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

[dwheatl]

Ugh, well someone ran a stop sign today and broadsided me. I wasn't hurt, but I'm pretty sure I won't have my car for our trip in a few weeks. They better give a rental car for our trip!

Sorry to hear about the accident. Hope you are feeling OK.

 

[Sherry E]

It's Monday, and you know what that means.....



Time for the Weekly Monday Countdown!!!

...Only 14 Days Until the

Holiday Season Begins at Disneyland Resort!!!!

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And with the new week comes a new Disneyland Resort holiday theme!!

As you know, I'm going to showcase a particular area of interest of DLR's holiday season festivities each week until the 2011 merriment officially begins in Monday, November 14!! It is a good way to keep the photos rolling in on a regular basis and build anticipation for 11/14! Also, it's a way to display the different aspects and details of the holidays at DLR that may be totally new to some people...or previously unnoticed/undiscovered by others.

We began with the rustic, down home appeal of Santa’s Reindeer Round-Up nine weeks ago. We soaked in the small town American charm of Main Street. The next theme was the mysterious, mystical, musical allure of New Orleans Square. We then caught a glimpse of the Hotels of the Disneyland Resort and their special decorations. Five weeks ago we celebrated holidays around the world with the children of It’s a Small World Holiday. We followed that up with a visit to the playful, colorful, wacky city of Mickey’s Toontown. We reveled in the pageantry of A Christmas Fantasy Parade and Believe…In Holiday Magic Fireworks. We got a glimpse of some tempting Holiday Treats and Treasures to eat and purchase. Last week we enjoyed the season, cowboy & critter-style, in Frontierland and Critter Country.

Including today’s theme, there are 9 themes to come over the next two weeks: 3 weekly Monday countdowns for 10/31, 11/7 and 11/14, and 6 “mini-themes” – one each day, from 11/8-11/13, leading up to the season’s start date.
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So, that said....since today is Halloween, what better way to recognize all things spooky AND all things merry than by celebrating a little tale of two holidays colliding?

In the Spotlight this Week......

HAUNTED MANSION HOLIDAY and...
NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS!!!​

Eighteen years ago, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” - a fable about what can go wrong when Halloween and Christmas collide - introduced us to Jack Skellington, the wiry Pumpkin King of Halloween Town.

After catching a glimpse of the festivities enjoyed by the residents of Christmas Town, Jack yearns for a way to incorporate a little bit of Yuletide spirit into everyday life in his own spooky city…an idea that doesn’t exactly sit well with its various ‘offbeat’ citizens.

Needless to say, Jack Skellington’s well-meaning but misguided mission begins and chaos ensues, including a kidnapped Santa Claus (“Sandy Claws”), several ‘shocking’ Christmas presents and their horrified recipients…and a roly poly, bright green Oogie Boogie.

In the end, things get back to normal in both holiday villages, and Santa even delivers a little bit of Christmas magic to the various befuddled, creepy creatures of Halloween Town. (And Jack Skellington finds romance with Sally, the rag doll creation of a local doctor.)

In 2001, Jack Skellington left his mark on Disneyland’s venerable Haunted Mansion ride for the very first time, and Haunted Mansion Holiday was born. Lasting from mid-September through early January, this extremely popular overlay is a signature holiday attraction, drawing in large crowds every year for both Halloween Time and the Christmas season at the Disneyland Resort.

The concept of Haunted Mansion Holiday invites us to imagine what would happen if Jack Skellington took over the existing Mansion and infused some Christmas merriment into it. While there is some controversy over the theme of Haunted Mansion Holiday and how well it actually fits or does not fit in with the Halloween and/or Christmas seasons in the park – or how well “Nightmare Before Christmas” fits in to the Disney family at all, for that matter – there is no question that the attention to detail in this transformation of a longstanding, beloved park attraction is exceptional. There are Skellington-ized accents everywhere, from the cemetery, light fixtures and shrubbery in the outdoor queue, to the famous ballroom scene inside…which features a most interesting and menacing gingerbread creation as the table’s centerpiece (there’s a new one made every year!). Almost no corner of the ride is left untouched, which explains the nearly 3-week time frame it takes to install the makeover. Love it or hate it, most people will agree that it is truly a spectacle.

Because of the immense popularity of Haunted Mansion Holiday and the “Nightmare Before Christmas” story in general, there is a strong presence of Nightmare merchandise in Disneyland, particularly in New Orleans Square, home of Haunted Mansion/Haunted Mansion Holiday. You will also find a few Skellington-esque decorations here and there, in shop displays and hanging on walls.



Please feel free to post your Disneyland Resort photos of Haunted Mansion Holiday/Nightmare Before Christmas all this week…..and...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!
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Haunted Mansion Holiday...

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Coming up in Post #2 of this week’s countdown theme, I will feature some of the “Nightmare Before Christmas” details and decorations around Disneyland Resort…

 

[Sherry E]

Post #2 –

The “Nightmare Before Christmas” in Disneyland…

Halloween Round-Up in Disneyland...

Well…since he is wearing a Santa hat….I guess this is supposed to be a Jack Skellington-esque pumpkin?​

Why are they hanging with Maleficent? I have no idea...​

Nightmare Before Christmas tree in World of Disney...​

In-Store Decorations...​

Merchandise...​

​

 

[jacs1234]

Last Christmas we were FREEZING at night. We wished we'd had scarfs and gloves. The hoods on our jackets were necessary. If we hadn't of had hoods we would have bought beanies. (don't know what you guys call them but they're the warm knitted hats). We're from Australia and have been a few times but last year seemed colder than other years. The year before during fantasmic my daughters sweater wasn't enough for her so I took mine off and put it on her. That left me with a short sleeve shirt and it was really, really uncomfortable and cold, though I didn't complain because that's what mothers do.

Although during the day you can get away with shorts and t-shirts and it can get quite warm.

Oh the pictures make me so excited!!! I love the one with the snow flakes on top of the entrance!! Thinking about snow flakes has got me thinking about weather. I know it is unpredictable but can any locals help me out? My daughter gets cold at around 70 and I'm worried that we won't have any winter gear that is warm enough. What have the last Christmases been like? That being said I'm begging for the weather to cool down. It is 90 degrees here in Phoenix and Halloween is tomorrow!!

 

[jacs1234]

Sherry there are so many details in you photo's that I haven't noticed at the parks before. Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to look out for them when I'm there.

 

[PlutoIsHere]

One of my favorite rides, and the very same ride on which my father proposed to my mom! Thanks for the awesome post and pictures Sherry!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Good theme today. The HMH is always looks great during the Holiday season as well as the Halloween season.

Did you read the Dateline Disneyland on MC today Sherry? Even though that NOS doesn't have the same old strings of Christmas lights over the ally, they just put a simple string of lights over the ally. I don't know that it will light up the ally at night like it did in the past, but we will see. I'm hoping that DL won't tune down the Holiday decorations at NOS this year as they did last year.

Here are my pics of the HMH

This year

November last year

 

[nicolispicoli]

Loving this theme Sherry!! Great job once again!

Getting SOOOOOOOO excited!! Our trip is in less than two weeks and cannot come soon enough!

Holiday tour is booked and even booked Fantasmic (1st time seeing it!) premium viewing for our trip. I am a little wary of WoC, but might give the picnic a try. The only bummer is that decorations won't be up at DLH when we're staying.

I even bought the most adorable mickey/minnie mistletoe christmas tee from Target! Can't wait!!

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

LOVE the pictures Sherry. I have never seen/noticed a lot of those little details before!

Here are our Haunted Mansion Holiday souveniers....

 

[pattyduke34]

Wow! Love this weeks theme Sherry! Wonderful photos...you always give me ideas of things to look for. It seems that before I have always missed all the little details. After all your wonderful info on this board, I am going to be sure to slow down and take in all those little details and just absorb the Christmas Magic! Thanks again Sherry for all that you do on here, I know it is going to make my trip this year more magical!

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Here are a few, I have more of inside somewhere.

 

[I'm mikey]

Here's a few pics from 2010.

 

[rentayenta]

Oh Sherry : Fab-u-lous!!!




We watched The NBC this weekend all while eating our popcorn out of our Jack Skillington coffin popcorn buckets.


I have some pics at home that I will share either later tonight or tomorrow morning.

 

[Jillchristina]

Great theme! We just watched Nightmare Before Christmas the other night to prepare for our up coming trip. The children had seen it recently but I hadn't watched it in years. Can't wait to experience the changed Mansion!

 

[larina]

What great pictures everyone! Thanks!!!! Just keeps getting better and better!

 

[dalstitch45]

These are great pictures. Thanks again Sherry. I cannot wait to have some memories of my own. December is coming up shortly. I can't wait to post some pictures.

I am going to try asking this again, and hopefully some of you experts can tell me. We decided to go to DLR resort the 1st week of December. The CP is that weekend, and we want to book the Holiday Tour. Is it better to wait later in the week when it is not so busy, or book the tour December 3rd or the 4th. Should I book the first or second tour of the day. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[DianaSparrow]

These are great pictures. Thanks again Sherry. I cannot wait to have some memories of my own. December is coming up shortly. I can't wait to post some pictures.

I am going to try asking this again, and hopefully some of you experts can tell me. We decided to go to DLR resort the 1st week of December. The CP is that weekend, and we want to book the Holiday Tour. Is it better to wait later in the week when it is not so busy, or book the tour December 3rd or the 4th. Should I book the first or second tour of the day. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

We have never done the Holiday Tour, but have done other tours. We found that when it's busy and we did a Tour, it took the stress out of managing the crowds. So, I would say take advantage of the tour during a busy, crowded day, instead of when there are less crowds and shorter lines.

 

[Sherry E]

These are great pictures. Thanks again Sherry. I cannot wait to have some memories of my own. December is coming up shortly. I can't wait to post some pictures.

I am going to try asking this again, and hopefully some of you experts can tell me. We decided to go to DLR resort the 1st week of December. The CP is that weekend, and we want to book the Holiday Tour. Is it better to wait later in the week when it is not so busy, or book the tour December 3rd or the 4th. Should I book the first or second tour of the day. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

dalstitch45 -

You're welcome - and thank you for your kind comments! I really appreciate it!

I just wanted to quickly throw in my 2 cents on your tour question.

I have to agree with DianaSparrow. I have not done the tour yet myself - and this year will probably not be the year I do it unless a big block of time opens up in my trip schedule - but if I were to do it I am pretty sure I would do it during a busier time so I could feel like I spent my money wisely as I marched right onto IASWH and HMH while the masses of people were waiting to get on.

If it was a slower day in the park and the lines for those rides were minimal, I would feel like the value of the tour had decreased a bit for me because getting ahead in line would be almost unnecessary. I think it's just a mental thing - I would feel like I was getting an overall greater value in taking the tour if I did it while the park was crowded. I know it sounds silly, but that's how I would view it. I would trick myself into believing that, anyway!

As for which time slot to take the tour - I would definitely go with the last tour of the day, because it would put you at IASWH when the lights on the facade turn on in the 5 p.m. hour, and it would be a way to see it lit up in colors and get on the ride at the same time, whereas if you did the first tour of the day you would get on IASWH, of course, but it wouldn't be lit up and you'd still have to go back to see it at night (and the crowds that congregate around IASWH at night can be crazy!).

I don't know if that helps in any way, but that's what I would do!

I will be braving the Candlelight Processional crowds too - I am due to arrive on December 4th. But I am actually going on that date to try to catch the CP, because it looks like a lovely ceremony.

 

[DisneyIsMagical]

Beautiful HMH pics everyone! The last pic I got of HMH was Sept. of 2009 when it was closed for the holiday makeover

I am really hoping I can pop in here a few times during my trip to give updates and such (still not sure if I'm going to bring my laptop or if I will just use the GC concierge computer). If anyone is interested at all on "real time" updates, I know I will be facebooking throughout the days/ night while in the park, what else would I be doing while waiting in lines Send me a PM to add me on FB if you want.

The "real" countdown starts! OMG!!!

 

[dwheatl]

I have just one picture for this theme. During a short stint as a redhead, I had to pose for a picture with Sally.