disney at christmas

[princess lovers mom]

The scavenger hunt sounds like so much fun!! Will you leave on Christmas day? What a magical experience!!

We are waiting for the holiday tour booking window to open so we can book for the same reasons. No lines for the 2 tops rides and priority seating for the parade sounds great!!

yes..spending Christmas day with grandparents - they will be giving them the first clue as a gift at their house and then we will leave from their house to go to airport hotel! then leave early AM from east coast and be in DLR for lunch!

the Rose Parade and the end of the trip is on my DH's "bucket list" and is a gift from me for his 50th !

 

[PHXscuba]

Man, I need a bucket list!! How old do I have to be to get one?

I agree with what Sherry said about high-crowd times. Often I think it's not the ride lines that get people, it's getting through the park to get to the rides! I know when I see Main Street clogged or the Rivers of America area packed with people I overestimate and I am often surprised when I do get to a ride line how fast it goes.

Plus, I do really well with FP and doing rides in the general order I want to without much backtracking, but there's those "unexpected" lines you forget you'll run into. For example, when I was there on a Friday in July, two of the longest lines I waited in were 25 minutes for food at Golden Horseshoe and a similar wait to get on the train at NO Square mid-afternoon (DH's idea -- I wanted a Mickey bar to wait out the parade instead of going around).

PHXscuba

 

[emum]

Thought I'd "join" this thread again - been a few months since I posted (I've been hanging out largely in the DCL threads).

However, I realised this morning that it's only 15 weeks from tomorrow that our flight leaves Australia ! It's so exciting (we booked the first part of our trip initially nearly 15 months ago, so 15 weeks is nothing LOL !).

We'll be breaking the news to the kids in two weeks' time, too, which means we'll have lots of fun craft activities to keep us busy during our Spring holidays.

I'll have to read through to get myself re-acquainted with DL again - so much has changed in a short 2 years (WOC and huge changes to the DLH being the main ones).

Actually, I have a question - with the changes to the DLH, I'm considering changing our reservation to the GCH. We loved the DLH last time, but a big part of that was the Neverland pool, and the gorgeous balconies we had off our rooms (being the end of the Wonder towerm we had proper full-size blaconies). Hmmm, decisions, decisions.....

look forward to posting more.

Cheers,
Sally

 

[princess lovers mom]

We'll be breaking the news to the kids in two weeks' time, too, which means we'll have lots of fun craft activities to keep us busy during our Spring holidays.

just had to say I found this so funny! the leaves are already starting to change here in upstate NY and we are getting ready for fall and snow!!! and you are preparing for spring activities

gotta love the hemispheres!!

from what I have been told the Grand Californian is the place to be for the holiday season -atmosphere so much better - that and the fact that the pool is going to be down over at DLH is why we booked the Grand !!see you there!!

 

[funatdisney]

Moving to the first page. Happy Saturday everyone!

 

[emum]

just had to say I found this so funny! the leaves are already starting to change here in upstate NY and we are getting ready for fall and snow!!! and you are preparing for spring activities

gotta love the hemispheres!!

from what I have been told the Grand Californian is the place to be for the holiday season -atmosphere so much better - that and the fact that the pool is going to be down over at DLH is why we booked the Grand !!see you there!!

Thanks for that Denise It will be a rude shock landing in LA having come from 90+ temps to whatever they might be at DL come Christmas Day. Have to say, that I"m soooooo loving the touch of warm in the air the last couple of days. I don't do cold very well (and Sydney is mild compared to most of the US !)

I bit the bullet - we're changing to a 1br suite at GCH. I just didn't feel like we'd be happy at DLH (given the wonderful time we had there last time). I guess it just means we'll have to make yet another ( ) trip in two years when all the work is complete (and when Cars Land etc. is done).

No more mulling it over - a weight off LOL.

Have a great Saturday all - it's early Sunday here now. I'm off to bed zzzz

Cheers,
Sally

 

[SplashMo]

When in November do the decorations go up?

 

[Sherry E]

When in November do the decorations go up?

November 12th will be the official start of the holiday season this year. That's when everything will be up and out and in full holiday swing. The decorations start to slowly go up right after Halloween ends - sometimes even right before Halloween - because they need the time to get everything up and ready for the season start date. But a lot of the major things like IASW Holiday and the nighttime Winter Castle lights, the Reindeer Round-Up, snow on Main Street, Santa, etc., won't begin until 11/12.

 

[JustAKid]

I have got a couple of questions for all you Disney at Christmas experts. First and foremost, I saw the pics of the parade in this thread, and saw Santa. I also saw his reindeer, alive and well, but I'm wondering...is there a place to sit on Santa's lap? If so, when does he arrive for the season, and where can I find him?

Second, can anyone tell me what time the parks are usually open until during the holiday season?

And third, we'll be there December 12-17th, all weekdays. Are we going to miss fireworks completely?

I'm hoping that going at this time (a week before the week before Christmas) will make for smaller crowds, and then adding in the fact that we'll be there on weekdays only...can someone ease my mind and confirm that for this time of year this is the best strategy?

TIA guys, y'all are life savers!!

 

[Sherry E]

I have got a couple of questions for all you Disney at Christmas experts. First and foremost, I saw the pics of the parade in this thread, and saw Santa. I also saw his reindeer, alive and well, but I'm wondering...is there a place to sit on Santa's lap? If so, when does he arrive for the season, and where can I find him?

Second, can anyone tell me what time the parks are usually open until during the holiday season?

And third, we'll be there December 12-17th, all weekdays. Are we going to miss fireworks completely?

I'm hoping that going at this time (a week before the week before Christmas) will make for smaller crowds, and then adding in the fact that we'll be there on weekdays only...can someone ease my mind and confirm that for this time of year this is the best strategy?

TIA guys, y'all are life savers!!

I'll tackle the Santa portion of the question and hopefully others can jump in with the rest of the info for your other questions.

Santa will be out on November 12th, when the season starts. You will find him in at least 4 places, possibly 5, for photo ops. Santa can be found at:

1. The Reindeer Round-Up in Disneyland (all day, off and on)
2. The Disneyland Hotel (usually in the afternoon)
3. The Grand Californian Hotel (usually at night - this photo op has a PhotoPass photographer, too - somewhere in this thread I posted a whole bunch of my PhotoPass holiday pictures, and the GCH Santa is one of them)
4. The Paradise Pier Hotel (usually in the morning)

Santa may or may not be in California Adventure this year. In 2007, he was there. In 2008, he was not there. In 2009, he was there again. This year there is so much going on, between World of Color and the work that's being done for the billion dollar makeover, that I'm not sure if Santa will be at DCA again. But if not, you can find him in those other 4 places.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Give it a bump. I can't believe we are only about two months until the Christmas Holiday season starts at DL.

 

[SplashMo]

Thanks!!!

When do they film the Christmas Parade this year?

 

[kailuagirl]

I'm sorry everyone, I've gone through as many pages as I can, but can someone please tell me about how much the holiday tour was last year. And would DD31/2 enjoy it, or would it be a waste?

Thanks!!

 

[mvf-m11c]

I'm sorry everyone, I've gone through as many pages as I can, but can someone please tell me about how much the holiday tour was last year. And would DD31/2 enjoy it, or would it be a waste?

Thanks!!

I did the tour last year in December and the price for the Holiday tour last year was $64. We don't know the price for this year is but it is indicating that it will be $64 this year since the Happiest Haunts tour is going for $64. If you have a DL AP, AAA, Disney Visa, or DVC card you will get 20% discount.

You might have to ask someone else about your DD that young kids will like the tour. But I can assure you that she will like the reserved seating for the Christmas Fantasy parade right across from IASWH. You get to go on HMH and IASWH right ahead of other guests who are waiting in line. I also like when we got a gingerbread Mickey and a nice hot chocolate collectible cup in Toontown.

Check out the Holiday Tour thread: Holiday Tour Info

 

[PHXscuba]

There has been much debate and nothing officially announced about the Christmas parade taping. Stay tuned ....

PHXscuba

 

[jemilah]

I took the tour with my then 9 year old 2 years ago. I was disapointed and we both thought it got boring. It was the first day it was offered and it just didnt flow well. The girl made us walk way too fast a lil one fell trying to keep up. we didnt ride the train and were sooo rushed ! other than the VIP seating at the parade it was a total waste. We could have spent the money on other things.

 

[jemilah]

what time does the park usually close for candlelight processional?

 

[tksbaskets]

I'm sorry everyone, I've gone through as many pages as I can, but can someone please tell me about how much the holiday tour was last year. And would DD31/2 enjoy it, or would it be a waste?

Thanks!!

I don't think a 3 1/2 year old would get a lot out of the Holiday Tour. The HM might be too intense. I'm sure the ride through IASW and the PRIMO seats for the parade without having to wait for an hour or more on a curb/in line would be enjoyed by your little one.

If you go, bring a soft headband or your own iPod-type earphones. The little ones on our tour had trouble keeping the headphones on.

 

[smiley_face2]

what time does the park usually close for candlelight processional?

I didn't think it did close for this I hope not.... I hope someone answers this for you (and me!)

 

[jemilah]

I looked up last years calendar and it didnt close early! I dont know why I thought it was a seperate ticket event