The holidays are the best time of year to be at the Disneyland Resort, and the snacks and parades get most of the attention. But the real magic, at least for those of us who’d rather be in a ride queue than a churro line, is what happens to the attractions themselves. Each season, a handful of fan-favorite rides get fully reimagined with new music, lighting, decor, and storytelling that you can only experience for a few weeks a year.

Here’s the full rundown of what transforms, where to find it, and the details most guests walk right past.

Haunted Mansion Holiday — Disneyland Park

The longest-running and most ambitious of the bunch. Each fall, the Haunted Mansion becomes Haunted Mansion Holiday, a Nightmare Before Christmas takeover where Jack Skellington and the rest of Halloween Town crash Christmas. The overlay goes up in time for Halloween Time and stays through the holiday season, so it does double duty across two celebrations.

From the Stretching Room to your doombuggy ride through the estate, nearly every scene gets reworked — new decor, holiday-tinged music, and a fresh take on Grim Grinning Ghosts. Watch for Sally and other Halloween Town residents woven into scenes with the Mansion’s classic ghosts, with the ride building toward a finale showdown with Oogie Boogie.

The detail to seek out: the gingerbread house in the ballroom. Disney Live Entertainment designs a brand-new one every single season, and yes — it actually smells like gingerbread. For a lot of returning guests, checking out that year’s design has become its own tradition.

A few things you might not know:

• The overlay first debuted in October 2001.

• When the holiday version launched, Madame Leota needed new dialogue. The solution: the holiday Leota was modeled on Imagineer Kim Irvine — who happens to be the daughter of Leota Toombs, the original Madame Leota.

• In 2025, Imagineers reworked the Oogie Boogie Audio-Animatronic near the ride’s climax, giving him an updated pose and silhouette.

Photo spot to grab: the exterior facade dressed up in its holiday lights, plus the gingerbread house if your cabinet timing lines up.

“it’s a small world” Holiday — Disneyland Park

If you love Christmas lights, this is the one. “it’s a small world” Holiday sends you down the Seven Seaways canal past every region celebrating the season its own way — Mele Kalikimaka in the South Pacific, Feliz Navidad in Mexico, and New Year traditions woven through Europe and Asia.

The famous earworm gets a seasonal remix too, blending “It’s a Small World (After All)” with classics like “Jingle Bells” and “Deck the Halls” into one continuous arrangement you’ll absolutely be humming on the drive home.

The detail to seek out: the facade itself after dark. The exterior is one of the best nighttime photo spots on the entire property, and the Holiday Lighting moment — when thousands of lights snap to life across the front of the attraction — is worth timing your evening around.

Worth knowing: Disneyland debuted this overlay in 1997, and it’s been an annual tradition ever since, complete with its own decor, costumes, props, lighting, and soundtrack.

Cars Land — Disney California Adventure Park

Over at DCA, Radiator Springs trades its everyday routine for full holiday mode, with festive music, decorations throughout the land, and two attractions getting seasonal overlays.

Mater’s Jingle Jamboree

Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree becomes Mater’s Jingle Jamboree, with Mater leading a set of holiday tunes packed with his usual humor and original lyrics. The queue fills up with festive touches and Easter eggs, while the tractors spin and swing through a yard decked out in garland and lights — basically a holiday hoedown.

Luigi’s Joy to the Whirl

Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters turns into Luigi’s Joy to the Whirl, where Luigi and his extended family celebrate with festive dances set to songs sung by Luigi himself. Your classic Italian import glides, spins, and pivots through synchronized choreography to a wintry soundtrack.

Don’t Miss the Small Stuff

Beyond the headline overlays, the resort hides quieter holiday details across the lands. A few to keep an eye out for:

• A skipper-themed tree in Adventureland near the Jungle Cruise exit

• Tiny bits of garland tucked into the scenes aboard Storybook Land Canal Boats

• Wreaths on the backside of some of the Main Street Vehicles

These are the kinds of touches that reward slowing down — and make great content if you’re the type who likes spotting what everyone else misses.

Planning Your Visit

The holiday overlays typically run from early in the season through early January, but exact 2026 start and end dates haven’t been announced yet — we’ll update this post the moment they’re confirmed. Haunted Mansion Holiday is usually the first to appear since it bridges Halloween Time and the holidays.

A few practical tips:

• These rides draw their biggest crowds in the evenings, especially “small world” after the lighting moment. Ride earlier in the day if you want shorter waits, and come back at night for the photos.

• The Haunted Mansion typically closes for a couple of weeks before the overlay opens (and again after) for the changeover — plan around it if it’s a must-do.

• Want to maximize a single day across both parks? Park-hopping makes it much easier to catch the Disneyland overlays and Cars Land in one trip.

Tracking wait times and figuring out the best windows to ride? Keep ThemeParkIQ open on your phone — we’ll help you time the overlays around the crowds.