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Episode 292: Galactic Star-cubicle, Garden Rocks Lineup & Valentine’s Day Food
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On This Episode
The Disneyland DVC Member lounge added a model room. DVC brings back the Valentine’s Day member event. A recent article states that Disney will convert the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser building into Imagineering offices. Disney Cruise Line brings back the Dine and Play package. Disney revealed the full Garden Rocks lineup for the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival. The guys speculate on the mysterious construction happening at the Canada pavilion. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, Disney revealed the full list of special food available.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsorship
00:00:09
Speaker
This is Skipper Albert A. Wall, the voice of the jungle, broadcasting on the DVC to all points unknown. If you're within the sound of my voice, you're listening to Welcome Home Podcast on the DVC.
00:00:30
Speaker
Hello and welcome home. This episode of Welcome Home is brought to you by the DVC rental store.
Hosts' Introductions and Podcast Voices
00:00:35
Speaker
Thank you for joining us on episode 292 of Welcome Home, a Disney Parks and Vacation Club podcast. I'm Tom, I'm here with Trevor. Hey. How's it going, bud? Good. How are you? you know I'm getting over cold, so I was saying to you before we started this that you know really the result of it is I'm just a little base year today. I'm a little more like Trevor today.
00:00:53
Speaker
Got the deep voice going on. You're going to get, yeah, you're going to get news announcer Tom. I'm just going to start talking like this from now on. Hi, everyone. That actually hurts worse. Oh, oh that hurts the voice, man. yeah no that That hurts. Actually, you know, it's funny. When we first started the podcast, my sister listened and she goes, she goes, you have a pretty good podcast voice. I'm like, I don't know what that means, but I don't think I do. um So like, I don't know. I think you have a better podcast podcast voice than I do.
00:01:19
Speaker
ah and And it's funny you say that because I've been told that. um or So my one of my first jobs was I was working in a mail room and um as part of the job I had to go and um I had to go work on reception on the switchboard because the receptionist whenever she would have breaks I would have to go and sit there and part of it was they had a PA system so I would have to do announcements over the PA like if somebody needed to pick up a call or whatever And people told me back then, they're like, you have like, you sound like you could, you could be like a news announcer. And I was like, oh, okay, thank you. But I get what you mean is it's like, I don't, I don't know what, I don't know how to capitalize on that, but I guess being on a podcast kind of
Groundhog Day and Health Discussions
00:02:03
Speaker
fulfills that. But to me, I just sound like I'm having a conversation. It doesn't sound like I'm, I'm doing anything. You're doing a voice. and That's just your voice. Yeah. That's just your voice. Yeah. I mean, it I could do the deep voice all the time if I wanted to, but it's, it doesn't feel great. Um,
00:02:18
Speaker
Yeah, we should do an ASMR episode of some sort. I have no idea how to do it like that. I mean, we could do it. Yeah, I guess we could do some. You just get really close to the mic and really close to the mic. You want to go to Disneyland? Disneyland.
00:02:34
Speaker
I love that. yeah we that's That doesn't exist already. I mean, yeah. um are we Are we past the hype of the ASMR thing? That was like huge for a little while. that Oh, no. I don't think that's ever going to stop, honestly. I still see like lots of ASMR stuff. I think it's found like a niche. it's not okay yeah It's not hype anymore. But it's still out there, for sure. OK. Well, that's yeah that's interesting.
00:02:57
Speaker
Oh, yeah. So bear with me, everyone. I should be OK. But, you know, it's it's that time of year. Everyone's getting cold. And I know it seems like I've gotten a lot. My wife's like, you've been getting sick a lot lately. I'm like, the last time I got sick was Thanksgiving. And that was already like two months ago, you know, like that, which feels like it wasn't two months ago. And for you, it was three months ago. But yeah, um but yeah, you got sick to two, three months ago, two, three months, two or three months ago, depending on what calendar you use. No, I'm just kidding. um Yeah, no, I Yeah, so it's just, you know, that time of year, there's stuff going around and I, yeah. To be fair, I don't know if you saw it. So I believe as we're recording this today is Groundhog Day. Oh, yeah. That should stay. Yeah. and but Okay. But but they did say it's going to be six more
Disneyland Member Lounge and DVC Tours
00:03:42
Speaker
weeks of winter. So, yeah you know, there is that. Yeah. Well, I think of is did that Bill Murray.
00:03:48
Speaker
Oh, of course. Yeah, Groundhog Day. Yeah, it's a great movie, classic movie. um there was ah There was like a newer kind of version of it with ah Andy Samberg and... um ah What's her name? I forget. Milliatty. They did kind of the same kind of thing where he lives the same day over and over. It's different than Groundhog Day, but it's similar. I'm trying to remember what it was called. Oh my gosh. It was good though. I watched it. It was really, really funny. um Yeah, so you you have to look that one up. it's If you like Groundhog Day, you would like this. um ah But yeah, I guess I could look it up while I'm talking here, but that would require multitasking. On springs? That's it. Yeah. Yeah, yeah that's the one. but yeah Quick Google search, found it. There you go. Got it. Yeah, so check that movie out if you like Groundhog Day. But Groundhog Day is a classic. I mean, you can't go wrong.
00:04:32
Speaker
you know um But yeah, you're right. It is Groundhog Day. I actually forget every year when Groundhog Day is. And my my wife mentioned, I saw it on there and it's like, oh, Groundhog does this. And I was like, oh, that's today? Like, why are we still doing this in 2025? I mean, okay. you know It's a fun thing, I know. Yeah, it's it's perfectly fine. there's There's nothing wrong with it. and And yeah, you're right. It's not like something that I'm like,
00:04:57
Speaker
You know, oh, boy, I hope that he doesn't or does or doesn't see. I don't even know how the rules work around it like that. But it's always funny when it's like you hear and it's like, oh, they said six more weeks of winter. And in the back here, you're like, it's funny how like the groundhog has some kind of dominion. Yeah.
00:05:14
Speaker
like, what I think about it. Why is the groundhog the meteorologist here? Like, you know, yeah, like like, you know, I read it. I'm like, Oh, great. We're going to have a six more weeks to window. He doesn't know. No, he doesn't know someone besides that for him. exactly But I still like, I still read it and go, Oh, yeah, I guess i guess it's going to be cold. I better, you know, no, like you, it's like, Oh, you know, I'm going to get sick and, you know, better prepare for it.
00:05:38
Speaker
yeah i that's say Yeah, I feel like i he predicted that I'm going to have six more weeks of ah you know illnesses, ah you know just colds and such. ah so I hate to tell you this, Tom, and I and i think every every parent knows this at this point. is that It's nothing to do with the time of year. It's that because because your your daughter is in school, um you're just being introduced to all the bugs that just carry around through school. and yeah It's true. No, it is true. This has been happening for years now with her, but I actually got sick first this time. Usually it goes my daughter gets sick, then my wife gets sick, and then I get sick last.
00:06:18
Speaker
But this time, I got sick first. Now, I had jury duty earlier in the week, and i I'm speculating that me being in close proximity with a bunch of the general public like maybe are is is what got me sick. but it's yeah But I don't know. It could have come from my daughter. She was she was a little sniffly before that. and you know I'm sure everybody here knows, too, like the those things affect different people differently, right? Like, so my daughter can get over one of those colds real quickly where I'll knock me out for like a week, you know? So that's, that's the big difference. I guess she's got the young person immune system and I don't, um, and anyway, but she's making your immune system stronger by introducing yes all these things. That's true. yeah and then Hey, let's lets let's circle this back because you know we should actually talk about Disney. is that you know no you You being exposed to all of these things means that when you go to Disney, you're less likely to get sick because you have been exposed to a bunch of different things.
00:07:10
Speaker
that That is true. And I've talked many times about how somebody sneezed directly in my face one time at Disney and I got violently ill the next day. i Yeah. I mean, yeah, that's... That was the worst. Yeah. that was I also had COVID the time you and I were there, so... Yeah, it was funny. i've been So when I went with you, you got COVID. When when that me and my wife and my son went, my wife got COVID and I didn't get COVID.
00:07:36
Speaker
Yeah. You're like immune somehow. Yeah. I don't know because my wife's also, she actually got COVID from somebody at work last year. Yeah. And and so she tested positive for COVID. And again, I didn't get it. So you just I mean, you yeah she got the immunity, man. maybe yeah maybe maybe i'm Maybe I'm like a patient zero kind of thing.
00:07:59
Speaker
Well, we didn't know I had COVID. We didn't know I had COVID when I was there. But you know i was I was very warm all the time. But I just assumed that was you know from being in Florida. yeah i mean you know and And to be fair, like we we were running around a lot. We did. Yeah, we were
Galactic Star Cruiser and Imagineering Speculation
00:08:12
Speaker
running around a lot. We didn't stop hardly at all. So I mean, that's, yeah. Yeah, well actually went we went open to close when we were there. Yeah, I'm actually surprised that you know considering how close you and I were were in proximity that yeah I didn't even get COVID.
00:08:28
Speaker
During that, we were on many a ride together. We squished into a big Thunder car together. I mean, you know, it's yeah, would we were we have the Skyliner to get, you know, it's it's surprising you didn't get it. So anyway, ah yeah let's talk about the some DVC news. Let's let's do this.
00:08:44
Speaker
um So the D, the Disneyland member lounge has added a model room, which is interesting to me that they have enough space at the member lounge to just throw in a whole, uh, you know, model room. It's a deluxe obviously. So, phil so, so this is something to understand about where the member lounge sits in Disneyland. So this space is, um, about the same size as Carousel of progress.
00:09:12
Speaker
So it's it's a big space. Yeah, because it's much bigger than the one in Epcot. Yeah, because um so. So, yeah, they because they put it into Tomorrowland and that building. So it used to be called America Sings was the name of the show. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because that's where it was where all the animatronics that were originally in Splash Mountain came from. Yep. um But yeah, so that was it was a big building. And over time, it's been repurposed and cut up into different sections. So even the member lounge is not It's not that big like like the full base. Yeah, they're not utilizing the full space, which means, yeah, of course that, you know, you know, the I think it's good that they're, um you know, they realize that, hey, this is actually a good place to sell DVC in the member lounge. like Because I guess the intent is is that they know that people that are coming to the member lounge, you know, you bring other people with you.
00:10:03
Speaker
Yeah, that's true. People always bring guests in with them. And this is a good way to show off like, hey, you know if you bought into DVC, this is what a deluxe studio looks like, which is the the majority of the of the the room offerings, or you know across or it's the the most common room offering across all of the the resorts. yeah So um yeah, I think that's a good way for them to to show off ah show off what DVC is.
00:10:29
Speaker
and yeah you know just Give people who don't already know about it a way to see what it looks like. Although, I guess my only question is, can you book this preview room as like a nap room? Yeah, right. I just can fall asleep on the couch in there.
00:10:48
Speaker
Yeah. right like like you know I feel like if ah you know if I could block even 20 minutes, you know I could just you knowt go lay on the bed for 20 minutes. will Will I get banned from Disneyland if I pull down the Murphy bed and take a nap? What would happen to me if I didn't? Well, they ask me to leave the lounge.
00:11:07
Speaker
Yeah, ah maybe they don't, may you know what though, they usually have, I feel like in the in the the model rooms, they usually have a DVC person standing there to answer questions. So you probably couldn't get away with it. They do. Yeah, unfortunately. Well, okay, so so here's here's here's the tactic is you get the person you're traveling with to distract the DVC person. Yeah. And you know, buy you 20 minutes and then you swap out. and and That's the way to do it. Yeah, that's the way to do it.
00:11:31
Speaker
yeah But you're totally right, though. I didn't really think about that because I know that every time we've taken ah you know guests with us into the lounge or into the you know top of the world or wherever, they're just like, it's pretty cool. like what's What's this DVC thing all about? you know And of course, they have all the brochures and they have the people there that are just walking around to answer questions and you can just talk to them. And so, yeah, I mean, it is it's smart to have that there. um I'm interested that they put it there, but ah it you like you said, it makes sense and it will also help you know the DVC members in California you know maybe add do some add-on points for the for the ah for the the tower. right yeah yeah that Yeah, that's exactly it too. is you know It's a means of selling the tower. but
00:12:15
Speaker
um Yeah, like I said, again, it's, it you know, it's, I feel like, actually, I wouldn't be surprised if um they do this at in some capacity in, in Disney World, although I will say the flip side of that, though, is the difference in Disney World is that There's, there ah are, um, like you can go to the different, uh, DVC kiosks around, you know, the, the resorts and whatnot, and they can take you up and show you the rooms for LA resorts. So, so I, I guess the difference is like in, in California, like there you're right. There is, you know, there is the, the hotel there, but, um, I feel, I feel it's a little different in California because, you know, you're not.
00:12:58
Speaker
You're not going to go walking all the way over to the Disneyland Hotel to go and check out a room there. or like Because if you're talking to somebody at the lounge and they're like, oh yeah, you can go see one of our rooms. yeah it's it's a pretty like You're either getting on the monorail and going to the hotel, or your it's a far walk to get over there. So having the having the demo room in the lounge, I think, is a good way for them to kind of it and And I ah also have to wonder, too, if you know maybe maybe there will be some opportunity that you know it at again at the DVC kiosks that you know even if you're not a member, they you know they take people up there to do tours of it that are in the park. Again, just another means of selling DVC to people in the parks that you know you don't have to wait for them to go to a hotel to check it out.
Disney Cruise Experiences and Park Expansions
00:13:43
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, because, you know, in Disney worlds, like you said, if you're at the hotel, you can do it. But, you know, when I when I checked it out and I'm sure you did the same thing, you did the thing where you go up to the kiosk and then they get you the the the van to take you to the center and then they, you know, they give you the pitch there. You have an ice cream sundae and, you know, they throw some free pass. I think I got free fast passes and a Disney gift card at the time. Like they were giving away a lot of stuff to do that presentation. It was like, yeah.
00:14:11
Speaker
Yeah. And and again, like because they have the whole center there, it's it is definitely a different vibe than what they're doing in Disneyland. like i get ah get why and it like Even though it's not as far, like like you're right, you know getting in the van and everything takes time. I feel like if I was in Disneyland and they're like, oh yeah, i go over to the hotel and check out a room. like In my head, I'm like, I'm not Yeah, I get you. I get you. But they that that little van will also take you wherever you want to, I think, if I remember correctly afterwards. So like, where do you want to go? And we'll take you there. um It's definitely a nice little piece of pampering just for sitting in the presentation, which I've said this before, and very low pressure, honestly. they they were not They did not pressure us at all. um So yeah, I mean, I don't know. I feel like everybody should do it just to get the freebies. And then if you don't buy, you don't buy. Yeah.
00:14:59
Speaker
Yeah, anyway. ah So, yeah, anything else on that? No, I I'm um I'll wait to see when people post about it on social media, because I'm sure somebody I'll cover it.
00:15:10
Speaker
I'm sure somebody will, yeah. ah So we also have a returning event for DVC members this year for the Valentine's Day meet and treat. Three days in February, DVC members can pose with characters and collect a free treat on Valentine's Day. The funny thing is that it's not on Valentine's Day. It's on the third, the fourth, and the fifth. Of course. Yeah. And it's at the Atlantic Dance Hall on the boardwalk. So and it's between 11 and 1 PM. You don't need to make reservations. You can just show up.
00:15:36
Speaker
um which is you know which is cool. But I love when DVC does like these little free events like this. you know It's the kind of cool. Yeah. And yeah, to your point, you know I guess you know them or you know they're doing it around Valentine's Day and I guess the assumption is is people wouldn't go out of their way on Valentine's Day to come and do something like this, but... That's a fair assumption. I don't know. I mean, I feel like, or at least in my household, if I if i planned to go to to to a Disney character meet with my wife for a Valentine's Day thing, I think that would be well received.
00:16:12
Speaker
but I guess I can see where it's not for everybody. yeah No, no, I mean, point well taken. I mean, I think my wife, you know, we we do we do something special, but it's not like, you know, if if we had an opportunity to go to a free event, my wife would probably be like, yeah, let's do that. Like, that sounds like fun. um But yeah, so this is taking, if you're listening to us right now, this is taking place right now. So if you're there, go. Yeah, but- It started today.
00:16:35
Speaker
as of the day of the release of this podcast. That's exactly right. If you're listening to us on the day we release, like you should. No, I'm just kidding. You can listen whenever you want. And if you're listening to us after the fifth, well, you've missed. Yeah, you missed it. Then it's your fault. and and that And that's your fault for not listening to us the day of.
00:16:51
Speaker
Yeah. By the way, this this is... ah No, no, no. We're not... People that were getting no fresh people that were kissing yeah yeah you never But its should it's it is worth noting that this is a blue card benefit and ah you must be staying at a Walt Disney World Resort and you can bring up to four guests if you want. So there you go. I could be at a Disney Resort by tomorrow.
00:17:14
Speaker
I mean, you know, you get to spend $1000 to get free stuff. Yeah. Yeah. I'm just thinking I could, I could probably, I could swing this. You can make it happen. Yeah. For free candy and a character. Yeah, exactly. Something that's going to take you five minutes. I miss when they used to do that. They used to do one where they give out like a Christmas tree ornament. And I don't know. I don't feel like they've done that in the past couple of years. Maybe I'm wrong. But I think that's because or while we we have ornaments from like the from the Christmas party and stuff, I feel like or I guess the problem is, is because it's a DVC thing, they have to budget for that. And maybe DVC decided that
00:18:00
Speaker
there's There's enough other ways to get ornaments and stuff at Disney. I don't know. but I guess my feeling is that like it like that doesn't feel quite as impactful, like handing out an ornament doesn't feel as impactful as some ah like some of the experiences that they do.
00:18:16
Speaker
And I know i guess it's it's a budget thing, right? you know if they Because they got to make 10,000 ornaments, like however much money that costs. It cuts into the budget for doing other things like Moonlight Magic. so yeah Yeah, that's true. Yeah. ah So any anything else on that? Or should we move to this next one? which Oh, yeah. i think but we yes so're I think we're past the DVC news, and we're into actual Disney news. And this I knew this was going to be the big thing that we talk about this week.
00:18:44
Speaker
so Oh, you think so? This is going to be the big one. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Because because there's a lot of implications. to this so So the headline is the the Galactus. ah Let's try that again from the beginning. try Yeah, try it one more time. The Galactic Star Cruiser is being turned into Walt Disney Imagineering offices.
00:19:03
Speaker
So what they're planning to do is that there's this big building, which was the Star Cruiser Hotel. um there they're moving There was a lot of offices that were around Hollywood Studios, so like back behind the the animation courtyard and whatnot.
00:19:20
Speaker
um they they had people actively working there. And and we talked about this previously that you know because of all the, you know you know we were wondering about where Monsters Inc. was going and you know you know them doing expansions to Hollywood Studios, what it meant for these offices. And this seems to be the answer is that they realized that they have a building that you know they they built relatively recently and it's being it's not utilized. And the hard part about the Star Cruiser building is that it's not attached to anything. so that it's new It's very hard to say, well, you know we can make it part of this park or whatever. so Turning it into an office building honestly is the smartest thing because they can reshape the the space into you know however many offices they need. and and it's ah It's a large enough space because ah like there was 150 rooms there.
00:20:10
Speaker
Yeah, it's a fair amount of space. Yeah. and then And then also the common areas. So so you know there's there's a lot of space there that ah you know it's just a standalone office building. But then the nice thing about it is that that frees up Hollywood Studios that um you know you know previously, if if you look at the ah the overhead of Hollywood Studios, there was a bunch of buildings around like encompassing the backside of Hollywood Studios that You know, you you could never expand the park further because, you know, people were working there. And and that used to be like the yeah used to be like the costuming department animation building. Yeah. yeah you You know, you like all those things you would see like if you did like the behind the scenes tours and stuff like that. Right. So back. Yeah. Yeah. yeah Back. Sorry. Back a lot. Thank you. That's what how dare you. No, i I'm I'm sorry. It's been a minute. I haven't been in like, you know, 20 years. like this is This is interesting because if you remember correctly during the pandemic, they had had plans to build a whole new Imagineering campus in Orlando, well outsider outside of Orlando, and they canceled that. They ended up canceling that whole project.
00:21:20
Speaker
But they still need a lot of Imagineers around Disney World because there's a ton of stuff that's going to be happening, right? I mean, like, there's just ah to name a few, there's the Cars Land, there's the Villains Land, there's the Monsters Inc Land, there's, you know, just a couple of those things that are happening. Oh, all the stuff happening in Animal Kingdom.
00:21:36
Speaker
Like, they need the Imagineers to be there and they need office space for that. So instead of throwing them in some trailers on the side of the, you know, on the side of the project, they have this, you know, like you said, really nice building that's sitting there that they can adapt to be offices. Now, I do wonder, is it just, are they just going to turn like, you know, one of the guest rooms into like, throw a desk in there and boom, it's an office? Like, are they gonna do some like, serious work and rip everything out?
00:22:01
Speaker
i you know I don't know, but i mean it's also yeah the interesting showing up to work walking through the Galactic Star Cruiser stuff. you know the Yeah, the the weird thing is is, you're right, is that there's all the the plumbing and bathrooms and everything from- from the hotel rooms, which like I guess the thing is they can absolutely gut all of that. like if they If they really feel the need to, they can take it all back down to to bare bones and redo it however they see fit. But yeah, it's kind of a funny idea that you know every you know every second office has its own shower and bathroom and everything, which I mean, that could be a good perk for people that are working there that you know
00:22:42
Speaker
you know, hey, you know, free showers on site and, and, and there's some bunk beds behind you. You can sleep in if you want to take a nap, you know, if you're working long shifts, you just hop onto the bunk bed and take it, take a, take a break, you know? Yeah. The only thing though, that, uh, might be a bit of a challenge is that, and we talked about this with the star cruiser is that, um, there was no outside facing, uh, windows.
00:23:06
Speaker
so so they had yeah So they had all the starscape that you would look out into in the rooms, but there was no outside light coming in, which you know if you're working in these places you know day after day, week after week, like I can see where you know they may they may rethink um you know getting sunlight into these into these rooms. it's It's a valid point. Yeah. Yeah. Because because again, i I can see where, like I know for me personally, living in a northern climate, I noticed it a lot that
00:23:39
Speaker
Like right now, the the sun rises at like eight o'clock in the morning and sets at about, or at about four, 35 o'clock when it sets, which, ah you know, if you're working a full day, it's literally, you know, as you're leaving for work, you see, you barely see the sunrise. And then as you're getting home, the sun's setting, which means you don't get a lot of sunlight, especially, you know, depending on where you're working, um you know,
00:24:03
Speaker
You know, not, not seeing daylight for days on end can have an impact on you. So I feel like, um, you know, to your point about, you know, would they just leave the rooms the way they are? I, I think there's an opportunity for them to do some renos and make it like.
00:24:19
Speaker
Like, this feels like something that, you know, not just for the projects that they're working on right now, but as a long term, like, hey, this could become the Imagineer space or, you know, a space for, you know, administrative stuff at Disney, which keeps it away from, like, you know, it's always nice having stuff like backing onto the parks.
00:24:38
Speaker
but it's close enough but also far enough away from everything that it doesn't interfere with, you know, expansions, changes to the parks, all that kind of stuff. And I think it benefits us in the long run because, like I said, i I'm really curious now about, you know, we've we've already seen stuff that they're doing at Hollywood Studios, but they've got a lot more space to play with there, and they haven't shown their full hand of everything that they could do at Hollywood Studios.
00:25:07
Speaker
Well, and all the other parks, though, too. I mean, this is this is ah ah going to serve as a ah base of operations for all the work they're doing because they're doing something for every park except for while there's they're currently doing stuff for Epcot. But like, you know, every park has an expansion happening at this point, except for Epcot, really. So I mean, they have caught is.
00:25:28
Speaker
would you say? Test track done. Oh yeah. Well, okay. But that's that's one attraction. 3.0. Yeah. Yeah. I guess I'm thinking in terms of like full land expansions because like yeah like monsters Inc is like a land cars is a land. Um, you know, the, the South America's is a land, but I've caught is not, doesn't have anything like that going on at the moment.
00:25:48
Speaker
that we know about. I think that's that's the thing. like Disney is showing time and time again that yes, they will announce big things at D23, but they'll also just announce big things on a Tuesday. You know what I mean? like it's It doesn't have to be D23 for them to announce a huge project. right And and you know they do a lot of those at D23. But listen, there's probably other stuff that they're planning on doing that they have not announced yet. right For one reason or another,
00:26:13
Speaker
um Disney likes to space out these announcements. They've actually said that in earnings calls that they purposely will space out announcements, you know, because they like to be able to control that media cycle for for for those announcements. So they they do these things very strategically. So there could be, this actually tells me that there's a lot more to come that we don't know about, right? If they need that much space for Imagineers, like there's a lot of work already happening. But, ah you know, to to me, this is just,
00:26:39
Speaker
And I mean, they were going to do this already. Right. So like this is not they were going to move the whole of Imagineering to to the Orlando area. Right. yeah ah And to the point where they lost some people because they didn't want to relocate to Florida. Right. um But, you know, kind of sounds like they're not making them do that with this. This is more of their they're using this as as a base of operations for all the things they're doing. I think that dis the the funny thing to me, though, about this is just like I'm i'm imagining showing up to work every day and walking through the, you know, the, the shit of the star cruiser. Yeah. Like, I mean, are they going to tear down all that thematic stuff that they put it? I mean, no, given if you've ever seen like video of Imagineering, they do have a lot of cool fun stuff around the Imagineering office, but not like the star cruiser, you know? Um, but ah you know, thinking about it though too, Trevor, it makes total sense because
00:27:26
Speaker
The hotel had a lot of the amenities that you need for offices, right? It has a whole dining hall so they can have, you know, they can, and the kitchen and everything. Yeah, you're right. It's right there. They got bathrooms. They have a gym. Like they have all these things that you can, that, you know, are things that people want in an office building and it's already there, right? You know, and like you said, all the bathrooms and everything. So I mean, to your point, they probably do need to do something about the lack of natural light coming in. I don't know what you do about that other than,
00:27:56
Speaker
breaking some walls down or maybe just changing the screens to show like an outside view or something? I don't know. i mean Believe it or not, in in my head, the easiest way to do it is you don't actually have to take any walls down. You can get um you can get fiber optic lighting that you. So it's literally punching holes in the roof that will feed daylight down into these different areas. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you could do that. So that that would be yeah that would be how I would solve. And that would be a pretty like simple way to do it. But again, you just got to spend money on the fiber optic lighting. But yeah.
00:28:31
Speaker
Yeah, I'm just thinking of what they do on the cruise ships on those porthole rooms that they have where it's just a screen that looks like a porthole, and it shows you a live feed of what's going on outside. Yeah, you could do that. Yeah, that could work too. Yeah. Yeah, you could do that. Although live feed of outside is like, oh, there's like a gator walking by. What are you going to show? Yeah, that's fair.
00:28:55
Speaker
That's fair. You know, I was I'm actually really disappointed because if you remember correctly, my prediction from this was um that they were going to do a ah dinner show there. And actually this right this article actually says that they had heard rumors that that is exactly what was going to happen.
00:29:11
Speaker
is so they And this is from The Wrath, by the way. so that and ah By the way, Disney hasn't announced this or anything, so this is technically kind of rumor because it's not confirmed. But apparently there was rumors that it was going to be used for several hours long dinner theater type experience that would use the hotel's lobby, bridge, bar, and restaurant, and that the gift shop would also remain open. But that's apparently not happening now, specifically because it's difficult to get guests there.
00:29:39
Speaker
Yeah. that Which makes sense. That's the hardest thing about this and this is where I was saying like it makes sense for it to just be an office space is that you know they they can figure out parking, they can figure out shuttling employees around and it's not it's not at the same volume as guests, right? like Like you said, yeah the hard part about this building was that It was very, it was separated from everything, but it didn't need to be accessible to guests. And yeah, even even a dinner show, like it it doesn't matter what you do with it from from a guest standpoint, is it's like, it becomes a thing of, you know, oh, I wanna go, I wanna go see this dinner show. Well, you gotta get on a bus and travel for, you know, 30 minutes before you even get there. So, and I mean, to be fair, like everything in in Disney World is like that. Like yeah there's always travel time.
00:30:29
Speaker
But most things are like, like, you know, you you want to go see, like, you know, who to do review while you're going to wilderness lodge, which is like, it's still all interconnected, right? Like, whereas yeah this felt very disconnected from the larger Disney world. I don't know what you matrix, I guess. Yeah, yeah, yeah. so Universe. Yeah.
00:30:49
Speaker
Well, yeah, like like but like yeah that like the transportation matrix that that makes up Disney World, this one building was actually the most disconnected thing, and which i get you know I get it was intentional, but I think that's also why, it again, it makes more sense as office buildings because you know Yeah youre sorry your employees don't or you know cast members will get there however they get there and they're not gonna balk at while I had to get on a tram and go this way like like they know what the deal is right? It's like it's like going to work you know it's just part of your commute it's not it doesn't become a thing where it it feels
00:31:28
Speaker
like Like when you're on vacation, you know, extra travel time does take away from the experience. Right. So yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's I think a dinner show could have worked there, though, too. I think they could have made it work. But ah interestingly, there this note, this ah article notes that ah that according to one of their sources, they've been doing play tests in there.
00:31:50
Speaker
ah using the building to to to play test a potential dining experience in the theme park, but not in the Star Cruiser itself. so they I guess they've already been kind of using it for testing and stuff like that, so it kind of makes sense that they would make this into an office building as well. They can use it for testing, but then they can also use it for Imagineers.
Hollywood Studios and Park Development
00:32:08
Speaker
You see, that that that actually brings up a good point too, is you know you know office space or Imagineering space, ah you said yeah we we imagine like you a cubicle farm, but realistically,
00:32:20
Speaker
they do need space. Yeah, they need space to test things out. And this actually isn't a bad thing because you know because it was set up like a hotel. um It gives them the ability, like you said, you know they can emulate like, hey, how would this work you know yeah in ah in a you know in a dining hall setting or in like a you know a theme park or in a hotel lobby? right like It does give them space to practice and do things instead of Um, I equate it to like, um, you know how in app caught, you would see like character, like weird characters from time to time. yeah Yeah. And, and the reason for that was actually because, um, there was, you know, cast members were training for, you know, different types of character experiences. Yeah. I think the thing about that though, is that, you know, it's still, it's still, um, park facing and it's still like, um,
00:33:10
Speaker
it's It's different. right like you can't You can't be more free in your testing than versus like if this is like you know all an employee space, they can really test stuff out first and you know refine it before they go and try it in the parks. right Yeah, exactly. i mean That makes total sense. and it's yeah i mean I'm not going to lie, this was not on my ah on my bingo card for for for this building. right like i i and then Maybe I'm just like being cynical and I just always assume that Disney's going to do something that's going to make them the most money. um But you know it makes sense when you really think about it. Like I said, it has all the features you would need for an office building and then some. and it's and It's centrally located right because
00:33:52
Speaker
ah you know Hollywood studios and Epcot are like right in the middle of the parks basically, yeah right? So you're you're centrally located, you're not far from really anything. Yeah, I mean, it makes total sense to me. But it is interesting that they've spent so much money on this building. ah This article says it cost a billion dollars, although Disney has said many times that is much lower than that, so who knows. um But yeah, i at least they're getting use out of it, you know?
00:34:18
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. and And yeah, like I said, the the thing about it is that I wouldn't be surprised if the, you know, assuming that this is actually happening and that this isn't a rumor, but yeah, I guess the thing is, is I know, I know um I know we're just quoting it from the rap, but it feels usually if there was something this big going on, Disney would come out and quickly refute it. you yeah You've seen it everywhere, right? like like There's been a lot of places covering this information.
00:34:50
Speaker
And Disney's usually pretty quick to squash things if it's like grossly incorrect yeah for for stuff like this. So, I mean, I'm not saying, you know, you know silence is means affirmation from them, but, um you know, assuming that this is this is happening, I wouldn't be surprised if um you start hearing stuff about, like you said, you know, another expansion in Hollywood Studios, which You know is actually kind of crazy if you think about it or actually it's kind of a repeat of what happened with the. Toy story land and galaxies edge yeah that um because they were they were effectively they were building both those lands pretty much side by side at one point yeah even though toy story land open first.
00:35:36
Speaker
um Far less complicated than Galaxy's Edge, right? so Yeah, exactly. but But I wouldn't be surprised if we hear something about the animation courtyard yeah coming up soon. like you know you know Once they have those office spaces cleared out, um you know that they start saying, oh yeah, you know this is the next thing that's going on. And and then the the other cool thing about that too is that um You know, when you initially hear about, oh, they're going to do an expansion, it's like you expect the, you know, kind of like, you know, how wall cut, wall cut became a thing welcome that, um you know, you kind of assume that like, right away, there's going to be walls put up all around animation courtyard, but
00:36:15
Speaker
If they're actually starting behind animation courtyard, they can demo all of that area and like they they can start building something without disrupting the the ah larger Hollywood studios. yeah for like like it It does give them some breathing space to do stuff like that's already behind the scenes without anybody noticing what's going on.
DVC Rental Promotions and Cruise Line Songs
00:36:36
Speaker
right yeah Yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense. All right, let's why don't we go ahead and do our ad? I don't i don't know if we have anything else on this, right unless you do.
00:36:44
Speaker
No, I will leave it for another time, but I want to speculate on what else they could add or what else I think they should add to Hollywood Studios. Oh, okay. That's a, that's a wait list right there. Yeah. I think we should talk about that in the future.
00:36:58
Speaker
And yup I'll put it out to our listeners too. you know you know If you guys got thoughts on this stuff, we love hearing it. you know people yeah you know we We get all kinds of um you know interesting takes on this stuff in our Discord, which I love it. I love that that you know we've got places to talk about this stuff. but turi I agree. I agree.
00:37:17
Speaker
So, a DVC Rental Store is a world of DVC company that offers magical vacations at incredible value. Save up to 60% off retail rates at premium Disney resorts. DVC Rental Store now includes deposits as low as 25% at the time of booking and a built-in cancellation policy for every reservation. And as always, DVC Rental Store pays out the most to members looking to rent their points.
00:37:39
Speaker
Want to learn more? Go to dvcrentalstore.com slash welcome home or call 1-855-DVC-RENT. That's 3-8-2-7-3-6-8. And when you speak to them, be sure to let them know the welcome home sent you. All right. We need to make a song for um cruise line stuff. cruise line? Oh, yeah. Well, I mean, I'll have to think about that a little bit more. I still need to make one for Reco speculation. That's the next one. So yeah, but, but I feel like, so, okay. I'm not going to take the same stance as Damon that, you know, he didn't wants nothing to do with food time, but yeah the cruise stuff is like,
00:38:15
Speaker
I will admit it is the least interesting stuff to me only because of the fact that I know that I'm not getting on a cruise. Yeah, I get it. like I don't think ever because my my wife will not get on a cruise because of ah because of health issues like and you know understandably. and and you know i'm I'm also past the point where like Disney cruises don't make sense for me because I'm not going to take my my almost 17-year-old on a cruise when he's never done it before. and and but like The Disney cruises are different. right like They do have some stuff, yeah but but I feel like it would not like would not be the best use of my my time or my money.
00:38:59
Speaker
so Yeah, that's fair. Yeah. I don't know if we could figure out something. I want to say something almost in the vein of the SpongeBob SquarePants song, but I don't know. Just throwing it out there. Oh, man. Okay. I'm mad my wheels are turning. Now my wheels are turning. You know what I'm talking about, right? Just a nice Nice sea shanty about you know cruise line or you know cruising, but also that you know Trevor will never be on a on a cruise.
00:39:30
Speaker
yeah ah I'm not going to do my impression of that opening. i i would do it If I wasn't sick right now, I would do the voice of the SpongeBob. I've talked about this before, I think. I used to be a birthday party host when I was in high school.
00:39:45
Speaker
Yeah. And every once in a while, a kid would ask to do the SpongeBob theme song instead of Happy Birthday. And I would do the voice and do the whole song and all that. I can't do it right now. my ah my My voice is not there. But I could definitely do it for a song. I mean, you know, I'm just saying.
00:40:02
Speaker
oh I've got ideas. Okay. ah Anyway, so I didn't
Dining Packages and Concert Lineups
00:40:07
Speaker
even know this is a thing because i we talked about this too. i'm i'm It's a blind spot for me in DCL. And by the way, in a couple weeks, we're going to have our friend Brian from DCL do on to tell me everything I need to know about Disney Cruises. So we're going to do that. That should be fun. Perfect.
00:40:21
Speaker
Yeah, I actually think we might do a live show for that one just so we can get live questions because I think that might be cool. Yeah. So we'll get back to you on that one. But anyway, so there's this thing called Dine and Play, which is a package that's offered to guests that have the later seating slot, which is like eight something, right? So we actually initially got the later dining slot and it's like I said, I think it's 8.30 or something like that, sometime after eight o'clock.
00:40:46
Speaker
my My daughter eats at five o'clock, right? so I eat at five o'clock. I don't know. Yeah. right yeah so we were like We tried to get the earlier seating, which we did. so we we we'll have Our seating will be five, I think it was 545 or something like that. But anyway, so this is only available to the people that have the later one.
00:41:05
Speaker
But basically, it's only available for the this the the second dinner sitting. And basically, ah you can it allows the adults to go and eat dinner in peace while you drop your child off at the Oceaneer Club and let them do their thing there. ah Which is you know a great idea if your kid's going to be your kid's goingnna be up till 10 o'clock at night, I guess. Which, I mean, if if you're on vacation, I feel that's My seven-year-old's not making it until 10 o'clock. I'm telling you that right now, yeah. Yeah. like like I remember when my son was younger, you know we were we were trying to make him stay up to watch the fireworks and he was passing out at 8 o'clock at night. When I told you guys before, I tried to get my daughter to watch ah Happily Ever After and she watched it and then immediately passed out.
00:41:51
Speaker
like so it's It's hard to keep them up that late. so i mean you know This is probably good for kids that are a little bit older, maybe some of you out there that have kids that go to bed at 10 o'clock at night, which I do not. My daughter goes to bed at 7 o'clock every night. Yeah, not yet, right? but ah it's It's a cool idea. i mean you know give it's It's a nice way to for the adults to kind of like get a chance to like relax for a few. you know Yeah, I mean, it's it. I get it. It makes sense because, it you know, it's it's the best of both worlds. You know, it gives the kids something. yeah You know, it sounds it sounds like this this ocean air club, um you know, it's very it's three to one. Yeah. Yeah. So so you know it's very interactive. You know, it gives the kids somewhere to, um you know, you know, have fun, you know, burn off all of their energy. And like you said, and then it gives the parents
00:42:37
Speaker
Um, a break or, you know, you know, and I feel like, you know, on a cruise, it's gotta be especially hard. Um, cause I think a a lot of people, when you travel, like, you know, that there was, um, I went on a trip once with my parents and they said to us, you know, Hey, you know, we're going to watch your son and you you know, you guys go off and do whatever. And you know, they gave us a break because, you know, as parents, you don't always get a chance to, you know, go and have just, you know, dinner together or some quiet time together.
00:43:08
Speaker
um When your kids are around so this is a nice way to to offer that on a cruise ship where? Otherwise you like I feel cruise ships can be very Restrictive in that you know there's there's never an option to say like you know well I'm just I'm gonna like go to the other side of the cruise ship, and you stay over here kind of thing yeah, yeah, exactly yeah, I Mean that's what the issue called basically is you drop your kid off and you go do other stuff right like but yeah This is for dinnertime. Yeah, so it's it's a structured thing. it gives you know It gives a place to know that you you know your kids are being entertained and that you you know you can go and have a quiet dinner, be entertained yourself. and and yeah I think it's a great thing. you know it sounds It sounds like a good way to you know keep keep everybody happy on on a cruise. Yeah. Yeah.
00:43:57
Speaker
All right. Well, that's all I got for that. let's Let's go to Garden Rocks. We talked about Garden Rocks last week. Now we have the full concert lineup. The full lineup. I think we shouldn't rename Garden Rocks to One Hit Wonders and Hazbins, because that's pretty much what it is. I mean, that right? There's got to be a better, like... A nicer way to say it, I guess. Yeah. ah Something playing off of like, because Garden Rocks, it's Flower and Garden Festival, right? Yeah. so yeah I'll have to think about this one for a minute. Think about it, yeah. but But we got... So we we talked about the ones before. Now we've got Sugar Ray, which... yeah um Oh yeah, I forgot about the orchestra starring ELO and ELO part two former members. That's a mouthful. Sugar Ray, which I believe... I mean, is it no, Smash Mouth has a different lead singer now, right? Sugar Ray is still still together together, everybody, right? Yeah.
00:44:47
Speaker
I like Sugar Ray. they were up I listen to them a lot. They feel they feel very Disney-esque, you know? Yeah. Simple plans on there as well. which again is another like like Unfortunately, we we are hitting that demographic where you know all the stuff that I listen to as an angry teen has now become background music in the theme park.
00:45:08
Speaker
Yeah. so it's I think it's Dan that comments on this all the time at the that when he's walking around the supermarket, he hears the songs of his youth playing in the supermarket. yeah It's just supermarket music now. you know Just what plays in the background while you're picking up your food. you know And you used to think it was so edgy. and Yeah. And now it's just background music. And now now it's garden rocks performances. Garden rocks performances, yeah.
00:45:33
Speaker
All right. So so the other ones going on. So a couple of these I've never heard of before. um Jodi Messina? is Yeah, Messina. Yeah, I know who that is. I couldn't name a song, but I know the name. um But yeah. And this next one, I'm not even going to attempt to pronounce this one. oh ah Mike Del Guides? Guides? I don't know. Italian-less name. There you go. I don't know who that person is, though. I've never heard that name before, so I'm sure someone will tell us. yeah um But yeah, I'm i'm not familiar.
00:46:07
Speaker
Oh, okay, wait. He's known as the rhythm guitarist and the vocalist of Billy Joel's band, okay? Okay. So he's related to Billy Joel's. You'd think they'd put of Billy Joel fame, right? No, because maybe that's... I can get why they wouldn't want to do that, because then it assumes that there's going to be some... If Billy Joel's going to show up. But even playing covers of Billy Joel music, I don't think that they want to set that expectation.
00:46:34
Speaker
I mean, he did used to see, here's the thing. It might be a Billy Joel tribute band because looking at his Wikipedia, that's what he did before he joined joined Billy Joel's band. He was a Billy Joel tribute band. So maybe that's what he does. I don't know. Maybe he does Billy Joel. Who knows? I'm not going to claim that because I don't know. Yeah. Oh man. Flock of seagulls. Okay. so so So here's the, so, okay. Here's the thing about flock of seagulls.
00:46:57
Speaker
they are featured in Guardians of the Galaxy cosmic rewind. That's that is true. Yeah. Because Iran is one of the songs, which I mean, of all of the ones on here, like this is the most relevant one to. um That's true. To one of the rides in the park, which I, I feel like it's a flock of seagulls is happening April 20th and 21st.
00:47:20
Speaker
I feel like those, those days could be very busy yeah because of the fact that you don't just have people who liked them previously, ah you know, as, you know, when they were, you know, at the height of their, their fame, but also because they are a part of the parks now. True. um Yeah. Yeah. they They come every year though. I feel like they're, they're a repeat. Yeah. And there's Taylor day. And I don't know who that is. Um, I know again, I know, I know the name and I'm hold on.
00:47:51
Speaker
I feel like the big one here is 98 degrees, right? like they They're one of the biggest names on here. I i know they're not big anymore, but still, yeah they were huge at one time. Yeah, yeah so so Taylor Dayne, songs include Love Will Lead You Back, Tell It To My Heart,
00:48:06
Speaker
um no don't the These were, okay, I think you're a little bit young for these because these were like the eighties. Yes, you are. I have to listen to this. so I might know. but but You'll know them when you hear them, but so so I realized you and I like...
00:48:23
Speaker
i so me to my heart i know that one yeah you do yeah yeah You're about the same age as my brother. which like yeah is the like you You were kind of coming up like like late 80s into the 90s. So a lot of these 80s songs For you, they don't resonate as well because like when like I was listening to those as a kid, like they were on the radio all the time. Yeah. Yeah. When I was a kid. So, so Taylor Daniels like, yeah, I know that one. I know. Tell it to me. Yeah. I tell it to my heart. I know that one very, very much. so Yeah. And yeah, like you said, so 98 degrees is another one that, uh, I mean, it'll be popular. I, I, are they really still popular? I don't know. Well, Hey, well you're there. The plain white teas are going to be there. You go see the plain white teas.
00:49:08
Speaker
ah No, actually, Plain White T's is before I'm there. Oh, is it? OK, my bad, my bad. yeah So, OK, so my so Plain White T's John Cicada. Yeah. And then the ones that will be there when I'm there are ah Maverick City Music. No idea what that is. And The Spinners. OK, I'm going to miss The Pointer Sisters, man. ah You would go see The Pointer Sisters, really? Yeah, I would have seen The Pointer Sisters. OK.
00:49:35
Speaker
I don't know the rest of these other than the guy that was on the Eagles. It's ah a not on the Eagles, part of the Eagles at some point. that That's that's really it. I feel like I've heard of we the kingdom before. So it's OK. So the rest of these, is if for anyone that's wondering is um there's some new ones which are the outlaws, the cat empire and we the kingdom, which. Yeah, not totally sure. Yeah, I have no idea what any this is. I'd have to Google it, but.
00:50:04
Speaker
My, my, my level of care on who these bands are is pretty low. So, um, but oh, okay. Interesting. Um, yeah, that would, okay. and We, the kingdom, um, seems to be a Christian rock band. I was gonna say that's a good, that sounds like a Christian rock band. Yeah. yeah Okay. Yeah. Interesting.
00:50:24
Speaker
Yeah. So anyway, yeah. So that's the lineup. If you want to go buy one of those ah dining packages or you could just stand in the back of the American, the front of the American pavilion and listen for yourself. I'm trying to remember who was there, Trevor, when you and I were there. Because it was a bit, I remember there was somebody performing on stage when we were at Epcot and I don't remember. There was and I don't, we'd have to go back and look. I mean, yeah it was a long time ago. But it was. again it It was exactly that is, you you know, not to detract from any of the these bands that, you know,
00:50:53
Speaker
You know, they're all they're all good bands. They've all had, you know, you know, good careers. But when I'm in Epcot, I'm not like making a beeline for the stage going, oh, I can't wait for this concert. It's like I've got so much other stuff to do in Epcot that. Yeah.
EPCOT Construction and Valentine's Treats
00:51:10
Speaker
Yeah. Like.
00:51:12
Speaker
It's hard to justify stopping and sitting down to listen to a bad even if it's for like you know twenty minutes or whatever like. I know it's like you said you know as we we're walking around like i would. I would get some shaved ice from japan and like you know go and listen to to one of these but.
00:51:27
Speaker
Yeah, but I don't I don't need to like get seeds. Yeah, I agree. I agree. Yeah. So I want to do some reckless speculation, speaking of EPCOT, because and we haven't talked about this yet, but this is something that's been going on for about a year now. And there's some sort of like mysterious work that's been going on at at the EPCOT. Can Canada. Wow. Canada Pavilion. Canada. Canada. I almost said that. Yeah, I don't know why. um But there's been like weird construction going on there for a while now on the the the hotel that's in the back. Right.
00:51:57
Speaker
And nobody really seems to know why. like They haven't announced anything and they've been actively doing work and doing permits and all this stuff. And they've been doing work at the back of the hotel too, oddly enough. um But apparently, and I actually didn't know this, that there used to be a shop that was in there and it sold like jewelry and perfume and stuff and Christmas ornaments, but like closed like 25 years ago.
00:52:21
Speaker
like It closed a long time ago. And so some people are speculating they're going to reopen that or expand it. But the fact that they're building like extra stuff in the in the back of it makes me think like they're going to do something different or maybe just have a bigger gift shop. But they also there was a permit that came out pretty recently to install sign ah signage there. so And there's currently like what looks like new doors that are going to be put in.
00:52:46
Speaker
So I don't know. I want to speculate what is this going to be? I mean, like it's not going to be a ride, obviously, but could it be like ah a new restaurant? I mean, what? Why couldn't it be a ride? do Do you think Canada is not sufficient to have its own ride? What would you? OK, this is a wait list. But what what would your what would your ride be for the Canada Pavilion? Like, what would you want our ride be? Oh, we it um.
00:53:10
Speaker
actual syrup waterslide. No, im I mean, um, so well, something kind of like that, but like a, um, like log flume, like kind of thing, log flume or, or like a, like going down the side of a mountain, okay all or like a mountain coaster type. Yeah, like mountain coaster. Yeah. Okay. I can see that. All right. it's Interesting. We do have those. I mean, that like that, I feel like that would be an easy one because they're everywhere. I'm not saying the Canada doesn't deserve a ride. I'm just saying the space is not large enough for a ride. um yeah so in it the Also, you know there was there was ah some stuff that they put on the upper level of the hotel too. It's always weird to me when Disney's working on something for like a year and like no one knows why or for what purpose. or you know what i mean like It's just weird.
00:53:59
Speaker
Yeah, like and especially, I mean, considering that that whole back area in Canada, like you said, ah you know, there used to be a gift shop back there, but like that that whole facade is of, you know, it's it's not actually a building, but it's like, I mean, maybe they they need to fix some stuff structurally inside of it that, you know, be yeah because it it is getting old for sure.
00:54:23
Speaker
But um and and it's it's definitely not it looks like so we have hotels in canada in some areas the the most notorious one where i live is the bath springs hotel in alberta um that if you go into these hotels there they're entirely made of stone like everything is.
00:54:42
Speaker
is like this very nice carved stone and it was built like over a hundred years ago. So it doesn't, it doesn't move, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But the, the thing about, and and that's what this facade looks like is it looks like one of those hotels, but obviously as we know, you know, they're not building these out of stone, which means I have to wonder if the inside is maybe, you know, starting to see some where they need to reinforce it so that it doesn't fall apart because it, you know,
00:55:12
Speaker
If it just sits there long enough, i'm sure that I'm sure the structure will eventually start to break down. That's not a fun rumor, though. No, but i'm just i'm just I'm just being realistic that you know yeah maybe they they need to fix the inside of it. But i mean ah aside from that, like so if if they were going to actually make this into like a usable space or or you know a a yeah um a guest-facing space, and besides the gift shop,
00:55:39
Speaker
like could Did you almost do like a, uh, I mean, it's not great for a viewing area either. Like there's there's rumors or something. There's, there's been rumors for a while that it's going to be a quick serve restaurant.
00:55:52
Speaker
Oh, really? which I actually think it would be interesting. But at the same time, I'm like, there's way too many quickserv already at Epcot. like i Every time I want to eat at Epcot, I have too many decisions of where I want to go. And then you end up defaulting to the ones that you know because you don't want to go and find a new quickserv. Where are we going to go? Oh, let's just go to Sunset Seasons. they They're good. They always have a good variety. Or connections, yeah. Connections is easy, right? like Yeah, exactly. It's it just like, do we need more quickservice? But I mean, if it's something cool and unique, you know then I guess so.
00:56:20
Speaker
And I guess the thing is is there there is also La Salle right there, which you know having two high-end restaurants side by side doesn't make sense, because they're competing with one another. It would make sense to have a quick service and to sit down yeah right by each other. yeah And then and then you know let's say they did do a quick service, what what are they offering that is Canadian cuisine? which i mean Poutine. Poutine and beaver tails, I guess. Dedicated, dedicated poutine. Stand, so. I mean, we already have, oh yeah, you guys do have the beaver tails now, don't you? ah Does it come something else, though? We had this conversation one time before. No, well, up here they are, yeah, you have another name for them, but we have, like, beaver tails are...
00:57:02
Speaker
or a common thing around here. like You should probably clarify that you're not talking about an actual tale of a beaver that you're eating. No, it's it's ah it's a pastry. It's like a funnel cake type pastry that you can get all kinds of stuff on it. And yeah and and I thought we'd had a conversation previously that they were offering beaver tails in Epcot. They were. They were. They were. Yeah, there there was a time. But yeah, I mean, I don't know. Maybe you you might be right. Maybe they'll do something like that. Yeah, I'm just trying to think what else I would want to see from a Canadian quick server. The hard part is for me is like, even if they open up this new quick server, I don't think I'm stopping there. like i Yeah, well, says yeah the're Canadian, right? I mean, like ah you why would you stop in the Canada Pavilion, right? like I mean, i i ah to be fair though, i do good or I have been a regal eagle and and it is delicious and that's the American Pavilion, so I don't know.
00:57:50
Speaker
Yeah, and and that's that's the thing is that like the of Canadian cuisine, it's like there's there's nothing that I'm like, oh, I need to get this. like like Everything that I eat around here is not Canadian. Yeah, yeah exactly. I go for like Thai food or I go yeah for... like that we We have so many options. like that That's the thing is that Canadian food is... or one of the you know One of the things is like you can find pretty much any type of food you want in Canada because there's there's lots to offer. But um yeah, i'm just I'm just trying to think of, like I said, I don't know that I would stop there because it like I've got better things to do than eating the canned pavilion. Although I will say when we were when we were there on our last trip, we did stop by the popcorn stand and we tried the maple popcorn, which
00:58:41
Speaker
um It was a little burnt.
00:58:46
Speaker
So when I got home, I actually made maple popcorn in a kettle and it was way better than what I had in the in the Epcot pavilion. So, yeah, it's kind of it's kind of hard to justify as a Canadian going to the Canada pavilion. Yeah, I get it. I get it. Yeah.
00:59:05
Speaker
I get it. All right. yeah let's ah um You got me curious now. I'll have to keep an eye on this because as long as they do something okay with it, if if they ... I mean, I guess what would be the worst case scenario? I don't even know what the worst case scenario would be for them. It's nothing. I mean, but that's not even like a bad scenario. It's like, okay, we just had what we had before.
00:59:26
Speaker
Actually, oh, I know what the worst case scenario is. um well so So one of the the common tourist traps around here is that there's places that that sell polished rocks.
00:59:39
Speaker
which okay um because So like in the mountains, because of the fact that there's like you know excavation and stuff going on, um you'll find ah like there'll be like geodes and you know different types of minerals and stuff. so there'll be entire like If you go into some of the more touristy places like in Banff, there's entire shops that are just full of like rocks that have been polished that people buy as souvenirs because it you know it's a particular mineral that was found in the mountains or whatever.
01:00:10
Speaker
um If they opened up a shop selling rocks in the Epcot Pavilion, I would be highly disappointed. So I think that's the worst case scenario is if they sold rocks. It's like sold rocks. I get it. Even if they're fancy, but it's still not. Yeah. It's not okay. You ready, Trevor? Oh no. What are we doing?
01:01:21
Speaker
trouble last week for forgot you know i got i got to you just I will say this is that the one thing I actually like about or not the one there's multiple things I like about the song but one of the good things about the song is it actually gives me a chance to go through the go through up yeah and and like refresh my because I do read the stuff ahead of time but I always forget about What I read, because yeah I'm usually like, like yeah or for okay, behind the scenes talk for a second is like, ah tom Tom usually sends out um the the rundowns like, you know, a day or two ahead of time. And usually like, I didn't do this last night, but usually I'll be like, I'll be lying in bed as I'm getting ready to sleep. And I'll actually go through, like, I'll just flip through the rundown just to kind of
01:02:04
Speaker
get used to it or get used to what the topics are going to be talking about. But I didn't do that last night. and Because Tom fell asleep and but got to do it. but That's not your fault. that's Yeah, I'm sick. Yeah. but it's So yeah so that this way, you know you know the Food Time song gives me at least a couple of minutes to for like a minute to go through it all to go through everything yeah yeah exactly all well well you have good background music so exactly we're gonna say this is a valentine's day stuff so some of the stuff is going to be limited uh to february 14th but some of it will be available this week as we're talking til till february 14th so yeah we have amarets which always has cool stuff uh and the first one is they carl and ellie petite cake
01:02:47
Speaker
which is a vanilla chiffon soaked with sham board, I guess, right? Simple syrup, white chocolate mousse, raspberry jam, and white chocolate crispy pearls. And as usual, it looks very cool. It does. And you know they they did the little graphic thing on the side, which has got to Um, which is, you know, I'll, I'll give amorets a pass on it just because like you said, they they do generally like and there's other decorations on there. yeah it Yeah. It speaks for itself and yeah. And they've got like the little adventure book thing on there. Like it's, I guess it's not just like a single thing. Like you can see that, that even though it's like a cutout thing, there's been some detail put into it. Like it's,
01:03:29
Speaker
there's some effort there for sure. It doesn't just look like a ah copy paste of like a Mickey head or something like that. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I'm not going to even try this. ah is this next I love saying this. it's so so We have a mini Valentine's croque-a-mouche. Okay. That's a fun word. Yeah. Croque-a-mouche is fun to say. but so It's basically a stack of little pastries. which ah um so it's a little like little um like um What do you call them? Oh gosh. Cream puffs. Cream puffs, yeah. so yeah so In this case, they're chocolate pate a choux.
01:04:03
Speaker
Uh, chocolate hazelnut custard and chocolate ganache. So I would destroy this. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Crockombouche is delicious. I would, I would rip through this so quickly that my wife would be like, wait, I thought we were going to share this and she would never know that it was even, even there in the first place. Um, and and the little heart chocolate on the top.
01:04:23
Speaker
I love the detail on it. like if you yeah If you really look at it, it's got like ah like this lace heart. just It looks awesome. And a piece of edible gold on the top, which I've never understood that because i'm not going to be I don't want to eat gold. and I want to do that. Yeah.
01:04:38
Speaker
I mean, it's it's fancy. It is. but It makes you want to put your pinky up as you're eating it. Exactly. Yeah. And then there's a ah painting, the roses, red amarets rose, which is a chocolate biscuit with a dark chocolate mousse and rubber raspberry strawberry strawberry sauce filling. I can't speak. This is is cool looking. I don't feel like they needed the little graphic thing on the side here.
01:05:04
Speaker
I think it works because it's it because it's painting the roses red, right? I get it. Yeah, I just yeah. I mean, OK. You do turn me, I guess. Yeah. Like, again, it it's it's very if they didn't have it there, it's just a white and red rose, I guess, is the which is fine, though. Yeah, I mean, you know, it's fine. This is that tieback to Alice in Wonderland, which, i you know, I feel like Alice in Wonderland doesn't get enough love in the yeah but sure in the food department sometimes. So.
01:05:34
Speaker
I mean, I'm here for it. All right. Yeah. Then we go over to the ganache, which, which similarly has fantastic stuff. Yes. And we have a red velvet ganache pop, which is a Ruby ganache layered with a cream cheese ganache covered in 65% dark chocolate. Oh yeah. Yeah. That's i'm getting two of those.
01:05:54
Speaker
Yeah, ah you're you're you're you're double-fisting, you know, at least cake pop. One in each hand. Yeah, yeah we alternate bites, is that, you know? Yeah. And then we got a chocolate-covered cherry ganache square, which is seemingly similar to that to the other thing, but it's it's a square and it's got a amarena cherries. Is that the right way to say that, amarena? Yeah, amarena, I guess, yeah. Vanilla bean and white chocolate covered in 65% dark chocolate again. Again, I'm all about that.
01:06:22
Speaker
See, that's the past for me because I don't want the cherries. That's that's fair. I like cherries. And then we have ah Mickey chocolates, milk chocolate with caramel crispy pearls and dark chocolate with strawberry k crisp. I'm not going to lie, when I first went by this, I thought it was popcorn for a second. and Oh yeah. It doesn't really look like popcorn, but like if you go fast, it kind of does because it's served like popcorn.
01:06:42
Speaker
And it's got like the outer edges like that. But again, another thing that I would just absolutely destroy is an entire container of those. So yeah. And then, uh, and then just to mention it, they also have the returning, uh, sweetheart mini chocolate pinata, which, um, you know, they, they love these, you know, you get the little hammer and you smash it and it's full of marshmallow treats and white chocolate crispy pearls. I did it one time and it was a lot of fun smashing it with a mallet. So yeah.
01:07:10
Speaker
Let me go down to Hollywood Studios over to Woody's Lunchbox. and you know They love doing different tarts. They love their pop tarts, but not pop tarts. Yeah, their homemade pop tarts. and This one is a chocolate-covered strawberry lunchbox tart. Chocolate pastry, strawberry jam, chocolate fondant, straw ah strawberry crisps, pink curls, and heart sprinkles. It looks delicious. It does.
01:07:35
Speaker
I can't get over mixing like strawberry jam with my chocolate. and i know you're going to be like that flavor yeah i don't like i don't I had this conversation with my wife and my son the other day is that I don't like peanut butter and jelly. like i just so in i know i'm I'm sorry, but I don't. like Give me either peanut butter or jam, not both.
01:07:55
Speaker
I will say every time I've gotten one of the tarts at Woody's lunchbox, they all they've always been very good. Oh, I'm sure they are. It's just I don't want the strawberries in there. That's fair. That's fair. I just want the chocolate. Give me the chocolate. I get you. I'm i'm with you.
01:08:11
Speaker
Okay, scrolling all the way down here because we got a lot of repeat stuff. so yeah yeah ah yeah they Yeah, they seem to like repeating. I mean, I guess it's easy, but yeah looking for new stuff. she oh sorry I do have to mention the iLavaU float in Magic Kingdom. I've had it. It is so good. Is it really good? It is really good. like yeah if you You can stop by Sunshine Tree Terrace and get one. get one Okay. Nice. This is Fanta strawberry and passion fruit flavor served with dull whip orange and topped with popping candy. Yeah. So yeah. All right. so we're actually ah So there's nothing else new in Disney world. We're actually down at Disneyland. Yeah. At Bengal barbecue. um Okay. Strawberry milk served with in a chocolate cracking cup and topped with cold foam. What is, oh, is that like when they coat the inside of the cup with chocolate and then you like crack it?
01:09:05
Speaker
Is that the deal? I've never had chocolate cracking cut before. i I have not either. I don't know what it is. I'm guessing that's what it is. I can't tell which or i guess that's probably not.
01:09:18
Speaker
I don't think it's pictured here, actually. Yeah, it's not pictured, because they got the gray stuff, and they got the strawberry shortcake sundaes. So yeah, OK. Yeah, it's it's like ah it's I think it's like a trend right now, is the chocolate cracking cup, where you do you put like chocolate on the inside, and then you like crush it when you get it, and it the the chocolate all just like breaks into the drink. Ah, OK. Yeah. It's a cool idea. Yeah, it's fun.
01:09:40
Speaker
And then we'll move down to Candy Palace and Candy Kitchen and Poo Corner, a corner all all of that. So a Snickers caramel apple, Granny Smith apple dipped in caramel and decorated with milk chocolate and chopped Snickers bar pieces. Not the most creative dessert, but probably delicious. Yeah. So, okay. I guess here's the thing is that, you know, not everything needs to be like i agree we're fancy. Sometimes you just need to like, give me a Snickers bar with my caramel apple and I'm a happy camper.
01:10:09
Speaker
ah it's It's fair. Yeah, it's that's fair. um Yeah, I get you. and then there's I mean, if you want fancy, yeah, there there's the Queen of Hearts caramel apple, which this thing is, it's a Grainsmith apple dipped in caramel decorated with red.
01:10:23
Speaker
red-colored white chocolate, marshmallow ears, a black-colored dark chocolate dress, red M&Ms, and a shimmery gold crown with a heart in the middle. What poor college kid has to sort through all of the M&Ms and just pull out the red ones? You know you can just buy, like, visual colors of M&Ms. And I'm sure Disney, because they have a deal with with that company, they can probably just get that. I was going to say, can't you?
01:10:51
Speaker
Can't you go to Disney Springs and go, isn't there an M&M's shop that you can get just the color you want? I never understood the whole color thing with the M&M's. They all taste the same. Who cares what color they do? They do, yeah. But I mean, sometimes you just want the red ones. Same thing with Skittles. I mean, Skittles all taste the same, but you get different colors. It's like Froot Loops too. Froot Loops, they all taste the same, the different colors, but your mind tricks you into thinking they're different.
01:11:21
Speaker
Uh, the last new thing on here you're going to hate too, because it's peanut butter, jelly, basically raspberry, where peanut butter and white chocolate dipped in a raspberry flavored white chocolate and decorated with chopped peanuts and freeze dried raspberry crisps. I would eat it. I'm not a big raspberry friend, him to be honest.
01:11:36
Speaker
Yeah, it it looks nice. like like I like how they they they put it next to the the Snickers candy apple. yeah and And it looks very nice. like it It looks like like a red velvet something. Yeah. Yeah. but yeah just don't I don't want the chocolate and the fruit mixed together. Well, now we're going to move over to California Adventure over to Hollywood Lounge for a Valentine champagne. Just strawberry champagne served in a Valentine flute. so but that's That's so boring.
01:12:08
Speaker
Really is. um'm more i'm I'm more interested in the Lazzo treat here. It's a Mickey shaped cereal treat dipped in a strawberry flavored pink colored white chocolate decorated with magenta, black and tan colored white chocolate. Although it's not pictured here. Really? That's not the... or Oh, I guess it's not that marshmallow looking thing on the side there. Yeah, no. Because I think the one to the to the left of that is the Minnie Mouse thing, right?
01:12:34
Speaker
yeah Although I don't really see it described here anywhere, but I don't know. I don't think it's that one, but that cookie looks pretty good. I would say. Yeah. Uh, yeah, they're all the same there. Yeah. They repeated the same ones that were over in who corner. Yeah. And then we'll be adding new things. That might be it.
01:12:56
Speaker
Yeah. Um, oh, wait, hold on. Oh no, wait, sorry. That's the raspberry pean butterqui yeah raspberry peanut Yeah. Yeah. All right. Yeah. I think it's in downtown Disney. Um, so, Hey, yeah, you don't, you don't have to go into the parks to get some of these, which is good. Yeah, exactly. All right. Well, that's it. That's it. We can, we can wrap this up. Yeah. Not, not, I mean, I guess we, we say this every year is, you know, you know, the Valentine's day stuff is not, uh,
01:13:23
Speaker
It's not super extensive because they only run it for you know really two weeks. How much time are they going to spend on something that's two weeks long? yeah but But again, you know if if you're there and they they happen to have these things, these things like I said, you know we were there um ah last year in February and and yeah I was able to to get the I love you float, which you know you know these these things are worth going out and looking for because they do put a lot of work into you know giving you something interesting. like it's not like if If the float just tasted like another dole whip, I would have said, eh, don't waste your money. but
01:14:00
Speaker
You know they do give you something interesting with all of these so and that's why we like going through it on food time because you know they they do try to give us different and exciting things to try in the parks. Yeah exactly. Yeah. All right let's wrap around. Yeah I was gonna say is there is there anything else that we need to go over before we wrap up.
01:14:19
Speaker
I don't think so. I'm sure I missed some sort of news. But no, I think we're good. We'll we'll get told about it. So yeah. you know yeah And you know I guess we'll start there.
Listener Engagement and Support Options
01:14:28
Speaker
If there's anything that we did miss that you want to hear about on the show or if you got your own trip reports or or anything like that, you can always find us at welcomehomepodcast.gmail dot.com. We love hearing from you guys and hearing what you think about the show and and your own take on on Disney stuff because you know we we all we all have our own take on Disney stuff.
01:14:49
Speaker
um Similar to the email address, you can also find us on social media. You can find us on Facebook as welcome on podcast. You can find us on YouTube as welcome on podcast. You can find us on Instagram as welcome on pics. Make sure on Facebook you check out our group, Welcome Home Disney Wake List, where we have all kinds of great conversations and you know just talk about Disney. I want to shout out quickly to, I believe it's Ashley, and I'm going to double check this before I, if I,
01:15:16
Speaker
I'm pretty sure it was Ashley. We got a great trip report where where she was talking about all of her um or, you know, she was in Disney in January, which, you know, people don't generally like to talk about because it's ah you don't realize how cold it is in January. But yeah, true. um You know, really, really appreciate the the report on your trip. And of course, I can't find it now because because Facebook isn't loading for me. That's what happens, right? That's how this, yeah, but when you need it, that's when it doesn't when it doesn't work. Exactly. Yeah, Ashley. Yeah, so yeah yeah Ashley in our group you know you know gave us a great rundown ah of how how her trip went. And you know we love hearing stuff like that in the group. So um you know keep that kind of stuff coming because ah
01:16:07
Speaker
Cause yeah, we just, we love having a place to talk about this stuff. And, uh, and yeah, you know, I said, if you're looking for a Facebook group that, uh, is just full of cool people that want to talk about Disney, make sure you join our group. And if you want to help support the show, you can go to store.welcomeonpodcast.com and you can check out our different merch there. We got, uh,
01:16:26
Speaker
shirts and mugs and and all that great stuff. you know If you're needing some shirts for your next trip, make sure you grab something from the store. Also, if you bought something from us, you know snap a pic and send it to us on Facebook because again, you know we love seeing that people are enjoying the merch and just enjoying the show and you know we love to hear what you think about it. Similarly, you can also support us through Patreon. You can go to patreon dot.com slash welcome on pod and check out our different levels of Patreon support, which offers an exclusive logo that ah you can only find on Patreon and all of our Patreon supporters get access to the Discord server, which is yet another place that we talk about things um on the show and off the show. Again, you know have
01:17:07
Speaker
great conversations about people's experience with Disney cruises and and all that kind of stuff. So um yeah, like I said, you know cruises are not for me, but that doesn't mean that you know we can't have a place to talk about them anyway. Doesn't mean they're not for you. yeah Yeah. Yeah. Just because it's not for me doesn't mean it's not for you. so That's right. no you you can You can always come and you know talk cruise stuff. It just means that I won't know what you all are talking about.
01:17:35
Speaker
um and Last but not least, if you're listening on iTunes or Spotify or any of those other platforms, leave us our a five-star review. um you know the The five stars you know makes makes the algorithm happy. it's like It's like Fruit Loops for the algorithm. It has fruit loop it makes it healthy and happy and makes it you know you know makes people see the podcast because that's what we want is we just want more people to find the podcast.
01:18:02
Speaker
And you know, leave us ah leave us a review on iTunes if you want to let us know what you think about the show, because you know we love hearing what you guys think about the show as well. And I don't know, Tom, if we've had any new ones. We have not. We have not, yeah. which Nobody's reviewed it. Yeah, it's this time of year, it's like that. We we just don't get a lot of reviews, because people are are busy with other stuff, and that's fine. But like I said, if you've got time, leave us a review, because we just want to know what you think about the show.
01:18:29
Speaker
Yeah, and also, you know, really important as well. Don't forget to subscribe to Welcome Home Podcast, so you'll be reminded every time we release a new episode, you can find us on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, Spotify, YouTube, YouTube Music, just about any podcast app that's out there, you can find us. So, ah you know, just look for the ones that says Welcome Home in DVC and Disney, that's the one, because there are other welcome homes out there, obviously not as cool as we are. ah Just a reminder to our listeners, Welcome Home podcast is for entertainment only. We are not employed by the Walt Disney Company. As such, all opinions expressed on the show are our own. So please consult the DVC representative or Disney cast member for more information about anything we talked about today. Huge thank you to our sponsor, DVC Rental Store, as well as World of DVC for continuing to support this show. ah you know They've been great partners over the years, so please check them out. Join us next time for more Disney Parks discussion, of course, more DVC talk. We hope to see you all real soon.
01:19:21
Speaker
this is skipper alber a wall the voice of the jungle signing up from welcome home podcast on the