disney at christmas

[Sherry E]

Daily bump!

 

[jnjusoioa]

I will be out at the parks from Dec. 2 - 6 and I am really looking forward to my CA Chirstmas!!!Hoping that they have all the yummy food and great decorations plus more this year. Can't wait to check out Bug's Land and Toontown decorations, they look so cool and amazing. Very excited about my trip!!! I will be traveling alone so if anyone else will be there during that time and wants to meet up, that would be cool.

 

[Sherry E]

I will be out at the parks from Dec. 2 - 6 and I am really looking forward to my CA Chirstmas!!!Hoping that they have all the yummy food and great decorations plus more this year. Can't wait to check out Bug's Land and Toontown decorations, they look so cool and amazing. Very excited about my trip!!! I will be traveling alone so if anyone else will be there during that time and wants to meet up, that would be cool.

I never know what my holiday plans will be until much closer to the season, but if for any reason I think I will be there during that time, I will let you know!

 

[jnjusoioa]

I never know what my holiday plans will be until much closer to the season, but if for any reason I think I will be there during that time, I will let you know!

That would be awesome Sherry, would love to have the chance to meet up with you.

 

[Sherry E]

Bump...for anyone who is in the midst of or about to begin planning a DLR holiday trip!!

 

[Sherry E]

Well, I was just fiddling around in Photobucket and decided to post more photos. A few of these I already posted a while back but I have either edited them or am grouping them together with other photos that are similar, so it's kind of a different 'presentation,' if you will. Most of these pictures I am posting are quite inferior to everything that you guys have already posted in this thread, as many of them were taken on a camera that died in 12/08, or I just have not mastered the new camera yet, but nonetheless, here they are (just because it's good to keep the photos coming in this Disney at Christmas planning & photo thread):

DCA's Candy Cane California Letters, which, sadly, will be gone this year, I think (I wish they would put them up one last time!):

DCA's Golden Gate Bridge – Nighttime:

ToonTown decorations - look very closely at the garland, as many of the strands have different ornaments in them, themed to the area of ToonTown they are in:

Can you see Roger Rabbit in his Santa Gear?:

Can you see the Dalmatian in the window?:

Main Street decorations:

It's a Small World Holiday reindeer topiary - looks much, much better when lit up at night!:

Santa's Reindeer Round-Up reindeer:

And NOW, for the parade of Christmas Trees!!

Paradise Pier Hotel tree:

Disneyland Hotel tree (love the adorable Chip & Dale ornaments near the top):

Grand Californian Hotel tree:

ToonTown tree:

Pooh Corner tree:

Goofy's Kitchen tree:

Downtown Disney tree:

Disneyland tree on Main Street:

California Adventure tree:

Mini-Tree on Main Street:

Santa's Reindeer Round-Up mini-trees:

 

[jnjusoioa]

Hey Sherry, thanks for the great photos, I am really hoping that project with the letters gets delayed, I so want to see them at Christmas, they look so cool. Love them./I]

 

[Sherry E]

Looks like it is time for a Bump!!

If this were simply a photo thread for the sake of posting photos to enjoy, we could let it slip here and there...but seeing as this is supposed to be a thread to assist in planning those magical DLR holiday trips - chock full of information and photos - then it's good to keep it as active as we can for a while.

So...does anyone have anymore DLR holiday photos of decorations, attractions, food, merchandise, characters in holiday outfits, etc., to contribute?

(And yes, I am nurturing this "Disney at Christmas" holiday superthread as well as the "Halloween at DL" superthread - with the help of some very wonderful DIS'ers, of course. I have adopted these threads as my pet projects!! Now, if someone decides to start a "Disneyland at Easter" photo and info superthread or a "DLR on St. Patrick's Day" superthread, well, I'll be honest....I got nothing! I have neither photos nor info to contribute for DLR at Easter, St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Arbor Day, National Administrative Professionals Day, Boxing Day, etc. But Halloween and Christmas I can manage!!!)

 

[emum]

I'm in

I've just booked our flights from Sydney to LAX, arriving ON Christmas Day. I guess my main concern is that the park will be closed by the time we get there (I'm guessing around 12.30-1pm). Is this likely ? We will be staying at the DLH, but I've got a nasty feeling we're going to be "locked out"

Not that it worries me terribly - we'll be in the next best place. We're staying until the 29th. It's DS's 10th birthday on the 28th, so it should be a magical time nevertheless.

I look forward to posting more in the upcoming months (all of a sudden, the 2+ years between visits doesn't seem like a huge amount of time at all - amazing how time flies !)

Cheers,
Sally

 

[aussietravellers]

I'm in

I've just booked our flights from Sydney to LAX, arriving ON Christmas Day. I guess my main concern is that the park will be closed by the time we get there (I'm guessing around 12.30-1pm). Is this likely ? We will be staying at the DLH, but I've got a nasty feeling we're going to be "locked out"

Not that it worries me terribly - we'll be in the next best place. We're staying until the 29th. It's DS's 10th birthday on the 28th, so it should be a magical time nevertheless.

I look forward to posting more in the upcoming months (all of a sudden, the 2+ years between visits doesn't seem like a huge amount of time at all - amazing how time flies !)

Cheers,
Sally

Disneyland should be open all day and into the night on Christmas Day so you should be fine. The only thing would be if the park reached capacity so you couldn't go in even though it was open In the week leading up to Christmas this last year it was at capacity regularly.

 

[Sherry E]

Emum - hi there!

Welcome to our wonderful Disney at Christmas thread. I hope you have had time to scroll through and see some of the fantastic photos in this thread and read some of the exciting details about what to expect DLR at Christmastime. In fact, I was just scrolling back through the whole thing myself a couple of days ago, and even though I have already seen all of the pictures, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them again! For example, I had forgotten how adorable the mini-Christmas tree (that Aussietravellers got last year for the hotel room) is. This thread was kind of dormant for a while, and I had planned to resurrect it when it got closer to the holidays, but as was pointed out by other DIS'ers, inevitably there are people who are just now beginning to plan their holiday trips to DLR, so it helps to keep this as active as we can so that those people can get a good representation of what they will find at DLR as far as decorations, attractions, food, merchandise, etc.

Aussietravellers is absolutely correct - this past December was very, very busy at DLR. It usually is quite crowded during the holiday season, but this past holiday season was the busiest one DLR has seen in 10 years. I was there for only one day in the week leading up to Christmas (as opposed to my usual multi-day holiday stays), and yes, it reached capacity very early that day. The line for Haunted Mansion Holiday was already 45 minutes long before 11:00 a.m. It was crazy. At night, the wall of people surrounding "It's a Small World Holiday" was so impenetrable that we saw it and turned away!! I found it all very daunting, because there were shops I wanted to visit and things I wanted to photograph and the crowds were just too crazy for me to really enjoy all the holiday offerings. So, I have definitely decided that, especially for the holiday season, I need more than one day at DLR. One day just isn't enough with those crowds.

There is no telling what this year's holiday crowds will be like. World of Color is debuting soon, and there will also be some changes to Toy Story Midway Mania that could attract lots of folks (seeing as "Toy Story 3" is coming out this year). On the one hand, maybe if more people wander over into DCA, it will take some of the pressure off of DL and kind of balance things out a bit. That would be a good scenario. But, it could also be a case of just more people overall visiting DLR during the holidays, and more people packing into DL than last year and more people packing into DCA than ever before - just more in general, with no real, noticeable lessening of crowds in DL at all. We won't know until we get into the season.

But never fear - even if, for some reason, DL has reached capacity by the time you arrive and you can't get in, there are lots of options for you! More than likely, DCA will not have reached capacity even with the new attractions, so you can shift your plans a bit and just go to DCA and enjoy that until DL opens back up again. DL will more than likely open its gates again and let people in later in the day or early evening. They generally tend to wait until a certain number of folks leave that park and then they let more in. And if, for some reason, DL and DCA have both reached capacity (and I don't think I would want to be in the parks on that day, if it ever happens!), which is unlikely, you can easily enjoy much of the DLR holiday magic by strolling around the 3 DLR hotels - the GCH lobby, in particular, is lovely to relax in at Christmastime - and Downtown Disney. You can eat at any of the hotels' restaurants, shop in World of Disney, grab a gingerbread man with Mickey ears or a peppermint cupcake at Marceline's Confectionery, and just soak in the atmosphere until DL/DCA is ready to let people back in. It will be wonderful no matter what the crowd situation is in DL, as long as you have several days to spread everything out and room to adjust your plans if capacity is reached!

 

[iluvdisney]

Is there somewhere I can find the dates that DL is decorated for Christmas and has started hosting their Christmas Party at night? I'm hoping for a November trip and would really like to see all the decor.

 

[Sherry E]

Is there somewhere I can find the dates that DL is decorated for Christmas and has started hosting their Christmas Party at night? I'm hoping for a November trip and would really like to see all the decor.

Sadly, DLR does not (at least not yet) have a Christmas party like the one at WDW. Maybe that will change eventually, but we don't have it yet.

As for dates - last year was a bit different in that the "official start" of the DLR holiday season was 2 Fridays before Thanksgiving, so it began on Friday, November 13th. The official start date means that all of the scheduled holiday activites will be up and running, all of the holiday food and merchandise will be available, all the decorations will be in place, Santa will appear at his designated locations (he was at 5 places around DLR last year, and the carolers will be strolling around the Resort. Some things begin to slowly go up as soon as Halloweentime is over on the first day of November, but holiday time won't be in full swing until the official start date.

But - as I stated above, last year was different in that the holiday season at DLR started 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, whereas the previous couple of years the official start date only 1 week before Thanksgiving.

No one knows yet what DLR will do this year. Will the holiday season start on November 12th or November 19th (or some other, completely random date)? We won't know the schedule until probably September. It will be one of those dates. Again, you will see decorations go up and food/merchandise being sold before that, but IASW Holiday may not be up, the Winter Castle may not be fully lit in 'icicle lights' and any other entertainment like Santa's Reindeer Round-Up may not begin until the official start date.

 

[jnjusoioa]

According to Disneyland's website, the Christmas season runs from November 16th-January 6th 2011. I am super excited about my trip, it can't come fast enough for me.

 

[Sherry E]

According to Disneyland's website, the Christmas season runs from November 16th-January 6th 2011. I am super excited about my trip, it can't come fast enough for me.

November 16th is a Tuesday. And January 6th is a Thursday. Has DLR ever started any 'season' on a Tuesday and had the last day on a Thursday?? That's crazy! I am guessing - because it's still so early yet - that they will change those dates by August/September, and it will start either November 12th or November 19th....unless DLR felt that the 12th was TOO early to start it and the 19th was TOO late, that is... Hmmm... a Tuesday, huh? So it would be not quite as early as it began last year, but not as late as it began in 2008 and 2007. And then, instead of ending the holiday season on January 2rd, as previously expected, they would carry it out to Thurs., Jan. 6 to make up for the weird start date of the season????

I think the DLR website showed a different holiday season start date at around this time last year, and then it changed to 11/13 when it got a few months closer to the holidays (probably when they saw what kinds of crowds they were dealing with in the parks). So I wouldn't necessarily count on 11/16 being set in stone just yet. I still tend to think DLR will change the start date to a Friday (it just feels like it makes sense that way), whether it's 11/12 or 11/19, but if it does begin on Tuesday, 11/16, that will be very interesting!! That will likely have a BIG impact on who is able to attend the opening day festivities of the holiday season, as I imagine that a lot of working folks or folks who don't live too close to DLR will not be able to make it on a Tuesday. So it may actually be slightly less crowded on opening day if they stick with the Tuesday plan.

Whenever the heck they start the holidays at DLR, it can't come soon enough for me, either!! LOL!

 

[emum]

Thanks so much for the replies

Sherry - I haven't seen all the photos in the thread yet, as we've reached our d/load limit for the month, so are stuck at dial-up speed until Thursday - UGH !

Now I know why the early flight into LAX sold out so quickly on the sale fares - everyone wanted to get into D/L before it reached capacity (there are two flights a day into LAX from SYD - one arrives just after 6am, and ours gets in about 9.30am). We *could* get lucky - if we get through Immigration and possibly book a Super Shuttle just for ourselves, then I guess we might be able to get there by about 11.30am.

In any case, I fully intend on enjoying our surroundings, wherever we spend them. We actually get two Christmas days - we don't leave until mid-afternoon Christmas day here in Australia, and get another full Christmas Day in the US - what could be better ?!?! LOL !

I'm so excited - I just love all things Disney !

 

[RDJ]

I have booked a trip to DLR over Christmas for my family. We have never been there on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day before and were wondering if any of the restaurants or resort hotels actually put on a special Christmas meal or buffet on those two days. I know that the convention center at the Disneyland hotel had something special for Thanksgiving last year. I realize we can't make reservations for a long time yet but were just trying to sort out our options if there are any.

 

[Sherry E]

I have booked a trip to DLR over Christmas for my family. We have never been there on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day before and were wondering if any of the restaurants or resort hotels actually put on a special Christmas meal or buffet on those two days. I know that the convention center at the Disneyland hotel had something special for Thanksgiving last year. I realize we can't make reservations for a long time yet but were just trying to sort out our options if there are any.

I would imagine that there is some sort of special Christmas menu available at least a few of the restaurants (Napa Rose in the GCH must be one of them, but probably others too), and quite possibly there is a special meal. Possibly even the character meals might have some special items available in their buffets that day. I thought I heard at one point that there was a buffet at the DLH on Christmas, just as the one on Thanksgiving and the ones they have done on Mothers Day and Easter in the past, but I am not sure if they are still doing a Christmas buffet.

This would be a question for Aussietravellers to answer, as Aussietravellers was at DLR on Christmas this past December. It's good information to know and to have in this thread, for sure!!

 

[RDJ]

Thank you Sherry
Hopefully Aussietravellers will see this post and have some helpful information as well. I will continue to keep my eye on this just in case. My agent did call Disney Dining today but they were actually not very helpful at this point and could not suggest that there might or might not be any Christmas related meal. I will probably call them myself when it gets closer to a time when I can book a reservation. I will post here if I find anything out in the mean time.

 

[Sherry E]

Let's Bump this up so hopefully someone can answer RDJ's question about possible special holiday meals (like a buffet in the DLH banquet room/convention center, perhaps?), menus or food items at any of the DLR restaurants ON Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.