Ears looking at you, kids

Southern Living, Dec 1996 by Carlton, Michael

Friday, December 15. Orlando. It's 81 degrees. Not a cloud in the sky. A friend says a blizzard is rumbling from Minnesota to New York; the wind chill is minus 10.

But here in Central Florida it's all birdsong, sunshine, and shorts.

So, why's that guy driving the Disney bus wearing a stocking hat and a wool scarf?

Why's that girl in the long brown frock coat and top hat roasting chestnuts over an open fire?

Why's a bell choir playing "Silent Night" beside a 50-foot blue spruce tree as dressed up as a date for the prom?

And why, for goodness sake, is it snowing beside Cinderella Castle?

Welcome to the wacky, slightly off-balance December bash called Disney's Magical Holidays.

The celebration of the holiday season at Walt Disney World is something that everyone-no matter what age or religion-should experience. It's overdone, overblown, over-the-top. And it's delightful.

From nightly fireworks that burst overhead like giant green neon wreaths to a touching candlelight processional, the event plays on all your emotional strings.

The monthlong extravaganza features a jumble of special holiday highlights-plays, parades, and pyrotechnics; lights, lasers, and luminarias; Mickey, Minnie, and Merry Christmas.

The three Disney parks-Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios, and the Magic Kingdom-are all layered with spun sugar confections for the eyes.

Unapologetically garish Christmas displays by Jennings Osborne blaze like runway landing lights along Residential Street at the Studios. You may remember Jennings as the Little Rock resident whose blinding Yuletide decorations played havoc with the local power grid, drew huge crowds and bumper-to-bumper traffic-and complaints from his neighbors. When the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that Jennings would have to cut back on his display, he simply moved it-all 3 million lights worth-to Disney-MGM Studios. Each night his blinking bulbs burn into the dark Orlando night sky as carousel horses prance, angels fly, and candy canes dazzle.

It's only slightly more understated at Epcot. There the nightly IllumiNations lace the skies with lasers, and more than 25,000 poinsettias greet the crowds streaming into the World Showcase to enjoy the holiday traditions found in other countries.

Each night in Epcot, a 450-voice choir joins with a 50-piece orchestra to boom out Christmas greetings, and visiting celebrities narrate holiday legends and stories. A canopy of 30,000 lights leads visitors into Epcot where they learn the holiday traditions-including Hanukkah and Kwanza, in addition to Christmas-of the 11 countries in the World Showcase.

In the Magic Kingdom, Main Street, U.S.A., features a towering Christmas tree wrapped in a 500foot strand of popcorn and-every night-it "snows," thanks to some strategically placed snowmaking machines on the rooftops. Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parades perform to huge crowds daily, as the entire cast of characters gets into the spirit.

There are shows galore, including Broadway-slick Jolly Holidays, where a cast of more than 100 keeps visitors enthralled for two hours of singing, dancing, and storytelling. The musical, staged in the Contemporary Resort's convention center, features a pretty decent meal.

Disney hotels are also dressed for the occasion. At the Grand Floridian Beach Resort, for example, a mammoth 50-foot blue spruce erupts from the center of the lobby. It is bathed in 65,625 lights and more than 300 ornaments. Large mirrors sparkle from its branches, and more than 20 birdcages dress its flanks.

Not far away, a 7-foot gingerbread carousel and four giant gingerbread horses amaze little eyes with their marzipan magnificence.

Just outside the front door of the hotel a young person roasts chestnuts for the guests' pleasure, and each evening a local choir, handbell choir, or band assembles in the lobby to serenade. Other Disney hotels have equally impressive holiday celebrations.

Christmas, in all its many forms and through all its many functions, is never far away at Disney World in December. Somehow this most magical of places is even more enchanting when Mickey wears a stocking cap, when snow drizzles from the bluebird Florida sky, and when Goofy chortles a hearty "Ho! Ho! Ho! A-Yuk! A-Yuk!" The temperatures may be as hot as roasting chestnuts, but the real warmth of a Disney Christmas is right where it should be-in your delighted heart.

Walt Disney World Resort: For information about holiday activities, call (407) 824-4321. Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parades in the Magic Kingdom run December 21-31. At Epcot, the Candlelight Procession is celebrated November 29-December 24, and Holidays Around the World takes place November 29-December 30. Jolly Holidays dinner specials will be held December 1-23; tickets (available only with Disney's Magical Holidays package) are $58 adults, $51 ages 10-17, $34 ages 3-9.