The World Report
Page 3 of 3
Haunted Mansion Holiday
(c) Disney
One of the highlights during our time in Disneyland was the "Haunted Mansion Holiday" redo. Jack Skellington has taken over the Mansion and redone it in his scary Christmas way. Absolutely fantastic!!! From the music outside the Mansion while we waited on line (love the use of the Paris Haunted Mansion Music) to Jack looking down at you in the stretch room to some new hitchhiking ghosts, this attraction shows how Disney can take a classic and make changes without ruining the original attraction. The ballroom scene with its large Christmas tree and the graveyard with its snow and singing pumpkin head instead of the singing statue busts are all fantastic. The Haunted Mansion Holiday alone was worth the trip to California.
One of the sad things missing from all this holiday cheer at Disneyland was the Country Bears being shut. Is something going in there? If so, how come there are no signs indicating that? If not, couldn’t they have waited till after Christmas and end the Bears run at Disneyland with the superior Country Bear Christmas Special? But the "Believe…In Holiday Magic" fireworks is a nice change from the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks in the Magic Kingdom. Add to that the snow falling on Main Street at the end and I was ready for a nice cup of hot chocolate and had the urge to rush home to set up my tree. I do have to say though that on our second night in Disneyland it was miserable trying to go from Fantasyland to Frontierland before the fireworks. The Castle was closed (Can't they at least open the cut-through near the TinkerBells Toy shop) meaning we had to back track all the way past Alice in Wonderland through mobs of people in the hub into Frontierland. There must be a better way.
Snow on Main Street
Those of us in Florida sometimes forget what a great place Disneyland is. With our four theme parks, three water parks, golf courses, and gobs of hotels, I think we sometimes become jaded thinking bigger is better. It was great to be back in the intimacy of Disneyland. Some people like to report on the lack of maintenance and stuff at Disneyland. I want to say that none of that was apparent during our visits to the park. The park is still beautiful, the attractions are still wonderful and it is a great testimony to Walt Disney’s genius. It’s a shame that Disney isn’t marking his 100th birthday at the original Disney Theme Park. Well enough from me from the West Coast. Now I need to get back to WDW and start reporting on all the holiday goings on there. Till next time.
Discuss It
Related Links
- World Report look at Disney's California Adventure
- Haunted Mansion Holiday
- 2000 Report on the
Holidays at Disneyland
Includes "it's a small world" holiday and Believe..There's Magic in the Stars
-- Stephen Halpin
The World Report reports on all aspects of Walt Disney World.
The World Report is not posted on a regular schedule
The opinions expressed by our Stephen Halpin, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future plans of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
-- Posted November 21, 2001