When Gingerbread Houses Move Out and Dinosaurs Move In (Ep. 590)

Len Testa and Jim Hill start with snow shovels, snapping turtles, and New Hampshire’s ongoing audition for “America’s Australia,” then move into a packed Disney Dish. This week, they cover Disney’s holiday party calendar, the Grand Floridian gingerbread house retirement, tightening resort-access rules, the BoardWalk’s new Hurley Burley lounge, Disneyland’s Celebrate Soulfully Yardfest, and Universal Kids Resort’s very sunny Texas debut. They also dig into new DVC survey perks, listener questions about Europa Park, Australia in World Showcase, and whether Epcot is due for a monorail-adjacent hotel. Then Jim continues Disney’s living-character history with Dinotopia’s odd but memorable second life at Walt Disney Studios Park.

NEWS

• Disney’s Hollywood Studios may be targeting August for Magic of Disney Animation, though the building may have opinions of its own.

• Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and Jollywood Nights return with schedules that neatly zip together across the holiday season.

• The Grand Floridian gingerbread house is being retired, raising questions about resort crowds, access rules, and guest satisfaction.

• Disney’s resort-access language continues to tighten around holiday decorations, dining reservations, and who gets to visit which lobby.

• The BoardWalk’s former Jellyrolls space is set to become Hurley Burley, with family entertainment by day and a 21-and-up lounge by night.

• Disneyland’s Celebrate Soulfully Yardfest brings HBCU bands, drumlines, and Mickey Mouse as drumline major to Downtown Disney.

• Universal Kids Resort opens in Texas with early chatter about short rides, light landscaping, and a shade situation that may require SPF and optimism.

FEATURE

• Jim explains how sets from ABC’s 2002 Dinotopia miniseries wound up on the Studio Tram Tour at Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris.

• Waterfall City helped fill out a park that opened with a small budget and a very large need for things guests could see from a tram.

• The segment revisits Dinotopia, Reign of Fire, Catastrophe Canyon, and the strange art of letting narration do the work of missing dragons.

• Jim sets up next week’s look at Pixar Place, the Living Character Initiative, and the Luxo lamp story that still gives Imagineers the thousand-yard stare.

For this episode’s full show notes, click here.
View transcript here.
HOSTS

• Jim Hill - X/Twitter: @JimHillMedia, Instagram: @JimHillMedia, Website: jimhillmedia.com

• Len Testa - Bluesky: @lentesta.bsky.social, Instagram: @len.testa, Website: touringplans.com

FOLLOW

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SUPPORT

Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at https://www.patreon.com/jimhillmedia.

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Edited by Dave Grey

Produced by Eric Hersey - https://strongmindedagency.com

SPONSOR

The Disney Dish News is sponsored by UnlockedMagic.com, from the friends at DVC Rental Store. Visit UnlockedMagic.com for discounted theme park admission at prices better than Disney’s.

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