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Episode 307: More Epic Universe, Stitch Crashes the Parks & Disney Starlight Updates
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On This Episode
The guys talk about the opening and recent news coming from Epic Universe. Tom finally got his daughter to the movie theater to see Lilo & Stitch and give his thoughts on the movie. Tom discusses an upcoming trip to a local theme park. DVC brings back Welcome Home Weeks for 2025 with discounts, meet and greets, and ice cream. With Lilo & Stitch in theaters, Disney is celebrating with magic shots, merch, and special food items. Disney gave a first look at the new Hercules show coming to the Disney Destiny, including a preview of the giant Hydra puppets that will be featured in the show. The first performance date of Magic Kingdom’s upcoming nighttime parade, Starlight, was announced along with new details about the other floats in the parade.
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Transcript
Introduction to The Welcome Home Podcast
00:00:06
Speaker
This is Skipper Albert A. Wall, the voice of the jungle, broadcasting on the DVC to all voice unknown. If you're within the sound of my voice, you're listening to Welcome Home Podcast on the DVC.
Memorial Day Weekend & Podcast Updates
00:00:25
Speaker
Music Music Music
00:00:30
Speaker
Hello and welcome This episode of Welcome Home is brought to you by DVC Rental Store. Thank you for joining us on episode 307 of Welcome Home, a Disney Parks and Vacation Club podcast. I'm Tom here with Trevor. How's it going? Hey, pretty good. How are you?
00:00:43
Speaker
could. It's weird because, you know, it was Memorial Day weekend ah last week, Ben, here in the States. Not for you, but it was for us. And so we did the show early last week. yeah And so I feel like I haven't talked to you in a while. Yeah, actually, that that's true. Because, yeah, I guess the last show we did was the our Trip Report.
00:01:02
Speaker
Yeah. sir yeah And I know the the releasing of the Trip Report and the interview with ah Dapper Danielle were kind of out of whack with how
Excitement Over Epic Universe vs. Disney
00:01:12
Speaker
we recorded them. So people are probably going, wait a minute, but you did that interview. We did that before the, uh, the trip report, which, yeah which, I, I still have to say, I, yeah you know, I really had a lot of fun on that trip and, and I was glad that I got to tell you about the interview. Oh, no. Yeah. The interview was great, but, but the trip was, um, I'm glad that I got to recap it with my brother because, uh,
00:01:37
Speaker
Yeah, it it was nice for us to kind of go through it again and, and and you know, relive it in that way. And I got to say this up front. So, okay, people are going to hate on me for this. I'm scared.
00:01:49
Speaker
i I am really much more interested in epic universe right now than I am in Disney stuff for the moment.
00:02:01
Speaker
And so, so let, let me just qualify that. I'm not saying that I hate Disney or anything. It's just the epic universe stuff is very new and shiny. And, and I keep seeing like, you know, that they're after it, because, you know, we were there doing a preview day. So we didn't, you know, there, there are things that happened after the the opening of
Challenges of Epic Universe's Opening
00:02:20
Speaker
it. And, you know, they, they are continuing to,
00:02:23
Speaker
You know, bring in new new treats and just new stuff, right? As they do when when they open a new theme park. Yeah, of course. um I mean, i'm I'm excited for it because it's like... I feel like the bar has been set really high.
00:02:39
Speaker
and And we've talked about this before, but it it just feels like... um You know, I Disney is paying attention. Like, I i know that they they can't be ignoring that kind of stuff.
00:02:51
Speaker
And, you know, everybody's saying like, oh, you know you know, you know, this is going to kill Disney. No, it's not. But I seriously hope that because of the stuff that I've been looking at there, that.
00:03:03
Speaker
you know we've We've seen all the things about like the the new Monsters, Inc. Land, and Cars, and like like all the all the things that they're doing around the parks. yeah I just really hope that I'm as excited for those things when they come about as I am for Epic Universe right now.
00:03:20
Speaker
And I'm just putting that out there. like it like they They have a really high bar to meet. Yeah, I mean, it's it's it's tough, though, too, right? Because it's like, you know, is it it's probably a lot harder to get excited about one small land in the corner of an existing park than it is for a whole new amusement park, you know? mean, yeah, except, it like like, I kind of looked at the park as, like like, the individual lands all had their own merits to them and their own wow factor. Like, like you know, looking at each land separately...
00:03:49
Speaker
they all had like, if they were released as just individual lands, I still would have been
Disney's New Lands: Expectations vs. Reality
00:03:56
Speaker
just as impressed as I was just, you know, hitting the whole park at once is the thing. Like they, they, they did put some, some love into it and you can see it. So I, I just, I know like Disney, like I said, sorry, it's, it's hard because I keep like,
00:04:13
Speaker
ah I'm just going to be, I'm going to be brutally honest as I'm flipping through Facebook. I've been finding that like when Disney stuff comes up as I'm flipping, it's like, I'm like, yeah, whatever.
00:04:24
Speaker
But then something about Epic Universe, Epic Universe comes up and I'm like, Ooh, what's this? Like it's, it's kind of backwards at the moment. And yeah, it's, and And I know you're going, Trevor, stop saying that because we're supposed to be a Disney. No, I mean, look, say what you want. i mean is yeah it's But, yeah you know, I guess the thing is, is if you're traveling to Florida, like like seriously, don't don't ignore going to, to I mean, the the newer universal experiences. I wouldn't i wouldn't say go to the older ones. no I mean, you can if you want, but...
00:04:56
Speaker
I mean, yeah, I, I, like I said, I'm just, it's making me really excited for what Disney could do because, you know, if, if universal is doing this kind of stuff, yeah, Disney should be paying attention. And if they're not like, I mean, i guess we'll find out, right. you know, it's, it's, it's hard to say how good or how bad the the new parks will be, or or I shouldn't say parks, but yeah, the new lands. Cause, cause that's the other thing too. Like we, there's going to be a villain's land and yeah,
00:05:25
Speaker
have Dark Universe really really set an expectation for me.
Impact of Social Media on Theme Parks
00:05:30
Speaker
Sure. On how like a villain's area should be. And I know that like the the Dark Universe stuff is it is more like definitely more scary.
00:05:39
Speaker
Oh, yeah. They've been for way scarier. The villain's land is not going to be super scary at all. No, but but it can still be cool. Yeah, yeah. It can still have that air of... like intimidation about it Because that's really what it was, was that you walked in, you were like, oh, this is like...
00:05:56
Speaker
intimidating. Right. yeah So yeah. Yeah. the i So from what I've been seeing, they've been having a little bit of a rough, rough opening. I don't know if you've seen these things, but yeah, there's definitely.
00:06:08
Speaker
Yeah. yeah And I mean, to be fair, like it's, it is an entire amusement park that's opening, which hasn't happened in, like, I didn't realize this, but the last actual park that opened was Island of Adventure. And that was over 20 years ago.
00:06:21
Speaker
Oh, yeah. That's the first the first brand new amusement park in in ah Orlando in 20 some years. Yeah. it's it's ah That's why it's such a big thing, you know, especially, i mean, because they're obviously, it's obviously great, but also at the same time, it's also the first new thing in a long time. So um big thing like this. But man, I saw, I thought it was interesting because I saw an article posted that like the first day there was only like 10 minute waits on the first day. And I was like, that's kind of weird.
00:06:49
Speaker
That's because of how they sold the tickets? tickets well yeah well that but that's the other thing it's it's really not that weird right because you know even when disney worlds originally opened uh you know they had very few people like it was a the the first day did not have a lot of people attend yeah and i think a lot of people stayed away first stay away because they assumed that everyone else was going like that's the funny thing is that yeah yeah yeah i mean i just saw that there was uh the past couple days that uh several of the days all the rides were down at once yeah ah yeah But, I mean, you know, again, what are you going to do? Like, that's that's kind of what you get when you have new... ah When you have, you know, a new park like that. they they it It takes a long time to get things ah to do get things to, like, a good operational level where theirre their uptime is good. But, I mean, it's... But it's also the problem, too, with doing super complex rides that are, like, super... You know, like, it's... How many years did it take for Rise of the Resistance to get to a consistent level? Because that ride is crazy complicated. And so many of the rides you're talking about here, Trevor, are...
00:07:48
Speaker
extremely advanced and complicated and the more advanced and complicated you get the the more areas you have for it to break you know true and and rise still does run in b mode sometimes it does there are parts of it that run in b mode because people do i again i haven't been on it but i know people talk about all the time that yeah you know that the it still does have its failures. And, and, you know, to your point about, you you know you know, major closure of rides. I mean, Magic Kingdoms had that happen in the last oh yeah year.
00:08:16
Speaker
but because What, because what was it? There was like an HVAC thing or something. There was a power outage, I think, wasn't there? Yeah. and it And it took down like the majority of the park. So yeah it's, I think that's a little different, though, because that's like just that's the power just went out, right? like this is like The rides themselves are breaking. But you know yeah it's but again, it's it's that's you expect that with any new ride, especially highly advanced ones. you know so that's not i mean i can say I can say when we were there, you know we we didn't have any... or Actually, sorry, that's not true. we did We had Donkey Kong breakdown on us.
00:08:47
Speaker
So, oh yeah so yeah we, cause that's right. Cause we stayed, we waited for that, but I mean, you know, and the Harry Potter ride wasn't open at all. Right. But but that, that was deliberate. like Like we, we knew before we even got there, like that they had signs up saying, uh, curse of the werewolf and Harry Potter were, were closed that day. So that, so they were still working on them, which again, you know, is, is fine. And I don't expect everything
Advanced Rides and Guest Experience Challenges
00:09:10
Speaker
to be running and, and, you know,
00:09:12
Speaker
100% operational all the time. Cause like you said, stuff happens, yeah but yeah, it's like I said, it's, it's still just one of these things that, you know, I'm just looking at all the positive stuff that's come from it is, know,
00:09:27
Speaker
you know I hope that that gets taken back into the larger like theme park operations community as like, hey, yeah you know there there is room for you know the older rides. And you know yeah I'm not saying like everything should be done up to the same level as as Epic Universe. But the new stuff that's coming, you know you have an opportunity to really...
00:09:48
Speaker
do something, something that will make you go, wow. Like like that's the whole thing about it is that, you know, you know, Disney has wowed me over the years. They still do. um I didn't expect universal to wow me the same way that Disney does.
00:10:02
Speaker
Yeah. i guess was the thing. So, yeah so now I'm looking and going, well, at Disney, you know, if they can do it, you'd better do it right yeah yeah yeah yeah that makes sense also and yeah i know you're going to disagree with this but i if the somehow the stars aligned and you and i ended up at epic universe one day i would do my darndest to drag you on to stardust racers i know you don't do i know i know i know you don't do those kinds of coasters but but it's an experience and that sentence yeah no that's not come on i appreciate that you you want to try to get that to happen but it ain't happening okay come on can everybody get in the comments like okay there's no amount of peer pressure that's going to change this um yeah no i would love for you to experience stardust racers i can experience from the ground i can experience in the ground no no no no no
00:10:53
Speaker
Okay, don't don't do that. yeah um All right, but like let's actually get into the episode. Well, no, but yeah, no, i I did. I had just recently seen an article that they were, I mean, apparently that Harry Potter ride has basically not been open at all.
00:11:07
Speaker
I think it's been, they've been having major issues with that one, ah seemingly. And then I, but yeah, I just had to happen to see this article that ah that on a couple days ago, I guess it was...
00:11:19
Speaker
The 28th. So that was what? Two or three days ago ah that it was every like literally everything was broken. And it's like, all right, well, that stinks. But, um you know, again, it's it's going to happen. And, and you know, but ah it's it is it's interesting, though, in the in the Internet age we live in, though, like.
00:11:37
Speaker
ah you know they had there's I saw pictures of huge lines for people of like waiting for guest services to get refunds and stuff like that. And there were people like ah you know tweeting bad things and stuff like that. and But it's ah it's interesting how things travel like that now because it's you know if a ride was down for an entire day, you know pre-internet days, pre-social media days, that you know nobody would really know about it. right like my yeah It wasn't it wasn't like obviously in people's faces the way is now.
00:12:06
Speaker
right Yeah, exactly. Somebody, you know, posts a picture of a gigantic line of guest services for people to get, you know, refunds. And, you know, and ah just takes one influencer with a lot of followers posting, you know, that they had a horrific day at ah Epic Universe. And that that that kind of stuff hurts nowadays, you know.
00:12:21
Speaker
i hate that it's taken out of context, though. Of course. Yeah, that's not right either. Yeah, that's the one thing that gets me is, you know, and I know and I see the irony of, you know, we're we're on here doing a podcast on social media.
00:12:34
Speaker
But I do hate the fact that social media yeah or you know, people will twist, ah you know, something that happened. and And again, you know, incidents do happen. But it's like, you know, they they make it sound like, you know, universal, you know, kicked people on their way out the door.
00:12:49
Speaker
Like, it's like, it's just ridiculous how people phrase so I think they also created this problem for themselves a little bit, though, too, because of the way that they were selling tickets. Right.
00:13:00
Speaker
Yeah. Like the fact that you could only get the one day there means that if everything's broken down on one day, then you're just you're you're you're tripped is, you know, not like you don't get to do anything. There's zero opportunity. And I mean, we we had the same thing. Like when we bought those tickets, you know, it was it was a single day ticket. And and we were saying the same thing is it's like, I hope.
00:13:21
Speaker
I hope things are working because yeah that, you know, you know, that's it. Like we get one shot and that's it. Right. So. Yeah. yeah And I mean, they're purposely throttling the crowds, which I understand. and And that's what you should do. I mean, that's, that's the smart thing of them to do. It just, uh, yeah. I mean, it's not, it's, it's not, it's not a great, it's not a great look, but I mean, again, it's, it's to your point, Trevor, right? Like,
00:13:44
Speaker
People don't. And i listen, it's things for people who had their one day that they were going to be there ruined by all the rides being broken down. But people first you know also don't necessarily understand. And not I'm not saying I'm a theme park operation expert or anything.
00:13:57
Speaker
But generally, people don't understand that these things, when
Universal's Strategy with Epic Universe vs. Disney
00:14:00
Speaker
you have very technically advanced rides, a lot of times, first of all, they're not ready when they launch. right They're really not.
00:14:08
Speaker
like that data set ahead of time they rushed to get there but you know it's probably not fully there sometimes right and and to sorry just just to add to your point there is you know the reason they were doing previews is for that reason yeah rides need to be load tested like it yeah that it runs once is different than it operating for you know multiple times throughout the day and you know with you know all kinds of people coming through. like they They do need to test these things, and it's not just it's ready as soon as they open the park.
00:14:40
Speaker
Sorry. yeah Yeah, no no, that's exactly it, though. like People don't really like realize that that's how things work. you know It's just like, well, it's opened. It should work. Now, given... I don't disagree with that thought, right? it you know in In theory, yes, they all should work, but you know Anytime you have – I talked about this before because in one of the Imagineering books I read, right?
00:14:58
Speaker
When Universe of Energy first opened, right? Now, Universe Energy, if you were on it before, at the time was a revolutionary high-tech ride system, right? It was a moving theater. Nobody had done it before.
00:15:11
Speaker
it took them years to get it above 90% efficiency, right? Because anytime you're doing anything that is new or or ah new technology, there's just going to be hiccups. And that's just the way it is. you so you know you can't yeah ah people But people don't understand that. right like They're just like, it's open. It should work. right And I get it. yeah But it's it just it's it is unfortunate, Trevor, because it's it's a it's like a it's really a bad narrative.
00:15:39
Speaker
you know Yeah, it's it's it's bad optics. but But also, I will say this, too, is that you know i there's for for for the negative things that you see, which can be very loud...
00:15:50
Speaker
There's also so many more positive things that, and the hard part is, is that a lot of times, you know, like for me, you know, you know, we, we obviously were talking about it that, you know, Hey, we went we had a great day and Epic universe, you know, people, people love seeing that, but people also do tend to gravitate towards, you know, every time that there is drama and the negative, but, but the thing is, is that I've seen just as many posts about, you you know, you know, yes, outside of, you know, one day of like,
00:16:20
Speaker
you know, bad yeah or, you know, a bad draw of closures and stuff. Yeah. There's been so many more like, you know, across different platforms, like, you know, looking on Facebook and Reddit and and whatnot that, you know, you know, people are generally saying like, you know, Hey, I went there, I had a fantastic time.
00:16:38
Speaker
But the problem is, is that like, once you hear that, you're like Oh great. They had a fantastic time anyway, moving on. Right. But it's like, yeah. I'm trying to focus more on like, hey, there is, you know, this is a good park and, and you know, not without its issues, but it's, you know, they didn't they didn't flop on
Personal Experiences & Guest Entitlement in Theme Parks
00:16:55
Speaker
this thing. like Like the thing is, is Universal could have flopped on it, right? Like they they could have released something where it was like,
00:17:01
Speaker
you know, hey, the this ah this is just like Universal Studios version two, which is, you know, let's do a bunch of screen rides and, you know, no real theming. Like, they they could have done that, but they didn't. Instead, they swung for the fences and, you know, that they definitely made it.
00:17:16
Speaker
So... Yeah, and I mean, I think i reported this i'm gonna say reported it like i'm a journalist here but i mean i'm pretty sure i said this i don't know maybe a year ago that that they were way behind and that people were quitting and because the stress was so high uh to meet the date and i mean i you know listen that's and that happens right that happens at disney too where they say well hey this the day we're gonna open and i make that date but yeah like disneyland was exactly that yeah I mean, listen, and and Disney has delayed stuff before, but the problem is with Epic Universe, it's so high profile. Like, I just feel like they couldn't delay it. Like, I mean, once you put that date on it, that's it.
00:17:58
Speaker
You know, like you can't you can't go back on that. Right. So even if everything's not ready yet. you know you They got to forge ahead. so it's and It is what it is, right? um but and I'm sure they'll get it together. you know they'll They'll at some point get it together. It's going to take time, though. it's Nobody should expect this to be perfect from the get-go. That's just not how this works.
00:18:21
Speaker
I don't know. My my day was perfect. so I'll leave that. Absolutely perfect. I had a great time. i did i we really we really did. It was...
00:18:32
Speaker
it would It was as, but I guess the thing is, is you know, maybe maybe this is also where to talk about expectations is, you know, I didn't go into it with any expectations of, you know, even getting to ride the rides I wanted to ride. Like I said it up front that I was like, i really hope I can ride Stardust Racers. But I also was like, Hey, it may not be open when I get there.
Family-Friendly Attractions: Epic Universe vs. Disney
00:18:53
Speaker
And, you know,
00:18:55
Speaker
I guess, you know, when it comes to theme parks in general is that, you know, you know, is there is certain know,
00:19:05
Speaker
I guess, is entitlement the right word? Maybe. Oh, yeah. Entitlement. Yeah. Yeah. You know, people do have a certain level of entitlement. and And they go, you know, I... Yes. Granted, yes, you did pay all this money. And you expect... to You have an expectation to get your money's worth. But, i mean, that that doesn't always translate to, I get to do exactly everything I want to do when I want to do it.
00:19:32
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So... Yeah, i I have seen some I have seen some criticism to just and and you know what and Disney gets the same criticism to which is funny to me you think they would all prepare for this, but they were getting criticized, I guess for lack of shaded areas, which, you know, a lot of people talked about that with ah with Toy Story, right?
00:19:51
Speaker
Yeah, we mentioned that about Super Nintendo World was that it was it was hot in there. yeah Like there is there is no shade. And then basically they also said, too, that they there's basically very few kid-friendly attractions. um Mostly thrill-time.
00:20:06
Speaker
Little kid-friendly attractions, yeah. there're the Like even like the stuff in Burke, there's actually three rides in Burke, which we we did one of the three rides, and I realize this, because the other one was like, it was a...
00:20:19
Speaker
it's It wasn't like a dumbbell ride, but it was like you get on this like arm and it flies up and around. look But it's it's pretty slow. yeah um But there's that, and then there's the ah the water or the fire drill, which is like...
00:20:32
Speaker
It's like a little boat ride. It's not a little boat ride, but yeah. um it's No, no. Yeah. I'm just saying I've seen that one before. in fact, I'm going to. So well we could talk about this a second. But yeah. i'm But i'm good yeah.
00:20:44
Speaker
but But the thing is, is yeah, like like that stuff, like Burke definitely is geared towards kids. But you're right is, yeah you know, some of the rides are not. Like, it's kind of weird because they they aren't – or the stuff for, like, little, little kids is definitely not there. Like, like if you're – I would say, like, the the minimum age to have a good time there is, i want to say, seven or eight.
Tom's Upcoming Visit to Carowinds
00:21:09
Speaker
Yeah, okay. which yeah Like, you know, for families that, like, that's – I see where that can be a detractor that, you know, if you're planning to go there and you have, like, you know, younger kids, like you know, toddlers and whatnot – you're there there is areas like there there is areas for them but it's not like disney where it's like the entire park feels accessible to them right yeah yeah i it's you know i i uh i think about my own daughter and just like see you know seeing all the rides they have there and i'm like oh there's like two things she would do right yeah right now but the but you know and in in a couple of years i i think she would maybe
00:21:46
Speaker
I think her and your wife would probably enjoy most of the, my wife would enjoy all of you. You could, you could be the bag holder. So, yeah, I mean, I listen, I would enjoy most of the things there too. It's just, you know, yeah um but yeah, I, I also, i I saw a thing too, talking about that, I guess on the, that Harry Potter ride that I guess there was like a they removed part of part of the ride because I guess it was causing a lot of problems.
00:22:09
Speaker
um Interesting. I guess there was supposed to... I don't want to do a spoiler thing, but apparently there's a drop sequence that was in it. And I don't know if it's a drop like they had on... Well, so you haven't been on Rise the Resistance. But there's a part of Rise of the Resistance, spoiler alert, where you're on a simulator base. You're almost on Star Tours, and the entire thing drops a couple stories. And it kind of sounds like that's what's supposed Hagrid's does something like that. They a drop track.
00:22:37
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. They have a drop track. So yeah, but it looks, it seems like they apparently have eliminated that. So don't know. Interesting. Yeah. i don't know. Maybe that was, yeah. i say I guess the good thing is, is I didn't get to ride it. So I don't even know what I'm missing at this point. I mean, I mean the queue was amazing, but yeah, the the queue alone was an attraction, honestly.
00:22:56
Speaker
Like, Yeah, well, I've read a lot of people said that have been on it actually said that the queue was better than the ride. Yeah. You know, which, you know, i the queue does look pretty cool. So... I realized we just spent 20 minutes like going back into Epic Universe stuff. And I apologize
Comparing Disney with Local Amusement Parks
00:23:12
Speaker
for that. That wasn't it. It is really it is really your fault. It is. I know. i know it is. But but I need to get that off my chest about Universal is that I'm I'm definitely not.
00:23:23
Speaker
I was just like all about Disney before. And Universal has made me realize that, yes, there are there are good experiences out there that are not from Disney directly. But yeah.
00:23:35
Speaker
i I guess I'm still i still have a certain level of like immersion and expectation, all that, that, you know, universal met it for sure.
00:23:46
Speaker
But I that's just making me want more from Disney. Yeah, sure. I get it. So, yeah, let I get that. Let's, uh, yeah, let's leave that there. And I, you know, i guess for anybody listening yet, you know, you know, if you've been to the new park, you know, let's hear it too. I want to hear what people think in general. le So a couple of things before we, I actually, we can do the DVC tip first if we want to. So we we got a tip from Laura a couple weeks ago and I apologies Laura for just getting to this now. Uh, you know, we've been, we've doing all sorts of weird, crazy shows.
00:24:15
Speaker
Um, but yeah, yeah. So you can send us just, you know, as a reminder, you can send us your DVC tip or a trip report. And you can call us at 833-WHP-TIPS or then that's 833-947-8477 and leave us like a voicemail and we'll just play it on the show like we did.
00:24:30
Speaker
ah Was it last week or a couple weeks ago with Jeremy? when Whatever it was. yeah um But this one was actually an email that came in. So. ah From Laura on a on on a tip. So I don't know, Trevor, you want to read it?
00:24:42
Speaker
Sure. So Laura says, I've been listening for a few years now and really enjoy the podcast. Here's the situation. I have seven small contracts. They're all, yeah, all at the same resort and use year.
00:24:53
Speaker
Two are direct. I've always saved the direct ones and bank them so that I could um at some point make a reservation for Riviera or something like that. So so yeah, it makes sense. you know she's She's using those to prioritize because of the resale versus direct stuff.
00:25:08
Speaker
I recently used my two direct contracts to buy annual passes for the family. Side note, I had been holding, ah had my holding points been direct, I could have used them to purchase the annual passes and likewise use the bank to borrow points for the annual passes. Sorry, that's a bit confusing with With Membership Beyond. Membership Beyond. Okay. All right. So, okay.
00:25:28
Speaker
All right. so thats that's an aside. um She had 15 bank points ah to use in the current in a current reservation that wasn't using them. So she was modifying the reservation. And when she went to modify it, it showed that the contracts that she had used were locked in the order that they were used. So so she had used some of her her um non-direct or resale contracts to to make the reservation. Okay.
00:25:52
Speaker
um but But the reservation, she went to modify, but said there was no more points needed to complete the reservation. So she clicked on the contract with the bank points and use next, even though it said that there was that no points were still needed to complete the reservation and then finish the modification.
Family Outings and Thrill Rides at Carowinds
00:26:06
Speaker
Once she completed it, she went back to look at her points and the system had automatically grabbed the banked points from from that one contract over the contracts that were technically already used. So um like she yeah so so so what what she's highlighting is that you know if you have banked points, the system, when when you're updating reservations, it will try and use the banked points before your other points because banked points obviously expire quicker than then your other points But it's smart that, you know, that technically the system didn't have to go and do any modification to her reservation, but it did.
00:26:42
Speaker
So, yeah, so yeah that's that's a nice little thing to know, I guess, why if you have multiple contracts that you're dealing with and you are dealing with bank points is that, you can go in and you can, if you have a reservation, you can go in and modify it to use up the banked points first so they don't expire.
00:27:01
Speaker
And then, you know, keep the rest of your points, you know, still in in your contracts as they are. So it's a nice thing to know. Like I I don't know. i mean, you know, I guess even for me, like, you know, i only have two contracts, but I could see the same thing happening where if I have one banked,
00:27:16
Speaker
And, you know, I'm trying to set something up, you know, it's good to know that that it with the banked points that we can use those up first, right? Or that the system will try and use them up first. So that's that's a great thing to know, Laura. you know, thank you for sending us this in.
00:27:31
Speaker
Yeah, so send us your send us your tips or or your trip reports. We're happy to read them in the show or play them in the show. We do prefer audio because it is kind of nice to to hear it in your in your own voice. And yeah Laura, I thought about turning you into an AI voice, but I didn't want to do that to you. so Yeah, let let's let's not. You know, i yeah. a AI is cool and all, but let let's not get down. and We're an audio show, though. So, you know, it's... the Okay.
00:27:55
Speaker
So I do want to talk about a couple of things. So first of all, I'm doing my, you know, we haven't, Damon hasn't done Damon detours in a while, but I'm doing a Tom detour next weekend. Awesome. So we're going to our local amusement park, Carowinds, which is ah a Cedar Fair company. So they're, well, it's not Cedar Fair anymore. I guess it's Six Flags and Cedar Fair Merge. So ah basically it's just the company that owns all of the amusement parks that aren't Disney or Universal in this country. I mean, pretty much.
00:28:24
Speaker
um Got it. Yeah, pretty much. i I'm sure you've heard of Cedar Point, Trevor. I mean, I see. Oh, yeah. I'm aware of Cedar Point. yeah the The closest one for me is actually in Montana. OK, gotcha. Gotcha.
00:28:35
Speaker
Well, Carowinds is well known for they have a a roller coaster called Fury Fury 325, which is ah Considered by a lot of... code It's still like a top five ranked coaster and by like coaster people. ah But clearly, I'm not going on that.
00:28:50
Speaker
But ah we're really we're really just going to... We're going to take my daughter because they they do have a lot kid stuff there. They have like a kid section that's themed to Snoopy. um And they they have a new roller coaster there that's actually... It's like a launch coaster, actually. It launches to 30 miles per hour. And then it looks pretty cool, actually. But i see this morning, her and I were just kind of sitting around. And I... Because she...
00:29:13
Speaker
I don't think she's ever been. So this will be ah new experience for her, right? Like we, we, have we haven't gone ah since she's been, you know, shit since she's been alive. So this is going to be ah something new for her.
00:29:24
Speaker
And I mean, she's also just kind of used to going to Disney. So it will be interesting to see like, you know, how she feels about this. Cause it's, you know Listen, there is a gigantic gap between a Six Flags kind of place and a Disney or Universal, right?
00:29:37
Speaker
it's just It's a totally different experience. you know and the The theming is just not as there. Which is fine, right? Like they don't need to go over the top. So I can give you a bit of a preview to probably what you're going to get for a reaction. why What do you think it is?
00:29:52
Speaker
So, okay. So, so we did kind of the same thing with my son was that his very first like theme park was Disneyland. And then we went to our local theme park, which, uh, um, it's this, it's a small place called Calloway park, which yeah, I'm sure people will figure out I'm in Alberta.
00:30:09
Speaker
Um, yeah. And, um, so Calloway park is exactly that it's, it's, It's a very small, use used to actually be sponsored by Hanna-Barbera theme park. so ah So they actually had like Flintstones theming and and all that kind of stuff throughout the park.
00:30:25
Speaker
But over the years, it's it lost the Hanna-Barbera stuff. And so they've they've made choices along the way, which um you know have have led to it ah being not...
00:30:37
Speaker
or It wasn't bad, but it you could definitely see the difference, like you said, between that and a um you know like a Disney or Universal or something like that. And so we took my son, i think, a total of three times to Callaway Park. And then he he actively turned to us and said...
00:30:54
Speaker
I don't really want to go back there again. It's not. It's like I would rather you guys wait and take me to Disneyland. you know I mean, that very well could happen. ah You know, this is we just want to take her there. Right. So, yeah, so totally. Yeah, absolutely. It's good. It's good. It's good for her to experience. yeah We got to keep her entertained on the weekends. So, ah but, you know, looking at, so they have two new rides in here, Trevor. So one of them is, is that launch coaster talked about, but the other one, you you were talking about the, the boat ride that's at, ah at at you Epic universe. It's the same boat ride. It's so, yeah, yeah. So this is Charlie Brown's river raft blast. I'm, yeah, sorry it's a splash battle. So it's, there's this, this standard off the shelf splash battle ride thing that is made by Mac rides that they had, ah they have at, um,
00:31:42
Speaker
They have it at Legoland. ah They have it at a bunch of different parks. They just theme it, you know, depending on where it's at. And so this one is the same thing. It's just Charlie Brown. So, ah yeah, actually, it looks a little different because it looks like you're actually going against other boats where yes you are. drill is You're just shooting at targets, although you can mess with the other boats, but you're not directly like shooting at them. Yeah.
00:32:05
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So the I think the one at Legoland, I think you shoot at Targets and other people too. so um But yeah, I mean, listen, it it's it looks fine. We'll probably do it. I don't know. But this other one looks pretty fun too. The the the railway one. Again, it's a kid coaster, but it I mean, it does go zero. It's a launch coaster that goes up to 31 miles per hour, which is not terrible for a kid's coaster.
00:32:27
Speaker
ah The other thing they have at Carowinds too, which is pretty neat, is ah they have a... um They have a ah kid's wooden coaster, which I feel like you don't see a lot. Oh, that is interesting.
00:32:38
Speaker
Yeah. So I, and I showed her. So this morning we watched YouTube videos of all of them and she was like, all right. She's like, I think we can do all those. Yeah. and They actually also have a suspended ah kids roller coaster too, which is again, you really just don't see that kind of stuff either. um,
00:32:54
Speaker
um But yeah, it's actually it's funny because if you i when you pop this up in Attractions Magazine, it actually even says in the article, this attraction is similar to Fire Drill currently currently under construction at How to Train Your Dragon Isle Berks. But yeah, it's it's the same kind of thing. they havet They have that particular kind of ride made by Mack Rides at a bunch of different places, which is, again, it's fine.
00:33:13
Speaker
and And for parks like this, you know it's it's the perfect kind of thing, especially down here in the South where gets crazy hot in the summertime. You need those water rides even. You do. yeah Even even Bluto's, which I grossly underestimated, you do need you do need a wet ride to drink cool off in the middle of a day A hundred percent. So, yeah. So, I mean, listen, we're excited for that. I also, I like Carowinds too, because they do have like a few classic attractions, like the Scrambler, which I love the Scrambler. I just, that's always a fun thing.
00:33:42
Speaker
And then also they have ah one of those, well, depends on where you go, what they're called, the Himalaya or the the Music Express. Yes. You know, so they have one of those too. And those are always, always fun. So yeah, we're excited. I've been, we've been to Carowinds before. It's just been a long time.
00:33:57
Speaker
ah So, and um I think my, I think my dad is going to come with and my stepmom, but it's um my dad is like a crazy
Family Movie Experience: Lilo and Stitch
00:34:06
Speaker
daredevil guy. Right. So like my sister my dad are the same. And I'm like my mom where I don't like as many crazy things, but my dad will do anything, but he's, you know, he's gotten a little older, you know? And so some of these things are hard to go on. he Yeah. My, my dad is the same way as well that um the last time we went to Disney with him, he was,
00:34:26
Speaker
He was down to get on some of the rides, but I think after... I actually think it was after we got off Space Mountain, he kind of was like, I need a minute. Because he was... Well, yeah. Yeah.
00:34:37
Speaker
Well, and the thing here's the thing. My dad will still do it. Whether my step-mom will let him do it is it is another question. So, but here... Trevor, if you look at Fury 325... ah Fury 325 is... my My wife's been in a couple times and she says it's extremely smooth.
00:34:53
Speaker
right So I think we can probably get away with that. But I mean, it's a 325 feet tall and it is um goes 100 miles per hour. And it's... ah you know It's it it is still considered a really high level ah coaster.
00:35:07
Speaker
And whenever i'm I'm on the highway, I can like literally see it because it's so tall. It's a chain lift too. I mean, yeah, i guess that means it's like... I guess I forget how spoiled we are by magnetic launch coasters nowadays. Oh, yeah yeah yeah. Seeing an actual... But I guess... It's a fast chain lift, though. It's a faster one. Space Mountain's a chain lift as well, but I forget that sometimes.
00:35:29
Speaker
but Yeah, the the chain lift the chain lift on it moves a lot faster than the old one. so It's just weird to watch because I forget. like like I was kind of expecting it to like launch, and it's like, oh, it's actually like... climbing the lift hill.
00:35:41
Speaker
So i'm i'm watching I'm watching the video right now as we're talking about this. You know, you get the clink clink. Yeah. So anyway, so yeah, we're doing that. yeah um We're doing that next weekend. So that should be a lot of fun.
00:35:52
Speaker
Last weekend, the Memorial Day weekend, I had my sister and my brother-in-law in and they were determined to convince my daughter to go to the movie theater to see Lilo and Stitch. And my daughter has not been to a movie yet.
00:36:05
Speaker
And we have been trying to convince her to do this forever. In fact, she doesn't typically even let us watch movies at home. She's just doesn't really like movies, which is crazy because I'm a huge movie person.
00:36:16
Speaker
um But, you know, it is what it is. But anyway, we convinced her and we went got we got to go see Lilo's Ditch, which I thought
Changes in Lilo & Stitch: Live Action vs. Original
00:36:24
Speaker
was great. um And, you know, obviously had the biggest opening ever for a Memorial Day weekend.
00:36:31
Speaker
ah for a movie. and I mean, listen, it was really good. They made a lot of changes to it. lot of changes. I've heard that. so But you know what, though? I didn't think any of them were really all that negative changes. You know what mean? like They did some new things in it. They told the story in a different way.
00:36:47
Speaker
But the core story is still there. you know They just... they just did some different things and I understand why they did them a little did a little bit differently. Like it, it makes sense, but it was really funny. I mean, you still had the, you know, emotional moments in there. Like, you know, that is ah one of those movies that if you're not tearing up while you're watching it, it's, it's, I don't know. Yeah. You know, I mean, ah yeah, it, the, even the original one definitely oh like did that. And I actually felt like they made it more positive and less tear up, you know, like it, it,
00:37:18
Speaker
i felt like and indeed They didn't quite hit you in the gut the same way they did in the animated where like yes Stitch was like... with the ugly duckling book no i mean they still hit you with it it's just less they they don't hit you with it as hard and they do hit you with different stuff in it like the the story's different the ending is different um it's it's still generally the same result um you know they switched up and they did some cool things like they you know the the social worker in in the original right was uh what's his name uh i'm forgetting his name now um gosh um
00:37:51
Speaker
Whatever. the they They changed the social worker out to be Tia Carrera, who was the original voice of ah of of the sister. not would Nani? Yeah, Nani. Right? So they had her. They kind of put her in like as a... I like the fact that they brought in... It was a cameo, but like... Yeah, she had a different role. It was a new role. They created a different character for this.
00:38:13
Speaker
I also have to say, I'm shocked by Disney's restraint in not ah having Alani somewhere in the background of of this movie as Lilo's running around a resort right using resort ah resources in Hawaii. It could have been an easy for I was waiting for it. I was waiting for it. I'm sitting there and they're like, oh, that they're at a resort. Lilo's like taking advantage of like ah a ah a a hot tub pretending like she's a guest there. And I'm like, if they pan out and this is Alani, I will not be in any way shocked.
00:38:45
Speaker
You know what mean? the The funny thing is, is that that I can see why they didn't do that because they don't want to imply that, hey, you can sneak into Alani and use the hot tub, right?
00:38:56
Speaker
But you know you know Disney never misses an opportunity for cross promotion. And i just i was and maybe because they showed at least like three different DVC commercials while we were waiting for the the movie to start, which I was like, wow, a lot of DVC commercials. you know like I was surprised by that. But um but yeah listen, it was great.
00:39:15
Speaker
We really loved it. My sister and my brother-in-law had never seen Lilo and Stitch. And they didn't necessarily get the whole Lilo and Stitch thing. Right. And afterwards, my sister was like, I understand now why people like. Ohana means family. Yeah. she like She's like, I understand now why Stitch is so popular.
00:39:31
Speaker
And somebody posted, I forget who it was. And I apologize for not giving you credit, but somebody had posted and we talked about this in the show, right? Like why I thought Lilo and Stitch was going to be incredibly popular. Because Stitch by himself has been popular for a long time now. Like, even if people hadn't seen the movie, they like Stitch.
00:39:49
Speaker
And I mean, the proof of that was, ah you know, we it was posted in our Discord. Lilo and Stitch merchandise last year, just last year, made, what was it, $2.4 billion? $2.4 billion just in Lilo and Stitch. Without a movie.
Adapting Animated Films to Live-Action
00:40:03
Speaker
Without a movie. Yeah. I mean, that is insane. right So of course Disney is going to make the movie. And of course they're good it's going to be successful. And I mean, the movie brought in... is I mean, it's probably going to be another one of their billion dollar movies. ah you know that the ah ah Live action remakes that they did.
00:40:17
Speaker
But I'll tell you this too, Trevor. When we were at the movie theater, I mean, they were selling merch there too. right We like walk up and they had a package where you could get this... ah like ah Almost like a... um It was like a stitch pail that they would fill with popcorn.
00:40:31
Speaker
And they would also have this really cool ah cup... Like, you know, one of those reusable cups that had like a dome lid on it. And it almost had almost like a half a snow globe, basically. But it had like a little scene of Stitch on the beach in the in there.
00:40:44
Speaker
And then also Stitch ears came with it, too. So like literally Stitch headband ears. So we were like, this is awesome. But I'm like, Disney's going to sell a ton of merch just from the movie alone in the movie theater. You know, like because we bought all this stuff.
00:41:01
Speaker
And, and it's it's, sorry, that doesn't surprise me at all because my, but even though like my son was not like watching the movies and we've talked about this before, as you know, he was a fan of stitch, just the character of stitch. He, he, he was not like, you know, I need to watch the movie or, or even, even the TV series. He was like, you know, we, we, we offered it to him. We're like, Hey, you know, we can, we can watch this. And news was like,
00:41:26
Speaker
No, just I want stitch like like he he had a bunch of that stitch plushies growing up over the years. He he liked the stitch merchandise. You know, we we got on all the T-shirts, all that kind of stuff. And and he would love like whenever we would go um when he was younger, he would always be looking for like he. So keep in mind, this is a kid that like meet and greets were not his thing.
00:41:49
Speaker
But if stitch was there, he was like, we're lining up for this. Yeah, I get that. so So, like you're right. Stitch is such a weird phenomenon in that the character... like Or outside of the movie, the character is just like super lovable. So popular. like like like People just like fall in love with him. like like just of his own merits which is is crazy but then yeah like you said you know now the movie is there it's going to rekindle that and and yeah you know i've i've seen i haven't watched the movie yet myself but um we will at you know at some point but ah you know the the way that they did him in live action like he still he still has that like and and i guess you you could probably uh verify this for me is you know you know he still has that like playfulness like like he doesn't seem like overly um
00:42:39
Speaker
Like the live action stuff, they can sometimes be like too or hyper realistic to the point where it's like, it doesn't look right. Like he still has that, like his character to him. Right. So I thought the CGI in the movie too, it was one of the,
00:42:55
Speaker
I don't want to say one of the best, but one of... way it was probably one of the best I've ever seen combination live-action animation because it was Stitch was very believable. He looked great. He didn't... You know, because you remember for a while, and this used to drive me nuts, when people were socializing... On social media, they were um you know circulating this picture of supposed live-action Stitch years before they even announced the live-action movie. It was like the strung out... It was hitting...
00:43:23
Speaker
Yeah, but it wasn't real, though. And like for for some reason, the internet thought that thing that Disney came up with. Yeah, like and which it wasn't. Some artists came up with it and posted it, and that was fine. But obviously, that people probably still think that. they're like, oh, well, theyve they obviously fixed it. But it's like, no, they didn't.
00:43:40
Speaker
and like it It just was never that in the first place. But everything I thought looked really good. um I will say... oh So let me go back. So Dan K was the one that shared that information about the Lilo and Stitch merch. And it was $2.6 billion, not $2.4 billion.
00:43:52
Speaker
so Again, it's nuts. That's like literally top you know five, maybe even top three in most popular IP for Disney. So it's it's crazy. Anyway, so yeah, so it goes to the movie. It was great.
00:44:06
Speaker
I need to ask you this. yeah So, okay. the it This is probably spoiler. I don't even know if I want to ask this because I heard I, again, this is again, social media betraying me.
00:44:20
Speaker
you never It is that, that it sounded like they changed the ending of the movie that they did change the ending. Yes. Okay. Okay. The ending the movie is different. Yes.
00:44:31
Speaker
I didn't take it as a bad thing. let let let's Let's take it offline because I don't want to spoil it for people. I'll ask you at the end of this episode what actually happened because, like, again, i'm not I'm not worried about being spoiled the end of the movie, but I don't want to spoil it for other people. I i know some people were upset with the change at the end.
00:44:48
Speaker
However, okay I liked it. i kind of I really liked what they did there, and I think that they did it in such a way that it didn't detract from the general message of the story.
00:45:01
Speaker
Okay. so Interesting. Because they also added some things in there that didn't exist in the first one. And this is a mild spoiler, so just click you know flip over this. but So like one of the things they brought into it is they the when Pleakley and... um I forget the other guy's name. But when when they come to Earth, they have a portal gun.
00:45:21
Speaker
That allows them to make portals from one place to another. And that informs... That that changes the story a bit as it goes on. Because it allows them to wrap it up in a different way.
00:45:33
Speaker
Right. Yeah. So, I mean, listen. i Like I said, I didn't... The changes they made, i was okay with. Because I felt... Like they, the way that the story was going and the way that what they wanted to highlight, I felt like it made sense and it didn't feel like, it didn't feel like they made changes for like, you know, outside reasons. You know what i mean?
00:45:54
Speaker
Right. Like it felt like they made changes because that's what made sense for the story. So, yeah. All right. Fair. I'll take that at face value. The only other thing that I will say is I I'm a little annoyed. And and again, people have talked about this is that gone to is no longer. and Yeah. This is a big, obvious thing. You'll figure it out pretty early on that gone to it does not exist in the story, which he was the main antagonist in the story.
00:46:21
Speaker
And I understand why they didn't try to fit him in because, know, I feel like actually the the interesting thing about that when I thought about it was, ah you know, Gonti was this oversized alien that, um you know, if they'd done in the live action, it would have been more of just like a ah CGI movie than a live action. Yeah. Is what it feels like.
00:46:45
Speaker
So I can understand. He's like a yeah like a strong shark. Yeah. And yeah, that's the other thing, too, is I don't know how well you could do like a gone to character without it being like overly intimidating to kids, which is, you know, who this is supposed to be marketed at. Like, well, hyper realistic shark mankind. I mean, that that lives in what was that? ah um That DC show that the there was the shark character.
00:47:11
Speaker
um It was half man, half shark. And I'm totally. Oh, yeah. um I can't remember his name. ah Gosh, I can't remember his name. But I will say to your point, though, Trevor, the director did comment on this. And he actually said that he had that they wanted to have him there.
00:47:31
Speaker
However, it just didn't work. Yeah. King shark is who I was thinking of. Yes. name Yeah. Yes. But they, yeah they, he, I'm trying to think of where he, I'm trying to find the thing. um Cause he had a whole quote about this pretty recently. Cause people were mad.
00:47:47
Speaker
um And that's probably what I saw too, is, you know, him, him responding to people yeah had about gone to not being there, which again, I understand it. And actually, you know, that this kind of brings up an interesting point about the, the live action shows is,
00:48:03
Speaker
you know You know, people argue about, you know, why are they just redoing live ah or redoing old shows as live action? And the thing is, is that it does leave them open to reinterpreting the story.
00:48:15
Speaker
Yeah. i I don't think, yeah you know, the fact that it sounds like for Leland Stitch, they didn't just retell the story like like verbatim from what the old one was like to me that that always feels like a waste when it's like, oh, you know, it's it is.
00:48:28
Speaker
It is the same story. And yes, we know that you know live action is it' going to rehash stuff. But taking it in different directions is something that they shouldn't be afraid to do. yeah But it should make sense. like like It sounds like in the case of Leo and Sitch, it made sense. They didn't just do it out of you know the sake of being different.
00:48:46
Speaker
But it it feels like... like i wish that... i I wish that Disney would take note of, you know, redoing live action just for the sake of live action or, you know, pushing it. Like it feels like they're just ticking a box for, you know, hey, we made a movie this year versus like if there's an opportunity to tell the story differently or in a, you know, in I don't want to say a better way, but in a more unique way, you know, that should be the reason for doing a live action remake, not just because they felt like they had to make a movie.
00:49:19
Speaker
this year yeah like yeah exactly and listen see i mean he he the i i like you said i appreciate the fact that they're not afraid to make changes to it right because like if you're just doing a copy of the movie it's not as interesting right it is it's it's interesting to me that you know to make the because this is probably the live action that i think had the most changes in it from the original i do like i it they made a lot of changes And I, like I said, I, the key story is still there.
00:49:48
Speaker
It's just, they changed it in ways that made more sense for the story. And, you know, and, and that's why I think it, it's fine. And I understand why people are mad that Gantu is not there. Right. But it's, you know, they, they wanted to do something that he, you know, and that the, the, the director's talk commented about this, so you can go and look for his comments, but I can't find the exact quote, but he said that they should, they, they did put him in it originally, but it just wasn't. they tried and yeah it didn't it didn't work is exactly the problem. yeah ah Which, yeah again, that that that's that to me is smart in that, you know, it's funny, actually. um You know, we're we were talking before the show about, um you know,
00:50:29
Speaker
ah mini golf. So, or so, so as everybody knows, you know, you know Tom and I, and my brother, we play, ah we play mini golf in VR together, this game called walkabout mini golf. If any of you are interested, but um funny enough, my brother and I were actually kind of talking about this on or earlier this week as well, because we were playing the the new course that came out and And yeah, we we both kind of came to the same conclusion that, you know, the these directors, it feels it almost feels like there's a.
00:51:03
Speaker
you know so There's a difference between like like when they're doing like a passion project or when they're invested in it yeah versus the you know you know sorry like some of the other live actions. like like and you know if If you like these, you know fine.
00:51:17
Speaker
But I feel like you like some of the more recent ones, like like Little Mermaid and Snow White and whatnot, it just feels like they're just ticking boxes for... The, you know, you know, Disney told us to make a movie, right? Like, it doesn't feel like, like you said, you know, that that they're actually like being thoughtful with what they're creating. And it sounds like Leo and Stitch was exactly that, you know, whoever was directing it, um which again, I'm sorry, I don't remember who was. It's same thing. Like I saw, I saw the, the, the thing you were talking about with the director, but. Yeah, it's Dean Fleischer Camp. He did previously did Marcel, the show with shoes on that, which was a pretty big, a pretty big animated one, too. That i got a lot of good reviews. So, yeah. So, so, so, yeah, yeah you know, you know, he definitely took the thought to what he was producing. Right. And yeah.
00:52:05
Speaker
And I just hope that, you know, Disney gets the message around that going forward that, you know, it's not just about rehashing stories, but yeah being thoughtful about it. Reimagining that. i See, here's the thing. I think this is a... And i we are we not we're not even into the show at all yet. But it's ah um i I think this was the a Chapek thing, right? And I think a lot of the past couple things they had was like the end of the things that Chapek had developed. You know what I mean? And Bob Iger came back...
00:52:36
Speaker
Is it fair to blame it all on him, though? i mean Like the directors also have some agency over. I agree. But movies get made. Shepex whole thing was quality ah quantity over quality.
00:52:47
Speaker
Right now. And that's again is just ticking boxes. And look, we made a movie like that. Exactly. And that's and Iger's always said, you know, I want quality over quantity. And I think you're starting to see that a little bit more here, too. So, yeah, I mean, and even this director, I like what he said. He said the challenge is to make a movie that rhymes really well with the with the people with what the people remember of the original. So not doing it one to one, you know.
00:53:12
Speaker
And I think that's what they did here. They really, they, they did it, but they changed it up. And yeah ah the other also interesting thing here too, he's, he actually said, you know, Stitch's whole thing is destruction. And so much of the comedy of the character comes from that impulse, but violence is actually a very difficult thing to do. It lands differently in an animated film. You could have a really goofy 10 car pileup on the freeway, but I would challenge any live action director to make a 10 car pileup really funny.
00:53:36
Speaker
Yeah. like Right. So, I mean, it's true. I mean, hit differently in animation than they do in in real life.
Podcast Sponsorships and Member Offers
00:53:42
Speaker
So you have to make some changes, you know, fair. But we also have the mask.
00:53:47
Speaker
Well, yeah, yeah. so I'm not saying I'm not saying I'm not disagree with what he's saying, but there is definitely for because the mask is a very violent movie, if you think about it. But they also did it in a very cartoonish way.
00:54:03
Speaker
Yeah. But this is also probably going to be a lot people's time as well. Yeah, well, this is probably only there's going to be a lot of people's only view of Lilo and Stitch anyway. I mean, a lot will probably go back and watch the original, but you know some people won't. Like I even said to my sister, was like, oh, well, now you need to watch the original animated one. She's like, I don't want to. It'll ruin this one. And I was like, okay, whatever.
00:54:21
Speaker
But anyway, we should do our ad because we're like an hour into this and we've talked no Disney news whatsoever. and also not I mean, what we have, we we we talked about Lilo and Stitch. That's Disney. Yeah, I didn't say that. yeah But ah this week, our show is brought to you by DVC Rental Store, which is a World of DVC company that offers magical vacations at an incredible value.
00:54:41
Speaker
Save up to 60% off retail rates at premium Disney resorts. DVC Rental Store now includes deposit as low deposits as low as 25% at the time of booking and a built-in cancellation policy for every reservation. As always, DVC Rental Store pays out the most to members looking to rent their points.
00:54:56
Speaker
Want to learn more? go to dbcrentalstore.com slash welcomehome or call 1-855-DBC-RENT. That's 382-7368. When you speak to them, be sure to let them know that Welcome Home sent you.
00:55:08
Speaker
All right. So it's it's let's talk about a couple of DVC things. So one of the things that DVC is bringing back is Welcome Home Weeks, which is something they did.
00:55:20
Speaker
i feel like they started that just last year, right? that was Yeah, that was new last year. yeah It's almost like DVC. It's almost like when they do the annual pass holder recognition thing, they're doing like almost the same thing kind of for DVC where...
00:55:35
Speaker
You're getting a 20% discount on ah quick service meals. ah Although this one says that disney this one is only valid at Disneyland resorts. So that they're not doing 20% off at quick service at Disney World, just Disneyland.
00:55:49
Speaker
But at Walt Disney World, they're bumping up the discount to 40% at a couple of table service restaurants, which is... That's kind of huge. Yeah. Yeah.
00:56:00
Speaker
And now, given none of these restaurants are the ones that West Spring Canyon is on there. Okay. yeah but And also, we should point out this discount only applies Monday through Thursday. That's yes. So so you got to go during the week. But yeah. and And the locations are ah Hollywood and Vine or Hollywood Studios, Tusker House at Animal Kingdom. Yeah.
00:56:20
Speaker
Yeah. ah Toledo, tapas, yeah, tapas, steak and seafood at Coronado Springs, Boatwright's Dining Hall at Port Orleans, Cape May Cafe at Beach Club.
00:56:32
Speaker
ah So, so, you know, a lot, a lot of different resort stuff. and And, you know, I guess also Animal Kingdom, but then Diamond Horseshoe at Magic Kingdom. Which um and we we kind of – or we talked about this in the Discord because after you and ate at a Liberty Tree, yeah somebody went and had a look. And it looks like Diamond Horseshoe actually has the same menu as Liberty Tree because it's it's attached to the same building. So, yeah so you know, 40% off the food at Liberty Tree. That's a pretty good deal. yeah yeah And then, yeah, like you said, Whispering Canyon's on there. Tiffin's, again, an Animal Kingdom.
00:57:06
Speaker
Wow, Tippett's. That's a crazy restaurant. It is, yeah. And then Coral Reef at Epcot. Coral Reef restaurant in in Living Seas. Which I actually went to a couple years back and we really liked.
00:57:17
Speaker
Yeah. And then Ailing Compass at Disney's Yacht Club Resort. So um interesting selection of places, which and again, you know, you know, and a lot of these are like, I mean, they're good of their own merit, but then, you know eating at them for 40% off, like I'll, I'll take that over a quick service. Yeah.
00:57:37
Speaker
they're also They're also doing Mickey ice cream giveaways. So like there's certain days of the week that they'll give away free Mickey ice creams or a fruit bar. They have a magnet. they've got ah yeah they've got They're to have some meet and greets, special meet and greets and stuff like that. So listen, and this kind of stuff is is great for DVC to do. I'm i'm glad.
00:57:56
Speaker
I always like when they do these kinds of things. And I i feel like this was a piece of feedback from members that they wanted more
Insights from Guest Dapper Danielle
00:58:02
Speaker
stuff like this. And Disney's really been I mean DVC's been delivering on that pretty you know quite a bit lately I feel like and I I don't think we did we mention the dates for the welcome home weeks um it's August 14th through September 16th 2025 so okay uh again you know August is it's it's a very hot month but also going into September like Like you said, the interesting thing about this is like I could a lot of times these kinds of events always feel like they're outside of when I would end up at Disney. Like it yeah never seemed to align. But, you know, beginning September is a time that I would probably end up there if i you know, if I didn't just have this trip a couple of weeks ago, i would probably end up there in September.
00:58:47
Speaker
and Yeah. So it's, again, it's kind of nice that, you know, they they are, like you said, it seems like they're kind of listening to their members and offering stuff that is not just like,
00:58:57
Speaker
at the busiest time a year or you know, seems ah frankly unreachable for most of us to, to
Speculation on Disney's Skyliner Expansion
00:59:04
Speaker
get to. Right. Exactly. Yeah. By the way, Trevor, I, this is gonna, this is a little off the rails, but it's okay. This whole episode has been, uh, so if you haven't listened to our, our, our interview yet with, uh, the dapper Danielle, go do that.
00:59:18
Speaker
Cause it was a fun interview. We, we had a lot of fun talking to her and she's, she's very interesting, very nice. But one of the things she said in there, Trevor was that, She has information. And I believe her because she was a former cast member. She does nothing but talk to cast members.
00:59:31
Speaker
She knows. the Yeah. That the Skyliner is on the precipice of being expanded. Right? Like that there's, they're literally in negotiations right now to do it. And so the first thing that came to my mind was, okay, but where?
00:59:45
Speaker
Right? So... I have speculation on this Trevor. Cause I have been looking at maps and my wife is like really looking at maps and I'm like, yes, I'm really looking at maps because I want to know, i want to figure out where this is going to how this is going to happen.
01:00:00
Speaker
Right. So you want my, this is my speculation. Let's get it written down here. You know, you know, what is this? This is episode 307. So yeah, mark my words. This back on episode 307, but Tom said this.
01:00:14
Speaker
um i So it's my understanding. And I feel like, Trevor, when early on in the show, we had a we had a gondola expert come on the show. Didn't we to talk about the Skyliner before it opened? Yeah.
01:00:25
Speaker
Do you remember this? Yes. Yes. Yeah, we did. Yeah. So I remember at the time him saying that the turnaround station they were building was more like an expansion pad, right?
01:00:37
Speaker
Where they could expand it later on. Okay. So are yeah are you talking the station between Riviera and Epcot? That's what I'm talking about. Okay. Okay. Yeah. all right. Okay. and Based on where this is positioned, based on where this positioned, I think they're going to turn the start, the turnaround station into a transfer station, right?
01:00:55
Speaker
And they will build a new line from the transfer station to animal kingdom. And because if you look at a map in between animal kingdom and the transfer station is a resort, Coronado Springs, I think they'll also build a stop at Coronado Springs. Yeah.
01:01:12
Speaker
This is speculation. it is based on nothing other than me looking at a map. ah Wait, so so you're you're saying that you could actually get from Epcot to Animal Kingdom?
01:01:22
Speaker
ah a Skyliner. On a Skyliner. Yeah. Wow. ah Oh my goodness. that just I like where your thinking is with that because that would actually mean that you could get everywhere on property without getting on a bus.
01:01:36
Speaker
How great would that be? and Assuming you have park tickets, so of course, because you you do have to, the the the requirement is you would actually have to get through Epcot. Unless they figure out a way to get around Epcot.
01:01:49
Speaker
don't, hmm. But if you, if you look at a map, it is literally a straight shot from the turnaround. It's straight line. It's a straight line from the, from the, from the entrance of AK to, to the transfer station.
01:02:03
Speaker
And then right in between of that straight line is Coronado Springs. It makes total sense to me in my head. I think like, that's why wouldn't you, cause they're not going to magic kingdom. Yeah, why they they don't need to because the monorail is still... That's what I'm saying. And it's only two miles. like We always think Animal Kingdom is far from everything. like A straight line from that transfer station to Animal Kingdom, the front gate of Animal Kingdom is literally two miles. like It's not that far.
01:02:28
Speaker
Oh, okay. Where is... See, now you're mapping it too, right? Yes. i am but Okay, you started this, so... I know. This is my fault. But I had to speculate because was like, okay, where are they going to put this? Like, what makes the most sense to me? And that makes the most sense to me.
01:02:43
Speaker
There's the Skyliner. You got to find the transfer station, which is right by Boardwalk. Oh, yeah. Okay, yeah, I see the transfer station. and That's the key to this, I think. And then straight line.
01:02:54
Speaker
Personally. Straight line to Coronado Springs. And then over to Animal Kingdom. Okay, yeah. You see what i'm saying? It's all basically wooded. yeah It cuts across like the south end of Coronado Springs. Yeah, exactly. You could put it right at the front entrance of Coronado if you wanted to.
01:03:11
Speaker
Yeah. Wow. Right. ah That would be very cool. I, yeah. I don't know. Listen, I know nothing. So, okay. And, and then, and then hot take, cause we're here. Let's do a hot take. Is that from Coronado Springs, you could have yet another, because yeah it that'll be a, you know, ah ah stop.
01:03:33
Speaker
You could have a line connecting to Blizzard beach. you could well So that was the other thing. I was like, well, maybe they put one in between so you could get to Blizzard Beach, too, because how great would that be? Yeah.
01:03:44
Speaker
Right? Well, it could it could be just a separate line. like It could be just a small connector back to Coronado. And listen, as much as I would like Animal Kingdom Villas to have a piece of this, there's no way they're going to make a station at Animal Kingdom Villas and also Animal Kingdom.
01:03:57
Speaker
Those two are so close to each other that it's like, I don't know. It just doesn't make any sense to do that. especially I feel it. I feel like something or again, the problem is that the the Savannah is kind of blocking it. But, you know, I know they have the shuttle from ah from Animal Kingdom to the park.
01:04:16
Speaker
I feel like they could do something to improve that. They could. But I don't know what. Yeah, I would agree. So listen, this is reckless, complete reckless speculation. Like I said, I have no, I like this. It makes sense, right? this Yeah. And I can see, i can see the dotted line you're talking about.
01:04:34
Speaker
Especially since there's really no, there's no obstacles for them there. It's all, it's literally all trees, it's you know, which, you yeah yeah yeah, just like the, ah the, you know, if you, if you look at the Skyliner going from Hollywood studios back to, um, yes, Caribbean beach, uh, it's this, like that they've done the same thing where they've cut out a a channel basically that, that the Skyliner goes through, through the trees, what they would do here. Yeah.
01:04:59
Speaker
Yeah. It would go over like a road or two, but then most of it would be in the trees. And then, yeah, ah I don't know, man. That's the one that makes the most sense to me. I could be totally wrong. They could go a totally different route than this, but then, but then that transfer station, that's going be nightmare.
01:05:14
Speaker
Yeah. yeah but The interesting thing about that is that you'd have to make two transfers to get from Coronado to Hollywood studios. Yeah, but but then also, I guess it depends on how, yeah, or okay, so your thing is, is not like it's not a transfer station in that like you get off and you decide which one you're getting on. It's like from the International Gateway, you're either taking the line to Animal Kingdom or you're taking the line to Riviera.
01:05:41
Speaker
Yeah. Yes, but you'd have to. Well, no, you'd have to get off and switch, I think. is I'm looking at it more as like the Caribbean Beach Station where you like if you want to go from the one line to Hollywood Studios, you have to get off and then get on the Hollywood Studios line. That's what I'm thinking they're going to do.
01:05:55
Speaker
But the problem is, is that that that that turnaround station is elevated. And it is if you have a bunch of people like they would have to be very cognizant of, you know, too many people getting backed up there. Like you don't have room for people to. They'd have to make it gigantic.
01:06:13
Speaker
Yeah, they'd have to be really, which they probably will. I mean, they I would think that they would. and My thinking would be, ah you know, maybe instead of doing that is modify the like i said, you know, you know, maybe modify the. yeah the, um, the international gateway station that there's two lines there.
01:06:31
Speaker
Yeah. And then, and then, yeah and then, yeah, that turnaround can be used that you're either going a to Riviera or B to Coronado. yeah I mean, that that's a thought, too, because laa i'm I'm just sorry. i'm i'm I'm picking apart what you're saying now because I'm just thinking about logistically is that I feel like they need space that, you know, those times if the Skyliner is busy or whatever, you can't have a bunch of people on a platform.
01:06:56
Speaker
It's like there's a whole safety code thing there that they have to be mindful of. So I feel like. I feel like if that was to happen, it would have to actually come from an international gateway because they can they can do crowd control better from there than they can from the yeah the turnaround station. I just assumed they would make this a very large station. I mean, like there's there's some land there where they can make it as big as the Caribbean Beach Station. you know Yeah, yeah you you are absolutely right. They they could definitely yeah they could do that.
01:07:24
Speaker
Whether they do or not. Yeah, but the interesting thing, though, is that I guess either way for them to do this is... it may actually take the Skyliner down for a period of time if they're going to expand it that way.
01:07:35
Speaker
Because... Yeah. Yeah. The nice thing about the Skyliner, though, is they can build that thing pretty quick, right? It's not... True. It's... You're building pylons that are already, like, pre-manufactured kind of thing. You know, it's... The stations probably take the longest part of it, right? But... Yeah.
01:07:51
Speaker
But, yeah. I mean, listen, it's... we'll We'll have to see what happens, but I... we Trevor and I have been saying this for a long time. More Skyliner. More places. Do it. yeah you know like And I think most people are are on board with that. i mean i'm not I'm sure there's some people that still will not go on it because they it freaks them out. but And I understand that. But you know it's... ah it's It's my favorite way to travel. They go up the sides of mountains and they're fine.
01:08:16
Speaker
Exactly. Oh my God. They're designed to climb mountains. Trevor, I remember early on when this got announced that like one of the Facebook groups I was in, there was this one guy that was like, this is going to be disaster. Every time the wind blows, it's go to like one of them is going to fall off. i'm like, dude, do you realize like the places they use these things? like Florida weather is nothing compared to the normal weather these things operate in.
01:08:40
Speaker
Yeah, I can attest to that. There's a place nearby called it's called Sulphur Mountain. And I know the name sounds terrifying, but it's it's a very nice place. And they have gondolas like this that literally go up the side of a very steep mountain.
01:08:56
Speaker
And when you get to the top, the wind is so insane because of the fact that you're on the ridge of a mountain. yeah like Yeah. The wind whipping through there is crazy, but the gondolas just keep going.
01:09:06
Speaker
You know, they don't, they don't care. You know, it's not comfortable for us up there when it's windy, but you know, yeah. Gondolas can handle a lot more than you think.
01:09:17
Speaker
so Anyway, so that's speculation. ah But again, check out the that interview. we don't We don't know timing. We don't know any of that. But if i if I was a betting man, i I feel like it's going to be Animal Kingdom. It just makes the most sense that the existing Skyliner is not far from where it is.
01:09:33
Speaker
Plus, they're opening a brand new land there. They're going to want more transportation going there. So, ah you know, it just it all of it it click it checks all the boxes to me. And I also just don't think there's any way that it's going to Magic Kingdom ever.
01:09:46
Speaker
So, like... Just to be totally honest. yeah The thing is, is everyone's saying for it to go to Magic Kingdom. What you're implying is that the monorail is going to be taken away.
01:09:57
Speaker
It's not. Because but but that's the thing is that if they were to do the Skyliner, the Skyliners throughput would be way better than the monorail. And if if Disney did expand it out to Magic Kingdom, I'm sure they would be looking tomorrow and going, well, it's a nice novelty, but, you know, it's a lot of maintenance. It's you know, it's way more expensive than the Skyliner.
01:10:18
Speaker
That could actually be justification for them to decommission the monorail. Yeah. and You don't want that. So you don't want a Skylighter going to from Epcot to Magic Kingdom or anywhere like Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom's fine.
01:10:32
Speaker
Yeah. It's Animal Kingdom that needs it. I agree. hundred percent 100%. Because that is the one not... Although, selfishly, i also think to myself, like, ah is that going to make more people stay at Animal Kingdom to Lodge? Because i I mean, I literally... More people stay there anyway, but... Yeah, know. It seems like it's always hard for you to book there, so I don't think that change anything. never hard to book there. In fact, I just... Oh, then i guess we shouldn't have had this conversation. i my I just booked. i So we gifted some points to some friends who are going to take their kids to ah on a last minute trip. And so we we gifted them some points to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
01:11:05
Speaker
And I was able, I mean, literally a week ago, I booked this for them in two weeks. So like, yeah, I mean, really close out now, given it was only two nights, so it's a little easier.
01:11:16
Speaker
Right. And it wasn't a Savannah view room. And that was the only thing in DVC of all of DVC that was available. So, um, but yeah, anyway, so, uh, $250 cruise work all over the place. So that's fine. yeah It's fine with me. I, I, we're still talking to this stuff.
01:11:32
Speaker
Yeah. This is still Disney and DVC news. So and people like when we recklessly speculate on stuff. So, um, how about we get How about we just skip here, Trevor, and go towards like man the the last three
Lilo & Stitch in Disney Parks
01:11:45
Speaker
topics. We don't need to talk about this $250 cruise offer.
01:11:48
Speaker
So first of all, we talked about Lilo & Stitch already, but they've been having Lilo & Stitch stuff everywhere. In fact, on Disney Parks blog, you can click there's a button that says Alien Invasion and you can on all of the pages. And if you click it, basically it's the same page, but with Stitch ruining it, um which is pretty funny, actually, that they decided to do that. And it's a fun throwback to how like they had stitch like causing chaos in ah yeah the parks and, you know, through various shows and stuff. Like I remember like that whole, or there's that whole thing with the, the scene from Aladdin where they're on the carpet and then yeah Stitch rolls up in the spaceship and, and Jasmine gets in the spaceship with him and leaves Aladdin standing there.
01:12:31
Speaker
yeah I mean, the magic shots they're doing with stitch are pretty funny too, right? Cause yeah. They're doing a Disney Cruise Line. What is that? Is that a Disney Cruise Line one? A Disney Cruise Line one. And Stitch is stitches eating one of the, what is that? The Kakamora? Kakamora, yeah. you're Eating a Kakamora. And then there's one ah where it's like a Cinderella one and he's wearing Cinderella slippers.
01:12:55
Speaker
Yeah. Which is really funny. ah But then there's also just a good one too in front of Cinderella Castle where he's like right up on the, on the screen, like almost blocking half the view, which is again, I, I like what they do with stitch stitches, such a fun character and the the more fun things they do. I think people really, really like these things. So, ah so yeah, so that's, that's a fun thing, but I don't know have any thoughts about that, Trevor, before we know, I mean, it's again, it's great. Like, like, you know, just,
01:13:23
Speaker
again, it's stitches just such this like fun character. Like I, you know, i I'll never get mad about seeing like stitch magic shots or like stitch themed food in the park. It's just like, like i'm I'm scrolling through this whole blog post and it's like, yeah, I'd eat that. Yeah. That looks good. Yeah. to edit that i mean the the The little sandcastle ah petite cake, that's that's a fantastic use of... um ah So so i you know I usually slam on the you know using the the wafer paper
01:13:56
Speaker
in in their their food. yeah But this is a very nicely way they've done it. like They use Stitch in there, but it fits in with the the theme of it, not just like we made a cupcake or a cake and slapped...
01:14:10
Speaker
mickey ears on top of it yeah it looks right you need to you need to watch the also if you ever watch this on on instagram disneyland for the 70th anniversary posted a whole stitch video and it's pretty funny like there's a there's there's a cake that's celebrating the 70th anniversary and stitch goes up to it and pushes it off the table stitch goes to pull the uh uh the sword out of uh you know the the sword out and he's trying to do that he's licking popcorn cases He's, you know, going on ah to Tiana. Like there's it's a pretty funny sequence of videos, too. At at one point, he grabs some get some bubble guns from one of the one of the gift shops and starts, you know, shooting bubbles everywhere. So it's it's a pretty funny video. I again, I love the stuff that they're doing with Stitch here.
01:14:56
Speaker
hmm. um Actually, so again, going further down the the blog post, I do want to call out – this is a weird one that I i feel like it would be good.
New Disney Food & Experiences
01:15:07
Speaker
but um so there's the Surfing Stitch float over at Hollywood Studios at ABC Commissary and Backlot Express. Yeah.
01:15:16
Speaker
So it's a it's a dull pineapple float, but instead of pineapple juice, they've got Powerade Mountain Berry Blast. Okay. And they say topped with chocolate decor, which they they've got just the... They do have a little wafer... Stiff surfing. Picture thing. But I don't know that I ever considered...
01:15:35
Speaker
Powerade and Dole Whip to go together. And I'm not saying it's bad. I'm just... It just seems like a weird calm combination. don't know. It tastes good. yeah i feel like the addition of the chocolate the the chocolate piece on top is probably more weird for me. but yeah Yeah, that part's unnecessary. like I feel like the they they could have done something else. But i mean i'm I'm looking at I'm going... Maybe for science...
01:16:00
Speaker
you know maybe for science all of course that' so So i have I have the ability to make Dole Whip at home. I've got a recipe for my Ninja Creamy and I actually have Dole Whip mix at home. yeah yeah And I do make Dole Whip for myself because I'm that person and I don't get to the parks enough that I you know don't want to make it home.
01:16:20
Speaker
I may go pick up some Powerade. and try this. and So just just to try it. Yeah. and And maybe this would be a good tie into, um, I, you know, I don't know if anybody, or it actually ah I would love to hear what people think about this is, you know, uh, so we've talked about, you know, my wife is helping us with doing posts on our social media and she's taking it upon herself to do, um, some, uh, I think she does them usually like on Saturdays is a food time at home.
01:16:48
Speaker
post where uh where she will find like a recipe that you can make at home and so maybe maybe i'll do this as like a bit of a my own food time at home that i'm gonna try and make this uh surfing stitch float minus the the chocolate maybe i'll just ram a piece of chocolate in it i don't know but I want you to try it now. I want you to try it. But yeah, I think I should try it. I think it warrants, you know, I got to see if I can find, I'm pretty sure I can find Mountain Berry Blast. I'll have a look for Powerade. I don't normally look at Powerade, but... Well, I honestly don't usually look at flavors. I mean, I feel like with Powerade, it's like, I'll have blue. It's blue.
01:17:26
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, exactly. I'll have blue, please. I don't care if it has a name. It's just, let me get the blue one. It's blue or orange is usually what I go for. So it tastes like blue. Okay.
01:17:38
Speaker
ah So I'm going to look into that, but then, sorry, just continue on with this. want to talk you. This Hawaiian roller coaster ride. Sorry. I just need to call this out quick. Go ahead. Do it. is the So this is at in Magic Kingdom and Antigravity's.
01:17:53
Speaker
Dull pineapple juice, white cranberry juice with a splash of ah blue Caraco syrup topped with a flower. Okay. Looks fantastic. It does.
01:18:04
Speaker
It does. Like I want it. and And I would never actually think to like stop at anti-gravities or something like this. So, okay. I'm done. I would agree with that. ah yeah You're doing food time because we haven't done a food time in a while. I know, but but I had to call these two things out because they're in the blog post. So so it's not my fault. It's Disney's fault. That's true.
01:18:23
Speaker
That's true. So i I almost had us do a food time, Trevor, but at this point, all of the food stuff is like a month old. So was like, yeah, let's do new stuff. And food and wine is around the corner. So that's going to be one.
01:18:36
Speaker
yeah yeah I was going to say, i I feel like with food and wine coming up, that's the right time to do it. Yeah, yeah that's the one.
Disney's New Shows and Technological Innovations
01:18:41
Speaker
So we we we talked about the Disney Destiny a little bit before about the about the ah Hercules show, right?
01:18:48
Speaker
Because they had a piece of concept art showing ah the, what is it? The um Hydra. The Hydra puppet puppet. Yeah, the Hydra. Yeah, is literally taking up the entire stage and it's got seven different heads, right?
01:19:04
Speaker
So Disney Live Entertainment posted on and Instagram a early look at this. And I mean, it's early, but these puppets are going to be very cool. They're huge. they're They are insanely massive. I can't believe how big these things are.
01:19:19
Speaker
yeah they're Yeah. I mean, and listen, it's just the la they're unpainted. It's literally just like three d paint ah printed, basically, right? I mean, yeah i mean that's I don't know if that's what the how they actually did it, but it looks like they just kind of have like some plastic pieces and they're just practicing the ah like the actual i choreography with them. Yeah, yeah. yeah but Making sure that the movements work with what they're doing, which, you know, you know thinking about even though these are 3D printed, like the teeth on these things look...
01:19:46
Speaker
Like they could, if you're not moving the right way, that could be very dangerous. We're just guessing they're printing. They might not be. they They could just be. They do look, I mean, or well, I feel like, I feel like 3D printing them would be in their benefit because from a maintenance standpoint, yeah. One, they're light and two, if parts break, they can easily reproduce them.
01:20:08
Speaker
Yeah. I'm excited to see what the final version of this looks like. Cause I mean, in the concept art, it looks amazing. It takes up the whole stage. but Yeah. Yeah. I mean like literally they have to get up on the, on stairs to get to like the second level to get to the top heads. Like, so this is going to be awesome.
01:20:24
Speaker
Yeah. And ah you know what? I, I, I know they're doing this on the cruise lines, but I hope they, This kind of puppeteering makes its way into the parks more like I they are doing it definitely with with some of the shows, but there needs to be more of this.
01:20:42
Speaker
I agree. Right. Like, yeah I actually i don't know if you I know you've been really only looking at like Epic Universe stuff, but. The new villain show premiered along with the the new Little Mermaid show at at Hollywood Studios. And i I've seen some pretty rave reviews for both of them, actually. I did i did see that. the The villain show did pique my interest. And yeah, you're right. you know i've I've seen nothing but good things about it. And and it seems like it's...
01:21:10
Speaker
it's um the Some of the the stage shows at Hollywood Studios felt like they were not...
01:21:20
Speaker
ah They were not to the level of Disney that I think they could have been. Yeah. That makes sense? Sure. It feels like a lot of them were... like ah you know Because I'd watched some of the older ones, and that's kind of where like my my thing with Hollywood Studios is like you know these shows shows don't replace rides as attractions, but...
01:21:40
Speaker
Or they didn't used to, but it feels like, yeah, like, like villains is definitely, and maybe this is back to your point about the whole Chapek versus Iger thing is that it feels like Disney is starting to step up again on making a, a rightfully good, like, wow. You kind of show.
01:21:58
Speaker
Agreed. yeah And from what I've, I mean, from what I've read, people are saying that about both the Little Mermaid show and the, and the villain show. Apparently the villain show has a really catchy song with like an original song that they made that I guess is like an earworm. And like, that's the, like the hallmark of like a good Disney show when they have an original song like that and you, it stays with you, you know? ah Yeah.
01:22:19
Speaker
But apparently too, some of the effects in that show are incredible. ah Because I guess you have live actors working with working with you know screens and and interacting with them. But I guess they interact in ways like sometimes they're able to walk into the screens and the effect is like really cool. ah But I also read too about the Little Mermaid one.
01:22:39
Speaker
they have They have scenes where ah they have something that's like animated on the screen and it turns into a puppet in front of you and you can't tell how it happened. The transition is flawless. Yeah.
01:22:52
Speaker
And they also have two where they have live action people, either puppets or real characters, interacting with things that are animated in real time, which is another thing I was like, i mean, how how do you do it? But I saw of one video, like there was a thing they were showing of Ursula like throwing the like King Triton's like ah thing. Triton. Yeah, the Triton was animated and Ursula was real.
01:23:16
Speaker
But it it looked... real like she was really it was properly cued to like yeah what she was doing yeah well and I guess some of the animated figures that they have in that show too are apparently done in real time with ah motion capture like so there's oh yeah which is also very cool um Which, yeah, I know the effect you're talking about. And yeah, again, it makes it's like next level puppeteering, right? It really is.
01:23:43
Speaker
where yeah And I guess ah you know it's similar. you know People have seen like ah like, I guess VTubers are are a similar thing where you know people have like digital avatars of themselves. But yeah, so using it in a stage show is definitely...
01:23:56
Speaker
yeah You know, it's it's funny. You're talking about all this and like I'm kind of looking at it. And it's reminding me of, like, at a very early iteration of this, you know, not nearly as impressive, was ah Mickey and the Magical Map, which was a show that ran in in Disneyland.
01:24:11
Speaker
It feels like they they've kind of gone back to... um Or they've taken notes from that. Like, it it feels like... but And i think this has been my promise. Like, the last couple of shows didn't feel like they were really, like...
01:24:23
Speaker
being innovative with it, but it feels like these newer shows are going back to that kind of innovation, right? Like, you know, combining the digital effects with the the live action in a way that doesn't feel forced. Yeah.
01:24:35
Speaker
Yeah. And I, you know, listen, I'm not going to say which blog it is, but there is, I think, a well-known Disney blog out there that people know is hypercritical of Disney. Right. And they loved both of these shows. They had rave reviews and said that this was the this and the Moana show on the ship that I just was on and just saw were like a return to form basically for Disney live entertainment. Like.
01:24:58
Speaker
they're fighting They're doing things again that are technologically advanced and some like wow moments where you're like, I don't know how they did that. That's incredible. um You know, and so that I mean, to me, if the most cynical of Disney blogs is telling you that it's great, I, you know, I'm definitely going to check them out. I have I had no expectations for either one of them, but now I feel like i want to check them out.
01:25:20
Speaker
and so And I love that. I love that you kind of circled that back to my, you know, whole rabbit hole that we went down about Epic Universe at the beginning of the show. Yeah. That, you know, Disney needs to wow. And yes, you know, you know, these shows are definitely that.
01:25:35
Speaker
And for sure. hopeful Hopefully, like you said, you know, more, yeah more along these lines is coming should be a hundred percent, a hundred percent. So let's, let's wrap up last thing. the Starlight, because yes we've been getting bits and pieces from Disney on this one. And now we got some more bits and pieces, but,
01:25:53
Speaker
Along with that, we got ah it an opening date for this. So if for those that don't know, Disney Starlight is we're finally getting a nighttime parade back at Magic Kingdom, which, you know, is a thing that I feel like it's been sorely missing for a long time now.
01:26:07
Speaker
ah So i'm I'm very pumped that this is coming back. and they Not coming back, but it's a there the the concept of a nighttime parade at Magic Kingdom is coming back. ah But Disney Starlight debuts on July twentieth now.
01:26:18
Speaker
ah They've given us a sneak peek of the, or they've given us the poster for the, attract for the, ah the parade, which I love when they put out these posters. I'm a huge fan of like the attraction posters and even for a parade.
01:26:30
Speaker
But we also now to have a picture of the grand finale float, which looks really cool. um It's like a train and it's got all of your favorite characters on it. And it's, you know, cause it's got Goofy's driving the train, of course. My favorite characters. Well, listen, You know, Goofy's driving the train. Pluto's and you know right behind. Donald and Daisy are there. For some reason, Snow White and what is that? Dopey is there. They're in like a Seven Dwarfs mine train.
01:27:01
Speaker
Yeah, they're in like a cart. Yeah. And then, of course, at the very back on the very top and like ah what almost looks like a sled is Mickey and Minnie. But yeah there's also they posted a video to Trevor. I don't know if you watch the video, but I've watched the video yet.
01:27:15
Speaker
But the behind the scenes video is, ah first of all, pretty cool if you like behind the scenes stuff. But just the view that they're giving of it, ah it looks so cool. It looks awesome.
01:27:26
Speaker
Again, talking about going back to these like, you know, things that they did before, ah you know, where they they really go over the top with the the parades and the shows and all that.
01:27:37
Speaker
It feels like they're definitely doing that with this, too. And of course, we're going to get a new original song, too. It better be good. as the they've They've said that. Sorry, but they've said this before where they're like, we've we made an original song. like ok Enchanted was exactly that where they were like, you know, sorry. so Somebody wrote a song and they were proud of it.
01:28:02
Speaker
It wasn't it didn't hit right. Yeah, it was the problem. So so they they do have to they do have to meet a minimum bar for this. And and the hard part is, is that, um you know, having an original song in the.
01:28:19
Speaker
in a parade, um, there are, so or I guess it depends on how well it integrates throughout the parade, because, um like when I think about, you know, even like the, the festival or not the, um, like, uh, boo to you and the, uh, the Christmas parade,
01:28:38
Speaker
Um, though, like they have, they have the same music through the entire thing, but there's sections of it for different floats and it, like it has yeah variation and stuff. Right. like So like, it can't just be like, if it's just the same, uh, if it's just the same thing through the whole show or, or if it doesn't work with the floats, like, it like if it's just like,
01:29:01
Speaker
You know what I mean? Like if it if it doesn't. Yeah, they they failed. They definitely failed with with that firework show. Right. I'm trying to think, though, the last time they failed with a song and a parade, because I feel like the parade songs, they usually nail it.
01:29:13
Speaker
You know? I mean, yeah, you're right. But I guess there is still opportunity for them to mess it up if that's the case, because. I mean, they're playing it in this video, so you can listen to part of the song in the video. So they they have... Okay, so I'll watch this when we're done here and and see what takes. Yeah, it's just orchestral. there's There's no words to it, but you at least get the vibe of what's going on. But listen, this looks like a really well-done show. It looks like they... it's it's and I don't know if I want to call it technologically advanced. I don't know if it is or not, but I mean, it's it certainly...
01:29:48
Speaker
on the level of like paint the night, Trevor, as far as like, it's giving me paint the night for sure, which is, know, definitely good. I'm excited for, um, you know, at the bottom of this blog post, they, they do list all the characters you will see. yeah, they do in order to, yeah. So, so it's, uh, you know, blue fairy, Peter Pan and Wendy Asha.
01:30:11
Speaker
Um, wait, that was from wish I know. And I don't, sorry, I guess, uh,
01:30:18
Speaker
Wish is such a... like I wish that they wouldn't... I wish they wouldn't push it as much. Like, it just... i don't know. Well, here's the thing, that Trevor. You know they've been developing this for a long time, though. And even though Wishing knew well, like they probably had already designed it, right? Yeah, they were probably far enough in that they couldn't change course on it. So that's fine.
01:30:42
Speaker
um La Familia Madrigal, you know, Mirabelle, Isabella, and Bruno. I'm excited for that. Elsa's in there. all the princesses and princess, you know, the typical ones are Aurora and Prince Philip, Tiana and Naveen, Belle and Beast. So that, that, that that's like the, that's like the mid parade, like anchor float. It feels like, because like every, every show has like that float. Yeah, of course. Yeah.
01:31:10
Speaker
but that But then after that is Miguel and Pepita, which i I really like that. but you know The Cocoa float, I'll be excited for. Moana is another great one. And then you know the the finale float, which we talked about, which has you know all the you know goofy and <unk>y Donald, Snow White, all all that kind of stuff going on. All the ones. Yeah. yeah all They're really kind of covering the gambit of classic stuff with the final one. Although, oddly, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider there and Aladdin and Jasmine are there. like I, I, they're kind of golden age so that I, you know, I, I feel they're, they're justified. Is Rapunzel, Rapunzel's newer kind of still, I mean, but I mean, I don't say, yeah, you're right. and It shouldn't be there. I'm just saying it's weird that they're there with those other characters, right? Like I would think they would, I mean, they could make the one with those four, you know? Yeah. But, but maybe, cause I was going to Rapunzel and Flynn could be on the princess float, except, don't know.
01:32:06
Speaker
yeah they're Yeah, I see why they didn't do that, because they don't really fit the mold of prince and princess, I guess. My wife and I talk about this all the time. I don't know who goes in and like makes the decision of what characters are going to show up in what thing.
01:32:20
Speaker
You know what i mean? like It's got to be an interesting thing, because I always like wonder why they make the choices that they do. You know? Yeah, there's a whole behind-the-scenes... Yeah. Archetype to these things that we don't. We have no view into. Yeah. Yeah. yeah But I just find that interesting though, because it's like, I'm sure there's a method to the madness. I just don't know what it is, you know? Yeah.
01:32:43
Speaker
Like I said, in thinking about it, like, you know, these ones that are on the final float, they don't, they don't fit the, the typical prince and princess mold is that's my logic behind it. The other ones, the other ones are, and actually, but you know what?
01:32:58
Speaker
But even Tiana and Prince Naveen don't fit that either. So that's why I thought it was for me and b this was weird. Okay. Yeah. All right. me Okay. My logic's falling apart here. Never mind. I'm sure, like I said, I'm sure there's a reason maybe they intended to make another float and though they were going to be on it. And then they decided not to, I don't know, but it's, you know, yeah.
01:33:20
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's weird to kind of sandwich those characters in between, like, the... Because you have, like, the Fab Five in there, and and it's like these other ones are, like, sandwiched in between.
01:33:33
Speaker
Yeah, I know. It's weird. I will say the music that they play in the video sounds pretty cool. So I'm i'm on board. I'll watch it when we're done, just because I don't want to... Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
01:33:43
Speaker
Let's wrap this up because we promised we were going to start doing one hour episodes and somehow we ended up at an hour and a half. You know what? It's again, I chalk it up to the fact that we had we had a weird week last week and we're still kind of.
01:33:55
Speaker
if i feel like I feel like if we don't talk enough, then we over talk because yes i can see that is we feel like we we haven't spent enough time together. So I can see that we just get need to get more consistent again with with our episodes. Yeah. You know we'll get back to it.
01:34:09
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. So so I guess at this point, we'll wrap it up and yeah I'll start by mentioning that we have an email address. So if you guys. Have any trip reports or tips or anything that you want to share with us, you can always hit us up on our email address, which is whatcomhomepodcast.gmail.com.
01:34:29
Speaker
I will also once again mention that we have our our trip report call-in line. So that's 833-WHP-TIPS or 833-987-8477.
01:34:42
Speaker
ah you You can always you know leave us a message, share share your tips or your own trip report, stuff like that. We'd love... We'd love to hear from you guys, whether it's by email or voicemail, you know, you know, keep it coming and we'll share the stuff on the show as we get it. So, you know, you know, you can always do that.
01:35:00
Speaker
Um, also you can find us on social media. We are on Facebook as welcome home podcast. We're on YouTube as welcome home podcast. we're on Instagram as welcome home picks. Make sure on Facebook, you check out our group, welcome home, Disney wait list, where we talk about a lot of the stuff from the show. And there's also means and, uh, you know, great conversations with people that are just really enthusiastic about Disney and DVC and talking about,
01:35:27
Speaker
you know their own trip reports, their own trip planning, all that kind of stuff. So you know it's a great place to to come if you're looking for all that all that kind of Disney talk stuff. And ah similarly, if you want to help support the show, you can also go to store.walkalhomepodcast.com. You can check out our different...
01:35:44
Speaker
um levels of merch, which, you know, Hey, maybe ah if you're planning a trip, you can, ah you can get a shirt for your trip and, you know, send us a picture of it. We love seeing you guys rocking the merch in the parks.
01:35:56
Speaker
So, ah you know, you know, do that if you if you if you failed Do that. If you feel the need to, um yeah you know get send us a photo. we we'd We'd love to see that. Similarly, we have a Patreon. You can go to patreon.com slash welcomehomepod.
01:36:11
Speaker
Check out our different levels of Patreon support and all of our Patreon listeners get access to the Discord server, which is yet another place that we talk about stuff from the show. And also we do things like... ah um do early releases for some of our episodes, such as the interview we had with the Dapper Danielle. Our Patreon listeners actually got that a couple of days before everybody else. So um yeah. So if you if you're wanting to get stuff a little bit early, consider having a look at the Patreon.
01:36:37
Speaker
And last but not least, ah if you're listening to us on iTunes or Spotify anywhere that you can leave us five star review, please do. ah Just helps the show continue to grow and continue to get to more people.
01:36:50
Speaker
And yeah, we just like seeing those stars. so you know, leave us a five star review. Yeah, please do that. I thought your brother left this one, you know, to... He did, yeah. He he was of... I don't see it.
01:37:01
Speaker
and Well, yeah you know, me he probably, like, left it and then went back and, like, took it off or something. I don't know. How dare he? He wouldn't do that. No, I'm just joking. my brother's cool. He wouldn't do that. Yeah, i he may you better not have. We need more reviews. So give us give us a review. Please do that. um Anyway, also, the other thing you can do to make us happy is subscribe to Welcome Home Podcast so you can be reminded every time we release an episode.
01:37:27
Speaker
You can find us at Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, Spotify, YouTube, YouTube Music, and just about any other podcast app that's out there. Just a reminder to our listeners, Welcome Home Podcasts. For entertainment only, we are not employed by the Walt Disney Company. Now, such all opinions we express on the show our own.
01:37:41
Speaker
So please contact a DVC cast member or you know Disney cast member for more information about anything we talked about today. Huge thank you to our sponsor, DVC Rental Store, for sponsoring this episode.
01:37:52
Speaker
Also, World of DVC for just being a continued you know friend of the show and and and great partners. They're just they're just great. ah and you know So check them out if you need have any DVC needs. And, um of course, join us next time for more Disney Parks discussion and more DVC talk.
01:38:09
Speaker
We hope to see you all real soon. This is Skipper Albert A. Wall, the voice of the jungle, signing off from Welcome Home Podcast on the DVC.
01:38:19
Speaker
I looked around from pole to pole, found her in a sugar bowl. Look out, here comes my ball and chain.