Holiday time?

[PrinceGrumpy]

I was wondering, like some of you out there, when is a good time to go for the holidays? Like when will they have the decorations up and how are the crowds immediatly after thanksgiving? We just got back and are ready to go again. LOL So the dates we are looking to go are either nov.30-dec. 4 or dec. 7-11. Any thoughts on those dates? I see that the hotels are more money for those times but not sure about crowds and don't really know what this candelight thing is?

 

[Sherry E]

I was wondering, like some of you out there, when is a good time to go for the holidays? Like when will they have the decorations up and how are the crowds immediatly after thanksgiving? We just got back and are ready to go again. LOL So the dates we are looking to go are either nov.30-dec. 4 or dec. 7-11. Any thoughts on those dates? I see that the hotels are more money for those times but not sure about crowds and don't really know what this candelight thing is?

YOu said you just got back form DLR - didn't your family have a trip to Goofy's Kitchen on this last trip? I remember you had some questions in a thread about it. How did that go? Did you all enjoy it (I hope)? I love it there!

Anyway, as far as when the decorations go up, DLR slooooowly starts to put things up one at a time right after the Halloween decorations come down - so in the first week of November. You can see various holiday touches going up in New Orelans Square and here and there until all of DLR is fully decked out in holiday splendor for the start of the 'official' DLR holiday season which should begin on November 20 this year. Yes, it is more expensive when the holidays hit, but if you can believe it, the DLR hotels even get a little MORE $$$ just a couple of weeks after you are thinking of going. So in other words, the dates you are looking at are perfect. The crowds will not be that bad yet (now if you went on Thanksgiving weekend, they would be hideous) in that late November - early December period, and the DLR hotels will go up in price at about the mid-December point. The last two years I went to DLR on the weekends immediately prior to Christmas. Even though I did not find the crowds intolerable and I could easily manage, there will be fewer people in early December.

In any case, if you can swing it you should definitely do DLR during the holidays, no matter when you can go. That is my absolute favorite time to be at DLR - it totally transforms for the season. Every corner of DLR is done up in holiday decor, in every store, in every restaurant, in all the hotels, in DTD...all over. There are carolers and Santa and fake snow and gorgeous lights on IASW Holiday and on the Winter Castle. There is holiday music and gingerbread men with ears and holiday food everywhere. The colors and the lights are just mesmerizing. ToonTown and A Bug's Land get their own special little Yuletide makeovers. It is really a magical time to be there - not to be missed!

Oh and I have not yet seen the Candlelight Processional but people say it is beautiful. I know it happens in the first week of December (or the first weekend maybe?).

 

[PrinceGrumpy]

Is one of those dates better than the other? Yes we did go to Goofy's kitchen for both dinner and for breakfast. We found that we liked the dinner better. The waiter that we had was EXCELENT and also plays the mad hatter. WOW The breakfast that we had wasn't to bad but the food quality wasn't as good and the waitress that we had was TERRIBLE! The bus boy and other people got us refills and such rather than our own waitress. Which is probabaly no big deal to her because tip is included anyway. Oh well. We got there this past Mon. 27th and had some fun. The crowds we a bit busy for us on Mon. but got progressivly better by Wed. when we left. One thing that my oldest daughter just loved is that on Mon. morning before they let anyone into the park they asked her if she would like to open the park. And that meant pushing a button that had a recorded message and we got to go ahead of eveyone into the park before the rope drop. Therefore we were the first ones on peter pan that day. It kinda made up for POTC being closed. LOL!

 

[Sherry E]

Oh good! I am so glad you liked Goofy's! Truthfully, it is my favorite restaurant in DLR. We never miss it on a trip. But I am the opposite - I actually prefer the breakfast selections over the dinner stuff. I think I am just more of a 'big breakfast' person than a 'big dinner' person. But there are certainly many people out there who prefer the dinner. And there are also many who don't like Goofy's at all! I know what you mean about the servers - some of them are extra extra attentive - I think on one of our last trips we had a waiter who was very quick to refill anything - and some of them seem sort of spacey! Did you get the usual Goofy's characters such as Chip, Dale, Goofy, Pluto and Baloo, or were there different ones there?

That is so great that you got to be the family that opened the park at rope drop! How special! It sounds like you all had a wonderful time (since you are ready to go back again!).

As for your dates, I would guess that the November 30 - Dec. 4 dates would be slightly less crowded because everyone will have just gotten done with Thanksgiving and not ready to do Christmasy stuff yet. Plus, you will get the benefit of being there when DLR is in full holiday swing. Even though I don't think the 7th - 11th days would be bad by any means, I think the earlier in December, the better. Honestly, the holidays are so great at DLR that I would suggest to anyone that they experience it even if they have to go right in the middle of December and tackle crowds. It will be more crowded during the entire holiday season anyway, but it gets a bit worse as you get further into December. As long as you have several days to see everything, you will be fine. Make sure to check out the huge GCH lobby and its giant Christmas tree. The combination of the dim lights, the piano player, the guitar player, the fireplace and the dark wood makes a perfect cozy setting to sit in a comfy chair or curl up on the soft sofa and listen to carolers while sipping a beverage!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

we like 30-4 because its my bday an slower at dl then the other times of the month. we liked it two years ago an I think it will be better this time. Its gona be a short trip 1half day an 2 or 3 full days. we get there the 29th an will leave the 2ed or 3erd/ befor the big crowds for the weekend hit.

 

[lulubelle]

I would pick the earlier dates, too. The closer to Christmas, the more crowded it gets. Another big factor will be the Castmember parties. They are typically the first Mon & Tue in Dec, which would be Dec 7 & 8, but they may have them Nov 30 & Dec 1. DL closes at like 5 pm those days. Maybe a CM knows the dates for this year? Glendalais? And both Fridays will be very busy, but that's the day you leave, right?

 

[PrinceGrumpy]

Oh good! I am so glad you liked Goofy's! Truthfully, it is my favorite restaurant in DLR. We never miss it on a trip. But I am the opposite - I actually prefer the breakfast selections over the dinner stuff. I think I am just more of a 'big breakfast' person than a 'big dinner' person. But there are certainly many people out there who prefer the dinner. And there are also many who don't like Goofy's at all! I know what you mean about the servers - some of them are extra extra attentive - I think on one of our last trips we had a waiter who was very quick to refill anything - and some of them seems sort of spacey! Did you get the usual Goofy's characters such as Chip, Dale, Goofy, Pluto and Baloo, or were there different ones there?

That is so great that you got to be the family that opened the park at rope drop! How special! It sounds like you all had a wonderful time (since you are ready to go back again!).

As for your dates, I would guess that the November 30 - Dec. 4 dates would be slightly less crowded because everyone will have just gotten done with Thanksgiving and not ready to do Christmasy stuff yet. Plus, you will get the benefit of being there when DLR is in full holiday swing. Even though I don't think the 7th - 11th days would be bad by any means, I think the earlier in December, the better. Honestly, the holidays are so great at DLR that I would suggest to anyone that they experience it even if they have to go right in the middle of December and tackle crowds. It will be more crowded during the entire holiday season anyway, but it gets a bit worse as you get further into December. As long as you have several days to see everything, you will be fine. Make sure to check out the huge GCH lobby and its giant Christmas tree. The combination of the dim lights, the piano player, the guitar player, the fireplace and the dark wood makes a perfect cozy setting to sit in a comfy chair or curl up on the soft sofa and listen to carolers while sipping a beverage!

Yes the regular characters were there, but we also saw snow white, belle and minnie.

 

[PrinceGrumpy]

I would pick the earlier dates, too. The closer to Christmas, the more crowded it gets. Another big factor will be the Castmember parties. They are typically the first Mon & Tue in Dec, which would be Dec 7 & 8, but they may have them Nov 30 & Dec 1. DL closes at like 5 pm those days. Maybe a CM knows the dates for this year? Glendalais? And both Fridays will be very busy, but that's the day you leave, right?

Oh no! 5pm is not good, that's way too early for the fun to stop. LOL Is there anyway that a CM could let me know about that time thing? I don't know who Glendalais is? The disney calendar doesn't go that far in advance yet.

 

[Sherry E]

Glendalais is a member of the DIS here who is a Cast Member at DLR. IF the Cast Member parties did occur on 11/30 and 12/1 (which they probably won't if they stick to the schedule Lulubelle mentioned, but just in case), you could still mosey over to DCA after 5:00, I think. I mean DCA is not open late anyways, but it is usually open a bit later during the holidays. And any shopping, dining or browsing you planned to do at any of the 3 DLR hotels or in DTD could be saved for those two evenings as well. So there would still be lots to do if you plan accordingly. In any case, you would still have FULL days and nights in DL on 12/2 and 12/3, right?

 

[disneyfan4ever54]

Oh no! 5pm is not good, that's way too early for the fun to stop. LOL Is there anyway that a CM could let me know about that time thing? I don't know who Glendalais is? The disney calendar doesn't go that far in advance yet.

We went last December and were there during the days of the CP's and the CM parties early closure nights for DL. I had looked at the schedules for the last 5 years to determine when the CM parties were so that I could avoid those dates. I saw that they were always the first Mon. and Tues. in December, so I booked my trip during the week after that. (The month started on a Monday, so I assumed the parties would be on Mon. the 1st and Tues. the 2nd). Well, the parties ended up being on the 8th and 9th, when we were there. ( The CP's are always on the first weekend, so they were on the 6th and 7th, followed by the CM parties on the 8th and 9th). It turned out that I didn't mind DL closing early on those nights at all, as it gave us a chance to go to DCA in the evening which we've never done. (DCA stayed open until 10 p.m. on the nights that DL closed early). We were there a week though, and had plenty of time to spend in DL, so I guess it would depend on how long you were there. So based upon last year, my guess would be that the CP's would be on the 5th and 6th, followed by the CM parties on the 7th and 8th. I wanted to see the CP as I hadn't seen it before an it was absolutely beautiful! I guess it depend on what you like seeing. I would go to youtube and view it there and see if it is something that you'd be interested in. Main Street area where it is held (by the train station) does get extremely crowded, so if you are there during those days and you don't want to see the CP, avoid that area and you should be fine.

 

[teacherlisa1978]

We went last December and were there during the days of the CP's and the CM parties early closure nights for DL. I had looked at the schedules for the last 5 years to determine when the CM parties were so that I could avoid those dates. I saw that they were always the first Mon. and Tues. in December, so I booked my trip during the week after that. (The month started on a Monday, so I assumed the parties would be on Mon. the 1st and Tues. the 2nd). Well, the parties ended up being on the 8th and 9th, when we were there. ( The CP's are always on the first weekend, so they were on the 6th and 7th, followed by the CM parties on the 8th and 9th). It turned out that I didn't mind DL closing early on those nights at all, as it gave us a chance to go to DCA in the evening which we've never done. (DCA stayed open until 10 p.m. on the nights that DL closed early). We were there a week though, and had plenty of time to spend in DL, so I guess it would depend on how long you were there. So based upon last year, my guess would be that the CP's would be on the 5th and 6th, followed by the CM parties on the 7th and 8th. I wanted to see the CP as I hadn't seen it before an it was absolutely beautiful! I guess it depend on what you like seeing. I would go to youtube and view it there and see if it is something that you'd be interested in. Main Street area where it is held (by the train station) does get extremely crowded, so if you are there during those days and you don't want to see the CP, avoid that area and you should be fine.

We were there at the same time!

I thought I'd be bummed out about the CM parties but it really didn't affect us at all, what we did was arrive the Saturday before at rope drop, spend all day and all night, see the fireworks, snow, etc..., Did all day on Sunday, and snowfall and fireworks again after the Candlelight Processional (which was expensive but worth it once in a lifetime). We took afternoon breaks both those days. On Monday, the day of the CM party, we spent all day, watched the afternoon parade (since the other days we had left for our break at that time) and left right after the parade. Dad and DH went back to the hotel, and mom and I shopped in Downtown Disney. We met up with the guys for dinner at the hotel but had thought about doing dinner at Downtown before shopping. So you could easily do something similar or head to DCA. Seriously, as long as you plan to be there some night to see the special night time DL stuff, you're fine. And the crowds were great!

 

[glendalais]

Oh no! 5pm is not good, that's way too early for the fun to stop. LOL Is there anyway that a CM could let me know about that time thing? I don't know who Glendalais is? The disney calendar doesn't go that far in advance yet.

I would pick the earlier dates, too. The closer to Christmas, the more crowded it gets. Another big factor will be the Castmember parties. They are typically the first Mon & Tue in Dec, which would be Dec 7 & 8, but they may have them Nov 30 & Dec 1. DL closes at like 5 pm those days. Maybe a CM knows the dates for this year? Glendalais? And both Fridays will be very busy, but that's the day you leave, right?

The 2009 Dates for Disney's Family Holiday Party, the Christmas Party for West Coast- and Disneyland Resort-based Cast Members and Employees of The Walt Disney Company and Affiliated Companies, haven't been announced at this time.

I'm sure dates will be announced sometime this Fall.