Team Mousetalgia takes our annual personal look back at the year in Disney, listing off our faves from the "Limited Time Magic" promotion, the various Disney movies, and more. Does the team rank Frozen above Saving Mr. Banks? Listen and find out! We also discuss our favorite change or addition to the Disney company, and offer our annual "Oswald Award" for things that just didn't go as planned. Finally, we wrap up the show with our personal magic moments of the year, remembering our unforgettable experiences, including Richard Sherman's 85th birthday party, the Club 33 Marc Davis tribute, time in the Disneyland Hotel cabanas, and earning a runDisney Coast-to-Coast medal. Also - a listener reports on a special tour of the Walt Disney Studios in conjunction with screenings of "Saving Mr. Banks," and we offer a healthy serving of bits and bytes, including Disney's new Hawaiian princess, the Frozen app, grapefruit beer - and more!

Merry Weird-mas from Mousetalgia! On today's special holiday show, we welcome three - count 'em, three - Imagineers to the show to talk about Marvel's upcoming "Disney Kingdoms" line of comics, which will be based on Disney theme park attractions. The first title, Seekers of the Weird, is based on Rolly Crump's original designs for the never-realized Museum of the Weird attraction, and Imagineers Josh Shipley, Brian Crosby and Jim Clark join us to discuss the origin story behind the comic, and some of the opportunities and challenges the new storylines present as they take a deeper dive into the worlds of some of the Disney parks' storied attractions. Also, we present our annual theoretical gifts to the Disneyland Resort - will TDA take us up on any of our ideas? Plus, Santa brings us a sack of listener mail to dig through, and we talk budget trips to the parks, Fantasmic viewing, a Haunted Mansion moment - and more!

Team Mousetalgia reviews the Disneyland Holiday season for 2013 in this episode. First, Jeff and Kristen discuss various aspects of the holidays at the resort, including reports and reviews from Viva Navidad, World of Color Winter Dreams, the Holiday T Party, the Christmas Fantasy Parade, it's a small world, the Jingle Jangle Jamboree, the Jingle Cruise, various treats and restaurant offerings, and the Candlelight Processional. Listen to our reports and decide for yourself if Disneyland is still the leader in live holiday entertainment. And, it's time for the second annual Candy Cane Challenge, and this year we do a blind taste test of two Disneyland handmade candy canes - but one is a year old. Can our team tell the difference? Also - Dave and Jeff attend a tribute to Annette Funicello at the Walt Disney Family Museum featuing original Mouseketeer Sharon Baird and report on the event. Plus - a listener celebrates Walt's birthday at the Smoke Tree Ranch - and more!

We discuss the benefits and perils of the new MyMagic+ experience at Walt Disney World, and also review Disney's Frozen in this week's episode of Mousetalgia. First, we talk about Walt Disney World's newest feature, My Disney Experience and MyMagic+, a system that has been getting a lot of press lately due to complications and bugs in the system. Technically still in testing, MyMagic+ promises to make vacations at the Walt Disney World resort a dream - but is the experience living up to the hype? Listen to Dave and Becky's experience with the new system and judge for yourself. In addition, they discuss the holidays at Walt Disney World, and get stranded on Maelstrom. Also, Jeff and Kristen discuss Disney animation's latest blockbuster, Frozen. Going back to princess-based fairy tales, Disney seems to be falling back into familiar territory, but does Frozen offer something fresh? We debate the merits of this solid box office hit. Plus - a great sweepstakes giveaway, holiday gift giving ideas - and more!

This week, we welcome Joseph Titizian, writer for the Walt Disney Family Museum blog, to join us in a celebration of the life of Diane Disney Miller, with whom Joseph was a good friend. We look at Diane's philanthropic work and humble pursuit of truth regarding the legacy of her father, Walt Disney. Joseph also shares some personal stories of his history with the Walt Disney Family Museum and his relationship with its founder, Diane. We also remember Walt himself during this 112th anniversary week of his birth, and dig into the archives to discover how Walt celebrated the birth of his first daughter, Diane. Next, Dave talks about the Wine & Dine Half Marathon which was recently hosted at the Walt Disney World resort, and describes the race by which he earned his Coast-to-Coast Race Challenge medal for running two Disney half marathons, one on each coast, in a calendar year. Plus - the holidays have decended upon Disneyland, and we discuss our favorite features found at the resort this season - and more!

Disney Legend Dave Smith, Disney Archivist Emeritus, joins Mousetalgia this week to tell the true story of Walt Disney's pursuit of P. L. Travers to bring her book Mary Poppins to the screen. In anticipation of the upcoming feature film Saving Mr. Banks, we look into the history of the making of the iconic film and discover the true-life challenges the studio encountered as the film began production. We also talk to a Mousetalgia listener about his own experience dealing personally with P. L. Travers in an attempt to bring Mary Poppins to the stage, and Kristen reports from a preview screening of Saving Mr. Banks. Plus - we give thanks for our Disney blessings in honor of this holiday week, and take a moment to remember the life well-lived of Diane Disney Miller, Walt Disney's daughter, who passed away last week at the age of 79.

Along the edge of Disneyland's Rivers of America, Critter Country and Splash Mountain welcome guests into a wilderness of friendly fauna. But before Critter Country, there was Bear Country and its Jamboree, and before Bear Country, there was Indian Village and its living history. Join Mousetalgia for an informative look at the history of the far end of Disneyland, and learn about the development of this section of the park. Was Indian Village condescending or a product of its time - or both? Is The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh a better or worse attraction than its predecesor, the Country Bear Jamboree? We also review all of the current food and shopping options in Critter Country, and weigh the pros and cons of spending time at the farthest corner of Disneyland. Plus - a listener reviews Peter and the Starcatcher, Team Mousetalgia create our own attractions to add to Critter Country... and more!

In this week's Mousetalgia Emporium, Team Mousetalgia report from Disneyland's Main Street, from Halloween Town, and even from Neverland! Jeff reports from Tony Baxter's Main Street Window Ceremony, held November 1 at Disneyland Park, and talks to some of Tony's friends and peers about the legacy Tony has left for future generations of Imagineers. Next, Kristen offers a review of "Peter and the Starcatcher" from the national tour's stop in Seattle, and offers an insightful critique of the Tony-Award-winning play. Jeff discusses Disney on Ice's "Passport to Adventure," and talks about the Neverland segment in that arena show as well, pointing out how the script refers back to J. M. Barrie's original play. Kristen then reviews the new Monsters University blu-ray set, revealing some of the extras and bonus materials that fans have come to expect from Pixar sets. And finally, Jeff reviews a recent performance of "Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton," a symphonic performance held on Halloween night in downtown Los Angeles which features Elfman's triumphant return to live performance on the stage. Plus - if you had to swap a Disneyland attraction for another Disney attraction from any Disney park worldwide, what would you choose?

Is a Disneyland VIP Tour right for you? Mousetalgia reports from a full day of VIP touring around the resort and offers tips and advice regarding VIP tours, some of which may surprise you. The VIP Hosts and Hostesses (in the famous Disneyland plaid outfits) act as living fastpasses, and we discuss the pros and cons of having nearly instant access to so many E-Ticket attractions. Can there be too much of a good thing? Also - we report on a new lunch menu at Club 33, with seasonal desserts that are to die for, and we discuss the pros and cons of reserved seating for Main Street shows. Kristen also reports briefly on the resort-specific games and offerings for hotel guests. Plus - Tony Baxter's Main Street Window is installed above the Magic Shop, our first listener review of Frozen, and a report on a limited-time magic opportunity to meet and greet Thor at Disneyland.

Producer Dave Bossert from Walt Disney Feature Animation joins us to discuss Roy E. Disney and his new book, "Remembering Roy E. Disney: Memories and Photos of a Storied Life." Bossert talks about the critical challenges Roy faced as he successfully saved Disney animation and the Disney company in general, and we also discuss Bossert's role in the preservation of Disney's classic animated features. In other news, it's Halloween week, and Mousetalgia has cooked up a potpourri of grim goodies for you in celebration of this holiday or horrors. Kristen describes the dark delicacies served at the park this season; Jeff shares a bit of the dead man's "T Party;" and the team discuss more elements of Mickey's Halloween Party and Halloween Time 2013. Plus - listeners' trip reports, "Nightmare Before Christmas" Second Screen Live, Kristen attends a "genre-defying" cabaret/burlesque stage presentation of "Nightmare Before Christmas" - and more!