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At Disney California Adventure Park, the popular Disney Festival of Holidays is back with the sights, sounds and tastes of cherished holidays, creating a magical experience for guests through diverse cultural festivities and seasonal traditions, Nov. 12, 2021, through Jan. 9, 2022.
Disney Festival of Holidays is an uplifting, heartwarming and uniquely Disney celebration that celebrates traditions associated with Christmas, Navidad, Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa and Three Kings Day. The festivities include live entertainment, holiday shopping and eight food marketplaces where guests will sip and savour culinary delights. A team of Disney chefs drew on inspiration from their own unique stories to create some of the festive foods on the marketplace menus. Younger guests will also enjoy fun crafts such as colouring greeting cards and making ornaments and lanterns to learn more about these holiday traditions.
Disney Festival of Holidays Entertainment

  • New! Guests are invited to a special celebration of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ new musical comedy “Encanto,” inspired by the people and cultures of Colombia, which brings another joyful experience to complement “Disney ¡Viva Navidad!” For a limited time, guests can enjoy a delicious arepa con queso while they listen to authentic Colombian music from the band El Sabor Bueno. Arriving soon, guests can see Mirabel, the young hero from “Encanto” who debuts in Disney California Adventure with a colourful photo location that evokes the “casita,” the enchanted home of the film’s magical Madrigal family. “Encanto” opens only in theatres on November 24, 2021.
  • Guest-favorite “Disney ¡Viva Navidad!” returns to Disney Festival of Holidays with Disney characters hosting a fun street party along with Mexican folklórico dancers and mariachis, Brazilian samba dancers and percussionists, giant mojiganga puppets and Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in their fiesta best.
  • In addition, musical and dance groups take authentic holiday music and cultural inspiration and infuse them with a modern flair to create truly unique experiences. Several venues throughout Disney California Adventure will feature live entertainment including Sonoma Terrace, Pacific Wharf and Paradise Gardens.
  • Guests will sing along with the GRAMMY® Award-winning Mariachi Divas and their signature repertoire of catchy, bilingual holiday tunes as they perform at the Pacific Wharf.
  • New! The Mistletoes, a cappella ensemble, celebrates an R&B Christmas and the spirit of Kwanzaa as they perform classic holiday songs with rhythm and soul at the Pacific Wharf Stage and the Palisades Stage.
  • The entertainment group Mostly Kosher celebrates Hanukkah with an uplifting and eclectic musical tapestry that weaves together klezmer, Latin, jazz and rock, on stage at Sonoma Terrace.
  • The spirited performers of Blue13 Dance Company turn up the fun with traditional Indian dances that celebrate Diwali and build to a Bollywood-inspired party for all at the Palisades Stage.
  • In the evenings, Holiday Concerts feature holiday entertainment for all ages at the Palisades Stage at Paradise Gardens Park. The Suffragettes is an exciting festival band that rocks the holidays with chart-topping hits from some favourite musical artists. Phat Cat Swinger, the West Coast’s “Little-Big Band,” sings a swinging selection of holiday tunes, presented with a refreshing twist.
  • Mickey’s Happy Holidays” presents a cheerful seasonal celebration with Mickey Mouse and friends as they travel through the heart of Disney California Adventure. Disney and Pixar characters dance and march along to the high-energy music and merry rhythms of the Holiday Toy Drummers.
  • The Holiday Toy Drummers march to their own merry beat and perform precision drills with holiday cheer, several times daily.
  • Santa Claus welcomes visitors to his rustic home at the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. Guests may share their holiday wishes with the jolly fellow and take souvenir photos in this scenic location before Santa departs for the North Pole on Dec. 24, 2021.
  • Guests may also catch a glimpse of some of their favourite characters at the Disney Festival of Holidays including Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, José Carioca, Panchito, Chip n’ Dale, Goofy and Clarabelle Cow.

Festive Foods Marketplace
The Festive Foods Marketplace features a tasting of the season, with holiday comfort dishes that reflect family traditions from many cultures. Eight marketplace locations will tempt guests as they stroll through Disney California Adventure, from Carthay Circle through Paradise Gardens Park.
For added fun, guests may pick up a Disney Festival of Holidays Tasting Passport at any of the Festive Foods Marketplace kiosks and receive stamps as they taste their way through the unique cuisines. Guests who collect all the marketplace stamps will receive a special completion stamp. Additionally, guests may choose to purchase a Sip and Savor Pass** as they taste their way through eight food or non-alcoholic beverages from the participating Festival Food Marketplaces, as well as other participating locations, including the festival carts.
The marketplaces and menu items include:

  • A Twist on Tradition — Reimagined beef Wellington with Oikos® Greek yogurt-onion sauce, Reuben potato bites with Russian dressing and rye toast crumble, churro toffee cold brew latte, and sangria.
  • Brews & Bites — Impossible™ chorizo queso fundido with house-made tortilla chips, beer flights and beer by the glass
  • Favourite Things — Chana masala with grilled garlic naan, holiday stuffing mac & cheese, beer flights and specialty beer selections.
  • Grandma’s Recipes — Impossible™ arepa encantada with dairy-free stuffed maize with spiced, plant-based ground beef and onions, a gingerbread Mickey, and berries and crema made with huckleberry, strawberry and raspberry house-made syrup, condensed and whole milk and fruit-flavoured cereal
  • Holiday Duets — Braised pork belly adobo with garlic fried rice, shrimp and grits with Andouille sausage, pabana cachaça colada with cachaça, passionfruit, banana, mango, coconut cream and lime, and calamansi melon lemonade
  • Making Spirits Bright — Cinnamon and sugar holiday tart, hot cocoa marshmallow macaron, maple hazelnut hot buttered rum, white and red wine flights, and sparkling wine
  • Merry Mashups — Esquites carnitas mac & cheese featuring Cacique® Oaxaca and Cotija cheeses with spiced puff rice, holiday spiced wings with citrus cranberries, and honey guava pisco punch
  • Winter Sliderland — Nashville hot turkey slider with dill pickle, bourbon cranberry cocktail and prickly pear tea lemonade

Additional food locations throughout Disney California Adventure are offering special holiday menu items such as the peppermint cold brew cocktail and cranberry mule at Sonoma Terrace, the holiday snack molecules at Pym Tasting Lab, the pineapple-coconut ration at Terran Treats and the chocolate-pecan churro at Willie’s Churro Cart.
Guests may pick up the Disney Festival of Holidays food guide at the park or check the Disneyland app for a full list of offerings. Mobile ordering through the Disneyland app may also be available for some holiday food offerings, at select locations.
For information on planning a celebration or vacation at Disneyland Resort, visit www.disneyland.com, call 866-60-DISNEY or contact local travel agents. Disney fans can join the Holidays conversation on social media @Disneyland and look for #DisneyFestivalofHolidays, #DisneylandHolidays, #MagicisHere and #LaMagiaEstaAqui.
** Sip and Savor Pass entitlements may only be redeemed during regular Disney Festival of Holidays operating hours, and the Pass expires on January 9, 2022. A Pass has eight (8) coupons and each coupon may be redeemed for one (1) eligible food or non-alcoholic beverage item at a participating Festival Marketplace or restaurant location and may not be redeemed at any other event. Each coupon must be attached to the Sip and Savor Pass at the time of redemption.  Eligible Sip and Savor Pass items at participating restaurants are tasting-size portions only, not full entrées. Excludes alcoholic beverages and novelties including souvenir tumblers. Will not be replaced if lost, stolen, destroyed or expired. Nonrefundable, non-transferable, may not be redeemed for cash (in whole or in part), no substitutions and no change given. Sip and Savor Pass, food and beverage offerings, and participating locations are all subject to availability, restrictions and change or cancellation without notice. Separate Theme Park admission and park reservation are required for park entry.
Edited by: Stephen Morton