Episode 392: Today on the show we’re talking Q1 earnings call and what the aftermath will be. Some new things were announced like new sequels for some of the biggest franchises and a new experience coming to Disneyland. There were also some things that we didn’t want to hear…There will be seven thousand layoffs across the Disney organization and the Theme Park investments got cut by 700 Million dollars. The company is reorganizing to place ESPN out by itself. We can guess what that means as the company is also trying to erase the debt caused by recent acquisitions. Also, Reedy Creek Improvement District will be renamed but will continue on. However, the new board will consist of 5 supervisors that will be hand picked by the governor. There isn’t much Disney can do about it but wait and see how this goes.

Episode: 380. This is Halloween, This is Halloween, This is Halloween and we bring you a special spooky edition of Traveling with the Mouse. We talk all things scary, like the latest news from Bob and Josh. We give our thoughts on the changes that we know will be in Fantasmic when it returns in a few days. It’s no secret that we weren’t the biggest fans of Fantasmic but will these new updates entice us to go see it again? Blizzard beach is seeing some new IP related updates for when it reopens. It’s looking like interest in the Galactic Starcruiser is starting to fade. (but we are open to a comped star cruise if your are listening Disney) We also have a discussion around our favorite Disney villains.

Here are the news topics discussed this week.

  • Names of the Flower and Garden outdoor kitchens have been announced
  • The ability to modify dinning reservations has returned to the My Disney Experience app
  • New Tsum Tsum game for the Nintendo Switch
  • Tower of Terror will be undergoing a partial referb through the summer
  • Update on the Walt Disney World maintenance issues report
  • The first teaser for Frozen 2 was released this week
  • More delays with the newest Disney Springs parking garage construction
  • The founder of the Disney Archives passed away this week
  • Ron Jon surf shop location is coming to Disney Springs
  • A guest reported having a gun pointed at them over a parking space at Animal Kingdom
  • A new Moana hei hei themed Dole Whip is coming to Aloha Isle at Magic Kingdom
  • Star Wars Speeder bike photo opp officially removed from Hollywood Studios
  • Two mystery structures are being built at Epcot and Animal Kingdom
  • New Ducktales merchandise now available

On Today’s show we discuss the current state of Disney animated films and what we think the future holds. We go back in time to talk about the Disney dark period that lasted 20 years from the mid 1960’s when Walt Disney died to the time that Michael Eisner and Frank Wells took over and turned the company around in the mid 1980’s. We discuss our favorite films from the Disney Renaissance era of the 1990’s and the second Disney dark time of the early 2000’s before John Lasseter stepped in as head of both Disney and Pixar studios. We try to determine what Disney’s process is for adding elements of Disney Films to the parks…Why do some films get more attention than others? Finally, we take a look at the future of the Disney/Pixar studios. Are we headed for another dark time in Disney animation history? Or is this just the beginning of our current period of hit after hit film? What do you think?

Today’s news topics include:

  • John Lasseter will step down from Disney by the end of the year.
  • Walt Disney World monorail has another unique breakdown
  • My Disney Experience app went down for 45 minutes
  • 2019 vacation packages will be available starting June 19th
  • Block-out dates for Certain Annual Passes lifted for the month of June
  • Richard Gerth…the longtime greater at the Grand Floridian dies at age 92
  • Frozen on Broadway is 0-3 at the Tony awards
  • Solo is estimated to lose $80 million dollars
  • More details on the delays around the release of Toy Story 4
  • Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean re-opens
  • New contest gives the winner a night to camp in Pandora for a night
  • Disney Visa card members can purchase Disneyland’s Halloween party tickets early
  • New merchandise debuts at Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian

 

Today we begin our walk-through of Disney’s Hollywood Studios! We talk about the rides, attractions, shows, dinning and shopping in the Hollywood Boulevard and Echo Lake areas. We give a brief history of the park and talk about some of our favorite experiences. Be sure to join us every Friday as we continue to journey through all of the lands of the Disney parks. Be sure to check out some of our older episodes in this series as well.