Earlier we reported about the new decorations on the Sleeping Beauty Castle. However, another area was under close scrunity by fans for the decorations as well: Main Street, U.S.A. For the 15th Anniversary Celebrations the “light up columns”, placed as so called “chandeliers” originally only for the Christmas seasons, were kept in place year round. Instead of the crowns with little drawings of the Disney Princesses simple golden balls were topping them off. In addition the columns function as holders for posters extending toward the center of the Main Street featuring fyber optical effects with Lumiere and the 15th anniversary logo. As the fyber optical effects started to break down last fall the posters were replaced with simple prints illuminated by lights added to the bottom of each poster for the duration of the christmas season. Word was that the same, less break-down prone lighting system was to be used for new posters during 2009 – as the columns were to be integrated into the Mickey’s Magical Party concept as well.
Sure enough the columns did return after a short absense in time for the press event (with the exception of the final pair, closest to the Central Plaza). The columns themselves are looking just like for the 15th anniversary. So the crown put in place for the christmas season has once again been replaced with the golden ball on the top of each column. Also no sign of the colorful streamers twirled around the top of the columns that had been spotted on one column while being prepared backstage. The 15th Anniversary posters have been replaced with new posters welcoming guests to Mickey’s Magical Party. The first pair of columns from Town Square has the name in French, the second in English and so forth. The posters also grow in height from Town Square all the way to Central Plaza. And as suspected the lighting system for the posters is the same that was used for the first time during the past Christmas Season, with lights from the bottom of the posters instead from within the posters.
My own view is that they should never have replaced the ‘lights of winter’ with the new light poles! They look totally wrong at Christmas and are not in keeping with the old time atmosphere of Main Street for the rest of the year either!