so excited for you!
Thank you, tdash! I'm excited too, but my plans have a habit of falling apart or not going as smoothly as they should, so I'm afraid to get too excited yet for fear of being crushed!! I can stand to miss Halloween Time for one year if I
have to - but only one year; I will see it again next year - but I just have to do a holiday trip
Yeah.. I am so glad to hear that you are making it DL for Christmas. I haven't read past this point and someone may have already suggested it.. but a great way to fill in your time after 6pm would be to visit the hotels and DTD to take photos of the 700 Christmas trees
Thank you for the nice words, areweindisneyyet!
I'm so, so glad to be going back to DLR in December too. Even though I had a good time last year on my little one-day trip, it felt incomplete without that extended multi-day visit and hotel stay. I remember setting foot on the GCH property last year when I hopped out of the shuttle. I felt an overwhelming sense of happiness just to be there, because it had been so tough to pull it off. There were so many obstacles. For some reason, when you don't think the trips are going to happen and they end up happening anyway, you find yourself unbelievably grateful to be there! I've said it before, but I really felt like I wanted to just run over and hug the giant GCH tree!
This year, I actually think I might have tears in my eye when I set foot at the PPH because I don't think I will actually believe I am going back until I get there!! I wish I could really go "all out" and stay a couple of extra nights and do the holiday tour, get a little Disney Christmas tree for the room and all that - and do all the character meals! - but I will be happy to just be there, get a new AP and stay onsite again.
Yes, on 12/13 and 12/14, I will use that time to Christmas tree hunt in any place other than
Disneyland!!! I will try to track down as many of the 700 trees as possible!! That's an excellent time to go and get lost in World of Disney too - it takes forever to look through WoD, so might as well do it on the nights I am unable to be in DL. Plus, I will go and have a nice dinner at Storytellers or something. Hopefully a friend or two will join me, but I'll be fine if I am solo.
Add me too... Love Actually is one of my all time favourites.
areweindisneyyet - All this talk of "Love Actually" has worked its magic because it's on TV tonight! Of course, it's on the LMN channel and not one of the movie channels, so the curse words will be taken out and the stories will be interrupted by annoying commercials, but at least it's on!! Woo hoo!!
OMG! This thread is sooo huge! I've only browsed and looked at photos and they are all GREAT!!!
Was just at the parks last week for MHP. It was so much fun! Now, DH and I are thinking about going for Christmas too! Might as well since we went ahead and got an AP!
So, I'm not sure if it's been asked/discussed already but how is the weather in Anaheim that time of year? We'll be going probably 1st week of December. Is it still warm or will it be a little chilly?
I CAN'T WAAAAIT!!!
tdashgirl explained it perfectly. Keep checking the weather sites and be prepared.
December weather in SoCal is uncertain. My personal feeling is that it's going to be extra chilly this year. Just a hunch - obviously, I have no scientific basis for thinking that! The weather has, as tdash said, been so odd this year. It's been mega, inferno-type hot out of nowhere (113-degree hot). It's been cool and drizzly when it should be 90 degrees. I just think we haven't had a really good, cold December in a long time so it's overdue!!
I have been to DLR in December when it was soooooo cold (for California) that I couldn't get warm enough. I had on a bulky sweater, a big, clunky jacket, mittens, a neck scarf, a wool cap, ear muffs, the whole nine yards. Of course, I LOVE it when it's like that because it's nice to feel all cozy and warm with a cup of cocoa!!
On the other hand, last year in December I was running around DLR in a t-shirt all day and night and never put on my coat.
There have also been very, very rainy periods in December - torrential rain.
Oh yay another convert!
Aren't APs nice for this thing? We were at DLR at the beginning of October and I'm 90% sure we'll make it back for the holidays (my *favorite* time at DLR ... now, just expect bigger crowds especially if you go at the mid-end December and/or on weekends. Myself, i don't mind bigger crowds, I just want to soak up the whole thing! It's so much bigger and brighter than Halloween time ... you will love it!!!!).
The weather this year in Cali has been ODD to say the least. We had a super mild summer (even somewhat chilly at times) and then we had an Indian summer that was either SCORCHING or raining (strange times in September/October). My main advice is keep an eye on weather forecasts as you pack and BRING LAYERS. T-shirts for the day, a jacket for night. It can really vary.
We've had Decembers where all you need is a t-shirt, other Decembers where you need the jacket, beanie and gloves ...
have a magical time!
Exactly!
Sherry E sounds like you are going to have a great holiday trip! We'll have to compare notes. It's WDW for us this year.
Teresa
Thank you, Teresa!
I really, really hope my plan stays on track without any further adjustments. I don't think I can take anymore upheaval at this point. As I said above, I think I might have tears in my eyes if I actually get to DLR and the plan goes through. Plus, this year has just not been good - my photos were stolen and spread around the Web and I've had to deal with the consequences of that; I had a prowler (who I saw) outside my window the other night, and who knows what would have happened if he hadn't turned and walked away; then someone (who knows who??) signed me up for some crazy service I had never heard of (using my e-mail, phone number and address) and the charges for this service suddenly appeared on my phone bill, so now I have to deal with that. Also, my client (the main one who gives me work) was recently the victim of someone draining one of his checking accounts - the main one he uses to pay me - and he is giving me less work as a result of it because that money is gone.
Enough already!! I need to have fun at my favorite place, during my favorite time of year!!
Are you doing a TR for your WDW trip this year? I can't wait to hear about it! There are several people from this side of the board who are venturing to Orlando this year - Bumbershoot and Bret (mvf-m11c) among them.
Yay - another "Love Actually" fan!! I'm excited to see it tonight. You're right - it's a very clever movie in that it explores all different types of love, and it even refers to 9/11 and the "love" that people had for each other that day when the Twin Towers fell (Hugh Grant mentions it in his voiceover). Plus, it's very funny in parts, and kind of sad and touching in other parts. The acting and writing are top-notch. It's a bonus that it's set against a holiday backdrop - which just makes it all the more charming - but really, it works as a Valentine's Day movie, too.
) to see if they had posted the dates for the candy canes yet. Since we had so much fun with our Halloween visit we are thinking about going mid-Dec but this time DH wants to get candy canes. We keep missing them. 
So we are going to try and plan around them this trip. 
