Christmas Vs. Halloween?

[yensid9111]

We are planning on vacationing at Disneyland next year (staying at the VGC)...trying to decide between mid-October & first week of December. We'll be staying 6 nights. We've only been to the DLR 5 or 6 times, always in the Spring or Summer. We really want to see Haunted Mansion Holiday. So it's do we see HMH & Space Mtn's Ghost Galaxy in Oct. or HMH & Small World Christmas?

We usually go to WDW the first week of December to enjoy the Christmas decorations, so we are used to their weather during this time...is the weather usually nice in Anaheim this time of year? (Or does it usually rain?) Seems like I've been hearing of chilly weather & rain the last few times I've looked...

Which would you do? I'm leaning towards seeing the DLR dressed for Christmas.

 

[gomezaddams]

There is no comparison, Christmas far surpasses Halloween at Disneyland. This comes from a major Halloween fanatic. IASW is not one of my favorite rides, yet the overlay is beautiful. We have gone on it twice. You cannot get me on the original. Ghost Galaxy is not well done.
The Halloween decorations consist mostly of pumpkins & gobo lights. If you're into waiting in lines for candy, there's always the Halloween Party which is oversold & crowded. The special Halloween cavalcade at the party is about 10 minutes long. The fireworks are nice but justifying the extra expense is difficult. I think the Disney is still lagging in their Halloween presentation.

The Mouse does Christmas very well on all fronts. The Christmas parade is about one half hour long & doesn't require the hard ticket. Neither do the fireworks. There is a long list of specialty food items offered. Everything is decorated.

 

[disneychrista]

I know a lot of people really like Space Mnt. GG but it was not all the impressive to me. I guess I was expecting something more than what we got.

While I enjoyed Halloween and the party I would prefer to go at Christmas, if given a choice.

 

[AmericanItGirl]

There's just more holiday stuff at Christmas period, so it's a better bang for your buck.

 

[Hoku]

I think the greatest benefit to Halloween is that all of the villians come out and are available for meeting and autographs. It's unlikely you'll see these characters any other time of the year, much less get pics with them. That's why I'm looking forward to Halloween at Disneyland in 2012.

 

[Sherry E]

I created both the DISboards' "Halloween at DLR Superthread" and the "Disneyland at Christmas Time Superthread" specifically because I love both holidays so much and wanted to share that love, as well as lots of good information, with other DIS'ers. I really appreciate that DLR is beginning to kind of flesh out its Halloween offerings a bit more as the years pass, and I hope that Halloween Time as a season only begins to get bigger and better because it really is quite festive and fun.

However....that said, there is absolutely no question in my mind that Christmas time is the time to go. Halloween Time only scratches the surface at DLR - none of the hotels are decorated, Downtown Disney is not decorated, many of the shops and restaurants are left with no traces of Halloween at all, and California Adventure is all but ignored (with the exception of a Duffy Halloween photo spot).

Christmas time at Disneyland Resort is soooo much more extensive, thorough and detailed.

For example, the Christmas trees at the Paradise Pier Hotel and the Grand Californian Hotel are both gorgeous in their own way - they should definitely be seen. All of the shops and restaurants all over the Resort have decorations and/or trees. Downtown Disney is alive and lively with holiday music and its own giant tree. Santa's Reindeer Round-Up is a gem in Disneyland, full of charming, rustic details. The window displays on Main Street are adorable. There is now a gingerbread smell that fills the air when the snow falls on Main Street. It's a Small World Holiday is stunning to see when the colored lights are on at night, and the entire ride is transformed inside the brilliantly lit facade. Toontown has its own wacky style of decorations. New Orleans Square is exquisitely embellished with Mardi Gras-influenced beads and masks. The nighttime Winter Castle is aglow in sparkling icicle lights. A Bug's Land in California Adventure has giant lights and ornaments. I could go on... It's much more of a feast for the senses than Halloween Time is.

As AmericanItGirl said - and this is exactly what I have said, word for word, for years too - you get much more "bang for your buck" with a DLR holiday trip.

So absolutely, hands down, no question - unless you simply prefer Halloween over Christmas as a holiday (and a lot of people do, so that would be understandable) - if you can only pick one time to go to DLR, choose Christmas time. The beauty of that season at DLR is unmatched!

Oh - and as for weather - I'm a SoCal resident and have seen December weather get as hot as 90 degrees and as cold as 30 degrees over the years. It has been in the 60's for most of the days recently (a contrast to the warmer temperatures last year), and in the 40's or even 30's at night, for the most part.

 

[yensid9111]

Thanks for the insights! I think that we are going to plan for Christmas. I was really worried about the weather; we just returned from WDW, and the weather was perfect. I've been in Orlando at Christmas and it's been freezing, and we've been able to swim (sometimes in the same week!). I guess the weather is similar, in that you don't really know what to expect until you get there. I'm anxious to see the DLR dressed for Christmas, and cannot wait to see the new Buena Vista Street & CarsLand!

Thanks for your opinions! They really helped me decide. I'm going to call DVC member services as soon as our booking window opens for Dec. 1, 2012!

Merry Christmas!

 

[Buckimion]

What are the wait times like in early December for a ride commando? I'm trying to also decide between early December and October, arriving on Columbus day. One of the trip planning sites this year rated crowds on Tue and Wed after Columbus day as a "2" going to "7" on Thursday and Early December Mon-Thurs this year as a "4" for our roughly planned times. As someone who has gone in early June the past three trips and found it quite manageable, is this a significant difference?

 

[LisainCalifornia]

Halloween is good for a couple of grins and giggles

*while*

Christmas is the full on macdaddy of all Christmas+Disney mashup

 

[KCmike]

Been to both and Christmas wins hands down.

 

[taaren]

Those are our two favorite times of year, in small part because our party has 3 birthdays in the first weeks of December, and fall trips were a tradition we started awhile ago.

For us fall wins most years for the milder weather and low crowds. Well, the crowds used to be low. Now early December might have lower crowds ... we'll find out in 2013. Still for us not crowding the holidays budget-wise and the perfect weather in October tends to win, even though we'd like to see Space Mountain not Ghost Galaxy again, as well as Haunted Mansion not Holiday. With the coming point reallocations it may not stay this way, but the first week of October has been in the lowest season and since we usually go then anyways it was a nice points savings over early December, which is Choice season.