Mouse Extra

It’s Day 4 and Christmas is getting closer.  Today, we head over to the Disney MGM-Studios for a twilight shot of the overhead decorations seen on Hollywood Boulevard…

We’ll stay at Epcot for Day 3 of Mouse Extra’s 12 Days of Christmas series, but we will to move all the way from one end of the park to the other.  Once again we have two photos today of the same decoration.  These are at the front entrance right as you battle your way through the turnstiles.  It’s a terrific topiary featuring Pluto, Donald and Goofy…

Since Pluto is facing away from us in this shot, I just thought you might enjoy a closer shot of Mickey’s best friend…

Today’s pictures come from the World Showcase at Epcot, a place that embraces the Disney holiday spirit better than any other spot at Walt Disney World.  Let’s post two pictures today so you can get a real feel for the decorations used at the American Adventure pavilion.  The first is the tree outside the pavilion…

And just so that you don’t miss some of the details, here is a close-up of just the building.  I love the smaller wreaths they put in the upper windows to match the scale…

From each day until now and Christmas we will be posting a new photograph of the holiday decorations at the Mouse.  Today’s photo is taken from under the tree in front of the entrance to the Animal Kingdom, always the most unique of all the parks trees…

December at Walt Disney World is without doubt the best time of year to go.  Besides the fact it is generally not crowded, it is right before one of the busiest times of the years so you don’t see a lot of attractions closed for maintenance.  But what really makes it special is the amazing decorations they put into every cubby and corner of the World.  Ebenezer Scrooge would never have needed such an ordeal to put him in the spirit if he only went to the Mouse.

For those of you who have never been during the holidays, the parks are filled with special events, music, and decorations that really blow you away, and we will be bringing you a few photos of them in the weeks ahead.  Some of the most amazing stuff, however, is found in the resorts.  Take a look at the Gingerbread Carousel found in the Beach Club’s lobby…

Among other mind blowing statistics about this delicious little yuletide treat is that it contains 2006 pieces of gingerbread, 150 pounds of icing, 36 pounds of honey and 100 pints of eggs.  The only upsetting thing is that they don’t serve it with a sundae at Beaches and Cream.

So how does this all happen?  Most of it occurs overnight, in what must be a massive effort.  In a recent trip to the Boardwalk during the week before Thanksgiving Week, we came back to the resort after a late night at Downtown Disney.  What we found was a lobby full of Christmas decorations.  The pictures below show them as they were being carted into the lobby.  You can see the racks the cast members carry them on, and the tags that are used to identify where they belong.  When you think of all the decorations that adorn every inch of the parks and resorts, you can imagine the scope of the manpower needed to do all this in a week.

Then when you wake up, the place is Christmas central.  Here’s an example of the interior decorations…

And this tree appeared in the courtyard…

The only thing left undone was the chocolate and gingerbread sculpture of Santa’s workshop.  In the morning, a crowd had already gathered to watch these magician’s cooking up the centerpiece of the Boardwalk’s holiday décor…>