Hey Disney Worlders, Here's Reasons to be WAY Jealous of the Holidays in Disneyland!

The holiday season is in full swing, and the halls are well and fully DECKED at Disney World and Disneyland!

Disneyland

While picking a favorite park is like picking a favorite child, we have to admit that there are SOME elements of the holidays at Disneyland that have Disney Worlders feeling a wee bit jealous!

“Believe…In Holiday Magic” Fireworks Spectacular

While Disney World hosts its own holiday fireworks show with the NEW Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks, there is one MAJOR difference. If you wanna be standing on Main Street, U.S.A. watching the holiday fireworks in Disney World…it’s gonna cost ya!

Disneyland’s “Believe…In Holiday Magic” is available most days with regular admission to the park, versus Disney World’s offering that is part of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, meaning you need to buy a separate ticket on top of your Magic Kingdom ticket ($$$$!!!).

Believe in Holiday Magic ©Disney

The fireworks at Disneyland run nightly from November 8, 2019 to January 6, 2020. If that wasn’t enough, the holiday fireworks were actually kicked off by the Frozen 2 cast this year (MAJORLY JEALOUS!). While both fireworks shows give us major heart-eyes and holiday cheer, we can’t help but favor the one that only requires one ticket (spoiler alert — buckle in, because this is going to be a recurring theme here!).

Read about the Believe…in Holiday Magic fireworks show here!

Haunted Mansion Holiday Overlay

Year after year, Disney Worlders feel MAJOR jealousy for the fantastic Haunted Mansion Holiday Overlay that comes to Disneyland each year!

Haunted Mansion Holiday

Every Halloween season, Jack Skellington and friends bring their own unique version of holiday cheer to the Haunted Mansion. The Nightmare Before Christmas overlay typically lasts from early Fall to January, and, while Disney Worlder’s love their Mansion, it would be mega cool if it came to Disney World this time of year! Oh, and if that weren’t enough of a reason for some green-eyed jealousy, there’s also the fact that Disneyland passholders will have even more time all to themselves to ride this holiday favorite come December (keep reading on for more on that…).

What’s this? Read more about this year’s Haunted Mansion Holiday here!

World of Color – Season of Light

If you’ve never witnessed the World of Color show at Disney California Adventure add it to your list RIGHT NOW! The water, lights, and music are breathtaking, and a MUST do while you’re at Disneyland Resort! For the holidays, the show really brings the cheer with the World of Color – Season of Light show!

World of Color – Season of Light ©Disney

Running from November 8, 2019 to January 6, 2020, this jolly spectacular brings the same water, light, and song, but with a burst of holiday flare! Similarly to Disneyland’s “Believe…In Holiday Magic”, this show is also offered with regular park admission each night. It’s a delightful holiday display unlike anything els, and we seriously wish Disney World had something like it!

Read all about the World of Color – Season of Light Show here!

Disneyland Passholder After-Hours Perks

Apparently Disneyland Passholders have been on the nice list all year, because the park is treating them to some seriously fun perks this holiday season!

It’s a Small World

Disneyland has been keeping certain rides open after-hours exclusively for their Passholders to ride! Currently, Disneyland Passholders can ride the jolliest cruise in the world, as it’s a small world is offering after-hours access to its Passholders from November 18-22, 2019! They also announced that the Haunted Mansion will be hosting similar after-hours access from December 9th through December 11th! While this is SUCH fun news for Disneylanders, we’d be lying if we said we weren’t feeling a teensy bit jealous that Disney World Passholders haven’t gotten any similar holiday treats this year!

Read about the latest Disney Passholder After-Hours perks here!

A Christmas Fantasy Parade

There’s no better way to envelop yourself in the holiday spirit than to witness Santa Claus himself sleighing down Main Street, U.S.A.! The A Christmas Fantasy Parade at Disneyland welcomes you to a winter wonderland, featuring favorite Disney characters such as the Frozen gang, along with holiday staples like the toy soldiers and Santa and his reindeer!

©Disney

The seasonal parade takes place twice a day in Disneyland as part of the park’s daily events. While Disney World DOES have its own magical holiday parade in Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade, once again…it’ll cost ya! (Womp womp!)

It takes place during the hard-ticket event, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Not to sound like too much of a broken record, but, oh boy, how we wish some of these daily Christmas events were available as day-to-day included entertainment at Disney World too! 😉

Read all about the Christmas Fantasy Parade here!

SO MANY Holiday Churros!

Listen, both Disney World and Disneyland are KILLING IT on the holiday treats front this year! From the White Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream Sandwich in Disney World to Cookie Shots in Disneyland, our bellies truly are shakin’ like a bowl full of jelly. That being said, there is one BIG treat category where Disneyland is seriously winning in the DL vs. WDW throw down….those amazing holiday churros.

Sugar Cookie Churro

Peppermint Churro, Turtle Churro, and Sugar Plum Churro…these ARE a few of our favorite things! Seriously, though, could these holiday churros BE any more scrumptious?! And, thanks to Disney California Adventure’s Festival of Holidays, the West Coast has a TON of mouth-watering options! Disneyland knows how to do the churro right, and this holiday season they have REALLY stepped up the game!

Read our ranking of ALL the holiday churros at Disneyland here!

“it’s a small world” Holiday Overlay

This is another holiday overlay that has us wanting to take a trip to Disneyland pronto! No matter the time of year, it’s a small world is a truly magical ride, but during the holidays especially, the special enhancements made to this classic attraction make it downright JOLLY! Just look at how the exterior steps up its Christmas light game!

It’s a Small World ©Disney

This year especially, “it’s a small world” is getting a whiff of something extra special. Along with the holly jolly decor, the ride’s holiday overlay now features new scents to REALLY get you into the holiday spirit! In past years guests could smell pine trees and peppermint in the European scenes of the ride, and this year they added three MORE scents to the mix! This year, you can smell cinnamon in the South America scenes, coconut in the South Seas scenes, and cherry blossom in the South Asia scenes! How cool is that?! We’re suckers for some good Disney smells! 🙂 Meanwhile, on the East Coast, it’s business as usual over at “it’s a small world” with no fun, festive overlay. Disney Worlders long to smell cinnamon and pine trees while they set sail on the happiest cruise as well!

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What do you think of the Disneyland vs Disney World holiday throw down? Do you agree with our picks – or do you have others to add? Let us know in the comments below!