Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread #3!- HOLIDAYS BEGIN 11/12/13!!

[Sherry E]

I took "early November" to be a blanket way of covering themselves. The post was covering both MK and DL, which have slightly different starts to the holiday season. For MK, the "holidays" start on the 8th, with the first of the MVMCP (albeit Jungle Cruise is not open for the parties), but over at DL, the holiday season doesn't "start" until later on (12th or 15th, depending). So, I think rather than say it'll open on one day at MK and a different day at DL, the poster just went with "early November". Or maybe, like so many things, they don't quite know yet!

figment_jii --

That sounds like a good theory. The writer was covering her tracks for both WDW and DLR with "early November."

Some things are beginning at DLR on 11/8 this year (see my Dates to Remember post on page 1), but the season is not officially beginning until 11/12 and then Winter Dreams and Viva Navidad don't open until 11/15 (officially, though I still have a hunch that Winter Dreams will soft open before that date). I wish they could just pick one date for the start of the season and everything begins on that date (except for Haunted Mansion Holiday, of course). It's getting too confusing at DLR!

I was just checking the calendar for December to get an idea of the parade times & fireworks (they are different than last year, 5:30 parader & 7:30 FW during the week at DL....and the Pixar Parade is now at 4:30 in DCA) and there is something listed "Winter Village" in DTD near ESPN zone from 3pm-10pm...what is this?

egritz --

Last year was a fluke, remember. There were 20 nights of the Candlelight Ceremony. The times for the fireworks and the parade would have been altered a bit because there were two CPs each night last year. The schedule this year is probably more on par with or similar to what happened in 2011.

The Pixar Parade schedule may be affected by Viva Navidad and Winter Dreams, both of which are new this year, but I'm not sure.

The Winter Village is the same thing that was in DTD last year. (See the Hotels/DTD post on page 1 for more info.) Skating rink, mini-Christmas village (which included maybe 3 small kiosks that they called "chalets") -- that's basically it. I've had the Winter Village listed in my Dates to Remember post on page 1 for a while.

 

[briggscreek]

I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it! I thought we wouldn't be going back to DL for the holidays until next year, but then I found a great price for flights and I couldn't help it. We'll be there December 8-12 at the BWPPI, first time staying off-site but we needed to keep the costs down. We're not going to tell the kids until we get to the airport, our 9 year old has been so bummed that we weren't going this year - he will freak out.

 

[egritz]

This may be off topic...but is there any type of button or something that people wear in the parks to identify themselves as part of this message board? I see so many people going when we'll be there (second week of this year) that it would be fun to say hi (though I don't have a memory like Sherry so I probably wouldn't recognize them)!

 

[Phoenixrising]

Once upon a time you could get Alien Green Mickey mouse head paint chips from Home Depot and use them to make tags that you would put on your park bag to let everyone know that you belong to the boards. A couple of years ago Home Depot discontinued the Disney paint line unfortunately. Any bright lime green Mickey Mouse head, that you can put your user name on, and laminate with clear packing tape will do. I tend to like Lime Green so my luggage, purse and backpack are all this colour. How much creativity you do is up to you, but I always have at least one bright Lime Green mouse head on my park bag. Hope this helps.

 

[egritz]

Once upon a time you could get Alien Green Mickey mouse head paint chips from Home Depot and use them to make tags that you would put on your park bag to let everyone know that you belong to the boards. A couple of years ago Home Depot discontinued the Disney paint line unfortunately. Any bright lime green Mickey Mouse head, that you can put your user name on, and laminate with clear packing tape will do. I tend to like Lime Green so my luggage, purse and backpack are all this colour. How much creativity you do is up to you, but I always have at least one bright Lime Green mouse head on my park bag. Hope this helps.

Hmmm, I'll see what I can come up with! At least I have 7 weeks to figure it out

 

[laurasvwee]

I will put a lime green mickey on my stuff too!!! We will be there Nov. 18th-22nd so if you see me just say "hi"

 

[princessmiki]

I a getting so excited! There is some snow on the castle! Can't wait for the jingle cruise!
We will be there from the 13th til the 27th December. First time to disneyland at holiday time.
We are traveling from New Zealand via Australia just to get to disneyland! So excited and love love love this board!

 

[Sherry E]

I broke out the Peppermint Wonderland ice cream in honor of the new Jingle Cruise! (Note to self: Remember to get a new ice cream scoop, as your existing one is stupidly ineffective!) It was so nice to have a taste of the real stuff once again, and not that Impostor Slow Churned nonsense!

I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it! I thought we wouldn't be going back to DL for the holidays until next year, but then I found a great price for flights and I couldn't help it. We'll be there December 8-12 at the BWPPI, first time staying off-site but we needed to keep the costs down. We're not going to tell the kids until we get to the airport, our 9 year old has been so bummed that we weren't going this year - he will freak out.

briggscreek --

I'm so glad you're getting in another holiday trip this year. Once you've been to DLR for the holidays it's hard to not go back each year. Thank goodness for the great flight rates! Next year -- who knows? There may be some sort of hard ticket Christmas party that affects the usual roster of holiday entertainment in some way, so it's good that you're getting in another holiday trip before that happens so you can see as much as possible while it's still available to everyone.

This may be off topic...but is there any type of button or something that people wear in the parks to identify themselves as part of this message board? I see so many people going when we'll be there (second week of this year) that it would be fun to say hi (though I don't have a memory like Sherry so I probably wouldn't recognize them)!

egritz -



As Trish mentioned, the Alien Green Mickey was used as a way of identifying fellow DIS'ers but I think that any kind of bright green (close to fluorescent) Mickey would work.

By the way, I meant to say in my previous post that the "Village" part of the Winter Village in DTD last year was pretty sad! The ice rink was an ice rink -- not much can be done about that in such a small space. But what annoyed me was that the Village was being called a "Christmas Village" with chalets selling holiday treats and souvenirs, and it barely seemed Village-y at all!

There were some mini-Christmas trees around the outside of the rink and there was a chalet where you could rent skates and gear. I just think that more could have been done to make the Village seem like a Village. This whole Village endeavor took the place of the giant tree that used to sit on the border between the Disneyland Hotel and Downtown Disney, so I would have hoped for something a little more exciting. I really think that Disney could play up the Village angle and use all of Downtown Disney to create a sort of Christmas market like what you'd find in Europe but I don't hold out hope for that.

I a getting so excited! There is some snow on the castle! Can't wait for the jingle cruise!
We will be there from the 13th til the 27th December. First time to disneyland at holiday time.
We are traveling from New Zealand via Australia just to get to disneyland! So excited and love love love this board!

princessmiki --

This is your first DLR holiday trip, and it will be a nice long one so you will get to see and do everything! You will really have time to explore everything and enjoy the hotels' decor, etc. Plus, you'll be there on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day -- even better!

I love hearing about the snow appearing on the Castle! The snow usually begins to appear on the Castle right around now, so it sounds as if it is on schedule. I know that there are folks who want a separation of the Halloween Time season and the holiday season, and they don't want any crossing or overlapping of the two. The problem with that idea is that Halloween Time has to end after 10/31 -- it can't really end any later than that -- and the holiday season has to officially begin on or before 11/12 (and unofficially begin a few days before that).

Unless the holiday season were to start later than it does at DLR, there is no way to get all of the holiday decor up in the parks without having some of it appear during Halloween Time. And DLR can't have the holiday season begin any later than it does, or that would mean that the length of holiday season was shorter than the Halloween Time season...which makes no sense at all given the overall scope of it.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Jamie -- I would imagine that there should be something holiday-ish happening at the American Girl store in SF, especially next year after the store has been open for a while. Even this year, though, there should be something since it is opening in the middle of the holiday season. How is your daughter doing, now that a bit of time has passed since her accident? Oh wow! So Jamie and Trish -- you will both be at the Blue Bayou on the same date, at basically the same time (although Trish should be seated first)? You must meet up and say hello.

Thank you so much for asking about her <3 She is actually doing really well. Physically, she is back to normal (and even did a one handed cartwheel with that hand the other day - grr!). Emotionally, while a harder road, has seen so much improvement in the last week or so. She has gone from wishing it didn't happen to accepting at as her new normal. I am inspired & impressed with her every day. It has healed so well and the scar is almost non-existent right now - truthfully, except for it being a little shorter and there not being a nail, it would be so hard to tell it even happened. And she's finally willing to go without a bandaid on it (around our house for now, but that's still a huge step).

And yes, Trish - we have to say hi! We'll be a group of 7 (maybe 8) - checking in early since we've requested a waterside table.

 

[tinkbyday]

Please accept my apology if this has been asked, but there are far too many pages to read on this thread - am I correct that DL does not have the Christmas parties like MVMCP?

I thought I heard they were going to see how the Halloween party went and go from there - any rumors/news?

 

[u2pixi]

I broke out the Peppermint Wonderland ice cream in honor of the new Jingle Cruise! (Note to self: Remember to get a new ice cream scoop, as your existing one is stupidly ineffective!) It was so nice to have a taste of the real stuff once again, and not that Impostor Slow Churned nonsense!
QUOTE]

Sherry,
All this ice cream talk makes me wonder- does Paradise Pier have a freezer section in the fridges? I'm thinking one scoop at a time probably isn't enough

Thanks!

Amy

 

[tksbaskets]

I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it! I thought we wouldn't be going back to DL for the holidays until next year, but then I found a great price for flights and I couldn't help it. We'll be there December 8-12 at the BWPPI, first time staying off-site but we needed to keep the costs down. We're not going to tell the kids until we get to the airport, our 9 year old has been so bummed that we weren't going this year - he will freak out.

How exciting!!

Sherry I still am on the look out for peppermint ice cream. No luck so far.

 

[siskaren]

Please accept my apology if this has been asked, but there are far too many pages to read on this thread - am I correct that DL does not have the Christmas parties like MVMCP?

I thought I heard they were going to see how the Halloween party went and go from there - any rumors/news?

No, DL doesn't have a Christmas party, but I think they've had a Halloween party for a long time.

 

[Sherry E]

Thank you so much for asking about her <3 She is actually doing really well. Physically, she is back to normal (and even did a one handed cartwheel with that hand the other day - grr!). Emotionally, while a harder road, has seen so much improvement in the last week or so. She has gone from wishing it didn't happen to accepting at as her new normal. I am inspired & impressed with her every day. It has healed so well and the scar is almost non-existent right now - truthfully, except for it being a little shorter and there not being a nail, it would be so hard to tell it even happened. And she's finally willing to go without a bandaid on it (around our house for now, but that's still a huge step).

And yes, Trish - we have to say hi! We'll be a group of 7 (maybe 8) - checking in early since we've requested a waterside table.

Jamie --

I'm so glad to hear that she is doing well and is adjusting. That accident was so crazy - it could have happened to anyone, and yet it's not something anyone would ever really imagine happening.

Please accept my apology if this has been asked, but there are far too many pages to read on this thread - am I correct that DL does not have the Christmas parties like MVMCP?

I thought I heard they were going to see how the Halloween party went and go from there - any rumors/news?

tinkbyday --

There is no Christmas party as of yet. I think that the popularity of the Halloween parties is a sure sign that we will get a Christmas party eventually, but it's not happening in 2013 unless Disney suddenly springs something on us out of the blue. At this rate it is highly unlikely we will see a party until at least 2014.

You don't need to read all the pages of this thread! The answer to the party question is on Page 1, in the Frequently Asked Questions section, along with anything you would ever need to know about the Holidays at Disneyland Resort. The first 9 posts on page 1 are full of information (I just updated a bunch of the posts today)!

Sherry,
All this ice cream talk makes me wonder- does Paradise Pier have a freezer section in the fridges? I'm thinking one scoop at a time probably isn't enough

Thanks!

Amy

Amy --

There is a teeny tiny freezer section in the mini-fridges at the PPH (the section doesn't have a door, though -- it's just open). I don't know how much could be stashed in there other than maybe a small ice pack and an ice cream sandwich!

How exciting!!

Sherry I still am on the look out for peppermint ice cream. No luck so far.

TK --

You mean your stores don't even have the Impostor Slow Churned ice cream, or do they have the Impostor ice cream but are lacking the Grand ice cream?

 

[tksbaskets]

I haven't been able to find either!!

 

[Sherry E]

I haven't been able to find either!!

Madness!! I thought for sure Edy's (it is Edy's in your area, right?) would have forced some of the Slow Churned Impostor ice cream on your stores by now. Well, if all else fails you know you'll be able to get the good stuff at Gibson Girl or at Clarabelle's in December.

 

[NSmuppetmom]

Hi

I have 3 quick questions:

I have looked at the 2011 Dec calendar to get some idea of show times, etc.

1) What time do you all feel is ideal for a TS dinner? (We are a party of 5, with three kids - albeit DLR adults, 12, 12, 10)
Currently, I have a 6:00 reservation at Café Orleans on Dec. 22 I think that time should be okay in order to have us finished with our meal in time for any show / fireworks we might want to see.

2) I am hoping to book the Holiday Magic tour (or whatever its real name is - I'm sure you know the tour I am referencing) on Dec 24. What time should I make my meal reservation for on that night? We are hoping to do the On Christmas Day, I 'm thinking Goofy's Kitchen for a late brunch (last seating of the morning/afternoon, if possible) before we head out to San Diego.

Should I think of switching out any of those in favour of something else?

For CS, I am hoping we'll hit: Flo's V8, Bengal BBQ, Plaza. I am open to 1 -2 more suggestions for good counter service, ...

Thoughts? Recommendations? Flaws in my plans?

Thanks

 

[jasy]

Woot woot! Just had to share that I received a pin code today which worked out perfect for our trip so I upgraded us to a premium view room for less than my original reservation plus the difference ($47) I'm getting in $50 worth of food vouchers that we're going to use for Goofy's Kitchen!! Works out great since I was going to call tomorrow to upgrade our room.

Also, I am super intrigued by all this talk of peppermint ice cream, I've never had it but I feel like maybe I need too!

 

[KCmike]

Loving all the Carsland photos! Been very busy at work lately and am trying to catch up.

Not sure if they needed to add the Jingle Jungle Cruise but we will have to wait and see.

 

[ashnjam]

I haven't been able to find either!!

I see that you're in SE Michigan not sure how far away you are from Howell but their walmart has both.