The holiday season at Walt Disney World is a magical time; with so much to see and do, it’s difficult to keep track of everything. One of the most magical experiences of the holiday season is the lighting of “Holiday Dream Lights”. The Cinderella “Castle Holiday Lights” were added to Cinderella’s Castle in 2007. The Holiday Dream Lights include over 200,000 LED lights covering the castle.
The Castle Dream Lights are turned on every day at 6:15 during the castle lighting ceremony (stage show). The show has proved to be so popular that a second castle lighting was added in 2014 starting at 8:00 pm. The show is only 10 minutes long and a must-see at least once during your holiday trip. I’m sure you’re aware that on select nights in November/December, the Magic Kingdom closes at 7:00 pm, unless you have a separate ticket for “Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party”. The
6:15 timing of “Cinderella’s Holiday Wish” means guests spending the day at the Magic Kingdom and those just arriving for “Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party” can both experience the castle lighting. It can be your first experience of the Christmas Party or your last sight as you exit the park. Either way, it’s a must-see. Like most Disney shows, the second tends to be less crowded than the first.
The Castle Lighting itself has changed over the years, originally and until 2014 “Cinderella’s Holiday Wish” castle stage show featured Mickey, Minnie, Donald,
Goofy, Pluto and Cinderella. As the story goes, Cinderella is looking to decorate the Magic Kingdom for the holidays and isn’t quite sure how to capture the Holidays. The Fairy Godmother appears to help bring Cinderella’s castle to live with magic glittering ice… resembling her special glass slipper.
In 2014, and returning for 2015 the “Cinderella Holiday Wish” was replaced by “A Frozen Holiday Wish”. In the new ceremony Elsa, Anna, Kristof, and Olaf, visiting from Arendelle convince Elsa to use her powers to turn Cinderella Castle into an icy,
glittering palace. The new “Frozen Holiday Wish” also uses technology from ‘Celebrate the Magic” to magically transform the castle into a Holiday masterpiece. Even the Frozen show has evolved from 2014 to 2015 added a new Olaf with a moving mouth, think Talking Mickey. The 2015 hub expansion project allows the castle to surround you giving you are more immersive experience than just watching the castle, the expansion also added snow machines to the hub. In addition to snowing on the main street, it snows in the hub! As always be sure to check your times’ guide for showtimes, as they tend to change based on crowd levels.
I couldn’t decide which version to feature for this episode of SamsDisneyDiary, so I’ll go with both, and let you decide which you like better! “Cinderella Holiday Wish” and/or “A Frozen Holiday Wish” Thanks for watching
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If you love Fireworks as much as we do, check these posts out: Disneyland Believe in Holiday Magic, Epcot Forever, Star Wars Galatic Spectacular, Happily Ever After, Disneyland Forever, Jingle Bell Jingle Bam, News Years Eve at Hollywood studios, Holiday Wishes, Star Wars Weekend Feel the force, World of Color, World of Color 60th Anniversary World of Color Season of Light, Illuminations, HarmonioUS, DVC Moonlight Blast and don’t miss once upon a time projection show
