Disneyland Seasonal Events Calendar for 2024
For the first time, Disney is releasing its lineup of seasonal events and limited-time festivities for the coming year, with a full calendar of celebrations in 2024 at Disneyland and California Adventure. This shares a list of the special entertainment offerings, date ranges for each event, and our commentary about what’s coming.
With the release of these dates, it’s also worth noting that Disney has already announced a variety of discount Disneyland ticket options and special offers for the first half of 2024. For Winter & Spring 2024, families can get greater value with a special offer on theme park tickets for kids, which can be purchased for as low as $50 per day.
For winter through early summer visits, the 2024 Southern California Resident Disneyland Ticket Deal is also making a return. It’s likely that Californians will get another ticket promotion for the second half of summer and early fall, too. Anyway, here’s the calendar of events at Disneyland Resort in 2024…
Lunar New Year at Disney California Adventure (January 23 to February 18, 2024): A tribute to Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean traditions, this multicultural celebration rings in the Year of the Dragon with Asian-inspired food and beverages, vibrant décor and Mushu leading the way in “Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession.”
Celebrate Gospel at Disneyland (February 17 and 24, 2024): Performing at the Fantasyland Theatre, the 2024 “Celebrate Gospel” concerts will be headlined by Marvin Sapp (Feb. 17) and Tasha Cobbs Leonard (Feb. 24). “Celebrate Gospel” is an annual tribute to Gospel music that brings together award-winning music artists and community choirs from across Southern California.
Anaheim Ducks Days at Disney California Adventure (February 22-23, 2024): In celebration of the Anaheim Ducks Hockey Club’s 30th anniversary, the Disneyland Resort and the Anaheim Ducks team up for a two-day event in Hollywood Land, including a celebratory cavalcade, fan zone with themed activities and photo opportunities, plus appearances by select current and legacy team players.
Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival (March 1 to April 22, 2024): The gastronomic extravaganza serves up creative foods and beverages, cooking demonstrations and family-friendly entertainment inspired by the diverse cultures and cuisines of the Golden State. The popular attraction, Soarin’ Over California, also returns for a limited time.
Season of the Force at Disneyland (April 5 to June 2, 2024) – Season of the Force arrives at Disneyland with Hyperspace Mountain and specially themed food and beverage, merchandise and more for a limited time. Debuting during the celebration, guests can embark on new adventures aboard Star Tours – The Adventures Continue, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will provide fresh perspective on the fireworks above Disneyland, with galactic music sweeping through the spires.
Pixar Fest (April 26 to August 4, 2024) – The reimagined Pixar Fest returns to the Disneyland Resort from April 26 through Aug. 4, 2024, bringing guests together for a celebration of friendship and beyond. From colorful décor and themed menu items to commemorative merchandise, the Disneyland Resort theme parks, hotels and Downtown Disney District will have a Pixar twist of friendly fun for a limited time.
This festival of friendship is highlighted by heartwarming entertainment featuring Pixar stories. An all-new daytime parade, “Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration!”, will debut at Disney California Adventure. At Disneyland, the emotional “Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular” returns with some all-new scenes. During the celebration, guests may encounter new characters such as Ember and Wade from “Elemental,” Red Panda Mei from “Turning Red” and more.
“Fantasmic!” (May 24, 2024) – The fan-favorite Fantasmic will return in modified form and again illuminate the Rivers of America at Disneyland. Fantasmic will feature new special effects and a new battle scene between Sorcerer Mickey and Maleficent, in place of the dragon Audio Animatronics figure that caught fire.
Most notably is the return of the iconic Peter Pan scene. In this beloved nighttime spectacular, fantastic events and images from Disney stories come to life through soaring music, dozens of live performers, character appearances and state-of-the-art projections.
Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort (August 23 to October 31, 2024): Wicked fun for all ages, this spellbinding season transforms the resort with autumn décor, characters dressed in hauntingly haute Halloween outfits and uniquely themed attractions.
Plaza de la Familia at Disney California Adventure (August 23 to November 2, 2024): The everlasting bonds of family and Mexican traditions of Día de los Muertos are honored through a cultural experience featuring storytelling and music from Pixar’s “Coco.”
Holidays at the Disneyland Resort (Begins November 15, 2024): Family and friends can celebrate the season with the lively Disney Festival of Holidays at Disney California Adventure, plus seasonal overlays on beloved attractions, cherished holiday spectaculars and dazzling wintry décor throughout the resort.
Guests can play the night away during fan-favorite after-hours events scheduled in 2024. These themed, separately ticketed events include pre-party park mix-in, shorter wait times for select attractions, unlimited select Disney PhotoPass digital photo downloads from the event, and more.
Disneyland After Dark (select nights from January through June): Disneyland will host four themed soirées packed with unique entertainment, rare character encounters and distinctive menus of sweet treats and savory snacks.
Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party (Returning in 2024): Disney California Adventure will throw family-friendly Halloween parties including immersive treat trails, rare character sightings and unique entertainment. For this spirited occasion, guests are invited to dress up in their favorite Halloween costumes.
That’s not all that’s on the horizon at Disneyland Resort in 2024. The reimagined Pixar Place Hotel opens January 30, 2024, marking the official transformation of Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel into the first Pixar hotel in the United States. The 15-story hotel overlooking Disney California Adventure will offer Pixar-themed guest rooms, new dining featuring Great Maple restaurant, a rooftop pool area, play court and more.
When the new attraction Tiana’s Bayou Adventure debuts at Disneyland later in 2024, guests will embark on a musical journey inspired by Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “The Princess and the Frog.” The stories of Princess Tiana also extend to Tiana’s Palace quick-service restaurant and Eudora’s Chic Boutique Featuring Tiana’s Gourmet Secrets retail shop in New Orleans Square.
The evolution of the Downtown Disney District continues to take shape with the openings of Paseo and Céntrico, serving Mexican cuisine by Michelin-starred Chef Carlos Gaytán, and Din Tai Fung, a world-renowned Chinese restaurant known for its soup dumplings and noodles, in 2024.
Restaurants and boutiques in the area will also continue to offer new must-have merchandise and menu items to discover. Musical entertainment, activities and events make the newly opened Downtown Disney LIVE! stage and lawn on the district’s west end an ideal location for gathering and relaxation.
For everything else on the horizon, see What’s New & Next at Disneyland & California Adventure in 2024 & Beyond.
In terms of commentary, there are only a couple things I want to discuss and draw your attention to with this calendar news–the rest we’ll cover in separate posts.
First, Season of the Force sounds like it’ll be very different than when that event debuted at Disneyland back in 2015. Noteworthy here is that Star Tours – The Adventures Continue will get its new destinations and Hyperspace Mountain will return.
Also, don’t sleep on Star Wars music playing during the Disneyland fireworks in Galaxy’s Edge. Outside Docking Bay 7 is actually a great spot for fireworks viewing (see my photo above), but it has always felt kinda lifeless due to a lack of music. It’s completely understandable that Disneyland wouldn’t pipe-in the normal music given the level of immersion and thematic integrity on Batuu.
This is a brilliant compromise, and one that should be awesome. Honestly, I hope this leads to more music being played in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. I know some diehard Keepers of the Sacred Timeline (or whatever) will disagree, but the land would feel like more of an epic adventure with a cinematic score.
Second, the Peter Pan scene is returning to Fantasmic.
The replacement of Peter Pan with Pirates of the Caribbean on the Sailing Ship Columbia (which occurred in Summer 2017 with Fantasmic 2.0) has long been a sore subject with diehard Disneyland fans, who felt Jack Sparrow and co. didn’t fit Fantasmic. (There are actually a lot of little quibbles that its more fervent fans have with music and other changes.)
I don’t have a particularly strong opinion on this. There’s always a divide on this between fans and casual guests, with the latter loving all things Jack Sparrow. It’s not just a Fantasmic thing–Pirates of the Caribbean has been injected into a bunch of nighttime entertainment that was otherwise animated movies. If you think about it, I suppose it is a bit jarring. But Pirates of the Caribbean is larger than life, and its scenes usually feature fire. Everyone loves fire, it’s human nature.
Regardless, I’m looking forward to seeing the Peter Pan scene again. I just wonder if this will be a permanent change, or done to placate fans who will otherwise realize the modified Fantasmic is a ‘b-mode’ version of the show. I’ll be interesting to see what other updates are made.
Finally, we’ve received several reader questions about when Disneyland After Dark dates and themes would be announced. Honestly, I thought that’s what this was going to be. Based on past precedent, those should be released any day now. I’d expect them really soon if Disneyland is worried about pent-up demand fizzling out, as they’ll want as much lead-time to sell out the events.
Ultimately, we’re really looking forward to 2024 at Disneyland. We plan on spending a lot of time in the parks, attending every single one of the major celebrations multiple times. We’re also very curious about the date changes for Halloween and the Holidays, but that’s another topic for another post (or two).
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
What are you looking forward to at Disneyland or Disney California Adventure in 2024? Excited about this slate of special events, or were you hoping for something more or different? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? 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!
Thanks so much for this blog! So thankful for all the information. It’s going to make our trip more affordable and more fun I’m sure.
Just a note- it’s hard to read the blog on a phone. The ads keep making the page jump down or up. Sometimes they send me back to the top of the page. Really hard to keep track of where you’re reading.
Everything else is so great and so helpful. Thank you!
Does Disneyland do a Very Merry Christmas Party? And if so, do you know the dates for it this year?
Hi Tom
I saw DL just released their After Hours dates and ran immediately to your blog. You mentioned you’d have more commentary coming but I have a burning question…
We are planning our first ever DL trip in June 2024. Pride Night is now scheduled for 2 of the 3 days we will be there. Is this bad or good for us, a family with 2 young kids doing DL for the first time??
1. Will this make the parks less crowded bc there’s a ticketed night event? Kinda how Magic Kingdom is on party nights. Of more crowded?
2. Will the parks close early due to Pride Night? We want the full fireworks/nighttime experience.
I’m second guessing it all! It’s our first trip out to DL and I want to experience it all! Thanks!
Hi Tom, do you think that perhaps they have delayed the start of the Holiday Season so that they can debut Tiana’s Ride straight after Halloween which will give it a clear two week debut period all on its own before the Holiday Season kicks off. It would also bring in crowds to a normally slower time of the two weeks between end of Halloween and start of Holiday. Otherwise I really can’t understand at all why they have delayed the Holiday Season opening which is clearly a big draw crowd time of year. What are your thoughts.
It’s possible that’s the goal, but everything I’ve heard thus far suggests they don’t have a good idea yet as to when they’ll be able to open Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland.
Walt Disney World, on the other hand…
I love how they have released the events to Disneyland. Do you think they will do the same for Disney World?
It’s possible, but this wouldn’t have any bearing on that. Disneyland does its own thing–there’s very little communication and collaboration with Walt Disney World. So the only way WDW releases one is if they see this and decide it was a success that they want to emulate.
I doubt it’ll happen, but who knows.
Hi Tom,
We’re planning a trip for Nov 2024 and I thought Nov 3 week would be the best week of the month in terms of crowds. Is that a good assumption? Also, if Halloween ends before then and Christmas doesn’t start until Veterans Day, what happens to that in-between period? Would you recommend a Nov 3 week vacation, or go later in the month?
That in-between period, minus Veterans Day weekend, will undoubtedly be less busy. So from a crowds perspective, go then.
From a qualitative point of view, I’d wait until Christmas season starts. It’s amazing and worth enduring the heavier crowds. There are other pockets that should be good before and after Thanksgiving. (I should probably do a best & worst weeks post soon.)
I am ridiculously excited about the Food and Wine festival starting during our trip! My kids will get to ride both incarnations of Soarin’, CGI and Over California! I can’t wait to find out more about the Festival booths.
I’m toying with the idea of visiting Disneyland for the first time ever over Thanksgiving. Any thoughts on that? Yes, I know it will be crowded. Is it truly too crowded to enjoy? We have to stick to a school schedule for now, and summer is out this year. Would you pick (next) summer over Thanksgiving?
“Would you pick (next) summer over Thanksgiving?”
No.
Christmas-time at Disneyland is truly amazing. I would visit during the most crowded week at Christmas over the least-busy week during the summer, if push came to shove. Thanksgiving will be busy, but it’s nothing sound strategy and preparedness can’t overcome. Just buy Genie+ and be prepared to be up early, take a midday break, and return late. If you get “lucky” with colder weather in the evenings, it can really clear out the crowds.
Hi Tom, do you think it’s reasonable to assume that the holiday overlay of ‘it’s a small world’ will open to coincide with the listed Nov 15th start of the holiday season at Disneyland? Asking for a friend whose husband loves Christmas lights and it’s a small world (it’s me, I’m the friend).
Absolutely reasonable assumption. (Well, unless they flood the control room again.)
The later start date for Christmas 2024 is honestly kinda baffling–I wouldn’t be surprised if IASW debuts before that, not after.
So will the star wars music be synced to the fireworks? because it looks like the pixar fireworks will start halfway through the star wars event. Either way that sounds super cool
It looks like Pixar fireworks are staring in April 13th before the Star Wars event from some of the announcements I have read. I think it might be the case. A bit like how they suse to have projections on small world mall to try to get people away from the castle. In someways its a very sound idea because you dont have Fantasmic to suck up the nightime crowds until the end of May or later from what i remember of the last announcement!
Purely a guess–but I doubt the music will be synced to the pyro. If this were all starting the same date, I’d say maybe, but I find it hard to believe that Disneyland will sync two different fireworks shows to Star Wars music. Perhaps I’m being pessimistic, though.