Welcome to Extinct Attractions. This week, we’ll be sticking with the Christmas spirit and looking at a Disneyland Paris Christmas show.
Christmas is just around the corner with the Disney parks in the full throes of their celebrations of the holiday. Each of the Disney parks around the world celebrates in their own unique way, with shows, parades and decorations galore. For today, we’ll go back to the continent where Christmas got its start by traveling to Disneyland Paris’ first Christmas.
With Euro Disneyland (as it was known then) struggling right from the outset, Disney wanted to get into the Christmas spirit right away, so they decided to decorate the park for the season. But decorations weren’t enough, so on November 21, 1992, Le Noël de Mickey (Mickey’s Christmas) debuted on the Fantasy Festival Stage in Fantasyland and quickly became a Christmas season staple at the park. So what happened in the show to make it a part of the Disneyland Paris Christmas spirit for years to come?
I’ve got to start out by giving some major props to the ones who put the video of the show together because they included a bunch of different angles. It was a lot of effort put into making a quality version of the show for those of us at home to enjoy.
Contrary to its French name, Le Noël de Mickey was not solely in French, with some English thrown in there as well, creating some fun blended Christmas carols throughout the entire show (though the performers were all just “singing” along to a backing track). There was a group of six carolers dressed in what looked like pajamas, who had some pretty decent dancing chops even if they were just fake singers.
After the first song, the carolers got some friends in Mickey and Minnie who also came out to sing with them in their own PJs. I love when we get to see characters in their alternate costumes, so these cute little outfits were just so much fun to see.
Via Photos Magiques
After all the fun dancing around, Mickey and Minnie were tired so they went to sleep on a couch that happened to be sitting around on stage and with their sleeping, it was time for the fairies to come out and spread their magic around the abode. But these were no ordinary fairies, as they were a bit hairier than your normal fairy, primarily because they were bears.
Br’er Bear, along with Wendell and Big Al from the Country Bear Jamboree, showed up in tutus with magic wands and danced around the stage spreading their magic amongst the crowd. It was truly one of the wildest things I’ve ever seen in a Disney show, made even more interesting by the fact that neither Splash Mountain nor the Country Bear Jamboree was ever a part of Disneyland Paris. Can you imagine how confused the park guests were by these giant bears in tutus? It just brought me so much joy, especially because Big Al is one of my all-time favorite Disney characters and I could not believe he just showed up in such a funny get-up.
Via Passion DLP
With the bears’ magic all spent, it was time to get back to some more normal proceedings with Chip and Dale, plus Pluto, appearing for a French and English (Fringlish?) version of “Jingle Bells.” It was a fun little number followed up by some nutcrackers emerging on some toy horses as well as the nutcrackers from Babes in Toyland that are such a staple of Disneyland’s Christmas Fantasy Parade. They did a bit of a march around before things got weird again with a couple of performers dressed as clowns running around the stage to a Christmas instrumental while doing some gymnastic tricks throughout.
Via Photos Magiques
Things normalized a bit again when Goofy came out dressed as Santa to give all the dancers some presents and sing some carols. But then the music transitioned to “I Saw Minnie Kissing Santa Claus” and Minnie lived up to the bill giving Goofy some kisses, while Mickey had to just stare on sadly as his lady fawned over another man. But Goofy got himself out of the situation by disappearing into the chimney with a flash of sparks. I mean, it’s one way to do things that’s for sure.
With all those hijinks complete, there was just the finale left with the carolers donning some really fun looking ugly Christmas jackets and singing a few more Christmas songs with the most notable being “Frosty the Snowman” featuring a snowman who, again, looked straight out of the Christmas Fantasy Parade.
On the whole, Le Noël de Mickey was very weird but also very fun and really helped me get into the Christmas spirit. So basically a typical French show. As mentioned early, the show was extremely popular, calling the park home until January 8, 2006. Its fourteen year run is the longest ever for a Christmas show at Disneyland Paris, which has had some scattered shows over the year, but none ever reaching the heights of Le Noël de Mickey.
Via AllEars
As always, don’t forget to check out my interactive maps of the Disney Parks throughout the years where you can watch or learn more about all the attractions from every Disney park around the world.
Thanks for reading and have a magical day!