10 Mths of WDW Planning leads us to~~DISNEYLAND!! Report Completed~Pic Heavy!!!

[DizNee Luver]

After getting some "Bear" hugs at the Jamboree, we made our way back out beside the Big Thunder BBQ area and took pictures as we passed by. So themed for this area and festive....I love how Disney is so detail oriented!

 

[Trentmom]

Great update

That Mrs. Claus was beautiful

Love the Santa area and all the goodies. That cotton candy looked good. Was it?

Looks like a fun show with the hillbillies

I loved all the bear pics, especially Liver Lips

 

[DizNee Luver]

Great update

That Mrs. Claus was beautiful

Love the Santa area and all the goodies. That cotton candy looked good. Was it?

Looks like a fun show with the hillbillies

I loved all the bear pics, especially Liver Lips

Thanx Kelly!!! Nice to know I have a couple followers........unless people are following along and being quiet...... Feel free to join in on the conversations!!

Mrs Claus really was beautiful!! She was there last year too!

The candy cane cotton candy was good!! Of course I'm a fan of peppermint and it wasn't OVERLY minted.....so a nice balance!

I make sure to see the hillbillies every trip. The lead Billy is very good....not as big a fan of the other one (who may just fill in on this guys days off)......so far I've been pretty lucky in seeing this one. A very good showman!!

I loved that they brought out the bears. Not a very attractive group, but funny!!!

 

[Escape2Disney]

I'm following too!

I love all of the pictures and details! Your reports are so fun! I always feel when I write mine that I'm the only one out there, but it's fun anyway!

Your girls did so well on this trip - it seems they've really started getting into the Disney Magic.

Can't wait to read more...

 

[DizNee Luver]

After leaving the Big Thunder Ranch area, we headed into Fantasyland and decided to take Shyann on another train~~Casey Jr. Here are a few pictures as we waited for our turn.

Shy and Tyler rode on the caboose facing backwards.....so all the pictures were done by Ty. He said it was hard to take pics because you didn't know what was coming.....lol

 

[DizNee Luver]

I'm following too!

I love all of the pictures and details! Your reports are so fun! I always feel when I write mine that I'm the only one out there, but it's fun anyway!

Your girls did so well on this trip - it seems they've really started getting into the Disney Magic.

Can't wait to read more...

Hi Carrie!!! I'm glad to see you here!!!

I have times like I feel like I'm alone.....but I always have a few pop in, almost daily....so that makes me feel good. Someone's looking at it as my #'s keep going up on the views.

The girls did really good........so much better than 2010!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

More Casey Jr. If you look closely, you will notice that some of the little houses are decorated for the holidays (wreaths, garland, poinsettias, etc)

Once our trip on Casey Jr was over, we headed towards Main Street to find a spot to watch the parade. There was a wheelchair section by the Partner's Statue and I asked if we were able to stand in this area with the girls GAC's and the CM said yes and let us in. We stayed at the very back so the girls wouldn't be packed in with people all around them. We let the people transferring from wheelchairs use the benches. While we were waiting, Ty took the camera and got pictures of all the little statues that surround the Partner's Statue.

The Partner's Statue!

Partner's Statue with Sleeping Beauty's Castle:

Castle Pictures:

Looking up Main Street......look at all those people!!

The Matterhorn:

Jolly Holiday Bakery & Plaza Inn:

Another couple shots up Main Street:

About this time, the CM that was working the street side of our little section came up and asked if we had a GAC and I pulled them out to show them to him. He said......technically this area was just for wheelchairs because the girls can stay in their strollers anywhere. Huh, I hadn't really thought about that......but he said since we had been told we could be there and our group was being good and quiet.....he allowed us to stay. This area did fill up by parade time....but we still were able to keep enough of the buffer around the twins to make the parade enjoyable.

 

[heaven2dc]

Love Casey's train ride - I vaguely remember that from our 1983 trip (I think lol). Love the "Billy's" - so much fun! Looks like the kids really enjoyed themselves and esp Liver Lips The statues were so cute - I've seen the ones at WDW and didn't know these were at DL - you are really making me excited to go (one of these days)!

 

[DizNee Luver]

A few more pics of the wreaths hanging over Main Street.

The Partner's Statue again:

Prior to the parade starting, Magnolia High School Marching Band played their way down the parade route.

Balloons......I love taking pics of the Mickey balloons.....a little wind helped make these interesting!

WOOF! Look at all those people!

Tomorrow I'll start the parade pics!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Love Casey's train ride - I vaguely remember that from our 1983 trip (I think lol). Love the "Billy's" - so much fun! Looks like the kids really enjoyed themselves and esp Liver Lips The statues were so cute - I've seen the ones at WDW and didn't know these were at DL - you are really making me excited to go (one of these days)!

Well you either did the Casey Jr train or you rode on the Storybookland Canal Boats that make their way thru the same scenes but by boat.

I love the Billy's!!

Are the statues at WDW the same as the ones we pictured?? I've never been to WDW!

 

[Sherry E]

Laurie -

At least you have your regulars commenting in your TR every day! That's more than I've got. Some of my people often disappear for long chunks of time, or only pop in to say something once a month. Sometimes, when people do pop in I can tell they have overlooked the last posts I put up - and I may have spent all day working on those posts (because of my stupid PC trouble). A lot of people also just prefer reading and not having to comment.

The other thing I noticed - and this is a major factor in people commenting or coming out of lurkdom - is the fact that there are many other holiday TR's going on right now, and most of them are also photo-heavy and/or detail-driven. (In fact, I just saw a balloon picture like yours in another TR a couple of days ago!)

If your TR were the only holiday TR happening right now, you would have all the people who wanted to read a holiday TR coming here. But with so many active 2012 holiday reports going on at the same time (by Bret, by danimaroo, by pixleyyy, by me, and others I am not even mentioning but there are more and there will be more), the active commenters/readers are probably in holiday overload, so they stick to one or maybe two reports because that's all they can handle.

I noticed this last holiday season too, which is one reason why I kind of hung back and waited for everyone else to finish their 2011 holiday reports. By the time I started the December 2011 report, no one else was doing a holiday TR so it was more of a novelty!

So I finally realized that I have to just worry about finishing the TR so I can get it done for my own sake. That's the goal. If people are going to pop in, they're going to pop in. Otherwise, I'm doing it for the lurkers out there!

By the way - a lot of that stuff that you took pictures of at the Jingle Jangle Jamboree was not there when I was there in November, but it is the same exact stuff that used to be at the Reindeer Round-Up. So, when I went to DLR on 11/12 they had put up some things - a lot of things, actually - but all of those extra little details (like the barrels with the reindeer names on them) from the old Round-Up were added to the Jamboree after 11/12. I looked for them on 11/12 and was disappointed they were gone. I am so glad to see the little countrified Christmas touches are back again!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Laurie -

At least you have your regulars commenting in your TR every day! That's more than I've got. Some of my people often disappear for long chunks of time, or only pop in to say something once a month. Sometimes, when people do pop in I can tell they have overlooked the last posts I put up - and I may have spent all day working on those posts (because of my stupid PC trouble). A lot of people also just prefer reading and not having to comment.

The other thing I noticed - and this is a major factor in people commenting or coming out of lurkdom - is the fact that there are many other holiday TR's going on right now, and most of them are also photo-heavy and/or detail-driven. (In fact, I just saw a balloon picture like yours in another TR a couple of days ago!)

If your TR were the only holiday TR happening right now, you would have all the people who wanted to read a holiday TR coming here. But with so many active 2012 holiday reports going on at the same time (by Bret, by danimaroo, by pixleyyy, by me, and others I am not even mentioning but there are more and there will be more), the active commenters/readers are probably in holiday overload, so they stick to one or maybe two reports because that's all they can handle.

I noticed this last holiday season too, which is one reason why I kind of hung back and waited for everyone else to finish their 2011 holiday reports. By the time I started the December 2011 report, no one else was doing a holiday TR so it was more of a novelty!

So I finally realized that I have to just worry about finishing the TR so I can get it done for my own sake. That's the goal. If people are going to pop in, they're going to pop in. Otherwise, I'm doing it for the lurkers out there!

By the way - a lot of that stuff that you took pictures of at the Jingle Jangle Jamboree was not there when I was there in November, but it is the same exact stuff that used to be at the Reindeer Round-Up. So, when I went to DLR on 11/12 they had put up some things - a lot of things, actually - but all of those extra little details (like the barrels with the reindeer names on them) from the old Round-Up were added to the Jamboree after 11/12. I looked for them on 11/12 and was disappointed they were gone. I am so glad to see the little countrified Christmas touches are back again!

I was just encouraging my quiet followers to say hello!! I appreciate each and everyone that says hi or just reads in quiet.

What????? Not everyone wants to be overloaded with Disney Holiday Goodness??? Say it ain't so!!!

I did recognize a lot of the decorations back in the jamboree area.....just sad they decided not to have the reindeer. It still would have fit the themeing. What do they usually use that area back there for??? Like I mentioned in one of my posts.......I didn't even know this area existed!!

 

[lsulindy]

I was just encouraging my quiet followers to say hello!! I appreciate each and everyone that says hi or just reads in quiet.

I'm planning our first trip and trying to follow along.

 

[cristyhas3]

I really enjoy your TR! You're so thoughtful and detailed. It really makes me want to be sure to pay attention to the little things during my next visit. Thank you.

 

[Sherry E]

I was just encouraging my quiet followers to say hello!! I appreciate each and everyone that says hi or just reads in quiet.

What????? Not everyone wants to be overloaded with Disney Holiday Goodness??? Say it ain't so!!!

I did recognize a lot of the decorations back in the jamboree area.....just sad they decided not to have the reindeer. It still would have fit the themeing. What do they usually use that area back there for??? Like I mentioned in one of my posts.......I didn't even know this area existed!!

You've probably picked up some extra (silent) readers from the Superthread as well! About a week ago I added links to a lot of folks' holiday TR's in progress - including yours and Carrie's - to a post on the first page of the Superthread, and I specifically mentioned that you had a holiday TR going on in a different post. Plus, I have your 2011 TR linked, and I have the holiday tour portion of your 2011 TR linked in my holiday tour section of the Superthread! A lot of people tune into the Superthread, so a lot of people will see your TR.

I saw your question about what that back area was used for, and I am not 100% sure so I didn't answer it. It seems like I recall someone saying what it was used for at one point - maybe something having to do with the animals?? - but I don't remember the specifics.

I do miss seeing the reindeer but they always looked like they were having a hard time breathing. Their breathing was very shallow and rapid, so I got the feeling that they were not acclimating well to the SoCal air/weather. If their health was being compromised, I'd much rather that the reindeer stay home. They were also not particularly friendly, and little kids would climb up on the decorations (barriers) to try to reach their hands in and pet them (from what a CM told me). It may have just gotten to be too risky for Disney to bring the reindeer back.

More than likely, though, Disney just decided to not spend the money on toting the reindeer down to the ranch this year because they were spending the decoration budget elsewhere. It's always an 'add something in; take something else away' kind of system with the holiday decor and merriment at DLR! Although...I will say that at least when they take things away from the holiday offerings, there is still plenty more merriment to go around. We won't feel deprived of holiday fun if a couple of things go missing. (However, that is not the case with Halloween Time - when Disney takes things away from its Halloween Time offerings, the difference is really felt because the Halloween offerings are so minimal compared to the holiday season offerings!)

The whole Jamboree area looked so open and spacious, while the Round-Up was more confined. I'm glad they decided to add in those decorations from the Round-Up because I think the Jamboree needed to be filled in a bit. When I was there on 11/12 the decorations were at a minimum for the most part. The cookie decorating spot was set up, as was the coloring/craft spot. It's good to know (for future reference) that the Jamboree might not be fully decorated when the holiday season begins in 2013!

 

[DizNee Luver]

I'm planning our first trip and trying to follow along.

Welcome!! If you have any questions let me know!!!

I really enjoy your TR! You're so thoughtful and detailed. It really makes me want to be sure to pay attention to the little things during my next visit. Thank you.

Welcome!! What makes Disney superior to other parks is their attention to the little things......all the details fall into place. Even garbage cans are themed to fit the area of the park they're in.

You've probably picked up some extra (silent) readers from the Superthread as well! About a week ago I added links to a lot of folks' holiday TR's in progress - including yours and Carrie's - to a post on the first page of the Superthread, and I specifically mentioned that you had a holiday TR going on in a different post. Plus, I have your 2011 TR linked, and I have the holiday tour portion of your 2011 TR linked in my holiday tour section of the Superthread! A lot of people tune into the Superthread, so a lot of people will see your TR.

I saw your question about what that back area was used for, and I am not 100% sure so I didn't answer it. It seems like I recall someone saying what it was used for at one point - maybe something having to do with the animals?? - but I don't remember the specifics.

I do miss seeing the reindeer but they always looked like they were having a hard time breathing. Their breathing was very shallow and rapid, so I got the feeling that they were not acclimating well to the SoCal air/weather. If their health was being compromised, I'd much rather that the reindeer stay home. They were also not particularly friendly, and little kids would climb up on the decorations (barriers) to try to reach their hands in and pet them (from what a CM told me). It may have just gotten to be too risky for Disney to bring the reindeer back.

More than likely, though, Disney just decided to not spend the money on toting the reindeer down to the ranch this year because they were spending the decoration budget elsewhere. It's always an 'add something in; take something else away' kind of system with the holiday decor and merriment at DLR! Although...I will say that at least when they take things away from the holiday offerings, there is still plenty more merriment to go around. We won't feel deprived of holiday fun if a couple of things go missing. (However, that is not the case with Halloween Time - when Disney takes things away from its Halloween Time offerings, the difference is really felt because the Halloween offerings are so minimal compared to the holiday season offerings!)

The whole Jamboree area looked so open and spacious, while the Round-Up was more confined. I'm glad they decided to add in those decorations from the Round-Up because I think the Jamboree needed to be filled in a bit. When I was there on 11/12 the decorations were at a minimum for the most part. The cookie decorating spot was set up, as was the coloring/craft spot. It's good to know (for future reference) that the Jamboree might not be fully decorated when the holiday season begins in 2013!

Well thank you very much for the plugs!!

You would think that back area had been used many times before unless they built that stage just for the jamboree??! I wonder if they used that area for private affairs/parties?? Oh well.....I wasn't happy when I had heard they had moved the Billy's out of the Golden Horseshoe.....but this worked. I wonder if they will be keeping it open year round?? They'd have to offer something to do back there to get people to wander that direction......... Just thinking out loud here...... Anywhos........I just saw today that they're bringing back for about a month the Golden Horseshoe Revue.......I WISH I could be there to see that. I actually remember this from my first trip to Disneyland and my dad used to do this type of shows when I was younger......... I really would have loved to have seen the tribute! So the Billy's have to have a place to play....so are they keeping that area open until that's over mid February???

Ok, enough rambling.....I'm sure when I go back and read that paragraph I will see that I was all over the place........darned ol' ADD.....lol

 

[DnA2010]

All caught up now

Mrs. C is sooo pretty, wow! I can only dream of looking that good later one!

I am amazed by all the details of the country-style decorations, I particularly like the rope snowflakes! I might try making them someday...your report is really inspiring me to try to get us to Disney at the holidays!

Shy is becoming quite a picture gal, now isn't she! So great to see! Her smile is so warm

We are off tomorrow, heading to Bellingham then San Francisco to visit DH's sister and family, but are planning a day at the Disney Family Museum, so a Disney fix for me! Thus I'm not sure if I will have a chance to check in, but I am hoping to find a way, as I enjoy your updates so much!!

-Ally

 

[heaven2dc]

Well you either did the Casey Jr train or you rode on the Storybookland Canal Boats that make their way thru the same scenes but by boat.

I love the Billy's!!

Are the statues at WDW the same as the ones we pictured?? I've never been to WDW!

Now I remember - it was the Storybookland Canal Boats (I think lol) and yes I think the statues at WDW are the same (or very similar). Your pics are so great - all of them! You really have an eye for capturing great shots

 

[Caroline NZ]

I'm here and reading along. I always make a point of reading your reports as they have a lovely personal feel to them, along with great descriptions and pics

 

[Aust]

I'm reading along too, loving the details and the fantastic photos. I've not been to DL in the holiday season and won't be there for a few years so this gives me the closet I can get for now!