The Christmas Holidays vacation experience at Walt Disney World is our favorite time of year to visit. Just back from our most recent stay at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort, we have a lot of news to share, including some changes we noticed and some hints of what may be coming in 2024.

 

In a major trend reversal, it is suddenly common to see a significant number of items on sale at Walt Disney World shops, most with substantial discounts. We noticed that these are the types of items and prices that would normally have been found only at the Disney Character Warehouse at the Vineland Outlet Mall. This may be Disney's way to upend the scourge of eBay pirates who have had a negative impact  (springs best, Disney avoiding Character Warehouse). Whatever the reason, this is good news for Disney World travelers. 

 

Disney Travel Tip: Not all items are discounted equally across Walt Disney World Resort. We found that the best variety of items on sale is found at Disney Springs in the Marketplace and World of Disney in particular.

 

Disney World ride wait times were often twice as long as what was posted, a reversal from our experience over the past year when ride wait times tended to be shorter than what was posted.

 

The 2023 edition of Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party was better than past years, showing some improvements to an already fun event. There was noticeably more ambiance particularly throughout the entrance experience walk in particular. Food, treats and the cookie stroll continue to be great (a top pick is the gingerbread cake at Golden Oak Outpost -- a hidden gem).

 

On the downside, there are still long wait times for most rides (so we continue to find Disney's marketing of shorter wait times during these events to be a marketing campaign only--it simply is not the case.

 

Jollywood Nights rained out on December 16, the night we were supposed to attend. It was the right call by Disney given the torrential tropical storm-like rain, but we were never notified by Disney. Travel agents received instant notification (presumably to alert their clients), but as guest who bought tickets directly, we never got any notice at all from Disney that it was cancelled. 

This is a significant oversight by Disney and one they need to correct. On the plus side, they did refund the tickets on that same day, so at least someone was on the ball.

 

One Cast Member we spoke with hinted that the new Genie+ may just be the ability of onsite guests to make their first selection the night before. The CM noted that the biggest guest complaint was having to get up at 7:00 a.m., so this would directly address that. We view that as a shortsighted response to the issue by Disney, but it would still be better than the current situation.

 

We probed on the potential to get rid of Park Passes for Disney Annual Passholders who have an onsite hotel reservation, but did not get a very encouraging response (and not much of an in-depth response at all on that one). 

 

In an alarming trend for some, french fries are quietly disappearing from many Walt Disney World quick service menus. It used to be that they were a staple with burgers in particular as an option. Now, you're far more likely to find chips or nacho chips as the side. This is not for health reasons, but likely to reduce costs and streamline speed of delivery. Disney noted in comments over the past two years that their intention was to find more efficiencies in food service and substituting chips for french fries in many quick service dining locations is just one example of how they go about doing this.

 

It's not your imagination, we definitely noticed that the trademark lobby scents associated with many Disney resort hotels are disappearing, or far less obvious. Disney's Grand Floridian Resort has no noticeable scent and this included a distinct lack of any gingerbread smell to accompany the Christmas holiday lobby display. This is a sad change that we hope is not permanent (but believe that it probably is).

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Mike Belobradic and Amelia Belobradic

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