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

[joeysmommy]

Nice PTR

Congrats for winning tickets on the radio.

The good thing about staying at the GCH is that you and your family will be able to attend MM on Saturday and Sunday.

When you are there on Tuesday, I would use the GAD voucher on Tuesday than on Friday since you could spend a full half day at DL and DCA on Friday than go to DL for MHP. It would make sense to use your PH on Friday than on Tuesday while you will only be in DCA for only 4 hours that day and Friday for 8 hours.

You can do WoC on Tuesday if you want to do the picnic. That is an easy way to get a FP for WoC. You just show up a few hours until the 8:15 show and still get a good spot for the blue or yellow FP.

You could try to do WoC and F! on the same night, but it is really difficult to get the best spots.

The schedule looks good, hope you and your family have a great trip.

Maybe in a long shot, maybe I will see you there at the GCH. I will have my LGMH on my backpacks during my stay.

I will think about getting a Halloween costume for MHP on Oct 1st.

Hi Bret-
Sorry if I piggy-backed on your PTR..I was a little excited.
Thanks for the congrats on winning tickets..my kids were 30 mins late for school that morning the secretary totally understood when I told her why.

Good point on using the GAD at DCA for Tuesday, I was trying to make the $44 MHP ticket a little easier to swallow.
I'll just tell the kids we'll save DL for Wednesday morning. I promised Joey we'd ride Calif Screamin first thing on Tuesday afternoon.
I really want to see WoC on a weeknight before it gets too crowded on the weekend. But then we can also get an early FP when we're at GCH Sunday morning.

Definitely planning on MM while at GCH if I can get my sleepyheads up that early...love those blackout shades!

 

[mvf-m11c]

I was contemplating the same thing today when I called to book the happy haunts Tour for Sat Oct 2. I thought it included front row seats for the fireworks but the CM told me it does not.

I thought 5pm was a little early for the tour to start.

Last time we did the Discover the magic Tour and the Xmas Holiday Tour and they were the highlight of our trip, so I know all will be disappointed if there is no tour this time.

I thought about doing the tour on Friday night too, but I know my kids will be itching to get on rides and trick or treat for candy

Have you decided on a costume yet?

I knew that the Happy Haunts tour did not include front row seats for HS. It would be nice if they offer that.

5pm is early for the Happy Haunts tour, but with HS starts at 9:30 it does make sense to start at 5pm for the tour.

I'm glad that you enjoyed the DtMT and the Xmas Holiday tour. I really enjoyed the Xmas Holiday tour when my DA and I did it last year. Not only going through DL and getting on the ride on HMH and IASWH. But the preferred seating for "A Christmas Fantasy" parade was great.

I can't blame you for not doing the HHT on Friday since I want to take advantage of going on a lot of different rides during MHP. I would have done the same thing and don't do the tour on MHP. But you do save some money on the MHP and HHT ticket.

I have not decided yet, but the original plan for me is to wear a Disney Halloween shirt and a Halloween mask since I will be taping HS around the Hub on Friday.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Hi Bret-
Sorry if I piggy-backed on your PTR..I was a little excited.
Thanks for the congrats on winning tickets..my kids were 30 mins late for school that morning the secretary totally understood when I told her why.

Good point on using the GAD at DCA for Tuesday, I was trying to make the $44 MHP ticket a little easier to swallow.
I'll just tell the kids we'll save DL for Wednesday morning. I promised Joey we'd ride Calif Screamin first thing on Tuesday afternoon.
I really want to see WoC on a weeknight before it gets too crowded on the weekend. But then we can also get an early FP when we're at GCH Sunday morning.

Definitely planning on MM while at GCH if I can get my sleepyheads up that early...love those blackout shades!

It's np. I liked your PTR during your visit to DL later this month.

I would definitely try to take advantage of MM so you can get to DL one hour early to enjoy Fantasyland rides. You should ride on PP first thing in the morning while PP will be crowded later during the day. And also the half hour extra time to get FP for WoC.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Post pics from Christmas season:

SBC during the day

SBC during the night

Believe...In Holiday Fireworks

A Christmas Fantasy Parade from the Holiday Tour reserved seating

 

[mvf-m11c]

15 Days to Go!!!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Posting more pics of DL. Today is Remember Dreams Come True Fireworks. Taken on March 17, 2010 on St. Patrick's Day.

 

[mvf-m11c]

More pics from RDCT fireworks on March 17, 2010

 

[mvf-m11c]

10 Days to go and I'm getting excited after seeing the Halloween pics from other DISers.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Today's pictures

Pictures of Paradise Bay being drained and the WoC platform being put in.

Taken on December 2008

Taken on June 2009

Taken on December 2009

Taken on March 2010

 

[mvf-m11c]

8 Days to Go!!!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Today I am posting RDCT videotaped on March 17, 2010 on my youtube account.

RDCT 3/17/10 Part 1

RDCT 3/17/10 Part 2

 

[mvf-m11c]

Just 7 Days to Go!!!

 

[mvf-m11c]

I'm just 5 days away at DL and I am planning my schedule at DL for Friday during MHP.

Schedule for Oct. 1st during MHP

We will be driving down from Sacramento to Anaheim like my DA and I always do on our previous trips together. It is nice to fly, but I do bring a lot of bags and camera equipment so it does make sense to drive down in just 7 hours. It just not worth paying the extra money for extra bags and getting a rental car. We will be driving down in my Honda Civic Hybrid which saves us a lot of money. For a round trip to DL, we only have to fill the car up twice during the trip. That is not bad since the car needs only 10 gallons of fuel to be full. We will stop at Livingston (close to Merced) that is always on our way to Anaheim to see my grandmother. Than after we stop at my grandmothers house, we will head on over to Anaheim. The plan time for us to leave is around 7:30 am and get to Livingston around 9:00 am. Than we will leave around 9:30 am and head over to Anaheim. With the calculations, we will be at DL around 3:30 and check-in to the hotel.

We will be staying at the GCH. This is the first time me and my DA to stay at the GCH since 2001. It has been a long time for me and my DA to stay on-property but it costs a lot of money to stay on-property and we always choose to stay off-site and go many times to DL. But this is special to stay at the GCH, not only during the first night of MHP but also this will be my DC first time to stay at the GCH. She has stayed at the DLH and PPH, but not at the GCH and she is very excited. We are staying in a standard view room at the GCH and I was hoping that we will be able to get a garden view instead of the street view. I want to get a garden view so we can see the monorail go by.

This is going to be very interesting to see how many rides my cast can do before HS starts at 9:30 on Friday Oct. We wanted do do as many rides before HS starts and one of my cast will be saving a viewing spot right by the Hub in front of SB castle. We will be rotating each time so we can go on rides and go get something to eat. I was planning on getting a spot for HS at least 2 - 3 hours. Some of you would say why would I waste my time saving a spot during MHP? I wanted to see HS so badly and I am willing to stake out a spot to see HS to the fullest and videotape so you DISers can watch it on my youtube. I hope everything goes well and I don't have to wait at the hub for more than 3 hours for HS.

We will be having dinner at Royal Street Veranda. My DA and I always go to RDV first for lunch and dinner on the first day at DL. This is have been our tradition for the last few years. The first day we go to DL, we eat at the RSV first.

After HS we are planning on try to go to all 50 treat stations around the park. It is going to be difficult to find all the 50 stations around the park and we plan on seeing the characters around the park. My DC wants to see all the different Disney characters around the park.

I know that SMGG would be at least an hour long when we get there in the park at 4pm and we are not planning on going on SMGG until the next day or Sunday in the morning. I was thinking of seeing HMH that day since I always love the Holiday overlay at the HM.

When we get there, I will be taking pictures around DL and hope to get every Halloween decoration around the park that day or I will do it the next two days at DL.

I will using Ridemax for the first two hours of our time at DL and we are not planning on riding anymore rides after 7pm since we will be eating dinner and getting on HMH at 6:30pm. Than when MHP starts, we will be going around the park and going to each different treat stations and character locations around the park for the rest of the night.

After MHP at 10:30, we will head on back to the GCH and go to bed so we can get to DL at 7am for MM on Saturday. I will be up that night so I can post the pictures of MHP that night.

Here is my plan for DL on Oct. 1st 2010 during MHP.

Thank you for reading my PTR and I am hoping for more suggestions before I leave on Friday.

Thank you

 

[mvf-m11c]

Schedule for Saturday Oct 2nd

This is the fun day since we will be going on a lot of different rides and see WoC that night. We are going to try to do all of the best rides (SMGG, Indy, etc.) in the morning while in the afternoon we will take a long break and sit right next to the pool at the GCH. Than later during the day, we will go back to DL and do more rides and get ready for WoC for the 1st show.

We will take advantage of MM on Saturday and get all of the Fantasyland rides done. This will be my first time doing MM in almost 3 years since I mostly go to DL for only two days.

We will also be taking advantage of the WoC early entrance so we could get in the park half an hour early than normal hours so we can get FP for WoC. We plan on seeing the first show of WoC.

Here is is my first half schedule for Oct 2nd.

I will post the 2nd part of my schedule later during the day. Please post any comments or ideas for my pre-trip plan this Friday.

Thank you

 

[mvf-m11c]

Schedule for Saturday Oct 2nd

In the middle of the afternoon, we will rest up at our hotel for about a few hours and head back to DL to go on more rides. We will head to DL first and than later during the night, we will have dinner at the ESPN Zone. This is a must do for my DA and I every time we go to DL together.

After dinner, we will head on over to DCA and get right at the blockade so we will be able to get a railing view for WoC. My DC won't want to wait that long for a show, but I told her that this is a must thing to do unless you want to see it in front of other guests.

Than after WoC, we will head on over to DL and just do night rides for awhile and head back to the room and rest up for the next day.

Here is my 2nd part of my schedule for Oct 2nd.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Just 2 days to go until we are at the happiest place on earth. I am also planning on upgrading my DL premium AP to the premier so I can use it when I go to WDW during the Holiday season. I am very excited and can't sleep the last few days while I get to see the Halloween decorations up and seeing Halloween Screams fireworks on Oct 1st.

 

[mvf-m11c]

I cant wait till tomorrow when my DA, my DC and I go to DL during MHP.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Friday October 1st, 2010

Today is the day for my group to head out of Sacramento and go to the happiest place on earth during the Halloween season. It is around 6 am that I have got up and load up all my bags into my car. I brought all my standard equipment that I would use during a DL trip. i brought my Nikon D60 DSLR camera, my Sony HDR-XR520 HD camcorder, tripod and my iPad while i update my live TR during the visit.

After I load all my thing in my car, I left my house around 7am and I went to pick up my DC Katherine from my uncles house who is just a few blocks away from my house and after that I went over to pick up my DA from her house. Than we started to hit the road and head over to my grandmothers house first. She lives in Livingston, CA close to Merced. It will take about one and a half hours to get to her house from Sacramento. We always stop there first when my DA and i go to DL so e can visit her and rest up for awhile.

We got to my grandmothers house around 8:30am today and we said hello to her and rest up just for awhile until it was time for the three of us to head back on the road and go to DL. We left my grandmothers house around 8:45am and right now we are currently on Highway 99 going to Los Angeles. From the calculation going to DL from Livingston it will take around 5 and a half hours until we reach DL. We are currently on the road of 99 and r currently on the grapevine.

When we get to the GCH, i will update my TR and post pics of the hotel.

 

[disneymum58]

Wow Bret! We will be going to Disneyland Oct. 21 -25 and MHP Oct.22. I can't wait to read more of your report. I would especially be interested to know how they handle the mix in of guests and whether it is possible to get our wristbands early if we are already in the park using our AP.
What were the crowds like for the fireworks?

 

[mvf-m11c]

We just got back from MHP and it was even better than I expected. But I will post that later, I'm posting my day when I got to DL.

We got to the GCH hotel around 3:30pm today and we just got our room immediately since I have pre-check with my phone. The GCH had our room all set up when we got there and I was impressed on how fast the GCH got the room. I asked them if I could have a garden view than the street view and they honored my request.

Our room number was 3309 and we could see the garden view and the monorail. I was so impressed with the room since I haven't stayed at the GCH since 2001. I like to thank the guys who set up the GCH thread and help me with all the info on the GCH.

My DA and DC were still unpacking and didn't want to go into the park early, so I went by myself. I got to the main gate around 4:15pm and there were a lot of guests with there costumes on and ready to go into the park. DL had two different lines to enter the park. The middle right side line was for the MHP guests while the left side was the standard park line. I had to wait for awhile since the CMs took there time and moved the guests slowly. When we walked in, they had a line setup for the MHP and we moved to the right hand side of the entrance. The CM's put on a purple wristband for the guests who are attending MHP. Than we got a small treat bag. It was not big, but it was big enough to carry some candy.

This is what the CM gave us for the MHP. A purple wristband with numbers on it and nothing special.

When I got into the park around 4:30, there were a few guests all dressed up and it was kind of crowded with the regular guests and the MHP guests. They had nothing setup around the park for MHP except the Mickey ghost and Mickey pumpkin lights around the park. When I looked at all the rides around the park, they were kind of crowded and I just went around the park and looked at all the Halloween decorations. I took pictures of MS USA and Frontierland.

Than it was around 5:30pm and my DA and DC came into the park and got their wristband and treat bag and we tried to do our ridemax plan, but it was later and it was even more crowded than we expected. So we did not do any rides during the day after HS, I will write that down later. We went to have dinner at RSV and have steak gumbo like I always do and my DA got the vegetarian gumbo. My DC didn't want gumbo, so we head on over to the Golden Horse Shoe and she got chicken nuggets. We had a nice meal and it was around 6:30 so we went to the hub and get our spots for HS.

When we got there, the CMs were roping off the area right in front of SB castle. Everyone including my group were wondering why they were blocking the viewing area. They said that until the non-ticket holders leave the park, they will open the viewing area. I was kind of bummed that we had to wait until 8pm to be let in the viewing area. DL announced to the park that DL would be closing at 7pm and guests who do not have a ticket will be able to purchase one at the Plaza Pavilion. But later they said that they would let guests in the viewing area after the Mickey's Cavalcade parade is over. I was not happy of how DL didn't plan it better. DL CMs were going around the park with their flash lights and were checking everyone in the park to see if they have a wristband for tonight.

It was around 8pm and most of the non-ticket holders have left the park. But there were some guests who did not have a wristband and were asked to leave the park. Some of those guests were not happy, but they had no choice.

The Cavalcade parade started at 8:15pm from IASW to MS USA. When I get back on Sunday, I will try to put the cavalcade parade on my youtube account. The parade was okay and have many Disney characters that we see all the time and some characters that I haven't seen in ages. Most of the CM were in costume and some were great and okay. It was like the parade was built on the cheap end, but the last float was the best when they had all the main Disney characters in there costumes.

I'm getting tired, since we will be getting up early in the morning for MM. I will update my TR later.

Thank you for reading part 1 of my TR.