A week ago, when Hallmark Media announced that they eliminated Lisa Hamilton Daly, EVP of Programming’s position, the network shared that Chief Brand Officer Darren Abbott, who does not appear to be related to former Hallmark CEO and current Great American CEO Bill Abbott, would be leading a new focus. That means more marketing and potentially new fan events.
In 2025, the network hosted two cruise events, as well as four weekends of the Hallmark Christmas Experience. However, the latter was not as fun as many hoped it would be. Why didn’t it run smoothly?
Some Attendees Gave The Hallmark Christmas Experience A Poor Rating
This year, fans got to experience the Hallmark Christmas Experience. This was an experience that was going to mimic a cozy and fun holiday movie. This included a tree lighting, hot cocoa, actor panels, and more. However, in a recent discussion where fans give their wish list for Chief Brand Officer Darren Abbott and the new regime. This included what they wanted to see change with the Hallmark Experience.
According to the Reddit post Hallmark Leadership Change, some fans gave some creative criticism about the event. One fan had some issues as the hotel was not ADA friendly. This meant that traversing the event was a challenge. But, that is not all. They paid a boatload of money for special events and got very little for their hard-earned cash.
- Somebody needs to head up the Hallmark Christmas Experience that is better at organizing a large event. My friend and I had fun but we can have fun anywhere. For example we paid $70 for a one hour pop up bar claiming to include appetizers, drinks extra. We each had two meatballs and paid $15 for a fancy drink in a tiny cup. However it was on the top floor so I snapped some great pis of the Christmas Market at night and some of the Kansas City Skyline.
- The hotel was not ADA friendly with them closing down the elevators during actor events forcing people to form long lines at stairs and escalators. It took 7 people to show us how to get to these events with a scooter, handing us off from person to clueless person taking us through housekeeping back rooms and a tiny lift box that held one person and my scooter to go up one floor.
This person ended their long missive with, “So I hope this new Hallmark Suit is a great delegator that is able to handle special events, great movies and great cards, ornaments too. PS. I loved the actor events. They seemed genuinely nice.”
Sounds like the actors were fantastic!
Big Kansas City Event Was Too Crowded
In addition to ADA issues getting around, it also sounds like the Hallmark Christmas Experience in Kansas City was very crowded. Another fan shared that they were there the first weekend. She and her mother experienced the tree lighting and Santa arriving. However, they were “overwhelmed.” There were a lot of people. Moreover, it made it difficult to get around.
She also added, “A lady working security told me that they were understaffed not expecting as many people as there were.” That is something that the Chief Brand Officer will want to remedy before the 2025 events.
Please share your experience at this holiday event in the comments below.