OFFICIAL CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY SEASON & NEW YEAR'S 2017 THREAD

[blondietink]

Whoo hoo! Just booked a trip for us 12/2-12/8 with 5 day PH passes. Who would have thought that it would be cheaper for us to fly from Buffalo to John Wayne than from Buffalo to Orlando? We went 2 years ago in mid-November when the Christmas displays had just come out. We are sooooo excited! Actually the whole trip is going to be cheaper than going to WDW! My husband is going to Costa Rica the same time so it will be just me and my 2 sons.

 

[Malcon10t]

Hello, we will be visiting Disneyland from Dec 3 - Dec 7. This will be our first trip during the holiday season.

Sounds like we will be there during the candlelight processional? I have heard that unless you rope drop and sit on main street all. day. long, you cannot expect to watch the show and should just proceed as if it weren't happening. Is this true?

It is my understanding the second performance (745p) is easier to get into to see.

 

[Yusani]

It is my understanding the second performance (745p) is easier to get into to see.

Got any tips for the 7:45 show?

 

[Niltiac]

Sounds like we will be there during the candlelight processional? I have heard that unless you rope drop and sit on main street all. day. long, you cannot expect to watch the show and should just proceed as if it weren't happening. Is this true?

Not true in my experience, unless you want a bench seat. I saw the 2nd showing in 2015 and I think we only waited about an hour. We got really good spots, too, right behind the benches. The first showing might be more competitive, but even so I don't remember seeing hoards of people saving spaces early in the day. Maybe in the afternoon, though. I didn't specifically check when it started filling up, I just remember park hopping all day and I don't remember the area being crowded until after dark.

 

[GenGen22]

I'm on the Patina Group email listing and they just sent me an email about Breakfast with Santa at Catal if anyone's interesated it ounds like a fun event.

Christmas in July Promotion!
Breakfast with Santa pre-sale tickets are now available! Purchase your tickets by July 31, 2017 and you will also receive a $30 Preferred Gift Card valid at all four Patina Restaurant Group locations (Catal, Uva Bar & Café, Naples Ristorante and Tortilla Jo’s) through November 1, 2017.
This December, join Santa and his elves for a fun-filled family event including a family-style breakfast, Charles Dickens’ carolers, hot cocoa cart, personalized stockings for the children, pictures with Santa, and a Build-A-Bear Workshop™ teddy bear given to each child from the big man himself!

https://patina.social/catal-restaur...UR DATES&utm_campaign=Catal Christmas in July

 

[blondietink]

Sounds great, but we are leaving the day before the first breakfast. Also, I could do without the $75.00 per adult. YIKES!

 

[Tink1987]

We are arriving on December 2nd for 7 nights. Thinking of staying at the Hotel Indigo Anaheim again as we loved it there before. Staying for so long this trip as on our previous DL trips we have done 3 and 2 x 4 nights and just never find it enough time to while away a couple of hours in Trader Sams or try a different restaurant in Downtown Disney without thinking we have to be in the parks or we haven't done this attraction yet etc.

We are so happy to have finally booked this trip, we have been planning on going again during the holiday season for a while and it is our 2nd wedding anniversary but my husband has a huge work project coming up and the dates kept being moved around. We were told he could have 2 weeks in September/October and then finally he got it confirmed this week he can have time off in December. We screamed and jumped around a lot that night when he got home, we have been waiting 6 months for this to be confirmed. We were in Disneyland in March for my 30th which was awesome and we are annual pass holders now as we knew we were visiting twice this year. It means such a lot to us being AP holders being all the way from the UK and every cast member we spoke too in March were like you're annual pass holders?!

I've just read about the holiday afternoon tea at Steakhouse 55 and have done some more screaming and jumping around, how good does it look?!. I haven't been able to stop humming and singing Silver Bells since we found out my husband could have December off and have watched my favourite holiday offering, the Buena Vista Street community bell ringers, about 694782518 times on YouTube so far. We saw them 2 days after our wedding in 2015 and they sung mele kalikimaka and we were flying out to Aulani the day after for the rest of our honeymoon. Perfect Disney memories

Looking forward to getting to know you all, sharing/swopping tips and reading all about your plans!

 

[GlitteryOtters]

We are arriving on December 2nd for 7 nights. Thinking of staying at the Hotel Indigo Anaheim again as we loved it there before. Staying for so long this trip as on our previous DL trips we have done 3, 4 and 4 nights and just never find it enough time to while away a couple of hours in Trader Sams or try a different restaurant in Downtown Disney without thinking we have to be in the parks or we haven't done this attraction yet etc.

We are so happy to have finally booked this trip, we have been planning on going again during the holiday season for a while and it is our 2nd wedding anniversary but my husband has a huge work project coming up and the dates kept being moved around. We were told he could have 2 weeks in September/October and then finally he got it confirmed this week he can have time off in December. We screamed and jumped around a lot that night when he got home, we have been waiting 6 months for this to be confirmed. We were in Disneyland in March for my 30th which was awesome and we are annual pass holders now as we knew we were visiting twice this year. It means such a lot to us being AP holders being all the way from the UK and every cast member we spoke too in March were like you're annual pass holders?!

I've just read about the holiday afternoon tea at Steakhouse 55 and have done some more screaming and jumping around, how good does it look?!. I haven't been able to stop humming and singing Silver Bells since we found out my husband could have December off and have watched my favourite holiday offering, the Buena Vista Street community bell ringers, about 694782518 times on YouTube so far. We saw them 2 days after our wedding in 2015 and they sung mele kalikimaka and we were flying out to Aulani the day after for the rest of our honeymoon. Perfect Disney memories

Looking forward to getting to know you all, sharing/swopping tips and reading all about your plans!

Ahhh, that is so perfect that you were able to get the time off right in time for Christmastime in Disneyland! I'm flying in the same day (although not from quite so far away--I'm an AP holder from Michigan!) & find the longer trips are really ideal for me, too. Have fun with the planning! It should be such an awesome trip!

~Meg

 

[Tink1987]

Ahhh, that is so perfect that you were able to get the time off right in time for Christmastime in Disneyland! I'm flying in the same day (although not from quite so far away--I'm an AP holder from Michigan!) & find the longer trips are really ideal for me, too. Have fun with the planning! It should be such an awesome trip!

~Meg

Sounds like we are both chasing some winter sun

 

[GlitteryOtters]

Sounds like we are both chasing some winter sun

Yes, definitely! It's also a good chance for my Northern California dwellling mother, Southern California dwelling sister & I to get to see each other sort of near the holidays (between my husband's college classes, his entire family living in Michigan, and his workplace being insanely busy from mid-November through the end of December, he and I always stay home in Michigan for Christmas). Also, neither my mother nor I have been Disneyland at Christmastime since 1984, so I think we are a bit overdue for a Disneyland Christmas trip! I have another DL trip coming up before this one, but I am SO excited for the Christmas trip that I have spent the afternoon listening to the Countdown To Christmas Radio (year round Christmas music) internet radio station.

~Meg

 

[Sherry E]

I live in Southern California, and I prefer the winter sun to the summer sun! We get "summer" weather (relative to what happens in a lot of other states) for the better part of the year, so it's nice to have a respite from the harsh sun for a short couple of months. We can easily still see 80-degree days in December (I remember being at DLR once in December when it was 90 degrees), but, despite the temperatures, the sun seems to be much harsher prior to, say, mid-November. Once mid-November rolls around, an 80-degree day can feel much less harsh than an 80-degree day in the middle of August, if that makes sense!

That said, I am in the process of trying to write an article about Christmas in July, and am finding it hard to get into a Christmas mindset as I sit next to a window with the summer sun shining right on it! I think I need to find that Christmas music radio station to help get me in a Christmas mood. Thank you for mentioning it, Meg!

 

[GlitteryOtters]

That said, I am in the process of trying to write an article about Christmas in July, and am finding it hard to get into a Christmas mindset as I sit next to a window with the summer sun shining right on it! I think I need to find that Christmas music radio station to help get me in a Christmas mood. Thank you for mentioning it, Meg!

Here's the website...: http://c2c.audio/ you can stream it on the web, download the mobile app (like I did!), or stream it on apps like iheartradio. Definitely good at getting you in the Christmas mood! I grew up in Southern CA too (and remember some of those 80+ degree December days..I lived a mile from DL for about half of the 80s & definitely remember visiting the park during Christmas vacation one year in just a t-shirt & jeans, no coat or sweater...so weird when there are Christmas decorations up!). Classic Christmas music & movies were always what we used to help us get in the mood for the season, so I'm still pretty addicted to them, despite having full access to winter here. Good luck on the article, I hope the music helps!

~Meg

 

[mmmears]

I'm thinking of going after New Years... Does anyone know when the decorations and the ride overlays disappear? I'd love to get to see them all, but with lower crowd levels.

 

[Sherry E]

I'm thinking of going after New Years... Does anyone know when the decorations and the ride overlays disappear? I'd love to get to see them all, but with lower crowd levels.

My guess is that the holiday season will officially end after Sunday, January 7, 2018.

So, if that is accurate, Haunted Mansion Holiday would be closed on Monday, January 8th, and all of the other decorations and overlays would start coming down over the next couple of days (Mardi Gras masks in New Orleans Square should be up until Mardi Gras, though). The one ride overlay that should stay open for 2 or 3 extra weeks would be It's a Small World Holiday -- which traditionally closes later in January.

Santa may disappear from some locations (though not necessarily all of them) after Christmas Day, so he is not guaranteed to be out after the New Year, though you might see him somewhere. Christmas carolers should probably be gone too.

As for the hotel trees and decorations, I keep seeing mixed reports on that. Some folks say that everything is up at all of the hotels all the way through the official end of the season in January, and I have seen other reports to indicate that some things at the hotels start to come down right after January 1st or even before that. So I'm not sure.

But I'd say that January 7, 2018 will likely be the last day of the season.

 

[Sherry E]

I think this was already a given (in fact, I included it on my list of things I was pretty sure would be returning this year), and we all already knew this, but it's nice to see it in print for confirmation (just in case there was any lingering doubt).

The Christmas Fantasy Parade and Viva Navidad are both definitely coming back -- no doubt about it. It has been confirmed. Auditions are being held this month for performers in both events, as per the Disney Auditions website (Viva Navidad was listed on the site a while ago -- at least last month, if not prior, but I hadn't seen the Christmas Fantasy Parade listing the last time I checked).

And.... the performers in the Christmas Fantasy Parade have to be available from Nov. 10, 2017 - Jan. 7, 2018.

So.. those are our ****official holiday season dates -- November 10th through January 7, 2018!!****

(However, don't be shocked if several things soft open before November 10th!)

 

[chttyangel]

Well it is official; I have lost my mind.....even thou we are already leaving for WDW/Disney Cruise on Jan 12th; we are now also going to DL for the holidays. We had a August trip that had to be rescheduled. So count us in for 11/13-11/15. It will be a girls trip; leaving the husbands and kids at home! Still looking for a hotel...all the usual seem a little high those dates. So if anyone has a good suggestion I will be planning soon!

 

[Susie63]

Well it is official; I have lost my mind.....even thou we are already leaving for WDW/Disney Cruise on Jan 12th; we are now also going to DL for the holidays. We had a August trip that had to be rescheduled. So count us in for 11/13-11/15. It will be a girls trip; leaving the husbands and kids at home! Still looking for a hotel...all the usual seem a little high those dates. So if anyone has a good suggestion I will be planning soon!

That sounds like fun. Welcome to the thread!

 

[Tink1987]

Rumours are that PTN is back in November

Apparently it is moving to DCA! If it does, what's the likelihood of the Christmas Fantasy parade being at night in DL? Has it ever run on the night?

 

[Susie63]

That would be awesome! I loved PTN.

 

[mom2rtk]

Rumours are that PTN is back in November

Apparently it is moving to DCA! If it does, what's the likelihood of the Christmas Fantasy parade being at night in DL? Has it ever run on the night?

It used to always run at night. Last year was very unusual not to have it running at night.