December 2023 Planning Thread

[Jperiod]

We'll be at VGC Dec 17-21. Woot! Never been this close to christmas and I'm nervous for crowds. I ended getting genie+ this time.

 

[maleficent55]

We'll be at VGC Dec 17-21. Woot! Never been this close to christmas and I'm nervous for crowds. I ended getting genie+ this time.

it’ll be fine!

Use your early entry, and YES to Genie+
And smile!

 

[BobaFettFan]

Got it the reservation I wanted. Blue Bayou at 1pm Friday Dec 1.


I wish they'd come out with event schedules so we could actually plan around them.

 

[Jperiod]

Got it the reservation I wanted. Blue Bayou at 1pm Friday Dec 1.


I wish they'd come out with event schedules so we could actually plan around them.

I use the historical schedules to help plan. https://touringplans.com/disneyland-resort/showtimes/date/2022-12-01

 

[BobaFettFan]

I use the historical schedules to help plan. https://touringplans.com/disneyland-resort/showtimes/date/2022-12-01

 

[kikismom]

Anyone else not-so- patiently waiting for them to release Christmas info?? I made our first night reservations today for Naples. We'll head to DTD after checking into the hotel to get into the atmosphere. I had to make two reservations, one for 5 and one for 4 and hopefully they'll combine us at one table. Randomly the only place that I could get a reservation for 9 people on the DL app this morning was for Ogas. Isn't that one that is normally hard to get? We don't go there so I'm not entirely sure.

 

[redleader74]

Just a few days until I can start making dining reservations. We’ve never been during the holiday season (despite growing up in SoCal). Cant wait!

The last time I was at Disneyland during the holiday season was 1994 and the park was really nicely decorated....I'm guessing it still is!

 

[kikismom]

The last time I was at Disneyland during the holiday season was 1994 and the park was really nicely decorated....I'm guessing it still is!

Oh my gosh it's beautiful! To me it feels like a whole different park, the attention to detail is just astounding.

 

[DizMe]

The last time I was at Disneyland during the holiday season was 1994 and the park was really nicely decorated....I'm guessing it still is!

Oh my gosh it's beautiful! To me it feels like a whole different park, the attention to detail is just astounding.

YES!!! It's absolutely gorgeous, IMO. It's impossible to describe and you have to experience it in order to get the magnitude of it. I mean...it snows!! People stand together on Main St and sing!!

Each land is decorated according to its theme. The castle is incredible...! Well, as you can see, I am a big fan of Christmas at Disneyland.

 

[SherwoodFamily]

Anyone else not-so- patiently waiting for them to release Christmas info?? I made our first night reservations today for Naples. We'll head to DTD after checking into the hotel to get into the atmosphere. I had to make two reservations, one for 5 and one for 4 and hopefully they'll combine us at one table. Randomly the only place that I could get a reservation for 9 people on the DL app this morning was for Ogas. Isn't that one that is normally hard to get? We don't go there so I'm not entirely sure.

I have been looking for a party of 6 and reservations have for that size are non existent. Tons for smaller tables sizes, I have never run into this issue before.

 

[Tink1987]

Just booked our first dining reservation - always makes it seem a bit more real!

 

[BobaFettFan]

Just booked our first dining reservation - always makes it seem a bit more real!

What'd you get?

Checked blue bayou for kicks at 6:50 and they were all gone.

 

[Tink1987]

What'd you get?

Checked blue bayou for kicks at 6:50 and they were all gone.

Oh no, hopefully you get one by keep checking?

I’m worried about trying to snag WOC dessert party and Lamplight Lounge due to how popular they are.

We went for Carnation Cafe at 6:50. Wanted 7:00 but they had gone within a few mins but 10 minutes is nothing.

 

[DizMe]

I'm kind of stressing about making my dining reservations. I'm going to be away on a birthday trip for dh and I'm not sure how easy it will be for me to be up early trying to get reservations with my phone (I usually use my computer). Of course our trip covers every single day I need to make reservations! We're staying at my SIL's house with 4 other people. Dang.

 

[redleader74]

YES!!! It's absolutely gorgeous, IMO. It's impossible to describe and you have to experience it in order to get the magnitude of it. I mean...it snows!! People stand together on Main St and sing!!

Each land is decorated according to its theme. The castle is incredible...! Well, as you can see, I am a big fan of Christmas at Disneyland.

Wow! I feel like I can actually hear you saying this in person! I'm a huge fan of both Disneyland AND Christmas as well!!

 

[DnA2010]

Dec 7-10- all hotels look busy and expensive- just because it's Christmas/Dec and a weekend?

 

[DizMe]

Dec 7-10- all hotels look busy and expensive- just because it's Christmas/Dec and a weekend?

Yeah, Christmas is busy and they recently offered hotel discounts. DLH for $589 isn't too bad but that's with a 20% off MK discount. Without a MK, the discount is, I think, 15%.

It does seem to be pretty booked at GCH--no standard rooms left. Cheapest room is $845 for woods/courtyard. Ouch.

 

[Tink1987]

We’ve been at this time of year regularly until the pandemic. We’ve found the hotel costs have trebled.

We were going to treat ourselves to the DLH or GC as it’s our first trip since 2019/the pandemic but I just can’t justify it! And I can justify a lot of Disney expenses!

 

[redleader74]

We’ve been at this time of year regularly until the pandemic. We’ve found the hotel costs have trebled.

We were going to treat ourselves to the DLH or GC as it’s our first trip since 2019/the pandemic but I just can’t justify it! And I can justify a lot of Disney expenses!

I fell you....for our upcoming trip, for a fleeting moment I did say, "how about the GC? something special this time around!" and then I did the math....yikes!!

 

[DizMe]

We’ve been at this time of year regularly until the pandemic. We’ve found the hotel costs have trebled.

We were going to treat ourselves to the DLH or GC as it’s our first trip since 2019/the pandemic but I just can’t justify it! And I can justify a lot of Disney expenses!

Costs on site have gone up for Dec since Covid but they haven't tripled at DLR. I think they actually may have had steeper increases off site. I am paying about $75/night more than 3 years ago for a standard room at GCH.

The late fall discount has always been good for me but this year I got a better rate than the fall discount by booking it really early (March, I think). I also check each selection of Dec dates to see when I'd get the cheapest rate. A lot of people don't realize that the days of the week have different costs just like different times of the month. If your whole trip is weeknights, you'll pay less per night. My trip has 2 weekend nights and 2 weekday. Weekend rates were $123/night more. And, of course, that also means higher tax amounts on those nights. This year was the steepest, costing me $39/night more than last year, but last year we had only 1 weekend night.