looking for tips on how to do disneyland during christmas break

[DLfan4]

hi. We are are thinking of doing california during christmas break, and are thinking to go to disneyland and California Adventure on Dec 27 and 28. We know it will be very busy, and plan to use Maxpass. We are most excited to see RSR and other cars land rides in CA and NBC in Disneyland. is the best plan of action to go straight to RSR and do standby line ? ( and while in line book a maxpass for a second ride?) Any other tips re lines and crowds?

An We wont have any dining reservations. we will be eating breakfast in the hotel and bringing in our own heathy snacks for the day. We hope we will be able to get some tasty quick service items. Like Cozy cones, corn dogs, etc, etc. any tips on the best QS places with shortest lines?

 

[Skyegirl1999]

This may be helpful: https://www.disboards.com/threads/official-2018-christmas-holiday-time-at-dlr-superthread.3686044/

That OP went on your dates last year, I think, and probably has some good tips, too.

For food, mobile order is your friend.

For Maxpass, book one as soon as you’re in the gates; don’t wait until you’re in line. Will you have parkhoppers, or are you trying to do one park per day?

 

[DLfan4]

Will you have parkhoppers, or are you trying to do one park per day?

Thank you Skygirl1999 these are great tips. I forgot DL has mobile ordering. thanks. We havent decided yet if we will get hoppers.

 

[katyringo]

I’m the OP skyegirl1999 mentioned above. We went during this time and yes it’s crazy busy but we had an amazing time. I’m super busy at the moment setting up a birthday party but I’ll eill come back later today and post a longer response!

 

[JeffB13]

I can't imagine not having park hoppers... especially when it's busy and crowded. That way you can expand your FP options and fit more into your 2 days.

 

[katyringo]

Okay I have time now to post a bit more..

Without hoppers and without dinning reservations I’m not sure how helpful my tips would be. We used being able to hop, our magic morning, and dinning packages and character dinnners to really get the magic during this time. The part will hit capacity. So the day you do Disneyland park I would plan on not leaving. We have diner reservations to get us back in.

Early early early early. have each person in your group pick what is most important to them each day and do those things first in the morning when crowds are slower.

Max pass. Check out Casey from Disneyland daily’s maxpass tips.

Realist expectations are going to be key. Without fast passes lines for rides are going to be 2+ hours. Don’t expect to see and do it all. Have your few must do things and anything else is just bonus.

Eat during off times. So eat and early lunch and early dinner for shorter lines.

 

[Malcon10t]

It will be extremely busy (we will be there too.) I would highly suggest hoppers. Like the above poster said, select the one or two attractions each person wants an dfocus on this. Plan to use mobile order or try to plan a sit down (you will need reservations.) There will be extra entertainment. Rose Bowl teams and bands and cheer squads will be there. The bands will parade down Main St several times during the day. You will have fun, but don't plan to get a lot done.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

So...I used to go often in the days after Christmas because my birthday falls at that time. If you're going, I recommend getting there for rope drop and staying all the way through. If you leave in the middle of the day for a break at the parks hit capacity while you're on your break, you won't be let back in. Some people say park hop. I say it might not be worth it depending on your touring style. I prefer doing one park per day and sticking to it.

If you want to see the holiday fireworks from Main St., get a spot early. Like, really early. You'd be shocked how hard it is to get a decent position for that. If you don't care about seeing them from the castle though, it can be easy.

For food, you'll find plenty of options that are quick and tasty. In addition to the items you mentioned, in the winter if it's cold outside, I like getting soup or gumbo in a bread bowl, which you can get at DCA at the Pacific Wharf Cafe and at DL at the Royal Street Veranda. The Harbour Galley also has some fun and different options like lobster chips and shrimp salad. Most if not all food places will be crowded during peak times. So, my family likes to get food at off times like 11AM for lunch, 4PM for dinner, and a snack toward the end of the night.

Make a list of attractions that are must-see at each park. Use maxpass and at the same time, strategically work out a plan so you aren't running from one side of the park to the other (unless of course you run marathons regularly and can handle the insane amount of walking you'll be doing). As long as you manage your expectations and realize you will not be able to see and do everything, you'll be fine. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Malcon10t]

So...I used to go often in the days after Christmas because my birthday falls at that time. If you're going, I recommend getting there for rope drop and staying all the way through. If you leave in the middle of the day for a break at the parks hit capacity while you're on your break, you won't be let back in.

Just to clarify, it is true the park can frequently hit capacity on these days. However, should you return and the park is closed, it generally reopens shortly after the first parade lets out, then remains open thru the evening. With the exception of NYE and the 24 hours party, I have never seen it remain closed more than an hour after the parade. (We've been at DL from Dec 22-Jan 4 every year (except last year, did WDW instead) for the last 20 years.)

 

[DLfan4]

Realist expectations are going to be key. Without fast passes lines for rides are going to be 2+ hours. Don’t expect to see and do it all. .

Will most rides have 2+ hour waits? or is that just the E-ticket rides like the mountains and pirates? what about the ones that dont have maxpass?

 

[tarheelalum]

Worst crowds of the year. So much so that if you have problems with crowds or claustrophobia you should bring xanax or some type of meds to calm you down. You will have very little to no personal space at times. Especially during the fireworks if you try to view them around main street.

People will get temperamental throughout the day. I remembered waiting for the tram after or near closing time. I saw several people almost come to blows the day after Christmas a few years ago waiting for the tram. We were all jammed packed together. It was very disorganized and unpleasant.

The parks will very likely be closed at some point in the early afternoons by the fire department due to safety issues with overcrowding. Very long wait times for everything as the day moves along. Rides, food and even bathrooms.

But if none of this concerns you, go and bring a lot of patience and energy. Good luck and try to have a great time.

 

[DLfan4]

if we do DCA on Dec 27 and DL Dec 28. and use max pass as much as we can, arrive at rope drop and stay until closing, would you say this list of attractions would be doable ?

Dec 27 DCA
RSR daytime ( first maxpas)
RSR at night
Luigi
Mater
goofys
Ariel
monsters
Soarin
The incredicoster
toy story


Dec 28 at DL
Haunted Mansion holiday
Big thunder
Indian Jones
matterhorn
pirates
splash mountain
Buzz
Alice
toad
pinnoccio
snow white

 

[Malcon10t]

Will most rides have 2+ hour waits? or is that just the E-ticket rides like the mountains and pirates? what about the ones that dont have maxpass?

Mainly the E Tickets. And it will be 90-120 min waits. Get fastpass for what you can, and make a list of 5-6 things you want to accomplish then work on those.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Will most rides have 2+ hour waits? or is that just the E-ticket rides like the mountains and pirates? what about the ones that dont have maxpass?

Even the CS locations and the restrooms will have long lines. Bring plenty of patience, common sense, and positive attitude! Plan ahead for just about everything if you can -- try not to leave things to the last minute. For example, if you pass a restroom that has short/no lines, go in with the kids, even if they protest. Better to visit the restroom with a short wait and no emergency need, then to have a kid with an urgent need and find that every restroom for miles has a 45 minute line out the door. Eat at off hours, even if no one is super hungry. Don't wait until hanger takes over everyone and all the CS places have super long lines, no open tables, and overwhelmed CMs. Those of us who visit every year during this time know how to take this kind of stuff in stride, but for a first visit, the crowds and stress can be rather overwhelming. You're doing well to start your planning here early.

 

[PirateRedhead]

Bring plenty of patience, common sense, and positive attitude!

Agreed. That's probably more important than any strategy. Accept the crowds in advance and choose to be happy anyway, and you'll have a great time.

 

[V.I.N.CENT.]

Also, be prepared for Fastpasses to run out quickly. We went for spring break last April, DCA ran out o Fastpasses for all rides around 1pm each day. Disneyland shortly thereafter. If you pull a RSR fastpass for later in the day, you will be locked out for 1 1/2 hours, losing a lot of rides potentially.

 

[katyringo]

We were there dec 27-29th last year. We didn’t do a whole lot of non fastpass rides if we couldn’t do them in the morning. Even non fast pass rides had waits up to an hour.

 

[Winnowill]

We did non-hoppers on 12/27 and 12/28 last year. With MP and judicious touring, we managed to hit a total of 36 attractions over our two days, without waiting longer than 20 minutes for any one thing except once when we decided to wait 45 minutes for Soarin' because our next FP window was an hour away and we didn't have anything else we wanted to do.

Just be aware that FPs for EVERYTHING will run out by mid-afternoon. By 4:30, the only available FPs at DL were late evening (like, 10:30) for Splash Mountain. Which nobody wanted, because...late evening, December, Splash Mountain!

 

[StarlitNight05]

Worst crowds of the year. So much so that if you have problems with crowds or claustrophobia you should bring xanax or some type of meds to calm you down.

This is so true! About 7 years ago DH (boyfriend at the time) went during Christmas to celebrate my college graduation. I wish I had a Xanax with me then. The mornings were fairly decent, but by the afternoon it was wall to wall people (and that was 7 years ago, so I can imagine it may be even worse -- not sure if it hit capacity that day). New Orleans Square and Adventureland was awful, they were directing people coming in one way and people leaving another way. A very rude woman came charging down the wrong way and slammed into my DH, almost knocking him to the ground. She had the audacity to yell at him for getting in her way. So yeah, lots of crowds and lots of bad tempers to go along with it.

That being said, we still had a great time -- but we tend to try to find the bright side of things. This was well before Maxpass so I'm sure having that will help out a lot!

 

[DLfan4]

We did non-hoppers on 12/27 and 12/28 last year. With MP and judicious touring, we managed to hit a total of 36 attractions over our two days, without waiting longer than 20 minutes for any one thing except once when we decided to wait 45 minutes for Soarin' because our next FP window was an hour away and we didn't have anything else we wanted to do.

Thanks. This makes me feel better. By "judicious touring", what do you mean?