Disneyland Christmas Eve 2012 Part Three

Did You Know? - The "A Christmas Fantasy Parade" is an annual parade presented at Disneyland Park in the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA. The parade is a holiday parade that runs (usually) from the weekend before Thanksgiving until the Sunday after New Years. It debuted in during the 1994 Holiday Season, replacing the "Very Merry Christmas Parade."

The parade features several Christmas themed floats and a catchy soundtrack, along with favorite Disney characters such as Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Pluto, Goofy, Max Goof, Clarabelle Cow, Pinocchio, Jiminy Cricket, Mister Geppetto, Woody & Buzz, Belle, Beast, Snow White and her Prince, Princess Aurora, Prince Phillip, Cinderella, Prince Charming, Ariel, Prince Eric, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and the Babes in Toyland soldiers. Earlier versions of the parade included Scrooge McDuck, Roger Rabbit, characters from Lilo & Stitch, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, Aladdin, and also young children.

• Music box float, with a dancing ballerina atop a revolving platform, and Duffy the Disney Bear (since 2011, a unnamed one was used until 2010) sitting beside her
• Toy Soldiers from Babes in Toyland marching that play trumpets and snare drums

Did You Know? - Stannie Dum (Stan Laurel) and Ollie Dee (Oliver Hardy), live in a shoe (as in the nursery rhyme There Was An Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe), along with Mother Peep (the Old Woman), Bo Peep (Charlotte Henry), a mouse resembling Mickey Mouse (and actually played by a live monkey in a costume), and many other children.

The mortgage on the shoe is owned by the villainous Silas Barnaby (Henry Brandon), who is looking to marry Bo Peep. Stannie and Ollie set out to get the money for the mortgage from their boss, The Toymaker (William Burress).

But after the Toymaker finds that Stannie has mixed up an order from Santa Claus (building 100 wooden soldiers at six feet tall, instead of 600 soldiers at one foot tall) and one of the soldiers wrecks the toy shop, Stannie and Ollie are fired without getting the money.

• Mailroom float, with Mrs. Claus greeting park guests, accompanied by Donald and Daisy
• Pluto sits atop the roof of Mrs. Claus's Cottage, trying to place the star on the top of the Christmas tree.
• 4 Female Mailroom Elves and 2 Male Mailroom Elves perform with mail bags along and atop the float.

• Tigger and Winnie the Pooh ride on sleighs.
• 6 Snowflake performers skate down the parade route on roller skates.
• A snowy Christmas Tree rolls down the parade route.
• 8 Snowpeople scurry along, 4 male, 4 female.
• Mickey and Minnie ice skate atop the Ice Rink float.
• Eeyore pulls a sleigh.

• Clarabelle Cow and 6 Gingerbread Cookies dance down the street.
• 6 Candy Bakers (3 Male, 3 Female) help Goofy and Max, who are atop the Gingerbread float, wreak some havoc.

• Lady Tremaine, Drizella, and Anastasia (Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters) are not invited and therefore walk in front of the unit while playing with guests.
• 8 Ball Dancers dance beautifully in front and behind the Candlelight Ball float.
• Princess Aurora, Prince Philip, Snow White and her Prince, Belle, Beast, Ariel, Prince Eric, Cinderella, and Prince Charming are all invited to the ball.

Did You Know? - Disney Princess is a media franchise owned by The Walt Disney Company. Created by Disney Consumer Products chairman Andy Mooney in the late 1990s, the franchise features a line-up of fictional female heroines who have appeared in various Disney animated feature films.

The ten current members of the franchise are Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, and Rapunzel.

In July 2013, Princess Mérida from Brave will be joining the line-up.

The franchise has released dolls, sing-along videos and a variety of other girls' products, apparel, home decor and a variety of toys featuring the Disney Princesses.

• Chip and Dale lead the unit in the "Humdinger," a mini Hummer-type vehicle.
• Woody from Toy Story on a rocking horse is atop a Toy Block float.
• Pinocchio , Jiminy Cricket (or Foulfellow or Gideon), and Geppetto ride on top the giant Toy Factory float.
• 6 Toy Factory Elves dance alongside the float.
• Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story in a spaceship is atop a Toy Block float.

• The Seven Dwarves hold buckets full of jewels as they dance in front of a moving Christmas Tree adorned with jewels.
• 8 Finale Dancers (4 male, 4 female) dance and sing to Christmas carols.
• Santa Claus sits atop his sleigh on the Finale float led by the 8 Reindeer.
• Two Finale Elves dance on the back of the Finale float.
• Two or Three Rope Carriers end the parade

Did You Know? - Tomorrowland's showpiece was the TWA Moonliner, derived from Disney's "Man In Space" television episodes developed in the 1950s. The Moonliner was the tallest structure in the park at the time, even taller than the park icon Sleeping Beauty Castle. The Moonliner hosted Rocket To The Moon which was a ride to the moon.

Did You Know? - In 1956, Tomorrowland Boats were renamed Phantom Boats, and were closed later in the year. These boats were housed in the Tomorrowland Lagoon, which is roughly where the submarine lagoon is now situated.  Originally called the Tomorrowland Boats, they opened to the public in July of 1955.  Designed as an attraction where young pilots could motor a boat around the lagoon--like an aquatic version of Autopia--the attraction soon proved problematic.  

The fiberglass boats were poorly designed, particularly in the engine compartment.  The enclosed motors quickly overheated as young boaters tried for speed, with the boats then towed back to the dock.  To add to the problems, these motors also threw off a lot of smoke.  

Overtime Disneyland formed two solutions to these problems: (1) engineers redesigned the backend of each boat, enclosing the motor (which limited ambient smoke but increased engine heat) and (2) park operations added an employee to pilot each boat to insure the boats didn't overheat.  

The park also renamed the boats the Phantom Boats.  With this, the boat attraction became a money-loser for the park.  On peak days, the 14 little boats required 14 employees to operate them, with each boat carrying two or maybe three guests at most.

The Phantom Boats turned their final lap around the little lagoon in August 1956, a little more than a year after the park first opened.

Did You Know? - The Voices of Liberty is an eight-member a cappella group that hosts patriotic choral performances in the pavilion rotunda throughout the day, often as a pre-show to the next scheduled performance of the main presentation. The group also performs in year-round events including the Candlelight Processional and other special events.