Christmas-Disney Listening at the “Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating” Podcast

 by Ray Keating

Recommendation

DisneyBizJournal.com

December 18, 2023

 

For Disney fans, here’s a great way to get some Christmas-Disney fun, quotes and information – each day from now (we actually started on December 11) to beyond Christmas Day!

 

Just tune in to the “Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating” podcast and get some quick joy regarding Disney and the Christmas season.

You can listen here, or just click on the above graphic! Merry Christmas!

 

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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com; and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries, the Alliance of Saint Michael novels, and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak to your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

Support the Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating Podcast at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1724143. Subscribe at the $8 or $10 level, and get The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution by Ray Keating. Remain a supporter and you'll get a FREE BOOK by Ray Keating every six months going forward. Thanks!

 

The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement and fun for Disney fans, including those who love Mickey, Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pixar, princesses and more.

 

Consider other books by Ray Keating, including…

 

• The Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries. There are 18 books in the series now.

 

• Order The Weekly Economist II: 52 More Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist. Kindle editions and paperbacks via Amazon here and signed books here. And don’t forget the first book in this growing series, i.e., The Weekly Economist: 52 Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist at Amazon.com.

 

• Cathedral: An Alliance of Saint Michael Novel is at Amazon. 

 

• The Lutheran Planner: The TO DO List Solution combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement, inspiration and consolation from the Christian faith.

 

• Signed editions of Ray’s books are at www.RayKeatingOnline.com. 

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.

Disney Shares Schedule for 2023 Holiday Specials

 by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

November 22, 2023

 

Disney fans will have two separate holiday specials to watch in coming weeks – one for Thanksgiving, and one for Christmas morning.

For Thanksgiving weekend,  “The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration” will air on ABC on Sunday, November 26, from 8:00-10:00 p.m. (EST), but if you miss it with all the family celebrations going on, it will also begin streaming the next day on Hulu and Disney+.

Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog

Siblings Derek and Julianne Hough will be returning to host “The Magical Holiday Celebration,” and among the featured performances on the Thanksgiving special will be:

 

• Derek Hough and Julianne Hough – “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” “What Christmas Means to Me,” “Dance to the Music” medley

• Michael Bolton & Mickey Guyton – “Christmas Isn’t Christmas”

• Andra Day and Adam Blackstone – “Someday at Christmas” and an Adam Blackstone original song “Legacy Christmastime”

• Ariana DeBose– “This Wish” from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Wish

• Mickey Guyton – “Jingle Bell Rock”

• Chris Janson – “Holiday Road”

• Tori Kelly – “This Christmas” and “Winter Wonderland”

• Chrissy Metz – “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”

• The Smashing Pumpkins – “Silver Bells”

• Robin Thicke – “Let it Snow” and “Perfect Holiday”

• Iam Tongi – “White Christmas”

 

There will also be a special look back at Mariah Carey’s 2016 version of “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

 

And while you may be watching the Christmas morning parade from Disney with your family after opening your stockings and gifts, you’ll be forgiven for assuming it’s live from the parks – the parade already filmed last week.  If you weren’t in the parks to see it in person, you can catch the 40th anniversary airing of the “Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade” on ABC on Monday, December 25, from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (EST) or 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. (PST).  It will also stream the next day on Hulu and Disney+.

 

Derek Hough and Julianne Hough will again host the Christmas Day festivities, along with co-hosts country music star Mickey Guyton and “The Golden Bachelor” host Jesse Palmer.  In addition to the parade (that’s what you’re really waiting for, right?), there will be musical performances from:

 

• Derek Hough and Julianne Hough – “Good Morning” and “Deck the Halls” Medley

• Chrissy Metz – “Silver Bells”

• The Smashing Pumpkins – “Evergreen” (A new, original holiday song)

• Iam Tongi – “Mele Kalikimaka”

• The Broadway and North American Tour Cast of Disney’s “Aladdin” – “Friend Like Me”

• Meg Donnelly – “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)”

 

The holiday specials were filmed at a variety of Disney locations, including Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, Disneyland Resort in California, Aulani in Hawai‘I, Disneyland in Paris, and on board the Disney Cruise Line.

 

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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

 

Support the Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating podcast at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1724143. Subscribe at the $8 or $10 level, and get The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution by Ray Keating. Remain a supporter and you'll get a FREE BOOK by Ray Keating every six months going forward. Thanks!

Christmas Work and Play at Walt Disney World

by Ray Keating

Lifestyle

DisneyBizJournal.com

December 24, 2022

 

As the old saying goes, if you enjoy your work, then it’s not really work at all. 

 

I’m fortunate in that I love what I do for a living, and while we all have good and bad days, my work is enjoyable – yes, even fun. I’m reminded of that when, on occasion, I wind up with my laptop at Walt Disney World to get some research and writing done. And it’s particularly nice during the Christmas holiday season.

So, the above video offers a few Christmas takes from the Magic Kingdom, as well as from a few spots where I enjoy opening the computer, that is, at Wilderness Lodge and the Yacht and Beach Club.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com; and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries, and the Alliance of Saint Michael novels; and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right? 

 

Consider books by Ray Keating…

 

• The Weekly Economist: 52 Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist. Signed paperbacks at RayKeatingOnline.com or paperbacks, hardcovers and Kindle editions at Amazon.com.

 

• Cathedral: An Alliance of Saint Michael Novel. Signed paperbacks and/or paperbacks, hardcovers and the Kindle edition at Amazon. 

 

• The Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries. The latest in the series is Persecution: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel. Get the signed books here, or paperbacks and Kindle editions right here.

 

• The Lutheran Planner: The TO DO List Solution combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement, inspiration and consolation from the Christian faith.

 

• Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York  –  signed books  or at  Amazon.

 

•  Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know is available at  Amazon  in paperback or for the Kindle edition, and signed books at  www.raykeatingonline.com. 

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast. 

Disney’s Candlelight Processional and the Reason for the Season

 by Ray Keating

Commentary

DisneyBizJournal.com

December 17, 2021

 

I love all aspects of the Christmas season, from Santa Claus to the decorations to the holiday movies to the catchy secular songs. And now that I live in the Walt Disney World area, I enjoy the holiday trimmings at theme parks, resorts and Disney Springs.

 

But amidst all of this excitement, it can be easy to forget what Christmas is all about in the end. That is, the birth Jesus Christ, the Incarnation, so that He would offer the world love, forgiveness, redemption and salvation. I appreciate how St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430), long ago in a sermon, described the meaning of the birth of Jesus Christ: “He lies in a manger, but contains the world. He feeds at the breast, but also feeds the angels. He is wrapped in swaddling clothes, but vests us with immortality. He found no place in the inn, but makes for Himself a temple in the hearts of believers. In order that weakness might become strong, strength became weak.”

Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog

To Disney’s credit, one of their central celebrations during the holiday season that has been maintained over the decades is the Candlelight Processional. 

 

The Candlelight Processional started in Disneyland in 1958, where it continues, with a Florida version kicking off with the opening of Walt Disney World. It moved from the Magic Kingdom to EPCOT in 1994, where it is held in the American Gardens Theater across from the American Adventure pavilion.

 

On its website, Disney World offers the following description: “Each night, a celebrity narrator tells the story of Christmas, recounting the biblical tale of a savior born in Bethlehem. Woven into the production are stirring songs of hope and joy performed by the orchestra and massed choir.” That’s exactly right, and it is a delight.

 

While the choir and the orchestra present wonderful renditions of more secular Christmas songs at the start and the close of the event, the main emphasis involves the narrator reading part of the biblical account and then a traditional Christmas hymn being sung. The audience is treated to this moving back-and-forth between Scripture and song. It truly is moving.

 

My family attended twice this year, with Alton Fitzgerald White and Andy Garcia as the narrators. Each had his own splendid style, while communicating the sacredness of the story.

 

Among White’s credits are being the longest “King” in Broadway’s The Lion King, as well as a long list of television appearances, from Law & Order to Bull. Meanwhile, Garcia’s work has included The Untouchables, The Godfather: Part III, the three Ocean’s movies, and forthcoming The Expendables 4.

 

As for the remainder of the EPCOT Candlelight Processional this season, the scheduled narrators are:

 

• Ana Gasteyer - December 17 through December 19

 

• Courtney B. Vance - December 20 through December 22

 

• Steven Curtis Chapman - December 23 through December 25

 

• Blair Underwood - December 26 through December 28

 

• Pat Sajak - December 29 through December 30

 

I can’t help but think about what it would have been like to hear some of the great actors of all time who have served as narrators of the Candlelight Processional, including Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Gregory Peck and James Earl Jones.

 

A stirring reading of the Christmas story, that is, the reason for the season. A grand choir. And a mighty orchestra. Beloved hymns. Yes, the EPCOT Candlelight Processional is a wondrous holiday treat that I heartily recommend to all.

 

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Check out other DisneyBizJournal articles on the Candlelight Processional…

 

“Candlelight Processional” Returning to Disney World This Holiday Season

by Beth Keating

 

Disney’s Candlelight Processional

by Chris Lucas

 

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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution is here! It combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement and fun for Disney fans, including those who love Mickey, Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pixar, princesses and more. Also, “The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution” comes with a handy spiral binding for easy use. 

 

Consider Ray Keating’s recent works of fiction. Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novelis the 13^th  thriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. Past Lives: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story is the 14th book in the series. Again, get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed book at www.raykeatingonline.com. And order the 15th book in the series What’s Lost? A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story – grab it at Amazon.com or signed editions at www.raykeatingonline.com. 

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.

Dates Set for Holiday Festivities at Disneyland

 by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

September 2, 2021

 

Christmas is starting November 12, 2021, at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, and it has been a long time coming!  Disneyland was closed last year because of the pandemic (though Downtown Disney and Buena Vista Street were open for shopping), so this year’s celebration will be especially joyous.  In fact, it will last for two months, until January 9.

 

Among the returning celebrations will be “A Christmas Fantasy” parade, with Disney characters sharing the parade route with prancing reindeer, brightly colored toy soldiers, dancing gingerbread men, and Santa himself.  

 

The “Believe… in Holiday Magic” fireworks show will also be back, bursting with color over the top of Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle.  Each night, the castle will come awake in stages for a breath-taking spectacle as snow falls, holiday music fills the air, and shimmering icicles and thousands of twinkling lights shine in the dark.  Wintry projections will also wind their way down the buildings of Main Street U.S.A. during the show. A 60-foot-tall Christmas tree will grace Disneyland’s Main Street U.S.A., and a 50 foot tree will dazzle on Buena Vista Street at California Adventure for your family’s holiday photos.

 

Eight food booths will also serve the holiday flavors celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa, and Three Kings Day during Disney California Adventure’s Festival of Holidays. Visitors can dance along with Mickey and the Holiday Toy Drummers during Mickey’s Happy Holidays, or listen to the wide variety of musical and dance styles from the Mariachi Divas, Mostly Kosher, Blue13, Phat Cat Swinger, or the Suffragettes while they enjoy the food booths.  Sip and Savor passes will be available.

 

During the celebrations, the “Disney Viva Navidad” street party will take place at Disney California Adventure’s Paradise Gardens, with Mickey and Minnie in fiesta outfits, and festive Mexican folklórico and Brazilian samba dancers, live music, papel picado banners, piñatas, and giant mojiganga puppets. Enjoy authentic holiday music and décor as you celebrate the customs of Mexico and Brazil.

 

Holiday overlays will make the rides and attractions a special experience as well, with Cars Land at Disney California Adventure getting a unique “automotive” themed overlay at “Luigi’s Joy to the Whirl” and “Mater’s Jingle Jamboree.”  The “Haunted Mansion” will show off the much-loved 20th year of its “Nightmare Before Christmas” overlay, and “it’s a small world” will light up the night each evening, celebrating holidays around the world with its bright and festive overlay.

 

Mickey, Minnie and friends will be dressed in holiday costumes, and guests can take socially-distanced selfies throughout the season.  Among the special appearances this year will be Mirabel from the upcoming animated release Encanto, who will be making her theme park debut.  Guests stopping by California Adventure’s Redwood Creek Challenge Trail will be able to see Santa Claus and participate in seasonal games and activities there.

 

For ticket prices and complete information about the events, visit the Disneyland website. 

 

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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.

 

Please support the efforts of DisneyBizJournal.com to bring news, analysis and commentary on Disney to readers such as yourself. Make a contribution right here via PayPal. Thanks!

 

Walt Disney on Christmas

 by Ray Keating

Feature Story

DisneyBizJournal.com

December 25, 2020

 

Walt Disney often served up insights and wisdom well worth considering on a variety of topics. That includes on Christmas.

Consider the following…

 

“When my little daughters confront me with the question, I shall say without a twinge, ‘Of course there is.’ Long live Santa Claus!” – Walt Disney 

 

“At Disneyland, we do our Christmas planning early—looking forward to it like a lot of happy kids. Every Christmas season, thousands of children and their families line the curbs of Disneyland’s Main Street, making it the happiest street in the world.” – Walt Disney 

 

“One reason the Christmas season appeals to me is that it makes us suspend business-as-usual routine and let our minds soar for a while. Christmas seems to release even the most solemn of us from the Scrooge realism that occasionally besets all of us. It is natural, of course, that I should think of Christmas in terms of imagination, for imagination is my business.” – Walt Disney 

 

“Deeds, rather than words, express my concept of the part religion should play in everyday life. I have watched constantly that in our movie work the highest moral and spiritual standards are upheld, whether it deals with fable or with stories of living action.” – Walt Disney 

 

Here’s to a blessed and Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

 

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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and assorted nonfiction books. He can be contacted at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

Keating’s new book Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13th thriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. 

 

You also can order his book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York  from Amazon or signed books  at RayKeatingOnline.com. His other recent nonfiction book is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know. 

 

Please support the efforts of DisneyBizJournal.com to bring news, analysis and commentary on Disney to readers such as yourself. Make a contribution right here via PayPal. Thanks!

The Quintessential Book on Walt Disney and Christmas

 by Ray Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

December 24, 2020

 

If you’re looking for an entertaining and informative book to read about Disney and the Christmas season, then there’s only one answer: The Vault of Walt Volume 7: Christmas Edition Yuletide Tales of Walt Disney, Disney Theme Parks, Cartoons & More by Jim Korkis.

For the past four decades, Korkis has been a Disney historian who has penned hundreds of articles and over twenty books about all things Disney. He excels in this book that covers Christmas with Walt Disney, Christmas and Disney on television, Christmas at the Disney parks, Disney and the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and much more. Each page offers facts and information to please an audience from the most casual Disney fans to the most avid Disney aficionados.

 

Here are a few short quotes that I enjoyed…

 

• “Disney and Christmas is an opportunity for people to reconnect with the wonders of childhood. Christmas might seem incomplete without some element of Disney whether it is a cartoon, a toy, a book, or a visit to a theme park.” 

 

• “It was Walt Disney himself who insisted that even though the Candlelight Processional was to celebrate Christmas that there would be no Santa Claus and no Disney characters so that the focus could be on the real reason for the season.” 

 

• “So, in December 1958, the first evening Candlelight Processional was held with singers from sixteen choirs moving down Main Street to the plaza where they performed a full concert with the Dickens carolers singing from the Sleeping Beauty Castle balcony. It was later shifted to the train station.” 

 

Jim Korkis’ The Vault of Walt Volume 7: Christmas Edition Yuletide Tales of Walt Disney, Disney Theme Parks, Cartoons & More is highly recommended, and if you grab the Kindle edition, you can start reading right now. It’s an ideal read over the Christmas-New Year’s break.

 

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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and assorted nonfiction books. He can be contacted at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

Keating’s new book Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13th thriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. 

 

You also can order his book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York  from Amazon or signed books  at RayKeatingOnline.com. His other recent nonfiction book is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know. 

 

Please support the efforts of DisneyBizJournal.com to bring news, analysis and commentary on Disney to readers such as yourself. Make a contribution right here via PayPal. Thanks!

Disney’s Candlelight Processional

 by Chris Lucas

Guest Column

DisneyBizJournal.com

December 21, 2020

 

In 1955, Disneyland’s first year of operation, Walt’s budget for Christmas decorations was very slim, so he converted the bandstand in the town square into the “Disneyland Christmas Bowl” and brought in a volunteer choir to sing holiday tunes in December.

 

This became so popular that each year Walt would add to the festivities. In 1958, he introduced a special candlelight processional down Main Street to the choir’s bandstand.

Another addition was celebrity narrators reading Gospel passages about the Nativity. Walt was very careful to omit any references to specific religions at Disneyland, but he made an exception for this event, since the words were necessary to explain the holiday. 

 

In 1971, the processional made its debut at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, where it stayed until moving to EPCOT in 1994.

 

Each year celebrity narrators are still chosen to accompany the candlelight choir and orchestra, just as they were in the beginning. They come from all areas of entertainment and have ranged from people like John Wayne in the 1950s to Whoopi Goldberg - one of the most frequent narrators - in the 21st Century.

 

The ceremony took a pause in 2020, but clips of past events can be viewed online (see above). 

 

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Chris Lucas is the author of Top Disney: 100 Top Ten Lists of the Best of Disney, from the Man to the Mouse and Beyond.

 

On the PRESS CLUB C Podcast, enjoy Ray’s discussion with Chris Lucas about his career as an actor, author and Disney expert. Tune in right here!

 

“The Disney Holiday Singalong” to Air November 30

 by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

November 29, 2020

 

Back in the spring, when the pandemic first hit and families across the country went into lockdown in their homes, Disney brought their first “Singalong” to the TV screen. It was a monster success, and Disney quickly rushed a second edition into production, with more than 22.3 million viewers catching the two specials. If you have Disney+, you can still go back and watch them.

Now, with Christmas approaching, Ryan Seacrest is back, hosting a holiday edition of the fan-favorite singalong. The Disney Holiday Singalong will air Monday, November 30 from 8:00-9:00 p.m. EST on ABC.  Animated on-screen lyrics will help you sing along to the songs with the performers (as if you didn’t already know all the words!)

 

Among the celebrities belting out your holiday favorites this time are:

 

• Andrea Bocelli — “Silent Night”
• BTS — “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”
• Michael Bublé — “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”
• Ciara — “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”
• Chloe x Halle — “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?”
• Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert — “Hey Santa” and “Jingle Bells”
• Julianne Hough — “Whistle While You Work” and “Let It Snow”
• Adam Lambert — “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
• Leslie Odom Jr. — “What’s This?”
• Katy Perry — “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “Cozy Little Christmas”
• P!NK — “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)”
• Kerry Washington — “Joy to the World”
• DCappella — carols throughout the evening

 

And while the lights on Broadway have been dark since March, and aren’t expected to come back on until sometime this spring, you’ll be able to catch the casts of The Lion King, Aladdin and the touring company of Frozen as Disney on Broadway brings you a performance of “Let It Go” from the New Amsterdam Theatre. (You can get a peek at the performers rehearsing their number at Good Morning America’s website here.)

 

As they did during their spring Singalongs, Disney will also use the opportunity to feature community-based organizations that can use your help during the holidays. In Singalongs Vol. I and II, Disney highlighted Feeding America. This time, they are raising awareness for Disney’s Feed the Love campaign, driving to Feeding America, Toys for Tots, and One Simple Wish. Disney’s association with Toys for Tots goes back to Walt himself, and you can even drop off toy donations through December 13 at your local Disney Store, or through shopdisney.com. 

 

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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.

 

Pre-order The Disney Planner 2021: The TO DO List Solution today!

 

Please support the efforts of DisneyBizJournal.com to bring news, analysis and commentary on Disney to readers such as yourself. Make a contribution right here via PayPal. Thanks!