Is this how things really are out there on the east coast?

[zeitzeuge]

Check out this article by Kevin Yee.

I'm not an avid WDW park goer like 90% of the rest of you in this forum. I'm only familiar with DL. But also, I don't want to take the word of someone who writes and article without seeing what you all thought. M y WDW Experts.

I was shocked to find out that at WDW, experiencing all the characters, parades, snowing on mainstreet, etc are all extra during the holidays? People are herded out of the park and then the Christmas party starts for those who have shelled out additional money for a ticket? Plus it mentions that so many things that use to be standard during Christmas such as all the wonderful decorations have been cut back drastically. Is all this true?

The Suits seem to be making so many drastic cutbacks lately out on the east coast, which is the opposite of what's been happening on the West lately. Decorations are enhanced every year, more and more attraction overlays, new fireworks shows, etc. I was just curious. I've always wanted to go to WDW during Christmas some year, but might hold off if it's becoming like this there.

Thoughts?

 

[OrlandoMike]

Things are different at WDW. Always has been, always will....

Some decorations and events are no longer around....and some new things have been added. WDW will continue to evolve and change.

That being said, Holiday Services still continues to do a great job of decorating the resort for the season........

Some people just like to express displeasure at things that aren't the same as they were a few years ago......


Holiday Services transports nearly 150 semi-trailers of decorations each November to various points around Walt Disney World and beyond.

Almost 8.5 million lights are used.

15 miles of garland are hung -- a lot of it in World Showcase.

1,314 wreaths are hung ranging in size from 12-inches to 84-inches (and 25-feet).

300,000 yards of ribbon are made into bows each year.

98% of the lighting used for the holiday décor is LED (Light Emitting Diode). LED's use 1/10 of the power of a traditional incandescent bulb and has a lifespan of 100,000 hours versus 1,000 hours.

2% of the lights used are compact fluorescents which are 21% more efficient in power conversion than incandescent bulbs. These also have a lifespan of 15,000 hours versus 1,000 hours.

Icon trees (large centerpiece trees) used in the parks and resorts range in height from 45 to 70-feet. These trees weigh from 28,000 to 32,000 pounds.

More than 5,500 lights twinkle from the branches of some of these trees.

Each of the trees at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and the Disney's Hollywood Studios are 65 feet tall. The tree at Disney's Animal Kingdom is 55-feet tall.

The tree in front of the Contemporary Resort is 70-feet tall and is decorated with about 35,800 white LED lights and the ornaments are illuminated with compact florescent bulbs.

The newest decoration at Walt Disney World is a 25-foot wide Mickey icon with 18 foot elliptical ears. It is mounted on the north side of the Contemporary Resort and is decorated in boxwood foliage and lit with 11,400 white LEDs.

The largest base section of an icon tree weighs 18,000 pounds and is 26-feet wide. It can be found in Town Square at the Magic Kingdom.

Icon trees are transported to their locations on flatbed trucks and are lifted into place with a 70-ton crane.

Downtown Disney Marketplace has a playful 45-foot exterior tree located near the Once Upon a Toy store decorated with oversized toys such as Mr. Potato Head, Barrel of Monkeys, and Scrabble pieces to name a few.

In the lobby of the Grand Floridian Resort is a special attraction, a 40-foot tree glowing with 45,000 LED lights, elegant ornamentation and Victorian bouquets.

The tree in the lobby of the Wilderness Lodge reaches 45-feet high and is adorned in a rustic motif of canoes, moccasins, sleds, teepees that are aglow with flicker flame bulbs.

In the lobby of the Jambo House at Animal Kingdom Lodge you'll find a 45-foot tree adorned with authentic African décor of handmade baskets and reproductions of traditional African masks cascading down to the floor.

Kidani Village at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge is decorated with handmade ornaments from villages throughout Africa.

The tree at the Beach Club Villas is trimmed with beach cottage flair, beach balls, sand toys and shells.

Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort uses a color pallet of sky blue, coppers, and browns, and adorned with smoke glass and crystal. Its tree topper is a one of a kind hand crafted crystal star.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

You are correct that there is a special ticket for the actual Christmas Parties, same goes for the Halloween parties.

 

[zeitzeuge]

Thanks Mike. I was kind of wondering. He made the article sound like things have so drastically changed and deteriorated, so I was curious if this were the case. Then again, it IS a MiceChat article. I know some decorations and offerings changing can really bring out the bear in people, but if things consistantly stay the same all the time, without things coming and going and changing, a park can get stagnant. You want to see new things from time to time.

 

[wallyb]

bring out the bear in people,

 

[zeitzeuge]

Ok, well bringing out the "bear" in people isn't a bad thing in THAT sense.

But seriously, some things change around the parks and people throw a full out Hissy Fit, which I guess is worse then a conniption fit.

 

[wallyb]

... And not as bad as a sissy fit!

 

[TuckandStuiesMom]

Seems plenty Christmas-sy to me.

 

[MonorailMan]

Most of the stuff that you need to buy a separate ticket for are the "parties" that happen during the later hours, which is normally when the parks close anyway. So basically you're paying more in order to stay in the park late at night. From what I've heard, some of the special events go to 2am or later, but I personally haven't experienced the MK staying open past 1am.

As for the decorations and music, they seem to all be visible/audible during the entire day, with the exception of the artificial snow, which I believe only starts at night during the special event. I'm sure the special event music is also a bit different than the "regular" Christmas music that's played during the day.

As Mike said, they're constantly changing and updating, which is why some people tend to get upset. (Some people don't like change. )

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

There is snow at DHS.

Personally, I like change. A lot. However, I'm not too thrilled with much of what has been "happening" at WDW lately. Some of the cutbacks are evident when this year's decorations are compared to previous years. This year's are distinctly lacking. Service is lacking, down from the extreme excellence of previous years, as is the quality of things, the cost of things is up...

Not going to go into a hugely detailed list of comments, but yep, WDW is changing and not always for the better.

 

[wallyb]

(Some people don't like change. )

I hate nickels!

 

[Mathfailure]

Wally, I heard they are not too wild about you either

( I think this board is making me lean toward a darker side..)

Kathleen

 

[zeitzeuge]

There is snow at DHS.

Personally, I like change. A lot. However, I'm not too thrilled with much of what has been "happening" at WDW lately. Some of the cutbacks are evident when this year's decorations are compared to previous years. This year's are distinctly lacking. Service is lacking, down from the extreme excellence of previous years, as is the quality of things, the cost of things is up...

Not going to go into a hugely detailed list of comments, but yep, WDW is changing and not always for the better.

I like change too. I want to see and experience new things every trip.

I haven't really noticed drastic changes in service or quality over the past couple of years at DL. The AP holders who visit weekly will comment on how it's drastically different and way worse then before, but I haven't seen evidence of it. CM's are happy and helpful, food is good, park is clean. The biggest change I have seen is cost. Things that were free, now there's a charge. Ticket and food prices raise constantly. I chalk this up to the crappy economy. Disney is a business and the bottom line, is that they have to make money. Without lowering quantity or quality hopefully. Like I stated before, I'm not an expert in WDW at all so I have no basis on the things I read and hear.

 

[wallyb]

( I think this board is making me lean toward a darker side..)Kathleen

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game...

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I like change too. I want to see and experience new things every trip.

I haven't really noticed drastic changes in service or quality over the past couple of years at DL. The AP holders who visit weekly will comment on how it's drastically different and way worse then before, but I haven't seen evidence of it. CM's are happy and helpful, food is good, park is clean. The biggest change I have seen is cost. Things that were free, now there's a charge. Ticket and food prices raise constantly. I chalk this up to the crappy economy. Disney is a business and the bottom line, is that they have to make money. Without lowering quantity or quality hopefully. Like I stated before, I'm not an expert in WDW at all so I have no basis on the things I read and hear.

I do think things have gone downhill a bit at WDW. Just a bit.
They seem to chip away a little here, a little there. And for the most part, the individual changes aren't a big deal. But over time if you add up ALL of the little changes, the changes amount to significant cuts. For those of us who go to WDW frequently it can be an issue.

For me, I am kind of flighty and don't really remember from year to year what was offered in the past. But when someone points it out I remember. The Christmas parties at WDW are expensive. $52 each for DISCOUNTED adult tickets. And all it includes is admission, the "extra" entertainment, and the cookies & hot chocolate. We didn't really see any rare characters this year. There used to be a free photo, but not anymore. I do think they give you a discount if you purchase a PhotoPass photo, but we didn't mess with PhotoPass because we didn't have that much time.

Since they had to reschedule the parade taping things were in a disarray as far as decorations, the tree, the garlands, etc.

Anyway, I DO think things are less magical than they were on our very first trip in 2005, but I don't know if it is a sign of the times or a sign of us being jaded by too many trips.

(Good Lord. One of the holiday shows from Six Flags is on TV right now and the girl is HORRIBLY off key. Ouch. OK, WDW is FAR better than Six Flags!)

 

[Tony-NJ]

We just spent 10 days at WDW ( sorry couldn't catch up with Mike ). We went 11 years ago at the same time and noticed the following:

The decorations were not as much as the last time we went during the Holidays.
Epcot was the least decorated park.

The Christmas Party at MK was way, way oversold compared to the last time - that was the most disapointment. It was almost impossible to get to see even the second parade. Lines for rides were like regular hours etc. We felt NOTHING special this time with the Christmas party.

On a service note: We experienced the absolute best service ever on this past trip. We have noticed the service going down hill over the past few years, but this time was exceptional. From everyone at OKW to transport folks to CM's on their way out of the parks asking if everything was ok or if we needed anything etc. We also had all great servers at each restaurant, well the Brown Derby could have been an exception to that LOL he was awful, but not rude. The entire staff at Olivia's were among the friendliest, I did let the manager know this.

Overall we probably will not go back in early December again for a while - the weather wasn't great and the crowds were higher than the last time. We will probably stick to the F&W time, or Chris wants to come back in May too.

T

 

[OrlandoMike]

(Good Lord. One of the holiday shows from Six Flags is on TV right now and the girl is HORRIBLY off key. Ouch. OK, WDW is FAR better than Six Flags!)

It's amazing when you become jaded about all things Disney, what a trip to another park will do for ya!

 

[C&G'sMama]

My two cents

We just returned yesterday and were at the parks from Sunday 12/6 thru Sunday 12/13.

Yes, there were changes. But while some "old" stuff wasn't there, some new stuff was and some of the old stuff was still there. The castle was awesome. My brother and SIL joined us. While DSIL had been before she had not been at Christmas and DB had never been. They both raved about the Christmas decorations.

All companies are cutting back and I had noted in a different post about the change to receipts for cash transactions. I believe, like other companies, Disney will do what the market will bear.


That being said, it is still magical and wonderful. As always 99% of the CMs were great. To quote Zazu "Sire, there is one in every family, two in mine".

 

[zeitzeuge]

It's amazing when you become jaded about all things Disney, what a trip to another park will do for ya!

LOL I agree with you there. We can't even get ourselves to go to Six Flags which is only 20 minutes down the road (now that we've moved) as many times as before. We use to go at least once a year and this year we didn't go once. We would only compare it to Disneyland.

 

[Tony-NJ]

LOL I agree with you there. We can't even get ourselves to go to Six Flags which is only 20 minutes down the road (now that we've moved) as many times as before. We use to go at least once a year and this year we didn't go once. We would only compare it to Disneyland.

We haven't beed to Six Flags since 2000 LOL - when we went then it was gross and all we did do was compare it to WDW LOL.