Episode 280: In today’s episode we get an update on how Jon is doing with Covid-19 and Jason went to Florida! We also cover the Disney news of the week. We talk about the latest project at Walt Disney World to get the Axe. We also discus lightning striking near Rise of the Resistance which caused the ride to be down for an entire day. Epcot has something new that reminds of the Epcot of old. Someone tried to drive down the stair in their car at Wilderness Lodge and the People Mover is going to be down for quite a while for a much needed refurbishment. We also talked about what DVC resort we would pick as our home resort if all of the sudden we could pick from any of them.
Disney During Covid-19: Trip Report
Episode:277. I talk about my recent trip to Walt Disney World! I go through the safety measures that Disney has in place and if it made me feel safe. We also cover the recent news like the fact that Disney has officially announced the closure of three attractions. Could more closures be on the horizon? What other attractions could be at risk? We also talk about the annual pass options for cancelling or extending your pass. During my trip report I talk about the crowd levels on each day and my first ride experience on Mickey and Minnie’s runaway railway. At Epcot I got to experience what I call the Flower, Food, Wine and Garden festival, I give my pick for best dish at the festival. I also had great dinning experiences at California Grill and Olivia’s. Overall if you are considering going to Disney in the near future I would say that you should use extreme caution and make sure that you are OK with the risk but also know that Disney has done a lot to make things as safe as they can.
Walt Disney World Parks are open
Episode 276: Today Jon and I talk about the re-opening of all 4 Walt Disney World Parks. Disneyland Paris is also now officially open. However, Hong Kong Disneyland is closing once again. We discuss some of the new procedures that are happening at Epcot and Hollywood Studios and what rides feel safer than other. There’s a lot of new discounts coming out for annual passholders for resorts and merchandise. Disney is also giving passholders more information on extending their pass or cancelling and refunding passes. We have new activity going on with the Star Wars galactic star cruiser and more construction updates. We also preview my trip that I will discuss next week.
More Changes coming as Disney re-opens
Episode:272. It is becoming more difficult to keep up with the frequent changes coming from Disney as they prepare to re-open in just a few short weeks from now. We discuss some of the major changes like the cancellation of all Mickey’s not so scary Halloween party’s for 2020. There is some good news though, the food and wine festival at Epcot is starting July 15th and will last through the fall. The event will be scaled back considerably, however. We also discuss some rumors of more projects being cancelled like the Reflections resort. Nothing has been officially confirmed yet but we expect to hear in the coming months about some major cost cutting. We will talk more next week about the new reservation system and see how it works.
Jason is back!
Episode 270: Today Jason returns to the show and fills us in on the work that he has been doing to help combat the spread of Covid-19. He also gives us his thoughts on what the parks will be like once they reopen. We also discuss Disney’s statement regarding the unjust murder of George Floyd by a police officer. We later go into some other news around spaceship earth and what it will be like when Epcot reopens. Annual Passholders will have the option of partial refunds or date extensions when the parks reopen…but what will the restart date be? Shanghai might be an indication the extension being longer than expected.
Mother’s Day Special
Episode 266:We start this week by covering some news…A Disney Park (Shanghai) will finally be open again starting May 11th! In our main topic, It is Mother’s Day this week and Jon and I interviewed our Moms about Walt Disney World. It turns out that our love of Disney is really and extension of their love of Disney. It started for them back in the 1950’s with the Mickey Mouse Club and the Wonderful world of Color on TV. Our Mom’s went to Walt Disney World several times in the 1970’s and we asked them what it was like back in the old days of Walt Disney World. We asked them about the early days of Epcot as well. We had a great time asking them all of these questions that we will certainly have to do this again. Maybe we can convince them to be on the show live next time?
The Electrical Water Pageant
Episode 265: The Electrical Water Pageant has been operating since 1971 and has been a favorite of ours for many years. This week Jon and I take a fond look back at this “water show” that takes place nightly (weather permitting) along the shores of the 7 seas lagoon and Bay Lake in the Magic Kingdom resort Area. The show has seen 3 significant revisions over the years but the current version of the show has remained mostly unchanged for the last 24 years. We take you through each version of the show and sample some of the music that makes this show so memorable. The Electrical Water Pageant holds a special place in our hearts as we grew up with it and we talk about how we even brought some of the magic of it home with us as kids. Let us know what you think of this show in the comments.
Here is a link to a video I made from a room at the Polynesian.
The future of current projects at Walt Disney World
Episode 264: Today, Jon and I take a look at all of the future projects that were either underway or in development before the Covid19 pandemic. We discuss whether we think they will continue as is, change significantly, or will be outright cancelled. We give our best guess as to when these projects will be completed and if some of them we even get off the ground. As we all adjust to this new normal we need to prepare for some significant changes coming to at least a few of these projects. Thanksfully some of these project are very near completion and we will hopefully still be getting some new attractions at least for the next few years.
March Madness in April, Part 2
Episode: 263. Today is the exciting conclusion of our March Madness in April Walt Disney World attraction tournament! In our last episode we narrowed down the bracket to the elite eight attractions at each park. This week we pick up where we left off and narrow it down until we have one attraction left standing above them all. Which ride will it be? Be sure to let us know if you agree or disagree with our selection as the best.
Disney Moderate Resorts
Episode 260: We discuss Disney Moderate resorts! On our recent poll the Disney Moderate resorts won hands down. We begin the show with a news discussion. We Talk about Haunted Mansion’s continued problems, The opening of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway and we give our advice on how Disney can save money on construction projects during uncertain economic times. When then go into our main topic of the day, The Walt Disney World Moderate Resorts. We compare them by price, location, food & dining options, pools and amenities, and transportation. Which resort stands above the rest? It turns out the we all agreed on which 2 resorts stand out above the rest…Can you guess which ones? Tune in to find out!
Disney News & Points Challenge
Episode 257: We discuss the recent price increases and cover the other news of the week. We then give our thoughts on the Ever Ride Challenge’s new Points Challenge! We start with the news of ticket price increases and I discuss how it happened right before renewing my annual pass 🙁 We then then continue with the somber news by discussing the ride performance of Rise of the Resistance over the past week. We try to cheer ourselves up by discussing some new details on Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway and the new Makeover coming to Cinderella Castle. After the news we discuss the new Points challenge from the Every Ride Challenge.
Disney News & Picking a ride to Marathon
Episode 251: We discuss some Disney news and we decide which rides we would marathon at each park. We narrow it down to one ride at each Walt Disney World Park that we would be willing to ride over and over again in a single day. If all goes to plan, we will actually go to the parks together and do this in the near future. Just for fun we also discuss the rides that would be the worst to Marathon at each park. In the news we talk about the latest discounts, Issues with Rise of the Resistance, upcoming ride refurbishments, and reduced bus services at the skyliner resorts.
Best of 2019
Episode 249: As 2019 draws to a close we take a look back at some of our favorite moments of the year. We took some clips from our favorite and most popular episodes of 2019. From our one ride short Parkeology run to Jason’s dramatic parkeology completion. We also picked out a few news stories and some trip report segments from episodes that were popular this year. We hope you enjoy this look back as we prepare for 2020! Merry Christmas and happy holidays from all of us at Traveling with the Mouse….And go see Rise of Skywalker.
Disney World Fantasy Draft
This week on the show we cover the news but we also wanted to do something unique and fun. We hold our first ever Walt Disney World Fantasy Draft. We each select 5 Attractions, 1 quick service restaurant, 1 table service restaurant, 1 resort, a character meet & greet, a nighttime spectacular and a bonus attraction. We each had different strategies when forming our new park and We all ended up with some good picks but it is up to you to decide the winner! Click here to take another look at each of our parks and to cast your vote! During the episode we each make our case as to why you should vote for our park so be sure to listen to the episode as we make our selections and pander for your vote!
Disney News & Jon’s Trip report
Episode 240: We catch up on the latest Disney news before discussing Jon’s recent solo trip to Walt Disney World! This week we actually discuss the final trailer to Star Wars Rise of Skywalker and give our thoughts and theories about it. Fuel Rods are now going to cost $3 per swap, and Disney is doubling down on the Villains after hours events in 2020. Jon recently visited Mickey’s not so scary Halloween party and got to spend a lot of time on the Skyliner during his stay at Pop Century Resort. Jon shares some tips that he learned about riding the Skyliner with us. During his trip he also got to hang out in Batuu and visit Jock Lindsay’s Hanger Bar at Disney Springs.
Disney News – October 2, 2019
Episode 236: In this episode we catch up on the news of the past couple of weeks. We focus on some of the recent news like the opening of the Skyliner and the final showing of Illuminations. We also go more in depth on a couple of stories from D23 now that the dust has settled on them. We give our thoughts on the Disney Genie app that will be coming next year and we dig a little further into the Star Wars hotel/Space cruise ship.
Disney News & Live Trip report
Episode 233: In this episode Jon is coming to us live from Gran Destino Tower. He took some time out from his trip to talk some Disney news with us and give us some live updates from the ground at Walt Disney World. We discuss some construction updates and Get Jon’s thoughts on Galaxy’s Edge. Look for a more detailed trip report coming up!
Disney News & Galaxy’s Edge Preview
Episode 230: We discuss the latest Disney news and talk about Jason and Adam’s recent Passholder Preview day at Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge! We start with a rundown of the news like New Forky merchandise, Epcot Construction updates and New Afternoon Magic tickets. We also discuss more unscheduled ride refurbishments at Magic Kingdom, and new photopass opportunities for the Halloween Party. Speaking of the halloween party there’s a new party pass available for MNSSHP this year. We also take a look at new concept art from the upcoming Reflections resort. Then, Jason and I walk you through our Passholder preview of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. We give our thoughts on the theming of the land and a review of Millennium Falcon Smuggler’s Run.
Disney News for 6/6/19
Episode 217: Galaxy’s Edge is now open at Disneyland! We give our thoughts on what the new land has to offer and what we are looking forward to experiencing ourselves. We do talk about some other Disney news as well like the new fireworks show coming for the Christmas party, a new Toy Story meet and greet, more Epcot rumors and construction updates!
Parkeology Memorial Day Special
Episode 215: Today we are joined by the co-founders of the parkeology challenge and the duo that completed the oxygen free challenge, Shane, Ted and Kristina! We really enjoyed the conversation that we had with them and hope to have them back on the show in the future. We discuss the origins of the parkeology challenge with Ted and Shane and then go into the planning strategy for the oxygen free completion run on April 24, 2019 with Shane and Kristina. Please check out Parkeology.com and join their facebook group and also Kristina has a website Epic Disney and a facebook group. Kristina also co-wrote a book: Macallen’s Secret: Park Studios
