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Episode 494: Welcome back to Traveling With the Mouse! This week’s episode is packed tighter than a Jungle Cruise boat during rope drop. We’ve got big news, emotional farewells, spicy park debates, and a challenge that will test your park-hopping stamina (and possibly your sanity).

New Park Announced in Abu Dhabi

Let’s start with the headline heard ‘round the globe: Disney is building a new resort and theme park in Abu Dhabi! That’s right—Mickey and the gang are heading to the UAE, bringing a new kind of magic to the Middle East. We dive into what this means for Disney’s global strategy and speculate on what kinds of lands and attractions might make up this new park.

Mama Melrose’s Closed, Muppets are next

We pour one out for Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano, which has officially closed its doors. It’s the end of an era for Hollywood Studios—and soon for PizzaRizzo and MuppetVision 3D, too. This quirky little corner will soon be transforming into Monster’s Inc. Land. But, hey the Muppets have a new skyliner wrap so that makes up for everything.

The Beak and Barrel – Yo Ho, Let’s Lounge!

We break down everything we know so far, from the parts of the story Disney has revealed to the new details on its theming. Will this lounge have a similar time limit and drink limit to Oga’s Cantina? We think Disney will try to maximize throughput but also keep people relatively sober at Magic Kingdom.

Are the Rafts a Ride?

It’s time to answer an age-old question: What counts as a ride at Disney? With AI as our trusty sidekick, we dig deep to define what is actually considered to be a “ride” at Disney parks.

  • Do the Tom Sawyer Island Rafts qualify as a ride, or are they just themed transportation?
  • Are the Friendship Boats inside Epcot a ride?
  • What about the Main Street Vehicles—they move, they’re charming, but are they rides?

We establish a scientific(-ish) framework using Disney’s own classifications, challenge rules and a little sprinkle of theme park philosophy. If you love a good nerdy debate, this segment is for you.

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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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This week’s news topics include:

  • Disney Considers having John Lasseter return
  • Toy Story Magic Bands released
  • It is rumored that Disney Cruise Line is looking to buy a second private Island
  • Toy Story Midway Mania is back at full capacity at Hollywood Studios
  • Main Street theater project is on indefinite hold and no long in future plans
  • New details on the space themed restaurant at EPCOT
  • Update on Disney Skyliner construction
  • Solo: A Star Wars story has a fairly low score among critics
  • Galaxy’s Edge opening time frame announced for Disney Land and Disney World
  • 2017 Them Park Attendance numbers have been released.

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Today we wrap up the Magic Kingdom by going through Main Street U.S.A. We go into all of the different place to eat and shop as well as the different entertainment options available. We give some interesting facts about the Main Street in Magic Kingdom and also talk about some of the things that are no longer there. What are your favorite things about Main Street?IMG_7618