Thoughts on VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS PARTY

Will the VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS PARTY happen in 2020?


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I just reserved my park days for week of Xmas and park hours were 9am to 6pm for MK on 12/23. 12/20 was 11am to 7pm for Epcot, 12/21 9am to 5pm AK. Obviously these hours are subject to change but it does state, park open to park closes so it does suggest there will not be any xmas party. Time will tell though.
 
I just reserved my park days for week of Xmas and park hours were 9am to 6pm for MK on 12/23. 12/20 was 11am to 7pm for Epcot, 12/21 9am to 5pm AK. Obviously these hours are subject to change but it does state, park open to park closes so it does suggest there will not be any xmas party. Time will tell though.
They haven’t officially announced the park hours past 11/7. The system just defaults to the hours that are currently in the system for dates after 11/7. All days for the remainder of 2020 show the hours that the parks are currently operating.
 
If they keep the park hours they announced until the end of the year --- (MK closing at 6 PM?) .. they could have a Christmas Party EVERY night .. (not that they would .. they will not have the demand for it). :).

I just think they will opt to NOT have it .. the amount of staff/planning needed for it is probably cost prohibitive for the amount of guests that will be at WDW and actually purchase it. At a normal time, I would guess a small percentage of guests vacationing at WDW attend the parties.

Disney seems about shaving costs where possible while operating at minimums, NOT about drawing guests to the parks. A party is an 'extra' .. and I don't see them having extras until most of the restrictions are lifted.
 
While I agree with a lot of your thesis, I think masks are gone by Spring/Summer 2021. The government and Disney both want things to get back to normal sooner rather than later for the sake of their economical well being. Keeping mask mandates for the entire year next year isn't happening. That's my assumption based on my agreement that a vaccine will be in play by the end of the year but not to the general public first. I think by early 2021 it's available to the general public and at that point, maybe a few months later once it's in circulation, Disney starts to phase out their restrictions. Just cancel everything in 2020, but IMO things get back to normal by mid 2021, our economy (and Disney) is desperate for the norm to return and they'll make it happen.

I certainly wouldn't rule out masks for the entirety of 2021. Biden has already said he would entertain a nationwide shut down again if scientists advised it. That's not a political statement, it's simply a statement. If there's a possibility of a second shut down, I wouldn't rule out masks for 2021.
 


I think in the end the problem will be you just can't put on the event even close to normally under current circumstances and restrictions. and no, I don't think disney is the kind to run it like last year and just let people choose to come or not. If they were going to do that they'd already be doing that with fireworks, M&D, etc.
 
With state restrictions not allowing any type of crowd gathering and special events like parade n fireworks not allowed, what benefit would the guest actually get from the xmas party. Crowds are down to next to nothing so there no benefit at all with lower crowds. Why would anyone spend extra money for basically the same experience u can get during normal hours. I can't see Disney spending tons of money and resources on a party that doesn't benefit the guest. JMO
 
With state restrictions not allowing any type of crowd gathering and special events like parade n fireworks not allowed, what benefit would the guest actually get from the xmas party. Crowds are down to next to nothing so there no benefit at all with lower crowds. Why would anyone spend extra money for basically the same experience u can get during normal hours. I can't see Disney spending tons of money and resources on a party that doesn't benefit the guest. JMO
Just a point in fact, there’s nothing said that fireworks are not allowed, it’s Disney’s choice not to have them. Seaworld is having fireworks. Also, Florida doesn’t have a hard and fast rule on “not allowing any type of crowd gathering.” So I’m not sure where you’re getting this information. Disney won’t have a Christmas party mainly from a cost perspective, in that they don’t want to have to pay what it’ll cost to put it together, staff it, advertise it, etc. But your other points don’t apply.
 


Just a point in fact, there’s nothing said that fireworks are not allowed, it’s Disney’s choice not to have them. Seaworld is having fireworks. Also, Florida doesn’t have a hard and fast rule on “not allowing any type of crowd gathering.” So I’m not sure where you’re getting this information. Disney won’t have a Christmas party mainly from a cost perspective, in that they don’t want to have to pay what it’ll cost to put it together, staff it, advertise it, etc. But your other points don’t apply

Regardless if it's state restrictions or just part of Disney phase re-opening, the fact there are no fireworks or parades and crowds are already low, there is no benefit for the guest to buy the special event so it therefore makes no sense financially for Disney to offer the xmas party. There are no other points, that was my whole point. Read it again.
 
Just a point in fact, there’s nothing said that fireworks are not allowed, it’s Disney’s choice not to have them. Seaworld is having fireworks. Also, Florida doesn’t have a hard and fast rule on “not allowing any type of crowd gathering.” So I’m not sure where you’re getting this information. Disney won’t have a Christmas party mainly from a cost perspective, in that they don’t want to have to pay what it’ll cost to put it together, staff it, advertise it, etc. But your other points don’t apply.

FYI..it might not be state mandatory but Disney absolutely had to submit a specific plan and they wouldn't be doing everything they are unless it was part a their plan that had to be approved by state/local reps and followed as it were law. Part of the cdc guide lines to reopen, businesses had to present a plan showing how they would implement social distancing, limited capacity, sanitary cleaning, reduce gatherings, etc..
 
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FYI..it might not be state mandatory but Disney absolutely had to submit a specific plan and they wouldn't be doing everything they are unless it was part a their plan that had to be approved by state/local reps and followed as it were law. Part of the cdc guide lines to reopen, businesses had to present a plan showing how they would implement social distancing, limited capacity, sanitary cleaning, reduce gatherings, etc..

I agree they are not doing fireworks, M&G, parades, etc. for a while (I'm thinking Spring at the best) but outside of masks it isn't a government mandate. Disney presented their plan and were allowed to reopen and did. Not barring specific ordinences (like masks in orange county) their restrictions are their own. Disney is simply being cautious and careful as they should right now. It is also why I won't think marathon weekend is going to happen (or at best not all 4 races). It sucks but it is where we are.

I'm in Georgia and a lot of businesses are going beyond what the government says they can do. Even though they could have done so 2 months ago many places haven't opened up dining rooms. Disney is in a similar spot - they are going beyond government regulations and should.
 
We'll be wearing masks in public for at least another year or so even as a vaccine is rolled out. We should be getting news by the end of September with some of the phase 3 trials being complete. (I think end of September, I could be wrong).

Note:I'm not a scientist!
 
With state restrictions not allowing any type of crowd gathering and special events like parade n fireworks not allowed, what benefit would the guest actually get from the xmas party. Crowds are down to next to nothing so there no benefit at all with lower crowds. Why would anyone spend extra money for basically the same experience u can get during normal hours. I can't see Disney spending tons of money and resources on a party that doesn't benefit the guest. JMO

I read it again as you suggested. Your statement is pretty clear. "With state restrictions not allowing any type of crowd gathering and special events like parade n fireworks not allowed..." Your words, not skeeter31's. They just pointed out that statement is incorrect, thus the basis for your statement is flawed at best.
 
I read it again as you suggested. Your statement is pretty clear. "With state restrictions not allowing any type of crowd gathering and special events like parade n fireworks not allowed..." Your words, not skeeter31's. They just pointed out that statement is incorrect, thus the basis for your statement is flawed at best.

The whole conversation is confusing...

Fireworks and parades can still go with social distancing. Seaworld should settle that if it's not obvious enough.

Parties will need to be 6' apart and the event will need a safe entrance/exit strategy. I would imagine Disney is working at a Fireworks solution daily. After evening hours, park hopping, I would think that Fireworks is 3rd on their wish-list.
 
I'm wondering more when the Holiday decorations and such will be up for Xmas. Typically this would be during the first full week of Nov where like 90% of the stuff would be up and Mickey's Very Merry would start that weekend, but wondering if the decorations will be pushed back at all given that the "Fall" decorations aren't scheduled to be fully in place until mid-Sept.
 
I'm wondering more when the Holiday decorations and such will be up for Xmas. Typically this would be during the first full week of Nov where like 90% of the stuff would be up and Mickey's Very Merry would start that weekend, but wondering if the decorations will be pushed back at all given that the "Fall" decorations aren't scheduled to be fully in place until mid-Sept.
I would bank on it being delayed a week or more. Fall decorations are almost a month delayed, so more than likely Christmas will be delayed as well. Plus, it won’t be the magical 1 overnight redecorating session as Disney won’t be able to have as many staff in such close quarters. So it’ll most likely be over the course of a few nights.
 
You're probably right I'm just hoping that halloween was delayed due to them trying to figure out how to open, attendence, along with dealing with spikes in numbers in Florida and they only had basically a month from opening in July until decorations normally would have gone up

My thought was they've got a lot more lead time and experience now so hoping to see them at least keep that on track
 
Look.... MVMCP is just not happening in 2020. WDW is going dark, hoping you will book a trip anyway.

Yell at me later, if I prove to be wrong :(.
 
I read it again as you suggested. Your statement is pretty clear. "With state restrictions not allowing any type of crowd gathering and special events like parade n fireworks not allowed..." Your words, not skeeter31's. They just pointed out that statement is incorrect, thus the basis for your statement is flawed at best.

Before wdw could open or any business for that matter, they had to submit a plan that the governor had to approve before they could reopen. Once this specific plan was approved by the governor, wdw had to follow this plan as if it were official law and if they did not follow the plan they would be forced to shutdown. If u do some research u will find that part of wdw plan to open was:

"Disney will be temporarily suspending parades, fireworks, and shows that “create crowds.”

Whether wdw wrote it or not is irrelevant, it is still part of their approved plan by the governor and they have to follow those restrictions or risk being fined or shut down. Once that plan was approved and signed by governor, it became restrictions that will be enforced by the state or county. Just because it says temporary doesn't mean they can just start back up at their own discretion, the state controls the different phases for opening up. Just because seaworld can do fireworks doesn't mean wdw can, if seaworld didn't list suspending fireworks as part of their plan then they can continue to do fireworks.
 
Before wdw could open or any business for that matter, they had to submit a plan that the governor had to approve before they could reopen. Once this specific plan was approved by the governor, wdw had to follow this plan as if it were official law and if they did not follow the plan they would be forced to shutdown. If u do some research u will find that part of wdw plan to open was:

"Disney will be temporarily suspending parades, fireworks, and shows that “create crowds.”

Whether wdw wrote it or not is irrelevant, it is still part of their approved plan by the governor and they have to follow those restrictions or risk being fined or shut down. Once that plan was approved and signed by governor, it became restrictions that will be enforced by the state or county. Just because it says temporary doesn't mean they can just start back up at their own discretion, the state controls the different phases for opening up. Just because seaworld can do fireworks doesn't mean wdw can, if seaworld didn't list suspending fireworks as part of their plan then they can continue to do fireworks.
Yes, but the governor is fine with any additions to the plan whenever the parks are ready to change them. As stated in the round table discussion this week, he wants the capacity increased at the parks, and he wants to bring more visitors to Florida. If Disney wanted to have fireworks or any of the other things you mentioned they can. They would possibly have to submit a new plan to the governor (not sure they would even have to) and we wouldn’t even be aware they have done this. It’s not like it would be made public. Florida is fully open at this point, so DeSantis is not going to stand in the way of anything that any of the theme parks want to institute.
 
I’m still hoping for something for Christmas!
Maybe not like what they have had in the past, but something.
 

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