Disneyland Paris has published a great new collection of famous Disney “fun facts”, all about the upcoming 2009/10 Christmas season.

Amongst the fascinating figures of the festive period, it also reveals a little about the refreshed “Dreams of Christmas” unit to again follow at the end of Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade from November 8th…

The Christmas Tree

• Towering 24 meters high (from the grass to the star on the top) and weighs more than 24 tons.

• Near to 500 light bulbs illuminate the tree tinsel.

• 590 Christmas baubles (390 round ones and 200 byzantine shaped ones) decorate the tree.

• 240 various decorations (figures, candy canes, toy soldiers, drums, red bows…) hang on the branches.

• The assembling of the tree takes place over one night

• 23 persons (of all different types of professions) are required to help install and completely set up the tree.

The Christmas Illuminations

• From Town Square, all the way up Main Street and right up to Sleeping Beauty, more than 1 million lights twinkle at night fall.

• Around 7 km of fairy lights are used to decorate the Main Street, U.S.A. lampposts.

• Between 300 000 and 400 000 leds are needed to transform Sleeping Beauty’s Castle into a Cristal Castle.

• The final lighting concept has been completed this year with the light overlay of the castle giving a maximal sparkling effect.

• 3 full nights of work are necessary to lay the led lighting curtains (entertainment technical term) on the castle towers, roofs and turrets

• 15 nights are planned to install all the other Christmas light overlays in the trees and firs of Critter Corral for the transformation process of the area into the Santa Claus Village

• 6 nights are necessary for the dismantling of the Halloween season decorations and overlay to transform Main Street U.S.A. for our Christmas Season

“Dreams of Christmas” Santa Claus Float

• The new Santa Claus float weighs around 6 tons.

• The new float was built in the Paris region and represents Santa’s Sleigh, filled with presents and pulled by the reindeer, floating above clouds…

• This Parade unit is composed of 12 Toy soldiers, 18 Elves, 1 nutcracker

The Santa Claus float Elves

• 70 sets of costumes and 45 hats have been made for the elves accompanying the Santa Claus Float.

• The costumes were made in three different sizes to cater for the different body shapes of the performing artists.

• Nearly 400 meters of different material was necessary to make these costumes

• Various accessories were sew on the costumes: 90 bobbles, 500 sleigh bells, 700 golden buttons

• A total of 180 pairs of shoes were necessary to shoe all the performers

• 6 different types of Elves are performing in the Parade

Look out for an exclusive series of interviews with the artists and directors behind Disney’s Fairytale Christmas over on DLRP Magic!.com very soon, beginning with season director Christophe Leclercq as he reveals all about the new Tree Lighting Ceremony and more!