Tis The Season!

December is always a festive time of year with lots of decorations, but ours were kind of sparse this year though you can see we did hang our stockings for Santa and of course put up our nativity.  We didn’t get around to getting a replacement Christmas tree, but I still had a small stained glass one that had belonged to my mom and we displayed that in the window this year.  And
keeping with the festive spirit of the season, several folks here held a golf cart parade driving up and down every row late one afternoon.  As you can see, some folks go all out with decorations!

EPCOT

Of course, Disney definitely knows how to do Christmas right!  One of our favorite things this time of year is Epcot’s Candlelight Processional.  A 50-piece orchestra, a mass choir of approximately 200 cast members and high school groups from around the country, members of the nationally acclaimed Voices of Liberty, a guest celebrity
narrator reading the nativity story, and a sign language interpreter…what’s not to love!  We made it over one evening to see one of Broadway’s greatest stars, Chita Rivera (Sweet Charity, Chicago) narrate, and she’s still going strong at 81!  I didn’t have my long camera lens with me but she’s in the center of the photo above left.  (For those who may not be able to place her, here's a notated and copyrighted promotional photo of her.)

 

One other night we experienced first-timer Jonathan Groff, already a star of stage, screen, and TV at the young age of 29.  Some of you may remember him from the TV show Glee, but he’s most currently known as the voice of mountain man Kristoff in Disney’s latest hit movie, Frozen.  I had neglected to bring my camera with me so once again here’s another notated copyrighted photo to help you place his face. J

 

Generally when we attend the last performance of the Processional, we stay for Illuminations: Reflections of Earth, Epcot’s fireworks show that takes place every night in the World Showcase Lagoon. The show features fireworks, lasers, fire, and water
   fountains all timed to a musical score. A large rotating globe of the Earth with curved LED screens is the centerpiece and is used to project images of people and places. They’ve made a few changes this year adding more
     laser projections in the sky (as seen above) and have changed the ending narration (we sure do miss Walter Cronkite’s voice).  However, at this very special time of year there’s an additional 7 minutes
     of fireworks timed to a beautiful rendition of Let There Be Peace On Earth, one of my favorite songs, and greetings of good will, peace on Earth in many languages.


    World Showcase comprises countries from around the world who naturally want to share their traditions through decorations and Holiday Storytellers.  One night before the Processional we visited a few like Father Christmas in the United Kingdom, a country from where many of our traditions
come.  He’s a jolly old soul who describes many of the traditions and leads the audience in the singing of We Wish You A Merry Christmas before departing.  In Italy we were entertained by La Befana, the good-hearted witch who visits children’s houses on Jan. 5, the eve of the Epiphany, and leaves candies and goodies in their
shoes.  Their Christmas holiday is spent with family filled with love, laughter, and good food.  Morocco doesn’t have a Christmas celebration, but they do not lack in the holiday and festival department calling them “the spice of life!”  These celebrations held throughout the year are colorful, festive, full of dancing, singing, and sharing with
family and friends.  Our favorite of the storytellers is in Norway.  Sigrid tells of the festivities on the Norwegian farm (cities have some different traditions) and the children’s anticipated visit from Julenissen, the mischievous “Barn Santa”.  The telling of this tradition is so fun and humorous!

 

Now if you plan your departure from Epcot just right, you might be entertained by the dancing fountains.  They’re especially beautiful to watch at night as the water shoots up in time to the music.

 

ANIMAL KINGDOM

Though Animal Kingdom doesn’t have near as many Christmas decorations as the other parks, just outside the entrance is a 65 ft. tall animal themed Christmas tree with simple understated ornaments and minimal lights.  Its unique look fits in perfectly with the theme of the park, many looking as if they were handmade.

 

We had gotten a FastPass for the Kilimanjaro Safari ride, always one of our favorites, that takes you through the African savannah, and
though it was late morning, the animals were still out in abundance probably thanks to the overcast skies.  Afterwards we wandered through the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail with hopes of seeing the new baby gorilla, but he and his mama were huddled together high on the hill so we’ll have to save that view for

Mandrills

another trip.  A short while later we walked through the Maharajah Jungle Trek which takes you on a journey through the lands of Asia where you can see many of its creatures including bats and the mighty tiger.  These bats were definitely much larger than that little one we had outside the RV this summer in Mammoth!

The last area you walk through before leaving the Maharajah Jungle Trek is an aviary full of exotic birds from Asia.  Though we’ve walked through several times before, this is the first time we can remember seeing so many and such a variety including this Masked Plover, a Mandarin Duck, a Great Argus Pheasant, and a
Victoria Crowned Pigeon (you can pick up a Bird Identification Sheet as you enter the aviary to help distinguish the many varieties of birds).  The area is enclosed with netting above, and the birds soar and swoop above and all around, even walking right along the your path at times as the pheasant did at one point!

     As we were getting ready to leave the park, we passed by the Giant Anteater enclosure and I was finally able to get a decent picture of it.  Usually I catch just a glimpse as it’s going behind the vegetation.  Such a fascinating creature!

 

MAGIC KINGDOM 

Early one evening we rode one of the ferries across Seven Seas Lagoon from the Transportation & Ticket Center to the Magic Kingdom entrance passing another ferry on the way with a view of Cinderella’s Castle in the distance.  The decorations on Main Street have been changed this year having replaced the greenery arches
stretching across from building to building with wreaths hung in the middle, and though very pretty, they blocked the view of the Castle.  You can see the simpler design that now graces Main Street, and one simply has to experience the Magic Kingdom at Christmas no matter how crowded!

 

As you can imagine with the popularity of the movie Frozen this year, it seems everything at Disney has some Frozen connection.  The beautiful icicle lights that cover the Castle this time of year are now lit as part of “A Frozen Holiday Wish”.  This little 7 min. show features the cast from the movie with Queen Elsa doing the honors of freezing (lighting) the Castle.  (More than 200,000 tiny LED white lights are attached to netting that drape over the castle creating the glistening icicle effect.)  We weren’t able to get close
enough to see the onstage performance but could definitely see the Castle as it was lit and the fireworks at the end.  The lights stay lit for the rest of the evening while the background color on the Castle changes every few minutes.  It’s truly stunning to see in person.

 

We had a FastPass for the shooting gallery ride, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, and Russ once again beat me, in fact making the highest score possible!  From there we continued wandering around checking out the newest addition to Fantasyland, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. This roller coaster ride had been greatly anticipated and for now the wait lines to ride are extremely long.  Even getting a FastPass is nearly impossible!  Hopefully when the crowds die down we’ll get our chance.

 

It was time to make our way towards the entrance and scope out the perfect spot for watching Disney’s Electrical Parade.  Just in front of the Emporium, we came across some water art right on the ground…a picture of Mickey created with water as the paint and a broom as the brush!


While we waited for the parade to begin, Russ snapped a picture of me with the 65 ft. tall Christmas tree and some of the toy soldiers in the background (shame all those other people had to be in it, too!)  As you can tell, some of us thought it was chilly out while others were clearly comfortable in the short sleeves and shorts (either that or else they hadn't brought any cold weather clothes with them!)
 

This 20-minute nighttime procession features floats and live performers covered in half a million lights, all timed to a synchronized soundtrack.  Tinker Bell leads off the parade waving to the crowd from high atop a hot air balloon float and is followed by Mickey and Minnie on the Electrical Parade
train float driven by Goofy.  Many other familiar Disney characters are in the parade such as Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Pinnochio, Pete’s Dragon, and Donald Duck just to name a few.  Always a fun way to end the evening!

 

   As we approached the dock for the ferry, we were lucky enough to catch part of the Electrical Water Pageant moving its way across the Lagoon.  This nightly water parade glides along to a medley of songs and is made up of sea creatures, mythical figures, and alternately American flags and stars.

 

PAR-TAY!

Our RV friends Frank and Diane purchased a new home down here during the summer and hosted a Christmas party just five weeks after it was ready to move in.  And when we walked in, you would have thought they had lived there for years!  We met many of their soon-to-be neighbors, and Diane put on quite a spread.  She even cooked an entire homemade pie for each couple to take home as a gift…what a woman!  We’ve been assured there will be more get-togethers this winter, and we’re looking forward to getting even better acquainted.