What's the story behind the Christmas tree?

[pussnboots]

A bit early I realise, but my biological clock is always six months early when it comes to the holidays.

So I was wondering, what's the story behind Disneyland's Christmas tree? I just can't quite fathom how they get it to be so perfect year after year. It's real obviously, and I gather it's trimmed and spray-painted? Can you do that? Where do they get the trees? Is it sought after across the nation like the Rockefeller tree (which by the way never looks as neatly shaped, though is arguably a trifle bigger)? Or is it the same one each year? Is it decorated on the spot or do they just import it decorated and all from a low wage Asian country?

I'm getting a sincere urge to trim and spray-paint my own tree this year...

[thejoshualee]

uhh... I don't think it is real. I remember seeing a little something about it on TV and it is put up over a wire frame in sections.

I could be wrong, I have been in the past.

[pussnboots]

That's the Magic Kingdom, and every other MK-style park with the exception of Disneyland. They've all got one of those incredibly fake looking trees shaped like perfect triangles.
As you can see, Disneyland's is perfectly real:
http://www.laughingplace.com/files/D...ig/P08-005.JPG
They don't make 'em like that out of plastic.

Though both I and LaughingPlace have been known to be wrong too.

[thejoshualee]

Originally Posted by pussnboots

That's the Magic Kingdom, and every other MK-style park with the exception of Disneyland. They've all got one of those incredibly fake looking trees shaped like perfect triangles.
As you can see, Disneyland's is perfectly real:
http://www.laughingplace.com/files/D...ig/P08-005.JPG
They don't make 'em like that out of plastic.

Though both I and LaughingPlace have been known to be wrong too.

hmmm... that photo looks plastic to me.... Most real trees are not so thick... and the branches aren't that green.....

Tell ya what. If no one can say for sure in the next day, I'll ask city hall when I'm in Disneyland on SATURDAY!!! WOOHOO!!!

[pussnboots]

I assumed the branches are that green because they're spray-painted. Certain parts of it seem to be a bit on the yellowish side (though perhaps not on that particular picture), which hints at a tree that engages in photosynthesis. Why it's so thick is a mystery to me as well. But you're probably right and I'm once again living in a warped reality.

But thanks! For adding me to what is surely a long list of things to ask City Hall, haha.
"...and DisneyFreak1984 wants to know if the ears come in pink... And Gemini Cricket wants to know the name of the CM with the goatee at the Emporium... And oh, when will they introduce lactose-free soy Dole Whips..."

[matterhornmaniac]

It's real

[desertdweller]

Don't know what they're doing in recent years but I used to see the tree taking shape backstage for several weeks before being moved into the park.

Think hair extensions which is what they did to give it that fullness by filling in bald spots and other spaces.

[FromWithin]

The Disneyland tree is real (look for it backstage along the M&F tram route just past the magic way gate coming soon!) It usually comes from up north (Oregon or Washington) and its almost 7-8 ft taller when it first arrives! They cut it to size and use the branches from the cut pieces to fill in the bare areas. It is then sprayed with a special flame retardant that also helps keep it so green and then decorated.

[Reaver]

Yep, it's definately real. the coating they spray it with is obvious when up close (I'll take some pics of it this year), but hard to see from 3 feet or so away. It feels like a plastic/rubber coating, that both keeps the brown needles from showing (and keeps them attached longer) and keeps it from going up in flames in the event of a short or popped bulb on the many lights. It's a great solution for a tree that large, but would look terrible in a home.


And no need to apologize, pussnboots! You're only two montsh early. And it's never too early to be thinking about Christmas, especially at DL!

[Morrigoon]

What they said. It's brought in months ahead, sprayed, and extra branches are stapled in the bare spots, then the decorating (which takes weeks) begins.

[thejoshualee]

So, in essence, they take a real tree then artificialize the heck out of it....


ha... that does make sense.

[Reaver]

Well, it smells good, anyway... Of course, the smell could be fake, as well.

[daddyb]

I love to sit under the tree facing down main street waiting for the Christmas parade when it starts at Small World. There's nothing more holiday magical than having a warm cup of cocoa in your hands, watching the marching wooden soldiers in the parade coming at you with the castle in the background, and the branches of the tree over your head... and oooh, the smell of the tree is beyond words.

All that's missing is the smell of cellophane tape.

Last year I grabbed some of the needles that had fallen at the base of the tree and kept them in my wallet for when people argue with me later that the tree is fake. Fake trees don't drop needles (and then people argue that Disney places the needles there on the ground to make it more realistic!). I still have a couple of the needles in my wallet, but the smell has faded.

[Reaver]

Originally Posted by daddyb

I love to sit under the tree facing down main street waiting for the Christmas parade when it starts at Small World. There's nothing more holiday magical than having a warm cup of cocoa in your hands, watching the marching wooden soldiers in the parade coming at you with the castle in the background, and the branches of the tree over your head... and oooh, the smell of the tree is beyond words.

All that's missing is the smell of cellophane tape.

Last year I grabbed some of the needles that had fallen at the base of the tree and kept them in my wallet for when people argue with me later that the tree is fake. Fake trees don't drop needles (and then people argue that Disney places the needles there on the ground to make it more realistic!). I still have a couple of the needles in my wallet, but the smell has faded.

Maybe they're fake needles, and the tree is controlled by computer to drop exactly 120 of them a day,too keep up appearances... LOL.

[tloolgb]

Disneyland could do thiers like WDW used to:
They'd ship a huge real tree to WDW, by the time it got there it was dead. They'd take the dead tree and all the needles (they collected them) and cover them both in fire retardant material, then they'd glue the needles back on and paint the whole tree to be green and happy again.
But in honesty I don't kow how DL does theirs.