No Commitment = Disappointment

No Commitment = DISAPPOINTMENT

November 20, 2023

This is the “inaugural” year for Walt Disney World’s newest holiday party, Jollywood Nights. I put the inaugural in quotes, because I’m not convinced it will make it more than one year. Granted, I am basing this solely on the first event, but if that party is indicative of how things will be organized and executed, 2023 will be lone holiday season for it. Chaotic wristband distribution, incredibly long lines for food and drink, and harried theater loading for the shows were front and center. Why was this such a cluster?

We could nitpick a dozen things, but the root issue is that Disney didn’t fully commit to this event. How do I know this? Several huge red flags were telltale signs. Pitifully poor staffing was one of the first clues. The serving staff at the Hollywood Brown Derby were the same ones who worked the day shift. Really?! They couldn’t have brought in a shift change for this highly anticipated event? The quick service locations, lounges, and pop-up bars around the park were completely understaffed. The absurdly low level of throughput for all of these locations created lengthy lines, bottlenecks, and frustrated guests. Some are blaming the blogger, vloggers, and influencers, but this is obtuse. Disney is well aware of the demographic coming the the first event of the season. Especially one that is the first of its kind.

Another warning sign was the lack of atmosphere. First off, to get maximum enjoyment out of this event, you need to spend a lot of extra money on top of the $159 to $199 you paid to get in. No free ice cream. No free treats. No free beverages. Nothing to make the guest feel like it is a VIP experience. The drink coasters that they were giving out at the end of the night were nice, but for this kind of price tag, there needed to be a much higher level of guest experience. The overall atmosphere of this event fell remarkably flat. The two newest lands in Walt Disney World, Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land, were ghost towns and had zero event activities included. I’ve heard rumors that Oga’s Cantina employees went full Coyote Ugly and danced on the bar in their weird space underwear to get people over there. (That was on Reddit, so it may have been embellished)

The final telltale sign was the lack of event specific merchandise. They have been advertising this “new” “glitzy” glamorous” “swanky” party for months now and what merchandise was on display? A t-shirt. One t-shirt. The fact that the shirt had the word “inaugural” on it was the biggest gamble Disney took on this whole party. No keychains. No pins. No coffee mugs. Just a t-shirt with the same Jollywood Nights artwork that has been used in promotional material since it was first announced. It was uninspiring.

An additional baffling decision for Disney World was to close the Skyliner at 9:00 PM on the party night, and apparently they plan to continue this trend! Why?! Art of Animation, POP Century, and Caribbean Beach are three of the largest resorts on property, and you pay a bit of a premium for staying there BECAUSE of the Skyliner. This resolve by Disney makes no sense and even further devalues the event. “Come to a glitzy old Hollywood event and then get escorted home by our sexy busses.” Ridiculous.

So why is Disney not committed to this event?

Only Disney can answer this, but my theory is PTSD. Not only did the last themed party at Hollywood Studios flop (looking at you Villains Unleashed), but the last time Disney adopted the “go big or stay home” was the Galactic Starcruiser and that didn’t pan out either. They took a bath on the Starcruiser, even though those who experienced it were very complimentary and pleased. The execution was great, but the cost of keeping that level of immersion up while simultaneously dealing with diminishing interest was not sustainable. A financial hit like that will make anyone think twice before going “all in” on anything for a while.

All of this is conjecture of course. The Walt Disney Company was created and has thrived ever since on risk-taking. They may be a bit gun shy right this second, but if they’re to keep up with the “guys down the road” (and they will), they will soon be back to pushing the envelope. It is just what they do.

This may seem like a negative article, but I have high hopes for this party. No matter what my initial paragraph sounded like, I do believe this even will be back next year and it will be better. FAR BETTER. As I’m finishing this article up, the second Jollywood Nights party has happened, and they are already making improvements to the product. More staffing, more wristband distribution points inside the park, and a slew of new and rare characters (EVEN DUFFY!!!)  were added for the second party. I am hopeful.

It can only get better from here, right?