Holiday Time at DLR Trip Report

[alleinesein]

My mom and I have our annual holiday trip to Disneyland the second weekend of December.  This year was a bit different but we still had fun.

Friday (12/9)- Drove up in the morning with a friend.  Got to the Disneyland hotel around 11:30am and checked in.  Headed over to Trader Sam's for lunch and adult beverages.  We managed to snag a table in the bar; there were 2 empty tables left when we got there at 11:45am (they open at 11:30am).  We headed into DCA around 1:15pm and spent some time just checking out the entertainment in the Paradise Pier section of the park.  They had a Cuban band playing and shortly after that we checked out the Viva Navidad street party with the Three Caballeros.  After that we hit up the Silly Symphony Swings, King Triton's Carousel and walked onto California Screamin (it had been down and they opened it up just as we walked by).  We watched Blue 13 perform (Indian dance troupe) and they did a mix of traditional and Bollywood dancing.  Grabbed a beer at one of the festival marketplaces on our way to Disneyland.  At Disneyland we managed to snag a great spot for the Christmas parade (security let us go up to the train station to watch it).  After the Christmas parade we headed back to the hotel to change clothes and relax for a bit.  Headed back into DCA and rode Soarin and then used the single rider line for Radiator Springs Racers.  Headed back over to Disneyland and grabbed a FP for Buzz, grabbed dinner at Pizza Port, rode Star Tours and then checked out the fireworks.  Rode Buzz after the fireworks and then headed back to the hotel to crash.

Saturday (12/10)- Mom and friend's arrived at 6:30am and we headed over to Disneyland.  Extra Magic Hours started at 7am so we headed over to the park around 6:50am and by 7:10am we were in line for Hyperspace Mountain.  After that we rode Star Tours, Buzz, its a small world, and the storybook canal boats.  Breakfast was at the Plaza Inn at 9am with Minnie and Friends.  After breakfast we hit up Big Thunder Mountain RR, Haunted Mansion, Jingle Cruise, Tiki Room (with Dole whip floats!) and then headed back to the hotel for about an hour.  After our little breather we went to DCA and grabbed a FP for Soarin and headed over to California Screamin.  Played a few games on the boardwalk, rode the carousel again and then rode CS.  Headed back to Soarin for our FP time and they were having issues with the ride.  It was down to 1 screen and the FP wait time was 30 minutes and standby was 110 minutes!!  After riding Soarin we headed over to RSR and did the single rider line again.  Dinner was at Carthay Circle at 6:40pm and I picked the perfect time.  They were doing the Disneyland fireworks early that night (7pm) and we lucked out and got seated on the patio at Carthay Circle and had a perfect view of the fireworks.  They even piped in the music for the fireworks!  We did the WOC dining package and they made a few changes to the menu and added some upgrade options.  We did the early show for WOC and headed over to the viewing area right after we got done with dinner.  The new WOC is great but if you end up in one of the front sections you will get wet!  The viewing section we were in was in the back and we were getting a ton of mist from the show.  The show had a mix of Christmas songs paired with clips from various Disney movies and cartoons.  After WOC we went back to the hotel and crashed.

Sunday (12/11)- Got up around 8am and had breakfast at La Brea bakery.  We all opted not to deal with the crowds in the park so after breakfast we stored our bags and checked out of the hotel.  Mom and I did a little shopping in DCA and Disneyland before heading home.  This was when our relatively problem free weekend ended.  When we went to get our bags from bell services they could not find them so I had to go back with the CM and help search.  It took about 15 minutes to find them since the bellman who brought them down did not log them in their book and he put the bag with the main claim tag on the inside of the shelf; it didn't help that he also placed the 2 most identifiable bags on the inside of the shelf so they were harder to find in the sea of black suitcases!  Issue #2 happened when we got home.  Since I rode up with a friend and then drove home with my mom she is the one who valet parked the car.  She didn't check the key-chain when we left since I was driving and when we got home I asked her for the house key since it was not on the key chain.  The valet staff managed to lose half of the key chain when they had the car keys!!  They lost the actual key chain that was attached to the car keys and the lone house key that was on that key chain.  It was not a small key chain either since my mom has one of those annoying purse hooks as her key chain.  

Both parks were really crowded on all 3 days which is unusual for this particular weekend in December.  We picked this weekend because it is after the candlelight procession and before kids get out of school so it tends to be busy but not insane.

They are moving the security checkpoint so now you will be able to clear security in downtown Disney.  The new checkpoint on the west side of DD is at the ESPN Zone right next to the Adventure Tower at the Disneyland hotel; there is also an additional one at the DD parking lot between the ESPN Zone and the Rainforest Cafe.  Hopefully this will make getting onto the monorail faster.  They are also supposed to be adding security screening at the Mickey and Friends parking lot.  Because of the new security location they did not have the skating rink this year.

They opened a Sprinkles Cupcakes in DD.  It is in the old Something Silver store.  We had a few different flavors and I still am not a huge fan of them.

They now have Dole Whips available at the Disneyland hotel.  You can get a dole whip, dole whip float or a dole whip with rum at the coffeehouse next to Goofy's Kitchen.  I wish I had known about this when I was up there; I found out about it on Monday.  They better still be doing it when I am up there next month!

We used our DVC points to stay at the Disneyland Hotel.  We ended up in the Adventure tower overlooking downtown Disney.  Not counting our shopping we spent about $300 for food for 2 people- $50 on Friday (included alcohol), $200 on Saturday (breakfast, dole whips, WOC dining at Carthay Circle) and about $40 on Sunday for breakfast.  We also spent about $15 at Starbucks.  We have APs so no cost to get into the park.  

Main Street is a mess at night right now.  Between the 2 nighttime parades and the fireworks it is just a sea of people and you really cant go anywhere.  If anyone plans on being up there during the holidays pick a side of the park and stay there for the evening.  You will waste valuable time just trying to cross main street!  You can view the fireworks from various locations in the park so if you don't really need to see the projections on the castle I recommend the viewing area next to the BTMRR exit (and the fireworks look really cool above the ride).  You can also see them over by its a small world so if you want to watch PTN from that section of the park you can scope out a spot early and watch the fireworks from there while you wait for the parade.

Fast passes for Hyperspace Mountain, Soarin and RSR go fast so hit those rides first to either ride them or grab a FP.  

The Festival of Holidays at DCA has a lot going on.  We didn't get a chance to check out much of the food options but I did try the short rib with mashed potatoes and sauerbraten sauce and a Raspberry sour beer.  Most of the food items cost $6-$9 so it can get a bit pricey if you want to try a lot of things.

I saw a new Disneyland cat on Saturday.  Francisco was hanging out in the normal spot by GRR and there was another cat chillin with Francisco.  2 kitties in one day!