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Celebrate Mickey’s Birthday Now with This Exclusive Clip from Disney Channel
By Beth Deitchman
Mickey’s birthday is this Saturday, and we’ve received the best gift: an exclusive clip from the new Mickey Mouse short, “The Birthday Song,” which debuts tomorrow on YouTube ahead of its broadcast premiere on Mickey’s big day. Throughout the day on November 18, Mickey Mouse shorts will air every half hour on Disney Channel, beginning with the premiere of “The Birthday Song” at 9:25 a.m. ET/PT.
In the brand-new short, Mickey is celebrating his big day and his friends are planning something special. When Minnie Mouse loses the notes to Mickey’s birthday song, she embarks on a mission to recover them and save the festivities. Executive Producer and Supervising Director Paul Rudish tells D23 that the Mickey Mouse team could relate to her excitement and determination to create an unforgettable birthday gift for Disney’s brightest star.
“One of the fun aspects of making ‘The Birthday Song’ was being able to tell a story about Mickey’s birthday from another character’s point of view, specifically Minnie Mouse,” says Rudish. “Her struggles and delight to create something unique and special for Mickey, his very own birthday song, often mirrored our crew’s journey while making the short. From the quest to write a new, bouncy birthday song to navigating the comic calamity of musical notes rampaging through a party, we strived to express our own feelings of warmth and joy for Mickey and give him the ultimate birthday present.”
Enjoy this exclusive clip from “The Birthday Song” now, and watch the short in its entirety beginning tomorrow. And be sure to join the fun on your own social media, using #HappyBirthdayMickey.
Mickey Wedding Moments You Need to See
By Nicole Nalty
As we get ready to celebrate Mickey’s big day on November 18, we’ve been thinking about the ways that Mickey helps us celebrate our special moments (share yours here!)
Our friends at Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings go above and beyond for their couples, but there’s a special magic that only Mickey Mouse can muster to make an extraordinary wedding extra extraordinary. See some of the ways Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings couples have incorporated our main mouse into their special days and be sure to share your celebratory stories with #HappyBirthdayMickey!
Cakes with Character
Want to make your wedding day dessert even sweeter? Mickey Mouse can be––literally and figuratively––the icing on the cake.
Hidden Mickeys
Avid Hidden Mickey hunters can sneak their favorite hobby into their wedding day with subtle details dedicated to our favorite mouse.
Guest of Honor
Want even more Mickey at your wedding? What about Mickey Mouse himself? Invite Mickey (and Minnie!) to join the party for some awesome photos, and maybe even a photobomb!
See more at DisneyWeddings.com.
All-New Beauty and the Beast Show Enchants Aboard the Disney Dream
By Steven Vagnini
The tale as old as time is told anew, as guests aboard the Disney Dream can now experience Beauty and the Beast, a brand-new musical spectacular inspired by Disney’s 2017 live-action adaptation of the animated classic. One of the largest and most elaborate productions ever brought to Disney Cruise Line, the new show in the Walt Disney Theatre invites audiences to fall in love with their favorite characters, songs, and adventures all over again, while cutting-edge technology and new storytelling methods bring a fresh perspective to the beloved story.
To embark on this ambitious approach to the timeless fairy tale, Disney assembled an all-star creative team shining with Broadway and entertainment accolades—including director and choreographer Connor Gallagher (Tangled: The Musical, Found), writer Sara Wordsworth (Frozen, A Musical Spectacular; Broadway’s In Transit), costume designer Sarah Cubbage (Broadway’s Skylight), and puppet designer Jeff Conover (Tangled: The Musical, Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular)—who were challenged to transform the acclaimed live-action feature into a 70-minute stage production aboard a Disney Cruise Line ship.
“When I was first brought in, the film was still in production,” Wordsworth explains. “I had a copy of the screenplay, and at first I thought, ‘Oh boy, that’s going to be a challenge!’ But then I embraced the words on the pages… It’s really a gift to be able to use them and see what are the major themes and what are the things they changed from the different versions. We worked very closely to condense which elements we were going to tell in song, what were we going to do in dance, what were we going to do scenically—all working together to tell the story so that you feel like you haven’t missed a thing.”
With so many iconic and elaborate settings to create—from Belle’s provincial French town to the Beast’s mysterious castle—the team developed an elaborate transforming set that takes audiences on a magical journey through the scenic motif of a music box. “Belle’s father was an inventor, as we had seen in the animated feature, but he was also a music box maker and a craftsperson,” observes set designer Jason Sherwood (Paint Your Wagon; Frozen, A Musical Spectacular). “And that music box contains a story. That felt like an interesting way into the idea that we could take a different vantage point… The idea that the characters, the people, the story are inside a coveted object became a huge aspect to what we wanted to create visually on stage.” The result is a dynamic combination of dimensional scenery and high-definition projections that combine into a visual panorama that reaches beyond the stage. “From every single seat in the house you get a complete view of what’s happening,” he continues.
“Having the opportunity to design something so big and so bold that doesn’t exist yet is incredible,” adds video designer Aaron Rhyne (Frozen, A Musical Spectacular; Broadway’s Anastasia and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder). “We were early on inspired by the new live-action film, that we wanted to bring that sensibility to the stage and have it feel very real,,, And we were excited about utilizing video, but we didn’t want you to feel like you were watching the movie. We came up with the idea that we would use video as though they were set pieces. So that’s why things turn in, as though it was a three-dimensional set. Or trees slide up like it would be an old-fashioned flat. So we really tried to make this merger of old-school and new technology and explore that visually, but also keep it very inherently theatrical.”
The intertwining of sets, video, choreography, and storytelling are especially impactful during the show’s musical numbers. Drawing inspiration from Disney’s animated, live-action, and Broadway tellings of the story, the show is anchored by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s classic songs from the 1991 animated feature and includes two of the pieces written by Menken and Tim Rice for the live-action adaptation: “How Does a Moment Last Forever” and “Days in the Sun.” Songs like “Belle” and “Beauty and the Beast” have been reimagined to reflect the show’s stylized approach, while “Gaston” and “Be Our Guest” offer exuberant spectacles through rousing choreography and visual effects. The creative team also developed ways to continue telling the story through musical transitions, incorporating elements from the films’ iconic underscores and bringing a unique musical identity through new arrangements by Matt Castle and Frank Galgano (Into the Woods).
Even the enchanted objects, such as Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, and Cogsworth, are brought to life in a whole new way through innovative puppetry and costumes. “We really follow the emotional arc of the objects more so in this production than ever before,” Gallagher reveals. “You have these scenes where you’re asking the actors to carry a lot of the emotional weight, and if they’re hidden behind a puppet and we don’t have access to them as human beings, it’s going to create a real barrier between them and the audience. So sometimes you’re looking at the puppet, a lot of times you’re looking at the actor.”
“Story-wise, we need to remember that they were humans and that their human form is still there,” Wordsworth emphasizes. “The costume design for the characters is so beautiful because it’s this white ombré that transitions into a dark, dark blue, and it’s sort of like their life being sucked out of them. And I think that we were all really thrilled with how that turned out because the audiences could connect with the characters’ backstories.”
Reflecting on their greatest joys bringing the show to life, members of the creative team are quick to point to their personal memories growing up with Beauty and the Beast—a connection they share with different generations of guests. “This is a story where people are going to walk into the theater, and the parents are already going to have a relationship with these characters and this story, and their children do as well,” Wordsworth explains.
Gallagher fondly recalls a special moment that took place during one of the first shows he experienced: Beauty and the Beast—Live on Stage at Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios). “I remember sitting somewhere in the first, second, or third row, and I remember a performer just looking at me and feeling sort of very intimate and special. And I’ll never forget those moments as kids that sort of burn in your brain, and that’s one of them. Here [on Disney Cruise Line], the fact that a little kid who has no interest in theater can wander in and take a seat, and maybe be swept away with how magical it is—by the video, by the costumes, by that something that gets them inspired—and that could be their introduction to theater is really exciting to me.”
Beauty and the Beast debuted during the Disney Dream voyage departing November 6, 2017, joining an incredible lineup of Broadway-style stage productions aboard the ship, including The Golden Mickeys and Disney’s Believe. The Disney Dream sails three- and four-night cruises to the Bahamas from Port Canaveral, Florida.
Get a sneak peek at the new show here:
The Lion King’s Alton Fitzgerald White Goes from Stage to Page
By Beth Deitchman
When the The Lion King made its cinematic debut in 1994, curiosity led Alton Fitzgerald White to a Times Square movie theater to see what the hype was about. As a young boy, the Cincinnati native had spent countless Sunday nights watching The Wonderful World of Disney with his family, but he couldn’t help wondering whether he was now too old to appreciate an animated “cartoon.” He recalls thinking, as he watched Mufasa fall to his death, “Am I really about to cry? Am I really?” The tears began to fall and he realized he was surrounded by an entire theater full of equally distraught adults. He marveled, “Wow, Disney is still doing it.” Little did the actor know then that he would re-live Mufasa’s tragic death and inspiring apparition on-stage for 4,000-plus performances, more than any other actor to play the role.
White’s friends and fellow Lion King company members joined him to celebrate his 4,000th performance in the summer of 2014, and he heard again and again how “lucky” he was to have had such a long run in a popular and enduring hit. That stuck with White, who thought, “Luck is something that falls out of the sky. Luck discounts any hard work, any sacrifice.” He started to write; White wanted to remember his story, but he also wanted to detail the work ethic and commitment that go into delivering an emotional live performance eight times a week. In his new book, My Pride—Mastering Life’s Daily Performance, White shares his journey from community theater to the Great White Way and London’s West End, but he also offers nurturing tools that readers can translate to any other line of work. “I was very much a workaholic, and that came in handy for eight shows a week,” White says. “But I also reached a point where I realized I didn’t really have much of a life outside of this.”
To balance his eight performances a week, White shifted his focus to more of the things he already loved doing: yoga; meditation; long, beautiful drives. He also took up new hobbies. “I became a gardener,” White shares, “I fell in love with baking.” And he focused on completing his first book, which has just been published by Disney Editions.
On stage as Mufasa, White’s favorite song to perform was “They Live in You” and he hopes the song’s message shines through in his book, as well. “All of us already have everything that we need to make our impossible dreams come true,” he emphasizes. When people finish his book, he wants them to believe, “There is no straight line to anything, and that’s OK. Roadblocks won’t stop me—they’ll just redirect me.” There’s a little Mufasa in all of us, White promises.
In addition to portraying Mufasa all around the U.S. in the musical’s first national tour, on Broadway, and in Las Vegas, White has so many magical, musical Disney memories. He has performed at D23 Expos, in concert at Royal Albert Hall in England, and on Disney Cruise Line. “I was like a kid on the ship—meeting the characters, having amazing port adventures, and getting to come back and do what I love to do,” White remembers. “That is a highlight that never gets old.”
But the ultimate Disney highlight for White was being able to be part of a show that has brought such happiness to so many people. “That made it worth it, every single time, taking people on the journey and knowing at the end they were going to be fulfilled in ways that they couldn’t have possibly predicted,” White says of his time with The Lion King. “As an actor, it was always wonderful throughout and to the end. It was incredible to be a part of the experience.”
Broadway Celebrates The Lion King—Plus More in News Briefs
By Courtney Potter
The beloved musical is honored for its two decades on the Great White Way, and Disney•Pixar’s Coco releases a final trailer ahead of its debut … Read more, along with other news from around Disney, in news briefs!
Broadway’s The Lion King Celebrates 20 Years
Just this past weekend, Disney on Broadway celebrated a truly incredible milestone: the 20th anniversary of The Lion King! Hundreds of alumni from the show’s cast—plus creative team members like director Julie Taymor; Tony®-nominated composers Sir Elton John and Sir Tim Rice; musician Lebo M. (the man responsible for the amazing choral sound of both the 1994 animated film and the ’97 stage musical); choreographer Garth Fagan; and book writers Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi—joined current Lion King cast members for a very special performance…
As seen in the video above, the evening’s festivities culminated in a once-in-a-lifetime rendition of “Circle of Life” by none other than Sir Elton himself!
Broadway’s The Lion King has spent two decades on the Great White Way, but it’s also dazzled audiences around the world—with productions currently playing in such far-flung locales as the Netherlands, Japan, and Spain. And a brand-new international tour begins in Manila in 2018! For more information—especially if you “just can’t wait to be king” and might find yourself in NYC this holiday season—check out LionKing.com.
Save the Date!
Be sure to mark these upcoming Disney events on your calendar:
| D23 and Walt Disney Archives November 17, 2017 Lunch with a Disney Legend: Russi Taylor November 18, 2017 D23’s Magical Screening Series: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in Florida November 18, 2017 Mickey’s of Glendale—Orlando Shopping Event November 18, 2017 The Official Walt Disney Studios Tour—Presented by D23 November 21, 2017 Enjoy Complimentary Tickets to a Special 3-D Advance Screening of Disney•Pixar’s Coco November 26, 2017 Join D23 at the Saks Holiday Breakfast with Snow White December 6, 2017 D23’s Holidays in Hollywood Studios December 10, 2017 D23’s Light Up the Season December 10, 2017 D23’s Holiday Shopping Day at Mickey’s of Glendale February 2, 2018 D23 Member Night at Disney’s Aladdin at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre Parks August 31-November 13, 2017 Epcot Food & Wine Festival November 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 26 and 28. December 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21 and 22 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Walt Disney World Resort November 10–January 7 Holidays at the Disneyland Resort December 16 Star Wars: Galactic Nights returns to Disney’s Hollywood Studios 2019 April 13, 2018 Pixar Fest begins at the Disneyland Resort February 28–May 28, 2018 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival Summer 2018 Star Wars: Pixar Pier opens at Disney California Adventure 2019 Star Wars-Themed Lands Opening at Disneyland and Walt Disney World |
Studios November 22, 2017 Coco opens in theaters December 15, 2017 Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens in theaters February 16, 2018 Marvel Studios’ Black Panther opens in U.S. theaters Television November 20, 2017 Big Hero 6 The Series launches with a one-hour movie on Disney XD and Disney Channel (8 p.m. ET) December 1–25, 2017 Disney|ABC’s 25 Days of Christmas |
A Final Coco Trailer Before the Film’s Debut
We’re a few short weeks away from the debut of Disney•Pixar’s Coco, and we just got our final trailer-rific look at the film… Check out the colorful clip, above!
The animated feature, directed by Toy Story 3’s Lee Unkrich and co-directed by Monsters University story artist Adrian Molina, celebrates the importance of family, honoring your ancestors, and following your dreams. Wanna bypass the lines and pre-purchase your tickets? You’re in luck: They’re now on sale at both Fandango and Atom. See you there, amigos!
Latest Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer
The recent World Series was notable not just because of the teams playing (congrats, Astros!) and the action on the diamond… There was also another disturbance in the Force, under the guise of a brand-new trailer for December’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi!
In Lucasfilm’s latest, the Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of The Force Awakens join the galactic legends in an epic adventure that unlocks age-old mysteries of the Force and shocking revelations of the past.
Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Star Wars: The Last Jedi stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, and Benicio Del Toro. If you’re anything like us (and we’re pretty sure you are), you’re canceling all other plans and heading to the theater when the clock strikes midnight on December 15… We cannot wait!
Clothing Line rag & bone Teams with Star Wars for New Collection
…And by the way, Star Wars fans, there will soon be a brand-new collection of related clothing items that you can sport at the local cineplex when you take in The Last Jedi: rag & bone, a British brand with stores across the U.S., just unveiled some truly special Star Wars fashions—and they’ll be available both in store and (for select items) at ShopDisney.com soon.
Launching in waves beginning December 1, this limited-edition range will offer a selection of the fashion label’s iconic styles mixed with classic Star Wars designs. (You can see a video featuring some of the collection’s coolest items at the rag & bone website.)
In addition to the capsule collection, rag & bone will support Lucasfilm and Disney’s Force 4 Fashion initiative—an amazing charitable program under Star Wars: Force for Change that was created to empower and improve the lives of children around the world—with a donation to Starlight Children’s Foundation. Fabulous clothing, helping kids in need… it’s a total win-win situation.
ABC’s American Idol to Premiere in March
Music fans, take heed: Ryan Seacrest made a big announcement this week on Live with Kelly and Ryan… namely, that ABC’s American Idol will make its huge return to the airwaves on Sunday, March 11, at 8 p.m. EDT!
The nationwide search for the next superstar kicked off this past August, as the Idol Bus traveled from Portland, Oregon, to Orlando, Florida, in its pursuit for mega-watt talent—covering more than 20 cities across the country. Auditioning was made easier than ever as hopefuls also had the opportunity to submit audition videos online, as well as via several social media platforms using an official tag, #TheNextIdol; also, for the first time in American Idol history, hopefuls had the opportunity to audition through a livestream platform.
Taking a seat at the judges’ table this time ‘round are three music industry superstars—Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie… and they’re ready to help to determine who America will ultimately vote for to become the next big singing sensation. Emmy® Award-winning host and producer Ryan Seacrest returns to helm the beloved series; we can only hope he’ll once again introduce each episode with a hearty “This… is American Idol!”
Grey’s Anatomy Marks a Monumental Milestone on ABC
By Beth Deitchman
Over the last 12-and-a-half years, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) has gone from insecure surgical intern to acclaimed Head of General Surgery. She and her Grey Sloan Memorial colleagues have saved lives and lost patients; they’ve found true love, and they’ve suffered devastating heartbreak. And, after 299 episodes, they feel like close friends or part of fans’ extended families. On November 9, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy aired its 300th episode—an impressive milestone that few broadcast dramas will ever reach.
Executive Producer Betsy Beers has been with Grey’s Anatomy since Meredith, Cristina, Izzie, George, and Alex arrived at Seattle Grace Hospital. “The show was very much developed and created by people who had no idea what they were doing—we were just like the interns,” she laughs; and as the actors and members of the creative team grew into their roles, the stories changed because they were reflecting more mature points of view. The world has continued to stay relevant because fans feel so connected to the characters, Beers says, “Even when we would introduce a new series of interns or a group of residents, or when residents would move on—or, in the case of Grey’s Anatomy, sadly they often die off. There’s a relatively high ratio of folks who didn’t do so well.”
Fans have embraced newcomers to Grey Sloan, but Beeers acknowledges that they’ve reacted very, very passionately when they’ve had to say goodbye to beloved characters. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd, Mark “McSteamy” Sloan, and George “007” O’Malley are just a few of the characters whose deaths hit viewers particularly hard. “Some people have still not forgiven us,” Beers says, and she notes that the fan connection to the show was almost instantaneous. During season one, Beers recalls, actress Kate Walsh returned to the set after attempting to shop at a store where the employees berated her for the behavior of her character, Addison Montgomery. “They yelled at me the entire time because they said I was being unfair to Meredith,” Betsy remembers Walsh detailing.
Beers attributes the series’ enduring popularity to the incredibly relatable characters and world that Creator/Executive Producer Shonda Rhimes has conceived. “I always say, ‘There’s a doctor for everybody,’” she says. “No matter what kind of mood you’re in or how you’re feeling. It changes from episode to episode and from season to season, but there’s always somebody on the show to identify with.” And the hospital’s name may have changed over the years, but Grey Sloan Hospital continues to be an ideal setting for compelling, emotional stories that everyone can relate to. “By absolute nature and design, a hospital is a place where you experience the highest highs and the lowest lows,” Beers says, “and we’re focusing on a group of people whose hands are literally in the middle of both of those polar emotions.”
Viewers can look forward to falling in love with a new cast of characters in an upcoming spin-off. The untitled series will debut later in the season, as part of an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. The series will be set in the world of first responders and fire fighters and is created by Stacy McKee, who has been part of the Grey’s Anatomy family since the series’ pilot back in 2005. “If there is anybody who is qualified to spread the DNA of Grey’s Anatomy into another workplace in Seattle, it’s Stacy McKee,” Beers says.
If you haven’t watched the first 299 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, it’s never too late to start! Every month, hundreds of thousands of new viewers watch the series’ first episode on Netflix and are able to binge-watch and “catch up” to the current season on ABC. Beers says, “What’s great is you can become addicted to the show without the sad desperation of the fact that you know it’s going to end.”
If you missed the 300th episode, “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story,” which finds the Grey Sloan docs tending to patients who have been injured in a roller-coaster accident at the county fair, you can catch up on the ABC app. There’s something eerily familiar about the patients, and they spark memories for Meredith, Alex and the other doctors. Look for additional Easter eggs throughout the special 300th episode.
Great News, Star Wars Fans! A New Star Wars Trilogy is Coming
By Nicole Nalty
This just in from a galaxy far, far away! Rian Johnson, director of the upcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi, will create a brand-new Star Wars trilogy, according to our friends at StarWars.com.
The new trilogy will be separate from the episodic Skywalker saga and will introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never explored. Rian Johnson is set to write and direct the first of the films and longtime collaborator Ram Bergman is onboard to produce.
“We all loved working with Rian on The Last Jedi,” said Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm. “He’s a creative force, and watching him craft The Last Jedi from start to finish was one of the great joys of my career. Rian will do amazing things with the blank canvas of this new trilogy.”
“We had the time of our lives collaborating with Lucasfilm and Disney on The Last Jedi,” Johnson and Bergman said in a joint statement. “Star Wars is the greatest modern mythology and we feel very lucky to have contributed to it. We can’t wait to continue with this new series of films.”
No release dates have been set for the new trilogy, but stay tuned for updates from this exciting project!
What’s New This Holiday Season at Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts
By Nicole Nalty
In our opinion, nothing makes the holidays even more magical than a visit to Disneyland or Walt Disney World Resorts. While Disney Parks around the world are celebrating the holidays (and we have a whole round-up of that, too!), we’ve put together this list for those who anxiously await their holiday trips to Disneyland and Walt Disney World each year, so you can see what new merry magic awaits this season.
Disneyland Resort
Cars Land is adorable 365 days a year, but Radiator Springs really kicks it into high gear during the holidays. This season, take a spin on Luigi’s Joy to the Whirl and Mater’s Jingle Jamboree, a seasonal transformation taking place for the very first time. As with the popular Mater’s Junkyard JamBOOree and Luigi’s Haul-O-Ween that debuted during Halloween Time, expect to hear some brand-new holiday tunes.
Festival of Holidays made its debut last winter and returns to Disney California Adventure park with delicious eats, music, and entertainment. New this year are Holiday Sunset Concerts, dance parties taking place every day at Paradise Park. Catch Phat Cat Swinger Friday–Monday, and the Mariachi Divas Tuesday–Thursday and stick around for one of our favorites, Disney ¡Viva Navidad!
Walt Disney World Resort
Planning an evening stroll down Sunset Boulevard at Disney’s Hollywood Studios? Be sure to take in Sunset Seasons Greetings, a new holiday experience featuring projections of Mickey, Minnie, and more favorite Disney characters as the street’s billboards come to life and the iconic Hollywood Tower Hotel displays seasonal scenes, such as a giant pile of holiday gifts, a gingerbread house, and a frozen winter wonderland. Sunset Seasons Greetings runs continuously throughout the night at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
While you’re there, be sure to ooh and ah over the new holiday dressing over at Echo Lake––even Dinosaur Gertie is sporting her holiday best! Also at Echo Lake, it’s time to revisit our friends Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff at For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, where a very special snowman will be making an appearance and you can sing along to new songs from Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, a brand-new featurette debuting in front of Disney•Pixar’s Coco.
Just down the road at Epcot, celebrate with snowflake sugar cookies or a warm apple fritter with cinnamon ice cream and caramel sauce at the Cookie Nook in the Odyssey Complex. Or, (And? We don’t judge) head to the Canada pavilion to try tasty eats like the Maple Bûche de Noël––maple mousse rolled in gingerbread chiffon cake with cranberry sauce and pecan crumble. While you’re walking through World Showcase, keep an eye out for Chip ‘n’ Dale; they’re on the hunt for ornaments for their Christmas tree in Chip & Dale’s Christmas Tree Spree. Purchase a map and stickers from select merchandise locations and find Chip ‘n’ Dale throughout World Showcase. Then, return your completed map for a sweet surprise from the two nutty chipmunks. During your travels, enjoy holiday entertainment from around the world, including a new celebration of Hanukkah in a new location along World Showcase promenade.
While Candlelight Processional itself is a time-honored tradition (dating back to the first few years of Disneyland park!), expect to see some new narrators this year, including Pat Sajak, Matt Bomer, CCH Pounder, and Disney Legend Kurt Russell. You can see the full schedule here.
What are your must-dos during the holidays at Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts? What are you most excited to try this season? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter.
It’s a Jolly Holiday Around the World at Disney Parks
By Courtney Potter
Break out the cocoa and switch on the twinkly lights—it’s the most wonderful time of the year! The holidays are just around the river bend, and the good folks at Disney parks and resorts across the globe have some truly merry magic in store. From celebrating with Mater’s new Jingle Jamboree over at Disney California Adventure’s Cars Land, to the new Disney Gifts of Christmas nighttime spectacular at Tokyo Disneyland, guests are in for a cheerful, candy-colored treat!
Take a gander at a few of our favorite ways Disney parks and resorts are celebrating the holidays below. (Do you have your own holiday traditions at a certain Disney park? Go a-wassailing over to D23’s Facebook and Twitter and let us know!)
Holidays at the Disneyland Resort—Jingle All the Way!
Beginning Friday, November 10 (and jingle-jangling through January 7), the entire Disneyland Resort is getting a very merry makeover… and honestly, we can’t wait! The magic is endless at both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure parks—with seasonal attractions, joyful entertainment, jolly décor, and themed treats that make every day feel like a holiday.
Guests will revel in the debut of brand-new holiday transformations inside Cars Land at Disney California Adventure, as Mater and Luigi put an adorable yuletide spin on their two popular attractions. Meanwhile, the park’s Festival of Holidays returns—featuring the sights, sounds, and tastes of diverse cultures. The Festive Foods Marketplace will once again serve up delicious multicultural holiday fare, and ¡Viva Navidad! will offer authentic music and dance and the chance to meet Princess Elena of Avalor. Plus: The World of Color – Season of Light nighttime spectacular returns to Paradise Bay with sparkling winter fantasy and fun.
Over at Disneyland park, Sleeping Beauty Winter Castle will once again transform each night with 50,000 twinkling LED lights, and the incredible Believe… in Holiday Magic fireworks—with its legendary snowfall finale—will captivate young and young-at-heart alike. Haunted Mansion Holiday continues to thrill and chill guests with visions of sugar plums and Jack Skellington’s sleigh, and the truly beloved A Christmas Fantasy Parade returns to Main Street, U.S.A. Over in Fantasyland, it’s a small world transforms into it’s a small world Holiday to honor children’s winter-time celebrations around the world once more… and guess what? As a special treat this season, FastPass will be available for this attraction. So warm up those vocal chords and get ready to join the it’s a small world choir for a round of “Deck the Halls”!
Merriment Abounds at Walt Disney World Resort
The theme parks of the Walt Disney World Resort will sparkle and shine brighter than ever before this holiday season—especially over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios! From November 9 through December 31, there are tons of brand-new holiday happenings around the park, including a Sunset Seasons Greetings experience that transforms the park’s Sunset Boulevard and Hollywood Tower Hotel with special scenes of the holidays. The hit Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! nighttime spectacular returns, along with its separately ticketed dessert party event that includes reserved viewing. But wait, there’s more: Holiday fun continues at the Hyperion Theater in For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, as Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff welcome Olaf to the popular show—which will now feature songs from Disney’s all-new animated featurette Olaf’s Frozen Adventure.
Across the rest of Walt Disney World, Epcot’s Holidays Around the World transforms into the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays, from November 19 through December 30—surrounding guests with the wondrous sights, sounds, and flavors of the season once again. Plus, look for a fun new scavenger-style hunt called “Chip & Dale’s Christmas Tree Spree”—where guests can purchase a map and stickers (from select merchandise locations) and travel around World Showcase looking for the cheery chipmunks and their ornament collection. At Magic Kingdom Park, A Frozen Holiday Wish (with Arendelle’s most famous siblings, Anna and Elsa) takes to the Castle Forecourt Stage nightly from November 9 through December 31; Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade returns to Main Street, U.S.A.; and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party—the beloved specially ticketed event—makes the holidays merry and bright on select nights from November 9 through December 22. Disney’s Animal Kingdom will feature a fabulous day-into-night holiday transformation for the Tree of Life, and Disney Springs will capture the spirit of the season with a bigger and better Christmas Tree Trail of custom decorated trees, each dedicated to a popular Disney theme.
Christmas at Tokyo Disney Resort
This year, the elves at Tokyo Disney Resort have a host of holiday fun up their sleeves, kicking off this week and making merry through December 25. Tokyo Disneyland park will premiere its brand-new nighttime spectacular Disney Gifts of Christmas; colorful images will be projected onto Cinderella Castle, featuring Mickey Mouse and his all his pals in a heartwarming yuletide story followed, naturally, by a sensational fireworks display! This year’s special Christmas Fantasy event will swell throughout the park, themed to “storybooks filled with the Disney Friends’ Christmas fun.” And the Disney Christmas Stories Parade will feature pages from storybooks showing Disney friends having all manner of Christmastime fun.
Over at Tokyo DisneySea, their Christmas Wishes event will illuminate the warmth and wonder of spending the holidays with family. A Perfect Christmas, the daytime show at Mediterranean Harbor, will feature Disney characters sharing their holiday dreams of Christmas—while Colors of Christmas will delight guests after dark with softly falling snow around the park’s harbor waters.
Hong Kong Disneyland: A Most Delightful Disney Christmas
From November 16 to January 1, guests at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort will enjoy festive celebrations from day to night with “A Disney Christmas,” as the resort is transformed into a winter wonderland filled with music, magical lights, and shimmering snowflakes. By day, the Castle forecourt will be transformed into a themed stage for a special Mickey and Friends Christmastime Ball song-and-dance experience; at night, Main Street, U.S.A. will be covered in gently falling snow. All manner of Disney characters will be available for holiday photo moments filled with lots of surprises… and for the first time this year, the adorable StellaLou, the newest friend of Duffy the Disney Bear, will take part!
Disneyland Paris: Christmas Magic at Both Parks
Across the pond, Disneyland Paris is offering up magical merriment from November 11 through January 7… and this year, the festive delights will be seen in both Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios Parks for the first time!
Our pal Goofy will be bringing holly-jolly fun for the very first time to Walt Disney Studios Park, where he’ll transform the Hollywood Tower Hotel into the backdrop for a spectacular magical Goofy’s Incredible Christmas nighttime experience! The entire park will also buzz with the sounds of the season, as Mickey Mouse and friends take to the Production Courtyard stage several times a day for a holiday singalong. Meanwhile, at Disneyland Park, Main Street, U.S.A. will feature both the legendary Disney Stars on Parade as well as the comeback of Disney’s Christmas Parade (complete with snowfall!). Plus, a brand-new show—A Merry Stitchmas—will bring Stitch’s holiday shenanigans to the Sleeping Beauty Castle stage. And over in Videopolis, the all-new Mickey’s Christmas Big Band show will offer up some tuneful sounds of the season.
Shining Bright at Shanghai Disneyland Resort
The holidays are descending upon the newest addition to Disney Parks & Resorts, and in a big way! Shanghai Disneyland Resort will soon be a-glow with charming holiday decorations in every nook and cranny, as well as favorite Disney characters dressed in their holiday best—including Santa Goofy! Each day, guests will swing to the sound of the Disneyland band during Happy Holidays Mickey!, in which Mickey Mouse himself leads revelers in a Christmas swing dance. And at night, Frozen’s funny, sunny snowman Olaf will lead the “When We’re Together” Tree Lighting Ceremony to illuminate the 60-foot tall Christmas tree in front of Enchanted Storybook Castle.
The Royal Banquet Hall, Remy’s Patisserie, and Lumiere’s Kitchen will all have special holiday-themed meals added to their menus, and exclusive merchandise—including 40 limited-release seasonal products like adorable stockings and a Duffy-themed popcorn bucket—will be ready to take its place under your own Christmas tree at home.