Disneyland brings new spirits to the holidays
Disney didn't invent the holidays. But the season's characters, myths (shh! Don't tell the kids), songs, and other trappings fit The Mouse like a four-fingered glove. That's why the original Disneyland Resort goes all out making spirits bright this time of year.
Its two theme parks have added Christmas overlays to rides and shows, are displaying miles of garland throughout its storied lands, and have introduced a new festival with treats and entertainment that celebrate the holidays. The seasonal fun continues through January 8, 2017 and is included with admission to Disney California Adventure and Disneyland Park.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of “it’s a small world” Holiday, the annual makeover of the classic Disneyland attraction. After dusk, over 400,000 Christmas lights illuminate the ride's façade and plaza, and holiday-themed projections animate the building. Inside, passengers traveling by boat through the attraction's scenes can see decorated trees, snowmen, and other signs of the season. Decked out in their cultures' holiday finery, the dolls sing Christmas tunes as well as the ride's theme song. (At least "Deck the Halls" breaks up the monotony of the “it’s a small world” earworm.)
Spanning both the Halloween and yuletide seasons, characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas transform Disneyland's New Orleans Square attraction into Haunted Mansion Holiday. And the punny skippers that pilot Adventureland's boats don Santa caps and weave silly seasonal jokes into their patter for the rejiggered Jingle Cruise. Some of the ride's animals even get in on the holiday act.
Marching tin soldiers, dancing snowflakes, and the ho-ho-hoing big guy from the North Pole join Mickey and the gang for Disneyland's A Christmas Fantasy Parade. Each evening, "snow" falls over Main Street U.S.A., and the park's iconic centerpiece becomes Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle with glowing "icicles" and thousands of lights. The palace serves as the backdrop for the nightly Believe … in Holiday Magic fireworks show.
Disneyland's sister park is upping its Christmas game with the new Festival of Holidays. Like the Food & Wine Festival it resurrected in the spring, Disney California Adventure is offering a variety of goodies at kiosks set up along its concourse. Items available for purchase include winter favorites as well as international treats such as pumpkin spice hot chocolate, baklava, and tamales. The festival also offers entertainment including toy drummers, an Indian dance troupe that features a Bollywood-style finale, and a Klezmer band.
Donald Duck and his Three Caballeros amigos have returned to the park this year to lead ¡Viva Navidad! The street party pays tribute to Latino holiday customs through songs and dancing. From January 5 to 8, Disney California Adventure will celebrate Three Kings' Day with special entertainment, activities, and food.
The nightly World of Color, a grand spectacle that incorporates synchronized fountains and massive water screen projections, features a new show, "Season of Light." Imagineers have choreographed winter scenes from Disney films to perennial holiday tunes such as “Blue Christmas” by Elvis Presley and “Let It Snow” by Dean Martin.
Disney California Adventure has decked its lands out in holiday finery. At the front of the park, Buena Vista Street has a retro look that is in sync with its Art Deco vibe. Cars Land and "a bug's land," meanwhile, sport quirky decorations befitting their themes. The residents of Radiator Springs for example, have trimmed a Christmas tree in front of the fire station with hubcaps and fashioned a giant wreath out of air filters.