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

[Sherry E]

Wendy --

I'm so glad to hear that you would go back again during that time frame and that it was mostly a good trip!




egritz --

Where did you think you saw me on Thursday? I was never with two men! I was briefly chatting with Janet, Kathy and Kim on Sunday, 12/8. I was with Liza/funatdisney, Laurie/DizNee Luver and PHXscuba on Monday, 12/9. Then I was solo for the rest of the trip. There were men on my Imagineer tour in DCA, on Thursday morning. After the tour I spent a bit of time wandering around DCA and then I went to DL to hit POTC, HMH, IASWH, Toontown, Fantasyland, Critter Country, Frontierland, etc.

Well, as I mentioned in a comment from a couple of days ago, for whatever reason it just seems like this holiday trip was not your cup of tea. It could be partially due to the other things going on that you mentioned (bickering, pregnancy, etc.), but it mainly sounds like you are one who did not get caught up in the holiday magic...and that happens. Some folks come back madly in love with DLR during the holidays and some don't. I guess it won't make as much of an impression on some folks, while others of us (such as yours truly!) go back every year and can't get enough!

I don't know what to tell you about the decorations. I guess "in your face" is a matter of interpretation or perspective? I would be willing to bet that many people think there are too many decorations around DLR, and that they are too over-the-top. There can't be too many decorations for me, and I found them to be everywhere except for Condor Flats and Tomorrowland -- even in places that I haven't shown in photos in previous Theme Weeks because I didn't know they were there, or because they weren't there in past years. There was so much more added in this year.

I'm not sure when the last time you visited DLR for Halloween Time was, but despite the in-your-face giant Mickey pumpkin in Town Square and the decorations on Main Street, in Frontierland and a little bit in New Orleans Square (for Haunted Mansion Holiday only), there is nothing. Zilch. Nothing in DCA. Nothing at the hotels. I think that's why it's so interesting to read your observation that the holiday decorations were not in your face and that you were in awe of what you saw for Halloween Time, because the holiday stuff is so much more (to use Janet's word) pervasive than anything during Halloween Time. Again, I guess it's a matter of perspective.

It could be that the Theme Week Countdown ruined it for you? Maybe if you had never seen any photos of what can be found at DLR during the season, everything would have made a bigger impression when you saw it in person without any idea of what to expect?

I am so glad you got to 4 out of the 5 Santas, and that you had 2 good character meals!

Did you make it to Critter Country? Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Rabbit were all wearing some sort of holiday garb -- a Santa hat or a scarf or something.

Woody only wears his usual cowboy outfit. He never wears anything holiday-ish, or he hasn't anytime I've seen him. The JJJ usually has Santa Goofy and Reindeer Pluto, though, and sometimes Donald, Chip and Dale. I don't know where they were when you visited. Mickey's holiday outfit at the JJJ seemed to be different this year than it was last year, and I didn't really like it.

 

[ksromack]

mrsw94 --

As a fellow back problem sufferer, I can empathize with your husband. It's terrible to be in pain at DLR when so much walking and getting on and off rides is involved.
The weather is too warm for December -- it's over 80 degrees today! That's not right! At least you won't freeze, since we know you don't like cold.I could tell that Steve hurt his back once we got off of the Matterhorn but he didn't want to complain too much....thereafter every time there was a jolt on a ride I would immediately look at him to make sure he was ok. I can't imagine hobbling around DLR with a bad back. Hopefully Mrw94 just needs Ibuprofen to reduce swelling!


Oh, you know, I forgot to ask this very important question!

I'm still very interested in reading final reviews from everyone -- especially those who experienced their very first DLR holiday trips this year, or those who have not been to DLR for the holidays in quite a while (like tksbaskets, after she returns home from this trip!).

I am pretty sure that Trish/Phoenixrising, Wendy/czmom, Janet/mom2rtk and Kathy/ksromack were not thrilled with crowds -- but, was it enough to keep any of you from going to DLR for the holidays again, or would you do another holiday trip without hesitation?

In other words, is there anyone else here who was kind of disappointed with their trip in general (for whatever reason) and won't consider another holiday visit? Or did everyone pretty much have a great time overall?

I think the crowds were a little worse than I imagined but since I only have WDW to compare it to, I didn't think it was hugely awful at all. Sure, there were crowds and we were elbow to elbow at times (especially leaving CP, after fireworks, etc.....) what I was surprised to see was the "bottlenecking" around a few of the rides (namely in Adventureland by Indy and POC). I would most definitely want to visit during the holiday again, though. Since we are back in March (I'll be by myself during the daytime until hubby joins me after 4:30pm), I'll be curious to see how the crowds compare. It'll be the first week of March so I don't expect huge crowds, or maybe I shouldn't assume? I expect crowds any time I'm in a public place so no way did crowds deter me at all. We had a great time and did everything we wanted to do and see. I think it certainly helped that we were actually onsite for 8 full days. Hubby really liked the beds at HoJos but I would have to find a way to stay onsite again as we got so much done during those EE mornings (and we took advantage of EE 6 of the 8 mornings)!

Here's what I've told a few people so far. I hated the crowds. I hated the cold. I hated the fastpass times enforcement. I hated that they would only sell me a 5 day ticket. I hated that so many rides were closed. Katie disliked the puny castle........... But we were both absolutely smitten and can't wait to go back. We had initially planned to head east to experience the 7 Dwarf Mine Coaster next year, but that is very much up in the air now.

I'm not sure if it's because of the more pervasive Christmas decorations, or the fact that it's Walt's home park, or because we were just getting burned out on WDW, but I could definitely see us heading west again.

Smitten is a great word. We thought the same thing. I must say I do love Cinderella's Castle so I may be feeling the same at Katie but I really liked the Castle Walkthrough at SB's Castle! I was able to get Steve on Dumbo at DLR and he has never ridden that ride with me at MK! Since we're going back to DLR in March we probably will NOT be visiting the CA park next December. We most likely WILL be visiting WDW in late October to combine MNSSHP and Food & Wine at Epcot. I loved the California parks but I did miss Epcot. We are curious about the new 7 Dwarf's ride and very excited to visit Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Orlando......so that pretty much clinched it for us. Plus, we are probably going to take ds as a college graduation present for him and his girlfriend....then thought maybe we'd just take dd and her boyfriend as well. So now it's getting to be quite the expensive vacation in 2014 I guess well have to wait and see.

I was also not thrilled that the Storybook Land boats were not running and that the line for TSMM was enormous when I checked it.

I had to giggle about the "puny castle"! I would imagine that after being used to the giant castle at WDW, ours would look rather puny! I looked at the Winter Castle at night, up close, and I could see that the icicle lights were a little more sparse this year than last year. The strands of lights were either more spread out -- ever so slightly -- or they were more sparse. And the lights on the turrets were arranged differently, in a different pattern. All of this combined made the Castle look a wee bit less sparkly than it did in 2012. I'm sure it looked sparkly enough to most people, but I could see a difference so I wasn't entirely thrilled with that.

The extra hour offered daily to onsite guests is a big plus so I can see how that would be a big factor in the level of enjoyment and productivity in the parks. It used to be that Magic Mornings were only on certain days, and only in Disneyland. It makes a tremendous difference that it opened it up to include California Adventure too, and that the Extra Magic Hour expanded to a daily schedule (for the most part, with a few exceptions here and there).

I'm so glad we were able to ride Storybook Canal AND Casey Junior on our first park day. They closed them after that Sunday. Both were such cute rides and since it was our first trip I'm happy to have been able to experience them. I can't imagine enjoying DCA as much as we did without having benefit of EE. That's the only way we were able to ride RSR so many times.

I think part of it might be the effort they put into keeping DLR fresh for all the AP holders who come back often. WDW just doesn't seem to have any concern in that regard at all. I really don't have any interest in doing other things in CA though. Once I get to Disney, I want to stay in that Disney bubble. And of course, it helps that we did big westward driving trips iln 05, 06, 07 and 2010. We've seen a lot already.

And yes, I will be doing a trip report. I'll be sure to post a link and let you know when I do. I still have to finish up 2012 first though!

hahaha, I still need to do my DEc 2012 TR too. We do enjoy California as a whole....but we've done Hollywood/Walk of Fame, Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier, and I've been to San Diego and done fun things there too. I would like to visit the Ronald Reagan Library, tour Warner Bros, visit the Disney Museum, actually there's a lot we still want to do in CA! Beaches and Catalina too!

I know it happens, but it is disappointing (especially ones like Dumbo & PP during EMH!) I also didn't see Storybook running at all during our trip, even though we walked by at all different hours, when it wasn't schedule for any rehab yet. I'm sure it did run and we just missed it, but I wanted to see some of the holiday decor on the ride.

I 100% agree with Janet that EMH is probably what made the difference for us, especially in the crowd issue.

That's right, you were there before me......Storybook's last day before rehab was Sun, Dec 1. Now I guess I'm really glad we were able to ride it.

We had a wonderful time and would absolutely go back the same week again! Even though the crowds were heavier than I expected (even JJJ was packed- but Billy Hill was playing), it did not stop us from having a magical trip....obviously, since we are now considering an August trip. I just need to adjust my expectations.

Funny though, we rode RSR 5 times and all 5 times were sent through Ramone's body shop! We joke that we have to go back and make it through Luigi's side.

I think since this was our first time (and we thought our only), we were on a mission to do it all. We utilized EE every day, and were at the front of the pack

We felt the same way about getting it all done! And funny, but every time we rode RSR we went through Ramone's body shop.....it wasn't until our very last ride that we went through Luigi's. And we enjoyed that side better.....

Woody only wears his usual cowboy outfit. He never wears anything holiday-ish, or he hasn't anytime I've seen him. The JJJ usually has Santa Goofy and Reindeer Pluto, though, and sometimes Donald, Chip and Dale. I don't know where they were when you visited. Mickey's holiday outfit at the JJJ seemed to be different this year than it was last year, and I didn't really like it.

when we were at JJJ only Santa, Mickey in his holiday garb, and 3 of the bears were out there......

 

[mrsw94]

Quick update. Got some special Pixie Dust. DS5 chickened out on RSR at the last minute and it wast last straw so I was on tears. A lovely cast member let me do an immediate child swap so DD11 got to ride twice in a row without getting out. PLUS she asked my son his favorite rode and he said Jungle Cruise so she gave us a special FP to use on it tomorrow. PLUS another one to use in DCA tonight! MADE MY NIGHT!
DH is still on a lot of pain, but was at least able to ride RSR!

 

[julieheyer]

I think the crowds were a little worse than I imagined but since I only have WDW to compare it to, I didn't think it was hugely awful at all. Sure, there were crowds and we were elbow to elbow at times (especially leaving CP, after fireworks, etc.....) what I was surprised to see was the "bottlenecking" around a few of the rides (namely in Adventureland by Indy and POC). I would most definitely want to visit during the holiday again, though. Since we are back in March (I'll be by myself during the daytime until hubby joins me after 4:30pm), I'll be curious to see how the crowds compare. It'll be the first week of March so I don't expect huge crowds, or maybe I shouldn't assume? I expect crowds any time I'm in a public place so no way did crowds deter me at all. We had a great time and did everything we wanted to do and see. I think it certainly helped that we were actually onsite for 8 full days. Hubby really liked the beds at HoJos but I would have to find a way to stay onsite again as we got so much done during those EE mornings (and we took advantage of EE 6 of the 8 mornings)!

Smitten is a great word. We thought the same thing. I must say I do love Cinderella's Castle so I may be feeling the same at Katie but I really liked the Castle Walkthrough at SB's Castle! I was able to get Steve on Dumbo at DLR and he has never ridden that ride with me at MK! Since we're going back to DLR in March we probably will NOT be visiting the CA park next December. We most likely WILL be visiting WDW in late October to combine MNSSHP and Food & Wine at Epcot. I loved the California parks but I did miss Epcot. We are curious about the new 7 Dwarf's ride and very excited to visit Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Orlando......so that pretty much clinched it for us. Plus, we are probably going to take ds as a college graduation present for him and his girlfriend....then thought maybe we'd just take dd and her boyfriend as well. So now it's getting to be quite the expensive vacation in 2014 I guess well have to wait and see.

I'm so glad we were able to ride Storybook Canal AND Casey Junior on our first park day. They closed them after that Sunday. Both were such cute rides and since it was our first trip I'm happy to have been able to experience them. I can't imagine enjoying DCA as much as we did without having benefit of EE. That's the only way we were able to ride RSR so many times.

hahaha, I still need to do my DEc 2012 TR too. We do enjoy California as a whole....but we've done Hollywood/Walk of Fame, Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier, and I've been to San Diego and done fun things there too. I would like to visit the Ronald Reagan Library, tour Warner Bros, visit the Disney Museum, actually there's a lot we still want to do in CA! Beaches and Catalina too!

That's right, you were there before me......Storybook's last day before rehab was Sun, Dec 1. Now I guess I'm really glad we were able to ride it.

We felt the same way about getting it all done! And funny, but every time we rode RSR we went through Ramone's body shop.....it wasn't until our very last ride that we went through Luigi's. And we enjoyed that side better.....

when we were at JJJ only Santa, Mickey in his holiday garb, and 3 of the bears were out there......

And czmom- we too only got Ramon's this time! Lol! Last time we had luigis all the time! Very ironic (rode it about 8-10 times)!

I agree with al those who were talking about expectations and the crowds. I've been pretty spoiled in the past, even the weekend after thanksgiving last year was pretty light, and I SO wish I had the EE! We got there for rope drop each morng, which was a big help, but EE would have been even better!!

I still love DL, but will be taking some time off for a bit. I will go back though .

 

[crystal1313]

We just got back today. Had an amazing trip! I really paid attention to the details since I had read some people not noticing the Christmas stuff that is usually there. First time we walked into Disneyland, the dapper dans were in front of the firehouse singing Christmas music, the band was near the Carnation playing Christmas music and all the Main Street vehicles were out and about all with the Christmas loop playing in the background. It was magical. I noticed Christmas music throughout the parks and hotels. Decorations everywhere. My boys loved seeing all the different Christmas trees everywhere we went. I go my gingerbread cookie and photo in front of the castle (only two things I really wanted to do on the trip), we rode jingle cruise, saw the parade, saw Santa, got my not so sure DS4 to ride the Matterhorn for the first time (he liked it!), met awesome friends at trader SAMs for drinks (their daughter babysitter for us!), and ate at the BB forthe first time as a family. It was pretty awesome. I was wishing we had more time but we got a lot accomplished for only 2 days. Tried the peppermint bark for the first time. So yummy! We are even more in the Christmas spirit now!

 

[egritz]

egritz --

Where did you think you saw me on Thursday? I was never with two men! I was briefly chatting with Janet, Kathy and Kim on Sunday, 12/8. I was with Liza/funatdisney, Laurie/DizNee Luver and PHXscuba on Monday, 12/9. Then I was solo for the rest of the trip. There were men on my Imagineer tour in DCA, on Thursday morning. After the tour I spent a bit of time wandering around DCA and then I went to DL to hit POTC, HMH, IASWH, Toontown, Fantasyland, Critter Country, Frontierland, etc.

Well, as I mentioned in a comment from a couple of days ago, for whatever reason it just seems like this holiday trip was not your cup of tea. It could be partially due to the other things going on that you mentioned (bickering, pregnancy, etc.), but it mainly sounds like you are one who did not get caught up in the holiday magic...and that happens. Some folks come back madly in love with DLR during the holidays and some don't. I guess it won't make as much of an impression on some folks, while others of us (such as yours truly!) go back every year and can't get enough!

I don't know what to tell you about the decorations. I guess "in your face" is a matter of interpretation or perspective? I would be willing to bet that many people think there are too many decorations around DLR, and that they are too over-the-top. There can't be too many decorations for me, and I found them to be everywhere except for Condor Flats and Tomorrowland -- even in places that I haven't shown in photos in previous Theme Weeks because I didn't know they were there, or because they weren't there in past years. There was so much more added in this year.

I'm not sure when the last time you visited DLR for Halloween Time was, but despite the in-your-face giant Mickey pumpkin in Town Square and the decorations on Main Street, in Frontierland and a little bit in New Orleans Square (for Haunted Mansion Holiday only), there is nothing. Zilch. Nothing in DCA. Nothing at the hotels. I think that's why it's so interesting to read your observation that the holiday decorations were not in your face and that you were in awe of what you saw for Halloween Time, because the holiday stuff is so much more (to use Janet's word) pervasive than anything during Halloween Time. Again, I guess it's a matter of perspective.

It could be that the Theme Week Countdown ruined it for you? Maybe if you had never seen any photos of what can be found at DLR during the season, everything would have made a bigger impression when you saw it in person without any idea of what to expect?

I am so glad you got to 4 out of the 5 Santas, and that you had 2 good character meals!

Did you make it to Critter Country? Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Rabbit were all wearing some sort of holiday garb -- a Santa hat or a scarf or something.

Woody only wears his usual cowboy outfit. He never wears anything holiday-ish, or he hasn't anytime I've seen him. The JJJ usually has Santa Goofy and Reindeer Pluto, though, and sometimes Donald, Chip and Dale. I don't know where they were when you visited. Mickey's holiday outfit at the JJJ seemed to be different this year than it was last year, and I didn't really like it.

I want to say it was and the end of main street, I think we were headed out & you were walking in towards the left side of the park (Frontierland side), it looked like you were talking with two men but I could have been mistaken. I'm pretty sure it was you and you were wearing either the same or a similar outfit to what was posted earlier with you & 3 other Dis-ers in front of the Main Street Christmas tree (at least the hat I recognized). Perhaps it was when you were on the tour, though I don't recall seeing the guide.

We skipped Critter Country -thinking we saw the characters at the breakfast, I didn't realize/think about them wearing holiday stuff. Darn! I had forgotten For JJJ my Dad asked a cast member & he said Mickey & Woody were the only characters that day (though I take that with a grain of salt...my Dad often gets information wrong & has a habit of not listening correctly).

We last visited at Halloween in 2009 (before that was 2007). I thought the 2009 fireworks were the best I'd ever seen (well, the Dreams ones were pretty spectacular too).

It is possible that the theme week countdown set my expectations to be really high, though my parents & husband didn't look at all the photos and they had the same impression. Doesn't surprise me about the men, but my mom having similar feelings to me was what I found surprising.

Anyway we still had a great trip, don't get me wrong. Just wasn't up to the expectations I had. Oh, and one of the steeples on the castle the lights weren't working which was annoying to me. We did get to see a proposal after the fireworks in front of the castle which was sweet.

I forgot to mention we only saw the GCH carolers once in all the trips in & out of the hotel (we were at the Anabella so GCH was our route into the parks).
I also wanted to ask - where the heck is the DLH Christmas tree? Did they not have one big "main" tree or was it just the Goofy's Kitchen tree? I saw the amazing gingerbread house/castle but couldn't find a "main" tree in the lobby. I even asked a Cast Member and she didn't know what I was talking about. Did I just completely miss it??

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

To answer the question about the DLH tree - there isn't one main, big one. There are the two in the lobby, a few in front of the gift shop, one over the by carriage (at the Santa M&G) and then the other two towers have themed ones. There is also the one at Goofy's Kitchen and I saw some smaller ones outside of Steakhouse 55.

I am interested/surprised to hear about the lack of characters people are reporting. Maybe it's because we went during a busy week (Thanksgiving) or because I'm used to the times they are out, but we saw a ton. Our afternoon (and we always go in the afternoon) at JJJ we saw Minnie, Mickey, Pluto, Goofy, Mrs. Claus, Santa & 4 of the Country Bears. We saw Ariel at the front and while we didn't stop, saw a ton on Main Street as we left and as we rode the train through the Main Street Station. And then of course back in Critter Country as well. We also saw a lot on Buena Vista St. in DCA.

It is always interesting how everybody looks at things differently - not right or wrong - just different. I have always loved the holiday decor, but after doing the countdown themes, I had so much more to look for and was impressed with how complete the decorations were. Also, my mom brought over the video she took of our trip and in almost every shot, there is some type of music playing, almost all of it Christmas. I'm hoping it was just too subtle for some to hear and not that they turned it off completely.

I guess the one benefit of the early weeks of Dec becoming so popular is that they will no longer scale back on things (characters, etc) in the weeks between Thanksgiving Christmas.

 

[tksbaskets]

Greetings from the Grand Californian! We arrived yesterday around noon after a wildly expensive taxi ride. We will be using the Magical Express on the way back.

The crowds were really pretty crazy yesterday. As large as any we've seen between Christmas Day and New Years. We were informed that yesterday was the last weekend day for many annual pass holders so I'm hoping today will not be as nuts.

We waited almost and hour at the ticket booth to purchase our APs. Then another half hour in line to pick up my Photopass + card. 'Donald' and 'Grumpy' rode Star Tours (40 min wait) while we were at the PP place. DH and I rode Buzz Lightyear and I actually beat him! Not an outstanding score but thanks Bret for the pointers!!

We were awed by BVS and CarsLand yesterday. Especially stunning at night. Wish I had Bret's skill with the camera at night to capture it. We had dinner at Flo's and it was pretty good. We rode TSM (yes, we're one of the crazy families that will wait an hour). Grumpy got 329 K and Donald 280 K. I was over 130K but need to practice We have an outstanding view from our room. Can see World of Color from our balcony.

We head out for Extra Magic hour at DCA in an hour and hopefully will be on RSR shortly after. Our plan is to snag fast passess, then ride, then skeedaddle over to Toy Story for the remainder of EMH.

I'll do better taking pictures today. We had to get up at 2 am California time to make our flight so we all slept like logs last night and are raring to go!

 

[Sherry E]

My card reader from Amazon is on the way -- let's pray that it does the trick and can get my photos from the card to the PC or another device! I am itching to post holiday pictures while it is still the holiday season and I can't! Booooooooo!

I should also point out that there have been a slew of new, delightfully predictable, sugary holiday movies with C-List actors debuting this year -- not just on Hallmark but on Lifetime, ABC Family, ION and smaller channels I've never even heard of before -- and I cannot keep up with them! (Haylie Duff, Cameron Mathison and Alicia Witt seem to be starring in many of them!) There have been so many, and I haven't had time to see all of them. I've only been able to watch some. Also, the DVR is running out of room so I can't record the ones I haven't seen. I feel like I am going to miss out on all of these holiday gems because the season will end and they won't air again until next year.

On top of that, the Travel Channel and TLC have aired a few new Christmas specials, including Jingle Brawls and Xtreme Xmas, and I haven't had time to watch those either (though I did record them).

​

We just got back today. Had an amazing trip! I really paid attention to the details since I had read some people not noticing the Christmas stuff that is usually there. First time we walked into Disneyland, the dapper dans were in front of the firehouse singing Christmas music, the band was near the Carnation playing Christmas music and all the Main Street vehicles were out and about all with the Christmas loop playing in the background. It was magical. I noticed Christmas music throughout the parks and hotels. Decorations everywhere. My boys loved seeing all the different Christmas trees everywhere we went. I go my gingerbread cookie and photo in front of the castle (only two things I really wanted to do on the trip), we rode jingle cruise, saw the parade, saw Santa, got my not so sure DS4 to ride the Matterhorn for the first time (he liked it!), met awesome friends at trader SAMs for drinks (their daughter babysitter for us!), and ate at the BB forthe first time as a family. It was pretty awesome. I was wishing we had more time but we got a lot accomplished for only 2 days. Tried the peppermint bark for the first time. So yummy! We are even more in the Christmas spirit now!

crystal1313 --

Thank you for checking in! I'm so, so glad to hear that your trip was a great one.

I totally agree -- to me, despite having the worst timing and missing the characters in winter sweaters on Main Street, and despite constantly missing carolers at the hotels and in DL, and despite noticing a couple of changes in decorations here and there (like the slightly less sparkly Winter Castle), it was magical to me. Honestly, I could have stayed an extra week on top of the time I already had and I probably would not have seen or done everything I wanted to see and do.

I felt totally immersed in holiday goodness everywhere I went! You mentioned the music -- yes! That is another important point to remember. Not only was I encountering trees and decor everywhere -- some of which I did not expect to find -- but there was themed holiday music everywhere. In Critter Country I enjoyed a twangy version of Auld Lang Syne. At Tangaroa Terrace there was holiday music with a Polynesian twist. There was jazz-inspired music popping up in NOS here and there. There was holiday music at the GCH (and Santa was singing and gesturing along to it at one point when no one was there to see him). Even Club 33 was playing wonderful holiday music. And there was so much more. The music plays a big role in enveloping me in the holiday bubble that I want to be in.

I want to say it was and the end of main street, I think we were headed out & you were walking in towards the left side of the park (Frontierland side), it looked like you were talking with two men but I could have been mistaken. I'm pretty sure it was you and you were wearing either the same or a similar outfit to what was posted earlier with you & 3 other Dis-ers in front of the Main Street Christmas tree (at least the hat I recognized). Perhaps it was when you were on the tour, though I don't recall seeing the guide.

We skipped Critter Country -thinking we saw the characters at the breakfast, I didn't realize/think about them wearing holiday stuff. Darn! I had forgotten For JJJ my Dad asked a cast member & he said Mickey & Woody were the only characters that day (though I take that with a grain of salt...my Dad often gets information wrong & has a habit of not listening correctly).

We last visited at Halloween in 2009 (before that was 2007). I thought the 2009 fireworks were the best I'd ever seen (well, the Dreams ones were pretty spectacular too).

It is possible that the theme week countdown set my expectations to be really high, though my parents & husband didn't look at all the photos and they had the same impression. Doesn't surprise me about the men, but my mom having similar feelings to me was what I found surprising.

Anyway we still had a great trip, don't get me wrong. Just wasn't up to the expectations I had. Oh, and one of the steeples on the castle the lights weren't working which was annoying to me. We did get to see a proposal after the fireworks in front of the castle which was sweet.

I forgot to mention we only saw the GCH carolers once in all the trips in & out of the hotel (we were at the Anabella so GCH was our route into the parks).
I also wanted to ask - where the heck is the DLH Christmas tree? Did they not have one big "main" tree or was it just the Goofy's Kitchen tree? I saw the amazing gingerbread house/castle but couldn't find a "main" tree in the lobby. I even asked a Cast Member and she didn't know what I was talking about. Did I just completely miss it??

egritz --

The photo that kmedina/Kim posted earlier (of the 4 of us DIS'ers) was taken in front of the Buena Vista Street tree.

On Thursday I was wearing a totally different shirt, had my hair in a ponytail and was not wearing a jacket or scarf (because it was too warm outside). My Imagineer tour only took place in DCA, so if you saw me with two men in Disneyland, you didn't see me. There was no guide for the tour like a typical guide you'd see. The Imagineer led the tour, and he was dressed like regular folks (no plaid, in other words). Also, a time would be good -- when is it that you thought you saw me? I didn't get over to DL until later in the afternoon. I don't think you saw me.

Critter Country has the teeny decorations on the houses near the exit of the Pooh ride, as well as the Pooh photo spot (there have been photos of people with the characters at the Pooh spot -- wearing Santa hats or scarves -- in this thread in the past, so you may have missed those). Pooh Corner has the tree with the honey-covered ornaments and beehive topper.

As Jamie explained, there are trees in each of the DLH towers -- actually two "main" trees in each tower, but they are decorated exactly the same. The trees in the Adventure tower have an adventure theme. The Frontier tower trees have a frontier theme. The two trees in the Fantasy tower really are not themed -- they are just basic silver/white trees with blue and pink ornaments. There are also trees outside of the Fantasia Shop and in all of the restaurants. The trees are not towering like the GCH and PPH trees are (though the PPH tree looked shorter this year due to all of the 'stuff' at the base of it) because the DLH doesn't have high ceilings in the areas where they put their trees.

As I've mentioned, the Tangaroa Terrace tree is one of my favorites this year, as it is covered in exotic flowers (probably fake ones, but still pretty!) and candles that smell like cocoa butter! I think the candles were supposed to smell like coconut, but to me they smelled more like cocoa butter.

I suspect you probably missed seeing quite a few things and, obviously, the things that you actually saw (most of which have been featured in the Theme Week Countdown) just didn't impress you (or anyone in your group) that much.

Not only do I adore the holidays, which we all know (and I say that as I have the Hallmark Countdown to Christmas running in the background!), I'm also a very detailed person to begin with, which everyone can see. I explain in detail. I write in detail. I notice the details of certain decorations (which is why I could tell that the Castle was not quite as sparkly this year as it was last year, when other folks might not notice that). I noticed that Roger Rabbit was turned/positioned a different way in the wreath above Car Toon Spin than he had been in the past. That's just how my brain and my eyes work. So, when I take photos of things around DLR (for the Theme Week Countdown or for TRs or whatever), I automatically hone in on certain details that delight me, such as window displays, ornaments, the different themes of the Christmas trees, the different colors and themes of the Mardi Gras masks around NOS, etc.

But just because I get photos of window displays, wreaths, trees or ornaments that I like and share them in this thread and in the Countdown doesn't necessarily mean that you -- or anyone else -- will get to DLR, look at a window display or an ornament and instantly be caught up in the holiday magic! I think that people enjoy different things about the holiday season at DLR, and whatever you needed to see/do to enjoy it didn't really 'click' as we would have hoped for you.

So, at least you tried a holiday trip. You know that it wasn't worth it for you and your family. You will plan your DLR trips for other time frames!

To answer the question about the DLH tree - there isn't one main, big one. There are the two in the lobby, a few in front of the gift shop, one over the by carriage (at the Santa M&G) and then the other two towers have themed ones. There is also the one at Goofy's Kitchen and I saw some smaller ones outside of Steakhouse 55.

I am interested/surprised to hear about the lack of characters people are reporting. Maybe it's because we went during a busy week (Thanksgiving) or because I'm used to the times they are out, but we saw a ton. Our afternoon (and we always go in the afternoon) at JJJ we saw Minnie, Mickey, Pluto, Goofy, Mrs. Claus, Santa & 4 of the Country Bears. We saw Ariel at the front and while we didn't stop, saw a ton on Main Street as we left and as we rode the train through the Main Street Station. And then of course back in Critter Country as well. We also saw a lot on Buena Vista St. in DCA.

It is always interesting how everybody looks at things differently - not right or wrong - just different. I have always loved the holiday decor, but after doing the countdown themes, I had so much more to look for and was impressed with how complete the decorations were. Also, my mom brought over the video she took of our trip and in almost every shot, there is some type of music playing, almost all of it Christmas. I'm hoping it was just too subtle for some to hear and not that they turned it off completely.

I guess the one benefit of the early weeks of Dec becoming so popular is that they will no longer scale back on things (characters, etc) in the weeks between Thanksgiving Christmas.

Jamie --

You're very correct. It's interesting to see how everyone can have the same experience -- that being simply going to DLR during the holiday season -- and yet have a totally different experience! It's interesting to read about what people managed to catch/see and what people missed.

I knew that the sweater-clad characters had to be out in Town Square and that I was just missing them. On previous trips, though, I've seen them in abundance. Likewise with the carolers at the hotels -- in the past I've seen them repeatedly and this time I didn't catch them once. I knew it was just bad timing on my part. But I constantly saw GCH Santa and PPH Santa.

I, too, saw characters on BVS -- Goofy in his green suit and Pluto wearing his holiday stocking/sock, I think.

And anyone who saw the Country Bears at the JJJ got a treat -- because they don't come out to greet guests year-round, as far as I know. They are a bit more rare. In 2014, who knows what will be happening at the JJJ? There won't be a Billy Hill show anymore, so I'm not sure how that area will be utilized for the holidays -- will it be the same but just without Billy Hill, or will it have all new entertainment, games, etc.?

I think the Theme Week Countdowns -- as I intend them to be -- work well in showcasing those often-overlooked gems of the holiday season, and for some that is great because they can head to DLR with a focus on the details and see how much they've been missing in the past. For others, the Countdowns may diminish some of the amazement of seeing everything in person for the first time.

Either way, I will still be doing the Countdowns in future years so everyone can peek in on them at his or her own risk! (Although, perhaps in the interest of not wanting to contribute to crowds I should start talking about how awful the holiday season at DLR is, and that it's not worth the money/time to experience it! )

Greetings from the Grand Californian! We arrived yesterday around noon after a wildly expensive taxi ride. We will be using the Magical Express on the way back.

The crowds were really pretty crazy yesterday. As large as any we've seen between Christmas Day and New Years. We were informed that yesterday was the last weekend day for many annual pass holders so I'm hoping today will not be as nuts.

We waited almost and hour at the ticket booth to purchase our APs. Then another half hour in line to pick up my Photopass + card. 'Donald' and 'Grumpy' rode Star Tours (40 min wait) while we were at the PP place. DH and I rode Buzz Lightyear and I actually beat him! Not an outstanding score but thanks Bret for the pointers!!

We were awed by BVS and CarsLand yesterday. Especially stunning at night. Wish I had Bret's skill with the camera at night to capture it. We had dinner at Flo's and it was pretty good. We rode TSM (yes, we're one of the crazy families that will wait an hour). Grumpy got 329 K and Donald 280 K. I was over 130K but need to practice We have an outstanding view from our room. Can see World of Color from our balcony.

We head out for Extra Magic hour at DCA in an hour and hopefully will be on RSR shortly after. Our plan is to snag fast passess, then ride, then skeedaddle over to Toy Story for the remainder of EMH.

I'll do better taking pictures today. We had to get up at 2 am California time to make our flight so we all slept like logs last night and are raring to go!

TK --

Yay! You made it! Have an awesome, wonderful trip. I'm so glad you finally got to see BVS and Cars Land in person, especially at this time of year! Please give us a full report when you get back.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Greetings from the Grand Californian! We arrived yesterday around noon after a wildly expensive taxi ride. We will be using the Magical Express on the way back.

The crowds were really pretty crazy yesterday. As large as any we've seen between Christmas Day and New Years. We were informed that yesterday was the last weekend day for many annual pass holders so I'm hoping today will not be as nuts.

We waited almost and hour at the ticket booth to purchase our APs. Then another half hour in line to pick up my Photopass + card. 'Donald' and 'Grumpy' rode Star Tours (40 min wait) while we were at the PP place. DH and I rode Buzz Lightyear and I actually beat him! Not an outstanding score but thanks Bret for the pointers!!

We were awed by BVS and CarsLand yesterday. Especially stunning at night. Wish I had Bret's skill with the camera at night to capture it. We had dinner at Flo's and it was pretty good. We rode TSM (yes, we're one of the crazy families that will wait an hour). Grumpy got 329 K and Donald 280 K. I was over 130K but need to practice We have an outstanding view from our room. Can see World of Color from our balcony.

We head out for Extra Magic hour at DCA in an hour and hopefully will be on RSR shortly after. Our plan is to snag fast passess, then ride, then skeedaddle over to Toy Story for the remainder of EMH.

I'll do better taking pictures today. We had to get up at 2 am California time to make our flight so we all slept like logs last night and are raring to go!

Nice to hear that you and your family got there safely.

Very interesting to hear that the crowds were crazy yesterday. That was a long time to get your AP's at the ticket booths. Glad that you were able to go on BLAB and beat your DH. I'm glad the tips helped you really well.

That is great news to hear that you were able to see BVS and CL with the full Holiday decorations. Your pictures will be great even at night. I knew that you were going to ride TSMM when you got there on the first day since you all enjoy going on that ride. Those are very high scores on TSMM. Grumpy and Donald got very high scores and you also got a high score as well. Nice to hear that you have a great view from your and see WoC at night. I can't wait to see your pictures during your trip.

Have a great day at the parks and enjoy yourselves.

 

[slg]

Leaving tomorrow! Worried about the crowds...we are staying at the Desert Inn and the temps go quite high to quite low while we are there. Just so we don't have to carry all of our clothes all day, we were thinking we would go back to the hotel and change if we got cold in the evenings. Now I'm worried that we won't get back in because the park will be at the max.

Can someone reassure me? We are there Dec. 17-22 but we are taking Saturday off because I hate Saturdays in the parks...too busy!

 

[Sherry E]

Leaving tomorrow! Worried about the crowds...we are staying at the Desert Inn and the temps go quite high to quite low while we are there. Just so we don't have to carry all of our clothes all day, we were thinking we would go back to the hotel and change if we got cold in the evenings. Now I'm worried that we won't get back in because the park will be at the max.

Can someone reassure me? We are there Dec. 17-22 but we are taking Saturday off because I hate Saturdays in the parks...too busy!

slg --

Well, I think it will definitely be crowded because your trip is within the week and days leading up to Christmas. There is no getting around that. I don't know if I would worry about capacity crowds the entire time, though. Those are more likely to occur between Christmas and New Year's and not before Christmas.

Even if, for some reason, DL hit capacity crowds on one day during your trip it probably would not happen every day during your trip, and even if it happened you'd be able to get in the park eventually, later that day.

I wouldn't worry. Just go in with the expectation that it will be really crowded. If you prepare for the crowds, then if they turn out to be more manageable than you expected it will be a relief!

I find that crowds congregate in different areas, so certain spots might be a madhouse while other areas are relatively calm and not crowded, and then they switch around. Areas like Adventureland and NOS will always be crowded, I think.

You could always get a locker in Disneyland to store your coats and warm clothes, just in case you're worried about not being able to get back into the park after a hotel break. I don't think it would be necessary, but it's a good back-up plan if you are concerned.

Have a great trip, and please come back to this thread to let us know how it went!

 

[rentayenta]

Sherry, I'm seeing rain for Thursday, our DCA day......do you know what will be closed?


Sounds like you had a wonderful trip.

 

[Pinup Mommy]

Leaving tomorrow! Worried about the crowds...we are staying at the Desert Inn and the temps go quite high to quite low while we are there. Just so we don't have to carry all of our clothes all day, we were thinking we would go back to the hotel and change if we got cold in the evenings. Now I'm worried that we won't get back in because the park will be at the max.

Can someone reassure me? We are there Dec. 17-22 but we are taking Saturday off because I hate Saturdays in the parks...too busy!

Maybe you can rent a locker so there is no worry about leaving the resort to change clothing.

Thursday it is forecasted to rain and that usually keeps a lot of people away, Friday is a black out day for SoCal APs so that will keep a lot of locals out and Saturday only Premium AP's are open so I think that will help too.

Ysell

 

[rentayenta]

Maybe you can rent a locker so there is no worry about leaving the resort to change clothing.

Thursday it is forecasted to rain and that usually keeps a lot of people away, Friday is a black out day for SoCal APs so that will keep a lot of locals out and Saturday only Premium AP's are open so I think that will help too.

Ysell

Sweet, thank you! I was hoping Friday was a block out day.

 

[czmom]

egritz and Bret- thanks for chiming in on August/summer crowds. It is encouraging to hear your reports. I was afraid of a "if you thought your week was bad, that was nothing compared to summer!"

 

[briggscreek]

We were in the parks last week Monday through Thursday and had a great time for the most part. It was more crowded than in years past, but I expected it to be so it wasn't a big deal. We never waited more than 20 minutes for anything all week. There did seem to be a lot of ride breakdowns though and we were walked off of Space Mountain during EE, it took forever for them to come and get us off of the ride!

My 7 year old daughter and I absolutely love Haunted Mansion Holiday, I think we rode it eight times. It's the one thing we miss the most when visiting outside of the holidays. We also finally watched It's Tough to be a Bug and it was so much fun, can't believe we never did it before!

We did have one bad experience. We watched Frozen in Downtown Disney when we arrived on Sunday night and just loved it. My daughter isn't crazy about princesses, but she said it was the best Disney movie and Elsa was her very favorite princess. For the first time ever, she asked to go to a meet and greet to see Elsa. So we arrived at 10:30 for an 11:00 opening and verified that Elsa would be there with the cm. We were about the 15th family in line. The princesses arrived about 20 minutes late, and we waited and waited. Finally, it was a bit after noon and it was almost our turn when they announced that they were taking a break and only Anna would be coming back. We left after 2 hours, she was bummed out, and I'm still kind of irritated about the whole thing. They really need to come up with a better way to manage the meet and greet. I have no problem with them taking breaks, but I can't figure out why they wouldn't have them both there all the time, especially since Elsa is obviously the most popular. I do know our DD will never ask to meet a princess again. Ok, done with my rant!

I also got a touch of food poisoning on Tuesday night and I'm sure it was from the Rainforest Cafe. I stayed at the hotel for half of Wed, and didn't eat anything besides crackers for the rest of the trip. Oh well, saved some money on food LOL. We were planning on watching World of Color on Wed too, but I didn't feel good enough. Guess we'll do it next time!

 

[tksbaskets]

Just a quick update. Extra magic hour at DCA today. Rode RSR (tip: the FP machine doesn't begin till the official park opening so don't waste your time going there first...ask me how I know)

Rode RSR first thing then went over the PPier to ride Toy Story - we walked on 4 times in a row!! Grumpy scored 362K, Donald 306K and DH topped 200K. I got up to 180K....I think Grumpy was stealing my high point targets. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Our arms were about to fall off at that point.

The crowds were very manageable today. TOT wait was less than 20 minutes until the afternoon. California Screaming was a very short wait until the afternoon too. The size of DCA helps and this was the least crowded we've ever seen it. Hoping for the same luck tomorrow at DL with Magic Morning. The longest wait of the day was at Pacific Warf Cafe waiting for my bread bowl and soup. Here's another tip - there's an express line if you just want the clam chowder in a bread bowl and a drink (that I discover after waiting in the regular line)

Really are loving BVS and Carsland! Getting ready to watch WOC from our balcony in 45 minutes.

 

[rentayenta]

Just a quick update. Extra magic hour at DCA today. Rode RSR (tip: the FP machine doesn't begin till the official park opening so don't waste your time going there first...ask me how I know)

Rode RSR first thing then went over the PPier to ride Toy Story - we walked on 4 times in a row!! Grumpy scored 362K, Donald 306K and DH topped 200K. I got up to 180K....I think Grumpy was stealing my high point targets. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Our arms were about to fall off at that point.

The crowds were very manageable today. TOT wait was less than 20 minutes until the afternoon. California Screaming was a very short wait until the afternoon too. The size of DCA helps and this was the least crowded we've ever seen it. Hoping for the same luck tomorrow at DL with Magic Morning. The longest wait of the day was at Pacific Warf Cafe waiting for my bread bowl and soup. Here's another tip - there's an express line if you just want the clam chowder in a bread bowl and a drink (that I discover after waiting in the regular line)

Really are loving BVS and Carsland! Getting ready to watch WOC from our balcony in 45 minutes.

Four times on TSMM? Thats good news. I'm hoping the rest of the week stays uncrowded.

Can't. Wait to get my Mickey sourdough loaf.

 

[Sherry E]

Four times on TSMM? Thats good news. I'm hoping the rest of the week stays uncrowded.

Can't. Wait to get my Mickey sourdough loaf.

Jenny --

There's also a snowman loaf, a candy cane loaf and a Christmas tree loaf -- all of which I would happily show you photos of...if I could get my photos to download from my camera. By the time I get them downloaded (once the card reader gets here) you will have already taken your trip!

​

TK and briggscreek --

Thank you so much for the reports!

briggscreek -- I think I was of the same mindset that you were. It was more crowded last week than in years past, but I was kind of expecting it so it didn't really bother me too much (except for on Candlelight night).

I'm so sorry to hear about the Elsa fiasco and the food poisoning. I agree that there should be a better way to handle the character meet & greet spots and when they take their breaks.



TK -- I have a hunch that what is happening this year is that the concentration of crowds shifted more to the first half of December, and the second half of December (like now) will end up being less crowded than expected! All of the people who piled into the first half of December were trying to avoid the crowds in the second half of the month, thus leaving the second half of the month less crowded!

This, of course, does not mean that it won't be a packed house between Christmas and New Year's -- I think that will never change just because of the sheer volume of people who are out of work and school. But I would not be surprised if, between now and Christmas, the crowds are a wee bit lighter than they ordinarily would be at this time of year.