Search
Follow me:
Christmas at the Magic Kingdom

7/5 News, the Kingdom Keepers book series, and Christmas at the Magic Kingdom

Episode 4

Play episode

Season 1, Episode 3: News, Kingdom Keepers, and Christmas at the Magic Kingdom

This week, we discuss plans for WDW to open on 7/11, transportation updates, the Kingdom Keepers book series by Ridley Pearson, and what it’s like to experience Christmas magic at Magic Kingdom.


Show Notes

Walt Disney World Theme Parks begin opening this week 

All music for this episode is available through a creative commons license. The background music for the News segment was created by Kevin Macleod:
Fuzzball Parade by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5044-fuzzball-parade
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/


Season 1, Episode 3: 7/5 News, the Kingdom Keepers book series, and Christmas at the Magic Kingdom Transcript

Chris  0:04 
You’re listening to supercalifragilistic awesome Disney podcast. Each week, we’re going to talk about three things. In Main Street USA, we’ll talk about the latest Disney news. In Tomorrowland, we talk about things we’re looking forward to. And World Showcase is dedicated to our favorite Disney adventures. So let’s get this show on the road. Por Favor Mantengase Alejado De Las Puertas.

Hey, everybody, this is Chris. And I’m Kelli. I love that intro. That is my favorite one. I’m having fun with those for sure. It’s so so mainstreet USA this week, talking about some things that are going on. The big news is that the parks in Orlando are coming up in this week. I know. I know. Very exciting. So on Saturday, the 11th Magic Kingdom and animal kingdom open up. And then on the 15th A few days later, Epcot and Hollywood Studios opened up. We talked about that before. But one thing that’s cool is that the annual pass holders actually get a pan annual pass holder preview on the ninth and the 10th two days before it officially opens them up. That’s Lucky for you. Right But we got a there was no heads up. But people with the my Disney experience app on their phones got this sudden notification I think last Monday, yeah. That Hey, now’s the time login, you can sign up for the annual pass holder preview. And like 30 minutes, all those are gone. We’re just totally gone. Yeah. So but in any case, those who were lucky enough to get in, they can go on the ninth and the 10th Yeah, and I’m excited to see their pictures. I’m super excited. So on the seventh and eighth the day before is actually a cast member preview. So the cast actually gets to go some of the cast members get to go and actually enjoy the parks.

Kelli  2:11 
Do they do the food that day? So they ride the rides? Yep. And they could can they eat the food?

Chris  2:18 
always it’s always such a theme. I think they can I think they use I mean, I don’t know. I’m just guessing but I think they use the cast member previews as his soft opening. And so but it also gives the cast just just the cast members a little love.

Kelli  2:33 
Yeah, really. That’s fun. I like it.

Chris  2:34 
Super fun. So with that the transportation is now starting to open up also the buses actually started running on on the on June 22, when the when some of the resorts started opening to get people from the resorts to Disney Springs, because it had been open since like late May. Right. But this week, the on the seventh when the cast member preview starts the monorail and the ferryboats from the transportation and tickets are over to the Magic Kingdom start running. Okay. And then the big ferryboats the big ferryboats right, not the little friendships that you see we have the big ferry boats. And then on the 15th, the skyliner starts. right that’s, that is a huge leap forward in Disney transportation.

Kelli  3:22 
Well, especially for those of us who don’t like crowds or know people, and we just wouldn’t be in our own little compartment with a freeze going through our hair. Yep. and not have to smell you know, sweaty humans or dirty babies, right? I mean,

Chris  3:40 
I’m just it’s a that’s the motto. It’s a win win. Yes. So Win win. Yeah, so it opens up on the 15th and, and I’m assuming that the monorail to Epcot opens up that day also. Okay. So that’s, that’s my assumption. So no word yet on minivans when they will start running again or the little friendship boats that take you from like boardwalk Yacht Club beach club to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. No word yet when those will start running again. The monorails have been modified so that there are like partitions now they’re more partitions separating compartments. Yeah. long overdue. Yeah. And and each compartment. My understanding will have just one party per compartment again, I’m for it. Yep. The lines gonna be longer, but I’m for it. In that same vein. My understanding is that the buses also are only carrying about 20 people for us, which is what I’m interested in writing. I hear you.

Further news. The NBA starts at Disney on July the 30th or around July the 30th. And so they’ve created or they’re creating what they’re calling the NBA bubble at Walt Disney World. There’s four resorts where the players will be the players and personnel will be staying Yacht Club cornado springs that destino tower there, and they’re playing there too right they’re playing it I believe they’re playing in the Wide World of Sports. Okay yeah and and then Grand Floridian is hosting some of them okay, and there’s a there’s another resort to but like a Grand Floridian that’s the only one I’ve heard of that has the potential for players and guests DVC guests to interact potentially accidentally right so there’s a big huge blue fence that now runs right down the middle of the entire Grand Floridian prob literal bubble just separate the NBA players no one in no one out. Wow. Yeah. So it’s kind of a wild situation. The playoffs will run right up into mid October so though these some of these folks are gonna be there a long time. My understanding and I’ll prison for six actually what it is like crazy basketball prison. My understanding is that as the playoffs, whittle down the teams, they will consolidate the teams into one resort. I believe that’s the destino tower at Coronado springs. Okay. So anyway, so NBA is going to be, yeah, in Walt Disney World, they’re going to finish their season that way. Interesting. So a little bit of personal news, our trip that we had talked about going, we’re gonna be there on the first day we’ve, life has gotten in the way and we’ve pushed that trip back two weeks, right. So we’re, we’re still excited to be going. We have a lot more flexibility now on our trip than we had before. And, and we’re excited to share that on the pod. Yes. And Instagram and Twitter and all that fun stuff. All social meats cannot wait. And then it’ll be food. It’ll be lots of food. It will be lots at least if when I’m in charge, it will be food, of course, when you charge. So that’s the that’s that’s mainstream for this week.

Kelli  6:57 
Well, I’ve got one little trivia question for you that up We’ll be fine. Do we have time for one last review? Yeah, we’ve got plenty of time. Okay. Okay. I love I love trivia questions when you have to answer them. And so I thought this will be a fun thing talking about transportation. Okay. Okay, so the monorail was launched in 1971. Okay, okay, why are we rolling her eyes and you don’t want to turn your question on the monitor anymore?

Because 1971 the only answer you knew.

Chris  7:28 
Well, that’s when the place opens.

Kelli  7:31 
So the monorail was launched in 1971. The total miles logged by the Walt Disney World monorail would be equal to how many round trips to the moon.

Chris  7:48 
Total number of miles logged however,

Kelli  7:50 
miles logged by the monorail at Walt Disney World is equal to how many round trips round trips to the moon.

Chris  8:00 
We’ve only got two minutes left in this segment. Don’t get there’s not a multiple choice to this thing

Kelli  8:07 
on a multiple choice quiz. I could give you like, up or down. I mean, I could give you hot and cold. I’m gonna

Chris  8:13 
say, I’m gonna say, gosh, it sounds ridiculous. Hundred.

Kelli  8:20 
That is ridiculous.

Chris  8:28 
Extremely Oh my gosh.

You know, how far away is the moon?

Kelli  8:34 
I don’t know. Okay. I also don’t know the total number of miles logged. Okay, how many? The total miles logged by the Walt Disney World monorail trains would be equal to more than 33rd round trips to the moon. It’s farther away than

Who are our guys that are up there right now. Bob and Tom?

Chris  8:51 
That’s not right.

Kelli  8:52 
It’s not right. It’s not right. We should ask them how long it was.

Chris  9:00 
So, so more than 30

Kelli  9:02 
more than 30 round trips to the moon to the moon.

Chris  9:05 
Okay, that’s fascinating.

Kelli  9:07 
I think so too. I’m just so glad I stumped you. Well, it means I get a point,

Chris  9:12 
right, or you did. Right. And I get a point if I ever get it. Yes, you’re gonna come up with questions like that. You’re gonna have a lot of points. Excellent.

Kelli  9:19 
I can come up with questions like that.

Chris  9:21 
Are you ready for your tomorrowland?

Kelli  9:23 
I’m so ready. And I just want to go ahead and give everybody spoiler It’s not food.

Chris  9:29 
Everybody’s sad now.

Kelli  9:31 
Whatever. Let’s get ready. Let’s do it.

Unknown Speaker  9:36 
All right. So this is a little bit off script for tomorrowland. I will say, you know, normally with tomorrow and we talk about things that we want to do in the parks, right, or things on property, things of that nature. It’s,

Chris  9:51 
So far, that’s what it’s been so

Kelli  9:52 
far. In the first three episodes. That’s what has been one of the case I’m going off script here. I’m saying tomorrow and as any thing I want to do. It’s Disney related. I think

Chris  10:03 
that’s fair. That’s a fair interpretation.

Kelli  10:05 
It’s a broader definition I think than we had originally said, but it works. I’m going with it. Okay, so today then for Tomorrowland, we are going to be talking about a series of children’s novels that are written by Ridley Pearson. I brought a book.

Chris  10:23 
And so as what people will learn is that this is also on brand.

Kelli  10:27 
This is very on brand for me. So I would say food and books are probably my top two loves Sure, especially in relation to Disney. So in any case, this is a series of children’s novels written by Ridley Pearson is called the kingdom keepers. It’s published through Disney Hyperion publisher, so Disney publishes it. So it’s official. It’s not a bootleg Disney book. And the first one came out in 2005. According to Ridley’s website, there are more than 15 of these now including ebooks and things of that nature. I had no idea that they existed until I got an email from Disney about two months ago. That said I could No no, it was it was when the kids were still in school, right? Because a lot of companies were given discounts to help kids read and things of that nature. And so Disney sent out you could get these books for 99 cents, the first three for 99 cents each in in like a ebook format. Okay, Kindle format. And so anyway, I saw them and I thought, well, 99 cents. that’s worthy, right? And so I didn’t buy the ebook format, actually. The paperback which I’m holding, but in any case, I’m excited about these. So that here’s the the idea behind it. There are five teenagers have you are you familiar with these books? I’ve seen

Chris  11:50 
them in the parks. Yeah,

Kelli  11:52 
yeah. Man, I have just been under a rock. So but you’ve never read them? No. Okay. So five teenage And this is cool. They are models as theme park guides. And so what that means their models? They are they are hologram projections that can guide guests through the parks. Yes. So I’m like you would be a model for a hologram. Oh, that’s good, right. So they make literally a hologram of you. It could have other voices but they make a hologram of you. And you guide people through the park. I mean, honestly, I think this is where we’re going with COVID right. I mean, who doesn’t want a holographic

Chris  12:36 
all the people just just hang out in the underground tunnels below the Magic Kingdom and their holograms are up.

Kelli  12:43 
We can holograms ourself to work. Oh, yeah, good hologram. So

Chris  12:47 
basically what I’m doing now anyway, I mean,

Kelli  12:49 
I think that’s fantastic. In any case, you know, I’m a huge fan of the holodeck on Star Trek.

Chris  12:55 
I did not know we were going there today, but I do know

Kelli  12:59 
all of this episodes of Star Trek that have the holodeck involved are my favorite episodes. Sure. I love the holodeck. So here’s what happens in the book technology issues cause the teams to be transported as holograms into the Magic Kingdom at night. That’s book one. Okay, there are again, like I said, they’re like 15. In the second one, they go to animal kingdom. And then the third one, they go to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Okay. Okay. So anyway, they’re transported as holograms into the Magic Kingdom at night, which is their sort of, like, what are we doing here? Why are we here? How did we get here? They think they’re dreaming

Chris  13:37 
well, and how awesome must

Kelli  13:38 
I be? But here’s the cool part. They run into an elderly Imagineer named Wayne, who lives in the apartment above the fire station. Oh, yeah. And he tells them that the park is in danger. maleficence and some other villains are trying to destroy Disney from the inside and yet like literally in the park, but then also you In the greater scheme of Disney, so here’s some reasons why I’m excited about this. I’m gonna read passage. Okay, okay, I broke the book. I’m gonna read passage. But here’s some reasons I’m excited about number one. I am a bit of a sci fi fan. Sure a bit bit of a sci fi fan. And I love Disney. Sure. Okay, so we’re combining now. Potentially three things that are my favorites, sci fi, holograms and Disney. Okay, I’ve always wondered what happened to the park after dark. Right are cast members still in there? Is this a 24? Seven kind of a situation? And I love a good mystery. Oh, these are mysteries, mysteries. You don’t know what’s going on? Okay. Okay. So I’m going to read you guys the first two chapters the first two paragraphs okay. So that you get a feel for how this starts off. Okay, so this is the first two paragraphs in chapter one of book one called Disney after dark during the Magic Kingdom. He found himself standing in Next to the flagpole in town square in the heart of the Magic Kingdom in his pajamas. How he had gotten here. He had no idea. His last memory was climbing into bed. It felt like only minutes earlier, gripped by sense of panic, all by the sight of the Cinderella Castle at night. Finn Whitman briefly recall that he had had other similar dreams recently, always in the Magic Kingdom, and always at night, but in his 13 years, none surreal and so vivid as this, he felt a breeze on his face. He smelled the wet Earth of a flowerbed not far away. He heard the distant wind of traffic and the buzz of a motorboat on the lake behind him. It looks so different, he thought, only to realize that he had spoken out loud Mainstreet stood empty. that a person insight. He glanced around and quickly saw that he was all alone. Obviously has met Wayne yet, obviously. But I mean, does it sound great?

Chris  16:12 
I like I like when I can visualize Yes. Where the story is taking place. Yes. And that lends itself perfectly

Kelli  16:21 
that’s great right so naturally I mean, what you’re all thinking right now is if he’s a hologram he shouldn’t be able to feel the breeze or smell the wet Earth. So is he a hologram? We don’t know. You see the technology is screwed up. We don’t know.

Chris  16:40 
we’re just gonna have to read it. Just

Kelli  16:41 
got to read it. So I actually ordered the first three books as a box set. Okay. So we’ve got Disney after dark Disney at dawn. That’s the animal kingdom which really that’s the best time to go but as anything after that is just sweltering desert. Why is it that way is something about animal kingdom. That is literally like Walking through butter every time we go and then the third one is Disney in shadow, which is Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

Chris  17:07 
I love it. I love this idea.

Kelli  17:09 
I’m excited about it. I’m totally excited about I’m gonna start reading these. I’ve got a couple other books in the queue ahead of them. Sure you do. But they’re on my list. In fact, I may take one for the for the flight when we get to Disney. Okay. Yeah, that’s awesome. Yeah. excited about it. Awesome. That’s it. That is

Chris  17:25 
a that’s definitely on brand. And but but I worthy addition to the Tomorrowland segment, okay.

Kelli  17:31 
All right. So that’s tomorrow land for this week. Awesome. Good job.

Chris  17:35 
All right. You ready for my World Showcase? I’m excited about your world showcase. Okay. You don’t even know I don’t but I’m still excited. Okay. Here we go. Here we go.

Okay. So, we are in the sweltering heat of July. We are halfway through the year. Yes. What better time than now? To talk about Christmas.

Kelli  18:03 
Yes, please.

Chris  18:06 
So so my one of my very, very favorite things to do at Disney is Mickey’s very merry christmas party. So that a lot of what I’ve got here almost all in fact, what I’ve got here is really Disney, the Magic Kingdom at Christmas time.

Kelli  18:27 
Right? Not not

Chris  18:28 
specific to not specific to the party, but we’ll cover the party too. Because, I mean, we tend to go to either Disney or New York City at Christmas just because we both like that’s just the best time to go to either of those places. Christmas at the Magic Kingdom anytime at the Magic Kingdom anytime at Disney is great. But Christmas is just a notch above.

Kelli  18:53 
Oh yeah. If you haven’t been you have to put that on your list forever ago at Christmas time.

Chris  18:58 
On Christmas. No Cuz it is a crowded mess

Kelli  19:04 
yes no it’s best to go actually before kids get out of school

Chris  19:07 
yeah like

Kelli  19:09 
cuz that’s when the Florida residents really start coming in right right out there people to

Chris  19:12 
ask them yeah right after Thanksgiving but maybe before the kids get out of school it’s a really good time to go is that of course the park is just beautiful the holiday decor the garland chonies the trees and the Florida weather is just It feels so much better and

Kelli  19:33 
it’s nice. Yes,

Chris  19:34 
you don’t have that sweltering right the storm every afternoon. Yeah.

Kelli  19:40 
So, so

Chris  19:44 
what’s nice is they do all this extra special stuff at Christmas anyway. But then for the very merry christmas party, they they toss in stuff that’s just special to the party. So here’s how the parties work. I don’t care if it’s six or seven o’clock but on the day of Have a party have a very Merry Christmas party. The park technically closes, let’s say at six o’clock. And at that time if you have a ticket for the party, which is an extra charge is about 100 bucks a person at least it was last year. The price can go up the closer you get to Christmas Day.

Kelli  20:20 
I didn’t realize that. Yeah,

Chris  20:20 
it was last year, like the day before and the day after Christmas. It was like, a couple days before Christmas. It was like $150 I did

Kelli  20:32 
not know that. Okay. Okay. Yeah.

Chris  20:35 
So, so it is an extra charge. You know, some people have an issue with that, but it’s an extra charge of about $100. And you go to a kiosk at Park closing or sometime before the park closes, and they give you a little wristband, and the wristband says, You bought a ticket to the very merry christmas party, and you technically could stay in the park. Yeah, without a wristband, right? You just don’t get to enjoy A whole lot of rides are already the stuff that they’re hanging out right? But you could stay for some of the entertainment which is plentiful. Alright, so during the very merry christmas party there they usually have a a new Christmas a Mickey Mouse Christmas show on those castle stays in front of the castle. Elsa comes out and freezes the castle for a little a little show the castle when it gets dark it turned sort of ice covered lights. Yeah. There’s a there’s a Christmas parade. They don’t have right during the regular operation. There’s two shows over in Tomorrowland one is a DJ and then the other is like an acapella group singing Christmas songs. That’s right. Yes, because they’ve got that stage over and tomorrow lands. And then they have an entirely new or different firework show just for Christmas time. Yeah, we two weeks ago we talked about what an amazing job the fireworks are at the Magic Kingdom but then they do a completely different firework show on lights of the Christmas party. But my favorite activity that they do at the Christmas party is club tencel which is Oh, you remember,

Kelli  22:15 
I remember that it’s

Chris  22:16 
in it’s in cosmic rays, starlight cast, which we do love. And it’s really for the the kids in the teenagers. They put a DJ up there on the stage, preteens, preteen preteen, yeah, they put a put a DJ on the stage, and then they just invite the kids down to in front of the stage to have a dance party. And my favorite things were these like, nine foot reindeer

Kelli  22:40 
reindeer. Oh, my goodness, she’s dancing. They’re low, but they were working.

Chris  22:44 
I have never seen anybody work as hard as the people in those reindeer costumes.

Kelli  22:49 
They had a fan man. They were dancing

Chris  22:52 
there but I have never seen dance and reindeer dance harder than

Kelli  22:56 
I loved them so much. I bought a T shirt with a reindeer on it. Do you remember that? Sir I loved it. I was like this they those reindeer deserve a shirt

Chris  23:03 
and they do man they worked so hard and they were getting this kids involved and they were great bringing some of those little young kids out of their shell and having a good time. I loved the club tensile thing.

Kelli  23:12 
That was fun. That was great.

Chris  23:15 
Tons of special food just for Christmas time at the Magic Kingdom food. The thing that’s different about the very merry christmas party though is they have these these stations scattered throughout the park where you can go and get free cookies it’s mostly cookies as snickerdoodles and peppermint cookies and chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate and apple cider and things like that that are complimentary. But then they have all these other things like oh last frozen hot chocolate cake dessert they have a Mickey cinnamon roll and and special floats you had the the holiday the pistachio and cherry chocolate float, which is specific to Christmas time

Kelli  23:58 
but not specific to the very merry No, that is specific to Christmas time and I’m Terry if you have not had the pistachio and cherry hot chocolate float from the dole whip stand then you’re just not eating the right dole whip float and don’t email me I know there’s some hardcore dole whip, you know, classes out there but whatever. That pistachio and cherry on hot chocolate, frozen hot chocolate is amazing. If you like the original dough whip, you know what get to hashtag you can have both, right. There’s nothing wrong with that, but that is a good snack. That is a good

Chris  24:37 
good. There’s this other thing there called orange bird orange Christmas bird thing. Yes, the bird. I read about that thing, man. It’s just the weirdest thing I’ve ever I can’t even imagine I have no idea what it has to do with Christmas. Maybe I’m just lacking there but it’s an orange scented white chocolate mousse with orange curd in the middle and it’s

Kelli  24:58 
with the birds in the 12 days. Christmas maybe it’s a 12 Days of Christmas

Chris  25:04 
no idea what has it but

Kelli  25:05 
are very much what kind of birds those the 12 Days of Christmas? A partridge? Yeah, a partridge in a pear tree. Yeah,

Chris  25:12 
this is an orange bird. I don’t know what color partridges are. So another cool thing that they do at Christmas time in general is they they holiday twist is what they call holiday twist some of the rides so for example, they they add some holiday decor to the Mad Tea Party. The Space Mountain ride is holiday twisted. So when you’re coming out of Space Mountain, you see some of those little images of various space vacation destinations. They’re all decorated for Christmas.

Kelli  25:47 
Oh, I did not know that. Yeah, so

Chris  25:49 
but the one that you’ll you’ll recognize as they turn the Jungle Cruise into the jingle.

Kelli  25:54 
Yeah, that one I was familiar with. I didn’t know they did anything to Space Mountain. Yeah. So they they Like

Chris  26:01 
so Amazon Bell will be the name of a boat on Jungle Cruise they’ll change the name of Amazon bell to jingle bell right right right yeah, no, no Christmas Ify or holiday if I write all the boat names you know if you’ve written the Jungle Cruise or the Jingo cruise you’re you’re very familiar with the, with the corny jokes, and they managed to Christmas if I those jokes also, right. So So that’s another thing that happens during the very merry christmas party or just at Christmas time in general. So a couple of other food items that that aren’t so sweet. There’s a million Sweet Treats but they over a guest ons Tavern and fantasy land. They have a they have these little these cheese dippers. It’s like a really soft dough that are shaped like reindeer and spins. reindeers and vans right? Yeah. Right. That’s reindeer antlers. And then over at cosmic rays, starlight cafe they have this like turkey sandwich. This is real cutting board. Cutting yes hard. Yes it is. It looked amazing. So that’s not complimentary. No, no. Those are things that you pay for. I think you actually had their the eggnog milkshake thing I think I did with the light bulb.

Kelli  27:26 
Yeah, I think I did have that. I think I remember it sort of just tastes like a Christmas cookie. Yeah,

Chris  27:31 
yeah, right. Right. Right. So. So just being in the Magic Kingdom at Christmas time, to me, is just the best. It just just overwhelmed you with the holiday spirit and you’re already in the happiest place on earth. At the generally the happiest time of the year. Right? It’s wonderful.

Kelli  27:52 
It is no I completely agree. And you’re just talking about Magic Kingdom but honestly all the parks are great at Christmas. I love Hollywood studios at Christmas. And Epcot. I love really any time of the year yeah. But all the parks do a great job at Christmas I think I think Magic Kingdom probably says Christmas more you know like it just it feels it. It looks at Main Street USA is decorated. You got the victory all of that well, especially right after the fireworks are done their little their special fireworks show they they create snow on Main Street. Oh, that’s right. They just like suddenly you’re just all these little snowflakes are falling around.

Chris  28:33 
It’s wonderful. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. So that’s a that’s my highly recommend go during Christmas. Yes,

Kelli  28:41 
I agree. That’s fantastic.

Chris  28:44 
All right. Well, that’s it.

Kelli  28:47 
I’ll hope y’all enjoyed this as much as we did.

Chris  28:50 
And if you did, please subscribe on iTunes and leave us a review. It really helps us.

Kelli  28:55 
Yes, please. And if you’re looking for more things Disney visit SCF adp.com that’s SCF. adp.com. S for Super C for Cali, F for fringilla. Stick a for awesome D for Disney p for podcast. We posted some videos of us cooking Disney recipes and this week we’ll have some more bonus content that’ll go live with a video overview of all Lani. We posted a bonus podcast review of Alani last week I’m adding some photos to that making a video review. And we also took a shot at cooking the Kona cafe sweet bread from the Polynesian resort. We took a shot at it

Chris  29:37 
would also love to have you join the conversation on Twitter or Instagram our handle is SCFADP in both places.

Kelli  29:45 
And I think that is all, right?

Chris  29:48 
With that we have to see you real soon.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai
 

More from this show

Subscribe

Episode 4