F Yeah! Disney

Ep.13:The History of the Holidays in The Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. Happy Holidays Everyone..... This episode is the first in a series of Disney History episodes that we are excited to share. We wanted to give a different take on areas of Disney history that have been covered by others as we really wanted an excuse to dive deep into the lore that is Disney. 

On December 12th, 1971 the Orlando Sentinel newspaper announced: “Walt Disney World’s first Christmas will be a spirited two-week holiday full of gaiety, tradition, colorful Disney character parades, and commemorative religious pageantry of the season. Yuletide decorations will bring added sparkle to the already fun-filled Magic kingdom — ‘decked out’ literally for Christmas with a giant tree and hundreds of wreaths of hemlock and holly.

“Special daily Holiday Parades (beginning December 20) and two mammoth candlelight processionals are part of the spectacular events scheduled for the holidays.  “Florally adorned by poinsettias, snapdragons, petunias and 50,000 pansies, the theme park will feature lights and decorations in each of the Main Street shop windows. And in Town Square, a snowy, 50-foot Christmas tree, especially selected and cut from a forest in Paradise, Michigan, will serve as a colorful centerpiece for the festive theme park celebration. More than 1,200 lights and a thousand giant ornaments adorn the tree.”

 This excited future guests who planned on visiting during the inaugural holiday season at The Magic Kingdom. With admission to the park running $4.75 which included 7-ride tickets and transportation,  guests filled the 1500-rooms between the Contemporary and Polynesian resorts to capacity for the two weeks leading up to Christmas. With an exception to Christmas day the park was opened from 9am till midnight and a holiday parade featuring  “marching toy soldiers, dancing reindeer, marching bands, girls playing glockenspiels and 50 famous Disney characters came to life.”

 Disney legend Charlie Ridgway who at the time was Disney's press agent and oversaw the public relations department of the company stated that the first year the Magic Kingdom was opened “Our 1,500 rooms in the Contemporary and the Polynesian were booked up for a year. Attendance (at Magic Kingdom) increased steadily. It rose to 600,000 in (the month of) December. Hours were extended to midnight for the Christmas holidays. For three successive days at Christmastime, the gate total approached 70,000.”

For the inaugural holiday season Disney began their  first holiday parade on December 20th. It ran every day until January 2nd and was complete with marching toy soldiers, dancing reindeer, school marching bands, and 50 of Disney’s famous characters and of course jolly old Saint Nick. This parade was similar to the parade that ran simultaneously in Disneyland during the holiday season.  Another special event that started during the first year of Magic Kingdoms Holiday Celebration was the Candlelight Processional.

  Starting at Disneyland in 1958, The Candlelight Processional became an honored tradition. Singers from The University of Southern California along with local choirs were joined by school bands and performed in Town Square with a celebrity narrator who performed a dramatic reading of the Christmas story.  Dennis Morgan, an American actor and singer, held this position from 1961 to 1964, and Dick Van Dyke took on the honor in 1965 to promote Mary Poppins. Like in Disneyland, the show was performed in front of the Walt Disney World Railroad Main Street USA Station in Town Square. The show took place on two nights, December 18th and 19th, at 6pm with 1200 carolers and Rock Hudson, another American actor, performing the narration both nights. Frederick Fennell conducted the orchestra and boys’ choirs made up the Christmas tree.

   The Candlelight Processional was moved to Epcot in 1994 after guests expressed that they wanted more shows. The America Gardens Theater in The American Adventure Pavilion, was capable of holding larger audiences of around 1000 guests becoming the dedicated location for such a performance. There were 30 performances that year spanning 15 nights, and the show was expanded even more in 1994 with 60 performances across 30 nights. This year, 2019, 108 performances are scheduled across 36 nights. Performances run nightly from November 29 through December 30, 2019.

  Dating back to Dec 16th, 1983 Disney hosted its first special ticketed Holiday event Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party. This started a yearly tradition for Disney inviting guests who purchased a special event ticket to join the merry fun throughout the park. With special stops along Mainstreet and throughout the various lands of the park,  hot chocolate and a variety of cookies are handed out included with admission. Along with the variety of "free" goodies Disney also releases exclusive merchandise and snacks that can only be purchased for guests who attend the party.  The festivities begin at 7pm each night of the event and the "Snoap" begins to fall. 

 Being in Florida, a state that has seen snow fall less then a handful of times in the last 100 years, Disney has created a magical addition of "snoap" which gives guests visiting the party that feeling of a white Christmas. Throughout the years Disney has perfected the art of "Snoap Fall" including this years party with what seems to be the first ever "snoap blizzard" ,  There's a bit of science behind the magic of snoap and according to Steve Zigmont of Zigmont Magic FX, the company that creates artificial snow for Disney World in Florida,  these aren't your typical suds. "To call it a bubble is like calling David Copperfield’s work tricks... or just calling Broadway community theater," he said. Zigmont said "the bubbles in fake snow are a complex feat of engineering that result in long lasting, residue-free flakes. It starts with a liquid that is mostly water and something called a surfactant. Surfactants are naturally occurring compounds that give substances like water a lower surface tension, which means less tension is needed for the substance to form a surface."

 Along with the magical snoap Cinderella's castle comes alive as Elsa, Anna and Olaf pay Magic Kingdom a visit.  Olaf, along with the help from the guests watching, encourage Elsa to change the castle into a magical Ice Castle.  This effect is created by the use of 3D projection mapping technology along with thousands of white lights and a changing hue of teal and purple projected lights.  The special lighting  happens daily at 6:15and then again around 8:15 on party nights. Since the inception of the Holiday Dream Lights, this version of Cinderella's Castle is a favorite amongst guests. Starting November 8th of this year an all new firework display made its debut with“Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks.” . In addition to the fireworks is Mickey's Once Upon A Christmastime Parade.  This parade that has seen its updates and name changes over the year.  it Debuted in 1994 as Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Parade and entertained crowds up until 2007 when its name was changed to its current one.

 During the first week of December Disney  films a special parade at The Magic Kingdom specifically for television which airs on ABC Christmas Day. The very first year this parade aired is was hosted by Joan Lunden and Michael Douglas and has  aired annually since 1983 with the only exception being in 2000 when Disney aired a Christmas Eve "Tracking Santa" special instead. In 1999, a nighttime version of the parade was shown on Christmas Day for the first time.

 Over the years, the television program has gone through a number of name changes. During the 1980s and 90s, the program was known as The Walt Disney World Very Merry Christmas Parade. The program's name was then changed to Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade. From 2009 through 2013, the program was referred to as the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade. For a few years after that, the program's name would change on a yearly basis, being known as Disney Parks Frozen Christmas Celebration in 2014, Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration in 2015, Disney Parks Magical Christmas Celebration in 2016 and 2017, and finally Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade in 2018. The tradition continues with the newest rendition airing on Christmas day 2019.

 As Walt Disney World's annual attendance expanded so did their footprint. In 1982 The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow or EPCOT opened its gates and offered visitors an all new theme park that  became a must do when visiting Walt Disney World.  Riding the coat tails of Magic Kingdom,  Disney knew they needed to spice things up at Epcot to give guests a reason to stay into the evening.

    I’m Dreaming of a “Green” Christmas . . . The 1,500 Christmas trees at Walt Disney World Resort won’t be the only “green” holiday delights each season as each Walt Disney World resort hotel glows with new “conservation” lighting — more than 700,000 LED lights in all. String the bulbs end to end and the strand would stretch for 96 miles or light the path from Jacksonville to Orlando, all while using 1/10th of the power of traditional incandescent bulbs.

Beginning November 2007, for the first time, the "Castle Dream Lights", with over 200,000 LED Christmas light

 citations  (Web view) 

Episode 12- Happy 91st Bday Mickey

Hey there and thank you for tuning into this episode. Today we continue our conversation from Ep.11 by getting into the meat and potatoes of the show. We start off talking about our Veterans Day experience at The Magic Kingdom(find the video of the full ceremony on our Instgram IGTV) then dive into This Week in Disney, To Infinity and Your Mom and finish it up with some holiday treat talk in our What the Forky Food segment. 

Pat Carol the voice of Ursula reading the script of The Ghost Host Watch

As always you can find us on social media via Instagram or Twitter @fyeah_disney on our facebook page F Yeah Disney or contact us directly via email [email protected]

This Week in Disney link

Episode 11-  The Smell of Barbecue Makes Me Hungry

This is a special episode as we share our SUPER magical experience at Disney celebrating the year anniversary of the day we met. We give tips on how to make it extra magical and time savers when it comes to taking full advantage of Disney transportation.

Go follow us on Instagram @fyeah_disney and twitter to stay up to date with all things happening around Disney and share us with your friends. Thank You so much for listening and give us feedback by leaving us a review on your podcast player.

Contact us via Email

video of the new holiday marionettes at watch 

Capt. America inspired ears made by @boutiquebyjules on instagram or find her on Etsy: Boutique by Jules

Hey there and welcome to F Yeah! Disney Episode 10. Today we discuss a little Disney history, happenings around the parks and food.  Plus we get into the Cluster-F regarding the menu changes that were made on Batuu, in Galaxy’s Edge, at Hollywood Studios, in Orlando, Fl.  

Thank you for downloading this episode and we really hope you do enjoy. Don’t forget to leave us a review depending on what platform you are listening to this on, it really does help the show and is a free way for you to help support us. Share this and any of your favorite episodes with your Disney friends and go follow us on Instagram and Twitter @fyeah_disney or contact us [email protected]. 

This Day In Disney History

Jim Hill Media

Well hey there!!  It has been one hell of a month for us and Disney. Lots of amazing changes have begun within EPCOT as Illuminations:Reflections of Earth has come to a bittersweet end and the new temporary show Epcot Forever has begun. Walls are up throughout the park and the demolition of Innoventions West has started.  The Disney Skyliner made its glorious debut and a week later was shut down due to a malfunction unforeseen by Disney and Thank Goodness noone was injured!! 

Food and Wine 2019 is in full swing and Juli discusses some of the goodies and merchandise available at this years Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney's California Adventure along with lots of fun happenings across the international Disney parks. Plus Jason shares some history in the This Week in Disney segment running October 6th-12th. This Week in Disney and Juli talks about all the NEW plant-based offerings within the WDW parks in her segment What the Forky Foods.

We hope you enjoy this episode and Thank You for tuning in. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You can help support this show for free by leaving us a review on your favorite podcast app as this truly helps us gain exposure within the podcast app algorithms. 

 Thank you - Juli & Jason

   In this weeks episode the shows intro kicks off with the lulling sounds of Juli snoring as she dozed off during the initial reading of the Haunted Mansion narration.  Also Juli and Jason record together in person for the very first time!!! They discuss some current happenings within the Disney Parks with a main focus on the Haunted Mansion.

In the first part, they discuss the Passholder preview release of all the Arendale Aqua merch and delicious snacks.

In the main part of the episode, they share what inspired the initial designs and concepts of the Haunted Mansion. Together along with Walt’s influence, Imagineers created this one-of-a-kind attraction that has been enjoyed by millions of guests in its 50-year history.  

In the last segment, they discuss their very first experiences while visiting Galaxy’s Edge with some insights into the layout of the land and some of the amazing surprises that await you.

You can find F Yeah! Disney on all podcast platforms and we would love if you could leave a review!!! This helps expose the show via the current algorithms within the podcast apps.

If you would like to leave a question or comment you can reach Juli and Jason via email at [email protected]

also find Juli on Instagram @burton_life12 @one_little_spice And Jason @jmichaelglass & @glassblowerscompanion

Reference material and audio tracks:

 @imagineerpodcast

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Haunted_Mansion 

https://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20140704/19061/haunted-mansion-around-world?page=1

The Haunted Mansion - Full Attraction Soundtrack (Disneyland Park)

Ep.7- Juli's Moving to Florida

Welcome to Ep. 6   

On July 17 1989 Splah Mountain opened and today we are celebrating the 30th anniversary with a segment dedicated to sharing the history of Splash Mountain.

Beer

Juli- Ravenswood Old Vine Zinfandel https://www.ravenswoodwinery.com

Jason- Koana Brewing company

Cast member previews have begun as well as testings of the gondola systems which open to guests on Sept 29th.

AP days in Galaxy's Edge in WDW start soon and Juli is lucky enough to have her date and we will be giving you full recap of her experience on Episode 7. 

This week in Disney we cover Disney History highlights that occurred Aug 11-17th

Highlights from Infinity and Beyond segment

Disneyland

-Main Street Electrical Parade

-Disneyparksblog Live Stream

-Food Options

-Photopass Shot

Disney World

-Magic Kingdom Security construction updates

-New Epcot passport

-Passholder gifts for Food and Wine

-WDW galaxy edge will have more alcohol than Disneyland

***Obviously… Disneyland WAS dry until this galaxy edge nonsense.

Paris

-Behind the scenes Lion King and Jungle Festival on their youtube channel. Show through Sept 22nd

Hong Kong

-More Princess Experiences as the castle construction is underway

Shanghai

-Disney Inspiration Run

Tokyo

-Disney Sea Halloween Merchandise!!!!!!

WTF FOOD

-Lion King Petit Cake from Amorette’s. 

**Website describes it as vanilla and chocolate chiffon cakes, with amarula mousse, pineapple jam, and chocolate covered potato chips.

-Passholder secret treat at Sunshine Season

**Sugar cookie Ice cream sandwich, chocolate drizzle, rolled in chocolate pearls

-Lemon Springtime cheesecake in Norway

**pink, yellow, blue, and purple, lemon candy fruit slice on top

-Casey's 

-Fried pickle dog

 Can I be a Stormtrooper for the Day?

     All meals for the day are included in the tour price, meaning three meals per day including alcohol. Where will you dine, you may ask? On the World of Dreams Tour, guests will have access to any restaurant on Walt Disney World property! No normal reservations are needed, so if a restaurant is at the top of your Disney bucket list, this may be the way to finally cross it off.

Come Follow the fun on Instagram and Facebook and join along on our conversations

Instagram

Bloomberg link for attendance https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-26/big-surprise-at-disneyland-star-wars-land-s-not-so-long-waits

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2019/07/gch-craftsman-bar-grill-now-open-at-disneys-grand-californian-hotel-spa-at-disneyland-resort/

https://www.foxnews.com/travel/fastpass-dispute-disney-world-tower-of-terror

https://wdwnt.com/2019/07/photos-star-wars-hotel-guest-rooms-take-shape-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/

https://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/2019/07/22/disneyland-paris-announces-phantom-manor-decrypted-attraction-book/

https://attractionsmagazine.com/tower-of-terror-updates-disneyland-paris/

https://wdwnt.com/2019/05/toy-story-pixar-pals-summer-splash-coming-to-hong-kong-disneyland-this-summer/

https://tdrexplorer.com/donalds-hot-jungle-summer-2019/

https://tdrexplorer.com/donalds-hot-jungle-summer-menu-2019/

Episode 4- He likes His Women Thin and Serrated  

Follow us on Social Media:

Instagram  Facebook    Youtube

-Our Beers of the Week: 

• Juli-Weyerbacher Brewery: Sexy Mother Pucker(Sour Beer) https://weyerbacher.com/sexy-motherpucker/

-Buzzy Stolen and charges brought to former Disney Cast Member

      (Article Link Below)

• https://orlando-rising.com/orange-county-sheriffs-office-disney-world-animatronic-buzzy-is-stolen/

 -This Week in Disney-(7/14-7/20)  https://thisdayindisneyhistory.homestead.com/

-To Infinity and Beyond 

•           Mulan Live Action (trailer)

     Disneyland

• Main Street Electrical Parade August 8th-Sept 30th(Read more) 

     Disney World

• New Busses! ((Watch Trailer)     Cute character wraps, Wifi AND USB outlets

     EPCOT

     Future World closing dates Sept 8th(read more)

• Art of disney

     Disneyland Paris

Race Weekend Medal images released Sept 20-22(check out the medals)