Epcot Lights of Winter cut from Disney World holiday lineup
A Mom and The Mouse, Featured, Kristin Ford — By Kristin Ford on November 11, 2009 at 11:12 am
Epcot's Lights of Winter were last seen in 2008. Disney World announced Wednesday the lighted holiday arches are being retired. (Walt Disney World photo)
Walt Disney World officially announced late Wednesday it is retiring the Lights of Winter holiday arches at Epcot, ending this week’s speculation on several Disney-related message boards.
The note from DisneyParks twitter reads, “Note: The Lights of Winter at Epcot has been enjoyed for years. But tech to operate the lights is obsolete, prompting us to retire the lights”
The 30,000 lights in the arches that cover the walkway connecting Future World to World Showcase “dance” to synchronized holiday music, along with the Fountain of Nations. The Lights of Winter are a favorite of many guests, who were disappointed to learn of the change.
On the forums at wdwmagic.com, upset commenters took more than 46 pages to air their grievances and speculate on the reason the Lights of Winter won’t be seen this year. The most popular school of thought suggests the move was done as a cost-saving measure because the lights are not LEDs.
Nemo14 wrote: “Sounds like the “green” they mean might be more like $$$ green.”
DMC-12 points out: “And cost should NOT be an excuse. Sylvania/Siemens is a top tier sponsor at Epcot. The cost of switching these out to LEDs would not be a problem at all!”
The explanation of “tech to operate the lights is obsolete” rings hollow for me, too, given that Disney parks have all kinds of antiquated attractions. Do you think the Magic Kingdom trains are going to be retired? How about Haunted Mansion or Space Mountain? They are all old and based on old technology, but Disney refurbished and/or updated them. It looks like this is a case of not wanting to spend the money on Lights of Winter, which is understandable in a difficult economic climate. But let’s call the cancellation what it is really is: a cost-saving move.
Tags: Christmas, Disney World, Epcot, Holidays, Lights of Winter
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41 Comments
sucks! they are going to keep this up and the parks will be empty…
They keep cutting, cutting, cutting…
the Parades were just wonderful…Epcot afternoon parade was so nice..and now..nothing..
Disney better wise up..cause when Harry Potter opens up..the crowds will be thick..and they wont be at Disney.
Not sure that Harry Potter will do the trick.he movies were popular but that was years ago. As for changes at Disney I’m somewhat reasonable on that subject.An old slipper is hard to part with but the day does come.Those lights were a spectacle but their day has come.They were almost predictable.I just hope whatever replaces it will also be beautiful and festive. As for a needed change how about those fireworks? Over ten years without the slightest change? Before these ones the norm was changing firework displays every other year. It wouldn’t bother me one but if that floating monstrosity of an early age digital ball blew up.Now that would truly be a crowd pleaser. Come on EPCOT.It’s time to stop lecturing us on peace and harmony via that catchy tune and let us see something new.
lol @ Harry Potter threatening Disney World.
100,000 guests a day compared to 20,000. Harry Potter isn’t going to switch that
What a completely transparent excuse.
Obsolete technology? How many rides and attractions at Disney are based on obsolete technology? Steam trains, Riverboat, Horse-drawn carriage.
Disney could operate Lights of Winter this year if they wanted. The technology may be “obsolete”, but it didn’t suddenly stop working. They think they can cut corners and customers will still show up and spend the same amount of money.
Guess again … we notice, and we adjust our plans and spending accordingly. This has outraged Disney enthusiasts more than any other recent cuts (and they has certainly been no shortage of those). This may well be the last straw that causes Disney to reap a significant financial penalty for their short-sighted behavior.
“tech to operate the lights is obsolete”
What a LAME excuse Disney – creating very poor show.
I’m very disappointed.
This is just more fuel to the fire as to why I will go to Disney less. My husband and I own DVC (yes, we made a mistake) and they just took away our “free” DVC hotel valet perk. We live in Independence (almost right behind Disney) and used to frequent their hotel restaurants fairly often. It was nice to drive up, be welcomed home and go to valet, park, eat and experience a little disney magic. The other day, we were yelled at to go to self park or pay $12.00 – guess what we did, we left and went somewhere else.
Back to the lights.. this sucks as we both loved the segway between the two lands. Next, they will kill all the Epcot World Showcase Christmas Entertainment as well..
Will Disney cut the price of admission or the price?
Does Disney really think that we are not noticing all of these cuts and changes? Do they think we will continue to pay the extra high prcies for less and less in the parks? It is time for me to renew my premium annual pass and I am wondering now if it’s just not worth it anymore?
Wake up Disney! We are not happy and we will take our dollars somewhere else.
Will you please press Disney as the real reason why these lights were cut? To become like Disneyland, WDW needs to have a unified voice to complain about all of the cutbacks in the past 10 years. Look at what happened with Disneyland and see what they’ve received. They haven’t had cutbacks. They’ve had excellent additions. They haven’t had to pay $50+ for a Christmas party or had entertainment cut.
Orlando Sentinel you need to help be this voice. When was the technology deemed obsolete? What was done to try and fix the problem?
Take a look at the http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/ site. There are nearly 160 comments on the week in review (currently on page 2) about the lights of winter disappearing. Numerous other posts have mentions of the lights. So far all Disney has done is issue 1 little line and a twitter response.
Disneyland doesn’t even have a Christmas Party…
Plus there have been cutbacks at Disneyland. Both Disneyland and WDW are getting addtions (new Fantasyland, rides, etc.)
When was the last time you were at Disneyland?
I live in California but was raised in FL and I can tell you the same cutbacks occuring in Orlando are occuring in Anaheim…check your facts.
You’re right. They don’t have a Christmas party. They get the special holiday fireworks included in their normal park admission. You don’t pay extra. Same for the Halloween extras. Those cost in Florida.
I know that…like I said I grew up in Florida and worked at WDW.
I understand that people who do not pay for the Holiday party do not get to see the fireworks in FL, but there are other benefits to the Holiday and Halloween parties.
California Adventure has a separate priced Halloween party by the way, and it is not nearly as cool as Mickey’s Not So Scary (no parade which I think is the best part) but there isn’t a Disneyland Halloween party, just different fireworks and no trick or treating. So you do have to pay extra for Halloween in California just like Florida.
Also, we may get to see the Holiday fireworks out here without paying for a separate ticket, but thats not a party. Again, you’re paying for special holiday entertainment, snacks, pictures, etc.
You can say what you want but I have to tell you the grass isn’t always greener on the other side…if you don’t like it, don’t pay to go, simple.
“you’re paying for special holiday entertainment, snacks, pictures, etc”
they cut the “free” picture years ago – check your facts, the christmas parade and christmas fireworks are part of regular park admission at DL. so you’re paying for cookies and hot chocolate?
Well Dale, since I can’t respond to you…
I just think its ridiculous that you compare WDW to Disneyland…I like both but there is a difference in the 2
There are special holiday shows in FL…thats why I said holiday entertainment.
I don’t need to “check my facts” because the fact of the matter is, people don’t go to Mickey’s Very Merry to get a picture taken anyway. They go for the experience…
Like I said before, if you don’t like it don’t pay to go…
“Again, you’re paying for special holiday entertainment, snacks, pictures, etc”
check what you wrote — that’s what you said people are paying for — just setting the facts straight like you said earlier!
I’ve also worked at WDW and go several times a year — to both there and Dland — since that seems to make one’s opinion more valued in your eyes.
Have a great holiday season!
My family and I have been long time Disney Nuts. Both our kids were at WDW within days of their births. We have always bought into the magic the WDW offered. Not any more. We have seen so many changes in service and removal of shows its not even funny. We have plans to go to WDW in just 10 days. We always go to Epcot for the lights of winter. This year we’re not going. No lights, no tree lighting but we do get a gospel choir. No thank! Can get that church. Our passes expire and we are not sure we are gonna renew. Not just because of the lights. Disney is getting stale and all they seem to be interested in is our money. They use to be the top of the heap in value. Now they are the Dollar General of the pack!
Aren’t you all a bunch of whiners? Disney never wanted the parks to be a museum and that light canopy was ugly enough during the day to more than offset the beauty of the lights. It is blatantly energy inefficient and I’m sure Disney will come up with something else in the coming years. Cuts, cuts, cuts you keep saying. How quickly we forget about the millions spent to turn the castle into an ice castle and the untold fortune to be spent expanding Fantasyland. If it’s dancing lights you want, walk over to Studios and check out the millions of dancing lights there. On the subject of DVC parking, as a member I can tell you we all paid for it in our dues. It was never “free.”
Let’s not forget too, all the millions of lights they’ve put up at DHS. It takes over 3 months for them to put those up.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they came up with a new version of lights of winter for the near future, but using LED lights instead. It had to be a maintenance nightmare trying to keep all of the lights working for the lights of winter, since they were all traditional bulbs.
This stinks. This was my favorite thing at EPCOT. I don’t know what they’re talking about with “obsolete technology”. The lights themselves? The controllers that make the lights all blinky?
With the people that work for Disney and the money that they have, I can’t imagine that this would be difficult to upgrade? DIYers make controllers for this in their garage (myself included).
Hell, they have this on a much larger scale over at MGM, sorry “Hollywood Studios”, with the Osbourne Lights that dance now. They can’t just port that over to the arches at EPCOT?
I hope they bring this back…
Well, that just put a huge damper in my family holiday. That was the main reason we visit Epcot during Christmas. Please, just switch out the lights and give us back one of our favorite family traditions. Did I forget to say please?
Too bad – I do agree with other posters in that they were REALLY ugly during the day, but the beauty of them at night made up for that. Too bad they couldn’t have come up with an alternative prior to just retiring them though.
But, I’ve got to say – even though we’ve seen a significant decline in the level of ‘good show’ across the parks as a whole, there are more people in them than ever! Maybe it’s a ‘lower’ demographic than before, and they aren’t paying as much to get in (or spending as much while they’re there), but my last visit there during a typically ‘empty’ time of year was met with 1 hour long waits for rides. Discounts = people in the parks, regardless of show…
I agree that with the losses of the Country Bear Xmas Special, Mickey’s Tree-Lighting Treat, Lights of Winter, etc., the holiday season has become a lot less jolly at WDW.
And the fact that WDW has yet to offer Haunted Mansion Holiday and It’s a Small World Holiday (both of which they should at least try at WDW to see how the guests react, IMO) does add some further salt to that wound.
I sure hope that the afforementioned Xmas offering cutbacks are only temporary as results of our sagging economy and that they’ll all eventually return in the coming years.
Sad. I will always be a Disney fan(due to childhood memories), but their corporate greed gets more disturbing all the time. I understand the need to satisfy shareholders and make a profit, but you can’t accomplish this long term by upsetting the people who buy your product. New generations will only continue to return if they don’t leave feeling “ripped off”.
LET WDW KNOW!!! Send your comments regarding the Lights of Winter to Guest Relations (or address to Epcot’s VP, Dan Cockerell).
Guest comments are taken seriously. If enough people complain, maybe we can get the Lights back!
On the subject of DVC parking, as a member I can tell you we all paid for it in our dues. It was never “free.”
Did your dues go down because my did not… so where is the parking that I have already paid for?
Disappointed that the Lights of Winter will not be on display this year. One of my favorite Christmastime things was to enjoy the lights, the music and the atmosphere. Sad to see them go.
The issue is the vast majority of guests who come to WDW are the sort that come perhaps once every few years (at best once every year) and these people simply don’t notice because they don’t know about it!
Disney can make all of these cuts because the vast majority of their guests have no clue and are the sort that do no research and just show up (in other words, no one reading this). Because they are the vast majority, Disney doesn’t have to worry about those on the internet’s opinion nearly as much.
Sure a lot of Disney’s business comes from people who are only able to visit every few years. However, Disney does need to worry about the “internet’s” opinion. Many of their guests visit more than once a year.
I also guarantee that the people who only come every few years do their research. If they didn’t there would be no need to have an endorsed Disney website and there wouldn’t be hundreds of other websites dedicated to Disney parks. When was the last time you took a vacation somewhere and just “showed up” without doing any research on your destination?
Disney is no exception, people plan trips to Disney for years…saving, picking exactly what they want to see, planning details down to their meals and the weather…
Its not about whether or not the technology is obsolete! Its about the memories made by such things and they are beautiful and wondrous in all their low-tech glory!
Think about two things:
- The tech argument fails. Based on that reasoning, the majority of the lights shows at Disney would have to be removed. They’re all based on the same SMTPE methodology.
- Likewise, considering the amazing quarterly results they posted, I cannot imagine how they could be worried about the cost of this feature.
This is one of the reason’s we were returning in December this year instead of another season. I’m disappointed!
I agree with everyone!!! No lights at Epcot. That totally sucks!! They were so pretty and festive!! Disney better wake up or they all going (and Probably have)loss alot of customers!!!
OH NO, OH NO, OH NO!!! How did I miss this? I have sat and watched these lights for hours (I was a passholder, grab some hot chocolate, cuddle up to your husband, & enjoy!) and not having these lights is truly a disservice to everyone who visits. I understand that they need to “upgrade” some of their attractions, but I have been going to Disney for 23 years and I think what they’re doing is terrible. Where is their sense of tradition headed?
Into their pockets I suppose.
Sure we all miss the things WE grew up with, but things do change. Disney does have a business to run, and in these times they have to cut corners too. Compare what you get there to else where. To me with 20 grand-kids it has been perfect. Also. owning a DVC at “Old Key West helped to..it gets used each year, sometimes more than once. AS for the parking, I like the free self parking and the issue of free valet parking is a personal decision..Give Disney some slack, all there moves are not bad, in fact a lot of them improve the place,just keep the “Turkey Legs..
It is disappointing. I see both sides of the argument, but mostly, the changes I experience have been in cast member customer service, the upkeep of the resorts and yes, the continuous rising prices. So good to those who buy premium and annual passes, as for me and mine, we are downgrading to the weekday select. The next downgrade is none at all. Disney needs to start giving their faithful Florida residents a little something to make us what to stay!
OK we will miss the lights, it is totaly a way of putting more money in their pockets. attendance is up 18%, parking fee raised $4.00, food prices raised, etc
Hi,
I like this article but..
last night i went to the midnight premiere of harry potter and the half blood prince! I was honestly so disappointed! was it just me or did it seem very choppy and for some reason didn’t feel like it was a harry potter movie. Don’t get me wrong some of the parts in it were either really funny or somewhat scary but i really was not satisfied. I don’t know, what did you think?? Am i wrong? Give me your opinions..
I can’t believe they are taking my lights away….I like Epcot’s arches so much more than I like the Osborn lights. What’s next??? Perhaps the fiber optic lights near innoventions? I love those too!
My family and I used to live in Massachusetts and we would visit Disney 3-5 times per year, we moved to Florida 4 years ago to be closer to family and more importantly, to be closer to Disney. We were married in Disney World in December 2001 because we love the holiday decorations so much. We purchase Annual Passes for my family of 5 and we give Annual Passes to some of our favorite friends and family…last year we specifically purchased an AP for a family friend to enjoy Disney at Christmas time with our family.
I know that we are not typical guests….but even after years of December trips… walking under those archways was still beautiful and magical and I will miss that walk so much.
On Saturday night I went to Epcot to see ‘The Lights of Winter’.
I was extremely disappointed to find that they are not there this year.
Who on earth decided that this Traditional Christmas Light Show was not up to date. Every year since I have lived in Florida ‘The Lights of Winter has been going with no problem. This is the most beautiful display in Epcot syncronized to music. Everyone at Christmas time comes to see this display. It is a part of ‘Disney’s Christmas Celebrations.