But why the rush to have it done as soon as this Nov/Dec timeframe- they have almost 2 years before it really needs done.
I am assuming they are finishing this up and trying to add 2 new holiday things because DHS is a half day park at this point with GMR shutting down in August it hurts things even more. They need something to keep bodies in the park and attract others into the park. As of right now, if I was doing a trip without park hopper as much as I would miss Star Tours and TS I would forgo the extra ticket day and probably skip DHS. Thankfully we are doing the park hopper so we will be there in November, but its a very limited park. Adding new things for the holidays does 2 things. 1. As already stated it keeps bodies in DHS and it attracts more to DHS. 2. The holidays are a very busy time. They need these new Holiday attractions to spread the love at all for gates. With 2 NEW holiday things coming it may help with the MK crowd come Christmas week and prior.
I think Disney definitely has a few surprises up their sleeves for DHS this holiday season, they know closing GMR hurts and while these surprises certainly wont be life altering they will probably be bid enough to draw some crowds.