November 2015 Advice

[RachK]

Greetings all,
We are lucky enough to be making our 2nd trip to DL this year after a 5 day visit in February with my partner. We are going to be in the USA for 12 nights and are splitting the dates 5-11 and 11-17 of November. Because we are travelling from Australia I'm just looking for any advice or dates I should be aware of during this time and I've checked and the hotel is free for either dates.

Thank you for your help!

 

[figment_jii]

The Avengers Half Marathon is November 12-15, so expect high crowds that weekend. The beginning of November is also when the holidays generally begin appearing in the parks (e.g., the decor starts to get installed, rides with overlays re-open, etc.), with the "official" start date somewhere around the marathon weekend. Keep an eye on the Christmas SuperThread for more information.

You can keep an eye on events that may impact your trip in the 2015 Calendar of Events thread. I try to add things as I hear about them.

 

[RachK]

Thank you so much those links are fantastic!

 

[mummabear]

Also be aware that Nov 11 is Veterans Day

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I don't remember whether there will be taping for the Christmas special at DL this year. If so, it is usually the first weekend in November.

 

[RachK]

Thanks everyone for the responses I think we will stick to 5th-11th and the five park days 6th-10th.

 

[Pokeberry]

We are debating between these dates as well. But were leaning toward the marathon weekend because we assumed the first weekend would be filming. Could this not be the case? I'm not sure which weekend would be busier, but it would also be nice to see the lights in full glory. I imagine the park will only get crazier as the holidays approach.

 

[RachK]

Hmmm never thought about seeing all the Christmas decorations and now I'm back to not knowing what week to go! What is the taping of the Christmas special?

 

[Sherry E]

Hmmm never thought about seeing all the Christmas decorations and now I'm back to not knowing what week to go! What is the taping of the Christmas special?

ABC usually tapes some footage at Disneyland for their annual Christmas parade special. The taping generally takes place on the first full weekend in November, and some segments could be shot in the days leading up to that weekend. They usually tape Disneyland's Christmas parade, but last year they did not tape the parade. Instead, they shot some Frozen-related footage. This year, although the Christmas parade will be happening in some capacity during the holiday season (that much is certain), we don't know if it will be a daytime-only thing, if it will be taped for ABC at all, if it will start after the holiday season officially kicks off or before it, if it might only happen on certain dates during the season, if it might be thrown into some sort of hard ticket party, etc. We just don't know yet.

I am certain that ABC will be taping something on that first week/weekend in November, but it may not be the parade, and the holiday season will not have officially begun yet.

I don't know what will be up this year in terms of Christmas decorations. Actual decorations could be cut back a bit, because everything is so focused on the 60th anniversary. As far as the entirety of holiday season offerings (including entertainment), whatever is happening may soft open before the season officially begins, but it's not guaranteed to happen until the season officially begins.

Join us in the Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread (which figment_jii linked above) for updates and news as it comes in!