Holiday Time at Disneyland Tour Review
Disneyland’s ‘Holiday Time at Disneyland’ is a guided tour featuring holiday history, and more. This post covers our review of the tour, pros & cons of doing it, photos from the tour, and more.
In addition to a tour covering the history of Christmas at Disneyland and various holiday customs, guests receive: priority boarding on “it’s a small world” holiday and Haunted Mansion Holiday; hot chocolate and gingerbread; a collectible pin; a cardboard tour tag that can be used as an ornament (I wouldn’t); and reserved seating for ‘A Christmas Fantasy Parade’ in the “it’s a small world” mall.
At the time of this post, tickets for the Guided Tour are $64 each (with separate Theme Park admission also required). Fortunately, Premium and Deluxe Annual Passholders receive a 20% discount, as do AAA or Disney Visa Cardholders, making the cost a little more palatable.
To make reservations call (714) 781-4400 or visit the Tour Gardens Kiosk at the front of Disneyland Park, which is located right next to City Hall. Tours are offered daily multiple times (the first is usually at 10am) with a capacity of 20 guests per tour. Larger tours will utilize headsets, smaller tours typically do not. Each tour lasts approximately two and half hours. Valid Disneyland Park admission is required.
Wondering whether the tour is for you? Here’s our take…
The tour we took, fortunately, consisted only of 6 people so it was very intimate. Unfortunately, it was in the rain so we got soaked. The best part of the tour is definitely the history lesson, and that was the part we figured would be the least significant to us.
Unless you’re a history buff who can recite the lines from vintage Disneyland Christmas television specials from memory, it’s likely that you’ll learn something on the history portion of the tour. A few of the facts presented we had learned at prior Disney events, including D23’s Destination D, but for the most part, the information was new.
To be sure, guests could just as easily find most of this information themselves on the internet for free, but there is something to be said about having it presented to you by a delightful and cheery Disneyland Cast Member as you tour the park.
In addition to the walking history lesson, guests receive dessert samples and hot chocolate in a collectible plastic mug. For many, one of the big draws of this tour is the priority access to “it’s a small world” holiday and Haunted Mansion Holiday as well as the reserved seating (in actual chairs, no less!) for “A Christmas Fantasy” Parade.
If you’re visiting during Thanksgiving or Christmas week, these three aspects of the tour alone might justify the somewhat hefty price tag for the tour. Of course, no Disney event would be complete without guests also receiving a pin that commemorates the tour!
The fudge, gingerbread, and hot chocolate we sampled likely totaled a little over $10 in value, and all of these treats were delicious.
It wasn’t a case of receiving $10 in “value” of things we didn’t want and wishing that the tour simply would have been $10 cheaper without the treats. The treats definitely enhanced the tour.
Additionally, the priority access to “it’s a small world” holiday and Haunted Mansion Holiday are very advantageous if you’re traveling during busy days of the holiday season or you’re too lazy to arrive at the park for rope drop. The priority access can save around an hour in line at each attraction during busy times.
Even if you do arrive at Disneyland for rope drop at experience only 5 minute waits for the aforementioned attractions, you’ll frequently have to wait a couple hours for good “A Christmas Fantasy” Parade spots regardless of when you visit during the holiday season. No matter how long you wait, you won’t be waiting on, and viewing the parade from, folding chairs. Trust us, we tried to bring lawn chairs into the park and we didn’t even make it past the bag check!
Given all of this, in retrospect, we feel the Holiday Time at Disneyland tour was a reasonably good value for the money. We learned a little, ate a little, and enjoyed some of the best holiday offerings at Disneyland without fighting the crowds. That said, it’s not an absolute must do, and if your budget is limited, you’re much better off allocating any spare funds towards desserts.
If you really want to prepare for a trip to Disneyland during the holidays, read our Ultimate Guide to Christmas at Disneyland, which is a crash course in everything you can expect this time of year at Disney California Adventure and Disneyland.
As for figuring out the rest of your Disneyland trip, including how to save money on Disneyland tickets, our Disney packing tips, whether you should stay off-site or on-site in a Disney hotel, where to dine, and a number of other things, check out our comprehensive Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide!
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Your Thoughts
Have you done the Holiday Time at Disneyland tour? What did you think of it? Share your thoughts in the comments!
I tried to make a reservation for this December (2021), and was told that they aren’t currently offering this tour: “Hi Ruth, thank you for your patience! At this time, we are not offering a Holiday Tour. As we navigate through our historic re-opening, I can only advise to please continue to check the website or contact us frequently for any updates. We are working hard every day to bring the parks back to the normal magic you have experienced in the past.”
We did the Holiday Tour December 2017. We were not impressed with the tour and do not recommend it. The tour was promoted as a “backstage” look at the Holiday Decorations. The information was not particularly insightful and there was NO sense of being “backstage” — on the contrary, we walked through all the busiest parts of the park (ugh, crowds!) during the busiest part of the day with headsets to hear the guide. In addition to trying to make those work (they were ponderous and had poor sound) there was a background soundtrack to the tour that competed with the Christmas music being played along the streets. We did enjoy the treats, parade seating, and a “fast pass” on Small World good for anytime after the tour that day. The pin was nice, the ornament okay, and the “mug” not worth the luggage space. The cast members couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful, but it was not something I would repeat. My kids were bored and irritated by the walking pace (ages 7&8). This is a tour to skip.
Pricing has increased. Also they do not take you on the holiday rides. We went December 17 of this year. It was crowded and people had a hard time staying no with the group, because you walk along the normal paths with everyone in Disneyland. They don’t show you too much. My group was 4 adults and we found it disappointing. You are basically just paying for the reserved seats for the parade. They do not take you on the holiday rides, just advise you to ride them on your own time.
Thanks for your article. It is extremely unfortunate that over the last ten years, the travel industry has had to handle terrorism, SARS, tsunamis, influenza, swine flu, plus the first ever true global economic depression. Through it the industry has really proven to be solid, resilient plus dynamic, getting new ways to deal with trouble. There are continually fresh troubles and opportunities to which the marketplace must just as before adapt and respond.
And to think I was going to talk to sooenme in person about this.
Tom – Do you have a review on the “Walk in Walt’s Disneyland Footsteps?” My wife and I are planning on going to Disneyland the first weekend in Dec to celebrate our 1 year Anniversary. I wanted your input on this tour to help me better plan our time there. Thanks!
We did that one last year.. Loved it. Got to see the Dream Suite which you would never normally get to see. It lasted almost 4 hours with lunch included. Very informative. I highly recommend this tour.
We did this Holiday Tour during our Dec 2014 trip to the park. We enjoyed it and felt like VIPs as we sipped our Hot Chocolate, ate our gingerbread cookie, sat on chairs in a nice viewing spot as we watched the Parade. The collectible plastic mug takes me back to my “happy place” when I sip my morning coffee on the way to work.
The only suggestion is to be careful when re-entering the park. Our visit was Thur thru to Sunday. Our tour was on Sat afternoon. We arrived to Disneyland early (for the extra magic hour) so we planned a rest in our Disneyland Hotel room prior to returning to the park for our tour & our evening hours. The lineups to enter Disneyland were very long and we just about missed our tour.
I wish they did this tour at WDW. Of course they would have to do the holiday overlays then…
There are several comparable tours at Walt Disney World, albeit more expensive, but also more thorough.
Would love to give Disneyland a try! Many trips to WDW but never yet to Disneyland. Have you been to both? Care to compare for me?
Do you have a picture of the pin you received? This sounds fun for my Disneymoon… do you know if it is offered weekdays for the week after Thanksgiving?
i always dream someday i’l be there..