Yuletide Magic

On select nights there is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, featuring Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade. The parade features dancing gingerbread men, marching wooden toy soldiers, and prancing reindeer wearing jingle bells. The floats are aglow with twinkling lights. One of my favorite floats looks like a toy train made of gingerbread and peppermint candies and at the top of the train, Goofy is riding a bicycle. Behind him is a giant gumball machine, and when he pedals, the gumballs dance. Mickey and Minnie, wearing their most festive holiday finery, wave from their float adorned with a giant Christmas tree. Clarabell Cow is in her kitchen baking all kinds of Christmas goodies. As her float goes by you can actually smell the gingerbread. Chip and Dale are at a ski lodge and delight in throwing snowballs at the parade viewers. Cinderella and her Prince are in her glass carriage, which is pulled by six miniature white ponies. The grand finale of the parade is Santa in his sleigh, carrying the largest toy sack imaginable. As you watch the special holiday fireworks, snowflakes are projected onto Cinderella Castle. And what would a party be without hot chocolate and sugar cookies? You can find them everywhere in the Magic Kingdom during this extraordinary and fun Christmas party.

Epcot is especially gala at Christmas. At the front entrance you are greeted by Mickey and Minnie topiaries wearing Christmas hats. While wandering around Epcot, I always linger at the Fountain of Nations. I love this fountain. The water soars high into the air and dances to heart-quickening classical music. At this time of year the music changes to Christmas melodies and becomes even more exciting. One of the most beloved, heartwarming, and truly inspirational holiday traditions at Epcot is the Candlelight Processional. Accompanied by a mass choir and a 50-piece orchestra, a celebrity narrator tells the story of the birth of Christ, according to the Gospel of Luke. The Candlelight Processional lets you feel the true meaning of the holidays. As you visit the pavilions of the World Showcase, torytellers from eleven nations tell how the season is celebrated in each of their countries. Among the storytellers are Le Befana in Italy, Julenissen in Norway, and Father Christmas in Great Britain.

In Disney's Hollywood Studios the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights should not be missed. It is indeed a spectacle, as every inch of building space for at least two blocks is covered with Christmas lights that dance and play in time to the beat of high-energy Christmas music. This amazing display uses over 5,000,000 lights! With snow falling and angels dancing, you can’t help but to be in the most festive of moods.

At Disney's Animal Kingdom there is Mickey’s Jingle Jungle Parade, with all the Disney characters at their festive best. This parade is just plain fun! Highlighting it are huge, puppet-like moving sculptures portraying exotic animals. These puppets are fun to watch, as they interact with the viewers. There are also stilt walkers dressed as animals, and when Minnie passes by you can smell cinnamon candy and cookies.

A visit to Walt Disney World at Christmas is not complete without a visit to the resort hotels. They also glow with Christmas Spirit. Each resort is decorated according to the theme of the resort, beginning with a huge Christmas tree in its lobby that reaches almost to the ceiling. For example, the tree and decorations at Animal Kingdom Lodge have an African motif. At Coronado Springs Resort, the tree and decorations have a southwestern theme, and the Polynesian Resort has tropical island decorations throughout.