been going to Disney World my entire life and I’m both nervous and excited as I haven’t a clue what I’m in for. We will be there December 2-8th ❤. I will say being a Florida resident and getting all the discounts that come with it I was shocked at how expensive Disneyland hotels are (I always rent points and stay deluxe plus have been a passholder for last 23 years)Six nights at the Disneyland Hotel at Rack rate Wowza 
.We attended one of the Merriest nights too, and it was such a disappointment. Just didn't seem to be much of anything for our party. Yes, lower crowds. Yes, fun food options. Photo ops and a Muppet Parade, but nothing that made us really say "WOW"!
The reservation calendar only goes out so far (I think 4 months?), so you are correct. If you want to buy through the Disneyland site, you would probably need to wait a few more months. You can buy tickets now if you go through a third party, but then you would just need to make sure you link them to your account and then make reservations. It might be worth it just to wait so you can do it all at once.
This is one of the most interesting aspects of planning for a Disneyland trip. I make my hotel and flight arrangements up to a year out. I then have to wait for park tickets reservations, and then finally dining reservations. None of it makes sense to me. The dates are not filling up as they previously once did, yet I find it nerve racking waiting for my park reservations dates to open up.
So we basically have to go online everyday and check? Is that right? Lol
We're doing the same thing now. We stayed on site 3 times last year, but just got back from an across the street stay. We're debating on whether to keep our on-site reservations for the rest of the year or go with across the street again. We still had a great time not staying on-site and the hotel has always been great. If we do a stay on Harbor instead of the Disneyland Hotel, we would save at least $3500 each time (so $7000 total this year). Is it really worth that much extra to stay on site? We love the DLH, but that is a significant sum especially when we are planning multiple trips. Decisions, decisions.
For and my adult DD and I, we enjoy staying at PPH, for some reason we feel safer during the walk to and from the parks, especially to DCA with the walkway behind the GCH, its short and very convenient. We also like walking through GCH to get through downtown Disney for DL days. Also the mornings with EE benefit, even if it’s only 1/2 hour is great, walking and seeing the rope drop crowd was nice to avoid. Just after the pandemic, Disney didn’t offer any perks I thought was worth the price, but the walkway and EE perks were enough for me to switch from staying on the Harbor side hotels.
Thanks. I must be getting naive in my old age. I did not even consider safety. We are leaning towards PPH as the price is "friendlier" than either of the other DL hotels.
Eek! I need to update my November check in thread with this info!Disney Parks Blog announced Halfway to Holidays! I love that they're doing this, because I know they do halfway to Halloween but Christmas and the Holidays need some love, too!
Mickey and Minnie's outfits look adorable.
The gingerbread!!! We absolutely love getting these.
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This popcorn tin...I wanted one so bad last year but we went too late in the season to get one. Maybe they'll have more available this year (a girl can dream!!). Looks like it's just available on DCL right now though.
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