Episode 308: Today we finalize our 2021 March madness bracket and crown the champion of what believe is currently the best thing at Walt Disney World. Last week we started with 64 things in 8 different categories and we narrowed that down to 32. Today Jon joined us live from Walt Disney World from the business center of Art of Animation resort as we work to narrow down the top 32 all the way to the champion! Was Jon swayed by some of the things he experience on his trip this week? You be the judge! Oh, and look for his Orlando trip report next week. Let us know if you agree or disagree with our pick for this year’s champion as the best thing at Walt Disney World. I think we even surprised ourselves this year!

B78ACE94-6DDA-47AD-93D7-72B4FB3C7267Episode 271: Today the team discusses the plethora of new details that are coming out about the re-opening of Walt Disney world! There’s a lot of news surrounding the limitations and restrictions that guests will face once Disney World re-opens on July 11th. Guests who have existing reservations at a Disney resort are not guaranteed entry to the parks. Some resort amenities and restaurants will also not be available right away. We list out all of those details for you. Other topics we cover are things like, the castle repainting has resumed and The NBA is officially going to finish their season at the Wide World of Sports complex. We wrap up the episode by going through some Disney history from this week in June.

FB1C6C60-5946-4535-BD07-CF205F97C76CEpisode: 269. Walt Disney World announced their re-opening dates and we go through all of the details. While it is good to finally know an opening date for the parks and resorts. It was a little surprising at first that they are going with July 11th & 15th. However, after we start going through the details it does start to makes sense. Also, DVC resorts are set to re-open on June 22nd and with likely soft openings of the parks. We break down what some new requirements will be in order for guests to visit the parks this summer. We also discuss some of the other news like what is going on a Disney springs now that they Disney operated stores are open for business…It’s pretty much how you would expect.

002C2186-9272-4CAE-861F-64868A74A241Episode 266:We start this week by covering some news…A Disney Park (Shanghai) will finally be open again starting May 11th! In our main topic, It is Mother’s Day this week and Jon and I interviewed our Moms about Walt Disney World. It turns out that our love of Disney is really and extension of their love of Disney. It started for them back in the 1950’s with the Mickey Mouse Club and the Wonderful world of Color on TV. Our Mom’s went to Walt Disney World several times in the 1970’s and we asked them what it was like back in the old days of Walt Disney World. We asked them about the early days of Epcot as well. We had a great time asking them all of these questions that we will certainly have to do this again. Maybe we can convince them to be on the show live next time?

 

75E61D8D-11C3-44FF-B685-90415EB2B31AEpisode 265: The Electrical Water Pageant has been operating since 1971 and has been a favorite of ours for many years. This week Jon and I take a fond look back at this “water show” that takes place nightly (weather permitting) along the shores of the 7 seas lagoon and Bay Lake in the Magic Kingdom resort Area. The show has seen 3 significant revisions over the years but the current version of the show has remained mostly unchanged for  the last 24 years. We take you through each version of the show and sample some of the music that makes this show so memorable. The Electrical Water Pageant holds a special place in our hearts as we grew up with it and we talk about how we even brought some of the magic of it home with us as kids. Let us know what you think of this show in the comments.

 

Here is a link to a video I made from a room at the Polynesian. 

D643C9EB-EF7C-4030-8C86-0B238EF01B63Episode 264: Today, Jon and I take a look at all of the future projects that were either underway or in development before the Covid19 pandemic. We discuss whether we think they will continue as is, change significantly, or will be outright cancelled. We give our best guess as to when these projects will be completed and if some of them we even get off the ground. As we all adjust to this new normal we need to prepare for some significant changes coming to at least a few of these projects. Thanksfully some of these project are very near completion and we will hopefully still be getting some new attractions at least for the next few years.

D6FE3E14-01DA-4E9A-BDEF-60B57830F01AEpisode: 263. Hey all you cool cats and kittens! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist). There’s no new episode this week but I thought it would be a good opportunity to dig into the show archives and put together some parts of older episodes that some may not have heard before. If you are like me, this isolation has made me appreciate the Disney parks even more! One way that I like to connect to the parks during this time away is to reflect on the sounds, smells, and of course the music that I love from the parks. I took 2 very old episodes (back when it was just me and Jon) and put them together where we discussed this very topic. If I closed my eyes while listening back to this I could almost feel like I was there. I hope this episode will help bring the parks a little closer to you during this time of social distancing. Stay safe everyone!

TWTM_Episode_242Happy Friday! We have a special bonus episode for you with a special guest! Nathan Firesheets @A_Coaster_Story recently completed the #everyridecoastocoast challenge where he rode a total of 94 rides in 36 hours! He started by completing every ride at Disneyland and then hoped on a red eye flight to Orlando and rode every ride at Walt Disney World. We break down this historic run and also discuss his previous completions which among others includes an oxygen free run on Galaxy’s Edge opening day. Nathan talks about what it was like to be in the massive crowd for rope drop at Disney’s Hollywood studios on that day. Nathan also raised over $1,200 for Give Kids the World during this challenge. You can still donate through his page here 

238_Episode_PicEpisode 238: We discuss the latest Disney news and Talk about what it’s like to go to Walt Disney World without kids! That’s right Jason and I just returned from a trip with our wive’s and no kids. We talk about what it’s like to go to the Food & Wine festival and eat at signature restaurants without children. I’m not going to lie, it was kind of awesome. We crammed a lot into a weekend trip and we ate a lot of food and had a lot of drinks. We spent time at all 4 parks and had a very memorable dinning experience at Monsieur Paul at the France pavilion! Jason and his family are now DVC members! Look for a DVC episode coming up soon.

TWTM_Episode_235Episode 235: Today’s episode is all about Jason’s recent Parkeology run! Jason details his day and give some great insight into what was going on inside the ropes on what was a dramatic but exciting day! Jason takes us through the ups and downs of the day that at one point looked nearly impossible for him to complete. He tells us what he was thinking when he took some major risks in order for his run to stay alive. Ultimately his determination is what got him to the finish line! Congratulations to our Parkeology Expert, Jason!

Episode 226: We discuss the new fall discounts, Skyliner opening date, and best uses for FastPass at Walt Disney World. We begin by discussing the unexpected ride closures that have been happening this summer. More changes are taking place at the Grand Floridian. The new Lion King movie has been released. We end the episode with a discussion on the best and worst Fastpasses to have for each Park. Right now as this episode is released Jason and I are at Walt Disney World so be sure to check out our social media and our Patreon page for updates!

This episode is a combination of two bonus episodes that we recorded earlier this year. We discuss the most googled questions about Walt Disney world and give our answers to those questions. Then we talk about the top 5 projects of Disney imagineer Joe Rohde. We hope you enjoy them and we will be back on our regular schedule soon!

Episode 212: Today we are going through a timeline of important events when trip planning a Walt Disney World vacation! Those events can start as early as 9-12 months in advance. We talk about the early stages of planning a trip to Walt Disney World which includes things like budgeting and selecting a resort hotel. We then go into the middle phase where you can start booking dining reservations. The final stage of trip planning includes things like selecting fast passes and last minute tips to make sure you are the most prepared that you can be. When a Disney trip is broken down into a timeline like this and can seem much less daunting!

Episode 204: In this episode we cover the different hotel and resort options for a Walt Disney World vacation! Whether you like staying on property or prefer to stay close to Walt Disney world there are a number of things to consider. The price is obviously a big consideration but there’s also factors like, location, amenities, transportation, and theme. Disney has several categories of resorts to choose from and we help break down each one to help you decide which resort is the best one for you and your family.

Episode 202: Our friend Jason joins us again on the show today to discuss everything you need to know about using the Fast Pass Plus system at Walt Disney World! We start by covering the origins of fast passes at Walt Disney World back in 1999 when paper fast passes were used. Then we continue to five years ago when the fast pass plus system was introduced. We give you our tips and strategies for how to best use the system and save the most time on your Disney vacation. Our goal was to cover all of the basics of using fast passes and then go more in depth on how to optimize and best use fast passes to minimize your waiting and maximize your fun! I am not exaggerating when I say that Jason and I almost never wait in standby lines (unless it is a short wait) because of the strategy that we outline in this episode.

Episode 200: This is no April Fools joke, we are actually spending an entire episode on Queue Lines! we think you will enjoy this discussion on the many different queue lines at Walt Disney World. We cover what we think are the best queues in all 4 parks as well as the ones that are no so great at each park. We rate the best and worst queue at each park. Let us know what you believe are the best and worst queues lines at Walt Disney World.

Episode 195 – Today we are joined once again by our friend Jason. We go through our recent attempt at the Parkeology/Every Ride Challenge! We break down our run and pinpoint the mistakes that we made as well as the breakthroughs that we had during our 15 hour day. We had some really good breaks and a few that didn’t go our way. The important thing is that we had fun and we raised some money for Give Kids The World. You can still give through our link Here and it will go to the overall goal of $100k by the end of this year!

Episode 193: Howdy Folks, and welcome to this episode dedicated to one of our favorite Walt Disney World Attractions…The Country Bear Jamboree! We dig into the history of this attraction and talk about its connection with Walt Disney himself. It turns out that this may have been the last attraction that Walt ever saw in development. We then go through the current version of the show and discuss our favorite songs and the memories that we have of this show. Then we take a look at the different seasonal overlays of the show and talk about what caused the Disneyland version of the show to close permanently. Whether you love it or tolerate it, there’s no question that this attraction has its place in Disney history.

Episode 192: Today on the show we welcome our first guest! Mr Jason Poovey is a very good friend of mine and a long time supporter of the podcast. Jason is our expert on the Parkeology and the Every Ride WDW challenge. Jason and I will be attempting the challenge this Saturday March 9, 2019 and today’s episode is walking you through the meticulous plan that Jason and I have put together (mostly Jason). We go through the entire day that we hope will end with a victorious celebration at Trader Sams in Disney’s Polynesian Resort. Win or lose we plan to go to Trader Sam’s! You can follow along with us on Twitter on Friday and Saturday @twtmpodcast. Also, be sure to click here or the link below to help us raise money for Give Kids the World! You can give a one time amount or pledge a certain dollar amount for every ride we complete. You can even give us additional challenges or things to do within the challenge for a certain dollar amount. See the links below for details! Thanks for cheering us on and look for much more content coming up on this!

Links:

http://www.parkeology.com/

https://everyridechallenge.com/

http://support.gktw.org/site/TR?team_id=6845&fr_id=1862&pg=team

https://www.gktw.org/

 

 

Today’s episode is about the Parkeology Challenge. This challenge involves riding every ride at all four Walt Disney World Parks in one day.  There are a lot of rules and regulations around this challenge in order for it to be considered official. There are currently 49 attractions that are considered rides at Walt Disney World. I go into the list and explain constitutes a “ride” in the challenge. We wrap up by going through some of the strategies that can be used to take on this challenge. I will be taking part in this challenge on March 9, 2019. Make sure to follow @TWTMPodcast on twitter to follow along with us! www.parkeology.com

Link to video discyssed in the Episode