Liza --
You have so many great parade shots! The colors are so vivid and everything looks so festive! Thank you for keeping this thread infused with extra color and holiday-ness (because I think everyone else ran out of parade and fireworks shots early in the week!)
By the way, I think I forgot to mention a while back that
PHXscuba and
Mickeybell have each received another entry into the random draw! Of course, there will be a brand new theme tomorrow!
It won't mess up our vacation travel dates...but if I activate my AP in October and dh activates his on our trip in December mine will expire nearly 2 months before his. Of course, if he ended up wanting to visit the parks after his training days we'll have to get his AP early like mine......not an expense I'm prepared to do next month

I didn't even think about Halloween decorations at the parks...... I do like the idea of being able to visit next December too so if I activate my AP in October that pretty much cancels any hopes we would have of returning for Christmas time in 2014. We were already considering an end of May trip for my birthday. My birthday is on a tuesday so our APs would be good monday-friday that last week of May. I think it looks like we'll get good use out of those APs!
Kathy --
I totally and completely get it. Yes, the expense of buying two APs earlier than planned can be a problem! That's not something I would be able to do in a pinch if it came to that.
If you do decide to get your own AP and venture into DLR in October, then when and if it comes time to do a December 2014 trip you could always just buy a Hopper for yourself and use your DH's AP for the discounts.
Let me know if you decide to head to DLR next month so I can give you the Halloween Time breakdown!
I'll have to try and find that "100 Scariest Movie Moments"! Sounds like fun. One show I watch during the Halloween season is
Halloween Wars on Food Network. I don't why but it always gets me in "the mood" for Halloween lol. As for Christmas, I used to keep
'Twas the Night on my DVR year-round because of how much I loved it, so the last time I saw it on was two or three years ago. Back then, they aired it constantly (I even once caught it on in august!). But last year I had to get my DVR replaced and tried to find it to tape it again... only to see they weren't airing it. So, I'm not sure how long its not been shown, but I've been checking all year for it (yes, I'm that committed) and they still haven't shown it.

I literally fell into a depression about it, I was so upset! My fiancé must've thought I was crazy lol. Luckily I was able to find it on DVD and I would definitely recommend buying it to anyone inclined (or trying to find it on
YouTube, at the vey least). Its
insanely good. 
Your story about the ride over to DLR really was hilarious. I showed it to my fiancé Trent and he, too, LOL'd.

I'm so glad I was able to read your TRs now that they're deleted. What fun! They also really got me looking forward to the holidays... can't wait until I'm in Disneyland again...

And wow, all this talk about specials and movies has me craving to watch something holiday-themed!! (As a side note, Turner Classic Movies has some really good old-fashion Christmas films that are always fun... they air
Meet Me in St. Louis each year, and thats one of my very favorites.)


Lucrezia --
I love
Halloween Wars. It's amazing to see the artistry that goes into creating those elaborate displays, and how the pumpkin carvers, pastry chefs and candy makers work together.
October is usually when most of the good Halloween shows start airing -- or at the very, very end of September, like that
Halloween Night Frights that will run on Travel Channel. I would bet that Travel Channel will also start rerunning some of its older Halloween shows, such as
America's Scariest Halloween Attractions and
Halloween's Most Extreme. Also, look for a show on HGTV called
Halloween Tricked Out. Of course, there are Christmas versions of most of these shows as well.
Ugh. I know the pain of having to replace a DVR and losing everything saved on it. Some shows you can find again easily. Others are never to be found again! It is so frustrating.
Thank you to Trent for laughing at my shuttle ride TR installment as well!
TCM does show some good oldies during both Halloween season and the holidays. Lots of really old B&W scary movies.
Holiday Inn. One of the older versions of
A Christmas Carol. Lots of good stuff.
That is one thing I love about cable TV that I never had a child (when only regular TV was available) -- during October and then in November and December there are so many channels offering Halloween or holiday programming, but all in different styles. There is so much variety. If you want to see old, classic
Dracula or
Frankenstein movies you can go to TCM. If you want more recent horrible slasher movies, you can go to IFC or to Chiller or Fear and find them. Low budget movies? Go to Syfy. If you want to see family-friendly Christmas TV shows and movies, you can go to ABC Family. If you want all-day, predictably sugary, addictive Christmas movies you can go to the Hallmark Channel. If you want to see Halloween or Christmas "decorations" or "attractions" shows, you can go to Travel Channel or HGTV. Food shows -- go to Food Network. There are so many choices, and so many different ways in which to get different holiday-themed programming.
Hi Everyone,
In a move very unlike DH and I we decided to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at DLR this year! Long story short, it will be our second trip to DLR as a family. Last trip wasn't so magical and customer service gave us free two day park hoppers

we are really excited. This will also be our first Christmas as just our little family, we always spend it with extended family. I will be looking into the holiday tour, as that sounds fun. Does anyone know if they would charge for my two year old in that situation? Thanks so much to everyone on here for sharing their experiences and information. Our girls are 5 and 2, we will be staying at the PPH in a theme park view room. Any tips appreciated!
jennaw --
Hello & welcome! How wonderful that you will be in the parks on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! Of all the times I have visited DLR for the holidays, I have never actually been there on 12/24 or 12/25. It's on my bucket list, for sure.
I could be very wrong about the tour -- and hopefully someone who has done it will speak up to clarify -- but I
think that a child under 3 will be free, just as she will be everywhere else in the park. Kids under 3 are free at the Halloween Party, so that's why I am guessing that they're also free on the tours.
My last 3 December hotel stays have been in a PPH park view room (and I've stayed there other times without a view). Personally, I love the DCA view. I love waking up to that view, and also looking at it at night with all of the lights on. I also really love the PPH Christmas tree, so I also adore seeing it when I go downstairs and head to the parks in the morning. There aren't too many other decorations at the PPH, but that glowing blue-green tree is gorgeous.
I am hoping that this year Disney brings back the "Goodnight Kiss" on 12/24. Last year they didn't do it, from what JediMasterNerd reported in this thread. What that involves is a lot of characters (some of whom are in pajamas!) standing in front of the Town Square train station and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and good night on Christmas Eve. I think that would be a fun thing for your girls to see - IF Disney does it again this year. Just the idea of the characters in their pajamas is so adorable to me.
So our trip is no longer a surprise to the kids. Earlier today, my kids were out on a boat with their dad and some other family and when my oldest jumped into the water, her finger somehow got caught in the ladder and it sliced off the tip/nail of her pinky finger

Several hours in the ER and they have stitched it up and sent us home, but she has permanently lost the tip/nail of that finger. She has handled it amazingly well (even more so being only 9) and I just felt she (and our other kids) needed some good news.
Jamie --
That's awful! Your poor daughter.

I hope she is doing okay -- something like that is so traumatic. You said she is handling it well, so I hope that maintains. How scary that something like that can happen in just a moment of accidentally getting caught on a ladder.
I think that telling the kids about the Disneyland trip (which will really be here in no time) now was the perfect thing to do. It's good to cushion the blow of what happened with some really fun, uplifting, exciting news so there is something to look forward to.