Quiet Moments

So this year was weird.

I’ll spare you all the speech. We all went through it, after all. I personally didn’t get to visit my family, who live in the States. Officially now, I haven’t seen them in over a year, which is a little weird. We had a nice quiet Christmas, just my boyfriend and I. We made a nice Christmas dinner, and…that was it.

My original post was going to be about holiday traditions- movies my mother and I watch, the New Year’s Eve cheeseboard my French boyfriend insists on- but nothing was super traditional this year. The dinner, maybe. Instead, as I sat in the silence after the video call with my family, I found myself missing holidays in Disney World.

I spent a few years working in Disney parks, first in merchandise and then later as a Photopass Photographer. If you’re here looking for all the behind-the-scenes dirt about the parks, this isn’t the blog. Now that I’ve recovered from the stress of juggling school and the Disney schedule, all without having a car, I look back on my time fondly.

Disney is pretty good at events (in my opinion), but they really go all-out for the Christmas holiday. I enjoyed it- Christmas around the World in EPCOT, Animal Kingdom’s tree with the animal decorations, and of course the Spectacle of Dancing Lights on the old Streets of America, back before they tore it up for the Star Wars stuff. (I was fortunate enough to work the final nights of that display!)

All of it is very well done, but my favorite will always be Magic Kingdom. It was my home park, so I spent the most time there, and I’ll be honest I grew very attached to how they did holidays. I’d come in to work one day in November, step out onto Main Street, and find the park had changed overnight. The train station and the buildings were draped in garlands. Nutcrackers and candy canes guarded the flagpole. A giant tree sat at the top of Main Street, towering over the buildings, with massive presents stacked underneath. All the streetlamps had bows and wreaths tied to them, and somehow it seemed that the amount of lights had doubled. They even switched their typical Main Street music loop to something more holiday themed. 

I’ve been wondering if it’s the social interaction I’m missing. Holidays were crowded. I can’t tell you how many times people would come up to me and whine, “It’s so crowded, shouldn’t people be home with their families,” clearly thinking they would have been the only ones with the brilliant idea of coming to Disney World on Christmas. Other than those idiots, and the occasional “It’s MERRY. CHRISTMAS. NOT HAPPY HOLIDAYS” person, people were nice around the holidays. Almost apologetic that I had to work. People would thank me for working on the holiday, which was nice. Some even brought in little treats. Disney had rules in place about accepting gifts or tips, but some people did research on how to still give us things. I got lots of candies (usually those mini candy canes), cards, and the occasional $5 that someone would force upon me by asking three times (a strange rule or tradition, we had to refuse things three times). Once, a man who looked suspiciously like Santa gave me an “I met Santa!” sticker (I guess I was good that year?). Another time, I received a plastic coin from two regulars who said “A dime because you’re a dime!“ It never made sense, but they laughed hysterically. It was a nice moment, and I kept the coin (it was a nickel. I didn’t have the heart to correct them.)

What I’m really missing, the real reason I started this post, is the Christmas Castle. I can’t dedicate an entire post to simply the Castle, but in terms of Christmas moments I miss, the Castle ranks number one. (Spectacle of Dancing Lights is a very close number two.) 

They usually start stringing the Castle with Christmas Lights in the fall. You wouldn’t notice it at first- just the annoying crane that guests liked to complain about. If you looked at the castle up close, you’d notice the net of wires it seems to be draped in- practically invisible from afar. Mid-November, after dusk, they would start the lighting of the castle.

There was usually some cutesy show that went first- Mickey and his pals think the castle isn’t decorated enough for Christmas. Someone would step in to help. It used to be the Fairy Godmother, since it was Cinderella’s Castle, but they switched it to Elsa after Frozen came out. (I’m not the biggest Frozen fan, but I accept that this makes sense, since Elsa has ice powers and whatnot.) They would get the crowd involved, cast a spell, and…magic would happen.

It started small, with a few twinkles. One of the turrets would start to glow, and then the other. The light began to spread, from the bottom of the castle to the tip of the tower, tiny sparkling blue-silver lights that made it look like the castle had been coated in shimmering ice, while a heroic soundtrack mixed with Christmas melodies played over it. It ended with a very small explosion of fireworks off the sides. 

It’s so cheesy. I got emotional every time. I can’t even explain why- I just watched it on Youtube and had the same reaction. I just think it’s beautiful. 

Some of my favorite moments were closing out Main Street. The park would empty, and they would make it snow on the guests as they left. The street would clear until it was just a few stragglers and the employees. There would be no sound except the whirring of the snow machines and the Christmas soundtrack. I’d have a clear view back to the castle, with a mostly-empty street, the holiday decorations creating a seasonal frame around the castle. It was a nice quiet moment after the chaos of everything- guest demands, my homework, fights with my then- boyfriend. 

I enjoyed my quiet Christmas with my boyfriend, but despite it just being the two of us, it felt stressful with the chaos of the year. Being (mostly) alone during the pandemic just isn’t the same as the quiet moments in Magic Kingdom- it just emphasized  how cut off we were from everything. Back in Disney, even during the final closing moments, I always knew I was part of something more.

I hope those of you who spent the holiday alone like us found some comfort. I hope you all have a nice New Year, however you spend it.