OFFICIAL CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY SEASON & NEW YEAR'S 2017 THREAD

[o&smom]

Today's the day, today's when we FINALLY tell our kids about our trip. DH and I are so excited, we can't wait. We are going to tape the whole thing, they have no idea what is coming to them. It's also my birthday , I know they have presents for me so after I open those, DH had made a movie with the big reveal. It's going to be crazy and fun at the same time.

11 days until we leave for our Happy Place!!!!

Happy Birthday!

 

[figment_jii]

Glad you had fun! What exit route is this?

It is on the right hand side of main street if you are looking towards the entrance. They take you behind the buildings just past the Jolly Holiday.

Just to add on, this often called the bypass. There is one on each side of Main Street and they use them during times of high crowding (often during parades) to help with the flow of traffic. The one on the Jolly Holiday side is used to funnel guests out of the park and the one on the other side is used to funnel guests into the park. I think they've helped traffic a lot since they were built, but they aren't always in use. Just note that once in the bypass, you have to go the length of the bypass (there are no intermediate exits). So if you enter by Jolly Holiday, you'll come out by the Fire Station. Same for the other side (if you enter by Showcase, you'll come by the Red Wagon). It's not necessarily a bad thing, but something to plan accordingly (I ended up having to back track once because I was trying to get to the lockers!).

 

[PirateRedhead]

Just to add on, this often called the bypass. There is one on each side of Main Street and they use them during times of high crowding (often during parades) to help with the flow of traffic.

I had no clue they existed! Way cool.

 

[Susie63]

Today's the day, today's when we FINALLY tell our kids about our trip. DH and I are so excited, we can't wait. We are going to tape the whole thing, they have no idea what is coming to them. It's also my birthday , I know they have presents for me so after I open those, DH had made a movie with the big reveal. It's going to be crazy and fun at the same time.

11 days until we leave for our Happy Place!!!!

Happy birthday!Can't wait to hear about the big reveal!

 

[CallieMar]

Today was the first time all week that fireworks went off as scheduled! Of course we were in DCA bc we had the CC WoC package The wind is supposed to pick up so I bet they’ll be cancelled again.

 

[MacMama0930]

Tomorrow I’ll be at Disneyland! So excited and SO ready for a vacation!

 

[mom2rtk]

Tomorrow I’ll be at Disneyland! So excited and SO ready for a vacation!

Have a great trip! And everyone enjoy those garlands!


Main Street Garlands by mom2rtk, on Flickr

 

[tink89]

At what time do people leave their hotel? We will be staying at DLH and will be going to EMH at 7 am. How early should we leave?
We do not need to be the very first ones in line but also do not want to get stuck in long lines.

I have only stayed offsite and for a 7 am MM we would leave the Hilton to get on the shuttle about 30-40 min before park opening. I know crowds have been bigger these past years and it is also our first time staying on site so dont know if we can leave a bit later or are security and entrance lines long?

 

[PoohsFan1]

Wanted to give you all an update on our big reveal to our kids. Their reactions were exactly what DH and I were hoping they would be. I have never seen their mouths drop so wide as theirs did yesterday as they were watching the movie that DH made. My DD14 was jumping up and down with excitement while my DD16 was sitting calmly trying to process what just happened. Both girls at one point thought we were playing a very mean trick on them, but once they saw all of our travel docs and the plans with all of our dining and hotel confirmations, they both started asking a ton of questions about our trip and also asking how did DH and I ever keep it a secret like this for so long (they also learned that they were the only ones out of the loop about the trip). I was able to tape their reactions, however I will have to figure out how to post it on here. Thank goodness we finally told them because I don't know how much longer DH and I could keep this quiet

 

[mom2rtk]

At what time do people leave their hotel? We will be staying at DLH and will be going to EMH at 7 am. How early should we leave?
We do not need to be the very first ones in line but also do not want to get stuck in long lines.

I have only stayed offsite and for a 7 am MM we would leave the Hilton to get on the shuttle about 30-40 min before park opening. I know crowds have been bigger these past years and it is also our first time staying on site so dont know if we can leave a bit later or are security and entrance lines long?

Security lines should not be long leading up to a 7 AM early entry.

Our goal was to leave DLH at 6:30 for 7 AM EE. That got us a leisurely walk through DTD with very little traffic. We got in line prior to park open, but were not first by any means. There were maybe 20 people?? at each gate by the time we got there around 6:45.

Our longest waits for security were for the 8 AM early entries. But those weren't bad.

Our very first morning I was worried about security as those were our longest lines we had and the bag search was just something short of a rectal exam (open your tiny change purse, open the small memory card wallet, remove everything from the small side pocket, including the ziploc bag of tampons). But mostly after that it was what I had always seen on prior trips.

 

[katyringo]

Wanted to give you all an update on our big reveal to our kids. Their reactions were exactly what DH and I were hoping they would be. I have never seen their mouths drop so wide as theirs did yesterday as they were watching the movie that DH made. My DD14 was jumping up and down with excitement while my DD16 was sitting calmly trying to process what just happened. Both girls at one point thought we were playing a very mean trick on them, but once they saw all of our travel docs and the plans with all of our dining and hotel confirmations, they both started asking a ton of questions about our trip and also asking how did DH and I ever keep it a secret like this for so long (they also learned that they were the only ones out of the loop about the trip). I was able to tape their reactions, however I will have to figure out how to post it on here. Thank goodness we finally told them because I don't know how much longer DH and I could keep this quiet

Oooo how fun!! I honestly love this. 10 days until we surprise ours on Christmas Day! Eeeek!

 

[tink89]

Security lines should not be long leading up to a 7 AM early entry.

Our goal was to leave DLH at 6:30 for 7 AM EE. That got us a leisurely walk through DTD with very little traffic. We got in line prior to park open, but were not first by any means. There were maybe 20 people?? at each gate by the time we got there around 6:45.

Our longest waits for security were for the 8 AM early entries. But those weren't bad.

Our very first morning I was worried about security as those were our longest lines we had and the bag search was just something short of a rectal exam (open your tiny change purse, open the small memory card wallet, remove everything from the small side pocket, including the ziploc bag of tampons). But mostly after that it was what I had always seen on prior trips.

Thanks this definitely helps. I just was not sure if lines were much longer now as some people have said. I thought that the 7 am EMH might not be quite as effected as a 8 am but better same than sorry. Maybe one day we will leave a bit earlier to see how close to the gates we can get but 6:30 sounds perfect.

 

[DL_Forever]

We arrived back home yesterday from our trip from 12/6-12/13. It was crowded most of our trip except Tuesday 12/12, which had light crowds but we made the most of rope drop and emh almost everyday. I was so anti MaxxPass before the trip because I feel that Disney is trying to nickle and dime me for everything, but it was worth its weight in gold. My 7yo son would see a sign that said 35 minute wait, and he'd say "do we have a fast pass?" Anything longer than 20 minutes he didn't want to wait! The decorations were fantastic! I was so happy to see the garland back on Main Street. We were very disappointed that we did not get to see the fireworks once during our trip due to winds, and got a little scare one night when I got an ALERT on my cell phone to beware of fires. Luckily we were not affected. I was so sad to leave yesterday, this was the last trip on our year of AP's (4 trips), and we wont be back for at least two years.

 

[Susie63]

Tomorrow I’ll be at Disneyland! So excited and SO ready for a vacation!

I hope you have a wonderful holiday. Thanks for joining the thread.

 

[katyringo]

Everyone is so quiet here. I’m about to burst from excitement. 10 days ! 9 until we finally tell DS Christmas morning. Our house is tiny so he now knows we are going to a hotel because it’s impossible for me to pack without him knowing.. ahhhhhhhh!!!

 

[PoohsFan1]

We leave in 8 days, have so much to do and I still have a weeks worth of work before we leave (DH is already on vacation ). Today I have been busy doing last minute Christmas shopping for my nieces and nephews plus we are having a secret Santa at work. Tomorrow my parents are having the whole family over for an early Christmas party because everyone wants to see us before we leave. The girls have been busy trying to figure out what they should pack and then they thought we should go through my clothes and pull them out as well. Unfortunately that is when I figured out that I should do a little more shopping for myself , so it will be off to Kohl's I go tonight.

 

[bcwife76]

1 week from now we will be on the plane heading to So Cal and Disney!!!!! Can't remember if I already posted this last weekend or not but we changed our hotel and are now staying at GCH! Never stayed onsite before, so excited!!! We broke down and told the kids last weekend too because I think they needed time to process haha. So. Many. Questions! Not like it's their first trip or anything but it is their first time going away on Christmas so yes, lots of Christmas/Disney-related questions. Glad I was able to field them this week instead of on the way to the airport next Saturday afternoon

 

[Susie63]

Packing day! We have to stay in Edmonton on Tuesday for our early flight on Wednesday. Thursday will be our first day in the parks. It's getting hard to sleep

 

[Tinkerbell19672]

We leave in the morning, should be in the parks by about 10:30, so excited

 

[katyringo]

We leave in 8 days, have so much to do and I still have a weeks worth of work before we leave (DH is already on vacation ). Today I have been busy doing last minute Christmas shopping for my nieces and nephews plus we are having a secret Santa at work. Tomorrow my parents are having the whole family over for an early Christmas party because everyone wants to see us before we leave. The girls have been busy trying to figure out what they should pack and then they thought we should go through my clothes and pull them out as well. Unfortunately that is when I figured out that I should do a little more shopping for myself , so it will be off to Kohl's I go tonight.

Eeeek! Yeah I feel
You. My husband is a stay at home parent. I gotta work until Thursday. I feel like between last minute planning and packing and oh I dunno this thing called Christmas I have no time!