Over the years, Disney theme park operators have embraced the holidays. They’ve introduced special holiday enhancements that alter the identity of some of your favorite attractions, at least temporarily. In recent years, park strategists have really ramped up the strategy, adding these overlays in record numbers…but which ones are best? Here are the best holiday overlays at Disney theme parks.
8. Deep Space Mountain
Six of the eight titles I’ve listed are at Walt Disney World. The ones from Disneyland should be obvious. I’m evaluating the current Space Mountain overlay at Walt Disney World when I list it as eighth.
This particular overlay is the purest version of the ride premise. Outer space is an empty void, a pitch black environment that’s freezing cold to boot. During Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, Imagineers turn out the lights on Space Mountain, which is already one of the darkest indoor rides in the world. In a pitch black environment, you’ll feel more attuned to every bump and bounce along the way, which isn’t always a positive.
I love this overlay, but I felt like I needed to visit a chiropractor the last time I rode it. I’ve never experienced Ghost Galaxy at Disneyland, so I couldn’t rank it. In watching the videos, it seems better, though.
7. Mad Tea Party
This list has a clear divide. Some of the overlays are extremely detailed and worthy of a lot of analysis. Two of the entries are much lazier. Mad Tea Party also transforms during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. It receives special lighting effects that give the attraction a kind of green glow, almost as if it had suffered gamma radiation exposure and was about to Hulk out.
These modest changes aren’t much in theory. However, I spent more than an hour waiting in line at a Winnie the Pooh character greeting during one of these parties. I must admit that the odd illumination caught my attention several times. Riding Mad Tea Party with this overlay is even trippier than normal. The green haze is equal parts distracting and disconcerting…unless you’re stoned.
6. Alien Swirling Saucers
The newest overlay is Alien Swirling Saucers, the B ride at Toy Story Land. I’m not saying that as a negative, as I happen to love the attraction. It’s just not Slinky Dog Dash in the same way that Na’Vi River Journey is wonderful but simply cannot compare to Avatar Flight of Passage.
During the November/December holiday season, Alien Swirling Saucers receives a modified lighting effect plus different musical accompaniments. It’s a modest change but also one that reflects Disney’s drive to innovate. When they build modern attractions, they’re always thinking up new ways to keep the concepts fresh throughout the year.
In the case of Alien Swirling Saucers, the holiday overlay is terrific. It’s shiny and festive, with a pair of fun yuletide songs. Up on the House Top and Deck the Halls are perfect choices for a silly but entertaining ride. Despite the modest nature of the overlay, I’d actually rank it higher if not for an oddity. For some reason, Disney has left the regular ride music in the rotation, too. So, you might not get the holiday overlay unless you ride Alien Swirling saucers several times, which is annoying. Hopefully, Disney will commit to the premise in future years.
5. It’s a Small World Holiday
This overlay is the most straightforward of them all. Imagineers simply took the already-legendary design and style of It’s a Small World and added something to it. The addition is holiday décor.
There is one other significant change. It’s a Small World (the song) gets replaced at times by Jingle Bells, something I would describe as a lateral move. Other classic holiday music plays, and It’s a Small World is inescapable during portions of the ride, too.
Yes, It’s a Small World Holiday is the Small World attraction that you know and love/hate, only it has Christmas decorations now. I quite like it, but I’m also someone who has watched a Hallmark Christmas movie today…and it’s not December when I type this.
4. Guardians of the Galaxy: Monsters After Dark
In the (somewhat modified) words of Helen Lovejoy, “Won’t someone please think of the Baby Groots???”
The Halloween overlay of the Guardians of the Galaxy attraction is similar to the main version. You’re still in a drop tower ride that simulates an out-of-control elevator, bouncing you wildly between floors. The difference is in the story.
You’re not with the entire superhero team. Instead, you’re at the Collector’s Tower when it’s in a state of emergency. Bad things are going down. The worst part is that Baby Groot is trapped inside! You join Rocket Raccoon in an attempt to save Baby Groot from the monsters, at least one of which is capable of crashing through a security door. It’s an exhilarating experience that is, if anything, better than the main version of the ride.
Suffice to say that the top four overlays are night and day better than the bottom floor. Monsters After Dark signifies the start of the upper echelon of Disney overlays.
3. Pirates of the Caribbean
This overlay is another one from Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, which means it’s possibly part of a coming trend. Park planners may entice guests to pay for ticketed events in exchange for giving them exclusive versions of the attractions. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but three of the overlays listed here are pay to play.
Easily the best of them is the least predictable one. The “overlay” at Pirates of the Caribbean doesn’t change the ride at all. Instead, the interactions occur throughout the attraction. Starting in 2018, Disney added live actors to the experience. It’s a new type of theming that I hope becomes standard at some attractions.
The storyline here is that guests are warned about Gunpowder Pete, the “Notorious Pyrate” (sic). During the line queue and even the ride itself, cast members perform a kind of improv, explaining why Gunpowder Pete is bad and what park guests should do if they encounter him. Some of the live actors are in jail, others are town criers, and the most important one is Gunpowder Pete. He tends to appear toward the end of the ride, explaining why he did what he did.
The beauty of this overlay is that it’s unique each time. Theme park tourists are encouraged to engage in back-and-forth with the cast members. You may even make them laugh, a pleasant role reversal. It’s the most exciting of all the overlays listed here since anything can happen.
2. Jingle Cruise
Be honest. Do you have a large portion of the Jungle Cruise script memorized? If so, you’re not the only one. I’ve been on boat rides wherein I’ve watched guests recite the dialogue in tandem with the Skipper. Sure, there’s some variance here and there, as Skippers have their choice of several jokes at given moments. For the big stuff, however, most long-time Disney visitors have hyper-familiarity with the jokes.
Jingle Cruise is refreshing because it flips the script. The new concept is that the Skippers are homesick during the holidays. They’re in the middle of nowhere, missing the festivities back home. To remind themselves of home, they have decorated the line queue with holiday ornaments, wreaths, and even a Christmas tree. The boats get new holiday-related names like “Mistletoe Millie” and “Sleigh Ride Sadie”.
The best part is the dialogue. Regular animal puns are out, and Christmas puns are in! It may not sound like much, but the cast members relish this rare opportunity to tell a few new jokes for a while. As with Pirates of the Caribbean, every ride on the holiday overlay is slightly different and a welcome respite from the well-covered territory of the regular Jungle Cruise.
1. Haunted Mansion Holiday
The most detailed and beloved holiday overlay is obviously the only choice as the best one. The Nightmare Before Christmas overlay at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion is also the longest running overlay, and I mean that a couple of different ways. It debuted in 2001 and has run ever since. It also starts in September and lasts through the end of the year, understandable since the movie combines Halloween and Christmas.
You may not know this, but Haunted Mansion Holiday plays out as a kind of sequel to The Nightmare Before Christmas. The setting is the aftermath of the film. Jack Skellington has embraced his love of all things Sandy Claws and wants to pass the yuletide spirit along to the 999 haunts in the mansion. He lights up every room with special holiday decorations, one of which is the infamous roulette wheel that Oogie Boogie spins.
Haunted Mansion Holiday embodies the best of Disney. It somehow unites a film, two holidays, and a wonderful attraction into a single thematically appropriate overlay. It’s the rare holiday plussing that feels like a standalone ride. You’d totally believe that the attraction was always based on The Nightmare Before Christmas if you didn’t know better. The integration is that tight and smooth. It’s easily the most entertaining of all Disney park overlays.
