I'm mikey --
Fantastic, stunning photos as always! You've got a second entry into the random draw for the $25 Disney gift card!
We just got back from our summer vacation to Ohio (mainly a family visit sort of vacation but we also sneaked in a trip to Cedar Point).......anyway, I had to concentrate on getting that vacation over before I could fully commit to enjoy thinking about our Nov/Dec trip to DL....first DL trip for both hubby and I!
I'm reading every single post and have made my way to page 52
A few questions. We have a vacation package booked at PPH for the 10 days of our trip and it's so pricey! I intended to purchase at least one AP for myself so was hoping an AP discount would come up for our trip. What exactly is the benefit to having a package booked versus just having a hotel only trip booked? The price difference is significant and I can't see where it's a deal to have the package (especially given the fact it only includes a 5 day PH)? If we stay at PPH and purchase APs do we still get in early for the extra hour on given days?
Have there been any AP discounts announced for Nov 29-Dec 9? I can't look up any information online without inputting an AP # that doesn't exist yet
Thanks for any help!
Also, what is Limited Time Magic? Who is offered this?
Hi,
Kathy!
Welcome! I'm glad you made your way over here -- although you went above and beyond the call reading the first 52 pages! I would have thought maybe a glance down the first page and then a glance at the last couple of pages would be enough. But you actually made great progress -- we started this year's Theme Week Countdown on page 62 (just last week). So you're almost caught up to last week. Between page 62 and the page we are currently on, the majority of posts has largely been photos so there won't be much more to read.
I actually thought of you recently (before you posted in the Check-In/Post Your Dates thread). I hadn't seen any posts from you in a while and I wondered if your December trip was still happening or if it had been canceled. I'm glad to hear that it is still on!
If you stay at the PPH (and for 10 days -- yikes! That's costly!) as hotel guests you will get in early to either
Disneyland or California Adventure on every day that the Extra Magic Hour is offered during your stay (including your arrival day and check-out day). Also, if you have Park Hoppers of 3 days or more you can get in early on one day.
Personally, I have not bought one of the Walt Disney Travel Company packages since 2007. All of my reservations have been the room-only kind since then, and those can be made either by calling Disney Reservations or booking online. I usually call. In the old, old days of packages (like back in the late '90s and early 2000's), they saved money as opposed to buying tickets and rooms separately. Now it is more beneficial to get them separately, I feel.
Also, packages tend to have more restrictions on them as to how much time you have before you can cancel or or make changes to your booking without a penalty. With the room-only reservations you can cancel or make changes all the way up to 5 days before your arrival date without any kind of penalty. There's more leeway for those sudden emergencies that can come up.
I guess the only perk of getting the packages is that you usually get little 'extras' -- like they may throw in a free pin or lanyard. They may throw in a free bag. That kind of thing.
I haven't seen any good discounts come up
yet for dates that would include yours. The "good rates" for AP holders used to come out 3 months in advance. Nowadays, the rates are not as "good" at all anymore, and when they do come out on the AP hotel calendar or through some other kind of Disney offer, it is usually in the Fall.
I have seen certain discounts that lasted as far as up to the weekend before Christmas, so IF any discounts come up they would cover your dates for sure! They may pop up on the actual Disneyland website at some point. Maybe on the AP hotel calendar. Maybe through Disney Destinations.
Limited Time Magic is the promotional "theme" for 2013 that was announced towards the end of last year, in which both Disneyland Resort and WDW have short little themed celebrations for like a week or a day! DLR did some stuff for Easter and Valentine's Day. Last month there was a "Christmas in July" theme at DLR. Next month, on Friday the 13th, there will be a Limited Time Magic Villains event at DLR. Earlier this year there was a celebration of Greek food, music and dance called "Opa!" There was also "Long Lost Friends Week," in which rare characters came out to greet guests. There have been others too.
That sort of thing. So I think that Disney will tie in the Limited Time Magic theme to the holiday season in some way, but I'm not sure how yet. There is a Limited Time Magic page somewhere on the Disneyland Resort website -- I think the link may be towards the bottom of the DLR page, if I recall.
As I slowly process our impending arrival, I was so looking forward to seeing F!. Then I realize that my visit is M-TH starting December 16th. Is F! even going to be shown then during the week or does peak season (and mid-week showings) not start until the next week? TIA!
ETA: Oh, and random thing for Sherry and her love of peppermint. These treats are ridiculously easy to make up and so tasty. Take pretzel rods (or any kind of pretzels really but rods are easy to handle). Melt down some white almond bark in a double boiler (just use a bowl over a simmering pan of water). Crush up some candy canes. Dip the pretzel rod in the melted white almond bark and roll in the crush candy canes and let harden. Sweet, salty and minty. Mmmmmm. And they look fabulous too!
Pesky --
I
think -- and I could be wrong -- that by the time of your trip it is likely that F! will be showing at least one of your nights, if not more.
Here is why I think that. When I had my disastrous trip in December 2011 (very first week of that month), I recall that my friend from out of state was mentioning wanting to see F! I know that we looked at the park hours and saw that F! was scheduled for Thursday of that week -- and possibly even Wednesday. And again, that was the very first week of December.
Last year was all thrown off because of the many nights of the Candlelight Ceremony, so that schedule was out of the ordinary. Since you will be going a good two weeks after I went in 2011, and the crowds will only have picked up a little bit by the time of your trip, I have to think that you'll get at least one night of F! and maybe more than one. It
might even be running every night at that point. Usually, around the mid-December point is when the F! schedule picks up, I think.
Bret/mvf-m11c can confirm or deny that, but I think that's how it goes.
The peppermint pretzel rods sound delicious and easy to make -- and like the perfect thing to make on a cold day, to go with a nice cup of cocoa!! Yum!!
You are so right, Sherry E!
I am thinking "Why don't I have pictures from/ of________?"
For the last few years I have been a premium AP holder, gone to MHP 2011 & 2012 and planning for 2013 . Just NOW do I realize I should have a lot more photos and overlooked some really fantastic treats.
Your Super Threads, as I have stated before, have completely inspired me to do a better job of capturing those little details. I have created a spread sheet of all that I need to see, do and eat this holiday season.
The reason I joined the DISboards last year was because I was planning a
DCL cruise. Who knew this Disneyland local of 35+ years still had so much to learn.....
Thank you!
Ysell
Thank you again for the kind words,
Pinup Mommy!
I am glad to have provided a place that helps inspire everyone in some small way!
I don't think that, when I was visiting Disneyland as a small child, I would have ever expected that I would be wandering around the parks one day, snapping photos of trees, wreaths and masks!
My earlier visions of DL trips probably only involved riding rides and meeting characters. It's interesting how we -- as longtime Disneyland vets -- start to 'see' the park in new ways as we get older and our interests broaden, isn't it?
It can be tough to focus on details and notice a lot of the little things when we are with people. We're busy enjoying the company of whoever we are with, and the details take a back seat. When I finally started wandering around on my own at DLR a few years ago, I could get in the zone and start reallllly paying attention.
I must say, though, that it is hilarious at times when I stop to try to get an even halfway decent picture of something or another -- like a mask in New Orleans Square -- and someone nearby sees me and is totally baffled and confused at what I am intently trying to get a photo of!
Last year I was staring and focusing and staring and focusing on one particular mask in NOS, trying to get the photo cropped the way I wanted it, and not too distant. There was a guy sitting on a bench next to the post that had the mask on it. He saw me repeatedly trying to get this one shot. Then, another girl came up and took a photo of the same mask! Finally the guy on the bench got up and looked at the mask to see what all the fuss was about!
He said something along the lines of, "What are they taking pictures of," as though he wanted to make sure he wasn't missing anything good.
And then he saw that it was just a mask.
Other times I have been taking pictures of flowers or plants, or window displays on Main Street, and people will comment and look completely puzzled!
They cannot figure out what it is that is so interesting. I try to tell them that I am paying attention to the details and they look even more confused!
Ahhh...but, those photos come in handy for setting up these little theme weeks down the road! So there is a method to my madness!
Disney Liz --
I agree. I think that holiday photos are great fun to look at and they are mood-enhancing, for sure! Also -- and maybe I am mainly humoring myself by doing it this way -- I think the themes add a whole new spin to these different aspects of DLR. When the photos are grouped together and packaged into specific themes, they seem to look different than they would have if presented a different way, and they really help to showcase all of the wonderful details around the parks.
(This thread has jumped up from 39,000-ish views not too many weeks ago to around 59,000-ish now, so I am guessing that there are quite a few folks who like this thread too, hanging out in the shadows!)
I can't wait to see the theme weeks ahead! And I love having this to help pass the time until our trip, so thank you!
Jamie --
Thank you for being a part of it as well! It is good to have something to pass the time and make the holidays seem not so far away.
I think there will be some very easy themes for everyone, and then there will be a few that will probably bring everything to a screeching halt!
People will be saying, "Hmmm...I don't think I have any of those photos..." It never fails. There are always a couple of themes for which no one seems to have any pictures. But maybe this year we won't run into that roadblock.
I'm glad these Theme Weeks are a hit. So far, we've had much more activity in this thread between last week's theme and this week's theme than in previous years when we were only two weeks/Themes into the Countdowns. 
