Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread #4

[DisneyJamieCA]

Theme Day, not Week. Remember, we're on to a new theme tomorrow, and every day through Sunday!

Gah! I meant to say theme, not week. I knew it was every day this week. What can I tell you - it's been a Monday that's lived up to it's reputation.

 

[lorijohnhill]

I know, unbelievable, right? However, my kids were 4 and 6 and we were still full from dinner (and the churros, ice cream, etc., etc. earlier in day). Yes, in DL it is possible to have too much of a good thing...

We had tons of leftovers. We went on the 19th and my husband just finished them a day ago. Had he been on the trip with us, it may have been a different story. Lol!

 

[mom2rtk]

IMG_4960 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

IMG_4979 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

IMG_9968 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

 

[tksbaskets]

We had tons of leftovers. We went on the 19th and my husband just finished them a day ago. Had he been on the trip with us, it may have been a different story. Lol!

Or you tell your DH and adult children to eat a light dinner as you've paid big bucks and they can munch to their hearts content during the Fantasmic Dessert Party!

 

[Orbitron]

Not many pictures to share this time. The line at the Jingle Cruise was always so long that we only went to the ride with the Holiday Time tour.

 

[PHXscuba]

I love the nighttime Jingle Cruise pictures, Bret!

Also, you went upstairs in the JC queue at one point, didn't you? I never made it upstairs because my line was short and fast. I didn't see what was up there.

I had no idea there was soooo much line upstairs, and they didn't even have every corner open. I generally avoid the JC when the line goes upstairs, but the holiday version was a notable exception.

PHXscuba

 

[Speechphi]

Well, no Jingle Cruise pics to share...but I love this theme! I know our trip is getting closer, but Dec 19 still sounds so far away

 

[Minnie Loves Mickey]

So I finally booked our room for NYE. We are going to attempt it again. I can not wait, my DH promised he would not let the crowds get to him. We are getting Season Passes on 12/31 so we can use them for NYE next year also.

 

[jammyjam25]

Hi! I've been lurking on this thread (and others here) for months now and decided it was finally time to register and join the fun!

I'm going to DLR November 30-December 5 with three girlfriends (leaving the husbands and pets at home!) to experience Christmas at DL for the first time ever!

They've posted park hours for the first week of December on the DL site, but for DL all of the parade/fireworks/etc. say "schedule unavailable". They are posted for DCA though!

Anyone have any idea why this might be? It's got me curious. It's also making my planning finger twitchy as I was hoping to have this information by now to help me finish my planning. Ack!

 

[Escape2Disney]

I'm sure this was posted at some point, but I can't seem to find it. Does anyone know if Mad T Party is only on weekends, or every day? We'll be there the week before Christmas.

Even though we go every year, we've managed to miss this completely! I figure it's about time we give it a try.

 

[OHBelle]

The Jingle Cruise looks so cute! I can't wait to see it for myself!

 

[pudinhd]

Only have a few...

 

[tksbaskets]

So I finally booked our room for NYE. We are going to attempt it again. I can not wait, my DH promised he would not let the crowds get to him. We are getting Season Passes on 12/31 so we can use them for NYE next year also.

Sweet! It's all in the attitude when you go the week between Christmas and NYE.

Loving everyone's picks of the Jingle Cruise. Here are my contributions:

Look mom some Christmas lights!

The candle tree downstairs

A festive boat for our cruise

Whru Whro what happened to the guy wearing that hat??

Some festive additions (and a sub par photo)

Looking forward to more 'lightning round' themes! Thanks everyone for making the time pass really quickly.

Sherry and my fellow Christmas movie fans: Countdown to Christmas starts this weekend on Hallmark!

 

[rentayenta]

In the nick of time! Theme days? I better pay closer attn.

 

[Luisa]

OK, here's a couple from me!

 

[Sherry E]

It’s Tuesday -- and it’s time for the Theme Day Countdown!!

……Only 16 DAYS Until the
Holiday Season Begins at the Disneyland Resort!!!!
​

Each day this week – from today through Sunday, November 2nd – there will be a new Disneyland Resort holiday mini-theme!! Unlike the weekly themes, the photos for the daily mini-themes may only be posted on the days the themes go up in order to earn entries into the random draw to win the $25 Disney gift card. If you don’t have photos to fit the daily themes, check back on the following day as there will be a new theme posted every morning (times may differ).

The weekly themes are over, with the exception of our final theme on Monday, November 3rd, 2014 – Holiday Cornucopia (more on that later this week).

I know of a few people in this thread who have photos to fit today’s theme! But will they be able to post them in time to earn an entry? Let’s see if everyone can rise to the challenge and get their photos for the daily themes in on time. Muahahahahahahaha! Anyone who can get his/her photos in on the days the mini-daily themes go up [by 11:59 p.m., Pacific Standard Time] will receive TWO entries for each entry / contribution!!

Up to this point, we have covered a lot of territory. We have explored: the Jingle Cruise; Holiday Treats & Treasures (a.k.a. Food & Merchandise); Holidays Gone By; Pacific Wharf and Paradise Pier; Christmas Trees and Wreaths; Frontierland and the Jingle Jangle Jamboree; Main Street and Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle; New Orleans Square and Haunted Mansion Holiday; Cars Land; Hotels of the Disneyland Resort; Mickey’s Toontown; Buena Vista Street and Hollywood Land; It’s a Small World Holiday and Fantasyland; A Christmas Fantasy Parade and Believe…In Holiday Magic Fireworks; and Holiday Character photos, PhotoPass photos and Santa Claus photos.

So…what will be our sixteenth theme (and second daily mini-theme) of 2014? This time, it’s a double header mini-theme that takes us into both Disneyland and California Adventure, as we search for bears and elves and critters – oh my!!

In the Spotlight Today......

CRITTER COUNTRY & GRIZZLY PEAK!!!​

Just a whisper away from Frontierland in Disneyland is the little woodsy hamlet of Critter Country, home to the endearing Winnie the Pooh and his friends, including Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore…and maybe a ‘Brer’ or two!

As you can imagine, the Critters celebrate the holidays in their own unique way, and things are ever so slightly topsy-turvy here and there, such as, for example, the Christmas tree located in the Pooh Corner gift shop. The code word for today is: says. One version of the tree featured ornaments covered in ‘hunny’….but the pots from which that hunny was spilling were located below the ornaments, rather than above them. (Ponder that for a moment. What’s wrong with that picture?) It’s a detail that implies things are charmingly askew in the Hundred Acre Wood. Perhaps it was a rather blustery day when Pooh decorated his tree?

Folks who have been visiting Disneyland during the holiday season for years may remember that there used to be a sign/banner suspended above a pathway out of Critter Country that said “Merry Critters and Happy Pooh Year.” That banner mysteriously disappeared quite a while back, sadly (in fact, that would have been a good photo entry into the “Holidays Gone By” theme week earlier in this Countdown).




Meanwhile, over in California Adventure, folks might be surprised to see a few Yuletide touches around Grizzly Peak. While this land is not an elaborately decorated area like some of the other lands we have seen in this Countdown – and many people probably overlook the few bits of merriment that are there – the wreaths and garland are very theme-appropriate, with oars and other ‘rafting’ embellishments.

In 2013, as part of the year-long “Limited Time Magic” event at Disneyland Resort, a week of something called “Elf Days” was added into the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail in Grizzly Peak to give it a bit of holiday cheer. While I did not personally experience Elf Days, it apparently involved Elf challenges, Elf stories, Elf songs and a photo spot of some sort.

As of late October 2014, there has been no word on whether or not Elf Days will make an appearance for the Holidays of 2014.

December 2013




Grizzly Peak…

December 2011

December 2013





Critter Country…

Teeny tiny decorations!

​

Please feel free to post your photos of Critter Country and Grizzly Peak TODAY (Tuesday, October 28, 2014) ONLY, through 11:59 p.m., P.S.T.

Then, stay tuned for our seventeenth theme on Wednesday, October 29th – that’s TOMORROW!! – as we continue this ‘lightning round’ with our third Daily Mini-Theme of the week!! Although we are rapidly approaching the end of this year’s Countdown, we still have 6 more themes coming up over the next 6 days, so get your photos ready and jump into the fun while you still can!

 

[deserrai]

All of these pics are making me so excited for our trip! I am so hoping all of the Christmas decorations are up by the time we get there!

 

[Misskitty3]

I need some advice......

How bad would it be if we skipped MM on Saturday, Nov 8th? I can't believe I am evening thinking about skipping MM but to be at the gates 30 minutes before opening, we would need to be there at 6:30am! Our flight arrives (if on time) at 7:40pm the night before so not super late but it may be 9pm before we get to the hotel.

We also need to pick up our tickets from the ticket booth. My plan was to get them Friday night but am now wondering how early the ticket booths open and if we could get them on Saturday? If we do decide to go to MM, will the ticket booths open at 6am?

 

[Orbitron]

CRITTER COUNTRY

GRIZZLY PEAK

​

 

[Sherry E]

I was without the Internet for the afternoon and evening yesterday and couldn't get back here to post (I was getting worried that service would not be back up in time for me to post today's theme!), but I wanted to remind everyone that the theme DAY/lightning round/warp speed photos have to be posted on the same days that I announce the themes, up until 11:59 p.m., PST. You will get TWO entries into the random draw for the Disney gift cards for each mini-theme contribution, every day.

We're doing these mini-daily themes all through Sunday, 11/2, and then Monday, 11/3 will be our final theme week (and anyone is welcome to participate in that, even if you haven't been to DLR for the holidays -- as long as you have some kind of a holiday photo that you'd like to share, you can join in!)!

Thanks Sherry! We are so excited to visit in 19 days! The last time we were in DL during the Christmas holidays, we were kind of 'lost' since we didn't even realize that DL had a Christmas holiday season!

Now, after checking out this thread and looking at all the photos, we know what to expect! Thanks again for keeping us up to date!

Disney127 --

You didn't realize DL had a holiday season! My goodness! Well, I think it's only gotten better in the last couple of years, so you will have a lot to look forward to on your upcoming trip.

Gah! I meant to say theme, not week. I knew it was every day this week. What can I tell you - it's been a Monday that's lived up to it's reputation.

Jamie --

Same here -- not a good Monday on this end, for a variety of reasons!

I had no idea there was soooo much line upstairs, and they didn't even have every corner open. I generally avoid the JC when the line goes upstairs, but the holiday version was a notable exception.

PHX --

I've forgotten how lengthy the upstairs portion of the queue is -- I've only been in that section of the line in the distant past, and not when there was a Jingle Cruise! The one time I would have wanted to go upstairs to see the added holiday touches, my line was short!

So I finally booked our room for NYE. We are going to attempt it again. I can not wait, my DH promised he would not let the crowds get to him. We are getting Season Passes on 12/31 so we can use them for NYE next year also.

Minnie Loves Mickey --

I could be remembering incorrectly, but you've done at least a couple of New Year's Eve trips in the past, haven't you? I thought I remembered you posting in another random NYE thread at some point (a long time ago), and you said that you didn't have a problem with the crowds (I think the OP of the thread was afraid of huge crowds). Again, I could be completely mistaken and remembering someone else's post along the same lines. If that was you, did the crowds just get worse on your last trip?

Hi! I've been lurking on this thread (and others here) for months now and decided it was finally time to register and join the fun!

I'm going to DLR November 30-December 5 with three girlfriends (leaving the husbands and pets at home!) to experience Christmas at DL for the first time ever!

They've posted park hours for the first week of December on the DL site, but for DL all of the parade/fireworks/etc. say "schedule unavailable". They are posted for DCA though!

Anyone have any idea why this might be? It's got me curious. It's also making my planning finger twitchy as I was hoping to have this information by now to help me finish my planning. Ack!

jammyjam25 --

Welcome to the forum and welcome to this thread! I'm glad you joined in.

I think that the DL calendar has not been fully filled in yet. Often times, certain info is filled in and other info is not. Sometimes it is an oversight on their part, and sometimes it just seems that they choose to leave certain details off (for no apparent reason)!

Here are last year's November and December schedules, so you can get a sense of when the parade and fireworks were happening:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneyland/park-hours.cfm?month=11&year=2013

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneyland/park-hours.cfm?month=12&year=2013.

I'm sure this was posted at some point, but I can't seem to find it. Does anyone know if Mad T Party is only on weekends, or every day? We'll be there the week before Christmas.

Even though we go every year, we've managed to miss this completely! I figure it's about time we give it a try.

Carrie --

figment_jii might remember the Mad T Party holiday schedule. I don't see it on last year's December 2013 schedule, but I know it was happening! I could be completely wrong, but I thought that it originally started out on Fri-Sun only in the earlier part of the holiday season, and then had a more extensive schedule (either nightly or for more than 3 nights in a week) as the season kicked into high gear (like around when you'd be going).

Sherry and my fellow Christmas movie fans: Countdown to Christmas starts this weekend on Hallmark!

TK --

Yesterday, both my cable and my Internet went out at around 2:15 p.m., and remained out for the rest of the day and night. (I would usually lose one of them at a time, but not both!) The first things I thought of were:

1. The Internet had better be up and running soon, because we are in the middle of the lightning round of themes and I can't miss a day!; and

2. This cable had better be working before Friday, because I have been waiting for the Countdown to Christmas all year long!


Seriously, of all weeks for both the cable and Internet to go down, this week would be one of the worst!

In the nick of time! Theme days? I better pay closer attn.

Jenny --

Yes, indeed! We are now in the "warp speed/rapid fire" lightning round of daily mini-themes. The photos for the themes can only be posted on the day I announce them, but each contributor gets two contest entries for their post instead of the usual one entry.

Yesterday was Jingle Cruise day. Today is Critter Country/Grizzly Peak day. There will be a new theme each day through Sunday, 11/2 -- and then Monday (November 3rd) is our final theme week -- Holiday Cornucopia! The Code Word Challenge winner will be revealed any time from 11/3 and on. Then, I will pick the 2 gift card winners (from the photo participants) on 11/10 and we're done! The Theme Week Countdown of 2014 will be a memory!

I know that we will hit a theme or two in the next few days for which you will probably not have photos, but you have been doing a great job of hanging in there with us for every theme so far! You've contributed to each theme up to this point!