Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread #5

[707MickeyGirl]

707Mickey Girl-that is what I was thinking. The kids are old enough I can handle them myself and I can give him a break. Also split up helps tons too. We've been two times before so we have an idea of what is going on, and that helps. I also will book childcare for one night.

Millie0312-Do you have a hard time getting your kids up for early entry? We've never stayed onsite before but we've had a chance to do it each of our other trips and I don't know if we made it! I think this whole be there at rope drop, go until lunch, then take a long break and return between 4-6pm is what we will try. I just don't know how long they will last at night though when they were up super early that morning.

Thanks everyone for your responses-I knew it would be busy, very busy, but now it's looking like it's gonna be nutty busy, the exact kind of busy we actively try to avoid. I know with planning we can have a fantastic trip, and now maybe I will see what crazy busy disney looks like. Which I've always had a morbid curiosity about

It's going to be mobbed. Like someone-kicked-an-anthill mobbed. We've all got to have a good plan to maximize the fun and minimize the crankiness! I would rather NOT be taking my granddaughter in late December but she's in 2nd grade now and her parents will only let her go during school breaks, so unfortunately it's peak times for us only. We'll have a great trip anyway!

 

[DisneyWillow1975]

I never thought about going at rope drop (no EMH for us, since our friends are staying offsite) and then taking a super long afternoon break, then going back for a later night. We've done rope drop and stroller naps (sometimes) with our boys at WDW, but have tried to be back to our hotel by 8pm-9pm each night. Definitely something to consider. I'm hoping the crowds the first week won't be horrible, but you never know!

Also, my apologies if this has been posted already and I missed it (I've skimmed recent posts only) but I talked to a Dining CM today about WOC and she confirmed that any lunch package will be for the first show. The late dinners (5:10pm - 6:20pm for an 8:15pm WOC) will be for the second show. It is possible to request FPs for the other show at the restaurant, but if all WOC packages have been booked, there will be no FP availability for a swap.

Since we are having to skip Fantasmic on the Friday of our trip, we're splurging and doing 1 WOC lunch at Carthay Circle to watch the holiday version and 1 WOC dinner at Wine Country Trattoria for the 60th version. If we find out that our 3 year olds don't do well at the first one, we can cancel our 2nd package and open up availability for someone else.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
we were told the woc lunch would let us see the later show we don't want anything on the dinner menu. Dang ittttttt

 

[RAPstar]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
we were told the woc lunch would let us see the later show we don't want anything on the dinner menu. Dang ittttttt

I know it was a while ago, but when I went for lunch in 2013, they asked if we wanted the later or the earlier show. But I also think they were running out of the earlier show? It never hurts to ask.

 

[DisneyWillow1975]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
we were told the woc lunch would let us see the later show we don't want anything on the dinner menu. Dang ittttttt

It's very possible that the CM I spoke with was incorrect. That happens frequently with WDW and DCL CMs so I would assume DL is similar

 

[TraderCharlie]

Snow falling on Main Street
[GALLERY=][/GALLERY]

 

[PHXscuba]

​

PHXscuba

 

[Aussie Princess]

I never thought about going at rope drop (no EMH for us, since our friends are staying offsite) and then taking a super long afternoon break, then going back for a later night. We've done rope drop and stroller naps (sometimes) with our boys at WDW, but have tried to be back to our hotel by 8pm-9pm each night. Definitely something to consider. I'm hoping the crowds the first week won't be horrible, but you never know!

Also, my apologies if this has been posted already and I missed it (I've skimmed recent posts only) but I talked to a Dining CM today about WOC and she confirmed that any lunch package will be for the first show. The late dinners (5:10pm - 6:20pm for an 8:15pm WOC) will be for the second show. It is possible to request FPs for the other show at the restaurant, but if all WOC packages have been booked, there will be no FP availability for a swap.

Since we are having to skip Fantasmic on the Friday of our trip, we're splurging and doing 1 WOC lunch at Carthay Circle to watch the holiday version and 1 WOC dinner at Wine Country Trattoria for the 60th version. If we find out that our 3 year olds don't do well at the first one, we can cancel our 2nd package and open up availability for someone else.

That's bad for us as well cos we have WOC lunch booked but want to see celebrate at 1015pm instead of winter dreams which is the first show as we have seen winter dreams hopefully we can cos we have always been able to chose th time when its been a 2 show day

 

[JadeDarkstar]

well My son said "why are we paying 40 bucks for an Over Glorified bacon burger and not getting the guaranteed seat for the show we want." LOL so with that said my hubby and son have out voted me and we are gona just take the money else where and do what we did last year and get ok spots for the late show with a fp

 

[ttig34]

I wonder if you can choose which show you want to see when distributed at the FP machines. Or if it will be how it has worked in the past, early show distributed first, and late show once early is out of FP's.

 

[Astylla]

well My son said "why are we paying 40 bucks for an Over Glorified bacon burger and not getting the guaranteed seat for the show we want." LOL so with that said my hubby and son have out voted me and we are gona just take the money else where and do what we did last year and get ok spots for the late show with a fp

While I absolutely LOVE Carthay , in this case I think they are absolutely right. The thing about the dining packages is the value isn't in the FP themselves , but it's just a nice bonus.
I always advise my friends to not get wrapped up in the hype of dining somewhere just to do it or for any benefit unless you actually will enjoy it.

That said I have booked the Fantasmic Blue Bayou for us the day after Thanksgiving since it's one of our last trips and with ROA being drained it may be a long time before we see it anyway.
I enjoyed the WOC sections but feel the Fantasmic meals are "better" sections for the show.

 

[millie0312]

It's going to be mobbed. Like someone-kicked-an-anthill mobbed. We've all got to have a good plan to maximize the fun and minimize the crankiness! I would rather NOT be taking my granddaughter in late December but she's in 2nd grade now and her parents will only let her go during school breaks, so unfortunately it's peak times for us only. We'll have a great trip anyway!

707Mickey Girl-that is what I was thinking. The kids are old enough I can handle them myself and I can give him a break. Also split up helps tons too. We've been two times before so we have an idea of what is going on, and that helps. I also will book childcare for one night.

Millie0312-Do you have a hard time getting your kids up for early entry? We've never stayed onsite before but we've had a chance to do it each of our other trips and I don't know if we made it! I think this whole be there at rope drop, go until lunch, then take a long break and return between 4-6pm is what we will try. I just don't know how long they will last at night though when they were up super early that morning.

Thanks everyone for your responses-I knew it would be busy, very busy, but now it's looking like it's gonna be nutty busy, the exact kind of busy we actively try to avoid. I know with planning we can have a fantastic trip, and now maybe I will see what crazy busy disney looks like. Which I've always had a morbid curiosity about

Anthill!!

As far as getting the kids up- it's not easy but we did it. I ended up waking up early and getting ready solo, then helping the kids as DH got ready. I take longer and they are all quick put on the clothes and go kind of people so it worked out ok. It really helped to put our clothes into baggies as we packed for each day so they just grabbed the bag in the morning. We also had the bags/stroller packed the night before so I could just grab it and go with what we were bringing into the park that day. It sucks to get up early for me (not an early riser ) but was SO worth it for the crowds. It was also easy to take a nap after all the walking and especially on day 2 so after a 2-3 hour nap we felt good for the late nights. It's tiring so we are also taking a day in the middle of our 5 park days to rest because after the 12-15 miles we walked daily (yup- we actually did not hop and walked that much lol) and long hours we were all tired and DD was so tired one night she fell asleep around 4 pm and didn't wake up until the next day haha and we tried to wake her up too! Luckily my mom was also that tired and stayed with her so DH and I had a date night in DCA. Another option if you have only 2 adults is hitting the observation area on the 5 or 6 floor- it gives you a view if the littles are still sleeping of some of the night shows and I believe you can bring a drink from the lounge up there too (adult or otherwise)

 

[KalamityJane]

Bear in mind that if you are coming from a different time zone, early won't feel as early.

I'm on the fence, I have both PVI and Homewood Suites booked for our dates and I'm thing Homewood, but the proximity of PVI would be super nice and much more convenient. HS is cheaper by $130.

At any rate, definitely getting in early, going until lunch and getting out before the madhouse has worked for us.

I saw booking childcare mentioned - are there any sitting services around? DH and I almost never get a date night. That might be fun to have some time sans kids.

 

[BritBrit]

I saw booking childcare mentioned - are there any sitting services around? DH and I almost never get a date night. That might be fun to have some time sans kids.

Yes - I got the name of Destination Sitters from this board and have already booked a night for our visit in December (phone/website below). It took a little while for them to get back to me but once booked, they were very quick to get me the information about the sitter (e.g., resume). I'm actually thinking about adding a second night with a sitter because I'm not sure how late my 2 year old can go.

W: 888-SIT-KIDZ (748-5439)
www:destinationsitters.com

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

Fwiw... tsmm has Christmas lights up inside the ride now, and the big tree by earl of sandwich is up and the little shacks around there have snow on top, little trees and soldier nutcrackers. The crossover is occurring!

 

[motor58]

Anthill!!

As far as getting the kids up- it's not easy but we did it. I ended up waking up early and getting ready solo, then helping the kids as DH got ready. I take longer and they are all quick put on the clothes and go kind of people so it worked out ok. It really helped to put our clothes into baggies as we packed for each day so they just grabbed the bag in the morning. We also had the bags/stroller packed the night before so I could just grab it and go with what we were bringing into the park that day. It sucks to get up early for me (not an early riser ) but was SO worth it for the crowds. It was also easy to take a nap after all the walking and especially on day 2 so after a 2-3 hour nap we felt good for the late nights. It's tiring so we are also taking a day in the middle of our 5 park days to rest because after the 12-15 miles we walked daily (yup- we actually did not hop and walked that much lol) and long hours we were all tired and DD was so tired one night she fell asleep around 4 pm and didn't wake up until the next day haha and we tried to wake her up too! Luckily my mom was also that tired and stayed with her so DH and I had a date night in DCA. Another option if you have only 2 adults is hitting the observation area on the 5 or 6 floor- it gives you a view if the littles are still sleeping of some of the night shows and I believe you can bring a drink from the lounge up there too (adult or otherwise)

Millie-love that story of your girl falling asleep for the night at 4pm. I have the opposite thing in my house though-I get up easy and go but my kids are another story. I am sure they could but it's not natural. Maybe the disney magic will help things along. And good reminder for the observation deck, not a bad idea. Is the deck covered?

I wish we had the time zone in our favor, we live in the same zone.

We were there last 2014 the last week of Feb and it was busy. I wish I knew what to compare it to, as our only other trip was mid Sept in 2012 and it was a dream crowd-wise. Our Feb trip was a rude awakening and I wasn't expecting much for crowds and it was rough. Our park strategy is just to go when it's not busy (whatever that means now), during the week, and for as many days as we can so we can pace ourselves. First trip was 6 days in parks, last trip was 5 days in parks and this trip was supposed to be 4 days but I might do 5 again.

Hearing about your 12-15 miles a day makes me think one of us should wear a proper pedometer. I knew we walked a lot, but wow!

 

[sheba201]

Question about candy canes! I've done holidays at Disney for the past couple of years but never got around to trying this tradition. Do you go the designated location at rope drop? And how does magic mornings/emh work (like do they let people line up during these times)

 

[mom2rtk]

Lots of holiday things appearing every day. The winter village is up and the Christmas tree is in Downtown Disney.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I was already worried about crowds for our dec 6-11 trip, and now I am really worried! I also picked that week thinking it would be a "slower" week of the crazy busy season. I agree about making the best of early hours, late hours but how do you do that with kids? Ours are 7, almost 9 and 11. Looks like I have some thinking to do. Also have a slightly grumpy husband who isn't into this trip as I'd like and it being busier won't be doing me any favors as he really hates crowds. This is the first year we've stayed onsite and I think I picked a good year to stay at GCH, having our room so close might be really really helpful.

But really, how do you guys do a busy season with kids? What does your day/night look like?

We are always at rope drop/EMH! Althought some mornings it can be harder to get everybody moving, those quieter hours in the morning start the day out right for all of us. The afternoons/evenings depend on crowds and how all the kids are doing. Most times we take an afternoon swim/nap break and come back in the evenings, although occassionally we'll keep going and then call it an early night.

Fwiw... tsmm has Christmas lights up inside the ride now, and the big tree by earl of sandwich is up and the little shacks around there have snow on top, little trees and soldier nutcrackers. The crossover is occurring!

This is so exciting to me! Has TSMM always gotten the Christmas lights? I honestly can't remember.

 

[Aussie Princess]

Question about candy canes! I've done holidays at Disney for the past couple of years but never got around to trying this tradition. Do you go the designated location at rope drop? And how does magic mornings/emh work (like do they let people line up during these times)

I would love to know more about this as well the first time we are around for them this year