OFFICIAL 2018 Christmas & Holiday Time at DLR Superthread!!

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.

Good info, thank you! Leaning towards sticking with more park days as it looks like crowds could really be hit or miss. I feel like with maxpass and good planning we can get a lot done in 4 full and 1 partial day. We're also afternoon breakers, so the more days the better.
 
Oh, yeah! We are afternoon breakers too, which I think is a good incentive to lean towards more days. We will be trying out Maxpass in November for our first time so will be hoping it is worth the extra money... for us and you too.
 
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.

December is just busy. Well, I call it other things but you can't say that here. :teeth:

I vote more days! It'll be a crush no matter when you go, so more time is better imo. Your earlier trip will be over the Candlelight Processional weekend, but this is the week that I go and I don't find the show terribly disruptive once it starts. We stay away from Main Street, use Fast Pass, plan on dining or dessert instead of maxing out on rides, and just go with the flow.

The 12-16 period includes weekdays right before the blockout dates for most annual passes, and also that Friday and Saturday is the first weekend of the December holiday vacation stretch. A lot of people take the week off from work before Christmas and that makes the 15th their first night of freedom! I've done Disneyland during that weekend a few times and remember feeling how bad it was.
 


I’m always in the more park days boat..

December is just busy. Well, I call it other things but you can't say that here. :teeth:

I vote more days! It'll be a crush no matter when you go, so more time is better imo. Your earlier trip will be over the Candlelight Processional weekend, but this is the week that I go and I don't find the show terribly disruptive once it starts. We stay away from Main Street, use Fast Pass, plan on dining or dessert instead of maxing out on rides, and just go with the flow.

The 12-16 period includes weekdays right before the blockout dates for most annual passes, and also that Friday and Saturday is the first weekend of the December holiday vacation stretch. A lot of people take the week off from work before Christmas and that makes the 15th their first night of freedom! I've done Disneyland during that weekend a few times and remember feeling how bad it was.

Thanks guys! Looks like I'll stick with the 1-6 dates for more park dates plus I've already scheduled the flights. Not having to call an airline is always a plus. :D
 
My mom and I (and possibly DS) will be there Nov. 27 through Dec. 1. Will be there for my B-Day!!! Very excited. Mom has never been at Christmas.
 


I'm not going this year, but I'm just starting to plan a Christmas trip to surprise my mom & sister next year (2019). They live in GA, and i'm moving to Oregon with DH this summer, so I thought Christmas at Disneyland next year might be a perfect trip! Watching this post with interest
 
Question for those who have been at Christmas time. Which park has the better Santa? I would love to get family photos with both but with my teenagers I’ll be lucky to get one! They’ve been warned that we are getting pictures with Santa and I want to know which one I should pick.
 
Question for those who have been at Christmas time. Which park has the better Santa? I would love to get family photos with both but with my teenagers I’ll be lucky to get one! They’ve been warned that we are getting pictures with Santa and I want to know which one I should pick.
I like the set up in DCA for Santa...Its over in the Redwood Creek challenge trail area and very well themed. DCA_RCCTHOLIDAY_20171209_8140324641.jpg
 
Question for those who have been at Christmas time. Which park has the better Santa? I would love to get family photos with both but with my teenagers I’ll be lucky to get one! They’ve been warned that we are getting pictures with Santa and I want to know which one I should pick.
Last time we saw Santa was at DCA in one of the shops. He was a very good Santa.
 
We'll be going the week after Thanksgiving... In the parks Nov 27-Nov 30 (maybe the 1st too, depends on how the week goes). We'll be spending the weekend at the beach. Staying at the Residence Inn Convention Center.

We've never been during the holidays so we're pretty excited about it! I didn't know they had Santa... love it. Is Santa there during the whole holiday season or just nearer to Christmas?
 
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Me and my hunny will be going to DL 12/4-12/6 this year. Can't wait! Staying at the Homewood Suites on Harbor Blvd next to the Toy Story lot.
 
Does anyone know if there are dining packages available for the holiday parade? We are going to eat at Blue Bayou on this trip and I figured if there is a dining package available I’d book it! Also trying to decide where to use our character meal vouchers from Costco...
 
Does anyone know if there are dining packages available for the holiday parade? We are going to eat at Blue Bayou on this trip and I figured if there is a dining package available I’d book it! Also trying to decide where to use our character meal vouchers from Costco...

There have not been in the past. The only way to get seating, besides being a VIP. private tour etc., has been taking the Holiday Tour.
 
There have not been in the past. The only way to get seating, besides being a VIP. private tour etc., has been taking the Holiday Tour.
Does anyone know if there are dining packages available for the holiday parade? We are going to eat at Blue Bayou on this trip and I figured if there is a dining package available I’d book it! Also trying to decide where to use our character meal vouchers from Costco...


There haven’t been like
Mentioned above. I will say we went on days last year that the park was at capacity and were still able to get great parade seats right on the curb with a little planning. Hubby went and hung out about an hour before the parade right in front of carnation cafe.

Ooooo just thinking about the Christmas parade gets me so excited! We are about 4 months away from our trip!
 

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