UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — Cindy Lou Who is reading a bedtime tale about "How the Grinch stole Christmas" to children at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang are ice skating at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park.
At Disneyland California Adventure, Mickey and Minnie Mouse wear festive fiesta attire and lead a group of Mexican folklórico and Brazilian samba dancers and mariachis in the "Disney ¡Viva Navidad!" street party.
Two years removed from the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions that shut down many industries, theme parks across Southern California are back celebrating the holidays in big ways this year.
"We're bringing back the tradition," said Stephen Siercks, senior director of Entertainment at Universal Studios Hollywood. "We want to bring back the tradition everyone enjoys and expects from us."
The holidays at Southern California theme parks are among the most high-demand and crowded times to visit.
In years past, Disneyland has stopped people from entering the park or diverted them to Disney California Adventure on busy days. Knott's Berry Farm and Universal Studios Hollywood also see a massive influx of visitors during this time.
So it's no wonder theme park operators go all out during the holiday season.
Here's a look at some of the events and features happening across Southern California's theme parks.
Knott's Berry Farm
The moment the sun goes down, Calico Square lights up. A giant Christmas tree adorned with red and gold ornaments and a star on top dazzles with red and yellow lights in the middle of the town square.
There are holiday-themed stage productions and entertainment throughout the park. Visitors can catch musical group The Sleigh Bells singing holiday tunes in front of the Christmas tree or Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies singing a bluegrass version of "All I Want for Christmas Is You."
And, of course, there are plenty of Peanuts celebrating the holidays. Visitors can take their kids and watch Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts perform in "Best Wishes," a show about the importance of giving during the holidays.
Additionally, Knott's is celebrating 40 years of ice skating shows with "Snoopy's Night Before Christmas Ice Show" at the Walter Knott Theater.
Legoland
Have you ever seen a gingerbread man Lego brick mascot? Visitors can take a picture of one in Sugar Square and Santa and the rest of the "Lego" movie characters at Legoland in Carlsbad.
The centerpiece is a 30-foot Christmas tree made entirely of Lego bricks with more than 400 Lego ornaments.
At night, the tree lights up, holiday tunes play overhead on speakers and faux snow falls on visitors.
Visitors can also sing along with The Mint Marching band and meet and greet with a Lego Toy Soldier.
Disneyland Resort
Visitors aren't just celebrating Christmas at the Disneyland Resort.
Disneyland California Adventure's Festival of Holidays will have visitors celebrating many different holiday seasons, such as Diwali, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Three Kings Day, throughout the holiday season.
During the day, visitors can watch "Disney ¡Viva Navidad!" and "Mickey's Happy Holidays" procession march along Disney California Adventure. There's holiday-themed food throughout the park and a variety of live entertainment.
And at night, 'World of Color – Season of Light' returns for the holiday season.
At Disneyland, visitors take photos in front of a dressed-up 60-foot Christmas Tree and wave at Anna, Elsa, and Olaf and the toy soldiers marching along Main Street, U.S.A., in the "A Christmas Parade." Jack Skellington and the rest of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" characters have transformed the Haunted Mansion.
There's nothing like nightfall at Disneyland Resort.
Sleeping Beauty's Castle shines brightly with white lights, and the "It's a Small World" attraction — in glowing red and green — is celebrating its 25th year.
As people are ready to leave the park, they can check out the "Believe in Holiday Magic" fireworks show, which features colorful projections on the buildings on Main Street and magical faux snow sprinkling down on visitors.
Universal Studios Hollywood
The green Grinch and his dog, Max, are out with the rest of the residents of "Whoville," who are all available as meet-and-greet characters at the Universal Plaza.
The Who-bilation is centered around a 65-foot topsy-turvy Grinchmas tree decorated with hundreds of ornaments and lights up nightly with thousands of LED lights.
Cindy-Lou Who leads daily story time for young visitors, who can also write postcards to Santa and send them using the Who-ville post office.
A capella performance from the Frog Choir, hot butterbeer, and snow-capped buildings in the village of Hogsmeade will make visitors believe they're students at Hogwarts.
Universal's Hogwarts-themed land transforms into a Christmas winter wonderland this time of year. In the evening, there is a "Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" music and light projection show on the side of Hogwarts Castle.