Halloween or Christmas trip at DLR?

DizHanna456

My Hands Don't Scan
Joined
Aug 5, 2016
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Hi all! I have never been to any Disney parks during the holidays. This year will be my first time… I’m a little late on planning and am still trying to decide between Halloween or Christmas time!

My bf is a teacher and can only take off one full day (a Friday or Monday) in addition to a Sat-Sun for our trip. So that’s 2 ½ days for Disney—likely flying in the night before our first full day and then flying out after a half day in the parks.

A little about me: I don’t mind waiting in lines but I do unfortunately suffer from anxiety, and sometimes being in large masses of people can bring on bad anxiety/minor panic attacks. This is really what has kept me away from DLR during the holidays in the past. However I absolutely love, love, love the holidays and Disney! Christmas time is my favorite (my bf and I also have bdays in Dec), and Halloween a close second with all the spookiness and yummy treats. I am trying to decide if we should go down for Halloween (less crowds, from what I gather—although obviously I’m not expecting a ghost town) or Christmas (big crowds, but all the sparkly lights and cheer)!

What is your favorite time at DLR? Any advice is welcome and appreciated. Thank you :flower:
 
I think the weekends through Halloween time are going to be pretty crowded; in November a non holiday weekend (not Veteran's Day) like the weekend before Thanksgiving could be lower crowds. The first weekend in November might also be good, but I think that may be a transition weekend between Halloween and Christmas, but others can speak to what the decorations will be like then. You could also consider the weekends after Thanksgiving, but before schools have their winter breaks. Just don't go the weekend of the Candlelight processional--I was there a couple of years ago and it was very crowded.
 
Aloha,
According to Themeparkinsider, if you ever were to go to DLP during the Christmas Holidays, this year (2016) is the best time to go. The new pricing of the APs, ride closures due to SWL construction and TOT/ GOTG conversion projects the Christmas crowds to slightly dip from Christmas' past.

I've been to both MK and DL for Halloween and the Halloween parties. IMHO, WRT Halloween parties, my family and I enjoyed MK better. MK is larger and not as crowded as DL. More elbow room makes it less stressful and more enjoyable.

Recommendation: DL for Christmas in 2016 and save the Halloween party for future trip to MK.
 

I've been several times in Oct and love all the decorations. Like you, Christmas is also my favorite. It was a bucket list item for me and my mom to visit DL to see the Christmas decor and we were both a little disappointed. We weren't "wowed" quite like expected. We prefer the Halloween time. That being said I think you are going to find really heavy crowds in Oct plus have the MHP to deal with. You might have better luck choosing a weekend earlier in Nov and Dec, just check the dates for special events that are taking place though.
 
I've been several times in Oct and love all the decorations. Like you, Christmas is also my favorite. It was a bucket list item for me and my mom to visit DL to see the Christmas decor and we were both a little disappointed. We weren't "wowed" quite like expected. We prefer the Halloween time. That being said I think you are going to find really heavy crowds in Oct plus have the MHP to deal with. You might have better luck choosing a weekend earlier in Nov and Dec, just check the dates for special events that are taking place though.


Just curious, when did you visit DLR for Christmas?
 


Thanks! I was curious to know if it was one of the years we had been or if it was last year when we did Halloween instead.

We did Christmas 2013 and 2014 (early December) and I enjoyed the decorations as much as I had enjoyed the decorations in WDW the prior 3 Christmases. I did hear that last year was toned down a bit though because of the 60th and the lack of garlands over Main Street to make room for Paint the Night.
 
Either one is great. For your anxiety you might consider getting xanax just incase you have a problem. Just having it with you is reassuring for people with those issues and it is very effective when taken as needed and quick acting.

Both times of the year are crowded but at Halloween you will have early Disneyland closures (6pm), for the Halloween party, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. No early closures for Christmas. I hope you have a great time.
 
Thank you all for your input so far! Very helpful. I'm intrigued at the idea of visiting at the "in between" time (early November). Has anyone been during that time and can speak to decor? Might be cool to get a little of both, but of course ride closures could be a bummer. Speaking of...
Aloha,
According to Themeparkinsider, if you ever were to go to DLP during the Christmas Holidays, this year (2016) is the best time to go. The new pricing of the APs, ride closures due to SWL construction and TOT/ GOTG conversion projects the Christmas crowds to slightly dip from Christmas' past.
---
Recommendation: DL for Christmas in 2016 and save the Halloween party for future trip to MK.

I thought TOT wasn't closing until early 2017 for the GOTG conversion? Is it actually closing this fall? That is actually something to consider for our visit as we love that ride. I like your suggestion of Christmas this year and heading to MK in the future for Halloween. Our first visit to WDW was this April and we loved it!

Either one is great. For your anxiety you might consider getting xanax just incase you have a problem. Just having it with you is reassuring for people with those issues and it is very effective when taken as needed and quick acting.

Both times of the year are crowded but at Halloween you will have early Disneyland closures (6pm), for the Halloween party, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. No early closures for Christmas. I hope you have a great time.

Thank you for your suggestion! I am was just prescribed some new medication and hopefully it will work well for me. Also thx for the heads up on closures! If we went during that time we would definitely need to go to one of the Halloween Party nights!
 
I thought TOT wasn't closing until early 2017 for the GOTG conversion? Is it actually closing this fall? That is actually something to consider for our visit as we love that ride. I like your suggestion of Christmas this year and heading to MK in the future for Halloween. Our first visit to WDW was this April and we loved it!


My understanding is that they will start work on the exterior this fall then close it to work on the interior after the first of the year.
 
mom2rtk, oh I see! Interesting. I have decided to take the plunge and will be booking our trip for 12/1-12/4 (flying in 12/1 evening, flying out 12/4 evening). I'm so excited- can't wait!
 
mom2rtk, oh I see! Interesting. I have decided to take the plunge and will be booking our trip for 12/1-12/4 (flying in 12/1 evening, flying out 12/4 evening). I'm so excited- can't wait!

Have a great trip! :santa:
 
DO get your anxiety in check before you go. My sons has OCD and generalized anxiety disorder along with a couple of Neuro issues. On our last trip he had just had surgery a couple weeks prior and I had taken him off his anxiety medicine because of the pain meds. It was tough. He had a very hard time enjoying the trip-really he just wanted to stay in the hotel room the whole time and I had to really push him to get him to go into the park. We also went to US to see the wizarding world of HP which he had been talking about for months and was dying to do since he is a diehard harry potter fan. I still had to push him to do anything. Then he was so obsessed with the idea that we would miss our bus service back to the hotel that he started crying 3 hours before it was supposed to arrive. He wouldn't stop until I agreed to sit in the parking lot and wait for the bus with him for the rest of the day.

Now he is back on his meds, and we even made a change in meds to see if we could get more improvement and its like I have my kid back. He is excited thinking about our October trip and he is not at all afraid of being in the crowded park. We can enjoy the parks again! Learn from my tough trip. Make sure you have your anxiety in a good place before you go so you can get the most out of it.
 
Hi all, newbie here and sooooo glad to have found disboards! I'm a bit timid about starting a new thread, and you all seem to know a lot about DLR at holiday time, so I'm just going to be bold and ask my question here. First, a little background: I'm from the Midwest but winter in Arizona. This year, our son, DIL, and DIL's little sister (16 yrs) are coming from Denmark to Arizona for Christmas. We. Are. Excited! We're thinking of driving to LA to visit DLR/DCA before Christmas. They arrive Dec. 14 (a Wednesday), so I figure we could do a Dec. 16-19 trip but wonder what weekday crowds the 19th-22nd would be like?

That isn't my question though ;-) I'm assuming there's another thread I should investigate to find out more about Christmas at DLR/DCA. I did see the Holiday Superthread but only read briefly there (most recent posts about photos and no info being out from Disney yet on holiday happenings, which I knew from investigating Disney's own site). So can someone point me in the right direction to learn about what is "typical" at Christmas in terms of special events/things-not-to-miss? I don't even know if Disney usually offers any specials at that time for hotels but imagine not? I know I'm behind on this, but they just booked their flights and decided to bring the sister (who's never been to anything Disney).

Thank you in advance for any help/pointers you might have for me, and sorry if I'm totally in the wrong place.
 
mom2rtk, oh I see! Interesting. I have decided to take the plunge and will be booking our trip for 12/1-12/4 (flying in 12/1 evening, flying out 12/4 evening). I'm so excited- can't wait!

Be careful.... That weekend could be extra busy because of Candlelight processional.... I was in the parks last year for it. AWESOME AWESOME experience, but the crowds were huge!!!
 
Be careful.... That weekend could be extra busy because of Candlelight processional.... I was in the parks last year for it. AWESOME AWESOME experience, but the crowds were huge!!!
@mystic95 Ohh... Well, the reservations are locked in now... Haha :P Thank you for the advance warning though. The Candlelight processional definitely seems like a sight to behold, and I am both nervous and excited to be be there during it! From your experience last year, is the rest of the park sort of slow during Candlelight? Wondering if one night we should spend time to grab a spot, watch it, and if the other we should take advantage of everyone else watching it to ride rides, etc?

DO get your anxiety in check before you go. My sons has OCD and generalized anxiety disorder along with a couple of Neuro issues. On our last trip he had just had surgery a couple weeks prior and I had taken him off his anxiety medicine because of the pain meds. It was tough. He had a very hard time enjoying the trip-really he just wanted to stay in the hotel room the whole time and I had to really push him to get him to go into the park. We also went to US to see the wizarding world of HP which he had been talking about for months and was dying to do since he is a diehard harry potter fan. I still had to push him to do anything. Then he was so obsessed with the idea that we would miss our bus service back to the hotel that he started crying 3 hours before it was supposed to arrive. He wouldn't stop until I agreed to sit in the parking lot and wait for the bus with him for the rest of the day.
Now he is back on his meds, and we even made a change in meds to see if we could get more improvement and its like I have my kid back. He is excited thinking about our October trip and he is not at all afraid of being in the crowded park. We can enjoy the parks again! Learn from my tough trip. Make sure you have your anxiety in a good place before you go so you can get the most out of it.
@Kindermouse thank you for sharing you/your son's experience! I can definitely relate to your son. I was in a similar place just 2 years ago... my anxiety was severely unchecked and I would have trouble even leaving my apartment. I am in a much, much better place now and with my new medication is also helping tremendously.

I'm assuming there's another thread I should investigate to find out more about Christmas at DLR/DCA. I did see the Holiday Superthread but only read briefly there (most recent posts about photos and no info being out from Disney yet on holiday happenings, which I knew from investigating Disney's own site). So can someone point me in the right direction to learn about what is "typical" at Christmas in terms of special events/things-not-to-miss? I don't even know if Disney usually offers any specials at that time for hotels but imagine not? I know I'm behind on this, but they just booked their flights and decided to bring the sister (who's never been to anything Disney).

Thank you in advance for any help/pointers you might have for me, and sorry if I'm totally in the wrong place.
@Trax2travel Figured I would give you an answer, even though this upcoming trip will be my first to DLR during the holidays! If you go back to the Superthread, I suggest checking out the very first page in the thread. There is a lot of info in the first few posts. :)
 
You can discuss your anxiety issue with cm at city hall or the one in DCA. They can issue a guest assistance card. You get return times for rides rather than waiting in crushing lines. No medica proof needed. Just explain how your symptoms will be helped by doing it this way.
 












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