I love summer,for many reasons and don't want to rush through it, but I am with you Sherry on this one.
I get so excited to see the Halloween items hit the stores in August, It gives me time to shop for decor, plan for costumes and don't get me started on Pumpkin Lattes. I hoard Pumpkin Ale and Octoberfest beer. Lol
Same with Christmas, I like to purchase an ornament or two when I visit DLR. I also do a lot of DIY for the holidays so begging in July allows time for planning and crafting.
Bring it on I am ready!!!
Pinup Mommy --
That's a good point too -- the DIY folks. I think that not only are people getting more elaborate with decorations and events for Halloween and Christmas, there are also many more people who are crafting and making a lot of things at home for the season (even making gifts, of course), and it helps to be able to buy supplies and accessories or whatever you'd need for those projects early on.
Noooo, I didn't know that was one that decorated for the holidays, my daughter was just looking forward to the ride! I am so happy that we will see some holiday décor.
Another question - we RARELY rope drop at WDW because when we go it is usually 7 or so. According to touringplans the estimated park opening is 10, with 9 for resort guests. How crowded will that be, due to the later start - or is it mitigated since it is during mid-week in mid November?
LilyRos --
For some weird reason, Disney doesn't really advertise the teeny decorations on the cottages. It's not really a spectacular overlay like It's a Small World Holiday is, but it is definitely cute. The Storybook Land boats usually close down for a bit of time, and sometimes they seem to be open for the start of the season, while other times they may open like a week or two later. I can't figure out that schedule.
If it is mid-week, I don't
think it will be too terribly crowded on those mornings, especially if the seasonal entertainment has not yet begun (though I suspect that IASW Holiday will be open by 11/13). In fact, the 10 a.m. opening time would actually indicate that it is a day/week that Disney doesn't expect it to be as crowded as other times.
Sherry, the section of Michaels I went to had only Lemax Spooky Town buildings and accessories. I didn't have time to check out the whole store, so I'm hoping they have Dept. 56 elsewhere or get it soon. They had a large display featuring many of the animated characters and light-up buildings. Really neat and I wanted to buy everything. Lucky for me, or maybe not so lucky, I decided to use a
Nightmare Before Christmas theme for my village, so many of the Lemax and Dept. 56 buildings won't fit in, at least not for now. But they have so many accessories like trees, street lamps, and park benches that will look great. I've been collecting the Hawthorne Village NBX houses and train set for some time now, and have enough to finally put them on display. My biggest fear of setting this thing up is my cat Ike. He is affectionately known as The Destructor.
I think the reason I love Halloween so much is that I am basically a Fall/Winter kind of person. The awful heat we have in Texas contributes to that, but I prefer cooler weather. Seeing the Halloween and Christmas items show up in the stores signals the change of season, but I do sometimes think the stores jump the gun a bit, especially when summer weather goes well into October. It was 100 degrees outside yesterday when I visited Michaels, and will still be almost that hot when we start to hear "Let it Snow" playing in the background.
Axlcat --
I remember that several years ago Michael's carried the same Halloween village/carnival pieces that were in Dept. 56, but I lost track of what they carry now. I love Halloween and Christmas villages, though!
Many, many years ago there was a whole set of Toontown houses with mini Christmas lights (Goofy's House, City Hall, Mickey's House, etc.). You'd flip the switch and they'd light up. There was also a replica of the fountain in Toontown. I only got two of the Toontown houses in the set but I loved them. There was also a Haunted Mansion Holiday house too, as well as a regular Haunted Mansion model.
And, within the last few years, there was a whole Main Street collection sold for the holidays, with replicas of the Emporium, the Fire Station and maybe City Hall (I can't recall, because I didn't get any of those pieces).
I totally agree -- I am a Fall/Winter person. Any kind of heat bothers me -- I'm even miserable if it is just 80 degrees outside, and I've always been like that (even since childhood). So, usually around this time in the Summer I am over it and ready to move on to the next season!
When I see little signs of Halloween and/or the holidays pop up in the stores early (even if it's just something small like a bag of seasonal candy), to me it is an indicator that the seasons will be changing in the not too distant future, just as you said.
The actual weather and temperatures will not herald a changing of the seasons for me -- sometimes we don't get the Fall weather until late November or early December and sometimes we don't get the Winter weather until February! So I have to rely on any kind of visual signs that the seasons will be changing, and that could be a bag of White Chocolate Candy Corn M&Ms or it could be a pile of leaves all over the ground. A Halloween village wouldn't hurt though!
Thank you! I'm glad I can join again, especially because of how much we loved
Disneyland at Christmas! And I am VERY excited about the Theme Week Countdown... I will most definitely participate whenever I can!!
Your threads are fabulous and so full of great information, so thank you again!
Yeah, we enjoyed the Holiday Tour but I think it was more geared towards people who weren't Disney fanatics. There were a lot of fun facts that my husband and I already knew for one reason or another. Add in the fact that it was POURING during our tour, plus they canceled the parade so we missed out on that, and I think it just made me feel pretty "meh" about the tour, especially at the price they charge. I have a feeling, though, that if the parade had happened, I would probably still feel meh about the tour, but the VIP seating for the parade would be worth it.
I am super excited about staying at GC, and I agree, I wish the decorations were up in the resort while we're there!
We were there during the first night of the CP and it was just so busy! We eventually left DL for CA and it was MUCH better over in CA. But I'm looking forward to hopefully avoiding crowds while we're there. I do think we'll run into some on Saturday, just because it's the weekend and the beginning of the holidays, but nothing like the CP crowds.
Yeah, that is frustrating! Like why must they change the dates after printing them?! Really tough for those of us who have to plan our vacation many months in advance. As you can see, a LOT of people are going to be disappointed because they will barely miss the holiday season by a day or two.
We LOVED IASWH! Oh my gosh, it was just beautiful. I am very excited to see it again with everything lit up! It was definitely one of my favorite things in the park during the holidays!
And yes, the majority of our trip will have decorations and festivities! We are arriving in the early afternoon on Wednesday the 13th, so we'll have that day and Thursday to enjoy the parks with probably lower crowds before the holidays start and things get busier on Friday and Saturday. I'm so excited!
danimaroo --
Thank you again for the kind words!
Oh, I was/am sooooooo annoyed at Disney for releasing that darn
Backstage Pass newsletter/magazine with an incorrect start date for Mickey's Halloween Party
and (apparently) an incorrect start date for the holiday season. They did, however, print the correct start date for Halloween Time in general. The fact that they printed two incorrect dates is very unlike Disney. Normally they do not release any dates for Halloween Time and the holidays until they are set in stone, even if we have to wait months and months to hear about them.
So I can only assume that someone jumped the gun in releasing the
BP newsletter without double checking the dates first...
or, those were the intended dates at one time, but the dates changed after
BP went to press. In any case, I don't think Disney realizes that people do plan way, way in advance -- even for Disneyland trips! That 3-day difference in the start date of the season may end up having an impact on certain folks' trips, if they can't see the Christmas parade or the holiday fireworks and snow on Main Street!
But I do think that IASWH will be up and running a couple of days early, at least (probably by 11/13) and if Disney can work quickly in setting everything up for the holidays, maybe, just maybe, they can actually have some things running on 11/12 (since they printed that date in
BP).
I think that, for me, a huge selling point of the holiday tour would be the seats for the parade -- so to not be able to take advantage of that tour perk would definitely make me think that I didn't completely get what I paid for.
I look forward to your participation in the Theme Week Countdwn! This year there will be 20 themes over the course of 3 months (from 8/5 to 11/4). Thirteen of those themes will be weekly themes (which will be posted/set up by me every Monday), and 6 of those themes (in the week leading up to 11/4) will be daily mini-themes. The final theme will be on 11/4.
For every theme week you participate in, you'll get an entry into the random draw for a $25 Disney Gift Card. So if you enter in all 20 themes you'd get 20 entries. If you only have photos for 10 of the themes you'd get 10 entries. Some folks may have photos for one theme and that will be one entry, but at least it is a guaranteed entry.
The people who do not have photos to contribute can enter the code word challenge, in which they locate the not-so-hidden code word in each of my theme introductions and at the end of the Countdown in early November,
whoever is the first person to post the complete list of code words for each theme, in the correct order, along with their corresponding themes,
and the Christmas song to which all of the code words belong...will win the second $25 Disney gift card.
So the random draw is random, but the more themes everyone participates in by posting photos (and it can be just one photo or it can be multiple photos -- it's up to you all how many you post), the more entries you get. One entry per theme. The code word challenge is going to be based on locating the words, keeping them in order along with their themes, figuring out the song and being the first one to post that info! Speed will be essential!!
All of that fun begins in 3 days!!!
I don't mind the heat so much, but combined with high humidity, which we tend to get as I live on an island attached to the mainland by a series of bridges and a tunnel, it can get downright muggy at times. Our other greyhound Catie, the loud noises don't bother her at all, which is nice. Safe to say we are all looking forward towards the cooler weather that will start happening towards the end of next month. I'm also looking forward to the kids going back to school next month. As much as I love them, we all drive each other crazy when summer break is on.
Trish --
If you live anywhere near water -- and it sounds like you do -- that can definitely kick up the humidity.
I'm with you -- cooler weather will be nice. I think we here in SoCal will still have to go through a phase where it is really, really, really hot -- this week, it is below average in terms of temperatures -- before any significant Fall weather kicks in. It will have to get worse before it gets better. It's too comfortable for August right now...which probably means that September will be a beast.
Yeah, I'm not sure why DF is starting to back out on me, but he's a bit of a pushover so I think I can convince him in time.
Michael's has the stuff to build your own Halloween village?? Am I reading this right? I love those and have always wanted to do my own! There's a restaurant close to my house that does the whole village each holiday season, its so impressive and fun I can never stop staring... there's a Michael's right by me, too! I'm going to have to check that out now.
And Sherry, you're so lucky you live close to The Grove (despite the annoying fireworks)! I love that shopping center. We usually have to go there every time we visit LA because my nieces are obsessed with the American Girl Store. Haha
Lucrezia --
I think you can buy Halloween village things at Michael's!
I love The Grove, and I love that it is so close to me. I love both The Grove and Farmers Market next to it. Farmers Market (which is a historical landmark in L.A.) has a lot of good food made by small family-run businesses, and The Grove is just a nice place to go and spend a few hours. It's a good place for celebrity watching. They added in a Sprinkles Cupcakes last year. "Extra" tapes there. There is the nice fountain. And The Grove is beautiful during the holiday season -- primarily at night. They have a giant tree and all kinds of twinkling lights and snowfall every night.
I don't even mind the loud fireworks on that one night every year in November, because at least we get a letter from The Grove to alert us that the fireworks are coming. It's not a surprise when they happen (which is always after 9 p.m., on a Sunday night, and the fireworks last for maybe 10 or 15 minutes), but they are definitely loud enough to wake the dead!
Isn't The Grove one of the only places in Southern California to have an American Girl store? I thought I recalled someone telling me that at one point.
Do you guys think there will be any downtime of WOC to get the new Winter Dreams or whatever going? Or did they do something regarding this when it was shut down in February.
dtnrhi --
We can't be sure, of course, but supposedly World of Color is set up so that it can easily and quickly transition into a holiday version. I think it has already been tested a bit, just recently. I would think that if it were down at all, it might just be for one day leading up to it. But even that is a stretch, though. I'm not sure it would be down at all. To me it seems like World of Color could just go from the regular version to the holiday version in 24 hours, but I could be very wrong.
Honestly, I keep thinking that Disney may be trying to get Winter Dreams open earlier than 11/15, to take advantage of the Veterans Day holiday crowds over the previous weekend. It is possible that it could soft open before 11/15. There may be some sort of Annual Pass holder preview or something. I can see Disney doing something like that.
Yes, you are right with the Halloween thread, that was two years ago!
I'm here often, but I don't write a lot.
I also think that we will love it, can't wait to see all the photos!
That sounds good, so we did choose a good time to come to California. I would love to see the Candlelight Ceremony!
I'm sure we will!
Orbitron --
Yes, I think you chose a good time to come to California and to Disneyland. As the photos begin to roll in over the next few months, you will see that there is a lot to look forward to on your December trip!
Wow, just found this thread and it rocks!! I am so glad I found it. Thanks to all who have contributed! We are hoping to be visiting CA for Christmas and I can't resist trying to convince DH to spend Christmas Day at DL!!
winkytink --
Welcome! I'm so glad you joined us.
Starting in 3 days (Mon., August 5th) we will begin the 3rd Annual Theme Week Countdown, which will basically last for 3 months and focus on different aspects -- or "themes" -- of the Disneyland Resort Holiday season, in photos (and I give a bit of an intro to each theme to start it off).
So you picked a good time to join -- just in time for the photos to start flowing! (And, of course, in between themes we will be discussing any breaking news, rumors or info about the season as it comes in.)
Hopefully the theme Week Countdown can help to convince your DH to spend Christmas at DL!
So is this 100% confirmed that they have changed the Official change over from Nov 12 to 15th? We are booked at the Hojo with 50% off rate for the week of 9-16th, I just called to see if they have it for the following week (which actually works better since airfare is $400 cheaper) but they don't have any rooms at that rate. GRRRRR now do we go with the original dates, and get 1 day of change over (since 16th is our flight date) and save money
Hello,
mrwinky!
I don't trust Disney and the info that they release now, but yes -- it appears that November 15th is the start date. Disneyland News is a website that posts press releases, and the Winter Dreams-related press release that is dated 7/25/13 states that 11/15 is the start date...whereas the Annual Pass
Backstage Pass newsletter said 11/12 was the date.
I think that It's a Small World Holiday will open a couple of days early. It usually does. Of course, Haunted Mansion Holiday will be open too.
It's the other entertainment that is the question, like the parade, fireworks, snow, Winter Castle lighting at night, Jingle Jangle Jamboree, etc. In the past 2 years, the holiday fireworks soft opened early when the season started on a Monday. The fireworks would begin on the weekend prior to the start date. This year, because the season supposedly is starting on a Friday once again (which is what used to happen pre-2011), I think that the fireworks
may begin early, and I even think that Winter Dreams
may begin a little early...but there is no way to know for sure if that will happen until we get to maybe a week or two before that point.
We are staying at HoJo's with the same deal the 11th-16th and are a little frustrated with the date change too (cant change our vacation dates though) but I figure almost all of the decorations will be up, and in the past, it looks like a lot has been soft opened. I am trying to not be annoyed and just know that no matter what, it will be a fun trip
wildflower329 --
Good outlook! Yes, all of the decorations will be up (minus maybe a couple of small things), and IASWH will likely soft open on 11/13 or 11/14. I would be shocked if it did not open early, because it always does (no matter which day of the week the season starts). Hopefully other things will be running a bit early as well (I think that's the least Disney can do, after that goof on the dates!).
And you will at least get one full day (11/15) of the official season, so you can plan your time accordingly, to squeeze in as much on that day as possible!
In the most recent AP Backstage Pass newsletter/magazine, the start date was printed as Tuesday, 11/12. Now 
