Decorating Disney: Holiday Magic (2017)

[bunniefuu]

- Tonight, we're giving you
a backstage pass

into an enchanted world very
few have ever seen.

Find out what it takes
to transform the Disney parks

and resorts into spectacular
holiday wonderlands.

When the last guests
leave the park,

the magical
conversion begins.

From beautiful trees,
to ginger bread mansions.

From haunted attractions,
to dazzling castles.

Some transformations
take weeks.

- Watch that circle,
make a circle.

- Others, months.

- You get a lot of
good biceps in the bakery.

- But most happen
overnight.

- Make sure you plant
them nice and tight.

- Wind is still a little
bit gusty,

so let's keep it safe.

Keep it under control.

- Let me know if you're
a good position.

- For the first time ever,
learn all of the insider

Disney holiday
decorating secrets.

- What we do here
at Walt Disney World,

is like nothing
else in the world.

- From Disney
Channels descendants

and Hollywood Records
recording artist,

Sofia Carson, at Walt Disney
World Resort in Florida...

- Wash the window.

- That's cute.

- Yes, there you go!

- And winner of Dancing with
the Stars Season

and Hollywood Records
recording artist,

Jordan fisher from Disneyland
Resort in California.

And me!
Whoopi Goldberg.

The biggest Disney and
Christmas fan of them all.

[exclamations]

["Carol of the Bells" plays]

- This is Decorating Disney:
Holiday Magic.

- I absolutely love
visiting Disney Parks

during the holidays.

You are instantly transported to
a beautiful winter wonderland,

and tonight, we're going
behind the scenes

to places few people
have ever been.

Now the moment the
park closes,

the last guest has left, teams
of talented imagineneers,

designers and cast members
descend on Disneyland

and Walt Disney World
resort like magical elves

transforming the parks
overnight.

Now how do they do it!

Well, you're about
to find out.

Welcome to Decorating Disney,
Holiday Magic.

Let's start things
off with Jordan Fisher

at Disneyland
Resort in California.

- Thanks, Whoopi.

It's an honor to be
hosting the show with you.

Even Cars Land at Disney
California Adventure,

inspired by the iconic
Route ,

had gotten a holiday
make over.

Showcasing trees made of tires
and decorated with hub caps.

Up first, let's go
behind-the-scenes

of Sleeping Beauty Castle
in Disneyland.

[upbeat music]

- I would say up easy, but
there's only one up.

- There's only up.

- I'm Jen Borden,

I work at technical
services at Disneyland.

I help transform the
castle into this

winter time spectacular.

It takes hard work
to transform

just your ordinary castle
into this winter

time enchantment
beauty.

Everything that goes on
to the castle,

from the icicles to the
snow caps,

they get re-painted
so everything

is fresh and new
every year.

So we re-do the lighting,
we re-do the rigging points.

We test everything.

The castle is our baby,

so it's very important
for us to get it right.

- It looks good.

- There are over pieces that
go on to the castle.

Snow caps, as we call them,
and the roof tops.

And you've never seen
these pieces before,

and you see the
size of them all,

it's a little overwhelming.

You're like,
wait a minute.

This grand thing is gonna
go up there?

Without knocking
anything over?

The very first year
that I joined on

winter time enchantment,

it was a little bit
overwhelming.

And now
six years later,

I'm the one that's
making the calls to

getting the pieces on.

- You're good.

- My job is pretty great.

I have two little boys,

and they look forward to
coming to Disneyland,

especially during the
Christmas time

because of the snow
and the lights.

And I get to say,
"Mommy put on those lights."

They're like,
okay that's cool.

[intense music]

- Hey Ben, how we
doing on that all clear?

- All right,
you heard him, let's go.

We wait until the
park closes,

until the last guest
is through.

Then we start working.

Getting everything
in and out at night takes

a little more time.

It takes a little
more effort.

But making it right
for the guests on a daily basis

is part of the magic
that we create.

- Switch.

- When you're working
around one of

the most recognizable
buildings on the planet,

you have to be
extremely careful.

- Hey, before you
guys land this too far,

you're going to want
to cut that cable there

so you can reach
the power.

- Installing snow on
the castle,

is an extremely
coordinated effort.

With people working around
the castle all at once,

we tend to call it the
lift ballet.

[waltz music plays]

- We have four lifts in
very, very tight proximity

to each other.

And they're all moving
around,

and they're all communicating
and telling each other

where they're going
and what they're doing.

- You guys have eyes
on the dormir?

- It should be up
there shortly.

- The most challenging part
about attaching

the icicles, is maneuvering
around the castle.

Icicles can be anywhere
from three feet to feet long.

So putting them up is
a little difficult.

- The winter time
enchantment team has worked

hard to transform Sleeping
Beauty Castle for the holidays.

Now it's time to
light it up,

and spread some
holiday cheer.

[whimsical music]

- Hi!
Good to see you.

- It's good to see you.

- Thousands of people come
just to see the castle light up.

And we watch the
show unfold.

Ready?
Here it comes.

Here it comes.
Ready?

Here it goes.

[triumphant music]

[crowd gasps]

- What do you think?

Seeing that castle lit up
is breathe taking.

And seeing the reaction on
the children's face

as they see the lights
come up,

it's a magical moment
for them.

You get this warm
fuzzy sensation,

and you know personally
the hard work

and dedication that it
took to get there.

And you can't help
it but be happy.

- Coming up.

Discover which iconic
attraction uses

more than ,
lights to light its exterior.

And...

Find out why it takes
a police escort

to transport ,
pounds of decorations

to Main Street after
hours.

- It all comes together
on one night.

- When Decorating Disney:
Holiday Magic returns.

- Welcome back to Decorating
Disney Holiday Magic.

Sleeping Beauty Castle isn't
the only royal palace

that gets a transformation.

Here at the Magic Kingdom
Park in Florida,

Queen Elsa from Frozen,
illuminates over ,

LED lights that adorn
a Cinderella castle

in a frozen holiday wish.

On selected nights,

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas
party celebrates the season

with parades, fireworks,
and snow on Main Street.

- I am here at
Walt Disney World,

and just outside the park are
three giant warehouses

that total , square
feet of holiday decor.

Who's happier than me
right now, nobody!

In these giant
warehouses,

all of the Christmas
decorations

are refurbished and
stored every year.

Hey, let's meet Lisa, the
manager of holiday services

and see how the magic
really happens.

- This particular warehouse
is , square feet.

This is where all the
magic happens.

I've been with Walt Disney
World for over years.

When I started with the
company, I was .

I use to serve pop-corn
and ice cream on Main Street.

And I have been with holiday
services over years.

We have a team
of people,

and it takes them all year to
decorate all the resorts,

the parks, and the cruise
ships for the holidays.

One of the most special things
that holiday services does,

is install the nine iconic
Christmas trees across property.

- It feels like the
first, right?

So what we're looking at right
now are pieces of the tree.

Each one stacks into
the other,

and this will make
feet of tree.

Most of the trees range
from ,

to up to , pounds.

- Be ready to stand-by.

We'll take that one first.

[beeping]
- Well so far so good.

We got three pieces in,
two trailers done,

more to go.

And I'll let the crane operator
l know what's going on.

You're going to pull
down that road,

and then we'll
back you in.

Your crane is here,
you guys are doing great.

, , and .

- We want to make
sure that everything works,

everything flows,
it all comes together.

Because those trees
install in one night.

Got a team that is just
ambitious, motivated, talented,

and they're focused on
that show quality.

What we do here at
Walt Disney World

is like nothing
else in the world.

Oh yeah,
we have a great team.

[engine rumbling]

- You got this caravan
with all of these

tree pieces taking up
the whole road.

- Can you just pull
up a little bit,

the other driver's
on his way.

So we get Orange County
Sheriff's Office

to have some of their units
actually block

the intersections
for safety.

- Thank you.

- Hold!

- Once we get that all clear,
when all the guests

have actually exited the
park, we are in.

And we begin our
Christmas install process

while the guests sleep.

I love being able
to come in on a night,

and have nothing there
that's associated

with Christmas decor, and then
leave the next morning

that whole area is
show quality.

- We only have a
few more minutes before

the park opens,
so let's light it up.

[all]
- - .

[exclamations]

- Many of the nine icon tress
have custom made ornaments.

The pop-corn on the
Magic Kingdom tree,

is crafted to match the
original tree decor from .

Across all parks,
lobby and icon trees

range from feet to
feet tall.

And the light on the
contemporary tree

are all painted street
lamp bulbs.

Visible from
miles away.

Decorating all lobby
and icon trees,

takes over ,
ornaments and a quarter

of a million lights.

- I myself was going
to decorate

my tree at home with
this bad boy!

But first,

let's take a look at an
attraction right here

at Disneyland Resort
that really holds

a special in the
heart s of guests from

all over the globe.

[magical music]

- It's a Small World,
is very special.

It's a very iconic
attraction here

at the Disneyland Resort.

It was originally built for the
New York World's fair,

and then it was
transported here in .

It is one of the last
attractions that

Walt Disney was still
around for when it opened.

The overall back story of
It's a Small World,

a lot of people don't
know is called

the Rainy Day Project.

The concept is, is that
it's raining outside,

and the kids have nothing
to do and can't go out and play.

So mom gets out the construction
paper and the kids create

this magical land
that their doll can live in.

So you can kind of see that
through the design

of the attraction, and why
it's built the way it is.

For Christmas
each year,

we completely do a total
transformation of

holidays around
the world inside.

[whimsical music]

- During the holiday
transformation,

every doll gets
a special accessory,

and some get complete
holiday costumes.

- What do we have here?

- Here, is one of the
original sketches of

one of the dolls.

This is the
Java Dancer doll.

- So now this
sketch would have been

for the World's Fair.

- Correct.

- So this is a piece of
history right here.

- It is.
- Wow.

- Okay, do they look even?
- Yeah, that looks good.

- When you see our
costumers work,

you can tell that
they're very dedicated

to the intricacies
that they have to do

in dressing these dolls.

The accessories are
just right,

the hair is combed
just properly.

They're very delicate.

We all like to put our little
finishing touches on things.

Almost like our own
little signature.

In the Ireland scene,

there's a these little paper
garlands where

they've left little
sayings, little notes.

It's they're little tribute to
the attraction to say

"I was there and I'm
part of this."

And the detail is
just amazing.

- You got this.

- On the exterior,
we install about ,

C size Christmas lights on the
facade of it's a Small World.

And then , mini lights
in the trees, bushes,

topiaries and hedges
throughout the attraction.

This horse is going to
look really pretty

by the time we're done.

- After three weeks
of hard work,

the team at Disneyland
Resort is ready to reveal

the It's a Small World holiday
transformation.

["It's a Small World"
theme plays]

♪ It's a world of laughter ♪
♪ A world of tears ♪

♪ It's a world of hopes ♪
♪ And a world of fears ♪

- The outside of the
attraction is completely

transformed with a
festive assortment

of holiday themed lights.

- Opening day for It's
a Small World,

when we turn all those lights
on for the first time

for the guests, just sends
shivers through me each time.

I mean, there's a large
collective gasp,

aw, that I never get
tired of hearing each year.

It's just exhilarating.

- Inside Small World,

over dolls and
nations are illuminated

with thousands of light
for this special time of year.

Every single room,

and every single doll gets
a holiday make-over.

♪ It's a small world
after all ♪

- Coming up.

Find out what takes thousand of
pounds of tasty ingredients,

and six months of round the
clock preparation,

and keeps me coming
back year after year.

Wow!

When Decorating Disney:
Holiday Magic returns.

- Welcome back to
Decorating Disney Holiday Magic.

For the first time ever,
the foot Twilight zone:

Tower of Terror is decorated
for the holidays.

And across the resort,
at the Grand Floridian

Resort and Spa,
you'll find my favorite

decorations at
Walt Disneyworld.

And they're good
enough to eat!

- Imagine a full size,
foot tall ginger bread

house that you cannot
only eat,

you can actually walk
through it.

Let's check it out.

- Welcome to the
bakery kitchen.

This is where we do all
of our gingerbread houses.

During the holidays,
we do our gingerbread house,

which is a major
under taking.

It takes almost ,
pounds of flower.

Thousand pounds
of honey,

pounds of sugar,
and pounds of chocolate.

It takes about months.

I've been working
for Disney World for years.

years ago I thought,

why don't we build a
life size gingerbread house.

Once the gingerbread
house is built,

it will be built into an
actual store.

We have a whole menu of
items we sell from the house.

Our most popular item is the
shingle, the same shingle

that we put on the roof
of the house.

- Get a lot of good biceps
in the bakery.

- Kristine Farmer is one
of my great chefs.

She worked with me for
years and she's awesome.

She's probably the best I've
ever had under my watch.

- I opened the Grand
Floridian in ,

and this is our th year
building the gingerbread house.

Our guests love it and we
love to surprise them

with new ideas and new
recipes year after year.

- We start building
the house.

We start on the bottom and you
work your way up, okay?

That's what I want, yes.

Okay, perfect.

- I'm getting ready go to
up in the cherry picker.

- It's exciting because
there's so much happening.

That's the most rewarding
part of it.

- And there is another
very special guest

who just can't get enough of
the gingerbread house

at the Grand Floridian.

- Every holiday season,
I come here to the

Grand Floridian to
celebrate the holidays.

Because there's no better
place to start at.

I come every year.

Wow!

- Hi, Whoopi!

- Hey!

- Welcome home!

- Good to see ya!

- Thank you for visiting
us on our th year

of the gingerbread
house.

- This is amazing!

It's just phenomenal!

- Well thank you.

- And I want to ask you about
these guys over here, come on.

This right here, these guys,
is this chocolate?

- Yes they're some in
white chocolate

and then we hand
paint them.

- You hand paint them?

- Yes, with cocoa butter.

- I could live in the
gingerbread house.

But the problem would be,
I would be eating

my way out of it like
a mouse.

'Cause you know there's
powdered sugar on the roof here!

I mean it is insane!

And now you understand Hansel
and Gretel's problem, right?

Right?

You know, I always get
gingerbread houses

and I love them.

I love them.

- Well you know, since
you're such a big fan

of Walt Disney World.

- Yeah.
- And our gingerbread house.

We created something very
special for you.

- For me?

- You own individual
gingerbread house display.

- Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Look at that!

- This is Ellen,
our gingerbread lady.

- Hi, Ellen.

Hey.

That's me!

- And everything you see
here is edible.

- Everything?

- Even your bus.

- I'm gon' eat my
bus first.

See how long I can
hold that before

I just start munching
on myself.

It's just exquisite!

Thank you.

- You're welcome.

- Merry Christmas!

- Oh, Merry Christmas
to you.

- Merry Christmas.

Yeah.

- It's great having you.

- Nice to be here.

- Coming up,
Jack Skellington gives

Disneyland Resort a
Christmas makeover.

- Right now, we are about to
set up the scary tree.

Might have to get up a little
higher so I can get the angle.

Got it.

- When Decorating Disney:
Holiday Magic returns.

- We're the Milky family.

We love Hollywood Studios
during the holiday time.

This is gorgeous!

- We decided we wanted to spend
a little more time relaxing,

and that's where
Disney Vacation Club came in.

- We celebrate every Christmas
up at Disney World.

It allows us the flexibility
to stay for one night

or seven nights,
whatever we want to do.

- We used to stay at Wilderness
Lodge during the holidays.

Now it's Copper Creek Villas
and Cabins and we love it.

- Wow, this is awesome!

- And we also bring a few
decorations ourselves

to make the room very
Christmas-y.

Perfect.

- The beautiful accommodations,
wonderful rooms.

- Who wants cookies?

- It's a great way to spend
time with the family.

- Happy Holidays from
Walt Disney World!

- Welcome back to Decorating
Disney Holiday Magic.

At Disney California
Adventure,

the World of Color Season
of Light features

, fountains dancing
to holiday music.

And over at Haunted Mansion,
a fan favorite holiday

transformation is about
to take place.

- So how do you turn the
spooky Haunted House

into one of the most anticipated
Disney Holiday Experiences?

Four words, The Nightmare
Before Christmas.

- Haunted Mansion Holiday
is a nice mashup

between our traditional
Haunted Mansion and

Jack Skellington and his
crew of misfits

and what happens when you
mash them all together.

The Haunted Mansion
at Disneyland

is such an iconic
attraction.

So it's a huge honor to be
able to work in it.

And it's also one of
those things

that you're working
with reverence.

- Every August, the attraction
closes for eighteen days

to do the transformation.

- I think one of our most
dramatic changes

is what we do to the outside
of the house.

We bring in wrought iron
for the roof and a sleigh.

- Yep.

- This, we call our highline.

And it is basically a tension
line and we have

a pulley system so that we
can take things up

without having to use
a crane or a lift.

- - - .

- The skulls actually
look really good,

we got them focused
really well so.

- Yeah, see sometimes it
just works out.

- Richard is a close
colleague of mine.

He's been a mentor to me
and a really good friend.

- Now you got to pull out
a little bit.

Down a touch.

- When Haunted Mansion
originally opened in ,

I was fortunate enough
to ride it.

I was twelve years old and I
was overwhelmed by it.

It really made me wonder,
how do these guys do this?

And that exploration drove
me into my career.

I hope that I inspire
folks because

it has been a fulfillment
of a dream.

- This is the ballroom
inside the Haunted Mansion.

And right now we are about to
set up the scary tree.

- All right, gentlemen.

- That tree is made of steel and
gummite and it is heavy.

- The tree is twenty-two
feet tall.

Lindsey is back in the
distance behind me

in a harness doing
rope access.

- I'm gonna have to get
up a little higher

so I can get the angle.

Got it.

- So that she can install
each branch.

- Good.

- We actually modify the
original table in the ballroom

so that we can bring in the
gingerbread house

and just roll
it right into place.

The ginger bread house is
new every year.

And it is actually created
from gingerbread.

So it smells amazing
in that room.

- Inside the seance circle,
you're greeted by Madame Leota

She is doing your
tarot card reading.

Instead of her being outside
the crystal ball,

she is inside our
crystal ball.

- Floating.

- The Madame Leota in classic
show is a woman named

Leota Toombs who
was an Imagineer.

And they used her to create
Madame Leota.

- Awaken the spirits with
your tambourines!

- I work for Walt Disney
Imagineering as the

Art Director at
Disneyland California.

My mom's name is Leota
and she is Madame Leota

in the crystal ball.

She worked at Wed
Enterprises

and they created
attractions at the park.

She worked on all the
pirate heads

and bodies and
costumes and sets.

She just was very
involved in very many

things as I have been.

And I will always
be very proud of the fact

that I was able to follow
in her footsteps.

And my daughter, Ali,
got a job in the

Resort Enchancement
Department here at Disneyland.

And Ali's daughters
name is, Leota.

Named after my mom,
Madame Leota.

When the idea first came
up about changing

Haunted Mansion for
the holidays.

Steve Davidson from
entertainment said

"We're gonna have to
re-do the head

and the crystal ball.

And I know, you know,
your mom is not round anymore,

so do you want to do it?

- And I thought man,
that would be fun.

But I'm kind of shy.

And he said, "Well I can hire
an actress to do it"

Well I didn't want anyone
else to do it either.

So I said "Okay, I'm in,
I'll do it"

- Madame Leota's legacy is not
the only one that lives on.

During the holiday season,
this tightknit group

of cast members pay tribute
to one another as well.

- We have some tributes
throughout the attraction,

especially in the
attack scene.

A lot the names on the
naughty, nice list

and some of the gift
tags are people who have

been key individuals,
the original creator and

designer and producer.

Two cast member
who are no longer with us

that passed, one
was Bill King who was

one of our scenic
touch up artists.

Another was our dear
friend of mine,

head decorator,
Kristin Plummer who

lost her life to
leukemia.

Her contribution to this
attraction was appreciated.

Is appreciated.

That tag will always be here,
even when I'm not.

- All of the hard work
transforming Haunted Mansion

for the holidays is
finally complete.

Let's take a look at
what it's like

when Jack Skellington
takes over.

After eighteen days,
Jack Skellington's officially

left his mark on the
Haunted Mansion.

- I wonder what the
gingerbread looks like.

- I don't know,
let's see if they did

something different
this year.

- In the seance room...

Leota's legacy
taunts guests along

with a possessed
nutcracker who mimics

every word she says.

The Grand Ballroom is
adorned with...

a Goolish House
of Treats.

And a petrified tree
dawning hundreds

of spooky ornaments.

Before Jack leaves the
haunted mansion,

he brings , square
feet of snow to the base

of pumpkin mountain,
where sixty-nine pumpkins

tower to the ceiling,
representing the year

the Haunted Mansion
came to life.

- Opening day is
exhilarating.

You get goosebumps.

You see the guests
enjoying this.

- They completely outdid
themselves, that was great.

- A tremendous amount
of pride goes into this,

I love my job.

- Happy Holidays everyone!

- Up next, one
small team of cast members

must take on the
impossible mission of planting

over ,
poinsettias across the

Magic Kingdom.

- Make sure you plant
them nice and tight.

Beautiful, good job.

- When Decorating Disney
Holiday Magic returns.

Welcome back.

Here at Epcot, the
Candlelight Processional

is held year after year,
welcoming more than

performers each night.

And at Epcot
international festival

of the Holiday,
guests can see unique

holiday traditions
across different countries.

But one thing they all
have in common

is their favorite holiday
flower, poinsettias!

- They say diamonds are
a girl's best friend.

But the way to my heart
always starts with flowers.

- These are beautiful!

I'm Heather Will-Browne
and I'm an Area Manager

at the Walt Disney
World Nursery

at the Walt Disney
World Resort.

We do all the specialty
growing, topiarie's,

hanging baskets, all the
really cool specialty items.

During the holiday season,
we transform the parks

into a winter wonderland!

These Ivy bells are gonna
hang at the front of

Town Square at the
Magic Kingdom,

we've made beautiful red
bows to go on 'em.

I have worked for Walt Disney
World for years now.

And I was the first female
gardener at Walt Disney World.

I was here the very first day
the park opened

and I'm still here today.

We're going to put
poinsettias in the top

of this basket.

We're using over
, poinsettias this year!

I don't think you can have
holiday without the

floriculture part of it.

Joe's working on Pluto.

And you can see,
this is one of our

sphagnum moss topiaries.

Epcot's plan
for the holiday show,

we're going to install a total
of eighteen topiaries.

There's gonna be eight
character topiaries

and then there's gonna be ten
snowflake topiaries.

Joe is inserting plugs and he's
got some bobby pins there,

these are regular hair pins
that you would buy

at a hairdresser.

And he'll use boxes of
these hairpins

to get this whole
topiary ready to go.

- We still got it, Heather,
years of experience combined.

- Michele Giger, I have worked
with Michele for a long time.

- We're all from the same
mold, right?

- Michele and I
both worked in the

Floriculture Services
Department together.

And then she moved on
to become manager

now at the Magic Kingdom.

- Okay it looks
like we're just about done.

- Not bad!

Look how symmetrical, guys.

- Group high-five.

- So the soil goes and
encompasses Mickey's ears.

- Yeah.

- I am so proud to be a part
of the holiday display.

But I started as a
gardener in .

The thrill of the day
that I became a gardener

still stays with me today.

Walt Disney World has a very
special place in my heart.

I met my husband working at
Walt Disney World.

We met as gardeners.

He lured me to the Magic Kingdom
on Valentine's Day

and got on one knee and you
know, the rest is history.

That's good.

Now, being the manager of
the Magic Kingdom,

I mean... unbelievable.

We come into the
Magic Kingdom

and we work below the
train station

in the Mickey Floral.

Which is one of the most
photographed spots in the world.

And we take the current face
and we transpose it

into a Mickey ornament.

He's just gonna pull that
out and put a tree in.

We have to pull
every plant out,

raid out the flower beds,

and we have to dig
each hole.

Make sure you plant them
nice and tight!

Beautiful, good job!

- While Michele is busy
planting poinsettias

at the Magic Kingdom Park.

Over at Epcot, Heather's
team ready's

the topiary installation.

- To change the holiday
in one night,

we bring out a landscape crew
to plant the topiaries.

All right, another one up.

And then topiaries have to
have irrigation hooked up.

And then you're gonna
have to clean up.

All that has to be done,
you have to be out

of the park by opening.

- Let's see how
Michele's beautiful

flower displays turned out.

- The holidays at
Walt Disney World

mean a grand celebration.

There's nowhere
else on earth you

get that feeling when
you step through those

gates and you're in a
fantasy of decorations

that help you
to celebrate the season.

It's amazing how all the
pieces of the puzzle

come together to make this
beautiful display.

- Our end product is
just beautiful.

When you can stand back
and look at it and know you

did a good job,
there is a lot of pride.

They all look good.

I am finally gonna retire
after years,

this will be my
last holiday.

- Congratulations on
years of service

with the Walt Disney
World Company.

- I'm extremely
grateful that

I've had this career
that I've had.

I love you guys.

- I love you too.
- Thank you.

It's big, it's too
big to thank,

it's your life.

You guys are my family.

And if I had to
thank them,

I would just have to
say I love 'em all.

And I'll miss 'em.

Thank you, Disney.

- Coming up.

- This is incredible,

I'm seeing the magic behind
Walt Disney World.

- For the first time in
Disney History,

go behind the scenes with
Sophia Carson.

- Oh my gosh!

- Oh, come on.

- This is so exciting!

- Let's go, let's go.

- To see how the biggest
parade at Walt Disney World

is brought to life for its
holiday debut.

When Decorating
Disney Holiday Magic returns.

- . million Christmas
lights in Walt Disney World

turn the most
Magical Place on Earth,

into the Merriest.

While Disney Springs is
home to shopping,

dining and one of the
largest light displays

in Walt Disney World.

Across the resort,
Magic Kingdom is known

for one of its largest
parades.

- Now let's take
a look at

Mickey's Once Upon A
Christmas Time Parade.

- I just want to make sure
we know exactly where

we're gonna put Mickey
and Mini on this float.

My name is Tara Anderson
and I am a show director

with Disney Parks Live
Entertainment.

Mickey high you think?

Mickey high and Mini low.

I actually created Mickey's Once
Upon A Christmas Time Parade

at Walt Disney World.

So we can do a little
interaction with each other

then we can play out.

And we're just going
down the street.

I began my Disney career as
a Kid of the Kingdom

straight out of college.

Like literally graduate
in the morning,

fly down in the
afternoon.

I was a performer and then moved
into show direction.

And I have been here fulltime as
a show director since .

I think it's time to get
back to rehearsal.

- Yeah.

- Yeah? Okay.

- We're warming up.

Hello Royal Court,
keep stretching.

Lovely pointed toes.

Are we ready?

Okay, you guys
we're gonna go outside.

As we get towards the end
of the rehearsal period.

Get to your waltz circle
for me please.

This is our moment to
eyeball our guests,

to bring them into
the party.

We're able to talk about
characterization

and how are they going to bring
the guests into their world.

Good.

Because it's that
emotional connection

that is what our
guests love so much.

At that moment, when you take
your partners hand,

I want to understand
in that second

what your
relationship is.

How you feel about
each other.

Did you just meet?

Is it a
"Oh he touched me!"

Is it that?

Or is it "We've been together so
long and I still love you"?

Right?

You guys good?

'Cause we're gonna get ready
to go around the building.

All right,
you guys line up!

Part of our rehearsal process
is actually helping

our performers build up
their endurance so

that they can get through
an entire parade

with a great
performance.

- Watch that circle,
make a circle.

- 'Cause it really is about
understanding.

You're not doing this
routine once,

you're probably doing it
at least seventeen times

down the parade route.

- Reach, reach, reach.

- The magic that happens
in this parade performance

is when our performers are
no longer thinking about

what count it is, what step it
is, what their blocking is.

When they are able to
truly bring their characters

to life, and tell the
story that we're telling,

people are so invested in our
stories and our characters.

I think it is the
opportunity that we have

to connect with them.

And it's also the responsibility
that we have to live

up to Walt's legacy and
also, frankly to exceed it.

[cheering]

Really great work,
you guys.

- That was great.

- Really great.

Next run focus on spacing.

Before opening night,
we basically have

a final rehearsal.

It's really just for us to make
sure that we're happy

with what we're about to
put in front of our guests.

- Sorry to interrupt.

- Oh, hi.

- Hi, how are you?

So nice to meet
you, Tara.

This is incredible,
I'm seeing the magic

behind Walt Disney World.

- Yeah.

- I would love,
if possible to learn

some of the choreo.

- Yes, of course.

- Is that possible?
Should we do that?

- We can teach you some
of the arm-ography

that our princesses do.

- Like when you guys do
all this beautiful.

- Yes!
You ready?

- I'm so ready.

- We're gonna go up on the
float to learn that.

- Are we really?
- Yeah.

- Oh my gosh!
- Oh, come on.

- This is so exciting!
- Let's go, let's go.

- Okay, okay.

- If you're riding on a
float, you usually

can't move your feet
very much.

- This is crazy!

- So we give them some
arm-ography to do.

That picks up what the court
dancers are doing a little bit,

but is also
uniquely their own.

- First thing we're doing
is swaying.

- Swaying.

- So we're going one,
two, three, four,

five, six, seven, eight.

Now open up.

Here, big burst up
and over.

Yes!

And then you wave.

- And the wave is like this?

- Well I'll teach you one that
Cinderella taught me.

- Okay.

- Wash the windows.

- There's a spot,
there's a spot.

- Oh, that's cute!

- Yes, there you go!

Because, you know her step
mother made her wash

a lot of windows.

- A lot of windows.

- Yeah?

So you want to do that
whole thing together?

- Yes, yes okay.

- So we're swaying.

- Let's sway.

- Sway two, three, four,
five now open up

here and big burst up
and now we wave.

- Wash, wash, spot here.

- There you go, perfect!

Oh, you're very good at that.

Yay!

- Thank you,
that is so cool!

We saw the preparation.

And now let's take
a look at

Mickey's Once Upon a
Christmas Time Parade.

[cheering]

- Ladies and gentlemen,
boys and girls.

Mickey, Mini and all of their
friends invite you

to celebrate the most
wonderful time of the year.

As the Magic Kingdom
proudly presents,

Mickey's Once Upon a
Christmas Time Parade!

- Mickey's Once Upton a
Christmas Time Parade

is a magical celebration
of the holidays.

- Woo!

- With fifteen floats and
performers,

it's the largest parade at
Walt Disney World Resort.

Making this happen,
however is no easy task.

It's the result of months
of planning and

rehearsals by some incredibly
dedicated cast members.

- There is nowhere else
like Walt Disney World

during the holiday season.

It is truly magical.

[cheering]

- One of the most rewarding
thins is seeing

the reaction of the guests.

To see them smile and
laugh and giggle

and point, "Oh look at that!"
and be in awe.

- h*! h*! h*! h*!

- We create memories for people
that they will never forget.

And we are so lucky to get
that opportunity.

- Happy Holidays,
everyone!

- This holiday season,
Disney and ABC are working

with Feeding America and
Toys for Tots to help

share the joy with kids and
families who need it the most.

Remember, everyone has
the power to make a difference.

I've had the best time tonight,
decorating Disney.

Taking you behind the scenes
of how Disney makes

this holiday season
so special.

And we got to thank the
talented and dedicated

cast members who
put their hearts and

souls into giving
guests at the

Disney Parks and
Resorts such a magical

holiday experience.

But before we go,
let's take a look at

Disney Holiday Magic
across the globe.

With parks and resorts
in Paris,

Tokyo,

Hong Kong,

and Shanghai...

and on the high
seas with Disney Cruise Line.

There's a lot of Disney
Holiday Magic.

So from Disney Parks
and Resorts from

all over the world,
Happy Holidays!