Scott And Carol Present - Christmas At Disneyland

Sometimes you see things that are breathe-takingly beautiful and very hard to describe with words, so most of this Disneyland feature will be Carol’s photography.We had seen many photos of Sleeping Beauty’s Holiday Castle before, but they don’t prepare you for the full effect of seeing it in person.

We also had planned our trip to Disneyland for the week following IAAPA, not realizing that many of the schools in California are closed for the entire week of Thanksgiving. And that is why Disneyland opens at 8:00 AM and doesn’t close until Midnight during that week.

Main Street is decked out with seasonal decorations but the biggest weenie of all doesn’t happen until after dark. The Disneyland Christmas Tree towers above Main Street complete with more than 62,000 energy efficient LED lights. They present a spectacular light show throughout the evening.

After the Believe…In Holiday Magic” fireworks, before you leave the castle area you can see a wonderful silhouette of Walt and Mickey profiled against the tree with the train station in the background. Luckily at this time of year, darkness falls ell before 6:00 PM so there is plenty of time to enjoy the electric decorations. Three times each evening snow falls on Main Street, to the delight of everyone.

As the light withers away, the castle becomes more alive with sparkling lights that seem to shimmer and a few strobes atop the spire. LED icicles have been added to the traditional snowdrift on the Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. A popular place to get that special photo keepsake, remember to leave your flash on because otherwise the castle lighting will overwhelm your camera. Watching the castle change colors helps to pass the time. The first day of our visit, the fireworks show had to be cancelled due to high winds. We watched the late performance of Fantasmic instead.

We were very determined to get a good spot for Believe…In Holiday Magic for our final night and cast member Marissa made sure we could bring you these photos. She told us where to sit and when to get there, so a big “Thank you and Seasons Greetings Marissa.” We really appreciate your help!

When the fireworks begin, everything else seems to stop, or maybe it’s just the guests. Given a second night of high winds, luckily the show did go on as scheduled. The compressed air launched fireworks appears to the left of the castle and many oohs and ahhs were heard. The show is choreographed to immerse guests with a memory of the sights and sounds of Yuletide. Once the fireworks are completed, one last blast of snow fills the air, at least around the snow machines, as White Christmas is performed on the sound system.

A spectacular end to an amazing visit, another thank you to Michele and also to Shelly who helped with the changing the arrangements after the weather wouldn’t cooperate. A hearty Merry Christmas to all the NPN readers and may you also have a magical holiday season.