Our “big new item” for 2013 was our “Magic Matrix” display, and it really is big. This is an array of 10 poles, each 10′ high and spaced out a total of about 15 feet wide, along the back of our Toyland section of the display. Normally these poles are off, and fairly invisible, allowing you to see the trees and display items behind them. But at certain points in the various songs, they come on and can do a wide variety of visual effects, from colored patterns, scrolling bars, VU meter effects, even scrolling huge messages.
We upgraded several displays to LED, including the two large trees flanking the Merry Christmas sign, the lighting of the Peanuts Nativity Pageant, as well as the large star over the nativity and the nearby Remember Jesus sign. Our pixel Mega-Tree, which was new in 2012, continued to add a lot of visual interest to the display with the many effects it can perform.
