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Mickey Mouse at hte Magic Kingdom in his xmas finest

Holiday Highlights for Walt Disney World

Mickey Mouse at hte Magic Kingdom in his xmas finest

Walt Disney World is out with its annual list of activities for the Christmas season at the parks and resorts. At first glance, it’s not all that impressive of a list. There’s nothing major that’s new and many of the favorite activities from former years remain retired. That said, there’s still nothing as magical as Walt Disney World when it’s decorated for the winter holidays. There may be less of it, but it’s still head and shoulders over what is offered by most of its rivals.

Visitors to Walt Disney World will be able to experience some of the yuletide glow as early as November 9. There’s also an extra night of merry at the Magic Kingdom with 20 nights of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party; and at Epcot, Candlelight Processional. Here are some additional highlights:

Magic Kingdom

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party will have its longest-ever run with 20 magical nights from November 9-December 21. For a quarter century, Walt Disney World guests have been mesmerized by this must-see event, a grandly festive tradition immersing families in the holiday spirit. Dates for 2012: Nov. 9, 12, 15, 16, 25, 27, 29, 30 and Dec. 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21. Beginning at 7 p.m. (after regular park hours), guests with special event tickets to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party can enjoy all the holiday splendor with lively stage shows, spectacular fireworks, a unique holiday parade and favorite holiday traditions including complimentary cookies and hot cocoa, and snow flurries on Main Street, U.S.A. For more information, visit www.Disneyworld.com/Christmasparty. NOTE: this is a hard ticket special event after regular park hours; purchasing tickets in advance is highly recommended.

Entertainment, Fireworks and More: Santa’s elves have transformed the Magic Kingdom into a winter wonderland with festive wreaths, bows, garland, sparkling lights, parades and towering Christmas trees. The fun includes the Holiday Wishes nighttime spectacular: Celebrate the Spirit of the Season fireworks, plus live entertainment with Disney characters all dressed up for the holidays.

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LaSalle

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Update

Pirates of the Caribbean

Map for Fountain of Youth covers outside of Pirates exhibit

The Magic Kingdom is getting all the attention now with the New Fantasyland soft-openings and Disney’s Animal Kingdom is lined up for the next major expansion with the addition of Avatar-land to the park. The next park due for a major announcement is Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the rumor is that something big is, in fact, coming. I snuck out for a tour of the park on a windy afternoon (thanks Sandy) and found out that there is plenty of change occurring already, even without an official announcement.
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art of animation resort

Disney 365 Tours the new Art of Animation Resort

Disney Channel’s Disney 365 news segment visits Disney’s Art of Animation resort with Vincent Martella from Phineas and Ferb. Martella gets to goof around and everyone gets a better idea of what the resort offers. (Walt Disney World’s largest pool anyone?) Have you stayed at… Read More »Disney 365 Tours the new Art of Animation Resort

Disney Parks Launches New TV Commercials

Disney Memories - Magic Kingdom at Twilight

A new series of commercials from Disney Parks has hit the airwaves. They position a Disney Parks vacation as a sort of memory factory from which there is a limited time to extract those precious moments. I say it a bit cynically, but that really is the formula that Disney and its research partners have found to work the best.

With a world where economic uncertainty is the one thing that’s for certain, surveys and guests have told Disney that guests are looking to make the one thing that can’t be taken away from them, special family bonds built by time spent together.

As it turns out, Disney is uniquely suited to provide this experience. The Disneyland Resort has received a kickstart with the revitalized California Adventure gate making it a true multi-day destination and the Walt Disney World resort has perfected the art of enveloping you in the magic to such a point that you never have to experience anything non-Disney form the moment you arrive at the airport until your departure. Not quite as good as teleporting your from your kitchen to the Magic Kingdom, but it will have to do until the Imagineers perfect that option.

Follow us below the jump to see the rest of the new commercials, then please let us know which commercial works the best for you and rate the whole campaign from “5 – Great Idea” to “1 – Needs Improvement” in the comments.

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Big Thunder Mountain Queue

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to Get Interactive Queue

Back when Big Thunder Mountain Railroad re-opened after its latest refurbishment, there was a lot of speculation about exactly what those nondescript boxes were in the queue. Obviously, they were temporary place holders until something better could be installed, but what is that something. Turns… Read More »Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to Get Interactive Queue

New Fantasyland Minisite Hides Mystery

Walt Disney World is attempting to drive up a little virtual excitement for New Fantasyland via a new micro-site. The site claims there is a curse preventing all the information about the new land from being revealed and a hero is needed to remove the… Read More »New Fantasyland Minisite Hides Mystery

Inside The Little Mermaid Wing at Art of Animation Resort

The last wing to open at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort is actually the first set of buildings built. Of course, it was still called “Pop Century – Legendary Years” at the time. Later these buildings became known as Disney’s Ghost hotel. Now we’re just… Read More »Inside The Little Mermaid Wing at Art of Animation Resort

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort – Lobby Tour

Back in April, The Disney Blog enjoyed a pre-opening tour of the Disney’s Art of Animation Lobby from Walt Disney Imagineer Gary Hoffman. The lobby, aka Animation Hall, as you will hear, is designed as the pre-show for the greater hotel. While the central focus… Read More »Disney’s Art of Animation Resort – Lobby Tour