Theme Parks Offer Santa-Season Deals for Holiday Visitors

It should come as no surprise that Knott’s Berry Farm and Disneyland are ready for the holidays.

Knott’s, for the fifth year, has converted its Ghost Town into an 1880s Christmas village.

The program starts Saturday and runs through Christmas Eve. The display features wandering carolers, 75 decorated Christmas trees, Santa’s toy shop, Mrs. Claus’ kitchen and more than 200 costumed artisans plying their trades. For visitors who don’t want to pay for rides, the park charges a $2 admission for Ghost Town only, with children under 12 free. The payoff for Knott’s is all the gifts and chicken dinners that are sold to eager Christmas shoppers.

Disneyland, for its part, is trying to boost holiday attendance with a special Mickey’s Holiday Workshop package at the Disneyland Hotel. The 1,132-room resort is offering a $139 deal to families. It includes one night’s accommodations, two one-day passes to Disneyland, parking and a visit to Mickey’s Holiday Workshop, where children can get their picture taken with Mickey Mouse. Because just two passes into the park are included, a family of three or more must buy more Disneyland tickets to get everyone in.

Holiday Lights: Santa has already arrived at many major malls, but two of the county’s best-known shopping venues are yet to start their Christmas seasons.

Fashion Island in Newport Beach and South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa have their decorations up, but they are planning elaborate tree-lighting ceremonies to start the season formally.

Once again, Fashion Island boasts of having the largest Christmas tree in Orange County--possibly in Southern California--with a 110-foot monster anchored in concrete.

Entertainer Pat Boone will light the tree at 6:30 p.m. Friday while the crowd is dusted with fake snow. Santa will make his entrance earlier in the day.

South Coast Plaza will wait until 6:30 p.m. Monday to light its tree and hail the entrance of Santa, to the accompaniment of the All American Boys Chorus. The tree will not be in the shopping center, however, but across Bristol Street in the Town Center commercial area between Anton Boulevard and Town Center Drive.

Themes at Malls: From supporting U.S. troops in the Saudi Arabian desert to fighting illiteracy, malls are building themes into their holiday displays this year.

Westminster Mall has undertaken a sweeping Greetings from Home program to let GIs serving in the Persian Gulf area know that they are remembered.

The mall is providing a drop-off station for Mideast-bound packages for soldiers and sailors. And through Dec. 2, mall strollers are being encouraged to sign a giant greeting card that will be sent to the forces in the gulf.

Laguna Hills Mall has begun a campaign for literacy awareness. Shoppers and store employees are being urged to donate books in good condition to stock the library in the Human Options shelter for abused women and their children in Laguna Beach. The books will be collected by volunteers near the Buffums store, through Dec. 21.

MacMillan Publishing Co. has donated 2,500 children’s books to distribute to needy children through the mall’s Angel Tree program. A book will be given to every child, along with gifts donated by shoppers.

Orange County Public Library District librarians are volunteering to read stories to children and their parents at the mall on Saturday mornings through Dec. 22.