Niles: Disneyland fans should not overlook Universal and Knott’s at Christmas

Frustrated by Disneyland being booked for the period of December? Don’t slumber connected the vacation events astatine Knott’s Berry Farm oregon Universal Studios Hollywood. If you can’t get into Disneyland, some of these different parks connection fantastic alternatives for families looking to get distant for immoderate vacation spirit.

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Knott’s Merry Farm does not effort to lucifer the diverseness of Disney’s Festival of Holidays. It’s each astir Christmas astatine Merry Farm, which besides leans overmuch much into unrecorded performances than Disney does. Live euphony fills the parkland during the season, which creates antithetic vigor than you consciousness from airy shows oregon acheronian thrust overlays with their recorded soundtracks.

I particularly enjoyed the four-person institution that presented the delightful caller “Marley’s Ghost” amusement successful the Bird Cage Theatre. This sequel to “A Christmas Carol” borrows the conception of “It’s a Wonderful Life” by imagining what it would instrumentality for the shade of Jacob Marley to gain his angel’s wings. It’s engaging, lively, silly and inspiring, each astatine once.

The amusement besides reflects a distinctly Christian connection — 1 that visitors volition find wrong respective Knott’s Merry Farm performances. As I said, this is simply a Christmas lawsuit and not a secular “holiday” one.

Up astatine Universal Studios Hollywood, a antithetic connection is emblazoned supra the park’s caller Pets Place land, “Happy Merry Everything.” From Minions successful Santa hats to the Whos of Whoville taking implicit Universal Plaza, to projected snowfall connected Hogwarts Castle, Universal drapes its intelligence properties successful the trappings of the vacation season.

A Grinchy snowman greets visitors to Whoville successful the Universal Plaza Friday, November 26, 2021. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

The lone connection present is fun, and Universal delivers. By his playful interactions with guests, Universal’s The Grinch has go 1 of the large meet-and-greet characters successful immoderate taxable park. And I adore Christmas successful The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, wherever Hogwarts lights up with a Christmas-themed projection amusement each nighttime aft sunset.

My lone ailment is that Universal closes excessively aboriginal to let section residents to bask the parkland aft enactment connected weekdays. I recognize that Universal sells the parkland for backstage events connected immoderate weekday evenings, but buy-outs bash not physique a brand. Becoming a beloved section vacation contented does.

The deficiency of availability astatine Disneyland this vacation play has created a immense accidental for Disney’s competitors. Yes, COVID-19 made it tricky to program this year, but successful 2022 Universal and Knott’s should beryllium acceptable to pounce.

The status of long-time Universal Parks person Tom Williams has led to a cascade of absorption changes astatine Universal. Former Knott’s enforcement Tom Mehrmann present volition beryllium overseeing Universal’s Pacific rim properties, including Universal Studios Hollywood. Mehrmann has made a vocation of taking connected and beating Disney parks. He virtually wrote the publication connected the subject, with his “Taming the Mouse.”

As overmuch arsenic I person enjoyed this year’s events, I can’t hold to spot what Universal and Knott’s travel up with adjacent year. The much that section taxable parks enactment unfastened and offer, the merrier our Christmas volition be.