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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: DECEMBER 2 TO DECEMBER 10, 2017

The material below details next week’s Disney World operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

For more on December 2017 at Disney World, see this.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 12/2-12/10/17

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 8a-12MN 12/2, 8a-6p 12/3, 9a-11p 12/4, 8a-6p 12/5, 9a-11p 12/6, 8a-6p 12/7 and 12/8,  8a-12MN 12/9, and 8a-6p 12/10

Epcot will be open from 9a-9.30p every day

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open 9a-8p every day

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open 9a-8p every day

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 12/2-12/10/17

Saturday 12/2 Morning:  Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 12/3  Morning:  Hollywood Studios  Evening: none

Monday 12/4 Morning: Animal Kingdom   Evening: none

Tuesday 12/5 Morning: none Evening:  Epcot

Wednesday 12/6 Morning: none  Evening: Magic Kingdom

Thursday 12/7 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 12/8 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none

Saturday 12/9 Morning: Animal Kingdom   Evening: none

Sunday 12/10  Morning: Hollywood Studios  Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 12/2-12/10/17

The Magic Kingdom: Afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade: 2p every day

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 12/2-12/10/17

Happily Every After at Magic Kingdom: 9p 12/2, 12/4, 12/6 and 12/9

IllumiNations at Epcot:  9.30p every day

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios:  8.30p every day

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios:  not scheduled

Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 8p every day

Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom 6.30 and 7.45p 12/2 through 12/5; 6.30p 12/6; 6.30 and 7.45p 12/7 through 12/10

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 12/2-12/10/17

See Steve Soares’ site here. Click the park names at its top for show schedules.

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As noted yesterday, Josh and I just published an update to our The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit 2018, the best-reviewed Disney World guide book in the known universe.

Those already on our update list will get instructions on how to get their 2018 update shortly. If you purchased the 2018 edition but are not yet on our 2018 update list, here’s how to get on it:

This was, by our standards, a minor update, as not a lot has changed since our August 2017 publication date. Here’s what’s different or updated:

• We’ve added the new dog-friendly pilot to the four resorts it affects.
• Although we don’t usually do rumors, the potential impact of the rumored expansion of access to 60 day FastPass+ is so strong that we noted it at several points
• We’ve added the dates for the Festival of the Arts and the Flower and Garden Festival, and changed the name of the old Holidays Around the World to The Festival of the Holidays
• We updated the construction and/or refurb status of the moderate resorts and of Pop Century and the Yacht Club, and added the new Yacht Club floor plan.
• Thanks to reader feedback, we fixed a few errors or omissions that had crept in—the height minimum in Rock ‘n” Roller, a place where we had left out tiering at the Animal Kingdom, and a point about crowd calendars.
• We made a change in the FastPass+ priority order at Epcot
• At the Studios, we’ve updated the names of one attraction (Walt Disney Presents) and of one of the lands (Grand Avenue), added BaseLine Tap House, updated the FastPass+ priority order, and added Jingle Bell Jingle BAM!
• At Magic Kingdom, we revised the time of the Afternoon Parade and update the touring plans to reflect it.

We pride ourselves on having the most accurate and up-to-date guidebook available, and updates like this are what make that come to life!

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Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

THE DISNEY COAT OF ARMS

By Jim Korkis
“(Dad) is not one of those to think the family tree is terribly important because of any important connections you might have had,” Walt’s daughter Sharon recalled. “He just thinks that it’s interesting to know just where your family came from. What they did. He was proud that they were good, honest people who worked hard and amounted to something in their own little way.”

Isgny-sur-Mer is a small village on the French coast near Normandy where Allied troops landed during World War II.

From this location nine centuries earlier, French soldiers sailed to invade England and after the battles remained and established a new life. Among those soldiers was Hughes d’Isgny and his son Robert.

In that era, people were often identified by the town from where they came. So Robert d’Isgny meant it was the Robert who was from the French seacoast town. Over the decades, the name became anglicized to the more familiar “Disney”.

Some of Walt’s ancestors came over to England with William the Conqueror in 1066, and some of them ended up in the small village and parish of Norton Disney in the western boundary of the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire from around the 13th century.

St. Peter’s Church in the village has five monuments of Disneys (including Sir William, a knight) which have shields on them bearing three lions passant.

The “Disney window” in the church at Flintham, Nottinghamshire, has one quartering that is Argent, three lions passant in pale gules.

A surname like Disney may have many different Coats of Arms since it was granted to an individual rather than an entire family and passed on to the oldest son.

Just like at Ellis Island in America when immigrants arrived, medieval scribes in the 11th and 12th century often simplified or spelled names as they sounded so there were frequent variations of the name “Disney” including “Deisney” among others.

In addition, in recent years, selling family heraldry is such a big business that some examples have been fabricated so it is problematic to determine an exact Coat of Arms that belongs to Walt’s branch of the family.

According to the Disney Company, the Disney heraldry is:

Coat of Arms: Three gold fleur de lis on a red fess, representing purity or light.

Crest: A red lion passant guardant representing bravery or courage. A crest is a part of the Coat of Arms. Red symbolized a family who served in the military.

Motto: Vincit qui patitur.

Motto Translated: He conquers who endures.

A golden emblem of three lions passant in pale was installed on the archway above the draw bridge on Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle sometime between the end of June 1965 and early July 1965 in connection with the Disneyland Tencennial celebration. Decades later more accurate banners were hung on the backside of the castle.

At Walt Disney World, the Coat of Arms is prominently displayed on the Cinderella Castle archway facing Fantasyland.

(c) Disney

Cinderella’s Royal Table, known as King Stefan’s Banquet Hall until 1997, includes forty coats of arms representing some of people who were instrumental in Walt Disney World including Imagineer Roger Broggie Sr., Marc Davis, John Hench, Dick Nunis and Marty Sklar as well as the Disney Coat of Arms.

While Walt was always curious about his ancestry, he did not display his alleged Coat of Arms on his clothes, jewelry, office or home.

*  *  *  *  *

Thanks, Jim! And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, Call Me Walt, and his Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, all published by Theme Park Press.

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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: NOVEMBER 25 TO DECEMBER 3, 2017

The material below details next week’s Disney World operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

For more on November 2017 at Disney World, see this, and for more on December, see this.

OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/25-12/3/17

The Magic Kingdom will be open from 8a-12MN 11/25, 8a-6p 11/26, 9a-10p 11/27, 8a-6p 11/28, 9a-10p 11/29, 8a-4/30p 11/30, 8a-6p 12/1,  8a-12MN 12/2, and 8a-6p 12/3

Epcot will be open from 9a-9.30p every day

Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open 9a-8p every day

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open 8a-10p 11/25, and 9a-8p 11/26 through 12/3

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/25-12/3/17

Saturday 11/25 Morning:  Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Sunday 11/26  Morning:  Hollywood Studios  Evening: none

Monday 11/27 Morning: none   Evening: Magic Kingdom

Tuesday 11/28 Morning: none Evening:  Epcot

Wednesday 11/29 Morning: Animal Kingdom  Evening: none

Thursday 11/30 Morning: Epcot Evening: none

Friday 12/1 Morning:  Magic Kingdom Evening: none

Saturday 12/2 Morning: Animal Kingdom   Evening: none

Sunday 12/3  Morning: Hollywood Studios  Evening: none

PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/25-12/3/17

The Magic Kingdom: Afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade: 2p every day

FIREWORKS AND EVENING SHOWS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/25-12/3/17

Happily Every After at Magic Kingdom: 10p 11/25; 9p 11/27, 11/29 and 12/2

IllumiNations at Epcot:  9.30p every day

Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios:  8.30p every day

Star Wars Show and Fireworks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios:  not scheduled

Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 8p every day

Rivers of Light at Disney’s Animal Kingdom 7, 8.45 and 10p 11/25; 6.30 and 7.45p 11/26 through 12/3

SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 11/25-12/3/17

See Steve Soares’ site here. Click the park names at its top for show schedules.

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Amazon has released the updated version of my and Josh’s The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit 2018, the latest edition the best-review Disney World guidebook in history.

We first published this 2018 edition in late August, and our latest update adds things that have changed since then, and corrects a couple of errors that our readers let us know about!

I’ll write more soon about what’s in this update (I’m traveling for Thanksgiving now).

If you bought the 2018 edition you get this update (as a PDF) for free! If you’ve already sent in your email, we’ll start sending instructions on how to get the updated PDF this weekend.

If you bought the 2018 edition but have not yet forwarded your Amazon confirmation, then quit fooling around and get it to us! Here’s the instructions:

And if you haven’t bought it yet, what are you waiting for?

We’ve had almost 300 reviews of this Disney World guidebook series on Amazon, and more than 90% are five stars. You won’t find more informed, more thoughtful, more experienced, more judicious or more silly companions to the Disney World parks, resorts, or dining venues than me and co-author Josh. Ours is the most accurate and most up-to-date Disney World guidebook you can find.

Away from the cranberry sauce and buy it now!

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For 2017 Disney World has added to the returning Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! show three new holiday elements to Disney’s Hollywood Studios:

• Olaf, new songs from “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure,” and a tree lighting to the end of the Frozen Sing-Along
• Holiday projections on the Hollywood Tower Hotel (site of the Tower of Terror)
• A Christmas Tree and substantial decorations in the Echo Lake area.

The net effect–especially of the last two changes–is really a transformed feel to the park, which now feels more Christmassy than any other Disney World park except the Magic Kingdom.  This is a big change, and one to delight in.

OLAF AT THE FROZEN SING-ALONG

The Frozen Sing-Along (officially “For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration” but no one calls it that except its mom) is a show that is surprisingly good even for those not obsessed with Frozen.

Here’s the review from The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit 2018–a guidebook so good that you probably want to be sitting down while reading it:

The Olaf additions to this show happen at the end, and your pleasure at them will be in direct proportion to how much of an Olaf fan you are.

Olaf arrives…

…is treated like a visiting rock star…

…new songs from Olaf’s Frozen Adventure are sung…

…and the bit ends with a Christmas tree lighting.

There’s not much to the stage business, not much narrative or sense of ending to the new action, and the new songs are quite weak compared to the high melodic and lyrical standards set by the classic Frozen songs. As a result, Olaf fans will probably love this add, and everybody else will be waiting for the show to return to its original staging.

HOLIDAY PROJECTIONS ON THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER HOTEL

The Hollywood Tower Hotel, best known until now for screaming elevator riders, has had four holiday projections added to its facade.  While there is not much to them, when combined with other holiday decorations on Sunset Boulevard, they really amp up the holiday feel of this section of the park. The entire effort is called Sunset Seasons Greetings.

Framed around Frozen…

…Mickey’s Christmas Carol…

…the Muppets…

…and Toy Story.

There’s not much to these–nothing like the action and subtlety of Tree of Life Awakenings at the Animal Kingdom, for example–but together with the other holiday decorations on Sunset Boulevard (and snow!–see the image at the very top of this page), the overall impact is to turn this into a much more festive area of the park.

THE CHRISTMAS TREE AND DECORATIONS IN THE ECHO LAKE AREA

Hollywood Boulevard has always been delightfully decorated, but now so is the Echo Lake area.

The most notable addition is the Christmas Tree, which used to be outside the park…

…but Gertie now has a bit of holiday decor as well–snow and a Santa hat.

A closer view of the tree…

…and the tree after dark.

Echo Lake after dark. There’s a tree lighting ceremony–at 6p the night I saw it–but it’s not much and definitely not worth scheduling around.

On the Gertie side of Echo Lake you’ll find these decorations…

…and further counter-clockwise around Echo Lake, near Hollywood and Vine, these.

The same later in the evening.

Until now, Echo Lake has been a bit of a pass-through-without noticing area for me, kinda like (but not so extreme as) Commissary Lane.  Gertie has historical importance, and the lake itself is cute and some find it to part of an enormous hidden Mickey.  But really, yawn.

The holiday directions add a focal point and a coherent atmosphere that’s been missing here until now. You will still largely pass by the lake on your way to something else, but now it’s a delightful walk.

The Echo Lake and Sunset Boulevard decorations profoundly strengthen how well Disney’s Hollywood Studios celebrate the holidays.  Don’t miss them!

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