Disneyland First Week of January?

We go every year in Feb the week of the Daytona 500. The lines are still crazy and yes they have fireworks and the parade every night. Leaving after the fire works is crazy! You cannot avoid it. There are people everywhere stampeeding otward the exit. They will run over your kids. They will even run over the stroller! Last year we put all of our stuff in the stroller at the end and carried the 2 younger kids and made the older two hold on to our belt loops so no one got lost or hurt. (yeah, its that bad) Just be prepared. My advice is after the fireworks and parade, find a safe place to sit and wait untill it clears out. Ok I just realised you are talking about Ca while I am talking about Fl. But That was our experience at Disneyworld

Disney advertises that 12/25 through 1/3 are it's nine busiest days of the year. So it's going to be CRAZY busy. They do the parade and fireworks every day because it's the most popular time. If you can handle the crowds, have fun! I'd skip it for a few more years.... a 13 month old isn't going to enjoy it, and a 3.5 year old might be a big overwhelmed with the crowds too.

Yes, it will be very busy. What I would recommend is getting to the park the minute it opens every day, stay a few hours, then go back to the hotel for a nap. return to the park around 4 or 5 p.m. and stay for a few hours in the evening. If you miss the midday rush, it won't be quite as bad.

Make good use of the fast passes so you don't have to wait in as many long lines for the big rides.

Even if it's packed, you can still have a fun trip.

It will be crazy busy fun but with long lines!!! I don't mind because we are fairly local and have had annual passes for 16 years. I went on January Second this year and it was extremely busy, but fine because my daughter was 18 and is an expert at navigating Disneyland & California Adventure.