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Welcome back, fellow travelers, to another exciting episode of Traveling with the Mouse podcast! Today, we have an episode packed with intriguing news from the magical world of Disney. In this edition, we explore the recent series of unexpected announcements that have sent shockwaves through the Disney community. Join us as we delve into the closure of the Star Cruiser, the cancellation of the Lake Nona project, and the mixed reviews for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Disney has decided to permanently close the Star Cruiser experience. While the closure itself may not be entirely surprising, what has caught everyone off guard is the decision to pull the plug by the end of September. The Star Cruiser, an ambitious and immersive Star Wars-themed hotel experience, was initially met with great enthusiasm and anticipation. Unfortunately, various factors have led to its demise, leaving fans disappointed. As we bid farewell to this unique venture, we reflect on the impact it has had on the Disney landscape and give our thoughts on what Disney should do with it in the future.

One of the notable decisions made during the Chapek era was the Lake Nona project which was going to move Imagineering to Florida. This week Bob Iger announced this project is now officially cancelled. The timing match up politically with what is going on in Florida but this project was most likely doomed the moment Chapek was fired.

With much anticipation, the last installment in the Indiana Jones franchise, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” has arrived. The Film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival. The early reviews, however, present a mixed bag of opinions. Harrison Ford did receive a standing ovation at the premiere and it is also John Williams final film score. Do we think that these early critics are wrong and the film will deliver to the fans? We all know that critics are often not in line with audiences…we’re looking at you Last Jedi….

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Episode 396: Welcome back to Traveling with the Mouse, your one-stop-shop for all things Disney! On today’s episode, we’ve got an exciting lineup of topics to discuss, including the highly anticipated annual passholder preview of Tron Lightcycle Run and Jason’s upcoming trip to Disneyland Paris.

Let’s start with the big news, shall we? The annual passholder preview of Tron Lightcycle Run at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World has been generating a lot of buzz lately, and for good reason. The ride, which is set to open to the public in the coming weeks, promises to be an exhilarating experience unlike anything else in the park.

Now, let’s talk about Jason’s upcoming trip to Paris. Jason is visiting Paris this week and he is going to spend a day at Disneyland Paris. He purchased the premiere pass to skip the lines at the most popular attractions. Jason walks us through his plans for the day as he wants to get in as much as he can at both parks in one day. We can’t wait to hear all about it when he gets back.

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Episode 381: It’s November now and that means that it is Christmas time at Walt Disney World. We talk about that transformation from a long Halloween season and then going directly into Christmas. The Galactic Starcruiser is having a major slowdown in bookings. What is the future going to look like for this pricey 2 day experience? In some happy news Fantasmic is back and we really like the updates to the show! I know we have given this show a hard time over the years but it was outdated and the changes that were made to this show have given it new life. On another positive note, the Toy Story meet and greets are coming back. The Jingle Cruise, one of my favorite holiday overlays, is also back! There’s a lot of fun things going on This holiday season.

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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.

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Episode 347: Today we discuss our initial thoughts about the Galactic Starcruiser. There’s a lot to cover but the early reviews are generally positive. We discuss what we liked and disliked. Also, we try to answer the question, what would it take for us to book a star cruise. Jason is going to be in Walt Disney World next week so he also gives us a little preview of his trip. We also honor my Mom with a Give Kids The World fundraiser. Thanks to those that have already given. We have almost reached our goal already but why not go for more? If you would like to contribute, the link can be found here: https://give.gktw.org/fundraiser/3737394

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Episode 346: James joins us once again this week as we catch up on the latest Disney news. Disney is in the community building business once again but will this be more like Epcot or Celebration 2.0? Story Living is Disney’s out of the blue new way of making money without having to shoulder much of the work. In other news, Disney rules the box office again with Spiderman No Way Home. The prices for day tickets have increased once again and Disney has changed their mask policy to only be required on transportation. Disney has also been busy collecting data via surveys. One in particular caught our attention this week was about guests who have upcoming voyages booked on the Galactic Starcruiser.

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Episode 339: Jason just return from an impromptu trip to Walt Disney World. He is the first of us to try out Genie Plus and the individual lightning lane for a couple of attractions. Jason gives us his opinion on it and lets us know how he would improve it. Before we get to all of that we did cover some of the news. There was a new parade of emergency vehicles on Mainstreet recently but not the kind that we want to see every night. Bob isn’t happy about his reputation but will he do anything to reverse that? We also all weigh in on the galactic start cruiser and its questionable marketing strategy. Also, we acknowledge that we recorded this episode on December 15th…55 years since Walt left us.

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Episode 304: Today we play a game of Would you rather? Disney Edition! We came up with several scenarios with varying levels of weirdness they we have to choose between. We had fun coming up with difficult choices to try and stump each other with. So look for choices that include rafts, skyliner, monorail and fastpass! Before we get into all of the fun we do go over some news stories for the week. There isn’t a whole lot to report but there’s always construction updates to give from Walt Disney World and even Disneyland has some to report. Let’s hope that they Taste of Disney event out there will help give the Californians a much needed Disney fix! It also looks like Disney is looking for a hotel manager for the new Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser. Speaking of Cruises, the Disney Cruise line is cancelling more sailings through most of the summer.