Who goes to Disneyland for Christmas?
I am not talking about the Christmas season, which might be the most popular time of the year at the Anaheim theme park. No, I mean Dec. 25 — Christmas Day itself — which many people choose to spend at home, with family.
If Disneyland’s crowd level this Christmas Day is anything like it was last week for Thanksgiving Day, I will guess that the answer will be “a lot.” Disneyland is charging its top tier ticket price for the day, showing that it expects the park to be its busiest.
Having spent Christmas and Thanksgiving days at a Disney theme park, both as a paying guest and a working employee, I understand the appeal of Disney “magic” on the most cherished days of the year. No matter how hard you work at decorating your home for the holidays, Disneyland does that bigger and better. A holiday dinner with family at the Plaza Inn is a joy, especially when Disneyland’s cast members are doing the cooking and the cleaning for you.
But spending a holiday like Christmas or Thanksgiving away from home can mean more than enjoying professional décor and food service. Yes, many times you might want to enjoy a special day with just family. But at other times, a day that celebrates sharing and the wonder of life might call you to enjoy the community of others.
That experience can be the best holiday gift. When I worked at Walt Disney World, I remember sharing a moment on Christmas morning talking with a father who smiled watching his kids run through the queue at Pirates of the Caribbean. The Disney tickets were his kids’ Christmas present that year, and they could not have seemed happier with that.
I also have spoken with people who had no family to share the day with, who came to Disney because they knew that was one place where no one spends Christmas alone.
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Disneyland is not the only place to spend Christmas in a crowd, of course. Whether at ski resorts or movie theaters or churches or charity events, plenty of us will find time to share the day with those we do not know as well as those we love most. I am grateful for those choices, and the unique experiences that they can deliver.
But those experiences do not happen without help. As we enter the heart of the holiday season, I want to send my gratitude to everyone who will be scheduled to work at Disneyland, or any other destination open on Christmas and other cherished holidays.
Those employees might be bringing home well-earned holiday and overtime pay, but behind many employees are families and friends for whom Christmas dinner becomes a breakfast or a late night meal based on the day’s work schedule. Making magic is always a team effort, and especially so at the holidays.
So, thank you. The work of those employees is a gift to all of us who choose to share the holiday outside our homes.