Now that we've seen Disneyland and California Adventure at its holiday best in Part 1 and Part 2, what about all the fun characters, food and goodies, and shopping to be done? Let's dive right in!
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Welcome back to part 2 of Happy Holidays at Disneyland Resort! Let's pop over to see what's going on at California Adventure, from holiday decorations, the new Spider-Man Webslingers ride, and Cars Land. Quick note: the new Genie+ and Lightning Lane services have launched at the Disney parks, so you can shorten your wait times! Read more here.
Exciting news has landed, Disney lovers! Visitors have been bummed for a long time that FastPass and MaxPass never returned upon the reopening of the California parks, but new versions have officially launched! The only caveat is they are no longer free as FastPass used to be.
These new services are called Genie+ and Lightning Lanes.
There is now a complementary Genie service in the Disneyland app which lets you set up your travel party and select your interests and preferences to build out an itinerary and tip board. You can then view "My day" and the tip board listing your reservations and other things you've indicated interest in with their event/wait times.
Hello Disney lovers, and welcome to this special holiday edition! I'll take you through the full experience of the holidays at Disneyland and California Adventure 2021. If you're interested in my full review of Halloween at Disneyland 2021, check it out!
I can't remember if I've been to Disneyland California before during the holiday season due to avoiding higher crowds/prices (I have, however, been at Disney Japan. Did you know you can find mistletoe there?). Anyway, I was thrilled to get an inside look thanks to my new key pass!
Don't let the holiday season discourage you from going: with the limited capacity in place, crowds have been manageable even when I went on Saturdays! I've heard reports of barely any people a
Christmas runs through Jan. 9, so check out those reservation dates and book while you can!
Without further ado, let's dive into the lights, festive treats, and special experiences that await!
The best part of Halloween time at Disneyland is the food, amiright? I can't wait to show you some of the treats I enjoyed plus some very special characters and the brand new Plaza Point Holiday Shop featuring year-round holiday merch!
(If you missed part 1 and part 2 covering Disneyland and California Adventure, check it out!)
Welcome back to my tour of Disneyland, Halloween 2021! I'm sure you're dying to see what California Adventure does to celebrate the spooky festivities.
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| Halloween time at Disneyland Park |
Disney fans will never forget March 14, 2021: the day Disneyland and California Adventure parks in Anaheim, California closed for a record 412 days due to the COVID pandemic.
Over a year later, Disney reopened both its California parks to a very different experience that involved mandatory masking, mobile ordering, and the loss of several staples including parades, fireworks, and the beloved FastPass and single rider programs.
Fast forward to my birthday this year when I got the best gift of all: an annual pass to Disneyland, USA! Luckily my birthday is in the fall, and I was just in time to check out the Halloween season at the resorts. Some things were improved since the last time I visited in June 2021, and I had an amazing experience I can’t wait to share with you, including Halloween décor, food, characters, and shopping; Avengers Campus; Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge; and the brand new Main Street holiday store Plaza Point!
Welcome, we're taking a journey around Miyajima island. As you can see, there's much more to see after the famous Itsukushima shrine. Follow me!
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| World of Disney Dress Shop |
Our last stop takes us back through Downtown Disney (part 1, part 2, and part 3) to two of my other favorite stores: the Dress Shop and the Disney Gallery.
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| Disney Dress Shop cats |
We're back with more exciting updates from Downtown Disney in March 2021, a year after Disney was forced to shut its doors due to COVID-19. There's plenty you can still experience before Disneyland reopens on April 30, including a brand new photo op on the tails of the exciting conclusion to the hit Disney+ series WandaVision.
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| Raya and the Last Dragon mural at Downtown Disney |
I made it back to Downtown Disney during COVID-19 for another update. Just how is Disney faring with its year-long shut down? Pretty well, if they've begun charging $10 for parking.
TIP: During high-peak attendance (namely weekends) you could end up waiting over 2 hours to enter the area even after parking. Schedule some much-needed time off and hit it on a weekday morning so you get there just before they open. Even so, you'll find yourself waiting in line soon after to enter most stores.
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