Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread #4

[dolphingirl47]

Well, my holiday trip seems to have moved a little closer. We booked the flights from the UK to Los Angeles today. We are flying US Airways via Philadelphia for the first time. We are going to chance flying Los Angeles to Honolulu and back standby.

Corinna

 

[JadeDarkstar]

yes I did and thank you. I think the days i have planed will work perfect now im just trying to decided to save 200, if we should stay at days inn that has a free shuttle.
we are moving this month or next so some extra cash i had is going there. I am still going this year but trying to think about giving one night at desert inn and one day at park up, or stay at day sinn. earthier way i save about 200.

 

[mom2rtk]

I hope you had a great birthday, Sherry!

 

[Misskitty3]

Happy Birthday Sherry!!


So excited for tomorrow......

 

[pattyduke34]

Sherry_ Have a great Birthday! Enjoy your trip and look forward to the start of the count down!

 

[Orbitron]

Happy Birthday Sherry, hope you have a magical day today!​

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[Sherry E]

Thanks, everyone, for the birthday wishes (it's tomorrow)! I'm actually going to try to go to sleep in about 2 hours, as I have to wake up super early in the morning...

Which got me thinking...

Something could happen with my Internet connection by tomorrow morning. There could be some sort of malfunction, or something that prevents me from getting on the Internet before I leave for Catalina. There could be a massive earthquake. I could run into an unexpected setback before I leave the house. Who knows?

So I thought I would surprise all of YOU and post the first theme of the 2014 Theme Week Countdown...NOW!!!!!!!! (Just pretend I have posted the theme tomorrow! Lol.)

You still have until next Sunday, 7/27/14, 11:59 p.m. P.S.T. to post your photos for this week's theme, but you now have a few extra hours at the front end of the week!

All future themes will go up on Monday, as usual. So, are we ready, everyone? Here we go (and I will try to check back in here tomorrow night, after I get back from Catalina, if I can, to answer any questions that may arise about the Countdown!)!!!!!!!!!!






It’s time to start the Fourth Annual Theme Week Countdown!!

…(Approximately) 16 Weeks Until the
Holiday Season Begins at the Disneyland Resort!!!! ​

With each new week will come a different Disneyland Resort holiday theme!

As I have previously mentioned in this Superthread, I’ll be showcasing a particular aspect of DLR's holiday celebration each week until early November. There are many themes to come over the next few months, including 14 main weekly themes (a new one every Monday from July 21, 2014 through October 20, 2014); 7 ‘mini-themes’ which will be featured each day from 10/27/14 – 11/2/14, and a final “Holiday Cornucopia/These Are a Few of My Favorite Things” theme on Monday, November 3, 2014 (there will be more details about what the “Cornucopia” can include when we get closer to that date!).

Those of you who have participated in previous Theme Week Countdowns may notice that this year’s Countdown is beginning a couple of weeks earlier than it did last year. I am kicking off the Countdown two weeks earlier than I did in 2013, and I am ending it the week before I expect the Holidays at DLR to officially commence (as of July 21, 2014, there has been no official confirmation of the holiday season start date for this year, but it is assumed that it will be sometime during the week of Monday, November 10, 2014 – Friday, November 14, 2014). The reason for that is, once November starts and the decorations in the parks appear little by little each day, our attention shifts to learning information and seeing photos of what is new for the current season’s celebration.

Theme Week Countdowns are a great way to keep the photos rolling in on a regular basis and build anticipation for November at the Disneyland Resort! They are also a way to display the different elements, nuances and details of the Holidays at DLR that may be totally new to some visitors...or previously unnoticed/undiscovered by others. Finally, this is an excellent way for our Theme Week Countdown participants to shine a light on their wonderful photos and attract visitors to their Trip Reports, blogs, etc.

So…what will be our very first theme of 2014? It is a triple header Theme Week, featuring 3 themes in one! Let’s share our favorite Disneyland Resort Holiday PhotoPass pictures, Holiday Character pictures and, of course, pictures with Santa Claus!!!

In the Spotlight this Week......

HOLIDAY CHARACTERS, PHOTOPASS and SANTA CLAUS PHOTOS!!!​

Whether you’ve held Tinker Bell in your hand, gasped in shock at Stitch popping up out of the ground, pointed up at Disney characters ‘soarin’ overhead or sat on a bench next to Mickey, chances are you may have posed for a PhotoPass picture or two in the past.

During the Christmas season you will find extra special holiday photo opportunities, including the dazzling nighttime Winter Castle; the enormous tree on Main Street; the magnificent It’s a Small World Holiday façade after dark; Santa Duffy at his post in California Adventure; the ‘real’ Santa in front of the stunning tree in the lobby of the Grand Californian Hotel, and many more. Accentuate those photos with festive themed borders on the PhotoPass website and you’ve got the perfect family Christmas cards!


Whether or not you choose to invest the time and money in PhotoPass, you may want to meet a few characters. During the holiday season at Disneyland Resort, the characters in the parks will sometimes dress in winter sweaters and scarves or Santa hats – maybe even reindeer ears. Sometimes they simply wear their ‘street clothes’ and stand in front of a holiday display of some kind. Often times you can find these furry, playful friends around Main Street or in Toontown. Occasionally they will appear in their seasonal outfits at character meals (more recently at Minnie and Friends). And you are sure to find at least a couple of characters (including Santa Goofy) at the Jingle Jangle Jamboree in Frontierland.


Santa Claus is in hot demand during the holiday season. Not only is he busy with his delivery duties on Christmas Eve, he is also a popular fixture in several places around Disneyland Resort.

From the official start of the holiday season in November to Christmas Eve, you will find the familiar ‘Red Suit Santa’ at the Jingle Jangle Jamboree (a.k.a. Big Thunder Ranch, a.k.a. Round-Up) in Disneyland and at the Elias & Co. store on Buena Vista Street, in California Adventure.

From Thanksgiving to December 24th you can find Santa at all 3 of the Disneyland Resort hotels (at different times of day – see the “Hotels” post on page 1 of this thread for Santa’s schedules). Santa usually has a PhotoPass photographer with him at all locations except the one at the Paradise Pier Hotel (though the PPH Santa is said to be especially fun and lively) and sometimes the one at the Disneyland Hotel.

Infrequent sightings of a post-Christmas Santa, clad in a green plaid ensemble at the Jingle Jangle Jamboree, have been reported -- though I’m not sure if Green Plaid Santa is guaranteed to be at the JJJ every year between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Today I am posting a mix of my PhotoPass pictures, character pictures, and pictures of Santa’s various photo spots, but please feel free to share your holiday character pictures (whether or not they are PhotoPass), your Santa Claus photos and your PhotoPass pictures!!!!

A few of my favorite PhotoPass Pictures



From December 2013 – This was a free PhotoPass photo that I got with my PPH hotel reservation. I had to go to the camera shop on Main Street to pick up the photo, and I later scanned it (hence, the diminished quality). PhotoPass did not send me the actual photo file, which I think I would have preferred!

Anyway, I’m the one with the blue winter scarf, and the friendly faces you see around me (in front of the Buena Vista Street Christmas tree) are DIS’ers Janet/mom2rtk and her daughter; Kathy/ksromack and her husband; and Kim/kmedina and her family!

December 2011 – With Duffy at his photo spot on Paradise Pier in DCA…

December 2009 - In front of the glorious nighttime Winter Castle, aglow in icicle lights…

December 2008 – With Santa at his Grand Californian Hotel photo spot (as you can see, I love me some winter scarves!)

December 2008 - Surprise (in front of the old, old DCA Christmas tree, pre-Buena Vista Street)!!!

Holiday-inspired Characters!



December 2013 – Notice that Buena Vista Street Goofy is wearing a holiday tie and a little wreath of some sort…

December 2013 – All the Pooh characters at this location in Critter Country wear some sort of holiday accessories/accents/attire!

November 2013 – Jingle Jangle Jamboree -- Holiday vest-wearing Mickey (excuse the blur – I literally had less than a second to snap, as people were running up to Mickey and I was trying to get one shot before anyone else ran in the frame)…

November 2012 – Buena Vista Street Pluto…

December 2010 - Reindeer Pluto at the Reindeer Round-Up (now known as the Jingle Jangle Jamboree)!

Ho ho ho! It’s Santa Claus!



November 2013 – At the Jingle Jangle Jamboree (again, another slightly blurry shot because I had to snap super-fast to catch Santa while I had a view of him, before anyone else got in the way)…

November 2013 – Another blink-and-you’ll-miss-him chance to snap Santa at Elias & Co. before people got in the way…

November 2012…Signs point the way to Santa at Elias & Co. …

December 2013 – Santa Claus’ jazzy, beach-themed photo spot at the Paradise Pier Hotel…

December 2013 – Santa’s elegant spot at the Grand Californian Hotel Christmas tree…

December 2013 – Santa’s lovely, detailed photo spot at the Disneyland Hotel (my favorite of the 3 hotel Santa locations)…

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I may or may not post more photos during the week.

Please feel free to post your Holiday Characters pictures, PhotoPass pictures and Santa Claus photos all this week, through Sunday, July 27, 2014, 11:59 p.m., P.S.T.

Then, stay tuned for our second theme on Monday, July 28th!! We have many themes coming up in future weeks, so get your photos ready! (Oh, and for those who are paying attention, there is no code word for today! Ho ho ho!)

 

[pattyduke34]

Ok, here are a few of mine!

Selfie with Tigger!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Have a great time at Catalina Sherry.

Here are mine from last year.

Minnie


Santa Chair at the GCH Lobby


At the DLH


Jingle Jangle Jamboree


Santa goofy

 

[kylie71]

OK, here we go!! Have a FUN Birthday!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

Here are three for me

 

[Orbitron]

Okay, here we go!

Holiday Characters

PhotoPass

Santa Claus

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[Luisa]

Yay it's started! Three from me...

 

[Sherry E]

I'm waiting for my ride to the boat terminal at the moment, and thought I'd pop in and comment before I have to leave.

I haven't had time to log all of the entries into the random draw yet, but I had to give everyone a round of applause for posting such fun, colorful and festive photos already! It's a great way to kick off the Countdown! (JadeDarkstar -- I'm so glad you had something you could post!)


I really love Orbitron's photos! Orbitron, you have great shots of all kinds -- PhotoPass, characters and Santa! I love all the different poses in the PhotoPass pictures and in the character pictures!


Anyway, I must sign off now. Keep the photos coming, everyone -- we have until Sunday to post photos for this week's theme!

 

[figment_jii]

Happy Birthday Sherry! I hope you have a fun-filled birthday!

Oh, I love the Theme Week Countdowns. It's always so much fun to see Disneyland Resort all decked out in it's holiday finery. (We can dream about Halloween getting the same treatment, right? )

I don't have to many photos of characters (and none of Santa or the Photopass), but these are a few that I found.

Last year, at Jingle Jangle Jamboree, at the end of the Billy Hill and the Hillbillies show, the Country Bears made an appearance. They were wearing scarves that were holiday colored.

And over in Critter Country, Winnie the Pooh and friends were meeting guests with Holiday attire on. In Tigger's case, that was a snowflake Santa hat!

 

[Natara]

Wow!! Such gorgeous photos

And happy birthday, Sherry!

 

[rentayenta]

Yay for theme weeks. I need the pick me up. Have a case of the Mondays for sure.

I'll be back with pics and Happy Birthday Sherry.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Happy birthday, Sherry. I hope you are having a magical day.

Those photos are making me so excited. I can't wait to see all of this myself later in the year.

Corinna

 

[Orbitron]

I really love Orbitron's photos! Orbitron, you have great shots of all kinds -- PhotoPass, characters and Santa! I love all the different poses in the PhotoPass pictures and in the character pictures!

Thank you, there is more to come! All the other pictures here are great too!

 

[ociana]

Happy Birthday Sherry!!!!