Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! coming to Disney's Hollywood Studios

MrPromey

Well-Known Member
Could the reason for one show be that the park closes at 7 on so many nights?

I definitely agree that it looks like it could have been better..not necessarily by adding fireworks. The whole story line of santa being kidnapped got a little sideways.. I'm thinking that it will be better in person though.

I also agree with the the building not being the best host. I have not watched the SW shows online, but did they have similar issues?

Having seen it live now, I'll say it did not appear anywhere near as bad as people are making it out to be on here to me and I'm someone who's been pretty negative on the choices TDO has been making for a good long while now. Being familiar with the primary IP probably helped, though.

Is it warm and memorable and likely to become a family tradition? Highly doubtful. Is it something we will remember deeply for years to come? Nope. Was it something fun? I think so and for a park that's not really intended to illicit a Main Street nostalgia, I think that's ok.

Heck, their main show is now about Star Wars which is an IP that a huge part of the population couldn't care less about (especially international guests).

I wouldn't call this a replacement for Osborne but since they literally had no real option for that anywhere else in the park (that area in the front is too important for guest flow to congest for hours every night), I think if you view Osborne as something lost, regardless and this as a temporary holiday replacement for the Star Wars show, it does what they set out to do with it, I think.

Personally, my primary gripe is the trend toward spectacles with limited viewing locations. It feels like this started with Fantasmic and has only gotten worse over time with Wishes, Illuminations (thanks to the ever shrinking viewing locations around World Showcase) and now these shows in Hollywood Studios (with Animal Kingdom soon to come).

I get from a creative standpoint, controlling the "correct" viewing angles makes things a ton easier and allows them to add effects (snow, in this instance) without a lot of fuss but from a logistic and crowd control one, it seems like they're trying to force more and more people into spaces not really that well equipped to handle them in some instance and turing other things into the type of thing you have to camp out for with a bunch of other sardines or waste Fastpass tickets on. This feels like a lesser guest experience, in my opinion.

... but that's a nit-pick with their trend in nighttime spectacles in general and not directly a gripe with what they did. My 4 year old loved it and that was enough to make me happy.
 

cslafferty

Well-Known Member
And this is why I felt it worth the extra money to get the dessert party. I'm not very tall, and I have a hard enough time seeing the projections on the castle, which is a lot taller than the Chinese theater. Since I didn't want to waste precious time staking out a spot hours before the show, we decided to get the dessert party and preferred viewing. But, you're correct in saying cramming lots of people into relatively small viewing spaces is a problem.
 

21stamps

Well-Known Member
Having seen it live now, I'll say it did not appear anywhere near as bad as people are making it out to be on here to me and I'm someone who's been pretty negative on the choices TDO has been making for a good long while now. Being familiar with the primary IP probably helped, though.

Is it warm and memorable and likely to become a family tradition? Highly doubtful. Is it something we will remember deeply for years to come? Nope. Was it something fun? I think so and for a park that's not really intended to illicit a Main Street nostalgia, I think that's ok.

Heck, their main show is now about Star Wars which is an IP that a huge part of the population couldn't care less about (especially international guests).

I wouldn't call this a replacement for Osborne but since they literally had no real option for that anywhere else in the park (that area in the front is too important for guest flow to congest for hours every night), I think if you view Osborne as something lost, regardless and this as a temporary holiday replacement for the Star Wars show, it does what they set out to do with it, I think.

Personally, my primary gripe is the trend toward spectacles with limited viewing locations. It feels like this started with Fantasmic and has only gotten worse over time with Wishes, Illuminations (thanks to the ever shrinking viewing locations around World Showcase) and now these shows in Hollywood Studios (with Animal Kingdom soon to come).

I get from a creative standpoint, controlling the "correct" viewing angles makes things a ton easier and allows them to add effects (snow, in this instance) without a lot of fuss but from a logistic and crowd control one, it seems like they're trying to force more and more people into spaces not really that well equipped to handle them in some instance and turing other things into the type of thing you have to camp out for with a bunch of other sardines or waste Fastpass tickets on. This feels like a lesser guest experience, in my opinion.

... but that's a nit-pick with their trend in nighttime spectacles in general and not directly a gripe with what they did. My 4 year old loved it and that was enough to make me happy.
I agree. We did the dessert party tonight. Both of us really enjoyed both the party and the show! It was not near as bad as people here were claiming.

My criticism is the same as yours, even with the "reserved viewing" my child had a hard time seeing it all. The show itself was cute and a hit with my kiddo. Especially the lasers and snow.

Oh I wanted to add... the whole "omg there aren't enough fireworks'" comments, I don't get those either. It was a fine blend of the fireworks with the projections, my opinion anyway.
 
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Greg H

Active Member
We did the dessert party and show December 2nd. It was a cute show. Kids enjoyed the glasses that turned the fireworks into reindeer. It was a packed house at HS that day so we appreciated the reserved seating but had same problems mentioned above re kids seeing. Would be nice if Disney would put in some bleachers or something for these parties for the kids. All and all it was a decent show and we had fun.
 

rudyjr13

Well-Known Member
Did this show last night. It was good, not great. Wife called it a solid B. We didn't regret going since MK was closed at 7:00 for MVMCP. As others have said there was no thought given to how kids would be able to see the projections on the Chinese Theater. After a few minutes a 7 year old gets heavy.

Funny thing is, if everyone sat down it would be a much more pleasant experience. We were just behind the 2 giant white towers that have lighting and snow machines on them. That was the closest I could get at 6:00pm. So if you are doing this show you may want to have someone save a spot in front of the white towers early. They block the view of some of the effects.

IMG_0733.JPG IMG_0734.JPG
 

Goofyque'

Well-Known Member
Finally saw this over the weekend and, just like SWAGS, the complaints are ridiculous (par for the course around here). Great effects, plenty of BAM, and just good fun all throughout. Looking forward to seeing it again and I hope it comes back next Christmas.

Looking forward to seeing it, as we do everything at WDW! Don't know how we managed to enjoy WDW for the last 40 years and DL for 60 without the internet to tell us how lame everything is. :)
 

21stamps

Well-Known Member
We did the dessert party and show December 2nd. It was a cute show. Kids enjoyed the glasses that turned the fireworks into reindeer. It was a packed house at HS that day so we appreciated the reserved seating but had same problems mentioned above re kids seeing. Would be nice if Disney would put in some bleachers or something for these parties for the kids. All and all it was a decent show and we had fun.
I also wish there were more regular tables at the dessert party. They were all taken before we arrived, I found a chair for my son and pulled it up to a high top. He ate with a plate in his lap. Maybe a "family section"? It was still a great time though!
 

natatomic

Well-Known Member
I could be totally imagining this, but does anyone know if they added additional fireworks to the finale? I've only seen the show from outside the park a handful of times, but I swear there were hardly any fireworks in the finale for the first week or so and now the finale seems to have far more.
 

Goofyque'

Well-Known Member
UPDATE for anyone traveling to HS soon, they just announced at the Epcot event that they'll be running both Star Wars Galactic Spectacular and Jingle Bell Jingle Bam starting Dec 16th to the 31st
Great news for us, did not expect to get to see Star Wars GS. Super cool!
 

21stamps

Well-Known Member
Having a great time, everything is accomplished going into a DHS day. I just can't believe the crowds. So much for the first of December being the slowest time.
Good to hear!
We didn't do half of what we wanted on our DHS day. JTA took up so much time, park closes at 7 and we checked in to the desert party just after 6. It was a great day though.

You're right about the crowds! Have you done MVMCP yet? I forget if you guys were attending or not? If so the crowds will be lower at MK on that night.
 

disney4life2008

Well-Known Member
I was able to go an evening at HS last night. Fantasmic was amazing, little mermaid (all effects working), and beauty and the beast made me cry as usual. The only negative on TSMM my puller thing did not work. Now about Jingle Bell show... it is a nice edition and a coverup for the lost osborne lights. You cannot see anything though, I am sure the images on building are great but between the trees and parents putting their kids on their shoulders, I could see nothing and I was pretty close. I am not big on projection shows or CGI. I would not dare pay for this desert party, I would feel cheated. It was an ok show but I will not break my back trying to see it again.
 

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