It’s one of the absolute CRAZIEST times of the year at Walt Disney World…the bustling week between Christmas and New Year’s!

Even though Disney World is still operating under limited capacity, there’s a certain undeniable buzz in the air during this time of year, and you really have to SEE it to feel it. And if you aren’t there yourself, well, don’t sweat it. Take a journey with us from our photos and videos from Walt Disney World on December 29th!

Animal Kingdom

There’s just something so MAGICAL about scanning into the park, isn’t there?! Even though this is our job, we still get a little twinge of excitement every time we touch our MagicBands to that very first Mickey!

Good morning from Animal Kingdom! pic.twitter.com/SRsOavGFsG

— AJ Wolfe (@DisneyFoodBlog) December 29, 2020

Although we know our way from Asia to Africa and all the way to Pandora, we noticed that there was a brand new map at Animal Kingdom today! It features a real cute Mickey glove (and mask) wearing kiddo on the front…

…but a few notable attractions are missing on the inside!

Read more about Animal Kingdom’s update map here!

But we didn’t need anything to guide our way to a certain jolly friend! Santa Goofy has ARRIVED at Animal Kingdom! It just took him a few days after the holiday.

We don’t even care that it’s 361 days until Christmas. We’ll wave to this Santa Goofy ANY day of the year!

See more pics of Santa Goofy at Disney’s Animal Kingdom!

We also spotted another welcome sight.  That’s right, a SEASONAL cupcake! Flame Tree Barbecue is selling a New Year’s Eve Cupcake.

We were as excited to try this chocolate cupcake with cherry filling, amaretto frosting, chocolate crisp pearls, and an animal print 2021 Mickey as we are for 2020 to be O-V-E-R! And if this cupcake is a sign, 2021 has good things in store!

Review: We’re Seriously IMPRESSED By the New Amaretto and Cherry Cupcake in Disney World

The pre-New Year’s crowds are HERE though. Shortly before noon, the wait for Kilimanjaro Safaris was 60 minutes.

It’s a 60 minute wait for Kilimanjaro Safaris in Animal Kingdom. pic.twitter.com/9UPMUHyl3J

— AJ Wolfe (@DisneyFoodBlog) December 29, 2020

So we skipped that to do some shopping and noticed a HUGE sale. Holiday items are 70% off!

Not EVERY item is included, but this holiday sale includes Minnie ears, face masks, and other hot ticket items!!

Read more about this massive holiday sale here!

And even though it’s winter, we spotted some fun fans at Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures! Look, it’s Orange Bird!

Lines continued to be LONG. Dinosaur was at 80 minutes, and the queue was using the Cretaceous trail!

The line for Dinosaur is 80 minutes long and they’re having to stop traffic to let it cross and they’re using the Cretaceous trail! pic.twitter.com/UVb7z8HtjA

— AJ Wolfe (@DisneyFoodBlog) December 29, 2020

Expedition Everest also had quite the queue, 70 minutes — there was even a line crossing!

Expedition Everest is currently a 70 minute wait, here’s the line crossing! pic.twitter.com/QPQUMXpkOC

— AJ Wolfe (@DisneyFoodBlog) December 29, 2020

Even the lines for food were long!

We noticed quite the queue for Yak & Yeti Local Foods Cafe. Lines for Flight of Passage were 90 minutes, but we couldn’t resist!

And when we got on, we learned that Disney was seating EVERY bike on Flight of Passage, without plexiglass.

We noticed that the line would move pretty quickly and then stop for a good while, then move again. So, that 90-minute time was pretty accurate, possibly due to more frequent cleaning, though that is not confirmed.

PHOTOS: Flight of Passage Now Loading Every Bike (WITHOUT Barriers) in Disney World

But what were things like over at Walt Disney World’s OTHER kingdom?!

Magic Kingdom

There’s just something magical about a bustling Main Street, USA, decorated for the holidays, even if the holiday season is technically over.

We also found another familiar holiday sight…Santa!

Santa is still here in Magic Kingdom! pic.twitter.com/028fYHlal0

— AJ Wolfe (@DisneyFoodBlog) December 29, 2020

Animal Kingdom was NOT the only park with long lines and curly queues. Check out this dizzying line for Mad Tea Party!

Here’s the line for Mad Tea Party in Magic Kingdom pic.twitter.com/T6f7cKCbKK

— AJ Wolfe (@DisneyFoodBlog) December 29, 2020

Winnie the Pooh also had a big, long line, and at one point, the two attractions’ queues nearly intersected!

Here’s the line for Winnie the Pooh in Magic Kingdom. pic.twitter.com/2Z04kJdGmY

— AJ Wolfe (@DisneyFoodBlog) December 29, 2020

Fantasyland isn’t the only place with long lines. You will NOT believe this queue for Space Mountain!

Wanna see where the line for Space Mountain ends? pic.twitter.com/9dHB28pZ3J

— AJ Wolfe (@DisneyFoodBlog) December 29, 2020

YEP, that’s Tommorowland Speedway.

It ALMOST feels like old times at Disney World this week. ALMOST.

Read more about Disney World’s super long lines today here!

If you’re looking for more holiday merch, you don’t have to go all the way over to Animal Kingdom. We spotted that 70% off sale at Magic Kingdom, too!

It’s the perfect way to remember a day at Walt Disney World. Well, that and looking at pictures, of course! Despite the long lines, you just cannot beat a day at Disney World, and we hope you enjoyed these pictures and videos as much as we did!

What’s New at Hollywood Studios: A WEIRD Looking Treat and a Surprise Character Appearance!

Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!

Do you visit Disney World between Christmas and New Year’s Day? Let us know in the comments!

The post 20 Photos and Videos From Our Day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom! first appeared on the disney food blog.

In case you missed it, Orlando-area cult favorite bakery Gideon’s Bakeshop has OFFICIALLY opened a location at Disney Springs!

This sweet spot, known for its massive, loaded cookies, iced coffee, and cakes, has been a HUGE hit ever since it opened at Walt Disney World’s shopping and dining district. It’s even had to implement a virtual queue system (not unlike those we see for entering popular shops around Disney World)!

Of course, lines were long on opening day, but the hype surrounding Gideon’s is still strong one week after opening. Today, while strolling around Disney Springs, we entered into Gideon’s virtual waitlist (we were craving a Peanut Butter Crunch cookie), and noticed an exceptionally long wait time…180 minutes!

Yeah, that’s THREE. WHOLE. HOURS. for some cookies! Madness! Admittedly, Disney Springs has been VERY busy this week (it is the week between Christmas and New Year’s, after all). But still! You don’t even have to wait that long to ride Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom these days!

Once it was your time for the waitlist, the line at the bakehouse itself seemed totally manageable, however.

So, if you find that there’s a virtual waitlist for Gideon’s when YOU get to Disney Springs, don’t sweat it. Sign up, do some shopping over at World of Disney, get some drinks over at Jock Lindsey’s, and enjoy yourself! If you are patient, the cookies will come to you! And trust us, the wait is WORTH it!

Read our FULL review of Gideon’s at Disney Springs here!

Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!

Would you wait three hours to try Gideon’s Bakehouse? Let us know in the comments!

The post The Longest Line at Disney World Today Was for COOKIES! first appeared on the disney food blog.

Though Disney World increased the theme park capacity back in November, some families decided to stay home for the holidays.

But, just because some guests decided not to spend Christmas in the most magical place on earth doesn’t mean Disney wasn’t a big part of their holiday season! And, with a Disney-fied recipe of hot chocolate in hand, it seems that MANY Disney lovers turned to Disney’s streaming service — Disney+ — for some holiday entertainment.

In fact, so many families turned to Disney+ that the streaming service saw a HUGE bump in the app installation over the holidays.

According to Bloomberg, there were about 2.3 million global installations of the Disney+ mobile app over the Christmas holiday! Whether those downloads were by fans looking to get ALL the updates on Baby Yoda since Season 2 of The Mandalorian has now ended (peep this ADORABLE video of The Child here), or people wanting to spend Christmas day snapping their fingers with Thanos, it seems quite a few Disney fans turned to the streaming service for some entertainment the whole family can enjoy.

These 2.3 million global installations actually represent a 28% increase from the previous weekend. That’s a BIG jump and only adds to the already booming number of app downloads this year.

But, perhaps this increase in downloads can be attributed to the brand NEW film, Pixar’s Soul that was released directly to the streaming service on December 25th. In several international markets, including China, where the film was released theatrically, it made about $7.6 million.

Recently, Disney announced a LOT of new films and series will be coming to the platform in 2021 and beyond, including a Moana series, Tiana series, and a whole bunch of Star Wars and Marvel series. Raya and the Last Dragon is set to premiere on Disney+ (under Premier Access) and theaters on the same day. Disney has also increased its expectations in terms of paid subscriber numbers in the next few years, but it also plans to release approximately 100 new titles each year.

Disney has shared that they are leaning heavily towards their direct-to-consumer streaming platforms because it offers flexibility in decision making when it comes to the release of new films. In addition, many of Disney’s newly announced titles are series so their approach is pretty standard.

Those 2.3 million installations represent a significant bump in downloads for Disney+, but it’ll definitely be interesting to see how those numbers change and how Disney+ subscriber numbers change over the next few months and years. We’ll be keeping an eye out for more updates and will definitely let you know what we see.

Check out why Disney will be skipping the theaters with some upcoming releases!

Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!

Did you watch anything on Disney+ over the holiday weekend? Let us know in the comments!

The post NEWS! Disney+ Saw a BIG Bump in Downloads Over the Holidays first appeared on the disney food blog.

The year of 2020 is finally coming to a close and holiday decor has begun its transition back to storage. While many may be feeling the post-Christmas blues, this is our time to focus on the future and celebrate the New Year!

We know that there are BIG things coming to Disney in 2021. The 50th anniversary is just around the corner and there is much to celebrate! Many of us are excited to put 2020 behind us and are looking forward to watching the clock countdown to midnight as we step into 2021. As you may know, Disney World is closing earlier than usual on New Years Eve this year. But a location close to Disney World will be celebrating 2021 past midnight. 

Estefan Kitchen Orlando is hosting a New Years Eve celebration and people are eager to ring in the new year with a bit of fun as reservations are booking up FAST!

The restaurant will be open until 2:00AM, feature live entertainment, and, of course, FOOD.

Covid restrictions will be in place. According to the official Estefan Kitchen Orlando website, tables will maintain a 4 ft distance from one another and no more than 10 guests will be allowed per table. All guests must wear a face mask upon entering the restaurant and will be able to remove their masks upon being seated.

It has been quite a long year, hasn’t it? Well it’s almost over, friends! You can make Estefan Kitchen reservations here. 

Wondering how you can celebrate NYE in Disney World? Get all the details here!

Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!

Will you be reserving a spot for Estefan Kitchens New Years celebration? Let us know in the comments!

The post Estefan Kitchen Is Offering Late Night New Year’s Eve Entertainment Near Disney World first appeared on the disney food blog.