* After you read this report you may want to check out the pictorial updates in our Disneyland Resort Pictorial Update section

Hello everyone,

Friday was a nice relaxing day at the Disneyland Resort. The parks had a lot of people, especially in the evening, but the lines still did not seem bad to me. It was definitely not as bad as last years kickoff of the Holidays which also happened to be Veterans day.

Jason

Trip logs and mileage reports are in the Park Miles section.

Disneyland & DCA Thoughts and Observations:

• As you saw in the Pictorial update both theme parks are all decked out for the Holiday season and looking great! Overall there are not that many changes in the decorations this year over years past, the only major changes is the addition of the Castle Snow. The entertainment offerings are about the same too with the Sleeping Beauty's Winter Castle shows being added but everything else the same, Believe in Holiday Magic, The Christmas Fantasy Parade, the Reindeer Roundup, and over at DCA Santa's Beach Party Blast.
  
  
• The castle looks great at night and the small show that occurs a couple times a night is a nice touch too. There were two that I know of on Friday. One at 5:30 and another at 7:30. This show happens at the Castle and out at Small World. It consists of some dialog and a new version of "Shine" (the old theme from the short lived Luminaria show at DCA). If you are at the Castle you see a light show and snow fall, out at Small World snow falls and there are projections on Small World. I think this is a great little show and just a nice "plus".. especially for those who do not stay until the fireworks finale, now they get to experience the snowfall. Wonder if this will have any impact on the crowds that jam Main Street every night (Friday night was packed as usual for the showing). I was not overly impressed with how the lights on the castle look during the day, it comes off as looking a bit odd to me to see strands of lights hanging everywhere, but at night the effect is great and well worth it seeing.
  
  
• I was disappointed not to be able to see the Snow White exhibit in the Animation Building at DCA. The signs I spotted last trip said Premiering the 16th were a bit misleading... the Premiere event was the 16th with merchandise, a screening, and a preview but it did not open to the public until the 17th so no one was allowed in....
  
  
• The Christmas Fantasy Parade is running again and in front of the parade is a new pre-parade unit featuring the princess from the upcoming film (it opens this week) Enchanted and the theme song from this film is played (its sung by Carrie Underwood - click here to see the music video and to learn more about the film)
  
  
• For dinner I decided to grab a quick corn dog in between the castle lighting and the parade (which gave me about 45 minutes). There were maybe 7-8 groups in front of me and it took me just over 35 minutes to get my corn dog, which just seems way toooo slow. Everyone around me was grumbling about the long wait and I talked about my prior experiences and how its always this long... it just does not make sense why they food lines cannot move more efficiently... especially at a place that sells corn dogs and drinks only, there are about 5 things on the menu. Also I noticed they now accept credit cards so you do not even have to wait for change like before (and note they do take the Annual Pass discount too).
  
  
• While eating I glanced through the guidemaps and time schedule and I was surprised to see the the Reindeer Roundup on the inside of the time guide and not the cover. The cover still had the Jedi Training Academy, Princess Faire, and Pirate's Lair instead. Over on the DCA side they list the Wave Riders again, I waited around for their 1:30 set and they never appeared... also interesting the map has the regular listing, no mention of holiday music, wonder if this was an oversight or if they are not playing holiday sets this year.
  
  
• Just want to conclude with saying how much I enjoyed seeing the classic Believe in Holiday Magic show... I think it is amongst the best Disney firework shows and would encourage anyone who is into the holidays to check it out if you have not, its worth fighting the crowds....
  
  

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