We woke up this morning, in the middle of October, still feeling those spooky, Halloween vibes, but Disney had other plans! Apparently we’re skipping over Halloween and jumping straight into the holiday season.
Earlier this morning we spotted the cutest vintage-looking holiday mugs in Magic Kingdom, and we’ve seen lots of new holiday merchandise online at shopDisney as well. But today’s find has taken the leap to Christmas to a whole new level!
Today, we were strolling down Sunset Boulevard in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, enjoying the sunshine and Tower of Terror views when we suddenly stopped in our tracks because something was different. The spooky vibes from the Tower of Terror strangely didn’t seem quite so spooky…and there was almost a sense of…holiday cheer in the air?
Then we realized what was different — holiday decorations are already up on Sunset Boulevard!
It’s…Christmastime in Disney World? 🎄 pic.twitter.com/GQOsKz2o6p
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) October 14, 2021
The iconic red and white stars are now hanging from the street lamps all the way down the boulevard. And members of our team have some mixed emotions about it. When our reporter alerted the team that Disney World is already getting jolly for the holidays, here are some of the responses we had:
“Uhhhh we’re not even halfway through October.” “It’s not time for this yet! Let pumpkin (the clearly superior seasonal flavor) LIVE.” “BOOOOO It’s still spooky season I refuse to accept this!” “Am I hallucinating? This feels a little early.”
But, some other team members were ready for the holiday season to start and responded by saying: “Now it’s the best day ever.” “I’m going to explode with excitement!!!” “YAY Sunset Boulevard at Christmas is my FAVE.” “Bring on the Peppermint!”
Last year, Disney World didn’t start decorating for the holidays until around October 29th. But this year, it seems they’ve bumped up the holiday decor by a few weeks! Again, it’s not truly shocking since we’ve seen holiday merchandise already released online and we celebrated halfway to the holidays earlier this year, but it still caused quite the debate within our team.
So which side are you on? Team “Holiday cheer all the way”? Or Team “give Halloween the spotlight it deserves”? Let us know in the comments! And keep following DFB so that we can let you know about all the Disney World updates.
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Are you team Christmas or Halloween? Let us know in the comments!
Marilyn says
This is getting ridiculous. Why don’t they just leave them up year round at this point? Because honestly I can see this headed in that direction. Just watch. In a couple years they’ll start putting them up in August and they won’t even HAVE a Halloween season. Why does Christmas get to step all over Halloween’s toes? What about those of us who view Halloween as our christmas? Don’t we deserve our own special season WITHOUT intrusion?
Lee Sauer says
This is just SO wrong.
But then, Costco has had its Christmas merch on the warehouse floors for over a month. I remember the good old days when Johnny Carson refused to allow any Christmas-themed commercials to be run on his show until after Thanksgiving.
Sigh.
I’ve become a curmudgeon. Move over Carl.
Todd says
Come on Disney. They’ve stretched holidays to the point is has become ridiculous with Halloween beginning in August, this one takes the cake. Let’s get past Halloween before Christmas appears. Horrible decision making by those involved.
Nina says
We were at Hollywood Studios yesterday (Oct. 15), our first time since last April, and we noticed those stars as well. It’s definitely too early for them! Sheesh, WDW!
Lyndsay Claroni says
I noticed this yesterday and thought “what in the world?” Why stifle spooky season? This is not okay.
Linda says
I’m disappointed that Disney is rushing the Christmas holiday decorations because I fly down to WDW the last week of October every year to take in all the pumpkin decorations for my birthday and then return the first week in December to enjoy the Christmas ones! If it’s going to be a mixture of Halloween and Christmas then why bother making the two trips. I remember the times when the Christmas decorations pretty much went up overnight at WDW!
Kris says
Given the state of the country, no one has enough staff & I’m guessing it’s the same at Disney. It takes a LOT of people to take down Halloween and Magically get Christmas put up almost overnight. It kinda sucks for those going for fall (I love both seasons) BUT as someone doing Christmas in Nov again this year, I would be really upset if I was there and the Christmas decorations were not up in time. It’s something I’ve actually been worried about for weeks. I’m sure it’s just a temporary thing for this “covid” year. Let’s just all pray that 2022 is more “normal”.
Norrid Vickie says
Boo let’s get through Halloween 🎃
Ivette says
I want Halloween to have the spotlight in October! It’s so Fun.
This is too soon for xmas!
Yet… the big stores have all the Christmas decor out too!
But October at Disney belongs to Halloween for me!
NENolan says
Halloween starts in August at Disney and they start putting up the decorations in the summer, so I don’t get why someone would complain about putting up some Christmas decorations in October? For crying out loud, It’s been Halloween at MK for 3 months!. Part of the reason may be not having the staff available so they’re starting to put some of it up now. They have 4 parks and all the resorts to decorate and also a quick changeover at MK for the next After Hours.
NENolan says
@Marilyn Disney doesn’t have a Halloween season? Seriously? The only real park decorated for Halloween is MK so why have a problem with a bit of Christmas decor at DHS? It’s not infringing on a guest’s enjoyment of Halloween at MK. Halloween is a Fall holiday that is being celebrated at WDW in the midst of summer. There are also 3 months worth of Boo Bash as opposed to a little over a month of Very Merriest AH but for some reason, you seem to overlook that. I guess you just wanted to rant. It seems to be the trend these days and for the most part, it’s becoming tiresome.
Arlene says
I think it’s only fair to start Christmas decorating now since Disney starts it’s Halloween decorating in August! Ugh! For those of us who are not Halloween fans, going to Disney in the middle of the summer and seeing pumpkins is just too much! Each to his own! I’m really happy to see the pumpkins leave and some Christmas holiday cheer come! Bring on the Joy!😊🎄
Nancy says
I will be there early Nov and am happy Christmas decorations are going up. And STARS?? What is the big deal? Don’t see any trees yet– or wreaths, or evergreen swags. Didn’t see anyone complaining about Halloween decorations going up in the summer. It will take time for the entire change. Give Disney a little support.