Our 3rd Annual Holiday Trip to DL in November - November 22nd - 25th, 2013 Post #3416

[tksbaskets]

What fun to see posts from your September trip and the Expo. I enjoyed the Disney Legends recap. I hope to be at the expo when they have it next.

I'm looking forward to your Christmas trip. Wiil you be posting a link to your Pre-TR?

 

[kmedina]

Good way to wrap up your day at Disney. Even though it took a little longer than expected to get home, I am glad your brother was okay with letting you stay an extra 30 minutes. Leaving midday is always a bummer, but it is better than sitting the park out that day altogether. With an annual pass, it is such an easy decision to go in (even if it is for a short period of time).

You had two bags full of stuff. Other than the cell phone case, what goodies did you get? The horns are cute. I love Malificent. The Legends event looks cool. It seems like a lot of people stand around. Do you buy general admission into the expo and have to hope for entry to the individual events? Seeing the cast of Kickin It makes me think the expo might have some fun parts for Xander.

 

[Sherry E]

Bret -

1. Did KCmike get in touch with you? He had some Christmas Fantasy Parade-related questions and a question about rope drop at DL and I didn't have the exact answer, so I told him he should go to you (and I also suggested TK too, for her parade expertise).

2. Refresh my memory -- which dates in November will you be at DLR?

​

And KIM --

I saw you post in the Christmas/Holiday Superthread that you are not doing the Fantasmic dessert seating in December, or you had a change of heart about it. Are you still going to be at DLR in December for a couple of dates or did you drop that plan?

 

[kmedina]

Bret - 1. Did KCmike get in touch with you? He had some Christmas Fantasy Parade-related questions and a question about rope drop at DL and I didn't have the exact answer, so I told him he should go to you (and I also suggested TK too, for her parade expertise). 2. Refresh my memory -- which dates in November will you be at DLR? And KIM -- I saw you post in the Christmas/Holiday Superthread that you are not doing the Fantasmic dessert seating in December, or you had a change of heart about it. Are you still going to be at DLR in December for a couple of dates or did you drop that plan?

I am still going to Disneyland. After researching the cost, the food options and seating arrangements for the Fantasmic dessert, I just do not feel it is worth the cost. Xander would barely eat anything from his. Unless I line up two hours early, I will likely be in the back row. I cannot imagine the seats in the back row are much better than front row seats I can get for free less than two hours before the show. When the kids are older, I may give it a try. For now, I would rather spend that money on an extra character meal.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Thanks. Crap got the premium (for parking and increased discount percentage). Xander and I got the deluxe. If we choose to go on a blackout date, we can upgrade later. I was trying to keep costs down a little, since I promised Crap the trip would be cheaper than our DCL/WDW trip in 2011. Before placing my PhotoPass order, we are $156.50 under that trip. I preordered the CDs, so I doubt I will need to spend much more. I decided not to make any books this time. I am tentatively planning our next trip for 03/14-03/16 for my birthday. It would be nice to do all of our birthdays there, but Crap does not want his there. We are definitely going 12/05-12/08 for Xander's birthday. I am really behind on reading. I will catch up this weekend.

Nice to hear that Crap got a premium AP. You can always upgrade to the Premium AP later on a blockout date. You can always upgrade when you go on a blockout date. You can always get a blockout date ticket if the DAP is blockout on that specific date. My aunt (not my DA that goes with me to the parks a lot that will go with me in a couple of weeks) who bought a DAP in June will have to upgrade to the PAP since her DAP is blockout on Dec. 26th to 29th so she has to upgrade. I looked at the blockout date tickets and they are $84 for a PH AP blockout date ticket. That is a lot of money just for a blockout ticket. So with three days on a blockout which is $252 is makes more sense for her to upgrade to the PAP instead of paying for three blockout day tickets.

Even though I havent used PhotoPass in a few years, it is fun to get. But since I have a DSLR and I could always add details to the pictures, it will be a long time until I get PhotoPass pictures.

That is great news to hear that you will have your birthday trip in mid March and the next month birthday trip for Xander.

What fun to see posts from your September trip and the Expo. I enjoyed the Disney Legends recap. I hope to be at the expo when they have it next.

I'm looking forward to your Christmas trip. Wiil you be posting a link to your Pre-TR?

Thank you TK. The Disney Legends Ceremony and glad that we got to attend it this year. I was bummed that we didnt see the Legends Ceremony in 2011 which was a great class. I hope that you will be able to go to the D23 Expo in 2015.

I will be looking forward to the two Christmas trips as well as yours in December. I have been away lately with work and basketball. I will write up a pre-trip report before my DA and I leave in a couple of weeks. This is going to be a very exciting trip in a couple of weeks.

Good way to wrap up your day at Disney. Even though it took a little longer than expected to get home, I am glad your brother was okay with letting you stay an extra 30 minutes. Leaving midday is always a bummer, but it is better than sitting the park out that day altogether. With an annual pass, it is such an easy decision to go in (even if it is for a short period of time).

You had two bags full of stuff. Other than the cell phone case, what goodies did you get? The horns are cute. I love Malificent. The Legends event looks cool. It seems like a lot of people stand around. Do you buy general admission into the expo and have to hope for entry to the individual events? Seeing the cast of Kickin It makes me think the expo might have some fun parts for Xander.

It was a nice wrap up. It would have been better if I could stayed for the whole entire day with them but I didnt want to push it with my DB and his GF since they need to get back to Sacramento the next day. It did took a little longer to get home but we were able to get home before midnight. It is nice to go to the parks with an AP on a short day.

I did brought back two full bags of merchandise from the Dream Store and the Mickeys of Glendale store. At the MoG, I bought over $700 of pins, shirts, hats, etc. that are exclusive for the WDI. It was nice that my aunt got to see the seminar at the D23 Arena while I was shopping and she got the Maleficent horns like everyone else who attended the seminar. There were a lot of people standing in the queues to see the seminars, get StagePass for the seminars without waiting in the line for a long time, meeting movie stars, etc. You are correct that I buy the tickets to the Expo and use my time wisely in order to see the events, stores, autograph signings, etc. There will be times you wont be able to do certain things at the Expo. You should talk to Alison about that since she had a special ticket which is the Sorcerer package which got her priority seating to the seminars and other goodies. The only downside is that it is very expensive which costs $1500 per person for all three days. Since you are a D23 member, you will be able to save some money on the ticket admission as long as you are a member until next year when the D23 Expo 2015 tickets are on sale. Xander will love going to the Expo which isnt all about the seminars, stores, etc. But there are a lot of activities for kids to do then just for adults from videogames, play area, etc. It will be something that Xander will like to see.

Merchandise from the MoG and Dream Store that I bought that day (the pins on the bottom of the picture below I got on Friday).

Bret -

1. Did KCmike get in touch with you? He had some Christmas Fantasy Parade-related questions and a question about rope drop at DL and I didn't have the exact answer, so I told him he should go to you (and I also suggested TK too, for her parade expertise).

2. Refresh my memory -- which dates in November will you be at DLR?

​

Mike didnt pm me about A Christmas Fantasy parade questions but I did see his post on the thread and I will go back on it and answer.

I will be at the DLR on November 22nd to the 25th. I wanted to go on the first weekend of the Christmas season but my DA and I pushed back our times so we can enjoy the Christmas season with her work colleague and family which they will be there on the 22nd to the 26th.

I am still going to Disneyland. After researching the cost, the food options and seating arrangements for the Fantasmic dessert, I just do not feel it is worth the cost. Xander would barely eat anything from his. Unless I line up two hours early, I will likely be in the back row. I cannot imagine the seats in the back row are much better than front row seats I can get for free less than two hours before the show. When the kids are older, I may give it a try. For now, I would rather spend that money on an extra character meal.

The F! dessert package is nice but as you said that it will be good to do when your kids get older. I never done the F! dessert package for all those years when I was young until 2009 when F! was updated. It was worth every penny that year since it was crazy during that summer of 2009.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Day 3 – August 10, 2013​

On the last update, we are now in the D23 Arena for the 2013 Disney Legends Ceremony. We got to see Tony Baxter and Ed Winn to get inducted that day and now it was time for more inductees in the class of 2013.

The next person to be inducted is Collin Campbell. His projects at Disneyland from the Enchanted Tiki Room, Pirates of the Caribbean and Club 33.

His son Jim Campbell accepted the reward on his father’s behalf.

The next person to be inducted is John Goodman. He is best known for his role as Daniel “Dan” Conner on the ABC sitcom Roseanne. His known role for Disney/Pixar is the voice of James P. Sullivan in Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University. His voice was also in the movie “The Princess and the Frog as Eli “Big Daddy” La Bouff.

The next recipient was Billy Crystal who voice is Mike Wazowski in Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University.

The next recipient is Dick Clark who passed away last year. His wife Kari accepted the award on his behalf.

The next person to be inducted was Glen Kean. He is best known for his character animation for feature films including the Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, Tarzan, & Tangled.

The final inductee is Steve Jobs. He co-founded and served as chief executive of Pixar Animation. John Lasseter accepted the award on his behalf. John gave a very nice speech of his friendship with Steve Jobs when they were at Pixar.

After the speech, Vybration made it back to the stage to sing in front of the crowds

Then all the Disney characters made it on stage

Bob Iger and Tom Bergeron wrapped up the 2013 Disney Legends Ceremony.

After the Disney Legends Ceremony was over, everyone in the Arena exited. My DA and I head straight on over back to the D23 Arena queue to watch the Richard Sherman and Alan Menken concert at 6:30pm. We head on straight over to the queue to get in line. While walking on over to get in line, the queue was almost towards the backside of the far queue. I thought that we might not be able to see the concert in the Arena. There was an alternate area close to the entrance of the D23 Arena where they have extra seating if the arena was full.

We waited almost 2+ hours in the D23 Arena queue to see the concert. This is where having the Sorcerer package really comes into play which Alison (franandaj) has the package which you don’t have to wait in a long queue and have priority seating for the seminars. My DA and I have been talking about this ever since the D23 Expo in August if we want to commit to the Sorcerer tickets for the 2015 D23 Expo. But that will determine how much it will cost when the tickets are on sale next year.

To kill the time, my aunt was reading her book while I was on my iPad to get online. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get on the internet from my iPad or iPhone since there was a lot of people on their phones, tablets, laptops, etc. and it was almost impossible to get on the internet while in the showroom floor. So I just read the D23 Expo booklet about the events that are happening.

Around 6pm, the guests are now moving into the D23 Arena and we were hoping to be able to get in the Arena instead of the side room. Fortunately, we were able to go in the arena and we were glad.

Since we were in the back of the queue to get in the arena, we had to go upstairs. But it didn’t matter to me or my DA since we got to go in the arena.

That’s it for this post and I will have more from the Richard Sherman/Alan Menken concert at the D23 Expo.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Nice pictures, Bret.

Following along yours and Alison's TR concurrently is rather interesting. There are two different but similar views of the whole D23 event. Makes for great reading and contrasts.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Sherry E]

Bret -

Thank you so much for helping Mike with the info in the Superthread! Thank you, also, for all of your great contributions to that thread -- both in terms of information and in terms of Theme Week posts. You actually had the second highest number of entries (21) into the Theme Week Countdown random draw. You skipped a few themes, but some of those mini-daily themes were worth 2 entries so you made up for it that way. Only pattyduke34 had more entries than you had (she had 26). Still, though, we have no clue who will win the draw until I pick the winner tomorrow morning.

Also, because you showed everyone your awesome photos, I am certain that you have gained some new TR followers -- whether they are just lurking or will eventually speak up. I know that Kathy said she would have to start following your TR. Your nighttime shots have left everyone dazzled and amazed!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Nice pictures, Bret.

Following along yours and Alison's TR concurrently is rather interesting. There are two different but similar views of the whole D23 event. Makes for great reading and contrasts.

Thanks for sharing.

Thank you PiO.

Bret -

Thank you so much for helping Mike with the info in the Superthread! Thank you, also, for all of your great contributions to that thread -- both in terms of information and in terms of Theme Week posts. You actually had the second highest number of entries (21) into the Theme Week Countdown random draw. You skipped a few themes, but some of those mini-daily themes were worth 2 entries so you made up for it that way. Only pattyduke34 had more entries than you had (she had 26). Still, though, we have no clue who will win the draw until I pick the winner tomorrow morning.

Also, because you showed everyone your awesome photos, I am certain that you have gained some new TR followers -- whether they are just lurking or will eventually speak up. I know that Kathy said she would have to start following your TR. Your nighttime shots have left everyone dazzled and amazed!

Your welcome Sherry. I do enjoy helping as much as I can on the threads. I did skip a few themes since I was busy and don't have like the hotels and CP. Hopefully I will be able to see the CP at DL one day and I'll be looking forward to getting some pictures of the decorations at the hotels.

This will a fun year at the DLR during the Holiday season.

 

[mvf-m11c]

It’s time for another pre-trip report with mvf-m11c. For those who have followed my trip reports knows this is one of my favorite time of the year to visit the Disneyland Resort. Yup, it is the Holiday season which comes once a year and is one of the best times to visit. With my trip coming up shortly, I am going to suspend the D23 Expo trip report. It has been awhile since the D23 Expo trip and I haven't finished it yet since I have been working and basketball. Hopefully I will be able to finish the trip report later on.

Before going on with the pre-trip report, here is a recap of the last trip report. I have just finish [post=49649896]Last Second DISers Meet Up & Halloween Trip – September 14 – 16, 2013[/post] back in September where I had a DISMeet with PrincessInOz and franandaj. This trip is one that I will remember a long time where I got to meet PrincessInOz for the second time in 3D and meeting her family as well as seeing franandaj again for I last met up with her back during the D23 Expo in August. We got to do a lot of activities at the DLR from the rides, shows and dining which was fun but the best was being able to hang out with them during the trip. It was also during the Halloween season which the decorations at DL. The Halloween decorations look very nice during the Halloween season which started that weekend. I was lucky that my DB and his GF went down to SoCal at the last second and that was the time when PiO and her family were in SoCal for their trip.

Now the plans for the November 22nd – 25th, 2013 trip during the Holiday season at the DLR. This will be a different Holiday trip which in the past it has always been me and my DA. My DA colleague at work, her daughter and granddaughter will be joining along with my DA and me on our Holiday trip. She has been to the DLR in the past and this will be their first time visiting the park during the Holiday season. They will be there on the 22nd to the 26th for 5 days which my DA and I will be there for 4 days. In the past, my DA and I have gone to the DLR the first weekend of the Holiday season which will be coming up shortly. But since they can go during that time, my DA and I went along with them and go on that weekend. If we didn’t go with them, we would be there tomorrow. This will be a fun trip in which I will get to it shortly.

Cast: Me Bret 31, my DA 61, Kristi (my DA colleague), Karen (daughter of Kristi) and DD2 (daughter of Karen).

This will be my sixth trip to DL this year (Jan 12-14, May 3-5, June 28-30, Aug 8-12 & Sept 14-16). My DA 2nd trip to DL this year (May 3-5). This will be Kristi, Karen and DD2 first trip this year.

This trip is not until the fourth week of November which is getting close about one week from now which I am getting really exciting. Right now I am getting our plans ready for our upcoming trip until next week. This is the 4th year in a row that I am going to the DLR during the Holiday season in November. In the past my DA and I go to the DLR during the month of December during the Holiday season. Mostly it is for my birthday, but with basketball season and work, this is the best time to go during the Holiday season without missing it. It has been difficult these last few years which my DA and I couldn’t enjoy the Holiday season in December but it has been fun to go early in mid November to see the Christmas decorations. This will be the first time going on the 2nd weekend of the Holiday season at the DLR which the first weekend will be this upcoming weekend. This trip will be a little busy where my DA and I go on the first weekend the last couple of years but it should be nice. Our goals for this trip is to have a great time with Kristi, Karen, DD2 during the Holiday season. We have a lot of plans in place for the trip from the rides, shows, and dining. The goal for this trip from Kristi and Karen is seeing Christmas decorations at both parks, Downtown Disney and the hotels. They are really looking forward to seeing the Holiday decorations at Cars Land and Buena Vista Street in which this will be the second year with the Christmas decorations after it debut last year in 2012. My DA loves going to the Holiday season to see all the decorations and taking time off from work. For me, it is all about the decorations and enjoying all the different activities during the Holiday season. I will be looking forward to the most is the new show that will debut during the Holiday season “World of Color: Winter Dreams!” which is a new show for the Holiday season. There will also be Jingle Cruise that will debut this year. Don’t forget about Haunted Mansion Holiday (which I didn’t get to ride in September), It’s a Small World Holiday, Jingle Jangle Jamboree, Believe…In Holiday Magic fireworks, A Christmas Fantasy parade, etc. While during the trip, we have planned a few sit down restaurants with them during the trip which I will get to that on the bottom of the plans. Don’t forget that I will also be participating in Sherry E Holiday Quest that she started a couple of years ago which was the Tree, Wreath, etc. These quests going around the DLR to look for these specific things are always fun to do. It has been a few years since Sherry started the Holiday Quest of looking for any Christmas decorations.


My DA and I will be driving down from Sacramento to Anaheim together while Kristi, Karen and DD2 will be driving down separately. We always like to drive down to SoCal instead of flying since I do bring a lot of bags and camera equipment so it does make sense to drive down in just 7 hours. It just not worth paying the extra money for extra bags and getting a rental car. We will be driving down to SoCal in my DA Honda Civic. We always use my DA Honda Civic since she is so comfortable driving in it. We were able to make it to Anaheim with one stop of gas. We will stop at Livingston (close to Merced) that is always on my way to Anaheim to see my grandmother. We plan on stopping at my grandmother’s house on Friday morning before we head to SoCal. Before we head on over to SoCal, we will have to make a quick stop in SoCal to drop off some stuff for a friend before we head on over to Anaheim. We should arrive around 3pm after making the quick stop since we will be leaving at 6am from Sacramento.

We will be staying at Best Westerns Stovall's Anaheim Inn. This is our main hotel that we stay during our Disneyland trips. I like staying at BWAI since it is close to the DLR which is about a 7 minute walk to the Esplanade. We would still prefer Best Western Park Place Inn as our favorite hotel but the price of BWAI is cheaper over BWPPI. So we decided to stay at BWAI over BWPPI. Kristi, Karen and DD2 will be staying at the Grand California Hotel which is great for them. So when we meet up with them in the morning, we will be able to meet them at their hotel or at the Esplanade before we enter the parks.


My DA and I will be in the park for four days while Kristi, Karen and DD2 will be in the park for five days of the trip and. When we leave on Monday, we will stay a little bit longer than usual so we can hang out with them. My DA is planning on getting the Deluxe Annual Pass when we arrive at the DLR on Friday. She didn’t renew her AP last time since she didn’t go as many times last year. But this year, with this upcoming trip and future trips which will be about two more times, it made sense for her to get the Deluxe AP again.

Our goal for this trip is to enjoy the Holiday season at the DLR. It is all about having a great time at the DLR with other people that my DA and I enjoy by ourselves. So it will be fun to enjoy it with other people. We have a lot of plans for this trip from the rides, shows and restaurants. We will go by what we want to do and what to see, ride, etc. My main goal is to see the new World of Color: Winter Dreams! Show at DCA, Jingle Cruise, HMH, IASWH, Jingle Jangle Jamboree, Believe…In Holiday Magic fireworks, A Christmas Fantasy parade, and all the Holiday decorations at both DL, DCA, DTD, & maybe the hotels but I am not counting on that since the decorations are up after Thanksgiving Day. We have two sit down restaurants that we will be eating. We will be eating at the Plaza Inn on Saturday for breakfast at 10am and Ariel’s Grotto for lunch on Sunday at 11:20am. I have ate at the Plaza Inn and AG in the past and it will be nice to eat at those places.

Here are some plans that we have right now when we are at the DLR.

Friday
When my DA and I get to the DLR, we will join up with Kristi, Karen and DD2. But first, my DA needs to get the Deluxe Annual Pass. Also when we are in the parks, I will start the Tree, Wreath, etc. Quest that Sherry E have started and look for any Christmas decorations, treats and merchandise. Like all the other days during the trip, I will be looking for any decorations, treats and merchandises. We will go it by ears. But for the plans that night, we will try to watch the 2nd show of “A Christmas Fantasy” parade at 5:30pm from MS Town Square. We also planned on seeing “Believe…In Holiday Magic” fireworks at 9:30pm. Hopefully later that night we will get to ride IASWH after the fireworks.

Saturday
Since Kristi, Karen, and DD2 are staying on-site, we will take advantage of Extra Magic Hours at DL when it opens at 8am for EMH. The park will open at 9am at its schedule time and we will be able to do some rides that morning. We plan on eating at the Plaza Inn with Minnie and Friends for breakfast. Go on as many rides as possible in the morning to the afternoon until lunch. We will also go to the Fantasyland Faire for the meet and greets along with seeing Mickey and the Magical Map (time will be determine later). That night, we will be watching the 9pm show of F! at the Rivers of America.

Sunday
We will take advantage of EMH at DCA that day and enter DCA early to ride RSR and get FP’s for RSR. We will plan on getting World of Color FP’s for the 9pm show in the blue section We will go on some rides at DCA that morning until we have lunch at Ariel’s Grotto at 11:20am. Later that day we will go back to DL to go on more rides and see different shows. Later that night, we will watch the 9pm World of Color: Winter Dreams!. I don’t want to wait that long to see WoC but with everything going on, it is our best solution to go with the plans that we have made.

Monday
Go to DL that morning to go on more rides until my DA and I leave that afternoon back to Sacramento while Kristi, Karen, and DD2 will be staying until Tuesday.

There will be a lot of more new info when we get closer to our trip next week.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Great looking plans, Bret. Do you have any ADRs planned?

Can't wait to see your pictures on this trip.

 

[tksbaskets]

Looks like you have a fun trip lined up. I'm looking forward to hearing about it. I'm curious how the Frozen WOC is.

TK

 

[mvf-m11c]

Great looking plans, Bret. Do you have any ADRs planned?

Can't wait to see your pictures on this trip.

The plans are okay for now and we will go it by ears on what rides and shows to see during the trip. After reading your trip report awhile ago and seeing the pictures of WoC, I am about to change my plans on one night where we will see WoC on Saturday and Sunday since I want to get as many pictures and videos of the new World of Color: Winter Dreams show.

I do have a couple of ADRs planned for the trip. We will have breakfast at The Plaza Inn with Minnie and Friends character breakfast on Saturday the 23rd at 10am. DD2 wants to see a lot of Disney characters and this is a fine place to have breakfast at the parks and see the characters. On Sunday, we will be having lunch at Ariel's Grotto at 11:20am. I have been eating at AG a lot in this one year alone. One in January and in June and again in November.

I can't wait to take as many pictures of the Christmas decorations and there will be a surprise during the trip in which I won't say for now.

Looks like you have a fun trip lined up. I'm looking forward to hearing about it. I'm curious how the Frozen WOC is.

TK

The plans are okay for now and it will change when we get closer to the dates and we will go it by ears of what we want to do. I am really looking forward to WoC: Winter Dreams! so much during the trip. This is like how I was so excited to see CL and BVS during the Holiday season and was a great success. Now I am really looking forward to seeing WoC: Winter Dreams! that we might have to see it two times during the trip instead of once.

 

[PrincessInOz]

The plans are okay for now and we will go it by ears on what rides and shows to see during the trip. After reading your trip report awhile ago and seeing the pictures of WoC, I am about to change my plans on one night where we will see WoC on Saturday and Sunday since I want to get as many pictures and videos of the new World of Color: Winter Dreams show.

I do have a couple of ADRs planned for the trip. We will have breakfast at The Plaza Inn with Minnie and Friends character breakfast on Saturday the 23rd at 10am. DD2 wants to see a lot of Disney characters and this is a fine place to have breakfast at the parks and see the characters. On Sunday, we will be having lunch at Ariel's Grotto at 11:20am. I have been eating at AG a lot in this one year alone. One in January and in June and again in November.

I can't wait to take as many pictures of the Christmas decorations and there will be a surprise during the trip in which I won't say for now.

Take lots of pictures! And just have fun with the new lens. Your photography is really good; so just enjoy!

I think I might know what the surprise is. If it is what I think it is (and what we talked about), have a great time. I can wait to be surprised.

 

[ACDSNY]

You're putting your AP to good use this year. Your upcoming trip sounds great, I'm sure you'll have a awesome time. I agree this is the best time of year to visit DL, I love the holiday decoration.

 

[Sherry E]

Bret --

I was at DLR today. I just posted some of my observations in the Superthread. I specifically thought of you because we both always look out for decorations that have gone missing or decorations that have suddenly appeared. This year there is a bit of both -- decorations that have disappeared and decorations that have suddenly appeared! I think you'll have fun going around and discovering what's new and what's gone.

 

[kmedina]

Glad you got into the concert. It stinks waiting for two hours just to get nosebleed seats but the $1500 Sorcerers Package seems a little steep. I love all the loot you scooped up. At $700, you were almost half way to that Sorcerers Package. You have a lot to show for it though. Your next trip sounds awesome. Glad you will have EMH.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Were just 3 days away till the Holiday trip and I am getting more and more excited by the days.

Take lots of pictures! And just have fun with the new lens. Your photography is really good; so just enjoy!

I think I might know what the surprise is. If it is what I think it is (and what we talked about), have a great time. I can wait to be surprised.

I will PiO. There will also be a surprise during the trip which my DA and I are so excited. This will be one of the best Holiday trips to the DLR. Can't wait to leave in a few of days.

Hopefully "The View" television set in front of SBWC is not there during my trip on Friday since we are planning on watching "Believe...In Holiday Magic" fireworks that night. This will change the plans a lot if it is in front of the castle and i might have to go with the backup plan to see the fireworks. The backup plan will be watching the fireworks in front of IASWH facade.

You're putting your AP to good use this year. Your upcoming trip sounds great, I'm sure you'll have a awesome time. I agree this is the best time of year to visit DL, I love the holiday decoration.

I have been getting a lot out of my AP this year and hope to do more later on in 2014. This should be a fun trip. Luckily my DA and I didn't go this past weekend to the DLR with "The View" television set in front of Sleeping Beauty Winter Castle which is blocking the castle and guests can't go through it. It is disappointing that Disney is letting that show stage blocking the castle when the Holiday season just started. Hopefully it won't be up till my upcoming trip. It is amazing to go to the DLR during the Holidays. I did enjoy going to WDW during the Holiday season but my first choice will always be the DLR over WDW during the Holiday season.

Bret --

I was at DLR today. I just posted some of my observations in the Superthread. I specifically thought of you because we both always look out for decorations that have gone missing or decorations that have suddenly appeared. This year there is a bit of both -- decorations that have disappeared and decorations that have suddenly appeared! I think you'll have fun going around and discovering what's new and what's gone.

Thank you for the pictures and the details of your one day trip to the DLR during the Holiday season. If I didn't move my trip back one week, I would had the opportunity to meet you in person. I'm glad that you had a great time and seeing the decorations, merchandise and treats. It is fun to look around the parks to see what is missing or something new to appear during the Holiday season. I will be looking forward to going around the DLR to see all the decorations, merchandise and treats.

Glad you got into the concert. It stinks waiting for two hours just to get nosebleed seats but the $1500 Sorcerers Package seems a little steep. I love all the loot you scooped up. At $700, you were almost half way to that Sorcerers Package. You have a lot to show for it though. Your next trip sounds awesome. Glad you will have EMH.

Thank you Kim. The Richard Sherman/Alan Menken concert was great. It would have been better if we didn't had to wait 2 hours to get nosebleed seats but we were lucky to get in since the line was so long when we got out of the Legends Ceremony. $1500 for the Sorcerer package is a lot and it can be worth it if you don't want to wait in those long lines for the seminars. Alison convinced me and my DA to consider it when the tickets go on sale next year.

I can't wait to leave in a few days. We will go it by ears and see what we are going to do. Luckily my DA colleague is staying at the GCH and we can take advantage of the EMH at DL and DCA. It only depends if they can get up early to do the EMH. I talked to them and they will try to go to bed early so we can take advantage of EMH.

Hope you and your family have a great time next month.

 

[rentayenta]

Just 3 days! Can't wait to see your photos. Have a great time.

 

[ACDSNY]

Were just 3 days away till the Holiday trip and I am getting more and more excited by the days.

Hopefully "The View" television set in front of SBWC is not there during my trip on Friday since we are planning on watching "Believe...In Holiday Magic" fireworks that night. This will change the plans a lot if it is in front of the castle and i might have to go with the backup plan to see the fireworks. The backup plan will be watching the fireworks in front of IASWH facade.

The final countdown is on.

Is The View there every year? I'm thinking about going next year 11/16 - 11/20 as my DS cannot take off any time after those days in Nov/Dec.