[SPEAKER_03]: And welcome to very amusing your one-stop shop for these stories secrets and genanigans of a popular fueled theme park journalist.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm currently myself and I'm recorded an entire intro to this podcast about Yeah, believe me when I say this the walk around character Kermit that they used to have a Disney Hollywood Studios I just talked about how big his hands are for like two straight minutes without realizing Oh, I don't know maybe we should just cause a musical loser
[SPEAKER_03]: Maybe we should discuss it because we announced the trip.
[SPEAKER_03]: I think as we recorded last week's podcast because that was the same day.
[SPEAKER_03]: So we never got to actually talk about it.
[SPEAKER_03]: So we got to talk about it real quick.
[SPEAKER_03]: First of all, again, you've probably seen the multiple things that I've posted online.
[SPEAKER_03]: We deeply under anticipated demand.
[SPEAKER_03]: We
[SPEAKER_03]: Straight up, we thought we knew the amount of people who were going to want to go to Disney World on our group trip.
[SPEAKER_03]: And three to four fold responses from there.
[SPEAKER_03]: We goofed.
[SPEAKER_03]: So what this means is that while, unfortunately, this amuse of Paluso will is already maxed out.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's completely sold out.
[SPEAKER_03]: I never thought we'd be in a world where between podcast episodes for podcast group trip, we would sell out.
[SPEAKER_03]: But the good news is that I can say things like this amuse of Paluso, because that means we can keep doing this.
[SPEAKER_03]: We truly did not know if it would be me, my mom and seven friends showing up to this in Florida.
[SPEAKER_03]: We had hopes we had we hoped people would show up but we did not know.
[SPEAKER_03]: And so now that we know and unfortunately in that process many people who wanted to go were not able to and for that I am still I have like a debilitating stomach issue and I'm pretty sure about
[SPEAKER_03]: Percentive it is from anxiety over that and we'll remain that way.
[SPEAKER_03]: But anyway, this just means that we get to do more travels together in the future.
[SPEAKER_03]: We get to all hang out in person like maybe every year.
[UNKNOWN]: Maybe twice a year.
[UNKNOWN]: I don't know yet.
[SPEAKER_03]: But we at least have a roadmap and we have a proof of concept.
[SPEAKER_03]: We were selling a product for the products is just friendship.
[SPEAKER_03]: So regardless, I am so excited that we get to do more of these.
[SPEAKER_03]: If you were not able to attend this one either because of dates, either because of booking requirements, either because
[SPEAKER_03]: I said it was going to be a real chill sign up and it was not at all and that was entirely my fault, which I completely own.
[SPEAKER_03]: For any of those reasons, we will be doing more of them and hopefully we will be doing different places besides Disney World.
[SPEAKER_03]: I was going to say the world is our oyster, but again, the tummy anxiety.
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't really want to think about seafood at the moment.
[SPEAKER_03]: But I am so excited for a music blues a twenty twenty six and all of the future music blues is to come and thank you if you are one of the people who are who is attending view are one of the people who is attending thank you thank you thank you I cannot wait to party with you at Disney World and if you're not please know I will hold a special place for that guilt forever and I feel very bad but I will make it up to you because we will be planning more of these and now we'll learn from this one and we have even more to look forward to
[SPEAKER_03]: Now, part of that is some of the stuff that's coming in these big parks, which we are talking about this week.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's a little looser than most news episodes because you know after something like D. Twenty-three, the big expo every other year.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like after something like that, I know every, yeah, every other year.
[SPEAKER_03]: It was like every two years.
[SPEAKER_03]: No, it's every other year.
[SPEAKER_03]: Um, after D. Twenty-three expo, you know, I was there.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm there for like three days.
[SPEAKER_03]: I got a lot of new support.
[SPEAKER_03]: I was not at these.
[SPEAKER_03]: So we're gonna take it real chill and just gab through all of it.
[SPEAKER_03]: I hope you enjoy.
[SPEAKER_03]: I got a lot of hot takes and some opinions.
[SPEAKER_03]: I think you will share or feel differently about, but stay tuned.
[SPEAKER_03]: We're gonna go through all of that on the other side of this break.
[SPEAKER_03]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_03]: I want to keep it apologize about the music list, but I've been told I need to stop.
[SPEAKER_03]: I need to stop.
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay, we'll see you on the other side.
[SPEAKER_03]: Love you, bye.
[UNKNOWN]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_03]: Hello and welcome back to this week's Disney News Gab session.
[SPEAKER_03]: There is a whole smattering of updates and announcements and changes and things.
[SPEAKER_03]: We got a cover and before we get into it I just need to mention.
[SPEAKER_03]: I was supposed to be on the front lines.
[SPEAKER_03]: The front lines of Disney News reporting these past few weeks.
[SPEAKER_03]: But you know sometimes you grow up and you have a kid and you have to like care for them.
[SPEAKER_03]: and you travel too much over the summer.
[SPEAKER_03]: So you have a real tight window to get them ready for preschool and potty train them, which by the way, be successfully did in two weeks.
[SPEAKER_03]: Boom!
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm really proud of it.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like, listen, that Royal Caribbean sailing Disney World trip was like really smooshed in there and I was like, all right, we gotta start the minute we're back and we did and we are good and we are golden and we are ready.
[SPEAKER_03]: But.
[SPEAKER_03]: To do that, to prepare my child for the biggest thing that's ever happened to her, which is going to school for the first time.
[SPEAKER_03]: I had to decline multiple trips to Disney World where all of this news broke.
[SPEAKER_03]: Now, would mother prefer frolicing through Disney's Coronado Springs resort without any responsibility or care in the world instead of being at home very, very stressed and signed her own house?
[SPEAKER_03]: I would, however, I am here in Los Angeles panic ordering name labels to attach to all of my child's earthly possessions so that some of them might actually make their way home from school.
[SPEAKER_03]: But enough about the child, because this episode is about the parks.
[SPEAKER_03]: because there is Loki so much news, like there's so much little news happening.
[SPEAKER_03]: And while none of it was colossal or earth shattering, there were actually a lot of significant updates and announcements these past few weeks.
[SPEAKER_03]: You may have noticed as well that most of them came out of those two events.
[SPEAKER_03]: The first was a media event, a Disney World two week back, where a big chunk of news came out of, oddly.
[SPEAKER_03]: That's not what I would have expected.
[SPEAKER_03]: And the second was Destination D. Twenty-three.
[SPEAKER_03]: The fan event, which for the first time, moved to Coronado Springs this year.
[SPEAKER_03]: While I would have loved to see what that change was like in person, and I do feel like a low-key missed a lot, like the shopping, the Kuskotopia night, a typhoon lagoon, the life performances from Disney on Broadway performers.
[SPEAKER_03]: There's still plenty we can do without my having flown to Orlando, and not just because I low-key Venmote, dear colleague, a hundred dollars to grab me and bump into your sweatshirt.
[SPEAKER_03]: Lion Green was my color as a kid, I wanted to embrace it again.
[SPEAKER_03]: I feel like it's going to make a resurgence in any day that I can channel the magic of Kermit the Frog is one that I'm going to grasp onto.
[SPEAKER_03]: So, today, we are going to do kind of my favorite thing, which is to talk about changes at Disney Parks and give a whole lot of honest opinions about them.
[SPEAKER_03]: Because, yeah, no, I got them.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I know you got them too.
[SPEAKER_03]: We're going to attempt to do this in kind of the loose round robin style, kind of covering news from each park and destination in locational order.
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know if that is a phrase, but we're just going to roll with it.
[SPEAKER_03]: Starting with the magic kingdom, which ends up being the place that we had the bulk of news from these past few weeks.
[SPEAKER_03]: And the biggest news, if you're me, or probably anyone listening to this, is that we're getting the OG Castle back, baby!
[SPEAKER_03]: Boom!
[SPEAKER_03]: The fiftieth pinky, so many colorscape.
[SPEAKER_03]: is going away.
[SPEAKER_03]: And the updated paint will feature, as they have said, Grace, creams, blues, and a touch of gold aiming to enhance the castle's architecture.
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know what that means and how those colors will break down, but it's like the old color scheme.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's like the castle in my dreams.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's like the castle that I see in Tokyo and go, wait, why don't we have that same castle?
[SPEAKER_03]: And I am happy about it.
[SPEAKER_03]: Now, I do have to do a self-owned here.
[SPEAKER_03]: I need to formally apologize for something in case anyone digs it up on the internet before I acknowledge it.
[SPEAKER_03]: I saw this news freaked out, retweeted it and was like, yeah!
[SPEAKER_03]: And then I tried to find an old tweet of mine and me being like, ha, rumps!
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't like the fiftieth castle to be like, we're back, baby!
[SPEAKER_03]: And when I did that, I found a post of me from years ago being like, wow, the castle's actually not that bad in person, it's cute.
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know if that was pandemic, or if I just accepted my lumps, you know, like really taking my lumps and just accepting that that was the castle we were given.
[SPEAKER_03]: But trust me when I say down to my core, I am thrilled that we are getting old castle back because I'm literally sitting here staring at my art wall.
[SPEAKER_03]: I used to, you know, like everyone else does have the art behind me and send it a desk and then I bought a walking pad and I thought, oh, this will change my life.
[SPEAKER_03]: It didn't.
[SPEAKER_03]: Everyone who told me not to buy it was correct.
[SPEAKER_03]: And now I'm staring at all of this Disney art and it's like all of it has the OG castle, the gray blue castle.
[SPEAKER_03]: And while it did at times like feel a little faded, I am okay with it.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm very, very happy about this news.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I cannot wait.
[SPEAKER_03]: I cannot wait for it to be back.
[SPEAKER_03]: It also made me start thinking about like what would you bring back to magic kingdom if you could bring one thing back to magic kingdom and immediately my brain when I heard this announcement I was like yeah, we're getting the blue castle and then immediately I went bring back the swan boats now
[SPEAKER_03]: I've never seen this one both of Magic Kingdom.
[SPEAKER_03]: I never had the privilege of seeing that firsthand.
[SPEAKER_03]: I wish I could have, but if I could bring something back, it would be that.
[SPEAKER_03]: Yum, it just looked so magical, the little boats by the castle of the foliage just seemed so dreamy.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I don't know, like,
[SPEAKER_03]: The space between the hub and tomorrow land just feels kind of sad, they should just do something.
[SPEAKER_03]: They should do something they're to make it a little more special.
[SPEAKER_03]: And you know what I just realized?
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh no, I'm about to, I want to say something that's gonna ruin your day.
[SPEAKER_03]: So while I, well, I would like the Swan Boats back.
[SPEAKER_03]: I just realized there's a chance.
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh god, there's a chance that future generations might say rivers of America.
[SPEAKER_03]: There's gonna be a generation of people who go, wow, I wish I could have seen rivers of America.
[SPEAKER_03]: I still can't process that it's gone.
[SPEAKER_03]: To the point where I was at Magic Kingdoms three weeks ago, ish three-ish weeks ago, and I walked past the construction wall.
[SPEAKER_03]: Did I see them with my own eyes?
[SPEAKER_03]: I did not.
[SPEAKER_03]: I just ignore them.
[SPEAKER_03]: I, my brain will not accept things that it doesn't want to take in.
[SPEAKER_03]: Similar to how if I see anyone puppeteer a muppet, they don't exist.
[SPEAKER_03]: All I see is the muppet.
[SPEAKER_03]: My brain kind of saves me from it.
[SPEAKER_03]: It saves me from the pain of seeing that there is a performer there.
[SPEAKER_03]: It is just a muppet to me.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's just a muppet.
[SPEAKER_03]: Speaking of they had muppets.
[SPEAKER_03]: They had muppets making announcements at the Disney World Media event.
[SPEAKER_03]: Can you believe I chose my family over that?
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm still upset about it.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm kind of like we could have just delayed preschool.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's fine.
[SPEAKER_03]: Listen, we're not going to talk about pearl anymore, but oh man, I missed muppets in the flesh.
[SPEAKER_03]: And it's not because of the flesh.
[SPEAKER_03]: But anyway, back to the walls.
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't see walls.
[SPEAKER_03]: My brain won't let me accept it.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I feel terribly terribly that someone young might say that they missed a hundred rivers of America because I still can't accept that.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's gone.
[SPEAKER_03]: Another thing that we need to accept when it comes to painting the castle is that castle paint redo means castle scaffolding.
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh, no.
[SPEAKER_03]: And if they have an announced dream lights, the festive beautiful nighttime winery lights that appear on the castle, if they haven't announced those, because they haven't been back since, twenty-nineteen, I believe.
[SPEAKER_03]: I feel like, does that mean that there's gonna toss them up while they paint?
[SPEAKER_03]: Does that mean that if they're gonna do scaffolding for the paint, they're not gonna put the effort in again to do the lights?
[SPEAKER_03]: I just don't know, but it just doesn't feel like it's wintertime without them.
[SPEAKER_03]: It just feels like we're missing something.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I really miss those dream lights and I really want them back.
[SPEAKER_03]: But again, we were able to get happily ever after back.
[SPEAKER_03]: We were able to get the OG Cinderella Castle color.
[SPEAKER_03]: I have faith that we can do this too.
[SPEAKER_03]: I believe we can get this trifecta solved.
[SPEAKER_03]: If Disney just listens to us, bring back the dream lights.
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, we have no other castle complaints.
[SPEAKER_03]: I do accept for maybe the men you inside Cinderella's Royal Table.
[SPEAKER_03]: But I think we can do this.
[SPEAKER_03]: I really, really think we can do this.
[SPEAKER_03]: At Destination D. Twenty-three, there was actually a whole panel about castles, and they revealed some shocking stuff I've never heard before.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like, there was a planned cake themed overlay to Carousel of Progress for Mickey's Sixtieth Birthday, similar to the cake castle, the iconic cake castle that we got, and while Disney World for their twenty-fifth anniversary.
[SPEAKER_03]: But that's not as exciting as the lore that was dropped about Disneyland Paris's castle.
[SPEAKER_03]: Now, there are two things that really lit me up as part of this.
[SPEAKER_03]: When they were doing the castle, which is called, oh, no, it's a French name.
[UNKNOWN]: Okay, let's try this.
[SPEAKER_03]: Les châteaux, d'Ila, bell, abo, d'au mot, I think.
[SPEAKER_03]: Again, I took French second semester senior year, which tells you how much I focused during it.
[SPEAKER_03]: However, I did not realize this.
[SPEAKER_03]: They included a nod to French cuisine, supposedly.
[SPEAKER_03]: where they added snails on the towers.
[SPEAKER_03]: So on two of the gold decorated towers, snails are climbing up trying to get away from French cooks.
[SPEAKER_03]: Either I knew that in I forgot it, or I never knew it, but regardless, I'm thrilled to know it now.
[SPEAKER_03]: What a fun detail.
[SPEAKER_03]: And number two, possibly the biggest news you will hear on this podcast today.
[SPEAKER_03]: Did you know that Paris once had a strawberry shortcake themed castle?
[SPEAKER_03]: We're out here talking about the pink, twenty-fifth castle, and Magic Kingdom.
[SPEAKER_03]: Meanwhile, the French castle.
[SPEAKER_03]: They made it strawberry shortcake themed.
[SPEAKER_03]: So now there's like cartoonies as ours.
[SPEAKER_03]: There's had kind of a dripy frosting and these big old strawberries lining the bottom.
[SPEAKER_03]: Strawberry shortcake is such a classy choice for a cake.
[SPEAKER_03]: It was so classy.
[SPEAKER_03]: It just looked like the whole thing was covered in fruit.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's amazing and I had never seen this before.
[SPEAKER_03]: How would this not been like a Twitter meme before?
[SPEAKER_03]: It's unbelievable.
[SPEAKER_03]: You have to look it up.
[SPEAKER_03]: It is absolutely stunning.
[SPEAKER_03]: I love it.
[SPEAKER_03]: Next, we call it Imagineering YouTube series.
[SPEAKER_03]: We'll be about castles.
[SPEAKER_03]: It drops on September eighth.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I am so hyped for it.
[SPEAKER_03]: Now that I know that these are the kinds of crumbs that they're dropping.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like this is good stuff.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I hope that they include a lot of this within the castle and not just the regular like this is how we built the Shanghai Disney land castle.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like I want the real dirt like this.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I hope we can more of it.
[SPEAKER_03]: There is other big exciting news for Magic Kingdom, including that Walt Disney himself is coming to carousel of progress.
[SPEAKER_03]: Honestly, it makes sense.
[SPEAKER_03]: I am here for it.
[SPEAKER_03]: He will appear in a new introductory scene and you will hear him speak.
[SPEAKER_03]: I assume you will see him move a bit like you do.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like you see the Walt Disney figure at Disneyland move and I kind of really love that they put this here.
[SPEAKER_03]: I just feel like it breathes new life into a space of Disney world that one we want to be around for longer.
[SPEAKER_03]: We support any change that keeps carousel of progress locked in and doesn't really affect the show in a negative way, which I think this does.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I think it also, I don't know, it makes this feel special and historical the way that it should.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like, it feels carousel of progress.
[SPEAKER_03]: It feels full circle.
[SPEAKER_03]: And it feels like for a timeless attraction that is actually a timeline, this fits in brilliantly.
[SPEAKER_03]: If we're looking for ways to plus and modernize attractions at Disney World, I mean, especially after the test track redo, which I think is pitch perfect, I think this is another win.
[SPEAKER_03]: I think this is the type of update you need to be doing at Disney World to keep things relevant, especially as generations move further and further away from Walt Disney as a person.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I think this is another win.
[SPEAKER_03]: Also, I didn't realize Kirstal's progress has more performances than any other stage show in the history of American theater.
[SPEAKER_03]: I didn't.
[SPEAKER_03]: What?
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know.
[SPEAKER_03]: I always like that's whoop to do, baby, but I guess that's maybe like a lot.
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know if it's a little different, but wow.
[SPEAKER_03]: I didn't know that.
[SPEAKER_03]: Other Magic Kingdom news, there will be a Tron Aries overlay on the coaster instead of blue and orange.
[SPEAKER_03]: It'll be red and orange.
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_03]: And they even have some updates about the villain themed land coming to Magic Kingdom.
[SPEAKER_03]: They've been imagined years have been doing research, looking at architecture, they shared some images from their trip, their together inspiration for building this land.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I am kind of scared.
[SPEAKER_03]: Not for the quality of the land.
[SPEAKER_03]: No, not in that sense.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm kind of scared.
[SPEAKER_03]: for how scary this was.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like the gaudy-esque art nouveau design that they're pulling is unsettling.
[SPEAKER_03]: It is unsettling.
[SPEAKER_03]: It kind of makes my tummy go, oh no.
[SPEAKER_03]: And not like the AI way.
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know if you all have this.
[SPEAKER_03]: Where if you see AI artwork, your stomach flips.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like I feel instantly nauseous.
[SPEAKER_03]: And that's how I know it's AI.
[SPEAKER_03]: Is that my body goes, no.
[SPEAKER_03]: Um, it's like some of the way some people reacted to a polar express like that artwork.
[SPEAKER_03]: It just makes when I see AI stuff.
[SPEAKER_03]: Woo.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like my body just goes, no, uh, shuts it down.
[SPEAKER_03]: And this kind of does a version of that, but more just like, oh, I'm scared.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm scared.
[SPEAKER_03]: It sounds like they're going to make it really, really creepy.
[SPEAKER_03]: Really creepy.
[SPEAKER_03]: There was some other Disney villains news that I'm not going to be talking about.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like some,
[SPEAKER_03]: Body lotion and Nounsman some toy.
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't care.
[SPEAKER_03]: That's not used to me.
[SPEAKER_03]: That's a press release.
[SPEAKER_03]: But then making this land a creepy Gothic masterpiece is pretty cool.
[SPEAKER_03]: And also if you think about it from like we're going in blue sky.
[SPEAKER_03]: We're going corporate outlook on the future.
[SPEAKER_03]: Having something like this at Magic Kingdom not only
[SPEAKER_03]: increases the possibilities for Mickey's not so scary having a scary element and it's also separate from where younger children or people who are scared of things might go having this other theme to a party that's at the back of the park is pretty freaking cool but also
[SPEAKER_03]: having something a little spooky scary does maybe cut into the Halloween horror night's Halloween market and from a company perspective that is a huge draw to Orlando every year and if they can get a piece of that they can get a piece of the scary Halloween not just the not so scary that's going to be really good for Disney in the long run and so I'm pretty curious
[SPEAKER_03]: and a little scared for how creepy this might be.
[SPEAKER_03]: Sounds like that they're approaching it the right way and I do think they have the potential to do something extremely cool with that land.
[SPEAKER_03]: So I would say I'm more optimistic about it.
[SPEAKER_03]: I was never negative about it, but I am looking forward to seeing what they're concocting because it seems kind of bananas.
[SPEAKER_03]: And then there's Beek and Barrel, the Pirates of the Caribbean themed lounge that has seemingly gotten rave reviews from all of my colleagues, which is a win for everyone.
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, any menu serving octopus tentacles in the Magic Kingdom is one I'm gonna root for.
[SPEAKER_03]: However,
[SPEAKER_03]: I know it's small bites and food.
[SPEAKER_03]: I know that's what they said it would be.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I know it's exclusive and in demand and people really want to be in this space because apparently the entertainment and show elements are fantastic.
[SPEAKER_03]: And if people are saying that, I believe them.
[SPEAKER_03]: But I just kind of feel like, and we're going to get real here.
[SPEAKER_03]: I feel like you go there.
[SPEAKER_03]: You get the chippies.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's like bread and dip, like chippy dip.
[SPEAKER_03]: And you get two drinks.
[SPEAKER_03]: And you're kind of already at what a seventy dollar tab.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I'm already fearful for the repercussions of something like this.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like, it really feeds into the Disney as too expensive.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm not gonna go back talk.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I just feel like this is how our economy is right now.
[SPEAKER_03]: Everything is unbelievably expensive.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I just really am finding myself in my everyday life, not at just the theme parks.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm finding myself missing that little win of buying something and not feeling like, ugh, yikes.
[SPEAKER_03]: Every time I buy some thing lately, like every time this month, I buy and go, oh my god, how is it this much?
[SPEAKER_03]: Everything, we're talking a cake for my husband's birthday, we're talking a coffee in the morning.
[SPEAKER_03]: Across the board, every single price is giving me absolute shell shock and it's draining.
[SPEAKER_03]: And it's kind of the last thing I want to feel when I'm on vacation at a place that just brings me so much joy and transports me to an entirely different reality, which is what I think theme parks do successfully.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I know very amusing is a pro travel pro doing things podcast because my brain is anti-sitting still and all I think about all day is getting back to Disney World and there are many Disney discounts available right now.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's actually why, in this episode, I haven't swapped out our mouse fan travel segment because there's so many deals I want people to know about and take advantage of that I don't want to re-record it until we have a whole new slew of deals.
[SPEAKER_03]: I want to make sure nobody is missing out on these.
[SPEAKER_03]: because stuff is expensive and traveling is expensive.
[SPEAKER_03]: And it's really important to me that people know the places where they can save money if they are interested in traveling.
[SPEAKER_03]: But it's this weird parallel, right?
[SPEAKER_03]: Because on one hand, we're seeing things like discounted hotel rooms.
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, Becky even said in our ad segment that they're going to give you a gift card to book a room.
[SPEAKER_03]: And yet, you could be spending a meal's worth of money just on a little bit of bread and a drink, and that feels at odds to me.
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, this is beacon barrel is kind of like, oh, this can't you know, which by the way, no longer requires those reasons.
[SPEAKER_03]: This is similar to that.
[SPEAKER_03]: It is, can friendly.
[SPEAKER_03]: It is all ages, and you can get alcohol.
[SPEAKER_03]: GO-ED-II at Epcot is a purely adult only bar.
[SPEAKER_03]: And while it has been open for a minute, I myself have still not made it there because of aforementioned reasons not being able to travel.
[SPEAKER_03]: We had to talk about that too because cocktails there are twenty three to twenty eight dollars a piece.
[SPEAKER_03]: And people are going.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's apparently quite busy.
[SPEAKER_03]: So it's working.
[SPEAKER_03]: This is a price point that people are willing to pay.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's also maybe worth paying extra to have a drink inside and not be sweating in the sun because yeah, Florida be hot.
[SPEAKER_03]: But it's strange to me that as hotel rooms have offers, as there's ticket deals, as there's all these discounts,
[SPEAKER_03]: Drinks in G-O-E-D-II cost more than cocktails at the Bell Air Hotel.
[SPEAKER_03]: They cost more than drinks at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and that is kind of absurd.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like, the most high-end hotel power-lunchy Hollywood cocktail should not be a couple bucks less than a bar that already requires admission to enter inside a theme park.
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, it's just like attendance.
[SPEAKER_03]: Tickets you would say are pretty expensive now, but they're not too expensive if people are willing to pay it.
[SPEAKER_03]: People keep going, which means they're priced accurately.
[SPEAKER_03]: They haven't broke that threshold where people won't go to the park, but it is strange.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's a strange dichotomy that we have these promotions.
[SPEAKER_03]: that Disney seems to be putting up these rack rates in front that look expensive, but there's discounts to be had.
[SPEAKER_03]: And yet, they're having cocktails that are more expensive than the most expensive place in LA I could think of.
[SPEAKER_03]: That just seems wild to be.
[SPEAKER_03]: And it reminded me that there are these many deals, because while I was preparing this episode, I was on the Disney Parks blog website, which by the way has gone full SEO, like full search engine optimization.
[SPEAKER_03]: They had a story I clicked on that was quite literally called, when is the best time to visit Disney World?
[SPEAKER_03]: And like that's a smart move for them to be doing that, and I'm shocked they haven't been doing that for years, because they haven't been doing that with Disney Parks blog, so that I'm sorry.
[SPEAKER_03]: You've been doing that with
[SPEAKER_03]: Disney with the parks panel too many park words the parks panel if you google a question you usually get one of those and now those answers are kind of seemingly being drawn from Disney parks blog I assume because of the way Google has redesigned maybe it's a chat gbt thing I don't know it's just the first time I have ever seen that on parks blog which I found to be quite interesting
[SPEAKER_03]: And while I was reading this story about what's the best time to visit Disney World, they did convince me I need to go back, they were right?
[SPEAKER_03]: They remind me that while there are a lot of deals, they have that three day three perk ticket for his lowest eighty nine dollars a day deal, which ends super soon.
[SPEAKER_03]: But I compare prices just to see.
[SPEAKER_03]: After looking at these menus, seeing these cocktails, which could go for like up to twenty eight dollars a cocktail.
[SPEAKER_03]: After looking at that, I just thought it was like, just look, just take a look.
[SPEAKER_03]: And for the same ticket granted with theirs, you can't go to Magic Kingdom with this one you can.
[SPEAKER_03]: You can save one hundred and eighteen dollars.
[SPEAKER_03]: On a three day three park ticket with that deal, compared to just buying it, rack rate for the same date.
[SPEAKER_03]: And it's just a weird balance, isn't it?
[SPEAKER_03]: Isn't it strange that we have on one end of the spectrum the most expensive cocktail I can think of?
[SPEAKER_03]: And on the other one, massive discounts on tickets that are just kind of being whispered into the abyss?
[SPEAKER_03]: I think it's interesting.
[SPEAKER_03]: I think it's interesting and something to take note of as we go forward, that it does feel like there is this road diverging, and unless you know about the discounts, you may never know that there is this quietly more affordable way to visit Disney parks.
[SPEAKER_03]: Thankfully, that's what I'm here for.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm here to tell you about both of them.
[SPEAKER_03]: And while the cocktails that I've got are do seem great, I am, listen, I have sticker shock by that and by everything in my life buying a coffee in Los Angeles and the tabbing nine dollars is unhinged and I don't like that feeling and I just feel like I'm feeling it everywhere.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I'm sure you are too, because that is the state of our world.
[SPEAKER_03]: Anyway.
[SPEAKER_03]: We are going to take a quick little break and we'll be back with more news including so much Muppets discussion because they finally revealed stuff.
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh my gosh!
[SPEAKER_03]: And even a little bit of Muppets news that we have not discussed on the feed.
[SPEAKER_03]: Stick around, we will be right back.
[SPEAKER_03]: Welcome back.
[SPEAKER_03]: We have a lot more Disney World news to discuss.
[SPEAKER_03]: Don't worry about it Disneyland Paris really quick because I have to talk about this immediately.
[SPEAKER_03]: I got to get this out of my head.
[SPEAKER_03]: World of Frozen opens spring, twenty twenty six, which is so soon.
[SPEAKER_03]: It will be the proverbial canon that ignites the new version of this park and crisps in it Disney and venture world.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I know Disney Adventure World, Disney California Adventure, Disney Adventure, the cruise ship, it's a lot.
[SPEAKER_03]: But hey, I don't get paid to clear names through legal, so it's all good.
[SPEAKER_03]: Regardless, it is a little confusing that so many things are named Adventure.
[SPEAKER_03]: I just don't think we are as stoked about this change as we maybe should be.
[SPEAKER_03]: Disney released a time lapse of Elsa's Ice Palace and the facade looks so sick.
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know why this being announced, like gave me a certain kind of Olympic pride.
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know, you like, the video came out and I was like, that's all I'm excited about.
[SPEAKER_03]: All I make, I'm excited about is to see, sorry, I'm moving my iPad because it was my way of my hands.
[SPEAKER_03]: All I'm excited about is to see this come to life.
[SPEAKER_03]: Disneyland Paris has always been this weird situation where like everything's a little off.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's beautiful, but the food's bad.
[SPEAKER_03]: One of the parks is stunning.
[SPEAKER_03]: The other one is a mishmosh.
[SPEAKER_03]: And for them to redo, I believe this statistic is, by the time it's done, it'll be ninety percent different than opening day.
[SPEAKER_03]: Just feels like such a reclamation of a possible mistake in order to call it a mistake, and that's gonna what I mean.
[SPEAKER_03]: A reclamation of that, and I just can't wait to see it all come together.
[SPEAKER_03]: And okay, maybe I am a little brainwashed because, honestly, the even streaming, uh, frozen the movie, frozen two, and the frozen soundtrack so often that I would bet good money that Josh Cat has been able to purchase a boat off of our household streaming numbers alone.
[SPEAKER_03]: But I really am so excited to see what comes from this new version of the park.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's quirks were truly
[SPEAKER_03]: But with this, a new Lion King land and a huge new nighttime show, which I think might end up being Disney's best nighttime show.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm calling it now.
[SPEAKER_03]: I just have a feeling Disney Adventure Bay, which is going to be a huge waterfront within the park.
[SPEAKER_03]: For this nighttime show, brand new nighttime show.
[SPEAKER_03]: They're going to have water screens, fountains, and new water drone technology.
[SPEAKER_03]: And if Disneyland Paris kind of is the park that we're talking about if we're talking about drones, if they're already bragging about the drones in this other show, I'm stoked, I'm stoked and I trust them through and through.
[SPEAKER_03]: From there, let's move over to Disney Cruise Line.
[SPEAKER_03]: Let's sail back towards the Americas on Disney Cruise Line, because we also got some rad new details for the Disney Destiny out of Destination D. Twenty-three.
[SPEAKER_03]: They announced a handful of drinks which I never find to be too newsworthy to be like one day you might order a cocktail but alas they have one at the haunted mansion bar which is the chilling challenge that they have on the Disney treasure but with different ingredients it's orange blossom with little flowers which sounds nice I specifically go to a coffee shop in LA that has orange cardamom syrup for lattes which I love so this sounds delicious the dead man's chest it casts in canon which
[SPEAKER_03]: By the way, Cascin Cannon and Beacon Barrel are melding in my brain.
[SPEAKER_03]: This is the Pirates of the Caribbean inspired attraction on the Disney Destiny again.
[SPEAKER_03]: They're probably kind of like, I view them as like bar version of like the two girls holding hands like shining emoji.
[SPEAKER_03]: That's kind of what I'm figuring them out.
[SPEAKER_03]: And then there's this sanctum.
[SPEAKER_03]: And they have this drink called the Mirror Dimension, which has that pink peppercorn.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's going to make your mouth feel all tingly and the glass reacts to touch.
[SPEAKER_03]: I got to see what that's about.
[SPEAKER_03]: They also have like a levitating drink.
[SPEAKER_03]: I think it's just wild that this space, which is the open lounge space, which they have on the other two sister ships, has such a heavy theme on this one.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's Princess and the Frog on the Disney Wish, and it's Jungle Cruise inspired on the Disney Treasure.
[SPEAKER_03]: But here, it really has a heavier story.
[SPEAKER_03]: And since it is open to the walkways, I just find that kind of fascinating.
[SPEAKER_03]: I think I really am most interested in the spread of barthings across the Disney Destiny more than the other two ships.
[SPEAKER_03]: I love the wish and the treasure rocks, but I just feel like there's this dark moodiness that is a through line between all of them that really feels kind of scary and intriguing.
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, take haunted mansion bar on the Disney treasure.
[SPEAKER_03]: That's across from a jungle cruise-inspired bar.
[SPEAKER_03]: And while there is the through line of Disney parks, here, everything's just a little darker and a little more mysterious.
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, we have Cruella, Devils, Bar, Devils.
[SPEAKER_03]: We have that next haunted mansion parlor.
[SPEAKER_03]: Next to this one, like they're all in the same area, and I just think that's fascinating.
[SPEAKER_03]: And oh, they announced that Dr. Facilia is going to be roaming around
[SPEAKER_03]: Doing card tricks like this is some kind of magic castle at sea.
[SPEAKER_03]: They just announced this and they're calling him a meat and play character or a mean play character encounter.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm going to apparently they're building him as an illusionist who will be lurking around the upper levels of the grand hall, which is the atrium, or in his own makeshift parlor inviting guests in for a card trick or slight of hand.
[SPEAKER_03]: He's just here to make new friends.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I gotta say, using the tagline from every reality show ever to describe a little creepy character who's gonna be kind of like schoolkin around trying to like woo you with card tricks.
[SPEAKER_03]: Fascinating, a villain pulling you in with a card trick is so exciting.
[SPEAKER_03]: Personally, I think that this is a huge, huge deal.
[SPEAKER_03]: This is kind of what we're all looking for.
[SPEAKER_03]: Bridging the gap between a Disney character meet and an immersive attraction.
[SPEAKER_03]: This is theater.
[SPEAKER_03]: This is performance.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's not just magical to see this character do this on a ship.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's literally magic.
[SPEAKER_03]: And this is maybe the thing I now most excited for on this ship, and I cannot wait.
[SPEAKER_03]: Because if they're nailing the stuff, the way I think they are on the Disney Destiny, I really think it'll stand apart as its own ship, just engine on the possibility of like immersive theater everywhere you turn.
[SPEAKER_03]: Because of the theming of heroes and villains, you can expect so much more out of character encounters in that atrium and within different spaces.
[SPEAKER_03]: We know that Karelah DeVille can maybe appear at DeVille's, maybe be around.
[SPEAKER_03]: And now that we have a secondary character who we know we can interact with in-story and see them do magic tricks, it's just something I haven't seen Disney do to this level and I think it's gonna be fascinating.
[SPEAKER_03]: I will be sailing on the Disney Destiny in November and I will be reporting on every thing I see on that ship and cannot wait to bring that story to you.
[SPEAKER_03]: There is a smage of Disneyland news that people just breeze through quickly.
[SPEAKER_03]: There's a patio enhancement and Napa Rose.
[SPEAKER_03]: They're going to be out receiving in fireplaces.
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_03]: And then there's Disneyland handcrafted a documentary that is coming to Disney Plus and Disney YouTube.
[SPEAKER_03]: So
[SPEAKER_03]: The long story short, it's gonna have a lot of footage that has never been seen before.
[SPEAKER_03]: It sounds promising.
[SPEAKER_03]: This footage is not seen the light of day, and I know I'm very much just glossing over everything that isn't capsulated in this.
[SPEAKER_03]: But I do think it's strange that they're announcing it as YouTube and Disney+.
[SPEAKER_03]: It kind of makes me feel like this should be an added value for Disney+, and not just be for free on YouTube.
[SPEAKER_03]: Interesting.
[SPEAKER_03]: Interesting move.
[SPEAKER_03]: Also, huge news, early entry hours at Disneyland are ending, starting January fifth.
[SPEAKER_03]: This is like one of the only perks of staying on property at Disneyland.
[SPEAKER_03]: And the switch that they're doing is pretty mid.
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, seemingly you will get one lightning lane per person for your length of stay, which gives people less incentive to stay at Disneyland's three hotels, not just at all, but also for longer.
[SPEAKER_03]: Because if you only get one for your whole stay, you get the same benefit as someone who stays one night versus eight nights.
[SPEAKER_03]: And that's kind of bizarre.
[SPEAKER_03]: Now, I have done early entry before, when I was staying at Disney's Grand California Resort, and it was a really tricky process.
[SPEAKER_03]: I understand some of the reason why they would want to get rid of this.
[SPEAKER_03]: Just based on the fact that it was a pain in the Tush to get there.
[SPEAKER_03]: Security only opened early enough where you had to be early to security to get through to get to the park gates and time to get inside to make it for that precious thirty minutes.
[SPEAKER_03]: I left as early as I could, and I still only got twenty-five minutes inside the park.
[SPEAKER_03]: If I wanted to be logistically confusing and stressful, the line to get through security at Grand California was in that like atrium area under the monorail, it just was not a very Disney vibe, so I'm not fully against this.
[SPEAKER_03]: But I do just think the benefit needs to be bigger than what they're providing, especially considering the high price point, that is staying at these hotels.
[SPEAKER_03]: It has, though, reminded me, that not everything can last forever at a Disney theme park.
[SPEAKER_03]: You have to enjoy what you have while you have it.
[SPEAKER_03]: I didn't for many years.
[SPEAKER_03]: I didn't for magical express.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'd book my little Uber and be like, bye bye.
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't need you not knowing that one day I would have cherished that.
[SPEAKER_03]: So many park benefits have done stuff like this.
[SPEAKER_03]: And even the ones that are still in place, I need to remind myself to cherish them.
[SPEAKER_03]: Deluxe evening hours at Disney World, which I recently experienced and had so much fun.
[SPEAKER_03]: I need to have experienced before, but this was another great time of it.
[SPEAKER_03]: I need to enjoy that while I have it.
[SPEAKER_03]: My parking hack to get into Pixar pals parking lot in the morning at Disneyland.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm gonna enjoy it while I have it and not just think it's guaranteed forever.
[SPEAKER_03]: But he passed again on Monsters Inc.
[SPEAKER_03]: Perfect example of Disney California Adventure.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm gonna enjoy it while I have it because that ride is going away terrifyingly soon.
[SPEAKER_03]: The only constant as a theme park fan is change and I may as well cherish what I have before it's gone.
[SPEAKER_03]: We are obviously, as you know, in a state of massive change in these parks, which is good and bad.
[SPEAKER_03]: We are getting an unprecedented amount of new experiences, which I try to stop myself from taking for granted, but we are in another goodbye phase, and it's hard.
[SPEAKER_03]: We have faced more losses theme park fans over the past few years than probably ever before.
[SPEAKER_03]: More change giving up things that we love for new things we will probably love in the future.
[SPEAKER_03]: There's been more of that than in a long time and I have to believe.
[SPEAKER_03]: I choose to believe that it will be net positive.
[SPEAKER_03]: It will be for the good.
[SPEAKER_03]: Because often, it really is.
[SPEAKER_03]: Frozen and nap caught.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm sorry.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's not good.
[SPEAKER_03]: It is.
[SPEAKER_03]: Guardians of the Galaxy and mission rewind, net good.
[SPEAKER_03]: Actually, both Guardians of the Galaxy attractions are absolute bangers on both coasts.
[SPEAKER_03]: Adding Tron to Magic Kingdom, net good.
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, it doesn't interfere with the majority of the rest of the park.
[SPEAKER_03]: It doesn't feel too different.
[SPEAKER_03]: from the established areas that we've grown up with and Magic Kingdom, that good!
[SPEAKER_03]: And I'm hoping, with the drastic changes again, with, at Disney's Hollywood Studios, particularly with the Muppets.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm hoping, hoping, hoping it will also be good.
[SPEAKER_03]: We finally got some news about Rock and Roller Coaster's Muppets overlay.
[SPEAKER_03]: Coming in, in, twenty, twenty, six.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I'm trying to keep myself from getting too excited, but that's super stretch and limo has failed, okay?
[SPEAKER_03]: They gave me details, and I just cannot wait to see this.
[SPEAKER_03]: Some of the things that they announced were that the courtyard guitar is going to have fun, new colorful flourishes, which feels a little muppity.
[SPEAKER_03]: G-force records will remain with a muppity owner.
[SPEAKER_03]: We even got some facts about the storyline.
[SPEAKER_03]: Electric mayhem are headlining their biggest show in Hollywood, and in the pre-show, I believe we will see Scooter try to get them up and out the door to the show.
[SPEAKER_03]: We will see Penguins, I am assuming from Muppet Vision, three-D, Holly Luria,
[SPEAKER_03]: I was not at this announcement event, so I couldn't fact-check it myself.
[SPEAKER_03]: However, they're putting penguins in the concept door, and it's gotta be the same penguins.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm hoping, journalistically, you gotta check it out, so I can't say they are, but I'm hoping they're the same penguins.
[SPEAKER_03]: And anyway, so Scooters trying to get them up and out the door, and on the attraction, we will race through the city to see if we can get the band across town in time.
[SPEAKER_03]: The Hollywood interior filming, I've read, we'll have Muppet Influence.
[SPEAKER_03]: The music on the ride will be electric, mayhem playing iconic hits.
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh, I can't wait to see what's on the ride.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I'm feeling really good about it.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's like, it's like that meme that's been passed around where everything can be made better with the muppets.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I agree this ride is kind of the same.
[SPEAKER_03]: Now if you don't go on a thrill ride, this is a net loss.
[SPEAKER_03]: I understand that.
[SPEAKER_03]: Muppet Vision three D was in all ages attraction.
[SPEAKER_03]: This is something that not everyone can go on, both based on ability, motion sensitivity, age, height, things like that.
[SPEAKER_03]: So I understand that is
[SPEAKER_03]: a miss and I'm hoping that the build out of the area will be enough to offer a Muppity experience beyond just the coaster.
[SPEAKER_03]: But that's not all.
[SPEAKER_03]: There is Loki, a Muppet show pilot possibly coming out that nobody at Disney has officially come into them.
[SPEAKER_03]: This broke last week is part of this big California tax filming subsidy story, but there's some really interesting stuff happening here.
[SPEAKER_03]: So this, I guess newly expanded film and television tax credit program is aimed at keeping production here in Hollywood, which we love.
[SPEAKER_03]: Production has left this city, and it has been really, really bad for a lot of local businesses, a lot of local artisans, crafts people, and just people who live in LA who work in the entertainment industry.
[SPEAKER_03]: It has been really, really tricky for them the past few years.
[SPEAKER_03]: This is a thing we're happy about.
[SPEAKER_03]: But when I went back to the Deadline story that I sourced for this originally, I didn't see Muppets in the grid of approved projects.
[SPEAKER_03]: And anytime you look at where is the story originating from, the people whispering about this Muppets show pilot.
[SPEAKER_03]: It all links back to this Deadline story.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I remember seeing Muppets there.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I looked at the grid of projects and I didn't see it there.
[SPEAKER_03]: And then I read the text above it.
[SPEAKER_03]: It says, check out the varied projects tended to leave worded tax credits today.
[SPEAKER_03]: Gotta gotta gotta.
[SPEAKER_03]: This new chart, replacing one sent to us that contained info not meant for public consumption.
[SPEAKER_03]: It seems, has, like the previous chart, the amount, the successful applicants are estimated to inject into the state's economy.
[SPEAKER_03]: Whoopsies!
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm pretty sure Muppets was on there before because I'm pretty sure I checked it out.
[SPEAKER_03]: And now this update means that it wasn't supposed to be in there.
[SPEAKER_03]: And while there's seemingly no way for me to journalistically accurately place the Muppets and this tax credit together right now, today.
[SPEAKER_03]: It is still on productionlist.com, which tracks projects that are happening in Hollywood.
[SPEAKER_03]: And the producer listed is a person named Michael Steinbach, who, according to their LinkedIn, is a producer at Muppet Studio.
[SPEAKER_03]: So this thing, this kind of has legs people.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like if we were doing the cork board, the lines and the papers, we would have some lines connecting the dots.
[SPEAKER_03]: Is it entirely accurate?
[SPEAKER_03]: Are they burying the announcement until the shot footage is good?
[SPEAKER_03]: And they see how it goes?
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know.
[SPEAKER_03]: All I know is that there is a nugget of truth to this rumor.
[SPEAKER_03]: And frankly, with the massive Muppets presence at Destination D-Twenty-Three, I'm kind of shocked they didn't make an announcement there about it.
[SPEAKER_03]: That is probably the biggest gathering of Muppets fans we will have until D-Twenty-Three Expo next year, for which dates were also announced at Destination D-Twenty-Three.
[SPEAKER_03]: Either way, more Muppets is a win for all of us, and I'm thrilled if this comes due for a mission.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like I said on Twitter this weekend, I won't celebrate until we know for sure because I have been hurt.
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay?
[SPEAKER_03]: Do you remember?
[SPEAKER_03]: Do you remember that we were gonna bring back Lisa McGuire and that they didn't?
[SPEAKER_03]: They tried it, he'll reduff out on stage.
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, I'll wait, yay!
[SPEAKER_03]: And there was that pillow photo of her in Gordo.
[SPEAKER_03]: we will never see that and for that I am so upset.
[SPEAKER_03]: So I'm not gonna celebrate until it is on my TV in my room.
[SPEAKER_03]: Again, I hosted the Duffy in Friends panel at D- Twenty Three.
[SPEAKER_03]: Where is the series?
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm supposed to drop in Disney Plus.
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know.
[SPEAKER_03]: So I don't want to get too excited, but it is good news.
[SPEAKER_03]: And last but not least, did you see a power surge?
[SPEAKER_03]: I was just kidding, but yikes.
[SPEAKER_03]: Yikes.
[SPEAKER_03]: I just want to give a quick update about Disney's Animal Kingdom at Disney World.
[SPEAKER_03]: Just this week they announced the dinosaurs final day will be February first, twenty twenty six.
[SPEAKER_03]: Just outside the bounds of the musical loser.
[SPEAKER_03]: Ah, sob, but alas.
[SPEAKER_03]: On February second, all of Dino Land will close.
[SPEAKER_03]: That is the closing date, including the ride and restaurants of Soros.
[SPEAKER_03]: With restaurant to Soros closing, as of February second, its menu items are apparently moving to Harambe market in early twenty twenty six, and to prepare for that, Harambe market will close for refurbishment this winter.
[SPEAKER_03]: I, I, I don't, okay.
[SPEAKER_03]: I, I guess they must have looked at the food numbers and were like, we gotta keep the spirit of respiratory disorders alive, but just wanted to flag that is a thing that is happening.
[SPEAKER_03]: And to refresh your memory, dinosaur will be getting an Indiana Jones overlay.
[SPEAKER_03]: And Dinoland will be turned into Pueblo Esperanza featuring Cassita from Inkanto, aka a movie that is playing in my house.
[SPEAKER_03]: If Frozen is not on, if Frozen is not on, we're listening to Inkanto.
[SPEAKER_03]: If we're not watching Frozen, we're watching in Conto to the point.
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay, so this wasn't gonna be a Pearl episode, but I do just wanna mention.
[SPEAKER_03]: So you know what it's like to live with a young Disney fan.
[SPEAKER_03]: Uh, oh, yesterday, Pearl kept going, something's wrong.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I would be like, oh my God, are you okay?
[SPEAKER_03]: She'd be like, something's wrong.
[SPEAKER_03]: They'd be like, what's going on?
[SPEAKER_03]: And she'd say,
[SPEAKER_03]: The house, the house, it's falling.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I'd be like, the in the inconto house?
[SPEAKER_03]: Cassito and she's like, yeah, Cassito's cracking.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I all day, I kept being like, what do you mean something's wrong?
[SPEAKER_03]: Are you sick?
[SPEAKER_03]: Are you ill?
[SPEAKER_03]: What's going on?
[SPEAKER_03]: And it was just the inconto house.
[SPEAKER_03]: She's like, really, really, I'm something inconto house.
[SPEAKER_03]: But again, I have been watching inconto so much.
[SPEAKER_03]: Then now every time I watch it, and I'm like, yeah, this music, these visuals, this is gonna make a banger attraction, and I cannot wait for it.
[SPEAKER_03]: On the other hand though, you know, it's given take.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like I said, an unprecedented loss unprecedented gains.
[SPEAKER_03]: We did have to say goodbye to the bone yard, which I have some wonderful memories of of bringing my child there hanging out with my friend Kelly and Asher who listen to the show Hello, but with it.
[SPEAKER_03]: Not with it, but I guess.
[SPEAKER_03]: Also, Zutopia, better as you gather.
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh, I never want to say that out loud again.
[SPEAKER_03]: We'll open on November seventh inside the Tree of Life and Animal Kingdom, which is very, very exciting.
[SPEAKER_03]: Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps will also have all new outfits from Zutopia II and meet guests.
[SPEAKER_03]: There was a lot of stuff happening in twenty, twenty, six that we haven't discussed.
[SPEAKER_03]: So real quick.
[SPEAKER_03]: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Reopins with some upgrades.
[SPEAKER_03]: The Mandalorian and Grogu will join Smuggler's Run.
[SPEAKER_03]: on both coasts.
[SPEAKER_03]: The Walt Disney Studios courtyard and the magic of Disney animation experience will open at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I believe the last one is Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger spin will reopen with big updates.
[SPEAKER_03]: New vehicles, no cap on how many points you can earn, better technology, frankly pretty excited for that one.
[SPEAKER_03]: If you have any questions or thoughts about any of these announcements, let me know.
[SPEAKER_03]: Again, I'm just trying to catch all of us up on everything that happened these past few weeks.
[SPEAKER_03]: I really chose a humdinger of a back-to-back event to miss, and for that, I apologize.
[SPEAKER_03]: I usually am able to make everything, but this one, I just, the timing didn't work out, but I will be at many things in the future, and I will make sure to report back all of the news I can.
[SPEAKER_03]: Again, call me if you have any thoughts on the show's hotline, and until then, I'll see you next week.
[UNKNOWN]: Good evening, my friend.
[UNKNOWN]: It's a Steve from East Lansing again.
[UNKNOWN]: And I just wanted to give a call and ask you about the crews of the icon of the seas through Royal Caribbean.
[SPEAKER_00]: And one question that really always popped in my head that you ultimately address when you talked about the second half of your career was, I think it's throwing a bunch of stuff at you to try to impress you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm almost like a first date where you know that's not really truly who they are, but you know they're just trying to put their best foot forward, but where's the substance?
[SPEAKER_00]: And I was wondering about that with Royal Caribbean.
[SPEAKER_00]: It just seemed like Vegas on the seas, the more you've talked about it.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you've ever been to Vegas, if any of you are listening to, have ever been to Vegas, you start to get really burnt down after about day two to three to the point where you just can't take anymore.
[SPEAKER_00]: And there's just nothing there besides the flash and bang and sounds of it all.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's what it seems like to me, and that's where Disney, I think, excels that, excels that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Where, yeah, they mean I have everything that the icon to see you have, but they don't really need it.
[SPEAKER_00]: They have the substance, they have the stories, they have
[SPEAKER_00]: the IP's behind it to the point where it just takes care of itself.
[SPEAKER_00]: It, it puts Disney above the rest, no matter how flash, no matter how big, no matter how, whatever world Caribbean does.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure the ship is fine.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure it's going to be a fun cruise, but I just don't see the substance there.
[SPEAKER_00]: And yeah, I mean, I'm glad you had fun, but yeah, I get definitely, I don't see myself doing it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I see myself sticking to DCL and old by the way, Miss Carly.
[SPEAKER_00]: I've taken your advice and we are going through NEI to schedule our cruise and I'm impressed so far.
[SPEAKER_00]: They work so quick, so wonderful.
[SPEAKER_00]: and we hope to keep doing business with them in the future.
[SPEAKER_00]: Thanks again and have a wonderful day.
[SPEAKER_03]: Hi, okay.
[SPEAKER_03]: So this is a really interesting call and I really, really wanted to respond to it as soon as possible because I absolutely hear what you're saying.
[SPEAKER_03]: I understand your critique and I just wanted to give a little more feedback because I could see how you could view it that way, but I also want to offer an alternate perspective because
[SPEAKER_03]: For example, if you compare these ships to Vegas, I do think that Vegas is an incredible destination, but it's all in how you visit it.
[SPEAKER_03]: There is a way to visit Vegas where you are seeing some of the largest aquariums you've ever seen.
[SPEAKER_03]: You're going to local restaurants that blow you away.
[SPEAKER_03]: You're going to essentially themed bars that wow you.
[SPEAKER_03]: There are a lot of theme parky things that you can do in Vegas and a lot of fun you can have along the lines of the kind of fun we like to have as theme park people in that destination that differs from just nightlife gambling, etc.
[SPEAKER_03]: Usually when I go there, I barely go out.
[SPEAKER_03]: I just have an incredible dinner and then I do a bunch of weird quirky vintage things.
[SPEAKER_03]: That's kind of my vibe and you are able to carve that out in Vegas.
[SPEAKER_03]: But I do understand what you're saying.
[SPEAKER_03]: where Disney doesn't need the flash and the wow factor of having one of every type of bar of having an escape room of having a comedy club, they don't need that.
[SPEAKER_03]: But in defense of Royal Caribbean, they are kind of leaning a lot on IP over it Disney Cruise Line.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like, I have been on a Disney cruise ship where I've watched probably six hours of movies in a day, and on my Royal Caribbean sailing, I was trying to find a movie to watch with my child, because that's what I'm used to doing on a cruise ship, and I couldn't find one.
[SPEAKER_03]: It almost felt like Royal didn't really need that type of entertainment, because they had things like live music.
[SPEAKER_03]: And,lessly, I'm talking endless, endless live music, a full band playing by the pool.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like, there was just so much live entertainment that I didn't expect from that cruise line that really, really wowed me.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I do agree that Disney has something special and is why Disney Cruise Line is my favorite cruise line.
[SPEAKER_03]: That's why I keep sailing with them.
[SPEAKER_03]: But Royal Caribbean is really, really blowing me away with their offerings because they do offer so much different stuff to do at sea that I'm really not used to.
[SPEAKER_03]: So while I do understand, I don't want to undercut your perspective, I totally get it.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I get the feeling that you're talking about where it's like, they're just like, look at what we have!
[SPEAKER_03]: Isn't it shiny?
[SPEAKER_03]: Like, I went into it thinking I would emerge feeling as though the cruise was a little soulless.
[SPEAKER_03]: That was my fear, is that I would go and be like, this is all hollow and meaningless, and I miss that storytelling element, which they redeemed me on.
[SPEAKER_03]: As I mentioned in that episode, if anyone listening hasn't heard it for a while, I was like, I'm missing that storytelling and missing that kind of imaginary perspective of like drawing upon the movies I know, the movies I, and places I have nostalgia towards within this cruise ship.
[SPEAKER_03]: But once I saw the caliber of entertainment and I started to really embrace the different types of things they had on this cruise ship, some of which I do think were superior to Disney Cruise Line.
[SPEAKER_03]: I do think the access to food and like having so many different types of dining on board is something that I really like on vacation.
[SPEAKER_03]: There were a lot of cool things about this ship and while the fear of it being like this is hollow and empty and like a mall is possible I do think that they rose above that because of their entertainment program because there were so many touchstones for that and it wasn't just bar bar restaurant.
[SPEAKER_03]: It really really elevated things.
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean they had a piano player who you would just be in the elevator and like a piano player would appear and just start playing music.
[SPEAKER_03]: And those wild moments, I do think provide that something special that while it isn't Disney IP, while it isn't the joy of seeing Daisy Duck come down and elevator and walk out like nothing compares to that, it did have that special sort of discovery and wild factor in artistry.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I do want to make sure we don't under sell that.
[SPEAKER_03]: Well, listen, I get it.
[SPEAKER_03]: If you love Disney Cruise Line, I love it too.
[SPEAKER_03]: No shame there.
[SPEAKER_03]: I get it.
[SPEAKER_03]: But Royal Caribbean, I just gotta say it one last time, really blew me away with this cruise ship.
[SPEAKER_03]: They are different from Disney Cruise Line, but I'm really glad that for me, even as a consumer, I now have two options of travel that I would consider when it comes to sailing instead of just one.
[SPEAKER_03]: I hope that makes sense and I do understand everything you're saying.
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't want to listen.
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't want to poo poo it.
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't want to say no, but I hope that provides a little more context.
[SPEAKER_03]: And thank you so much for your call.
[SPEAKER_03]: Truly all the calls don't have to be like praise critique me.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's a conversation that's what we're doing here and I love calls like this.
[SPEAKER_03]: So thank you so much Steve.
[SPEAKER_03]: I appreciate it.
[SPEAKER_03]: And listen, if you ever go on real Caribbean, I'll tell you my favorite stuff to do.
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, I already did, but I'll tell you again.
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay, thank you.
[SPEAKER_03]: Bye.
[SPEAKER_03]: That's our show!
[SPEAKER_03]: Thank you all so much for listening to this episode of very amusing.
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[SPEAKER_03]: Speaking of, for the first time, for the very first time, someone asked me what I did, and I said I host a podcast.
[SPEAKER_03]: Forever, I've just said that, like, oh, I write about this and this and I host a podcast, no.
[SPEAKER_03]: So, I said, what do you do?
[SPEAKER_03]: And I said, I host a theme park podcast.
[SPEAKER_03]: On year five, six, I'm really embracing my full-time job.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's finally happening.
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know why I thought saying I host a podcast, sounds less legitimate than I write stories, but here we are.
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[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I'm in that club too.
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[SPEAKER_01]: but the new stars of this year were up to ribbonship.
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh my God, when we first walked up to the ship, I looked and I looked and I looked and I went, oh my God, this thing is huge.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was two huge ships together.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I did get to meet Becky right after we got on.
[SPEAKER_01]: So that was fun.
[SPEAKER_01]: I liked her a lot.
[SPEAKER_01]: She's awesome.
[SPEAKER_01]: My favorite part was a surf-side area.
[SPEAKER_01]: Every morning, her all ran to her window.
[SPEAKER_01]: to wake up and see people walking by, but especially to look at the marriage around this.
[SPEAKER_01]: All she talked about because we went to breakfast.
[SPEAKER_01]: The Pearl Cafe was cool.
[SPEAKER_01]: Love the name.
[SPEAKER_01]: I picked up containers of salads and hummus and cookies and snacks, and they were all packaged so nice.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was so easy to carry back to the room which made a huge difference when you're packing up three snacks with people.
[SPEAKER_01]: This ship was so smooth that I thought I was at a huge result.
[SPEAKER_01]: For someone who has Medicaid who has to Medicaid provide motion sickness and travel,
[SPEAKER_01]: I felt nothing ever.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was amazing.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then when we checked out our rooms, I loved it.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was a slide in that one room, which, of course, you had to go down.
[SPEAKER_01]: The sole ice skating campaigns that we saw was on another level.
[SPEAKER_01]: Skate borders, on ice skates, jumping off ramps and doing summer stuff.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was crazy.
[SPEAKER_01]: Back to the future, the guy who played Michael J. Fox, and the guy who played Doc, sounded exactly like them.
[SPEAKER_01]: The mannerisms of the guy who played Michael J. Fox, Fox's part.
[SPEAKER_01]: was moving and glue.
[SPEAKER_01]: He did everything exactly.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I looked at him like, is that much of a fact?
[SPEAKER_01]: I was so confused.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was so good.
[SPEAKER_01]: I loved it.
[SPEAKER_01]: And they had the car.
[SPEAKER_01]: They had the car there.
[SPEAKER_01]: Crazy.
[SPEAKER_01]: The pool area had a pool where everyone was standing in waste high water and the loungers were in the water.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was so cool.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was ankle high, so fun.
[SPEAKER_01]: But I loved being a nice time car.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's fun.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was happening.
[SPEAKER_01]: And night life was happening.
[SPEAKER_01]: The bandburned quite a ball of the casino was lit.
[SPEAKER_01]: The piano bar with the two piano players were happening, audience singing along, clapping, it was so much fun.
[SPEAKER_01]: And there was a nighttime dance party in the middle of the main floor.
[SPEAKER_01]: Everyone was dancing.
[SPEAKER_01]: I did take out your burger place.
[SPEAKER_01]: In fact, I picked up two burgers with cheese and grilled onions with the work and catered pods and hot cheese because I knew like that.
[SPEAKER_01]: I called you to stand coming in the room and you're like,
[SPEAKER_01]: for a sleeping, so I sat down and ended up eating everything.
[SPEAKER_01]: I did it, mine.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was outstanding.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was the smash burger.
[SPEAKER_01]: Amazing.
[SPEAKER_01]: My favorite place with surf side that was the whole floor for Pearl.
[SPEAKER_01]: I took her on the mirror around many times and we saw so many different characters.
[SPEAKER_01]: We did a pineapple ride.
[SPEAKER_01]: We did a swan, a cupcake, a spin ride, but her favorite was the VW van.
[SPEAKER_01]: And that was her choice ten out of ten times.
[SPEAKER_01]: Pearl insisted that I prime myself in like the contortionist
[SPEAKER_01]: And this tiny little door where my back get the top of the roof, but for I wanted me in it, so every time I did it, then we... It's me, I went over, sorry.
[SPEAKER_01]: Then we went on the water park, and there's so many different things for her to do.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was like a can, and you can shoot water out of it with so cool.
[SPEAKER_01]: Then we ended up of course at the candy store, top-notch full candy store, where they may cotton candy for you as you wait.
[SPEAKER_01]: They had many restaurants that catered to toddlers.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was fabulous.
[SPEAKER_01]: They had a kids start off on the fourth course in one shopping.
[SPEAKER_01]: Anything you need for a tablet with on this floor, we spend hours there.
[SPEAKER_01]: Faria went over, I really apologize for that, but I hit the best time.
[SPEAKER_01]: Honey, it was so wonderful.
[SPEAKER_01]: I love being with my girls and having the best time.
[SPEAKER_01]: And to the call of a call in Michelle, I'm Michelle from New Jersey.
[SPEAKER_01]: Congratulations on your four-month-old.
[SPEAKER_01]: But from my perspective on your question, if you're husband really doesn't want to go,
[SPEAKER_01]: I say this as loud as I can.
[SPEAKER_01]: Take your mom.
[SPEAKER_01]: Take your hand.
[SPEAKER_01]: Take your best friend and have the greatest time because I sure did.
[SPEAKER_01]: I love you, Carly.
[SPEAKER_01]: I love you, Pearl.