Category — n. Approaching Dates at Disney World

WHAT IS JUNE LIKE AT DISNEY WORLD?

If you must go to Disney World in the summer, the very beginning of June is your best choice for a first visit.

Crowds, while not good, are lower then than much of the rest of the summer, hotel prices are OK–except at the value resorts–and the full weight of summer weather is not yet in place.

(The end of August is the next best choice.  Prices and crowds are much better, but you are not only in peak summer heat then, but also the peak of the hurricane season.)

Note however, that the last three summers have been unusually good at Disney World in terms of crowds. If this trend continues, then June will be better than I’ve noted.

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For 2018, most of last year’s holiday additions to Disney’s Hollywood Studios are back, the holiday projections at Tower of Terror have been tightened and plussed, and the new-in-June-2018 Toy Story Land makes a strong Christmas statement (although the minor additions to it for the holidays do not).

So what we now have in this park is

• General holiday decorations
• Holiday projections on the Hollywood Tower Hotel (site of the Tower of Terror)
• A Christmas Tree and substantial decorations in the Echo Lake area.
• Toy Story Land, augmented by some minor plussing
• The Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! show

The total effect is to make Disney’s Hollywood Studios the most “Christmassy” of the parks other than Magic Kingdom, and if you subtract the extra charge items of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom, the Studios is actually the most rewarding park to fans of Christmas.

GENERAL HOLIDAY DECORATIONS IN THE PARK

You’ll find holiday decorations throughout Disney’s Hollywood Studios, including just outside the park, where bows decorate the Fantasia brooms…

…and along Hollywood Boulevard

HOLIDAY PROJECTIONS ON THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER HOTEL

The Hollywood Tower Hotel, best known until most of the year for screaming elevator riders, last year had four sets of holiday projections added to its facade.

This year the projections return, add lasers, and see the interval between projections shortened. The tightened pacing makes the sequence of four now work better as a show, rather than as background entertainment. And the lasers add visual appeal, kinetics, and panache.

While there is not much to the projections, when combined with other holiday decorations on Sunset Boulevard, they really amp up the holiday feel of this section of the park.

The entire effort is called Sunset Seasons Greetings, and highlights…

…Frozen…

…Mickey’s Christmas Carol…

…the Muppets…

…and Toy Story.

There’s not much to these–nothing like the action and subtlety of Tree of Life Awakenings at the Animal Kingdom, for example–but together with the other holiday decorations on Sunset Boulevard (and snow!), the overall impact is to turn this into a much more festive area of the park.

My co-author Josh has even more–and much better!–images on his site easyWDW.com here.

THE CHRISTMAS TREE AND DECORATIONS IN THE ECHO LAKE AREA

Hollywood Boulevard has always been delightfully decorated, but now so is the Echo Lake area.

The most notable addition is the Christmas Tree, which used to be outside the park…

…but Gertie now has a bit of holiday decor as well–snow and a Santa hat.

A closer view of the tree…

…and the tree after dark.

Echo Lake after dark.

On the Gertie side of Echo Lake you’ll find these decorations…

…and further counter-clockwise around Echo Lake, near Hollywood and Vine, these.

The same later in the evening.

Until now, Echo Lake has been a bit of a pass-through-without noticing area for me, kinda like (but not so dull as) Commissary Lane.  Gertie has historical importance, and the lake itself is cute and some find it to part of an enormous hidden Mickey.  But really, yawn.

The holiday decorations add a focal point and a coherent atmosphere that’s been missing here until now. You will still largely pass by the lake on your way to something else, but now it’s a delightful walk.

TOY STORY LAND AND ITS HOLIDAY ADDITIONS

The new this summer Toy Story Land (details here) has had a few minor Christmas additions.  While there’s not too much to the new stuff, the key point about Toy Story Land is that it is always entirely Christmas themed–and especially after dark.

After all, the main lighting concept of Toy Story Land is Christmas tree lights, and the land itself is filled with toys. What more could you do to suffuse the area with Christmas?

The answer is not much, which is exactly what Disney did.

You’ll find Woody with a holiday scarf…

…Buzz Lightyear with a Santa hat…

…antlers on Rex above Slinky Dog Dash…

…some Christmas ornaments near Alien Swirling Saucers…

…and a Christmas cookie outside the Andy’s Lunch Box.

There’s a few more items but in general as noted it’s not much. That said, Toy Story Land with its Christmas lights and toys is already very Christmassy, especially at night.

JINGLE BELL, JINGLE BAM!

Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM debuted at the Studios in 2016. Largely a projection show on the Grauman’s Chinese Theater facade, it’s not a tour de force, but is fun and clever.  It’s framed around the crew from Prep & Landing, but adds a million Disney animations and require no real knowledge of the framing show.

I cover Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! in detail here, and my co-author Josh covers the somewhat disappointing dessert party associated with it on easyWDW.com here.

The Echo Lake and Sunset Boulevard decorations profoundly strengthen how well Disney’s Hollywood Studios celebrate the holidays, and Toy Story Land is always fun–especially after dark.  Don’t miss them!

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WHAT IS APRIL LIKE AT DISNEY WORLD?

Although I think the week of April 6th will be just fine, and am sure that the week of April 27th will be fine, the rest of April 2019 is a high crowd and high price month, thanks to the late Easter of 2019.

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WHAT IS MARCH LIKE AT DISNEY WORLD?

The first week of March can be a great time to go to Disney World, and is so in 2019, up until March 8. The rest of the month will mostly be lousy–with high prices and high crowds.

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MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY 2018

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (“MNSSHP”) is a special, separately ticketed party that happens on certain nights every September, October and some years even early November at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

At the party you will find un-crowded rides, a special parade (shown twice, at 9.15 and 11.15p), special fireworks at 10.15p, a Hocus Pocus show, trick-or-treating, a dance party…and a ton of guests in costumes!

I had a chance to see it again a couple of times in mid-September 2018, and the scoop follows!

(See this for more on logistics–Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party dates, ticket prices, etc.)

WHAT’S NEW FOR 2018 AT MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

The 2018 party pretty much follows the pattern set in 2015 and continued since. The most important change over the period is that the first parade is later.  This limits a bit the crowds in the hub during the first part of the party. You will still see crowds everywhere–ride waits are low to very low but the paths are mobbed.

For 2018, three rides have been “plussed.”

The Mad Tea Party has gained a different soundtrack, lights, and spooky smoke effects, greatly increasing its popularity–except with me.

Pirates of the Caribbean has gained some live characters…

…around the theme of finding “Gunpowder Pete.” The overall effect has led to some derision, but for some will give a new reason to pay more attention to scenes that perhaps they have come to take for granted, and for others will be a distraction from the dullness of the new redhead tableau.

Finally, the experience of Space Mountain really changes with a near blackout of the ride.

A big part of the fun of Space Mountain has been not being able to see what comes next–and a refurb a few years ago made the ride even darker (though not everyone is a fan). For the party, we have something different–a near black-out.  All lighting effects are turned off, objects formerly lit are now dark, there’s no stars in the sky.  All you can see is a few red dots here and there and some distant “EXIT” signs.

The effect is to make Space Mountain much more scary than before–as testified to by the quite louder screams, mostly of joy, you will hear while riding it.

The best approach to the Party remains the same–see rides until the fireworks, and watch the second parade rather than the first.

But because of the crowds remaining after the 9.15 parade, it may be hard to get to the hub to see the fireworks from there. While HalloWishes, like all Magic Kingdom fireworks shows, is best seen from between the Castle and the Main Street railroad station, it does work really well from elsewhere in the park, because of things that happen in the finale that I’m not gonna spoil here.

So do rides until just before ten, find a good nearby fireworks spot, then see the characters and go trick or treating, see the 11.15p parade, and see the midnight Hocus Pocus show. A late night, but one that avoids the congestion around the Castle hub and Main Street.

COSTUMES AT MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

Costumes are not required, and not everyone wears them. But even after the increased security that began in December 2015, they are still allowed at the party.

Above is the official Disney lingo (click it to enlarge it). Note that these guidelines are solely for the Halloween Party.  “Regular” attendance is subject to different rules, basically ruling out costumes for those 14 and older.

The most common costumes continue to be princess costumes and pirate costumes, and after that Star Wars costumes.

And this group in Tomorrowland proved a Disney princess theme was not required!

THE PARADE, FIREWORKS, DANCE PARTY, HOCUS POCUS SHOW AND TRICK-OR-TREATS AT MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

Besides most rides being open to short (or shorter) waits, MNSSHP has a special set of Halloween-themed activities (see above–click to enlarge it).

For example, the parade–Mickey’s Boo-to-You Parade–is seen only at MNSSHP.

It begins with a surprise–pay attention when the Cast members start to rope off the crosswalks (dampness on the streets may eliminate this first surprise).

Then a bunch of characters stroll by.

It then shifts to ducks and mice…

…then some pirates…

…more pirates…

…but then shortly shifts to my favorite part, Haunted-Mansion themed dancing gravediggers and ghouls.

More ghouls.

The gravedigger dance.

Soon comes candy…

…then the parade goes back to scary, ending with Disney villains!

There’s two showings of the parade, at 9.15p and 11.15p, with spectacular Halloween-themed fireworks between at 10.15p.

While the fireworks are best seen from in front of the Castle with the Main Street train station behind you, this will lead you into a wildly crowded section of the park.

Because of their spectacular finale the fireworks can be seen from elsewhere in the park–you’ll miss a little but gain a lot of comfort from avoiding the mobs in front of the Castle.

The Liberty Square and Cosmic Rays dance parties left three years ago, but there’s still an outdoor Monsters-themed dance party at the thingy between Astro-Orbiter and Space Mountain.

New in 2018 is a Disney Junior dance party in Storybook Circus…

…not much attended, at least during my visit to it.

Something I had not paid enough attention to until recently was fun audience interaction with characters from the Haunted Mansion.

It’s just outside the exit, so see it after your required Halloween visit to the ride.

You’ll also find lots of Halloween-themed merchandise.  Some is specific to the party (and may be sold out–see your brochure for locations) and the rest is generally available–including, somewhat jarringly, in the Christmas shop.

The Hocus Pocus show is quite popular.  The three sisters from the movie return…

…and call on hordes of Disney villains to help them stay.

The show includes strong songs and dances, fun characters, and some spectacular effects. Those familiar with the movie need not get close to the stage (thought it can’t hurt), but if you haven’t seen it, the characters of the three sisters are much more apparent if you are closer to the stage.  This is easier at the midnight show, not so easy at the earlier shows.

Character meet-n-greets are all over the place–with both common and unusual characters.

Some more characters:

There’s also a ton of trick or treat locations, marked by lighted columns.

Get your trick-or-treat bag on the pathway that begins at the left of Town Square…

…and your first handful of candy, too.

But both the characters and trick-or-treating raise an issue.

STRATEGY AND RIDES AT MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

All the major rides are open, and many minor rides as well. Most have very short waits–e.g. 10 minutes for Space Mountain. Typically, only Peter Pan and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train have annoying waits.

The trick-or-treat spots and especially the character greetings, on the other hand, have pretty long lines, and the hub is packed all evening.

So the best approach is to skip the character greetings and trick-or-treats–or delay them until after the fireworks–and spend the first part of the evening on rides.

Do rides until just before the 10.15p fireworks show and watch it.

Now try trick-or-treating or character meets. Then see the second (11.15p) parade and the midnight Hocus Pocus show.

I struggle with whether or not this party is worth the money for first-time family visitors who may never return.

It’s quite expensive–for a family of four, more than $300, and even over $400 on many dates. And it’s just a five hour show (7p to midnight)–though Disney unofficially lets you in starting at 4p.

Yet the fireworks are among the best Disney World offers, the parade is a hoot, the rides have short lines…and the costumes are fun!

My overall take is that for first-timers this time and money is better spent elsewhere, but that’s a really close call, and for sure I’d recommend it to returning visitors!

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WHAT IS JANUARY LIKE AT DISNEY WORLD?

Early January 2019 will be dominated by holiday crowds and higher prices, but after the 5th, most days will see low crowds and low prices–with upticks around the marathon, the Martin Luther King Day three day holiday weekend, and possibly during the days before and after the Pro Bowl on January 27.

January is not recommended for first-time visitors who may never return, because of ride closures. For returning visitors–and first timers who know they can return–after the first week, January is usually a great time to visit, with low crowds and low prices. If you can, visit after Martin Luther King Day–January 21 in 2019.

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