I think it will be a few years as for my holidays next year I'm taking my mum to Singapore and Hong Kong for her 70th birthday- she is dying to see the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore so I thought I'd use my frequent flyer points and take her as long as we could have a few days in HK so I can visit HKDL again (although I think she'll love both HK and Disneyland too- her first Disney park!). Then the following year I'm considering a trip to London to visit a friend who has gotten married and had two kids since I last saw her- of course with a trip to Paris to see the only park I haven't been to, and if Shanghai is finished I'll try and fit that in on the way home! My trip to Tokyo in 2011 was fantastic and I'd love to go back and see more of Japan, but I may try and fit a US trip in too if I can....This year I'll be in SFC from 11/16, then flying down to Anaheim on the morning of the 21st and flying home to Australia on the night of the 24th, so three nights, two full days and two part days.
I absolutely agree about the party- in DL not worth it, but DCA YES!! I'm really surprised Mad T Party hadn't crossed your mind, I thought I'd be the last to think of that one! The 'pockets of Christmas fun' I was thinking along the lines of they could do retro style festivities in BVS, a street party in Carsland etc, that sort of thing, lots of different activities that would spread out the crowds but also give people lots of options for entertainment. I went to the party at WDW last Christmas and although I had fun, it just felt like all it was was a parade and fireworks with free cookies and really nothing geared towards adults. I know Christmas is geared more towards kids and families but surely I'm not the only adult that visits without kids and would like a bit more diversity in the party offerings, and that would be possible at DCA.
Gosh, what year did I see Dick Van Dyke? Had to go back through my pins to find the CP one I bought on the night - it was 2005. It was my second visit to DL, the first was in 1999, and it was the visit that cemented my love of Disney parks. There was a lot of advertising here for the 50th anniversary and I just had to go see it for myself! Every time I've visited one of the parks it's been at Christmas (apart from HK which was during Halloween which was hilarious, but that's a whole other story...) back to the topic of the CP, I had no idea it was on or what it was. I'd walked in to the park one evening and there was ropes and people everywhere so I asked a CM what was happening and when she explained I had to stay and see it for myself. Seeing the carollers walking down Main st brought tears to my eyes and then suddenly Dick Van Dyke appeared! I couldn't believe it! I had a perfect view of him and was so excited - it was such a moving evening it would spoil it for me if they moved it.
Luisa -
Wow! You've got a lot of Disney fun to look forward to, even if you have to skip DLR for a few years! How exciting to be visiting all of the different Disney parks around the world. It must be great to go to each one and observe the differences in decor, in themes, in rides, in food and merchandise, etc.
I wonder if the tree and other decorations will be up in the Grand Californian by your last day. Normally the decorations would not go up in the hotels until the day after Thanksgiving and beyond, but since Thanksgiving is so late in November this year (11/28) I have a hunch that some of the holiday touches will be up a few days early. I do recall one year in recent history (sometime in the last 5 years) when a couple of folks reported seeing the GCH tree up before Thanksgiving. That's not the norm, but I guess it does happen every once in a while and it
may be based on how late in the month Thanksgiving falls.
You're not the only adult who goes to DLR without kids! Count me in that club too! The only time in recent years that I have been to DLR with a child was my (disastrous) December 2011 (fiasco of a) trip.
I totally forgot about the Mad T Party and how it could work into a Christmas party because I was focused on what could be done with WoC and also the possible Toy Story Midway Mania holiday overlay that was mentioned back when it first opened, 5 years ago! Supposedly, Mr. Potato Head already laid down his 'holiday banter and singing' tracks (and his Halloween banter too) way back when, and supposedly it would not take more than a few days to switch the games inside to holiday-themed games, but the holiday TSMM has not seen the light of day thus far.
I think I also blanked out on Mad T Party because I didn't get to see it last year. I put it on my list of possible things to do during my December 2012 trip but I made the Candlelight Ceremony my priority because I wasn't sure if it would be as easy (or free) to see the CP this year and I wanted to at least get in a couple of viewings of it.
If I'd had one more night at DLR I would definitely have tried to catch the holiday Mad T Party, but I'm glad I stuck with the CP! I was getting teary-eyed just watching it. The music was so lovely. The singers were so talented. It was a very haunting, intimate kind of performance in that spot and I think that if it were to relocate some of those elements would be lost. A five decades-long setting for a show is a very, very tough tradition to break...but I wonder if Disney will break it this year?
You know, if Disney had decided to have a Christmas party in Disneyland several years ago -- with the existing holiday parade, snowfall and holiday fireworks that so many people are now familiar with -- it would have made much more sense to me. But they waited so long to have this party -- we still don't know if there will be a party this year or not -- that I think it would just alienate all of the yearly repeat holiday visitors that they get to include the same old stuff in a hard ticket party. And let's face it -- they do get a lot of repeat holiday business. Plenty of families from both California and other states (or countries) make an annual holiday sojourn to DLR and have already seen the parade and fireworks multiple times.
Too much time has passed with those particular versions of the parade and fireworks to make them the main attractions of a hard ticket party, I think. To remove them from even part of the holiday season and hold them hostage to a paid party would make a lot of the loyal holiday guests annoyed, unless the crowds at the party were going to be very low. So the only options that would work for both old
and new holiday guests would be to add in something brand new and exclusive to a Disneyland party to get people to buy tickets, or to have the party in DCA.
You're absolutely right -- there could be themed stations set up on Buena Vista Street, in Cars Land and somewhere in the Hollywood area. Last year there were holiday lights on the Fun Wheel in Paradise Pier. They could set something up back there too. It could work.
The crowds when I went the first weekend of May was quite busy after Spring Break and before Memorial Weekend. It has been a long time since I have went in May and I was a little surprise to see that the parks were busy. I would say that the first week of December is better to visit than this weekend. The first week of December during the Holiday season is one of the best times to visit the DLR with low crowds.
I have stayed at BWPPI a lot of times in the past and I have never been disappointed with that hotel. It is by far the best hotel which is the closest to the DLR (if you don't count the DLR hotels). I don't like how they charge parking where some other hotels like Best Western Anaheim Inn (which is a few hotels down to BWPPI) doesn't charge for parking. But you can't be the location and the continental breakfast is better than a few years ago when I stayed at BWPPI. The pool at BWPPI is not that big and I don't care about swimming. So if you don't care about swimming and want a short walk to the DLR, this is the hotel to stay at.
I got my Annual Pass Backstage Pass calender/magazine today which I haven't got one in quite some time and it was neat to hear that the Holiday season will start on 11/12/13. It seems that they are starting the Holiday season one day later which the last few years have started on Monday.
I'm always looking forward to the Holiday season at the DLR especially with my DA. Even though I won't get to see the CP in November, I still like to go to the DLR in mid November just when it started. I would still prefer to go in December since it is magical and the DLR hotels are decorated where they aren't decorated right around Thanksgiving. This time is very interesting since her colleague at work wants to go to the DLR during the Holiday season with her daughter. This is not the same family that came with me during the January trip and my DA colleague daughter is 2 1/2 and will be making her first trip to the DLR and what better way to have her first visit at the DLR is during the Holiday season. We have a lot of planning to do.
Hi,
Bret!
I'm glad you had a moment to pop in and give some feedback. I figured you had been very busy with your new job lately, and hadn't gotten a chance to catch up.
Can you believe that the Halloween season start date, the MHP start date and the holiday season start date were all released at the same time in the
Backstage Pass magazine? You know that Disney never announces its holiday start date this early in the year!
Yes, you're right -- the season is beginning on a Tuesday, whereas for the last couple of years it has begun on a Monday. I've noticed that DLR never starts a season
on Veterans Day even if 90% of the decorations are up and some of the seasonal entertainment is already happening before Veterans Day!
Personally, I don't know why DLR switched the holiday season start dates from Fridays to Mondays (or Tuesdays). What was wrong with Fridays?
Most of the decor and some of the entertainment will be going on over the weekend of 11/8, 11/9 and 11/10. Why not just make 11/8 the season start date instead of the odd Tuesday date? Very strange!
Then again, if DLR is going to make 11/12 the start date of the season every year then it makes more sense. If we knew that the season would begin on the same date every year then it would be easier for folks to plan and there wouldn't be so much mystery!
Oh, so you'll be making another trip to DLR with a young child! You're right -- you have a lot of planning to do. You'll have to introduce your DA's colleague and daughter to things that you might ordinarily skip on your own trips, such as meeting Santa or decorating cookies! You'll have to see if Pixie Hollow once again has its winter overlay. I don't think the Storybook Land ride will be open by the time you take your trip, but it would be fun to ride that and see the tiny Christmas decorations.
I used to think that I would go to HoJo's first if I ever stay off-property, but I might venture over to BWPPI instead!
This is awesome though sadly, I don't think our plan to visit this December will come to fruition. I'll be right here reading and living it through you all.
Jenny -
Nooooooooooo! Say it isn't so! You don't think you can swing a couple of short days to see the fun BVS and CL holiday decor? Is it because it's going to be too hard to find lodging with the DVC points, or because your schedule won't allow? That's a shame. I was hoping you'd be able to pull it off.
I suppose liking corn dogs in the first place would be important for the enjoyment of a DL hot dog.
The special was one that focused on the flowers/trees/decorations around WDW. It was fascinating all that is done overnight.
As for the holiday tour booking up - I can't really answer that as I booked us the day we were able each time.
Nice to see the tread so active
TK -
The very early release of the season start date is the primary reason for the wave of sudden activity, I think! Who knew that we'd get a date confirmation this early in the year? The Halloween dates -- at least the MHP dates -- were expected to trickle out in May, but the holiday start date (especially seeing that it's a Tuesday) was a shock!! I kept thinking, "I must be reading this wrong. Is it possible that Disney has given us the date of the holiday season...in MAY? How can this be?"
So, that means they have something in the works, I think. Something different or new, like a Limited Time Magic holiday event of some kind, or a CP relocation, or a party. They want to let people know when the season starts now, so folks can begin to plan their trips.
Yes, definitely, if I liked corn dogs to begin with then I would love the ones at DLR. They are quite substantial. I have tried them. It was a lot of corn dog to eat for someone who doesn't like corn dogs!
I'll stick with my trusty peppermint ice cream from Gibson Girl and gingerbread cookies with mouse ears!!
I loved that HGTV flower-based special. That one is one of my favorites. I still have it saved on the DVR and I might just have to watch it again soon! I, of course, love any and all Disney Parks or Cruise Line specials on any channel, but my favorites are the ones that are specific to Disneyland (such as "
Guy's Disney Holiday" and "
Disneyland: Behind the Magic") and/or the ones that focus on very specific parts of the holiday season at WDW (such as the HGTV flower/garden holiday show and the food decorations-related show that Raven Symone hosted several years back).
I was telling Bret in his TR last week that the "
Disneyland: Behind the Magic" show that used to air on Travel Channel is now running on Destination America, and it has been updated to include much, much more coverage of DCA (with new Cars Land and Buena Vista Street footage). The old version of that show -- the one I originally saw like 6 years ago or before -- was mostly about DL with just some teeny DCA glimpses. Then it was updated to include some of the newer things that had opened up after that, and now it has been updated again to where DCA seems to be a major focus of the show. What's funny is that, in the updating of this Disneyland show with a heavier focus on DCA than in the past, someone in the editing booth failed to remove the footage of the Golden Gate Bridge and other things that are no longer in DCA!
Sure, they've got plenty of footage of DCA now, but they've also got stuff in there that has been gone for a while!
I think I might have to write a letter to whoever it is that produced that Disneyland special and edited it, to remind them that they are showing things that don't exist anymore.
I've decided to book the Holiday tour, and am planning to book it the day the booking window comes available. I'm also contemplating on making a reservation at the Blue Bayou for the last day of my trip.
Trish -
I think that's a good idea. While I can understand Pesky's hesitance to book the tour due to possible rain (I would probably be reluctant, myself), I think that if you know for sure you are doing the tour and the window to book it opens up, it's probably better to be safe than sorry and risk losing out on the time slot you want.
The BB would be a nice way to end your trip!
It looks like it may be a few years before I make it back to the US after my visit at the end of November so I want to pack in as much as possible and a Christmas party would top it off! I'd love to see them keep CP on Main st (the only time I've managed to catch it Dick Van Dyke was the host and the atmosphere and setting I thought were perfect- it really doesn't need to be moved) and CA would be a great setting for a Christmas party. It would be so easy to incorporate WOC and Mad T Party in to it and, to me, it seems a more obvious choice because there's more room to spread people out and have 'pockets' of Christmas fun.
There was no season end date in the Backstage Pass magazine because it only extended through the end of December, but I have to assume that the last day of the season would be Sunday, January 5, 2014 or Monday, January 6th.
