OFFICIAL 2018 Christmas & Holiday Time at DLR Superthread!!

[katyringo]

There should be a "thread tools" link for you in the upper right, near where you can "watch" a thread. You should be able to edit the title there.

Thank you!

 

[AngiTN]

You'll just want to check the blockout calendar to evaluate your dates. APs are a much bigger consideration at DLR than at WDW. It appears that SoCal Select passes are blocked after the 11th. I would expect those last dates to be very busy in the parks. 12/9 is the last weekend day of the year Deluxe passes are valid.

So, if it was your choice, would you move it out to arrive on the 11th?

 

[mom2rtk]

So, if it was your choice, would you move it out to arrive on the 11th?

I would definitely be considering it and trying to have full park days on the 12th and 13th. You don't want to be there in the final days before a blackout (at least I wouldn't). Of course others are realizing right now that Disney sometimes lifts blackouts and messes with well laid plans.

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are your best crowd days at DLR. But keep in mind Fantasmic might only run on weekends.

 

[NewbieMouse]

We'll be there December 17-19 at BWPPI!

 

[AngiTN]

I would definitely be considering it and trying to have full park days on the 12th and 13th. You don't want to be there in the final days before a blackout (at least I wouldn't). Of course others are realizing right now that Disney sometimes lifts blackouts and messes with well laid plans.

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are your best crowd days at DLR. But keep in mind Fantasmic might only run on weekends.

Eh, believe it or not, we aren't F! fans, even the CA version. So no problem is we miss that. We'd probably skip it no matter what.
Looks like the later trip works better with my work schedule anyway, I'd have to process a payroll while in CA if we left on the 6th. If we wait to leave on the 12th I can do it the day before we leave. I can do it remotely but easier on me to not have to do it remotely, especially with the Eastern/Pacific time difference.
So we will fly in about 1:00 p on the 12th and home 3:00 P on the 18th. We'll have a 5 day hopper ticket and a day to do something else, maybe.
I believe we've decided to stay at the Best Western Park Place Inn. Unfortunately moving the dates means we can't get a King room, but that's workable. I may explore a couple of the hotels that are next to that one though, just to be sure it's the one we want. I don't want to go any further than that one, or the few right next to it.

 

[mom2rtk]

Eh, believe it or not, we aren't F! fans, even the CA version. So no problem is we miss that. We'd probably skip it no matter what.
Looks like the later trip works better with my work schedule anyway, I'd have to process a payroll while in CA if we left on the 6th. If we wait to leave on the 12th I can do it the day before we leave. I can do it remotely but easier on me to not have to do it remotely, especially with the Eastern/Pacific time difference.
So we will fly in about 1:00 p on the 12th and home 3:00 P on the 18th. We'll have a 5 day hopper ticket and a day to do something else, maybe.
I believe we've decided to stay at the Best Western Park Place Inn. Unfortunately moving the dates means we can't get a King room, but that's workable. I may explore a couple of the hotels that are next to that one though, just to be sure it's the one we want. I don't want to go any further than that one, or the few right next to it.

If I had my choice I would be trying really hard to get Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the parks. But I know sometimes that just doesn't work out. Just make the most of Wednesday and Thursday and know that Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be much busier.

Maybe somebody who was there that weekend last year will chime in with their experience. We were there 11/28 to 12/3 last year. That was CP weekend so I'm not sure our experience will be any indication. I do know our Wednesday and Thursday were absolutely heavenly with low crowds and wait times. I tried to spend most of those days in DL those days since I just don't care quite as much about DCA. We also tried to schedule as many shows and dining reservations on the busier days. If you're doing the holiday tour or anything like that, it's nice to do on a busier weekend day. We also took some time out of the park Saturday afternoon (when crowds were at their worst leading up to CP) for a break (we don't do that very often).

 

[stubby]

We have finally decided on dates for sure for our Christmastime trip. We are going December 9-15. We have decided to buy Deluxe AP's(may upgrade to a higher one later) so we can get 6 trips in the year(we live about 5 hours away). So excited. Now to start planning and saving.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Love that this thread is already started! For the OP: if it's okay with you, I'm going to add "Holiday Time" to your title because not everyone celebrates Christmas. If this is a problem, just let me know!

 

[katyringo]

Love that this thread is already started! For the OP: if it's okay with you, I'm going to add "Holiday Time" to your title because not everyone celebrates Christmas. If this is a problem, just let me know!

No problem at all!! Thank you!

 

[tink89]

I know it is early but does anyone know if there is a special Christmas eve dinner? I remember from last year there was thanksgiving one. If so any details?

 

[Kauai4life]

December 8-13 DIS

 

[jonahsmommy]

We are going from November 17-21, staying at Homewood Suites, can't wait!

 

[katyringo]

Hello all!

I started to add names and dates and hotels to our main page! So exciting! I also added the link to last years holiday thread on the front page. Obviosuly things will change and dates will be different but there is a lot of good information in there.

 

[22Tink]

We’ll be there Nov 25-Dec 1 staying at the Desert Inn. Can’t wait!!

 

[mariezp]

I am so looking forward to our trip during the holiday season! We had been taking an annual family trip to Disneyland since my youngest was born and up until just the last few years. Our kids got older and we opted to spend some time in Europe for a couple of our vacations BUT this year both of the kids (18 and 27) requested a trip back to Disneyland! We will be staying at Dolphin's Cove, November 24-30. Here we come Mickey!

 

[adelaster]

Planning on very similar dates to everyone else- five nights the week after thanksgiving. Super excited to experience my favorite park for the holidays! ❤

Will be watching for more tips/advice as the dates approach! Also, let's be real, I really need some ocean & Californian food in my life.

 

[katyringo]

Bump!

So I am hoping World of color is back for Christmas time for our trip in November.

 

[Mickey&JoshNut]

So excited....going to Disneyland for our 3rd Christmas trip...we will be staying at Paradise Pier and we'll be there from Dec 21-27....

 

[deannaf87]

Question for my fellow holiday travelers. I currently have flights book Dec 1 - Dec 6 planning to get a 5 day hopper since we are arriving early on the 1st (Saturday) and flying out early on the 6th (Thursday). That gives us 4 full park days and a good portion of park time on arrival day. I've been noticing that hotel prices seem pretty steep for this time and some hotels are already sold out.

Question is, would you move your days from Dec1-6 to Dec 12-16? This will mean we'll go from 4 full 1 partial park days to 3 full 2 partial. We'll save one night hotel fare as well taking our hotel cost from about $1050 to $750. Plus the kids will only miss 3 days of school instead of 4.

I'm not super familiar with block out dates and all that, so do you think the Dec 12-16 time frame would be better, even though its less days?

My flights are American book on rewards, so its my understanding I can change without penalty as long as its the same destination.

 

[mariezp]

Question for my fellow holiday travelers. I currently have flights book Dec 1 - Dec 6 planning to get a 5 day hopper since we are arriving early on the 1st (Saturday) and flying out early on the 6th (Thursday). That gives us 4 full park days and a good portion of park time on arrival day. I've been noticing that hotel prices seem pretty steep for this time and some hotels are already sold out.

Question is, would you move your days from Dec1-6 to Dec 12-16? This will mean we'll go from 4 full 1 partial park days to 3 full 2 partial. We'll save one night hotel fare as well taking our hotel cost from about $1050 to $750. Plus the kids will only miss 3 days of school instead of 4.

I'm not super familiar with block out dates and all that, so do you think the Dec 12-16 time frame would be better, even though its less days?

My flights are American book on rewards, so its my understanding I can change without penalty as long as its the same destination.

The Candlelight Processional will likely be the first weekend in December. Not sure how much that might impact your original dates but something you might consider. I think it's a toss up as far as predicting which week would be better. Kids not missing school and saving money would be good but if I remember correctly it seems like the first week used to be a little less crowded. However, crowd predictions I just saw on another site suggested of the two that Dec. 12-16 might be less crowded. It seems to be that the crowds are getting harder and harder to predict though so good luck and know that you can have a fantastic time either way.