It took a little longer than I intended, but I made it to the Victorian Belle this year for The Miracle of a Million Lights.
This was one place where I learned to appreciate the work of the volunteers. Setting this up would have involved an incredible amount of work. Based on pictures from other years, they also change things around every year.
Beyond that there are community members asking questions, acting as security and guides, dressing as costumed characters, and filling many other roles.
Although I was sorry to see that I had missed the gorgeous Cinderella room (pictures on the web page let me know it had been there), I am impressed that they keep reinventing and innovating. That's pretty cool.
Just about every decoration you can imagine appears somewhere on the grounds or in the house.
They also put in many different activities besides just looking at decorations.
There was live music under a covered area, and movies in a different tent.
The movie I saw,
Abominable Christmas, is 43 minutes long, so it is possible to do all of the entertainment and a full tour within the allotted time.
Weather was a key issue. It was somewhat cold, but mainly because it was so wet. Accommodations for that included various warming lamps, and one of the covered areas had a little fire.
That fire turned out to be the central place for s'mores with Rudolph. Rudolph was there, and there were sticks, but no s'more materials.
For that, kits needed to be bought in the entertainment tent, where there was other food and drink available.
The initial admission is low, but there are other ways to spend money. Photos with Santa were $10, and the little bags of popcorn in the movie tent were $1.
As the initial admission price was pretty low ($8, with a discount available if you brought a canned food donation), I think the overall price was still reasonable, but it is wise to plan ahead.
That could include planning for weather and lines.
I went on the Saturday before Christmas, and there were a lot of people. Earlier in the month might have been better.
Also it was pouring. There were places where you could be under cover, but there is a lot to see outside, and it is wise to be prepared with hoods or umbrellas or whatever you need.
There was an umbrella shuttle service when you were going into the house. You could drop off umbrellas there and there would be umbrellas at the exit too. I was thinking they were loaners, but I would not completely rule out being able to be reunited with your own umbrella.
You enter on the grounds, and then after you tour the house you are back on the grounds, so the order is not an issue for missing things.
It can be an issue for timing, as the line to get into the house just seemed to keep getting longer. One big reason I watched the movie was for a place to stay out of the rain while I hoped the line would go down. It did not. It is a good idea to be opportunistic about that.
I really enjoyed looking around.
I do have to say that it is not particularly accessible. That is not just that there are stairs and steps, but some of the terrain on the grounds is pretty uneven.
They have put coverings and walkways out to protect the ground, which is necessary, but sometimes things get a little narrow and bumpy.
I did not ask about wheelchair access, but I would check in advance if there are concerns for your party.
For other types of access, the Victorian Belle is very close to the
Kenton stop on the MAX Yellow Line. There is not a lot of parking
available, so that is an excellent way to get there.
Mainly I was happy to see how well-integrated the event seems to be into the community.
That includes Paul Bunyan's presence in an outside display.
The Miracle of a Million Lights is a huge display of not only lights, at times elegant and at other times garish. I was really glad I went.
http://www.victorianbelle.com/the-miracle-of-a-million-lights.html
https://sporktogo.blogspot.com/2016/12/what-happened-to-victorian-mansion.html
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