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Well, after a lackluster (though understandable) display of Christmas cheer at Animal Kingdom, your intrepid reporter forges on in search of Yuletide spirit at the other WDW parks, despite misgivings and fears that her journey would go un-rewarded. Fortunately, there was nothing to fear but fear itself. Disney, like no other business does, understands excess. And Christmas excess was just around the corner at Disney-MGM Studios... Disney-MGM Studios If I were pressed to pick my most favorite Disney park, I’d have to say it's Disney- MGM Studios. It is just such a cool park – from the cheesy 40’s style architecture and great stage shows such as Beauty and the Beast and the Indiana Jones stunt show to the Streetmosphere actors and the most awesome of all attractions, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Besides, only the coolest of all parks would have an X-Files "I Want To Believe" poster on their animation tour. Have I mentioned yet how much I love this park? So with great anticipation, I crossed my fingers that the Studios wouldn’t fail to disappoint for Christmas. And it didn’t. Entering the park, the entrance sign (like Animal Kingdom) is decorated with Christmas garlands.
Walking down Hollywood Boulevard, I was greeted with the Christmas of my youth. Over the streets hung garlands just like those that adorned the real Hollywood Boulevard of yesteryear. Over each street lamp were the most wonderfully tacky plastic Santa and Christmas tree. It doesn’t get any better than this.
We were also treated to an impromptu parade of Belle in a fairy-tale carriage on her way to the Enchanted Christmas storytelling. Several lucky kids were drafted from the audience and got to wear adorable Christmas ornament costumes.
Speaking of Belle, she really gets around. Not only did she have her Beauty and the Beast show, she had to fit in the storytelling at MGM *and* at Magic Kingdom during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. I guess the Marketeers gotta sell those direct- to- video releases of her Enchanted Christmas somehow. Oops! Did I say that?
Along the way, the Streetmosphere Players were out in full force, dressed up with Christmas accessories and drawing some very large crowds. One set of players was arranging a "group" photo of the entire audience – the guests were eating it up so I could only hear and *not* see, so no photo of them! In the plaza before the Chinese Theater a miniature railroad display was set up. Not only was it decorated with Christmas trimmings, the display itself was a perfect replica of Los Angeles’ own Union Station. Too cool.
After getting a Fastpass for my most favorite ride in the whole wide world (and I am a ride wuss so you know Tower of Terror has to be great in order to get me to ride it over and over), Jeff the All- Around Good Sport and I take in the Beauty and the Beast show. The warm-up act did a funny show performing a mixture of traditional and pop versions of Christmas carols. A really nice touch. The thing I like the most about the Beauty and the Beast stage show is that no expense is spared. A full cast of dancers and singers, great costumes and a fun finale complete with onstage fireworks and the release of white doves. The only thing I can’t figure out is what are the dancing bats doing there in the "The Mob Song" scene?
After Beauty and the Beast, lunch is in order. Good news! They’ve changed the menu at ABC Commissary. Featured are chicken yakitori, tabbouleh, fajita wraps and feijoada (that’s rice and beans with sausage to you and me). Jeff and I devour our food and watch the ABC promotional programs on the televisions in the restaurants. Not only do we learn about "enhanced TV," we learn about "convergence programming." What the heck is that?! I guess Disney Execu- Speak™ has made its way to ABC. We waddle over to the Indiana Jones stunt show and take in what I feel is one of the best stunt shows around. (It sure beats Universal Studios’ stunt show!) As usual, Indy steals the golden idol, stuntmen fall from two- story buildings, hapless audience volunteers are inducted into the mayhem and the German plane is blown up. Eight- year- old boys (and their daddies) like this show a lot. Me too.
Well, time for Tower of Terror (yay! I finally saw the hidden Mickey in the rightmost elevator – look for Mickey’s head as your elevator approaches the fiber optic lights converging on the wall in front of you) and the Animation Tour. While waiting for the tour, we see that a meet-and-greet for Mickey had been set up in the back of the queue. The CM out front doesn’t do a very good of directing traffic and people wanting to be in the Animation Tour queue wind up seeing Mickey and vice versa. Unfortunately, the Animation Tour CM is fairly rude to the mixed-up visitors and makes them go to the back of the line. Tsk-tsk. The Animation Tour, as usual, delivers. We ignore the CM explaining how animation works and instead spend our time watching the animators in the offices below working on various Disney projects. Artwork is up for Monsters Inc., Emperor’s New Groove, Atlantis and Treasure Planet. Too bad we’re not allowed (on pain of death) to take photos. I spot the X-Files "I Want To Believe" poster and I am happy. The tour exits into the Animation Gallery and Jeff and I drool over the original artwork. I notice that all of the Marc Davis artwork on display for sale from my last trip in May is gone, gone, gone! People have very good taste. Well, the piece de resistance of the day is almost here. At six o’clock, the lights are turned on for the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights. Jeff and I let the hordes go before us and we saunter our way down New York Street at 6:30 pm to gawk at the cheesiness of it all. The snowmakers are pumping out the snow so thick and fast that I can’t get a decent picture. You don’t believe me? Wait, here’s a photo of the snow:
After walking half a block, Jeff and I are batting the snow out of our eyes. We both looked like we were having really bad hair days due to the big clumps of soapy bubbles melting in our hair. And then we came to the entrance of the Osborne Lights. Excessive is an understatement here. Spectacle doesn’t convey the image either. Think Cecil B. DeMille with a cast of millions of lights. It is deliriously tacky and wonderful, all at the same time. Huge carousels of angels twirl around and flap their wings. We put on our 3D glasses given out at the entrance and see snowflakes glittering across the entire street.
Realizing that if we attempt to walk and wear our glasses at the same time we will surely sprain an ankle or something worse, we take them off and proceed down the Backlot Tour’s Residential Street. A canopy of lights is draped over the entire street. Each house is completely covered in lights and on every lawn is some overwrought display: a doghouse, a barbecue, snowmen. We come across a house decorated with Jewish symbols – I guess this house got Hanukkah lights instead but the lights, oddly enough, weren’t blue and white. At the end of Residential Street was a huge Merry Christmas sign with flying reindeer in the air.
We stagger out inspired by the lights. I try to talk Jeff into transforming my house back in Southern California to be the West Coast equivalent – I’ll go to Wal-Mart to buy the lights, he can go up on the roof to install them. He gives me the "you know, you really are insane" look and I give up. Some people have no Christmas spirit... Well, after that, our day is over. Nothing can top that. We go back to the hotel and have a delicious (and compared to Disney, inexpensive) dinner at the Olive Garden. I even talk him into taking me back to see the lights again later in the week.
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