Ever looked at the giant Christmas tree on Main Street and wondered
how many ornaments it sports? Have you had the urge to sing carols on
board the Disneyland Railroad? Did you notice what kind of decorations
are hung around Frontierland’s Rancho del Zocalo?
The answers to these and other holiday questions can all be found on
Disneyland’s Holiday Time tour, offered now through Sunday, January 4,
2004.
This was my third time taking the tour—and the third year it has been offered as part of the holiday activities throughout the resort—and each time has been full of surprises and new bits of information. For those like me who usually go for latkes over eggnog, fear not—the tour embraces all winter holidays.
A little trivia off the bat: The tour takes its name from Holiday
Time at Disneyland, a special that aired in 1962. Usually the Holiday
Time tour is given at night—the only Disneyland tour given at night—once
or twice based on the number of “A Christmas Fantasy” parades
that day. However, I took the tour on the same weekend as the Candlelight
Processional, so the two parades were held earlier in the day. And while
the price has gone up since Adrienne Krock first wrote about it for a
in the Parks article two years ago, I think it is worth the price.
What would usually be an obstructed view of the Main Street Train Station
decorations, looks different thanks to the setup for the Candlelight Processional
program. Photo by Shoshana Lewin.
Of course during the day you don’t have an opportunity to see the lights
around the park as well, but it did make it easier to see the details
on the decorations, and made it much easier to maneuver around
the congested areas of New Orleans Square.
I had made my reservation a week in advance, although you can make it
up to 30 days ahead. And some people on my tour had bought their tickets
that morning.
I met up with my tour jockey, Lera Rae, a little before 10 a.m. outside
City Hall. Then 16 of us—plus the 12 who were part of a tour led
by Wanda—began our journey, after offering each other a rousing “Happy
Holidays!” We had all received a Christmas tree-shaped tag/ornament
to wear for the 3.5-hour experience that allowed us to access the Fastpass
lines at “it’s a small world” and the Haunted Mansion.
Since I hope you all have a chance to experience the tour, I won’t give away the secrets—just the high points.
We began in front of City Hall and learned the history of the holidays at Disneyland.
We then moved east to the firehouse where Lera Rae filled us in on some
Walt trivia regarding the “hidden apartment” (if you don’t know
where it is, any of the Disneyland tours will give you the answer). Secrets
of the Christmas tree were next, including what happened one year when
the Disneyland crew needed some Disney magic to repair a tree that caught
on fire. We then walked north to the mezuzah on Main Street at the office
of Dr. Benjamin Silverstein, where Lera Rae explained the basis of Chanukah.
(Although there were no decorations to be found, I’m glad Disneyland added
this component last year as it was missing the first year.)
Our noses led us to our next stop in front of the Candy Palace, where
a vat of peppermint was boiling for the candy makers to create delicious
candy canes. The magic of Disneyland makes it so even if nothing is cooking,
guests still have a craving for something sweet. Our visit on Main Street
concluded in front of Coke Corner where we talked about Santa Claus and
learned the role the Coca-Cola company played in the way he’s perceived
today. There was also a language lesson as we learned what other countries
call him—who says Disneyland isn’t educational?
Adventureland was our next stop, where we continued our language lesson by learning to say “Merry Christmas” in other lands. The home of the Jungle Cruise was also where we learned about the origins of Kwanzaa. Since apparently Tarzan and Jane didn’t get to spend Christmas together and Indiana Jones was too busy running from snakes to decorate his temple, we soon left Adventureland for Frontierland.
The Wild West was where we received our first surprise—but you’ll
have to go on the tour to find out what it is. As we headed past the pine
needle-laced buildings to New Orleans Square, we were warned that we were
headed to the most congested section of the park.
Lera Rae told us that the area decorations were divided into three sections.
The first is the Mardi Gras-style complete with gators instead of reindeer.
The next took us to the Court of Angels, a peaceful oasis in the center
of a very hectic area, where angels adorned bells and golden décor
surrounded us.
The Court of Angels offers a little piece of heaven in Disneyland. Photo by Shoshana Lewin.
The third section is referred to as the Celestial Promenade—for a reason made apparent as you walk through it.
We then reached Haunted Mansion Holiday and enjoyed a very speedy entrance to the attraction.
Once the 16 of us exited the attraction we found ourselves in a quandary—our guide was missing. She emerged from the attraction a few minutes later. It tuned out she went to get a birthday sticker and a Fastpass for someone on our tour and it took longer than she anticipated.
Our next stop was the Disneyland Railroad, which we took from New Orleans Square to Toontown—and we didn’t have to wait in line. As we waited for the train to depart, we saw Wanda’s tour. Before we had a chance to tell them “Happy Holidays!” they shouted it to us. So we, of course, shouted it back—much to the surprise of the other guests on the train and in the station.
Lera Rae then asked if we all wanted to sing carols, and since no one wanted to select what we would sing, she suggested “Jingle Bells.” So our ride from New Orleans Square became a song-filled fest—until we ran out of lyrics somewhere around the Rivers of America. Caroling, it turns out, is a bonus part of the trip. I’m sure if one of us wanted to sing earlier in the tour it could have been arranged.
Once we left the station we headed to “it’s a small world”—again via the Fastpass line. While in line, some of us debated which color scheme worked best with the attraction—the white or pastel—and agreed that our version of the attraction looked much nicer than Walt Disney World’s.
Our two boats enjoyed the sights, sounds and smells of the holiday overlay.
Elvis Stitch is back on the surfboard and a little Flounder can be found
in one of the mermaid’s shell stockings. Once we exited, we headed to
Toontown.
Because of my love of puns and sight gags, I think appreciate the decoration scheme in Toontown more than any other section of the park. The giant hot dogs, clocks, and school books make Toontown decorations some of the most creative in the park.
The 3rd Little Piggy Bank proves you can grow money for Christmas. Photo by Shoshana Lewin.
We left Toontown to get our seats for the “Christmas Fantasy Parade.”
Did I say seats? I meant chairs. Yup. Honest-to-goodness chairs set up
directly across from the “it’s a small world” queue—boy
did we get looks of envy. In addition to the great seats, we received
something to warm our tummies—a much appreciated treat.
When the parade started, our tour and Wanda’s had the best vantage point
in the park. We were so close that when Mrs. Claus passed she was able
to see the birthday sticker Lera Rae gave to the woman in our tour—and
wished her “Happy Birthday.” Until then I had never been able
to read the “naughty and nice” list—Paul, Cynthia, Roy,
Walt and Mickey are all on it in case you were wondering; Michael is not.
The new reindeer with the smaller faces are so cute, and not as scary
as the ones with the long tongues. I still kept hoping they would sneak
in a menorah—but c’est la vie.
The viewing of the parade—from those comfy chairs—marked the end
of our tour.
Hopefully I’ve whet your appetite enough that you will take the tour
this year or next. It might change slightly, but it will still be filled
with that holiday magic.
So from our tour to yours?Happy Holidays!
Cheers from Lera Rae’s group. Photo by Shoshana Lewin.
