We are thinking of either the week after Thanksgiving (11/29-12/1) or the following week (12/6 - 12/8). We would be in the park on Tues and Wed and leave Thursday morning (unless we find room in the budget to stay on Thursday as well
).
Our primary considerations are crowds, ride closures, and seeing
Disneyland decorated for xmas. I've been sooo many times but never at this time of year, so I'm excited to see it decorated!
Any thoughts on why one week would be particularly better or worse than the other? Thanks!
Keep in mind, it's much, much, much more than just decorations in Disneyland. It's an overall immersive experience. It's a feeling. There's an extra element of magic in the air that is not there during the rest of the year, which is hard to describe. It's the sights, the sounds, the aromas, the peppermint & gingerbread treats, the colors, the themed holiday music in each land, the lights, IASW Holiday, charming window displays, 700 Christmas trees of all shapes and sizes around DLR, the (fake) snow on Main Street, the carolers, the stunningly gorgeous nighttime Winter Castle, the Grand Californian Hotel lobby (in the evening) alive with carolers, a guitarist and a pianist all delivering holiday favorites, reindeer at the Rendeer Round-Up, Santa in 5 places around the resort, it's the special themed decorations in each land (ToonTown, New Orleans Square, Frontierland, A Bug's Land), the Paradise Pier Hotel lobby tree aglow in blue-green lights, the teeny decorations on the Storybook ride, etc. The whole Resort is given the holiday transformation.
Make sure to keep an eye on our Disneyland at Christmas Superthread, where I will post any updates or breaking news about this season as it comes in, in the first and/or third posts of Page 1.
Personally, just for that close-to-Christmas feeling, I prefer going to DLR in December. However, this year I am making my trip a little earlier in the season, from 11/28 - 12/5, because that's when the crowds are supposed to be at a low point while still getting the full array of holiday activities.
There are 3 phases to the holiday makeover of DLR, with phase 3 being the full-throttle, immersive experience including Downtown Disney and the 3 Disney hotels (phase 3 begins right after Thanksgiving ends). Either way, whichever dates you choose, you will be there for phase 3, so you won't miss anything.
I think the crowds will be fairly reasonable for either block of time, but the typical pattern is that the further you get into December, more people take time off work and head to the parks for their Christmas celebration, whereas that week
right after Thanksgiving is a time when many people are back at work and school before leaving for their Christmas trips.
I was at DLR last year on CM party days and found the parks to be especially crowded. So because there very well could be a party on 12/6 this year (we don't know the dates yet), you
might run into heavier crowds early in the day. DCA stays open when DL closes for the party, though, so there are plenty of other things to do at night.
My logical side thinks that picking the 11/29 - 12/1 dates might be more practical and possibly less crowded.
See you there.
