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If you are planning a Disneyland 2025 trip, we have everything you need to know right here. We have all the dates and events for 2025! This year is going to be quite a frogciting time to visit Disneyland Resort! We are talking major celebrations, the return of an all-time favorite nighttime parade (and the return of a daytime parade!), a new World of Color show, seasonal events and more. Plus, the fan-favorite festivals are back, and they are even bigger and better than ever! The hard part is deciding the best time to make that Disneyland trip in 2025. Never fear — your froggy friends are here to help you plan the most amazing Disneyland vacation. Here's what you need to know about visiting Disneyland in 2025.
You may notice a lot of links and cross-references to other posts in this post. That's because we have so much to share about every topic, tool and celebration that all the information won't fit in one place! We promise that reading up on each of the topics that interest you will help prepare you for your Disneyland trip and make visiting in 2025 so much easier for you.
We want to point out some of the new things that came to Disneyland in 2024. If you have not had a chance to visit, they'll still be new to you in 2025! Tiana's Bayou Adventure opened in November 2024, and the surrounding area has been reimagined into Bayou Country. Pixar Place Hotel had its grand opening in early 2024. Plus, the former Genie+ system has been renamed to Disney Lightning Lane Passes (though it still functions the same way!). There's also a new Lightning Lane Premier Pass option for people who want to skip the line but don't want to deal with the app or scheduling rides.
Timeline of Major Disneyland Events for Your Disneyland 2025 Trip
We have two toadally hopful posts on What’s Coming to Disneyland and the full list of Disneyland 2025 events. But let’s quickly look at the timeline for major official events, openings, times that major shows return from refurbishment and important details here (some of these events overlap):
- Jan. 1-6: The end of Holiday Time (including Three Kings Day Jan. 6)
- Jan. 1 - May 15: Southern California Resident tickets available (as low as $64.50 per day through Undercover Tourist!)
- Jan. 17 - Feb. 16: Lunar New Year
- Jan. 24: Anaheim Ducks Day at Disney California Adventure
- Jan. 7 - March 20: $50 child tickets every day!
- Jan. 30 - Feb. 2: runDisney Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend
- February: Black History Month with performances Feb. 8 and 15
- Feb. 28 - April 21: Food and Wine Festival at Disney California Adventure
- March 28 - May 11: Season of the Force
- May 16, 2025 through Summer 2026: Disneyland 70th Anniversary Celebration
- May 16: A new attraction, Walt Disney – A Magical Life, debuts at the Main Street Opera House
- Aug. 22 - Oct. 31: Halloween Time
- Sept. 4-7: runDisney Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon Weekend
- Nov. 14 - Jan. 7, 2026: Holiday Time
There are many smaller events you can find in our events post (such as Dapper Day and Gays Days and Disneyland After Dark events), but these are the biggest festivals, celebrations and openings to celebrate this year.
Knowing the Disneyland calendar can help you pinpoint when to visit based on the entertainment and decorations in the park. Halloween Time kicks off early, with Oogie Boogie Bash party nights starting Aug. 17, 2025. So if you can only visit in late August, you still get to experience Halloween Time this year and you might also get to enjoy the 70th! Both Halloween Time and Holiday Time come with their own special fireworks and other nighttime entertainment that will temporarily pause "Wondrous Journeys" nighttime spectacular and "Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration!" parade to make way for seasonal Halloween and Holiday entertainment offerings. Those offerings will resume at a later time. So plan your journey carefully at those times.
New Experiences and Experiences That Recently Returned
Let's take a look at some rides and experiences that recently returned to Disneyland that you may want to add to your 2025 Disneyland trip wish list:
- Nighttime entertainment: Fantasmic! returned May 24, and the Paint the Night nighttime parade returns for the 70th, as of May 16, 2025. Check out our guide to the best Disneyland shows!
- New characters appear in Avengers Campus and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.
- Character dining themed holiday meals are at Goofy's Kitchen and Storytellers Cafe.
- Many new restaurants have opened in Downtown Disney, including Din Tai Fung, Paseo, Céntrico and Tiendita — and more to come in 2025!
- New shopping experiences have opened in Downtown Disney.
- Disney's Pixar Place Hotel opened in January 2024 (and you can book for a discount through Undercover Tourist).
- Disneyland Hotel Villas opened at Disneyland Resort and you can also book those through Undercover Tourist to save.
- Tiana's Bayou Adventure opened with Bayou Country and a new restaurant — Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree — as of Nov. 15, 2024.
- Haunted Mansion has a new queue with so many large and tiny details to look at!
Disneyland 70th Anniversary Celebration
Running May 16, 2025, through summer 2026, the Disneyland 70th brings a lot of new and popular returning entertainment to the parks. Here are a few big things to look forward to during the 70th:
- Wondrous Journeys projection show with fireworks on select nights (note that show is paused during Halloween Time and Holiday Time) at Disneyland Park
- Paint the Night Parade returns to Disneyland Park
- New character outfits at Disneyland Park
- New World of Color Happiness! show at Disney California Adventure
- Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration Parade returns to Disney California Adventure
- Projection shows on "it's a small world" and Carthay Circle
- Character cavalcade in Disneyland Park
- Special food, beverage and merchandise
Avoiding Crowds in 2025
Want to avoid crowds? That's getting harder to do with Disneyland demand being so high and demand ticket pricing. Our Best Time to Visit Disneyland post and our Crowd Calendar help predict the most crowded and least crowded days to visit. The busiest times are during holidays, school breaks and on the cheapest days to visit.
Tools to Skip the Lines and Avoid Crowds
Even if you can't avoid the crowds, we can help you feel less affected by them. Here are a few tools we think are worth using to manage your day. Many may seem new to you if you have not visited Disneyland in a few years, but they help you operate outside of the crowds and make it feel like a less-crowded day for you.
- Mobile Order — Skip the food lines by using the Disneyland app to order food with Mobile Order.
- Rope Drop or Staying Until Park Close — The shortest wait times of the day are in the first hour of park opening and the last two hours before the parks close. Take a break or have a long sit-down lunch midday so you can power through the evening hours. We offer rope drop strategies for Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.
- Early Entry — People who stay at one of the three Disneyland on-site hotels can access areas of one of the theme parks 30 minutes before other park guests. Early Entry helps you get a great head start on your day. Only one park per day hosts Early Entry. Check the park hours online or in the Disneyland app to see the schedule.
- Park Plans — We have park plans to help you navigate the parks and find the rides with the shortest wait times of the day. Knowing where to go first can save you time and help you get the most done.
- Virtual Queue — You can use the virtual queue (accessible within the Disneyland app) to access the viewing area for World of Color at noon (with valid park admission and a theme park reservation; guests must either have a park hopper ticket or a base ticket with admission to Disney California Adventure Park).
- Single Rider — A few rides allow guests ages 7 and up to skip the line by filling in empty seats. Parties will be split up.
- Dining Reservations or Walk-Up List — Make advance dining reservations up to 60 days in advance. If you can't get the reservation you want, try joining the walk-up list in the Disneyland app when you are in the restaurant's vicinity.
- Disney Genie — This free service in the Disneyland app can help you plan an itinerary that helps you find the shortest lines. Don't get Disney Genie confused with the paid Lightning Lane Multi Pass service. Genie can help people new to Disneyland decide where to go next or alert them to upcoming shows and parades they want to see.
Add-on Tools for a Fee
Then, there are a few services and tools available that come with a price.
- Lightning Lane Multi Pass — You can purchase a ticket with Lightning Lane Multi Pass (formerly Genie+) or purchase the service after entering a theme park each day. You get to access the Lightning Lane and skip the standard queue for select rides. You'll make ride selections through the Disneyland app. Our Lightning Lane Multi Pass tips and tricks post has more details. Lightning Lane Multi Pass purchased same-day is on a variable pricing schedule, but you can save by purchasing tickets with Lightning Lane Multi Pass already included through Undercover Tourist.
- Lightning Lane Single Pass — A few premium rides (such as Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Radiator Springs Racers) in each park also have a Lightning Lane but are not included in Lightning Lane Multi Pass. You can skip the free standby line for these by paying for them individually. Our Lightning Lane Multi Pass FAQ post has more details on Lightning Lane Single Pass.
- Lightning Lane Premier Pass — The new Lightning Lane Premier Pass includes one-time access to all the Single Pass and Multi Pass rides. You do not have to schedule them. It does come at a higher cost.
- Dining Packages — You can purchase dining packages that give you reserved spots for parades and shows. Some of them are really hopful in terms of saving time and stress. We break down the pros and cons and discuss which ones we think are toadally worth it in our dining packages post.
- MagicBand+ — Disney World fans may be used to this wearable technology, but MagicBands are still pretty new at Disneyland. You can link a MagicBand+ to your Disneyland ticket and simply tap it to enter the park, enter a Lightning Lane and get your PhotoPass photos from a photographer. The bands also interact with some rides, shows and park locations to enhance your experiences. You can even use a MagicBand+ to hunt for bounty in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Save time and your phone battery by using a MagicBand.
Theme Park Reservations
You still need a theme park reservation for your Disneyland trip in 2025. Disneyland remains high in demand, but reservations are limited. That means reservations can fill up in advance. Plan ahead, but keep in mind that the reservation calendar can change. So if you have your heart set on a date, just keep checking in case something opens up.
Lock in a good Disneyland ticket deal well before your visit and then use it to reserve your dates once they become available. You can book up to 180 days in advance, but you can purchase tickets from Undercover Tourist well before that. When purchasing a multi-day Disneyland ticket, you might want to add an extra day to your Disneyland visit this year, because all these events and celebrations and new experiences are just the icing on the cake. (The cake is all the great rides and shows that are already part of a normal day at Disneyland!) You'll want to allow enough time to see and do it all.
We normally recommend at least three days to visit Disneyland and Disney California Adventure but we are upping that to recommending four or five days in 2025. So much is hoppening!
Early Closures and After Dark Events in 2025
Disneyland is open pretty late most days of the year. However, there are occasional times that the park closes earlier than usual for Disneyland After Dark parties or private events. Some early closures we know in advance, while others we do not see until the hours are posted up to six weeks in advance. That’s why you always want to double-check the park hours as your visit approaches in case you want to switch your days around or switch park reservations to the park that is open later. Here are times we know you may encounter early closing hours:
- Sweethearts Nite — Disneyland Park closes early at 8 p.m. Jan. 21, 23, 28 and Feb. 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 2025
- 90s Nite — Disneyland Park closes at 8 p.m. March 4 and 6, 2025
- Star Wars Nite — Disneyland Park closes at 8 p.m. April 8, 10, 22, 24, 29 and May 1, 4, 6, 2025
- Pride Nite — Disneyland Park closes at 8 p.m. June 16 and 18, 2025
- Grad Nites — Disney California Adventure closes at 9 p.m. on these dates in 2025: May 9, 12, 18, 21, 22, 27, 28 & 30 and June 1, 4, 6, 8, 11 & 13
- Oogie Boogie Bash (DCA) — Watch out for early closing hours on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Halloween (plus a few Saturdays) during Halloween Time in August, September and October at Disney California Adventure. 2025 party nights are Aug. 17, 19, 21, 24, 26, 28, 31; Sept. 2, 9, 11, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25, 28, 30; and Oct. 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 21, 23, 26, 28, 31
Keep in mind that some of these days that close early can see low crowds in the morning as people may avoid visiting that park that day. The park with early closing hours can be a great place to start your day when you have a park hopper ticket.
Planning for Disneyland Weather
One thing to consider when planning a Disneyland trip is the weather. Luckily, we have a whole month-by-month guide to Disneyland weather. You could encounter rain in the winter months and very hot days in late summer. But for the most part, SoCal has a sunny, dry climate. Be sure to check the weather report as your visit draws near to find out if you need an umbrella, a sweatshirt or shorts.
Tips for Planning a Disneyland Trip
Here's what you can do to best prepare for your Disneyland 2025 trip:
- Determine when to visit and how many days to spend in the parks. For multi-day trips, plan a rest day in the middle if you can. Spend it at the beach, pool or doing hotel character dining.
- Buy tickets and book a hotel room in advance.
- Make theme park reservations up to 180 days in advance.
- Make dining reservations up to 60 days in advance.
- Check the entertainment calendar a few weeks to a few days in advance to plan out your must-see shows (and check park hours at that time too).
- Check out our park plans to plot out when to ride your must-do rides.
- Read up on any festival guides, foodie guides and virtual queues if applicable.
- Look at the weather forecast a few days before your trip to plan when to pack (layers are always a good idea).
- Arrive early to the theme parks, take a break midday if you can (book a lunch table-service reservation and see a show if you can't leave the park) and stay late!
Do you have any other questions about planning a Disneyland trip in 2025? Please drop them in the comments section below.
Related: The Best Times to Visit Disneyland
Related: Full ~Frogtastic~ Guide to Disneyland Events
Hoppy planning!
