Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread #2 (Closed)

[Sherry E]

Thank you, Sherri and Bret, for posting the latest photos - and again for the nice compliments! I really appreciate it.

simbalion74 - Thanks so much for joining us and contributing your wonderful photos! Welcome!

We want anyone to post who would like to share their DLR Christmas pictures and/or information * experiences with us - so if you are all lurking out there, please jump in and say hello!


Vala - I'm glad you were able to score your vouchers for Toontown Morning Madness and preferred seating for Aladdin!! Yay! Don't you love it when pieces of a DLR plan start to fall into place? How many character meals will you be doing on this upcoming November trip?

MattsPrincess - I really hope that you get to return to DLR for the holiday season in the near future because I know you loved it so much. Actually, I hope you get to make a trip after Thanksgiving sometime, or in early December - before the crowds get too awful and when the complete array of holiday decor is in full swing (all 3 hotels will be decorated by then, and you can enjoy the great holiday atmosphere of the GCH lobby/hearth area). I think it will be even better and more magical for you! But if you can't do that and you end up at DLR around the same time again - in that early/mid-November range - at least you know what you have to look forward to and what you have to get more photos of!

 

[specialks]

Sherry!!! You are amazing. I just checked in on this thread and was so excited to see that you had indexed some of my Christmas photos from our trip in Dec on the main page. You did an amazing job on everything!!! Thank you!

 

[specialks]

 

[Sherry E]

Sherry!!! You are amazing. I just checked in on this thread and was so excited to see that you had indexed some of my Christmas photos from our trip in Dec on the main page. You did an amazing job on everything!!! Thank you!

specialks - Thank you so much! And you're very welcome!

Of course I would include your photos in the ToC/Index! Anyone who posts a photo in this thread gets lumped into whichever categories it fits into and gets mentioned in the ToC.

I had started the process of the ToC a while ago and got partially through it. Then I stopped it to work a bit on the first post (the Welcome/Intro thing) and then I worked on the third post (with all of the links and the Trip Reports and the info)...and then went back and forth between the first and third posts!

Then I finally made it back to the ToC to get another chunk of it done! It's a long process but I think it's worth it in the end because it helps keep everything more organized and (hopefully) easier to find than in the previous Christmas thread - which was, by most accounts, magical and wonderful and we all loved it, but because it started sort of accidentally, as you know, ended up also being disorganized. Once we had gotten so far into the first Christmas thread, it seemed pointless to try to organize it late in the game. With this one, we could start from scratch and whip it into shape early on!

The main problem I have - and this is a problem entirely of my own design - is that, when I am placing the links and listings in their proper categories, I might forget to put them in all the categories they belong to! For example, if you post a photo of yourself with Santa at the Reindeer Round-Up, technically I should be putting the listing for that photo in both the Santa category and the Reindeer Round-Up category...possibly even the PhotoPass category too! But I might only remember to put it in Santa!

Or if you post a photo of yourself with Christmas Pooh at his photo spot in Critter Country, that should go in the Characters category, the Critter Country category and possibly the PhotoPass category (if it's a PhotoPass photo). I have to remember to put it in all areas where it applies!

So I have to be very careful about that, and I have to go back over the ToC to fine tune it and catch any of those oversights if there are any left. I wanted all the categories in there so it would be super easy to find exactly what we might be looking for, but I have to be extra thorough.

Oh, and specialks - I'm glad you posted because I KNEW there was someone's Christmas TR I had forgotten to include in the Info post/Post #3, under the Trip Reports heading. In the back of my mind, as I created that list a long time ago, I knew that there was at least one of our regular Christmas thread contributors who had done a TR...and I couldn't think of who I was leaving out!! Now I know!

So I have to be sure and add your holiday TR to the TR section in post #3. I'll do that a bit later, when I update the ToC with the latest photo listings.

Thank you so much for the wonderful photos you posted today!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

update looks like we will be ther 27 28 an 29th of nov. home on the 30th.

 

[Sherry E]

update looks like we will be ther 27 28 an 29th of nov. home on the 30th.

Woo hoo! That's great, Jade! You must be excited - I know it's been a while since you've been to DLR and you've had to cancel your plans a couple of times. You'll be going at an excellent time - after the crowds of Thanksgiving weekend have gone home and before the Christmas crowds pile in! Perfect! At the same time, you'll get the full holiday experience - the hotels and DTD will be decorated, and all the different Santas and carolers will be out and about too.

Did you already give your dates to smiley_face2 in the November Check-In thread so she can add you to the first post?

 

[simbalion74]

DSC07755 by simbalion74, on Flickr

DSC07749 by simbalion74, on Flickr

DSC07401 by simbalion74, on Flickr

 

[Vala]

Vala - I'm glad you were able to score your vouchers for Toontown Morning Madness and preferred seating for Aladdin!! Yay! Don't you love it when pieces of a DLR plan start to fall into place? How many character meals will you be doing on this upcoming November trip?

We're coming in in stacks this time... me first, room mate one 4 days later and room mate 2 again three days after room mate 1.

Room mate 2 wants to do Surf's Up and the Chip and Dale breakfast.
Room mate 1 has already decided on Goofy's.

I may be doing Ariel's on my own and I am sure we can get Minnie's worked in somewhere.

 

[Sherry E]

Bump from the depths of Page 3!

 

[mrsmoore]

I sure wish time would go a little faster!! I love looking at all the pictures! Curious, is Mrs. Claus anywhere with Santa? We realized last year that was the only way to get our DD to go. She sat on Mrs. Claus' lap!

Exciting addition to our trip! We found out the Kansas BB team is playing USC on December 22 in LA! My husband is a huge Kansas BB fan and we planned to arrive on Dec 22! We will push our Anaheim days back one and stay in LA on the 22nd, then drive to Anaheim after the morning commute on the 23rd!

 

[emacat]

I love all the pics! Thank you to everyone who's posting them, and to Sherry for organizing the thread.

 

[simbalion74]

DSCN2854 by simbalion74, on Flickr

DSCN2827 by simbalion74, on Flickr

DSCN2739 by simbalion74, on Flickr

DSCN2724 by simbalion74, on Flickr

DSCN2708 by simbalion74, on Flickr

 

[PHXscuba]

OK, so my "sneak off to Disneyland over the holidays" probably won't be happening. I was going to go as a chaperon with DS15's high school band trip, but now they are going to So. Cal the last weekend in October, and likely not to Disneyland (too costly). So probably no holiday visit this November/December. I am grateful I got to go last year.

PHXscuba

 

[SkRiderMom]

Bumping since I found this on the third page.

I'm hoping our next trip to Disneyland will be during the holidays.

We were there the first week of December 2008 and it was awesome!

 

[McQueenofHrts]

I am considering a trip to DL during the holidays. I would like to budget and be able to stay onsite to be fully immersed in the holiday spirit/decorations. With that said, which of the three onsite hotels do you feel is the best decorated/provides best ambience etc. Is one less decorated than the other? What has been your experience? I would love to stay at GC, but prices may prohibit me from doing so. I will have an AP by then so maybe some good deals will come my way! LOL!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sherry E]

I am considering a trip to DL during the holidays. I would like to budget and be able to stay onsite to be fully immersed in the holiday spirit/decorations. With that said, which of the three onsite hotels do you feel is the best decorated/provides best ambience etc. Is one less decorated than the other? What has been your experience? I would love to stay at GC, but prices may prohibit me from doing so. I will have an AP by then so maybe some good deals will come my way! LOL!

Thanks in advance!

Hi, McQueenofHrts! I'm so glad you joined us over here (I know you've been a Halloween thread follower in the past)!

I do hope others will chime in on this subject - Bret, Liza, Sherri, lapdwife, Tksbaskets, specialks, etc., etc. - but I will get the ball rolling with an answer.

First of all, I would suggest that if you have not yet done so, take a peek at the photo Table of Contents in Post #2 of this thread, Page 1. You will notice that I have categories for all sorts of Disneyland holiday highlights - including a category for each hotel!! This way, you can get an idea of what the hotels look like during the magical Christmas season.

The hotels, apparently, do not get the full holiday makeover until right after Thanksgiving day. The rest of Disneyland Resort seems to be decked out pre-Thanksgiving, except for the hotels and some of Downtown Disney.

Okay, here is how I break it down in my mind -

The GCH has the best overall ambiance and holiday atmosphere, in that elegantly rustic kind of GCH way. It has the best setting (and seating!) to enjoy the carolers and the other music, sip beverages and eat snacks, and the GCH Santa has a PhotoPass person to capture a photo by the huge tree. The fireplace is going and it's just a really nice, FREE way to get in the spirit of the season.

Fortunately, the GCH can be enjoyed without having to pay the lofty price to stay there - and I have done that. I may stay at the PPH but I spend a lot of time in that GCH lobby!

Now, if we are taking the Christmas trees and separating them from the overall general ambiance of the hotels, I actually like the Paradise Pier tree the best, believe it or not! I think the GCH tree fits with its hotel's theme the best, but just as far as colors and aesthetics, I really love the PPH tree.

You will not be able to tell from the photos posted in this thread because it does not translate well in pictures, but the PPH lobby tree is all aglow in a gorgeous blue-green color scheme. It is actually very eye-catching. We couldn't help but notice it from the parking area when we pulled up to the PPH, and it really grabbed our attention.

The GCH and PPH trees are both big, tall trees, while the trees at the Disneyland Hotel are not huge like that.

However, there is at least one main tree per tower at the DLH, so they have more trees per square foot than the GCH or the PPH have!

The DLH trees are kind of lackluster, but the giant Mickey statue at the front entrance is wearing a Santa hat. And there are some nifty garland adornments in that entry area as well.

The Goofy's Kitchen tree is one of my favorites because of its colors and its wacky, whimsical shape.

 

[mvf-m11c]

For the best decorated hotels during the Holiday season to me is the GCH by far. Just as Sherry mentioned that the hotels will be fully decorated after Thanksgiving. I know that for sure since I went before Thanksgiving and the tree at the GCH was not up yet. Not only the Christmas tree in the lobby at the GCH, the decorations fit the style of the hotel and the atmosphere is so amazing. Sitting right by the fire during a day at DL during the Holiday season is so great.

I have only stayed at the DLH during the Holiday season a long time ago before the GCH was up. It was great back then when the DLH was by itself, but it is completely different when the resort goes all out on the decorations. All of the hotels are decorated during the Holiday season and are very nice.

 

[Kauinohea]

Hooray, we booked our stay at BWPPI. We don't land until 3:30PM at LAX, so might not be in the park until 12/26. Its going to be a surprise Christmas present for our three kids. Soooo excited to seetheir reaction and all of the Holiday decorations!

Would love for there to be some kind special so that we could stay onsite. Keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[mrsmoore]

Is there any history of on-site hotels having deals later in the fall for the holiday season? All this talk makes me want to stay on site! But such a huge difference between those and the rate I currently have at Red Lion!

 

[Sherry E]

Is there any history of on-site hotels having deals later in the fall for the holiday season? All this talk makes me want to stay on site! But such a huge difference between those and the rate I currently have at Red Lion!

Hi, Marsha!

In the past I have seen some onsite discounts extend to mid-December-ish, but they are different types of discounts. Sometimes there have been special PIN code offers sent out by Disney Destinations. Sometimes there have been special Annual Pass holder rates. Sometimes they are not PIN codes, per se, but they are special offers that appear on DLR the website or in e-mail. Some of them don't go that far into December, but I have seen some that have. That doesn't mean there will be any discounts like that offered this year, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. Usually, all bigger discounts stop on or before the weekend right before Christmas. If you have an AP you can get 10% off a hotel stay 365 days a year, including on actual holidays, but given the current hotel rates...10% barely makes a dent!

What I did last year to get a good rate - and I had NO idea I would get a good rate, by the way - was go on to the DLR website in early October-ish and look at the December dates I was interested in, using whatever discount they were showing on the site for the hotels. I think the discount they were offering was something like 20% off for the PPH and maybe 30% off for the GCH, and the DLH was somewhere in between.

I plugged in my dates at the 20% off rate for PPH, came up with a total (which was too much money) and I saved the offer & final total under Saved Offers in the "My Disneyland" account on the DLR site. I intended to crunch some numbers and go back to the DLR website at a later time if I decided I could afford the PPH room.

Well, when DLR didn't get a reservation from me after several days had passed, they sent me an e-mail that said, "We see you are considering another stay at the Paradise Pier..." And in that e-mail was a PIN code for $163 per night!! A 35% off rate! There was also a window if time in which it could be used - certain weeks in November and certain weeks in December, which included the dates I had plugged in on the DLR site.

Now $163 per night may not seem 'inexpensive' to anyone, BUT when you take into account that my PPH stay was going to be in December, in the middle of the very busy and popular holiday season - which is peak season - that rate is pretty good! Also, I stayed onsite with an AP rate in the past (2008, I think it was) and I paid more than $163 per night! (I think I paid $179? I can't recall.) So I actually got a better deal this past December by saving the info in Saved Offers/My Disneyland and then having them contact me later with an offer I culd not refuse.

I kept checking the AP calendar for good rates to pop up for my December dates, but nothing ever popped up that I saw...or if it did, it was after I gave up and stopped checking.

After I did the Saved Offers thing, a couple of other DIS'ers tried the same thing and they, too, got offers with good rates for both the PPH and the GCH!

I don't know if I would suggest trying the Saved Offers trick now, so far out from the holiday season, because I don't think DLR would send you a good offer now, in hopes that you would eventually just book a room at whatever price they were showing. But I think that maybe trying it in September (for a December trip) might not be a bad idea at all! It can't hurt - the worst that will happen is that they don't send you an offer. But they very well might send one once they see that you are not going to book at the current offer!