2014
2014 was a difficult year for us at Woodinville Wonderland. There is a lot of press documentation
about my fall and consequent injury. Due to that, the Display, while outstanding just
for the fact we had a display, had a few disappointments. My
RGB Tree was again a
failure, Ice Zee never made it out, and a new roof outline did not work.
My list of Special Elves who helped with our effort, at last count totaled
28! They helped with finalizing Set Up! and then with Tear Down! Amazing. Then, on the last night before I started Tear Down!, my picture sequence
managed to get corrupted somehow. Murphy's Law at work. This did not allow me the opportunity to truly capture the
beauty of the big bright addition, the Icicle Tree. Lastly, the "Tree in the
Window" shown above, never got set up inside.
So we will look to 2015,
healing my wrist, then the focus for 2015, will be just tightening things up
and executing as planned, to have a complete display
is our goal! So below is what I did capture, given that there was a
significant layout juggle for 2014. After sifting through what I did get, as
the Season went, I am not happy with the quality. All the more driving us
toward a better 2015 display.
To view the 2014 Display pictures, this year we will go backwards from
previous years. We will start in the West Yard. The vignette usually in this
part of the yard, normally is the Nutcrackers post. With suggested changes
by Tracy, they moved, so I had to re-sting most of the lighted deer frames I
had, in LEDs and make this really part of the animals in the "Mega Forest"
Then the wireframe train was moved closer to the street, and in front of the
new Icicle Tree. It looked great as you look past the Train, to the new
addition for 2014. The Icicle Tree was a significant upgrade this year.
Deemed the "Wedding Cake Tree", the "Tier Tree" we settled on Icicle Tree as
the lights on it are LED Icicle strings.
There will be a change in 2015 on the roof to break up the snowfall on the
west pitch, to bound the Icicle Tree on both sides so that it does not
conflict. The Icicle Tree was the anchor point for the Mega Forest. All the
trees here had 4 color options: Red-Green-Blue-White. It is the
different color patters that my picture sequenced failed to show for this
great new configuration.
The Icicle Tree up close. Unfortunately the pictures do not do this justice.
With each tier having the four colors, R-G-B-W, this tree was magic in
appearance. It needs to be seen live for sure. Some seasoned decorators who
stopped in, thought this was using RGB technology.
The Street Entrance hosts our Donation Box, LED Message Sign, Radio Tune To
Sign, Display Flyer Post, and a great personal moment under the Mistletoe!
You can see hanging with a red ribbon.
From here you see Center Stage first. There in the middle, is our failed RGB
Tree that was decorated with drip LED tubes. Hard to see in the picture, but
most guests were not aware that this is not how the tree was supposed to
look. Wait till they see it this year! (I hope! :-0 )
Now we come to the next view, which was to be Ice Zee's stage surrounded by
his "cool" buds. Alas, and much to Tracy's disappointment, Ice Zee got
close, but did not make an appearance in 2014. So we had Snoopy hold down
the fort during the Season. A subject of great private jokes between Pete my
neighbor and I. Ask sometime......
We then come to the Yellow Snow Vignette, always a guest favorite, with the
Light Fan, or Peacock Tail as some guest refer to it, in a new spot. Another
change is the Nutcrackers in the Road Hedge. Tracy thought they would look
cool there, and she was right! One was on each side.
The Road Tree above the Nutcrackers was another "lite" item. That was the
project, the morning I fell. I asked the Elves to do the best they could,
and it was fine.
This point on the street, gave you a great side view of the Icicle Tree,
strategically placed just for this perspective.
As guests get to the driveway, they get to view our formal Nativity and one
of the highlights of the display, Santa working in my Home Office. The
garage murals always pose a Kodak Moment, plus another Mistletoe Moment as
you walk to the porch under that arbor guarding the porch walkway.
Alas, the Peanut Nativity, with Sally playing the "Angel on High". It is her
that fell from the roof in a wind storm the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.
That started the fateful cascade of events this Season. The rest is history
as they say.
New Blow Molds greeted guests as they made their way to the top of the
driveway, walkway to porch. Snoopy guarded the Bridge into the yard to keep
guests contained to the porch walkway.
Moving further down the street, the East Yard had the most significant
upgrade
Here in the East Yard, you see additional Road Arches acting as a barrier,
the Tree Within A Tree that was slated to take the year off, got a breath of
new life to complete what we called the New North Pole vignette.
Thomas Train is still a HUGE hit. I have some more tweaking to do on him in
the off season to ensure he can chug around the track in the frostiest of
weather.
The North Pole got the first of its upgrades with a new red/gold sign. This
coming year, the information/direction signs will get redone.
The infamous Candles and Carolers made their way to the East Yard to spread
things out and complete the East Yard.
For those with Morbid curiosity, below is the scene of all the struggles
this past Season and for the foreseeable future. It's the "scene of the
accident" Which is about a 10ft difference :-(
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