I just love the holidays.  In fact, it’s my favorite time of year! There’s so much going on between parties, dinners and festivals, it seems the hustle and bustle of the season is something I’ve come to look forward to.  For the past 5 years we have visited the Disneyland Resort during the holidays and once you visit during this time of year, you too will be heading back every year to soak up the holiday magic.

Last weekend we headed to the Disneyland Resort for our annual trip! We kicked off the day by playing inside both Disneyland Park and Disney’s California Adventure Park.

The most amazing part of holiday time at the Disneyland Resort is the Christmas Tree!  Standing 60 feet tall and decorated with over 2,000 ornaments, this Christmas Tree boasts 4,800 LED lights and is truly an amazing sight!

And if you thought that was amazing, just wait until you see the nighttime Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle light show!  The show is divided into three “acts” over the course of the evening, each one beginning at the Castle and traveling the length of Main Street, U.S.A and finishing at the Town Square Christmas Tree.  The amount of lights on the Castle are just stunning and it creates a joyous atmosphere throughout the park.

The light show is followed up by the “Believe in Holiday Magic” Fireworks Show. The show is simply magical and the amount of fireworks used is just astonishing. The fireworks show is set to holiday themed music and at the end…it snowed!!!! How’s that for a little Christmas magic?

If you love parades, then you’ll want to check out  ”A Christmas Fantasy Parade”, where decorated floats and characters will dance before you, decked out for the holidays!

Our girls are truly little princesses so we decided to head over to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, where they enjoyed a “Princess Makeover” right inside Disneyland Park. They had the opportunity to pick out their dresses, shoes and accessories and then their “fairy god mothers” went to work doing their hair, make-up, and nails! It was an experience that none of us will forget!

After a fun filled day at the park, we headed over to the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa where the kind people at Disneyland put on a magical dinner highlighting the good eats inside of both parks! There, we had the opportunity to mingle with celebrity chefs and taste the amazing cuisine from the following restaurants located inside Disneyland Park and Disney’s California Adventure Park:

- Storyteller’s Cafe at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa

- Cafe Orleans inside Disneyland Park

- PCH Grill inside Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel

- Rancho del Zocalo inside Disneyland Park

- Goofy’s Kitchen inside the Disneyland Hotel

- Ariel’s Grotto/Wine Country Trattoria inside Disney’s California Adventure Park

These gingerbread Mickey Mouse beignets, created by Chef Martha, were covered in cinnamon sugar and accompanied by an eggnog anglaise.  Talk about yummy!

During the dinner, the kids and adults danced and sang to Disney Music with the Live DJ, and Lil’ Pea even did the Congo with Minnie Mouse! We met the newest Disney character, Duffy the Bear, who  in short, Minnie Mouse gave to Mickey Mouse so he wouldn’t be alone during his travels!

We enjoyed photo opps with many of the characters, while the kids enjoyed decorating sugar cookies with frosting and candy. We even had the opportunity to dance for a few seconds in front of a camera and the magical world of Disney managed to turn it into a Flip Book, if you can believe that!

We then had the opportunity to ride “It’s a Small World”, where the entire ride has been transformed for the holidays with an amazing light show that dances to holiday music outside and decorations throughout the inside of the ride!

Then, we went on a hunt for Reindeer!  Bet you didn’t know that the reindeer lived at Disneyland during the holidays, did ya?  Well they do, and you’ll find them at Santa’s Reindeer Round-up!  Located in Frontierland, families will have the opportunity to view the reindeer, meet Santa & Mrs. Clause and enjoy holiday arts and crafts.

Holiday magic is happening now thru January 2, 2010!  Take the family or the entire extended family and enjoy the sights, smells and sounds of the holidays at the Disneyland Resort!

Holiday Fall Savings
Right now you can save $300 on a Four-day, Four-night vacation package when you book between now and December 1st.  For those of you who are seeking a hotel room only, you can get great savings at all three of the on-site Disneyland Resort hotels, when you book by December 1, 2010. Special room rates include 30% off at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, 25% off at Disneyland Hotel and 20% off at Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel!  Travel must take place before December 17,2010.  For more information on Holiday Fall Savings, visit www.disneyland.com.

Thank You to Disneyland for providing tickets to the park and travel accommodations.  No compensation was received.