Our 3rd Annual Holiday Trip to DL in November - November 22nd - 25th, 2013 Post #3416

[usnuzuloose]

All the birds flying around the castle. It has been a while since I have seen the castle there. Can't wait to see more!

 

[tksbaskets]

Hi Bret,
Glad you made it safe and sound! I can't believe your DB and his GF only got the 1 day PH ticket. I am weaker than that

Your statue picture is great It's the first real picture I've seen of it. I bet it's even better in person.

Thanks for the live updates!!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Thank you everyone. I'm just waiting for WoC and it is a very nice night tonight. We got to do a lot of rides today including RSR with FP since there was no way we were going to wait 1+ hours today, BTMRR, Matterhorn, ST, DLRR, MFW, monorail and more since I can't name all of them. I got to go to APEE at DCA this morning and it was nuts to see all those people head on over to CL this morning. I didn't ride RSR this morning since it was down and good thing I didn't wait in the line since it didn't open after the park opened at 8am.

We got to eat at Flo's V8 Cafe which was great and WCT.

Here are some pics of the food porn that we ate.

Flo's V8 Cafe

WCT food

MFW while I am waiting.

I will have more pics up later tonight and write my TR when I get back home.

 

[ACDSNY]

I'm enjoying the pics and can't wait to see more.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Excellent! It pays to stay up eh Angela? We get to see it first!

 

[ACDSNY]

Sure does!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Bret - FANTASTIC shots!!!!


You've got me salivating over the promise of how your WoC shots turn out. I hope you're enjoying the new lens.

 

[tksbaskets]

I'm sitting here eating a subway sub. Much prefer what you were eating. Was the WCT nice? The food looks yummy

Looks like you had a nice night for WOC. Can't wait for more.

 

[rentayenta]

I'm so hungry! Great pics. The fried calamari and green beans look amazing!

 

[mvf-m11c]

I'm enjoying the pics and can't wait to see more.

Thank you Angela

Excellent! It pays to stay up eh Angela? We get to see it first!

Thank you Jo.

Bret - FANTASTIC shots!!!!

You've got me salivating over the promise of how your WoC shots turn out. I hope you're enjoying the new lens.

Thank you PiO.

Some of the pics from WoC were nice and some were blurry. I will have to check them when I get home tonight and upload them tomorrow. I am really enjoying the new lens and it was worth buying it.

I'm sitting here eating a subway sub. Much prefer what you were eating. Was the WCT nice? The food looks yummy

Looks like you had a nice night for WOC. Can't wait for more.

Thank you TK.

The food at WCT was very nice and my DB and his GF he enjoyed their meals as well. It would have been nice if we did the WoC dining package, but I did get the blue FPs for WoC and got my usual spot at the fire hydrant. We also got to be in Cars Land when the lights turned on at night.

I'm so hungry! Great pics. The fried calamari and green beans look amazing!

Thank you Jenny.


On my way back home to Sacramento after having lunch at California Fish Grill restaurant in Cypress. It is a seafood restaurant which my DB and his GF choose since they have ate at one in Irvine. It was very nice restaurant and the food was good.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Here are some pics from Monday night.

 

[tksbaskets]

Great pictures Bret!

 

[Sherry E]

I love those first 2 photos (the fireworks shots) at the top of this page, Bret! Awesome!

The food all looks good. Even though I am mad at WCT for getting rid of their meatball sandwiches, the spaghetti looks yummy!

Did you hear the news? There's a Candlelight Processional happening for 20 nights - yes, 20 nights instead of 2 - in December this year at DLR. From December 1 - December 20, and AP holders will be able to see the shows from 12/3 - 12/20. There will also be dinner packages! Yay! I want to see the CP for once in my life (hopefully the AP holders will not have to pay, or at least not pay a crazy amount)!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Great pictures Bret!

Thank you TK.

I love those first 2 photos (the fireworks shots) at the top of this page, Bret! Awesome!

The food all looks good. Even though I am mad at WCT for getting rid of their meatball sandwiches, the spaghetti looks yummy!

Did you hear the news? There's a Candlelight Processional happening for 20 nights - yes, 20 nights instead of 2 - in December this year at DLR. From December 1 - December 20, and AP holders will be able to see the shows from 12/3 - 12/20. There will also be dinner packages! Yay! I want to see the CP for once in my life (hopefully the AP holders will not have to pay, or at least not pay a crazy amount)!

Thank you Sherry. Some of the firework pics were nice that night while most of them were bad. I was suppose to put my DSLR camera on the tripod that night, but I forgot to bring my remote control for my camera. I was disappointed that I didn't get pics of the firework trails, but I did get to use my video camera that night. We had fun yesterday at DL and DCA which we did Dakota of rides that day. My DB and his GF enjoyed WoC a lot.

The food was great yesterday at Flo's v8 Cafe and WCT. My DB said that the turkey at Flo's was a little dry without the sauce. I thought it was okay without the sauce. But he has his own taste of food as well as me. the spaghetti was very nice that night which I got while my DB had the shrimp scampi and his GF had the fried foods

I just learned about the CP happening for 20 nights by reading your post. Since I was at the parks and updating my TR, I didn't get to read about it. That is so exciting that DL is doing multiple days for the CP just like at EPCOT where they have a lot of days for the CP. too bad that i won't get a chance to see it since my trip is in mid November thanks to my basketball season. That would be awesome to see the CP at DL for all those years, but hopefully I will be able to go be back to DL in mid December next year. Thank you for the information Sherry about the CP at DL.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Nice pics Bret. Sorry you forgot the remote.

 

[Sherry E]

Thank you TK.




Thank you Sherry. Some of the firework pics were nice that night while most of them were bad. I was suppose to put my DSLR camera on the tripod that night, but I forgot to bring my remote control for my camera. I was disappointed that I didn't get pics of the firework trails, but I did get to use my video camera that night. We had fun yesterday at DL and DCA which we did Dakota of rides that day. My DB and his GF enjoyed WoC a lot.

The food was great yesterday at Flo's v8 Cafe and WCT. My DB said that the turkey at Flo's was a little dry without the sauce. I thought it was okay without the sauce. But he has his own taste of food as well as me. the spaghetti was very nice that night which I got while my DB had the shrimp scampi and his GF had the fried foods

I just learned about the CP happening for 20 nights by reading your post. Since I was at the parks and updating my TR, I didn't get to read about it. That is so exciting that DL is doing multiple days for the CP just like at EPCOT where they have a lot of days for the CP. too bad that i won't get a chance to see it since my trip is in mid November thanks to my basketball season. That would be awesome to see the CP at DL for all those years, but hopefully I will be able to go be back to DL in mid December next year. Thank you for the information Sherry about the CP at DL.

You know, I must admit that when I first saw the Disney Parks Blog entry about the CP, I was thinking "Twenty nights? That's a huge leap from only 2 nights!" I would have thought that maybe they'd bump it up to 10 nights or something. Doesn't it seem like a really big stretch for DLR? To me, it makes sense to have many, many CP nights at WDW because WDW is such a huge resort, and everything is 'bigger' there. There are many places for people to go if they are not interested in the CP.

DLR, however, only consists of 2 parks, DTD and 3 hotels. Holding a CP for 20 nights in December at DLR seems like a bit much to me. The crowds may very well end up being ridiculous.

I am assuming that Disney - or specifically, TDA - is really banking on luring people into DCA this holiday season, to kind of spread out the crowds. They would have to have something holiday-ish in DCA (more so than before) to keep the holiday visitors satisfied if they don't want to stay in DL and get caught in CP crowds. They need something new in DCA to keep people in the holiday spirit.

And I guess that's where Cars Land and Buena Vista Street will come into play. Those themed decorations and newly relocated Christmas tree we keep hearing about will probably be the things that Disney expects will get people over to that park. I don't think they will be doing a full holiday version of World of Color yet. Sooner or later they should be starting the TSMM holiday overlay (with Mr. Potato Head singing Christmas songs) that was hinted at when TSMM first opened, but who knows when that is coming?

In any case, you might be better off not seeing the CP this year and waiting until next year. Since this is the first year DLR is attempting so many CP nights and setting it up so that AP holders can see it on 18 of those nights, and then offering dinner packages and all of that too, it's kind of an experiment. After this year they may decide that 20 nights is too much. Also, we will get lots of reports on how the CP is affecting crowds in both parks and there may be a clear idea of which nights are worse. That will help you plan for next year!

 

[usnuzuloose]

Those are awesome pictures! I really love the castle and the colors! Thanks for sharing!

 

[franandaj]

Hi,
I'm all caught up again! You must be on your way home (or already there) by now. I hope you enjoyed your trip! Sorry the weather did not cooperate! I've been hiding in the house with the AC running!

Looking forward to more great pictures! I need some lunch, maybe I'll have some spaghetti! "laughing:

 

[rentayenta]

Thank you Jenny.


On my way back home to Sacramento after having lunch at California Fish Grill restaurant in Cypress. It is a seafood restaurant which my DB and his GF choose since they have ate at one in Irvine. It was very nice restaurant and the food was good.

I'm from Long Beach but lived in Cypress from Kinder to HS graduation and then returned to the LBC for college and fun. Where in Cypress is the Fish Grill?

 

[mvf-m11c]

Nice pics Bret. Sorry you forgot the remote.

Thank you PiO. It's no problem, I will do the firework trail on my next trip to WDW.

You know, I must admit that when I first saw the Disney Parks Blog entry about the CP, I was thinking "Twenty nights? That's a huge leap from only 2 nights!" I would have thought that maybe they'd bump it up to 10 nights or something. Doesn't it seem like a really big stretch for DLR? To me, it makes sense to have many, many CP nights at WDW because WDW is such a huge resort, and everything is 'bigger' there. There are many places for people to go if they are not interested in the CP.

DLR, however, only consists of 2 parks, DTD and 3 hotels. Holding a CP for 20 nights in December at DLR seems like a bit much to me. The crowds may very well end up being ridiculous.

I am assuming that Disney - or specifically, TDA - is really banking on luring people into DCA this holiday season, to kind of spread out the crowds. They would have to have something holiday-ish in DCA (more so than before) to keep the holiday visitors satisfied if they don't want to stay in DL and get caught in CP crowds. They need something new in DCA to keep people in the holiday spirit.

And I guess that's where Cars Land and Buena Vista Street will come into play. Those themed decorations and newly relocated Christmas tree we keep hearing about will probably be the things that Disney expects will get people over to that park. I don't think they will be doing a full holiday version of World of Color yet. Sooner or later they should be starting the TSMM holiday overlay (with Mr. Potato Head singing Christmas songs) that was hinted at when TSMM first opened, but who knows when that is coming?

In any case, you might be better off not seeing the CP this year and waiting until next year. Since this is the first year DLR is attempting so many CP nights and setting it up so that AP holders can see it on 18 of those nights, and then offering dinner packages and all of that too, it's kind of an experiment. After this year they may decide that 20 nights is too much. Also, we will get lots of reports on how the CP is affecting crowds in both parks and there may be a clear idea of which nights are worse. That will help you plan for next year!

I said that same thing too about the CP extending to twenty nights. That does seems like a lot of nights at DL for the CP. I thought at least a week would be enough for DL since it is not WDW where they have two months of the CP at EPCOT. It does make sense for WDW to have many CP, but for DL it doesn't make sense to have 20 when you it only have 2 a year at DL. It will be very interesting to see how this will work out.

Every year at DL, the CP does draw a lot of crowds. That is a lot of days to have a CP at DL. The crowds will be high to watch the CP and would they still have the CP stage on MS station like they do have every year?

I would assume that TDA is trying to lure a lot of people to DCA during the Holiday season if they are going to have 20 days for the CP. It will be very interesting to see what TDA will come up with for DCA to lure the guests to go to DCA instead of DL during the CP.

My guess is the same thing with CL and BVS. While both lands are new, they want to make it more interesting to come back during the Holiday season. I can't wait to see what kind of decorations they will have for BVS and CL. It will be very nice if they have a WoC Holiday version, but I am guessing that it will be the same with that small segment for WoC during the Holiday season.

At first I was not happy of not seeing the CP, but after thinking about it is a good idea to wait until next year to see how it goes so I won't go in a blind.

Thank you for the info Sherry.

Those are awesome pictures! I really love the castle and the colors! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you Jo.

Hi,
I'm all caught up again! You must be on your way home (or already there) by now. I hope you enjoyed your trip! Sorry the weather did not cooperate! I've been hiding in the house with the AC running!

Looking forward to more great pictures! I need some lunch, maybe I'll have some spaghetti! "laughing:

I am now home reading through some threads while I was gone. I will read the rest of your Destination-D trip this past weekend. I did enjoy the trip and got to do all the things that I wanted to see and ride. The weather was really nice during this. Mostly in August the last couple of years I have to SoCal it has been very hot than this past trip.

Thank you Alison.

I'm from Long Beach but lived in Cypress from Kinder to HS graduation and then returned to the LBC for college and fun. Where in Cypress is the Fish Grill?

My DB and his GF went to the California Fish Grill in Cypress. It is about 20 minutes away from the DLR. Here is the address: 10569 Valley View Street