Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread #4

[revwog1974]

I totally agree with you. I would love stadium seating, but I don't see how they'd put that in to the current area without some massive remodeling. Maybe they need to do that?

i hope that every one doing the F fp dinners will give enough info for a new super thread update for next time I go LOL
I wish they would have chairs for ppl or bench's or stadium seats for woc and F

 

[krispin41]

Well....booked my Holiday Tour todayfor 12/12. (and Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour yesterday--for 12/11)

And then on a whim, I decided to see if I could get a Blue Bayou Fantasmic! reservation....and after several tries on the website, I was able to do just that...and the 5:30 time I was able to get, of course conflicted with my Tour time....so after a frantic phone call, I was allowed to switch my tour to an earlier time.

I will report back...kinda excited now! Well more than excited, I wasn't originally going to see Fantasmic! this trip, but it is a favorite!!

 

[tksbaskets]

We leave in 11 hours and 45 mins, and we plan to take lots of pics and post them here and on our trip report nightly

Have a safe and happy journey to the happiest place on earth! I appreciate any reports you can give us

Count me in as one that loved Nine Lives of Christmas! I haven't seen Gregory Harrison in anything recently, boy he has aged very well! I thought the leads were perfect and had chemistry, unlike One Starry Christmas. The cats were prominent, but not in an annoying, its all about the cats way. It was a perfect balance. I am hoping to watch A Cookie Cutter Christmas later today.

Sorry to hear about your tooth. I hope it gets fixed soon and doesn't cause you too much pain. Although missing out on Peppermint ice cream is pretty painful!

I was thinking the same thing about Gregory and hope to watch A Cookie Cutter Christmas today too.

So it looks like this year we're not getting any of the Hallmark movies until December and only on the weekends. So far in the programming I've found-
Help for the Holidays
A Perfect Christmas
Snow Bride
12 Wishes of Christmas
A Boyfriend for Christmas
The Christmas Secret (a new one, yay!)
Matchmaker Santa
All I want for Christmas
Christmas in Conway
One Christmas Eve

I have probably seen all these movies but I really liked Snow Bride & 12 Wishes for Christmas from your list. My DH laughs when I come home and turn on the Hallmark Channel for all night viewing

 

[disneygrandma]

Our feelings were mixed on 9 Lives. First off, did anybody catch the city or state where this is suppose to take place? Was it suppose to be in a cold winter state? Many times they had on winter coats, but with all the green leaves & grass around them, it just wasn't believable as being Christmas time. The setting looked wrong and off. Now I know there are many states that have warm weather in Christmas, and would thus be green. However, the feeling we got in the movie was that they were in a colder winter state.

2nd, when these firefighters had an alarm, they slowly-y-y moved around to get going on the call. Their bunker gear was always clean. And how many paid firefighters have their bunker coat in their car in order to toss over the shoulders of a cold girlfriend?

On Christmas Day, the station was manned with only one firefighter. And then he drove the fire truck to the park...by himself...to surprise the girl. Yes, it was romantic. But in reality, there's no way that could happen.

After looking past so many things that weren't right in the movie, we did find the cats to be funny, and we're not cat lovers. But they did make the movie enjoyable.

Being a Hallmark movie, we knew what the outcome would be, right from the beginning. And yet we watched it anyway.

I don't want to be flamed here, but it just irritates me when movies get so many things so so wrong. I know, it's for entertainment, but I can't help focusing on the details. A movie about firefighters should try to be a little bit more accurate.

 

[tksbaskets]

Our feelings were mixed on 9 Lives. First off, did anybody catch the city or state where this is suppose to take place? Was it suppose to be in a cold winter state? Many times they had on winter coats, but with all the green leaves & grass around them, it just wasn't believable as being Christmas time. The setting looked wrong and off. Now I know there are many states that have warm weather in Christmas, and would thus be green. However, the feeling we got in the movie was that they were in a colder winter state.

2nd, when these firefighters had an alarm, they slowly-y-y moved around to get going on the call. Their bunker gear was always clean. And how many paid firefighters have their bunker coat in their car in order to toss over the shoulders of a cold girlfriend?

On Christmas Day, the station was manned with only one firefighter. And then he drove the fire truck to the park...by himself...to surprise the girl. Yes, it was romantic. But in reality, there's no way that could happen.

After looking past so many things that weren't right in the movie, we did find the cats to be funny, and we're not cat lovers. But they did make the movie enjoyable.

Being a Hallmark movie, we knew what the outcome would be, right from the beginning. And yet we watched it anyway.

I don't want to be flamed here, but it just irritates me when movies get so many things so so wrong. I know, it's for entertainment, but I can't help focusing on the details. A movie about firefighters should try to be a little bit more accurate.

What a great critique~ I think I was just so happy that it wasn't the same ilk as A Stary Christmas I let the inconsistencies pass by unnoticed.

I appreciate your chiming in as it's fun to get the perspectives of many.

 

[Sherry E]

Our feelings were mixed on 9 Lives. First off, did anybody catch the city or state where this is suppose to take place? Was it suppose to be in a cold winter state? Many times they had on winter coats, but with all the green leaves & grass around them, it just wasn't believable as being Christmas time. The setting looked wrong and off. Now I know there are many states that have warm weather in Christmas, and would thus be green. However, the feeling we got in the movie was that they were in a colder winter state.

2nd, when these firefighters had an alarm, they slowly-y-y moved around to get going on the call. Their bunker gear was always clean. And how many paid firefighters have their bunker coat in their car in order to toss over the shoulders of a cold girlfriend?

On Christmas Day, the station was manned with only one firefighter. And then he drove the fire truck to the park...by himself...to surprise the girl. Yes, it was romantic. But in reality, there's no way that could happen.

After looking past so many things that weren't right in the movie, we did find the cats to be funny, and we're not cat lovers. But they did make the movie enjoyable.

Being a Hallmark movie, we knew what the outcome would be, right from the beginning. And yet we watched it anyway.

I don't want to be flamed here, but it just irritates me when movies get so many things so so wrong. I know, it's for entertainment, but I can't help focusing on the details. A movie about firefighters should try to be a little bit more accurate.

disneygrandma --

No one is flaming you here -- flaming is for Facebook, not for The DIS, and it's certainly not for my Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread!

If I am not mistaken, I think the setting of Nine Lives of Christmas was supposed to be Oregon. However, it may have actually been filmed elsewhere. A lot of Hallmark's movies are supposed to be set in the U.S. but are actually filmed in Canada. Or, they might film a movie in Utah when it is supposed to be set in Los Angeles or something!

I am a very detailed, detail-oriented and analytical person (which will surprise no one who has followed any of my threads or previous TRs over the years), but I have to just put aside my logical thinking when it comes to Hallmark's movies or any other movies of that ilk (like the ones on Lifetime, UP, Ion, Insp, ABC Family, etc.). They are all 99% implausible, extremely predictable and largely unbelievable/unrealistic, so I just kind of realize that going in and go along for the fun ride. With Hallmark movies, there has to be a sort of suspension of disbelief, I suppose. They are lightweight and frothy, and probably fairly low-budget, which is how they get away with making a dozen new ones each year.

I don't think the movie was supposed to really be about firefighters so much as just being about the guy's love for the cat, and the way the cat brought the firefighter to the girl. I think that the firefighting was just supposed to be an incidental element to the story to show that the lead guy was a good guy, and to show that he was being teased by his fellow fireman about being non-committal.

The movie wasn't even really about Christmas, to be honest! Christmas was very much just a backdrop, and not part of the story. It could have easily been called "The Nine Lives of Valentine's Day" or "The Nine Lives of St. Patrick's Day" and it would have worked out the same! And the title is kind of misleading, too, as it sounds like the movie is all about the cat and what the cat does!

I have probably seen all these movies but I really liked Snow Bride & 12 Wishes for Christmas from your list. My DH laughs when I come home and turn on the Hallmark Channel for all night viewing

TK --

You haven't seen One Christmas Eve yet -- that's the new Hall of Fame movie with Anne Heche that is debuting on the Hallmark Channel on Sunday, 11/30, but it is not considered one of the 12 new movies of Christmas. So we get a baker's dozen of new movies again this year, just like last year (Pete's Christmas was the bonus movie in 2013).

 

[DahliaRW]

Now that the website is working we were able to get F! reservations at BB on the 12th! We currently have 3 other F! dining reservations we need to cancel - but the website won't let you cancel online and I'm not sitting on hold to do so... Hopefully they fix that soon so I can free up some reservations for others!

 

[kylie71]

Our feelings were mixed on 9 Lives. First off, did anybody catch the city or state where this is suppose to take place? Was it suppose to be in a cold winter state? Many times they had on winter coats, but with all the green leaves & grass around them, it just wasn't believable as being Christmas time. The setting looked wrong and off. Now I know there are many states that have warm weather in Christmas, and would thus be green. However, the feeling we got in the movie was that they were in a colder winter state.

2nd, when these firefighters had an alarm, they slowly-y-y moved around to get going on the call. Their bunker gear was always clean. And how many paid firefighters have their bunker coat in their car in order to toss over the shoulders of a cold girlfriend?

On Christmas Day, the station was manned with only one firefighter. And then he drove the fire truck to the park...by himself...to surprise the girl. Yes, it was romantic. But in reality, there's no way that could happen.

After looking past so many things that weren't right in the movie, we did find the cats to be funny, and we're not cat lovers. But they did make the movie enjoyable.

Being a Hallmark movie, we knew what the outcome would be, right from the beginning. And yet we watched it anyway.

I don't want to be flamed here, but it just irritates me when movies get so many things so so wrong. I know, it's for entertainment, but I can't help focusing on the details. A movie about firefighters should try to be a little bit more accurate.

Have you ever read Harlequin Romance novels? They are all predictable... These movies are really like Romance Novels come to life... take it all with a grain of salt..... they are Happy, and Sappy.. and predictable... and that is why we love them! They are Christmas movies after all, and meant to make you feel good.

Thank You for your views.

--Lori

 

[Sherry E]

Now that the website is working we were able to get F! reservations at BB on the 12th! We currently have 3 other F! dining reservations we need to cancel - but the website won't let you cancel online and I'm not sitting on hold to do so... Hopefully they fix that soon so I can free up some reservations for others!

DahliaRW --

The DLR website won't let you cancel online? (I've never made or cancelled a reservation on their website.) That seems very inconvenient! If you can make a reservation online, it seems that you should be able to cancel online as well.

 

[OHBelle]

Our feelings were mixed on 9 Lives. First off, did anybody catch the city or state where this is suppose to take place? Was it suppose to be in a cold winter state? Many times they had on winter coats, but with all the green leaves & grass around them, it just wasn't believable as being Christmas time. The setting looked wrong and off. Now I know there are many states that have warm weather in Christmas, and would thus be green. However, the feeling we got in the movie was that they were in a colder winter state.

2nd, when these firefighters had an alarm, they slowly-y-y moved around to get going on the call. Their bunker gear was always clean. And how many paid firefighters have their bunker coat in their car in order to toss over the shoulders of a cold girlfriend?

On Christmas Day, the station was manned with only one firefighter. And then he drove the fire truck to the park...by himself...to surprise the girl. Yes, it was romantic. But in reality, there's no way that could happen.

After looking past so many things that weren't right in the movie, we did find the cats to be funny, and we're not cat lovers. But they did make the movie enjoyable.

Being a Hallmark movie, we knew what the outcome would be, right from the beginning. And yet we watched it anyway.

I don't want to be flamed here, but it just irritates me when movies get so many things so so wrong. I know, it's for entertainment, but I can't help focusing on the details. A movie about firefighters should try to be a little bit more accurate.

disneygrandma --

No one is flaming you here -- flaming is for Facebook, not for The DIS, and it's certainly not for my Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread!

If I am not mistaken, I think the setting of Nine Lives of Christmas was supposed to be Oregon. However, it may have actually been filmed elsewhere. A lot of Hallmark's movies are supposed to be set in the U.S. but are actually filmed in Canada. Or, they might film a movie in Utah when it is supposed to be set in Los Angeles or something!

I am a very detailed, detail-oriented and analytical person (which will surprise no one who has followed any of my threads or previous TRs over the years), but I have to just put aside my logical thinking when it comes to Hallmark's movies or any other movies of that ilk (like the ones on Lifetime, UP, Ion, Insp, ABC Family, etc.). They are all 99% implausible, extremely predictable and largely unbelievable/unrealistic, so I just kind of realize that going in and go along for the fun ride. With Hallmark movies, there has to be a sort of suspension of disbelief, I suppose. They are lightweight and frothy, and probably fairly low-budget, which is how they get away with making a dozen new ones each year.

I don't think the movie was supposed to really be about firefighters so much as just being about the guy's love for the cat, and the way the cat brought the firefighter to the girl. I think that the firefighting was just supposed to be an incidental element to the story to show that the lead guy was a good guy, and to show that he was being teased by his fellow fireman about being non-committal.

The movie wasn't even really about Christmas, to be honest! Christmas was very much just a backdrop, and not part of the story. It could have easily been called "The Nine Lives of Valentine's Day" or "The Nine Lives of St. Patrick's Day" and it would have worked out the same! And the title is kind of misleading, too, as it sounds like the movie is all about the cat and what the cat does!

I am kind of like Sherry- when it comes to Hallmark movies I tend to put aside my logical side. I appreciate your critique disneygrandma. No flames here! As my Mom always says "It wouldn't do for us all to like the same thing, it would make for a very boring world" Besides I prefer people give their honest opinion, not just parrot what everyone else says.

 

[Misskitty3]

We are back home now and had an absolute awesome trip!!!

Thank you Sherry for starting this thread and being such an excellent facilitator!!! Thank you to Sherry and everyone else for sharing photos and tips!!

I am eating my Apple Pie Carmel Apple as I type this - it is so good!!!

Saturday (Nov 8th) was a great day. Very reasonable crowds and we got in a lot of fun rides! We had dinner at Goofy's Kitchen ($170 for 4 people). DH and the kids love it and it is a tradition for us now. I find it VERY loud and chaotic but the food was delicious. The characters have special kitchen themed attire now. We all did the Napkin Dance and the kids talked about that on the way home from the airport last night. We had MM on Saturday but ended up skipping it which was a 1st for us. We arrived around 8am and walked right into DL. We never made it over to Calif Adventure.

Sunday (Nov 9th) was another great day with very manageable crowds. First thing, I went to get FP's for Anna and Elsa. I stood in line for about 30 minutes to get the FP's. We had a return time of 11:30 - noon. We got back to A&E around 11:30 and had only 1 family in front of us. Very nice!!! Had brunch at Carnation Cafe and it was just ok. Probably won't make CC a priority next time at least for breakfast. CC was always my favorite place to eat (Cinnamon Roll French Toast!!!) but it isn't the same now. Around 1pm, we went over to Calif Adv. The FP's were all gone for Cars by that time. The line for Toy Story was 45 minutes. We saw Aladdin around 4:45 and it was just as great as I remembered it! Love that show!! We went to the Cars ride afterwards and had an hour wait for Stand By - probably should have just done Single Rider but we really wanted to go as a family.

Monday was by far the busiest day. Somebody told me DL extended their hours to 11pm. We still rode tons of fun rides and got to see the fireworks! We had lunch at Blue Bayou (waterside table!) and it was so good! Blue Bayou is so relaxing and quiet - love that!! IASW lit up is amazing!!! IASW Holiday is awesome! So glad we got to see that!

Our favorite ride was Big Thunder. We have missed this ride the last 2 trips because it had been closed. It is so fun!!!

The food at Rancho is so good! DD and I split the fish tacos twice - yummy!!

Starbucks in DL never had a line - morning or afternoon??? I swear the Starbucks in Calif Adventure always had a line of about 25 people when we were there summer of 2013.

We stayed at Hojo's and, as always, had great service and a nice, comfy room. I booked our trip thru Jet Blue Getaways (they had the best price at the time). Hojo upgraded our room which was a very nice surprise! For the 1st time, I did the Von's grocery delivery and that was so easy. Hojo's put all of our groceries in our room and even put the cold items in the fridge for us.

We know for sure that 3 days in the parks is not enough for our family. Next time, we will go for 4 days. The kids have already started making a list of what rides they want to do next time!

 

[Sherry E]

New food-related blog from the Disney Parks Blog!!!

"Traditional Candy Kitchen Favorites Return to the Disneyland Resort for the Holidays" -- Disney Parks Blog; posted on November 12th, 2014 by Michelle Harker, Manager, Merchandise Marketing & Communications, Disneyland Resort

​

New Viva Navidad press release!

"‘Disney ¡Viva Navidad!’ Returns to Disneyland Resort, Adding Festive Latino Fun to Holiday Season, Nov. 13-Jan. 6" -- Disneyland News press release; posted on November 12, 2014

​

 

[figment_jii]

Many of the candy treats look similar to last year, but I like the marshmallow pom-pom on the Santa Mickey rice crispie treat. I can't wait to see what else DLR comes up (in terms of food offerings!).

 

[Sherry E]

Many of the candy treats look similar to last year, but I like the marshmallow pom-pom on the Santa Mickey rice crispie treat. I can't wait to see what else DLR comes up (in terms of food offerings!).

I agree, figment_jii --

I thought that most of it -- specifically the apples and the pretzel rods -- looked identical to last year's offerings, and I actually wondered if the photos in the Parks Blog were of the treats as they appear this year, or if they were from last year's array. It's a bit weird that they wouldn't have changed the design of the pretzel rod just a wee bit, so it wouldn't look identical to last year's version. And some of those apples are carbon copies of last year's apples.

 

[OHBelle]

Hallmark Movie Opinion....


I watched A Cookie Cutter Christmas. I give it a solid "B". I enjoyed the characters and the story was decent. It bugged me that all the cookies in the contest were obviously store bought! I was entertained and that is what I ask for in a movie. I would not buy it on DVD, but I would not turn it off if it was on.
So far, my rankings are 1. Nine Lives of Christmas 2. A Cookie Cutter Christmas and 3. (a very distant third) One Starry Christmas.

 

[Sherry E]

Hallmark Movie Opinion....


I watched A Cookie Cutter Christmas. I give it a solid "B". I enjoyed the characters and the story was decent. It bugged me that all the cookies in the contest were obviously store bought! I was entertained and that is what I ask for in a movie. I would not buy it on DVD, but I would not turn it off if it was on.
So far, my rankings are 1. Nine Lives of Christmas 2. A Cookie Cutter Christmas and 3. (a very distant third) One Starry Christmas.

Tracy --

Yep -- Those are my rankings as well, though I think I liked A Cookie Cutter Christmas slightly less than you did. It's one of those movies that I think I may need to watch again to see if my opinion changes. I'm just so-so about it. It's definitely not DVD-worthy for me either, but I thought it was a cute idea for a story -- though I thought that the single dad was too quick to assume the worst later in the movie, and that should have been a misunderstanding that was easy to clear up. I don't know that I saw any chemistry between the leads, but the lack of chemistry didn't annoy me as much as it did in One Starry Christmas!

There are 10 new movies remaining, and these are my expectations and early predictions:




Northpole -- Too much hype and build-up for one movie, even going as far back as last year. I am almost certain I will not like it as much as Hallmark wants me to. I don't care about special effects and all of that. I just like sweet, simple stories.

Angels and Ornaments -- This could be a good one. I might like it!




A Royal Christmas -- I generally don't like 'royalty' movies too much (much like pet movies), but Lacey Chabert is in it so there is hope.

The Christmas Shepherd -- A pet movie, and not a fun romp, so... it probably won't be my favorite.




Christmas Under Wraps -- I have high hopes because Candace Cameron Bure is in it. It probably won't be as endearing as Let it Snow, but it might be good.

One Christmas Eve -- Another pet movie, this time with Anne Heche.




Mr. Miracle -- Well... I doubt I will like it as much as I liked Mrs. Miracle, but it may be decent.

Christmas at Cartwright's -- Alicia Witt is in it, so I think it will be good. She is good in these Hallmark and Lifetime movies.





Best Christmas Party Ever -- I barely know anything about it, but I think I might like it.

Christmas Parade -- Another one I have barely heard anything about, but it has potential!

We are back home now and had an absolute awesome trip!!!

Thank you Sherry for starting this thread and being such an excellent facilitator!!! Thank you to Sherry and everyone else for sharing photos and tips!!

I am eating my Apple Pie Carmel Apple as I type this - it is so good!!!

Saturday (Nov 8th) was a great day. Very reasonable crowds and we got in a lot of fun rides! We had dinner at Goofy's Kitchen ($170 for 4 people). DH and the kids love it and it is a tradition for us now. I find it VERY loud and chaotic but the food was delicious. The characters have special kitchen themed attire now. We all did the Napkin Dance and the kids talked about that on the way home from the airport last night. We had MM on Saturday but ended up skipping it which was a 1st for us. We arrived around 8am and walked right into DL. We never made it over to Calif Adventure.

Sunday (Nov 9th) was another great day with very manageable crowds. First thing, I went to get FP's for Anna and Elsa. I stood in line for about 30 minutes to get the FP's. We had a return time of 11:30 - noon. We got back to A&E around 11:30 and had only 1 family in front of us. Very nice!!! Had brunch at Carnation Cafe and it was just ok. Probably won't make CC a priority next time at least for breakfast. CC was always my favorite place to eat (Cinnamon Roll French Toast!!!) but it isn't the same now. Around 1pm, we went over to Calif Adv. The FP's were all gone for Cars by that time. The line for Toy Story was 45 minutes. We saw Aladdin around 4:45 and it was just as great as I remembered it! Love that show!! We went to the Cars ride afterwards and had an hour wait for Stand By - probably should have just done Single Rider but we really wanted to go as a family.

Monday was by far the busiest day. Somebody told me DL extended their hours to 11pm. We still rode tons of fun rides and got to see the fireworks! We had lunch at Blue Bayou (waterside table!) and it was so good! Blue Bayou is so relaxing and quiet - love that!! IASW lit up is amazing!!! IASW Holiday is awesome! So glad we got to see that!

Our favorite ride was Big Thunder. We have missed this ride the last 2 trips because it had been closed. It is so fun!!!

The food at Rancho is so good! DD and I split the fish tacos twice - yummy!!

Starbucks in DL never had a line - morning or afternoon??? I swear the Starbucks in Calif Adventure always had a line of about 25 people when we were there summer of 2013.

We stayed at Hojo's and, as always, had great service and a nice, comfy room. I booked our trip thru Jet Blue Getaways (they had the best price at the time). Hojo upgraded our room which was a very nice surprise! For the 1st time, I did the Von's grocery delivery and that was so easy. Hojo's put all of our groceries in our room and even put the cold items in the fridge for us.

We know for sure that 3 days in the parks is not enough for our family. Next time, we will go for 4 days. The kids have already started making a list of what rides they want to do next time!

Misskitty3 --

You're very welcome! I'm glad your trip went well.

I'm shocked that Starbucks was not busy -- it seems like the 2 park locations are always busy when I'm there, and the DTD location was pretty active as well.

I love Goofy's -- I know a lot of people think it's loud, so you're not alone in that. I guess I always just thought of it as busy and lively.

What did you eat at Carnation Café? My favorite version of CC was the older one, back in the '90s and prior. I liked the old menu and the old indoor/outdoor seating better than I like the new menu/layout.

Did you smell any peppermint or balsam in IASWH? I read somewhere that the aromas were not working yet (just as they were not working in Haunted Mansion Holiday when Halloween Time began).

 

[tksbaskets]

Tracy --

Yep -- Those are my rankings as well, though I think I liked A Cookie Cutter Christmas slightly less than you did. It's one of those movies that I think I may need to watch again to see if my opinion changes. I'm just so-so about it. It's definitely not DVD-worthy for me either, but I thought it was a cute idea for a story -- though I thought that the single dad was too quick to assume the worst later in the movie, and that should have been a misunderstanding that was easy to clear up. I don't know that I saw any chemistry between the leads, but the lack of chemistry didn't annoy me as much as it did in One Starry Christmas!

There are 10 new movies remaining, and these are my expectations and early predictions:




Northpole -- Too much hype and build-up for one movie, even going as far back as last year. I am almost certain I will not like it as much as Hallmark wants me to. I don't care about special effects and all of that. I just like sweet, simple stories.

Angels and Ornaments -- This could be a good one. I might like it!




A Royal Christmas -- I generally don't like 'royalty' movies too much (much like pet movies), but Lacey Chabert is in it so there is hope.

The Christmas Shepherd -- A pet movie, and not a fun romp, so... it probably won't be my favorite.




Christmas Under Wraps -- I have high hopes because Candace Cameron Bure is in it. It probably won't be as endearing as Let it Snow, but it might be good.

One Christmas Eve -- Another pet movie, this time with Anne Heche.




Mr. Miracle -- Well... I doubt I will like it as much as I liked Mrs. Miracle, but it may be decent.

Christmas at Cartwright's -- Alicia Witt is in it, so I think it will be good. She is good in these Hallmark and Lifetime movies.





Best Christmas Party Ever -- I barely know anything about it, but I think I might like it.

Christmas Parade -- Another one I have barely heard anything about, but it has potential!

I'll 'third' the ranking for the new Hallmark Christmas Rankings. Don't forget about the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries offerings. I'm looking forward to "Signed, Sealed, & Delivered for Christmas".

 

[ARIELvsURSULA]

disneygrandma --

No one is flaming you here -- flaming is for Facebook, not for The DIS, and it's certainly not for my Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread!

If I am not mistaken, I think the setting of Nine Lives of Christmas was supposed to be Oregon.

If that's true let me assure you it gets plenty cold here! I live in Oregon and it was 35 degrees here today. I definitely needed a big heavy coat for my evening walk tonight!

 

[Misskitty3]

Misskitty3 --

You're very welcome! I'm glad your trip went well.

I'm shocked that Starbucks was not busy -- it seems like the 2 park locations are always busy when I'm there, and the DTD location was pretty active as well.

I love Goofy's -- I know a lot of people think it's loud, so you're not alone in that. I guess I always just thought of it as busy and lively.

What did you eat at Carnation Café? My favorite version of CC was the older one, back in the '90s and prior. I liked the old menu and the old indoor/outdoor seating better than I like the new menu/layout.

Did you smell any peppermint or balsam in IASWH? I read somewhere that the aromas were not working yet (just as they were not working in Haunted Mansion Holiday when Halloween Time began).

We were shocked by the lack of line at Starbucks too! Our first day, DH made a Starbucks run prior to going into DL because we assumed it we be a huge line! The Starbucks just over I-5 from Hojo's is nice and never too busy at 7am. When we walked into DL and saw there was only 1 or 2 people in line, we went to that one on Sunday and Monday!

I think for me, Goofy's would be more fun on a non-park day. The noise at dinner time after a full day at DL is too much for me. We have done Goofy's maybe 6 times over the last 9 years and we have always had great food and great service! And, I think you are right, the atmosphere is supposed to be party-like, so definitely lively and busy!

The Carnation Cafe from the 90's.....remember when you could sit at the counter inside? Loved that! My favorite thing was a grilled sandwich they made with roast beef (I think?) and it had melted cheese and avocado....it was so good! Couldn't you get ice cream sodas too?

I had the Apple Granola Pancakes but I have gluten issues and ordered the GF version. The pancakes were so tough and gummy (yuck!) and they didn't come with any of the apple topping. I assumed it wouldn't come with the granola but was really looking forward to the apple. GF pancakes are NOT hard to make and there are several good somewhat instant (just add egg, water and oil) versions. Pammela's makes a very good mix and my kids actually prefer it to regular flour pancakes. GF pancakes usually have a lighter, airy texture. Trader Joe's has an awesome GF Pumpkin pancake mix right now...it is delicious!!

Yes, IASMWH was scented as was the Haunted Mansion Holiday.

I forgot to mention that the crowds to see the live performances for the Holiday parade were a total non-issue. It looked like they had plenty of room for even more people, if you decided to participate.

One other tip was a fun app we saw people playing in line and we ended up purchasing. It is called Heads Up. My kids loved playing this and the time spent in line was something they looked forward to because they could play the game again.





Here are some more food photos:











Some more....

 

[meljensmom]

I just remembered something about getting a deal if we purchase a photo pass prior to leaving for our trip....can someone fill me in on this? I think there was a link in a previous post but I'm not having much success in finding it.

Thanks!