Those one-of-a-kind treats have arrived! But can be hard to acquire. Here are our top tips on how to get a Disneyland Candy Cane…
The most wonderful time of the year is officially here! Main Street, U.S.A is all aglow with twinkling lights and draped garlands – but determined Disney guests have their eye on something even more festive. Each year, the happiest place on Earth becomes the merriest place on Earth when Disneyland confectioners begin making their world-famous candy canes!
Saying that guests are serious about the candy canes would be an understatement. Since Disneyland began making them in 1968, guests have become hungrier and hungrier for the Christmas confection. These days, Disneyland attendees wait for hours before the park opens to secure their place in line to purchase just one of these peppermint delights.
With all this hype, they have to be good. So how do you get a candy cane of your own? Keep reading to find out!
What Makes Disneyland Candy Canes So Special?
Before I discovered the magic that is Disneyland candy canes, I’d never put much thought into how candy canes were made. As it turns out, it takes a lot of work to make this Christmas staple.
Disneyland confectioners gear up each year to craft thousands of oh-so-perfect candy canes. A cast member hand-pulls a glob of an extremely delicate yellow-colored sugar mixture on an old-fashioned candy-pulling hook as a second cast member carefully incorporates peppermint oil throughout the batch. Pulling the candy allows for air bubbles to enter the mixture and subsequently turns the candy white.
Once the candy has been pulled to perfection, it is then mixed in with long ropes of dyed sugar — this is what creates those red and green stripes that perfectly wrap around the cane. Slowly and carefully, the mound of candy is rolled into thin tubes. Finally, two cast members work together to cut, weigh, and shape the canes before they head off to be packaged. The entire process takes about 40 minutes to complete – and that’s just for one batch!
This difficult and time-consuming process creates a smooth, refreshing, minty candy cane like no other. As time has passed, the art of candy cane crafting has all but died out. Big factories churn out case after case of sub-par canes each year as the holidays approach, which most of us believe to be the real deal. Lucky for us, there are still a few corners of the world where those with sweet tooths can get their festive fix (Disneyland being one of them)!
💡Insider Tip: Taking your candy cane home and waiting ’til Christmas to crack into is cute and all, but these treats are best when they’re still just a tad warm.
How Much Do Disneyland Candy Canes Cost?
As you know by now, Disneyland candy canes aren’t your typical stocking stuffer. Not only are they tastier than your average candy cane, they’re also much bigger. Each one measures in at about 18 inches long!
Considering their size and quality, it shouldn’t surprise you that these treats will cost you a bit more than their supermarket counterparts. To be exact, these 5 oz beauties could be yours for 19.99 each. If you aren’t willing to fork over an Andrew Jackson for a hunk of sugar, you might be the only one. Disneyland candy canes are in such high demand that Disney actually has to set a limit on how many guests can buy at once: one!
How Do I Get A Disneyland Candy Cane This Year?
Photo via Disney Parks Blog
If you’re ready to join the candy cane cult, you’ll have to earn it. Candy canes are only sold on select days throughout December, and those days are quite competitive. Seasoned park-goers suggest that determined guests show up to the park at least one hour before it opens so as to enter as soon as possible.
Once you gain access to the park, you’ll be given the opportunity to join a mobile waitlist on the MyDisneyExperience app. This means that you’re in line, but only virtually — so you can enjoy the park and all its offerings as you wait! However, a place in line doesn’t guarantee you a candy cane. Due to the careful process hand-pulling candy canes requires, only about 135 are made each day. With an average of 50,000 people in the park each day, you’re looking at a lot of competition!
Many wait all day for a candy cane with no luck. If you’re lucky, you’ll receive a text to let you know that at long last, your time has come. The text will let you know where to convene, and you’ll receive your candy cane safely packaged in protective bubble wrap. Proceed with caution: if you break your candy cane, you won’t get a replacement!
Disneyland Candy Cane Locations 📍
Photo via Disney Parks Blog
You can’t get these legendary treats just anywhere. There are only two locations throughout the Disneyland Resort that offer candy canes: Trolley Treats and Candy Palace. Yep, you have to have park admission to get a chance at grabbing a candy cane — these bad boys aren’t offered outside of the parks. To avoid overcrowding, the two locations offer alternating candy cane days (meaning when Candy Palace is serving candy canes, Trolley Treats will not be).
Getting your first candy cane is kind of a big deal in the land of Disney. So, let’s take a look at each of these venues so you can decide which bakery is the perfect backdrop for your first taste of pepperminty goodness!
Candy Palace at Disneyland Park
The Candy Palace is located right on Main Street, U.S.A in Disneyland Park. During the holidays, Main Street turns into the winter wonderland of your childhood imagination. Garlands sweep from building to building, wreaths accent each and every lamppost, lights illuminate the street and its awe-struck pedestrians, and of course, the 60-foot-tall Christmas tree stands at the center of it all.
Candy Palace confectioners hand-pull candy canes in a workroom surrounded by windows, where passersby can watch in wonder as a big glob of gooey sugar is transformed into elaborate candy canes. Taking the first lick at a still-warm candy cane nestled between Sleeping Beauty castle and a towering Christmas tree doesn’t sound too bad!
Trolley Treats at Disney’s California Adventure Park
Trolley Treats is located on Buena Vista Street in Disney’s California Adventure Park. Buena Vista Street This bakery will take you back in time to the age of Bing Crosby’s Christmas carols and vibrant glass-blown ornaments. Getting your candy cane at Trolley Treats gives you the chance to stroll the streets of old Hollywood, all decked out in holiday dressings.
As opposed to Main Street’s turn-of-the-century-meets-fantasy theming, Buena Vista Street offers heartwarming decor reminiscent of Christmas at Grandma’s. The tree that welcomes guests at Disney’s California Adventure is covered in metallic tinsel and multi-colored ornaments depicting everything from Santa Claus to jolly snowmen.
While Candy Palace is an undeniable classic, the retro vibes that inhabit Buena Vista Street really conjure that one-of-a-kind midcentury holiday spirit. The choice is yours!
2022 Disneyland Candy Cane Schedule 🕒
Photo by Stephanie Shuster
Candy canes are only available at certain locations and on certain dates. You don’t want to make the mistake of showing up on a day they aren’t serving them or getting tickets to the wrong park! Each park is hosting seven days of candy cane serving, so you will only have 14 opportunities to take a candy cane home. Last year, the parks served candy canes on 20 individual days — making this year even more competitive than last!
Here is the 2022 schedule for Disneyland candy canes:
- Trolley Treats Schedule: 12/5, 12/7, 12/12, 12/14, 12/19, 12/21, 12/25
- Candy Palace Schedule: 12/4, 12/6, 12/11, 12/13, 12/18, 12/20, 12/24
Candy Canes at Disneyland
With a little bit of pixie dust (and a lot of determination), you could walk out of the parks candy cane in hand. If you walk away from Trolley Treats unsuccessful, head on over to Disney California Adventure’s Festival of the Holidays to get your sugar fix. Make sure to keep our Festival of the Holidays menu guide on hand while you trek the park!
If you’re enviously reading this from Walt Disney World, check out our holiday treat guides for Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, and Disney Springs — they might not be hand-pulled candy canes, but these goodies are sure to get you in the Christmas spirit!
To all of our candy cane hunters out there, may the odds be ever in your favor.🎄🍬🎁
