Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread #4

[Sherry E]

We are trying to plan a short trip to Disneyland during the Christmas season, tentatively the week after Thanksgiving. We went in 2013 during Halloween and really enjoyed Mickey's Party, however, we really want to see the Christmas magic. My question for anyone who knows is do they hold the fireworks in December during the week? They did not have them last year during the week unless it was a Mickey's Party night. I am trying to decide whether to spend the 3 days in the park to include a Fri or Sun if those are the only nights for fireworks. I would prefer midweek for crowds, if there is a chance to see the fireworks. If there is another place I should look for an answer, please let me know. Thanks in advance.

Hello, patticass, and welcome!

This is the Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread, so this is the place you should look for answers on all things holiday season-related! You came to the right place, indeed!

The Believe in Holiday Magic fireworks run every night during the official holiday season, weather permitting. If it is windy they will not take place. So you should be able to see them any night you are there if you go the week after Thanksgiving.

The Halloween Screams fireworks are used as a selling point for Mickey's Halloween Party -- they were only available to the general public for one year (2009) prior to becoming party exclusives. The party tends to take place on Fridays and another day earlier in the week. Outside of the Halloween party, the non-Halloween fireworks take place on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as on Columbus Day.

In the case of Believe in Holiday Magic, however, these fireworks are a regular part of Disneyland Resort's holiday season -- not held hostage to a paid party (as of yet).

In this post from page 1 of this thread -- in the Frequently Asked Questions section (it is, I think, the 4th post down from the top) -- you will see some links to the entertainment calendars and schedules for the last couple of seasons. You can see what the schedule was like for last year and when the fireworks were taking place! Page 1 also has all sorts of other info from previous seasons that you will find useful, from dining info to seasonal activities, etc. I am in the process of revising it to add in some other links.

 

[tksbaskets]

Okay...

I finally made it to the other side!

I appear to you now from my new PC -- -- and I cannot figure out one single thing in Windows 8! I am happily zipping along on the Internet and quickly scrolling down pages -- speed is something I have never known on a PC -- but I absolutely hate with all of my being this horrible Windows 8 layout. Talk about not knowing when to leave well enough alone (Microsoft, I am looking at YOU!). Good grief, Charlie Brown... even my email looks different.

Anyway, once I get the multiple updates loaded on here that have to be loaded and get some sense of what I am doing I can get back to updating my Halloween and Christmas Superthreads!!!! At the moment, I honestly can't even figure out how to copy links of pages and posts -- and the info that I compile for my threads is all about links! Where is the address/search bar that would normally be at the top of the screen?

Yeah, new fast computer!!! I had to learn Windows 8 when I had to get a new computer too. Takes some getting used to. I had to Google how to get the address/search bar to appear in my Google Chrome.

Sherry is you see I found some pictures of DL Christmas 1989?

 

[Sherry E]

Yeah, new fast computer!!! I had to learn Windows 8 when I had to get a new computer too. Takes some getting used to. I had to Google how to get the address/search bar to appear in my Google Chrome.

Sherry is you see I found some pictures of DL Christmas 1989?

I sure did see that, TK! I think I was still struggling with the old PC and in the throes of trying to get this confounded PC situation set up (before it was actually set up!) when I read your post so I didn't comment -- in fact, I skipped a few posts to which I was going to reply (Escape2Disney's was among them).

You will surely be able to use those old photos in a theme (or two) when the new Countdown begins...which will be in less than 4 months! We are getting closer with each passing week!

In fact, I am very impressed that you have photos from the holidays of 1989 -- I think the earliest holiday Disneyland photos I can find are from 1990. I am pretty sure I was there at some point around Christmas pre-1990 (though maybe only once or twice, and it was likely in the late 1970s or very early '80s), but someone else must have taken the photos and my memory is very vague. I think it was a very brief day trip.

Anyway, I will be eager to see your 1989 treasures!

By the way...there's a new Hallmark Channel movie on tonight. It appears to be their one and only April Fool's Day-themed offering. Maybe the Hallmark Channel is "the heart of April Fool's Day" too?? Next month I am guessing they will be "the heart of Mother's Day."

Have you downloaded the free upgrade for Windows 8.1? It is basically the same as Windows 8, but there are a few user-friendly things that make it worthwhile. I find that 8.1 doesn't try to force me back to the stupid start screen and the page with all of the stores as often as 8 was doing. And when I sign into Chrome or Explorer I can actually see the address bar and open new tabs with ease.

Did your Photoshop Elements have trouble with Windows 8, or did you get a version of Elements that was compatible with 8? I have been reading comments from people who have not been able to get Elements to work, either upon download or after the download, the editor won't work or something.

 

[areweindisneyyet]

Thank you, lucysmom - that's encouraging for the Sunday as a plan. Anyone been there on Christmas Day? I'm not sure if it's not busy or a nightmare...

Sure have. Lots of people but as we were there for eight days in total we did quieter things like wander through everywhere in Main Street, watched a show, visited the Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyer Island before enjoying a family dinner at The Grand Californian. We just soaked up the atmosphere and enjoyed. I'm so looking forward to returning at the start of the season hopefully. staying at the GCH from 11/12 to 11/14 for a quick stop before a work conference just hubby and me. Trying to guess how many gingerbread lattes I can consume. I can't believe I missed Superthread 3. Sherry so glad to hear about the new computer. If you right click on the apps on the front screen you can delete the unwanted ones.

 

[tksbaskets]

I sure did see that, TK! I think I was still struggling with the old PC and in the throes of trying to get this confounded PC situation set up (before it was actually set up!) when I read your post so I didn't comment -- in fact, I skipped a few posts to which I was going to reply (Escape2Disney's was among them).

You will surely be able to use those old photos in a theme (or two) when the new Countdown begins...which will be in less than 4 months! We are getting closer with each passing week!

In fact, I am very impressed that you have photos from the holidays of 1989 -- I think the earliest holiday Disneyland photos I can find are from 1990. I am pretty sure I was there at some point around Christmas pre-1990 (though maybe only once or twice, and it was likely in the late 1970s or very early '80s), but someone else must have taken the photos and my memory is very vague. I think it was a very brief day trip.

Anyway, I will be eager to see your 1989 treasures!

By the way...there's a new Hallmark Channel movie on tonight. It appears to be their one and only April Fool's Day-themed offering. Maybe the Hallmark Channel is "the heart of April Fool's Day" too?? Next month I am guessing they will be "the heart of Mother's Day."

Have you downloaded the free upgrade for Windows 8.1? It is basically the same as Windows 8, but there are a few user-friendly things that make it worthwhile. I find that 8.1 doesn't try to force me back to the stupid start screen and the page with all of the stores as often as 8 was doing. And when I sign into Chrome or Explorer I can actually see the address bar and open new tabs with ease.

Did your Photoshop Elements have trouble with Windows 8, or did you get a version of Elements that was compatible with 8? I have been reading comments from people who have not been able to get Elements to work, either upon download or after the download, the editor won't work or something.

I've got my DVR set for the new Hallmark movie! I ended up upgrading my PSE to version 11 so I didn't have any issues. My new processor is so quick compared to my old one. My PSE organizer opens right up!

 

[Sherry E]

Sure have. Lots of people but as we were there for eight days in total we did quieter things like wander through everywhere in Main Street, watched a show, visited the Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyer Island before enjoying a family dinner at The Grand Californian. We just soaked up the atmosphere and enjoyed. I'm so looking forward to returning at the start of the season hopefully. staying at the GCH from 11/12 to 11/14 for a quick stop before a work conference just hubby and me. Trying to guess how many gingerbread lattes I can consume. I can't believe I missed Superthread 3. Sherry so glad to hear about the new computer. If you right click on the apps on the front screen you can delete the unwanted ones.

Well, helllllllllooooooo, Mia!!

I'm so glad you've joined us! It's good to see you back in the Christmas Superthread. I have to admit, I did wonder what happened to you during the last thread because you disappeared, but I think I saw you post somewhere else on the board so I knew you were at least still around. I guess I just figured that you -- like many people do -- avoid certain threads if you are not planning a trip, and join the threads if you are planning a trip. I always try to make sure that people know that they are welcome and encouraged to join in whether a trip is in the works or not, if they want to keep up to date on what's happening for the holiday season -- or if they just want to hang out and soak up information, photos and discussion about past trips, future trips, whatever.

You may or may not have noticed that I have a link to your holiday tour post in the Holiday Tour section of page 1 of the thread (right near tksbaskets' and DizNee Luver's tour links too) -- it's in the Seasonal Events, etc. post.

It is so hard to predict what Disney/DLR will do -- because just as I think I have them nailed down to a reliable pattern that will be easy to follow, they switch things up on me -- but I am hoping/guessing that the parks will be in full holiday swing during your trip. I am going to assume that the season will have officially begun by your trip in November. At the very least, even if the whole season has not officially begun by 11/12 I tend to think that it will have begun by 11/14. So you should at least have one full day of official holiday fun -- if not more -- to ride IASWH and see the fun décor in DL and DCA.

The hotels will probably not be decorated when you're there, sadly, and I'm not sure of the status of the Downtown Disney festivities, but you'll at least get the holiday experience in the parks.

Thank you! I know you remember (because you used to follow my trip report thread, which is gone forever) the troubles I was having with the old computer. I mean, I can't even describe how awful it was. It wasn't merely slow and old. It just wasn't functioning -- I was shocked that it was even working every day, but it made my life so miserable and it made things so hard to get accomplished that I was going to eventually lose my mind. Over time, more things started failing or acting up. Pages would freeze up. Flash wouldn't update. Java wouldn't update. Certain websites were suddenly no longer accessible on my browsers. It would literally take me one hour to post here in this thread, when all I had to do was type up a couple of paragraphs, because the pages were locking up for 20 minutes or 40 minutes at a time. I would type two words and the page would freeze up for 20 minutes. I literally could not deal with it.

So I am so relieved to be done with that mess for a while. You know, I haven't deleted anything on the Start screen yet, but I have right clicked and closed all of the live tiles that kept flashing and blinking. I don't stay on that screen, so I have no use for live tiles throughout the day. I really just need the desktop screen -- that's it! I don't want to access anything else from that Start screen if I can help it. Everything I need is accessible from the desktop and taskbar!

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

There is so much going on here right now, some of it very stressful, but you just made my day by saying the countdown starts in under 4 months!!! That means I can look forward to our June trip; come back and start getting ready for the countdown which will take us right into our Nov. trip!!!

 

[Sherry E]

There is so much going on here right now, some of it very stressful, but you just made my day by saying the countdown starts in under 4 months!!! That means I can look forward to our June trip; come back and start getting ready for the countdown which will take us right into our Nov. trip!!!

Hi, Jamie!

I hope things haven't been too, too stressful for you.

It sounds like you have devised a good way to pass the time so the months don't drag on for you. You don't have too long to go before your June trip is here. Then, we will probably be kicking of the Theme Week Countdown in late July this time around instead of early August -- but I have to double check some themes and days of the week to be sure of how I am going to arrange them. We still may begin in August.

Let's put it this way -- the Theme Week Countdown of 2014 will begin somewhere in the week between Monday, July 28th and Monday, August 4th -- of this we can be certain -- and the exact date is yet to be determined! I will also kick it off with a different theme than the one I chose to start the last 3 Countdowns with -- it's always good to mix it up a bit! It may be a theme we have covered before, or it could be a brand new theme, but the kick-off theme will be different from the last 3 years' starting themes.

(Actually, TK has unknowingly given me an idea that I might have to mull over a bit...a twist on an existing theme... Hmm... I must put on my mad scientist hat and go back to my lab to work this out... )

Also, Jamie, be sure to hang out at your mom's house a lot from November 1st until it's time to take your trip, so you can catch some of the Hallmark Christmas flicks!

 

[Orbitron]

I didn't get a chance to reply or comment in the other thread, but I did see Orbitron's lovely photo (I'm so glad to read that he had a great time on the trip) and I read tipovertiff's trip review as well. Thank you to them, and to everyone else who took the time to post reviews, photos or recaps when they returned from DLR!

I didn't see this till now, our trip was awesome! It's great that there is a new superthread for the holiday season. We plan to come back in November. On our last visit we bought an annual pass and that's a good reason to spend another vacation in California!

 

[dsneygirl]

Ok I posted in this thread earlier but we are getting closer to making plans. Right now we are looking at Nov 13-18/19. Most of the decor should be up in the parks but not necessarily at the hotels correct?

From reading the FAQs that weekend could be busy with the start of the holiday season but our last trip was Opening Week of DCA in 2012 so it can't be much crazier than that right?

 

[ACDSNY]

Has anyone seen confirmation of this? Monday, November 18th, 2013 - Friday, November 22nd, 2013 -- The View tapes at Disneyland Resort

 

[AmberStar]

Officially booked our trip for the second week of December. We decided that instead of loads of toys this year we want to buy an experience and life long memory for the kids.

Our last visit was in 2010 when I was 3 months pregnant with morning sickness, had a 10 month old nursing kiddo and a 4 year old. This trip will be MUCH better and I can't wait!! Everyone is potty trained, 40 inches and can survive without a nap!! December can not come soon enough!

One of my fave DL visits as a kid was the trip we took at Christmastime... this should be even better experiencing it with my children. Seriously can't wait!!

 

[Sherry E]

I didn't see this till now, our trip was awesome! It's great that there is a new superthread for the holiday season. We plan to come back in November. On our last visit we bought an annual pass and that's a good reason to spend another vacation in California!

Orbitron --

Hello again! Yes, we ran out of space in the last thread and had to move to a new one!

I think you should definitely get one more holiday visit out of the Annual Pass! Stay tuned for the next Theme Week Countdown in late July or early August as well!

Ok I posted in this thread earlier but we are getting closer to making plans. Right now we are looking at Nov 13-18/19. Most of the decor should be up in the parks but not necessarily at the hotels correct?

From reading the FAQs that weekend could be busy with the start of the holiday season but our last trip was Opening Week of DCA in 2012 so it can't be much crazier than that right?

dsneygirl -

Correct. The parks' décor will be up, and the jury is out on the hotels' décor and Downtown Disney's decorations. If last year was any indication, the hotels' trees could go up at least one week before Thanksgiving but we won't know for sure until November.

I can't see any reason right now why this year's opening weekend would be any busier than the 2012 opening weekend. Of course, things could always change!

Has anyone seen confirmation of this? Monday, November 18th, 2013 - Friday, November 22nd, 2013 -- The View tapes at Disneyland Resort

ACDSNY --



Did you pull that link from page 1 of this thread, or did someone mention something elsewhere? (Remember, this thread is not fully updated yet -- it's under construction, as the title indicates -- as I had a bad computer I was dealing with and couldn't do anything. Now that I have a new one I am trying to prepare some things to add in and tweak/remove on page 1.)

That taping was last year, so I don't want to incite panic in people and make them think it is happening this year. There is no reason to think that The View will be back again this year, but I leave links on page 1 to let the readers read about what happened in previous years.

Officially booked our trip for the second week of December. We decided that instead of loads of toys this year we want to buy an experience and life long memory for the kids.

Our last visit was in 2010 when I was 3 months pregnant with morning sickness, had a 10 month old nursing kiddo and a 4 year old. This trip will be MUCH better and I can't wait!! Everyone is potty trained, 40 inches and can survive without a nap!! December can not come soon enough!

One of my fave DL visits as a kid was the trip we took at Christmastime... this should be even better experiencing it with my children. Seriously can't wait!!

Welcome, AmberStar! Thank you for joining us!!

You will have an amazing time -- the holiday season has changed so much at DLR over the decades, but has also improved in so many ways! The first and second weeks of December are my favorite times to be at DLR! It is pure holiday joy and bliss around every corner!

 

[ACDSNY]

Did you pull that link from page 1 of this thread, or did someone mention something elsewhere? (Remember, this thread is not fully updated yet -- it's under construction, as the title indicates -- as I had a bad computer I was dealing with and couldn't do anything. Now that I have a new one I am trying to prepare some things to add in and tweak/remove on page 1.)

That taping was last year, so I don't want to incite panic in people and make them think it is happening this year. There is no reason to think that The View will be back again this year, but I leave links on page 1 to let the readers read about what happened in previous years.

Hi Sherry

I saw this on the first page and was wondering if anyone has heard if the they will be back. I'm hoping it was a one time taping last year.

Good luck with your new PC. I need to set up DH new tablet for him and I keep procrastinating.

 

[Sherry E]

Hi Sherry

I saw this on the first page and was wondering if anyone has heard if the they will be back. I'm hoping it was a one time taping last year.

Good luck with your new PC. I need to set up DH new tablet for him and I keep procrastinating.

Thank you! I am still trying to get used to this new PC. The version of Word that's on here is not at all like the version to which I am accustomed and I am trying to figure out where things are going when I'm saving them, as all of the files and folders seem to be different than in previous versions of MS Word! Nothing is as it should be!

I tend to think that there is no real need for The View to be at DLR this year -- and especially not in the same time frame again. I could be wrong, of course! I would assume they'd go to WDW if they headed back to a Disney Resort at all this year. It is very unusual for any major show like that to tape at DLR for a whole week even one time, let alone two or more years in a row. That was a new thing for us.

Now next year, on the other hand... I would not be at all shocked if The View or any other talk show on ABC ended up at DLR, to celebrate the 60th birthday of Disneyland. That, to me, seems like a big enough event to bring out some of the ABC talk shows, but they could come out any time during 2015 -- maybe in July, when the actual birthdate takes place? The only problem is that July is peak season, so if talk shows descended on DLR for the 60th they might have to tape during a time frame that was typically less busy. Last year, The View taped during a week that was typically less busy than other weeks of the holiday season -- pre-Thanksgiving.

One show that could stand to do an update for the holidays at DLR is Guy Fieri's DLR Holiday show (Guy's Disney Holiday). That was actually filmed/taped in 2008! It aired on Food Network for the first time in 2009, of course, and it has run on that channel every year since -- despite the fact that a lot has changed! It needs to be updated, just as some of those Travel Channel Disney shows have been updated over the years.

 

[ACDSNY]

Let's hope so, there seems to be enough going on with the Avenger's marathon.

 

[GrandBob]

Hi Sherry! I've just poked my head back in here after being away again for a while. Congrats on your new computer! While I've managed to diligently stay away from Win8 myself, I know that lots of folks love a little utility called Start8 -- http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/ -- It brings back the start button to Win8. Best of all, it only costs 5 bucks! Or you can try it out for 30 days for free.

-Bob

 

[rentayenta]

Hi Sherry. I'm here too. Just got back from our first Disney Cruise and just started a trip report (link in soggy).

I'm excited for the Disneyland holiday season this year. Our dates are Nov 22-28. Hope our dates overlap so we can finally meet up.

 

[Sherry E]

Well, I've got one post on page 1 updated -- that would be the Welcome/Introductory post (the very first one). Only 11 more posts on page 1 to go! (I do have all of the extra info I am adding in saved in a Word file, so it will just be a matter of copying, pasting and arranging -- and then making more thumbnails of photos to add into the posts.)

A lot of what I do for this thread and for my Halloween Superthread involves compiling links and bits of info, and then trying to organize them by category. A lot of what goes into compiling the links and info involves being able to search threads and well as search the forum and the Internet in general. I can at least search now without everything freezing up on me 2 minutes in! I don't feel like I am stuck in quicksand for a change! So much time will be saved!

Let's hope so, there seems to be enough going on with the Avenger's marathon.

Angela --

Very true. I think the marathon is the wild card this year. Last year it was The View that was the wild card in terms of how it would affect crowds and such. This time around it will be the Avengers!

Hi Sherry! I've just poked my head back in here after being away again for a while. Congrats on your new computer! While I've managed to diligently stay away from Win8 myself, I know that lots of folks love a little utility called Start8 -- http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/ -- It brings back the start button to Win8. Best of all, it only costs 5 bucks! Or you can try it out for 30 days for free.

-Bob

Hi, Bob!

Thank you! You are a wise man to steer clear of Windows 8. I could have gotten a refurbished PC with Windows 7 on it, but I wanted to start fresh, with something new. I couldn't find any brand new PCs with 7 on them when I looked. Everything (for a reasonable price) seemed to have 8.

I have since upgraded (for free) to 8.1 (the update is on the Windows website), but even though 8.1 is just a tiny bit better than 8... I miss the "old" Start button. I hate the stupid Start screen that is on Windows 8 and 8.1. And I have learned to never access my email from the live tile on the Start screen because it will lead me to some crazy version of email and the Internet that looks totally different from what I am used to. I couldn't copy links! I need my regular ol' email and my regular ol' browsers and tabs to look like they used to.

If Start8 works with 8.1, I think $5 is a great deal and well worth it! Thank you for the link -- I think I will look into it!

Hi Sherry. I'm here too. Just got back from our first Disney Cruise and just started a trip report (link in soggy).

I'm excited for the Disneyland holiday season this year. Our dates are Nov 22-28. Hope our dates overlap so we can finally meet up.

Hi, Jenny!

I love the name of your new TR for your cruise! How funny! I watched Love Actually on TV over the weekend, and it is coming up again within the next few days I think. Check your listings!

So you will be at DLR on Thanksgiving this year? What fun! That is on my DLR bucket list -- one of these days I have to actually spend Thanksgiving at DLR. If there is any way that I will end up at DLR during the time you're there I will be sure to let you know.

 

[rentayenta]

Hi, Jenny!

I love the name of your new TR for your cruise! How funny! I watched Love Actually on TV over the weekend, and it is coming up again within the next few days I think. Check your listings!

So you will be at DLR on Thanksgiving this year? What fun! That is on my DLR bucket list -- one of these days I have to actually spend Thanksgiving at DLR. If there is any way that I will end up at DLR during the time you're there I will be sure to let you know.

We already decided we'll be eating corn dogs for Thanksgiving dinner. I read that the Disneyland t-day buffet is $73.99 per person. That's like Club 33 brunch prices.

Love Actually! Our favorite. Do you watch the Walking Dead? Our fella is the lead, Rick.