2014 Review “Holiday Time at Disneyland” Tour

[krispin41]

Iam so craving one of those cookies now.

 

[dalstitch45]

This is going to be the 4th year in a row doing the Holiday Tour. I must say I have found it definitely worth the money. Especially for the reserved parade seating. I like watching the parade at night for the tour. By the way, the AP discount and the AAA discount are the same, which I didn't know. I have both so it did not matter.

I am not a fan of gingerbread, so I give my gingerbread cookie away every year. The rest of the tour souvenirs I just love collecting.

 

[thewelts]

I am genuinely bummed to report that this tour was a huge disappointment for our group. We were 4 adults and 2 children (boys, age 10). Each of us ranked this activity as the “low light” of our trip.

I will start with the guide… perhaps my expectations were too high, but I thought that “plaid vests” are Disney’s elite – top ambassadors. I expected our guide to be charming, warm, dynamic and personable. Sadly our guide did not seem to possess any of these qualities. He was rather rigid and unexpressive. We toured on Sunday, December 14 and the park was extremely crowded. It was painful for our group of 16 people to walk so s-l-o-w-l-y through the crowds – It fact, it was TORTURE.

The tour was not particularly interesting, it was difficult to hear – even with the headset, and did I mention the crowds?! Our group was so grumpy and miserable by time we made it to the Jingle Cruise that none of us were able to enjoy the ride and silly humor of our captain. The same was true for the Haunted Mansion.

We appreciated being in front of It’s a Small World for the lighting ceremony – probably the best highlight (but you certainly don’t need to go on the tour to experience this).

I had a HUGE pet peeve regarding the parade. My guests has never been to Disneyland for the Holiday Parade so my biggest motivation for the tour was to offer them special seating for the parade. When our tour began, we quickly went over to California Adventure and when we returned to Disneyland the earlier parade was going on as we battled our way upstream on Main Street. Basically my guests were given a full view of the parade as we painfully made our way through the crowds. It absolutely stole the magic from experiencing the parade properly at the end of the tour.

Sorry… but a huge double-thumbs down on the Holiday Time Tour.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Sorry your tour did not meet your expectations. That is always a bummer. Send a comment to DL (use the "contact us" link on the website) about your guide. Hospitality should know about his lackluster performance. But DL is not responsible for the other things. They have no control over negative attitudes (yes, it was crowded -- but it was crowded for everyone else, too -- tour members or not) or your expectations. Of course you wanted your guests to have a special experience. Maybe you could have helped them see the magic in spite of the difficulties?? (I know this can be really hard, especially when things don't seem to get better as time goes on, but it really can be worth it.) I always ask about the parade times when booking a tour -- earlier is better, if possible. CMs have been good in the past about helping me schedule the times that work best for my group. (One year we needed to avoid the parade crowds so our elderly guests could keep up with the tour. CMs helped us schedule the time that worked best for us.) Again, I'm sorry that you had a bad time on your tour, but I don't think that it's fair to pan the Holiday Tour outright for others.

 

[Nonsuch]

Here is what the pin and the gingerbread cookies look like.

This is the website for the artist that created this year's tour pin

 

[krispin41]

I took the noon tour on 12/12/14. Which was a Friday.

It had rained earlier that morning, so crowds were lower.

That morning, I slept in a bit, and then had made my way over to Innoventions to meet Captain America and Thor. I had a reminder set on my phone but was just totally in my zone. (This was a solo trip for me.) I had left my heavier DSLR back at the hotel, and for some reason my tiny point & shoot was not turning on. So I only had my phone. The Iron Man exhibit was not open, due to the fact that they had shampooed the carpets about an hour before opening, and it wasn't safe to walk on with everyone slipping and sliding. So I thought, hey, I can head back to the hotel (staying at the DLH) via the Monorail, pick up my camera, get some people free shots of the Iron Man suits, then get in line to meet Hiro & Baymax.

So I am sitting on the Monorail (it had stopped raining by this time). and I decide to check my phone to see what I have scheduled. For some reason I was still thinking I was on the later tour (I had switched tour times when I got a Blue Bayou Fantasmic! reservation.) and I see the time and it is 11:50!

So I hightail across the park and make it just in time to meet up with my tour group. We had a small group of about 10 people.

Because of the rain, (and the possibility of it continuing on) we did not have headsets. (Apparently, they don't work well in rain.) Our guide led us across to DCA and we got our treat after hearing about the garlands and tree and other details of Buena Vista St.

She also let us know, that we might not get to see the Parade because of the rain, we may see the Rainy Day Cavalcade instead (if it was raining hard). But if it was not raining, and the ground was still too wet, we would see the Parade, but the dancers and performers wouldn't do their routines (in case they might slip.) BUT, if the ground dried up, we would see the full parade. So we all had our fingers crossed!

She led us down Main St., telling us details, we admired the Christmas Tree, rode the Jingle Cruise, then headed to New Orleans Square to ride the Haunted Mansion, and then finally to it's a small world. Our group had it's own boat. After the ride we were escorted to the Parade seating. Our group was the first to arrive and we were seated in the first group of chairs closest to where the parade floats come out. As we were seated we were handed mugs of hot chocolate (and one of our tour-mates passed out some of the Disney peppermint candies to slip into our hot chocolate which was very good) and our gingerbread cookies. I devoured my cookie. Gingerbread is my FAVORITE holiday treat.

And thankfully, the ground had dried enough and we got to see the full parade! And by that time, my P&S camera decided to start working again!

We enjoyed the Parade, and afterwards I managed to slip back on to IASWH without a wait.

I had a great experience with this tour, and felt it was worth the cost. I loved the pin, and being able to sit in a chair to watch the Parade was great!

Sorry that the PP had such a rotten time of it.

 

[lucysmom]

The first time we took the tour, we had a stiff and boring guide who simply recited the script. But, we ignored her and enjoyed the other elements, especially the parade seats. So, last year, when we went to the tour kiosk to sign in, I specifically asked for a more engaging tour guide. We had a wonderful experience. When we make it to Disney next Christmas, we will take the tour again, if they still offer it. Who knows?? They sure messed up our Fantasmic plans, so..........

 

[CaptBane]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3353350

Here is the link to our review done on Nov. 14.

We had issues with the crowd for the 3 pm parade on Main Street. Alex had to tell us about the door after we stopped in Adventure land because of the crowd.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

@krispin41 and lucysmom: good for you for staying positive, even though things weren't quite perfect! Disney can make magic, but our attitudes are crucial parts of the equation. Glad that both of you enjoyed your tours. The tip to ask for an engaging guide is really helpful -- definitely will do that when we take our tour.

 

[starrynightgrly]

I love reading this thread it has been so helpful!hubby and I are going to be in disneyland Dec. 30-jan 2 what day and times do you all recommend as being the*least* busy?
Thank you!!

 

[Sherry E]

I love reading this thread it has been so helpful!hubby and I are going to be in disneyland Dec. 30-jan 2 what day and times do you all recommend as being the*least* busy?
Thank you!!

starrynightgrly --

That's going to be a super-busy time frame -- I mean, notoriously crowded and packed, with Disneyland often reaching capacity -- so there won't really be any significant "least busy" times during those dates. The only way it would be less busy than expected is if it rains or is supposed to rain. Otherwise, lots of people are out of work and school that whole week and into early January, so it will be very busy -- on and off the tour. Sure, one day might have fewer people in the parks than another day, but the difference is not going to be too noticeable unless it rains.

The tour will help you get on rides like Haunted Mansion Holiday, It's a Small World Holiday and Jingle Cruise without much of a wait, though, which is great!

 

[Kinni4673]

Does anyone know if you can take this tour without a Park Hopper?
We only have tickets to DL on Jan 1.

 

[konagal]

We did this tour on 12/14 at 245. It was great! I can only add a few comments to what others have said. You can bring your own headphones if you want. Unlike tours in years past, the gates were opened by cast members and we did not need to go through the line snd swipe our ticket. So you may be able to do it without a park hopper, but 1. I would check with Guest Services and 2. you need a ticket to get in DL.

The other advantage I see is that durning these busy upcoming days, if you have a tour booked that should guarentee you admission to DL even if the park is temporary "closed". My friends are taking the tour Saturday and spending the morning in DCA, then hopping over to DL for the 245 tour.

 

[krispin41]

I love reading this thread it has been so helpful!hubby and I are going to be in disneyland Dec. 30-jan 2 what day and times do you all recommend as being the*least* busy?
Thank you!!

If you take the earlier tour, you will see the first parade in daylight, however if you take the later tour, you will see the second parade which is when you will get to see all the lights lit up.

 

[krispin41]

Does anyone know if you can take this tour without a Park Hopper?
We only have tickets to DL on Jan 1.

They did not check our tickets to see if they were PH...you are led as a group to DCA through an exit gate and you are with your group the entire time, mostly on Buena Vista St. seeing the tree, and the decorations. You are then taken to Trolley Treats for a goodie and then led through the exit again as a group back into DL (which you also enter through an exit gate).

I say we spent half an hour TOPS (maybe more like 20 minutes) at DCA.

 

[Speechphi]

We took the tour on Fri 12/19 at 2:55, our guide was Brigham (he was AWESOME). I'll write a report later after we get home & Ivan add pics.

The tour was awesome! I booked it because 1) I wanted to, and 2) it was dh's birthday. He, ds9, dd8, dd6, and I loved it & have decided this a new "must-do."

Was the park crowded? Yes, it's December. What did you expect? Can you watch the 1st parade while in the tour? If you want, but why would you? I was able to keep my kids from doing it.

 

[starrynightgrly]

Thanks everyone! Would you recommend the later tour to see it at night? I know it will be very busy I just wasn't sure if the parade is possibly less busy in the afternoon or if everyone had a preferred time we should book the tour since there are so many time options we needed help narrowing it down. Thanks again!!

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks everyone! Would you recommend the later tour to see it at night? I know it will be very busy I just wasn't sure if the parade is possibly less busy in the afternoon or if everyone had a preferred time we should book the tour since there are so many time options we needed help narrowing it down. Thanks again!!

Disneyland often reaches capacity and stops letting people into the park during the dates you are going (sometimes before noon). That's the most crowded week of the entire year. It's more than just very busy. It's often a packed house, unless rain is in the forecast. If the park is at capacity in a given day, any parade, event, line, restaurant, etc., is going to be as busy as it can possibly be.

The last tour of the day might be better, as it may give some people a chance to clear out of Disneyland and head over to DCA and you'd also end up at It's a Small World Holiday when the lights go on. But there is not going to be a substantially noticeable difference in crowds later in the day if the park is at capacity on whichever day you choose.