MSEP to end Oct. 9 - Parade moves to Disneyland for a "limited time"

[Alfredo68]

I would probably be willing to lose my $200 for 2 adult MVMCP tickets and cancel my entire trip just so they don't profit more from me.

I sooooo thought about canceling my upcoming vacation in late October I was so ticked off. I understand things change, but the way Disney went about yanking this parade from under us simply stinks. I was really looking forward to seeing it again. But alas, WDW does have wonderful memories and those will still be there, just not the parade. But if they keep this up, what will be left? Snow White is gone, Mr. Toad is gone, 20,000 Leagues is gone, the Skyway is gone, If You Had Wings....through the years we lost more and more memories. What's next? I am sure they'll make use of Tom Sawyer's Island soon enough. And I guess the Hall of the Presidents will be Muppetized............. And I am surprised that the Country Bear Jamboree has not turned into a Brother Bear Extravaganza. *sigh*

 

[anneboleyn]

Sometimes Disney makes it so hard to defend them.

 

[Davey Jones II]

Does anyone remember what the time frame was between Spectromagic ending and Main Street Electrical Parade beginning? For the life of me, I can't remember, but it doesn't seem like it was months or anything.

Parades at Magic Kingdom are so iconic. I'm sure we won't be left long without one.

I wish I had your faith. But I'll be happy to eat my words if Disney proves me wrong.

We will likely only be going in Fall 2017, so they do have some time to give us a replacement.

 

[Alfredo68]

Sometimes Disney makes it so hard to defend them.

So true.......

 

[whiporee]

It's still more than 45 days away. Plenty of time to cancel if it's a deal breaker.

I've got two theories. The first is that they are trying to cut down on the parade madness stuff, especially in the dark at night. Unlike the fireworks, which can be seen (albeit not perfectly) from all over, the parade only travels half the park. You have to be rather close to the street to see it. And it's madness trying to move around those areas on crowded nights. As I'm sure we can all attest, it can get dangerous, and when you have people claiming sidewalk space an hour or so early, it does make it difficult to get around, especially in the dark. So they might be trying to reduce the problems that the nighttime parade brings.

More likely, they wanted MSEP at Disneyland and thought they'd bring something to Orlando to replace it, probably Paint the Night, but there are transition problems. I do think it's a lot harder to move and install one of these parades than people think, so that could be a factor. The parks generally aren't open late much during those months, and there are a lot of parties. So losing two, maybe three parades a week doesn't seem like a major degradation of the brand.

 

[SouthernSoprano]

Very disappointed! We're headed to the World in February '17, so we'll miss it altogether. The last time we saw it in 2015 will in fact be the last time we'll see it.
I think with as much money as people pay to go to DW, its very selfish of Disney to decide practically at the last moment to tell people about this. It is Aug for cryin' out loud!! You're taking away a huge part of the night time festivities in 2 MONTHS!! Not to mention that they are being very close-mouthed about all of it. At the very least, they should be able to provide answers about when we could/should expect a replacement. I know they are a business, but if you want to keep people happy and spending their money at your park, you treat them better than this.
I feel sorry for those that made plans months/years in advance for them to suddenly upend things and take away something a lot of people cherish as part of their trip. I also am sad for those who've not seen it in a very long time and will not be able to drop things and head to the World by/before Oct 9th. Most people do not have that luxury. I'm one of those.
Will I cancel my trip in Feb because of this? No. But I will remain very disappointed.

 

[Davey Jones II]

I don't even mind if the parade has to be dark for a while to prepare for a new and improved one, but they need to announce that there will be a new an improved one and when it will be live. They probably wanted to announce this ASAP for those guests affected by it (October is not a long lead time) but they should improve their timing and be ready to announce a replacement, or push the whole thing back and continue to run MSEP. There are financial decisions driving this (which, of course should have some bearing), but with parks revenue up 6% we all know they are doing okay.

PTN is the new and improved one. Trust me, I know, because I saw it three times at Disneyland.

 

[teachertink]

I was considering rearranging my schedule for it so if I gave up a hard to find reservation for this I'd be HOPPING mad. I'm glad now I decided to just let it go because I liked everything else I had too much.

I have seen this parade many times and still booked this package. They haven't called me yet. It is for October 12.

 

[teachertink]

Very disappointed! We're headed to the World in February '17, so we'll miss it altogether. The last time we saw it in 2015 will in fact be the last time we'll see it.
I think with as much money as people pay to go to DW, its very selfish of Disney to decide practically at the last moment to tell people about this. It is Aug for cryin' out loud!! You're taking away a huge part of the night time festivities in 2 MONTHS!! Not to mention that they are being very close-mouthed about all of it. At the very least, they should be able to provide answers about when we could/should expect a replacement. I know they are a business, but if you want to keep people happy and spending their money at your park, you treat them better than this.
I feel sorry for those that made plans months/years in advance for them to suddenly upend things and take away something a lot of people cherish as part of their trip. I also am sad for those who've not seen it in a very long time and will not be able to drop things and head to the World by/before Oct 9th. Most people do not have that luxury. I'm one of those.
Will I cancel my trip in Feb because of this? No. But I will remain very disappointed.

Especially when you have to plan your vacation 6 months in advance at least. They know that. The fact they are slow at extending hours bothers me a lot too.

 

[teachertink]

Maybe they'll flip the bird to the Halloween and Christmas party folks and offer Boo-to-You and the Christmas parade all season long on non party nights. LOL!

Can you imagine? Disney is really working hard for us to commit our vacation dollars to something else!

 

[Jennasis]

They are not doing it every night, because they have the Mickey-Not-So-Scary-Halloween Party thing going on several times a week starting in September, which cuts into the MSEP time.

Yes I know that. I was referring to the every non-party night.

 

[JerseyJanice]

This is exciting news!

I will have one or two last chances to see MSEP before it leaves Florida, and I will have a new night time event to see whenever my next trip is.

Win-win!

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Can you imagine? Disney is really working hard for us to commit our vacation dollars to something else!

I'm not sure why, but at this point it seems fairly obvious that Disney is trying to lower attendance numbers at WDW. DHS is gutted with a ridiculous timeline for new construction, prices are soaring, and now we are being told unceremoniously that nighttime parades are no more.

 

[Lisa F]

This is exciting news!

I will have one or two last chances to see MSEP before it leaves Florida, and I will have a new night time event to see whenever my next trip is.

Win-win!

that's a big assumption. they could just take it out and never replace it with anything. once people get used to not having it it could be the new norm.

 

[SouthernSoprano]

They could just take it out and never replace it with anything. Once people get used to not having it, it could be the new norm.

That would be so sad...and just wrong. I do hope they replace it with something. Why change something so many people love?

 

[ArwenMarie]

My bet is they use Festival of Fantasy and cancel the 3 o'clock run. Festival of Fantasy would probably look really cool at night if it could be lit up?

I just feel like the history of what has been happening to parades at WDW means this is going to end up being a cut.

 

[yulilin3]

That would be so sad...and just wrong. I do hope they replace it with something. Why change something so many people love?

unfortunately that's been the trend lately

 

[yulilin3]

My bet is they use Festival of Fantasy and cancel the 3 o'clock run. Festival of Fantasy would probably look really cool at night if it could be lit up?

I just feel like the history of what has been happening to parades at WDW means this is going to end up being a cut.

and everything else that's been cut for no real, good reason.

 

[CaterFamily]

I have seen this parade many times and still booked this package. They haven't called me yet. It is for October 12.

I have the package booked too for Dec though. Only thing I am willing to "accept" is Illuminations Desert Party...its a terrible idea to just cancel things like this with zero warning to those of us who made plans to go through all of the hoops just to get a darn "reservation".

 

[mom2rtk]

It's still more than 45 days away. Plenty of time to cancel if it's a deal breaker.

A huge portion of people who visit WDW probably fly there with their entire family on non-refundable plane tickets. You're suggesting they just take the loss?

So losing two, maybe three parades a week doesn't seem like a major degradation of the brand.

There might be ways of doing something like this where it wouldn't seem like a major degradation of the brand. IMO, this wasn't one of them.