I think we can all agree that the Disney Parks are magical during the holidays. There’s something extra special, however, about Disneyland Park that keeps us coming back year after year.
The specific reasons we keep coming back to Disneyland at Christmas may vary slightly, but many of those reasons all flow back to one common thread.
For those of us who have experienced the magic of the holiday season at Disneyland, we quickly find our favorite things. For some, it’s the Believe…In Holiday Magic Fireworks; for others it’s Haunted Mansion Holiday. Some might wait hours for that handmade candy cane, while others set sail on “it’s a small world” Holiday. If you’re like me, it’s the A Christmas Fantasy Parade that you can’t miss.
Why that the parade or the fireworks or even the peppermint ice cream speaks to us can be for any number of reasons.
It could be that your parents brought you to Disneyland as a kid and you remember catching snow on your tongue after the fireworks (and then you remember immediately regretting the soapy mistake). Maybe one of your family traditions is watching A Nightmare Before Christmas, so you can’t get enough of Haunted Mansion Holiday. For some of us, it might just be that extra Christmas magic that is all over the park.
Whatever it is, it’s all about those holiday memories.
A Christmas Fantasy Parade triggers my memories in multiple ways. First, it’s the music, which I can’t get out of my head. I can’t wait to hear those trumpeters and drummers playing live on Main Street (as I hum along).
I also remember the family trip when my son and his cousin were young. It was one of those touristy family trips where we had matching shirts with our names on them. The boys were sitting on the curb in Town Square and as Santa Claus rounded the curve he looked down at them and called them out BY NAME.
I’m not sure if my son remembers that, but I sure do. Memories are powerful and that’s what keeps us coming back.
The memory of that experience and others kept the Disney holiday magic alive for me as my son grew into a man and now he’s creating new Disney memories with his own family.
I can only hope that he finds a special memory of his own that keeps him coming back to Disneyland at Christmas for years to come.
What is it about Disneyland, or your favorite Disney park, that triggers those holiday memories for you?
