During the holiday season, Orlando theme parks ramp up the live entertainment element. Festivities are on the rise, with toy soldiers jumping rope at SeaWorld Orlando, interacting with the residents of Whoville at Islands of Adventure, and gospel music performances at Epcot.
They are human beings working to spread good cheer, so my holiday wish is for us to be there a little more and soak up the cheerful vibes. (This was also spurred by the fact that we spied Magic Kingdom visitors shopping via Amazon while the merry-go-round was running; even the animatronic Sarah was surprised and stopped ironing.)
Eyes wide open, I explored holiday offerings at IOA and Epcot that I had yet to experience.
Join Whowops.
This is a Seuss-inspired four-piece a cappella group with the lavish décor of Whoville. The singers perform their trademark “whoonose,” which you can imagine is a breathing and singing challenge.
It’s light and refreshing entertainment in a good way. And while I don’t like crowd participation, I felt sorry for the performers who never got a single “Hey!” From the audience during “Jingle Bells.” Things took a turn for the worse when a man agreed to sing along to the microphone on “Feliz Navidad.” (“Try it in Spanish next time,” one person said jokingly, which was funnier than I expected.)
I stumbled upon the group because there was a sign in the area I went to explore, Who-Ville Tree Lot. This area is sandwiched between the Cat and the Hat and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, and Blue Fish rides, and features several themed Seuss trees. Much of this is achieved through color coding, but each one has a character symbol displayed at the top. That hat is a gift for Cat Tree, and Cindy Lou Who Tree is pretty pink. The One Fish, Two Fish tree gives a Captain America vibe, but it made me do a double take.
Of course, The Lorax is nearby as a representative of the trees.
These additions alone aren’t necessarily enough to make the trip worth it, but along with the long lines to see the Who or the Grinch on the prowl, they add to the holiday vibrancy of the area. Nearby, “The Grinchmas Who Lived Spectacular” remains, now being produced in the cool and comfortable grounds of the former home of the Blue Man Group. Bonus: The line for the show winds through a backstage area overlooking construction of an unannounced attraction that will replace the Hollywood Rip Ride Rock-It at Universal Studios, Florida.
I stopped by Universal when I was in the area because the Blues Brothers song “Snowman” caught my attention. Subsequent visitors are unusually fascinated by the simulated snowfall in the finale. It was normal by Orlando standards, but the holidays remind us that the little things, even the bubbles, mean a lot.
I also researched the park’s Holiday Tribute Store. This place is notable for its variety of Nutcrackers and related photo shoots, including big ones, small ones, light blue, pink ones, and one with a digital fireplace.
advent calendar action
Last week, I looped around the opening day of Epcot International Festival of the Holidays. This included photo ops with Santa’s station inside the Communico Hall and Santa Goofy inside the Odyssey, creating a crowded but peaceful atmosphere. There’s also a “Glitterling Globe,” which features a tree built into Goofy’s procession, flanked by fun fir facts. (Hmmm, plus who knows a lot, the sea of trees at SeaWorld, the tree trail at Disney Springs…equals a trend!).
Offered for the first time at Epcot is Micha’s Adventskalender Puppetry, which continues World Showcase’s tradition of holiday storytelling. Here, visitors hear a story using the Advent format (dispensations with Disney magic to reveal multiple dates) and puppetry. One segment involves building a house out of apples and sticks. It’s a charming but active performance on a small stage in the German pavilion. I had never seen a stage marionette jump into the crowd.
Some of the dolls include Barney the Badger and (spoiler alert) the Easter Bunny.
The puppeteer also descends into the crowd, causing my resting ferocious look to be ignored. Other audience members were even more cheerful and seemed happy to snuggle up with the dolls. Some people stayed after the 15-minute show to mingle.
It has a quaint atmosphere but can get crowded due to the popular festival stalls nearby. It’s the point in World Showcase where a tired person realizes, “I want a beer. This is Germany!”
news and nuggets
• AJ Wolfe, author of the best-selling “Disney Adult” book, and Pam Brandon, author of “The Official Disney Parks Dessert Cookbook,” will be at the Writer’s Block Bookstore in Winter Park on Saturday at 6 p.m.
• Universal Orlando has set dates for its Mardi Gras celebration. The event period is from February 7th to April 4th. Menu and concert details have not yet been announced.
• In further news, it was announced that a LEGO Harry Potter land will be built at LEGOLAND Deutschland in Gunzburg, Germany. The project will include “the first-ever Harry Potter-themed accommodation,” Merlin Entertainment announced. No timeframe beyond that was shared, with more details expected to be announced “within the next 12 months.”
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