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Episode 507: This week’s episode is jam-packed with Disney news. It seems like the past week has been an avalanche of updates, concept art, and announcements about projects both in progress and on the horizon. Let’s dive into some of the biggest stories we’re covering in Episode 507 of Traveling with the Mouse.

Zootopia 3D Show Gets an Opening Date at Animal Kingdom

Disney has finally given us an opening date for the all-new Zootopia 3D show coming to Animal Kingdom. November 7th is an earlier opening date than we expected but with the release of Zootopia 2 in theaters later that month it makes perfect sense. We discuss the timing, and whether it will bring much-needed energy to Animal Kingdom.

Big Thunder Mountain’s New Concept Art and Backstory

Hang on to your hats and glasses, because Big Thunder Mountain is about to dig deeper into its backstory. Disney released new concept art along with a fleshed-out narrative for the classic attraction. We break down what the updates mean, how much will actually change in the guest experience, and how this retelling fits into Disney’s growing trend of “story-forward” refurbishments.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Becomes Muppets Mayhem

We all know that soon Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is losing Aerosmith and gaining…the Muppets. The new concept art shows released this week shows what the Muppet-ified version of the pre-show will look like. We share our thoughts on the concept art and speculate on how long this change-over might take.

Beak and Barrel Lounge at Magic Kingdom

Avast, ye thirsty travelers! The Beak and Barrel, the new pirate-themed lounge at Magic Kingdom, is just about ready to open its doors, and we’ve got a look inside. From themed cocktails to immersive details, this lounge seems to be another step in Disney’s strategy of creating more unique hangout spaces in the parks. We break down the vibe, and whether this addition is worth the wait.

Spaceship Earth Refurbishment – But for How Long?

Finally, we turn our attention to EPCOT’s icon. Spaceship Earth has closed for refurbishment, but Disney is being vague on just how long it will be down. We talk about what changes might be on the horizon, whether this will be a quick spruce-up or something more significant, and how a long closure would affect the park experience.

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Episode 504: Let’s hop in our time-traveling monorail, crank up some radio Disney, and set the dial to the decade of slap bracelets, VHS tapes, and Disney dollars… because Traveling with the Mouse, we’re heading back to the 1990s (aka the Disney Decade) and reliving all the things that made it pure magic.

Michael Eisner declared the 1990s would be Disney’s “Disney Decade” and in this episode we are focusing on what we loved about Walt Disney World in the 90’s. We saw some new parks open up like Blizzard Beach and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Disney opening new parks at Walt Disney World is something that hasn’t happened since the 1990’s. Disney integrated the success of their animated films and the Disney Afternoon cartoons into the parks in some interesting ways.

It wasn’t just about the new rides or the hit movies. It was the feeling that Disney was firing on all cylinders across the board. Animation, theme parks, music, and merchandise!

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Episode 489: Hey Disney fans, it’s that magical time of year again—no, not the blooming of spring flowers—it’s time for our annual March Madness bracket here at Traveling with the Mouse! We’re on a thrilling quest to crown the ultimate extinct Walt Disney World attraction. We started with 64 beloved, nostalgic rides, shows, and experiences from across all four parks and beyond, and in this exciting episode, we’ve narrowed it down to the Sweet 16!

Which cherished classics have survived the tough battles so far? Did fan favorites like Horizons, The Great Movie Ride, or Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride cruise safely into the next round, or did we witness shocking upsets by sleeper hits like Kitchen Kabaret or a classic fireworks spectacular?

Join us as we debate, reminisce, and passionately defend our favorites while moving closer to deciding which Disney attraction we miss the most. Will your favorite make it through to the Elite Eight, or did it sadly say goodbye too soon?

Listen in as the magic and memories unfold, and don’t forget to share your thoughts with us on social media—which attraction are YOU rooting for? Let’s see who will take home the prestigious title of “Best Extinct Attraction” from Walt Disney World!

May the best attraction win!

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Episode 484: Last year Disney has launched its newest iteration of the skip-the-line service, and we’re diving deep into Disney MultiPass, breaking down how it works, our experiences using it across all four Walt Disney World parks, and the best strategies to maximize your time.

We begin the episode catching up on some recent news stories like the closing date for Tough to be a bug and The fix for a long time issue with Rise of the Resistance out at Disneyland. The old Star Cruiser building is being turned into office space and we’ve noticed that a lot of little cleanup projects have begun around the parks as a result of increased capital expenditures this year.

We spend the bulk of our time talking about maximizing the Multi-pass system. Jason joins us as we discuss the key differences to this system and how to effectively use this version of Disney’s skip the line offering. We go through each park and give our suggestions and strategies on how to best navigate each of the 4 Disney World parks.

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Episode 462: Hey Disney fans! In this week’s episode of Traveling with the Mouse, we dive deep into all the major announcements from this past weekend’s D23 parks panel. If you missed it, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered with all the details, updates, and, of course, our own thoughts and speculations.

The Monster’s Inc. Land Surprise
Let’s start with the biggest surprise of the event – the announcement of a brand new Monster’s Inc. land coming to Hollywood Studios! Ever since the film first graced our screens, fans have been dreaming of a roller coaster that lets us experience the wild ride of those suspended doors, and now it’s finally happening! The only question now is – where exactly is this land going to fit in Hollywood Studios? We discuss the potential locations and what it could mean for the future layout of the park.

Goodbye Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer’s Island
In a twist that left us all stunned, Disney also announced (after D23) the closure of Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer’s Island to make way for a Cars attraction at Magic Kingdom. The loss of these iconic areas is sure to be felt by many long-time Disney goers, but we’re curious to see how the Cars theme will be integrated into the Magic Kingdom experience. Will it be worth the trade-off? Only time will tell.

Villains Land – It’s Official!

On the flip side, one of the most highly anticipated announcements was the official confirmation of Villains Land. After years of speculation and fan theories, it’s finally happening! Will it live up to the hype? We discuss our expectations and what we hope to see when it finally opens.

Worldwide Parks Updates

But it wasn’t just the domestic parks that got some love during the panel – there were announcements for Disney parks worldwide. We go over the key highlights and what they mean for Disney fans globally.

The Missing Announcements
While we were thrilled with most of what we heard, there were a few things that left us scratching our heads. We share our disappointments and speculate on what might be coming down the pipeline, even if it wasn’t ready for the D23 stage.

What are you most excited about, and what left you wanting more? Let us know in the comments or over on our social media!

Until next time, keep traveling with the mouse!

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Welcome back, Disney fans, to another episode of Traveling with the Mouse! This week, we dive deep into the world of virtual queues and explore how they’ve evolved, their current use, and what we can expect from Tiana’s Bayou Adventure once it opens. Virtual queues were introduced to manage the demand for Disney’s most popular attractions and enhance the guest experience by reducing the time spent waiting in line. Instead of standing in line for hours, guests can join a virtual queue and enjoy other park activities while waiting for their turn. The concept first gained popularity with the opening of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The success of this system led to its implementation for other major attractions, such as Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind, and most recently Tron.

We couldn’t wrap up this episode without diving into the Passholder Foodie Challenge. As avid Disney foodies, we’ve been sampling our way through the delicious offerings, and we’re here to share our favorites and what’s still on Disney’s must-try list.

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Episode 439: In this episode of “Traveling With The Mouse,” we delve into the latest happenings around Disney parks and share our curated list of must-do non-ride attractions across all four parks at Walt Disney World.

News Update: We kick off with exciting news about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, including the reveal of the new Tiana animatronic. With the ride currently in testing, anticipation is building for its summer opening at Walt Disney World. We speculate on possible opening dates and discuss what this means for the park.

Main Topic: Moving beyond the thrill of rides, we explore the essence of Disney magic through its non-ride attractions. From the immersive storytelling of the Enchanted Tiki Room to the serene beauty of the World Showcase at Epcot, we guide you through the experiences that offer a different pace but no less excitement. Whether it’s marveling at the intricacies of Animal Kingdom’s trails or enjoying the interactive exhibits in the parks, there’s a world of wonder awaiting beyond the queue lines.

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Episode 372: Today we answer the age old question, What is the best lounge at Walt Disney World. The only problem is we can’t agree on which one is the best. We listed 11 of what we think are the best top bars/lounges at Walt Disney World and we discuss the pros and cons of each. We then narrowed down that list to our definitive top 5. We all agreed on which ones made the top 5 but we all had our own reasons for picking the order that these should go in. Truthfully, this like all other top 5 lists can change with our mood or over time. See if you agree with our list or if we excluded your favorite altogether. We also cover some of the latest news and oh yeah, Jason is back this week and hosted this episode.

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Episode 367: We’re back with another stellar edition of Traveling with The Mouse! Today we have a special guest host. James’ daughter Emeline joins us for a discussion on the Magic Band plus and we play a game of Would you rather? Disney edition! We also break into ranking the Disney Parks. Spoiler Alert, we have a different order than we did the last time we ranked the parks. We also give our favorite rides at each park…Some of the answers were surprising but if you are a fan of the show then most of them will not shock you.

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Episode 339: Jason just return from an impromptu trip to Walt Disney World. He is the first of us to try out Genie Plus and the individual lightning lane for a couple of attractions. Jason gives us his opinion on it and lets us know how he would improve it. Before we get to all of that we did cover some of the news. There was a new parade of emergency vehicles on Mainstreet recently but not the kind that we want to see every night. Bob isn’t happy about his reputation but will he do anything to reverse that? We also all weigh in on the galactic start cruiser and its questionable marketing strategy. Also, we acknowledge that we recorded this episode on December 15th…55 years since Walt left us.

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3ACC24F1-1C1F-4ABE-858D-C3E1FB9BDF4DEpisode:279. Today, we reveal that one of us has tested positive for Corona-virus. We also discuss the latest Disney News. The movie release of Mulan is coming to Disney+ for an additional fee. The Disney 3rd quarter earnings call happened this week and there’s some good and bad things that came out of it. Annual Passholders are continuing to see some extra love and attention these days with extended discounts and of course a new magnet! (one per household). The average wait times for 3 of the 4 Walt Disney world parks has gone up week by week since re-opening but one park has seen wait times go down. Could you guess which one? Splash mountain had a boat sink as well this week and had to close for a couple of days. Isn’t that the attraction to have a boat sink this year?

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TWTM Podcast Episode 228

Episode 228: Today we discuss everything from loaded Blue and Green milk at Hollywood Studios to our recap of the Give Kids the Rides event on July 24th! We also give some construction updates at Walt Disney World. Primeval Whirl continues to have delays on its re-open…And there was another Parkeology completion this past week. All this and more!

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News_7-17Episode 225: It seems these days like major news breaks every week! In this episode we break down the big news that Rise of The Resistance is opening December 5th at Walt Disney World and early 2020 for Disneyland. There’s also a new walkway coming that will connect 2 more resorts to the Magic Kingdom via a walking path. A new experience has opened at Animal Kingdom and we preview the Give Kids the Rides event to Raise money for Give Kids the World coming up on July 24th!

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Episode 218: Today we are recapping our recent Parkeology run from June 1st! For anyone not familiar with this challenge, we attempted to ride every ride in all 4 Walt Disney World theme parks in 1 day. We attempted the challenge for the first time back in March and came up short. On our second attempt we had 2 additional rides to complete but we also had 2 more hours in the day. This day produced a lot of fun and a lot of drama…Our run literally came down to the last minute!

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This episode is a combination of two bonus episodes that we recorded earlier this year. We discuss the most googled questions about Walt Disney world and give our answers to those questions. Then we talk about the top 5 projects of Disney imagineer Joe Rohde. We hope you enjoy them and we will be back on our regular schedule soon!

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Episode 206: Today we answer the age old question…How do I decide which Walt Disney World theme park to visit for each day of my vacation? We talk about the factors that go into making that decision. We try to break down those factors in a simple way to help make the choice a lot easier. We know that there are a lot of complexity to planning a Walt Disney World vacation but if you take some time to do a little research then you can save time and money but more importantly add more fun to your vacation!

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Episode 198 – Today we are covering the past 50 years of Walt Disney World history starting with 1969 and the skipping to the next decade sort of in a carousel of progress type of way. We are only focusing on the major events of the year ending in 9 for that decade. From 1969 we jump to 1979 and then 1989, 1999, 2009 and finally recapping the current year 2019. It is remarkable to see the major changes that take place in each decade. This is a fun way to look at Walt Disney World History.

 

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Today’s episode is about the Parkeology Challenge. This challenge involves riding every ride at all four Walt Disney World Parks in one day.  There are a lot of rules and regulations around this challenge in order for it to be considered official. There are currently 49 attractions that are considered rides at Walt Disney World. I go into the list and explain constitutes a “ride” in the challenge. We wrap up by going through some of the strategies that can be used to take on this challenge. I will be taking part in this challenge on March 9, 2019. Make sure to follow @TWTMPodcast on twitter to follow along with us! www.parkeology.com

Link to video discyssed in the Episode

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In this episode, I discuss my recent Walt Disney World trip. This time I stayed at Pop Century resort and I give my opinion on my first stay at this resort. I also had 2 meals at the Japan pavilion at Epcot. Both were very good but all things considered I liked one a little better than the other. I also had a very special experience on Kilimanjaro Safari…We were there the day that a giraffe gave birth. Also, I discovered a nice quiet spot to view the Happily ever after fireworks at Magic Kingdom. This trip was also my first time visiting over a marathon weekend. I have some tips one how to make the most of the time if you are not involved with the marathon.

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NYC_PicsIn today’s episode I discuss my recent trip to New York city and talk about my experiences at Coney Island and the Bronx Zoo. I compare the two experiences to Disney and compare the similarities. For instance, Disney’s boardwalk is inspired by Coney Island and I believe that Animal Kingdom also took some inspiration from the Bronx Zoo as well. If you find yourself in the New York area I highly recommend the Bronx Zoo!