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Episode 285: New DVC Lounge, Muppets and Monsters & Disney Treasure
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On This Episode
The guys discuss the recently released 2025 DVC dues. DVC released concept art and the name of the new DVC lounge being built in Frontierland. Disney has released the artist line up for the Wonderful World of Disney: Holiday Spectacular. Disney announced that Muppet*Vision 3D will be closing to make way for Monsters, Inc. land and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster will be re-themed with Muppets. With its inaugural sailing coming up soon, the Disney Treasure recently had a christening ceremony and Disney is giving first looks at the spaces on the ship.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsors
00:00:09
Speaker
This is Skipper Albert A. Wall. The voice of the jungle, broadcasting on the DVC to all points unknown. Sure, within the sound of my voice, does this mean to welcome home podcasts on the DVC?
00:00:30
Speaker
Hello
Weekend Talk and Health Update
00:00:31
Speaker
and welcome home. This episode of Welcome Home is brought to you by DVC Resale Market. Thank you for joining us on episode 285 of Welcome Home, a Disney Parks and Vacation Club podcast. I'm Tom here with Trevor. How's it going, Trevor?
00:00:42
Speaker
Oh, doing all right. How's your weekend going? and So I'm going to apologize ahead of time. I do have a cold, and so I'm trucking through this. So um if my voice sounds a little weird, that's why. um
Thanksgiving Podcast Schedule
00:00:57
Speaker
I do want to mention, though, too, we are this is we're not going to do another show before Thanksgiving.
00:01:02
Speaker
ah so i mean After Thanksgiving, I should say. ah so Not that we're not going to do one for the rest of the year, I'm just saying the the week after Thanksgiving, we will not have a show. Next weekend will be no show.
00:01:13
Speaker
yes yeah that's not it's not It's not me guys, it's Tom and Damon because these guys decided that you know like your whole country wants to do Thanksgiving at the end of November when I had mine done back in October.
00:01:28
Speaker
Listen, I'm on your side. I think you're giving way more sense than ours. So it is a lot easier. I will. It is. Yeah. There's like too short of a time period, you know, between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And you guys give it like a whole month to breathe, you know? And and then we have time to
Black Friday and Online Sales
00:01:43
Speaker
actually go and do like Black Friday shopping because we're not having to do Thanksgiving and Black Friday, we just have yeah Friday. so yeah it you know you know consider Consider becoming an an adopted Canadian family if you don't want to do Thanksgiving at the end of august or at the end of November.
00:02:01
Speaker
Yeah, you know, ah my my wife was saying this the other day and i don't I don't know if I disagree with her on this. She's like, does Black Friday even matter anymore? Because like, mostly like, you know, um Amazon does prime days a couple days a year and then there's pre-Black Friday sales and it's just like Black Friday all the time
Email Promotions and Unsubscribing
00:02:17
Speaker
now. Everybody's trying to beat everybody else to the punch with it. And and I've noticed that too is like like right now, like my, I don't know about you, but my phone is just constantly blowing up with like Black Friday emails because, you know, over time, like, you know, you just shop with different sites and places and whatever. And so your email address is attached to a bunch of places. And, you know, things that like I haven't even looked at in years are like, you know, hey, we're having a Black Friday sale. And it's like, OK, you know, thank you. that's
00:02:46
Speaker
you know That's my new favorite thing from you. but My new favorite thing on Gmail now is if you don't click on one of those emails for like a certain amount of time, they go, you haven't opened one of these emails in three months. You want to unsubscribe? And I'm like, yes, I do. I've been too lazy to do that, but now that you've prompted me to. Oh, I should maybe. So all I do every, I just go through and I am actively deleting them. Maybe I should just stop deleting them. So that you should have described. you should have subscribed.
Thanksgiving Plans and Cooking Methods
00:03:11
Speaker
Yeah. I have been getting in the habit of that too. It's, uh,
00:03:14
Speaker
Yeah, I guess I could just stop getting the emails. But yeah, it's funny how it's easier to just delete the email than it is to do the extra couple of clicks to unsubscribe. Yeah, no, I agree. I agree with that. Yeah. But yeah, so anyway, ah yeah, so Thanksgiving is this week. So Happy Thanksgiving to all the US folks. Happy, belated Thanksgiving to all the Canadian folks over a month ago. Enjoy your turkey. Yeah.
00:03:36
Speaker
Yeah, well, we'll enjoy our turkey. um I know that I am. So where our party is going to have two turkeys, um which feels like a lot, but I've been roped into I, so for some reason I got known years ago in my family circles as the person who knows how to deep fry turkeys. And so, which is a problem because then it was like, whoa, can you do the deep fryer? And I'm like, I don't really want to though. And so it's really good and I want it. It is, but I started doing the oil is deep fryer, which, um, I don't know if you've done that before, but that's, that's the way to go. Cause the cleanup or fryer or it's no, it's like, it's a, it's a thing. It sits outside. It's propane. It's like, does it through like, um,
00:04:20
Speaker
I don't know. what It's what it's called, but it's not directly on it. It's it's it's really interesting how it works. It's like infrared heat. it's it's very yeah but it it kind of gives It gives you a very similar result to the fried turkey without having to deal with the oil situation. It's cool. Yeah. so so I just get a text the other day because we're going to be at my sister-in-law's. They're like, hey, can you deep fry this turkey and the oil is deep fryer? I'm like, yeah, sure. Why not? Let's do it.
00:04:48
Speaker
sounds more like like um It sounds like a broiler kind of situation. Kind of. I mean, it's hard to describe. but it's It's hard to describe, honestly. it's you You think oil is deep frying. You're like, what does that even mean? like that's That doesn't make any sense, right? But it it is kind of like that, you know? Yeah. Anyway, it's a good way to cook it, though. If nobody's ever done that before, I'm sure sure some people will ah we know what I'm talking about.
00:05:16
Speaker
but Uh, yeah, it's, it's a, it's a, it's a good way to do things, but it's funny cause I'm just, uh, I'm going to be cooking and doing all this other stuff, but, uh, I'm also traveling very far. So there's that. And you know, I also have a cold, so there's that that's always, uh, a fun combination. Yeah. Yeah. You know, you gotta to drive like 10 hours. Right. So anyway.
00:05:41
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I just saw you put the the link to the Walmart. Yeah. Page for this deep fryer. I just, I just laugh. That is called the, the it's, the it's basically the one that you use. It's called the big easy. And it just makes me laugh because it's just a funny name, but, um, but yeah, it's no, it's, it's great. It's, if nobody's ever done it before, if you ever had a fried Turkey, first of all, fried Turkey is the way to go. But if you don't want to deal with the oil, which is a pain, then the, the, uh, oil is gives you a pretty similar result. So,
Disney Vacation Club Dues Discussion
00:06:11
Speaker
I mean, you peaked my interest.
00:06:14
Speaker
then the The one thing I'll say is, I don't know, in my family, um there is a lot of traditionalists in my family. And not not to say that, you know, we do try stuff every year, but there's kind of there's certain things that it's like, we just, we do it a certain way and people don't want us to mess with it. I get it. I don't know if you get like, obviously, ah yeah, you know, it sounds like the deep fried turkey is like a thing in your your family. And you know, that's what they're they're going for. But
00:06:45
Speaker
Yeah, in my family, it's like I feel like if I changed or if I was like, hey, I'm doing a deep fried turkey, I would get like the, yeah, but you're doing a regular one too, right? like yeah Well, that's I mean, that's what's happening for mine. I mean, you know, we I think we have a big crew there, so they have to. Yeah, I was going to say you you do have a you have a fairly large family that gets together. Yeah. Like mine at this point, um we I think there's usually only about 10 people. So, you know, making two turkeys is is a stretch for sure. I mean, yeah, it where I could do chickens.
00:07:17
Speaker
i might You can do a lot of stuff in this thing, actually. you could do I forget all this stuff, but there's there's a ton of stuff you can do in this thing. I'm going to send this to my wife without any context, and and then between she she can listen to this episode and understand where this came from. There you go. She can understand, yeah. And then she can ask my wife ah what what she thinks of the oil is Listen, it makes a great turkey. It really does.
00:07:39
Speaker
Uh, cause you get that juicyness of it and it's like, and it's also only takes like 10 minutes a pound too. So you like way better than the oven. Yeah. ah So that's really good. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So anyway, so yeah, that's what I've been for my Thanksgiving and enough about turkeys. Um, but yes, yeah there was actually a fair amount of news over the past week. Um, yeah, fair amount of interesting news, but let let's start with that. Let's start with the accounting news, the, the,
00:08:04
Speaker
ah Yeah, the fun stuff, right? Yeah, I was going to say the boring stuff, but for for some people this isn't boring. like like it's yeah you know it is I find it interesting. Well, you're just excited because the Poly dues went down by three and a half percent. so I was going to get there. Dues have been released for 2025.
00:08:26
Speaker
um so you know Across the board, the increases have been pretty average, which usually, late like they say, you know it's about like a 4% to 6% increase. And yeah that does track with what we're seeing with the with the increases this year. Unfortunately for you, Tom, Animal Kingdom Villa's got the 6.22%. Yeah. Yeah, that's's that's a tough one.
00:08:48
Speaker
ah That's a little rough, for sure. Actually, no. It's not it's not number one. OK, West is actually higher for some reason. so yeah so yeah there are um ah Yeah. So yeah, that was the highest increase. um In terms of overall like um value per point for dues, like you're still only sitting at $9 per point, or $9.6 per point. Whereas like if you're at Vero Beach, it's $14. So just to give it some context, like yes, it went up. but Like this is still kind of standard stuff that they do year over year. And yeah, across the board, everything's kind of sitting in that seven, eight, $9 range for the most part, yeah um which, and yeah, the the poly dropped from 8.2 to 7.9. So yeah, we we lost 3%. But that's that is because of the tower opening up because the touch. Yeah. yeah and And the same thing happened at Fort Wilderness. It's Well, or actually, no, sorry, Fort Wilderness cabins. The Fort Wilderness cabins, yeah. Yeah. So it's so it's not it's not that Fort Wilderness, or sorry, it's not that Wilderness Lodge, like Boulder Wheat Ridge or Copper Creek no went down. But if you happen to buy the cabins, and so I wonder if that's because they added more
00:10:03
Speaker
um I'm guessing it's just because they overestimated and then the actual amounts came in. right like because the Or inventory came on yeah and sure and that adjusted the price because they've been slowly releasing inventory for for these resorts. right yeah Well, and they also mentioned here too, and this was an article a little while ago that the the twenty the largest increases were the property tax component, right? So like property taxes went up 8% to 9%. So that alone is is basically what ah tribu is attributed to a lot of this.
00:10:38
Speaker
um which I thought we had talked about that they was supposed to they were supposed to be
Short Episode and Upcoming Shows
00:10:43
Speaker
backtracking on some of the property tax stuff from years ago because they had done the assessment. so me Maybe it's not or maybe it it won't hit on this year's dues or maybe that's still in process. so I think it's still up in the air. I think it's still like in the courts. you know Right. So yeah, maybe maybe maybe next year you'll be the one seeing negative dues increase. yeah that as i the I'm happy about this. Well, yeah, on the bright side though too, Bay Lake is my other contract and that one has some of the lowest, it has very low dues compared to everywhere else. so um yeah you're Yeah, you're actually, Bay Lake is sitting about the same as Poly right now. Yeah, yeah.
00:11:25
Speaker
Yeah, actually, yeah. where yeah so you I'm surprised at how low the dues are at poly. You just would think that they would be higher, but I mean it i guess it makes sense. and i mean Also, I understand too why not a lot of people are buying Fort Wilderness with the dues being that high. like that's That's a lot um considering what it is. Now, listen, that I understand for like Vero and for Hilton Head because they have to like maintain hurricane insurance and reserves for repairs for from hurricanes.
00:11:52
Speaker
but like I mean, I guess they kind of do too, because if a tree falls on a cabin, there's a problem, you know, during a hurricane, but... it still feels kind of weird that it's so expensive. Yeah, i I want to say it's also like, if you think about it, like doing maintenance at places like the Pauline stuff, um I feel like they can cut costs because um because it is like one large central building. So it is actually more efficient for like doing any kind of maintenance tasks is easier when everything's all bunched together, right? And if you think about it, like,
00:12:27
Speaker
All the hotels around Magic Kingdom are those like compact, I don't know, like like standard I guess yeah standard kind of buildings, right? Whereas if if you think about like, um yeah yeah, you know, the the cabins are spread out. So, you know, there there is more logistical stuff that comes with that.
00:12:47
Speaker
Well, I don't know that there's just more property to pay property taxes on, right? So you have a larger piece of property. That's a good point because you know to your point, like most of the resorts sit on a pretty small piece of property, the Fort Wilderness cabins are on a wide swath. of I don't know what the acreage is, but it's probably a lot.
00:13:03
Speaker
And and you know similarly, look at yeah like Old Key West and Saratoga, although although yeah you know they're not like super high either, but um you know they are relatively spread out too. right so So that also makes sense. like from it yeah From a property tax standpoint, they do have more property to address, whereas yeah the Poly and Bay Lake Tower are very compact and in the larger scheme of things. so yeah well it's true Lots of things to think about. like you know i I guess you know you know us talking about this,
00:13:33
Speaker
i Okay, it was episode 285. I'm going to make a ah mental note of this when people are talking about um ah you know where should I buy. Dudes do factor into that.
00:13:46
Speaker
and um some of these things that we're talking about, you know these are these are reasons to consider if you're buying one place or another. like Obviously, you know the initial point value is one thing, but also maintenance and property tax and all that kind of stuff that does play into your long-term investment in these properties. so like like yeah you know i would I would not buy Vero Beach just because $14
New Disney Attractions Announcements
00:14:09
Speaker
a point is crazy Well, it's also why you can get the Verra contract so much cheaper, right? like you know You can get a Verra contract cheaper, but the thing is, you know if you don't know anything about DVC, you're like, oh, well, look why why wouldn't I just buy a Verra? Look how much cheaper it is. And then you're like but then you find out later that the dues are so much higher. Yeah. If you do the math, the dues are almost double some other places. so Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
00:14:32
Speaker
Let's talk about this new member lounge in Magic Kingdom because they put out a piece of concept art finally, and it's going to be called McKim's Mile House, which is ah is a curious name, but ah they explain it. They do explain it, so it's it's a nod to the ah former Imagineer and Disney legend, Sam McKim, who ah helped influence the design of Frontierland. I love when they do stuff like that.
00:14:57
Speaker
you know that's That's really cool. um I will say the concept art of this looks cool. They are saying it's going to open summer 25. Not that far off, honestly, at this point, because we're only you know maybe six, seven months from this at at this point. but yeah um I'm looking at this, though Trevor. i'm I'm assuming that it's only the first level. right There's stairs that go to the second level, but i ah they don't seem like a place that you can go.
00:15:23
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, looking at the bottom of the stairs, they have a there's a little gate blocking off the stairs. So i I assume that is a either. I mean, maybe that could be, you know, we we talked about the the extended membership but benefits, maybe that's something relating to that, like that, you know, ah a VIP area or or a meet and greet area or something like that. um Or yeah, it could just be cast member access inside of the inside of the lounge. but Or it could just be decorative. You know you never know. that That's true, too. yeah that Sometimes they build staircases that don't go anywhere, which makes me sad. because I do have to say this looks very cool, and it looks very Frontierland. It does. And I was going to say, you know you know the one thing that I'm getting from this is I realized that
00:16:10
Speaker
You know, Frontierland, there's not a lot of spaces in Frontierland that feel like, I don't know how to describe it. like like it's It's weird how like when you look like there's like a lot of outdoor spaces in Frontierland, but you always think about like you know like cabins and like like you know you know old-time Western kind of stuff. This feels like an old-time Western tavern, which it does you really don't have in Frontierland, which is kind of odd.
00:16:40
Speaker
Like if in Frontierland in Disney World, in Disneyland there's there's a little a little bit more, but yeah, it's it's really, it's sorely missing. And I love the details in this, like the the oil lamps and the, it's got that huge fireplace with the rock work and everything. Yeah. yeah um And they they have to build buildings from scratch basically, cause none of this existed. This was the shooting gallery, right? So this is, they're building this whole thing yeah basically from scratch.
00:17:08
Speaker
I guess the the one thing I will say that this actually, the more I'm looking at it does feel like an extension of golden horseshoe, which I'm okay with like, like, sure, you you know, it's, it's a nice vibe. And, you know, I, I'm hoping that, you know, seating wise, you know, you know, the way that they're showing this, it doesn't look like I mean, you know, they're kind of just showing a corner of it. It looks like there's maybe like seating for like, you know, 15 people in this picture. who which Yeah, there's got to be more than that, though. that's It's just the concept art, right? Yeah. if you If it's only like, you know, 30 or 40 people that you can get in there like that's it's got to be tough. Yeah. And especially in Magic Kingdom, I'll be curious how busy this place is or how the how how often there's a wait list to get into this place when it opens up because
00:17:58
Speaker
yeah I mean, it'll be new, obviously, but I feel like if it's not anywhere near big enough, it's just going to be... I'll be sad if it's something that I can't make use of as a DVC member.
00:18:09
Speaker
i I get that. yeah i mean it's It is going to be interesting to see how this works out, but I do appreciate that we're finally seeing something about it though. you know that is It is good to see some concept art. To your point, you know you were talking about the missing that kind of Frontierland kind of thing. I mean i know it's technically Adventureland, but that Pirates of the Caribbean bar at some point is going to be kind of I don't know. Yeah. maybe And more of what you're describing, because I mean, that the line between Adventureland and Frontierland is not that far off, right? It's, this you know, it is. But strangely, in my head, there is deaf there is a line there like like Western versus yes um like pirate slash jungle. Yeah. Exotic adventure. Like they, even though they're literally back to back to me, it's like, yeah, they're not the same thing. yeah And ten know and if, you know,
00:19:01
Speaker
You know, if having spaces that transition between like, I'm actually kind of glad, like, because I know we talked about this previously, you know, maybe they would make this like a transition space. I'm glad they kind of picked this as this is firmly a Frontierland thing instead of trying to mash the two together because that would not.
00:19:17
Speaker
work in that would not work at all. No, that would not work at all. I'm actually looking at this and I'm thinking that the, the spot that they have underneath the stairs right in the middle there, that looks just like a closet. I feel like that's where the freestyle machines are going to go. They look like perfect size for freestyle machines. The, the double doors or yeah. Yeah. Those double doors right there. Yeah. And there's a little counter right next to it.
00:19:42
Speaker
Oh, I didn't even. Oh, yeah, you're right. Yeah, the OK. Yeah, the cubby there. Yeah, that looks like yeah you're right. The freestyle machines. I would I was looking at the double doors is like that would be the entrance in and out. But I think the entrance is behind us in this concept art. Yeah. Which makes me wonder, is this like is this face? This must be facing out towards yes. Frontierland.
00:20:03
Speaker
What do you think this is facing towards? I think we're facing towards adventure land from this photo. Yeah, that's right. Because I like I was envisioning this as like, oh, you like, you know, that little window space on the top of the doors is like, that's how much of a view you're going to get of the parade going by.
00:20:19
Speaker
I mean, you could be right. This could be the entrance. It just it doesn't look like um just based on the scale of the photo, though the guy standing next to it looks like he'd almost hit his head on the ah but top of it if it was. Yeah, that's true. I you know, i I didn't even like initially I thought the two of them were like looking at like a painting or something on the wall. I was like, why are they just like standing in the corner? But yeah, you're right. It it makes more sense that it's actually like a refreshment station. Yeah.
00:20:44
Speaker
and so so yeah for Also, you know they're going to have that so they said they're still going to have the comfortable seating there. They're going to have wireless internet and ah recharging stations for electronic devices, beverages, and snacks. The same as the Epcot Lounge, right? Yeah, so they should. i mean if the If they had everything but the snacks, I would you know say this isn't a lounge.
00:21:03
Speaker
yeah I mean, that's yeah, that's that's fair. How dare you not have my snacks? You got to have snacks. We must have snacks. Those free snacks are delicious when you've been walking around all day. you you know You all know what I'm talking about. Yeah, of course. Yeah, of course I know what you're talking about. um All right, well, anything else on the lounge? ah No. i I'm looking forward to it. I'm hoping they say summer. I'm just hoping maybe May might be a thing because then I could actually check it out when I'm there in May. But I know May is not summer. but Yeah, you never know. Yeah, maybe they'll open early. I wouldn't think it would take them this long to put that together, you know. Yeah, you know, it's just it's just slapping rock work and, you know, woodwork and stuff. There's nothing big, you know, yeah furniture, you know, all that stuff.
00:21:49
Speaker
um yeah Uh, uh, so I, by the way, listen, I want to mention this to everybody too. We're probably going to keep this episode fairly short today just because yeah A, because I'm sick and B, because it's right before the holidays. So, um, we're going to try to keep this one a little tight today. Although I do have a feeling, uh, after our ad, we are going to talk for a while about the, uh, about the one thing. So we, we, yeah, we're, we're going to get, that's going to be wet. Yeah.
00:22:13
Speaker
but Let's talk about the, uh, yeah, the wonderful world of Disney holiday spectacular. Do you watch this every year? Cause I do. I try to, I forget sometimes. Okay. That's fair. I mean, it's going to be a Disney plus too. so Yeah. And, and yeah, usually when it, when it prompts me on Disney plus, I'll, I'll remember sit and watch it, but in the past, you know, it doesn't always come up as like the, or Previously, Disney has an advertiser, which is weird. yeah And also like because, yeah, you know I don't have proper TV like ABC or anything. I'm not seeing ads or anything to remind me to go watch this. That's fair. Yeah.
00:22:50
Speaker
I mean, I always watch on, we always watch on Thanksgiving. Uh, you know, they always have the thing on Thanksgiving that they do. Where's the Christmas that they do it? Well, so this year, this year it looks like it's going to be the weekend of Thanksgiving. Yeah. because Um, it, it, this is happening on Sunday, December 1st at 8 PM. It looks like, or so, so sorry, the initial spectaculars then, and then you can stream it the next day on Hulu and Disney plus. So I guess, yeah, right after Thanksgiving for you.
00:23:17
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. It's a pretty stacked list, I feel like. There's some good people in here. Elton John, John Legend, Leslie Odom Jr., Seth MacFarlane, Odd Edition there. He can sing. He can sing. I said odd at first and then I remember that he put out a holiday album.
00:23:37
Speaker
reese Yes, he did. with With this Liz Gillies person or however you say your name. like They put out a holiday album. I have not listened to it. It just feels weird that the family guy guy is going to be performing at the wonderful world of Disney. um you know Just weird. That's all. Yeah, that's fair. Yeah. I mean, but no, he can sing. I mean, you if you've ever watched Family Guy, he does sing all the time. Actually, any of the shows that he does, he tends to sing. Yeah, he's yeah he he's always been a really good singer. Yes.
00:24:03
Speaker
Okay, and then the rest of these I don't know for the most part. So Anakinoni Rose. Yeah, she's Tiana. Oh, okay. So the problem is I don't like, I know like Tiana. I don't pay attention to like actresses names and stuff like that. Yeah. Ava Max, Carly Pierce.
00:24:25
Speaker
Oh, a Louis curve. All that. That's more. You know who that is. That's more. Yeah. So, yeah, they they of course, they're going to be promoting the heck out of my wanted to. Of course. Yeah. And then 17 and Pentatonix, which I feel I feel Pentatonix has cemented themselves as like a Christmas staple everywhere at this point. Yeah. My wife is good for that. Yeah. Yeah. My my life loves it. Loves them. So she's always happy when they're when they're around. So, um yeah, no, you're totally right about that, though. So let's see what else we got here. ah There's There's, uh, so Kristen Bell is narrating the show. So again, we're throwing, uh, more Disney things in here. Uh, throw Ana in there. Anyway. And then Alfonso Romero, which, uh, you know, is, is also kind of a random one, although I feel like he's becoming pretty big too is, I mean, outside of being Carlton, you know, I mean, he, he's dancing with the stars kind of brought him back and yeah he did he's.
00:25:19
Speaker
He's definitely given himself a name. early i mean He's always been involved in Disney stuff, I feel. like Even though she's not he's not always been you know front and center, I feel like I've always seen him over the years in these things. That's true. it just For a long time, he was just Carlton right i mean from from Fresh Prince Bel Air. right But now he's like he's kind of eclipsed that now um and and really you know I just, I just, I can't stop laughing at the, at Seth MacFarlane being there singing. That's just, that's killing me. ah Just weird. um There looks like some really cool locales that they're doing this though. Like, ah like Moana is singing in front of the Tafiti, the Tafiti statue at Epcot, which is pretty cool.
00:26:00
Speaker
Oh, that yeah, that makes so much sense. its And it seems like she's singing a song from
Future of Muppets 3D
00:26:05
Speaker
the new the new movie too. She's not even doing a holiday song. She's just doing a song in the movie. They're just doing the the yeah the plug for the movie in the middle of the show. They're doing the thing which is promoting the things that are available from Disney right now through all of their different available channels, right? Yeah. So they promote, and promote, promote. so Yeah, so listen, this will be actually OK, I know who this Ava Max person is because my daughter likes a song by her. So um anyway, this is ah it's an interesting lineup. We'll definitely check this out. um I know we always like to watch it, but although I feel like we usually watch it on Thanksgiving or I'm thinking Christmas. We always watch the one on Christmas, right? Yeah. and I'm assuming they're still doing the Christmas one, that this is not replacing the Christmas one because they you know have the whole parade and they have the whole thing. Is this oh, I thought
00:26:54
Speaker
I thought this was the Christmas one and I thought they just kind of or they released it early and just kind of had it there for when I don't know maybe it is but yeah yeah maybe it is but I would be disappointed at that because we like to watch that on Christmas yeah I mean I said usually that when I sit down and watch these is yeah you know a couple of days before Christmas is when it pops up on Disney Plus and then I'll sit down and and go through it so exactly yeah exactly All right. Uh, I don't got anything else. I don't have anything else. I mean, yeah, pretty pretty standard stuff for, for Christmas shows, which, you know, that's fine, but yeah, we should probably do the ad and then we can get into, uh, into the meat of it, into the, the good stuff. Yeah, exactly.
00:27:38
Speaker
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00:28:23
Speaker
All right. ah so let's Let's talk about this. you know it's It's funny because we we talk about you know they they announced all this stuff at D23, but then they they you know they keep announcing stuff right throughout the year. right so it's not It's not like it's just a one-time thing. we We get more and more and we get more details and things like that as as time goes on. and And ah so, you know, we heard obviously about the Monsters Inc. land that's being built and ah for ah Hollywood Studios. Now, there were a lot of rumors of where this was going to be. And it turns out that the rumors, the initial rumors were true that it is going to be taking over the spot where Muppets are currently. That courtyard is going away. Is going away. Yes. ah So they're going to turn this into the
00:29:13
Speaker
and Into the monsters incline now they did mention here too. What's that Montropolis? Yes ah They did mention so they previously had announced the suspended ah You know roller coaster where where they're gonna recreate the door scene which you know, it's funny Trevor because we talked for years as speculating that they were gonna replace rock and roller coaster with this and they were just like and Let's keep rocking roller coaster and we'll just build this additionally, you know, like yeah, it's gonna just re theming that one um which they're gonna rethink that when we'll get to that in a second, but um The other thing they mentioned here, which I don't think they mentioned at D23, but I could be misremembering, is that there also will be a new theater show as well. Oh. Yeah. I guess that would explain probably the building on the right. um look I mean, I'm assuming they're just going to keep the the Muppet Vision 3D building
Monstropolis Features Speculation
00:29:59
Speaker
intact and just put a new show in there.
00:30:01
Speaker
Yeah, that would make sense because yeah that that is the that's what I'm looking at right now. because yeah so so yeah we We have the concept art here for Monstropolis and i was like I was trying to relate where everything is and you can very clearly see where the entrance is to Galaxy's Edge off to the side and there's like you can actually see Rise of the Resistance in the back of the concept art. They actually have the show building in in the in the concept art, which is kind of funny. but yeah you know wait and then And then I was looking, I'm like, okay, so that I can see where you know the the middle of Muppet's courtyard was and Pizza Rizzo is off to the left. And then, yeah, the right was Muppet Vision 3D, which I was like, oh, that's still a pretty large space there, which you kind of answered my question. I was like, what what are they going to do with that? It sounds like, yeah, there's going to be a
00:30:49
Speaker
a show of some sort or a Monsters Inc. show, which, do you suppose it would be put that thing back or so help me? That'd be pretty funny if they did that. That would be awesome if they did that. That would be pretty funny.
00:31:04
Speaker
it i mean Here's an interesting thought that I'm just wildly speculating on and you know I'm hopped up on ah on all sorts of cough medicines and maybe this is just you know making my mind crazy. um What if they just took the the show that's already at Magic Kingdom and move that over here and then like they put something new? Yeah, they remove laugh floor from Tomorrowland, which never really fit. And then they do something new with that space.
00:31:29
Speaker
Oh, yes. OK. Yeah, I mean, it's it's a new theater show, so that makes it seem like they're going to do something new, but still. Do you know what that could mean, Tom? What could it mean? So so okay that this this has a bit of of a double-edged thing, is that if they took out laugh floor, that also means that Buzz Lightyear, it would probably go away as well, but then that space gets combined together into a bigger attraction. oh and so So we lose two, but we gain one, but potentially a bigger, better Tomorrowland type of attraction, which I don't know what it would be. like
00:32:06
Speaker
Just to be clear, we're making this up. so we i just i'm so I feel we have every right to speculate about this because you know we we've talked about these things and yeah like the door coaster was something we talked about for years and it's happening. you know I'm going to speculate because you know um sometimes saying things is what you need to do to make it happen.
00:32:27
Speaker
happened Yeah, I feel like i I need to we you know, we we but we've been talking about that door coaster for
Hollywood Studios Expansion Possibilities
00:32:33
Speaker
a long time like yeah um But yeah, so they're gonna have a new a new restaurant here They're gonna have new shopping and they're gonna have a new theater show, um you know, one of the things I saw was Lamenting a family-friendly option leaving Hollywood Studios and I get that criticism. I totally understand it but If they're replacing Epivision 3D with a new show, then they're not really losing a family-friendly option. They're just- Yeah, it's yeah it that's a net zero, so that so there's nothing lost there. and Then there is there is a gain of you get a new roller coaster, and then also we're getting a redo of another roller coaster. Yeah, so for years now, I mean, this has been rumored for so long, but I don't remember it ever being the Muppets though. I don't remember that being the rumor. but
00:33:17
Speaker
I could have sworn we talked about Muppets taking over Rock and Roller Coaster at some point, which, you know what we might have because I think that it is happening by the way. Yeah, which is happening. Yeah. that When the show came out, ah that more recent show, I think the show, the guy that created that show had said in an interview that part of their pitch for the show was that they could redo Rock and Roller Coaster with the Muppets. And yeah, that's happening. and And we talked about it. We were excited about it. Yeah.
00:33:45
Speaker
Yeah, it's now it's actually happening. And, and it looks good. Like, like that this looks cool art. I'm like that. It makes me excited. Like I'll admit I have not, or I've ridden rock and roller coaster the last couple of times that I've gone, but it hasn't been like, it's been, it's kind of fallen into the like, yeah, I guess we'll do it and not, like if we go on it, we'll go on it. If we don't, we don't. Yeah, exactly. Because like the whole Aerosmith thing, and actually we, after I saw this announcement, I talked about
Disney Treasure Themed Spaces
00:34:17
Speaker
this with my son and my wife and, you know, me and my wife were like, oh, you know, finally, Aerosmith's going away. And my son was like, who's Aerosmith?
00:34:25
Speaker
And I'm like, and that's the problem, right? Yeah. And I said, you remember in the rock and roll cause she's like, Oh them. And I'm like, yeah, you know, they're a band. He's like, okay. Like he has no idea who they are. Right. And, yeah and you know you know, in talking about, um, you know,
00:34:42
Speaker
muppets being family friendly and all that, I would argue that the muppets have never been, okay, they they've not been family friendly in the way you think they've been family friendly. 100%. People seem to treat the muppets as an extension of Sesame Street, but the reality is that the muppets have always been like, more targeted at a more adult audience. And and I will submit the exhibit A as, you know, if you go back and watch the Muppet Show tonight, one of the first guests was Alice Cooper. Yeah, exactly. Right? Like like Alice Cooper was like, you know, so they were they were not afraid to, you know, make jokes and, you know, you know, you know, Target it more at adults and not necessarily at, you know, kids, right? So the thing is, is I think rock and roller coaster as a Muppets attraction makes sense because adults are the ones who are like, you know, yeah, I'm a fan of Kermit. I'm a fan of, you know, you know, Muppets and all that, right? It's not kids that are going to be lining up for it anyway.
00:35:49
Speaker
Right? Yeah, absolutely. Does that make sense? No, that doesn't make sense. I mean, to your point, ah you know, Muppets have always been kind of, at times, low-key dirty, right? Like they make dirty dirty. Yeah, they love double entendres and stuff. Yes, exactly.
00:36:04
Speaker
Exactly. um I think it's also partly, though, there's a generation of people that grew up on Muppet Babies, which was a show targeted to kids with the bus, so which was totally different. And some people think of it that way. But I mean, it is funny, though, that we're talking about removing Aerosmith because Aerosmith is no longer relevant and hasn't been in a while with the Muppets who are probably older than Aerosmith, if I'm thinking about this, right? like Or about the same age, but more relevant.
00:36:31
Speaker
No, hold on. I don't. I think, yeah, I think they're close to um the same age. I'm going to. That's what I'm thinking. Yeah. Now we got to look this up and find out. OK, sorry. We were doing OK. Aerosmith started in 1970. OK, yeah. Muppets didn't. And the Muppets were, uh, 1976. Okay. So around the same time. Yeah. no Oh, wait, no, hold on. Sorry. They go back further than that. Yeah. Wait. Oh, hold on. Yeah. Sorry. I'm wrong. That they're popular is skyrock in 1976 with the Muppet show. They first appear on television in 1955 on a show called salmon friends, which, okay. Like, yeah but I guess the Muppets that we know became relevant in 1976. So.
00:37:17
Speaker
Kermit and Ralph the Dog appeared and ah in Ed Sullivan's show in the 60s. So like Kermit's been around since the 60s. yeah so Yeah. But you're right. and Most of the the Muppets we know now were really popularized in the 70s. It's just funny that you're the Muppets are still relevant, but Aerosmith is not.
00:37:38
Speaker
well but okay what Muppets have done stuff. like like they They've reinvented, they've brought new Muppet stuff out. No, I agree. yeah when was the lot like What was the last Aerosmith album?
00:37:50
Speaker
I could not tell you. Exactly. Like, I think, you know, when we started talking about it immediately, we went, you know, me and my wife were singing, uh, don't want to miss a thing from no isnt thing for ever getting right. Cause that, that's like the last the last my thing that we remember. Right. That's the last time they were relevant was then. And that movie is very old at this point. yeah Although I will say walk this way as a much better song, but, um, okay. Yeah. Well, well you okay. Yeah.
00:38:18
Speaker
But just just so we're clear on that, like it's you know pop culture and you know what I actually like or not do not always align. um The other thing we should talk about too with Muppets moving is you know People are upset about Muppets 3D going away. And that is understandable. and And I didn't realize this until I started looking into it. But Muppets 3D was the actual last Jim Hansen project. So it was the last thing he worked on before he passed away. which And you know it started in 1991, which to be fair, hey god ancient shit they got yeah they got some mileage out of that show. Absolutely.
00:38:55
Speaker
I mean, it's kind of amazing it lasted that long, honestly, because that is a long time for a Disney attraction. Yeah. And and again, yeah you know talking with my son, you know I use my son as you know a bit of ah a barometer on like you know what's what's relevant and what's not. you know you know he He was like, did we even see the show? And I'm like, yes, we went and watched it more than once, but it doesn't stick in his head. like like We were more Attached to it because you know we knew like we came into it you know pre-existing like knowing the muppets and you know the characters and everything and um So for us it was like oh, yeah, you know you know this was a thing my son was like okay I like I know who the muppets are but I don't even remember watching the show because you know to him You know that it was yeah I think the first time he watched he was eight which is an eternity ago to teenagers so of course yeah um
00:39:47
Speaker
So yeah, to him, it's it you know it it doesn't have any sentimental value for the rest of us, though. Yes, the the show, unfortunately, going away, you know Disney acknowledges that you know it it should be preserved. And I did read something saying you know that they are looking into finding somewhere to have the show, like not necessarily preserved as the full 3D thing that they did, but at least, you know, maybe ah the ability to watch the show or something like that. um One, one thing I, i or this is a speculation I heard, which it would be interesting if this happened is um you remember that there was that Lightning McQueen meet and greet thing that closed down, yeah um which is over by rock and roller coaster. But that's a villains thing now, right? They're doing the villains thing over there.
00:40:33
Speaker
Is that the villains thing now? Because I yeah thought, I didn't think it was in use yet. Well, they're, I mean, they announced that they're putting the villains thing there. Okay. that Well, so I was thinking, you know, maybe that's something that they could have, you know, worked it into or, you know, put it in there. But yeah, I guess if there's no word that the show fits anymore, that doesn't mean that the show is going away. Like, you know, you know, hopefully, you know, Disney finds a way, you know what, even if they just published it on Disney Plus, like that would be.
00:40:58
Speaker
I feel that would be good enough. because because it's like like you know I guess I would argue, as far as attractions go, um you know it was it was basically just a movie with 3D glasses. And yes, there was a couple of effects. and You had things like, you know, Sweden showed up during the show and stuff like that. but um On the whole, though, like it really like it is extremely dated. And, you know, as far as attractions go, it was barely above watching a short film. Yeah.
00:41:31
Speaker
Right. Like listen don I'm not trying to like bash on it, but I'm trying to say like, you know, they can do better. Like that there is definitely opportunity to do better. And I think that Aerosmith or, you know, Aerosmith going away and this becoming Muppets, I think they will do better with this.
00:41:47
Speaker
No, I i agree. and you know Honestly, Muppet Vision, like you said, it's I don't like anything leaving, but we I feel like I can't be upset about something that lasted for 33 years. It's a long time, man. like thats and i mean I don't think it's even really changed at all that much. you know i mean I don't know. It's been pretty much the same deal. for And I mean, but it it never changed. It never changed. And, and, uh, you, sorry, I kind of interjected, the no outside odd but you know, they beat out wishes in runtime. Like wishes was running for her and illuminations, like eliminations, eliminations, like 20 some years. I mean, this is a long time, man. And I know that they, they did add some effects over the years, but again, it's like,
00:42:34
Speaker
At the time in 1991, 3D was very much a novelty. right like that was It was a thing at the time. it was you know But now 3D doesn't mean anything to anybody you and anymore, I feel like. you know It's not as cool as it used to be. Yeah, it it's taken for granted. It's not a feature. It's not something to showcase.
00:42:54
Speaker
yeah And really really the only reason that that the show still works is because it is the Muppets and it's the the campiness and the the jokes and the characters. like like it's not It's not the fact that it's Muppets 3D, it's the fact that it's Muppets.
00:43:11
Speaker
like yeah but unless it three d park can go away this this is This is the problem with Disney getting rid of her attractions. Disney knows how many people go through this thing on a daily basis, and it's probably not a lot compared to anything else in the park, right? The last couple of times we did it, it was like there was never yeah there was there was not a lot of people you could always spread out. and You know, fire, you know, pick but basically wherever you want to sit in the theater, which, you know, that's not a good sign if if, yeah you know, the theater is that empty. Also, you know, on our last trip, we didn't even go and see it because we were in Hollywood studios and it was kind of a what do you want to do? and do you Do you want to go watch this? No, not really. And and unfortunately, it it became a
00:44:01
Speaker
you know, but the choice between that and going to Epcot, we went and got on the Skyliner and went to Epcot. So yeah. Well, as you mentioned, the two they do mention in this article, as we move forward with these changes, we are having creative conversations and exploring ways to preserve the film and other parts of the experience for fans to enjoy in the future. It doesn't mean it's dead. i mean it It doesn't mean it's completely dead, for sure. so yeah and The concept art for the rock and roller coaster overlay looks pretty cool.
00:44:33
Speaker
I guess my only concern is that they're going to do like a cheap overlay, but I feel like they're not going to for this. I just don't think they're going to. I think this is going to be ah a pretty nice size redo of this ride. ah so so here's Here's something to think about with this.
00:44:50
Speaker
Yeah. So, you know, they're very much advertising um Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem is like, they're the focal point of this attraction. Of course. I don't know how much people remember over the years, like like there's YouTube videos of this. They've done a lot of covers of a lot of songs. Oh, yeah. And, you know, one of the things about ah Cosmic Rewind is the music really does make the ride.
00:45:15
Speaker
Right yeah so this actually does up the potential of this ride that you know. Previously you know the thing about a rock and roller coaster was you know it's oh yeah it's rock and roller coaster but you're listening to one of like three arrow smith songs right it's like it was so it's kind like okay yeah you know.
00:45:33
Speaker
It was cool. I remember the first time I wrote it with me and my brother way back in the day. We were both singing along to the music as we were riding the ride. But on subsequent trips with my son, I kind of enjoyed it. But because it's Aerosmith, it was like, yeah, okay. It was more about the ride and not about the music. But bringing bringing doctor teeth in, you know, the sky is the limit on what they could cover. like yeah I think that's something people don't realize is that, you know, the same way that Guardians like, you know, they, they, they curated some really good songs for Guardians. And I mean, I have a list, you know, you know, there's definitely a top and a bottom.
00:46:17
Speaker
song on Guardians. like yeah you know ah there's There's no debating it for me. um But ah you know this gives them the same potential where you know this ride becomes a thing where you you know there's there's you know six or eight different songs and maybe you know they're rotating them out. So it keeps the experience of the ride fresh because you're going, you know oh, I hope I get this song or or you know and is there something new? Right?
00:46:43
Speaker
Yeah, like it know it actually really does improve this ride specifically that but they're giving it to the Muppets because the Muppets can do whatever they want. Yeah. Well, it's going to make the right funny. It's going to make the right funny too, right? I mean, there's got, you know, this is going to be a funny right now. Like they're going to make this, the Muppets are always have that element of fun, of funniness. And this is going to add to it. I'm sure there's plenty of opportunity for them to do fun things with us. So yeah fun. And ah yeah, like I said, I, I feel like the, you know,
00:47:17
Speaker
Occasionally i found like you know watching like youtube videos it's like i i will get surprised by like when the muppets do a cover of ah of a song and i'm like. Hey that was really late like you know outside of it being the muppet you know it's funny and whatever it's like that was really good like. Yeah yeah you know i'm i'm actually really excited for what.
00:47:36
Speaker
they can do with this or what I hope that they do with this because you know it should be, you know the music should be the focus of the ride if it's called rock and roller coaster or if they still keep the name, right? Yeah, yeah exactly. Yeah. yeah i mean It seems like they're going to keep the name based on what they're saying here. so i mean They're saying he's calling it rock and roller coaster stuff. Yeah. like it i mean it's you know the the the there's The keyboard is on the front of the car and Yeah. It's painted tie dye and everything. so it's yeahs the I mean, not to go back to Monster's Inkland, but I'm just thinking to myself, so you know Pizza Rizzo is a pretty large size quick service, right? I don't know if they're going to make this they're going to keep it as a quick service or if they're going to make it a sit down, but also you also have... What is it? Mama Melver is over there, right?
00:48:23
Speaker
Yes, that's true. Yeah. So, I mean, they have the opportunity to do a quick service and to sit down. um But interesting to me is, you know, think of all the fun kind of food that they can put in these restaurants, like the Monsters Inc themed kind of food. Oh yeah, totally. It's going to be cool, right? I mean, like they're going to come up with all sorts of crazy monster looking food to eat. Just as long as not everything is like Mike Wazowski themed.
00:48:50
Speaker
No, no, I see. I'm not thinking of it that way. I'm thinking of it as like things that monsters would eat, you know? Yeah. yeah like Like what you'd see them eat in the show, where whereas yeah all I can think about is like, like you'll see like, you know, at, at Halloween, at you know, they'll do like a Mike Wazowski cupcake or something, right? Like everything's neon green.
00:49:09
Speaker
I don't, I feel like they're not going to do that, but I mean, who knows. I, maybe, maybe they won't go. I'm thinking they're, they're going to go like Pandora, you know, this is a Satori canteen where they like have. proper as themed yeah Yeah. Yeah. That's what I was, that's what I'm hoping anyway. Right. Oh yeah, totally. And again, you know, you know, that, this also opens it up that, uh, you know, Hey, if, if it's Monstropolis, um, you know, you can,
00:49:33
Speaker
they can define whatever it is. Like like that that's actually a cool thing about it is that they don't have to like stick to a script of, you know, well, they only eat this food or whatever, right? Like it can, you know, monster food can really be whatever they want. And yeah, you're right. They can go as weird as they want. I did realize the one thing that I feel does have to happen is somewhere in there they have to sell lemon snow cones. Yeah, that'd be funny.
00:50:01
Speaker
like yeah that would Why would they not, right? like I mean, they should like should. There should be a stand, like like ah there should be an abominable stand selling lemon snow cones, specifically. 100%, yeah. Yeah.
00:50:14
Speaker
No, totally agree with you. that's that That would be really funny. That's going to be a mess if they don't. i'm the the the The whole land is a mess if they don't. so No, I'm not going to say that. I should note, though, too, by the way, where where Mama Melrose is, is where they have the restaurant that they went to in the ah in the movie.
00:50:36
Speaker
So like you can see it, right? Oh, the Japanese restaurant. Yes, that's that is the same location as where Mama Melrose is currently. Like if you look at a map, so like Melmo Melrose is going to turn it. What is that restaurant called? I forget. It's some um was it Harry? Harryhausen's. Harryhausen's. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that's going to be. Yeah. So that's what they're going to turn Mama Melrose into clearly. I mean, it's in the same spot. So by by moment hourss I went there one time actually. It's pretty good. I know it's not on top of everybody's list, but it was pretty good the one time we went. Yeah. But okay. If if they turn it into Harryhausen, that means it's a sushi restaurant. And that makes Trevor very excited. and then you're Yeah, exactly. Yeah. there's That's true. That's too bad. It also looks like they're going to, they're going to tear down that, uh, that building that's right in the middle, uh, there that was the, uh, the gift shop, that that Muppets themed gift shop that's ah only sometimes open.
00:51:32
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, it it was like a weird, at one point there was like Christmas stuff in there and yeah. Yeah. Yeah. so And yeah, that's all getting pushed back. so So this is actually like, it's not just Muppets Courtyard, they are expanding. yeah They're expanding what used to be Muppets Courtyard.
00:51:50
Speaker
Yeah. So that's, that building looks like it's going to be gone and then it's going to, the, it looks like the new building is going to be, uh, where the parking is basically. So like where they're going to take out some parking, it seems like for this, which, you know, is fine. Are they, you know, lots of parking there. That's not a big deal. Um, the funny thing is they're leaving, they're leaving the fountain and they're just changing the, the, what the fountain is going to be there. It's changed to like, uh, I don't know what you would call that. Just like an eye, I guess.
00:52:17
Speaker
Yeah, I'm like a monster like like the the eyeball from Monsters Inc. Right. Well, yeah. And they're largely. Yeah. Yeah. They're largely keeping ah Muppet Vision 3D, the building the same. They're just putting like monster things on them on it. Right. like I mean, yeah it's very easy to do. Right. Like, yeah. And actually that this the the more that we're looking at, the more it does make sense why they chose this because the area itself is already themed as like like Muppet courtyard was kind of like a city city landscape, right? So it's like, hey, Monstropolis is just a city with, you know, monster theming to it. So that's an easy one. Well, and let's also mention though, too, right? This this was rumored. The other places was rumored to go was where Star Wars launch bay is. Now that we know this is going over there, what's going to go in Star Wars launch bay area? Like, is that going to continue developing? Because there is space over there.
00:53:12
Speaker
And that that whole Star Wars launch made is nothing. It's it's empty, right? like That's an empty part of the park. There's space there. I mean, you know listen, they they haven't finished announcing everything yet. we're goingnna We're going to hear more things. And that's another place where they could expand Hollywood Studios even more. And actually make it like usable so it's not just yeah like like yeah i mean if if you've been over there like you know launch bay even back when it before galaxy's edge like launch bay was kind of in a sad state it was because like like that whole area is just nothing like there yeah it's wide open nothing yeah exactly i mean there's there's a star wars launch bay building and then behind that is a bunch of administrative buildings right like there's really a ton of space back there as long as they're okay with moving all the administrative stuff but like
00:54:01
Speaker
I mean, it's there's there's a lot of things. Yeah. Yeah. Administrative buildings can be moved wherever. the They don't need to sit with... The only reason that they were there was because that used to be an operating studio, right? Yeah, exactly. And there used to be animators and stuff there. So yeah, you know there's there's nothing saying that that they have to keep it. Yeah. I mean, there was the whole backlot tour that would go all through there and you would see the wardrobe department and like yeah but you know all that cool stuff back there, but it doesn't need to be there anymore. It just doesn't.
00:54:30
Speaker
That's true. OK, there is one last thing I want to point out here on this concept art. And I really so I'm noticing down in the bottom right hand corner outside of Monstropolis or like on the other side of the wall going towards the galaxy's edge. There's some cars sitting there. I notice that. Yeah, which um I'm thinking back to like Monsters Inc. Like, you know, Mike had his car and stuff like i'm I'm like, why would they specifically show that? Like, unless they're what, like, I feel like I see Mike's car in front of the theater though. Look at, look in front of the theater. yeah That looks like his yeah that that is, that is Mike's car. But then, but then there's these other cars, which the the neat thing to me with that is, you know, maybe this turns into, you know, there's something interactive with, um, you know, monster cars.
00:55:20
Speaker
No, that is, you know, because, you know, in the in the show, like, you know, there was all the different types of monsters and they all had their own like custom things. Right. Like, like, like nobody had the same stuff because, you know, there was a like a, you know, a three eyed monster instead of a two eyed monster. Right. Like, so I, I have to wonder, I find it weird that they would specifically, somebody would draw that into the concept art if they weren't planning to do something like that. But then it's like, why would you just put cars there if they didn't have some kind of element to them that was interactive? It's also in the concept art that they originally shared at D23, actually. The car is in one of the pictures. so i mean It feels like they're doing it, right? like It's going to happen. Yeah, i so yeah I'm happy about that. like I feel like it it does actually
00:56:07
Speaker
help with the the cohesiveness of the land itself, where it's like, you know, show pieces are one thing. And it's, you know, actually kind of talking about launch bay, you know, it's the same thing where it's like, you know, you can build a nice big space. But if there's nothing to do in that space, like, well, yeah, it it doesn't. It's not interesting. like Like this does look like they're adding a lot of things to it. and And, you know, it should be it shouldn't just be like nice to look at. There should be some interactivity to it.
00:56:35
Speaker
Well, and i'm I'm kind of glad they're tearing down that gift shop because like if you look at the concept art, like if you look at if you go on like Google Maps right now and you look above, like it's it's a kind of a tight spot. right It's kind of a tight area. like it's not It's not very ah conducive to just like walking around there, but now they're going to like open this up to in big open areas. and i you know Listen, i again, I want to say this again. I love Muppet Vision 3D. I loved the whole Muppet thing. But let's be honest, muppet court Muppet's courtyard was kind of a dead area. right like it it It was. i mean You would go to Muppet Vision 3D, but like the rest of it was just kind of deadness. right like yeah and
00:57:13
Speaker
if you know To tell you the scale of how dead it was, It was literally next to Galaxy's Edge and people were still not going into it. like Yeah, exactly. You know, Galaxy's Edge is one of the busiest areas on Disney property because of, you know, obviously, rightfully so. Star Wars is a popular IP and all that. um But the fact that, you know, being right next to the most popular IP didn't help Muppets Courtyard says something about, you know, yeah, Muppets Courtyard was
00:57:45
Speaker
it It was time for it to go in its current state. Exactly. This is an upgrade to me. I know, I know, I know. I know people are going to be upset about that, but yeah, out with the old, whi with the new. Let's listen to some new stuff. I feel, I agree with you. I feel this is an all around improvement of the state of Hollywood Studios. Like it's, and it's not just about Muppets. It's about, you know, Hollywood Studios definitely needs some more stuff. And you know, I've, you've heard me, I've been very vocal about that. Yeah.
00:58:13
Speaker
So yeah, they, you know, I'm glad that they're, they're giving it some more life and they're giving it some more reason to stay there longer than, you know, yeah for people that don't want to just go and do Star Wars. Um, and, and yeah, and they're also not sacrificing muppets either. Like it's, you know, you know, the fact that they move muppets into rock and roller coaster, I think that says something. It's getting me life really. Yeah. Right. Uh, and you know, I, listen, I, the other part of this too is, is,
00:58:40
Speaker
You know, my daughter's not going to care about going to Muppets Court, or but she would care about going to this. Even if she's not going to go on the new roller coaster, right? And like, that's not meant for her necessarily at this age. There's still going to be the new stage show there. And it's still a very, a themed land that she understands, that she knows about, you know, because she's Watch Monsters Inc. She knows Monsters, Inc. And I mean, if Sully's walking around that land, like that's, you know, that's another reason for me to take my seven year old daughter to to Hollywood Studios when we skipped it completely last time. We we didn't even go last time. So, yeah.
00:59:15
Speaker
Here's an interesting thought. Do you think you would actually see a Randall meet and greet? I mean, who wouldn't want to do that, right? Let's do the Randall meet and greet. Yeah. I mean, he yeah kind of, he falls in with villains now. They can, you know, they can get Randall into cause it's always been Mike and Sully, right? You know, you know, Randall should get some FaceTime too. Oh, and if they don't have a, um, uh, what's her name, the, um, gosh, where am I? The Celia.
00:59:39
Speaker
Yeah. No, no. The, the, the, the one that's, uh, Oh, Ross, thank you. Yeah. If they don't have Ross floating around somewhere, like that's a big mess by them. Well, I guess, you yeah, you've never been on the monsters and cried in California for us. Yeah. Ross was actually the big selling point of that ride. Cause the ride itself was, it was repurposed, but they put a Ross, uh, animatronic at the end and she like,
01:00:05
Speaker
I don't know how they did it, but she was actually like calling out like people in the ride. Like, Oh, wow. You would, you would actually stop and she would like, you know, Hey, you with the glasses and like, like she would say stuff like targeted at people in the ride, which was very cool. That is cool. Yeah, that is cool.
01:00:24
Speaker
All right. Well, I think that's probably enough talk about that one for now. Right. Um, until we see more. Yeah. I think we'll, uh, I hope I'm right about the music thing. I, I, I really, that'd be funny. Yeah. I want to, I want to be right that they're going to do like a music selection and they're going to have rotating songs. that Like it should be like guardians. I feel it like but should they kind of said that they were going to bring new songs to it. Right. So like, so, I mean, that but yeah, it'd be great if it was a rotating thing like that. So yeah.
01:00:54
Speaker
Okay. All right. I know it doesn't matter that much. Yeah. You put this on here and it, you know, I saw it and I went, okay, fine. Tom is going on the treasure. I will talk about cruise ship stuff, even though I'm never going to be on the cruise ship. That's fine. To be fair, there's a lot of park stuff in this cruise ship. So there is, yes, I will get it. And if you didn't, if you didn't watch the, the, um, christening, which I know you don't care about it, the christening was pretty great. I did see some video of it and I'm okay.
01:01:22
Speaker
Is this the part where you get mad about how there's a drone show again somewhere that you can't watch? Yeah, that's yeah that's exactly that's exactly right. um Yeah, because there's again, a really cool drone show that they decided to I mean, listen, it was really cool. Actually, my daughter, we watched it, my daughter was like, Oh, I want to see that when we go on the ship. And I was like, Sorry, that's the thing that only exists for this. You know, one time ever.
01:01:46
Speaker
one time only and never to be seen again. I mean, they had a giant ah stingray like floating through the sky. It was awesome. um And then I was laughing too because they, first of all, they the production of it was not Disney quality. They did a very bad job with actually producing ah that that show. There was you know audio issues. There was video issues. It was all over the place. The drone show was fantastic.
01:02:11
Speaker
um I thought it was also funny though too. They were had, they had um I forget who it it was, but they had somebody there singing a song and I'm listening to the song and I'm like, I don't know what the song is, but it sounds like they made the song just for the ship. And sure enough, they did. um they hit the The ship has its own song, which I think is hilarious. um But i listen, I thought it was it looked really great. ah you know and it was Unfortunately, it was kind of short.
01:02:36
Speaker
But the stuff that I was happy to see is that we're now getting real views of the spaces and not just concept art, right? Yes. And I have looked at these and I will say, i if I could do one thing, I would really want to get into this Haunted Mansion part. The Haunted Mansion part. Yeah. The Haunted Mansion part looks amazing. Yeah, it really does. And not only I mean, part of why I really love this, besides the fact that it's Haunted Mansion themed, is that they used a lot of stuff that is not in the Haunted Mansion, right? They used like a lot of the stuff that Raleigh Crump came up with for the original version of it, which was the Museum of the Weird. So there's like very cool stuff in there. And of course they have the Donald chairs in there, which now I can go and sit in the Donald chair.
01:03:20
Speaker
Um, you know, the, the, and that's there. I mean, they have these really cool drink things. Trevor, this one is not, it's not on this page, but I also saw too that there's a secret menu. I don't know if you saw this, but oh so this there's a secret menu, but you have to, they give you like a tablet and you have to like, you have to like solve a puzzle to get to the secret menu. Oh, I'm in. I know. so that I saw it. I was like, okay, that's the coolest thing ever. That's amazing. i I need to do this now. Um,
01:03:49
Speaker
But yeah, I mean, even the merchandise they're selling in here is very cool. The commemorative mugs. um Yeah, i mean I like that they are nautical themed and not just like, yeah it's like the the sailor and the mermaid and and everything where instead of just like the typical haunted mansion ghosts. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, they also have to like, ah there's a video in here. There's, I mean, Madame Leona is like literally floating through the bar at one point.
01:04:17
Speaker
Not entirely sure how they're doing that, but um they also have the mirrors. They have the ghosts inside the mirror behind the bar. I mean, they have this really cool fish tank. There's just a lot of really neat things in here that are haunted mansion inspired, but are just different, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you're right. It's it's like a weird. You would almost think this is like a knockoff version of the haunted mansion yeah to get because it's like it's just different. But yeah, you're right. It's It's hitting all the right notes for for Haunted Mansion. Yeah. The fish tank too. i I love the fish tank. The fish tank is very cool. Yeah. Also, I'm just realizing that the melting face, ah the melting face statue is actually. That's Rollie Krop. Yeah, I thought ah I thought they were just doing the um like tributes to his ideas. But no, they actually that that statue is actually him.
01:05:07
Speaker
Yeah, and and it's based on he he made a comment about like doing like a wax, or like like having like a a sculpture where it was like actively melting as part of the effect, which is, yeah, like just insane. But especially when they were due when they were designing this, you know, at the time, like trying to figure out the technology to make that work was probably impossible. Yeah.
01:05:31
Speaker
So, yeah, hes he's he's got his commemorative area. Let's OK. So, yeah, we talked about the Haunted Mansion parlor. I do also want to say the Skipper Society looks very
Critique on Disney Attractions' Appearance
01:05:41
Speaker
cool. Fantastic as well. Although I do feel it's it feels a little too clean, if that makes sense. Yeah, no, that's my only thing yeah that's my only comment against it is that like it doesn't feel like grungy.
01:05:57
Speaker
Yeah, it doesn't have that like, like jungle cruise, like you're in, you're out in the, in the jungle kind of thing. Like, like everything is very smooth and very well, you know, very, you know, very well-designed woodwork, but, uh, nothing's worn. It doesn't look like anything's been used. yeah Yeah, it feels a little too new.
01:06:18
Speaker
I get that. it's It's interesting, though, because you you know, if they like wore stuff down, somebody would probably be like, I paid this much money to be on this boat. This thing looks like junk. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, I know. Yeah. I mean, there's there's a little bit of worn stuff, but it's you're right. It's not it's it's not like the actual Jungle Cruise ride. But yeah, I'm still going to go there. I'm still going to check it out.
01:06:40
Speaker
I have to say my my favorite feature of it though is that parrot chandelier. The parrot chandelier is pretty cool. it's It is pretty fantastic. It really is, yeah. Absolutely. I also have to say I'm extraordinarily excited for the cocoa dinner show ah that that looks just really cool. um We talked about the food that's going to be there and I'm excited for the food. but i mean ah Let's be honest, Coco has some of the best music out there for the Disney movies. I mean, i it's it's great, great music in that movie. And I'm a sucker for a mariachi band too, and they're doing like a full on mariachi band for this. And I think it's going to look awesome. Again, we're finally just getting to see real looks of this instead of instead of you know just the shots of of concept art.
01:07:26
Speaker
And it's interesting how the concept art, you know, even like the grand hall here, I remember seeing the concept art and going, that looks a little dark. But now that I see the the actual pictures of it in real life, I'm like, oh, OK, that all works. It looks really awesome. and And the chandelier looks crazy cool. And it just it looks it looks incredible, honestly, overall. Yeah. Yeah. I'm very excited. It's going to be a good ship and you're you're going to have a great time on it. And you'll just watch from afar. I won't.
01:07:54
Speaker
I will, I will get you some stuff from the Honda mansion bar. That's, that's, I will get you. I would appreciate that. Absolutely. A hundred percent going to happen. I will get, I will get them for you. Actually, you're going to be on there right before I'm in Florida. So yeah. So I can actually like give it to you. Yeah, you could. Yeah. We, you could, it won't have to be shipping it across the world. Yeah. You can actually like hand it to me. That'll be, that'll be cool. I'm okay. I'm going to, that actually makes me a little bit more excited for you.
01:08:21
Speaker
ah because because of what you're getting. All right, well let's let's wrap this thing up. sorry what i'm getting like like i you know Even if you don't get me anything, I wouldn't be. I'm not like that. you know Even i seeing like if you're like, hey, check out this stuff, I would just be happy to to see it. yeah You don't have to get me. I will. um But yeah, let's wrap this thing up. Let's let's all right get out of here and and yeah get over to
Thanksgiving Break Announcement
01:08:46
Speaker
our. Well, you I mean, not a holiday for you, but a holiday for me. that's Yeah, go. Go enjoy your turkey. You know, for everybody else listening to this, you know, hopefully you have a good Thanksgiving and, ah um you know, eat all the turkey, have all the the family time or whatever it is you do, you know, everyone's got their own things they do at Thanksgiving. So.
01:09:07
Speaker
Um, yeah. And like we said at the beginning of the show, there will not be a show next week because of Thanksgiving. So, uh, we will talk to you guys in a couple of weeks or talk at you guys. I don't know. I know we don't, well, we do talk on the discord, but yeah yeah of course yeah we'll, you know, there'll there'll be more.
Listener Engagement and Support Options
01:09:23
Speaker
There'll be more to to talk about in upcoming weeks, but for now, um, you know, if you guys want to share your own, um, trip reports or ask us questions or anything like that, you can always find us at welcome on podcast at gmail dot.com. We love hearing from you guys and, uh, you know, you know, hearing what you think about the show and just, you know, talking with you in general for that same reason. We also are on social media, so you can find us on Facebook as welcome on podcast. You can find us on YouTube as welcome on podcast. You can find us on Instagram as welcome home pics.
01:09:53
Speaker
Make sure on Facebook that you check out our group welcome home Disney wait list where we have lots of great conversations about you know The stuff that we talked about on the show today um There's you know people asking trip reports asking their own stuff about DVC and Disney in general and um You know just just a great group to to be a part of so you make sure you check that out and If you want to help support the show you can always go to store at welcome home podcast comm check out our different merch You know maybe Maybe you have a friend who's a you know a fan of the show that you want to get them something for Christmas. you know Hey, you can get them a welcome home podcast mug for Christmas. And and you know we got it all in the store there. I think there's still time to get it to you before Christmas. I actually don't know. I don't know what the shipping types are like. Yeah. I know i know in Canada we're actually having a postal strike right now. So you know I guess getting into Canada might be questionable. Well-timed.
01:10:50
Speaker
yeah Yeah, not yeah they're they're they're great about that. um but no you know Outside of that, yeah you know you can get what you get whatever merchandise you want want from the store. Similarly, we do also have a Patreon, so you can go to patreon dot.com slash welcome on pod. You can check out our different levels of Patreon support. Our Patreon supporters get access to a an exclusive logo that is only on Patreon, so you can't get it in the store.
01:11:15
Speaker
And also our patreon listeners get access to the discord server which we talked about earlier which is yet another place that we have great conversations about. You know disney news and you know stuff from the show and just general silliness and and whatever that that goes along.
Ride Comparison and Listener Opinions
01:11:31
Speaker
um I will take this moment to to call out, um so Brian in the Discord said that Rock and Roller Coaster is the worst roller coaster on Disney property. Sorry, Brian, I'm calling you out here. I disagree. um And I'm going to throw a hot take out there for the end of the show that Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is worse than Rock and Roller Coaster.
01:11:54
Speaker
And if you think about it, seven doors and mine train is not much of a roller coaster. So. yeah I'm just putting it out there. you know you know that That's my opinion and and you know you know we're all entitled to our opinions. You can come on the Discord and talk about that. There you go.
Closing and Sponsor Acknowledgements
01:12:15
Speaker
Last but not least, if you're if you're listening on iTunes or Spotify or anywhere that you can leave us a 5-star review, You know, it's Christmas and you know, you know everyone likes seeing twinkly stars So, you know, we would like to see some stars leading up to Christmas So, you know leave us a review and also yeah on iTunes if you want to write us a review we love hearing what you guys think about the show and you know, you know just knowing you know what people like and don't like so um You know keep that kind of stuff coming and you know make ah make our Christmas wish come true with some five-star reviews Yeah, yeah. And also don't forget to subscribe to Welcome Home podcast so you'll be reminded every time we release a new episode. You can find us on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitch, or Spotify, YouTube, YouTube Music, just about any podcast app out there. You can find us. Just search for Welcome Home and Disney and you'll find us very quickly.
01:13:04
Speaker
Just a reminder to our listeners, welcome home podcasts. For entertainment only, we are not played by the Walt Disney Company, and as such, all opinions we express on the show are our own. So please consult a DVC representative or Disney cast member for more information about anything we talked about today. Huge thank you to our sponsor, DVC Resale Market, and of course the world of DVC for sponsoring this episode and also being a big supporter of the show over the years. Please check them out for DVC needs. And join us next time for more Disney Parks discussion. Of course, more DVC talk. We hope to see you all real soon.
01:13:34
Speaker
this is Skipper Albert A. Wall, The Voice of the Jungle, signing off from Welcome Home Podcast on the TVC.