This is the 32nd year for the Christmas special, which has undergone several changes, both in the production and the final television show. I experienced some of what's new myself when I attended the taping at Walt Disney World, and Disney also has revealed other details.
For the first time in recent memory, the special was filmed only at Walt Disney World in Orlando. In other years, performances also were filmed at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., and the show offered segments from each coast, leading viewers to think they were seeing what was actually happening in Disney Parks on Christmas morning. That may make some of you chuckle, but until the early 1990s, the Disney Christmas special really was filmed live on Christmas Day.