I was told that they are painting the exterior of the resort. I'd guess the mention of the views is because there may be scaffolding in the areas where they are working.
Thanks for the memories! Got to see 2 things I miss
1. The carving of Mickie and Minnie in the heart
2. B'leu Crabbe playing the banjo-I'll never understand how Disney could let such a talent go.
And I didn't know that the resort sold out in 2003-the year of our first visit.
No guarantees as the schedule isn't set by the resort, rather by Disney as the decorations are stored in Orlando and driven to HHI to be installed by the engineers there. However, usually the resort is decorated by that time. The decorations aren't elaborate, mostly things like garland around the light poles along the walking path, a tree in the lobby, and other such subtle touches. Many boats in Shelter Cove Marina will be brightly lit and decorated, though, so even if the ones at the resort aren't up or seem underwhelming, you should still see plenty in the marina, as well as the palm trees over at Shelter Cove Town Centre which are strung with lovely lights that brighten that area up quite a bit.
Yes! Years ago, they used to put the decorations up the weekend after Thanksgiving, but that changed over 10 years ago.
The first picture was taken over at the Marina. There used to be lots of boats over there that would decorate for Christmas-they were always ready when we were there the weekend after Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, the last year or two the decorations have been very sparse. And make sure you give a nod to the Mickey wreath when you come in. In the evening it's lit up, very festive!
A few years ago we spent Thanksgiving week at HHI, arriving the Saturday before. It was really fun to see the entire Shelter Cove area get transformed for Christmas in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. We are doing that again this year and really look forward to it, so I hope that's still the case!