Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread #5

[Tyggress]

There has got to be some sort of Mickey wreath on Main Street. They already took them down from the lampposts years ago, and now we may not even get them anywhere.

Maybe they'll hang a big Mickey wreath around the "60" logo on the front of the castle...?
I don't know, I'm hopeful. Maybe we'll get them back on the lamp posts again.

The garland will definitely be gone.

 

[Sherry E]

Well, in a goofing off at work moment I just changed our hotel reservations. I had us staying at the Fairfield Inn - which we stayed at last time and it was fine, fit our needs, etc. But then I realized (I'm still not really sure how I came about this realization) that there is the new courtyard next door so I looked it up to see how it differed from the fairfield inn.

Well, I was almost instantly sold because a room with two queens and a set of bunkbeds, partial fireworks view is the same price as our room at the FFI!!! AND the pool looks pretty awesome - I think my nephew is gonna lose his mind at the waterslide, haha! Since it is all 5 of us in one room, the courtyard with bunkbeds is definitely preferential. The room says it is "partial fireworks view" so I am really curious to see just what that means!

We are paying with Marriott Rewards points, so I'm not sure if the actual $$ price is the same, but the points price is the same.

And I get to make our dining reservations this week!!! Now if only they would put out park hours for our dates. They haven't even put up the last 5-6 days of October though, so I know it will be a bit still.

You got a great deal on that hotel! I guess they can get away with offering good prices right now because they are new? I am curious about the partial fireworks view as well.

Oh no! Hopefully they become visible! Jingle Cruise was one of my favorite things about my Holiday trip last year.

I had a feeling something like this would happen when this problem first popped up (and is apparently not fixed as of yet), and that certain photos I would not be able to view. I'm still giving you your entry into the random draw for the Disney gift card, but it annoys me that some people will be able to view some photos and some people will not be able to.

 

[Orbitron]

I know it is not the right theme, but I finally edited my pictures from the Thanksgiving Feast at the Disneyland Hotel. Is anybody interested in seeing them? Maybe it is a help for some people?!

 

[Sherry E]

I know it is not the right theme, but I finally edited my pictures from the Thanksgiving Feast at the Disneyland Hotel. Is anybody interested in seeing them? Maybe it is a help for some people?!

I would love to see them, but let's wait a bit. Since this week's theme literally just started, I don't want to throw anyone off track about what theme week we are in.

Or... here is a better thought! You know what you can do -- go back to your post from our Treats and Treasures theme week (a few weeks back) and add the photos to that post (or at least some of them -- however many you can fit into that post)! That's an idea! That way, people can go to that post and view the photos, and it won't throw anyone off of this week's theme. Here is the link to your post from that week - http://www.disboards.com/threads/di...i-november-13th.3358217/page-57#post-54303737.

 

[lvdis]

To be honest, I am very surprised by the World of Color situation. I was really expecting one show or the other, but not both. In the case of the Christmas parade, although it is better at night it can at least run in the daytime. World of Color is a nighttime-only show, so I can only assume that maybe it will be presented twice every night, with one show being Celebrate and one being Winter Dreams. I am completely baffled as to which one would be presented first and which one would be presented last. If I had to hazard a guess I would say that Celebrate will happen last, but I could be totally wrong about that.

If they do show both each night I wonder if it will be possible to get a fastpass to both the early and late shows in the same night.

 

[Sherry E]

If they do show both each night I wonder if it will be possible to get a fastpass to both the early and late shows in the same night.

That's a good question. I am definitely curious to see how all of this will be handled, as it is really surprising that 2 shows will be running -- unless they start the season with one version and finish the season with another version.

 

[kristabelle13]

If they do show both each night I wonder if it will be possible to get a fastpass to both the early and late shows in the same night.

Interesting question - I wonder too. Also, IIRC, there are lots of nights earlier in the season that aren't open that late (i.e. 8 pm) ...might be a bit difficult to pull off two shows? Or maybe 2 show nights would only be weekends with it alternating all week?

Either way - I'm excited to find out!

 

[Sherry E]

Holiday press release! http://disneylandnews.com/2015/09/1...the-diamond-celebration-nov-13-through-jan-6/. Read it carefully, as sometimes there are extra details in these releases that are not in the Blogs! (That's how I found out about the GCH gingerbread house last year -- in a release!)

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[Tyggress]

Holiday press release! http://disneylandnews.com/2015/09/1...the-diamond-celebration-nov-13-through-jan-6/. Read it carefully, as sometimes there are extra details in these releases that are not in the Blogs! (That's how I found out about the GCH gingerbread house last year -- in a release!)

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YES!!!! The skating rink AND the village will be back at DTD....
And this says both WOC shows will be offered most nights. Now to figure out which will show first, and which one the dining packages will be related to....

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Holiday press release! http://disneylandnews.com/2015/09/1...the-diamond-celebration-nov-13-through-jan-6/. Read it carefully, as sometimes there are extra details in these releases that are not in the Blogs! (That's how I found out about the GCH gingerbread house last year -- in a release!)

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So this says the winter village will be back in DTD and I have hopes Olaf's Snow Fest will start with everything else on Nov. 13th. However, I'm a little sad to read about the castle with it's diamond touches; does that mean it won't get any lights at all? That's one of my favorite things - to see it all lit up at night. This year should be an adventure to say the least!

 

[Tyggress]

So this says the winter village will be back in DTD and I have hopes Olaf's Snow Fest will start with everything else on Nov. 13th. However, I'm a little sad to read about the castle with it's diamond touches; does that mean it won't get any lights at all? That's one of my favorite things - to see it all lit up at night. This year should be an adventure to say the least!

Have you seen the castle in it's 60th décor yet? Even if it does not get a winter overlay (or a minimal one), it is still quite lit up with the 60th diamonds and lights...it's really breathtaking. I was stunned at how lit up it was the other night when I was there...although I wonder if they'll do a nightly "castle lighting" as they have in years past....right now, it's lit up in all of it's 60th glory after the nightly fireworks.

 

[keahgirl8]

Holiday press release! http://disneylandnews.com/2015/09/1...the-diamond-celebration-nov-13-through-jan-6/. Read it carefully, as sometimes there are extra details in these releases that are not in the Blogs! (That's how I found out about the GCH gingerbread house last year -- in a release!)

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Thanks for posting this! I'm super excited about WoC Winter Dreams and Jingle Cruise, since I haven't seen them! I'm thinking there will still be decorations in DL park, but the castle will probably not have the usual decorations. The 60th castle is beautiful though, so I'm not really worried about it. Like you have said, the holidays are huge there, so I'm sure they will make it great.

 

[Sherry E]

YES!!!! The skating rink AND the village will be back at DTD....
And this says both WOC shows will be offered most nights. Now to figure out which will show first, and which one the dining packages will be related to....

I just noticed the "most nights" as well -- I wonder what that means. Will there be a reduced schedule pre-Thanksgiving, and then a heavier schedule post-Thanksgiving?

It looks like no Winter Castle this year -- not in the official sense. I think they would have mentioned it as the Winter Castle if it were coming back.

Thank goodness the Village is back -- I mean, honestly, it's not much.... but Downtown Disney needs something besides a tree and an ice rink.

Also... not one single mention of the hotels in either the blog or in the release. Hmmm.... Normally the releases will acknowledge the hotels, even if in a vague way. Last year they specifically mentioned the gingerbread house at the GCH.

I wonder if this means that there will be a whole separate release and blog about the hotels closer to the season. There is no way they would skip the Christmas trees in each hotel -- that much is certain -- but the gingerbread house may be a question mark right now.

 

[keahgirl8]

I wonder if this means that there will be a whole separate release and blog about the hotels closer to the season. There is no way they would skip the Christmas trees in each hotel -- that much is certain -- but the gingerbread house may be a question mark right now.

I wonder why they would skip the gingerbread house. What would be the advantage for them there?

 

[Sherry E]

So this says the winter village will be back in DTD and I have hopes Olaf's Snow Fest will start with everything else on Nov. 13th. However, I'm a little sad to read about the castle with it's diamond touches; does that mean it won't get any lights at all? That's one of my favorite things - to see it all lit up at night. This year should be an adventure to say the least!

I have to agree -- I prefer the Winter Castle lights. They are shinier and more glowy.

This year is a mystery and an adventure! And, for me, it will mean a thorough examination of every land, as I go through with my checklist and look for missing wreaths and trees!

 

[Tyggress]

Thank goodness the Village is back -- I mean, honestly, it's not much.... but Downtown Disney needs something besides a tree and an ice rink.

Also... not one single mention of the hotels in either the blog or in the release. Hmmm.... Normally the releases will acknowledge the hotels, even if in a vague way. Last year they specifically mentioned the gingerbread house at the GCH.

OMG...if they skip the hotel trees, I'll be so disappointed. Staying at the GCH for the first time ever, I REALLY want to see that gorgeous tree and the roaring fire in the lobby! Then again, Disney has been tough to predict all year; I'm starting to wonder who's running things over there lately.

I agree DTD needs some more holiday love...if not for the little rinky-dink rink and village, you wouldn't know it was December down there sometimes!

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks for posting this! I'm super excited about WoC Winter Dreams and Jingle Cruise, since I haven't seen them! I'm thinking there will still be decorations in DL park, but the castle will probably not have the usual decorations. The 60th castle is beautiful though, so I'm not really worried about it. Like you have said, the holidays are huge there, so I'm sure they will make it great.

Yes, that's very true -- they treat the holiday season as a much bigger deal than they do Halloween Time, just in terms of décor alone, not to mention in other ways. So I hope they don't skimp too much.

I wonder why they would skip the gingerbread house. What would be the advantage for them there?

I am thinking that IF there is no gingerbread house in the GCH lobby this year it will be a money-saving decision. They only tried doing it one year, and it's easier to take something away when it has only been there one year than if it had been there for 10 years. They have had that rice crispy Castle set up at the GCH this year, so maybe they will skip the gingerbread house. I hope they don't skip it, and that there will be a whole separate blog about the hotels.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

 

[Sherry E]

OMG...if they skip the hotel trees, I'll be so disappointed. Staying at the GCH for the first time ever, I REALLY want to see that gorgeous tree and the roaring fire in the lobby! Then again, Disney has been tough to predict all year; I'm starting to wonder who's running things over there lately.

I agree DTD needs some more holiday love...if not for the little rinky-dink rink and village, you wouldn't know it was December down there sometimes!

Very hard to predict all year, that is true!

I think the main hotel trees at all 3 hotels are safe -- it's really almost mandatory that those go up. In the parks, they can get away with cutting back on a few trees inside shops, or less obvious decorations that a lot of people would not notice (such as Roger Rabbit in his Santa suit above Car Toon Spin), but a hotel lobby without a tree would be way too obvious. So the trees are safe. I think that the GCH gingerbread house's return may be the mystery.

That rink -- even though it's Frozen-themed ( ) -- and the Village gave Downtown Disney a needed boost of holiday cheer. And you know what else happened when those two things went up? Other vendors in DTD began upping their holiday décor game as well. Suddenly ESPN Zone had sports-themed wreaths, and Tortilla Jo's got a better tree. Other restaurants (Catal, for example) began adding in trees. Suddenly there were carolers in Downtown Disney and a gift wrapping demo/contest. Suddenly, Santa appeared at Catal for breakfast.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Have you seen the castle in it's 60th décor yet? Even if it does not get a winter overlay (or a minimal one), it is still quite lit up with the 60th diamonds and lights...it's really breathtaking. I was stunned at how lit up it was the other night when I was there...although I wonder if they'll do a nightly "castle lighting" as they have in years past....right now, it's lit up in all of it's 60th glory after the nightly fireworks.

I have seen it, on two trips actually, and while it is pretty, it isn't the same!