For those who have done the HOLIDAY TOUR

[kristenandrick]

I know it's still early, but like many fellow Disers, I am in super planning mode. I am trying to find out how much I should expect to pay per person and when and where to call for reservations. Do they run tours everyday? Would they be having them the week before Thanksgiving week? Thanks in advance for any help .

 

[mvf-m11c]

I know it's still early, but like many fellow Disers, I am in super planning mode. I am trying to find out how much I should expect to pay per person and when and where to call for reservations. Do they run tours everyday? Would they be having them the week before Thanksgiving week? Thanks in advance for any help .

The Holiday Time Tour was great for my DA and myself last year. It was exciting to walk around the park and hear the history of Christmas time in DL and got to sing Christmas Carols. The best part was to get a reserved seating for the parade.

In the past, the price for the tour without the AP, AAA, or Disney Visa is $64. The price has not been announced, but I say that it would be the same or just a few dollar more for this year. If you have one of these three cards, you can get a 20% discount for the tour. You can reserved the tour by calling 1-7114-781-4400. You can call up to 30 days in advance on what day you want to do the tour. Mostly they do at least two tours a day with two different times. When I was there back in December, they had three groups for the 1 pm tour that we did and there was a 4:15 pm tour. Most likely they will have the tours before Thanksgiving week. In previous threads, when the Holiday decorations were up, DL started the tour November 13, 2009 to January 3, 2010.

Here is the thread about the holiday tour: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2311049&highlight=disneyland+holiday+tour+november

 

[DisneyMomma81]

*~Here's~* a fairly recent thread about the Holiday Tour. We did it early Dec. 2008 ~ we enjoyed it very much!

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

My family went on the Holiday Tour last year. Despite pouring rain (which caused the parade to get cancelled) we really enjoyed ourselves. One thing I would suggest is booking the tour at the very beginning of your visit. They were quite willing to let people change to a different day and/or time for the tour (as long as there was room). Unfortunately, we were leaving the next day, so we couldn't take them up on it.

Here's a great thread from last November -January with all sorts of information about last year's tour: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2311049. It should answer all of your questions and then some, but in looking at the first post and from what I remember, here are the answers to your questions:

Price: Price Info: $64 per person
Discounts: Deluxe Annual Passholders, Premium Annual Passholders, AAA Members, or Disney Visa cardholders receive a 20% discount.

Contact Information: Tours may be booked up to 30 days in advance by calling (714) 781-4400† or by visiting City Hall, Tour Gardens or the Guest Relations Lobby.

Last Year's Availability: November 13, 2009 through January 3, 2010.

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

Oh, now, that's just too hysterical! Can't you just tell the people who love anything about the holidays at Disneyland!!??!! Looks like we were all on pretty much the same page.

 

[mvf-m11c]

My family went on the Holiday Tour last year. Despite pouring rain (which caused the parade to get cancelled) we really enjoyed ourselves. One thing I would suggest is booking the tour at the very beginning of your visit. They were quite willing to let people change to a different day and/or time for the tour (as long as there was room). Unfortunately, we were leaving the next day, so we couldn't take them up on it.

Did you say that you did the Holiday Tour on Saturday December 12 when it was raining that day? It was crazy that week, I did the tour on Friday December 11 for the 1pm and luckily my DA and I got to see the parade that day before it started to rain later during the day.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

We did it last year with 4 kids (and a double stroller) and it was so much fun! Definitely worth the money not to wait in line for HMH and IASWH, plus the cocoa, gingerbread man and seats for the the parade. You can book 30 days in advance and its available for each showing of the holiday parade.

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

Did you say that you did the Holiday Tour on Saturday December 12 when it was raining that day? It was crazy that week, I did the tour on Friday December 11 for the 1pm and luckily I got to see the parade before it started to rain later during the day.

Yes, that was the one! We did the evening tour and after the pouring rain in the morning, the rain was on and off again during the day to the point that I had some hope, but it started pouring pretty much right when the tour started and never let up. Let me tell you that the hot chocolate (with the gingerbread Mickey cookies) was very much appreciated at the end of the tour!

Because HMH was also having technical difficulty, we didn't get to do that ride, either, and they comped us with two fastpasses to use on any attractions we wanted. I have to say that using one of those to get on Peter Pan the next day without a wait was pretty fantastic. Not as good as preferred parade viewing, but pretty good.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Yes, that was the one! We did the evening tour and after the pouring rain in the morning, the rain was on and off again during the day to the point that I had some hope, but it started pouring pretty much right when the tour started and never let up. Let me tell you that the hot chocolate (with the gingerbread Mickey cookies) was very much appreciated at the end of the tour!

Because HMH was also having technical difficulty, we didn't get to do that ride, either, and they comped us with two fastpasses to use on any attractions we wanted. I have to say that using one of those to get on Peter Pan the next day without a wait was pretty fantastic. Not as good as preferred parade viewing, but pretty good.

I'm sorry to hear that you and your family didn't get the full experience of the Holiday tour. It was just unpredictable during that week when the weather channels said it was raining that day and some time later the day it stopped. Yes, you were right about the hot chocolate with the holiday cup is so nice and the gingerbread mickey cookie was so good.

At least you got FPs for any ride when the HMH was down, that was great to get the FPs and just got on PP at any time.

 

[kristenandrick]

Thanks so much for all the great replies! We do have a Disney Visa so the 20% will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks so much for all the great replies! We do have a Disney Visa so the 20% will be greatly appreciated.

Plus, there's quite a few folks in the "Disney at Christmas" thread who have done the tour (Aussietravellers, Tksbaskets, Mariezp, etc.), and some posted photos of the parade from the seats you get with the tour, as well as a picture of the special gingerbread man cookie with red Mickey ears (the red ears are exclusive to the tour participants).

 

[chepar]

My daughter and I will be heading down to DL the week before Christmas and I had no idea there was a special Holiday tour.

It sounds fabulous and I've put it on my calendar so I can try to book the tour while we're there.

 

[tksbaskets]

I second Sherry E's plug for our Disney Land at Christmas thread. Lots of great fun to get you excited (like you aren't already) Christmas trip to DL.

 

[pixiewings71]

Did you guys try the fudge? OMG we did, it was sooooooooo good! DBF asked if he could have more. LOL I had pumpkin, and it was so good. We still have our cups, loved our Mickey cups and we still have our pins too. Man we had a good time on that tour. We did the 4:15 tour, checked in at about 4 and got the third grouping. Our tour guide was fun and we loved not having to wait in lines to ride HMH & IASWH. In fact we did our tour at the end of our trip and we waited the whole trip to do IASWH because the lines were outrageous every single day. It was well worth the money spent, we really enjoyed it.