Christmas speculations?

[TikiTikiFan]

I know many folks are holding out for Christmas... I'm still on the fence when we're going to come.. either late July if we get enough notice we can OR for the holidays.

But it's hard to make the decision without knowing the particulars! Anyone want to speculate on Christmas with me?

• We can likely assume no parades/fireworks unless we see a drastic change in CA... right?
• Holiday lights on the castle? WDW opted out of that and did projections instead... which were... cool... but I want the lights!
• it's a small world Holiday and Haunted Mansion Holiday overlays? WDW kept their xmas themed Jungle Cruise but that overlay is far more simple than these....
• Candy canes?!
• I think we can assume all the food options... and hopefully most of the restaurants will be open by then.

I was originally of the mindset we'd see none of the holiday overlays and that DLR would move slow.. but then they threw that early Avengers Campus opening curveball at us and now I'm not so sure what they'll do!

What do you all think?

 

[brightlined]

They just finished working on the Haunted Mansion, and are bragging about "new magic", so I'd be surprised if they go Holiday this year. If things are mostly normal-ish, I could see them doing Small World, though.

I'd bet yes for lights. It's a bigger ordeal for MK to put lights up - a nice-to-have, but something they can do without for a season, especially since they had construction stuff coming up. (And I think projections are a major focus for WDW right now - curious to see if they do lights again.)

I'd bet yes for canes, too. It's limited enough - I could see them doing fewer days of it, but it's likely something that's both a moneymaker for the parks and a plus for guests.

I think the Avengers Campus curveball was mostly them trying to balance out park attendance between the two parks - makes it easier to control park hopping - and to depress May attendance a little, push people into June.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

They just finished working on the Haunted Mansion, and are bragging about "new magic", so I'd be surprised if they go Holiday this year. If things are mostly normal-ish, I could see them doing Small World, though.

Ooooo update from Disney Parks Blog on it!

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/04/haunted-mansion-home-improvements-at-disneyland-park/
Doesn't look like any major changes- added pet cemetery, new wall portrait...

But yeah, I think it's hard to say if they'll do the overlay. My son is obsessed with the HMH overlay so he'd be so upset if it wasn't there if we went for xmas... but yanno, first world problems.

 

[Ladyslug]

My son is obsessed with the HMH overlay so he'd be so upset if it wasn't there if we went for xmas... but yanno, first world problems.

My son loves the Nightmare Before Christmas movie, so I am hoping they do the overlay so we can see it for his first time this year!

 

[TikiTikiFan]

My son loves the Nightmare Before Christmas movie, so I am hoping they do the overlay so we can see it for his first time this year!

Tbh, it's such a big deal to my kid that if we knew that alone it'd make my decision for me on when we go! Your son will love it, it's awesome if you love that movie!

 

[TikiTikiFan]

And also.... no HMH would mean no gingerbread house too! We can't have that... right?! Hoping...

 

[disneycat321]

I don't even know if I'll be there at Christmas time this year (though I'd love to), but I'll play! Because why not!

• We can likely assume no parades/fireworks unless we see a drastic change in CA... right? I'm pretty sure none of this will be happening by then, but I'd love to be wrong.
• Holiday lights on the castle? WDW opted out of that and did projections instead... which were... cool... but I want the lights! DLR's castle is too small for projections on the level WDW can do (castle projections at MK are my favorite thing), so I sure hope they still do the lights! I think they will. I think WDW's castle will have the lights back, too, so it makes sense.
• it's a small world Holiday and Haunted Mansion Holiday overlays? WDW kept their xmas themed Jungle Cruise but that overlay is far more simple than these.... I sure hope so!!!! But it's hard to say, really. Since WDW doesn't have the elaborate holiday overlays, there hasn't really been a precedent set for this. No Small World Holiday would be a dealbreaker for me - I honestly wouldn't bother with a Christmas trip without it. That's how important it is to me.
• Candy canes?! I don't see why they couldn't have these, but who knows!
• I think we can assume all the food options... and hopefully most of the restaurants will be open by then. I sure hope so! WDW doesn't have all restaurants open yet, but then Christmas time is still several months in the future, and DLR has far less restaurants.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

We are debating WDW or DL for December. I doubt parades and fireworks will be back. And I don't think they will do HM Holiday after the work of the refurb. Have you seen the new graveyard pictures? Looks awesome. I think castle lights will be a yes for DL, but not for WDW. The 50th anniversary will give them an opportunity to pass up Dream Lights again.

Small World Holiday is a must. I'd go just for that!

 

[TikiTikiFan]

The 50th anniversary will give them an opportunity to pass up Dream Lights again.

Ahhh good point! They're still adding all the 50th decorations to Cinderella castle so I don't see them taking them down to put up the xmas lights.

The one pro WDW has over DL (for some) is the new PhotoPass policy where you can remove your mask outside for pictures. I don't see DL being allowed to do that for quite some time. Otherwise, their Christmas celebrations might look pretty similar.

I'd hope if they didn't do HMH, which I agree doesn't seem likely, they would at least do it's a small world Holiday. Guess it depends on where we're at COVID wise too. We were at WDW for last xmas and the reasoning for not having a lot of things (like the castle Dream Lights) was because it would draw people in crowds to watch them light up, etc.

 

[Disney Rose]

I’m going to go against the grain and say I think that some parades/fireworks may be back. If everyone is vaccinated by end of year then it’s possible there will be a return to normal operations.

I’m not sure about the overlays though as these require the rides to go down for a period just as they are (hopefully) reopening to everyone.

Candy canes, lights and all food options are I think are a definite yes.