Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Christmastime is Here....Trip Report, Part 1

Hey there, Hi there, Ho there!

I spent a productive day in the parks trying to get as much of a Christmas decorations and overlays as possible.  And...I might have been too successful.  So, this update will be a two part EXTRAVAGANZA!!!!!!!!!!

Disneyland today, DCA in a few days....and a third piece exclusively on the Festival of Holidays.

But let me start really quick with parking and security.  Last week, it was reported that Disney will move security check in stations to include Downtown Disney, so people going from the shopping center to the parks won't have to be checked closer to the parks, and guests arriving from the trams will be checked AT the Mickey and Friends parking structure.

As of Tuesday, that hasn't happened yet.  Shame, I was looking forward to it, which sounds weird, but change is good.

However, the Pinocchio parking lot is under a MASSIVE amount of construction. I haven't checked Micechat this week, but are they planning to expand it to accommodate more cars? If so, not a bad idea.  At the time, it didn't seem to be impeding the process of tram boarding, but TouringPlans.com listed yesterday as a 3 out of 10 (Touring Plans do not advertise with the blog, but I'd let them.  A GREAT app!)



The pumpkins are down, and the snowflakes are up!
No, NOT Elsa's crown! Whoever said that needs a time out!


Even the beautiful Main Street horses are in the holiday spirit!


In the Market House, home of Starbucks, there are still a few 60th Anniversary cups left.  Which makes me feel stupid since on July 17th, 2015, I was dispatched to buy...I think four of the hot mugs.


The tree in the Market House is a lovely example of Disney's ability to decorate for the holidays within the world of the land.  Near my house is a Victorian home built by the founder of our town.  They have a Victorian Christmas annually, and these kind of decorations are very dear to me.


As a habit, I at least listen to a couple minutes of the party line, but unfortunately, the phones weren't working.  Who do I call to get on this?!


I saw these trees in the windows of the camera shop. I want them! Where can I find these!
Again, the attention to detail is astonishing. I should have tried to find the Menorah in one of the windows....Next time!


I adore these small (fir?) trees in the planters around the hub. Horticulture is an often under appreciated branch of the Disney theme parks divisions. I mean...they planted mini trees! MINI TREES!


The diamonds of the 60th have frozen, apparently....
No Frozen jokes....don't you dare!



Back in Fantasyland, the parade lighting (and I'd assume it's also used for the projections on Small World....too far away?) was disguised with these interesting Mary Blair-esque coverings. Not 100% sure how I feel about it, perhaps they should have stayed in the white color scheme.  But I applaud the effort. I wonder if some kind of changes are on the way after the holidays to gets these lights into the lighting posts....right next to the temporary post.....


OK, this is the definition of hell. RIGHT. HERE.
Really, everyone? HALF the space next to Small World in front of the entrance to ToonTown was littered with stroller parking.  It appears they moved it away from in front of Small World, but...Dear me, WHY?!


ToonTown's sign is being refurbished.


I don't get back to ToonTown often, but I'm glad I did to see their decorations.  It's worth an early morning power walk to the back of the park, while it's kind of quiet.

This fire station often reminds me of the many firefighters in my family, so if any of you read the blog, this is for you! xo







Alright, back to Small World.  There was a little stage in front of it, but the Christmas Parade has already been shot for Christmas Day so..what gives?


I don't know about the rest of you, readers, but 2016 hasn't been...great.
To paraphrase the television show M*A*S*H, "2017, May she be a damn sight better than last year."





Last year (or the year before) Disney switched up the strings of lights with the nice faux ironwork in the Latin America section, and it's just fantastic.



Anyone ever hear the great story from Imagineer Alice Davis about the can can girls? Their knees kept wearing out too quickly due to movement.  At the time of the World's Fair, they didn't have time to really find a solution, so she just made their bloomers longer to cover their knees.  In New York, Walt Disney was showing the attraction to the UNICEF and PepsiCo people, and noticed the longer bloomers.  Alice was nearby, wearily waiting to hear about the bloomers.  Walt called over to her, "Hey, Alice, why are their bloomers so long?".  Without skipping a beat, she replied, "Well, you said you wanted a family show!", escaping before Walt could ask a follow-up question.

God Bless Alice Davis, she has many great stories like this.




Apparently, I ran into nap time near the castle. Aren't they cute?!
Sorry, my mother often makes fun of how I brake to take pictures of animals.




In Frontierland, they had these nice Native American influenced decorations. Neat!


Now, I won't lie, it was hard as heck to get a picture of this new tree in front...uh, on top of, the Jungle Cruise. But it was CRAZY! Fish bones and bananas. It further extends the story, though it looked more like something in a Tim Burton movie...








Not a lot of changes to the Jingle Cruise this year.  They really stepped it up from the first year, where I think they were a little nervous about it, but then decided to just go all out, and it's PERFECT! And Brandon was a great skipper, if you get him. The Pirranukah joke will always be funny!




One last detail I'd like to point out...ordinarily there is a lamp in Walt's apartment, to signify that his spirit is always in the park. I love the change to a Christmas tree. I'm not even sure why. So his spirit won't feel left out of the festivities? Maybe it's the illusion that life still exists in that apartment. Or that Walt's interest in detail lives on...


Disneyland is always beautiful, but Christmas brings on both an additional shine as well as a comfort.  I think Walt would be proud of Main Street at Christmas.  The music loop, the tree, everything in period.  It's just a tonic in troubling times. I wish Disney wouldn't push so many people to come to the parks in this state. When you can just sit with a gingerbread latte and enjoy the ambiance, it's a little that means a lot.

So, that's part one of the Disneyland Resort at Christmas photo essay SPECTACULAR!!!!!!!!

In the meantime...



Any questions? Requests? Comments? Go ahead and respond down below! Share the post! Have a great week!

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