Disneyland

In April, we did a service project for the Dearborn Elementary School. We swept the kindergarden yard, painted a shed, pulled weeds and planted flowers. It was a lovely day, especially since our reward was a day at Disneyland!!
We purposefully waited until December to go to Disneyland. We wanted to convert our free tickets into season passes so that we could return for most of 2011. That made the day very nice. It was a Saturday and the most crowded I have ever seen Disneyland but we didn't mind, we knew that we would be coming back on much less crowded days. I did have a few requirements for the day.
We had to go on the Haunted Mansion. I love the way that they transform the ride with a "Nightmare Before Christmas" theme. There are Christmas presents and Jack Skeleton spread throughout. I also wanted to watch the Christmas Parade. We loved the roller skate snowflakes and Eeyore pulling his broken sled. Under much protest, I required a us to go on It's a small World. Again, I love the Christmas transformation as there are christmas decorations and messages of peace all the way through. Also, they don't repeat the same song over again, they mix jingle bells, deck the halls and the original song. So it is a little easier on the ears.
In addition to these holiday specialities, they had a different presentation that I had never seen before. The line to see it was over 3 hours long, so we didn't see it, but we did hear it. It was a large choir that proceeded up main street and performed. At first, I was just impressed that they were singing songs that were centered on Christ, along with traditional non-secular songs. But as they began into the heart of the program, they brought out a narrator. He read the scriptures! They would read a few verses, then sing a corresponding song. I was quite surprised. They read a good portion of Luke. We didn't stay for the entire program, so I am not sure if they paid tribute to other religions as well, but I was grateful for their forthcoming tribute to the true spirit of Christmas. It gives me hope that this is still a nation that is dedicated to the Lord in our various ways.
We had a great day, and are looking forward to many more days at the "happiest place on earth".