religious services at wdw

828tnt

828tnt

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
question to those more familiar with the surrounding area....

we are heading to wdw mid december with another couple who are very devoted catholics. we're gonna be there saturday thru tuesday and they do not want to skip attending a sunday mass. we're staying at ssr. is there anything close to property that would be reasonable for them to attend?

thanks in advance for any help!!!!
 
Captain Hank

Captain Hank

Well-Known Member
The closest to property that I'm aware of is Mary, Queen of the Universe off of 535, very near to Orlando Premium Outlets. Leave property via Hotel Plaza Blvd., then turn right onto 535. After a very short time you'll pass under 4. I belive it's the very next light at which you'll take a left--there should be signs. Disclaimer: I'm not Catholic. I have heard that the service tends to be a little on the touristy-side.
 
docdebbi

docdebbi

Well-Known Member
disney kicked the catholics off about 10 years ago. you now have to drive over to the mary queen of the universe shrine. it's about 30 minutes away, you have to park incredibly far from the church (unless you get there really early), they never start mass on time, he talks to the tourists for the first 15 minutes, so it takes an hour and a half. if you don't have a car you will have a very expensive taxi ride, i've done it. disney does not make it easy for us catholics any more, deeply disappointed in them.
 
Captain Hank

Captain Hank

Well-Known Member
docdebbi said:
disney kicked the catholics off about 10 years ago. you now have to drive over to the mary queen of the universe shrine. it's about 30 minutes away, you have to park incredibly far from the church (unless you get there really early), they never start mass on time, he talks to the tourists for the first 15 minutes, so it takes an hour and a half. if you don't have a car you will have a very expensive taxi ride, i've done it. disney does not make it easy for us catholics any more, deeply disappointed in them.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure that, except for major religious holidays, no religious services for any denomination are held on-property any more.
 
Disney4Eva

Disney4Eva

Member
Definitely Mary Queen of the Universe. My family & I have gone there many times. It's a tiny bit on the "hassle" side, but I don't think the experience of going there is nearly as bad as docdebbi described it. Or maybe that's just me since I don't really notice things like that XD
 
jmani56

jmani56

Member
The Shrine is not a hassle at all, it's about 5 minutes from Downtown Disney and the parking is fine. They give a touristy speech at the beginning of Mass only because the church survives on tourists – it has no regular parishioners.
 
WelshBatman

WelshBatman

Active Member
... I was gonna say 30 minutes is a ridiculous estimate on time. Hotel Blvd to 535 then pass under I-4, it's the next left (at Little Lake Bryan) and a two minute drive down that road. It takes me less than 30 minutes to get there from my house and I live 10 miles away from the western edge of Disney World.

Also, for Catholics you can go down 192 to US-27, take 27 N to Clermont and your first right (next to a fruit stand) is St. Faustina's. It's a temporary place for them(or so I'm lead to understand) but I'm pretty sure it'll be there for a while (at least well past Christmas anyway).
 
K

Keri

New Member
If you are connected to the web there are several churches country-wide that do live sunday services on the web.
 
P

party-of-five

New Member
We just came back from a week long trip to Disney World. We attended the 7:30am Mass on Sunday 11/16 at the Mary Queen of the Universe Shrine. It was not crowded and Mass was less than an hour. We were very happy with the church. It was built to serve the tourists of Orlando, but I didn't feel like I was being pressured in any way. They were very welcoming. It was only 5 minutes from Downtown Disney. Their website is: http://www.maryqueenoftheuniverse.org/
 
Timekeeper

Timekeeper

Well-Known Member
Note that the original poster did say that they would be here "mid December." Things like attendance and driving time fluctuate with the seasons and holidays just like theme park attendance. Florida traffic is as unpredictable as Florida weather, not to mention directly affected by it. Traveling to and from the mall, during church traffic, can turn a 1 minute drive into a 10 minute drive.
 
gatordoc

gatordoc

Active Member
No disrespect intended to anyone who enjoys the service at Mary, Queen of the Universe, but I find it to be absolutely unacceptable. It's more infomercial than religious service, making it difficult for those present to experience the Mass in a reverent manner. I understand the need for tourist support, but building such a ostentatious structure with its many "giving opportunities" (plaques, name plates, roof tiles, etc., etc., etc.) was both unnecessary and counterproductive. I much preferred the Mass that used to be held at the Polynesian. Yes, it was extremely casual, but the volunteers were sincere in their desire to minister to those present, and in fact there is a simple beauty to a properly done outdoor Mass. I have now gotten to the point where I try to schedule my Disney trips so that I can attend Sunday Mass at home. Alternately, I would recommend trying one of the small local parish churches in the WDW area.
 
D

d43boy

Member
docdebbi said:
disney kicked the catholics off about 10 years ago .
Click to expand...


Kicked off the Catholics? Not entirely the case, and was not as harsh as you make it seem. They ceased the masses at WDW due to no suitable place to hold the masses due to the large number of attendees. In fact, the Diocese of Orlando has even stated that:

"In late July of 2002 we experimented with offering one mass within the Disney complex. But the double numbers that showed up at the single mass caused discomfort to guests, and with no other suitable place available the Disney Company and the Shrine came to a mutual agreement. The masses would be discontinued, and Disney would direct Catholic guests to the Shrine. "

So not really 10 years ago, and it doesn't sound like they were 'kicked off'...

source: http://www.maryqueenoftheuniverse.org/disneymass.html

:animwink:

And your disappointed because Disney doesn't offer YOUR religion a service right on property? Should the Buddhists, Methodists, Baptists, Mormons, etc. (the rest of us) be disappointed and upset as well? I think that's going a tad far. Not everyone is Catholic.
 
wedway71

wedway71

Well-Known Member
I think Disney is smart to keep religious services off property. Rather than try to please everyone( I know some people think everyone is of the Christian based faith,which is not true.) they should let people do their own thing.

I did laugh at the previous posts about the Catholic Church being very touristy. For some reason a Priest with Mouse Ears just popped into my head.
 
ttalovebug

ttalovebug

Active Member
gatordoc said:
No disrespect intended to anyone who enjoys the service at Mary, Queen of the Universe, but I find it to be absolutely unacceptable. It's more infomercial than religious service, making it difficult for those present to experience the Mass in a reverent manner. I understand the need for tourist support, but building such a ostentatious structure with its many "giving opportunities" (plaques, name plates, roof tiles, etc., etc., etc.) was both unnecessary and counterproductive. I much preferred the Mass that used to be held at the Polynesian. Yes, it was extremely casual, but the volunteers were sincere in their desire to minister to those present, and in fact there is a simple beauty to a properly done outdoor Mass. I have now gotten to the point where I try to schedule my Disney trips so that I can attend Sunday Mass at home. Alternately, I would recommend trying one of the small local parish churches in the WDW area.
Click to expand...


The Shrine is perfectly fine for my family and I. The preist talks to the people about where they are from for a little while at the begining, and then it is traditional mass. I don't find objections with their "giving opportunities" because there are no regular parishoners. And even if you do object to that, it has nothing to do with the service itself.
 

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