Jollywood Nights-Hearing Some Negative Feedback...

[GoofyDad_4427]

OMG imagine the lines at the carts if free stuff was on offer!

At After Hours events the lines are nonexistent. You just walk up and take what you want, no bottlenecks created by having to order or pay.

 

[HopperFan]

I watched a Tik Tok of a Travel Planner
and she had a different take .... wanted to set the record straight!

- "Late GenX and Early Millennials are giving it a bad rap and it's not true"
- She's 40 and thought it was fantastic
- Brown Derby not expensive and perfect (but she'd never been there before)
- Brown Derby VQ was easy to get and they were seated in 10 minutes
- For shows don't get in line, just show up right before it starts

"Main takeaway is that this is for older Disney Adults .... not for children because only thing they would like is Jingle Bell Jam."

In everything she said and reported on she really never admitted there were any lines, not even the characters. She didn't say much about any other food or prices or lines.

Upset party getting bad rap and make sure you share her video because she doesn't want the party cancelled ... and probably for some free advertising for herself.

 

[Mle8308]

I watched a Tik Tok of a Travel Planner
and she had a different take .... wanted to set the record straight!

- "Late GenX and Early Millennials are giving it a bad rap and it's not true"
- She's 40 and thought it was fantastic
- Brown Derby not expensive and perfect (but she'd never been there before)
- Brown Derby VQ was easy to get and they were seated in 10 minutes
- For shows don't get in line, just show up right before it starts

"Main takeaway is that this is for older Disney Adults .... not for children because only thing they would like is Jingle Bell Jam."

In everything she said and reported on she really never admitted there were any lines, not even the characters. She didn't say much about any other food or prices or lines.

Upset party getting bad rap and make sure you share her video because she doesn't want the party cancelled ... and probably for some free advertising for herself.

Sounds like someone is trying to get on Disney's media list!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Is the Boo Bash a new event from the ground up, or a re-hashed version of MNSSHP? This is a totally unique event at a different park, geared towards adults. I don't think that happens commonly.

Yes, but once upon a time, a WDW event like this would have started the other way - an over-the-top-with-LOTS-of-extras event...that later got paired down.

 

[SimonSez]

Sounds like they may have to go back to the drawing board on this. Wonder if it will still exist next year

 

[Marthasor]

I watched a Tik Tok of a Travel Planner
and she had a different take .... wanted to set the record straight!

- "Late GenX and Early Millennials are giving it a bad rap and it's not true"
- She's 40 and thought it was fantastic
- Brown Derby not expensive and perfect (but she'd never been there before)
- Brown Derby VQ was easy to get and they were seated in 10 minutes
- For shows don't get in line, just show up right before it starts

"Main takeaway is that this is for older Disney Adults .... not for children because only thing they would like is Jingle Bell Jam."

In everything she said and reported on she really never admitted there were any lines, not even the characters. She didn't say much about any other food or prices or lines.

Upset party getting bad rap and make sure you share her video because she doesn't want the party cancelled ... and probably for some free advertising for herself.

I'm older than she is and I was there as well - I guess I'm in the "GenX and Early Millennials" camp on this one.

Sounds like someone wants some free advertising and ticket commissions . . .

 

[gharter]

I watched a Tik Tok of a Travel Planner
and she had a different take .... wanted to set the record straight!

- "Late GenX and Early Millennials are giving it a bad rap and it's not true"
- She's 40 and thought it was fantastic
- Brown Derby not expensive and perfect (but she'd never been there before)
- Brown Derby VQ was easy to get and they were seated in 10 minutes
- For shows don't get in line, just show up right before it starts

"Main takeaway is that this is for older Disney Adults .... not for children because only thing they would like is Jingle Bell Jam."

In everything she said and reported on she really never admitted there were any lines, not even the characters. She didn't say much about any other food or prices or lines.

Upset party getting bad rap and make sure you share her video because she doesn't want the party cancelled ... and probably for some free advertising for herself.

Sounds like she was at an entirely different event than all the other reports I've read and watched. Hoping they can fix it rather than scrap it.
Agree with others that it sounds like she is trying to endear herself to Disney.

 

[Disneytrippin']

I watched a Tik Tok of a Travel Planner
and she had a different take .... wanted to set the record straight!

- "Late GenX and Early Millennials are giving it a bad rap and it's not true"
- She's 40 and thought it was fantastic
- Brown Derby not expensive and perfect (but she'd never been there before)
- Brown Derby VQ was easy to get and they were seated in 10 minutes
- For shows don't get in line, just show up right before it starts

"Main takeaway is that this is for older Disney Adults .... not for children because only thing they would like is Jingle Bell Jam."

In everything she said and reported on she really never admitted there were any lines, not even the characters. She didn't say much about any other food or prices or lines.

Upset party getting bad rap and make sure you share her video because she doesn't want the party cancelled ... and probably for some free advertising for herself.

She probably had a handler. Thats the new norm for vloggers. Disney requires they have a handler and they tell them what to say.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Let's take this thread back to the topic of feedback on the actual event and away from the vlogger.

Thanks.

 

[katerbean]

I hear ROTR and Slinky Dog mentioned a lot on these threads re: Jollywood but, what about the other HS rides? We're really going mainly to have less wait-times for rides. We're going to Jollywood on December 20th so, hopefully by then they'll have sorted out some bugs with food and entertainment but, if not, we'll be thrilled if loads have cancelled and we get even better access to the rides.

Were these rides available during Jollywood and, if yes, how were the times (I got the Slinky Dog 20-minute thing and the ROTR broken-down most of the time message) for these?

M&M Runaway Railway
Millenium Falcon
Rock 'n Roller Coaster
Star Tours
ToT

IF the five I've noted above are short waits/multiple rides then, IMO, I'm happy to pay for the event. If not, I'll start lowering my expectations, even lower than they already are after the first night feedback.

That’s a good question, thanks for asking it! On the topic of rides that are open, I’m seeing mixed information, so would anyone mind telling me if MuppetVision 3D was open during Jollywood Nights, please? Thanks so much!

 

[peteykirch]

Just got off the phone and they'll be refunding our tickets for the first night. They told us they are tweaking it and future nights but wouldn't tell us any of the changes they were actually making.

 

[TCRAIG]

Just got off the phone and they'll be refunding our tickets for the first night. They told us they are tweaking it and future nights but wouldn't tell us any of the changes they were actually making.

This is great news!

 

[Marthasor]

Just got off the phone and they'll be refunding our tickets for the first night. They told us they are tweaking it and future nights but wouldn't tell us any of the changes they were actually making.

Did you call them or did they call you? I called guest services two days ago and they told me I had to e-mail guest services, which I did, and have gotten nothing but crickets from them.

 

[peteykirch]

This is great news!

It was like pulling teeth. First we called the ticket dept, they passed us into a different dept, they told us to email our thoughts. We emailed them our experience, they responded by telling us to call the Passholder line and gave us a file number. We called tonight they told us to call someone else then transferred us to a different department who told us they needed to transfer us to someone else. It took nearly 2 hours but they got us out money back. The last CM we talked stressed how it was the first night and they are making changes to enhance the experience. I'm sorry your a billion dollar company, you don't get much leeway. Want to figure out ops? The first night should be 50% capacity of what you truly want. Or do a CM only event where you invite 8 to 10k CMs to test out everything before you turn the key to paying guests.

 

[FrannyFrogs]

I called and was told to email guest.services@disneyworld.com I sent an email 3 days ago and got a phone call today from an extremely nice friendly agent. She was very interested in all my observations. First night jollywood refund is on the way, woohoo!!

 

[pells]

We attended the first night (2 Gen X and a Gen Z). We have been to the Halloween and Christmas party many times , and this was overall a big disappointment for the 2 Gen X's. We were able to do all the rides, in fact we even did a few multiple times, and no problem with Rise and the que went quick. That was the only positive. The Gen Z loved the party as most of the crowds were in line for other things and lots of big open space. The negative, we did nothing else. Like many others the lines were just to long for that short a time. We would have been okay with missing some of the stuff, if we could have gotten anywhere near the food/drink. This was the biggest disappointment, and not reason for it.

One thing I did not understand why they did not have bigger areas for the party (like Christmas party at MK, they have the stage by Space with a large dance area)? That would have solved some of the line issues. The food/drink thing there really is no excuse for. They had more spaces to serve, only having a couple places open made no sense, and it is not like this is the first time they did something like this. I know food wine is a much bigger event, but they also serve a lot more people, I expected something similar to that.

Bottom line, if you want to just ride the rides, it is a great event. If you want to do other stuff, and eat something other than popcorn you are likely going to be disappointed.

 

[Princesssa22]

Although we are not attending Jollywood for our upcoming trip, I'm still curious as to what (of those of you who have been there), think of it? I'm hearing some negativity, but what say all of you? For the record, I've never heard of Jollywood Nights till this year. We tend to go to WDW in the summer, but we are doing a December trip this year. We are going to the Christmas party at MK

We attended the first night and honestly had a great time. There were several things that were frustrating for sure (and hope they do better in the future) but I think all the hate is a bit dramatic. This event was different for Disney and something that we really like the idea of, even if execution can be improved. I hope to see it return next year! We would definitely go again.

 

[Genie+]

We attended the first night and honestly had a great time. There were several things that were frustrating for sure (and hope they do better in the future) but I think all the hate is a bit dramatic. This event was different for Disney and something that we really like the idea of, even if execution can be improved. I hope to see it return next year! We would definitely go again.

What happens when events don’t go off well is some people get more than their share of hiccups. JN was too easy to get caught in multiple major snafus, none being the guest’s fault. Even savvy guests ended up with a list of issues.

I agree all the calling it an absolute disaster is over the top but with all that commonly went wrong the feedback is warranted. I appreciate knowing what we are getting in to and what we can do to avoid some of the problems.

 

[peteykirch]

We attended the first night and honestly had a great time. There were several things that were frustrating for sure (and hope they do better in the future) but I think all the hate is a bit dramatic. This event was different for Disney and something that we really like the idea of, even if execution can be improved. I hope to see it return next year! We would definitely go again.

The only change they announced so far for Jollywood Night Number 2 is the Brown Derby will be first come first serve, which doesn't really solve anything. It's just going to be a hoard of people rushing the host stand trying to get in, and then they will utilize a VQ Walk Up List once the first seating is at capacity. So they are skipping the patented "great Disney IT infrastructure" for the beginning of the chaos, and then will utilize it once they are full.

Disney if you are reading this, here is one easy tip. For all future nights, have more than 1 credential/wristband distribution point in the park. You got the enormous space of the Indy Stunt Show theatre with nothing going on in there, USE IT!

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

Disney if you are reading this, here is one easy tip. For all future nights, have more than 1 credential/wristband distribution point in the park. You got the enormous space of the Indy Stunt Show theatre with nothing going on in there, USE IT!

I mean, they’ll **probably** do this, but on the other hand, they save money by not having to pay more staff. Also, guests tied up in lines getting the wristband are not increasing the lines for everything else, so wristband distribution becomes a great people-eating attraction!