Religious Services end at the Polynesian

[zulaya]

Just got Deb Wills newsletter and in it she says that as of August 11, all religious services at the Polynesian will cease.

 

[Trekker]

I wonder why?

 

[Peter Pan Fan]

That's a shame! Surprising too, since it was jam packed with people when we went.
It was a really beautiful mass, too bad it's leaving

 

[Greg K.]

A good Catholic alternative can be found at Mary Queenof the Universe Shrine, about a five minute drive from WDW.

Check out the web site:

http://www.maryqueenoftheuniverse.org/

We like to go Saturday night, to leave Sunday morning for touring

 

[zulaya]

The newsletter didn't say why, just a statement that it would be ending. It seemed strange to me, too, to completely end it. I know they recently scaled back from 2 Catholic services to 1, and were still keeping the Protestant service. I assumed that was related to room occupancy.

I wonder if the priests/ministers that they had coming decided not to come anymore?

 

[Kellyh123]

We went the end of June and the Mass was packed. I overheard one of the ushers say that Disney didn't want to have the Mass there anymore. I didn't get to hear why. I really think that it's a shame because it was a wonderful thing for Disney to do! I wonder if it would help to write them?

 

[MrShiny]

I wrote, and suggest other to do so as well. It's just not nice, nor is it good business.

I doubt it is at all related to room levels - when we went in December, the Mass was full even though the Poly wasn't.

It just seems like another step aimed at keeping people off property.

This last trip, we stayed off site, but we still went to Mass at the Poly. We shopped there and ate breakfast - probably spent over $100 (they had a well stocked pin cart).

This just seems really short sighted.

 

[Greg K.]

Since so many people stay on site, and do not rent a car, and are limited in their transportation choices, having services at an on site hotel was a smart and thoughtful gesture for the benefit of its guests. (And another incentive to stay on property!)

It was also a family-friendly gesture -- and one you can be sure Walt would have endorsed, enthusiastically!

I wonder if it has anything to do with costs (doesn't every choice these days involve money???) But how much could something like that cost anyway?? Go figure.

While I was disappointed I couldn't get to mass, I was heartened to attend the interfaith service on the Disney Magic last fall. It was led by a cast member from South Africa who runs the kid's club on the ship and -- not coincidentally -- is an ordained minister!

 

[betterlatethannever]

My guess is that many people drove to the Poly to attend "church services" and whether they went to the services or not, they stayed at the MK the rest of the day.

 

[idontknow]

It was just on the news that one of our two downtown Catholic Churchs would be closing down because there wasn't enough priests to go around. Could it be that there are not enough priests for the Orlando area and they decided to cancel mass at WDW?

 

[Kellyh123]

I really don't think that's it because 1. I heard usher say that Disney didn't want to have the church services anymore.
2. Because they also cancelled the protestant services.

 

[dmen]

i am so upset by this! i mean Mary Queen of the Universe is a beautiful church, but i loved going to mass at the polynesian. in fact i was planning on my dec. trip to go one sunday to the polynesian and one to Mary Queen of the Universe. it doesn't make that much difference to me because we usually rent a car, but i feel very badly for the families that don't rent one thinking that disney transportation is sufficient. that is really awful that these people won't be able to attend services now. i could even justify it if disney offered a single non-denominational service that anyone without a car could attend. i certainly hope there is a good reason why it's been canceled, but i am not sure i can come up with any. i think i will write a letter.

 

[PLUTO2]

I agree that people should write to Disney and let them know how you feel! We are one of those groups of families that do not rent a car but instead use Disney transportation and I do not think asking for one mass a week is asking too much. So everyone write and let Disney hear how we feel about this

 

[ehagerty]

I look forward to the "official" explanation of this one!!!

I have accepted all of the "business adjustments" that have been made to adapt to the post-9/11 travel economy, because they have - for the most part - been rooted in business terms. But this one has no logical business implications, since the traffic through services could only have resulted in additional spending at the Polynesian, especially brunch.

Random thoughts:
1. I had heard (here?) that Walt expressly established access to religious services - and they have been continued along the lines of "this is what Walt would do.....".
2. Mass at 10:30 has been PACKED every time I was there, regardless of the economy - so much so that we started alternately with Mary QOTU just to be more comfortable.

So what could it be?
1. Are we approaching 9/11 again with expressly Christian services occurring at a potential target site?
2. Is Christianity incompatiable with the Disney "culture"? Is there pressure from "lobby groups" from within Disney to distance itself from all things Christian?

I bet the spin doctors are working overtime on this one - otherwise the "explanation" would have been embedded in the announcement!

 

[MinnieGi]

That is a real shame they discontinued services. It was especially nice for people who are on-site and carless.

I too can't wait for the "spin" on this one.

 

[Disneydenise]

There are very few priests in FL. I imagine that since they have such a large church reasonably close to WDW the priests have had to cut back. They are only human and can only be in one place at a time. It was very convenient but I guess they had to just say no. I think that it isn't just Disney having a say in this. I know that I talked to one of the priests after mass at the Poly several years ago and he said that he was on his way to a service in another FL town. They catholic church is hurting in the area of priests and it is a big problem the further you get away from large cities.

 

[Jen D]

I wonder why?

Was it making them money? What's that? The answer is no? Then it's history with the current Disney culture.



Sorry, I don't like to be too cynical, but I think the answer is simple as that.

 

[msim]

Who/where can we email to protest? I'm very disappointed.

 

[PLUTO2]

I went to www.disneyworld.com and sent a letter through their guest services but there must be somewhere "higher" up that we can send our responses to.

 

[MrShiny]

I don't think it's a parking issue. If you were going to services, they gave you a limited tim parking pass (same as if dining). The only way around that is to pay the $6 for valet parking, which would be no different than parking in the lot at the TTC.