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Episode: 326 We catch up on the news this week and talk more about the Disney Genie. After a week to mull over the Disney Genie news we discuss how we feel about it today. In other news The monorail continues to have issues. Fingerprint scanning is back. Club cool is nearing completion. Rumors are circulating that the budget has been slashed for the Splash mountain retheme to Princess and the Frog. We really hope that these rumors turn out to be false. This leads us into a discussion about how the Chapek era so far has been a season of price hikes and decreased value. Perhaps some competition from Universal can help? Let us know your thoughts!

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Episode 324: Today we recap the latest Disney news and Jason weighs in with his thoughts on the Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser announcements. We cover some other news like the first Boo Bash and what we think of it compared to the Halloween Party. Is it worth the hefty price tag? We also start talking about some of the recent job posting that Disney has been hiring for at Walt Disney World. Some of those include Monorail cast members and Skyliner cast members. That got us thinking, if we could have any cast member job at Disney…What would it be? We give some updates to the Scarlet Johannsen Disney legal battle and we reveal that we scored a passholder preview for Remy’s Ratatouille adventure at Epcot. We wrap up the show by hearing from Jason on if he think the Galactic Starcruiser is worth it.

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Episode 322: I discuss my most recent trip to Walt Disney World to rekindle the magic. With all of the recent negative news about price hikes and money grabs I needed a good weekend at Walt Disney World to remind us why we love it so much. My weekend trip did just that! One of the often overlooked factors as to why Disney is so great is those special Cast Members that create magic for you. It may not happen every trip but in my experience there’s always at least one Cast Member that goes above and beyond to make a memorable experience for me. I tell about a few of those cast members that I came across this weekend. We do begin the Episode by discussing some of the news going on in the world of Disney. The big story of the week is the mask mandate returning for all guests indoors. This decision comes on the heels of the CDC guidance update in response to the delta variant. The Destination D23 event is already sold out but we preview some of the presentations and we can’t wait to hear from Josh D’amaro!

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Magic Kingdom July 18, 2020

It has been one year since Walt Disney World re-opened during the Covid-19 pandemic. I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at my trip in July 2020. This was probably the least crowded I have ever seen the parks. The only other time I can recall it being similar crowd levels was in September 2001. Jon and I went to Walt Disney World just 2 days after 9/11 and the parks were also empty. This time was just as surreal because we were in the middle of the pandemic and things were only getting worse at that time so the future was very uncertain. There was definitely a feeling of…are we supposed to be here? It felt like we were doing something we weren’t allowed to do but were somehow getting away with.

Magic Kingdom

Empty Fantasyland

Our first stop upon arrival was the Magic Kingdom. We arrived 2 hours before closing and the park was a ghost town. It was both exciting and a little un-nerving. As you can see here, Fantasyland was very quiet. There were only a few people walking around and even fewer people on the rides. In the picture you can see one lonely stroller here parked outside of Prince Charming Regal Carousel. We made our way over to see what the wait for Peter Pan looked like and to our surprise there was nobody in line.

No guests in line for Peter Pan’s Flight

The line was empty for both Peter Pan’s Flight and It’s a Small world. We walked right on to both of those attractions. You can see below a group of two guests exiting the boat as we made our way through the queue.

Empty Line for It’s a Small World

After waiting in the longest line of the day for 7 dwarfs mine train (5 minutes) we decided to walk back over to the storybook circus area to see if anyone was back there. This section of the park tends to get pretty quiet towards the end of the day during normal times but on this day it was empty.

Under the Sea-Journey of the little Mermaid

You can see another lone stroller parked near the entrance to Under the Sea-Journey of the little Mermaid. We walked right onto this attraction and yet again saw one group of guests exiting the ride as we were boarding. We had the whole ride to ourselves. After our journey under the sea we walked over and rode Dumbo and Barnstormer multiple times. By the time our kids were tired of Barnstormer the park was about to close.

Storybook Circus July 18, 2020

There was a good 20 minutes or so where we didn’t see another guest while we were back in Storybook Circus. We only saw the cast members who were operating the attractions and the custodial cast members that were preparing for nightly cleaning.

Empty Tomorrowland July 2020

Once we made our way towards Tomorrowland the park was closed. We started our slow walk out of the park because we had a dinner reservation at California Grill and it was only a short walk away.

As we walked out through Main Street we encountered the biggest crowd of the day. The remaining guests were walking out with us as Mickey and friends waved goodbye. I snapped this picture looking back towards Cinderella Castle.

Main Street, July 18, 2020

In my next blog I will talk about my 3 hour dinner at California Grill and how great it was to actually sit an eat at a restaurant after being stuck in quarantine for several months. You can hear about this trip from our podcast episode from last year

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Episode: 319. We take a look at what is coming to Walt Disney World on their 50th Anniversary! We also cover some other news and we take a trip back to 1971 and we ask the question…What you rope drop at Magic Kingdom if you could go back to 1971? We also ask another interesting question, If you could go back to anytime during the 50 year history of Walt Disney World, what year would you choose to visit? That’s a tough question! In the news, Jon and I both saw Luca recently so we give our review of it. The Incredibles themed rooms at the contemporary look…nice. Harrison Ford is injured on the set of Indiana Jones 5 and the jungle cruise continues to add new scenes during their operating refurbishment. A fast pass kiosk was uncovered and turned on at Magic Kingdom so naturally it got people wondering if it is coming back. In Disneyland new, their Rise of the Resistance saw a record breaking number of boarding groups called. I was shocked when I saw the number. Can Hollywood Studios catch up to Disneyland’s numbers?

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Episode 302: Today we revisit our strategy for our first challenge run and we discuss how much we learned from that experience! Looking back on it is pretty funny to hear, knowing what we know today. The inexperience shows in the clips that we play from that episode (episode 192). We have learned so much since then, but it takes knowledge and experience to be a good challenge runner. We also discuss some of the latest Disney news but there wasn’t that much this week. The contemporary is getting new rooms, The Key to the World cards look a lot like the luggage tags we used to get and a super bowl champ made a visit to Walt Disney World. Jason and I will be at Disney World this week so look for a trip report next week.

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Episode 287: This week we discuss the recent somber news coming out of Disney. 28,000 cast members across the Parks division have been laid off. We talk about what entities have been most affected and what this means for the future of the Disney Parks. California has some very strict guidelines and we go through each one. Meanwhile, Bob Iger and Josh D’aMaro have been very vocal about their distain for the state’s guidelines. Speaking of Josh, He was seen on site at Downtown Disney in California after the layoff announcement listening to cast members and letting them vent. We can’t say enough about how much we admire him for that. In other news, we give some construction updates and talk about a new feature that Disney+ just rolled out. Lastly, Jason previews his upcoming trip this week to Walt Disney World.

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Episode 282: Today we have a super sized episode for you! We start by discussing the latest Disney news. Josh D’amaro made headlines during an interview where he said that the recent technological advancements that have been implemented in the parks are “here to stay” many believed that to mean that the parks reservation system is not going away. We listen to that part of the interview and our interpretation is very different than the click bait headlines. We also discuss the NBA walkout, the guest that was arrested for assaulting a security cast member over the mask policy, and the potential for Disney to increase park capacity.

We move on to discussing what we think are the best attractions to be housed in a particular show building. For example, the building that is the current home for Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin was also home to other attractions in the past. We decide which attraction, past or current is the best one for each location in the parks. We go through Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios. Animal Kingdom has only had one that we could think of so we left it out.

Finally, we talk about the recent Every Ride, tag team challenge that was completed this week. The four masketeers completed the challenge and we dissect their run to see just how this unique challenge was done and how the rules work.

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3ACC24F1-1C1F-4ABE-858D-C3E1FB9BDF4DEpisode:279. Today, we reveal that one of us has tested positive for Corona-virus. We also discuss the latest Disney News. The movie release of Mulan is coming to Disney+ for an additional fee. The Disney 3rd quarter earnings call happened this week and there’s some good and bad things that came out of it. Annual Passholders are continuing to see some extra love and attention these days with extended discounts and of course a new magnet! (one per household). The average wait times for 3 of the 4 Walt Disney world parks has gone up week by week since re-opening but one park has seen wait times go down. Could you guess which one? Splash mountain had a boat sink as well this week and had to close for a couple of days. Isn’t that the attraction to have a boat sink this year?

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D33393A3-D0A6-4FB4-AEEE-F8100C612024Episode 275: Today on the show we discuss some news and the results of our recent social media polls! We caused quite the debate with our poll on which side to start with when visiting World Showcase at Epcot. Do you start with Mexico or Canada? We discuss the differing opinions and give our thoughts. We also had a poll last week where we asked which form of transportation would you most like to ride for fun…The Monorail or the Skyliner. We discuss the results of that poll as well. In the news, Walt Disney World is re-opening as we speak and the early results so far have been positive. There was a huge mistake this week with erroneous charges to annual passholders that had to be reversed. We also discuss the precautions that Disney has made to try and make the parks as safe a possible.

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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?

 

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A few pictures from our Leap Day trip to Walt Disney World. (swipe side to side on Mobile)

Beautiful day at the Haunted Mansion
Transformation on the Castle for the 50th has begun
RIP Mr. Toad
Melvin
Big Al
I like this shot of Henry and Teddi Barra
Liver Lips McGrowl
Castle From Big Thunder
Teddi Barra
The Five Bear Rugs
Who doesn’t love the Country Bear Jamboree?
I like that they give these out now at Splash Mountain
Hands Up!
Bacon and Eggs from The Wave!
Ratatouille Construction Update
The overflow Queue for Ratatouille
Approaching Ratatouille from the Skyliner
Regal Eagle Smokehouse
Bridge Construction update from Grand Floridian to Magic Kingdom
3 meat platter from Reagal Eagle
Do they have health codes on Batuu?
R2D2 it is you!
Main Street right before the parade!
Does anyone notice this sign any more?
Festival of Fantasy parade
Tron in the foreground, Space Mountain in the Background
Fun day at Magic Kingdom comes to an end
The Castle reflecting on Rivers of America
Small World Queue
Would could they be doing to this part of the Queue?

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Episode 218: Today we are recapping our recent Parkeology run from June 1st! For anyone not familiar with this challenge, we attempted to ride every ride in all 4 Walt Disney World theme parks in 1 day. We attempted the challenge for the first time back in March and came up short. On our second attempt we had 2 additional rides to complete but we also had 2 more hours in the day. This day produced a lot of fun and a lot of drama…Our run literally came down to the last minute!

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Episode 206: Today we answer the age old question…How do I decide which Walt Disney World theme park to visit for each day of my vacation? We talk about the factors that go into making that decision. We try to break down those factors in a simple way to help make the choice a lot easier. We know that there are a lot of complexity to planning a Walt Disney World vacation but if you take some time to do a little research then you can save time and money but more importantly add more fun to your vacation!

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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.

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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

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It’s our second episode of the day! In all of the valentines day fun we didn’t want to miss out on the news so here are the topics that we cover today.

  • Casey Jr. Circus Splash n Play area is finally under refurbishment
  • Coco street show coming to Epcot for the flower and Garden Festival
  • New details on lounge opening at Rivera Resort reveals a Disney connection
  • More dates added for the Early Morning Magic event at Magic Kingdom
  • You can no longer modify dinning reservations on the My Disney Experience app
  • Skyliner gondola testing can now be seen by guests
  • The return date is set for World of Color at Disney California adventure
  • Former Disney CEO and Walt Disney’s Son-In-Law passes away at age 85
  • New Trailer for the Live Action Aladdin released
  • Kevin from the movie UP is now a live character at Animal Kingdom
  • Cinderella’s Carriage will be out at Magic Kingdom for Valentines photo opp
  • Wreck it Ralph meet and greet now open in it’s new location at Epcot
  • Park hours at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom have been extended for March and April
  •  New permanent security structure coming to the pathway checkpoint between Magic Kingdom and Contemporary
  • Disney after Dark returns this year at Disneyland Resort with a Marvel Theme

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20190106_170339234_iosThere’s a lot of new things coming to Walt Disney World in 2019 and we are going to break down everything for you! Everyone knows that Star Wars Galaxy’s edge is opening this year but that isn’t the only major experience coming to the parks this year. There’s plenty of new things coming that have us excited and a few things that have us scratching our heads. We start with the new things coming in January some are interesting and some are…meh. We talk about the new Rivera resort and new addition to Coronado springs, we discuss the skyliner, and everything coming to the parks and Disney Springs in 2019. We finish by going over some closures and refurbishment updates that we currently know are taking place this year. 2019 could be the biggest year in theme park history!

 

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  • Guests at Caribbean Beach resort are getting a complimentary Skyliner Pin
  • Reopening date set for Tomorrowland Speedway in 2019
  • Mystery structure being built in front of Tatooine Traders at Hollywood Studios
  • Is the expanded early morning magic at Magic Kingdom worth the price?
  • Animal Kingdom just had it’s first After Hours event
  • Cirque du soleil gives a small hint into the new Disney Springs show
  • Satu’li Canteen has seen some recent menu changes
  • Path between Barnstormer and Space Mountain closed for Tron Construction
  • Walt Disney World Railroad Limited Edition Magic Band now available
  • Disneyland Paris adding Solar energy and name change for Disney Studios Park?
  • Friendship Boat service to Epcot still available but on a limited schedule this month
  • Phantom Manor refurbishment at Disneyland Paris delayed yet again

 

 

 

 

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Have you ever thought about what attractions you would put in the ultimate Magic Kingdom Park? Jon and I get really geeky about this discussion and we look at all of the Magic Kingdom or Disney Castle parks worldwide and decide which versions of attractions that we would include in our ultimate Magic Kingdom Park. We go land by land and decide which attractions should be included. I think we include at least one attraction from every Disney Kingdom park in the world in our Ultimate Park…Which attractions would you choose?