Kristan --
Thank you so much for taking the time to report back to us with the recap of your trip!
And you added photos (which I just noticed now, as I was posting this reply!) Thank you! 
This was a significant trip for you for at least a few reasons -- being solo; your first DLR holiday trip; and your cancer-free celebration. It sounds like you got quite a bit done, and you had some wonderful moments along the way despite tired feet, rain and getting soaked during Winter Dreams. I'm glad you made it to your Holiday Tour on time!
I smiled when you mentioned warming yourself by the GCH fire with the holiday bread and the hot chocolate with rum! That is such a perfect thing to do during the holiday season at DLR, and I can imagine that a lot of people had the same idea when it was raining.
And, isn't there something lovely and comforting about retreating back to a Disney hotel at the end of the night? It's a nice feeling to wake up and go to sleep in the middle of the magic.
I love solo trips and I generally don't feel weird during them. In a way I have grown to prefer them because I can go at my own pace, do what I want, and I can be silent the whole day and never have to speak if I don't want to. I can take a nap in the middle of the day if I want. I can walk all around DLR and not feel odd at all. I prefer having a hotel room to myself. I prefer shopping and browsing shops by myself.
The only times when I kind of miss having company are at meals -- especially at table service places -- in photos, and on certain rides. I like to laugh and have fun with friends on rides, and act silly posing for photos with characters. It's always nice to have good conversation while eating. Beyond that, though, I like my solo time. I know that there is definitely no way for me to get a lot of photos unless I am by myself.
Well I got back home on Thursday night from my solo trip. I will probably make a trip report on it because I took hundreds of pics and would love to share them! I had some great character interactions, and thoroughly enjoyed the holiday entertainment offerings like ¡Viva Navidad! and the bell ringers on Buena Vista Street, as well as the adorable tree lighting show at DCA. Spent a lot of time hanging around it's a small world and caught the projection show multiple times, and watched the parade from there as well. I also watched the lighting and fireworks from both IASW and the hub. Made sure to hit all the holiday overlay attractions. In short, it was AMAZING!
joyfulDisneytears --
Another solo trip! I am loving the fact that more and more people are doing solo trips to DLR! I know that solo trips are not for everyone, and a lot of people won't do them at all, but there was a time -- not very long ago -- when solo trips to a place like DLR would have been unheard of...frowned upon...questioned. The people who like to take a
lot of photos know how valuable that solo time can be!
It sounds like you had a great trip! Thank you for reporting back to us!
Thank you for the info, sherry! After my solo day trip on Wednesday, I will post about my hunt for the pumpkin beignets! Yummy! I'll also note about the day's experience!
pepe3penelope --
I will be anxious to read about your solo day trip adventures (and pumpkin beignet search!)!
love2go2disney2 --
The rain can be such a crazy thing out here in SoCal. It may not rain for long periods of time, and then when it does it pours and pours. We may get a random storm here and there between now and the end of the year, but most likely we will see the bulk of our rain in January and February.
I think you'll have a great trip this week!
I'm glad you didn't cancel.
So my fam is set to hit Dland next Sunday/Monday(21/22).
I am trying to get a game plan, to best maximize our time, only doing single day tickets. We are going to do DCA on Sunday, and DL on Monday, so we can end with all the fun on Monday at DL.
My questions are, what the the premier things to do at the holiday time in DCA & DL at the open?
Since both parks have EMH on both days please help.
I assume DCA, you will want to pick the new Frozen stuff, or head straight to CarsLand. What else are items that you will want to get into ASAP before everything is packed?
In DL, I know my daughter will want to do the Frozen M&G but is this moving to DCA? Where is the FP located, and since DL is EMH/MM both days, were going to be hurting on this day.
I assume Peter Pan is a must at open, what else?
Last time we went, was in Sept 2013 and crowds were minimal so I didn't worry about planning.
Please help... 1-child age 6 and 3-adults 26-29
qckrun --
Yes, the Anna and Elsa meet and greet is moving out of Fantasyland after 12/19, and will be at the Animation Building in DCA as of 12/20. To my knowledge I don't think anyone knows for sure yet exactly how the FP will work in DCA. The FPs may be located somewhere near the entrance of DCA, or they could be located closer to Hollywood Land.
I tend to think that, at the start of the day, a lot of other people will have the idea to head to Hollywood Land for Frozen Fun, and there is very little info as of now as to how it will all be handled.
I also tend to wonder if Olaf's Snow Fest may have limited hours during the sneak peek, or if it will be open all day and night. If it has limited hours you can bet that a bunch of folks will be piling into Hollywood Land as soon as they can get in.
Yes, Peter Pan is a ride that is always recommended as one to hit first thing in the morning.
If it's open in the morning, the Storybook Land Canal Boats might be good to get out of the way early on as well (remember, there are tiny Christmas decorations on the ride, and Arendelle is being added in), as the line can build quickly.
Likewise, if It's a Small World Holiday is open yet, that's a good one to do before the line gets super long (although it is prettier to see the façade at night).
You're also correct that hitting Cars Land early is usually recommended.
If you're planning on seeing Winter Dreams later at night you might want to get your FP for that as soon as you can.
Bret/mvf-m11c and
figment_jii -- wherever they are -- may have some other ideas of certain things to hit first thing in the morning, and
tksbaskets may have some thoughts on it as well.
DD and I arrive very late on Monday night (we'll probably get to the hotel after 11 PM).
Any idea what time(s) the DTD restaurants close? I know we can get room service if necessary, but thought I'd ask. I don't see any info anywhere.
Briarmom --
It depends on which restaurant you want. When I click on each DTD restaurant --
HERE -- different times come up. I think that Earl of Sandwich is open until midnight on some nights. Jazz Kitchen could be open until 11 p.m. Catal's last dinner serving may be at 9:30 p.m., but they probably stay open later than that (to give people time to eat).
Hello all I just stumbled upon this thread and think it's the perfect place for me to start my first DL visit planning. I really haven't known where to begin except I'm pretty sure I want to stay at DL hotel and want to be there for the holidays. I guess I'll jump in with maybe everyone's first question; when is the best time to go to DL in during the Christmas season? When is the best (warmish) weather and least crowds (and I know everyone says DL crowds are always consistent because it's a "locals" park yadda yadda…). Also when are the festivities at their peak so to speak? I will also throw in that my birthday is November 13th and I've always wanted to spend my birthday at a Disney park but never have, not that I have to buy its just a thought.
DannyDisneyFreak --
Hello and welcome!
Well, let's start with weather. Here in SoCal it could be warm -- even hot -- all the way through November and sometimes in December. It
could still be well into the 80s. It could also be in the 60s, but that's less likely in November. You're more likely to encounter warmer weather in November than in December -- but again, it could be cool, or could rain.
I don't know if the events of
Disneyland's 60th anniversary are in any way going to affect the holiday season of 2015, but what usually happens is that the holiday decorations begin to go up even before Halloween. They slowly begin to appear, little by little in the parks.
Then, sometime in early November (whichever weekend would be considered Veterans Day weekend in any given year), a lot of the holiday offerings soft open or soft launch -- such as the Believe in Holiday Magic fireworks, the Christmas Fantasy Parade, It's a Small World Holiday, etc. Most of the decorations in the 2 parks are up at that time. There is usually some sort of parade taping for ABC.
The next stage is the official holiday season start date, which will probably be
after Veterans Day. This year the official start date was on 11/13. Next year it could be 11/13 again, or it could be 11/12. Once the season has officially begun, then all of the holiday season entertainment is guaranteed to be up and running (like World of Color-Winter Dreams, Viva Navidad, etc.). The ice skating rink and Winter Village in Downtown Disney are open. Santa Claus will appear in each park as of the official season start date.
About 9 days before Thanksgiving -- and maybe 5-7 days after the season has officially begun -- the 3 Disney hotels begin to get their trees and decorations. The giant gingerbread house in the Grand Californian Hotel lobby was up before Thanksgiving this year, but the treats sold from the table next to it were not available until Thanksgiving day.
Santa Claus and assorted carolers begin to appear at the 3 hotels starting on Thanksgiving too.
This year, "Frozen Fun" is sneak peek-ing on December 20th, but in the future it may begin earlier in the holiday season.
So, in a nutshell, you could easily be at Disneyland on or around your birthday -- and you may get reasonably warm weather -- and the holiday season will have probably already begun or will be just about to begin, but you will likely miss all of the hotel decorations and fun. The 2 parks will probably be in full holiday mode, though.
The weekends will always be crowded during the holidays, but the crowds reach a fever pitch in the week between Christmas and New Year's.
In 2015 there will be an Avengers Marathon and related events taking place from 11/12 - 11/15, so that will bring in some extra people.
Over Thanksgiving weekend we got the pumpkin beignets at the Mint Julep Bar. We ate at French Market one night and I did not see them there. But, the MJB is right next to FM.
They are sooooooo yummy! Beware of the powdered sugar mess, but it's so worth it!
I'm bummed we never made it to Plaza Inn for the pumpkin Yule log. Next year, right?!
Angrose --
You never got the Fall Yule Log after all?
The seasonal food items are tricky because some of them will disappear just as soon as one season ends and another begins. Other items will linger and stick around for a while, into the next season. Quite a few of the pumpkin items seemed to have stuck around through at least Thanksgiving weekend, if not later than that, this year. Other items switch over into their holiday versions and the Fall versions are gone as soon as the holidays begin.
Also, some items may, for example, be available at 5 different places in one year and then only available at 2 places the next year -- or they could be available in 5 places for Halloween Time and only 2 places during the Holidays. Some items may be found in more
or fewer places than what is announced or advertised.
Sherry, I'm just letting you know that I had my Flickr account hacked and had to close it. Fortunatley for me I had it linked to a secondary email account, so my main email account was not compromised. I had to delete both my Flickr and secondary email account and set up a new secondary email account yesterday. This is the second time in the past 1 1/2 yrs I've had to delete photo accounts due to hacking. You can't be too careful on the net these days.
Trish --
I'm sorry to hear that you were hacked again! My goodness! The Internet is both a tremendous blessing and also a curse at times. There is no denying that. It has its pros and cons.
We just got back from WDW a few days ago for our Anniversary/Christmas getaway and I have to say that both my wife and I think that DL wins hands down for Christmas. There just seems to be more decorations and holiday cheer at DL for us. We missed the two overlays and the Christmas decorations hanging over mainstreet USA. We also missed the Christmas parade at DL. I know that many think its "tired" and old but we love the song and the parade there.
Now there were some wonderful positives. The resort hotels absolutely crush DL as do the vast amenities one can find at each resort. The snow on Mainstreet falls during the parade and on one particular night waiting for
MVMCP it snowed for a complete hour on mainstreet as we shopped and found our spot as this was way before the parade and the hard ticket event. That was pretty magical.
Now its time to dream of the 60th Anniversary!
Hi,
KCmike!
I'm glad you found your way over to us here! Thank you for giving the assessment/comparison of DLR vs. WDW during the holidays. I hope to one day get to WDW for the holidays, but I often wonder how I will feel about it after being so used to DLR's smaller holiday celebration (in terms of overall size and scope, as compared to WDW).
Where did you stay? (ETA: I see in your signature that it was Port Orleans Riverside. That must have been great!)
The snowfall for an hour does sound magical! I would have loved that!
Yes, the events of the 60th anniversary remain a mystery as of now, but it will be fascinating to see what is revealed over time!
I don't think I ever saw horrible wait times there. 
