And yet another Frozen-related Blog has gone up on the Disney Parks Blog (this time, it's in regards to winter at Tokyo Disneyland)!
Remember, I said last week that -- given the number of Frozen-related Blogs that have been popping up on the Parks Blog in the last couple of weeks -- I felt/feel strongly that Disney is gearing up to announce something about Disneyland and Frozen, which will probably be what MiceAge reported last week, about the ice rink, sing-along and meet and greet in Hollywood Land (which makes NO sense as a location for Frozen things, but okay...).
They seem to not want Frozen to leave our minds for one second, and they continue to do blogs about Frozen stuff every week! So I am thinking that is what we will get -- a holiday season dates announcement, along with a side helping of Frozen too! They are probably going to pair the holiday season dates 'revelation' with the announcement of the Frozen section of HL.
A big thank you to
Jenasweetemotion and to
figment_jii for answering
Misskitty3's question about the shirt! I had just read her question when I was going over the last few pages to quote the comments I was going to reply to, and I was thinking that I had absolutely
no clue about that shirt! I was hoping someone else would know.
Before I even completed my quoting process, you guys had already responded, which is awesome! Thank you so much for helping out and for being so quick to do it!
I've logged everyone's excellent and amazing "Hotels of the Disneyland Resort" photo submissions -- from
Bret/mvf-m11c all the way to the most recent,
Jack/blackjackdelta -- and I also wanted to acknowledge that
Vintage Mouseketeer was entered into the random draw again for her last minute submission to the previous week's theme (which was Toontown)!
Sherry for some reason I had my bench pictures all ready to go...perhaps your mentioning sitting on a bench. I watched the Hallmark Movie 'The Color of Rain' last night. It could have been a Countdown to Christmas movie as it's last scene was Christmas Eve. Can't wait for the real one to start!
2012
That beautiful tree again - why until this very moment didn't I ever notice the untique tree topper??? Is it just me?
Attemping a
Sherry shot
:
TK --
I do have quite a few photos like that, don't I? You should see the looks I get from people as I work my way around all of the trees around DLR, trying to zoom in on random ornaments!
I didn't notice the reindeer tree topper at first -- like not for the first year or two of GCH holiday visits -- but I eventually noticed it several years ago. Because the tree is so tall, it is easy to overlook the topper, right?
It's funny that you mentioned
The Color of Rain (which, by the way, stars the same guy who is in one of my favorite Hallmark Christmas movies,
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!), and that it could have been a Countdown to Christmas movie. I saw maybe the first hour of TCOR when it debuted on the Hallmark Movie Channel a while back, but I didn't get to finish it.
However, I noticed that, in one of Lacey Chabert's scenes at the school, or hospital, or wherever she was, in the background there were some Christmas craft-looking things on a bulletin board or something along those lines. Maybe a flyer advertising a Christmas event? I can't recall exactly what I saw without watching it again (which I will eventually do).
So I remember thinking, "Hmmm...it's interesting how the story is set during the holidays, although it is not a holiday movie, and they managed to work in tiny little Christmas touches in the background."
I wonder if Hallmark does that intentionally -- like, perhaps, when they set out to film a movie they integrate little bits of the holiday so that they can use it during their Christmas movie marathons too -- just in case! Or, in case they decide to debut in during the holidays instead of any other time, they can suddenly call it a "holiday movie" because, as you said, the last scene takes place on Christmas Eve!
In any case, the press releases for at least 7 or 8 of the twelve brand new holiday 2014 movies are out, so let me know if you want to read them and I will link you to the site where they all can be found. I know that Alicia Witt (who was in two of my favorite holiday movies of last year -- Hallmark's
A Very Merry Mix-Up and Lifetime's
A Snow Globe Christmas -- is going to be in one of the new Hallmark movies this year, called
Holiday Help, but there is no press release for it so far. I like her, so I'm glad she will be in another Christmas movie.
Candace Cameron Bure posted on her Facebook page last week that she was going to be filming 3 movies back-to-back (starting in Utah, I think?). A lot of people commented and asked if any of them would be Hallmark movies or Hallmark Christmas movies and Candace did not answer. I
wish they would do a sequel to
Let it Snow, but I don't think that will happen. I think she is actually going to do a series of
Aurora Teagarden mystery movies for the Hallmark Movie Channel, so my guess is that she is going off to shoot at least a couple of movies for that series, and who knows what the 3rd film will be?
Lori --
That kind of photo seems to be my M.O. I got "backside pictures" of Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani in December 2012 (mainly Gavin, as Gwen was walking quickly). I always have a chance to get shots of them from the front, but I can't bring myself to snap those photos when I know I have been spotted.
These are from 2010-2013
My Grandparents outside DLH 2010
PPH 2013 I second that the decor was interesting last year.
Jenasweetemotion --
I love the photo of your grandparents. It's so sweet!
Yes! Another person who agrees that the PPH tree décor was "interesting" in 2013! I knew that
Cheshirecatty and I couldn't be the only ones who thought it was interesting!
The color of the PPH tree lights is still stunning and striking -- let's hope that aspect never changes -- but all of the clunky clutter on and around the base of tree last year was really too much. They were trying way too hard to emphasize the sea theme, and they went overboard. They could stand to tone it down just a tad.
We always go in November way before the hotels get decked out....so....sitting out for the second week. Sort of feeling like the teacher is putting me in the corner for being bad.
Mike --
I'm sorry! There will be certain themes that pop up that people don't have photos for, and most people will have to sit out at least one week, if not many more weeks (except for
pattyduke34, who probably will have photos for everything!).
However, you can rest assured -- and this I promise -- that the next theme on Labor Day/September 1st will be a theme for which I think you will have some photos! There will probably be other theme weeks/days that pop up for which you don't have photos, but I think Monday's theme should be a good one for you.
Sherry if I had been that close to Kurt I would probably have been so tongue tied I couldn't have said anything.
I commend you for chasing after him outside to get a picture. That deserves a
TK --
Well, "chasing" is not the right word, really. That implies something different. He was standing there. The CM came along and brought him out to his car. I waited a few minutes. Actually, I was going to turn and head to DL to get some NOS shots before meeting up with my Club 33 lunch crew, but I decided to poke my head outside of the GCH and see if Kurt was still there. I was not going to get a photo of him from the front, so I just snapped the one photo that I posted and then he soon got in his car and drove off.
He was standing very close to where I was in the GCH lobby, and not a soul was talking to him or saying anything. If he had been there for 2 more minutes before the CM came along to get him, I would have said something. Alas, the timing was not on my side.
But DIS'er
ashnjam actually met and talked to Kurt at the Minnie & Friends character meal earlier that same morning!
Whether the decorations were in the hotels in Nov 2011 or not, I have no hotel decoration pictures...out again
But...I still get to enjoy your photos & look forward to all th pics I will get this December
Speechphi --
You may have been there in 11/11 before the hotel décor went up. It doesn't go up when the parks' décor goes up. Thankfully, everything will be up and ready to roll when you are there in December!
The hotels have had Christmas trees or some sorts of décor for many, many years. The Disneyland Hotel has had holiday décor for as long as I can remember (since I first started enjoying the holidays at DLR in 1990), but that décor has changed in theme and style through the years. The Grand Californian Hotel has had the giant tree since its first holiday season began in November 2001.
However, that said, as I mentioned in my intro/photo post to this week's theme (a few pages back), all 3 hotels got new décor of some sort in 2013 -- the GCH got the reindeer; the PPH got the "interesting" décor on and around its tree; and the DLH got a giant fake gingerbread Castle and colored planter lights at the entrance.
I can't believe that I'm already getting into a Christmas mood and it's only August but I'm going to embrace it and play along. We went to DLR last December so I have plenty of pics to show
Unfortunately I haven't got a lot of pics from the resort, but here we go
Holiday cocktails at Trader Sams
Welcome back to the Superthread,
the_princess!
Did you see that I have your Holiday tour recap/review linked in the Holiday Tour section on page 1 (under the Main Street category of the Disneyland post)?
I'm so glad you joined in for the Theme Week Countdown! We're on our 6th theme of the Countdown this week, and this coming Monday, September 1st, we will start the 7th theme. After the current Hotels theme we have 16 more themes to go (8 weekly themes; 7 mini-daily themes; and the final "Holiday Cornucopia" theme on Monday, November 3, 2014). I know that you have photos for many of the themes, so I can't wait for you to share your pictures!
For every theme you contribute to, you get an entry into a drawing to win a $25 Disney gift card. When the Countdown wraps up in early November, I will choose 2 winners at random for the gift cards, and then another person (someone who has
not posted photos) will solve the Code Word Challenge that I set forth for the people who don't have photos to post, and that person will win the 3rd Disney gift card!
So you have earned your first entry into the random draw for the gift card!
I am also very happy that you posted something from Trader Sam's! not only does TS serve holiday cocktails, they also have some interesting holiday decorations inside (from what I have seen in photos). I was going to go in and take photos in TS when I was at Tangaroa Terrace, but I felt odd going into the bar to snap photos without ordering a drink or snack, so I didn't go in and I didn't see what they had as far as décor!
Not as active as the last 2 themes, so far.
Sorry if I was rude.
Not my intention.
--Lori
Lori --
Oh no! No one thought you were being rude! Goodness! You're one of the nicest people on this board!
We've had 15 people post photos for this theme so far (not counting my own photos), and there were 22 people who posted photos for Toontown. It's only Wednesday, and there are still people who have yet to post. It should be interesting to see if the Hotels end up with fewer contributors than what Toontown had! It's always fascinating to see which themes yield the most and the fewest photos, isn't it?
Ah, that makes sense! Whew, now I don't have to feel bad for either not seeing or not remembering the Christmas Fireworks! Oh boy, it sounds like so much fun . . . I wish we weren't a plane ride away, it would make things much easier. Sigh.
sgrap --
I hope you're able to work in a short holiday trip! Halloween Time is great fun -- and it's even more fun if you're someone who particularly loves Halloween -- but the holiday season at DLR is very special...on a different level, really (especially now that DCA has more décor and the entire Resort feels more involved in the season than it did several years ago). There is a certain extra magic in the air during the holidays that is not there during Halloween Time.
It's official! We are going right after Thanksgiving- hooray! And thanks again Sherry E for putting together this thread and feeding the frenzy for all of us who are counting down to our holiday trips at the DLR
You are awesome!!!
DSNY4ever --
Thank you so much!! -- and welcome back! I'm so glad that you have another holiday trip in the works!
I'm pleased that these threads have been helpful, informative and fun for people! As long as I am here, there will always be Holiday Season/Christmas Superthreads and Halloween Time Superthreads! Of course, we will have to switch to new threads when we hit the page limits, which is a pain, but there will always be a place for year-round discussion about Halloween Time and the Holiday season!
I don't care which park you're at, DL or WDW, Disney does make the holidays special. I've been at the both parks during the winter and although there are my favorites at each, it still is magical. Seeing it snow in southern CA is a fun thing and the atmosphere is great. I know that Disney charges extra for these events, but there's is a reason to that, because they add so much more. Keep in mind that there are limited tickets to these events so the crowds are a bit down....but it can still be crowded (try finding a good seat for the fireworks). Even so, it is solo fun. I have done the Christmas in the parks at both locations and the pirates and princess at WDW, in fact I was there on opening night and later saw myself and my kids on a Disney special they did where they followed a new cast member who was in the pirate parade. ( it rained so much that night they almost cancelled the parade). I think you and your mom will love it!
disnyrtl --
So far, Disneyland Resort is not charging extra for any of the entertainment during the holiday season (no Christmas party, in other words). It is going to happen eventually -- I think we all know it is inevitable -- but, so far, it hasn't happened yet.
The lack of announcement is drivin my anxiety crazy
I think the 10th of September or something like that I can start booking adr's but I want to know what else is going on as well
Question for y'all besides Disney what else is worth going to see in the area for non drivers. We're already planning on doing the LA City Tour and taking a trip to the Citadel outlets but we've one more day to plan out of parks and I can't decide what I want to do that day. Momma doesn't want to do another theme park so what else is there worth doing?
petals --
How much time will you have that day -- the full day, or just a few hours? When you are in L.A, will you be going to Farmers Market and The Grove? They are next door to each other, and very fun/festive during the holiday season. (The Grove is where a lot of celebrities are spotted by TMZ, and Farmers Market is a historical site, with lots of great food of different kinds.) What about
Chill at the Queen Mary in Long Beach?
Or, if you want to try something that is not a holiday-specific activity and you have a full day to spare, how about a day trip to Catalina Island (you can catch the Catalina Express boat out of Long Beach, or -- for a much shorter day trip -- the Flyer out of Newport Beach)? See
this thread for photos and info. I posted a bunch of photos on the last page from my most recent Catalina trip, but the whole thread has photos and info sprinkled in it here and there. Ignore the part about the Free birthday boat ride, as that probably won't be applicable to your trip unless you have a birthday in November.
There are a lot of very talented photographers participating on this thread! Love that tree in the Grand Californian but the theme tree are really cool too!
This is off topic a bit ....
Am I mistaken or at some point late spring or early summer did Disney send out info on a blue colored Splash Mountain tshirt? I would really like to order one and can't find it anywhere. I even asked at the
Disney store and they said they never had anything light that. Does anyone remember the shirt or know where I could order one?
Misskitty3 --
I love a good themed Christmas tree, but the theme of the PPH tree was just a bit overdone last year. If it could just be scaled back a tad, it might be less in-your-face!
The Christmas Fantasy Parade and Believe in Holiday Magic fireworks are a daily/nightly occurrence during the entire holiday season -- or they have been thus far (weather permitting, of course!).
