MickeyBlog News for November 13th, 2023
In a matter of 72 hours, Walt Disney World hosted two different after-hours parties, both of which delighted guests.
Friends, don’t let the calendar fool you. The holidays have officially arrived at Disney.
Already Having a Very Merry Christmas
For the third straight week, we need to talk about the holiday season at Walt Disney World.
I realize that’s a bit ridiculous since we’re still ten days from Thanksgiving, but Disney just keeps adding more at the parks and resorts.
For example, for the first time ever, Disney’s Yacht Club Resort has joined the gingerbread festivities.
MickeyBlog reporters captured the construction process, which ended with an absolutely majestic structure.
Folks, that entire thing is edible! It’s basically one giant dessert. How do the wizards at Disney pull off this kind of feat? I’ll never understand.
As another example, the Gingerbread House and its inside store have opened at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.
The Gingerbread Store at Disney’s Contemporary Resort opened on Friday as well. As usual, the photo op is available as well.
This year’s Gingerbread Castle celebrates Disney100. You can look at the setup and see some of the opening festivities below.
The Cinderella Castle Disney100th Anniversary Celebration Gingerbread Display has officially opened at Disney’s Contemporary Resort✨
Head Chef Jeff and ambassadors were there for the opening ceremony❤️🎄#contemporaryresort #gingerbreaddisplay pic.twitter.com/83GT58mf7Z— MickeyBlog.com (@MickeyBlog_) November 10, 2023
Of course, the biggest two events of the week were the opening of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) and the debut of the first-ever Disney Jollywood Nights.
I’ll discuss Jollywood Nights in more detail next week, but it immediately proved popular with guests.
As for the Very Merry holiday party, MickeyBlog had a blast. Here are images of Belle in her elegant Christmas dress, the Seven Dwarfs in splendorous green costumes, and Mary Poppins, complete with parasol.
Our staff also met Santa Claus, Mickey Mouse, and Stitch, who was dressed a bit differently than everyone else.
Here’s a full list of the characters you can expect to meet at MVMCP. Also, don’t miss the holiday look at Haunted Mansion!
Disney Is Doing Better, But…
If you were reading MickeyBlog on Wednesday – and for shame if you weren’t! – you know that Disney reported its fiscal 2023 earnings.
With the benefit of hindsight, we should have known it would be good news when CNBC suddenly reported that CEO Bob Iger would appear live.
Iger wanted to gloat to the viewers, especially one Nelson Peltz, about how well Disney is doing in some key Wall Street metrics.
Specifically, Disney’s three-phase layoffs this year and the two Hollywood strikes benefited the bottom line.
Yes, they were terrible for us as fans and for the affected employees, but Disney unearthed $7.5 billion in annualized cash savings.
Also, the company’s free cash flow has increased from $1 billion a year ago to $4.9 billion at the end of fiscal 2023.
Having fewer cast members and not filming movies and television shows is a great way to save money, albeit a tactic everyone despises.
Disney also introduced a new Chief Finance Officer this week. It’s Hugh Johnston, who had held the same title at PepsiCo since 2010.
As I’ll explain in a separate article, that move was a masterstroke by Iger, a preemptive strike against Nelson Peltz.
However, the most significant aspects for Disney fans come in two separate forms.
First, Disney stated the four keys to the company’s future growth. Those are streaming, film production, the theme parks, and ESPN.
Unfortunately, Disney revealed something else that isn’t shocking, but it is disappointing.
Johnston and Iger suggested that Disney’s promised theme park expansion will occur gradually over the next decade.
Specifically, Disney doesn’t expect to spend most of the promised $60 billion now. Instead, Disney will do it in five years.
I’ll do a deep dive into this decision later this week.
Walt Disney World Miscellany
We’ve got so much happening this week, most of it festive.
For instance, Santa Claus has made his annual appearance at Disney Springs. You’ll find Jolly Old Saint Nick at Once Upon a Toy.
Also, you should know that MVMCP is selling out quickly. We posted some crowd photos from opening night.
Apparently, that event created a buzz because several more dates have since booked entirely.
As a reminder, we’re always getting Holiday Dapper Days this year.
The schedule calls for Disney’s Hollywood Studios to have Dapper Day on December 2nd, followed by Disney’s Animal Kingdom on December 3rd.
I want to draw your attention to a welcome My Disney Experience change as well.
Disney has FINALLY updated the system to help you find friends and family more easily.
You can search for someone by first and last name, email address, or phone number.
I remember asking for this in, like, 2015 and have no idea why it took this long, but I’m grateful that we finally have it.
In other Walt Disney World news, Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park has reopened. It’ll be the only water park in operation from now into early 2024.
The other Walt Disney World update for this week involves a New Year’s Eve Alice in Wonderland party at California Grill. It’s…spendy.
Disneyland Miscellany
At Disneyland Resort, the holidays have ramped up as well. You’ll already find the Gingerbread House at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.
Also, holiday decorations have appeared at Disneyland Station, and the Main Street Tree is decorated, too!
Disneyland has also opened the re-themed Adventureland Treehouse! Here’s the song that plays during your visit.
Park officials confirmed another reopening date as well. Fantasmic! will rise from the ashes and reopen on May 24th, 2024!
Similarly, Din Tai Fung will be “steaming soon” at Downtown Disney, as will Paseo and Centrico.
I’m really looking forward to how they set up Paseo and Centrico, as Disney could go a lot of different ways here.
Finally, here is MickeyBlog’s opening night experience at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. You’ll notice that Miranda and Jared’s joy is palpable.
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