Have fun at Winter Wonderland – The Disney Hotspot in this Holiday Season Singapore
Singaporeans love to have the fun of some extraordinary kind. Keeping this in view Disney is coming to Singapore this Christmas and taking over the streets of Orchard where you can enjoy your famous Disney and Pixar characters such as Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, Elsa, and Woody. According to Orchard Road Business Association, it will be Disney’s largest Christmas street light-up in Southeast Asia. All this has been possible because of the Orchard Road Business Association which partnered with the Walt Disney Company for the annual light-up event and is the first “branded light-up” in the event’s 35-year history.
Where is Orchard Street in Singapore?
Orchard Street is a 2.2-kilometer-long major road in the Central Area of Singapore and is one of the major shopping belts and tourist attractions for visitors. Named after nutmeg, pepper, and fruit orchards, it also attributes the name to. Mr. Orchard, a gardener and the owner of plantations was located at the corner of present-day Scotts Road and Orchard Road.
Geographically Orchard is bordered by Newton in the east and north, Tanglin in the west, River Valley in the south, and Museum to the southeast. The ever-lively street starts at the junction with Orange Grove Road which is the location of the Orchard Hotel. It then stretches southeast across the Scotts Road–Paterson Hill junction, Orchard MRT Station, Bideford Road, Somerset MRT Station, Central Expressway, Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station, and ends at the junction with Handy Roa, where it becomes Bras Basah Road. It has an extensive underground infrastructure, including underground pedestrian walkways between the malls running underneath the street and other streets in the vicinity, and the numbers begin at Handy Road and end at Orange Grove Road.
Shopping centers to visit
The brand retail shops that you can find here are T Galleria by DFS which sells luxury goods, including products from Bottega Veneta, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Hermès, Loewe, and Bvlgari. ION Orchard houses double-story flagship stores each, including Prada, Giorgio Armani, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Cartier, Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Vacheron Constantin
Ngee Ann City houses branded boutiques as well as a Japanese department store and Southeast Asia’s second-largest bookstore, Books Kinokuniya. Wisma Atria which is a 900-seat food court on the 4th floor by the BreadTalk Group. Lucky Plaza known is known as very crowded on Sundays with many shops selling products from the Philippines.
Then there is Cathay Cineleisure Orchard which is a cinema in Singapore, in addition, there is a 7-Eleven and a food court there. Orchard Gateway, Orchard Point, and Orchard towers where you get local goods as well as visit art galleries or nightclubs. There are various other shopping centers like the Paragon, the Promenade, Tang Plaza, and various other shopping malls.
If you’re having a Mastercard credit or debit card, the ten malls along Orchard Road—including Paragon, Wisma Atria, and Mandarin Gallery—are offering S$30 vouchers with spends of S$300 with your card.
Apple is soon opening its second store here in Singapore so you can visit too if you are a tech guy to have some awesome deals on iPhone Xs
Christmas season and fun to begin
This 2.88km stretch of Orchard Road – from Tanglin Mall to Plaza Singapura – will be dressed in festive lights from Nov 10th to Jan 1st. There will be four zones that take on different themes – Disney Princess, Mickey Mouse, Friends, Frozen, and Toy Story.
The street has been lit up for Christmas every year since 1984, but this year with popular Disney characters adding extra festivities will be unique. Underneath a halo of twinkling Christmas lights, Disney characters will parade up and down the 1.8-mile shopping belt, entertaining visitors of all ages.
Trees on either side of the road will be decorated with illuminated 3D Mickey Mouse icons. Two malls namely the Orchard Central and Wheelock Place will also be decorated with Disney characters. Each building along the belt takes part in the fête. Pop-up stores from Häagen-Dazs, SK-II, and Uniqlo, among several others, will help you complete your holiday shopping without having to leave the festive spirit.
A holiday market, called the Endless Wonder Christmas Village, will have an array of activities for kids, including bouncy castles, live music, and yuletide treats. Decorations will transform the street into a “Frozen” wonderland or a “Toy Story” jamboree. This village will return for a longer run at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza from Nov 15 to Dec 26th. Apart from live performances, it will feature amusement rides and a duplex carousel complete with a special seat carriage for wheelchair riders.
There will also be a craft beer bar and food stalls operated by local brands such as New Ubin Seafood and Two Wings.
Other attractions include a “snow room,” DIY workshops, and several different themed photo booths.
Christmas Eve plans are particularly decadent this year. Dance the night away at a countdown party with holiday drinks on tap. The whole shebang ends in a firework display at midnight.
The event will last for six weeks, with lights on display through January 1st. You can join the light-up ceremony which will be held on Nov 10th at 6.30 pm.
Other fun activities to join
According to news reports more than 25 pop star brands, from food to fashion, are pitching their tents at this Christmas Village. Along Orchard Road, there will also be duplex stores that belong to beauty brand SK-II and everybody’s favorite ice cream company, Häagen-Dazs. The former features interactive art installations and a café, while the latter is putting together DIY workshops and, in the spirit of the season, a ‘snow room’.
On 24th December, join fellow partygoers to greet Christmas Day at Orchard Road’s first-ever countdown party. Drink, dance and dive into the thick of the merrymaking before pyrotechnic displays light up the sky once the clock strikes midnight.
On Tanglin Mall to Plaza Singapura, you can stop by the many shopping centers competing to be crowned the “Best Dressed Building” for the festive season. Have your say, too, by casting your vote on the OneOrchard iOS and Android app even with your mobile.
As said above you can visit the Enchanted Tree in front of Wisma Atria and stand under the installation’s ‘canopy’ and look up and you’ll see a constellation of stars spread out over you. Then lose yourself in The Walk of Wonder in front of Forum The Shopping Mall—this 20-meter-long immersive passage with reflective fabrics, fairy lights, and amorphous shapes will whisk you away to a whole new fantasy world.
How to reach Winter Wonderland at Orchard Street?
There are three major MRT stations in the Orchard Road vicinity: Orchard, Somerset, and Dhoby Ghaut MRT stations. These stations are important hubs for travel to the Orchard Road
Also, bus services are provided by SBS Transit, SMRT Buses, and Tower Transit Singapore which provide access to Orchard Road. These are operational 24 hours and the major bus stops along Orchard Road are situated at Delfi Orchard, Tang Plaza, Lucky Plaza, Midpoint Orchard, Concorde Hotel, Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station, MacDonald House, and YMCA.
Westbound passengers can board their buses at Penang Road (Dhoby Ghaut Station), Somerset Road (Somerset Station), Orchard Turn (opp Ngee Ann City/Takashimaya), Orchard Turn (Orchard Station), Orchard Boulevard (opp Orchard Station) and Orchard Boulevard (Wheelock Place).
Orchard Road has numerous taxi stands too which are mostly found at shopping centers and hotels. Note that it is prohibited to hail taxis at locations other than these official stands. Enjoy Disney!