Rachel Echo and the Joy to the Small World - Christmas 2009

The new Disney’s holiday television spot [Joy to the Small World] is based on It’s a Small World Holiday Attraction which debuted with a dazzling light display on the building exterior on November 27, 1997 at Disneyland, CA.

I had the honor to met Rachel Echo, a beautiful 13 years old girl, with a amazing voice who lives in Carleton, MI, one of the singers of the TV Commercial song. She was with the MOTCC group ( Michigan Opera Theater Children's Chorus) and one day, Disney people appeared and 14 people was chosen to go and record at Yessin studios. She told me:

“We did it for around 2 hours and then they gave us pizza  and  pop :) lol...we did about 5 different harmonies which we recorded around 3 times each to get the affect of hundreds of kids singing and then we were done. They Layered my voice too!”.

Rachel Echo is the second solo singing “It’s a world of hopes and a world of fears”.

Rachel gave us one last message:

"This was an amazing experience and if anyone is given an opportunity like this, don't pass it up. They were very nice all the time and this is something we'll never forget"

In this video you can hear the original soundtrack and see the clock and the snow at the holiday attraction at Disneyland.

Back to the ride, for the first time, dolls that traditionally sang "it's a small world" in their native languages now alternated with "Jingle Bells” with a new restored and remastered original attraction soundtrack .

A few people knows that: Bill Rogers, the voice of Disneyland, is heard inside the attraction.

Bill is most known for his Disneyland announcements such as welcoming guests in the morning or the notification that the fireworks will be beginning in just five minutes. In the spirit of the season, Bill told about his character: "The folks in the music and entertainment departments came to me fortunately, because I really didn't have much to do in terms of attractions at any time, and they asked me to record a few Santa Claus lines. For years I had been doing Santa Claus for my children, not only privately but in public. So Santa Claus was allowed to offer a few admonitions to those who had been good and those who were considering the dark side. We just had a whole lot of fun with this!"

Click Here to see the Rachel Echo Youtube page

Click Here to see the Bill Rogers Official Homepage

Behind the Magic — Disney Holidays HGTV

David  Bromstad, former Disney World cast member, won fame by winning the first season of HGTV’s Design Star. Last week, the Miami-Beach based designer was back in the parks, working on Behind the Magic — Disney Holidays, an HGTV special that debuts Nov. 29. Bromstad, who now hosts Color Splash on HGTV (taping resumes in January, he says), talked about the episode.

What is your mission while here?

We’re filming behind the scenes Disney magic Christmas special. We’re showing America how crazy and fantastic Disney is. Really, they do everything overnight.

What kind of things are you seeing?

Last night we saw Main Street getting all decorated. We saw the Castle. We saw people practicing. Just everything and all happening simulatenously. Really quite amazing.

Did they rip down Halloween in front of you?

They ripped out Halloween before we even got there, and we got here pretty early. They were on top of things.

Is it giving you a flashback to your time as a cast member?

Absolutely, I worked with visual merchandisers for several years. I knew a lot of the stuff that happened, but it’s always so crazy and amazing to see it again and again and again. You never get sick of it.

You host “Color Splash” and Disney IS a color splash. What style would you call that?

You can go into the Magic Kingdom and see a very traditional Christmas then go over to Tomorrowland and see something really wacky and far out and wild. Then go to Animal Kingdom and see something completely opposite. That’s the great thing about Disney, there are so many places that you can go and be inspired by different things.

Did you learn something you did not know in the last two days?

I didn’t know it only took three days to do [decorate] the entire Magic Kingdom. That was the biggest thing. I knew it happened quickly — just not that quickly.

What else have you seen?

I actually got to go into the Disney Christmas warehouse, where cameras have never really been before. I got to see all the trees, the fake trees all dismantled and being ready to be shipped out. All the floor trees, wreaths and garland. It’s huge — 5,000 square feet of Christmas crazy. Awesome.

Did your Disney experience influence your personal style?

Disney always influences me. Disney is what I look to for quality. Because I worked here as an artist and because I learned how to be an artist because of Disney, they took the quality of my art and made it superior. To this day, when I do artwork or when I do a room, I always compare to if it would match up with Disney.


Click Here to see the original post at Disney Parks Blog

A Magic Kingdom Carol

Every holiday season, Disney becomes more magical with a lot of special events, decoration, shows, parades and more.

For me, Main Street U.S.A is unbeatable this time of year. Get a sundae with hot fudge at Ice Cream Parlor and see the Castle with it special christmas lights from Rose Garden while setting up for Wishes Nighttime Spectacular is one of my favorites.

And how about you? What's your favorite part about celebrate the season?

In this video, you'll see the 2009 Emporium windows with the Mickey's Christmas Carol decorations and some guests talking about their favorite part at Disney Parks.

Click Here to see Mickey's Christmas Carol film

Click Here to see the original post / video at Disney Parks Blog