"Its beginning to look a lot like GRINCHmas....." ...what? Don't give me that look, you know you tried to sing it...
Before I post my thoughts on this joyous WHO-bilation, here are two pics I took when I was at HHN on Friday the 6th... Obviously the set construction in the Universal Plaza has a lot more done now seeing as these pics are over a week old. Meh...
^this really isn't the Grinchmas set... its actually a new wooden roller coaster being built on the Upper Lot
Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to experience Grinchmas last year (trust me, I had a major sad), BUT I did watch videos & looked at pics. It was kinda neat. I'd always take a look at the stuff even back in Orlando, just out of curiosity. Anyway.... Here is my first gripe with the Grinchmas event here at USH.... the whole "select dates" crap. Sorry, but that is just dumb. Orlando provides Grinchmas (as well as their Macy's Parade event in the Studios park) EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. from the first weekend of December all the way through the first 2-3 days of January. So I find it rather disappointing Hollywood doesn't do the same & then have "celebrity appearances" (like normal) on select dates.
(Now if Grinchmas does happen everyday for guests complete with tree-lighting, then disregard.. the "5-6, 12-13, 18-31, 1-3" made it seem like it was only those dates).
I've always thought it was pretty cool that the Whoville set came to life on the Studio Tour for Grinchmas. That alone is an amazing exclusive Hollywood has to offer. I remember seeing the video from 2008 of when they converted the old vortex tunnel back into an ice/snow tunnel to stand in as Mt Crumpit/Grinch's Lair. That was such a cool overlay & nice little throwback to the original Avalanche vortex tunnel theme. Its a shame we have Supercharged now (yep still hate it lol).
I made the joke last year to a friend of mine that it'd be so awesome if they really went all out for the Studio Tour during the holidays and gave Courthouse Square a little snow-covered holiday overlay... Sure it wasn't a Universal film, but I don't care. It was WB & incase anyone has missed it, we have a giant WB IP land waiting to open.. If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm referring to one of the best holiday movies ever- GREMLINS!!!
^Now tell me that it wouldn't be awesome to see this recreated on some level! Just imagine some static Gremlin caroler figures & other moments.
Okay enough about the Studio Tour... sorry for the detour, back to Grinchmas... Over the years I've seen Orlando's event change & go from a very elaborate event to a scaled down budget cut event. It seemed to have gained a little bit of budget again in 2013, but not on the scale it used to be. Seuss Landing has always been so well decorated for the Who-liday season. Obviously, the closest USH has for that is the actual Grinch set. But I have always been impressed with the effort they'd make with decorating the park for the event here. But what I loved about the old Grinchmas days is that they'd have "WHOs" wandering around Seuss Landing interacting with guests. They still do this, but not like they used to. I'd love to see that here, but not restricted to the Universal Plaza. Let the WHOs wander.
Now another thing about Grinchmas was that originally, it was an "all day event". The original show they had was a retelling of the story, but more along the lines of the film for the most part. What was unique about it was that it was done as segments throughout the day, culminating with the tree lighting once it was dusk. So in order to see the whole show, you would have to go back to Seuss Landing at the designated time to catch the next part. It was very cool. They had stilt candy canes, and other WHOs to photo-op with. We also had a small "Mt Crumpit" ice slide (never did it though).
The current Grinchmas is very enjoyable & I love it! I honestly don't know when things changed for Grinchmas. You have to keep in mind that there was a huge gap for me going to "original Grinchmas" to the new current Grinchmas. I think my first time experiencing it was 2008 (but im not entirely sure). Its a new retelling stage show (live-singing & dialogue as it should be) with music by Manheim Steamroller. When I first saw the show, it was on an outdoor stage next to Cat in the Hat (where they used to have the Mt Crumpit slide). Then in 2011, they moved the show inside a soundstage & provided stadium seating. If you haven't had a chance to see Orlando's Grinchmas show yet, here is a video of it. The narrator was also sometimes a dude. Not the greatest video, BUT I love this particular cast.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/n7S9tZz4xLk?feature=oembed I feel that USH could really benefit from a show like this in the Castle Theatre.
The tree lighting aspect of Grinchmas is great, but it isn't enough. USH could do so much more. I don't know if the characters in the park get any holiday costumes like the Disney characters do, but it would be really great if they did. And imagine if we had WHOs wandering around the park interacting with guests AND the normal park characters. Also... the park needs more holiday décor vomited upon it (although it seems like we might get that this year. We'll have to wait & see).
All of that aside, I am excited for my first Grinchmas at USH...
*NOTE: I was totally listening to xmas music while typing this up h34r: