Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread #4

[dhorner233]

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[crystal1313]

I hardly have any photos of NOS at Christmas time!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Bret --

I think that we can almost be certain that somehow, in some way, the Christmas Fantasy Parade schedule and the Believe in Holiday Magic schedule (possibly the Enchantment Lighting schedule too) will be affected or impacted in 2015, due to whatever new events Disneyland have in store for the 60th anniversary.

Next year is when they could decide to run ACFP and BIHM during a hard Christmas ticket event, as the new night parade and new fireworks take place on other non-party nights. OR they could include the new night parade and new fireworks in a Christmas party. One way or the other, ACFP and BIHM will be affected in 2015. I highly doubt that Disney will debut a new night parade and new fireworks (if that is what they are doing), only to stop them completely when the holidays begin in November.

It is still possible that they could do a limited, short-term hard ticket event this year in DCA, IF that whole Frozen area is coming to Hollywood Land. That makes more sense to me than having a hard ticket party in DL at this point.

It is most likely that next year DL will have a hard ticket party event at DL next year but I am glad to see the dates are up today after waiting for a while.

It will be very interesting to hear if Disney is going to do a new parade and fireworks next year during the 60th anniversary just like how they did RDCT fireworks and Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams back during the 50th anniversary. There is no way I will even pay a hard ticket to see ACF Parade and BIHM fireworks but at least I will have no problem if they do one for the party event. There is no quesiton that ACF parade and BIHM fireworks will be effected next year.

It does make sense to have a hard ticket event at DCA over DL where they won't affect the holiday season at DL. But lately with Viva Navidad and WoC: Winter Dreams added for the holiday season, it will be tough of what park to do a paid event. It will be very interesting to hear about what they will do with Frozen in Hollywood Land. With the FP system being tested out at DL, DCA will get even more people over to Hollywood Land if there is a M&G for the Frozen characters.

 

[liesel]

Hello everyone!

I am so excited to finally be returning to DLR for the Christmas season. Its been since 2009, I think!

We are actually making two trips. The first is a very quick drive down for the Avengers Half Marathon weekend. The second is only a week later, we'll be there Sunday evening -Tuesday evening of Thanksgiving week before spending the holiday with family. I know, not exactly low crowd times, but we are really looking forward to it. My goals are to enjoy the decorations at Carsland and see the winter WOC. I do hope they decide to have the Jingle Cruise.

To add some Run Disney nerd perspective, we have been anxiously awaiting the announcement of the course. There are only two staging areas that they can really put on the race, the two DTD parking lots. From what we've seen, they will most likely be using the Lilo lot which is on the north side. The finish area would be behind the ESPN Zone. The kids races are also traditionally held in DTD on Saturday mornings so it is a safe bet that the ice rink won't be there that weekend. They do start closing off the parking lot early in the week to set up and that lot won't be available that weekend. It certainly makes DTD parking an adventure.

I have run the Tinker Bell half marathon the last three years. Now the Star Wars Half Marathon weekend is MLK weekend instead. Last year we were treated to the Viva Navidad floats and music on the course, which was an unexpected bonus. I hope they continue that. I always enjoy seeing ISAWH during the race, its a lovely photo op!

I am really enjoying everyone's pictures and look forward to the holiday season!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Thank you so much Sherry for the kind welcome and info, I really appreciate it. Christmas means so very much to me. I have family who view the CP in Florida every year and have said how beautiful it is. I live here in LA but haven't gotten to go until this year. I have watched a couple CP videos and for me I could feel how special it was even from sitting here at my computer. Lol, yes I am just a tiny bit excited and also to be back at DL. I haven't been in a number of years due to health issues and I'm one of those people happy just being there.

I will look at the CP section, thank you for that. I also saw there is a meet up thread. At the moment, I haven't found a friend who is able to go with me or meet there. It would be a lot of fun and in general to meet some of you and perhaps that way we could take turns holding down a spot. I probably would prefer to attend the earlier showing, I'm not much of a night owl. I do have an Annual pass (I plan to activate it on Saturday) and will be going both Saturday and Sunday. Please let me know if any of you are going to DL on the 6th and 7th and wanting to attend the CP and maybe we can meet.

Thank you and I hope everyone has a good night and are keeping cool! It is awfully warm here and getting hotter. I'm thankful the CP is in December

 

[Sherry E]

Hotel Discount Info (for those who have Disney Visa Debit or Credit Cards):

Disney Visa Debit Card (which means that the Credit/Rewards card should have the same thing, or better) is offering discounts of "20% on most rooms at any Disneyland® Resort Hotel most Sunday through Thursday nights (subject to availability)":

Booking period: 9/10/14 - 12/18/14
Travel dates: 10/26/14 - 12/18/14

Travel must be completed by 12/19/14.


Call 866-275-1417 for info.

 

[KCmike]

Oogie Boogie by KC MikeD, on Flickr


This is Halloween by KC MikeD, on Flickr

I've been so busy at work that I didn't even get to see the news finally come out for the holidays. Glad they finally announced it. I was secretly hoping they would do something different with Winter Dreams WoC. I personally didn't like it at all and if I were going this year I would completely skip it. I hope they add and make it better this year for all those attending.

 

[sgrap]

Hotel Discount Info (for those who have Disney Visa Debit or Credit Cards):

Disney Visa Debit Card (which means that the Credit/Rewards card should have the same thing, or better) is offering discounts of "20% on most rooms at any Disneyland® Resort Hotel most Sunday through Thursday nights (subject to availability)":

Booking period: 9/10/14 - 12/18/14
Travel dates: 10/26/14 - 12/18/14

Travel must be completed by 12/19/14.


Call 866-275-1417 for info.

Do you think we'll be seeing an AP discount deal (more than the usual 10% or whatever) for Halloween time and/or Christmas? I keep hoping something similar to their AP late summer deal will pop up!

 

[knewton64]

luv this thread!!





TTFN
& CHEERS Y'ALL




MY VERY 1ST TRIP 2 WDW / DISNEY WONDER" 01-07-09 to 01-15-09 (w/pics & video)
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2062857
MY ADVENTURES by Disney "Spirit of America" Sept 2009 trip report ...
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2201584 - Cached
MY "GETTING SPOOKED @ WDW" - MNSSHP TRIP REPORT; Oct 28th -Nov 4th 2010(w/pics & video)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread....0&referrerid=0

 

[dedesmith32]

I simply love this thread! I LOVE seeing all of your photos and I can't wait for my family's Christmas vacation! Next year I will be able to participate with my photos from this year. Yay! 86 days!

 

[mom2rtk]

Sherry, I just had my travel agent try to book that for me and she says there are no rooms available. This is nutty. And irritating.

I hope others will post if they are successful. Maybe we didn't know the secret handshake.

 

[Misskitty3]

Yay!! We know the dates!!

I made my dining reservations today!!

 

[mlnbabies]

I have an existing reservation at the PPH in a standard room. I called Disney to use my Disney Visa card to upgrade my room. They couldn't upgrade but I could have gone to the DL hotel if I wanted to. We have friends meeting us so I didn't switch hotels.

I hope some other people can take advantage of the Visa offer.

 

[mom2rtk]

My friend/TA called back and they said there are no discounts available that second week. Not sure why they even included the dates. (PPH standard room)

 

[surgefest]

For those who saw the Holidays Version of World of Color last year. What did you think???? i LOVE the regular version. How does the holiday version stack up???

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

For those who saw the Holidays Version of World of Color last year. What did you think???? i LOVE the regular version. How does the holiday version stack up???

We loved Winter Dreams, but I think we might be in the minority. I love the original more though.

 

[Sherry E]

Well, Dreyer's/Edy's may be slow to put out their 'wonder'-ful Peppermint Wonderland ice cream this year (and this ice cream should be available somewhere at Disneyland Resort as of November 13th, but it may not be in the actual ice cream shops), but Breyers has apparently caught on to the fact that they need to jump on the peppermint bandwagon for the holidays -- and that they need to do it now, before summer is over.

Behold... Breyers Limited Edition Peppermint Cookie frozen dairy dessert (spotted at Target, apparently). (By the way, how did I not know about The Impulsive Buy website/blog -- with the daily "Spotted on Shelves" installments -- before this year? This site has its finger on the pulse of the seasonal foods landscape, not only telling me which specific items are out there in the world, but also how early in the season they are spotted and where to find them! One must know these things going forward into the holidays.)

Dreyer's tends to have a better flavor and consistency than Breyers, so I don't expect that I will be abandoning Peppermint Wonderland any time soon. But it is interesting to see that after all of the Dreyer's Peppermint Madness that ensued last year -- when, for a brief, terrifying moment, there was a Peppermint Wonderland shortage in the frozen food aisle, and there was a confusing "tub size" situation at Disneyland Resort -- Breyers is stepping up to the plate and trying to cash in on Peppermint Mania.

​

I have logged all of the latest photo entries (all the way up to KCmike), so each of our photo contributors has another entry into the random draw.

​

It is most likely that next year DL will have a hard ticket party event at DL next year but I am glad to see the dates are up today after waiting for a while.

It will be very interesting to hear if Disney is going to do a new parade and fireworks next year during the 60th anniversary just like how they did RDCT fireworks and Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams back during the 50th anniversary. There is no way I will even pay a hard ticket to see ACF Parade and BIHM fireworks but at least I will have no problem if they do one for the party event. There is no quesiton that ACF parade and BIHM fireworks will be effected next year.

It does make sense to have a hard ticket event at DCA over DL where they won't affect the holiday season at DL. But lately with Viva Navidad and WoC: Winter Dreams added for the holiday season, it will be tough of what park to do a paid event. It will be very interesting to hear about what they will do with Frozen in Hollywood Land. With the FP system being tested out at DL, DCA will get even more people over to Hollywood Land if there is a M&G for the Frozen characters.

Bret --

It will be very interesting to see what's in store for the holiday season this year (any surprises that Disney comes up with) and for next year's 60th anniversary events!

As I said yesterday, I would be fine with a carbon copy of last year's festivities, if that were to happen (including the hotels and DTD)! As long as nothing is taken away or removed, I am good with what was at DLR last year for the holidays.

Hello everyone!

I am so excited to finally be returning to DLR for the Christmas season. Its been since 2009, I think!

We are actually making two trips. The first is a very quick drive down for the Avengers Half Marathon weekend. The second is only a week later, we'll be there Sunday evening -Tuesday evening of Thanksgiving week before spending the holiday with family. I know, not exactly low crowd times, but we are really looking forward to it. My goals are to enjoy the decorations at Carsland and see the winter WOC. I do hope they decide to have the Jingle Cruise.

To add some Run Disney nerd perspective, we have been anxiously awaiting the announcement of the course. There are only two staging areas that they can really put on the race, the two DTD parking lots. From what we've seen, they will most likely be using the Lilo lot which is on the north side. The finish area would be behind the ESPN Zone. The kids races are also traditionally held in DTD on Saturday mornings so it is a safe bet that the ice rink won't be there that weekend. They do start closing off the parking lot early in the week to set up and that lot won't be available that weekend. It certainly makes DTD parking an adventure.

I have run the Tinker Bell half marathon the last three years. Now the Star Wars Half Marathon weekend is MLK weekend instead. Last year we were treated to the Viva Navidad floats and music on the course, which was an unexpected bonus. I hope they continue that. I always enjoy seeing ISAWH during the race, its a lovely photo op!

I am really enjoying everyone's pictures and look forward to the holiday season!

Welcome, liesel!

I'm glad you made your way over here and joined in!

Wow! It has been a long time since you have had a Christmas trip to DLR! I didn't realize it had been that long! So much has changed, holiday-wise -- DCA is much more involved in the holiday season now than it was in the past, and all 3 hotels have new décor (well, new as of 2013).

I agree -- after hearing about what happens during marathon weekends and how things are set up, I really doubt that the ice rink will be in DTD before 11/16 or even 11/17, at this point. The Winter Village "chalets" will probably not be in place either. My guess is that the rink and Village will be in place in time for the pre-Thanksgiving weekend.

Frankly, I was surprised to read in the Parks Blog that the rink would be coming back to DTD at all this year because I didn't think that Disney would bother setting it up after the marathon was over, the holiday season had begun and was already in full swing. And then, with the rumors of the possible Frozen area in Hollywood Land (which still seems awkward and ill-conceived to me), complete with an ice rink, I thought that the DTD rink and Village were certain to not return this year.

I really can't picture 2 Frozen-themed rinks being in place at Disneyland Resort, so if the rink is coming back to DTD then I think it will be a no-go for DCA.

I don't see why Jingle Cruise couldn't make a comeback this year. The holiday touches were not as extensive and thorough as the overlays we are used to -- HMH and IASWH -- and it would be simple and fast enough to install them. It is curious, however, that Jingle Cruise was not mentioned in the Parks Blog. We shall see!

Thank you so much Sherry for the kind welcome and info, I really appreciate it. Christmas means so very much to me. I have family who view the CP in Florida every year and have said how beautiful it is. I live here in LA but haven't gotten to go until this year. I have watched a couple CP videos and for me I could feel how special it was even from sitting here at my computer. Lol, yes I am just a tiny bit excited and also to be back at DL. I haven't been in a number of years due to health issues and I'm one of those people happy just being there.

I will look at the CP section, thank you for that. I also saw there is a meet up thread. At the moment, I haven't found a friend who is able to go with me or meet there. It would be a lot of fun and in general to meet some of you and perhaps that way we could take turns holding down a spot. I probably would prefer to attend the earlier showing, I'm not much of a night owl. I do have an Annual pass (I plan to activate it on Saturday) and will be going both Saturday and Sunday. Please let me know if any of you are going to DL on the 6th and 7th and wanting to attend the CP and maybe we can meet.

Thank you and I hope everyone has a good night and are keeping cool! It is awfully warm here and getting hotter. I'm thankful the CP is in December

flyingdumbo127 --

You're very welcome! Again, I'm glad you decided to join us!

It is highly possible that several of us from this thread will end up at DLR around the CP time frame. I think that tksbaskets is one who might be there during that time frame, and who might be interested in seeing the CP. I haven't figured out my dates yet, but if I were to be there on CP weekend it would be on Sunday, 12/7.

I think that, as more time passes, we will all have a better idea of who will be at DLR on which dates, and who is free to meet up. Hopefully someone in the December Check-In thread will be available for a meet-up as well!

If you are seeing the earlier CP, around 5:30-ish, there won't be a line down Main Street yet, but people will be congregating around Town Square early in the day, and the crowds waiting in that area will build as the day goes on. You will see people hunkered down on the benches in the late morning/early afternoon -- and they are most likely there for the CP.

You are not kidding when you say you are thankful the CP is in December. Same here! I am not a hot weather person anyway, nor have I ever been, but there is something special about being in the cold December air, watching the CP. It just feels more holiday-ish. Of course, last year I started to feel ill in the middle of the CP and I had to quickly claw my way out of the crowds -- which was not easy. Something about the combination of the cold and the sharp pain I was having in my leg made me start to feel queasy, and I had to leave the CP. Generally, though, as long as I have my gloves, a warm neck scarf and a coat or jacket, I am fine in 30-degree December weather!

Do you think we'll be seeing an AP discount deal (more than the usual 10% or whatever) for Halloween time and/or Christmas? I keep hoping something similar to their AP late summer deal will pop up!

sgrap --

My feeling is that there will be an AP discount as well (there usually is some sort of special Fall discount for AP holders that is better than 10%), as well as a discount for the general public. The Fall discounts usually cover certain weeks in October, November and up to mid-December-ish (or maybe even up to the weekend before Christmas). I don't think the Disney Visa discount will be the only one, but we may not see an AP discount until closer to the end of this month or early October.

luv this thread!!


TTFN
& CHEERS Y'ALL

Thank you for continuing to follow along, knewton64!

I simply love this thread! I LOVE seeing all of your photos and I can't wait for my family's Christmas vacation! Next year I will be able to participate with my photos from this year. Yay! 86 days!

dedesmith32 --

I am excited for you that your first DLR holiday trip is coming up soon!

Yes, next year please remember to join us again and share photos during the Countdown! I know that we will all love to see your photos!

Sherry, I just had my travel agent try to book that for me and she says there are no rooms available. This is nutty. And irritating.

I hope others will post if they are successful. Maybe we didn't know the secret handshake.

Janet --

I just got the email from Disney Debit yesterday, but the Reservations system is still showing the rooms as booked up (everything but the premium view rooms at the GCH, that is). It's highly unlikely that all of the rooms of any type at both the DLH and the PPH are already booked for my specific dates. Highly unlikely.

I was not ready to book anyway, and there may have been availability if I had shifted my dates over by a day, but I just gave the CM a 'rough estimate' set of dates to see what was available or not available in the general time frame.

I'm not worried about it. I have seen the hotel calendar appear to be booked in the past (this far out from December), and then, miraculously, all sorts of rooms opened up in October, or in association with an AP discount or Disney Destinations discount or something.

I think that certain dates that appear to be booked now will suddenly open up at some point. It may not be for a while, but I think it will happen. The CM with whom I spoke said she has seen that happen as well.

We shall see!

 

[mom2rtk]

Janet --

I just got the email from Disney Debit yesterday, but the Reservations system is still showing the rooms as booked up for everything but the premium view rooms at the GCH. It's highly unlikely that all of the rooms of any type at both the DLH and the PPH are already booked for my specific dates. Highly unlikely.

I was not ready to book anyway, and there may have been availability if I had shifted my dates over by a day, but I just gave the CM a 'rough estimate' set of dates to see what was available or not available in the general time frame.

I'm not worried about it. I have seen the hotel calendar appear to be booked in the past (this far out from December), and then, miraculously, all sorts of rooms opened up in October, or in association with an AP discount or Disney Destinations discount or something.

I think that certain dates that appear to be booked now will suddenly open up at some point. It may not be for a while, but I think it will happen. The CM with whom I spoke said she has seen that happen as well.

We shall see!

OK, you have put my mind at ease again. I'm counting on you to let me know when you hear about any additional offers. Thanks again for covering all the bases yesterday to make sure I knew about this one!

And I will add that the 6th still appears to be unavailable. But just out of curiosity I tried again to put it in with an arrival date of 11/30 and it showed available again. So definitely still some funny business going on.

 

[PHXscuba]

Hurrah! I am home, I have pictures, and Photobucket is finally behaving for me!

Haunted Mansion Holiday:

I've decided I need a large amount of this ribbon for decorating ...

​

I'm sure this overlay is a ton of work, but I would LOVE to have that job!!

PHXscuba




Spoke too soon ... now Photobucket won't let me at the folder where my New Orleans Square photos are. Maybe later ...

PHXscuba



New Orleans Square, 2010:

PHXscuba

 

[I'm mikey]