For some, the best time to visit a theme park is Halloween. Between Halloween Horror Nights at Universal and Disney’s after-hours Halloween parties, the spooky season is certainly special but, for my money, nothing beats a theme park Christmas. The decorations alone are enough to put you in the mood, and a new video shows off just how much work goes into creating the centerpiece of Magic Kingdom’s Christmas, a massive Christmas tree.
Walt Disney World never sleeps, as a great deal of the work that is done to decorate the parks is done overnight. A new time-lapse video posted to Instagram shows the construction of the Magic Kingdom Christmas tree, which starts at about 11:30 PM and has the lights go on by about 6 AM. It’s an absolutely incredible turnaround. Check it out:
I’ve actually been to Disneyland on the day before, and the day after, the tree has been constructed, and it’s an absolutely unreal experience. Knowing that the massive decoration simply wasn’t there the day before, and yet something as tall, or taller, than the buildings on Main Street U.S.A. is just there now, is wild.
The transformation of Walt Disney World for Christmas goes far beyond a tree in one park. Every theme park has a tree, as do each of the Disney World resort hotels. Disney World’s design team goes to work at every location, getting them transformed for Christmas, then goes back through to take everything down once the season ends.
Disney World is currently running two different Christmas parties for guests who want to truly be in the holiday spirit. Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party is a classic event, the one that made me far more excited about after-hours Disney events than I used to be. Jollywood Nights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a newer event, but one that has already become popular among guests.
While some theme park Christmas trees are real, which is impressive in itself, the fact that this one isn't may actually make it more impressive. The logistics of moving all these pieces around are next level. Considering it takes basically all night to build this piece, that means there's little margin for error.
Disney Parks are frequently about creating magic, and the secret to magic is, usually, not to reveal how it’s done. However, one of the reasons I love theme parks so much is that even when you see how they do some of the things they do, it only makes it all more impressive.
I recently visited Disneyland for the holidays, and the fact is that coming out of the tunnel and seeing the massive Christmas tree never gets old. It’s an incredible thing to witness, and getting to see how it's constructed all in one night is absolutely magical.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
