Sunday, May 19, 2019

Christmas in Town Square, December 1998

Here are more slides from good old Mr. X; I've listed these as being from 1998, but that was X's best guestimate. The date isn't important! What IS important is how sunny and beautiful Town Square looks during this holiday season. 

The trees in the Square are getting pretty big, most of the buildings along Main Street can barely be seen - even the Christmas tree is half obscured. The Horse Drawn Streetcar looks like a popular ride this day!


Everything looks so vibrant in the morning sun, and the red accents from the poinsettias add a nice Christmas feeling. It's always a little strange to see people in coats and hats, but winter days can get chilly.


Wreaths and garlands are overhead, while more decorations adorn the Market House. If only I had a few night photos of this same area - but Mr. X generally arrived early, and left after a few hours.


10 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

Heck, you can't even see The Sleeping Beauty Castle, for all the trees; although one can easily see the covers for their Strong Super Trouper follow spots, sitting atop the roofs of the Emporium and perhaps the Disney Showcase. As you noted, judging by the heavily-layered guests, the temperature must've dropped below a "frigid" 68°-! Well, it IS Southern California; one must modify any sort of logic to rationalize wearing winter gear...

Thanks, Major - and bundle up-!

TokyoMagic! said...

Merry Christmas, Major!

Melissa said...

I didn't know they had coats in California! ;)

There's nothing quite like Christmas on Main Street. It's kind of like layering nostalgia on top of nostalgia.

JC Shannon said...

Nothing says Christmas like an Angelino in a parka. It may not be a white Christmas, but may I point out that the Matterhorn is always snow covered. Great photos today. Thanks Major.

K. Martinez said...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, here on GDB!

Thanks ,Major.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, we’ve pointed out Main Street’s “tree problem” before - I’m generally pro-tree, but it’s gone too far here! I was once at Disneyland when it dropped into the low 50’s at night. It felt darn cold.

TokyoMagic!, BAH! Humbug!

Melissa, I used to always go to the park after Thanksgiving, when they had all of the Christmas stuff up, and I loved the holiday atmosphere. Then, my last visit was in November, and it was pretty terrible. Every person in Orange County must have been there, especially once it got dark.

Jonathan, hey, this past winter got into the 30’s around here! That’s cold in anybody’s book. I think. One summer it was so hot that all the snow on the Matterhorn melted, and the abominable snowman lost all of his fur. Nobody wants to see that.

stu29573 said...

We went to WDW the week before Thanksgiving a few years ago and it was wonderful! All the decorations were up, but the attacking hords hadn't decended yet. In fact, my wife looked at the train station (huge at WDW) and said "Was that like that the last time?" I assured her it was and she said, "There must have been so many people that I missed it..."

Major Pepperidge said...

K. Martinez, it's Christmas music all year long on WGBD radio!

stu29573, it sounds like you went to the park at the exact perfect time. Even now I'll see posts on Facebook from people who lucked out and went to Disneyland on the rare day that the crowds were relatively low. The thought of the Magic Kingdom being so crowded that one might not even notice the train station is amazing.

Melissa said...

Stu, my last WDW trip was the week after Thanksgiving (my sister's birthday is at the end of November) and our experience was the same. I think it helps that WDW has a lower percentage of locals dropping in for the evening.

Anonymous said...

Christmas at Disneyland is always special. Thank you, Major.

I recall one work trip to LA in the 1980's, I left home in the snow and arrived in LAX to palm trees and temps in the mid-80's, with Christmas ornaments everywhere. It was very weird.

I know it does get cool in Southern CA, perhaps more noticeable to the natives since it is so warm most of the time. Like Hawaii in the winter, when I'm cruising around in shorts and the locals are wearing sweaters in the evening.

JG