Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread #5

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I was on the phone to Disneyland 3 mornings this week to book 3 tours: Holidaytime, Welcome to Disneyland, and Cultivating the Magic. I previously booked WOC and Fantasmic dinners, so I'll be busy during my 5-day visit! :)
 

I was on the phone to Disneyland 3 mornings this week to book 3 tours: Holidaytime, Welcome to Disneyland, and Cultivating the Magic. I previously booked WOC and Fantasmic dinners, so I'll be busy during my 5-day visit! :)
I felt like I needed to book more than normal this year too, to help deal with the potential crowds. We're also doing the holiday tour, Minnie's breakfast at plaza inn, bibbidi bobbidi boutique, lunch at Ariel's Grotto, and BB Fantasmic. I was also debating if I should add one more tour for Fri, Dec 18 our last day to help navigate that day or just wing it.
 
I felt like I needed to book more than normal this year too, to help deal with the potential crowds. We're also doing the holiday tour, Minnie's breakfast at plaza inn, bibbidi bobbidi boutique, lunch at Ariel's Grotto, and BB Fantasmic. I was also debating if I should add one more tour for Fri, Dec 18 our last day to help navigate that day or just wing it.


We used the tour as a way of navigating the crowds on Candlelight weekend a couple years ago. We enjoyed it, and loved the reserved parade seating. But I also didn't like giving up that much time in the park. So I wouldn't do a second tour. Just too much scheduled time for my taste.
 
A few random merchandise pictures from today before heading to bed...

For anyone that likes the Starbucks cup ornaments the stores inside the parks have the Disneyland themed ones!


Some ¡Viva Navidad! Merchandise

I need those Starbucks ornaments! Thank you for sharing!
 
A few random merchandise pictures from today before heading to bed...

For anyone that likes the Starbucks cup ornaments the stores inside the parks have the Disneyland themed ones!


Some ¡Viva Navidad! Merchandise

Do they have the You Are Here mugs as ornaments, like they do in WDW?
 
Do they have the You Are Here mugs as ornaments, like they do in WDW?
I saw the California Adventure ones in DCA but didn't look in Disneyland for theirs. They also had a mini mug ornament that had the design of the diamond castle coffee mug.
 
VIP tour is guided through both parks. You get reserved seats to shows and parades. You get fastpass or exit access to most rides. You can ride the Lily Belle and steer the ships. The guide can get you ressies for restaurants. The guide knows trivia and Hidden Mickeys. It sounds perfect right? Until you hear the price!! But, who knows when we will get back, so we decided to make this our most magical trip ever. Just google Disneyland VIP Tour and the info will be there. Have a wonderful time on your trip!

Sherry, I am loving the Hallmark movies. Tonight we get to watch "I'm not ready for Christmas." I think Alicia Whitt is cute. Do you have a favorite so far?
 
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I can confirm that the Viva Navidad parade was well rehearsed leading up to the holiday season.

We stayed at the Paradise Pier the last week of October. We had a theme park room for the first time, which we really enjoyed. We loved watching WOC from our window. But every night as I drifted off to sleep I kept hearing what I thought was a marching band. I thought I must be losing my mind. I wondered if a band was in town to march at DL, but couldn't figure out why they were practicing after 11 at night. One night my daughter finally figured it out. She watched out our window and recognized some of the floats from the Viva Navidad parade we saw the last couple trips. They were moving out of then back into a huge backstage garage. They were rehearsing for the coming holiday season.

I Spy..... Viva Navidad! by mom2rtk, on Flickr
 
Most in the area are considered motels due to exterior hallways just fyi but many are great.

Candy Cane Inn is a definite favorite but they book up fast and only via their website. If you have an AP or AAA card enter disocunt code " DIS" for $10/off per night. Their breakfast is really good and the shuttle is great but you can still walk it too.

Super 8 on Katella is typically our go to budget place. Rooms are clean , decent continental breakfast too with free parking.

Hotel Indigo is on Katella - about a 20 minute walk and has indoor corridors. The rooms are fairly new from 2013/14 I want to say. We had a great stay there when it first relaunched and it gets solid reviews.
Their breakfast while not included except with certain rates is amazing and well worth it. They offer free parking also.

Hyatt Regency Orange County is a wonderful hotel in Garden Grove. They offer a dedicated shuttle service for a small fee ( not ART). We loved our stay in September and wouldn't hesitate to return.

I agree with the Hyatt Regency OC. We have stayed there numerous times and love it! They are very clean, the shuttle is quite easy, and the restaurant in the lobby is really good.
I "Hyattly" recommend it!
 
Anyone know if the issue with choosing which show you want for the dining packages has been resolved? parks blog said you would request the show you want when you called to make the reservation, but people reported back that cast members taking reservations were not letting people do this
We did the WOC lunch Friday. I didn't specify which show ahead of time. They asked when we checked in - we wanted Winter Dreams. Our waiter told us we could exchange them at the check in desk before we left if we changed our minds. I overheard several tables being told the same thing. Hope this helps.
 
Thanks for all the hotel recommendations!! We decided to go with one we've stayed at before: the Ayres. They've got a very good breakfast in the morning and art shuttle. I definitely wanna try some of the ones mentioned next time we have more time for reservations!


We are scheduled for the Welcome to Disneyland tour on Nov 30. The holiday and walk in walts footsteps were both booked for our days already. We've never done a tour before, so it's actually good that we are doing the $20 tour to get our feet wet lol. Seems like a good value for $20!
 
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