Jouyeux Noel a tous, Buon Natale a tutti and a Happy
Christmas, everyone!
This past weekend, Disneyland Paris had a media event where
members of the press got to preview many of the Resort's holiday offerings. And
what with this theme park's new Christmas Cavalcade, a retooled parade, an
entirely-new nightly tree lighting ceremony and the DISNEY-DREAMS-celebrates-Christmas
castle show, there are all sorts of seasonal surprises be found under DLP's
holiday tree this year.
Best of all, visitors to this popular tourist destination
now have longer than ever to experience & enjoy Disney's Enchanted
Christmas. For the 2013 holiday season at the Disneyland Paris Resort is now
scheduled to run from November 10th through January 6, 2014
Photo by Andea Monti
Mind you, you're going to want to get to the Park early to
make the most of the magic of Christmas at Disneyland Paris. For this year's
holiday celebration kicks off in the morning with the Christmas Cavalcade.
Calling this a.m. entertainment event a mini-parade would be wrong.
This holiday celebration actually kicks off in the morning
with a retooled & improved Christmas Cavalcade. Calling this a mini-parade
of sorts would be a mistake.
If in the past Disneyland Paris might have had a single
float or train going up and down Main Street, U.S.A. during the holiday season,
this year we get a full 4-float cavalcade with lots & lots & LOTS of
dancing of elves, toys and gingerbread men capering in the street inbetween these
Christmas-themed units.
Photo by Andrea Monti
As you might expect, this fun-filled, 15 minute-long holiday
cavalcade is set to classic Xmas tunes like "Toyland," "Here
Comes Santa Claus" and "Jingle Bells." And don't worry if you miss the first
presentation of Disneyland Paris' Christmas Cavalcade. For this movable holiday
feast is presented daily at this theme park (Consult your entertainment guide
for exact times).
What's that you say? You want more holiday magic? Well, that
Christmas feeling continues as the afternoon parade rolls through Disneyland
Paris. This parade now has a holiday feeling, not only because of the new,
slightly Christmassy version of its "Magic Everywhere" soundtrack but
also because of the inclusion of three brand-new Disney characters: Anna, Elsa,
Kristoff and Olaf from Disney "Frozen."
The parade float that these four are riding on may look somewhat familiar to
DLP fans, given that it was previously home to two Disney Princesses and their
beaus (i.e., first Princess Jasmine & Aladdin, then Rapunzel & Flynn
Rider). But with a little help from Disneyland Paris show producers Emanuel Lenormand & Cristophe Leclerq, this ice-covered unit now features a frozen
hill. From which the Snow Queen herself as well as her sister Ann & good
friend Kristoff now greet Guests along the parade route.
Photo by Andrea Monti
These two new additions alone should be enough to bring a
holiday smile to even the Scrooge-iest of
DLP Guests. But what should really fill theme park visitors with Christmas
cheer are the two new nighttime offerings that Disneyland Paris just
introduced.
Your magic-of-the-holidays filled evening begins with
everyone gathered around the brand-new Christmas tree that Katy Harris & her
team created for this theme park. For 21 years now, Disneyland Paris has
presented the exact same Christmas tree lighting ceremony that debuted back
during the 1992 holiday season (i.e., the first year that this theme park was
open for business). No longer. For 2013, Katy & her crew came up with a
brand-new tree, a state-of-the-art lightning system and a brand-new lighting ceremony.
This lighting ceremony (which is know as "Magical
Christmas Wishes" is an emotional journey filled with music, lights and
wonder. Through the narration of Jiminy Cricket (which is in English) and
Pinocchio (his lines are done in French), DLP guests get to feel & hear
what it feels like to be a child again, as Pinocchio wishes for the gifts that
Santa Claus will bring once this Christmas tree lights up.
Photo by Andrea Monti
And speaking of lighting up … DLP's new Christmas tree
features a unique light system built around LED balls twinkling lights which is
synchronized to a brand-new symphonic score
which is sure to bring a tear to those who wish that they too could be
"Home for the Holidays" in front of a beautifully decorated holiday
tree.
And as if this new
light-and-sound show weren't enough, the emotional experience which is
"Magical Christmas Wishes" is is then topped by having snow gently fall
on the Guests below as the nightly lighting of this holiday tree draws to a
close. Me personally, I thoroughly enjoyed "Magical Christmas Wishes"
and expect that this new DLP holiday show will become a Xmas classic.
Now an improved Christmas Cavalcade, a retooled afternoon
parade and a brand-new holiday tree lightning ceremony might be enough for
another theme park. But not Disneyland Paris. Walt Disney Creative
Entertainment saved its biggest & best present for last by taking DLP's
"Disney DREAMS" nighttime show (which debuted as part of this
resort's 20th anniversary celebration back in April of 2012) and then making a 100% new show, "Disney DREAMS
celebrates Christmas / Disney DREAMS fete Noel).
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
Something few people may realize is that Steve Davidson
(i.e. Disney Parks & Resorts' VP of
Parades & Spectaculars) has created two Christmas-themed shows for the 2013
holiday season: Disney California Adventure Park's "World of Color –
Winter Dreams" " and Disneyland Paris' "Disney DREAMS celebrates
Christmas." What's more, each of these holiday light shows are built around
the exact same character — Olaf, the snowman from Disney "Frozen."
And while these nighttime shows may share some scenes, they each have their own
identity & differences due to location and operational issues.
Both of these holiday shows share the same premise (i.e,
Disney characters celebrating Christmas) and the same narrator (Olaf). But if the
California version will be more
fountain and character centric, Paris
took the leap by taking the different languages & traditions of Europe
and then integrating them into this show. Katy Harris worked in Paris
hand-in-hand with Steve Davison and "Europe
flavored" the scenes & ideas featured in "Disney DREAMS
celebrates Christmas." As a direct result, creating a very unique and fun-filled
22 minute-long show.
The Paris team
used Anna & Olaf from Disney "Frozen" as the French and English
narrators of this after-dark Xmas show and then put together an amazing set of
scenes which wittily combine digital projection, water fountains, lights and
lasers. This celebration of Xmas starts out sweet & subtle with vintage
Disney characters (Bambi, Classic Mickey and Minnie, 101 Dalmatians and many
others) and eventually reaches WDAS' next big release.
Photo by Andrea Monti
What sets "Disney DREAMS celebrates Christmas" and
literally makes the audience sing & cry with joy is the multilingual sing-along
segment in various languages (which is interrupted by Olaf when this snowman
stops the sing-along by proclaiming that he can't feel his legs). The second
half of the show is a fun-filled rollercoaster loaded with songs, scenes and
crazy fountains which — when these
elements all come together — celebrate the very essence of Christmas in
European countries such as France, England, Germany, Spain and Italy.
This is where Katy Harris' team took the ball given to them
by Steve Davison and started running in their own direction. Giving the already
amazing show a show-stopping scene by first featuring Elsa singing "Let It
Go" and then by gradually the Disneyland Paris castle into the Snow
Queen's frozen one. Thus transforming "World of Color" 's little
sister into its own very own unique show, one fit for the world's most
beautiful theme park castle.
"Disney DREAMS celebrates Christmas" and DLP's new
"Magical Christmas Wishes" tree lightning ceremony is exactly what
this theme park needed. Two holiday-themed shows that have the same amount of
heart that the original Disneyland Park's
"Believe in Holiday Magic" fireworks show does. Here's hoping that
visitors to Disneyland Paris are quick to embrace these nighttime Xmas
presentations so that they can then entertain Guests for many Christmases yet
to come.