Pixelmania West - Christmas 2023

Discussion in 'PIXELMANIA!' started by ddindy, Dec 29, 2022.

  1. Nancy AK

    Nancy AK Member

    It will just be me attending Pixelmania Disneyland West, Michele doesn’t want to come. I’m planning either December 10-16 or December 11-15, depending on Southwest flights into SNA. I think most of you are planning on not doing a park on your arrival day? I’ll be staying at Candy Cane Inn. I think Dennis recommended ABC Shuttle ?
     
  2. ddindy

    ddindy Member Staff Member

    That's correct, we are staying at the Candy Cane Inn December 10-16, arriving in the afternoon if possible. Park days are Dec. 11-15 because the longest ticket you can buy at Disneyland is five days.
    Sunday we'll either have dinner in Downtown Disney or just go to bed early to recover from jet lag.

    If you want to arrive later or leave earlier, that's fine. Everyone can do whatever fits their schedule.

    Southwest says they will open their schdule though November 4 on March 9. That implies that it will probably early May when reservations are available for mid-December.

    If you buy a ticket from Disney, you have to make your park reservations at the time of purchase. Park reservations can only be made 120 days in advance, so we can't buy tickets with park reservations through Dec. 15 until August 17.

    I recommend buying a park hopper ticket since the two parks are 300 feet apart and hopping is very easy. Disneyland park hopping now starts at 11 am.

    We have not yet decided whether or not we'll need to buy Genie+ for $25/day when we buy our tickets. Genie+ is a good thing to have at Disneyland when it's crowded, but there are many rides (especially in Fantasyland) that don't have Ligntning Lanes. If crowds are low, waits are short. But since it's always more crowded at night, maybe Genie+ will be worth the cost for after-dinner use.

    You can also buy Disneyland tickets right now through other sellers like Undercover Tourist and ARes Travel. I've purchased tickets from both and used them without problems.

    However, Covid caused me a bit of pain: In early 2020, I purchased a ticket from Undercover Tourist for a Disneyland trip in September 2020. Then Covid hit. Disney extended the expiration date of tickets from Dec. 31, 2020 to Dec. 31. 2021. However, I didn't take my next trip until September 2022. I called Disneyland Guest Services before my trip to verify that I could apply the value of my ticket to a new ticket and to ask what the procedure was for that. They looked up my ticket and asked if I had purchased it with a gift card. I explained that I had bought it from Undercover Tourist. They told me I had to do this: Purchase a new ticket from Disneyland, them mail a copy of the oriiginal ticket along with the confirmation number from the new ticket to an address in Anaheim. A few weeks later, I received a check for the value of the original ticket.

    The moral is, if you use a ticket from a third-party seller before it expires, there are no problems. If the ticket expires before you can use it, it may be more complicated than simply exchanging it for a new ticket.

    As of today, a 5-day park hopper with Genie+ from Undercover Tourist is $33 cheaper than buying it from Disney. The ticket expires January 12, 2025, so if your plans change and you can't make it in December, it's still good for another year. Plus, tickets purchased from Undercover Tourist are refundable within 365 days of purchase if unused (note that only 95% of your purchase price is refunded).

    I've never used ABC Shuttle but friends have said good things about them. We probably don't need to make shuttle reservations until early December.
     
    Nancy AK likes this.
  3. Nancy AK

    Nancy AK Member

    Thank you. What are you going use for Shuttle service?
     
  4. ddindy

    ddindy Member Staff Member

    If I can fly into Orange County/John Wayne/SNA, I will use ABC. If it's cheaper to fly into Long Beach, I'll have to decide later.
     
    Nancy AK likes this.
  5. Nancy AK

    Nancy AK Member

    I’m assuming w can use Disney Gift Cards at Disneyland?
     
  6. Nancy AK

    Nancy AK Member

    Thank you.
     
  7. ddindy

    ddindy Member Staff Member

    DIsneyland is still Disney, so yes, gift cards are accepted in the parks. You can also use your Disney login on the Disneyland web site.
     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2023
    Nancy AK likes this.
  8. PolynesianMedic

    PolynesianMedic Global Moderator Staff Member

    So are you guys seriously going to do Disneyland this year for Pixelmania? If so I need to start planning but I think I might finally be able to get it there

    Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk
     
  9. gary

    gary Member

    it's just 4 of us so far going to disneyland in december, regular florida pixelmania is the usual suspects in october
     
  10. PolynesianMedic

    PolynesianMedic Global Moderator Staff Member

    Ah ok thanks. I'll have to put both dates on the calendar and see what I can do

    Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk
     
  11. ddindy

    ddindy Member Staff Member

    The more the merrier. And welcome back, new camera and all.
     
    PolynesianMedic likes this.
  12. Nancy AK

    Nancy AK Member

    I’m booked for December 10-15 at Candy Cane Inn. I’ve got a 5 day ticket with park hopper. Just need the Southwest calendar
     
  13. gary

    gary Member

    nancy, are you planning on going into the parks on sunday?? snd flying home friday??
     
  14. Nancy AK

    Nancy AK Member

    Yes, depending on flight times. Or I might switch to a 4 day ticket with park hopper instead of 5 day. The Delta calendar is out but Southwest isn’t till maybe May, a friend says to check out Spirit. I’ve not heard anything good about Spirit lol.
     
  15. gary

    gary Member

    spirit would be my last choice for an airline, they charge literally for everything, a few years ago they floated the idea of charging $3.00 a flight for a pass to use the bathroom, they also pioneered charging for a carryon
     
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  16. ddindy

    ddindy Member Staff Member

    You mean this one that I photographed in 1972?

    [​IMG]
    Now Arriving


    And again in 2016 when it was on static display due to Galaxy's Edge construction?

    [​IMG]
    Believe It or Not
     
    Nancy AK likes this.
  17. Nope. The article was about a train that was identical in every single aspect to the one you saw, but it was definitely not the same one that you encountered.

    This train has....

    AN EVIL TWIN!!!
    Mwa ha ha...
     
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  18. ddindy

    ddindy Member Staff Member

    On May 4, 2023, Southwest will open their schedule through January 7, 2024. That's when we will be able to book our Disneyland flignts. Mark your calendar!
     
    Joanie Eddis-Koch and Nancy AK like this.
  19. Thanks for posting this Dennis.
     

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