Illuminations - Christmas Edition

[Buzz_Burbank]

Does anybody know what the dates are for this year's special Christmas edition of Illuminations? I saw it several times last year and really enjoyed it. Thanks in advance for your responses.

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

It's already started. We saw it last night and it should run until a few days past New Years Day.

[Marymouse2003]

Wait, I'm confused(again?!?):confused: Years ago there was a Christmas Illuminations, then they stopped it. The last time I was @ WDW was '06. Are you saying a "special" Christmas Illuminations is showing for the holiday season? Thanks in advance.
God bless,
Mary

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

There is the regular Illuminations, with a bonus ending of what I like to call, "Completely Unneccessary Waste of Money Especially on a Daily Basis."

It's an additional 5 minutes of fireworks themed to Christmas music. The finale is one of the larger ones aside from 4th of July and New Years.

[Buzz_Burbank]

Thanks for the info Cap'n Jess. I'm glad to hear it's running again this year. I actually prefer it to the other special edition versions.

[Marymouse2003]

Thanks Jess!! I thought/HOPED it was 1 dedicated completely to Christmas, but I will take what I can get. Thanks again!
God bless,
Mary

[CaptainSad]

Ahh Jess... You think it is a waste of money? I have to disagree with you on this. I heard about "Let There Be Peace on Earth" version before I went down last year. I fell in love with this version. It gave me goosebumps when I saw it. When I was there on the that first Monday (December 16th) of my trip it was 39 degrees that night. That could have been the reason for the goosebumps...lol

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

It's great that you liked it. I like it.

The average fireworks show is about 7,000 shells of explosives. The additional 5 minutes of the Holiday Illuminations....is around 3,500. That is why I consider it a waste of money.

Now, I have no problem with them wasting that many shells for special events such as MVMCP, MNSSHP, 4th of July, and NYE. But everyday, for 2 months? That, to me, a complete waste of money. Granted that fireworks have the best cost per guest ratio....but still, with the money spent on the finale...they could easily pay us more money...

[joelkfla]

With the cuts of the daily Christmas Parade at the MK until the week before Christmas, the Country Bear Christmas Special, the Epcot Tree Lighting, the live Christmas-oriented shows at the MK (there used to be 2 or 3 every day), the musical holiday street entertainment at what was then Disney-MGM Studios, the passholder Christmas party at the Studios, etc., etc. ... -- WDW isn't nearly as Christmasy as it used to be.

Jessica, the Illuminations "Christmas Tag" is a big guest hit. It's my favorite, it brings back Walter Cronkite, and it's not only spectacular, but I find it's message truly moving. I can't believe you're in favor of eliminating it.

And to answer the original poster, the Christmas Tag is part of Holidays Around the World at Epcot, which runs only until December 30th.

[spoonfulosugar]

I could get choked up and teary eyed just thinking about it-love it!:mickey:

[Goes4FastPass]

...what I like to call, "Completely Unneccessary Waste of Money Especially on a Daily Basis."...
That's what I like to call a completely unnecessary opinion.

The added finale is fireworks set to "Let There be Peace on Earth" - an appropriate choice for World Showcase.

Based on the wall-to-wall crowds at EPCOT last Friday night, I'd say there are still many dollars being paid for park admissions.

[jakeybake]

It's great that you liked it. I like it.

The average fireworks show is about 7,000 shells of explosives. The additional 5 minutes of the Holiday Illuminations....is around 3,500. That is why I consider it a waste of money.

Now, I have no problem with them wasting that many shells for special events such as MVMCP, MNSSHP, 4th of July, and NYE. But everyday, for 2 months? That, to me, a complete waste of money. Granted that fireworks have the best cost per guest ratio....but still, with the money spent on the finale...they could easily pay us more money...


I'm not sure why you're concerned with how much money it costs? Who really cares about the cost? People pay lots and lots of their hard earned money (especially given the economy we are now in) to vacation in WDW and they should get their money's worth each and every night. I'm sure Disney isn't going to go broke because of 5 extra minutes worth of fireworks 2 months a year.

I would doubt that there was any chance at all that the savings made on cancelling those special fireworks would ever make it into the pockets of the CM's. Any dollar spent to enhance the experience for guests is a dollar well spent IMHO.

If you feel as if you are underpaid for what you do then I'm sorry but to suggest that a special seasonal event for guests should be cancelled and the money given to the cast members sounds a bit selfish and about as far from the Disney way of thinking as you could get.

In my eyes it's about the look in a kids eyes and the smile on their face that makes WDW the magical place that it is. If you feel as if it's more important that the CM's get as much money as they can, at the expense of the paying guests then perhaps a career change is in order. Not exactly the Disney way of thinking if I may say so myself.

I wish you luck in your future endeavors, whatever they may be.

Jay

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

First off, I love working at Disney. With my experience and degree, I could easily get a more better paying job elsewhere. I choose to stay with Disney because of the reasons you mentioned.

But generally speaking, Entertainment is a pure expense category. There is absolutely no revenue being made on it, even if there are special bookings and events (the fees cover the labor and everything else, no revenue). What I find to be unreasonable to be paying us minimum wages and cutting hours for their Cast because of budget...and then blowing over $50,000 on an extra 5 minutes of fireworks EVERYNIGHT. It's not that they are doing the special fireworks...it's that they are doing every day for 2 months...making it not as special.

The parties, on the other hand, the guests are paying for the fireworks and the parades. The regular day guests are taking care of the overhead expenses and by the time the party starts, Disney has already covered their costs for the day. The rest is to generate pure revenue (hence the mark-ups on prices of merch, food, and beverage).

I know a lot of people don't agree with me, but as someone who works there and understands the system of how it works, it's unfair in my opinion because it's a contradiction. We won't give you guys hour to efficiently operate and staff the already understaffed parks, but hey, let's fool the Guests and make them forget with pretty lights!

[Goes4FastPass]

Of course entertainment is purely an expense category... and Disney World is purely an entertainment vacation destination. There isn't a large city anywhere in the country where you can't get better food, better beds, better spas, better most things except exclusive Disney entertainment like, well, Illuminations.

There are many ways Disney is cutting entertainment like character-less character meals.

While front line CMs knows what it's like to be a front line CM I only know what it's like to be what Disney likes to call a guest and what everyone else calls a customer.

I was at last Friday night's packed performance of Illuminations where guests were 20 deep on the fences while Disney reserved the best terraces for people who paid extra to be "VIPs". With the Disney Company its always about the bottom line.

How many people (like me) buy a CP dinner package thus comitting to an appetizer and dessert?

Many of us make an extra trip to WDW in December, when Blizzard Beach is more blizzard than beach, because the resort offers special holidays.

I understand Disney needs to make a profit (and Disney exec really understand it) but they also need to keep thinking of ways to entertain guests who return to WDW again and again.

[Ian]

With the cuts of the daily Christmas Parade at the MK until the week before Christmas, the Country Bear Christmas Special, the Epcot Tree Lighting, the live Christmas-oriented shows at the MK (there used to be 2 or 3 every day), the musical holiday street entertainment at what was then Disney-MGM Studios, the passholder Christmas party at the Studios, etc., etc. ... -- WDW isn't nearly as Christmasy as it used to be.Totally agree. In fact, the Christmas Illuminations show was about the only truly special Christmas event left (aside from the Osborne Lights) at WDW this year.



But generally speaking, Entertainment is a pure expense category. There is absolutely no revenue being made on it, even if there are special bookings and events (the fees cover the labor and everything else, no revenue).This is an incredibly narrow (and likely incorrect) way of thinking.

How can you possibly tell how much revenue is being generated from this show? You can't. You have absolutely no clue how many people make trips just to see this show and, in turn, spend money on food, souvenirs, booze, etc.

Honestly ... this type of thinking is exactly what's wrong with Disney World's leadership team. They just don't get it that these little, special things are what differentiates them from the competition. As a paying guest, I can tell you I was very disappointed in the painfully obvious holiday cutbacks this year.

If I thought things would be the same next year, I absolutely wouldn't spend the money for trip at Christmas, which is something we've done every year since my kids were born.

So you tell me ... do things like the Christmas version of Illuminations generate revenue for the company? Or are they just an annoying expense to be eliminated?

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

How can you possibly tell how much revenue is being generated from this show? You can't. You have absolutely no clue how many people make trips just to see this show and, in turn, spend money on food, souvenirs, booze, etc.


Entertainment has no revenue. The people who pay to come in, the money goes to admission. Food, drinks, souveniers....all go to their respective departments. But Entertainment doesn't get the money. Our budget is given to us based on how many people are coming to the parks, and reflected on how many people come to that specific park. We keep track of how many people come to meet and greets, shows, parades, etc. But we don't charge people to see the shows, we don't charge them to watch fireworks, meet characters, and everything else. Hence, Entertainment makes no revenue, we have no incoming cash flows.

[big blue and hairy]

Entertainment has no revenue. The people who pay to come in, the money goes to admission. Food, drinks, souveniers....all go to their respective departments. But Entertainment doesn't get the money. Our budget is given to us based on how many people are coming to the parks, and reflected on how many people come to that specific park. We keep track of how many people come to meet and greets, shows, parades, etc. But we don't charge people to see the shows, we don't charge them to watch fireworks, meet characters, and everything else. Hence, Entertainment makes no revenue, we have no incoming cash flows.
It may not go on the ledger sheet under entertainment, but it certainly DOES make the company money. All companies have departments that by definition don't make money. That does not make that any less necessary. There is no doubt that Illuminations makes money for Epcot. If there was no Illuminations, people would leave a lot earlier, so they would spend less. It's a pretty easy conclusion to reach.

On another note, from what I understand, the main show of Illuminations is edited somewhat, which I'm sure means less shells and less flames. That would change your additional shell count for the Christmas version.

:sulley:

[Ian]

Entertainment has no revenue. The people who pay to come in, the money goes to admission. Food, drinks, souveniers....all go to their respective departments. But Entertainment doesn't get the money. Our budget is given to us based on how many people are coming to the parks, and reflected on how many people come to that specific park. We keep track of how many people come to meet and greets, shows, parades, etc. But we don't charge people to see the shows, we don't charge them to watch fireworks, meet characters, and everything else. Hence, Entertainment makes no revenue, we have no incoming cash flows.Jessica, I totally don't mean to pick on you because you're just an unfortunate byproduct of the current thinking at Disney, but I'm telling you this is so disturbing to read.

None of this makes a single, solitary bit of difference to the guest, yet time and time again I hear this kind of siloed thinking coming from inside the company.

Revenue is revenue. Where it goes internally should be completely irrelevant. I mean yeah ... you should track how much value is added by entertainment as best you can, but to say it generates no revenue simply because the dollars go elsewhere on a balance sheet ... that's the epitome of bean-counter thinking.

I truly hope that some day Disney will quit with this accountants view of things and get back to worrying about what made them great in the first place ... providing a superior guest experience each and every time.

But simply the fact that it's painfully evident from listening to Cast that this is the real point of emphasis from management ... that basically tells you all you need to know about how likely any real change is to occur.

[elmjimmlm]

With the cuts of the daily Christmas Parade at the MK until the week before Christmas, the Country Bear Christmas Special, the Epcot Tree Lighting, the live Christmas-oriented shows at the MK (there used to be 2 or 3 every day), the musical holiday street entertainment at what was then Disney-MGM Studios, the passholder Christmas party at the Studios, etc., etc. ... -- WDW isn't nearly as Christmasy as it used to be.

.

With everything about what is going on and what is not my question is what will I see the week after Christmas? I thought that the Christmas parade in MK was going on during the day or is it not? What about Mickeys Once Upon a Christmas show in MK?

[CaptainSad]

They are both going on during the week of Christmas.

[joelkfla]

Yes, my point was that these both used to be presented daily for all Guests during the entire month of December, along with "Celebrate the Season" on the Castle Forecourt and perhaps one other holiday show. That was before MVMCP became the exclusive locale for MK holiday entertainment for most of the month.

But those two are still offered to Day Guests, usually from the weekend before Christmas thru New Years Day.