Episode: 284 The 2020 Christmas (party) at Disney World has been cancelled. We talk about all of the recently announced changes to the holidays at Walt Disney World this year. Which includes no Christmas parties, no candlelight processional, no gingerbread houses, and no lights on Cinderella Castle. People have gone crazy for the new Madame Leota sipper cup, Daisy Ridley spills the beans on Rey’s lineage in Star Wars, which also causes outrage. There’s a new documentary coming out called The Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Also, Jason got to see the new live action Mulan on Disney+. He gives us his review. Speaking of Disney+ reviews. We are starting a new segment where we watch something on Disney+ that has fallen through the cracks or is something older that some people may not have seen yet and we are going to give our review on it. We are coming up on the 1 year anniversary of Jason’s epic challenge completion and to celebrate on September 20th we will have a special review of that run on Twitter. Be sure to follow us if you aren’t already @twtmpodcast

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In this special Christmas episode of Traveling with The Mouse we are discussing our favorite Disney Christmas experiences (past and present). We look back on our first experiences with Christmas at  Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line and Disneyland in California. We also discuss the experiences that are no longer available as well as things that we want to do in the future. We cover all of the various Christmas activities that you can enjoy at Walt Disney World including the resorts! Lastly, we talk about what we would do if we spent Christmas Day at Walt Disney World. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

As the end of the year approaches, we thought we would go over a few smaller topics that we considered for an entire episode. For one reason or another we felt like these topics wouldn’t provide enough content for a full episode so we are going to have an open discussion on them in Today’s episode. The first topic is that of Disney lowering ride capacity for certain attractions on days with lower crowds. We get into why Disney would do this and how it is very subtle to most guests but to the keen observer it can be pretty obvious. The next topic (speaking of crowds) is about the busiest season at Walt Disney World and that is Christmas through the New Year. We talk about the crowds and how to best manage them when the park is at or near capacity. Our final topic is about driving to Walt Disney World. Jon and I both live close enough that we can get there in about 7 hours of driving. We talk about the different ways to get to there and a quicker way to pay tolls if you are a Georgia or North Carolina resident. It turns out that we could turn these topics into a full episode and we may do that in the future. Let us know what topics you would like for us to cover!

 

 
This episode details my recent Walt Disney World trip to catch the end of Food & Wine Festival as well as Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party for this year. This also marks my first stay and a Disney Value resort. I stayed in the Little Mermaid section of Disney’s Art of Animation. Overall I had a good experience but I look forward to checking out other Value resorts that have the newly refurbished rooms! I give my opinion on this year’s Christmas Party and list my favorite treat locations. I also have 2 new restaurant recommendations…I had exceptional meals at Enzo’s Hideaway at Disney Springs and Sebastian’s Bistro at Caribbean Beach resort. I will go out of my way to eat at these locations again!

Today’s news topics:

  • Christmas is in full swing at Disney Parks
  • New air body dryers at grizzly River Run feature Humphrey the Bear From Classic Disney Cartoons
  • Tom Hanks Says Emotional Toy Story 4 Ending Will Be ‘A Moment In History’
  • Your Google Home Mini Can Be Turned Into A Google Home Mickey
  • Disney Releases five new magic band colors
  • Woman leaves newborn baby with another guest at Animal Kingdom Lodge
  • Construction to begin soon on the new hotel tower near Swan & Dolphin
  • Disney After Hours events now offered at Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom
  • Full line-ups for the candle light processional
  • Schedule for the ABC Christmas specials has been released
  • Construction walls have come down in front of the Chinese theater at Hollywood Studios