Bret - I finally had a chance to check out the Dateline article with the pictures of the holiday stuff going up! Thank you for alerting me to that. I really appreciate it!
Those little strings of lights overhead
are new, aren't they? I don't really remember seeing them last year. From what was written, is sounds like they left out other decorations this year too, but I couldn't figure out which ones.
They said the "rope sculptures" hanging from the balconies are gone. What were the rope sculptures? I mean, I'm sure I saw them and have photos of them, but I guess I didn't think of anything as being a "rope sculpture," so that term is throwing me off.
What's interesting is that the writer of the article seems to feel that the other things that are now 'gone' or 'missing' were things that should have not been up in the first place - he said that some of the "gaudy" things are not there.
The thing is - in my opinion - New Orleans Square has a certain kind of appeal and beauty in the daytime during the Christmas season, but at night, it has a whole different kind of beauty. And by removing some of the stuff they removed, it takes away from the nighttime appeal.
It's sort of like the difference between IASW Holiday in the daytime and at night - in the daytime it looks one way, and the facade is not all that impressive, but at night, IASW Holiday comes alive in colored lights and it's spectacular. Don't you agree?
Same thing with the Winter Castle - in the daytime, it's just a Castle with some very fake-looking snow on its roof. But at night, it takes on a whole different look, aglow in icicle lights, and it's gorgeous.
The light canopy and those extra decorations which are now missing from New Orleans Square added something to that land's nighttime holiday appeal. It kind of made that land come alive. Now that the extra stuff is gone, the nighttime beauty is reduced. I wish DLR would realize this - that certain things make a bigger impact at night and it's worth keeping them there for that nighttime 'WOW' factor.