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Episode 393: In this episode of Traveling with the Mouse we delve into the world of drinks at La Cava del Tequila in Epcot, We debate which beverage reigns supreme in a bracket-style competition. But the podcast doesn’t just stop at drinks. We also cover some exciting news stories happening around the Disney parks, including the annual passholder preview for the upcoming Tron attraction, the return of Sonny Eclipse to Magic Kingdom, and a hologram of Walt Disney himself to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company.

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Episode 371: Today we are coving what we think are the best and worst queues at Walt Disney World. We come up with our top five best queues and we give some honorable mentions. We also go through some of the worst queues at Disney World. If you are stuck with having to wait in the standby line, there are some that are much better than others. We consider things like theming, shade, interactivity, hidden details and more. There is a certain imagineer that was responsible for the top spot on both of our lists. I’m sure that some of you can already guess who that imagineer is. We also cover some news, we both like the new Walt and Roy additions to the enchantment fireworks. There is also more maintenance issues to talk about. Tron is also showing more and more signs of it opening this year. I guess we will know for sure at D23!

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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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Episode 311: Today we cover the recent news and preview our Disney trip this weekend! That’s right, Jason and I will be at Walt Disney World this weekend for a rare kid-free Disney experience. Disneyland could soon allow out of state guests and the reservations don’t seem to be filling up as quickly as expected. The famous uh, photo opp in the Morocco pavilion at Epcot has been modified. There been a price increase for custom light sabers at Savi’s Workshop. I also follow up on part of last week’s episode where I talked about the part of the Disney World property that Walt Disney himself actually set foot on. I actually found out more to this story. I discovered that the house is still on Disney property but it has just been moved to another location. Here is the link to the article. Jason and I will be in the parks this weekend most likely hitting up the bars and lounges. If you are in the parks this weekend let us know!

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Episode 310: We take a look back 50 years ago and discuss a few things at Walt Disney World that haven’t changed. (much) It was another slow news week, aside from the construction updates. We noticed updates to the Contemporary, Several things in Magic Kingdom are continuing to see a refresh, and Epcot has new things opening this summer. That’s right, club cool is returning as well as the new shop with a new name. Cast members can now show visible tattoos and wear visible jewelry and other accessories. Finally we get into our main topic…With the 50th anniversary looming we want to start peppering in some episodes dedicated to the occasion. We are starting by talking about a few things that were there over 50 years ago that are still around today. Some things have changed a little and others haven’t changed at all. Let us know if there’s anything you think we should talk about that we didn’t include on our list.

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Episode 295: We discuss some of the latest Disney news and rumors. Jon and I are a two man crew this week as Jason was unavoidably detained. We talk about Bob Iger leaving the Disney, The actor behind the Darth Vader suit, David Prowse passed away. The Mandalorian has cracked the top 10 for streaming shows. Rise of the resistance continues to have issues as it celebrates its one year anniversary. Disneyland continues to have more closures due to rising cases of Covid-19. There will be no fireworks on New years eve. We also give an update on some of the progress of various constructions projects that are going on at Walt Disney World.

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Episode 193: Howdy Folks, and welcome to this episode dedicated to one of our favorite Walt Disney World Attractions…The Country Bear Jamboree! We dig into the history of this attraction and talk about its connection with Walt Disney himself. It turns out that this may have been the last attraction that Walt ever saw in development. We then go through the current version of the show and discuss our favorite songs and the memories that we have of this show. Then we take a look at the different seasonal overlays of the show and talk about what caused the Disneyland version of the show to close permanently. Whether you love it or tolerate it, there’s no question that this attraction has its place in Disney history.

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Horizon’s opened back in 1983 and is one of the best attractions that Disney ever created! today on the show we go into the history of the attraction and walk through each part of the ride. This is one of our personal favorite attractions and we were sad to see it go. There is a whole community centered around the love for this attraction and the hope of one day Disney bringing it back in some form. We also mention a documentary about 2 friends who loved this attractions so much that they spent a lot of time documenting the attraction and found a way exit the ride vehicles and sneak through the attraction without being noticed. We highly recommend this documentary called Remain Seated Please

Other links mentioned in the episode

Martins Complete Ultimate Horizons tribute

Hoot and Chief’s blog

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Today we take a closer look at Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress! We discuss the importance of this attraction in Disney history and why it is such a special part of the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. This attraction has seen its share of changes over the years but the spirit of the attraction remains the same, progress. There are several hidden gems in this attraction and some aspects of this attraction are included in other Walt Disney World attractions. The songs that have been used for this attraction are both iconic and we reveal which one is our favorite. Finally we discuss the changes that we would like to see for this attraction in the future. I hope that you will give this attraction a look next time you are in Magic Kingdom.

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062513_walt-epcot-film-1-750Today’s show starts a new series where we present a Disney film or TV special that we believe had an impact on the Disney Parks in some way. I couldn’t think of a better one to start with than the Epcot film from 1966. This is Walt Disney’s last on camera appearance before his death just 7 weeks later. In the 24 minute film he outlines the plans for Disney World and specifically for Epcot which at that time was actually going to be a living breathing city of the future! This is one of my favorite films to watch on a regular basis because it is full of hidden gems and it is also fun to imagine what Epcot would have been like if Walt’s vision has been fulfilled the way he really wanted it. We break down the film into 3 parts and talk about each one. The first part focuses on Disneyland in California and presents the superior design and function of the Disneyland Park. The next few minutes Walt introduces the overall plans for Disney World. He shows a map of the magic kingdom and resort area which looks very different from what we know today. Then Walt talks about his vision for Epcot and goes into the initial planning for the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Here is the link to the full video so that you can follow along with us.

Other Links: Adam The Woo shows the STOL port at Walt Disney World

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D7E6AC0D-EBFC-41E1-8C58-DF2640CF4381Today I start my day by day walk-through of my recent trip to Paris, which included 3 days at Disneyland Paris. I discuss how we booked our trip and the price of Disneyland Paris compared to the U.S. Disney parks. I talk about what it’s like to commute to Disneyland Paris by train and how the train system in Paris is pretty easy to figure out. I also talk about some of the frustrations that I had with Disneyland Paris…mainly the app. I had the most expensive lunch ever at Walt’s on Main Street but the experience made it acceptable and I give my thoughts on the Ratatouille attraction that will be coming to Epcot soon! I have a lot more to discuss in Part 2 next week so don’t miss it!

 

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On Today’s show we discuss the current state of Disney animated films and what we think the future holds. We go back in time to talk about the Disney dark period that lasted 20 years from the mid 1960’s when Walt Disney died to the time that Michael Eisner and Frank Wells took over and turned the company around in the mid 1980’s. We discuss our favorite films from the Disney Renaissance era of the 1990’s and the second Disney dark time of the early 2000’s before John Lasseter stepped in as head of both Disney and Pixar studios. We try to determine what Disney’s process is for adding elements of Disney Films to the parks…Why do some films get more attention than others? Finally, we take a look at the future of the Disney/Pixar studios. Are we headed for another dark time in Disney animation history? Or is this just the beginning of our current period of hit after hit film? What do you think?

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In Episode 130, Jon and I have a discussion on Disney Trip planning…specifically, Walt Disney World and Disney Cruise Line. We give our strategies on planning fast passes, dining reservations, and what items that are helpful to bring on a Disney vacation. We give some insight on what we believe are important things to consider when Disney trip planning. We’ve both booked Disney vacations on short notice and also up to a year in advance so we have you covered!

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In Today’s episode we give a general comparison of Disneyland to Walt Disney World! In previous episodes we compared attractions from Disneyland to the ones at Walt Disney World but today we compare and contrast the parks as a whole. We discuss the geographical location of each park and things like the weather at Disneyland vs Disney World. We also get into things like the queue lines and some of the more subtle differences between the two. While we agree that Disneyland and Magic Kingdom are similar…we also agree that there’s enough differences that it is definitely worth visiting them both!

 

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Today we discuss some of the other potential locations that the Walt Disney World property could have been located. We even discuss some of the early projects that could have influenced the purchase of land for “project future” had they materialized. They locations are spread across the country and any one of them could have changed the course of events the lead to the Walt Disney company purchasing land in central Florida. The book that we referenced for the episode is titled: Project Future. You can get it Here