Too much to do... not enough sleep or energy to get it done... not enough time in the day either!
I have begun humming Christmas songs, though! The season has begun!
First, I wanted to say that I probably should have repeated more often that I wanted people to introduce themselves before joining in on either the photo contest or the Code Word Challenge -- it's my fault for not driving the point home more often -- but I did say it. It's in this post ("Everyone is welcome to participate if you either have theme-fitting DLR holiday photos to share, or if you want to try to win the Code Word Challenge, but be sure and pop in and introduce yourselves first!"). I know I repeated it somewhere along the line as well, though I may have phrased it a bit differently.
With the posting of photos, of course, the contributors would make themselves known, but the Code Word Challenge folks would have to speak up to be known. I didn't expect people to necessarily post regularly -- Marlana323 did not post regularly -- but just to let me know that they were out there every so often so that I wouldn't be sending gift cards to complete strangers. For a while I thought that Corinna/dolphingirl47 was the only one doing the Challenge (she tried it last year, too, and she almost won except for that Kathy/ksromack got her post in first).
I don't like having to choose between two people in a pinch, so next year I will have to figure out a random selection process for the non-photo people (like what I do for the photo contributors), so that I won't have to pick anyone! I much prefer the random draws! I will also make it abundantly clear that anyone participating must speak up and identify themselves before taking on the Challenge!
In any case, congratulations to our first winner, Marlana323! 
The two photo contributor winners will be selected next Monday -- and thank goodness I don't have to make the choice of who wins that competition because there have been some AMAZING photos posted here for the last few months. There have been people who have diligently contributed to every single theme (Janet/mom2rtk, pattyduke34 and Orbitron), or almost every single theme (Bret/mvf-m11c, tksbaskets, Luisa, Lori/Kylie71, Jenny/rentayenta and Jamie/DisneyJamieCA. There have been contributors who had photos for themes that I wouldn't have expected them to have, such as sgrap, PHXscuba and Speechphi! (Figment_jii and Jenasweetemotion popped in with last minute Candlelight contributions!).
And who could forget the stunning images we were treated to from contributors such as Elk Grove Chris, KCmike and I'm mikey (the latter two of whom disappeared from the Countdown)? Wow!
Even today's photos -- for "Holiday Cornucopia/A Few of My Favorite Things" -- have been outstanding! In a way, even though this is a Disneyland Resort-specific thread -- I almost enjoy seeing the non-Disneyland holiday photos more than the Disneyland photos!!
(By the way, egritz came forward with some amazing photos too! Those are all great shots! For someone who didn't have the absolute best time on her holiday trip, and who didn't think much of the decorations around DLR, you got some beautiful photos during your trip -- and your family is adorable!)
I would probably lose sleep at night if I had to try to pick winners next week (even just for the small prizes that I am giving away), so, thankfully, it will be fate that decides who wins the other 2 Disney gift cards.
I will mail all 3 gift cards out at the same time -- if I can get them in the mail on Monday, 11/10 I will do that. Otherwise they would go out on Wed., 11/12 (because 11/11 is a holiday).
I will post a complete list of photo contributors and some Theme Week Countdown stats after the 2 winners are chosen next Monday!
Now that Halloween is over, the parade of wintry treats is marching ahead and Peppermint Pandemonium/Eggnog Excitement (a.k.a. Seasonal merchandise invading the grocery stores) is upon us!!! Starbucks is now in full "Red Cup mode" and the other coffee places are not far behind. Peppermint Wonderland ice cream is now sharing space with the Pumpkin Patch and Eggnog flavors. Recent reports of sightings include (I am getting this info from The Impulsive Buy as well as Junk Food Guy):
- Pepperidge Farm Limited Edition Snowball Citrus Cookies
- Nabisco Limited Edition Candy Cane Oreo Mini Cookies
- Limited Edition Sugar Cookie Toast Crunch and Holiday Sprinkles Cookie Crisp
- The various fragrance/candle lines (Glade, etc.) appear to have their winter/holiday lines out too.
I'm completely expecting crowds, so I'm not worried on that account. I'm just worried about getting everything ready: dining reservations, clothes, ground transportation, and all those little extras that make a trip magical. The crowds will be there and we'll just have to cope the best we can!
revwog1974 --
You'll get it all done! It's all doable.
Hello,
I've got a quick question for you
I am planning a trip for our family of 6 dec 27-jan 3. We are getting 5 day passes .... Which day should we take off to go to the beach? We have reservations in disneyland on New Year's Eve (so that day is out). We have a family tradition of doing the polar bear swim on New Year's Day and thought it might be fun to do it in Cali (rather than chilli Canada). I don't want to give up a quiet day in the park and was thinking jan 1 morning might be quieter. Will there be a quieter day in the park? ... Or no? So we would potentially go to the parks 28,29,30,31,2 or 28, 29, 31, 1, 2. Also, do you think park hoppers are necessary? Or can I get away with park per day with little kids in tow and 5 days to spend?!
Thanks so much for your advice!
trapaq --
Welcome!
New Year's Day is said to be a bit quieter only in the first few hours of the morning, but it gets very busy pretty quickly -- by 11:00 a.m. or noon, at the latest. I think your swim might be a fun way to start the New Year, so unless those few hours of quiet time in the parks are really important I think that January 1st might be a good day for a swim.
I like the flexibility of having Park Hoppers -- especially with only a few days -- but for the number of days you are going to be in the parks (5 days) I think you could get away with a one-park-per-day sort of deal. You could do your first day in Disneyland, your second day in California Adventure, and then decide from that point forward where you want to spend your remaining days.
What's the earliest time in the day that you can call to make tour reservations? 8AM, 9AM ??????
Thanks!
Brunolvr --
I could be wrong, but I could have sworn that the phone lines open up at 7 a.m. (Pacific Standard Time) on most days. That may have changed, but it has been that time on some days in the past.
Interrupting the normally scheduled programming for a Hallmark Christmas Movie review....
I spent the day yesterday doing projects and watching Hallmark Christmas movies I had on DVR (and watch the Christmas Ornament again real time). The first new movie of the season, A Starry Christmas, was a bust for me. Frankly I liked the boyfriend better than our cowboy. Our heroine's parents were adorably wonderful. I'm curious what everyone else thought? Sherry did you catch the movie?
Never fear, I had 'A Bride for Christmas' to cheer me up!
Back to our mini-theme week....
TK --
I thought of you when the new movie was on, and wondered if you liked it. I have it saved on the DVR and have to watch it in full. I have only seen bits and pieces of the first half of it, and from what I saw it didn't grab me yet. I started to watch it on Saturday night, and my neighbors were making noise (as usual) and distracted me. I then tried to record
One Starry Christmas and the DVR wasn't recording. I got the DVR working, but I haven't had time to sit down and concentrate on the new movie yet.
However, I absolutely DID watch
The Christmas Ornament -- which I love even more every time I see it!! -- and
A Bride for Christmas. I also watched
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year and
Farewell, Mr. Kringle again (of course).
I love love love the Countdown to Christmas marathon, and the big blanket o' holiday cheer that it provides, even when some of the movies are not as great as others.
Thank you so much Sherry! I've had such a great time following this thread and so enjoy all the pictures and advice from everyone!
It was a lot of fun and great game to everyone!
marlana323 --
You're very welcome! I'm glad that you have been following along all of this time.
Sometime during the week, send me your mailing info so that I will have your gift card ready to go when I mail out the other two cards to the photo contributors!
Sorry if this question is annoying, but I have searched for the answer and can't find much info:
We will be staying at the PPH on concierge level from Dec. 22-29. We plan to make the most of the lounge and food offerings. Can someone tell me what special items or events the lounge has for Christmas?
Second, we are having Christmas Eve dinner at Storytellers. I have see the menu from last year but am wondering about decorations in the restaurant, how to get a table near a fireplace and more detail about the food.
Thanks!
amyamya --
Hello!
I haven't seen you around this forum in a while.
The questions are not annoying!
While I am very familiar with staying at the PPH, I am not familiar with their Concierge Level offerings. I would have to assume that they put out some special appetizers and drinks for Christmas, though.
Storytellers Café -- as far as decorations -- really only has the gingerbread house near the entrance to the restaurant. It is a fresh, real gingerbread house every year (I posted a photo of the 2011 version of it earlier this morning). There is, inexplicably, no Christmas tree in the restaurant, unless that changes this year. It's very peculiar.
The food options for Christmas Eve and Day are mysterious, and not much is known beyond the info/links that I included in the dining-related post on page 1 of this thread (there are 2 separate links to sites with lists of full Christmas menus). Disney rarely seems to release the info. Both Mouse Planet and The Mouse for Less listed Storytellers' Christmas Eve 2013 options as:
Christmas Eve
Buffet: Carved Turkey Breast with Cranberry Sauce, Black Pepper Crusted New York with Rosemary Au-jus and Creamed Horseraddish, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Butternut Squash, Salmon with Blood Orange Vinaigrette, Roasted Herb Chicken Breast with Garlic Jus, Pan Seared Pork Loin and Calvados Demi, Penne Pasta Italian Sausage and Roasted Peppers, Chicken Tamales, Chef Bill's Corn Chowder, Baby Winter Greens with Honey Balsamic Dressings, Fresh Fruit Platter, Assorted Fruit Pies and Special Holiday Desserts
.
Even though Disney doesn't seem to want to release a complete list of the 2014 Christmas Eve/Day options, I would imagine they will be similar, if not identical.
I think that you can request to sit next to one of the furnace/fireplaces both before you arrive and when you check in, but since it will be Christmas Eve I don't know how long you might have to wait to get your table of choice.
Maybe
Lori/Kylie71 knows?
I didn't know we needed to post anything prior to participating in the code word challenge. I'm generally a lurker since I don't have anything to contribute. I have been following this thread since we decided to go to Disneyland over the holidays. (December 18-23). I've enjoyed seeing everyone's pictures and am looking forward to our trip.
Thanks for all your work Sherry and to everyone else for sharing your pictures and information.
Melda --
Thank you for the kind words, Melda.
If I had an extra gift card to give out I would gladly send it to you as well!
And again, I should have stressed more often and reiterated that I wanted people to introduce themselves if they were going to follow the challenge. I guess I assumed that people would have either seen my initial comments about it, or they would just know to speak up at some point. I mainly wanted to have a sense of who I might be sending a gift card to, just so I was at least familiar with the person even if he/she didn't post a lot. I had a feeling that people were lurking, but I thought they might come out of the shadows before we got to the final Theme Week and let me know they were there.
sherry,
I wanted to give you a giant thank you for organizing this thread. I have had such a fun time looking at everyone's pictures. It has gotten me so excited for our vacation, and I wanted to also thank everyone who contributed to the photo contest. I find myself sad that the theme weeks have now come to and end.
We do not have dryers ice cream where I live, but yesterday as I was grocery shopping I saw for the first time haagan dazs peppermint bark ice cream. Has anyone every tried this kind? I'm wondering what the great Christmas ice cream connoisseurs think and if it, and if it is comparable to the beloved dryers brand. It was quite expensive at $7.99 for that small container, but I am tempted to buy it and see.
planningjollyholiday --
Thank you for the kind words! I will accept the giant thank you!
It is always a little bit sad when these Theme Weeks end. They go on for so long, on a regular schedule, and then -- poof! All done!
It's a relief for me, as it's a lot of work, but at the same time it's nice to have something fun to look forward to on a Monday morning, and to be able to kill time as we wait for the holidays to begin!
Do you not have Edy's ice cream either (Edy's is in the same family as Dreyer's)?
I have tried the HD Peppermint Bark ice cream -- in fact, they make a Peppermint Bark Dazzler that I once bought at the HD shop in Downtown Disney -- and... I don't like it. It''s not terrible. I like other Haagen Dazs flavors, but the Peppermint Bark is basically flat, white ice cream (barely even vanilla) with chunks of peppermint bark in it. The bark is too strong/sharp a flavor against the flat taste of the ice cream itself. Dreyer's/Edy's is not only pink in color, which I prefer, but the balance between the cream and the peppermint chunks is better.
Do you get McConnell's ice cream, or Talenti gelato? I have never tried it (nor have I tried Talenti), but I have heard that their peppermint is good...though costly. Talenti is costly too.
tksbaskets--
I caught
A Starry Christmas over the weekend. It was ok, but nothing special. If the parents hadn't been in the movie it would have been a total loss for me. I didn't like either of the Cowboys in the movie, and I usually love a good Cowboy!
I had not seen
Help for the Holidays from a couple of years ago and I enjoyed that! I have recorded
Angels Sing but have not watched it yet.
I am so glad the Countdown to Christmas has started!
Tracy --
Hmm. That's two not-so-great votes against
One Starry Christmas. I must sit down and watch it in full!
Angels Sing was on in July, and it's actually not a Hallmark movie.
I guess that Hallmark acquired the rights to air it. It's pretty good, though. It fits in with the real Hallmark movies. Did you catch
Farewell, Mr. Kringle?
I have been so happy seeing my existing favorites that I could probably forgive a couple of weak new movies, but I am hoping that there will be a couple of winners in the new bunch!
