Ever start something with the intention of doing one thing, but end up heading in a completely different direction?
A lot of great theme park trips end up that way. Maybe you spent weeks working on a specific itinerary. But when you get to the park, somebody sees something you hadn't considered, you ditch the plan and end up having a far better day than you'd ever imagined. (Or, it all goes horribly wrong but you pull through in the end... just like as happens on dozens of theme park attractions.)
Anyway, that's kinda what happened with my newspaper column this week, which I had intended to be a funny dismissal of the fake "snoap" that Disney, Universal, and other parks spray into the air in the evenings during their holiday celebrations. If you've not heard the term before, it's a combination of "snow" and "soap," referring to the liquid soap that many artificial snow-effect machines use to make those faux flakes. Yeah, it's silly if you think about it too much.
But as I was writing, I realized... that I actually love those cheesy fake snowfalls. They always end up reminding me of the first time I ever saw snow falling from the sky, in an elementary school classroom in Indiana when I was a child. You can get the full story in my column, The snow falling at Disneyland and other theme parks might be fake, but it makes real memories.
So today, I would like to ask you to pick your favorite part of theme parks' holiday celebrations. Is it that magical snowfall in way-above-freezing temperatures? Or do you come for all the special holiday food? Or maybe the parades or shows? Or do you mostly come to the parks at this time of year for the holiday decorations or seasonal ride overlays?
Thanks for following Theme Park Insider as we cover the parks this holiday season. If you're out and about in the parks this time of year (and any time, really), please share your photos and video with us by tagging Theme Park Insider on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and we will pass along the best stuff to the rest of the Theme Park Insider community.
Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and have a wonderful time in the parks!
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I still deeply miss the Osborne Lights at the Studios, just wonderful seeing it all work out. Yet just love seeing the decorations at the parks and how they go all out with it.
Plus, a sucker for the gingerbread houses at Grand Floridian and other resorts.
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Went with decorations, but wanted to pick a second choice of ride overlays as well (which are like decorations up a level). I haven't been to a Disney park during the holiday season in a few years (insert rant about the crowds making it less fun here), but there is simply something amazing captured in the holiday season at the parks that elevates it beyond any other time of the year.