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

[CaliDisneyMama]

Just reserved a table at the Carnation Cafe for our last day in the parks (12/4)! So excited!

Stuff like that just makes it feel more real, I think.

My husband has been in and out of the hospital for two weeks. He spent five days in intensive care. My Christmas joy has been hijacked. It is hard to be excited about the holidays when you are not sure he will make it to Christmas. Well, last night he turned a good corner and we can finally see some light at the end of this long, dark tunnel. And......I saw your ice cream at the market!! So, now I need to get our tour, Fantasmic, and dinner reservations....and I am late in doing that. Oh, I hope everything is not all booked up. We really need to celebrate this year!

You absolutely need to celebrate this year! You need an extra special good time. Sending your family lots of good thoughts as your husband continues to improve!

 

[Happy99]

Happy99 -- According to what one of our thread followers (whose family is performing in the parade) posted here a while back, this year's parade filming is taking place on Friday, 11/8 and Saturday, 11/9. It used to only be filmed in Disneyland, where the parade takes place. I'm not sure if any of the talking segments of the ABC show are filmed in California Adventure but the parade will still be in Disneyland. I've never been at DL when the parade is being filmed but I've read many reports about it being very crowded in the park on those days. As for what else to expect as far as holiday decor, I think that It's a Small World Holiday will probably soft open by 11/8 (it usually starts a few days earlier than the official start date of the season). Believe in Holiday Magic fireworks are beginning on 11/8. Mostly all of the 2 parks' decor will be up during your trip. Most of the merchandise and treats will be out by 11/8. I think I would probably go into DL on Thursday morning and DCA on Friday morning, but others may have different ideas.

Thank you
I

 

[ksromack]

49 Days!!! 49 Days!!
It's official! I bought the Orbitz tickets, there's no turning back now!
We leave exactly 7 weeks from today! I am soooooo excited!!! The kids don't know, and we wont' tell them until that morning. It's gonna kill me to wait!

Is anyone making anything to bring?
I bought a red sweatshirt for myself I want to put a Mickey head with a santa had on, and will probably try to find sweatshirts to make for the kids as well.

I have tshirts bought and washed and have every intention of tye-dying some MM head tshirts......I did this last December for our WDW trip but the ones I made for MVMCP didn't turn out so well. I used pink/red/green/gold and there was too much white and the red/green merged a little bit to make a lovely brown/grey color.

I'm still going to try again this year. I've seen really cute sweatshirts/tshirts on Etsy. I like your idea of the MM head and a santa hat. Would you applique that or make an iron-on?

 

[farmfresh]

We leave exactly 7 weeks from today! I am soooooo excited!!! The kids don't know, and we wont' tell them until that morning. It's gonna kill me to wait!

Mine don't know either ..and yes it's killing me particularly because we are meeting up with good friends (and their kids)when we are there! But its easier for me because I only have 6 weeks to wait

 

[mrsw94]

Since I'm running solo this time, the only thing I made was a new Lime Green Mickey Mouse head to put on my backpack to show I'm a DISer.

Oohh....I should try to do something for the stroller! Good idea!

I have tshirts bought and washed and have every intention of tye-dying some MM head tshirts......I did this last December for our WDW trip but the ones I made for MVMCP didn't turn out so well. I used pink/red/green/gold and there was too much white and the red/green merged a little bit to make a lovely brown/grey color.

I'm still going to try again this year. I've seen really cute sweatshirts/tshirts on Etsy. I like your idea of the MM head and a santa hat. Would you applique that or make an iron-on?

I'm still going to try again this year. I've seen really cute sweatshirts/tshirts on Etsy. I like your idea of the MM head and a santa hat. Would you applique that or make an iron-on?[/QUOTE]

OH! Those sound super-cute! Please post the pics if you do make them! I have a vinyl cutting machine and a heat press, so I'll use those. I have to try to remind myself we are only going for a few days!

Mine don't know either ..and yes it's killing me particularly because we are meeting up with good friends (and their kids)when we are there! But its easier for me because I only have 6 weeks to wait

Lucky you!! My kids have been off school for 3 weeks I am sooooooooooooo glad they go back on Monday so I can make some plans without them underfoot!

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

49 Days!!! 49 Days!!
It's official! I bought the Orbitz tickets, there's no turning back now!
We leave exactly 7 weeks from today! I am soooooo excited!!! The kids don't know, and we wont' tell them until that morning. It's gonna kill me to wait!

Is anyone making anything to bring?
I bought a red sweatshirt for myself I want to put a Mickey head with a santa had on, and will probably try to find sweatshirts to make for the kids as well.

I'm not making anything for me, but I have made a wide variety of shirts thanks to the wonderful designs over in DISigns board. My favorite are the Thanksgiving ones.

 

[DarthMole]

From what I've read every year Disneyland is pretty much guaranteed to close due to capacity ON Christmas Day and once that happens, my understanding is that NO ONE can re-enter the park, reglardless of having a hand stamp from an earlier entry. I read that within the past week or two, not sure if it was on this thread or somewhere else. I'm sure other's who have visited on Christmas Day can provide further advice, I'm not sure how quickly/early they fill, but I thought it was sometime in the afternoon.

Can anyone confirm this? We had freinds there last year and they said it didn't get to capacity until the 27th.

I have the following booked:
12/22 - Steakhouse 55
12/23 - ESPN (not a fan of the food but... 49ers MNF)
12/24 - Napa Rose
12/25 - Storytellers

This seemed perfect until I read the above comment this morning. My wife then went and made a Blue Bayou reservation for 12/25. Not sure I want to do that but it seems like our best in park option. We did BB last trip and it was fun but not something we have to do this trip even though we love Pirates.

 

[Lucrezia]

I just got back today from a DLR trip. Someone may have/probably has posted about this already, but I can't resist---anyone else been to the parks lately and seen the crazy Christmas merchandise ALL OVER the resort??? In every hotel gift shop, Disneyland store and DCA store they have tons and tons of holiday stuff already out! I saw a lot more Christmas things on the shelves than I did Halloween! It's insane, but I also kind of liked it (any sign of Xmas is good with me, no matter how early). I have loads of pictures but maybe I'll wait and try to enter them in the Holiday Cornucopia theme week...

 

[dreamseeker9]

I saw Edy's Limited Edition peppermint ice cream today and had to buy it. I blame this board. I had my half cup serving, yum! Gotta stay on track to make my weight loss goal for WDW next year, as well as my short-term Thanksgiving weight loss goal so I'll be looking even better in the photos we'll be taking at DLR in just over 5 weeks!

 

[tksbaskets]

I saw Edy's Limited Edition peppermint ice cream today and had to buy it. I blame this board. I had my half cup serving, yum! Gotta stay on track to make my weight loss goal for WDW next year, as well as my short-term Thanksgiving weight loss goal so I'll be looking even better in the photos we'll be taking at DLR in just over 5 weeks!

I found it today too! Bought the only two containers they had PLUS it was hiding behind the pumpkin limited release. I'm going to try and portion control too dreamseeker. I'll see how many WW points a serving is before I indulge.

 

[mrsw94]

I'm in California, so we don't have Edy's, but is Dryer's the same brand? I'll have to look next time I go to the store!!

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I'm in California, so we don't have Edy's, but is Dryer's the same brand? I'll have to look next time I go to the store!!

Yes, it's Dryer's here.

 

[funatdisney]

I just got back today from a DLR trip. Someone may have/probably has posted about this already, but I can't resist---anyone else been to the parks lately and seen the crazy Christmas merchandise ALL OVER the resort??? In every hotel gift shop, Disneyland store and DCA store they have tons and tons of holiday stuff already out! I saw a lot more Christmas things on the shelves than I did Halloween! It's insane, but I also kind of liked it (any sign of Xmas is good with me, no matter how early). I have loads of pictures but maybe I'll wait and try to enter them in the Holiday Cornucopia theme week...

I have been to the Parks twice this week and yes there are tons of Christmas merchandise all over the place. I was surprised to see the large section of the World Disney store was devoted to their Christmas merchandise. I didn't mind either. I am like you. I love seeing any signs of Christmas in late October. Although it can't be too much. Just a hint here and there. Especially after I gone to MHP (I went on Monday). I think because my kids are in high school, I seem to be done with Halloween after attending Mickey Halloween Party.

I have pictures of the Christmas section at the World of Disney, but I have been holding off posting them. I didn't want to muck up the theme weeks.

 

[JediMasterNerd]

Can anyone confirm this? We had freinds there last year and they said it didn't get to capacity until the 27th.

I can't confirm what's normal, but I will confirm what your friends said... Christmas Eve/Day and the day after last year were great. Very busy, but not even close to capacity. We never saw more than 10 people in line to get into the park at any time of day... Part (or most) of this was due to the weather. Christmas Eve it rained LIGHTLY for about 20 minutes and the other days it was overcast / threatening rain, though every day ended up being great!

The 27th, was a different story - this picture was taken around noon and we were SHOCKED at the lines after the first 3 days...

I just got back today from a DLR trip. Someone may have/probably has posted about this already, but I can't resist---anyone else been to the parks lately and seen the crazy Christmas merchandise ALL OVER the resort??? In every hotel gift shop, Disneyland store and DCA store they have tons and tons of holiday stuff already out! I saw a lot more Christmas things on the shelves than I did Halloween! It's insane, but I also kind of liked it (any sign of Xmas is good with me, no matter how early). I have loads of pictures but maybe I'll wait and try to enter them in the Holiday Cornucopia theme week...

Buy anything you want now!! When we visited on Christmas itself a lot of the actual Christmas merchandise was gone. I was very disappointed. So while it's great that it's out early, it stinks that they don't have enough to last THROUGH the holiday

J.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Can anyone confirm this? We had freinds there last year and they said it didn't get to capacity until the 27th.

I have the following booked:
12/22 - Steakhouse 55
12/23 - ESPN (not a fan of the food but... 49ers MNF)
12/24 - Napa Rose
12/25 - Storytellers

This seemed perfect until I read the above comment this morning. My wife then went and made a Blue Bayou reservation for 12/25. Not sure I want to do that but it seems like our best in park option. We did BB last trip and it was fun but not something we have to do this trip even though we love Pirates.

We were there before Xmas (dec 18-23) in 2009 and it did close for capacity during our trip. Of course we had no clue and I only learned of the closures on these boards. So while it "may" close for capacity during your trip, it's usually very brief.

 

[kkmcan]

We were there before Xmas (dec 18-23) in 2009 and it did close for capacity during our trip. Of course we had no clue and I only learned of the closures on these boards. So while it "may" close for capacity during your trip, it's usually very brief.

This is good to know... I have been searching the boards to see if anyone had any idea about crowds for those dates. I was thinking of the 20th-23rd this year but we won't go if its so bad they are at a capacity. Thanks!

 

[starshine514]

I can't confirm what's normal, but I will confirm what your friends said... Christmas Eve/Day and the day after last year were great. Very busy, but not even close to capacity. We never saw more than 10 people in line to get into the park at any time of day... Part (or most) of this was due to the weather. Christmas Eve it rained LIGHTLY for about 20 minutes and the other days it was overcast / threatening rain, though every day ended up being great!

The 27th, was a different story - this picture was taken around noon and we were SHOCKED at the lines after the first 3 days...

J.

My friends went at this time a few years ago and had a similar experience. Christmas Eve and Day were great, the 27th was packed!

 

[rentayenta]

I saw Edy's Limited Edition peppermint ice cream today and had to buy it. I blame this board. I had my half cup serving, yum! Gotta stay on track to make my weight loss goal for WDW next year, as well as my short-term Thanksgiving weight loss goal so I'll be looking even better in the photos we'll be taking at DLR in just over 5 weeks!

I bought some too this weekend. Darn fabulous thread.



Sherry, there is a chance now we'll be there during the holidays this year. I'll post the details later. Don't want to jinx myself.


This thread makes me hap hap happy!

 

[Sherry E]

Lucrezia -- I read your MHP recap in the Halloween thread. I wish I been there when you had to give your MHP tickets away for one of the nights. I would have gladly taken them off your hands, even though the parties are getting too crowded! It's a shame that those events feel so congested with people. I think that 18,000 tickets per party is too many to be sold.

Good idea to save the holiday merchandise photos until we get to the end of Theme Weeks (which is very, very soon!)! Starting tomorrow, it is going to be a whirlwind of themes for the week and the people who have photos for the daily themes (starting Tuesday) will have to post them on the actual day the theme goes up, or else miss out on getting another entry into the random draw.

There will be more merchandise that comes out towards the end of November/early December.


Jenny -- I hope hope hope that you can make it to the parks for a quick holiday trip, although I have a feeling it won't be when I'm there!

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Congratulations to the newest Peppermint Wonderland ice cream buyers this week! Welcome to the club! This is the same peppermint ice cream that you will find at Gibson Girl and Clarabelle's at DLR, so you won't miss out if you can't find the "real" stuff in the stores. However, that Impostor Slow Churned nonsense is taking over and it may push out the Grand version entirely. (TK, I'm glad you nabbed the last cartons -- I am hoarding my Grand ice cream like I am preparing for Armageddon.)

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Now, refresh my memory...who here is going to be at DLR on Sunday, December 8th?? I know that some of the folks in this thread are going to be there over that time frame (Kathy is one of them). egritz? czmom? Janet?

I just want to know who I might possibly run into as I am lurking around the PPH Christmas tree or any other Christmas tree around DLR!

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[czmom]

Sherry- we fly out the 7th, so I will miss you by one day. Can't believe our trip is getting oh so close now!!! My kids want to start a countdown at 30 days...which is this coming Thursday. Time to get busy making one