To kick off the holiday season, the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel is offering a variety of festive events and activities throughout December with two special guest hosts. Like many other holiday travelers, Santa and Mrs. Claus are jetting off to Florida to escape the cold, and once again have decided to spend their vacation at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel.

Families can enjoy a unique holiday experience away from home at the Epcot resort area hotel, mingling with a tropically clad Santa, lighting the tree with Mrs. Claus and even getting tucked in by one of Santa’s elves. 

This year’s holiday happenings at the hotel include:

• Santa and Mrs. Claus Meet ‘n Greets Select nights throughout December, Santa and Mrs. Claus, decked out in their vacation attire, will meet with guests in Santa’s customized Tiki hut. The hut features reindeer, palm trees and flamingos, making it a photo opportunity like no other. Plus, with Santa in such a relaxed state of mind, he might even be willing to grant more gift requests for those brave enough to ask!
• Life-Size Chocolate Santa Constructed entirely of chocolate, this life-sized sculpture of Santa weighs in at approximately 1,200 pounds! The sculpture, created by the hotel’s executive pastry chef Laurent Branlard (the only two-time world pastry champion), will be on display in the lobby of the Swan during the month of December. It will also include a chocolate fireplace, chocolate Christmas tree and chocolate toy train.
• Bedtime Elf Tuck-ins Even after Santa’s elves have finished making Christmas presents, their work isn’t finished! On Christmas Eve, the elves will visit children staying at the hotel and tuck them into bed before Santa arrives. For those who order this memorable experience, a full-costumed elf will deliver milk, cookies and a plush toy to the room, read a bedtime story and tuck the children into bed. Reservations are required and space is limited for this exclusive Christmas Eve service.
• Holiday Entertainment On select nights, the hotel will offer special holiday entertainment for visitors. Guests can enjoy beautiful musical performances by carolers, choirs and musicians in the hotel lobbies or on the causeway and other public areas throughout the resort.
• Magic Keys for Santa For children worried that Santa might not know where to deliver their gifts, these magic keys are the perfect solution. Children can hang a magic key outside their guest room on Christmas Eve to ensure that Santa finds his way.
• Tree-Lighting Guests can enjoy a special tree-lighting ceremony in the Dolphin lobby on certain nights in December, hosted by Mrs. Claus herself! Beverages and snacks will be available next to Santa’s Tiki Hut.
• Dessert Decorating and Holiday Movies Throughout December, families will be able to enjoy holiday-themed movies on their guest room televisions. Children will also have the chance to decorate delicious holiday sweets in the lobby.

For more details about all the holiday excitement, including a full schedule of activities and prices, at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel or to make room reservations, please visit SantasFavoriteResort.com or call 1-800-227-1500. Overnight rates start at $159 per night.

The post Celebrate the Holidays with Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

by Don Myers

It’s hard to believe it, but September is officially upon us. And with it comes breaking news on the latest Phase of the Fantasyland Expansion. Breaking news can only mean one thing, it’s time once again for another edition of the WDW Radio Newswire…..

We begin this edition of the Newswire inside Magic Kingdom, or more specifically, at the site of the next Phase of the much anticipated Fantasyland Expansion. It is here where we will soon delight in the undersea adventures of Ariel, and we will also be whisked away into the Village of Belle…and the Realm of the Beast! That fairytale World of Belle’s will be the focal point here, as last week on August 30th, the first group of individuals were welcomed into Enchanted Tales with Belle! Now before you make a mad dash for Fantasyland, let’s first break down what this means to the average Park-goer. This group that went through on Aug 30th, as well as the subsequent parties that have experienced the attraction since, are not regular Guests that happened to be in the right place at the right time. These groups are comprised of special guests of the Disney Company, and also include Imagineers, Cast Members, VIP’s, etc. The official date for the area’s Grand Opening is still scheduled for Thursday December 6th, and the “Soft Opening” is still slated for Monday November 19th. But one would assume that if Enchanted Tales with Belle is now a finished product eleven weeks ahead of the soft opening date, then it’s only a matter of time before these special previews are extended to the general public. Just don’t go there tomorrow and “expect it” however, as the last thing I want to do is mislead or disappoint anyone.

Continuing in Magic Kingdom, let’s head back to the hub and make our way across the bridge to Adventureland. It seems as if there will be clear skies over the streets of Agrabah for a small period of time this October, as the Magic Carpets of Aladdin is scheduled to close down for refurbishment. This will only be a minor refurb however, as the attraction will only be closed from Thursday October 18th through Thursday October 25th.

Time to Park Hop over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios now, where there is a brief attraction closure to touch on. The Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure will be facing some downtime beginning Monday September 10th. The playset will be back in action in less than a week however, as the re-opening date is currently slated for Saturday September 15th.

Okay, time to make our way out of the Parks and into the Resorts. Today we’ll be heading to the shores of Crescent Lake, where there’s a big event on tap at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resorts. In the August 27th edition of the Newswire, I detailed the upcoming Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Well today it’s time to give a little love to the 2012 Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic. This will be the third year for the event, which will be taking place on Friday October 12th and Saturday October 13th. Causeway Tickets are $80 per person, and they cover all the food & wine samplings you can handle! But if you’re looking to spend less cash, or you just want to go and check things out for an hour or so, there are A La Carte Tickets you can purchase for $2 each. The event lasts from 5:30pm-9pm, but be sure to arrive an hour early, as there will be seven different seminars you can attend. The seminars will be getting underway at 4:30pm, and here’s a look at the list you can choose from:

• Wine Blending
• Modern Mixology
• All Things Sake
• Base to Bubbles
• Riesling Rendezvous
• Spanish Wines
• Beer Please!

If you wish to attend any of these seminars, you will need to purchase separate tickets. Click here for more info on the event.

Continuing along, we move down the shores of Crescent Lake over to Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts, where there’s a pair of restaurant closures to report. First up is the Yachtsman Steakhouse, which is already down for refurb as of Monday August 27th. The closure will be brief however, as the restaurant is slated to resume operation on Saturday September 15th. The same can’t be said for the Beach Club’s quick-service spot Hurricane Hanna’s Grill. The restaurant also closed up shop on Monday August 27th, but this closure will be substantially longer than that of the Yachtsman’s. Hurricane Hanna’s is scheduled to remain closed until Wednesday December 19th, which will put the total refurb time at just under four months.

Well, that’s gonna do it for today’s update, but before we wrap things up, let’s take a look at the results of our last poll question! The question was:

Which Autumn Event are you most looking forward to?

.  Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (Sept 11-Nov 2)

. 2012 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival (Sept 28-Nov 12)

. 2012 Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic (Oct 12-13)

. Night of Joy (Sept 7-8)

. The November debut of the Celebrate the Magic Projection Show

And the winner is………

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party with 53% of the total vote! The 2012 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival came in 2nd with 38%, and the November debut of the Celebrate the Magic Projection Show finished 3rd with 9% of the total vote. Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote…and now on to this week’s poll question:

The post WDW Radio Newswire: Enchanted Tales With Belle and EPCOT Resorts POLL appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Hello and welcome to The WDW Radio Show – Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello, and this is show #225 for the week of June 5, 2011.

In Walt Disney World, the concept that “everything speaks” holds true not just for attractions and shows, but restaurants, environments and even the resorts. And with that, it means that everything see you encounter tells a story, and every detail has meaning, even in places you might not otherwise expect. And that holds true for the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin. This week, we’ll take a very close look at the interesting history of these resorts, their theming, secrets, and myths that surround them as well. It’s a fascinating look into two buildings with a deeper Disney connection and story than you might expect.

Stay tuned for some information about upcoming events including our fundraising for Japan before playing some of your voicemails at the end of the show. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this week’s episode of the WDW Radio Show

Thanks for listening! Be sure to tune in next week!

Information and Links from This Week’s Show

Disclaimer: The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin is an advertiser on WDW Radio. However, this segment was prepared, recorded and edited outside of that agreement, and with no input or influence from the Swan and Dolphin in any way. No compensation was received in cash or exchange for the recording and/or airing of this segment.

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The post Show # 225 – June 5, 2011 appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.