I just read this hoping to see some updated news. We still have hotel reservations in December but no tickets. If there is no Christmas party, I think we are out. 
Disney needs to know this.
I think Disney is making a big mistake on how they are handling things. I mean, I get it. It is a risk for them to go forward with things not sure if there are enough crowds to justify. But what they seem to be failing to grasp is that a ton of people aren’t coming NOT simply because of COVID, but because of all the things they are NOT doing that is an incentive for people.
It seems to me if they would actually announce these events, they would perhaps get an influx of reservations from people…or in the very least have fewer people cancelling. I honestly don’t understand why Disney things that opening the rides alone (basically) will be enough. Frankly, most of their rides aren’t that great. If people just wanted to go to parks for rides, Disney isn’t high up on the list. No, what makes Disney magical are the things they do that other parks don’t. But many of those things are the things Disney has canceled. So of COURSE people are going to cancel.
If it was JUST about COVID, then Universal would be doing poorly as well…but Universal is outperforming Disney by quite a bit now.
So, come on Disney. Bring back some of the things that people want. To paragraph the famous quote, “If you open it, they will come!”
5 Likes
I keep watching/reading for the same. If any comes out, I’ll post it here for sure…although, I’d be willing to bet someone will beat me to the punch!
Right now, I’m still holding out hope that a Christmas Party will still happen based on the lack of park hours listed past November 7. That’s it. If they announce park hours beyond that soon, but no Christmas Party, I fear the Party is likely doomed. I suspect we’ll find out for sure soon.
But DO contact WDW guest services and let them know ASAP that you (and others) are likely to cancel your trip without the parties. They NEED to know this sooner than later to help inform their decision.
This is good advice. I will do. I am still on the fence about going either way, but going to the party was kind of the point of joining my husband at an Orlando conference (now postponed). So no party would officially close the door.
1 Like
Yes, what @ryan1 said. Contact Disney. If they keep files, mine isn’t slim. 
I suspect one contact is given the weight of several - maybe several hundred - as most people don’t contact.
I actually contacted Disney myself. I wrote up a rather lengthy email explaining my take on what is hampering people from keeping their trips, such as how it isn’t just COVID, really, but the loss of so many experiences that make it magical. I also explained how I was just there with my family for 6 days, and we noticed that some of the magic was gone, etc. I gave suggestions on things they could do for the upcoming holiday season, etc.
What I got was pretty much a boilerplate response that felt entirely tone-deaf to my email since a good portion of it was devoted to convincing me of how the magical experiences are there but in different forms. It was like they didn’t bother to read my email where I said I was JUST THERE and saw how they were doing things first hand.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised…although I sent an email to them about a week or so ago about our experience with Skyliner, and their response was quite nice, actually, as if they were paying attention. So, I was kind of hopeful they would actually take the time to actually read this new email.
1 Like
Disney responses are like that.
My worst were for DH’s lost cap on the first turn on BTMRR. I said the cap is navy blue and says in gold letters US NAVY Submarine Service.
They said, could you send a picture? sigh
A couple replies later Disney said, we have no control over what our guests might do with items they find.
I think that time I actually asked, why would a guest be near the first turn on BTMRR?
Eventually I asked, did someone even look? Does no one clean anymore?
I got the boilerplate.
And then, a week or so later, I received a survey asking about my experience with lost and found. Oh, boy . . .
Usually, tho I get actual real and sometimes even helpful responses.
1 Like
I was at WDW December 14-20 of 2019. GF is a must do for Christmas. There was a choir singing Christmas carols that was outstanding. The band played after that. The gingerbread house was amazing. There whole atmosphere definitely put you in the holiday spirit. We spent at least an hour there. Poly decor was minimal. We had eaten at Ohana so we were already there; otherwise it is skippable. There were small gingerbread houses made by Poly CMs on display. Contemporary display was small but if you are touring monorail resorts, you might as well go see it. WL was beautiful but their gingerbread was the worst that we sampled. (We made it a point to get the gingerbread at every resort we visited.) The gingerbread display was cool. Boardwalk had a cool gingerbread display of the Boardwalk, very intricate and detailed. Beach Club had a cool gingerbread carousel that was a sight to behold. Yacht Club could be skipped. The had a few, regular sized, trees with a boat theme and no snacks. There was a train display, I think at Boardwalk, but it could have been Yacht/Beach Club. Animal Kingdom Lodge’s main tree and the smaller ones were unique. I’d make a special trip there to see it. My family only wants to go back at Christmastime now. We’ve done spring break, Labor Day, and Fall break before.
Thanks for the report. We will definitely do Contemporary because, well, we’ll be staying there! 
What about Swan and Dolphin? Did you stop in there? Since is easily walkable to both from the Boardwalk when we are staying there, I figure we can try…unless these is no point.
No Swan or Dolphin. When I researched the Christmas must do’s they didn’t even appear on any list.
We are really on the fence about going, because the prospect of trying to keep a mask on our three year old literally seems like a nightmare before Christmas. Combining that with no fireworks and basically no character interactions, and I start to wonder if it’s worth it. I’m waiting to hear about the Christmas parties—if they cancel them, it’ll make postponing our trip an easier decision.
2 Likes
They cancelled Halloween and moonlight nights, reduced park hours… Christmas party cancelling too seems likely, but we decided last Halloween party they were too crowded and not worth it anymore. You’ve got a tough decision.
Some of the original conjecture was because they released more hours but stopped just shy of when they originally planned to start the parties. However they announced hours for the week of Nov 8 a week later so they may just be doing hours on a rolling weekly basis. That being said, they’re closing the park so early they could still do a party (and they’ve certainly shown they’re okay with constantly changing plans)
1 Like
My DS8 and DS11 are actually excited about being able to play the fireworks in our rooms when they want in the evening. It takes a lot of the tension out of wanting to be there late for the fireworks but still wanting to hit RD at the park the next day.