A Christmas trip?

[Christieand]

Hello everyone,
I've not posted on the boards for a while because, as is common, university has gotten in the way of everything! However I have enjoyed reading the odd trip report here and there

Anyway, if you happened to read my last trip report you might remember a mention of a possible Christmas 2014 trip...well this trip is now a distinct possibility, but I do have a few questions if that's okay...

There will be five of us going on this trip, and it is really a celebration of our birthdays: my sister and I will turn 21 in December, our auntie has her 50th birthday in November, our cousin has just celebrated her 16th birthday and there's our other cousin too who will be 15 and isn't celebrating any milestone birthdays this year but is coming too!

Because my cousins are still at school, we can only go in the holidays. My auntie says that the only dates that will work for them are the 19th-23rd of December, this is a Friday until a Tuesday, but we will probably just go for 3 nights, so until the Monday. Is this a ridiculous idea considering it will be the last weekend before Christmas?

Obviously there are five of us, and ideally we would like to stay onsite. The DLH is definitely miles out of budget, so am I correct in thinking that this leaves the Santa Fe (where we have all stayed before) or the Sequoia (where my sister and I have previously stayed) as our options for adjoining rooms? We wouldn't mind all sharing a room but I believe that only the DLH offers this?

We are also concerned with getting the right deal...if there was to be a winter offer (which I assume there will be nearer the time) would it be likely to exclude our dates? If it's going to work out as crazy expensive then we just won't be able to go!

Lastly, if anyone has been at that time of year and could offer any tips/advice it would be greatly appreciated. My auntie and uncle did actually take my cousins for two nights in December and they came back on Christmas eve, but it was when the girls were much younger, so they can't really remember much.

Thank you for any advice you can offer!

 

[DLPdaft]

all the onsite hotels have adjoining rooms, so you can book 2 rooms and ask for them to be adjoining in any onsite hotel you like .

 

[Christieand]

all the onsite hotels have adjoining rooms, so you can book 2 rooms and ask for them to be adjoining in any onsite hotel you like .

Oh that's very useful to know, thanks

 

[dee slack]

We were there for a long weekend at the beginning of last Dec and the Sat and Sun were very busy, Thurs and Mon were sooo much better so be prepared for that. We did enjoy it a lot tho' it was really cold so take some warm clothes! The decorations were very pretty both in the parks and hotels, the characters had some winter costumes on and the parades were lovely and festive. The rides may be pretty busy but the whole atmosphere is totally worth it, and don't forget to make the most of the extra magic hours in the morning while it's quiet and the open rid are pretty much a walk on!
We stayed at the Cheyenne and pretty sure our room had an adjoining door. We are looking to go again this year but Mon to Fri first week in Dec and probably at Sequoia lodge for a change (stayed at Cheyenne 4 times over years) with the 4 nights for the price of 2 offer.

 

[Christieand]

Good to know that you recommend it even though it was busy
The main reason we want to go at Christmas is because of the atmosphere so I'm sure we will be able to enjoy that no matter how busy it is!
The Sequoia Lodge is a lovely hotel, I'm sure you'll love it, and I'd imagine that the beginning of December is a great time to go crowds-wise. Did you find that the distance between the Cheyenne and the parks meant that once you had left you stayed out? Or did you pop back in the day?

 

[BabyAriel]

We went the Sunday to Wednesday before Christmas, so during school holidays, a couple of years ago. It was busy, I'd say comparable to July/August, but SO worth it and Christmas is the most wonderful time to visit DLP in my opinion.

We'd been at the beginning of December (before eldest DD started school) and during the week it was pretty quiet so school hols make a big difference to crowds as you'd expect.

Our peak Christmas trip (2011) at the Cheyenne was booked with 30% off IIRC.

Hope this helps

 

[BabyAriel]

Did you find that the distance between the Cheyenne and the parks meant that once you had left you stayed out? Or did you pop back in the day?

We popped back during the day as DD used to need a nap. The buses were pretty quiet at that time so we saved our energy

 

[markpsych]

We are also concerned with getting the right deal...if there was to be a winter offer (which I assume there will be nearer the time) would it be likely to exclude our dates? If it's going to work out as crazy expensive then we just won't be able to go

Book now and you'll get the super early booking offer of 2 nights and 2 days free + free hotel and park tickets for kids under 7

It's effectively 50% off, so you're unlikely to get a better offer.

 

[Christieand]

We went the Sunday to Wednesday before Christmas, so during school holidays, a couple of years ago. It was busy, I'd say comparable to July/August, but SO worth it and Christmas is the most wonderful time to visit DLP in my opinion.

We'd been at the beginning of December (before eldest DD started school) and during the week it was pretty quiet so school hols make a big difference to crowds as you'd expect.

Our peak Christmas trip (2011) at the Cheyenne was booked with 30% off IIRC.

Hope this helps

That's great, thank you I'd love to go outside of school holidays but I have been lucky enough to do this on my last two trips so I shouldn't complain! Nice to hear that you had such a nice time too

Book now and you'll get the super early booking offer of 2 nights and 2 days free + free hotel and park tickets for kids under 7

It's effectively 50% off, so you're unlikely to get a better offer.

Oh wow - there are so many offers on the website at the moment that I missed this one - it is great! Thank you! Works out at about £230 per person for four nights for us (staying at the Cheyenne) which I think is an amazing price!

 

[dee slack]

Oh wow - there are so many offers on the website at the moment that I missed this one - it is great! Thank you! Works out at about £230 per person for four nights for us (staying at the Cheyenne) which I think is an amazing price![/QUOTE]

we found that the Disney part is great value for money, but the travel can be expensive. We prefer Eurostar (take as much luggage as you need, plus plenty of room to bring back goodies from DLP and the supermarkets )but nothing available for Dec yet and unless you book as soon as they release the dates it starts to really boost up the price of a 'cheap visit'. Keep looking every day for when they release the dates and it's killing me!

 

[Christieand]

Yes that's the bit we are worried about! I believe you can ask Eurostar to notify you when your dates become available so you can try to get the cheapest tickets on offer?

 

[barrington]

Hi

I'm looking to book for first week in December too and are contemplating sequioa or hotel New York, which site is the 50% deal on please

 

[Christieand]

Hi I'm looking to book for first week in December too and are contemplating sequioa or hotel New York, which site is the 50% deal on please

It's the UK site