PTR: Disneyland at Christmas 2017!

[blue888]

I'm super excited to plan our second family trip to Disneyland at Christmas. We went Christmas 2013 and it was amazing.

This time we are travelling with our 4 young kids (8 and under) and 4 other adult relatives. Staying right at Christmas again (Dec 23-30)! I can't wait to wake up Christmas morning in the park! We have booked a 3 bedroom suite at DLH for our entire party and we are stoked.


Now we are figuring out the little details since the flight, hotel and tickets are booked. Considering whether we should get concierge for our suite.

Also, I am looking into a room decorating package this time. Last time we had the Christmas in room celebration and it was amazing. We loved it. We aren't really into shopping while on vacation, so it was a nice way to get some souvenirs without having to shop. We still use our banner and advent calendar and milk/cookie tray every year. This time I'm considering the Mickey Grand surprise one, but I need to figure out if I can add a few things so each kids gets something special (I don't want any fights, ha ha). Plus I want to add a special surprise for the other adults we are travelling with!

This will likely be our last Disneyland trip for awhile, since our next one will be to WDW. So I really want to make it special. If anyone has ideas on things we must do while there, please chime in!

We will definitely be booking Goofy's Kitchen and Minnie's Breakfast too.

 

[hootey]

Congrats on another Disneyland Christmas Vacation in the works! We love the parks at Christmas and do try to enjoy every single minute of it. After you get checked in to the DLH, request the DLH character lobby schedule. It is just what it sounds like, the schedule for characters being in the DLH lobby area. Sometimes they will not give it out(depends on who you ask), if they will not share, ask what would be a good time to accidently bump into a character while walking thru the lobby. We had some great meet n greets with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofie, Jasmine, and Pluto in the DLH lobby area. Plus, you can get some great pictures
Don't forget Storytellers character breakfast over at the Grand. We always seem to have great character interaction at storytellers. The Frozen play is outstanding! Take the time to enjoy it, a couple times if possible. Sit in a different area every time you see it. Be sure to see Crush at Turtle Talk, he is quite funny and enjoyable. You are going to be there long enough to see and do everything two or three times. That's great, we do it the same way. In fact, we will be there at the same time staying in the Grand this time. Enjoy being at the Happiest Place On Earth!

 

[blue888]

Great advice! Thanks! We have never stayed at the DLH before, so that is good to know about the characters.

Congrats on another Disneyland Christmas Vacation in the works! We love the parks at Christmas and do try to enjoy every single minute of it. After you get checked in to the DLH, request the DLH character lobby schedule. It is just what it sounds like, the schedule for characters being in the DLH lobby area. Sometimes they will not give it out(depends on who you ask), if they will not share, ask what would be a good time to accidently bump into a character while walking thru the lobby. We had some great meet n greets with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofie, Jasmine, and Pluto in the DLH lobby area. Plus, you can get some great pictures
Don't forget Storytellers character breakfast over at the Grand. We always seem to have great character interaction at storytellers. The Frozen play is outstanding! Take the time to enjoy it, a couple times if possible. Sit in a different area every time you see it. Be sure to see Crush at Turtle Talk, he is quite funny and enjoyable. You are going to be there long enough to see and do everything two or three times. That's great, we do it the same way. In fact, we will be there at the same time staying in the Grand this time. Enjoy being at the Happiest Place On Earth!

 

[blue888]

We have booked our flights! Found an awesome seat sale and we are flying direct (a must with small children) We were able to get great times for our flight in (arriving around 10am). So I'm hoping to get to the hotel using the shuttle, drop off our bags at the hotel and head for lunch in downtown disney. I'm hoping that we can go swimming after that and then check into our room On the way home we are leaving late, so we basically have the whole day to do something fun. I'm hoping that the hotel is ok to store our bags until our actual departure, I can't see it being a problem. This will be awesome because travel isn't eating up a day each way, since it is only a 3 hour flight direct.

 

[PoohsFan1]

We will be there the same time as you . We will be there from 12/24-1/1 staying at PPH. This is our first time going during any sort of major holiday and we are so excited..well, DH and I are really excited since our kids won't know about it until the night before (this will be our Christmas present to each one of us). DH and I know that it will be crazy busy during that time, but we are so up for the challenge. We just want to be in our Happy Place during our favorite time of year .

 

[blue888]

That sounds awesome. We stayed at the PPH in 2013 for Christmas and we loved it! It was amazing waking up on Christmas day. Hence why we decided we must do it again
It is the best Christmas present ever. Plus in our experience the parks are so empty on Christmas Day. We walked onto RSR 4 times in a row before we went for Christmas morning breakfast.

 

[Jaina]

Sounds like an amazing experience! I'm excited to hear about it! I like your adult-to-child ratio. We had 2 adults to 5 young children on our last trip, and we could have used some more hands!

 

[hootey]

We have been going to DL for Christmas for several years and Love it. Christmas morning is usually not bad but, by early afternoon the last three or four years the parks are packed! Good time to use the DLH waterslides, pools, and hot-tubs . The Main street afternoon parade on Christmas day always seems to be extra-great!.
Upgrading to the Concierge might be in best interest for your group. Having access to the Concierge lounge for breakfast, lunch, and snacks might be benificial. Watching the evening fireworks from the lounge can also be a nice experience.

 

[blue888]

Sounds like an amazing experience! I'm excited to hear about it! I like your adult-to-child ratio. We had 2 adults to 5 young children on our last trip, and we could have used some more hands!

I agree! It is lovely to have extra eyes and hands. Plus it is nice because if the kids want to do different things, it is easier to split them up.

We have been going to DL for Christmas for several years and Love it. Christmas morning is usually not bad but, by early afternoon the last three or four years the parks are packed! Good time to use the DLH waterslides, pools, and hot-tubs . The Main street afternoon parade on Christmas day always seems to be extra-great!.
Upgrading to the Concierge might be in best interest for your group. Having access to the Concierge lounge for breakfast, lunch, and snacks might be benificial. Watching the evening fireworks from the lounge can also be a nice experience.

I agree on the parade. We watched it last time on Christmas day and it was extra special. We are definitely excited for the pools and waterslides! I think we will be spending most afternoons at the pools while we are there, since we always leave the park for the afternoon after lunch.
I think we have all agreed that if we are able to upgrade to Concierge it will be worth it. My kids eat a ton of food, so I'm sure it will be well used. Plus I'd love to see the fireworks. The only downside is that we are very unlikely to be placed in Adventure tower, so we won't be in the same tower as Concierge. Plus at Christmas the parks open early, not sure if we will be able to grab breakfast on our way to the park or not. What time does the lounge open?

 

[Canadian Harmony]

I'm also now planning a Christmas trip as our June one is no longer viable. I'm looking at it as a way to save up for more special things (maybe a D&B for my Santa gift!?). We're staying off-site but looking forward to all the fun Christmas stuff in the Parks.

Does DCA have anything special (other than the awesome decorating) like DLR?

 

[blue888]

I'm also now planning a Christmas trip as our June one is no longer viable. I'm looking at it as a way to save up for more special things (maybe a D&B for my Santa gift!?). We're staying off-site but looking forward to all the fun Christmas stuff in the Parks.

Does DCA have anything special (other than the awesome decorating) like DLR?

They have the giant candycanes at the candy store. The parade has mickey dressed up. Cars land is super cool with the decorations. Christmas music plays throughout the park.

 

[blue888]

I'm starting to consider dining options now! I can't wait to see what the holiday food offerings might be. When we were there in 2013, Storytellers had a turkey dinner buffet, which was amazing. We usually book reservations for most of the suppers, so that we aren't waiting for a table when it is busy.

I think we will book Goofy's Kitchen for a supper, PPH for breakfast with Mickey, considering brunch at Storytellers the day we arrive, Napa Rose (for a date night) and a lunch at Café Orleans. Any other suggestions? We aren't big Ariel's Grotto fans, so we won't be booking there. We loved Tortilla Joe's so we will book there for a supper as well. I also saw that last year, they offered a Christmas tea. I'm considering taking my girls to that if it is offered again.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Do you plan on trying to see the Candlelight Processional? It is a sight to see but may be a bit to slow for the wee ones. It sounds like you have the dining covered pretty well!

 

[blue888]

Do you plan on trying to see the Candlelight Processional? It is a sight to see but may be a bit to slow for the wee ones. It sounds like you have the dining covered pretty well!

Isn't the processional the first week of December? I thought it was pretty early on in December, but maybe I'm mistaken.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Isn't the processional the first week of December? I thought it was pretty early on in December, but maybe I'm mistaken.

From what I hear (rumor control at this point) it will start up the first weekend of December

 

[mnmrmustard]

I'm feeling pretty good about our trip timeframe (arrival on 11/26 and flying out on 12/1) - crowd levels aren't predicted to be too bad:

 

[blue888]

I'm feeling pretty good about our trip timeframe (arrival on 11/26 and flying out on 12/1) - crowd levels aren't predicted to be too bad:

What app is that? We are there Dec 23-30, so we know it will be busy. But I just love being there on Christmas morning. We can only travel during school breaks as my husband is a teacher.

 

[mnmrmustard]

What app is that? We are there Dec 23-30, so we know it will be busy. But I just love being there on Christmas morning. We can only travel during school breaks as my husband is a teacher.

You can just do a google search for "Disneyland crowd forecast calendar" and it should come up as the first hit. The site is "Is It Packed?" and covers theme parks, national parks, and other vacation destinations and has proved very reliable for me! And I understand the teacher dilemma as I work for a college. Thankfully I am in the opposite position as I work in IT and we do our best work while the teachers are away

 

[blue888]

Started making some dining reservations this week! So excited.
We also booked the Christmas themed tea party! It looks amazing!

 

[blue888]

One week to go! We are so excited.

Dining reservations are made. We are renting a car for a few days so we can head to Universal Studios for one day!

Still deciding on what to have delivered to our room.