Email about not liking the "Christmased-up" World.

[challer]

To Jon, the guy who emailed the podcast crew about not liking the changing of Disney World into a global Christmas theme.

You are not alone.

I, too, am Jewish. I went to a conference in Anaheim one year in mid-November, and I was so excited to go to Disneyland for the first time in 10 years. I was shocked to see the whole park all Christmased-up already. Since I don't get to go to the park nearly as much as I'd like, I felt I wasn't able to get the Disneyland experience I wanted. In addition, "it's a small world" and Haunted Mansion already had their overlays in, so I skipped those. I just didn't want to experience those attractions as anything other than their usual forms.

From that point on, I decided that I wasn't going to go to WDW/DL during the holidays. It just wasn't for me.

Don't get me wrong - I am not upset at Disney for doing this, nor would I call for any kind of change. I know the "christmasing" of the parks is a big deal for so many people, and it brings in tons of guests. I wouldn't want that taken away. However, it just means that I, for one, will avoid going during that time because of personal preference.

 

[Minniemama350]

From that point on, I decided that I wasn't going to go to WDW/DL during the holidays. It just wasn't for me.

Don't get me wrong - I am not upset at Disney for doing this, nor would I call for any kind of change. I know the "christmasing" of the parks is a big deal for so many people, and it brings in tons of guests. I wouldn't want that taken away. However, it just means that I, for one, will avoid going during that time because of personal preference.[/QUOTE]

Though I do not share your opinion I can appreciate what you're saying. It seems a logical solution to me.

 

[AJRitz]

I'm frustrated by this as well. We are taking our first family trip to WDW over DD7's birthday in October. We'd love to make a return trip over DS3's birthday in another year or two. But his birthday is the first week of December, and it sounds like WDW is already Christmas Central by then. My kids get inundated with Christmas enough living in the Midwest. I'm not going to surround them with Christmas on vacation too.

I'm sure we'll be back and celebrate his birthday at WDW, but he won't get to experience the magic of his actual birthday in the World, even though it's nearly a month before Christmas.

 

[WaltD4Me]

Add me to the list. I don't like Christmas Disney either. We went the 1st week of December one year and while I'm glad I saw it, I don't have any desire to go back during Christmas-time. It was pretty and everything, but I prefer Disney just the way it is. Disney decorated. I like being able to look down Main Street and to see the Castle...which you can't do with the garland strung across the street during the holidays. I love the Grand Floridian lobby without the trees and I like the characters non-Christmas costumes. I also like the regular park music and plants and flowers, I get enough of pointsettias at home. Don't get me wrong....I love Christmas, just not at Disney.

I am going this November though...on November 13th, I know Magic Kingdom will be done up because of the MVMCP's but I'm hoping most of the other decorations won't be up yet. Early/Mid-November is just too early for Christmas to me. I wish they held off until the day after Thanksgiving for Christmasification like they used to. It's not just Disney though...I was at Cracker Barrel the other day and they have already started putting out some
Christmas merchandise in the store. It's ridiculous.

 

[mainegal]

I also like the regular park music and plants and flowers

I have gone twice in December and have one more december trip coming up.

I love skipping along and singing the Christmas / holiday songs as I go through the parks. But I really do wonder what ambien music plays during the rest of the year!

 

[jcb]

This is a very interesting topic. I am glad it came up.

We started going to WDW around the holidays in 2001 and the tradition has continued. It is the only time I enjoy going. DW and I went one time in January and it just didn't seem the same. It was fun and I enjoyed it. The parks just seemed so bare.

It is always a matter of your perspective.

 

[mainegal]

I guess I need to go to the parks at least once to see what it looks like "bare".

 

[mjaclyn]

It's really interesting...I've thought about saying something to this affect but thought I'd get blasted for my opinion. My family and I don't celebrate Christmas or other holidays so we just avoid the parks during those times. For us, it does get a little irritating when the dates for Halloween and Christmas decorations get earlier and earlier each year. One of our favorite times to go is in September and at least half of our vacation the Magic Kingdom closes early for the Halloween party. MK is my favorite park (and the kids too) so we end up going to a different park on those nights... and I realize that the majority of people DO celebrate holidays, so I'm not taking anything away from them by saying this because I absolutely expect Disney to do a lot for holidays... but it would be so nice if Disney could put together a hard ticket event for those of us who don't celebrate the holidays. That's why I absolutely LOVED the Pirate and Princess party. We were only able to attend once and then they ended it.. I was so disappointed, because I love to dress up and my DD is very into princesses. I wish Disney had kept that going because I thought it was great. It just feels like Disney goes from holiday to holiday to holiday with nothing in between like the Pirate and Princess parties.

 

[SamSam]

Everyone is different. I love, love, love WDW during Christmas! I'm not able to go very often during that time, but I wish I could go every year in December.

 

[challer]

Jon did make a good point about expecting Disney to be non-denominational and culturally universal. Christmas time and Halloween time it is clearly not. It caters only to a certain group (albeit an extremely large one).

 

[WaltD4Me]

I don't think there is alot you can do about Christmas. It is an extremely large group that loves it and bottom line is, that equals large profits for Disney. I do think it's shame though that it has become so far extended. For people who don't celebrate Christmas, it further limits options for families with kids in school. I'm guessing Thanksgiving break was probably a popular alternative time to go (before Christmas started at Disney the 1st week of November) rather than winter break when Christmas is so prevelant.

 

[FireDancer]

Everyone is different. I love, love, love WDW during Christmas! I'm not able to go very often during that time, but I wish I could go every year in December.

^^This is how I feel but to each their own.

I have pretty much split Christmas into two holidays, the non-religious secular part and the Christian part. So much of it at WDW is a celebration of things like gift giving, Santa (or Mickey and the other characters as Santa), lights, decorations, and Christmas food. While things like the Candlelight Processional have a religious aspect so much of it doesn't. There is very little Christian about so many aspects of the holiday that much of it has become a non-denominational celebration in many ways if you just celebrate that side of it. Even Santa's origin as a saint is pretty much forgotten at this point.

I have friends that are atheists that still put up a tree, buy their kids presents, and do things like bake cookies.

As for Halloween, that is just about kids dressing up and getting candy and has very little to do with the original holiday any more. Sure, it is a pagan holiday but even though I am not pagan I don't feel left out or anything. The Christian (mostly Catholic) holiday is the next day and I don't recall there being a Mickey's Not So Holy All Saints Day Party.

 

[Joshua_me]

But I really do wonder what ambien music plays during the rest of the year!

^ heh...

I'm sure you meant, ambient, but this was a lot funnier...

 

[TallyTutter]

I have gone twice in December and have one more december trip coming up.

I love skipping along and singing the Christmas / holiday songs as I go through the parks. But I really do wonder what ambien music plays during the rest of the year!

I live in Tallahassee & in this town Christmas has become so politically correct that Disney is one of the few places we can go during Christmas to enjoy the season! The Christmas parade (excuse me the Festival of Lights) is one long commercial parade of business ads on the side of every type of vehicle possible.

We were at the Osborne Lights one year and I rounded the corner & saw the manger scene set up. I was shocked, you'd never see that here in Tallahassee. I almost expected someone to round the corner & start taking it down!

With any luck we will be at Disney this year in December and can't wait to see the decorations and feel the Disney Christmas magic.

 

[chaoscent]

I plan trips so we can be sure to see the Osborne Lights. I love the holidays at Christmas but hate the crowds so we try and go the first week of Dec. My favorite time to visit the world.
Penny

 

[BriarRosie]

I must be in the minority of Jewish people who do enjoy seeing the Christmas stuff in the park. I wanted to comment about the Disneyland thing you mentioned, Chad.

I've been to Disneyland without the Christmas overlays, but I deliberately chose to do the ABD trip to California in December specifically to see the overlays. I probably wouldn't make a special trip to Disneyland again for it, but I am glad I did it.

I can understand why you don't like being inundated with Christmas stuff.

 

[DrMomof3]

We're an interfaith family and went last year in mid-December. My DH grew up an observant Jew and I grew up a church-going Congregational. I love, love, love all things Christmas and my DH tolerates me. We are raising our children Jewish (we belong to a very inclusive Reform Synagogue where my DH is on the Board of Trustees and I even took Hebrew classes a few years ago).
We had a wonderful, albeit short, trip. I'm the big trip planner in our family so I tried to be sensitive. While I would LOVE Candlelight Processional, I didn't think it would be appropriate for my family (not to mention that my young children would have gotten antsy). We went to MVMCP with the 2 older kids (used KNO for the little guy) and had a wonderful time. It was a great opportunity to take the "big" kids on rides that the little guy couldn't do (Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, etc.). And they loved the parade! It was certainly secularized enough to be enjoyable for my family.
We were there during Chanukah so we brought our menorah and little nightly gifts for the kids. Maybe that helped "temper" some of the Christmas theming? It was also our 2nd trip to Disney in 2009. I wonder if it had been our only trip if we would have felt differently about the holiday-theming.
I can totally understand that people who don't celebrate Christmas would find Christmas-themed Disney a bit much. As New Yorkers we're used to seeing a lot of Chanukah stuff around December which tends to balance the Christmas stuff. This is definitely not true at Disney. I personally enjoyed the Christmas theming and would come back during the holidays again. But maybe if we only did a trip every few years I would choose a different time of year?

Amanda

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

We're interfaith, as well, and I don't think I would mind seeing WDW at Christmas, but that's not Christmas, to me. Christmas week is having dinner at the Rock Center Cafe, in front of the giant Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center, and having our friends over for Christmas Eve dinner and singing around the piano, and being FREEZING COLD.

 

[mikelan6]

I'm Jewish and enjoy seeing all the trees and ornaments around the parks as well.

As for the Christmas music, I enjoy a lot of the songs, but I'm sick of hearing it 24/7 on the local radio stations since they start playing it on Thanksgiving!

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

I love the Christmas decorations @ WDW, but can certainly understand why others wouldn't...and just wanted to mention it's the diversity on these boards that make them great!!!