Don't miss out on the holidays at Disneyland: ends Jan 4th

December 30, 12:54 PMLA Amusement Park ExaminerDanielle Farve

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Sleeping Beauty's Castle, Disneyland

One of the best things about growing up in SoCal, besides wearing sunglasses all year round, is frequent trips to Disneyland.  To me, nothing could be more magical than a 60 ft tall pine tree covered with thousands of Christmas lights and decorations. 

 I hate crowd and long lines at amusement parks.  However, being the Disneyland enthusiast that I am, I’ve learned to visit parks when there are predictable lulls in tickets sales.  It goes without saying that, every year, Christmas and summer are the most difficult times to find an off-day.  Daytime hours on weekdays are always a good bet, but since the real magic at the Magic Kingdom happens at night, you may just need to brave the throngs of people.

 But this year especially, with warm, glowing lights that decorating Main Street, and a fiber-optic recreation of snow transforming both Sleeping Beauty’s castle and my beloved 60-foot-Christmastree into an enchanting, wintery  vision, Disney’s Christmas is a unique celebration. Since this year’s season lasts until Sunday, January 4^th, I suggest going after New Year’s.  Although the final days of the season fall on a weekend, most people are preparing for work/school after the long vacation and are not looking for more holiday-season experiences.

 One of my favorite performances is one of the most unexpected: the It’s A Small World Clock Show.  At every quarter hour, the large clock on the façade of the ride stops and the Small World characters come out wearing their various holiday attire.  A three minute animated performance set to Tchaikovsky is projected on the walls and the façade of the attraction comes alive with graphics and colored lights.  Each show has a different theme, (my favorite being the “candy avalanche”, but the “snowstorm buildup” also appears to be a favorite). I love Clock Show because it’s just a magical, refreshing way to stay uplifted while traveling from one land to the next.  Kind of how I feel about the holidays.