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Taking the Kids: Soaking up the holiday spirit at a theme park

By Eileen Ogintz, Tribune Content Agency on

The Schmidts were waiting in line at 7:30 a.m., snacks and sandwiches at the ready. But they weren't hoping for a holiday deal. They just wanted to soak up the holiday spirit -- as soon as Disneyland opened at 8 a.m.

They'd driven 565 miles from Redding, California, for the "A Christmas Fantasy Parade," complete with the "Frozen" princesses, the "Believe in Holiday Magic" fireworks show that ends with "snowfall," Walt's favorite gingerbread cookies and holiday tamale plates, the 60-foot Christmas tree in Town Square and the rides re-themed for the holidays like Jungle "Jingle Cruise" and " It's a Small World Holiday" with more than 300,000 lights outside and children from around the world in their holiday best singing holiday songs.

"We love it," said Colleen Schmidt, waiting with her family to see the parade. You can't let the crowds or long lines -- some were upwards of an hour -- ruin your fun, she added. "That's why we try to be the first ones here."

"I love all the decorations," said Paige Gehringer, 13, here with her family from Scottsdale, Arizona, pointing out that at the holidays, even a teen "isn't too old for Small World."

Ryan Sevilla, 12, who lives in Southern California, especially liked "Haunted Mansion Holiday" that includes Jack Skellington from Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas." "It's crowded, but it's worth it," added his mom Marina.

At Disney's adjacent California Adventure Park, the large and equally enthusiastic crowds were waiting for the "Disney Viva Navidad!" celebration with dancing, music and, of course, the characters celebrating Latino culture and "The Worlds of Color-Winter Dreams," which showcases several "Frozen" songs. My favorite was Cars Land with each address along Route 66 decked out for the holidays and wreaths fashioned out of "tires."

 

"The look in everyone's eye is what makes it so special ... sparkly, like all the decorations," said Ella Johnson, here with her two young daughters.

There was a huge Christmas tree outside the Carthay Circle Restaurant where we paused for dinner along with many other park-goers to check out the holiday menu and artisanal cocktails. (We were celebrating two wedding anniversaries, after all!) All of the shops along Buena Vista Street -- the buildings inspired by Los Angeles as it was when Walt Disney arrived in the 1920s, were decorated with old-fashioned ornaments.

Downtown Disney and the Hotels of the Disneyland Resort are all dressed up too -- there's even a six-foot-high gingerbread house in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel that sells hot chocolate from a window.

"Everything is so festive," said Angela Santivanez, also here from California. "It gets you in the holiday spirit."

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