Sleeping Beauty's Winter Castle

If you’ve never been to Disneyland during the winter holiday season, allow me to submit that a visit to the park at this time will cure your “been there, done that” blues.  The enormous Christmas tree, the holiday music piped in, the lights over Main Street USA, the LED icicle-draped Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle at the center of the park – all conspire to melt the heart of the Scroogiest among us.

I’ve been to the park twice in just a few months, after a very very long spell of not ever visiting at all.  My first visit was on my birthday, a Wednesday in September that, besides being my birthday, was just another day in the life of the happiest place on Earth.  Since it was my two young sons’ first time there, I looked at everything with a critical travel blogger’s eye.  We all had a great time, but for the ticket price of $72 for adults and $62 for children, I expected perfection and that is not what I found.  The first castmember we encountered was snarky and rude.  Several bathrooms were closed, a display was malfunctioning, and the moat around the castle was murky and still, with garbage floating in it.  Not exactly a sight to behold.  True to form, I sent a summary of my disappointments to the PR department of the park.  A representative responded soon after, apologizing and explaining some of the circumstances, assuring me that each of my criticisms would be forwarded to the correct departments and thanking me for my valuable feedback.  I appreciated the response.  It demonstrated that indeed, the park staff does pay attention to guests’ needs and that reactions are considered going forward.

So when I headed to Disneyland again last weekend for a Holiday Parent Blogger event, I was excited to bring my son along and I was ready for the park to show me what’s it got.  Dazzle me, I said to the park.  Fix what was broken.  Sure enough, they had.

With a party to attend and a Studio 365 makeover scheduled for my boy, there was not enough time to fully explore the park all over again, but I did make a point to visit the attractions where I noticed imperfections back in September.  Everything had been addressed and I was happy to see it.  In fact, an extra air of magic seemed to infuse the environment.  Maybe it was because I was a guest this time.  Maybe it was the holiday atmosphere, or the slight touch of cold in the weather as the sun started setting.  Either way, this longtime amusement-park-phobic was fully won over when she saw the light in her son’s eyes as he said hello to Silvermist in Pixie Hollow, an expression of starstruck amazement on his face.

If you’re schlepping your own children around Disneyland and the holiday decorations or the presence of Santa Claus aren’t enough to  get you in the spirit, stick around for the fireworks show, aptly titled “Believe in Holiday Magic.”  Beautifully choreographed to original music, the show is breathtaking, capped off by a surprise snow flurry at the end.  (Just don’t eat the snowflakes.  They aren’t real.)  Be sure to catch the holiday-themed “It’s a Small World” attraction before the fireworks show, because afterwards the line is simply ridiculous.  Oh, and get a churro.  To die for.

Other holiday touches include:

• “A Christmas Fantasy” Parade
• Santa Claus and his reindeer in Big Thunder Ranch
• “The Nightmare Before Christmas” theme at The Haunted Mansion
• Holiday decorations and the Electrical Parade at Disney’s California Adventure park
• A big celebration on New Year’s Eve in both parks

Holiday magic at Disneyland continues through January 3, 2010.

[Photo credit:  Paul Hiffmeyer/Disneyland]