Disneyland Update – Candy Canes, Candlelight & Holiday Surprise!

Did you survive Black Friday? You might have given up on the notion of visiting Disneyland this holiday season due to crowds and lack of park reservations… but a sudden shift in park availability opened up both parks on Thanksgiving day and throughout the weekend. We’ll show you what the parks looked like on one of the traditionally busiest weekends of the year. Plus, Rise resists, small world has big problems, holiday happenings, and much more…

First, to get you in the mood, lets light the tree…

It’s a Jolly Busy Holiday…

Disney diehards have known for decades that the holidays are the busy season at Disneyland. In a normal year, waits will swell to their maximum and the park would reach gridlock conditions before fireworks.  But this year is different.

While the parks absolutely feel busy, they aren’t anywhere near the sort of conditions we are accustomed to. That’s due to required park reservations. So, for the first time in forever, this is actually a much more enjoyable holiday season… if you can get a reservation.

Getting a reservation isn’t quite as impossible as you may think either. While all dates were previously sold out for Magic Keys through the end of the year, the entire month of December suddenly opened up last week with additional spots (and then promptly filled back up again). On top of that, reservations for Thanksgiving weekend also opened up mid day on Thanksgiving, allowing those who lived close enough to head to the park on some of the traditionally busiest days of the year. We’re guessing that someone at Disney realized they had a lot of guests not show up and they opened the flood gates. But as of last night, December was booked solid again for Magic Keys (though, you could still snag a reservation for today!)

We visited the parks on Friday and Saturday and found hit and miss crowding. There were times that mega-attractions, like Rise of the Resistance, had waits of 3 hours… but there were also times when the wait was only 75 to 90 minutes for those same attractions.  

While 160 minutes for Rise of the Resistance on Saturday sounds scary… 30 minutes for Millennium Falcon and less than 20 minutes for Big Thunder and Star Tours was great.  (Tip: Rise of the Resistance has the longest wait in the first couple of hours of operation and then again just after folks park-hop from DCA after 1pm, at other times of the day it can be amazingly reasonable.)

And, while New Orleans Square and Fantasyland could feel busy, there were places that also felt wide open, such as parts of Galaxy’s Edge. 

If seeing the Christmas Fantasy Parade isn’t your priority, you can really take advantage of lower waits everywhere else in the park during those times… the same is true just before and during the fireworks. Crowds thin out quickly after Believe in Holiday Magic fireworks.  

Candlelight 

A long-held Disneyland tradition will return on December 4th and 5th, the Candlelight Processional. The magical event dates back to 1958. Celebrity narrators join an orchestra as well as local & Disney employee choirs to tell the Christmas story. Highlights include trumpeters atop the Main Street Train Station, and a tree made up of the Disney cast choir. A-List celebrity narrators have included superstars such as Cary Grant, John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Dick Van Dyke, James Earl Jones, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. 

If you’d like to see Candlelight, be prepared for frustration. A small number of seats are set aside for invited guests, VIPs, and Club 33 members. But the general public is welcome to watch from the sides and rear of the viewing area. However, due to the limited amount of space and the popularity of the event, hundreds of guests will wait all day for the few spots in the first performance of each day. 

The first show each day will be at 5:30pm. But your best bet is to swoop in as the first show ends and wait until the 2nd nightly showing at 7:45pm.  

Candy Canes Return to Disneyland December 7th! 

Disneyland’s hand-pulled candy canes have achieved cult status over the years. Candy Palace at Disneyland will offer the treats on some days and Trolley Treats at DCA will offer them on others… but they aren’t available every day, so you really do need to plan out your attempt to obtain them. 

Once you arrive at the park offering Candy Canes for the day, you’ll check in with cast members at the candy shop to be added to a mobile waitlist.  Spots will go quickly, we recommend arriving well before park opening and checking to see if a queue has been established outside the gate.  

Here’s the current schedule for candy canes for this holiday season: 

• Candy Palace at Disneyland park: Dec. 7, 9,15, 21, 23
• Trolley Treats at Disney California Adventure park: Dec. 8, 14, 16, 22
  

But even if you don’t score a candy cane, there are some new treats worth checking out this year: 

New cookie pies have arrived. There’s a triple chocolate brownie, a peanut butter and chocolate, and peppermint and chocolate available. We took a triple chocolate home on Saturday night and it was really good… especially after we heated it for about 20 seconds in the microwave. 

The churro toffee has been updated for the season, it now sports pumpkin spice. 

And the seasonal peppermint chocolate fudge is delightful.

Mickey shaped marshmallows are available dipped in peppermint and chocolate or the churro spice.

Many familiar holiday treats have returned as well.

Small Problems

Damage caused from a flood of “it’s a small world” Holiday’s electrical equipment has forced the attraction to miss the holiday season thus far. Work is being conducted around the clock to resolved the situation. Guests swarm the gates of the attraction all day asking cast members when the attraction will reopen. 

We feel for the cast who have to stand in front of the closed attraction all day long.

Disney has been pushing the “refurbishment” status one day at a time in hopes they can get the attraction reopened soon.  

But the lighting moments and projections still happen all night long. 

I do love the quirky over the top look of Small World Mall. Even with the main attraction closed, this is a great spot to watch the Christmas Fantasy Parade at night and enjoy the decorations and lights. The terraced parade viewing here is generally a great option if you’ve delayed finding a spot until the last minute. 

Holiday Joy and Humbug 

As long as we are on the subject of the holidays we had an interesting week of holiday joy and head scratching.  Christmas Time at Disneyland has always been magical… the holiday ride overlays, the special fireworks, parade, food, and charming decorations all add up to an amazing experience. 

Snow… in Southern California! 

Vintage Christmas details…

Whimsy, lights, and charm…

Delightful entertainment…

So, when Disneyland announced they’d start closing the park early on some nights to hold an extra cost after-hours holiday party, we were concerned.  

I finally got a chance to attend one of the Merriest Nights parties last week. And while I enjoyed myself, I also didn’t see the need for Disneyland to close for a bit of extra entertainment and some photo ops. But I do have a solution for Disney so they can make that extra cash they so clearly want, without diminishing the special Disneyland holiday magic. 

Moving the Halloween parties from Disneyland to California Adventure was a great change. It allowed Disneyland to remain open to all guests, while giving folks a new reason to visit the much less popular Disney California Adventure. DCA makes a good special events park, and few will complain if it closes early for a party… as long as Disneyland remains open. Sooooo…. why not move the Merriest Nights parties to DCA as well? 

Strike Watch

Disneyland’s unions represented by the Master Services Council (including attractions and custodial) recently rejected Disneyland’s contract proposal which would have given them a modest $3 raise over 3 years. Disney California Adventure employees narrowly approved the contract.  As a result, only Disneyland unionized cast will return to the polls on December 3rd to vote on whether or not to authorize a strike.  

Disneyland’s SEIU Union explained the situation to its members: 

Based on the partial “no” vote on November 17th, the Master Services Council will be holding another vote on December 3rd. This message only applies to members that work at Disneyland park. DCA has a ratified contract but Disneyland Park does not. This means that only Disneyland Cast Members will be voting.

Why are we voting again?

On November 5th, the Master Services Bargaining Committee tentatively agreed to Disney’s modified last, best and final offer. Disney’s offer included the highest general wage increases ever negotiated with Disney, as well as bonuses up to $2,000 for long-term cast members. This offer was conditional on ratification by November 17th. On November 17th, Master Services Cast Members ratified the tentative agreement for DCA but rejected it for Disneyland park. Of USSW Cast Members at Disneyland who voted, 60% did so to reject recommendation by the bargaining committee and instead voted to authorize the bargaining committee to hold a strike. As per our constitution and bylaws, a strike authorization vote requires a 75% threshold in order for it to be sanctioned, which was not met.

Since this offer was contingent upon it being ratified by the 17th, Disney had no obligation to come back to the table to renegotiate a better agreement but has conceded to a second vote, contingent on it being voted and ratified by December 3rd. This offer includes the original offer that was voted on November 17th. Therefore, SEIU USWW’s Disneyland bargaining committee has called for a new vote on December 3rd and it is critical that members understand that the choice that day will be to accept the new contract offer or to go on strike. By allowing this 2nd vote, we want to give members the opportunity to be informed of what a yes or no vote means that day. More information will be forthcoming over the next two weeks up until December 3rd.

The previous NO vote by Disneyland workers was definitive. The drumbeat to strike seems to be the popular opinion among cast on social media. These are extraordinary times and it’s clear that a movement to demand better working conditions and pay via a strike vote has the potential to win big on the next vote. 

What’s unclear is what Disneyland would do about a strike. The labor market in Orange County is tight. Disney has had trouble staffing all positions, as have nearly all hotels, restaurants, and shops in the region. So, it wouldn’t be possible for Disneyland to suddenly staff, train, and certify enough new hourly employees to replace striking union workers (especially in positions which have a direct impact on guest health and safety). Nor does Disneyland have enough managers to fill in for all the employees who would likely go out on strike.  

So, could Disneyland be forced to close for a strike? Yes, that’s now a very real possibility. Our advice for those traveling to Disneyland in December and January is to make sure you have trip insurance, just in case it’s needed.  

We are keeping very close tabs on this potentially volatile situation. 

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Let’s Hear From You

We’re running out of time and space to bring you all the news today, and we have lots and lots more to share from Disneyland, California Adventure, Downtown Disney, and the hotels! So please check back tomorrow for even more! 

What do you think about extra cost holiday parties? Should they continue, be moved to DCA, or be packed away for good?  Were you able to score a reservation to Disneyland for Thanksgiving or December when they opened up last week, or were they gone before you had a chance? Concerned about a possible strike of Disneyland Workers? What do you think the chance is that the park will have to close before a deal can be struck?  

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