disneyland, the holiday version

our last big outing for the break was a predictable one...disneyland, of course.  we'd booked the holiday tour, and after the last one we'd done i was a little apprehensive about it but i was still hopeful that it would be a good time.  after all, it's disneyland - it's always a good time.  and who doesn't love to see the parks all decked out in their holiday best?

just like last time we headed to the little guided tour hut right inside the park entrance to check in, where we were handed cute little lanyards to wear along with the headset so that we could hear our tour guide from wherever we were.

we began our tour by crossing the esplanade and heading over to california adventure, where we were greeted by a smiling plaid.

our guide told us a few stories about the display windows along buena vista street and the hundreds of ornaments used to decorate the giant tree.

we went inside the candy store, where we received our first treat...a fresh cake pop.

heading back into disneyland, we gazed up at the huge tree on main street and then headed on down the street to continue our tour.  as i usually do, i glanced up into the window above the fire department and saw not the lamp, but a nicely decorated christmas tree.

in another window high above the ground, there's a menorah that i'd never noticed before.

heading into adventureland, we spied more fun holiday decor.

and in new orleans square, there's an angel sitting above the doors that used to open into the court of angels.

i'm not gonna lie, i wasn't super impressed with this tour thus far.  our tour guide, while friendly and seemingly knowledgeable, was rattling off a spiel as we walked along that he had clearly memorized word-for-word.  but at least we got to skip the line and take a bit of a breather on the holiday-themed "it's a small world." 

it was also the first time i got to see the newest addition to the final scene, a doll in a wheelchair.

and then we headed back out to main street, where we got to what i considered the highlight of the tour - our own reserved spot along the route for the christmas parade.  

it was a nice big space roped off just for us, and as we all took our seats the guides began handing out our final treats to enjoy during the parade:  a cute travel mug filled with disneyland's delicious hot chocolate, a generous portion of gingerbread, and a commemorative pin.

we've seen this parade many times over the years, but it's always fun to watch and really brings the christmas spirit.  

we couldn't leave disneyland without a trip to the haunted mansion.

oh, do you like my christmas sweater?

castle photos are also a must.

bye, disneyland! thanks for a fun day as always!