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A Holiday Stroll Around Christmas Town Ah, it 's that magical time of year again. The smell of fresh pine trees is in the air, the laughter of happy children is everywhere, and adults are downing copious amounts of holiday grog. Yes, Christmas Town has returned to Williamsburg. Care to take a stroll with me around the park to takes in the sights of the season? We start with the walk from the parking lot to the park entrance. Preferred parking, which is included with my membership, was full by the time I got there on Sunday, December 9, around 4:30 pm. I had to park in the outer reaches of the Ireland lot, which offers both tram service and a new path for those who care to hoof it. The tram line was huge, so I took the path. The walk took about ten minutes, and it gave me another view of this version of Santa. This used to be in Festa Italia (aka Holiday Hills), but it greets drivers as they enter the parking lots this year. Looks like Santa misplaced his reins and harness--or perhaps he's using invisible magic reins to keep his reindeer in line. The Enchanted Tree with the Big Balls greets you at the entrance to England. It wouldn't be Christmas Town without it. I've always liked England's traditional wreaths and garlands. On the left is the Globe Theatre, where you can take in BGW's musical version of Dickens's A Christmas Carol--Scrooge No More. It's probably the best of their holiday shows. How can you really go wrong with this Dickens classic? Some of the cast appear as carolers between shows and perform in front of the theatre. And keep an eye open for Father Christmas. It's always a "Blue Christmas" in the Scottish Highlands. Ireland, of course, stresses the green and gold. The Abbeystone Theatre is the home of Gloria, a show about the birth of Christ using traditional and contemporary music. Ireland is also where you can partake of Santa's Fireside Feast. This building has hosted a few other attractions over the years. The scrambler (aka Le Catapult) used to be in this building. It's also the former home of the Enchanted Laboratory and Castle O'Sullivan shows. Now it's Santa's buffet away from the North Pole, and Mrs. Claus always makes sure there are plenty of cookies. I like the path between Ireland and France. The luminaria are a nice touch, it always smell like freshly cut pine trees, and the gypsy wagon looks nice with its festive green lights. France is also looking very festive. The Palace Theatre hosts Twas the Night, a figure-skating show, if that's your thing. The Merry Misfits vocal group also performs on a stage next to the ice-cream parlor. Griffon was closed, as were Apollo's Chariot, Pantheon, and Tempesto. All the park's other coasters were operating. Fort New France (aka Canada) is where you board the Christmas Town Express for a grand circle tour of Busch Gardens and, if you're unlucky, a bunch of people singing off-key carols in your ear for 20 minutes. (This is just one of the hazards of the holiday season.) Still, it's a nice ride and on Quick Queue (seriously, the line for this can get very long on busy days during Christmas Town). They were running two trains last night, so the wait wasn't bad. I didn't get any decent photos of the trip, but I like these wreaths in the New Caribou Station. Here's Santa's Workshop in Germany--a nice meet-and-greet spot. The Burgermeister's Hideway speakeasy is running a Christmas-themed program with appropriate Christmas cocktails, but it fills up fast. Let's head to the Festhaus for a brew. During Howl-o-Scream, the Festhaus is full of fiends, but during Christmas Town it's home of O' Tannenbaum. a synchronized music-and-light show held on the Christmas tree above, and Up on the Haustop, with modern Christmas songs. It also has this cool chandelier and some magical theme-park snow. Hmm--looks like this Porsche might have crashed in the snow. The tow truck can't get here until spring, so we may as well decorate it. The view from the bridge between Germany and Italy. This is my favorite of the park's many Christmas trees. It also provides a nice backdrop to the freakishly large Santa heads of Holiday Hills (aka Festa Italia). The large Santa heads and candy canes remind of bit of the Christmas decorations of my hometown in California when I was a kid. Of course, we didn't have a spinning teacup ride, which is probably for the best. That about says it all. Let's move on to the the Polar Pathway. There's another synchronized music-and-light show here. They use some 1950s style Christmas music, including some rockabilly stuff. Never before has a natural disaster looked so festive. The Sesame Street Forest of Fun celebrates trees of all colors. Time to head home via blue Scotland . . . . . . and Merrie Olde England. Be sure to wish Father Christmas a "Happy Christmas" on your way out. "Ho, ho, ho! The president of the Claus Organization thanks you for visiting Christmas Town. Go home and continue to make merry!" Thanks for joining me on this stroll through Christmas Town.

I'm guessing it will be addressed. the film(s) are based on the musical, and those characters do not appear at all in the Musical. so yeah. . a creation for the movie (even tho some of them do appear in later BOOKs of the series). I'd guess it will be addressed.

bert those boots and glasses slay! another awesome trip report. keep it up! thanks for sharing the experience!