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Holiday

SeaWorld Upgrades Christmas Offerings Again

Last year SeaWorld went all out for Christmas with a new Sea of Trees holiday lights show and decorations that rivaled anything Disney offered. The best part was that on the nights SeaWorld was open for Christmas, it was included with your regular admission. All that remains true in 2011, but they’re adding a show meant to bring a bit of Christmas tradition, similar to Candlelight Processional at EPCOT, to SeaWorld.

O Wondrous Night – The Story Greatest Never Told is a living nativity show that tells the Christmas Story through the eyes of the animals that were there. Think Finding Nemo – The Musical with nativity animals instead of fish. It promises to be a light-hearted and glorious celebration featuring a host of angels, animals and the true glory of Christmas.

The Disney Blog was invited in to get a taste of the show before it debuts on Nov 25th along side the rest of SeaWorld’s Holiday celebrations. Here’s a little video we were able to capture:

The 30 minute show will feature a magical moment where puppets are replaced by their real life counter parts. Songs were chosen to appeal to the young, with a Glee-like sensibility. The show will run twice per evening on the nights SeaWorld offers its Christmas Spectacular. It is staged in the 2,500-seat Nautilus Theater, home of “A’lure — The Call of the Ocean” show, which will continue still be seen during the day.

More about SeaWorld’s Christmas Spectacular below the jump:

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Military Family Officially Launches Disneyland’s Holiday Season

There is no season like Holiday season at Disneyland. The park is known for big kick off moments from Santa installing a giant star atop the Matterhorn (remember that?) to Bob Hope lighting things up with a swing of his golf club. But the trend as of late has been to invite a veteran family from the nation’s armed forces to do the honor.

This year, the Disneyland Resort invited Gunnery Sgt. Derrick Poteat, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s S-6 communication platoon, and his family to “flip the switch” on more than 300,000 holiday lights blanketing “it’s a small world” Holiday, transforming the popular attraction into a visual wonderland and officially launching the holiday season at the Disneyland Resort.

The ceremony, presented by the attraction’s sponsor, Sylvania, honored Poteat and his family for the contributions they have made to our country. Poteat, who enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1996, has completed three tours and recently returned from the latest, a seven-month deployment in the Middle East. He was joined by his three children, nephew, niece and wife, Clarice, an advisor to the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s family readiness team, for a day of play at the Disneyland Resort followed by this special honor.

Video of the ceremony and more is below the jump:

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Holiday Version of “The Magic, The Memories, and You” Wows at Disney World

The castle projection show, The Magic, The Memories, and You! has been updated to include a Christmas segment. During the holiday segment, Cinderella Castle is seen to change into various holiday themes. This includes the Candy Cane theme above, a ginger bread house theme:

and a birthday cake theme…

…that’s nearly identical to the much debated 25th Anniversary Cake

One thing I was worried about was how the projection show would work with the holiday lights hanging on it, but you don’t even notice them at all.

I’ve embedded a full version of the show for your viewing pleasure below the jump:

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Disneyland Holiday Celebration to include new Show Segments

Disneyland has released details of the upcoming holiday offerings at the resort and there’s a lot that’s new. New segments include a new Holiday segment for ‘World of Color’ and an updated section of “The Magic, The Memories, and You!” Additionally, Toontown gets some updated cheer a new exhibit focused on Walt Disney’s love of trains will debut in the Disney Gallery.

The full press release is below the jump:

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Disney’s Animal Kingdom Halloween Enrichment

Enrichment is a key part of the animal care program at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Often enrichment involves treats, such as foods, toys, or fragrances, that prompt animals to explore, make choices and maintain a level of activity in their habitat similar to their natural behavior… Read More »Disney’s Animal Kingdom Halloween Enrichment