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crazi4dlr
03-11-2005, 09:54 AM
I have been going to Disneyland since 1961 - although I was a toddler and only know I was there because of the pics :rolleyes:

This year my siblings and I have decided to have a family reunion at DLR and have chosen to go the week of Dec 4th. I have never been to DLR for the holidays and am really excited about this. Can anyone tell me what I have to look forward to, what's the weather like? how crowded does it get? Any and all input would be appreciated. Thanks.

Crazy4DL
03-11-2005, 10:19 AM
I have been going to Disneyland since 1961 - although I was a toddler and only know I was there because of the pics :rolleyes:

This year my siblings and I have decided to have a family reunion at DLR and have chosen to go the week of Dec 4th. I have never been to DLR for the holidays and am really excited about this. Can anyone tell me what I have to look forward to, what's the weather like? how crowded does it get? Any and all input would be appreciated. Thanks.


We have been to Disneyland during Christmas time twice and Disneyland is even more beautiful and magical during the holidays. From what I read Dec 4th should be really good for not having huge crowds and you will still have all the decorations and holiday things. We actually went right on Christmas week both times - in 1989 it wasn't too crazy but when we went Christmas - New Year in 03-04 the crowds were unbelievable and it was a little colder than we had expected and it rain a couple of times but we still had a great family holiday trip. Have the time of your lives!!

Mommy2NicknMax
03-11-2005, 10:32 AM
If you're going to be at DL on Dec 4th, keep in mind that should be the weekend of Candlelight Processional. That will draw extra crowds. Plus isn't there some cast holiday parties that week too? Monday and Tuesday? I'm going by last year. With the cast parties I believe the park closes early?

Chadsgal
03-11-2005, 10:59 AM
LOVE DISNEYLAND DURRING THE HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been for New Years twice and although the crowds were crazy (they close the doors to the park at 11:00AM) The atmosphere was almost more magical than normal :)

pisces
03-11-2005, 11:04 AM
I was thinking of going during the Candlelight Procession......but I had such a fabulous time the week between Christmas and New Years, I'm telling y'all, I'm still looking for all those crowds that were supposed to have shown up during that week,.........that I'm going that week again this year.

I just love the fact that from Dec 27, till Jan 1, or 2....you can still catch the Christmas spirit in full force. I like to see all the Christmas stuff out. Be there until the very last day of their Christmas. Prolong it as much as possible.

Christmas and Disneyland were made for eachother.

mystycalchyk
03-11-2005, 11:05 AM
Disneyland for the Holidays is perfection personified :)


Mommy2NicknMax is right though....youmay be going doruing the wek of the candlelight procesional which I have yet to see *jealous* and they did have a cast party last year (IIRC on the 6th???) and the park closed early one day. You may want to see if you can check the dates for those ite,s (I dont know if you can check this early though.....you may have to call and ask directly at Disneyland)

So the crowds may be bigger than normal for that, but other than that its wonderful. Everything should be open and in full swing. The decdorations are fabulous, and theres even more magic in the air than any other time.

The fireworks (assuming they dont change this season) are great and the snow at the end is beautiful :)

Have a wonderful time :)

Pisces the crowds were weakened this last year that week because of the rain. Look for them and me this year though. I'll be there as usual...in the hub on NYE :D

pisces
03-11-2005, 11:12 AM
Mysty: What if it rains this year, that week? California is in a very wet period. I've already got my rubber boots pepared, and I've got a more sturdy poncho/slicker ready to go.

By the way, I love the rain, although I know others weren't too thrilled. I thought it somehow made things all the more romantic. Again, I'd been seeing things through the eyes of dry feet, (My cozy rubber rain boots).....I'm sure it's not quite that romantic with soggy shoes.

Anyway, I'll look for you this upcoming NYE. I'll be there, and I've sworn not to fall asleep during the fireworks.... :rolleyes: the way I did this past NYE. It had been a long day, and I'd been up since early morning at the maingate......

I won't sleep through this year's NYE fireworks, though, no matter how much coffee I have to consume.

mystycalchyk
03-11-2005, 11:27 AM
Meh if it rains again it rains again. No biggie. Granted I would havwe preferred it NOT but we were fine. Its a wonderful time no matter what happens.

If you were there you had to have seen me. I was the chick sitting on the bench in the hub from the second the park opened till 1 am. Even in the full blown torrential wind and rain I sat there, huddled and shivering...determined to keep my bench :D all day long.

:geek: *geek* :geek:

Walt'sbirthdaygirl
03-11-2005, 03:27 PM
If you're going to be at DL on Dec 4th, keep in mind that should be the weekend of Candlelight Processional. That will draw extra crowds. Plus isn't there some cast holiday parties that week too? Monday and Tuesday? I'm going by last year. With the cast parties I believe the park closes early?
Holiday cast parties and Candlelight, are usually both around that time, but we go every year and just work around the early closings for the cast parties and the crowds.

Monte Cristo
03-11-2005, 05:19 PM
A few points, if I may...

1.) The holidays, IMO, is absolutely the BEST time to go to DL. The Disneyland experience meshed with Christmas is unbelievable. The decorations are beautiful, the holiday overlays on HM and IASW are so much more fun than the originals (the last room in IASWH is like floating through a Christmas tree). You're gonna love everything - don't forget to get a hot chocolate and relax by the tree on Main Street at least once.

2.) To those who say the CM parties are the first week of December - I'm not so sure about that. When I was planning last year's trip, I originally booked for the first week of December in anticipation of beating the late-month crowds. I found out about the cast parties and how they close the park at 6 one one or two nights. No good, so I re-booked our trip for mid-November (GREAT time to go, incidentally. ALL the holiday decorations, and NONE of the crowds). I later found out that the CM parties were actually held the week of December 10th. Sooooo...don't assume the CM parties are the first week of Dec. Which leads me to my next point...

3.) I wouldn't let that stop me from booking the week of the CM parties. Now, I LOVE DL at night. IASWH at night is breathtaking. However, I notice that after 6 all the locals come out and the park gets very, VERY crowded. I don't mind crowds necessarily, but this year I'm not going to purposely avoid the park if it closes at 6 on a couple of days of our stay. After barely being able to get through Main Street a few nights last year, it's simply not THAT big a deal to me to be at DL late. As long as we have one or two late nights just to soak up the atmosphere, I'm fine with the early closings.

So there's my 0.02. :)

Susan L
03-11-2005, 05:54 PM
I grew up on Disneyland and never went during the holidays until 2001. It was wonderful. I would like to go again sometime. You will really enjoy it. The place is decorated beautifully. The crowds shouldn't be to bad. Have a wonderful time.

WITron
03-11-2005, 08:42 PM
We are also planing our trip for that week. One of the reasons is the candlelight procession. I have seen it several times in the past and it is really a neat treat. The only down side is that weekend is really crowded because of it, but during the week it should be alot less crowded. The holiday time at the park is our favorite time. There is just something about the decorations on Main Street as you walk down towards the castle, especially at night. The only thing I am debating on this trip is wether to get an AP for that week or get a City Pass for 3 days and go to Knotts 1 day.

itig
03-11-2005, 10:22 PM
No good, so I re-booked our trip for mid-November (GREAT time to go, incidentally. ALL the holiday decorations, and NONE of the crowds).

Does anyone know what date in November the decorations go up? We pretty much always go the first week in December, but noticed last time it has gotten rather crowded during this time. I know we need to avoid the Thanksgiving rush, but would love to find that "slow" window before when the lights are up and IASW and HM are changed over.

bradk
03-11-2005, 11:08 PM
HMH is primarily for halloween, so that's done well before november (in september actually). IASW should be done by november 4 by the schedule i've seen.

but to really answer your question, traditionally speaking, the entire week after thanksgiving is one of the park's deadest and most of the christmas decorations should be up by then, but there may be additional things and events that don't occur until december, which should still be fairly slow as well up until the christmas break, although i've read the candle processions can bring in a crowd.

Monte Cristo
03-12-2005, 07:09 AM
Does anyone know what date in November the decorations go up? We pretty much always go the first week in December, but noticed last time it has gotten rather crowded during this time. I know we need to avoid the Thanksgiving rush, but would love to find that "slow" window before when the lights are up and IASW and HM are changed over.

THe decorations, overlays, and Main Street tree are up by Nov. 5th. The only element that doesn't run until the week of Thanksgiving is the Christmas parade.

As I stated earlier, I've gone in mid-November twice now (both times included a Saturday and Sunday for that matter) and both times the longest we had to wait was maybe 15-20 for something like Indy. The park is crowded enough for atmosphere but the lines are really short or manageable. (With one exception - Peter Pan. I'm convinced you could sneak into DL at three in the morning and find a 40 minute wait for that ride.) I've read on various boards that the two or three weeks prior to the week of Christmas aren't bad - in fact I'm gonna test that this year as we're planning our holiday trip for the week of Dec. 12th. We're doing Tuesday - Saturday. Hopefully, it won't be bad. We'll see.

Disney Vault
03-12-2005, 10:29 AM
I just went last December and it was my first time seeing all the holiday decorations. I loved it so much and it isn't as crowed compared to the rest of the year. We didn't even have to bother with fastpasses on most days.

smjoseph
03-12-2005, 11:56 AM
1st or 2nd week of December is rarely busy and usually dry. It is my favorite time of the year to go. In fact I have a vacation planned to DLR during that period. You will enjoy this!

crazi4dlr
03-12-2005, 02:59 PM
Thanks everyone for the input. As for the CM Parties, no big deal. We went on our honeymoon in '96 and were there the 1st week of June and the park closed early several nights for grad parties so this doesn't bother us. I just want to make sure my family has a memorable time since everyone of us is sooooo excited about seeing DL in it's holiday dress. If there are any special things for kids, other than the parade and the fireworks, please let me know. Do they do the snow every night? And is the Candlelight Procession a one time thing on the weekend of the 4th? Thanks for all the good stuff.

Disney Vault
03-12-2005, 04:10 PM
They have cookie decorating at the firehouse for kids (and kids at heart). I don't know how they are going to do the snow this december. Remember it is the 50th so there wont be the christmas fireworks so I don't know how they will tie in the snow. Maybe they will just add it onto the end of their 50th firework show.

Monte Cristo
03-12-2005, 05:44 PM
Maybe it's just me, but I found the snow effect to be underwhelming to say the least.

The fireworks are great...snow? Ah. Much ado about very little.

itig
03-12-2005, 07:57 PM
(With one exception - Peter Pan. I'm convinced you could sneak into DL at three in the morning and find a 40 minute wait for that ride.)

LOL! So true regarding Peter Pan!

We're currently booked for 12/5-12/10, which is usually when we go. It just seems to have gotten more crowded. Based on your info. I think I'm going to take a look at some November dates and see what my options are.

Thanks for the info (thanks bradk as well!)

Mermaid
03-12-2005, 09:11 PM
I went last year Dec 2-4. The CP was on the 4th and the crowds were huge for that but the other days it wasn't bad at all. Thursday the 2nd was great!!! My bf and i really enjoyed the Holiday Tour. I was a little worried that he would think it was cheesy or I would not learn much but was dead wrong on both accounts. It was well worth the $ and it was awesome to have the reserved seats for the parade! It was also way colder after dark than I thought it would be. The hats, gloves and scarves were selling fast and not cheaply either!! You will have an awesome time, it is just beautiful at that time of year!!!

Monte Cristo
03-13-2005, 09:51 AM
LOL! So true regarding Peter Pan!

We're currently booked for 12/5-12/10, which is usually when we go. It just seems to have gotten more crowded. Based on your info. I think I'm going to take a look at some November dates and see what my options are.



I'd strongly recommend the week of Nov. 14th (if planning on including weekends, I suggest the weekend that comes before the 14th rather than after). You're smack dab in the middle of the month, with the following week being Thanksgiving just about no one is off.

Just a warning: the Christmas parade isn't up and running yet. One of the reasons we're booking our trip for December this year is because I would like to see it.

Man...all this talk about the holidays and DL leave me a little depressed...we're TEN MONTHS AWAY!!! :crying:

itig
03-15-2005, 03:33 PM
I'd strongly recommend the week of Nov. 14th (if planning on including weekends, I suggest the weekend that comes before the 14th rather than after). You're smack dab in the middle of the month, with the following week being Thanksgiving just about no one is off.

Just a warning: the Christmas parade isn't up and running yet. One of the reasons we're booking our trip for December this year is because I would like to see it.

Man...all this talk about the holidays and DL leave me a little depressed...we're TEN MONTHS AWAY!!! :crying:

Thanks for the info..and sorry for the delay in response. That narrows it down nicely for me. So now, I'm debating between the week of the 7th and 14th. I think I'll change my reservations to the week of the 14th based on your suggestion, but wondering if the week prior would be slower due to its distance from Thanksgiving.

I'm a bit burnt on the Christmas parade at this point and wouldn't really miss it. I'm assuming they'll be running the 50th parade, which is what I'm really interested in seeing. Will they be running both in December?

pisces
03-15-2005, 04:21 PM
"Man...all this talk about the holidays and DL leave me a little depressed...we're TEN MONTHS AWAY!!!"----Monte Cristo

We are not 10 months away. By whose count?

The official start of the season is about 2 weeks before Halloween. Halloween, and all the preparations leading up to it, really kicks off the Holiday season. That's only a little over 6 months away.

The Harvest Moon in September signals the change in seasons, and the crispness in the air. That's only about 5 months away.

And, QVC's Christmas In July is only a little over 3 months away. That's when I begin my celebration and festivities.

Christmas is right around the corner.

This year has flown by. Easter is less than two weeks away.