On this first day of December, MousePlanet CEO Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix opens our mailbag by answering a letter about the upcoming Candelight Processional performance at Disneyland.
Emelyne writes:
First of all I would like to say how much I enjoy all of the enlightening and informative articles that are provided on your website. I do look forward every Monday morning, to reading the latest from Disneyland! Thank you for the time and effort you put into the Disney fans community.
For many years now (since 1999), my family and I have truly enjoyed visiting the park during Christmas time for the sole purpose of listening to one of the greatest musical presentations – Candlelight. Of course, with each passing year, the amount of time and patience dedicated to ensure a suitable viewing spot has grown increasingly more and more difficult. Never having the financial means with which to purchase tickets, we were always so thankful to at least be able to secure a spot on the curb in front of the restrooms on Main Street. This year to our greatest surprise, we were informed by a Cast Member there would only be one performance of the show on those two nights, and they expect crowds to line up as early as 4:00 a.m. to secure a viewing spot.
Knowing how well educated your staff is in regards to the particulars of this matter, I would greatly request of you some simple advice, maybe even just an opinion on whether the information I was given is the whole truth, or perhaps worst case scenario. In the past, we have begun to line up around 12:30pm. and was able to get a spot on the curb. Do you believe that is a reasonable goal pertaining to the conduct of this scenario for this year? Have you heard of an “off the record” standby line for this year? I understand that you probably take great pride in securing what information you gather and then distributing to the public as you see fit. But really you are our only hope pertaining to this matter.
Candlelight will be performed at 5:30 and 8:00 both nights, so whoever gave you the “one performance” information was mistaken. Beyond that, Disneyland is notoriously tight-lipped about their actual plans for standby lines and such, and we don’t usually begin to hear more detailed rumors until closer to the performance dates.
Next, MousePlanet reader Katie writes into Cast Place with her memories of Disneyland cast members.
Katie writes:
I’ve been reading all of the old Cast Place articles and I was sad when I realized that a new one hasn’t appeared for more than a year! I go to Disneyland a lot, so I have plenty of fun stories from the Happiest Place on Earth. I figured I’d submit one or two, even if they never get published.
The first was from a year and a half ago, when I didn’t get to venture there very often and Jack Sparrow still roamed Tom Sawyer’s Island. My parents and I were making our yearly visit and we decided to split up on the Island. I wandered for a while until I saw, out of the corner of my eye, Jack Sparrow himself! Earlier, we had gone on Pirates of the Caribbean and I bought one of the pirate hats and a plastic sword, being a big Pirates fan. So, I ran up to stand in line for a picture with Jack. He sounded and acted just like his cinematic counterpart, and I was very excited to meet him. When it was my turn to get an autograph and pictures, the first thing Jack did was say how much he loved my hat, and ask if he could try it on! Of course I said yes and he put the hat on and I took a picture. I had a camera with me, but no one to take a picture of the two of us, so he yelled, in a very Jack fashion, at his hosts to come over and take out picture, adding “what do I pay you for, anyway?” I was laughing and having a blast, and I will always remember that moment.
Well, about a year later, for my 16th birthday, I decided to go to Disneyland. I had developed a gigantic Alice in Wonderland obsession, with emphasis on the Mad Hatter. I even bought one of the hats that Disney sells. It was the day before my birthday and my parents and I decided to ride the Mad Tea Party. I was having a blast, and the day only got better when who should appear but The Hatter and Alice themselves!
The ride was just ending and the pair had stationed themselves under the large tree next to the ride. I ran up to the Hatter, screaming about how much I loved him, making a spectacle of myself, and he was beaming and telling my parents how polite I was. He told us to exit and go around the ride and he would get a picture with us, and we did. When it was our turn, the Mad Hatter was being very friendly, saying how much he liked my socks, which were knee-high with purple hearts and stripes on them. I got a hug and an autograph from both him and Alice, and he told me about Musical Chairs at 2:30 p.m. at Coke Corner, which of course I already knew about. He really made my whole trip so much fun and the next day I got an Annual Pass so I could go back many more times.
Cut to the recent past. I have been going to Disneyland a great deal since the summer blockout dates have ended. I met a friend over the summer who enjoys Disney as much as I do, and we started going together. We are both big fans of ”Celebrate! a Street Party,” and we made it our mission to try to memorize the dance moves. Of course we aren’t perfect, but we have fun, and for a while we danced along with the performers while the parade was going on. We went almost every weekend, and we thought the performers got a kick out of it. We decided to take a video of it one show stop and I posted it on the Internet. Unfortunately, someone who claimed to be a performer in the parade commented rudely on the video and my friend and I got a bit paranoid, thinking that everyone in the parade disliked us. After a while, we stopped dancing along to the parade.
The day we did, one dancer girl came up to us in the opening song and said, “Hey, you guys can dance you know!” and smiled at us. Well, l that totally made my day, knowing we weren’t totally despised. We didn’t end up dancing again, because the crowds were getting thicker and we didn’t have much room to, but it was still very nice of the dancer to say we could. I talked to a few of the other dancers during the audience participation parts, and it turned out that most of them didn’t hate us after all, and a lot of them waved to us as they passed by us, and singled us out during show stops. It’s really nice to know that, even if there are a few sourpusses, there are still plenty of cast members with the Disney spirit in them.
If you have anything to share about an experience with a cast member, or are a cast member that would like to share a story about a guest, e-mail castplace@mouseplanet.com.
Finally, we switch coasts to staff writer Steve Russo answering reader mail about travel to Walt Disney World.
Neeta T. writes:
Do you have any advice for a trip planned for December 14-21? I will be visiting all four Disney parks and staying at pop century. What type of clothing should I pack for that time of the year? Also, do you have any hints and advice on other things related to my trip?
Weather is highly variable in December and January. Be prepared for both ends: shorts and tees if it’s in the 80s, sweatshirts and jackets if it’s in the 40s. My experience in December has been good but you never know. I find it’s easier to pack layers. You can peel them off when it warms up or add them on when it cools down.
December is a great time to go. There are lower crowds and lots to see. Spend time visiting the deluxe resorts for the Christmas decorations, especially the Grand Floridian. Be sure to see the Osborne Lights (at Hollywood Studios) and the Candlelight Processional (Epcot). Both Wishes and Illuminations have special endings for the holidays, Epcot has its Storytellers, Downtown Disney has Santa and carols playing… tons to do. Enjoy!
Brad writes:
On two recent visits, my girlfriend and I both noted the complete lack of good coffee anywhere on property. Their vendor contract must stipulate they only serve Nescafe (Yikes!) at most food courts, etc., but we were hard pressed to find anything better at any of the parks or resorts! Even the “specialty” coffee kiosk in front of Italy served… Nescafe?(Although, a great coffee slush/freeze drink is just around the corner).
The restaurants might have better offerings, but which ones? Seems like a big oversight, but I may be missing something.
Great observation and question. Can you hold off until the next installment of the Best of 2009 publishes on December 4? Best Coffee in the world is discussed there.
In the meantime, there’s been a few more sightings of decent (non-Nescafe) coffee at the World. Look for the kiosks at Downtown Disney, one in Epcot’s World Showcase (I’ve also heard about the Kringla Bakery in Norway) and one near the Magic Kingdom entrance (I’m passing that one on but haven’t confirmed it yet). You can also get good coffee in the Polynesian. Happy hunting.
