While you gear up to watch your favorite holiday shows, don't miss a new behind-the-scenes Disney special on HGTV.
David Bromstad hosted Behind the Magic: Disney Holidays which aired at 8 p.m. Sunday on HGTV.
While I knew some of these facts, there was a lot I learned!
Let's start with Cinderella's Castle. If you've ever seen it lit at Christmas, you know how beautiful it looks. Well, to get that way they use 200,000 white lights and 500 strobe lights all woven through fish net so it's undetectable during the daylight hours. Notice how the Castle changes color at night? That is with the help of 74 large spotlights that cover the Castle in many different colors.
The decorating of Walt Disney World for Christmas is the full time job of 25 Disney Cast Members who work year-round preparing. Then when it's time to transform Disney's 43-square-mile property, many others become 3rd shift elves and work while the parks are closed between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.
In just 9 hours, Main Street in the Magic Kingdom is dripping in Christmas decorations. And throughout the Disney property they use 15 miles of garland and 300,000 yards of ribbon to decorate. Disney buys 100,000 poinsettias, 25,000 of which are planted in the Magic Kingdom! Approximately 1,300 artificial Christmas trees are brought by semi tractor trailers from their warehouse homes to decorate Walt Disney World. The largest trees are more than 60 feet tall!
Disney also creates 200 holiday topiaries and when complete, there is 4,000 acres of finished landscaping.
One of the most amazing displays is Disney's Spectacle of Dancing Lights in Disney Studios. That's where a city block is covered in lights that are in sync with Christmas music.
Disney begins decorating for that in August and doesn't finish till November. 30 cast members take 20,000 man (and women) hours to put them up using 35 miles of extension cords.
This is truly a can't-miss Disney special that will amaze and inspire you.
It airs again on HGTV Dec. 11, 20, 24th and 25th.