Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread #2 (Closed)

[Sherry E]

TigerlilyAJ -

No worries. Don't book anything or make any concrete plans until we have the official word. We do not yet have the official word, but I do think the season dates will be 11/12/12 - 1/6/13. That makes the most sense to me, and things like IASWH and possibly even the holiday parade may begin a couple of days before the start date.

What Disneyland Scoop said is not official to us (as it comes from them) because they are not an official Disney-owned or Disney-operated site. I am guessing they have an inside contact at DLR and got the info that way - but until the dates are posted by Disney somewhere, anything could change and it is not yet official.

That's why it's always important - when we get bits of information here on The DIS - to state whether the info is confirmed or rumored, or unconfirmed, official or unofficial or whatever, and where it was obtained. Sometimes a bit of info may seem confirmed or official - like someone could say, "I read it on MousePlanet" and they think it's official, but it's not. MousePlanet is no more an official news source than DISboards is! Neither is MiceAge/Mice Chat. Some people think that the information Al Lutz dispenses on MiceAge every month is actual news, but it's not. It's all rumor-based.

A couple of years ago (I think it was 2010), I learned the official holiday season dates for DLR because I received an e-mail from D News that listed them. The season ended on something like Sunday, January 2nd, I believe. However, Mouse Savers incorrectly posted that the season extended through Monday, January 3rd, which was not what Disney itself was publicly posting. MouseSavers is not an official Disney site, but I'm sure people saw that January 3rd ending date and took it as fact, even though all of the media and press that Disney put out listed January 2 as the end date!

Nothing is official unless it comes directly from Disney - but that could be by way of several different sites or other modes of communication (e-mails, etc.).





You've probably missed it, but I've mentioned many times before (in this thread and the Halloween thread) that there are a handful of actual, official Disney sources that we can look to for official news (in no particular order, as one of them may release info before another one does):

• Disneyland Resort website
  
• The Annual Passholder sub-section of the DLR website
  
• E-mail from Disney Destinations, Disney Insider, D News or The Walt Disney Company
  
• D23's website
  
• Disney Parks Blog
  
• Disneyland News (a separate site for media/press releases, etc.)
  
• Any communication received from Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney, Disney Visa, etc.
  
• Any official pages on Facebook associated with the above-referenced official sources, i.e., the official Disneyland Holidays page

Unofficial Sources of Disney info may include (but are not limited to):

• DISboards
  
• MiceAge/Mice Chat (including anything from Al Lutz)
  
• Mouse Planet
  
• MouseSavers
  
• Stitch Kingdom
  
• Laughing Place
  
• Disneyland Scoop
  
• AllEars

Because Halloween Time and the holiday season are my particular areas of interest at DLR, I've paid attention every year to where, how and when the official news is distributed.

The unofficial places usually get info from the official sources, of course - we find out info on the seasons and report on it here on DISboards, but nothing is official unless it first comes from one of the official places I referenced above!

 

[Sherry E]

Just a quick question, are the dates for CP out yet? When are they normally announced?

JennyN -

It seems like the CP dates have kind of quietly been revealed to us over the last couple of years - no, big, splashy announcement. It is usually much closer to December that we find out - like not until October, at least, if not November. Same thing with the Cast Member parties - we find out closer to the holidays.

 

[Sherry E]

Okay, so what's that song? You know the one...

"...We need a little Christmas
Right this very minute..."



I agree! We need a little Christmas in (almost) July! After looking at ElkGroveChris' last round of beautiful DLR holiday pictures, I was inspired to dig up the DLR photos that I used for my own Facebook (and Trip Report) Christmas countdown in December ("...12 days until Christmas," "11 days until Christmas," "10 days..." and so on). [See below] I posted one picture per day, until the night before Christmas. I didn't post anything on Christmas day, as I figured everyone was busy and not checking Facebook!

This is not to be confused with the popular Theme Weeks Countdown to the DLR holiday season that we did last year (and will do again this year) in this this thread. This was just a fun countdown to the actual holiday itself that I felt like doing on Facebook, to keep myself amused and to stay in the holiday spirit.




You'll notice that a few of the photos were edited with Photobucket's special "Holiday Effects" - which I did for fun and maybe for future creative projects. Those holiday effects were only on Photobucket for about 2 weeks-ish (maybe a little longer; maybe a little shorter), and they were gone before Christmas day.

If you have a Photobucket account and would like to play around with these holiday effects on your photos for possible calendars or Christmas cards or whatever reason, start checking the Edit options in late November or early December - I'm sure that they'll have a similar holiday offering again this year! It might not leave you much time to put a project together in time for the holiday, but maybe you can create the images you want this year and send them out or make the project in 2013!



We have a long, hot summer ahead of us, and we have about 4-1/2 months until the holiday season begins at DLR. The Theme Weeks Countdown won't begin until August...but we need a little Christmas before that time rolls around!!

Unofficial countdown start photo (taken in 2010, Paradise Pier Hotel tree)

13 days to Christmas photo (taken in 2011, Main Street)

12 days to Christmas photo (taken in 2010, Toon Town)

11 Days to Christmas photo (taken in 2010, Goofy's Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel)

10 Days until Christmas photo (taken in 2011, Main Street window display)

9 Days Until Christmas photo (taken in 2011, Main Street window display)

8 Days Until Christmas" countdown photo (taken in 2010, California Adventure in-store display of popcorn buckets):

7 Days Until Christmas photo (taken in 2010, Main Street window display)

6 Days Until Christmas photo (taken at the break of dawn at the Grand Californian Hotel, in 2009)

5 Days Until Christmas photo (taken in 2011, cookies from the Market House on Main Street)

4 Days Until Christmas photo (taken in 2010, New Orleans Square)

3 Days Until Christmas photo (taken in 2010, Grand Californian Hotel)

2 Days Until Christmas photo (taken in 2010, Main Street at dusk)

Christmas Eve photo (taken in 2011, at Storytellers Cafe in the Grand Californian Hotel)


'Twas the night before Christmas,
When all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring.
Not even a...."Mouse."

 

[greenkai3000]

I'm definitely interested in finding out what the official dates for the Holiday Season at the Resort are. We've been to WDW in late November ('07) when the crowds weren't bad at all and had a blast looking at all the decorations , and enjoying Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.

Can anyone tell me what all events they have during the Holidays in California? Do they still have Fantasmic and their nightly fireworks?

How about refurbishments? Do they usually shut down any (specific) rides in the winter?

Will there be any days/weeks in December when it won't be as busy as X-mas week? Thanks everybody!

 

[cpster]

Love the countdown photos Sherry!

 

[Sherry E]

I'm definitely interested in finding out what the official dates for the Holiday Season at the Resort are. We've been to WDW in late November ('07) when the crowds weren't bad at all and had a blast looking at all the decorations , and enjoying Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.

Can anyone tell me what all events they have during the Holidays in California? Do they still have Fantasmic and their nightly fireworks?

How about refurbishments? Do they usually shut down any (specific) rides in the winter?

Will there be any days/weeks in December when it won't be as busy as X-mas week? Thanks everybody!

Hello, greenkai3000! Welcome!

Well, first I would suggest that - if you have not done so already - take a look at Page 1 of this thread, and particularly Post #2 (the Table of Contents for many of the photos in the thread) and Post #3 (a whole lot of info that may be of use to you!). That will be a good place to start. Even if there is something that refers to 2010 or another year, I put it in there because it's pretty much applicable to any holiday season at Disneyland.

OK, as for your questions...

Can anyone tell me what all events they have during the Holidays in California? Do they still have Fantasmic and their nightly fireworks?

Posts #2 & 3 on Page 1 will answer much of this. In fact, if you scroll down to the question and answer section of Post #3 you will find links to the calendar for last year.

There will be nightly fireworks for the holidays - these will be the Believe...In Holiday Magic fireworks. Fantasmic should be showing at least on weekends and then - if I recall correctly - it goes to a nightly schedule in December. I could be wrong on the scheduling of it, but check the calendar from last year. Bret (mvf-m11c) will probably remember the Fantasmic schedule.

After the fireworks there will be a light sprinkling of snow on Main Street.

There is Santa's Reindeer Round-Up - a charming, rustic little spot to meet Santa and see some real reindeer.

There is a holiday tour.

There will also be the "A Christmas Fantasy Parade." The nighttime Winter Castle will light up in icicle lights. It's a Small World Holiday's facade will glow in thousands of colored lights.

Haunted Mansion Holiday will be open.

How about refurbishments? Do they usually shut down any (specific) rides in the winter?

The holidays - like Summer - are considered peak season at DLR, so there should not be any planned refurbs happening during that time. Everything should be up and running.

Will there be any days/weeks in December when it won't be as busy as X-mas week?

Typically, the week right after Thanksgiving week and into maybe week #2 of December are less crowded points in the holiday season than the rest of the season. After the second week in December, things start to pick up.

This year, because there is a lot of buzz surrounding Cars Land, Buena Vista Street and the potential for some all-new decorations in those areas, there could be more people flocking to the parks during the less crowded times...but we won't know how that plays out until we get to it.

I hope I was of some help! I think that the official announcement of the dates should pop up on the DLR site (in the Seasonal Events sections) in July, though we may not get any news of additional season details for another few months (such as possible Cars Land decorations, etc.).

​

Love the countdown photos Sherry!

cpster - Thank you! I appreciate it!

 

[HeyItsNickCA]

About 5 months to go... I'm so excited.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

Assuming the dates are all real, my family could be there for one day, the opening day, of holiday time. We would have PHs, so we can visit both parks. We will have been there during the transition from H'ween to Christmas, for seven park days already, so we'll have seen quite a bit of decor, I imagine.
So, my question is what can and what should we do with one official holiday park day? We would see the parade and the fireworks, ride IASW, maybe look for the reindeer at Big Thunder Ranch. Any Photopass+ spots we should hit? Any rides, shows, experiences we have to try for?
The players are myself, DH (a serious photographer who loves art deco), and our three sons, ages 7.5, 5, and 2.5. Does Pixie Hollow get any special treatment like Bug's Land? Because the middle guys loves the fairies. (He'd be Terence for Halloween if they would sell a costume.)

Thanks for any thoughts!

 

[Sherry E]

Assuming the dates are all real, my family could be there for one day, the opening day, of holiday time. We would have PHs, so we can visit both parks. We will have been there during the transition from H'ween to Christmas, for seven park days already, so we'll have seen quite a bit of decor, I imagine.
So, my question is what can and what should we do with one official holiday park day? We would see the parade and the fireworks, ride IASW, maybe look for the reindeer at Big Thunder Ranch. Any Photopass+ spots we should hit? Any rides, shows, experiences we have to try for?
The players are myself, DH (a serious photographer who loves art deco), and our three sons, ages 7.5, 5, and 2.5. Does Pixie Hollow get any special treatment like Bug's Land? Because the middle guys loves the fairies. (He'd be Terence for Halloween if they would sell a costume.)

Thanks for any thoughts!

TigerlilyAJ -

As you indicated, assuming the season officially begins on 11/12, you will have been there to see the decorations go up in the days leading up to it. So, chances are, you will have already seen what there is to see in New Orleans Square, Toon Town, Frontierland and A Bug's Land. Those lands all have very unique, themed decorations. There is a rumor that Cars Land may get some interesting decorations too.

Pixie Hollow does not get any special holiday decorations.

Chances are, if the season begins on 11/12, IASW Holiday will have unofficially been open for a couple of days leading up to that. So you will have probably already been on IASWH. Make sure to get a nighttime IASWH photo.

The nighttime Winter Castle starts its Enchantment (icicle) lighting on opening day of the season - make sure to get a PhotoPass picture in front of the Castle at night when the icicle lights are on.

Be sure to check out the light snow and gingerbread smell in the air on Main Street after the fireworks.

Get a photo with Santa at Santa's Reindeer Round-Up and at his photo spot in DCA too.

Get PhotoPass pictures taken in front of each of the main Christmas trees in DL and DCA.

If the Storybook Land boats are open, ride those because there will be teeny decorations on the cottages.

I don't think the hotels will be in the holiday swing yet so you won't have to deal with that.

There's the holiday tour - don't know if that would be of interest to you, but plenty of our DIS'ers have done it and they love it.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Do they still have Fantasmic and their nightly fireworks?

During the month of December for F!, it will be up and running on the weekends for sure. I would say that when it gets to the third week of the December on the weekdays on December 17th that F! will be playing all the way till early January on the weekdays. This is from my experience of F! running in December. They could have it running on certain days before the third week of December of this year.

Just like what Sherry said that "Believe...In Holiday Magic" fireworks will be running every night during the Holiday season at DL. Even during the shorten hours at DL, they will have it running every night except if it is cancel due to high winds or bad weather.

I really like your pictures Sherry.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

Sherry, TY so much. A lot of that was what I had been thinking. I have considered the tour, but have cost concerns. I forgot that we might have chances to ride IASWH before Nov 12. Good to know about the castle pic, as one of my DLR Holiday goals is to get a photo of us to use on our Christmas cards!

 

[Jaxxie]

OH MY LORDY......I have sooki lala tears in my eyes.....we fly back to Australia late on the 13th so if it's really does officially start on the 12th we are so so so so happy!!!!

We are now thinking we might change the last couple of nights of our booking from HoJo's to an onside just to totally finish off our first overseas holiday in awesome Christmas magic.......crossing fingers so tightly that it is the date

 

[greenkai3000]

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I can't wait to go back to DL !

 

[sirvin12]

5 months yahoo!!!! Love the pictures Sherry!

 

[Sherry E]

About 5 months to go... I'm so excited.

HeyItsNickCA -

Woo hoo! The time will fly by - this year has already been zipping by quickly!

During the month of December for F!, it will be up and running on the weekends for sure. I would say that when it gets to the third week of the December on the weekdays on December 17th that F! will be playing all the way till early January on the weekdays. This is from my experience of F! running in December. They could have it running on certain days before the third week of December of this year.

Just like what Sherry said that "Believe...In Holiday Magic" fireworks will be running every night during the Holiday season at DL. Even during the shorten hours at DL, they will have it running every night except if it is cancel due to high winds or bad weather.

I really like your pictures Sherry.

Bret -

Thank you for the compliment, and thank you - as always - for helping out with answering questions! I know I can always count on you and TK to pitch in on sharing information, photos, etc.! It really helps a lot!

Sherry, TY so much. A lot of that was what I had been thinking. I have considered the tour, but have cost concerns. I forgot that we might have chances to ride IASWH before Nov 12. Good to know about the castle pic, as one of my DLR Holiday goals is to get a photo of us to use on our Christmas cards!

TigerlilyAJ -

You're very welcome! I'm always especially excited to help when I know someone is going to be seeing DLR during the holidays (and Halloween Time) for the first time! And you are going at a very interesting time of year where you will get to experience the transition from Halloween Time to the holidays! This will be a great trip for you, I think!

Yep - I am 99.9% sure that if the season begins on 11/12, IASWH will open sometime in that weekend leading up to it - perhaps on 11/9, maybe on 11/10.

I highly recommend getting a nighttime photo in front of IASWH because the colored lights are so stunning, but, as you can see, you run the risk of encountering large crowds in front of it (these are PhotoPass pictures from 2008, and the PhotoPass photographer was so frustrated because there was a wayward balloon in the shot for a while - never mind the mobs of people in the shot!):

And, as for the nighttime Winter Castle, make sure you time it just right so that you get a PhotoPass picture in which the Castle looks like this:

And not like this!:

The "Enchantment lighting" of the Castle happens intermittently through the night, so the icicle lights turn off and on for various intervals. Finally, at some point at night they turn on and stay on, thank heavens! You can imagine how annoyed I was as I went running up to the Castle to get my PhotoPass picture and the lights turned off! Finally, the next year, we had good timing and happened to walk past the Castle when the lights were on and the line for photos was not terrible.



The daytime Castle is nice, but doesn't have the same impact:

If you happen to get a PhotoPass picture by the tree in DCA, ask them for this shot (sometimes they will do it and sometimes they won't):

Be sure to stop by and say hello to Pooh and friends in Critter Country, where they will be wearing Santa hats or Winter Scarves!:

Don't forget to visit Duffy at his holiday spot in DCA:

And IF the Grand Californian Hotel's tree happens to be up and Santa happens to be there (which I suspect won't happen until maybe 11/16 - 11/18), get a PhotoPass picture with him too!:

OH MY LORDY......I have sooki lala tears in my eyes.....we fly back to Australia late on the 13th so if it's really does officially start on the 12th we are so so so so happy!!!!

We are now thinking we might change the last couple of nights of our booking from HoJo's to an onside just to totally finish off our first overseas holiday in awesome Christmas magic.......crossing fingers so tightly that it is the date

Jaxxie -



Well, you will definitely see lots of decorations going up during your trip. I'm pretty sure that you will have at least one official day of the season to visit the Reindeer Round-Up, see the holiday parade and the holiday fireworks, if not more than that. You'll definitely be able to ride Haunted Mansion Holiday and probably It's a Small World Holiday, too!

Which hotel were you thinking of to finish off your trip?

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I can't wait to go back to DL !

greenkai3000 -

You're welcome! I knew Bret would have a good recollection of Fantasmic. You'll have an awesome time!

5 months yahoo!!!! Love the pictures Sherry!

sirvin12 -

Hello, again (you haven't been on this thread for quite a while, have you?)!!

Thank you! I love looking at everyone else's Holiday (and Halloween Time) photos as much as I love posting them.

We have about 4-1/2 months until the season starts, but the Theme Week Holiday Season Countdown will begin in August and carry us right up until the first day of the season! So that will help pass the time and build excitement! Woo hoo!

 

[kaoden39]

Sherry, your pictures have really made me smile. I am so looking forward to this trip.

 

[sirvin12]

I've been around, I'm a serious thread stalker I just don't post much

Shannon

 

[kswm30b]

I've been reading this thread for a while, but this is the first time I've posted (mostly because the board seems to crash on my iPad when I'm posting, but with the new app, hopefully I won't have that problem!)

I'm going to Disneyland for the first time EVER Dec 4-9. I'm SO excited, I've been wanting to go for years (I might have posted in this thread over a yr ago when I thought we were going last dec, but we changed to WDW.) We go to WDW a ton, but I finally get to see where it all started. I was actually in CA for a bit in Jan, but wanted to wait until the construction was done, so the first trip could be even more special.

I know I'm the only one, but I kind of hope there aren't too many Xmas decorations up in Cars Land. It looks so amazing from what I've seen in pics, I kind of want to see it natural, you know? Lol, like I said, I'm probably alone there!

I'm really into meeting characters, and I've been dying to meet the characters in their cute new outfits on BVS, but someone was saying to me that she thinks they'll switch over to Christmas outfits? I was wondering if anyone thinks they might stay in those costumes (and still do the new shows) on BVS in Dec? I really hope so! I know the Christmas parade is fantastic, but I'm already a little sad I'm missing Soundsational, I must meet BVS Mickey.

I'm sure I'll be back to bug you with lots of questions over the next few months, lol (though there's SO much info in the thread, maybe I won't need to? ) but I just wanted to say hi!

*waves to Michele*

 

[iamthehiccup]

Hey everyone! My family and I plan on visiting Disneyland around the 23rd of December for my sister's birthday. Can you guys tell me what kind of weather to expect? We're from Northern California and it gets pretty chilly here, but it's not bad at all, we just wanted to know what to expect.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

Hey everyone! My family and I plan on visiting Disneyland around the 23rd of December for my sister's birthday. Can you guys tell me what kind of weather to expect? We're from Northern California and it gets pretty chilly here, but it's not bad at all, we just wanted to know what to expect.

well in dec. I usually start out with long sleeves, pants and coat and mittens..but i end up shedding most or all except the long sleeves and pants...but as soon as the sun drops...its mittens, hats, scarves, coat, the works