Tell me about Disneyland in December!

[mom2rtk]

the more u hang out on the DL board the more you become like us! organized and an over planner!! LOL that is just how we roll welcome to the DL board!

oh and i am funball, my real name is Sara!

Thanks Sara! I'm Janet.

But while I might be an overplanner, the "organized" ship sailed LONG ago for me!

 

[Sherry E]

Well, that makes complete sense. It definitely will be interesting to see how they go about it if they decide to add a hard ticket event. I had seen photos of the Christmas parade at DL and just always thought it was at a party. You learn something new every day! I can see it might result in mutiny if they take all that away in favor of a party for extra cost.


This is not vastly different from the experience at WDW in recent years. It just grows in popularity. October used to be a fairly low crowd season, but I'm not sure there IS a low crowd season there any more. Same goes for December. Early to mid-December used to be a low crowd time, but not so much any more. Still manageable if you know what you're doing. But the days of walking onto rides mid-day are gone. Everyone over on the WDW forum blames Samantha Brown!

Well, if you can't blame Samantha Brown, who can you blame? All those darn specials she does... Oh, and over at DLR we can also blame Guy Fieri of Food Network. He did a whole one-hour special about DLR during the holidays (which was cool because, even though we don't have as many things to offer as WDW does due to lack of space, no one had done a special on DLR holiday stuff only before; even Samantha Brown's holiday special only featured a tiny segment on DLR) and I'm sure he contributed to increased crowds!! Darn those TV hosts!

I think "mutiny" would be the right word if DLR suddenly makes the parade or any of the other longstanding holiday entertainment options part of a hard ticket party, unless there was a way to guarantee that the crowds and lines would be reasonable. And yet, I just know that a Christmas party is coming sooner or later. They have to put something in it to make the price of the ticket justifiable. The only other option would be to, perhaps, have the Christmas party in DCA the first year or two - which is where the Halloween party used to be before it moved into Disneyland park last year - and then they could make a holiday version of World of Color the signature party event. That way it wouldn't take anything away from people in Disneyland itself.

But there's no way they would even attempt another party in DCA until they get all the construction finished. So I have a feeling that the party will end up in Disneyland.

You know, it's kind of interesting to me that Halloween Time has gotten sooooo popular and busy - at least at DLR, anyway. It's nowhere near the level of 'immersion' that Christmas offers at the Resort. For one thing, all of the traces of Halloween were removed from California Adventure/DCA last year and the whole celebration was basically in Disneyland. This was mostly because of the work happening in DCA, but the hotels don't even really get into the spirit of the Halloween season. You can go for long stretches of time without really seeing much in the way of Halloween decor. Is it like that at WDW? Whereas, for the holiday season, everyone is in on the decorations - the hotels, both parks, Downtown Disney, the restaurants, the shops, etc.

I'm thinking that Halloween became so popular (at least at DLR) because it's a novelty. Christmas season has long been celebrated at DLR and WDW, but Halloween was never as much of a big deal in the past. Now that it is being treated as a bigger deal, it attracts more folks to see what's happening. DLR was steadily building up Halloween Time - each year was getting bigger and better - until last year, when it scaled down. And yet, even with the scaled down Halloween last year, it was still a busier and more crowded Halloween season at DLR than the previous years!

And you're right - there are very few time frames now where you can just walk on rides. The off-peak seasons are getting few and far between. Sometimes you can find less busy times - and that first week of December when you are heading to DLR is usually said to be one of the less busy times during an overall busy season - but rarely will you find slow days. I even switched my holiday dates to slightly earlier in December last year than when I normally go, thinking I would be hitting a less crowded time. My first 3 days - December 12, 13 and 14 - were just as busy as I've seen it on any other December trip. And finally, my last day - December 15 (a Wednesday) was noticeably less crowded.

So maybe that's the key? Only go on Wednesdays!!

 

[MrsPinup]

In 2008 DH and I went to DL during the candelight processional weekend (not knowing that when we first booked the trip). I thought the crowds were not too bad and since we were not dealing with our kids on that trip, we had a great time. The weather is perfect in Anaheim in December. I was in jeans and a tshirt the whole trip. Decorations are amazing and we took many beautiful photographs. From what I have heard (I am too chicken to try), but the closer you get to Christmas the busier it is.

 

[mom2rtk]

Well, if you can't blame Samantha Brown, who can you blame? All those darn specials she does... Oh, and over at DLR we can also blame Guy Fieri of Food Network. He did a whole one-hour special about DLR during the holidays (which was cool because, even though we don't have as many things to offer as WDW does due to lack of space, no one had done a special on DLR holiday stuff only before; even Samantha Brown's holiday special only featured a tiny segment on DLR) and I'm sure he contributed to increased crowds!! Darn those TV hosts!

I think "mutiny" would be the right word if DLR suddenly makes the parade or any of the other longstanding holiday entertainment options part of a hard ticket party, unless there was a way to guarantee that the crowds and lines would be reasonable. And yet, I just know that a Christmas party is coming sooner or later. They have to put something in it to make the price of the ticket justifiable. The only other option would be to, perhaps, have the Christmas party in DCA the first year or two - which is where the Halloween party used to be before it moved into Disneyland park last year - and then they could make a holiday version of World of Color the signature party event. That way it wouldn't take anything away from people in Disneyland itself.

But there's no way they would even attempt another party in DCA until they get all the construction finished. So I have a feeling that the party will end up in Disneyland.

You know, it's kind of interesting to me that Halloween Time has gotten sooooo popular and busy - at least at DLR, anyway. It's nowhere near the level of 'immersion' that Christmas offers at the Resort. For one thing, all of the traces of Halloween were removed from California Adventure/DCA last year and the whole celebration was basically in Disneyland. This was mostly because of the work happening in DCA, but the hotels don't even really get into the spirit of the Halloween season. You can go for long stretches of time without really seeing much in the way of Halloween decor. Is it like that at WDW? Whereas, for the holiday season, everyone is in on the decorations - the hotels, both parks, Downtown Disney, the restaurants, the shops, etc.

I'm thinking that Halloween became so popular (at least at DLR) because it's a novelty. Christmas season has long been celebrated at DLR and WDW, but Halloween was never as much of a big deal in the past. Now that it is being treated as a bigger deal, it attracts more folks to see what's happening. DLR was steadily building up Halloween Time - each year was getting bigger and better - until last year, when it scaled down. And yet, even with the scaled down Halloween last year, it was still a busier and more crowded Halloween season at DLR than the previous years!

And you're right - there are very few time frames now where you can just walk on rides. The off-peak seasons are getting few and far between. Sometimes you can find less busy times - and that first week of December when you are heading to DLR is usually said to be one of the less busy times during an overall busy season - but rarely will you find slow days. I even switched my holiday dates to slightly earlier in December last year than when I normally go, thinking I would be hitting a less crowded time. My first 3 days - December 12, 13 and 14 - were just as busy as I've seen it on any other December trip. And finally, my last day - December 15 (a Wednesday) was noticeably less crowded.

So maybe that's the key? Only go on Wednesdays!!

I honestly think that Halloween just continues to be a growing phenomenon, Disney or otherwise. I sew Halloween costumes, and can certainly attest to that. It just seems to get more and more popular for adults to dress up too. That's one of the reasons I'd like to do DL for Halloween...... I'm not a big party animal, and would like somewhere to dress up and have my own Halloween fun!

As for decorations, WDW is just as you described DL. No resort decorations, you wouldn't even know it was Halloween unless you were at the party or in the MK, where the decorations are up during the day as well.

Honestly, I was never tempted to come to CA for the Halloween party when it was at DCA. So while the locals hated the move because it tied up DL on so many evenings, it is infinitely more appealing to me now that it's in DL. I'd probably have the same issue if they held a Christmas party at DCA.

The single greatest problem they have with the parties at WDW is that they are oversold. Most people who attend all want to see the parade, shows and special fireworks, the stuff they can't do during the day. So Main Street is shoulder to shoulder madness. I've been there on 2 different sold out party nights, and it's not very magical. I strongly suspect that the "limited" number of tickets they sell is a moving target and grows every year. What you end up with is FAR more people at the parties than during the regular park day(in the weeks nearest the actual holiday) so it's not an exclusive sort of deal at all.

So Wednesday you say? I'll mark that down. "Sherry promised me it won't be busy on a Wednesday......." Got it!

 

[fairygoodmother]

Hi Janet!
Do you know yet if you're going to DL in December?
We've been there the first week of December the last two years, and are probably going again this year. It's really not busy during the week -- we could walk on several things -- but Friday through Monday, not so much. We were there the day after the candlelight processional and it was sooooo crazy-crowded.
Also, many hotels were sold out. That alone is an indicator of how busy the park is at DL. If places like Howard Johnson's, Anabella, Carousel, Portofino, and Candy Cane are sold out, the park will be busy.
Would love to meet you and your Katie there

 

[teach1abc]

We went last year the week after Thanksgiving (Wed afternoon - Saturday). We knew a lot of people that went over Thanksgiving (which was CRAZY crowded and they will never go back that week!) and they told us they were COLD. So, I packed our warm clothes, big jackets, gloves, etc. When we got there the following week, it warmed up - probably around 60ish and we got hot. On Friday night and Saturday it cooled off a little and actually sprinkled.

As for crowds, it was great Wed afternoon, Thursday, and Friday morning. We could walk on most rides and maybe had to wait 10-15 min if we did have to wait. After that, it got CROWDED. Since we were there with our 2 yr old and 6 yr old, the crowds were a bit much and they were losing patience with waiting. They were setting up the candlelight processional which made things worse because you could only get in and out of the park through a very narrow walkway on each side of the stage which backed things up all the way to the castle. That weekend was also the annual sale at the Disney store in DTD. I have never seen anything like it in terms of crowds - think waiting in line for Space Mountain, but ten times worse, with the line wrapping around and around, and police everywhere for crowd control. We didn't go into the store but I was wondering if they were giving things away for free!! So, between the extra people there for the Candlelight Processional and the people there for the sale, that was a lot of additional people roaming around!

Anyways, I loved being there with all of the Christmas decorations! It was magical and my kids loved it. I would love to go back next year!! I think if we do go back that week, I want to look into Sunday afternoon through Wednesday instead.

Have fun!!

 

[mom2rtk]

Hi Janet!
Do you know yet if you're going to DL in December?
We've been there the first week of December the last two years, and are probably going again this year. It's really not busy during the week -- we could walk on several things -- but Friday through Monday, not so much. We were there the day after the candlelight processional and it was sooooo crazy-crowded.
Also, many hotels were sold out. That alone is an indicator of how busy the park is at DL. If places like Howard Johnson's, Anabella, Carousel, Portofino, and Candy Cane are sold out, the park will be busy.
Would love to meet you and your Katie there

Well hi there!

I have absolutely NO idea what we'll end up doing this year. Since I started this thread, I think my husband has found out he's not going to the conference in Anaheim he thought he was, so alas I think this plan is at a dead end.

And what a shame too! It would be so fun to meet you!

I have also started posting on the Halloween thread scoping out that possibility. And I've been watching the discount threads for WDW in hopes of free dining in the fall. I'm guessing if we put something together it will be to WDW if free dining comes out. It's just too good a deal to pass up. And I really like staying on Disney property, which is more expensive at DLR without Disney value resorts.

Where do you guys stay when you go?