Good morning, Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread peeps!
This morning I was met with a brisk chill in the air -- which is exactly what I expect and look forward to in November. 
If I listen closely enough I can almost hear the faint sounds of carolers, jingling bells and a familiar "ho ho ho!" in the distance, inching ever closer as the days pass. I can almost smell the pine, the gingerbread and the cocoa.
(
Of course, the crisp, cool air was not enough to make me forget that the idiot neighbor upstairs woke me up more than once in the middle of the night by hammering nails or whatever device into the wall at 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. I would go to sleep and then someone would start up with the hammer again, as though he/she was hanging pictures. Who uses a hammer in an apartment building with thin walls at that time of the morning?
At one point I grabbed a Swiffer or some other sort of contraption with a long handle, and I banged it into the ceiling, hoping the fool would get the hint. He/she stopped for about an hour, long enough for me to get back to sleep, and then started hitting nails again. 
Seriously, the people upstairs are about to erase my holiday spirit and good will, and get on my very un-festive, bad side.)
One of my favorite Hallmark Countdown to Christmas movies -- "Farewell, Mr. Kringle" -- is on tonight at 6 p.m.! 
Whee!!! Also, Lifetime is getting into the act by throwing some Christmas movies into their line-up tonight and this weekend.
There is no turning back now, folks! We are headed full-speed into the holidays.
mrsw94, figment_jii, Lori (I love the Squaw Creek/Valley pictures!) and blue888 (awesome snow photo!) have all received entries into the random draw for their fantastic Holiday Cornucopia pictures (Liza earned an entry for her previous GCH and Castle pictures, but I loved seeing the extra "Village" pictures from Downtown Disney, with the tree photo spot and kiosk).
By the way -- if anyone out there spots any new 2013 info about Knott's Merry Farm or Grinchmas at Universal Studios Hollywood, let me know. Yesterday I was gathering up some links to include in the "Other Things to Do" post on page 1 (which I will add today), and I noticed that both Knott's and USH had not updated their pages with 2013 holiday info.
@Sherry-I should have bought the ice cream at $3! Now it's not on sale and I have to wait! Wah!!
mrsw94 -
Hopefully it will go on sale in December, and hopefully the Grand version of the ice cream will still be available! Your pictures are adorable, and they made me smile!
I love seeing all the happy faces on this thread!
GeneralTso --
I agree! This Holiday Cornucopia theme has been one of the best ones -- if not
the best one -- so far, because we have been able to see such a wide range of holiday photos.
I havent been able to keep up on here either
We lost some people at work and I have been working a lot of overtime.....not good for my free time but the money is great for our trip
We have new people now so I get to relax and count down.......I am less than 3 weeks away from the 30 day mark
aidensmom31 --
Your trip will be here fast!
More info on the Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen Gingerbread Workshop. I emailed Brennan's yesterday because of the discrepancy between the info previously mentioned and the info in the
D23 email and this was the response I got back.
So the one on the 22nd is only for Gold and Silver level members of D23. The other three workshops are open to the public. I'm hoping to go for the first time this year!
figment_jii --
Thanks for the update! That was more or less how I interpreted it. When I saw the dates given to DIS'er Morgan M on Facebook, I figured that unless that Jazz Kitchen person was totally incorrect then only the last date would be the D23 date. It wasn't really incorrect info -- it's just that the Facebook Jazz Kitchen person did not specify/clarify that the 22nd was a D23-only date. Also, last year I think there were only 3 dates available to the general public as well, so it would make sense to have a similar set-up this year.
I'm glad you posted the Roz picture! I don't think anyone else posted it. I suppose the theme to which that photo would have applied earlier in the Countdown was the Buena Vista Street/Hollywood Land week. (Or, if we were really stretching it, I suppose the photo could have gone in the Holiday Characters--PhotoPass--Santa theme week.) I have a couple of Roz Santa hat photos, but for some reason I forgot all about them when I put together the BVS/HL theme week!
How crowded do you think the 15th of November will be? It's the first official day of the holiday season. Thinking of going up with DD that afternoon/evening.
Alohagirl73 --
The first official day of the season is Tuesday, 11/12/13.
Friday, 11/15/13 is likely going to be mistaken as the first day of the season because that's the day that Winter Dreams and Viva Navidad begin, and the "Winter Village" in DTD will have begun the day before. Because of this confusion and because of the new events in DCA, I expect that Friday, 11/15 will be quite crowded -- especially from afternoon on through the night. In fact, the fact that people think that 11/15 is the start of the season may alleviate some of the crowds on 11/12! I would expect that many people (SoCal residents) will think, "Why do I need to go on 11/12 when I can see Winter Dreams and Viva Navidad only 3 days later?"
I don't know if this has been posted yet, but wanted to share before I run out the door in case it hasn't.
http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...es-at-disneyland-park-and-magic-kingdom-park/
Thank you,
Jamie, for posting it here -- it had not been posted yet, and -- as usual -- the last time I checked the Parks Blog it was not there! I'll add the link to the Jingle Cruise section on page 1!
Here is what DisneyJamieCA link was about:
"First Look: Jingle Cruise Props & Opening Dates at
Disneyland Park and Magic Kingdom Park"
"In this seasonal takeover of the attraction, the Skippers are homesick for the holidays, so they decide to bring holiday cheer with them to work. The attraction queue and boathouse will be decorated, the Skippers will add a slew of seasonal jokes to their tours, and even the Jungle Cruise boats will receive holiday names."
It goes on to say the Jingle Cruise debut at Magic Kingdom Park on November 8, and at Disneyland park on November 12.
Thanks,
Liza, for the further explanation! I will update the Jingle Cruise category in
Seasonal Activities/Events on page 1!
Long time lurker here, hi everyone!
I need some help/advice. My husband has finally agreed a Disney holiday vacation will be fun (thanks to all of you sharing your photos the last couple of weeks. I finally wore him down. ) We will have 3 days in the park and understand many people will be at the parks Christmas week, but If you were to have to choose, what days would you go? Which days may have better (less) crowds?
Dec 24, 25, 26
Dec 25, 26, 27
Dec 26, 27, 28
We are premium AP holders so we are not necessarily going for rides (although our 2 & 3 year old love fantasyland) we are going for the experience.
Thanks for any input!
Welcome,
tangledforever!
I'm glad you joined us! We've been posting photos since early August -- go back to page 62 of the thread and start from there if you want to
really see a bounty of photos!
As for your dates... it's a 'lesser of 3 evils' scenario, really. If I had to pick dates that might, possibly, have lighter crowds or just be better, I guess I'd go for the Dec 24, 25, 26 dates.
But, honestly, it really won't matter. They will all be crowded, especially post-Christmas and leading up to New Year's! There are tons of people out of work and school that week.
At least with the Dec 24, 25, 26 dates you will get to be there on Christmas Eve too, which will probably be lovely. Plus, Santa is still at several places around DLR on 12/24.
Be sure to check out the
Trip Reports and Reviews section of page 1 for links to
JediMasterNerd's review and
Mickey&JoshNut's review of their Christmas trips last year. That may give you a good idea of what kinds of crowds to expect on different days.
Is the Ralph Brennan gingerbread workshop good for small kids? Just saw one is on a day we are there! Thx
Pesky --
I've seen photos of the Workshop with young kids in them before. I'm sure it's great for little ones. Did you check out the Jazz Kitchen Facebook page? They have photos from the Haunted Workshop, which might give you a better idea. I have a link to their Facebook page in the
Downtown Disney/Hotels of the Disneyland Resort post on page 1.
So what time do you plan to line up for seat assignments? 
