Today at Disneyland: It's Christmas!

We spent a wonderful few hours at Disneyland this afternoon and evening. The Christmas tree and lights are up, the traditional Christmas music loop is playing on Main Street, and the entire atmosphere was lovely and tranquil.

Here's a view of the train station as we arrived...click to enlarge and view details:


It was very uncrowded tonight, which once upon a time was usually the case on fall Fridays, but not so much since the 50th anniversary celebration. We had to wonder if the economy was finally hitting park attendance. (Arnold, are you listening?) Whatever the cause, we really enjoyed the uncongested walkways and short lines...Buzz Lightyear was almost a "walk-on."

Chip and Dale have always been among my favorite Disney characters, and I couldn't resist this set, which is going to decorate our piano next month:


When I was paying for Chip and Dale in Frontierland, I didn't realize at first that the familiar-looking man in line next to me was Ed Begley Jr. He looked so familiar that I actually paused for a moment to think if he was a college friend of my husband's. Then, as I walked away from the register, my husband whispered who it was. Fun.

Despite all our years working at and visiting the park, celebrity sightings there have been very rare. I did wait on Harriet Nelson in the early '80s, which was neat. She lived in Orange County for many years; in fact, my husband and I also spotted her once when we were in line for a movie at the Big Newport.

Here's Sleeping Beauty Castle...my digital camera doesn't always do the best job in the dark, even with the night setting, but this gives you the idea:


The Castle walk-through reopens November 21, 2008.

King Arthur's Carrousel is always a pretty sight at night...I love the way it looks viewed from the Castle drawbridge.


Here's a beautifully lit tree near Big Thunder Ranch; perhaps we'd just forgotten it, but I think this is a new decoration this year. The trees inside Big Thunder Ranch were also decorated with colorful lights, but the Ranch isn't open for Christmas business yet.


My favorite Christmas lights are at New Orleans Square, which is absolutely dazzling:


Here are the windows of the private Club 33 in New Orleans Square:


And another detail of the fabulous decorations near Club 33:


The Christmas Tree in Town Square after dark:


And for collectors, here's a peek at this year's holiday popcorn bucket and travel mug:


We're looking forward to returning again soon.

Previously: November 10, 2006, December 13, 2006, November 16, 2007, and December 14, 2007.