Okay, "less Christmassy" folks...let's see your comparison pictures!

[Tampa Mousekeeter]

there are no pics of the "less decorated" park because they would all stink....

actually we are there at least once a week and I couldn't tell you one thing decoration wise that is missing from last year or the year before...we must just go and have a good time and not expect Disney to overload our brains with decorations !!

 

[Traveliz]

I don't have pictures of a less decorated park for two reasons - was there first of November when things were just going up and not returning til the week between Christmas and NY but I do have photos from year's past.

The caveat is I have never ever posted a picture and am not sure I have the time to pull them out of scrapbooks, scan and figure out how to post right now (or in the near future). If this thread is still hanging around after the holidays maybe I will learn how to post pictures.

Secondly like others we are frequent visitors and now only take pictures of things that are totally new to us or special for some reason.

Finally I knew about LOW but I didn't know the icicle tree things (no real word for them) were no longer at Epcot! Those were so enchanting to me.

Liz

 

[ktlm]

Here's my take on it based on our experience. Our 1st time at WDW at Christmas was 1999. We were floored by all the decorations. We felt it was incredible, particularly the Osborne lights which back then were on the backlot when it existed. The whole feel that gave you of walking through a neighborhood was magnificent. We were not there during Christmas again until last year, 2008. We really noticed a difference in the decorations from our first trip. It just didn't seem like you were completely immersed in Christmas decorations like on the 1st trip. Moving the Osborne lights to Streets of America, although it had to be done, really lessened their impact although they are still very beautiful. Also, we noticed that while the WL was beautifully decorated, it did not match the pictures we had seen in the past. There was less garland than in old pictures. The whole trip just didn't have the complete holiday feel of the 1st trip. We returned this year, 2009. With the exception of the Lights of Winter, we felt that the Christmas decorations had increased this year. We noticed a lot of little touches that I do not recall seeing last year. We thought there was more of a holiday feel this year than last. I will say that there were a few decorations we noticed missing, such as last year there were some table displays in the Polynesian lobby we did not see, but it seems like this year there may have been more garland and other decorations in the Poly lobby. We were just in there a few minutes last year, so someone who actually stayed there would know better. We really liked the Christmas decorations this year. The only exception would be the fact that the Lights of Winter were missng from Epcot. It left a huge hole. Future World had no holiday feel, except we did catch the holiday fountain show at night which was nice. Even DH commented on how sad it was walking through Epcot without the lights of winter. It was one of our favorite decorations last year. That was the only place we felt a huge gap from the year before. Other than that, we actually thought it was better this year.

 

[ktlm]

I
Finally I knew about LOW but I didn't know the icicle tree things (no real word for them) were no longer at Epcot! Those were so enchanting to me.

Liz

We were really surprised by that too. I knew the arch would not be there before our trip, but I really expected to see what DD calls the ice lollipop trees and to get a picture with those. That was probably our favorite picture from our 2008 trip. I loved those trees!

 

[dreambound]

We were really surprised by that too. I knew the arch would not be there before our trip, but I really expected to see what DD calls the ice lollipop trees and to get a picture with those. That was probably our favorite picture from our 2008 trip. I loved those trees!

Okay, what were those? I can't remember them for the life of me!

Meg

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the Theme Parks Community board, where we keep all of our picture threads.

 

[Traveliz]

Okay, what were those? I can't remember them for the life of me!

Meg

Ok picture tall dandelions in various heights that are all white. They were behind the fountain before you entered the walkway to go to World Showcase at Epcot. They were definitely abstract but soooo cool.

I have a great family photo of all of us in front of them in 2008.

Liz

 

[WDSearcher]

You know...I kind of resent these two comments. I am a huge Disney supporter, I tend to think of the glass being half full rather than half empty, I usually tell people that PW time isn't all that horrible for crying out loud. For someone to come here and tell me that I'm not happy unless I have something to complain about or that I just 'think' there are less Christmas decorations because there are more people in the parks is downright insulting.
I know what I saw, and what I didn't see. The people I traveled the parks with totally agreed with me. We don't go to WDW each Dec looking to have Disney take our worries away. Far from it. But we do have a certain expectation of what to expect. And this year, those expectations were far from met.
It could very well be due to CM cutbacks, or it could be due to the bad economy..someone I was with suggested that Disney felt it would be in poor taste to go with their usual decor with the economy the way it is. Don't know...don't particularly care. I merely posted what saw...or rather what I didn't see.

I do believe that SOME people (I don't believe I directed my comments to you specifically ... I didn't mean to, so if I did, I apologize) do allow all the complaints and economic news and crowds and other things going on around them to color their picture of what they see. If the world around them has put them in a less Christmassy mood, then everything around them becomes less Christmassy, whether or not it truly is. I was suggesting a possible reason behind all of the "there's less in the park" perceptions, not stating unequivically that this is what was happening. I'm very sorry for having insulted you. It was not my intent. Just an opinion. I did not mean it as a personal affront.

Because I also know what I saw, and what I saw was what I've seen every year. I didn't see or notice less. I didn't find there to be these vast differences that others are seeing, with the exception of LOW being gone. So maybe I have rose colored glasses and you don't, or I was looking at different things than you were, or my favorite holiday things are different than your favorite holiday things. Maybe the stuff I like best is still there, while the stuff you like best isn't, so you notice and I don't. Maybe I'm just having a better Christmas than you are, or I have lower expectations. You saw less ... I did not. Your expectations were far from met; mine were exceeded.

 

[TDC Nala]

Not photographs, but I made this video in 2006.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjPyShbTrA8

The following things seen in the video are either changed or discontinued:

Snowflake lights at Epcot (discontinued 2009)
Placement of MK Christmas Tree (they might have moved it back after the parade taping. I don't think it was even up at all during the parade taping)
Christmas Parade at Studios, whatever it was called (discontinued after Block Party Bash replaced Stars and Motor Cars parade)
Lights of Winter – Epcot (discontinued 2009)
Epcot tree lighting (filmed from back, not the stage where the characters were) changed in 2007 or 2008 to a recorded introduction and tree lighting
Adventurers Club Christmas Show (club closed September 2008)
Holiday Themed Topiaries at Epcot

 

[wdwtweets]

Maybe people aren't able to post side-by-side comparison pics as such. So, it might be easier if people simply post some holiday pics from this year and year's past (whichever you have). If they let us know when they were taken, we might be able to notice a general difference.

 

[ShannonMB]

Maybe people aren't able to post side-by-side comparison pics as such. So, it might be easier if people simply post some holiday pics from this year and year's past (whichever you have). If they let us know when they were taken, we might be able to notice a general difference.

Great idea! I'd just love to see some awesome decoration pics from years past to compare to what I saw this year.

 

[ktlm]

Here are the snowflake/ice lollipop/ dandilions:

 

[dreambound]

Here are the snowflake/ice lollipop/ dandilions:

(GASP!) No!!!!!!!!!! Now see, this is a tangible difference. So bummed! What's up with Epcot this year? Is it wishful thinking to suspect that this year is transitional and that next year they'll come up with something bigger and better???

Thanks for the pics and video. I think some may have gotten the impression I was being snarky, but I really wanted to see what the differences are.

Meg

 

[wdwtweets]

Great pic! Those icicle lollipops look awesome. Too bad they're gone. Thanks for sharing.

 

[DisGal520]

Just gotta say

the LOW arch needs to come back and the star lghts too. If we are being told that the technology was too old, then that does not go along with Disney's pride of technology in so many other areas.

Maybe a letter writing campaign from all of us....................

 

[WUVmyDISNEY]

I just got back tonight and thought I would give my comments on the "less" Christmas feel. In Epcot, especially FW, if I didn't know I was there at holiday time, there was nothing there to remind me that I was. As one poster said, the pictures I would have taken wouldn't have looked different from the ones in May.

I love the Osborne lights but something seemed to be "missing" with them this year as well. Not the display itself, but when the lights danced. I kept waiting for Trans-Siberian music to accompany it, but that changed. So just my little old opinion, a change I didn't like. Lights still spectacular though and I felt HS looked good.

MK to me looked great as well.

We stayed Boardwalk and they have beautiful Christmas decorations as did GF where we spent the last half of our vaca.

Epcot was Epcot with all of the things we love about it, but I was expecting more Christmas there.

 

[wdwtweets]

All of this talk has really got me thinking about our expectations of Disney around holidays. Why do we expect that they will decorate? I, for one, would still go even without some tinsel and lights. WDW is so much more than that. I'd be interested to know if they always did over-the-top decorating. I have a feeling not in the beginning. Just a thought.