Disney Once Upon a Story Advent Calendar

Disney Once Upon a Story Advent Calendar 2026: 24 Disney Princess surprises behind a gingerbread castle

The Disney Once Upon a Story Advent Calendar 2026 is a toy calendar shaped like a translucent gingerbread castle, with 24 numbered doors to open one a day from 1 to 24 December. Behind them sit 14 character figures and 10 play accessories, all tied to four Disney Princess worlds this year: Frozen, Rapunzel, The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. The front panel folds out into a castle backdrop, so the figures have somewhere to live once they are out of the box.

This is a toy to play with, not a shelf piece. The castle stands roughly 40cm tall, the figures are small, and the whole thing is aimed at a child from 3 years who already loves Elsa, Ariel, Jasmine or Rapunzel. Sold by Disney Store, it sits in the mid-range for a licensed toy advent calendar.

What’s inside the Disney Once Upon a Story Advent Calendar

Twenty-four surprises, and nothing else: no sweets, no card, no sticker sheet. The split, reconstructed from the official artwork, is 14 character figures and 10 play accessories. Frozen takes the biggest share, with Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Sven and a fifth figure that reads as Kristoff, though some sources list Flynn. Rapunzel brings Rapunzel and Pascal; The Little Mermaid adds Ariel, Prince Eric and Max the dog; Aladdin rounds it off with Jasmine, Aladdin, Abu and the Genie coming out of his lamp.

The accessories are the props that turn the figures into scenes: a fireplace, an ice tree, an ice slide, a snow globe, a pink snowflake teapot, a tray of treats, a Christmas pudding, a pink sled, a flying carpet and a wrapped gift. The fold-out castle backdrop is the packaging, so it does not count as one of the 24.

Content value: not disclosed. These figures are exclusive to the calendar, Disney doesn’t sell them singly and puts no figure on the box, so any total would be invented. What you can measure is the split: at £45 across 24 doors, that works out to roughly £1.88 a surprise, which is why it lands mid-range for a licensed toy.

=> The full day-by-day reconstruction is in the SPOILER tab.

What’s changed since last year’s Disney Once Upon a Story

The castle, the 24 doors and the fold-out backdrop are the same as the previous edition. What’s changed is the cast. Beauty and the Beast and The Princess and the Frog are both out this year, taking Belle, the Beast, Lumière, Mrs Potts and Chip, Tiana, Naveen and Louis with them. In their place come The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, bringing Ariel, Eric, Max, Jasmine, Aladdin, Abu and the Genie. Frozen and Rapunzel stay.

The figure count shifts too: last year’s reconstruction read as 16 characters and 8 accessories, this year it reads as 14 and 10. So a child who had the previous castle gets a near-identical object with roughly half the figures refreshed, not a new toy. Worth knowing if you’re buying for the same household two years running.

My view on the Disney Once Upon a Story Advent Calendar 2026

What wins me over is the cast. Getting Elsa, Ariel, Jasmine and Rapunzel in one box is the kind of line-up a four-year-old actually asks for, and the figures are finished well enough to stand up and play. The fold-out castle matters more than it looks: it gives the figures a stage, so this reads as a proper play set, not a row of trinkets on a windowsill.

Where it holds back is the range. Four Disney worlds, when the back catalogue runs to dozens, so if your child’s favourite is Moana or Mulan they’re not here. And the finish is squarely made for small hands: no stands, no display boxes, nothing a grown-up collector would keep sealed. The way I see it, ‘it’s a calendar to play with, not to display, and that’s exactly right for the child it’s for’.

• An adult collector after mint, boxed figures will find the finish fine but the point missed: these are made to be handled.
• A parent of a Disney-mad three to seven-year-old gets 24 days of figures their child will recognise on sight and actually play with.

Disney discount code and delivery:

• Discount code: none available at the time of writing
• Delivery: set by Disney Store at checkout; to confirm on the shop

Disney Once Upon a Story, a collection built on make-believe

Disney Store, the retail arm the company has run since 1987, uses the Once Upon a Story line to package its own characters as small, affordable play figures, never collector models. The idea is storytelling in miniature: figures plus props a child can rearrange into their own scenes, sold through Disney Store.

This castle is the clearest version of that idea in the range. The fold-out backdrop isn’t decoration, it’s the whole pitch: open a door a day, and by Christmas Eve you’ve built a scene to play in. That’s what separates it from a figure-a-day calendar with no stage to put them on.

Where to buy the Disney Once Upon a Story Advent Calendar 2026

This calendar is sold by Disney Store, the only retailer carrying it. No discount code is live at the time of writing. Check the current offer and delivery at the top of this page.

• Retailer: Disney Store
• Price per surprise: around £1.88, mid-range for a licensed toy
• Discount code: none at the time of writing