Poll: Going to DL during the Christmas/Holiday Season

[onederland]

Thanks that is coolwe will be there Nov 18-21 cant wait!!

 

[Sherry E]

We are going the week after Thanksgiving. Funny how everyone says this is a great week to go(lower crowds) and the poll numbers so far show twice as many people going as opposed to the other weeks...

Blue32 -

This is because there are many people who ask all the time when the best week to go is (for lower crowds and peak season festivities) and when we tell them, some of them end up booking it - and then it is no longer a slower time! That's exactly how it works. When people find a slower time to go, word of mouth spreads, more people want to go - and then it is no longer a slower time. In the past, the week after Thanksgiving has been good - many people have said it. But, the more folks go during that time frame to take advantage of the lighter crowds, the busier it will become.

I don't think the crowds are going to be much lighter this year at all - it seems to be very busy even in times that people thought would not be as bad.

 

[michelleh1]

We are going the week after Thanksgiving. Funny how everyone says this is a great week to go(lower crowds) and the poll numbers so far show twice as many people going as opposed to the other weeks...

This is actually why I started the poll. We chose our dates about 6 months ago. I keep reading how everyone is recommending the week after Thanksgiving, which got me thinking that it may be more crowded than we had anticipated. Hopefully some of the other weeks will pick up as others vote (fingers crossed!).

 

[Blue32]

Blue32 -

This is because there are many people who ask all the time when the best week to go is (for lower crowds and peak season festivities) and when we tell them, some of them end up booking it - and then it is no longer a slower time! That's exactly how it works. When people find a slower time to go, word of mouth spreads, more people want to go - and then it is no longer a slower time. In the past, the week after Thanksgiving has been good - many people have said it. But, the more folks go during that time frame to take advantage of the lighter crowds, the busier it will become.

I don't think the crowds are going to be much lighter this year at all - it seems to be very busy even in times that people thought would not be as bad.

I get it. I just thought it was ironic with the results of the poll. We chose that week because of the lower crowd potential, but I'm also glad I stumbled upon these boards so I know what to expect when we go.
The amount of helpful info. on here is great and I'm thankful for it.

 

[scrapshappen]

We arrive on my birthday 11/24 and are there through 11/29. Pulling the kids out of school and making a week of it. I am starting to worry that the week after thanksgiving might set some kind of new park records for attendance.

We have been there during peak times before and will make do. We are staying at the GC so we'll take advantage of early morning touring and just soak up the atmosphere in the afternoons.

 

[disneydreamerbelle]

Bumping for more answers.

 

[A Small World]

1st to 10th Dec for us

 

[lurpee]

December 15th-25th in the parks!

 

[CamoMama]

I want so badly to go during the holidays, but we just can't seem to make it happen. Sad, I know.

 

[michelleh1]

 

[SkRiderMom]

We'll be there Nov. 27-Dec.5.

Of course the week after US Thanksgiving has the most responses, this is DIS after all where you can find all the tips and tricks to a great Disneyland vacation. It doesn't mean it will be super busy. Though I do expect it to be busier than our first post-Thanksgiving trip in 2008 with the opening of Carsland and increased attendance numbers this fall.

 

[Sherry E]

We know for a fact that the week between Christmas and New Year's will be crazy, crazy busy - the busiest or second busiest week of the entire year - but that is not reflected in this poll. So while the poll is enlightening and interesting, it's not an exact barometer of what things will be like.

Basically I think that all of this - http://t.co/oa6fbSku - is going to increase the crowds for the entire holiday season, even in the slower time frames.

Up until this point, we had not heard too many specific details of what the new decorations were going to be like in DCA. This article from Stitch Kingdom really gets into detail, and honestly - it sounds amazing!

In fact, it sounds sooooo amazing that I am ready to head to DLR now and camp out, waiting for the holiday season to start! I suspect that a lot of other folks will head there this year too, now that the entire DCA makeover is complete.

Snowy the Snow Car? Who could resist making a trip to DLR just to see that?

 

[Heymy]

Sherry thanks for sharing that....it does sound amazing!

We will be there Nov. 25 - Nov. 29. I know it's not going to be as "dead" as last year, but I can hope it will be managable. Though in my Disney boasting to friends, I've convinced at least 3 families to put their kids on independent study and go that week. Whoops.

 

[AwfullyBigAdventures]

We'll be there January 2-5. I hope it's not still incredibly packed from the holiday crowds. Does anyone know?

 

[Teknik_DC2]

Me and my family will possibly be there from December 8th-16th. Staying at the Holiday Inn and Suites Anaheim which I got for a great deal thru Hotwire.

Unfortunatly that is on shacky ground though. My wife just got news today that she might not be able to take that week off work do to another employee already having that week off. Because of the we may be forced to go a week earlier.

Of course the worst part of this ordeal is that the hotel booked thru Hotwire is obviously Non-Refundable or non-Exchangable meaning we will be out nearly $600. Its been a tough day needless to say but we are hoping for the best and hope we will be able to travel on our original planned dates. Needless to say the thought of losing $600 and a nice hotel make me feel sick to my stomach.

If all else fails we will try to remain positive though and travel a week earlier. Book a Cheaper hotel, possibly cut a day off the vacation to save on rental car costs, and focus more so on minimizing the extra costs instead of dwelling the on the money we are out.

 

[ryleeranger]

We are trying to decide when to go! My birthday is Dec. 3rd but it looks like the grand californian and disneyland hotel are booked that week! Does anyone know what is specifically going on that week??

 

[twinky]

November 18-21. Can. Not. Wait.

 

[Beee]

We're at DL from 9th - 14th december, was going for low crowds but we'll take our as it comes. First trip to DL for us so we'll just be happy to be there

 

[8timesblessed]

We will all be there Dec 1-10. So excited!! My kids haven't been back to Disneyland since 2010 but I've been there 3 times

 

[Sherry E]

We are trying to decide when to go! My birthday is Dec. 3rd but it looks like the grand californian and disneyland hotel are booked that week! Does anyone know what is specifically going on that week??

ryleeranger -

Have you checked the hotel calendar again, or called Reservations? Coincidentally (or not so coincidentally) a whole bunch of availability at all 3 hotels opened up on the hotel calendar yesterday (10/26)...conveniently, just in time for the Candlelight Processional narrators to be announced! I think that it was all planned out by Disney. They knew that people were waiting on info about the CP and were, perhaps, waiting to book their stays until they established who the narrator would be during their visits. I suspect (though I have no proof) that they may have held some rooms back until that info was released.

So, anyway, earlier this past week all 3 of the hotels were booked for the week of December 3rd. The dates I wanted were not available. The PPH still had some availability for the week of 12/10, though.

Yesterday, when I signed onto the AP hotel calendar I noticed that all sorts of availability at all 3 hotels in December had popped up - even in the week of December 3rd!

I called to make my PPH reservation and I managed to get the dates I originally wanted. The CM who booked me (Susan) told me some interesting things (and maybe others in this thread will want to know)...

She said that it's a good idea to not rely on whatever you see online as being available or unavailable. Sometimes the online hotel calendar will show no availability because the most updated information has not yet been loaded to the site. When people cancel or change their reservations, it will show up on the CM's end (who takes your phone call), but that cancellation and resulting available room may not show up on the hotel calendar until the following day.

Also, it works the opposite way as well - if it looks like something is available when you check the calendar online, it may not really be available because the updated information has not yet been put on the site...but the CM's on the phone at Reservations will know if the room is really available or not.

So, according to Susan - never rely on the DLR website or online info because it could change from minute to minute and not be reflected online for a while. To get the most up-to-date room availability info, call Reservations directly. She even suggested that calling between 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. is the best time, because the updated info will be in their own systems by then (any cancellations, modifications, etc.), but not many people will have had the chance to book anything yet.

Another reason to not rely on any online hotel info is that it may not be entirely accurate. If, for example, you tell the calendar that you need to stay at the DLH for the nights of 12/3 - 12/7 or something (just picking dates at random)...the night of 12/5 may not be available while the other nights are available. However, the website will tell you that the whole 4-night block is unavailable just because of 12/5 being full, when in actuality, the other 3 nights could be open!

Susan also suggested that folks be flexible, if possible - be open to booking "room only" and not going for the packages. She said that even if a particular discount is not available at the time of booking, just pay the deposit required to reserve/hold your spot - and if a good discount comes along, you can switch to that later (which I have personally done in the past - and you have much more leeway and time to switch discounts when you book room only and donot book a package; you can switch discounts and make changes for free all the way up until 5 days prior to arrival with room only reservations, whereas with packages you have to make changes prior to 30 days out in order to not incur a penalty charge/deduction).

Also, I was told that the CM's have not been informed of any special discounts for hotels (PIN or otherwise) that will be coming out in time for the holidays (or up to mid-December) - so far. The hotels have been booking guests like crazy this year, so they are not hurting for business. In the Disney Destinations e-mails I've been getting, they have been pushing the Good Neighbor/off-property hotels and packages, so I think that is a sure sign that the 3 DLR hotels are rapidly filling up. Susan said they had been totally booked on nights of the Halloween Party too. Each holiday season keeps surpassing the previous one in overall attendance numbers. I suspect that this year will be no different!

Possibly, maybe - and this is just my own hunch - there could be some sort of DLR hotel promo offer/discount (and, thus, more room availability) released right after Halloween Time ends this upcoming week, and before the holiday season begins - or right around the time that the Candlelight Processional is available to book at the beginning of November (because, again, Disney knows that luring people into the park to see the CP is a way to get extra hotel guests).

I would look for a possible sudden discount offer to pop up on the DLR site or make the rounds via e-mail somewhere in the range of October 31 - November 5th, if at all. Maybe even into the second week of November. If it does not appear, then there will probably not be any discounts coming out for November-December this year (other than whatever is showing on the AP calendar).