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Since my fiance and I had found out that Casa Mexicana was going to close on
the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and since we're going to be on the other side
of the country that day, we decided to make a last visit to Casa Mex, one of
the restaurants we rather like at DL, and we arranged to meet friends for
dinner there tonight. We got to Pinocchio around 5:45, arriving at the main gate at just about
6pm. The tunnel on the right side was closed off, so everyone was being
funnelled through the left tunnel. All of the Christmas decorations were
up, as was the tree in Town Square, and everything looked just lovely.
Further up Main Street, we ran into friends who were listening to carolers,
so we stopped to chat and listen as well. The carolers sounded great, and
they were terrific with the audience. A couple of the carolers were
interacting with a younger girl, and she was just loving it. After picking up some friends at Coke Corner (others had already headed to
Casa Mex), we headed over ourselves. I was dismayed to pass the Tiki Room
at about 6:10 to see that it was closed. I thought the attractions were
supposed to be back on park operating hours and not closing early anymore? The food and dinner conversation were good as usual, and while others headed
to various parts of DL, a few of us decided to ride Pirates. I noticed a
few new things, all very cool. After Pirates, we stayed in New Orleans
Square and looked at the stuff in the Christmas shop. They have so many
cool ornaments and figurines, and we saw the free attractions ornament offer
to boot. I wasn't that crazy about this week's ornament, Mickey's house
from Toontown, but I love the Matterhorn, Splash and Castle ornaments.
Dumbo looked a bit weird, and I would have definitely wanted the Space
ornament as well...if only it were white. Oh well. There were enough
things I wanted to buy (including some cool stuff with Sorcerer Mickey and
an adorable piece with Chip and Dale and cookies on a plate) that we'll be
able to get the three ornaments I want in the next few weeks. We noticed that the castle area is decorated differently this year. The
castle itself looks great, with all the garlands and hanging lanterns and
lights (though two strings of lights on the right-hand side garlands were
out - presumably just a temporary glitch). Even better, though, is that
instead of the two trees they normally have in the moat, they have decorated
many of the surrounding trees with strings of white light, including some of
the *really* tall trees. It looks just amazing. And, all of the lighting
in the hub was working, so that too added to the effect. Great job! Storybook was closed today. I remember last year being told and then seeing
that the properties on Storybook had been decorated for Christmas as well,
and that was so cool. I hope they do that again this year. We walked past Small World, but it's much too sugary this time of year for
me and definitely not on my diet at present. We each picked up a Santa-hat-adorned Mickey ball at the Star Trader. Those
things are so cute. I haven't actually had my Mickey ball on my car in a
while, as I was tired of having it stolen so I'd resorted to putting it on
when I got in the car and taking it off when I got out, but this one is so
cute, it'll be worth the work. We got back to Coke Corner just before the start of the Mulan Parade, so I
ended up sitting down and watching the parade. I haven't seen it in a
while, but every time I do, it reminds me what a great parade it is. It has
so many elements that are appealing. The costumes are terrific, the
concubines were in splendid form tonight, the dragon was amazing to behold
as usual, the "pot head" guy who's been there for so long is still smiling
as much as the first time I saw him, the acrobats (I noticed there were
three acrobats and had only ever seen two at a time - when did they add the
extra one?) were terrific, and it's so cool hearing the spontaneous and
sustained applause when they perform, and the lions are always a delight,
both in themselves and in watching the audience's reaction. I'm sad that I
won't be there for their last performance in two weeks but I'm glad I was
able to see it one last time. After the parade, we wandered through the stores on Main Street, and then
sat down for a while to wait out the crowds leaving the park, creating a
non-moving bottleneck for some time. We finally left when the crowd had
thinned some. Christmas is a very lovely time at the park, with all the lights and
decorations. My next visit won't be until December, but I'm looking forward
to spending more time in the park with all of the Christmas festivities.
When Disney does something well, and they do Christmas so very well, it's
amazing to see. |
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We noticed that the castle area is decorated differently this year. The
castle itself looks great, with all the garlands and hanging lanterns and
lights (though two strings of lights on the right-hand side garlands were
out - presumably just a temporary glitch). Even better, though, is that
instead of the two trees they normally have in the moat, they have decorated
many of the surrounding trees with strings of white light, including some of
the *really* tall trees. It looks just amazing. And, all of the lighting
in the hub was working, so that too added to the effect. Great job! >> Was it last year when the two trees in the moat blew over? I remember the
trees were down and big ornament balls floating in the moat. Maybe that's why
they chose a different route this year. Sounds lovely. I can't wait to see
it! |
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