Christmas Holidays

[pinkgirlmommy]

We visited WDW for the first time the week before Spring Break and now I have the Disney bug! Unfortunately, I do not have any more time off this year except during the Christmas holidays when my kids are off. I can take any time off between December 19 and January 5 and I cannot take the kids out of school except maybe 1/6. Is it better to go 12/18 (fly in)- 12/25, or 12/27- 1/5? I know neither one is ideal! Also, is Disneyland more or less crowded than WDW during these days? I am open to going to either one!

 

[tlovesdis]

The week between Christmas and New Years is probably the busiest week of the whole year, so 12-18 through 12-25 would probably be a little bit better.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Agree that your earlier dates will be better than the later dates. The week between Christmas and New Year's is crazy crowded at DLR, when capacity crowds and gate closures are not uncommon. Your earlier dates will be crowded and busy, but more manageable, especially with good research and preparation.

 

[pinkgirlmommy]

Also, I am looking for a Christmas party/parade/fireworks but don't see anything about this at DL. Do they not do this there? Thanks!

 

[figment_jii]

There are no hard ticket Christmas Parties at DLR (at least, not yet). (Also, as a WDW vet, just note that they do not present the Candlelight Processional nightly; it usually happens only on the first weekend in December). In terms of the parade and fireworks...yes and no. They do have a holiday specific parade and fireworks show (and WoC), but none are being presented this year because of the new fireworks and parade (and WoC) that just debut as part of the 60th anniversary celebration.

You can find a lot of information, rumors, and speculation about 2015 Holiday Season in the Christmas SuperThread.

 

[Sherry E]

Also, I am looking for a Christmas party/parade/fireworks but don't see anything about this at DL. Do they not do this there? Thanks!

There is normally a Christmas parade and a holiday fireworks show at Disneyland Resort, as well as a holiday version of World of Color. As of yet, there is no Christmas party as far as a hard ticket event. Many of us who follow Disneyland/Holiday news all year, every year, think that a hard ticket party is eventually coming -- but probably not this year.

This year, it is likely that the events of the 60th anniversary will have some impact on the Christmas parade and holiday fireworks. When the new shows for the 60th were announced back in January, a couple of people at the press conference indicated that the "focus" was going to remain on the 60th's shows all year long, through the holidays. Since then -- and this is the problem when information gets passed around and too many people interpret it in different ways -- one website's blog said that the Christmas parade would still happen in the daytime, while Paint the Night happens at night. Another website said that there would be no Christmas parade at all for the whole year, not even in the daytime. Totally conflicting reports!

The "no Christmas Parade" concept was further supported when a helpful member of this forum reported in the Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread (I recommend everyone follow us in that thread - http://www.disboards.com/threads/di...erthread-5-awaiting-details-for-2015.3358217/ -- as we will discuss any rumors, news, speculation, etc. in the thread when it comes out) that participants in ABC's taping of the Christmas parade had been told that there would be no parade this year. This was later put back into 'uncertain' status, as now Disney is apparently not sure if the Christmas parade is totally off the table this year or not.

I will say, though, that I am pretty certain the Believe in Holiday Magic fireworks will not happen this year, at all -- they also did not happen in the year of the 50th anniversary. If the current version of World of Color ("Celebrate") continues to get lukewarm reviews, Disney may decide to trot out the "Winter Dreams" version by the holiday season. You never know.

Personally, I think the Christmas parade should happen this year -- even if ABC does not tape it -- because the people who do the holiday tour pay for seats to that parade. I'm not sure if it will happen, though. My guess is that it won't. But the last time I looked on the DLR website, the parade was still mentioned as being part of the holiday season, whereas the fireworks were not mentioned. So, we'll see.