Disneyland vet advice--Halloween/Christmas trip??

[jenhelgren]

We have only been to Disneyland once so I need some veteran advice! We would like to plan a Halloween/Christmas trip for the last week of October into November 2019. Does Disney usually stick to the same dates for Christmas openings? I love Halloween and no one does it better than Disney but our last Halloween trip we missed Small World so I am hoping to time it out a little later so our last few days will be after the Christmas displays are complete. Does everything go up slowly or are most decorations up by the time decorated rides like SW open for the season? Are there any school holidays/conventions etc we should be aware of late October into November? Does Disneyland have a Christmas Party like the Halloween parties? Thank you in advance for any advice and recommendations for a newbie!!

 

[lindyv321]

Halloween officially ends on 10/31 and Christmas officially starts on 11/09. How many days are you planning on being at the parks? There isn’t a Christmas party at DLR

 

[jenhelgren]

Halloween officially ends on 10/31 and Christmas officially starts on 11/09. How many days are you planning on being at the parks? There isn’t a Christmas party at DLR

We haven't decided on dates or how long of a trip yet...it is always something I have wanted to do and Halloween is my favorite time for Disney but my DD refuses to make her second trip to DL and not see SW..lol
I was even considering a split stay and spending the few days in between as beach days, zoos, etc but I haven't really counted out how that would affect us with tickets yet

 

[theluckyrabbit]

This year, IASW will go down for the holiday overlay on 10/22 and is scheduled to come back up 11/07. That should give you some idea of when the refurb could happen and how long it could take next year. In order to catch the ride in it's non-holiday form, you'd have to arrive before the third week in October. To see the holiday version, you'd need to still be around by the start of Holiday Time.

 

[jenhelgren]

Thank you--does Disney usually follow the same date patterns every year? This year Halloween is on Wednesday and Christmas starts the Friday of the following week, with Halloween on Thursday next year-should we expect Christmas to start the Friday of the following week also since it is only 8 days apart?
Our trip a few years ago was the third week in October, so we probably missed it by a day or two

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... Our trip a few years ago was the third week in October, so we probably missed it by a day or two

If you follow the Halloween Time/ MHP Superthread next year (should start sometime in May), you'll know when HM should go down for the overlay. Posters in that thread guesstimated the date as Monday, 8/20, this year -- and, sure enough, that is the date the overlay work started. Usually we count back 3 weeks from the start of Halloween Time.
You can do a search on this forum (search bar is in the upper right corner, under your name) for the Holiday Time/Christmas Superthreads from past years. Those threads should have the start dates for Holiday Time (should be on the first page or so), so you would be able to see if there is a consistent pattern to the time between Oct. 31st and the first date for Holiday Time each year.