When does DL start decorating for Christmas?

[Tink91]

Mum and I are considering DL for 2010 Christmas and we are wondering when the best time to go is??

 

[HydroGuy]

The Christmas decorations go up in early to mid-November and stay until the first Sunday in January - unless Jan 1 is a Sunday in which case they would stay up thru Jan 8. The actual dates can be picked out of the old schedules as they usually coincide with the start of Christmas parade and fireworks. See "Historical DLR Park Hours, Entertainment and Refurbs" - www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2291124

 

[Eeee-va]

They start decorating sometime in November--I don't remember the exact dates, but the Christmas season is basically in full swing the week before Thanksgiving (which I read was an excellent time to go this year, by the way).

I personally found the Wednesday - Sunday (afternoon) after the Cast Member parties (which are generally the first Monday and Tuesday in December) to be delightful times too, with Fastpass hardly even being useful--but Friday and Saturday would have likely been much busier if it hadn't rained. Still, entertainment was almost in full-swing by then (with Fantasmic running on Wednesday and Thursday, and evidently one show on Friday; the second and Saturday's shows, and some parades in that period, were rained out ). Disneyland park was open 9 - 11 on Wednesday and Thursday and 8 - midnight on Friday-Sunday. Crowds were so light overall that we generally got there at opening (opened up DCA on Saturday) and then stayed until we got tired, with no mid-afternoon break. The cool weather and lighter crowds allowed us to pull as much as 14 hour days without killing ourselves.

The only thing that wasn't offered when we went was the Electrical Parade, which only runs during the busiest part of the holiday season (about the last two weeks). For me, lower crowds throughout was more than worth the tradeoff of no Electrical Parade, but if that parade is a priority for you and your schedule is otherwise open, you'd probably want to time your trip to end on the 17th - 19th of December, so you get lighter weekday crowds (the week directly before Christmas will likely be pretty busy) but still get to see the parade.

(Of course, this is all assuming that the Electrical Parade runs next year in the exact same way it did this year, which may not be the case, as there's no way of knowing. )

 

[Sherry E]

This year, the Christmas decorations actually went up (to commence the "official" holiday season at DLR) one full week earlier than they did last year or the year before. For the last few years, the official start of the DLR holiday season has been the Friday before Thanksgiving. This year, the season began 2 weeks before Thanksgiving - Friday, November 13. So in 2010, there is no telling if DLR will begin the season two weeks before or one week before.

Also, I could be wrong on this, but I think I heard that It's a Small World Holiday is going to stay open a bit longer in January 2010 than it usually does - even after the holiday season officially ends. There was some reason why they are doing that, but I can't recall what it is! So the Christmas stuff will all come down, but IASW Holiday is supposed to stay open a little longer. (Again, someone double check that info because I may have heard that wrong on our local news.)

Traditionally what happens is that as soon as Halloweentime ends - which, this year, was on November 1 (because November 1 was a Sunday) - like the very minute the giant pumpkin comes down - the Christmas stuff begins to go up, probably even slightly before that in some places. IASW Holiday goes down for its holiday overlay installation a little before the start of November, if I recall. So you can see the beginnings of the holiday transformation of DLR right away in November, and the trees slowly going up here and there, along with some of the holiday food and merchandise offerings, but the special entertainment (i.e., the snow, the Winter Castle/Main Street light show/the animation on the IASW Holiday facade/the carolers strolling the Resort, the Reindeer Round-Up and all Santa appearances, etc.) will not begin until the official season start date.

 

[iheartdisney]

This year was just weird...when we went down for Mickey's Trick or Treat Party, we stopped into Disneyland for a little bit, and they already had the snow on the castle. Talk about two holidays colliding, and not just in the Haunted Mansion.
We went on Dec 1st this year, which was a tuesday, and it was perfect! We got down o the ROA about 15 minutes before the fireworks started, and had plenty of room. The kids had room to actually play in ther "snow" because they weren't crammed in sardines.

 

[stampinshauna]

Also, I could be wrong on this, but I think I heard that It's a Small World Holiday is going to stay open a bit longer in January 2010 than it usually does - even after the holiday season officially ends. There was some reason why they are doing that, but I can't recall what it is! So the Christmas stuff will all come down, but IASW Holiday is supposed to stay open a little longer. (Again, someone double check that info because I may have heard that wrong on our local news.)

I've heard that they are keeping IASW open until Haunted Mansion opens back up after having the holiday overlay removed. They generally won't have both Haunted Mansion and Small World closed at the same time. It seems that in past years they had the Small World overlay removed first, so maybe they just decided to switch it up. I'm excited that Small World will still be Christmas when we go in 2 weeks.

 

[Sherry E]

I've heard that they are keeping IASW open until Haunted Mansion opens back up after having the holiday overlay removed. They generally won't have both Haunted Mansion and Small World closed at the same time. It seems that in past years they had the Small World overlay removed first, so maybe they just decided to switch it up. I'm excited that Small World will still be Christmas when we go in 2 weeks.

Thank you so much for clarifying that! I knew I had heard that IASW Holiday was going to stay up longer in early 2010 on our local news, but then I didn't see anyone mention it on the DIS, so I began to think I had imagined it!! (A case of wishful thinking, maybe!) So I am so glad to know that, 1) I was not crazy in hearing what I heard, and 2) IASW Holiday will be up, it seems, for at least a good week or two past when it normally goes down in January!! That is a great diea to not have IASW and HM down at the same time! Even though I won't be there to see it, I think that it will be a big draw for all those new AP holders and people who are still wanting a little of that holiday feeling before 'real life' begins again!

Also, as I pointed out in my Trip Report from my DLR visit on December 19th, it should be noted that the 2009 version of IASW Holiday is slightly different than the previous years' version of it, and that is because some of the holiday additions have been adapted or changed in some way to allow for the new Disney character dolls throughout the ride. So not only does the ride include the character dolls, but some of the holiday enhancements are slightly altered this year, so it is not exactly the same ride that it was for IASW Holiday 2008. For example, as you sail past Woody, etc. in the Americana scene of the ride, a sort of twangy/Western-style version of, I think, "Deck the Halls" (it may be another Christmas song) can be heard as it is strummed on a guitar or banjo. That is new. So you have to have a bit of an eye and and ear for detail to be able to tell where and what the all new holiday enhancements are, but they are there!!!

 

[Tink91]

Wow! Thanks for all of your replies, can't wait to spend next Christmas in the happiest place on Earth