Ep. 734: Celebrating the holidays with Disney parks, cruises and traditions
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You're listening to Mousetalgia for the week of December 23, 2024. Christmas time! Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho! Hang on to them hats and glasses, cause this here's the wildest podcast in the wilderness! This is Mousetalgia! Carpe Kingdom, seize the magic!

Welcome to Nostalgia, your podcast about Disneyland, Disney history, living the Disney life. My name is Jeff. I am the host. I'm here today with Emma, a very special guest host. Thank you for joining me today, Emma.

Howdy. Howdy. Good to have you, as always, on Mousetalgia. So it is Christmas week. We are very excited about that over here in Mousetalgia Central. So, Emma, I just thought I'd have you on this week to celebrate the holidays at Disneyland and Disney Parks with me. And we can kind of chat about our favorite...

you know, parts of the park during this kind of the year, this time of the year. And so, but first let me thank my sponsor, MEI, Mouse Fan Travel. So Mouse Fan Travel is a fee-free Disney travel agency. So anything you want to do Disney related, take a Disney cruise, go on an adventure by Disney, visit the theme parks over in Florida, visit the theme parks here in California, visit the theme parks around the world. Anything you want to do Disney related, go to mousefantravel.com, get yourself a no obligation quote and see what they can do for you.

Do it. Yeah, do it. Now, Emma, listen. I know that you...

as of late, have been a little bit more involved with the Walt Disney World theme parks, notably because you worked there for a number of years. So we will talk about that a little bit today, but we're also going to talk about Disneyland. And I know you have some experience with Disneyland at Christmas. Is this correct? I do, yes. Excellent. So that's great. So we will talk all about that. You know, I think first, let's start like I usually do with My Hostel's Charcuterie. ♪

The Mousetalgia Charcuterie. All right. So this week, what we're going to do for this introduction. Do you know what the Mousetalgia Charcuterie is, Emma? Have you been paying attention? Yes. Yes, of course. Okay. So it's, of course, you know, when we just go around and have a brief conversation about kind of an introductory topic. I think true to Mousetalgia's history as a podcast, I'm going to go back into some archives, newspaper archives here and find some articles about Disneyland's

Uh, holiday history. Now we have talked about this many, many times on nostalgia, but it's kind of funny. Every time I go searching through, um, newspapers and old periodicals and magazines and things to try to find more information about Disneyland, something new always pops up, um, or something that I had never really thought about or that we'd never really talked about. So what I thought I would do is read from a couple eras of Disneyland's holiday history. Um,

One is we're going to start with 1959, which I think is about when you can say Disneyland had kind of found a groove for holiday celebrations. I think their parades started a couple of years after they opened officially. But 1959, let's see. So this article I'm going to read says it's their third annual Christmas parade. So, you know, finding the groove.

So I'm going to read you an article here. It's by Marjorie Young. And it got printed in a lot of newspapers. It was one of Disneyland's, I'm sure, based on a Disneyland press release.

about their holidays in 1959. So what this says is, Disney's gala holiday season, which highlights traditional Christmas customs of nations throughout the world, will officially launch Sunday, December 20, with the third annual Christmas parade. You know, one thing I find interesting, just sidebar, about Disneyland's holidays, for quite a few, I think for a number of decades, actually, is that

They just celebrated it for like two weeks, like the week before Christmas, Christmas week, and then it ended a couple days after New Year's. That's insane. Isn't that amazing? Like they went through, and you're going to hear here like the rigmarole and the...

the amazing scope of what they tried to do here all for a couple of weeks of celebration. It was really kind of fascinating actually. But anyways, returning to the article, this is in 1959, this is the most diversified Christmas parade ever staged at Walt Disney's magic kingdom. So as more than 2,500 gaily costume participants dressed in the manner of their native lands and enacting, enacting age old Yuletide customs. So,

This colorful pageantry spotlights 35 different song and dance groups, 10 marching bands, 15 decorated floats, 15 specially trimmed Christmas trees depicting international customs, equestrians, costumed Disney characters, and an array of animals from all over the world. So 30 different nations will be represented.

Let's see. So the parade officially ushers in nearly two weeks of special entertainment at Disneyland centered around a quote unquote Christmas in Minilands theme. So it seems like this is my sidebar. They've always, as far as I can tell, Disney, at least in the early days, their Christmas celebration always was how can we like celebrate how the world works?

celebrates the holidays. Like they've, they realize Christmas is one of the few holidays that the whole entire world, you know, much of the world, not the whole like an early world showcase. It is like an early world showcase. Right. And it's interesting. That's what Walt Disney wanted to do. You know, Disneyland now, or the Disney parks now have, and I don't say this, well, it's going to sound derogatory. I don't mean it to be derogatory, but they've kind of homogenized the holidays into their own,

holiday magic thing, and it's Disney holiday. Do you know what I mean? I do. And it's interesting. They still will celebrate specifically some international stuff, but it always...

It's just weird to think about how it's kind of evolved. But anyway, let me get back to this article or we'll never get anywhere here. Let's see. So from December 16th through January 3rd, Disneyland will be open every day. Visitors will see huge decorated Christmas trees, hundreds of colored lights and ornaments, colorful window decorations, and of course the special shows and entertainment. So daily holiday features include the popular Disneyland carolers,

who returned to perform Christmas songs and hymns and four different groups of puppeteers and entertaining in four separate locations. Emma, they had four groups of puppeteers in four, I guess, little puppet castles. They had more than one set of puppeteers. I'm trying to envision that. I know. And like, where did they put these four separate castles?

I'm imagining like a little, you know how puppet stages are, like a little castle. Yeah. Huh. Okay. So anyway, so 1959, remember? So there will also be special afternoon and evening performances by song and dance groups, including...

Candlelight Procession of 2200 Choir Singers, the Beautiful Living Christmas Tree Presentation by Western High School Choir, and Christmas in Latin America on December 26th, featuring a festive Posada Parade and the Breaking of the Piñata.

Okay. Also on the Disneyland holiday agenda are presentations of European customs, Scandinavian traditions, Hawaii, United States and Philippines, the British Isles, and the songs and dances of Asia on New Year's Eve. And then the climax will, of course, be the New Year's Eve party from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. All right. So that was 1959. A pretty full...

you know, pretty full roster of things to do at Disneyland. And, you know, some of that stuff, I really wish I could kind of go back and see some of it. I feel like was somewhat common, like in back in the fifties, civic, you know,

Charming.

in a way that the big bombastic holiday, even like the Macy's parade now and Disneyland's in the Walt Disney parks, um, holiday celebrations. There's no parade anymore. It's all just songs and commercials. I saw. Okay. I did see some floats. So there must've been something happening. Like Minnie Mouse floated around in balloon form. So something happens at that. There's a hint of a parade there. Yeah.

Okay. So this is something that happened. I do want to say, and this is an audio podcast, so this won't mean too much, but there's a photo that goes with it of a little girl checking out Santa's workshop, maybe in a little miniature village. And I feel like she's on the shore of Storybook Land, but I can't confirm that because it's too close in on what's going on. But I don't remember there ever being a miniature village that kids could walk up to and

like dollhouses. So I think this is a staged photograph. Anyway, that's 1959. So anything there, what strikes you about this? Is there anything there that you would have wished you could have experienced? I want to see those puppet shows first of all. Right? Isn't that crazy? Like maybe there was an Adventureland one, Frontierland, Fantasy, and Tomorrow. I don't know. Oh. How do they celebrate Christmas in the future? I don't know.

That actually makes a lot of sense. Maybe that is why they had four different ones. Another photo they have here are 10-foot-high sculptures of the wise men. They look like, I don't know if they were part of the parade floats or anything, but there's some pretty cool-looking visual images.

images. We're so used to, or I should say I'm so used to now, the modern retro look at what mid-century modern design is and what it means. And it's spreading into postmodern design. People say, oh, this is mid-century modern style, but really it's not. They use some fonts and maybe they try to create things with little asterisk stars and they say, this is mid-century modern. But in 1959, we were

That was just modern. Right there. It is like, and so this is truly mid century, um, a mindset, right? All right. So let me skip ahead a little bit to 1963. A couple of new things have happened. Uh, Disneyland has now a parade of toys. And I don't know if, I don't think this was the same parade that began in 1959. I think they added this sometime later. Um, uh,

The candlelight procession went down to a thousand carolers, so only a thousand carolers. But then their giant Christmas parade, it included, so listen to this, 3,000 people participated in this parade. Can you imagine a Disney parade that has 3,000 people involved? How do they even, it feels like to me it would have had to been...

still going both from the entrance and the exit. Do you know what I mean? Like to have 3,000 people participating. So it had bands, marching units, dancers, singers. I mean, a lot of these are probably volunteer marching bands and things.

And then they still were doing the international, they were presenting the Christmas traditions of 28 nations. This was the Christmas in Many Lands parade that I talked about. So the 3,000 member parade was a one-time parade that happened on Sunday, December 22. Like it was the launch to their Christmas season. But then they had Parade of Toys was their regular performing Christmas holiday season.

which had, it was led by 16 giant wooden soldiers and included dolls, knights, trains, many floats and clowns.

I'm sure the clowns were a big hit with a lot of people. Oh, I'm sure. No problems at all. I mean, even Disneyland and clowns, like clowns aren't really part of the Disney lexicon. You know what I mean? They were, they have been. Like Dumbo.

Yeah. I mean, Disneyland and circuses do not exactly track. Well, right. Yeah. The circus that was there. Yeah. Didn't really, you know, so they tried something. They tried. They did. And clowns have had a mixed history. A mix. That's all I'll say about clowns. Santa Claus was also part of the parade of toys. So Santa Claus was followed by, or what he followed eight comical Disney reindeer. I don't know if they're the same style. Um,

as in the fantasy or what is it? Fantasy Christmas fantasy parade. Yeah. Probably the originals with the long tongues.

Yeah, I bet you that's what it is. And then this is the parade of toys, right? So it had many live animals, including elephants from India, camels from Arabia, quote unquote, a brown bear from the Himalayas, ostriches from Australia, and a cheetah from South America. I'm going to guess they didn't actually import all these animals from these different countries. They probably were from local zoos. But it did have a ton of, like, how did they have a brown bear animal?

Was it in a cage or do you think they just, they couldn't have just walked a brown bear down? Or on a leash. Yeah. But even on a leash. That's a risky move. I don't know. And a cheetah. Maybe they just pulled over Casey Jr. off of the track. Yeah. Like circuit. I guess people wouldn't have really minded to see animals in cages back in 1963. It's, it's interesting. Right. Um,

So then they had Southern California's top high school youth bands. More than 1,000 carolers from leading choral groups joined the annual candlelight procession. So that was what I said. They downsized the candlelight procession to 1,000 from 2000 to 1959, if you can call that a downsize. All right. So, oh, oh, oh, oh. And then it says again. So I don't know when this launched.

Again, this Yule season, a 24-foot Christmas star will be seen atop the Matterhorn Mountain in Disneyland, visible for many miles as Orange County's tallest man-made structure. So I remember driving to Disneyland as a kid and the Matterhorn stuck out. It is now dwarfed by most of the hotels around Disneyland. You really can't see the Matterhorn anywhere.

Too much from outside. But when I was a kid, you still could. Yeah. All right. So that is 19. Oh, well, you know what? We have to also mention a couple other things here. So another thing that was a feature of the holidays were, it sounds like, expanded Disney character games.

This is the parade's on December 22. So this is the big giant 3000 person parade. So it had 60 Disney characters, Mickey Mouse, Pluto, including Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Goofy, Snow White, and the Seven Dwarfs, Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter, Peter Pan. And it had at this time, which was the newest addition to Disneyland's characters, Thumper and Flower.

Which I don't think I've ever seen Thumper and Flower as costume characters. Me either. But they were there in 1963. Do they mean newest as in like when you could meet them in the parks? Because... No, no, no. This is parade, like parade characters. So I don't know if they stopped...

To become meet and greets or not. One more thing I just want to point out. So then I saw this ad from, I don't know, when was this from? 1969, I think. 65. So the 10th annual. So this is when the Fantasy on Parade opened at Disneyland. Officially, I think, for the 10th annual. I think. I hope. I think so. Probably. Fantasy on Parade opened.

Um, parades twice daily. So this, this is something special added for 1965. The sensational rocket belt man will fly four times daily from the flight circle in Tomorrowland. Okay. So my answer to this rambling question, which I guess was, I think we, I mentioned like, what would you like to, what do you wish you could go back and see? I wish I could go back and see the sensational rocket belt man.

That's what I wish I could see. Is that the guy who would take off in the landing? Okay. The big landing platform back in the middle of tomorrow. All these things that were so, I think, potentially dangerous, like cheetahs and brown bears and brown bears, I guess. Well, brown bears are not as safe as black bears.

And the rocket man flying around, like they won't even let you fly a drone or they won't even fly drones over people in Disney parks now, but they would fly a rocket man. They're just flying by the seat of their pants back then. Literally in some cases. Oh, geez. All right. Here you leave today to hear a podcast from the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy. Nostalgia. Carfake.

So this has been a look back at Disneyland and its holiday celebrations. Of course, somewhere in the 80s, Disney and holidays started to merge into their own kind of thing, their own kind of holiday magic. And I would posit now that

Disneyland and Walt Disney World have kind of a holiday celebration that is unique to Disney. Like, it feels like you go to... They still have the traditions, you know, of candy canes and Santa Claus and, you know, all these types of things. Even religious traditions with candlelight ceremonies. But it still is uniquely...

Disney now. Now, I think it's become uniquely Disney. So, I thought I'd have you on to kind of talk about some of these things, some of the things that we might feel are kind of uniquely Disney about the holidays, and we're just going to kind of chat about them a little bit. All right. There was something I were going to go back in time and see. I think one of them would be the Matterhorn when it was turned into a big tree. However...

However, when I watch footage of that thing, I always think to myself, that star is too big and it is not proportional to the size of the Matterhorn. To me, that star is a little too big. If we could scale it down, I don't know, like a quarter of its size maybe? Yeah.

It would be perfect to me. Okay. It was giant and another thing that looked to me to be super dangerous. Yes. Just because you can put a giant mid-century star on top of the Matterhorn doesn't mean you always should. That's my advice. The other, something else I would really, really love to see would be the original Candlelight because when I watched the Disneyland through the season special around this time of year, I always like to re-watch it. I

I don't know. I always get goosebumps and even, I don't know, a little verklempt, a little emotional watching all those, those choir members walking down main street, you know, straight down the street, making the big Christmas tree at the end. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

Yeah. So we can start with something we agree on. So everyone that listens to Nostalgia knows how much I appreciate the candlelight ceremony. I'm going to have Julia from Doom Buggies on in a little bit. She's going to talk about...

She just went to Candlelight this year at Disneyland. She's going to report about that a little bit. She went with Tina from the Pal-A-Round podcast, and they talked about it on their recent podcast more in depth. And Tina said she's not really a religious person, but she still could feel the...

How did she say it? I don't want to put words in her mouth. But basically, my impression was she was describing kind of the camaraderie that people... It's almost like... Let me... Okay, so let me pause. I feel the way I felt about what she was saying was how you picture Whoville when the Grinch steals all their presents. And then he's like, wait a minute, what's that sound? And everyone's coming together...

You know, regardless of what their circumstances are. Right. And I felt like that's what Tina was describing. I also feel that way about Disneyland when they do the candlelight ceremony specifically. Like, it feels like people are just kind of coalescing around an idea of what Christmas is or could be or should be. You know what I mean? And it's really...

Yeah, I agree with you. It really is hard to escape a kind of a visceral emotional response to that. I mean, that's often how, I mean, that's the sense I get from it. There's a real weight to it hearing these, you know, hundreds? Hundreds? Yes, hundreds of people in this choir singing these songs.

And it could feel that same way at Disney World because in Epcot, not to get off on a very small Disney World tangent, but at Epcot and World Showcase, they do something very similar. They just do it inside of a theater in the American Adventure Pavilion. And they also like Disneyland will have a host narrator who will tell the nativity story as well. And I don't know, it just it hits you in the heart.

Yeah. People singing, I guess it's just kind of a, yeah. Deep down visual reaction, I guess. Yeah, absolutely. I, you know, now that universal is going to open dark universe, maybe I will get to Epcot again. So maybe we'll go next holiday. I, I do have to tell you, I have kind of wanted to go to candlelight, uh,

because you can kind of guarantee yourself a place to see it, actually, at Disney World. And you can't hear it at Disneyland. And partly, some of that appeals to me, but some of it doesn't. One of the things I talked about with Tina and Julia on their podcast before they left was that Disneyland's candlelight ceremony, you kind of have to pay the dues to even watch it.

Like, it's not really for you or me or the normal common Disneylander. It's for Club 33 members, executives. Like, you know what I mean? It's not really for just the public. But yet they deign to let the public observe it once in a while if you're lucky, right? And so you have to kind of make your way there to do it. And I mean...

I have a lot of mixed feelings about a lot of these things, but I feel like once you kind of make it there and you're there and you're able to kind of witness this experience, there's something about the fight to make it happen that adds, I think, that adds a little bit to the experience. Yeah. I mean, I've heard your stories over the years on the show about having to really pay

sit it out all day waiting for the show. I think all day where at Disney world, they will just for point of comparison,

They will do, I believe, more than one show in an evening. So if you don't catch the first show, you're guaranteed to catch a second one later. And because it's in a theater, there's plenty of space, plenty of times. Where Disneyland, it's more compressed. Yeah, yeah. Well, Disneyland, they do it twice. But it's like once the first one goes, the people that are going to fill that space are already... You know what I mean? It's not like they're suddenly...

hole that you can just walk up and... Right. Yeah. So anyway, so I want to talk about your experience with Disneyland's holiday celebration, because I know you said it was very impactful. So I'd love to hear, and let's put a little bit of a circle around this. So you are very experienced with Walt Disney World because you're a cast member at Walt

A mansion, mansion maid. Is that what? Mansion maid. Yes. And even more notably, and I don't know if my, my listeners really know this. You were a skipper. Yes. I, yep. I drove boats and told jokes. That is correct. It's got, you have, are you, do you, do you feel ever the exceptionalism that you have in your life from having had been a jungle cruise skipper? Oh yeah. That, that,

Job really helped me come out of my shell. Help me get in touch with my theater kid who was afraid of being on stage side of myself. And now that I'm now that I teach art to children, it's helped me get a little more theatrical with them and help them get into stuff.

And it's really helped me also get in touch with my love of dad jokes, even though when I hear someone tell one, I will still like, oh, yeah, I is like, I'm tired of it, even though I love them.

But yeah, they, um, jingle cruise does still happen at Walt Disney world. I know, um, for a little while it was happening every year at Disneyland, right? Yeah. Do you remember when that started? I do not. I do not remember the actual year it started. No, but, um, yeah. And I want to talk to you about the jingle cruise. Maybe we'll wrap our conversation up a little bit about the jingle cruise since you were able to facilitate, um,

The Jingle Cruise, I presume. But I want to like so tell me some of the things that struck you about Disneyland's holidays when you were out here. I presume you did the whole handmade candy cane thing. Oh, definitely. Yeah, that was that was kind of the big highlight for me.

Because another thing I've heard about on the show before, and also, so my mom and I have an annual tradition of watching one of our favorite holiday specials.

From, you know, public figure Guy Fieri and his family taking a trip to Disneyland at Christmastime. He goes at one point into the candy palace and is watching them make the candy canes and he's kind of helping them with it.

Now, copper pot, it's going to disperse the heat evenly throughout the pot, and you need that for making candy. That's correct. Dig it. First, add our corn syrup. A little bit higher viscosity than what you would use at home. Granulated sugar. Regular or granulated sugar? Just regular granulated sugar. Okay. We want to add just enough water to dissolve the sugar. That looks like a sugar bubble bath flavor test.

You can see the sugar up here on the side. We don't want that to get into the candy because that will grain it and turn it into a rock candy. So we'll wash that down. We'll put our thermometer in and we'll cook it up to 313 degrees. Literally, when it hits 313, boom, we're over. We're shutting it off.

Okay, and how often do we make these a day? We make these three times a day, four to five to a batch. You do it once a week for one month? Correct. And you're not even making a thousand of these? They're collector items, pretty much. Can I do the flippy flippy? Sure. You just up? Okay. Stab.

So it was kind of neat to see them making it on the show and then, you know, having that all hyped up for me and then getting to go to now. I wasn't able to go to the candy palace, but I went over to the candy store in DCA. Yeah. And this was I believe you would get a ticket or a wristband. Yeah. They did the wristband system and you walked in and.

Got your candy cane. And I was like, oh, this thing is big. It's huge. And we still put it out every year. It's still a decoration for us because it's such like a perfect...

You know, it's got the red and the white and a little bit of green. It's just it's so well made and they make so many of these and they're all just so perfect, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. It's amazing. Right. I know that when we went in at Disneyland, they had they were not continuing the jingle cruise, but they did have some of the decorations still up in the queue and

So they had a few of the exterior decorations. The boats were not decorated, but it was still kind of neat to see a few little like maybe there was a tree made out of, you know, branches and little jungle type decorations in it. And then I know that was also the first year that.

I guess so far the only year that I've experienced, uh, haunted mansion holiday. Oh, it was really, that was like, check that off my haunted mansion bucket list. Yeah. That was very exciting to see. Okay. So you are a fan of the haunted mansion holiday. I like it. All right. Yeah. Okay. You know what? Um, I wonder if this is a good place to pause. So I will tell you that, um,

Neil Patrick Harris, you've heard of Neil Patrick Harris before. He did a Instagram live and I asked him a question. I said, you know, I was asking about Haunted Mansion Holiday and if he had a favorite scene.

So maybe we can let's you know what? Maybe this is a good place to play that. So I'm going to we're going to take a break here and you can listen. I'll let you listen to the entirety of what he said. He answers that question. And then he does go on to talk about he got to visit the Disney treasure. He was a special invited guest. You know, I know. Right. I remember the days when my nostalgia used to be special invited guests to things. But I guess my invitation got lost in the mail. Yeah.

So he talks about that a little bit, too. So he's kind of freewheeling on the Haunted Mansion here a little bit. So let's take a break and listen to what he had to say. First of all, about Haunted Mansion Holiday, and then we'll return here. And then a little insight about the Disney treasure. Favorite Haunted Mansion holiday scene? I avoid the holiday scene, Doom Buggy. Sorry. Listen, I love Nightmare Before Christmas. But it's... For me, it just...

I can't say that. I was going to say it pales in comparison to Mark Davis and the like animation design, Pepper's ghosty vibe of the actual Haunted Mansion and its story. So it's hard for me to, um, to ride that attraction and not miss the OG, the goat. And by the way, I just went on the Disney treasure, which is the new Disney, um,

cruise ship. I didn't go on it on a voyage, but it was parked in New York and they let me walk on it. And there's a place called the Parlor Bar Dudes. It is Haunted Mansion themed and the Imagineer team that did it, I can't even tell you how impressive it is. My first question to them after picking my jaw up off the floor was, "How in the world are you going to get people to leave?"

Like, you're gonna have to do timed entries and say two drinks and you're out, sucker? Buy your two tiki mugs and get the F out of D? The D stands for Doom Buggy. It's so good. There's so many magical effects. Anyway, go on the Disney Treasure just so that you can go to the parlor bar. Uh, but yeah. I guess if I had to choose, it would be the Oogie Boogie Man at the end. Thanks for the question, Doom Buggy. Last out.

So the Disney Treasure, you know, he talked about the new bar and, you know, how amazing that is. I will tell you also, I'm going to talk about in a little bit here, we're going to talk about Disney cruises at Christmas time and how they're different. But let's get back to how to imagine holidays. So Emma, tell me, what did you... Give me your highlight. Did you have any lowlights? Did you love it? Or was there anything that you wished they hadn't changed? Like, do you have a highlight and a lowlight or just...

Highlights or just lowlights? What's your experience with the Haunted Mansion Holiday? I mean, since we were there at Christmas time, I felt like...

It was, you know, a better time to have it be overlaid than it is at Halloween, I guess. I mean, I've also been a fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas for a long time and have wanted to see that combination for a long time. So it was cool to finally see it in person. I think my only lowlights, I'll get to highlight, but lowlight were...

off the top of my head would be I recall the uh staring busts at the end of the portrait hallway they have these like like blinking lights in front of them that are just like ho ho ho and I I feel like that maybe is a bit of a cop-out and it's all this other like very themed spooky

spooky festive decor. I feel like that's where... I think that is even a spot where

Maybe just take that out. I don't know. That's just such a small little nitpick, though. Well, but now that you say that, something about that has always kind of confused me. I don't want to go so far as to say rub me the wrong way, but I've always thought, well, you know, I get it. It's like Christmas tree lights. But you know what? There is nothing that you have to plug in in the Haunted Mansion that I'm aware of. Right. Because they didn't have electricity in the Korean times. But yet this must be an electrical thing.

Something. Right. So that is possibly you have possibly just cleared up a lot for me. Like, why do I because low, low key, I didn't care enough to really think it through. I'll just kind of like, oh, there's the ho ho ho. You know, oh, you know why I don't love that? Because it doesn't fit, like you said. And why doesn't it fit? Because where did they plug that thing in?

Right. Exactly. Thank you for totally wrapping that up in a bow for me because I had, I just didn't know where to, I didn't know where to go with that. These are the rabbit holes I fall down. A highlight though. Honestly, seeing the Jack Skellington figure was really neat because I, I mean, I have met, I have met Jack Skellington and Sally. I've met Sandy Claus, but then seeing the,

you know, an animatronic of the character proportionate to how he is in the movie. It was like, it was really impressive. And the first time I went through, I was like, Whoa, he's really big, really big. He's very, very tall. And he's kind of in your face. Yeah. Um, I also really personally really enjoy the, um, stretching portraits that they have for holiday. Um,

I like the stained glass effect. It's very, to me, very Christmas Carol ish, but in that vibe. And speaking of vibes, I also have incorporated some of the haunted mansion holiday outdoor decor into some of my home decor. So I've gotten, um,

black garlands and black reeds and then I've woven in some like little berries and plants and things and I've made the ribbon to go on top of it so I really like those little handmade touches that they added outside yeah I agree you know that whole striped black and white thing that nightmare or that yeah nightmare before Christmas kind of introduced to the

well, didn't introduce it, but kind of popularized, right? That really has become something. And Haunted Mansion Holiday really took advantage of that and made it into, what was that? Was it just Jack's bow tie that was striped like that? Was there anything else? His bow tie and his suit. I mean, his suit, right? Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting. Yeah. And to me, Haunted Mansion Holiday is kind of a, like, since I'm someone who celebrates Halloween pretty much all year round, I,

It's kind of that perfect fusion in many ways to me of combining the spooky but not scary elements of Halloween and the festive but not cloyingly so elements of Christmas and fusion together. Awesome. And you know what? I think I subscribe to that notion pretty closely. Yeah.

And there's a lot of people there, you know, and it's fair for my Haunted Mansion fans out there that are like, no, you've desecrated this thing. I hear you. I get it. You know, I see you and hear you. But, you know, I'm also kind of a Nightmare Before Christmas fan.

I wouldn't say I grew up with it. I think I was out of college or close to it when it came out already. But still, it was pretty seminal to me. So I get it. My first exposure to Nightmare Before Christmas was watching the Muppet Show Halloween tape that had Vincent Price on the cover.

And I remember it being a trailer at the beginning and thinking, what is that? That's fascinating. And wow, my life has been changed. I am now a spooky girl for life. From Touchstone Home Video. Get ready for a movie the critics have unanimously declared absolutely the year's most incredible film. And an instant classic for both kids and grownups. Cisco and Ebert gave two thumbs up. Here we go!

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That's awesome. Oh, so that really helped encourage your whole spookiness. Yeah. Big time. Wow. Yeah. That's awesome. All right, Emma. So let's, you know what? Let's go over to Disney World. Okay. So Disney World has Christmas parties. Yes. Disneyland, I don't think they really have Christmas parties that way. They both have...

Halloween parties, but Disney World also has specifically Christmas parties. Yes. So what can you tell me about Disney World's version of Christmas? Well, first off, I'm still remembering from my Disneyland trip. Like you said, right, Disneyland doesn't do Christmas parties. They were doing at DCA kind of a

holiday festival food stands, I believe. So that was, that was fun. That was really cute. It was, you know, just smaller scale at Disney world at magic kingdom. I did work a few of those parties. I know that because of being at the haunted mansion, we were in Liberty square there and Liberty square has that colonial early American theming to it.

So it was decorated more with things they would have decorated. So oranges, fruits. When it was Christmas party time in the evenings, they would switch it over to more of a traditional instrument sound of Christmas carols. Okay. Which they also would do at the Halloween parties. When it was party time, they would switch over at about seven is when they would make that switch.

Around the park at the Halloween parties, they had candy stations. And then during the Christmas parties, they did similar stations, but that were for different kinds of cookies and drinks. Oh, wow. Beverages. Yeah. So some spots might have candy.

apple cider. Some spots might have more of an eggnog and some spots had sugar cookies. My favorite cookie, they had a ginger molasses cookie. I am more of a fan of soft cookies and those cookies were like gingerbread. If it was made really soft. Ooh, they were so good. Wow. That's awesome. Yeah. They, they,

Also, like at the Halloween parties and Christmas parties are similar in many ways. And one of those is the special characters they would have. And at Christmas parties, they had Jack Skellington again. He would meet in Liberty Square, but he was as Sandy Claws, which was super, super neat. And I remember meeting him at one party. I'd worn sort of a...

like one of those ugly Christmas sweaters, they call them, but it was for Halloween. It was a Halloween design. I met him and we, you know, we're both very enthusiastic about Halloween. And he, at one point when we are getting our picture taken, he leans in and he says, are you aware that your head is on fire? And I, I,

have to think for a second. And I'm like, oh no, I didn't know that. And he says, well, it's a good look for you. I have food to listeners. I have red hair. So I think that was his line of thinking there.

But he was wonderful. That was, again, bucket list moment for me. Yeah. I don't think, does Disneyland do Santa Jack? I don't think they do. I know you can meet Jack and Sally all through Halloween season, but I don't think they do Santa Jack. That's unfortunate. That's really pretty cool. Yeah.

We could talk about Christmas forever, right? There's so many things going on in the parks. But I do want to ask you before we leave about being a skipper and about maybe the Jingle Cruise and maybe overall skipping. So do they call it skipping? Is that what you do? Skip, skip, skipping. Yeah. Well, let's start with the Jingle Cruise. So what was the notable difference from your perspective as a skipper, particularly

Not so much between the jokes, but just were the audiences different? Did they react differently? You know what I mean? Like, was there a different vibe between just the ordinary, not the ordinary, the typical Jungle Cruise experience and then the Jingle Cruise experience? I would say especially during or getting close to the Christmas parties in the evenings, I

The crowds definitely had shifted. The deal with Jungle Cruise and Jingle Cruise is that the crowds will... Your boats will usually be pretty good in the morning because people are making an effort to go right to your boat, right to Jungle or Jingle Cruise in the morning. If your first stop for the day is Jungle, you are on a mission to laugh at some dad jokes. And then...

toward the end of the morning, middle of the day, there's a kind of a dip. People are, you know, getting tired. They've been at the park all day. They just want to sit down. I get it. I get it.

As it gets closer to the evening, though, you know, people are kind of reinvigorated. They've got more energy. Maybe they took a nap and came back or something and they're ready to start laughing at jokes again. And honestly, nighttime jungle or jingle cruise has its own kind of energy and magic to it. It's kind of mysterious, kind of, you know, especially with the jingle lights that are around the attraction. Also a little more, a little more even extra festive, I guess. Yeah.

Yeah. I've heard different things from different skippers about how much you really were allowed to play with what you were saying to people on these variety of cruises and cringles. But it was a jingle cruise. We just called them boats. The boats, yeah. So were you able to personalize your skipping at all? So skippers are always given a script. Mm-hmm.

And we are allowed to pick and choose the jokes that we would like to tell in each scene. Yes, in fact, there is a script. And yes, in some cases, we do have to memorize it. The way you deliver your material, though, can vary skipper to skipper because some people

Skippers might have a bit more energy and some skips might, you know, deliver it more dry, dry Lee, like I would very deadpan. So I know, um,

One of my favorite things to do, if we were waiting for our boat to pull up to unload, maybe there was a boat ahead of us that needed a minute to help guests out. And we would be stalling in our boat just to keep people entertained and not have them jumping into the river or whatever. Something I would usually do is I would say, hey, would anyone like to hear a Christmas carol? Marley. Marley.

was dead to begin with dead as a doornail. And my intention was always to like have an itty bitty, like pocket sized copy of a Christmas Carol that I could just pull out and start reading from. I never got around to that, but that's really something I wish I could have done because I would have just read through. Like I'm just a very dry narrator. This is awesome. Did you, did you write that?

Nope. You borrowed it. I borrowed it. Okay. But that's, that is super funny. Thank you. The idea of just going through the entire narrative though. That's something that was me. That was me. Very much so. Okay. So, so I, well, you just gave me one of your, I presume favorite jokes from the Jingle Cruise. What was, what was your, give me your favorite classic Jungle Cruise dad joke. Jungle Cruise dad joke. Hmm. Yeah.

Because most of my humor was very self-deprecating, but I could also do a dad joke once in a while. Let's see. Well, when we were approaching the hippo pool, I would often let people know that we were approaching hippos. They're very dangerous, but they can be scared off by frightening sounds and scary noises and things like that. So I would drop my microphone and I would head toward the front of the boat and I would say, love you. Yeah.

I'm ready for commitment. And it would usually work. They would, you know, have. That's really funny. I like that. I like that. That joke has so many different interpretations amongst the skippers. And it's so different between the male skippers and the female skippers. Right. It's primarily in my experience, a female skipper joke. Like, you know, the,

the whole girl friend that wants a commitment that the cad boy doesn't want to commit to right it's kind of a classic um like trope right but i love how many different varieties there are of that particular joke like sometimes it's just like sometimes it involves a ring sometimes it's just you know the word commitment or you know what i mean and sometimes it's acted out

And sometimes it's just delivered. It's just really, it's really cool how as skippers, you all like there's a script, but even when there's a script, it's,

There's not. Right. Because you're actors. Right. And I and I knew some absolutely fantastic skips who would take the material we were given and do something where I was completely, I don't know, blindsided by what they had done with it. But it was completely funny every single time they did it. So shout out to all my skips, all two of you that might be listening. But yeah.

I know one of my other favorite jokes that I would tell was we would come out of the temple because in Walt Disney World, the Jungle Cruise goes through a temple scene, the one indoor part. And we would come out into the Indian elephant bathing pool. And I would say, you know, you're welcome to take all the pictures you like, folks. They do, in fact, have their trunks on, you know, and I would shout out to Ellie, the one who's under the waterfall and be like, she's amazing. We love her.

We love her. She's such an icon. All right, Emma. Listen, I am happy that you came on the show to talk to me about the holidays and your memories of the holidays and your memories of skipping. We'll have to have you on for some more skipper reminiscing because I find that endlessly fascinating. But before we go, give me your one best Disney Park holiday memory. Okay.

So I was in my first college program. I worked at Muppet Vision 3D, which, you know, quick moment of respect for Muppet Vision 3D. It may not be long for this world, but I was working on Christmas night. And, you know, really, if you are working Christmas night, instead of being with your home, with your family and resting is maybe not high on your list of priorities.

And I'm waiting with some guests outside the entrance before the next show can be let in. And I'm talking to two of the two kids, these two very sweet, very cute kids talking about our favorite Muppets and talking about how, you know, usually they would say Miss Piggy or Kermit. And I always would tell them that my favorite was Sam the Eagle because he's a very patriotic bird. You know, he's very friendly.

you know, ramrod and all that. And this little boy pointed out that he had his little Sandy Eagle pin on his lanyard. And I remember telling him, Oh, that's just, that's really, really cool. I love that. Thanks for showing me that. I got the signal to let them in up the ramp. A couple of minutes later, the little boy comes back down with a pin in his hand and he's holding it out to me. And, you know, I,

say like, well, well, I mean, I don't have anything to give you or anything like that. And he says, that's okay. You can, you can have it.

So this one, this little selfless act by a very kind child who recognized that I was working Christmas night and gave me a pin of my favorite Muppets. Wow. That's the best Christmas gift you probably have ever gotten. That's amazing. Oh, yeah. I do still have it in a special place. That's a great story. Emma, thank you so much for joining me on Mousetage today. I can't wait to have you back. Anytime. Bye.

Who's the team behind the show you're listening to today? M-O-U-S-E-G-A-L-G-I-A. You're listening to Nostalgia. Hashtag Carpe Kingdom. Hashtag Seize the Magic. All right, up next, we have a very special guest today. So I am very pleased to welcome Diana to the show. Diana, thank you so much for joining me today on Nostalgia.

You're welcome. I'm very excited to be here. Yeah, so I'm excited because I saw on your social media that you recently took a Disney cruise and a Christmas Disney cruise. And I have never actually thought about how a Disney cruise is different for the holidays. But now here you are to help us unwrap this a little bit. Hear what I did there? Unwrap it a little bit. A little Christmas humor.

So, why don't you first tell me a little bit, like, what was the cruise? Where did you go? How long was it? Et cetera. So, this cruise was a four-day cruise. It left from Galveston, Texas. It went to Progreso, Mexico, which is kind of near Cancun.

And then it just came back to Galveston. So it was pretty short, one stop. We didn't get to visit the Disney Islands or anything like that. But I still think just doing a Disney cruise regardless is always going to be a fun experience. Yeah, and I like that actually is very appealing to me. The idea of a four day cruise or a shorter cruise. Even I mean, I think they even have some

quicker trips down here in California because I am a very motion sick person. So, and my wife loves Disney cruises and I have never been on one with her. Every time she gets the bug, I say like, don't you have some friends, you know, but I have now that Disney has a cruise that features the Humboldt

Haunted Mansion in a lounge version, Haunted Mansion Parlor on the cruise ship, the Treasure. I'm kind of thinking about it. So first, maybe you can tell me a little bit, like, what are the pluses to a shorter cruise? So doing a shorter cruise, especially if it's your first time, I think it will be a good way to get a feel for it.

what a cruise is like, especially what to pack. I know a lot of the time people are like, what do we take? How many swimsuits do we need to take towels? You know? So it's a little daunting at first, but once you've done at least a short one, you kind of get it under your belt and then you're ready for a longer and longer cruises. Okay. My, my,

My one thing would be look up Facebook groups. There's always going to be Facebook groups for Disney cruises. People there, of course, all Disney people, they'll be very helpful, very kind. Like,

letting you know what is things that you might need, things that you might forget, or even recommend other cruises that they really liked. Okay. Okay. So let's dive into what makes this special being around the holidays. So how, wait, wait, wait, actually, let me ask you this. You've been on other Disney cruises before. Yes. So my husband and I have been on just the regular, like standard year round cruise. And we've been on several Halloween cruises. Okay. Okay.

Oh, wow.

So we got first place for the group costumes. So that was really exciting. I didn't think we'd win because there was some good contenders, but you know, nostalgia hits hard. Yeah. Well, that's, that's amazing. So have you ever, I hate, I hate to ask you this, but have you ever cheated on Disney or are you Disney cruise exclusive? No, only Disney. We did Disney cruise, uh,

First, because we never had a honeymoon. So five years into our marriage, we saw a cruise thing online and we're like, let's try it out. We loved it. And we were hooked ever since. And we've heard other people talk about other cruise ships.

But honestly, the thing for us, I feel a lot of the other cruise ships, it's like, yeah, we'll have more drinks or gambling or whatever. And I'm like, really? I just want to go take pictures with Chip and Dale and go watch a magic show, you know, and stuff like that. Yeah, that's awesome. Okay, so talk about how Disney cruises during the holiday season are different. So what are some of the features that you were able to enjoy on this specific cruise?

So for Christmas, this was our first Christmas cruise. Immediately, once you enter the lobby, it is decked out in garland and lights. There is a huge Christmas tree in the lobby. And it's amazingly decorated with nautical things. So there was seahorses and coral and shells and along with regular ornaments. So it was really beautiful. They had special shows on the cruise. So normally they'll have the characters come out and do a sail away or

Basically, when you get sent off, all the characters come out and do a performance and different things like that. So for Christmas, they had one performance where the characters all came together to light the tree one night. Of course, Santa and Mrs. Claus came out at the end of it. They also had another show on the top deck where it was kind of a story of how they celebrate Christmas and what they do together. And Sally Goofy was missing Maxx.

That one hit home because my sister is in Arkansas with her husband and son. So I was watching the show and I'm like, I understand Goofy, I understand.

But very sweet. The two things that we did end up missing was there was a story time with Mrs. Claus where she comes out in the lobby, reads to the kids. And I think there was another event where Santa comes in the lobby and you can basically go sit on Santa's lap. A little too large for that. So I passed. Wow. Would you say compared to year round cruise, is it?

50% different, 30% different, 80% different, completely different? Like, is everything tinged towards the holidays a little bit? It's funny. They actually asked me a question at the end of the cruise and they were like, how much Christmas was there? Yeah. Well, I'm saying it was just enough. But then when I got home, I was like, no, it wasn't enough. So if you're not into Christmas and you just want to do a cruise around December, you know, you don't have to be flooded with a Christmas. You know, there's plenty of other areas on the ship that are Christmasy.

Christmas free, like some of the pubs and the, you know, meeting areas. But if you really want to enjoy Christmas, then yeah, they'll have the shows. They still have the regular, for example, there's a pirate night that they have on all the cruises where all the pirate characters come out. Characters come dressed as pirates, people dress in costume. It's amazing. And they still had that. So they still had the typical cruise thing.

But I would say there were extra features with the Christmas. Okay. So let me ask you about... And this is, again, something I know nothing about, about dining and eating and food on a cruise. So I...

imagine the holidays have some specific holiday oriented dishes or treats or that kind of thing. Is this accurate? Honestly, no. I think that was, I didn't even think about that until you brought that up. But no, the dining rotation there is basically the buffet, right? The cabanas, which is just the standard buffet. And then they'll have three main restaurants. So we were on the Magic, which has the

the Rapunzel's table, Lumiere's and

The animators palette. Okay. They didn't really have the seasonal items there, though. If you go to there is a cafe and the cafes will have like seasonal coffees that you can purchase there, but not really for the dining. How about Halloween? Do they do that for Halloween ever? Or is it really not something that changes the food? It sounds to me like the food really doesn't change very much.

Yeah, I think the food is mostly going to be like a set menu for the season. Okay. You know, the holidays just happens to be along the line. But yeah, I think the same thing with Halloween. Maybe they'll have like a dessert or two that's themed that you can purchase separately at the cafes. But it's mostly just traditional food. It's not like Disneyland where you get like the special seasonal foods. Yeah. So...

Now, I know that the Disney characters on Disney Cruises have their own specific Disney Cruise outfits. Do they also have Disney Cruise holiday-specific outfits?

Yes. So they, for example, on both the Halloween and the Christmas cruise, they have their own seasonal outfits that they wear. They have, like I mentioned, pirate night, they'll have pirate outfits. And depending on their cruise, for example, the Alaska cruise, the Alaska cruise has their own specific outfits just for Alaska. So if you want to see the characters and any kind of outfit that you really, really like,

pick the cruise. The Christmas cruise, I sadly, Chippendale are my favorite. Yeah. And I miss them and their Christmas outfits. So I guess we'll just have to do another Christmas cruise next year. All right. Well, Diana, this is awesome. Thank you for this, all this information. Let me ask you, I know you're a Disneylander. Yes. What do you love about Disneyland during the holidays? Oh my gosh. Honestly, I just love all the decorations. The decorations,

the decorations, the lights, and of course the food. I love trying all the seasonal food, especially we haven't gotten the gingerbread cookies at the Harbor Harbor Galley. Harbor House. Harbor Galley. Yes. I heard people are like these gingerbread feet at the hotel. So I have to go try those. But

Honestly, I just love seeing all the decorations. And I think that's why I really wanted to see on the Christmas cruise. And I honestly, I really, really enjoyed it. I would recommend anybody just do a short cruise just to try it out. Get your feet wet, literally. But it's a really wonderful, magical experience. That's super. So before I let you go, I do have a question. So you are responsible, I

I believe, for one of the most intriguing Hidden Mickeys in Disney California Adventure. And I have mentioned this before on the show a few times, actually. And it's kind of adjacent to the Carthay Circle in front of the Private Club 33 Lounge. So can you tell me the story about how you came to actually create a Hidden Mickey for the Disneyland Resort? Yes.

It's pretty unbelievable. I feel like I've told people this story before as well. They just don't believe me. But my sister-in-law, she worked for a construction company. And her company was hired to do the remodeling of the front of Carthay. And they were doing the flooring. They were getting close to completing the project. And she was the one that actually came up and asked, hey, are we doing any hidden Mickeys in the park before we finish? Well, no.

She kind of put her foot in her mouth and they said, that's a great idea. You're in charge of that. So she calls me up knowing I'm a big Disney fan and asked, hey, would you want to do a hidden Mickey for California Adventure? Of course, I said yes. She explained the type of flooring. I believe it's called terrazzo flooring. Like it's kind of like broken up chunks of marble and stone and glass. So she said, if you can make something that could fit in there.

Immediately I ran to Michael's and tried to find anything that was stone or carvable. I found a bag of Mother of Pearl chunks. I think it was supposed to be for decorative bowls or something. So I grabbed a few of the bigger chunks that I could find, pulled out my Dremel tool, started carving away to make like the little Mickey silhouette.

Of course, my husband comes home and says, why does it smell like a dentist office in here? They didn't think about it. But yeah, the mother pearls made it the same thing as teeth. So yeah, totally smell like a dentist office. And I got one. I got a couple of them done different sizes. Send them to my sister-in-law. She took them in to her boss and they approved one. They put in the terrazzo.

And after it had mostly set, I think they were able to take out a chunk and then embed the hidden Mickey in the flooring. And...

Yeah. That's super awesome. That's how my hidden Mickey was there. Yeah, I was really excited. Every time I go, I look for that thing. It's still there, right? I think it's still there. It is, but we don't know how long. Sadly, my sister-in-law does not work for that company anymore, but she was mentioning the flooring is a little worse for wear. The weather is causing it to crack. So she said that they might have to repurpose

replace it. Yeah, I've noticed that too. That's why I've been thinking like, oh, I hope the minute Hood and Mickey comes back. You never know. But still, that is...

I think that's a super cool claim to fame. So I was like really excited. I've told a couple of people, like I take friends and then people standing around are like, what are you looking at? What are you looking at? And I was like, I made that. And they're like, sure you did. That's really funny. People ask, is there proof? And I go on my flip phone from like 2015 or something. I don't even know where the phone is. So. Well, Diana, it,

It's been a pleasure talking to you. I know you're an artist. Can you tell people where they can find you? Sure. So I have an Instagram and a Facebook and they are foxtailbrush, all one word. And most of the time is just my drawings, doodles, and recently some crochets that I had done for the cruise. So yeah, if you guys want to just go check out my stuff, I'd appreciate it.

Super cool. Diana, thank you so much. And I look forward to talking to you again sometime. Thank you so much, Jeff. You're listening to Mousetail Jack. Carpe Kingdom. Seize the magic.

All right. So we cannot let this episode go by without talking about one of my favorite holiday traditions at Disneyland, which you all know is the candlelight processional, the candlelight concert that they have every year at Disneyland near the beginning of the holiday season. So, um, I'm going to welcome back to the show, Julia, Julia, welcome back. Hello. Hi, good to have you back. Of course. And I, um, say with very little, but some envy, um,

that you, that you were able to go to candlelight this year. I was not, um, unfortunately you were invited. Yes. Yes, I was. It's finals by me. Not, not by somebody who actually could have gotten you a seat. Well, still it's, I mean, you know, you know, I enjoy going to Disneyland with you guys and it was, um, finals week, so I couldn't break away, but I'm glad that you did so that you can report for my nostalgia. So, um,

We all know how difficult it is to get even a standing room position to watch Candlelight. Do you have a one-minute highlights reel? You got in there. We got in there. We were not successful for the first show. Yeah.

And we happened to have a bit of luck for the second show. And we talked all about it on the newest episode of Pal-A-Round. If you want to hear extensively about everything we did wrong and right and all that. Okay, check them out on, check out the latest edition of Pal-A-Round podcast for more information about, you know, the experience of getting to see a candlelight. But I want to talk to you just mostly about your reaction to this year's

You know, every year is pretty consistent. Like, it's a similar show. But yet every time I saw it, I would come away, you know, with...

Like it's the same overall overwhelming feeling, but sometimes I take different things away. So I'm just curious as to what your takeaways were this year. So maybe talk about the guest host. So the guest host was. Guest host was Catherine Hahn from Agatha all along among other things, but that's what she's known for right now. She's known for that. She's also known very much by parks and rec fans as the political consultant that was

helping Bobby. What was his name? Are you a Parks and Rec person? Yes, but it's been a while. The son of the candy magnate in Pawnee, Indiana. She was that political consultant. And of course, Dave would probably be upset if I didn't mention her very, I would say somewhat brief, but prominent role in Tomorrowland as a droid of some sort, or I guess an android. This isn't Star Wars. So

in Tomorrowland. But Katherine Hahn, like prominent in the Marvel universe. So talk about her performance a little bit. Like I hate to call it a performance. I mean, it is. It's, you know, but it's also...

I would say, by and large, I can't imagine the volunteers who do, I assume they're volunteers, the participants who read the nativity story at Disneyland don't do it with some amount of openness to the situation. So how was it? How did it seem having her as a narrator? She did great. The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth.

to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women." But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and considered what matter of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her,

Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus. I don't know how they go about picking. I know there was rumbling from some of the cast members that we talked to throughout the day. They kind of wanted to see Dwayne The Rock Johnson, who also would have been a great pick.

But Catherine Hahn did great. Like, I don't know if there's ever been a time where a speaker has had any flubs or anything, but she had none. Well, that's good. And there have been because I've heard a couple of them. But I mean, but it still is never, you know, it's like...

This is the most interesting performance. I call it a performance, presentation, pageant, whatever you want to call this. It's really interesting, right? Because as you mentioned on Pal Around, it's quite a production. The production values are extreme. From the lighting to the music to just everything.

It is a production from the start to finish. It's really quite something. And yet, I would say you can still feel a little bit in the processional and maybe the song choices. It feels a little bit like old school church. Like you feel the home music.

Homemade kind of feeling that it has I don't know if that makes sense Yeah, so why don't you talk a little bit about your experience this year? Like what were some of the highlights always? Silent night just it's gonna blow your socks off. Like it's just so it's so beautiful and It was not drew tablet. I don't know how many years in a row He did it but it was somebody else and they didn't ever say the names of the soloists

And I didn't recognize them from other performances in the park. So I'm not sure who they were. But as always, and as we talked about on Pal-A-Round, like they were obviously amazing. And I think for, so we heard a little bit of the first performance just as we were trying to position ourselves for the second performance.

And they had two different choirs. So the choir for the first one was made up of all cast members. And then the second one was made up of cast members, local choirs, and just like other local schools, just local singers. And they were both excellent singers.

You know, that's interesting. And I have no inside information about any of this. I could just be talking, you know, about nothing. But it seems to me that they've not separated them before like that. I'm not sure. At least...

The way that I had heard about it the last time I considered this or talked about this, which has been a few years, I think it was the same groups of people or maybe they mix the volunteer groups by performance. But I thought it was always a blend of cast members and volunteer courses, maybe some high schools, maybe some colleges, maybe some churches mixed in there. And so I wonder if I'm just again, I could be totally wrong about this, but I'm wondering if.

Along with it getting popular in the park, it's also gotten popular inside the company. You know what I mean? Like if so many people want to participate that they decided, okay, well, we'll just make an entire performance cast members. For cast members, yeah. It's just interesting. It is interesting. And I...

I have no insight into that either. They did. I'm just telling you the announcements I heard because they always announce who is making up the choir. So how was the weather this time for your performance? The weather was great. There were no issues with the weather. There was not even any worriness that they were going to cancel the performance, at least on Saturday. We kind of stayed out of the thick of it on Sunday because we had had a

Quite a harrowing day on Saturday, making it work. So we took it easy in California Adventure on Sunday. So I'm curious about your honest reaction here. So having gone through the hassle of getting to find a place on Saturday, when all was said and done and you were in your hotel room that night and kind of going over the day, was it worth it?

Yes, I would definitely say it is worth it. You have to really decide for yourself how much time you're willing to put in because if you're not one of those people that gets there right at rope drop to claim a spot on that very small curb on either side of the hub, there's no guarantees you're going to get in because...

Those were the only people that security didn't shoo away or try to make leave. So you kind of have to decide for yourself how important it is to you. I think they tried their best not to make it so that people just kind of happened into it as well because they know people are waiting for it and...

They don't want to deal with a bunch of frustrated people either. And some of the cast members are more helpful than others. So you just kind of have to keep talking to people as well. But yes, I would say it was worth it when all is said and done. Am I going to make this a yearly tradition? No. Yeah. So Julie and I had made it a yearly tradition for a while until...

the teaching kind of got in the way of that. So did you feel like this was a community event? Did you feel like people were each having individual experiences? Do you feel like, how do you feel like that, that plays out in candlelight? Is it more of a, you know, let's all come together. Is it more of a, everyone follows their own spiritual moment? Like, how did you perceive that? That's an interesting question. I think it varies. I,

There are probably more park goers that go on that weekend that have no idea it's happening, no idea what it is and just aren't going to care about it. But there's enough people now that know about it, know the history of it, are going for either religious reasons or they're going because they are supporting somebody that's performing.

Because in the second show when they were announcing who was making up the choir and everything, there was a bunch of cheers from the audience. So clearly they were there because they were supporting somebody that was singing in the choir, which was nice. As far as...

People that were trying to get in, I didn't see any park guests like getting upset with each other or even with the cast members. Yeah, of course, it's frustrating because everybody that's trying to see it wants to see it. And there's just probably not going to be enough room for everybody. But it worked out for us. So we were happy.

Um, and very happy to not have to try to do it again the second day. Yeah. I noticed. So, for example, I noticed that they changed a little bit of the verbiage this year, specifically with Silent Night, since you were talking about that. So, um, in the past, you know, the, the performer will sing it in Spanish and then, um,

the audience, the choir will come in and sing it in English with this. And then the soloist will solo over the top in Spanish still. And before that, he'll invite everyone to join in. I noticed that this year they changed what they said to, um, please feel free to join us singing in your chosen language. So they'd never said that before. They just had led it in English.

in English, presuming. And the word presuming is telling there because I know Disneyland is trying super hard to be inclusive and not make presumption anymore. So they, but that changes the nature of what's happening in a sense, in my opinion, right? So I don't know if this is worth anything more than, you know, the couple seconds, the couple seconds I have to mention it. Yeah. But there's something about Let's All Sing Silent Night

Versus, which is more communal, versus you can sing Silent Night in your language with us. It's still a communal act. Like, we're singing it together, but in different languages. And I just, it struck me as being very different. I don't know...

And this is better or different, but I don't like this as much. I really mostly just kind of had a wow. That's so new. So it's little, but it seems different. Part of our recent culture at large is trying to reach everyone where they're at.

And in a sense, that's great. Right. But in another sense, that's individualizing everyone right into. And there is something to be said for community experience. And so I don't know. Like I had a moment where I thought, is this is this different or is it better? Right. Is it more inclusive or is it not? And I don't know. Nothing. But you maybe didn't even realize that was different. I definitely noticed that he said it. It didn't strike me as bad. Yeah.

Well, it doesn't strike me as bad. I don't want you to think. I mean, anyone that wants... Not that I think... I didn't think that's what you were saying. It didn't strike me as forced, maybe is a better word. I thought it was nice. Yeah, that's fair. And I think you're right. It was a way to bring everybody together as a community. Yeah, I always... It's always interesting to me what Disneyland changes and why they do it and what their intended purpose

outcome is and what the actual outcome is. So I'm just curious. Yeah, well, I'm glad you were able to make it in there and see it. And especially the four of you, right? That's a good group to try to finagle into Canterlot. We did it. Yeah, but you got in there. And I'm glad it was special for you all. That's really...

You know, it's it's I don't know. It sounds stupid. People that well, let me finish that statement. It might sound kind of stupid, but I you know, I feel like candlelight is for me. And I think that's kind of.

amongst people that really love candlelight and actually probably common for a lot of things Disney does in general, that people really feel like, oh, this is special just for me. Like they're doing this just for me. And Disney, of course, fosters that, you know, opinion of what they do. It's we're doing it for you and you and you. But but candlelight, I always feel that way. Like I feel protective of it and I

And it's not for me. In fact, Disneyland is pretty clear that it's not really for any of you. It's for our very special, important... Yes, it's for our invited. But at the same time...

It's history, perhaps, is part of the deal. You know, when it started, I don't know how many singers there are total. In 1959, I talked about this just a little bit ago with Emma, but in 1959, the Candlelight Processional had 2,000 singers. I don't know if there's still 2,000 people up there. I doubt it. That's...

I would be surprised. Yeah, I don't think so at all. In fact, and then in the 60s, it was down to 1,000, which still seems like a lot. That's still a lot. And also, I don't know that the processional ever was more historically than what it is. Like now the processional leads to this performance. I think the processional was a processional. And then there were a variety of performances affiliated. There was a living Christmas tree performance. There was this performance. There was that performance. But I think the idea of candlelight becoming one thing

show with a processional that leads into the show is different than what was happening when there were 2006 so but the point being Disneyland has this rich tradition right and so it feels like it's for you know I feel like that's for me and people feel that way so I'm you know I'm glad to hear that you guys had a good experience also you just gotta if it's something that you're interested in doing I highly recommend seeing it at least once

You just have to be patient and you have to keep your eye on what's happening on Main Street and be smart about it. They do the Christmas parade. They just do both a little bit earlier in the day and...

when they do the second one, it cuts off a lot of traffic on main street. So you gotta be aware of that. So that's probably my biggest tip. That's be aware of, be aware of the, the way the traffic is going on main street. Yeah. Well, that's a, that's a good tip of course. And I think I said on your show last month that part of candlelight, at least at Disneyland, I think it's a completely different animal at Walt Disney world. And I don't want to really talk about that, but at least at Disneyland, it's,

and the history of it and everything. Part of the deal is I feel like it enhances the experience for me when you have to work to be a part of it. Like you kind of have to suffer for the reward and there's really no way around it. And I mean, and I feel like that goes along with the whole experience because it is a story of, they pretty much tell the nativity story, the story of the advent of,

of the Christ child. And the story itself is the story of light coming into darkness, right? And then Silent Night being the pinnacle of that. And with the lighting and with the narration and with the song choices, it's all this story from beginning to end. And it's something about

And having to kind of be in this dark space, but then this pinpoint of light sparks through. Something about having to fight all day to get in there, and then it gets dark and it's cold, and you've been standing there for two hours, and you're like, I should have brought a bigger jacket. But then it starts and suddenly...

all these individual people at Disneyland that were looking at their phones and everything, like suddenly everyone's attention is glued to this thing. And there's something about that, that makes the whole thing, even the waiting special. Right. So kind of like at Disneyland. Yeah. I agree with you. Like if you've never done it, it's a bucket list. I try to, yeah. Try to make sure sometime in your life, you get a chance to check that out. Even at Walt Disney world, if that's how it works out. Yeah.

It's really a great addition to the Christmas season. Happy, happy holidays, everybody. This was so moving to be a part of this, this beautiful candlelight ceremony. It's been a really moving night. There are many traditions and many ways to celebrate this amazing time of the year. And however you and your loved ones choose to do so, I hope you find your lives renewed with meaning and purpose.

Let's embrace every one of our tomorrows with hope and love. And through this holiday spirit, may we continue to spread peace and goodwill throughout the world. Thank you and Merry Christmas!

That'll do it for this week's Nostalgia. Thank you so much for joining me this whole year. It's always a pleasure to be able to talk to you all and share my love of Disney with everyone. So I will see you all again in January. If you want to get a hold of me, just contact me at

comments at Mousetalgia.com. You can email me there, or if you want to support the show, go to MousetalgiaPlus.com and you can see the options available to you. But I just want to thank you all very much, most of all, for your time and your attention. And I know time is valuable these days, and I appreciate you giving it to me every time I come out with a show. It really means a lot to me. It's the best Christmas gift that you could give, and I really appreciate that. So without any further ado, let's all go out and Carpe Kingdom and seize the magic!

Happy holidays and Merry Christmas and see you next year, everybody. ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

This beloved hero with its message of peace and love is cherished throughout the world. Please join us by singing along in the language of your choice. And all these problems and songs that we've missed, we are the only hope.

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