Anaheim Ducks Cavalcade – Pick a spot along the Parade Corridor between Paradise Gardens Park and Hollywood Land to see some current Anaheim Ducks players in a celebratory cavalcade. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to take part in special giveaways.
• Meet Wild Wing and Grab a Photo – Head to the Hyperion Courtyard to snap a photo with the official mascot of the Anaheim Ducks.
• “Draw Ducks Day” at Animation Academy – Throughout the day, learn how to draw some favorite Disney “Ducks” with our Animation Academy artists. And when you’re done, keep your art as a souvenir! Check the Disneyland app for operating hours and showtimes.
• Meet and Greet with Anaheim Ducks Players – Bring your camera-ready smile as Guests with wristbands will have the opportunity to meet Anaheim Ducks players at designated times throughout the day. Plus, say “hi” to some of your favorite Power Players.

Special Activities at the Downtown Disney District
Head to the Downtown Disney District for more high-energy fun, including:

• Seek & Find – Search for themed Anaheim Ducks images hidden throughout the Downtown Disney District and use the accompanying letters to unscramble a secret message.
• Anaheim Ducks Day Overtime at the Downtown Disney District Powered by Honda – Beginning in the afternoon, join us as the celebration kicks into high gear, featuring DJs, a live band, dancing, legacy player appearances, games, themed photo opportunities, special giveaways and more!

Grab your jersey and come to play—because this event will be a slapshot of pure fun!

In terms of commentary, I absolutely love everything about this. Disney doing more limited-time events that encourage locals and Annual Passholders to come out to the parks. The company doing outreach to form closer bonds within the community. A good amount of effort for a one-off event. I wish it were longer, but I’m guessing that’s about the extent of demand–so it makes sense. Regardless, all of this is great to see. Kudos to Disney and the Ducks for putting the effort into making this happen.

I’d love something similar with other teams (and more) at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Some of my favorite events are the little things like this that have niche appeal but enhance the guest experience and are included in admission. If you’re a Mighty Ducks fan, this event arguably offers more for you than the themed Disneyland After Dark nights! Let’s have the same with ‘dueling days’ for the Angels and Dodgers, Clippers and Lakers, Chargers and Rams (and Raiders, still a hometown team, if we’re being honest). Walt Disney World could do the same for the Magic, Buccaneers, Rays, and Lightning.

I’m hoping we have a chance to make it out to the Anaheim Ducks Days at Disney California Adventure on January 24, 2025. Although I was a diehard Red Wings fan growing up, I lost interest in hockey after leaving home and it also became more or less impossible to watch out-of-market games. I’ve since gotten back into the sport over the last few years now that the games are much easier to watch, but I don’t have a team–I just enjoy whatever’s on. Maybe the Mighty Ducks will end up being it; that would certainly be the easiest option!

Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and many other SoCal cities!

Your Thoughts

Will you be attending the Anaheim (Mighty) Ducks Days at Disney California Adventure on January 24, 2025? Excited to see the Stanley Cup, past and present players, Wild Wing, or anything else? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment of the event? Any questions? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!