Christmas came early to the Tokyo Disney Resort theme parks including brand new food menu items and souvenir novelties. From the start of November until Christmas day everything will slowly roll out for the winter holidays at Disney. While a whole lineup of new Lil RingRing merchandise will be available from Tuesday, November 10 the food souvenir novelties released at the start of the month. I’ve been a long time fan of the Lil RingRing character and was so happy they finally released a popcorn bucket design for the first time so I just had to get my hands on it. On the bright side since most of the decorations, shows, and merchandise had not yet released we were able to avoid a big holiday crowd rush for our short visit.
Park Decorations
The entire park at Tokyo Disneyland wasn’t fully decorated just yet but we were pleasantly surprised to see that the Disney magic was already quick at work transforming things overnight. The iconic plaza Mickey was adorned with a Santa hat already even though Halloween had ended days earlier.
Christmas trees, presents, and toys surrounded the rest of the plaza as many of the characters came out early to greet park guests in the morning. While the skies were a bit overcast that day it could not dampen the holiday cheer.
Tokyo DisneySea also had some of their holiday decorations up. Most of the park is still decorated for the 25th anniversary however there are touches of winter here and there so be sure to check it out when you have the chance to visit.
The Haunted Mansion ride is still decorated for Holiday Nightmare its Nightmare Before Christmas version between the Halloween and Christmas holidays. For fans of the ride and the movie we definitely recommend taking the time to ride it while you can especially if you haven’t yet. It’s also great for little ones who aren’t afraid of the dark since the theme is a lot less scary than the usual ride. Also the Country Bear Jamboree is performing its special holiday version right now as well. Be sure to check out these exclusive seasonal attractions while they last!
Seasonal Snacks
The full menus can be seen here for Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea
It’s important to note that these food stalls tend to open later and close earlier than the restaurants around the theme parks so if you have your eye on a certain snack it’s best to look things up ahead of time. Also each tends to offer a rather limited set of snacks and drinks so plan accordingly.
We tried out the Shepherd’s Pie and Chunk Cookie (Stollen-Style) from the holiday snack menu. Unfortunately it started to rain so we didn’t get to sit and appreciate them or take as nice of pictures as we wanted. On top of it all the shepherd’s pie was still quite chilled by the time we got to eat it. They had just restocked so they were technically very fresh but maybe could have spent more time thawing. It would have tasted way yummier if it was heated up but it was still really delicious and surprisingly filling. The cookie was also delicious and we finished it off when we were safely back at our hotel later. The slightly hidden Mickey shaped fruit was a cute touch underneath the powdered sugar. The holiday themed wrapping paper for the treats added to the festive mood even with the dreary weather.
The Novelty Lineup
The lineup of food souvenirs featuring Lil RingRing have something for just about everyone! If you happen to be grabbing a snack or some food while at the park and want a cute Lil RingRing to take home I definitely recommend them. The best part about novelties is that they are always well stocked at multiple locations in each theme park so you won’t have to worry about them running out anytime soon.
Lil RingRing is an original Christmas fairy character created for the holidays at the Tokyo Disney Resort and is very popular for its cute and simple design. Whenever merchandise drops a good amount of it is sold out within days if not the first week or two and they don’t generally get restocked. So it is a really nice change of pace this year to have so many cute items as food souvenir novelties too.
We ended up picking up the Lil RingRing Popcorn Bucket and Mini Snack Cases. The popcorn bucket is available at basically every popcorn stand at both parks so you can pick which flavor you want and get it there. However some flavors tend to be more popular than others and if you just want the bucket itself and don’t care about the flavor of popcorn it’s best to swing by one that isn’t as popular that day. We unfortunately chose a popular flavor at the time of day we went and ended up waiting at least 40 minutes in line for ours.
The good news is if you happen to change your mind about the popcorn flavor you lined up for you can purchase your popcorn bucket and request a voucher to redeem a different flavor of popcorn at any of the other popcorn wagons later on just note that it will expire on the same day of purchase. Another important note about popcorn wagons is they tend to close up early especially if there is inclement weather and/or the night time shows get cancelled so try to plan early and accordingly for your purchases.
As for the design of the popcorn bucket itself it is a gentle brown and beige colored design with a pop of color on the strap and an extra Lil RingRing with a ribbon that you can clip onto the strap or anywhere else you’d like.
The design on the strap also features Lil RingRing and other holiday motifs with a matching pink color to go with the ribbon holding mascot. All these cute design details plus a bucket full of popcorn are a steal at just 3800 yen in my opinion.
The buckets are built quite sturdy and with the opening at the back of the hat it makes it for easy access and secure locking when done. I can also attest that it was able to withstand the rain we got stuck in after buying it. Our popcorn remained nice and crunchy despite the weather and not a drop of water leaked inside.
The mini snack cases are adorable and fit in the palm of your hand so they are a nice compact size.
They also have straps which make them easy to carry or attach to bags. The design on the strap has a cute snowflake motif on one side and ribbons on the other.
My one complaint with most of the candy cases is that they can be a bit difficult to open for smaller kids and sometimes even adults because the lids are well secured or open in an opposite direction. So if you’re planning to chow down on the candies you put inside be aware they don’t always open as quickly or easily as you may think.
The openings for the Lil RingRing cases are also quite small so it’s hard to repurpose them as carrying cases for much else. They are a lot more colorful than the popcorn bucket and this is the first year we’ve had the ribbon design which is very cute.
Souvenir Medallions
I was pleasantly surprised to bump into Lil RingRing souvenir medallions at a few of the machines across the park and resort. There’s possibly more designs out there so be on the lookout when you visit.
One was on the Tokyo Disney Resort Line located at Bayside Station which is where you can disembark to reach a handful of the Tokyo Disney Resort affiliated hotels including Fantasy Springs. The other was located at the Steamboat Mickey’s store in Tokyo DisneySea. Medal collecting is very fun and super affordable because each one is just 100 yen and the designs change routinely for different events throughout the year.
All in all while we were too early to catch a lot of the main Disney Christmas 2026 decorations, shows, and merchandise we still got a great preview of what was to come and far less people to deal with as we did. For anyone interested in catching all of the magic everything will be happening from Tuesday, November 10 and onward so be sure to plan your visit accordingly.
Have you ever visited the Tokyo Disney Resort for the holidays? What was your favorite? Are you a Lil RingRing fan? Share your thoughts in the comments!
