Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread #5

[pudinhd]

I only have 1 photo! I wouldn't have thought it counted except that it matches one of Sherry's photos!

 

[Sherry E]

Well... Season of the Force was originally supposed to begin in early 2016. Now it's beginning in November -- right smack dab after the holiday season has begun. Prepare for crowds -- http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...16-at-disneyland-park-in-southern-california/.



Non-Disney holiday stuff:

A couple of non-Disney holiday-related things...

First of all, it appears that amaretto and Irish cream are the new holiday flavors -- http://www.theimpulsivebuy.com/wordpress/2015/09/15/spotted-on-shelves-9152015/.

Are they holiday flavors? For some reason I never think "holidays" when I think of those flavors, but maybe. The Duncan Hines boxes have snowflakes on them, so clearly they are being marketed to the holiday season crowds. At least they're trying to come up with something beyond peppermint, cranberry, gingerbread, eggnog, pumpkin spice, candy corn and caramel apple!




Next -- and this is for the peeps out there who follow the Hallmark Channel's massive Countdown to Christmas (2 months of sheer holiday joy in the form of an all day/all night movie marathon) -- a while back I listed off all of the titles of new movies that I knew of that were coming to this year's Countdown. Since then, some of the titles have changed, and at least one movie that was originally scheduled to air on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is now going to air on the regular Hallmark Channel instead. The lineup was announced today, but only some of the actors in some of the movies are known. Here is the updated list (in no particular order, but I am just numbering them anyway):

1. "'Tis the Season for Love" (with Hallmark favorite Sarah Lancaster of "Fir Crazy" and Brendan J. Penny)

2. "Christmas Detour" (formerly called "A Christmas to Remember" and "On Time for Christmas," with Hallmark favorite Candace Cameron Bure and Paul Greene)

3. "Charming Christmas" (based on "The Secret Life of Mrs. Claus," starring Julie Benz from "Dexter" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and David Sutcliffe from "The Wish List" and "Under the Tuscan Sun")

4. "Ice Sculpture Christmas" (with Rachel Boston of "A Ring by Spring" and David Alpay)

5. "Christmas Incorporated" (no clue who is in this one)

6. "The Truth About Christmas" (formerly called "The Honesty Trip," starring Alicia Witt of "A Very Merry Mix-Up" and "Christmas at Cartwright's," and George Stults)

7. "Northpole 2: Open for Christmas" (starring Lori Loughlin of "Full House" and "When Calls the Heart," and Dermot Mulroney of "My Best Friend's Wedding")

8. "Merry Matrimony" (no clue who is in this one)

9. "Once Upon a Holiday" (no clue who is in this one)

10. "Crown for Christmas" (with Danica McKellar of "The Wonder Years")

11. "Angel of Christmas" (no clue who is in this one)

12. "12 Gifts of Christmas" (no clue who is in this one)

13. "Debbie Macomber's Dashing Through the Snow" (with Meghan Ory of "Once Upon a Time" and Andrew Walker of "A Bride for Christmas" and "Bridal Wave")

14. "Melody & Mistletoe" (with Mariah Carey as director and star, and yet-to-be-named actors)

15. "Just in Time for Christmas" (with Eloise Mumford of "Christmas with Holly")

16. "Christmas Land" (no clue who is in this one)

17. "On the Twelfth Day of Christmas" (no clue who is in this one).




Bonus: "Family for Christmas" with Lacey Chabert premiered as a sneak preview in July, but it was originally supposed to debut during the holiday season.

There was/is supposed to be a "When Calls the Heart" Christmas movie, but it's not on Hallmark's list, so I don't know what happened to it.

There was supposed to be a movie called "Christmas Confessions," with Jessica Harmon (who has done a bunch of TV shows and movies), and I am guessing that it is one of the above-listed movies without a known cast -- the title of the movie most likely changed to something else.

The movie "The Ultimate Legacy" (part of a trilogy with "The Ultimate Life" and "The Ultimate Gift") was supposedly going to debut in December, but it is NOT a holiday movie. So I am guessing it will premiere somewhere between Christmas and New Year's Eve, or it will end up on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel.


Speaking of which... tomorrow the new movies scheduled for the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel will be revealed. Initially there were going to be something like 5 new movies -- but I think that 2 of them moved over to the regular Hallmark schedule and/or changed titles. So, right now, the only 2 movies I know for sure are scheduled for Movies & Mysteries are:

1. "Karen Kingsbury's The Bridge" (cast unknown)

2. "Murder, She Baked: A Plum Pudding Mystery" (with Alison Sweeney and Cameron Mathison).

The 3rd and final movie will either be "The Christmas Note" or "The Magic Stocking."




Anyway, I'm happy with the casting for a lot of these -- Alicia Witt, Candace Cameron Bure and Sarah Lancaster are all good in their own way, and on the men's side of things I love Dermot Mulroney, David Sutcliffe, Andrew Walker and Cameron Mathison. I'm not sure what the Mariah Carey movie is going to be like, but I'll give it a chance.



Oh - also, the movie that Tracy/OHBelle mentioned a while ago -- a holiday movie with Mayim Bialik and Ryan McPartlin -- is called "Accidental Trip," and it is supposed to air on Lifetime. I assume it will air this holiday season. Lifetime also has a new Christmas movie with Jesse Hutch of "Cedar Cove" and "Let It Snow," and Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter of "Family Ties."



We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming...

​

An update to my above quoted post about this year's Hallmark Channel Countdown to Christmas movies and who is starring in the ones for which the casts were previously unknown....

"Christmas Incorporated" stars Shenae Grimes-Beech (from "90210") and Steve Lund (from 2014's "Best Christmas Party Ever" on Hallmark).

"Merry Matrimony" stars Jessica Lowndes (also from "90210") and Christopher Russell (who was in 2014's "Midnight Masquerade" on Hallmark).

"Once Upon a Holiday" stars Briana Evigan (star of "A Star for Christmas," which was not a Hallmark movie, and daughter of actor Greg Evigan) and Paul Campbell (the funny actor from Hallmark's "Window Wonderland" and "Surprised by Love").

"Angel of Christmas" stars Jennifer Finnigan (from a TV series called "Tyrant") and Jonathan Scarfe (who stars in the upcoming Hallmark movie, "Love On the Air").

"12 Gifts of Christmas" stars Katrina Law (who was in one of my favorite Hallmark Christmas movies, "Snow Bride"), Aaron O'Connell (who was in a series called "The Haves and the Have Nots"), and Donna Mills (of "Knots Landing" fame).

"Just in Time for Christmas" also stars William Shatner and Christopher Lloyd (in addition to Eloise Mumford of "Christmas With Holly").

"On the Twelfth Day of Christmas" stars Brooke Nevin (from Hallmark's "Come Dance at My Wedding" and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered: From Paris With Love") and Robin Dunne (from Hallmark's "Real Murders: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery," "The Good Witch's Destiny" and Lifetime's "Twelve Trees of Christmas").



"Christmas Land" -- still no clue who is in this movie!




On the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel:

"The Christmas Note" stars Jamie-Lynn Sigler (from "The Sopranos") and Lochlyn Munro (who was in a Christmas move for the ION channel last year, called "Merry Ex-Mas").

"Karen Kingsbury's The Bridge" stars Faith Ford (of Hallmark's "Trading Christmas" and "A Kiss at Midnight"), Wyatt Nash (who appeared in "Pretty Little Liars") and Alison Araya (who has done a bunch of TV shows, most recently "Fear the Walking Dead").


"The Magic Stocking" -- still no clue who is in this one.

​

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I'll have to prepare for the crowds, but my DS is THRILLED about the Star Wars stuff starting beforewe go. If Jedi Training Academy doesn't start until Dec, does that mean it will continue as is until then or will close as reported on another thread?

 

[kylie71]

Thank You Sherry! We can always count on you to keep us updated on the Christmas movies! I look forward to the Holiday's and the movies like you!
Bring on Fall, it was 91 here today! The average for this time of year, in Northern Nevada is 78!!!!

--Lori

 

[Angel Ariel]

DH is excited about the SW stuff that will be there for our trip, but yeah..somehow I have a feeling that low crowd week isn't going to be such a low crowd week anymore...

 

[JadeDarkstar]

so what all star wars things will be ready by dec? NVM I just saw it said everything in the post above. That is so cool. My sons b-day is oct 3 erd and I had been looking every where for star wars wrapping paper and today we found it hidden behind sponge bob wrapping paper. My sons star wars b-day is all set to go off with out a hitch.
We are so excited to go this dec we felt like we missed so many thing going last November.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Thanks for the info Sherry. P.S. As an FYI, for next time, which I hope isn't for a long time for you (or me), I found out earlier this year when I had Jury Duty you are able to register online at My Jury Portal (I believe) and do the orientation online! That was a blessing and I didn't need to report until 9:30 though lol good thing I was early for trying to catch an elevator felt like a herding.

ksromack, wow! I can't imagine being sequestered (in general0 but especially for two whole weeks. I'm glad that is long behind your stepmother.

Hlsperring, happy to meet another Candlelight fan. You will love it. I viewed for the first time last year and it was such a blessed experience. I am going again this year, maybe I will see you there

OhBelle, hugs and I am thankful your husband is okay! I'm sorry about your car P.S. I just went back and read your post, extra hug on your jury duty experience that sounds horrible.

Kylie, 78 sounds much better than in the 90's as it is here too. Hope it cools off for you soon as well. Not too sure on the Autumn yet though it is the season.

Happy weekend everyone

 

[Sherry E]

I'll have to prepare for the crowds, but my DS is THRILLED about the Star Wars stuff starting beforewe go. If Jedi Training Academy doesn't start until Dec, does that mean it will continue as is until then or will close as reported on another thread?

I wondered that as well. My first thought was that it would close until December, but I could be totally wrong.

Thank You Sherry! We can always count on you to keep us updated on the Christmas movies! I look forward to the Holiday's and the movies like you!
Bring on Fall, it was 91 here today! The average for this time of year, in Northern Nevada is 78!!!!

--Lori

We should both be so lucky to get a 78 degree day at this point. It is still hovering around the low 90s here as well, with humidity. Summer just wants to hang around all year.

DH is excited about the SW stuff that will be there for our trip, but yeah..somehow I have a feeling that low crowd week isn't going to be such a low crowd week anymore...

I suspect you are right. There's a lot going on at DLR this year, both in terms of things that are happening and things that are about to close forever or close for an unspecified period of time. The holidays are already super-popular to begin with, and there are various school breaks around Thanksgiving and Christmas, and events that affect crowds in some way (like Candlelight). Now there will be a lot of people heading to Disneyland for one last meal at the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ, or one last Aladdin show. There will be people heading out to see Fantasmic before it closes for who knows how long (probably a long time), or to ride the train before it closes for a while. I think it will be a very crowded holiday season -- unless it rains, in which case that will help keep people away!

so what all star wars things will be ready by dec? NVM I just saw it said everything in the post above. That is so cool. My sons b-day is oct 3 erd and I had been looking every where for star wars wrapping paper and today we found it hidden behind sponge bob wrapping paper. My sons star wars b-day is all set to go off with out a hitch.
We are so excited to go this dec we felt like we missed so many thing going last November.

It looks like everything will be ready in December -- your son should be thrilled with all of the Star Wars-related fun that awaits him at Disneyland!

Thanks for the info Sherry. P.S. As an FYI, for next time, which I hope isn't for a long time for you (or me), I found out earlier this year when I had Jury Duty you are able to register online at My Jury Portal (I believe) and do the orientation online! That was a blessing and I didn't need to report until 9:30 though lol good thing I was early for trying to catch an elevator felt like a herding.

ksromack, wow! I can't imagine being sequestered (in general0 but especially for two whole weeks. I'm glad that is long behind your stepmother.

Hlsperring, happy to meet another Candlelight fan. You will love it. I viewed for the first time last year and it was such a blessed experience. I am going again this year, maybe I will see you there

OhBelle, hugs and I am thankful your husband is okay! I'm sorry about your car P.S. I just went back and read your post, extra hug on your jury duty experience that sounds horrible.

Kylie, 78 sounds much better than in the 90's as it is here too. Hope it cools off for you soon as well. Not too sure on the Autumn yet though it is the season.

Happy weekend everyone

I know about the jury portal/website -- you can do everything there (postpone, transfer, request an excuse, etc.). I've used the portal in previous years. But how was I supposed to do online orientation this past Sunday night or Monday when my Internet was dropping for hours at a time?

 

[dtnrhi]

I think it was smart on Disney's part to not have "Season of the Force" kick off on the same day as the holiday offerings. It will hopefully have AP's hold off on visiting until the third weekend of November, so they can see everything.

The other possibility is that if too many people wait until the third weekend, crowds could be pretty big..

 

[Sherry E]

I think it was smart on Disney's part to not have "Season of the Force" kick off on the same day as the holiday offerings. It will hopefully have AP's hold off on visiting until the third weekend of November, so they can see everything.

The other possibility is that if too many people wait until the third weekend, crowds could be pretty big..

I'm guessing (though I could totally be wrong) that the only reason it is not starting 3 days earlier (when the holiday season begins) is because of the Avengers marathon. They're probably waiting for the marathon events to conclude before SOTF launches. But they are starting it much earlier than originally stated (like almost 2 months earlier), so that is pretty surprising!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Sherry said: I know about the jury portal/website -- you can do everything there (postpone, transfer, request an excuse, etc.). I've used the portal in previous years. But how was I supposed to do online orientation this past Sunday night or Monday when my Internet was dropping for hours at a time?

Oops I forgot about your non reliable internet. My computer didn't like the "reply, using this (the above) as a quote" so did so the old fashioned way. Hope your computer situation gets fixed quick.

 

[egritz]

I'll have to prepare for the crowds, but my DS is THRILLED about the Star Wars stuff starting beforewe go. If Jedi Training Academy doesn't start until Dec, does that mean it will continue as is until then or will close as reported on another thread?

My thoughts exactly. We had such awesome (read: low) crowd levels last year this same week over November (the week prior to Thanksgiving, the first full week of the Holiday season at DL), I fear we were spoiled and won't get to enjoy the same this year.

I'm hoping the Jedi Academy is open in November, my 4 year old daughter is newly obsessed with SW!

 

[sgrap]

Trying to make my dining res's. Are Plaza Inn reservations just for the character breakfast?

 

[Sherry E]

Trying to make my dining res's. Are Plaza Inn reservations just for the character breakfast?

Yes. Plaza Inn is counter service the rest of the day, so no reservations are accepted/needed outside of the character meal.

 

[sgrap]

Yes. Plaza Inn is counter service the rest of the day, so no reservations are needed outside of the character meal.

Thanks! What is your opinion of the fried chicken, Sherry? We've never tried it.

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks! What is your opinion of the fried chicken, Sherry? We've never tried it.

I really like the chicken. In this post from the Dining thread, I included a photo of my chicken meal at Plaza Inn - http://www.disboards.com/threads/my...-with-pictures.1253888/page-176#post-51432518.

You get 3 pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes, a biscuit and green beans. If you don't want the green beans (which I did not), they will give you an extra serving of potatoes or an extra biscuit. Or if you don't want the potatoes at all I suppose they'd give you extra beans.

It is certainly a hearty meal for one person. I see lots of people saying that they share the meal between 2 people.

I found the chicken to be juicy and tasty. I am picky about mashed potatoes -- some of them I really love and others I don't like too much. These potatoes are pretty good. The gravy could be better, but it was not bad. The biscuit could be better -- but let's face it. No one is getting the chicken for the biscuit alone!

 

[Astylla]

Someone chime in , talk me down or something LOL.

Okay SO - right now I have Dec 5th and 6th booked at PPH Theme Park Club level
The plan right now is to move to DLH standard for 5 nights after.

Here's where I'm getting a little crazy..I'm thinking of doing the Disney Hotel Trifecta. PPH-GCH-DLH

Being both holiday season and our last Disney trip as AP holders for at least a year I kind of want to hit everything we never had - including a PPH and GCH stay.
I figure even if we move luggage ourselves from PPH to GCH it'll be easy as it's right across the street.

So it would be:

PPH Theme Park CL Dec. 5th - 7th - AP rate
GCH Woods/CY Dec. 7th-10th - Orbitz
DLH Standard Dec. 10th-12th - AP rate

EDIT : Decided to just upgrade to Premium view at DLH for 5 nights. Ignore my craziness lol.

 

[mom2rtk]

IMG_6217 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

IMG_6311 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

IMG_6327 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

IMG_6305 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

IMG_6457 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

IMG_8846 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

IMG_3427 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Hello

I ran the DL star wars half marathon last year, so I got to see the very tail end of Christmas. We saw one day of the hm overlay, the iasw overlay... And that was basically all.

This year we are lucky enough to be attending the disunplugged abd backstage magic trip, which places us at Disneyland smack dab in the middle of the holiday magic.

So I have a few questions, naturally.

1. During the dca celebration, is it feliz navidad? Are the 3 caballeros available to meet? I heard they're in the little dance party parade?

2. Will the Christmas carnival thing near the petting zoo still be occurring? Or was that canceled this year. That is where all the characters meet in their Christmas gear, right?

I think those are my two major questions for now. Sorry, I know I'm woefully uninformed.

 

[OHBelle]

Anyway, hallelujah for FALL! Autumn is finally here!!!!!!

Yay for Fall! Now if it would just cool off I would be really happy!! It was 106 yesterday when I was out running errands. Normally I would do them early in the morning, but because we are currently down to one car I had to do them late afternoon.

I'm sorry to hear about the car and the accident -- hopefully your husband's shoulder was not injured and he is okay!

You said you're a Mac user, correct? I don't know what has to be done when Mac operating systems are upgraded. I know that I was told that if I wanted to upgrade my Windows operating system I should completely remove everything I have saved on the PC -- just remove all of the files and uninstall the software/programs that I loaded on the PC (which is a pain) -- then load the new OS and reload all of my programs and files, etc. It sounds like you left your photos on the computer when you upgraded? Maybe that's okay to do with Mac.

Or, did you remove the photos before you upgraded, but they just didn't save in the folders you had them in? I can copy a whole folder and save it to a flash drive or something, and the photos stay in their proper order. Does it not work that way with Mac stuff?

As for jury duty -- one of the last things I want to do is to be stuck on some trial with grisly evidence and photos that will haunt me decades later. I don't want to be stuck on some death-related trial. If I had been put on a jury this time around it probably would have been a traffic-related case, or maybe something drunk driving-related. Thankfully, I was set free.

Thanks for the well wishes for my husband. He is doing quite well and no further damage was done to his shoulder.

As for my computer, the problem I have is strange. Yes I do have a Mac. When I click on the photo app from my homepage, everything comes up perfectly. All my pictures in their nice little folders. The problem arises when I go to photobucket (or shutter fly) and try to upload. The folders do not show up and the pictures are all together. Today they were at least by date, oldest to newest, so it was easier to find which pictures I wanted. I had uploaded them all into iCloud before upgrading (to a system called Yosemite) and they all show up fine there too. I am taking my laptop with me to Ohio in eight days and will let one of my sons figure it out for me, since I cannot! I have gotten the photos I wanted uploaded to photobucket, so I will be able post my pictures for the theme this week in a bit.

OhBelle, hugs and I am thankful your husband is okay! I'm sorry about your car P.S. I just went back and read your post, extra hug on your jury duty experience that sounds horrible.


Happy weekend everyone

Thanks for the hugs flyingdumbo! The car can be replaced, but my husband cannot, so its all good. The only good thing about my jury duty experience was we put a very bad person away for a very long time.

Well... Season of the Force was originally supposed to begin in early 2016. Now it's beginning in November -- right smack dab after the holiday season has begun. Prepare for crowds -- http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...16-at-disneyland-park-in-southern-california/.



Non-Disney holiday stuff:




An update to my above quoted post about this year's Hallmark Channel Countdown to Christmas movies and who is starring in the ones for which the casts were previously unknown....

"Christmas Incorporated" stars Shenae Grimes-Beech (from "90210") and Steve Lund (from 2014's "Best Christmas Party Ever" on Hallmark).

"Merry Matrimony" stars Jessica Lowndes (also from "90210") and Christopher Russell (who was in 2014's "Midnight Masquerade" on Hallmark).

"Once Upon a Holiday" stars Briana Evigan (star of "A Star for Christmas," which was not a Hallmark movie, and daughter of actor Greg Evigan) and Paul Campbell (the funny actor from Hallmark's "Window Wonderland" and "Surprised by Love").

"Angel of Christmas" stars Jennifer Finnigan (from a TV series called "Tyrant") and Jonathan Scarfe (who stars in the upcoming Hallmark movie, "Love On the Air").

"12 Gifts of Christmas" stars Katrina Law (who was in one of my favorite Hallmark Christmas movies, "Snow Bride"), Aaron O'Connell (who was in a series called "The Haves and the Have Nots"), and Donna Mills (of "Knots Landing" fame).

"Just in Time for Christmas" also stars William Shatner and Christopher Lloyd (in addition to Eloise Mumford of "Christmas With Holly").

"On the Twelfth Day of Christmas" stars Brooke Nevin (from Hallmark's "Come Dance at My Wedding" and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered: From Paris With Love") and Robin Dunne (from Hallmark's "Real Murders: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery," "The Good Witch's Destiny" and Lifetime's "Twelve Trees of Christmas").



"Christmas Land" -- still no clue who is in this movie!




On the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel:

"The Christmas Note" stars Jamie-Lynn Sigler (from "The Sopranos") and Lochlyn Munro (who was in a Christmas move for the ION channel last year, called "Merry Ex-Mas").

"Karen Kingsbury's The Bridge" stars Faith Ford (of Hallmark's "Trading Christmas" and "A Kiss at Midnight"), Wyatt Nash (who appeared in "Pretty Little Liars") and Alison Araya (who has done a bunch of TV shows, most recently "Fear the Walking Dead").


"The Magic Stocking" -- still no clue who is in this one.

​

Woo Hoo! The Countdown to Christmas will be here before we know it! It looks like there are couple of really promising movies coming up!

My photos for this week:

Grand Californian:

Disneyland Hotel:

Downtown Disney:

They were doing this Lego "Who's IN" sign for the new NCAA football playoff system. My husband and I really liked it and both were hoping, but not expecting that our favorite team, The Ohio State Buckeyes would make it "in". They did and won the championship.

Have a good weekend everyone!