disney at christmas

[amamax2]

Why I love this thread and this board: you find out the many wonderful secrets and tips that just add that extra oomph to your trip. Case in point:

I didn't even know that Disneyland made candy canes at the Holiday Season until it was mentioned on this board. I watched the Food Network special on YouTube, and thought how awesome to see that in person. Really something different and unusual. But, I knew it wouldn't happen. When planning a trip, we always chose low crowds over everything else, which means we miss all the special extras. And that's OK.

However, when the dates were released for this year's candy cane making, I realized one of them was during our trip! I couldn't believe I might get the opportunity to see it. I quickly started calculating how I could also fit this in to all the other things we had planned. And could I talk my family into either doing all that was necessary to see this (from all reports, it sounded like you had to spend a lot of time waiting, with a huge crowd, in the hopes of maybe seeing something) or spending even more time apart on what was to probably be our last trip at Christmas time for years to come?

Luckily, I have the most amazing family...I casually mentioned it, and they were immediately on board with doing what we needed to see it.

We did not have access to Magic Morning, so knew there was no hope of actually BUYING a candy cane, but that was fine, I really wanted to just see them being made. We got to the gates about 8:45 for a 9 a.m. entrance, and I practically ran down Main Street. There wasn’t really anyone outside of the Candy Palace and my heart sank: it wasn’t happening today after all. But, when I arrived at the window, there was the sign:

All the tickets had been given out (my DH asked, and the CM said within 5 min they were gone). While I have read reports that they hand the tickets out at different times for each batch, this day all the tickets for the WHOLE day were handed out in those five minutes. I do not know how many batches were made this day.

I got a spot right in front of the outside window and stayed there for probably 30 min, then moved to the inside window for another 20 min or so. The inside window was very crowded with people, whereas the outside, not so much, and I think was actually the better vantage point for most of the operation (until the y actually roll the canes). Most visitors did not seem to know this was happening, saw this sign, watched for a few minutes, then left when they found out they couldn’t get any candy canes. There were really only a handful of die hards like me who wanted to see it all.

I really think they need a different sign - the poor CM had to answer hundreds of times that all the tickets were gone.

By the time I got there, they had already mixed and cooked the ingredients, and were now kneading the mixture. This actually worked out well, as I probably would not have wanted to spend time watching them measure out and cook the ingredients. I was there about an hour and read that the whole thing takes about 2 hours, so one hour watching sugar and syrup cook probably explains why there were not a lot of people crowding the outside window, lol.

Kneading in the red and green food coloring:

Pulling the mixture till it turned white:

Adding in the peppermint extract (you can see in this picture the huge crowds at the inside window. At the outside window it fluctuated between one and two deep):

He then kneaded the candy some more and formed it into a huge rectangular block.

While the pulling and shaping was happening, another CM rolled the colored portions into strips: the red was made into both wide strips and narrow; the green just narrow. Notice they are kept by this heater to keep them pliable.

Wrapping the colored pieces on the white block:

Continued in next post

 

[amamax2]

After all the pieces were put together, the CM began stretching it so that they could roll it into the canes.

They had a production line going: one pulled, another rolled.

Then a snip of the proper length - all done by eye:

Waiting to get the cane:

This CM weighed the cane, then shaped it on the hook. Each one was perfect and exactly the same.

Then it was brought to the table where dividers were places. At this point, the cane is still pliable.

I popped by a bit later and they were wrapping them up - I think it was about 11 a.m. by now.

Overall, this was a very cool thing to see and well worth the effort. The CM did tell people that any candy canes not purchased by ticket holders would be available between 3:30 - 4 p.m., but that it was rare to have available at that time (although some have reported on this board that they were able to get one at that point).

 

[Funball]

i finally got a photo of the tree.... this is however taken with out zoom cause my camera as you know stopped zooming.. and it is now at the factory in van nuys being fixed..

 

[Funball]

 

[JennyN]

Thanks amamax2 for the wonderful photos of the candy cane making. I'm sure I wouldn't have the patience to stand there and watch for a whole hour, so the photos of the process were wonderful. I didn't realize the candy canes were so big, for some reason I pictured them smaller. So glad you had a chance to see this and share it with all of us.

 

[amamax2]

Thanks JennyN!

It really didn't feel like an hour - the whole thing went quickly and was so interesting, plus lots of fun people to talk to as we watched. The main part of it took about 30 min; many people left as soon as the first candy cane was finished. But I wanted to get pictures from a different angle, plus my family had left part-way through and re-joined me just as I went inside the Candy Palace, so we ended up the extra 20 min or so.

I hesitated to put up so many pictures so am especially happy that you appreciated them!

 

[amamax2]

My last day my goal was to get pictures of characters. My boys have never liked to get their pictures taken with the characters, but I like to have pictures of them.

I started on Main Street and saw ONLY Minnie Mouse! Where was the rest of the sweater patrol??? &

So I headed to Critter Country to see the Hundred Acres Woods characters.


Now, I have two methods to achieve my goal: one is to stand off to the side, focus with my camera on the character while it interacts with someone, then when that person moves away and before the next group moves in, snap a shot. Since they are only out for so long, I don't want to take up time that they could be spending with someone who wants their picture taken with the character when all I want is a picture of the character. Often the character will notice I am there and actually look at me, or wave or something, they are so great! I also get the bonus of being able to see the characters interact with the little kids, and it always brings tears to my eyes. They are so good with them and take so much time to make them feel special.

I went to meet up with my family, and decided to try one more time on Main Street. Jackpot!!!!

So, my second method is to figure out where the characters go for breaks/come out for meet and greets, then snap shots when they are coming and going. This method was a gold mine this trip as so many great and/or funny moments happened in those few minutes.

I must say, once the characters were out there, they really had very little break in between. One character would leave for a break, the CM would tell everyone to stay in line and assure them that the character (or a new one) would be out in just a few minutes, and that is exactly what happened.


So Goofy went to take a break, but a little something unusual happened:

The second one quickly ran back inside, while the first one turned to all of us and did this:

A few minutes after that, Mickey and Pluto went inside together for a break. Mickey stood at the door for a minute to wave good bye.

Meanwhile, Pluto caught up and they started to go in together.

Pluto hesitated a minute too long, and the door swung back and hit him in the nose! He, of course, exaggeratedly fell backwards, then Mickey poked his head out to see what was going on. Pluto refused to go in. Finally you see just Mickey's hand and arm come out and beckon. Finally Pluto gave a last wave, then headed in. Unfortunately, I was so busy laughing, I wasn't snapping.

I also happened to catch these two together in DCA, which was very cute.

And while not exactly characters, have to include these two dressed for Christmas!

 

[amamax2]

Ok, I'm beginning to feel like this is becoming the amamax2 thread. Plus Photobucket takes so long.

So I'm going to take a break and post more later today or tomorrow. I still have Tree Quest, Vehicles, and misc Holiday stuff/Round-Up. Hope you're not all getting sick of it.

 

[Sherry E]

I wanted to post this because I'm not sure if it's common knowledge.

For anyone here who is heading to DLR during the week of Christmas or the week of New Year's -

I just called Disney Reservations to pay a little more on my upcoming reservation, and the lovely CM I spoke with (she was very helpful and very friendly) told me that, starting on December 20th, Magic Morning will be EVERY DAY during the week of Christmas and the week of New Year's - except for Wednesdays.

So that means that the MM will not only be Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays for those 2 weeks. In addition:

Monday, December 20 will be an MM
Friday, December 24th will be an MM
Monday, December 27th will be an MM
Friday, December 31st will be an MM too!


So anyone who either has a DLR hotel reservation OR a multi-day Hopper will get the benefit of having other MM options besides the usual ones.

(This may be something they do every year - I'm not sure. Basically, what this means is that DLR is expecting massive numbers of people to flood the parks for those two weeks and they are trying to help the flow of traffic a bit by adding in extra MM's.)

 

[specialks]

anamax2 -- GREAT PHOTOS! Thank you for sharing. I loved them all. Question, where is that special door where you see characters coming & going. Looks like somewhere on main street, I just don't know where.

We still haven't decided if we are going to go for the candy canes. Like anamax2, I don't want to miss time with my family (it will be our one and only MM) but I also would love to taste this peice of art everyone fights for! I guess I will just have to wait & see what it is like when we arrive on Thursday morning for our MM.

 

[Sherry E]

I agree with specialks, amamax2 - great photos!! That picture of the two Goofys is hilarious (and quite rare, I imagine)!! I guess they didn't time their switch-off that well in that case!

I plan to hunt down the Winter Sweater Army this time. The last few trips I have not sought them out for photos because I knew my friends would not wait. This year, if I am alone for some of the time, I will seek them out and battle the masses waiting for pictures!! Sometimes you can find a few of them chillin' in ToonTown, too. So if ever you don't see them on Main Street, be sure to check ToonTown, too.

I've never noticed that Roz wears a Santa hat in the Monsters, Inc. ride before, in previous Christmas seasons. I wonder if this is the first holiday season she is wearing it?

You were very lucky to get the full trifecta of Christmas Pooh, Christmas Tigger and Christmas Eeyore. That's what I was aiming for last year, and then that darn Eeyore and Tigger decided to take a break, leaving only Pooh to pose for photos.

 

[lapdwife]

We're off to the CP, wish us luck! I'm bringing the camera, just depends on what it's like one we get there, I guess.

 

[lapdwife]

So anyone who either has a DLR hotel reservation OR a multi-day Hopper will get the benefit of having other MM options besides the usual ones.

(This may be something they do every year - I'm not sure. Basically, what this means is that DLR is expecting massive numbers of people to flood the parks for those two weeks and they are trying to help the flow of traffic a bit by adding in extra MM's.)[/SIZE]

I always laugh when they tell me I've got a MM. There's no way we could ever get up early enough. I'm sure this works out great for people on other time zones. Or just another one of those things where we're there so often, it takes more magic to excite us?

 

[amamax2]

anamax2 -- GREAT PHOTOS! Thank you for sharing. I loved them all. Question, where is that special door where you see characters coming & going. Looks like somewhere on main street, I just don't know where.

Thanks specialks! Each photo area has a spot....for the "sweater patrol" on Main Street (yes, it was Main Street), the door is in the corner between the Great Moments with Mr Lincoln building and the store right before the Cinema.

For the Pooh characters, if you are standing so that the exit to Splash Mtn is on your left, and the gift shop (not the candy section, but the clothing/other section) is on your right, it is in front of you/behind the Pooh gift shop.

Let me know if that isn't very clear and I will post a map with the area circled.

We still haven't decided if we are going to go for the candy canes. Like anamax2, I don't want to miss time with my family (it will be our one and only MM) but I also would love to taste this peice of art everyone fights for! I guess I will just have to wait & see what it is like when we arrive on Thursday morning for our MM.

It's a hard call. From my experience, seeing them made wasn't difficult, but getting there early enough to actually be able to buy one...I think a whole 'nother story. The good news, though, is that if you are willing to get there early (prior to MM starting) to ensure getting a ticket, you really don't have to then wait around. All the time is spent waiting to get into the park, getting the ticket takes five minutes. Then you can enjoy the MM with your family, and if you want to see them being made, just head back over about an hour later, after MM is over.

And honestly, I wasn't there for the tickets, so I am just going based on what I have read, and the fact that the CM said the tickets were gone so quickly so assuming a large enough group was waiting, in saying to get there really early for MM. But I don't know if they handed out 20 tickets or 60 tickets.

It may be that as long as you get there before the gates open for MM, then haul buns over to the Candy Palace, you'll get a ticket.

Sorry, I should have taken the opportunity to ask more questions, but since I knew we wouldn't even have a chance to buy them, I just wasn't thinking about that part.

 

[amamax2]

I agree with specialks, amamax2 - great photos!! That picture of the two Goofys is hilarious (and quite rare, I imagine)!! I guess they didn't time their switch-off that well in that case!

Thanks Sherry! No they didn't - it was very funny to see people's faces, but luckily, there weren't that many people around in that corner, so I don't think it traumatized any children.

You were very lucky to get the full trifecta of Christmas Pooh, Christmas Tigger and Christmas Eeyore. That's what I was aiming for last year, and then that darn Eeyore and Tigger decided to take a break, leaving only Pooh to pose for photos.

Yes, I have noticed other visits that all three aren't necessarily out at the same time, but like I posted earlier, this year I did notice that, when you could find the characters (because I was looking, and often didn't see any or only one - then it seemed like certain times of the day they were just out in full force), DL really made sure no one was waiting long and that the replacements came out within 5 min or less. So hopefully for your trip this year, that will be the case. Don't know if it makes a difference, but when I saw characters at DL the most was in the afternoon, not many in the morning.

 

[Sherry E]

I always laugh when they tell me I've got a MM. There's no way we could ever get up early enough. I'm sure this works out great for people on other time zones. Or just another one of those things where we're there so often, it takes more magic to excite us?

The MM's are not for everyone, that's for sure, but I don't think it has to do with the time zone. It just may not be your thing. If you're an early riser to begin with, you could probably do MM's without much trouble. But not everyone gets up really early.

The MM works out great for me, and I'm in the same time zone you are! In fact, I am kicking myself that I didn't use all the MM's I had access to before 2008. Once we finally did an MM, we saw how many rides we could get on in that golden hour. My friend and I were saying, "Why haven't we been using this all along?" It was wonderful!! So I'm thrilled that I get 2 MM's by staying onsite next weekend. That's one of the reasons I want to stay onsite.

I think that having extra MM's on Mondays and Fridays will be very beneficial to those DIS'ers visiting DLR during the week of Christmas and the week of New Year's because it's going to be so massively crowded that any way they can get an edge on riding certain things before the non-MM public does will be a good thing.

 

[specialks]

We're off to the CP, wish us luck! I'm bringing the camera, just depends on what it's like one we get there, I guess.

Good luck!

Thanks specialks! Each photo area has a spot....for the "sweater patrol" on Main Street (yes, it was Main Street), the door is in the corner between the Great Moments with Mr Lincoln building and the store right before the Cinema.

For the Pooh characters, if you are standing so that the exit to Splash Mtn is on your left, and the gift shop (not the candy section, but the clothing/other section) is on your right, it is in front of you/behind the Pooh gift shop.

Let me know if that isn't very clear and I will post a map with the area circled.

I think I've got it. We also will hit up TT so hopefully we will get most of the gang. My youngest really wants to meet Daisy because purple is her favorite color (her words) but we have never seen Daisy out & about. I think I might have to specifically ask info or city hall about where to find her if we can't track her down at the beginning of our trip.

It's a hard call. From my experience, seeing them made wasn't difficult, but getting there early enough to actually be able to buy one...I think a whole 'nother story. The good news, though, is that if you are willing to get there early (prior to MM starting) to ensure getting a ticket, you really don't have to then wait around. All the time is spent waiting to get into the park, getting the ticket takes five minutes. Then you can enjoy the MM with your family, and if you want to see them being made, just head back over about an hour later, after MM is over.

And honestly, I wasn't there for the tickets, so I am just going based on what I have read, and the fact that the CM said the tickets were gone so quickly so assuming a large enough group was waiting, in saying to get there really early for MM. But I don't know if they handed out 20 tickets or 60 tickets.

It may be that as long as you get there before the gates open for MM, then haul buns over to the Candy Palace, you'll get a ticket.

Sorry, I should have taken the opportunity to ask more questions, but since I knew we wouldn't even have a chance to buy them, I just wasn't thinking about that part.

That is great info. I think that might be what I try for. If we can get to the gates around 730 then hopefully I can grab a ticket on our way to PP.

The MM's are not for everyone, that's for sure, but I don't think it has to do with the time zone. It just may not be your thing. If you're an early riser to begin with, you could probably do MM's without much trouble. But not everyone gets up really early.

The MM works out great for me, and I'm in the same time zone you are! In fact, I am kicking myself that I didn't use all the MM's I had access to before 2008. Once we finally did an MM, we saw how many rides we could get on in that golden hour. My friend and I were saying, "Why haven't we been using this all along?" It was wonderful!! So I'm thrilled that I get 2 MM's by staying onsite next weekend. That's one of the reasons I want to stay onsite.

I think that having extra MM's on Mondays and Fridays will be very beneficial to those DIS'ers visiting DLR during the week of Christmas and the week of New Year's because it's going to be so massively crowded that any way they can get an edge on riding certain things before the non-MM public does will be a good thing.

Sherry, we also didn't use MM our first trip in 2008. Our kids were young and we were still appreciating any sleep we could get. However, when we used it in 2009 -- wowzers -- we were sold. I have to admit that we choose to do a weekday MM because there is no way we could make it for a weekend 7 am MM.

 

[tksbaskets]

Thanks amamax2 for the wonderful photos of the candy cane making. I'm sure I wouldn't have the patience to stand there and watch for a whole hour, so the photos of the process were wonderful. I didn't realize the candy canes were so big, for some reason I pictured them smaller. So glad you had a chance to see this and share it with all of us.

This was Soooo cool! Thanks for sharing. Did they pipe the peppermint smell while you were watching?

 

[tksbaskets]

Ok, I'm beginning to feel like this is becoming the amamax2 thread. Plus Photobucket takes so long.

So I'm going to take a break and post more later today or tomorrow. I still have Tree Quest, Vehicles, and misc Holiday stuff/Round-Up. Hope you're not all getting sick of it.

I love your pictures so thank you for waiting for Photobucket to post them. I've never seen aviator Minnie and Goofy before.

 

[amamax2]

This was Soooo cool! Thanks for sharing. Did they pipe the peppermint smell while you were watching?

Yes, they did! It was funny, because right after the CM poured the peppermint extract onto the candy, the smell was really strong. She poured the extract twice, and each time the smell got really strong. Everyone was saying, ooh, we can smell it! I read here that the Candy palace pipes the smell periodically throughout the day, so I think that is what is was, so I didn't say anything.

I love your pictures so thank you for waiting for Photobucket to post them. I've never seen aviator Minnie and Goofy before.

I've only seen aviator Minnie and Goofy in other people's pictures, so I was really surprised when we walked around the corner and there was Minnie and within a few minutes, Goofy joined her! I was so excited!!

Thanks so much! All the rest finally finished uploading, I still have to resize them.. My DH was teasing me how I spent the whole day on the computer today, but I had to set him straight that it was really waiting for Photobucket to load, lol. It's not like I was having fun!

Anyways, I am starting to resize the next batch, but had to post this one: it is my favorite of all the trees I found for the Tree Quest.