It hardly seems a minute ago that we were sharing a guide to Halloween season – but the pumpkins are well and truly packed away, and Christmas season is here! At Disneyland Paris, Christmas season will run up to early January and is called Disney’s Enchanted Christmas. In this blog we’re sharing an overview of what’s on offer at Disneyland Paris for the festive season, so you know what to prioritise for your trip!

Decorations

Probably the most immediate visual impact of Christmas season at Disneyland Paris are the decorations! Disney sure know how to Deck the Halls with style – and you’ll find Christmas touches all over the resort.

The heart of the Christmas decorations is very much Main Street USA, which is covered in Christmas garland and other touches bringing to life a traditional Christmas, echoing the historic theming of the land itself of course. Here the massive centrepiece is the Christmas tree in Town Square, welcoming guests to the park and making a great photo opportunity! In the evenings they’ve also added festive projections to the buildings on Main Street, bringing alive that cosy Christmas vibe even more. And look out for the frequent ‘snowfalls’ (it’s soap but still) on Main Street – these happen periodically and a normally announced with by Santa and an increase in volume of the Main Street music!)

While Main Street USA may be the heart of the Christmas decorations, they by no means end there. Watch out for Christmas decorations in shops and restaurants throughout the main Disneyland Park, each set of decorations echoing the theme of its location. And over in the Walt Disney Studios Park Christmas decor can also be found, notably in the entrance courtyard.

Each of the Disney owned resorts also decorates for the season in style – with decor that not only brings alive the festive season but also matches the vibes of each resort. So look out for fairytale-like guardians of Christmas in the lobby of the Disneyland Hotel, to rustic decorations over in Sequoia Lodge to match the woodsy feel of this hotel, and decorations with a touch of the wild west over in Hotel Cheyenne.

For all the decorations a tip from us is to see them both in the daytime and the nighttime – the daytime allows you to appreciate all the detail that Disney puts into its decorating, and of course at night you get to see them in their lit up splendour!

Entertainment

The centrepiece of the festive entertainment is Mickey’s Dazzling Christmas Parade. This parade features a number of floats showcasing Disney Characters in their Christmas best.

Rather like the Halloween Parade, the Christmas parade will travel part of the parade route and then will stop in central plaza just in front of the castle for a show stop. After this the parade will then continue the rest of the parade route.

The good news is that Mickey’s Dazzling Christmas Parade is spectacular, and we think well worth seeing. The not so good news is that a lot of other people think it’s well worth seeing too, and therefore performances get packed – especially around the Castle Hub for the show stop. There are two performances a day – both are lovely but we’d recommend aiming for the later one if possible, simply because you’ll be able to appreciate the lighting more on the parade floats in the darkness.

If your heart is set on getting a great spot for the show stop in front of the castle you have a few options. One is that if you’re eligible for the Priority Pass for the differently-abled that you use the Priority Pass viewing area set aside, as it’ll be less crowded than elsewhere around the hub. However numbers are strictly limited to the pass holder and 2 guests – please don’t try and get more in because it won’t happen! This area can fill up too so try to get there at least 30 minutes if not more in advance. Your second option is to pay for preferred viewing which can be bought through the Disneyland Paris app. Note though that slots can and do sell out in advance so don’t leave it too late to try and buy them, and you’ll still be required to show up at least 30 minutes in advance to get into the viewing area. And your third option is to get there early and hold down a spot – and we mean early, at least an hour and probably even more. If this is you grab a snack, a book or other means of entertainment and be prepared to wait it out!

If you just want to see the parade element and are not so worried about the show then spots elsewhere on Main Street USA, or the portion of the parade that runs down the side of Sleeping Beauty Castle in Fantasyland are easier to snag, but they’ll still go pretty early.

However that’s not all there is for the Disneyland Paris festive entertainment!

• New for this year is a Sweet Moment with Mrs Claus – a little show based around the gazebo in Town Square on Main Street USA when Mrs Claus comes out and interacts with the crowd.
• Let’s Sing Christmas is a show featuring a range of Disney Characters over in the Hyperion Theatre in Discoveryland. As the name suggests this features the characters performing a range of Christmas songs! The show performs several times a day but can be popular so it’s worth getting there a bit in advance of show time to ensure you get in. You might be able to catch some of the show while eating at Cafe Hyperion if you time your visit right – just note the restaurant will be full of other folks trying the same thing!
• Once a day you can join a choir and Disney Characters for the Christmas tree lighting in Town Square on Main Street USA. Note that for whatever reason while the Christmas tree is up the Christmas tree lighting show doesn’t start until 21st November. Check the app nearer the time for the show time, but I’d expect it to be around dusk. From previous years’ experience this show can also get busy so don’t leave it too late to arrive if you’d like a front row spot!
• From 15th November, you’ll be able to join the Disney Princesses once a day in Central Plaza for a festive celebration – of course the timing of this will be worked around the Christmas Parade so I’d expect it to be late morning or early afternoon! As with all things Disney Princess this show is very popular so expect it to be packed, and make sure you get there early to grab a spot. If you’ve got little ones who’ll be happy just glimpsing a princess, note that they’re also in the Christmas Parade.
• Behind the Castle look out for Aurora and Prince Philip appearing periodically for a Royal greeting (again from 15th November). Available now though is Belle appearing in the castle courtyard for a ‘selfie moment’ (she walks in a circle chatting to guests around). She’s wearing her Christmas dress and cloak. There’s not set times for this in the app so it might be a case of asking cast members or just lucking out!
• Outside of the Disneyland Park, keep an eye out in Disney Village for musicians playing festive sets, particularly at the weekends and around Christmas and New Year themselves. There’s a stage set up next to Earl of Sandwich and Rainforest Cafe.

Characters

Characters are a big part of any celebration at Disneyland Paris, and of course Christmas is no different to that!

I’ve already mentioned about the Princess shows and Belle encounter, although these aren’t character meet and greets in the traditional sense (where you go up for a hug, photo and autograph if you’re so inclined). The big meet and greets added for Christmas season are Santa Claus and Jack Skellington. Santa Claus is over in Discoveryland in the Arcade next to the Hyperion Theatre, and Jack Skellington (in his Sandy Claws outfit so looking different to Halloween!) is in Frontierland. Because both are going to be ridiculously popular, both are only available to queue for via a virtual queue. Queue slots drop at 9.45am and 2pm daily via the Disneyland Paris app, and can only be booked for those who are already in one of the two theme parks. The good news with the virtual queue is that it saves a multi-hour wait in line. The bad news? It really is a case of fastest finger first – spots go immediately and you can do everything right and still not get into the queue. We’d recommend not promising anyone in your group that you’re definitely going to meet Santa or Jack Skellington because sadly it might not happen!

Other characters are around the park in Christmas garb too including Stitch as Santa (after 25th December he takes over the spot of Santa Claus in Discoveryland, before then he’ll be meeting at the top of Main Street USA via a typical standby queue), Winnie the Pooh in a festive jumper, and Chip n Dale in their festive best. Expect all of them to get longer lines so be prepared to get to their meet and greet well before the queue time stated on the app and to have to be patient! If you have a Priority Pass you can book a time slot to come back to meet them without much of a wait, but the time slots go very quickly. You’ll need to head to the meet and greet spot first thing to have any hope of getting one.

Of course the typical meet and greets (Mickey in Frontierland, Princesses in the Princess Pavilion, Darth Vader and the Mandalorian in Discoveryland) do carry on in this time, as do the meet and greets over in the Studios Park.

As a top tip if you’d like to meet characters in festive outfits without a lengthy in park wait you could try the Disney Hotels where they can turn up in their festive best – notably Sequoia Lodge and Hotel Santa Fe. Be aware though that the characters in Christmassy outfits aren’t guaranteed and it might be they’ll only let guests of that hotel join the line. Characters will be meeting at all the Hotels as normal throughout Christmas, it’s just some are more likely to be in festive outfits than others! (I don’t expect Thor dressed as Santa at Hotel New York for example, although that’d be kind of epic).

Food

What’s a season at Disneyland Paris without a snack?! And of course Christmas season comes in clutch with a variety of snacks to try.

As with Halloween season, expect snacks at multiple locations around the Disneyland Park (and possibly a few in the Studios too). It’s likely that several of these will be found in multiple different places, such as the gingerbread cookies (we’ve not tried this year’s offering but last year’s were delicious and worth a try!). Others might be unique to one spot, like the Brookies at Market House Deli (boy does this spot like a Brookie, this is the 3rd season on a trot that they’re selling them with a slight tweak for each season!). Most of the snacks are available on the online menus so it’s worth having a look before your trip and seeing what takes your fancy to prioritise your money and stomach space!

As with Halloween, expect the bulk of the seasonal offerings to be sweet treats. However, some of the restaurants such as Cafe Hyperion, Cowboy Cookout and the Lucky Nugget will have some festive themed meals for you to enjoy if you’d like to try them out!

You’ll probably also start to see Christmassy themed desserts on the buffets around the resort. But otherwise for most of the table service / buffet restaurants this time of year is business as normal with the menu offerings – you might have the odd seasonal special but it’s the exception rather than the rule. If you’re in Disneyland Paris for Christmas Day itself note that none of the restaurants do special menus that day. They do however offer special menus for both Christmas Eve and New Years Eve at all the table service spots – which look both quite tasty and EXTREMELY expensive! This may not be a surprise if you look back at our cheapest times to visit Disneyland Paris in 2026 because Christmas and New Year’s Eve are two of the most expensive dates to arrive in 2026, and we’re sure the same applied this year! If you haven’t booked a table service meal already around the Christmas period itself you’ll probably find the options pretty slim by now unfortunately, but cancellations can and do happen so keep checking the app.

Merchandise

Christmas merchandise is available in Disneyland Paris all year round at the Christmas shop in the castle. (For more information on shopping at Disneyland Paris see our previous blog!). But of course the arrival of Christmas season brings an influx of Christmas merchandise across the resort!

For Halloween the merchandise was only really being sold in a few shops. For Christmas it’s rare to find any shop without a Christmas section (some of the more specialist like the Marvel shop might not but it’s the exception rather than the rule). Even the resort gift shops like to get in on the action! Of course the widest range of merchandise will be available in Disneyland Park itself, particularly in the Emporium and New Century Notions.

Christmas themed merchandise of course includes Christmas decorations. But there’s also home decor, homeware, snacks and sweet treats, clothing, toys, keyring, magnets… you name a piece of Disney merchandise there’ll be a relevant Christmas item – including the really collectible items like pins, Pandora Charms, Loungefly bags and Spirit Jerseys. While a lot of the merchandise will be duplicated across shops not everything will be everywhere – so if you see a piece you like either grab it then or remember where you saw it, just in case you can’t find it elsewhere! If you’re outside the parks, then World of Disney in Disney Village is your best bet for the widest range of merchandise.

Things to note and tips for your visit

If that’s the main highlights of Christmas season, we also wanted to share some top tips for your visit to help you make the most of Christmas time in the parks!

• Christmas season is popular – so expect crowds to be high throughout the season but most notably around Christmas and New Year themselves. Be patient and prepared to prioritise as it’s unlikely you’re going to get to do it all.
• The Parks can and will sell out – The parks hitting capacity in Christmas season is not unusual – of course around Christmas itself but also the weekends in the run up. Don’t wait to book tickets as you might find yourself shut out of the parks!
• Also on booking, if you’d like priority viewing for any of the parades or shows during Christmas season book it asap, and don’t be surprised if it’s already sold out for many days! Likewise table service dining bookings need to be made asap. If you’re desperate for a table booking and can’t get one keep checking the app for cancellations, and if you’re staying at a Disney Hotel reach out to concierge when you arrive. They can’t create miracles but they might be able to help.
• Set expectations – don’t go expecting magically empty parks, being able to skip onto every ride, bouncing up to parades and shows last minute with a great view, or bumping into Mickey dressed as Santa on Main Street. With big crowds it doesn’t work like that, you will need to plan!
• Entertainment can get impacted by weather – if it rains, snows or is very icy it might impact some of the outdoor entertainment. For example I wouldn’t expect the Mrs Claus show to happen in the rain, and if it’s too slippery through rain or ice the show stop for the Christmas Parade won’t happen (although the floats should still go down the parade route). Character meet and greets that are outdoors might also be affected. Good news though – Santa meets inside so he should be able to meet guests rain or shine!
• Pack for the weather – winter in Paris can be rainy, icy, snowy, and freezing cold! Check the weather forecast before you go but be prepared for rain or cold temperatures and prepare accordingly. Particularly think about this if there’s days you’re likely to be stationary outside for a bit, say waiting for the parade or the evening fireworks. It’s likely you’ll get chilly then!
• Tales of Magic isn’t running with any changes for Christmas. It’s still worth seeing but don’t expect it to get suddenly festive!
• The typical parade, Stars on Parade, doesn’t run during the Christmas season – so don’t expect to see it again until January.
• Keep an eye on the app – if there are any changes to entertainment for whatever reason they should be listed there. Also changes to ride operation due to weather which is more likely in the winter due to snow and ice.
• The Christmassy vibe is still in the Studios but rather less so, if you feel Christmassed out at any point!
• As it stands we don’t know what Christmas will be bringing to World of Frozen and Disney Adventure World in 2026 – so expect there to be some potentially new seasonal offerings next year!

So there’s our overview of Disneyland Paris for Disney’s Enchanted Christmas! If you’re going we hope you have a wonderful time – and let us know what you’re most looking forward to in the comments. Be do subscribe below too, to not only receive our blogs into your inbox but also a free copy of our overview to Disneyland Paris attraction accessibility (typically £3). And please come and visit us over on our YouTube channel too! Finally, if you’d like to support our work please consider leaving us a tip. Thank you!