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Episode 310: Test Track Reopening, Elio in the Parks & Ride POVs
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On This Episode
With the addition of DVC cabins at Fort Wilderness, Disney announced that the Meadow Swimmin' Pool will be expanded. The newest version of Test Track will debut next month with new music and a new ride experience. DVC Members will have access to a special preview of the new version of Test Track. Disney Starlight will debut next month with two daily showtimes and a different parade route. Disney Parks are celebrating the release of the new Pixar movie “Elio” with a variety of special events and merch. Disney+ is adding more POVs of rides and lands from Disneyland to celebrate its 70th Anniversary.
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- Call or text the show with your DVC tips and trip reports at (833) WHP-TIPS and we may play them on the show!
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Transcript
Introduction & Sponsor Message
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.
00:00:25
Speaker
Welcome Home Podcast on the DVC.
00:00:30
Speaker
Hello and welcome home. This episode of Welcome Home is brought to you by DVC Resale Market. Thank you for joining us on episode 310 of Welcome Home, a Disney Parks and Vacation Club podcast.
Casual Conversations and Family Stories
00:00:39
Speaker
I'm Tom here Trevor. How's going, Trevor? Hey, pretty good. How are you?
00:00:43
Speaker
I'm good. I had a it's funny because, you know, Trevor and I and, you know, Damon, when he's around, we often talk for long periods before we start the show. But I didn't even talk to you him about what I was doing today.
00:00:55
Speaker
Oh, what were you doing today? Yeah, that's a good question. ah Well, so first of all, I have to relay this because I thought this was funny. But my my sister actually is at Aulani right now. um Yeah.
00:01:05
Speaker
So I think I've told you before, my sister's ah in-laws are big DVC members. And in fact, that's where I first heard about DVC was from them because my sister is married to my best friend of 25 plus years.
00:01:18
Speaker
And so I spent much of my childhood at their house and they were like second, you know, second parents to me. Right. So I know them very well. And so now that my sister's married to my best friend, she has all the DVC benefits and all that fun stuff.
00:01:29
Speaker
So she's in Alani because they've been planning to do an Alani trip for a long time. In fact, I think they own at Alani. My yeah my best friend's father used to go on all these rants about how great of a value buying at Alani was.
00:01:41
Speaker
That's neither here nor there. yeah but that aside that aside But anyway, so she texts me as soon as she lands and she goes, she goes, i literally just landed. And the first thing I saw was a Lilo and stitch plane.
00:01:53
Speaker
I was like, yeah, I mean, that sounds right. You know, I mean, that that's the one place you should see a Lilo and stitch plane. Of course. Yeah, immediately. And now she's like she's now like a big Stitch fan after seeing the movie because she never seen the movie and didn't really get the whole Stitch thing. And when we got when we went and saw the live action movie, she's like, oh, I totally get Stitch now. Stitch is awesome. I'm like, yes, Stitch is awesome. And so so so it's funny because now she's like all into it. But I will be interested just to hear about Alani from her because my wife and I were actually just chatting. I was like, maybe next year we do Alani.
00:02:24
Speaker
you know but we're like you know i would love to hear her take on it, too. I mean, if we can get her to you know yeah give us either a trip report for the show or something, like that would be cool. I could probably get her to come on here. I think she's asked before, and I said no because she's my sister, and that's what you do to Yeah.
00:02:39
Speaker
Yeah. I'm just getdding She can, she can definitely come on. I mean, we, mean if she's, you know, it it would be so weird if we were like, you know, yeah, my brother came on and we talked about our awesome trip. And then i was like, no, I don't think I want your sister to come. I don't want her on here. Okay. And for everyone, you know, just so everyone knows, i do know Tom's sister as well because we've all played mini golf together. so and so yeah we all do, we all do stuff together. So yeah, it'd be very cool to have your sister on the show.
00:03:05
Speaker
Here's the thing. There's nobody. And, you know, and this is like your brother, too, right? Like nobody roasts you like your sibling does. Right. Oh, yeah. yeah So, like, I know she would just like spend the entire podcast just ripping me, which is fine.
00:03:18
Speaker
That's our relationship. Like, that's what we do. fine You know, yeah we we rip each other. That's how we that's how we roll. Right. So.
Gift Giving and Indoor Skydiving
00:03:24
Speaker
um But the other thing I did today. so Last year, i listen, I don't know how you are about tre Trevor, about like Christmas gifts and stuff, but like I'm like, I really try to be very cognizant of thing. I try to never get something for somebody that they're not going to use.
00:03:40
Speaker
Right. And maybe that's because I've hit this point in my life where I have so much stuff in my house that I'm just like, don't give me anything that I'm not going to use on a daily or weekly basis. You know what i mean? Yeah. um yeah Yeah, I see the logic. i I don't approach Christmas gifts quite the same way, but I can see why you would want to make sure it's some it's something of value, I guess. Yes, or an experience. and Yes, so exactly.
00:04:03
Speaker
My dad had said offhandedly last year one time, he's like, he's like you know what I've always wanted to do? always wanted to do indoor skydiving. He's like, because I want to go skydiving, but I don't actually. He's like, he doesn't really love heights. So he didn't want to do heights. And without jumping the So go a wind tunnel.
00:04:16
Speaker
Yeah, you do one of the indoor skydiving companies called the iFly, right? So we had bought him a gift certificate for Christmas last year. And so we did that today. we we We went with him and my wife did it, too.
00:04:27
Speaker
um i It was nuts, dude. like I didn't do it. I'm i'm good. No, I'm cool. Yeah. I would have loved to have seen a picture of that, but. Oh, no. e I mean, listen, as I'm watching it, I'm like, nope, nope, nope, nope.
00:04:45
Speaker
Also, I mean, too, that you know it looks so like looks kind of painful in a way. Okay. what Why? I mean. beat Well, they actually, and we were we were talking to the instructor and he's like, yeah, i he goes, the first three months I was here, I was literally just couldn't move after working.
00:05:02
Speaker
Because it's just like it's it's a lot, I guess. And my wife said, you know, she was pretty sore afterward. I mean it's only 60 second sessions, too. It's like 60 seconds at a time. But like it's I guess because it's like 120 mile per hour wind, you know, it it really it's pushing against your body and yeah and you like flex in ways that you're not used to.
00:05:19
Speaker
yeah Exactly. Exactly. So, yeah. So they did they did that today, which was fun. I mean, listen, I had a good time watching them. They look pretty funny ah you know because their faces were like being pulled back by the by the wind and it just looked looked really funny. But yeah, no, I just I had to bring that as it's it's almost like ah I don't want to steal, things you know, Damon's thing, but it's a Tom detour for today. It's just, you know. I did. ah we We did that this morning. And it was it was like I said, it was very interesting. But I they let kids like young kids do it, though too. It's I mean, we saw a kid that was my daughter's age about to do it. And I was like, it's like, man, I actually we said to my daughter, it was like, do you want to do it? And she she literally just looked at me like, are you seriously asking me this? Like, there's no way I would do this.
00:06:00
Speaker
um So, yeah. I feel like I could probably convince my son to do something like that. so Yeah. Yeah. Would you do it? i I would try it once yeah because because i'm I'm of the same opinion as as your as your stepdad that um I don't ever want to jump out of a plane. i actually had the opportunity when I was – like my friends all went and did it it. Like we were like just graduating high school they were like – Yeah, let's go jump out of a plane. And I was like, no, that's not me. But but in in like in a controlled space, and i guess this is the thing is, you know, you know let's bring this back to Disney. is you know The thing about indoor skydiving is it's the same thing as like riding a roller coaster is that it's a controlled experience.
00:06:44
Speaker
And not to say that, you know, nothing could go wrong, but, you know, there's less chance of things going wrong. So, i you know, I would definitely try it I think just to see how it is. Funny enough, Trevor, they only have a, they only have like four, uh, Canadian locations and one of them is Calgary. Look at that. I know.
00:07:01
Speaker
Actually, when you said i have familiar I was like, Oh, I know what that is. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's really, it's, it's a very cool concept. Honestly, I, well, and like my wife has gone actual skydiving, right? So she, she has been real skydiving.
00:07:14
Speaker
And she did it before my daughter was born. So this was many years ago. And um she actually said she liked this better because it was first all, it was longer. You know, when you actually when you skydive for real, it's only like 45 seconds long. This shit was 60 seconds. She got to do it twice. So it was, you know, much longer. And you don't have to worry about that pesky parachute piece and more value for your money. Yeah. Yeah, it's just, you know, it's just, it was neat, though. I just wanted to talk about it because it was a neat experience to even just watch, like, even though I didn't actually do it.
00:07:47
Speaker
ah watch maybe ah Maybe Disney Springs will get a skydiving experience at some point. I'm kind of surprised they don't have one. It feels like a perfect thing for that. It kind of does if you think about it.
00:07:57
Speaker
yeah it does. Like maybe they have another location somewhere in Orlando. But
Listener Contributions and Voice Perceptions
00:08:02
Speaker
I mean. But okay. what well if If you were to theme indoor skydiving to Disney something.
00:08:08
Speaker
Yeah. what What would you theme it to? This is a really weird question. I didn't think I would be asking today. But. Well, here's the thing, right? Like, I feel like they're missing an opportunity. I was thinking this while I was sitting here because I was thinking i like an Imagineer. I was thinking about like, how do you plus this? Right. Like, how do you make it cooler?
00:08:25
Speaker
Like the fact that you you just have windows around you. It's like, but why? Like, put some screens in there. Make it seem like you're actually falling. You know what i mean? how Like, have an animated. And then so you know, to your point, to Disney-fy it. Right. Let's say you do that.
00:08:39
Speaker
Then you end up with you could do like, ah you know, Goofy's skydiving school. Right. Goofy's a Goofy's next to you. Right. Yeah. And of course, Goofy's shoot doesn't work. Right. And neither is his backup. shoot like is that You're thinking like that scene in Roger Rabbit where Mickey and Bugs are are skydiving next to yeah the detective. Yeah. Yeah. so but Totally. Yeah. Exactly what i'm thinking.
00:09:02
Speaker
um Oh, yeah. so there actually, there is one in Orlando fairly close to Epic Universe, like right down the line there. So there you go. um But anyway, yeah And so, yeah, that's what I would say. I just thought it was a missed opportunity. I'm like, dude, you can get screens that are that big. Now, given all the people on the outside wouldn't be able to see what's going on. But like you can even get like translucent screens. Like if you turn them off and you can see, right? Like that's not... yeah I don't like you're right in that it would be cool, but I feel like that adds an extra layer of like like intensity. Yeah. Intensity. And, and and you know, then ah I mean, the thing about being in a in a skydiving or, you know, enclosed skydiving thing is that motion is not actually a problem because you're stationary. Yeah.
00:09:47
Speaker
Yeah. But if you're if there's like a, you know, simulation of skydiving, I feel like that opens it up to like. yeah Well, you make that an extra paid thing, right? So you can yeah do that, but you have the $20. Give me the option to do it because yeah I can see where.
00:10:02
Speaker
Anyway, so I just wanted to talk about that because i thought it was interesting. but That was a fun aside. Okay, let's ah let's talk about some. or Oh, do you do you want to start with the line? Yeah, so we got a voicemail.
00:10:13
Speaker
Although this was not really ah a DVC tip or a trip report, I felt like I still had to play it because it was in reference to the song that was stuck in my head last episode. So let's let's play this sweet this voicemail here. Hi, this is Megan from Columbus, Ohio.
00:10:26
Speaker
um The Good Times song is also part of the sail away party on Disney Cruise Line. So you might have heard it more recently than 2014 you Disney Cruise Line.
00:10:42
Speaker
Which I did. Oh, very cool. Well, thank you for that message. That was a good point, because I i guarantee I did hear it on the ship, right? like i But it's like it's one of those things that just probably played in the background, and I didn't register with brain. You didn't equate to what it actually is, yeah.
00:10:59
Speaker
Yeah, i just it didn't i don't know. It just didn't register with my brain, but... ah yeah You know what I mean? but ah But thank you for for calling in with that. i have not Listen, our our voicemail line is for whatever you guys want it to be. If you just want to make comments about the last episode, and we we'll play them. I mean, we it's it's fun to to hear directly from you guys. So please, you know give a call. we have We have the number out there. It's ah eight three three nine four seven eight four seven seven So ah you know leave us a voicemail like that. we We love playing this stuff. And again, thank you to Megan from ah from Ohio.
00:11:31
Speaker
Appreciate it. ah Thank you for calling in and taking the time to do that. so That's great. Yeah. yeah And yeah, I hope, you know, we get people commenting in the Facebook group all the time. Yeah. You know, you can leave us a voicemail as well.
00:11:44
Speaker
Yeah. You leave us a voicemail. you want to hear your voice on the show? Do it. Not everybody does. I actually, what was I talking about the other day? What were we watching? My wife and I were watching a show and there was a guy with like a really great deep voice and was like, I wish I had a cool voice. And she's like, I think you have a cool voice. I'm like, I've heard my voice. It is not.
00:12:00
Speaker
I feel the same way about my voice. I'm like, people are like, you have a good voice though. No, I, I don't hear it though. It doesn't sound like that to me. Just, just like how people say, people say me and my brother sound similar. They're like, yeah, I can see where your brothers and and we look at each other and we're like,
00:12:16
Speaker
I can see, I can tell the difference between you and your brother. I can tell the difference. Yes, but, but it's still like, people still are like, you guys sound like brothers and we, we both look at each other. Like we don't think we sound the same at all, but that makes sense. Yeah, that makes sense.
Disney Pool Upgrades and Expectations
00:12:32
Speaker
Anyway, so this is kind of like sort of DVC news, but like, separate right. yeah But so one of the things I thought and this came up when they were when Disney decided to or DVC decided to build DVC rooms at Fort Wilderness. I remember a lot of people were like, well, like, what about like the pool and stuff?
00:12:51
Speaker
Right. ah Because I remember that came up quite a bit. Well, here's your answer. So ah disney Disney is going to be extending the pool at Fort Wilderness. And this is specifically the Meadow Swimming Pool.
00:13:04
Speaker
Right. And they're going to be making this looks like much bigger. Right. I mean, yeah, they it's going to bring a new zero entry pool and additional deck space. And then ah they're going also going to do some more recreational stuff. And the existing pool is going to stay open while they do this.
00:13:19
Speaker
So this will be good for I mean, this is I think they probably also realize, too, that like for, you know, and and I think we've been seeing that Fort Wilderness has not been selling great.
00:13:29
Speaker
The cabins have not been selling great, which, yeah you know, it's kind of understandable. But they probably also understand, too, that DVC members are used to the amenities of a DVC resort. Right. like yeah And that's no offense to the pool that exists there. But they you know, they're doing an upgraded pool is going to help it make it more attractive.
00:13:48
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, totally. And, and I thought the same thing when I read this and, and yeah, the the other things like they're, they're adding like pickleball courts and stuff as well. So, you know, they're, they're trying, like you said they're trying to make the area in general, just more attractive to not just DVC people, but everybody. yeah yeah And, and, and also like in thinking about it, like, um, you know, they just, they just opened up a storm along Bay again, which, um,
00:14:13
Speaker
um So, you know the you know, Disney is, i I feel like they're in kind of, or I mean, I guess they're always perpetually in like upgrading and improving these kinds of spaces anyway, right? Like, because cause you do have to do that. Over time, you do have to go back and like redo um pools and stuff because they do get dated. They do um they do need maintenance and all that kind of stuff.
00:14:39
Speaker
I feel like, yeah, they probably looked at it and went, well, you know, Fort Wilderness is not, you know, it's not performing well as a as a whole. So, you know, this is a good opportunity to do the upgrade. And then, and then yeah, you know, probably the intent is is it'll get more people coming there when it is upgraded.
00:14:55
Speaker
And, um yeah, maybe maybe they'll sell some more cabins. and Maybe. i do like the fact, like you said, that they they're trying to do this um or they're trying to keep the pool or the rest of the pool area open. So like yeah there's going to be like walls up. But you know if you are staying at Fort Wilderness, it's it's still going to be a usable resort. And and I would equate this to when I stayed at Caribbean Beach.
00:15:23
Speaker
ah they were They were doing all the renos around their like main area where the quick service was and everything. yeah And ah that that's a good example of like, you know, it definitely needed it. But we were actually, so so the quick service there was actually moved to a tent. Yeah.
00:15:42
Speaker
and So there's like this large, like, like party tent area that you went to for the quick service. I'm hoping that it's not the same kind. Like, it shouldn't be the same kind of thing at Fort Willow. No, it shouldn't. But, you know, while renovations are going on, it never feels good when renovations are going on. Right. But no knowing that that there will be something.
00:16:02
Speaker
you know, better at the end. Like, like I think, you know, that to me, this would be something as, you know, knowing that, that they're doing these upgrades, it's like, oh, you know, maybe I'll stay there in a year or something, you know, you know, kind of check it out when they're done everything.
00:16:14
Speaker
Right. So yeah just keep that in mind as you're planning your own trips. Yeah, exactly. ah Yeah. So i listen, not too much about that. But I mean, it is DVC news because, you know, Fort Wilderness is ah is a DVC resort at this point. And I mean, partly, of course.
00:16:28
Speaker
and And, you know, they did just build the model ah cabin as well over there. So I think that just that the two ah model rooms just opened over there. So you can actually check them out now. And obviously that's open to members and non-members to check out. But yeah.
00:16:42
Speaker
And then, you know, don't forget that ah Reflections ah slate slash Lakeshore Lodge is also coming along quickly. I don't know if you've seen pictures that lately, but, dude, it's like it's it's yeah it's gotten real big real fast. Like they moved faster on that than I feel like I've ever seen them move on anything.
00:17:00
Speaker
I mean, i feel but you also have to keep in mind, I feel like there was a lot. already done. Oh, yeah. like Like, they were underway, and it was just paused. so Yeah. they did that They did the foundations and stuff like that already. Like, they were ready to go on that one.
00:17:13
Speaker
Exactly. So so it feels it feels faster just because of the fact that they didn't they didn't have to start from scratch with it. But you're right. it Like, i same thing. I've seen the pictures, and it's like, oh, like, you can see it, like, very clearly from from the contemporary. Like, there is another building there now, which...
00:17:30
Speaker
I mean, but we'll see him when I was there in May, when we when we left from the dock from ah Wilderness Lodge, like you get a great view of it from Wilderness Lodge. And it's it's huge. It's I mean, it looks like it's going to be a very large resort. So, I mean, and that was the original concept. are We just really they haven't said a whole lot.
00:17:48
Speaker
about it since restarting construction outside of calling it Lakeshore Lodge. Right. Like we haven't really gotten any more details about it.
Test Track Updates and Speculations
00:17:56
Speaker
So but something we have gotten more details about Trevor. Look at that. position Finally is test track. Yeah. um So test track. We found out we the amazing thing about this, Trevor, and I still this blows my mind.
00:18:13
Speaker
We know we still know less about this that's opening in a month now than we do. I feel like about some other things that are just conceptual at this point. Like they've given us so little information about Test Track.
00:18:25
Speaker
ah What's what's new. Right. And so, first of all, it's going to they've opened the they they've announced the open date, which is July 22nd. Right. So that's about a month away. Yeah. actually say A month as of when we're recording this.
00:18:38
Speaker
Yes. ah they do They do say that there's going to be an all-new musical score, which, great, right? Fun. I wasn't going to Test Track for the music, so You weren't. No, I'm trying to remember what the music was at Test Track. I will say I like the new logo. The new logo looks pretty cool. It's very clean.
00:18:53
Speaker
Yeah, it's very clean. And um so what is interesting, though, Trevor? Did you watch the video that is embedded in this article? The the demo of the light LiDAR technique? Yes. yeah or Yeah, the lights that are emulating LiDAR scanning. Yeah. Yeah. So what's, and, and this is probably the most we've seen from inside the ride, right?
00:19:13
Speaker
first of all, the effect of it changing from a real building into the lidar view is actually pretty cool. know. don't know if you saw that. That was, yes, I did. Yeah. yeah I watched it a couple of times. Yeah. Cause it's pretty cool, right? Like it looks like there's a real building there and then it, they, the buildings just disappear, which is pretty cool.
00:19:30
Speaker
yeah. But what this is telling you, basically there's an Instagram clip out there and I'll i'll put it in the show notes. if you If you haven't seen this, it's from Walt Disney Imagineering. So just go check them out on Instagram. But essentially what they're showing is basically when you have, when ah vehicles have like,
00:19:47
Speaker
You know, ah self-driving vehicles and also just ones that have, you know, like the radar on them, like what the what the vehicle sees. And if you've never seen a shot of that before, because I've seen actually videos like on the Internet of of what, you know, what self-driving looks like, you know, what like the the computer sees.
00:20:03
Speaker
But basically they're showing you in like in front of you what it what that your vehicle sees. So, yeah, this to me, Trevor, informs a lot on what the storyline of this is going to be. Right. Yeah.
00:20:15
Speaker
So, OK. Yeah. a I feel like you're going to say the same thing I'm thinking, but go ahead. Yeah. Well, I want to see how this compares to what I'm. So, listen, they've said they said from the beginning that it was going to be based on World of Motion.
00:20:27
Speaker
Right. If you look back on what World of Motion was, World of Motion was a very slow ride. It was an omni mover ride, but it was it took you through the history of transportation. Right. So like, that's what it was.
00:20:39
Speaker
Right. So if we're, if we're going off of that and we're talking now about this part where you have the LIDAR piece, ah my assumption is we're going to follow that same kind of idea of like the beginning of transportation to where we are now, where, where we are now is, you know, we're going towards self-driving cars and, and all of these, these new features that, you know, where the car is able to see more. So I feel like this is probably towards the end, if I would guess.
00:21:06
Speaker
You know, i't I don't know where. Maybe this is, the i don't know, maybe this is even the wall scene. It looks like a big, straight you know, straightaway. So I don't know, maybe it's the maybe it's the last one. But that's just my guess.
00:21:16
Speaker
Interesting. Okay. i So I actually didn't go there with my thought process on it. Because so what ah what I was trying to do, same as you, is i was I was trying to to put where I thought that the scene they were showing is in the ride.
00:21:32
Speaker
And I feel like it's actually a straightaway, like in the middle of the ride where you do like, where it was like the brake testing. that That's what it felt like. Like, again, looking at how, how long it was and whatnot.
00:21:43
Speaker
So to me, it like, like you said, if they were going through like, you know, the history of of vehicles and evolution all that. Um, it doesn't, or maybe, maybe the LIDAR stuff is not as, I mean, I know it's not as new as we all think it is. It's actually been around for yeah quite some time.
00:22:01
Speaker
So maybe, maybe it's, you know, you know, it is there, but it's, you know, there are newer things that they're going to ah present further in. But I was actually thinking that, um, this was going to be, um, you know, not, not explain the history of vehicles, but like,
00:22:17
Speaker
displaying what vehicles are capable as of right now, which when I was thinking of it that way, I was like, okay, that's great. And, you know, it shows a lot of cool tech, but it kind of sets it up for the same problem that it's had in the other two iterations where,
00:22:32
Speaker
it'll become dated very quickly. That's true. but And that's kind of what I was thinking about was, you yeah and and, you know, you're right, you know, depending depending on how they they frame this, it can either be something that will, you know, you know make sense, like, you know, it it doesn't, it or it becomes timeless, right? You know, it's, yeah you know, oh, Test Track is explaining, you know, hit the hit but the history of vehicles and kind of like um Kind of like Carousel of Progress, which I know you can say Carousel of Progress is dated, but the message of it isn't dated. Like it's it's about evolution and, and you know you know, changing times and all that.
00:23:06
Speaker
I feel like, you know, your approach to it, I hope it is that's how it ends up. But looking at where they put that particular scene in, I feel like it's going to be like just one of many things they're showing off, which to me feels like they're just like showing off technology. Yeah. Yeah. Kind of just flexing like, hey, look what cars can do right now, which, you know, is it's a cool story. It's too. Yeah, it's too. Don't get me wrong. But yeah but that's is something that like, you know you know, we could end up with like, you know, hydrogen powered cars and
00:23:39
Speaker
Yeah, we have no idea what that's going to look like 10 years from now, right? Yeah, exactly. and then And then it's like, does it age well, does it not, right? Like it's... So yeah, I'm interested, like you said, the the interesting thing is, you know, we don't know a lot about it or they've been very, you know, you know very careful about not revealing too much. So i'm I'm very curious what this is actually going to look like when it opens. And you know To that end, we'll we'll we'll cover the the second part of this, which is there are going to be some previews for Disney Vacation Club members.
00:24:13
Speaker
So yeah for anyone that is going to be down there in the next month. um We don't know the dates yet, but they did announce it Like, similarly to how they did with Tiana's. um Yeah. ah You know, you know they they give certain groups of people, like annual pass holders, DVC members, um you know, Club 33, all that. You know, they they are getting the opportunity to preview this sooner than others. So, yeah um you know, I guess for anyone that is, you know, listening to this, if you do get a chance to preview this ride, you know, we'd love to hear your take on it. For sure.
00:24:47
Speaker
um I know there will be lots of stuff to see about it in a month, but I'm very curious what what this is actually going to look like, because, you know, just the two of us talking here, we like it feels very open to interpretation at the moment. Yeah.
00:25:00
Speaker
yeah And actually, it's you know, it's it's really interesting, Trevor, because I rewatched the video after you said that. Right. And then I can see it looks like at the first of all, it looks like there's there's a part where a car comes out. Right. It makes you swerve. So it looks like there is a swervy piece at the end of it, which would mean it's not the end.
00:25:17
Speaker
Right. That would mean it's like the truck. So like I said, see it's either where they do the brake test or actually, yeah, because, yeah, it's the brake test is. um Which would make sense for the car coming out. Right. I mean. Yeah. cause Because, there's yeah, there's the long straight with the brake test and then there's the the switchbacks. And then at the end, there's the truck that you you swerve to avoid. But but it's not that.
00:25:39
Speaker
Right. Like, I feel I feel like it's in the middle of the ride. yeah I mean, i it's i I think you might be right because then i the end of it is probably going to be some sort of like what's the future going to hold kind of thing, right? Like where they're trying to predict the future, where like you were talking about. So, um i yeah, I kind of – I recant what I said. i think it's it's going back and and and doing something a little different there. So, i listen, we'll be – I have to say that I we really didn't know what to expect.
00:26:08
Speaker
But this clip is promising because I mean, you know, one of the complaints was about the, the you know, 2.0 version. I guess you call it 3.0 if you consider World of Motion to be 1.0. But, um you know, the complaint was that it almost like felt lazy.
00:26:23
Speaker
Right. like they Like they just kind of like threw just some neon lights in there or whatever. Yeah. Yeah. and it It did not feel as good as the, ah like the first iteration of test track. and And especially like that middle part that we were just like talking about, if this is yeah replacing that, that middle section was boring.
00:26:39
Speaker
but she Yeah. Cause, cause it used to be like, you know, they were like, oh, we're testing your brakes. And there was like, like, it felt like a little bit of, there's a little bit of action, but in the, the, or the previous iteration,
00:26:52
Speaker
that they just shut down. It felt very like, like you're just like speeding and then you kind of like swerve a little bit, but it wasn't really doing anything. Like, like you're just like, okay, like what are you doing?
00:27:04
Speaker
Yeah. I do wonder, I wonder if it's maybe like, I can't, I don't know. I guess we're going to have to find out where it actually is because, But I will say this clip makes me ah hopeful, right? Because it looks cool.
00:27:16
Speaker
I mean, listen, that effect looks very cool. um I, you know, the way that they did it and did like a visual representation of what LiDAR sees is pretty neat because I feel like most people don't actually even know what that, what your car sees, right? Like I, unless you like watch like, you know, car videos or something like that, like, you know And I just have happened to see it a couple times, and I'm like, oh, that's pretty cool. But I'm just wondering what it's ah you know what what the whole thing's going to look like. And listen, i just I think Test Track is too big and too visible for them not to put a lot of effort into it. And I know maybe people think, well, 2.0 wasn't great. But I mean, I think they probably also thought that that was going to be good, too. So it's hard to know what's going to resonate with that. You know, so somebody had an idea at the time and it just didn't hit. Yeah.
00:28:06
Speaker
yeah But but the other thing, too, about, again, just this one clip is that, you know, you know, not talking about the LIDAR part of it, but, you know, the the transition of the buildings. Yes. That's that's very much reminding me of, um you know, the clips we've seen of.
00:28:20
Speaker
ah the The Beauty and the Beast. Oh, yeah. Yeah. and The transition. Was it in Shanghai? Was it? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. like Like it's that same kind of tech, like like doing doing cool lighting and and whatever whatever that that effect is.
00:28:36
Speaker
It feels like they've they've scaled that up into. the this particular room which again like you said you know you're not just from like a you know the the flow of the ride and whatever but from an imagineering standpoint it's like hey you know they're actually using new techniques and whatnot in this ride which you know sometimes we you know we lament about oh i wish that you know we got like pirates that you know you know the newer version of pirates that's over in uh Again, is it?
00:29:04
Speaker
Yeah, Shanghai. so Yeah. so So, you know, we we we lament about that, but it's like, hey, this is they're actually bringing some of that stuff here. And, you know, we'll see how much of it we actually get in this ride, which...
00:29:17
Speaker
The other cool thing, too, is that there's no, currently there's no animatronics in Test Track. That's true. Because there's no need for it, right? Yeah. But cars and machinery, there's no people, right?
00:29:29
Speaker
But what's to say that there couldn't be animatronics in it? It's true. Right? That's true. Yeah. It makes you wonder. like And I know in the past, like, they've been very quick to, like, show off, like,
00:29:41
Speaker
Like, you know, with Tiana's, they were like, you know, oh, look at the animatronics and stuff, but they're not going to show, they're not going to do that again as like a promotional thing. Like they're, they're, they'll show you something new that they're working on.
00:29:51
Speaker
Yeah. But, but it makes me wonder how much of the, you know, the stuff that Disney has learned over the years, how much of it is going to actually land in this ride? Because if they didn't use it, they're really, you know, they're shooting themselves in the foot, honestly.
00:30:05
Speaker
Well, yeah, I mean, I did not expect there to be that kind of cool effect like that, but I that's I mean, that's there. So it makes me think that they're probably doing a bunch of other cool things. And I think probably the other complaint about three or two point oh was that it was just like mostly darkness, right? Like there was not a lot of scenery going on there.
00:30:21
Speaker
And I mean, it seems again, just from this one clip, you know, like they have put a lot more into this than they did in the past. I actually really am laughing though at the first comment on the Instagram. Someone said, Oh, it's like main street electrical parade for your car. This is so cool. I mean,
00:30:37
Speaker
yeah Yeah. That's not wrong. I mean, yeah. I mean, also I look at it. I'm like, did someone like have to, do you like have to hand place 29,000 different lights? Like my God.
00:30:47
Speaker
Yeah. How does that work? I mean, I'm sure it's a lot of people, but still. I feel like, yeah, there's a lot of, or I actually wonder, that's a good point. I wonder what it actually is, the technology that they're using for that, because it could be fiber optic. It could be LED, but because like they all have their benefits to them and it's all about how you control it and everything. Right. So, yeah, yeah that's, that's an interesting point.
00:31:12
Speaker
Yeah. That transition, though, is very cool and very believable. And I, yeah, I'm definitely going to look forward to checking that out next time I go. So, yeah, for sure. Yeah. so So, but yeah, keep an eye out, DBC members, for for for previews. So, yeah.
00:31:27
Speaker
Do we want to do the ad now? I feel like.
DVC Experiences and Gifting Stories
00:31:30
Speaker
Yeah, let' let's do that, Trevor. Yeah, that's a good place, right? right. The sponsor of this episode is DVC Resale Market. DVC Resale Market, a world of DVC company, is the leader in the DVC resale industry with 13 former Disney Vacation Club guides and three former Disney Vacation Club quality assurance managers. If you're thinking of buying DVC, browse the largest selection of DVC resale listings anywhere with DVC experts on hand seven days a week to answer your questions.
00:31:56
Speaker
If you're thinking of selling, turn to the friendly professionals at DVC Resale Market, where over 98% of listings sell within 30 days. In 2024, DVC Resale Market helped over 4,400 families join or add on to their memberships.
00:32:08
Speaker
Go to DVCresalemarket.com slash welcomehome or call 1-844-DVC-PROS. That's 1-844-382-7767. And you speak to them, be sure to let them know that Welcome Home sent you.
00:32:20
Speaker
Can I mention something really quick, Trevor, that I meant to mention on top of the show? i So I think I talked about, i don't know, last week or a couple weeks ago that we had gifted points to a couple of friends of ours, right? And we had, you know, we booked them a reservation at Animal Kingdom. And listen, it was a last minute reservation, right? So there were, you know, and there there was no Savannah view available, right? So they had a parking lot pool view that we booked for them, which they were, listen, they were happy about because, you know, they're staying on property and they don't have for it. And, you know, I would think it's, yeah, listen, wouldn't complain about,
00:32:49
Speaker
They were totally cool. Right. and And they were totally cool. that They were so appreciative. They were, you know, they're good friends. And we, we, I've talked to about this many times. We bought DVC to share with our family and friends. That's at the end of the day. And so some people are like, Oh, it's nice to do that. Well, yeah, but I mean, it's, we, we want to share with our friends. They're, they're, you know, they're good friends.
00:33:05
Speaker
So anyway, um I knew that there's some rooms that are listed as pool or parking lot view that are partial view Savannah. They don't necessarily advertise them, but they, they exist.
00:33:17
Speaker
Well, we purposely didn't tell them that, you know, because they don't have a, there's not a lot of them. Right. So like, you just kind of got to get lucky. Right. And but you don't want to, you don't want to set bad expectations.
00:33:27
Speaker
Right. Don't want to set bad expectations. Well, they got there, you know, this past week they went and they sent us a message. They got a partial view Savannah, im partial Savannah view. And they, they, the their kids were so pumped about it. And I just was like, it just, it was, it made me really happy. And I, it's funny. Cause I,
00:33:44
Speaker
talk to my daughter about this too because it's like was like was a kid you don't understand like now this now hopefully you will someday but like you are very spoiled in the in this way right like because most kids a never get to go to disney world and number two like don't ever get to purposely did a multiple Yeah. Multiple trips and get to go to animal a place like Animal Kingdom Lodge, which, you know, we have animals outside your room. Like, that's not something everyone gets to do.
00:34:13
Speaker
And so it's like, because, my you know, just she's seven. she doesn't She doesn't get it yet, but she will someday. But it's it is, I always try to communicate that to her because it's just like, man, i it's just to see the, literally to see the look on the kids' faces was worth, you know, just worth it to give it give them the points for that, you know? Yeah, totally. Yeah.
00:34:33
Speaker
Yeah, it's my daughter's best friend is is who who is, you know, it's. on there so So, yeah, so she'll have the or her friend will will understand every time that you take your daughter now. Exactly. like Wow. She's going there. Yeah, I know.
00:34:47
Speaker
Well, I'm also just trying to, like, live vicariously through them, too, because, like, I said to my wife, I was like, oh, how was the trip? How was the trip? Tell me what happened. what What did they do? You know, like, and she's like, I'll talk to her soon. She just got back. Relax. like It's like that. I want to know, yeah you know, I want to live through them.
00:35:02
Speaker
Yeah. Like I'm not, I'm probably not going to get a chance to go again this year. And I, you know, and which is fine. You know, it's, there's, I've talked about this before. There's some things of my wife's job situation makes it difficult for us to take vacation. And, and, um, you know, we're waiting for that to hopefully resolve itself and, and it will, but it's, um,
00:35:19
Speaker
you know, it's, we're not going this year. So we, we, you know, had all these points and it's like, why not, you know, use them? I mean we'll, but we'll bank them and everything, but even then we'll still have way too many points. You know what I mean? I said to my wife, i was like, I think maybe we have too many points. She's like, stop.
00:35:32
Speaker
Don't, don't talk like that. Like, that say that there are always ways to handle yes points. I know. I agree. I agree. So anyway, ah back to, back to Disney starlight.
Starlight Parade Details and Strategies
00:35:42
Speaker
So the only reason I put this on here, Trevor,
00:35:44
Speaker
Right. Is we got a little bit more. I was going to I feel like we covered Disney Starlight. We did. But they gave us more details. ah So we know we now know that it's debuting on July 20th, but it's going to be at 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. So they're doing two, which is they I feel like they used to do two with Main Street Electrical. Right. They used to do an early and a late, if I remember correctly.
00:36:04
Speaker
But interesting that they have the two options. But the thing that really interested me, Trevor, is that the parade is going to start at Main Street and go to Frontierland instead of... Oh, they're going the other way. That's why I put it on here because I was like, really?
00:36:17
Speaker
Interesting. but That is interesting. Okay, see That's why I put it on here. Okay. I... Because... Okay, has there been... or ah Okay, maybe I'm meshing memories together. This is the hard part is that I feel like in Disneyland, because because in Disneyland, the parade route goes from back by Small World.
00:36:41
Speaker
Yeah. Up down Main Street and then and then exits kind of the same way as as the one ah in Florida. Yeah. I feel like there have been points where where in Disneyland, I've seen the the floats.
00:36:54
Speaker
It might have been the daytime parade that they did the same, like where they they come out from behind Main Street and go up Main Street instead. I feel like they've done it before at Disney World too. And I'm trying to remember i can't remember Yeah.
00:37:06
Speaker
Yeah. Like that's the hard part is like, I don't, I'm not like actively thinking about it, but but we've I guess we've been so used to like like all the like holiday floats and everything. They all start in Frontierland.
00:37:18
Speaker
Yeah. Right. so So the fact that this one starts on Main Street is very interesting. Well, and they say the reason they're doing in it, and it makes total sense, is to allow for better guest flow at the end of the night. Right. Because they're going to do this parade at 11 o'clock at night.
00:37:30
Speaker
And, you know, a lot of people are leaving in the park at that point. So, you know, you start off with Main Street and get the parade away from there fairly quickly. Right. And then you ah you free up the street for people to leave. Right.
00:37:43
Speaker
Right. So we yeah so it's true it makes sense. It makes total sense when you really think about it. It's just interesting because our strategy with Festival of Fantasy has been to go to Frontierland because that's honestly the best place to me to watch the parade because you get the closest.
00:37:59
Speaker
It comes by there first. So you can, you know, be done faster. Yeah. And then you can get out of there while everyone else is still waiting for the parade. Exactly. Right. And so like that's been our strategy. Now this kind of changes things a little bit, although I could also see it being really convenient if you are on your way out and you want to catch it.
00:38:18
Speaker
Now you can just stop on Main Street, watch the parade and then walk right out. Right. Like it it does make it a little more convenient in that way because you don't have to wait for it to come your way. Right. That's true.
00:38:29
Speaker
Yeah. or Or, again, alternately, like, if you're coming in, you can also, like, and I know this is, like, a ah nighttime thing, but yeah um you could you could still make use of the train as well. so you could, you know, you could watch the parade, get on the train, and then go to Tomorrowland because, you know, we we're not allowed to have the train running for more than, like, two weeks at a time, it seems. It's still running. It's just going backwards.
00:38:51
Speaker
Yeah, I'm just bitter, okay? i and it's Listen, i understand. I am bitter well. got to ride the train, and then I'm sad because the train's not running anymore. But it's whatever. it justs going I actually think it makes it fun because don't you want to go backwards on the train? That kind of sounds fun. Yeah. OK. Yeah. But yeah, I don't know.
00:39:09
Speaker
It's going to be weird that it's doing that. It is. but But anyway, back back to the parade. Yeah. So, yeah, it's very interesting that that they they made this choice with it. um i do also like in this article that like one of the first things they have in here is, will there be Disney Starlight merchandise? Yeah.
00:39:26
Speaker
Of course there will be. Yes. Of course. but like like and But again, they just use that as a means of like showing off, like leading into the, you know, showing off all the all the merch from it. But it's just funny how they're like kind of teasing is like, no, we would never promote, you know, our brand new nighttime parade that we haven't had in years that, you know, everyone's been lamenting Main Street Electrical Parade. But no, we we wouldn't do merch for this. Yeah.
00:39:53
Speaker
Yeah, i I mean, listen, there i'm yeah i'm just poking fun at them because it's it's funny. of course It's yeah obvious. And like, yeah, I assume there would be merch. for They don't do anything without merch. OK, there's oh there's merch for everything.
00:40:07
Speaker
OK, yeah. But listen, it it is interesting, though, Trevor, because I am positive that there were times that they they did start different parades from Main Street and and went to the back. Right. Right.
00:40:18
Speaker
um Yeah, but just never been the holiday. I guess that's the thing is all my recent parade memories have been the holiday parades and those have always gone from Frontierland. So I guess I just kind of assumed in the back of my head that was like, oh, they just start parades from Frontierland.
00:40:34
Speaker
But it's this is interesting, Trevor. I Googled this, right? And I'm on a the WD Magic Forum from 2011. Okay, 2011 this post is from.
00:40:45
Speaker
At Magic Kingdom, every scheduled parade starts on Main Street and then travels to Frontierland. So this was not that long ago that they were doing they were doing it from starting at and in Main Street and going to Frontierland and not the opposite. So I wonder when they switched it, though.
00:41:00
Speaker
Because in 2011, it was starting. and I mean, everyone's saying in this thread that it was starting at Main Street and going Frontierland. So obviously, at some point, they changed it. so And we really started going to Florida in 2016.
00:41:13
Speaker
So it's been like it's been in the last like eight years, for sure, because all of my recent memories in Florida have been the parade coming from Frontierland.
00:41:25
Speaker
And I feel like, yeah, all the all the parades that I remember going down Main Street, it was in Disneyland. It wasn't in Disney World. so just It's just one of those things that I would not have committed to memory, but I do remember going the other way before. But now I'm so used to front starting in Frontierland, I just kind of forget that it... you know I forget the the times that it ever happened at Main Street. Starting at Main Street feels weird.
00:41:46
Speaker
it doesn't mean It feels wrong. ah It just does. I don't know why. yeah ah This does beg a question of how Like you were saying about how you would catch the ah the parade in Frontierland.
00:41:59
Speaker
Do you think that this will make Frontierland more or less busy? That's a good question. I don't know. ah Because I feel like, that you know, people will be, um you know, like if you want to catch the end of the parade, like you you have to kind of plan like as you're walking there catch it or you're sitting there, you're sitting in Frontierland the entire time waiting for it.
00:42:22
Speaker
Yeah. Which, yeah, like I wonder how many people will opt to go to Frontierland instead of waiting on Main Street, right? like Yeah, that's it's interesting. maybe part Maybe that's a part of why they're doing this too because they're about to ramp up all this construction over in Frontierland.
00:42:37
Speaker
Maybe they want less people Frontierland. Oh, dear that that's a good point. that that could I was thinking about that too is how is it going to play with the construction? Maybe that's the intent is that it does keep people out of or not keep people out. But, you know, you know, it's not as appealing to go and sit in Frontierland late at night.
00:42:55
Speaker
I mean, really, honestly, i' like every time I've been in Frontierland late at night, there's never a lot of people there. Like it kind of does empty out. anyway so It does. Yeah. I actually, this is, I have no idea if this is true, but somebody posted this in this forum that I was looking at. They said, sometimes if it's raining, the parades will run backwards.
00:43:11
Speaker
And by the way, backwards at this point is the way they run now. So we'll point that out. So when they're saying backwards here, they're talking about running from frontier land to main street, like it does now. But it said, this is because so because some of the heavier floats have a hard time getting up the hill near Pecos bill when the ground is wet.
00:43:27
Speaker
That actually makes sense. I mean, I could see that as a reason why they maybe switched it around. But yeah. and And actually, I guess, yeah, going now, that's actually a very good point, too, is going up Main Street is also a hill climb versus coming down is true.
00:43:42
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Huh. I didn't even consider that that. That is an interesting thing. Yeah, I like that. Yeah. So anyway, I mean, i ah listen, I don't we know a lot about the history of the parks and stuff, but like, I don't know.
00:43:56
Speaker
I don't remember everything. Right. And I i remember it running this way, but I just don't I don't remember when timing. But it is interesting. They're doing it this way. And they also did note, too, that it's not running during Mickey's not so scary Halloween party, which makes total sense because they have their own parade for that. So, yeah.
00:44:12
Speaker
That would be weird if they i think did that one. The parades, like, clashed. Yeah, yeah that's that's that. Yeah, that doesn't make any sense. Right.
Pixar's Elio and Disney's Creative Risks
00:44:20
Speaker
right. so let's So let's talk about the new Disney Pixar movie, Elio, which, by the way, is getting really good reviews. ah we We saw a preview for it when we saw Lilo and Stitch.
00:44:29
Speaker
And it was funny. I mean, we were all, everybody in the theater was laughing quite a bit. it it was It looked pretty funny. It looked like, you know, really good Pixar stuff. Interestingly enough, it's it's not expected to do particularly well the first weekend. But...
00:44:42
Speaker
you know, it's, could be one of those things word of mouth. It's, you know, picks up and that happened with, uh, that elemental movie, you know, that that's actually the better way for it to happen. I feel, would agree. Like, yeah, it shouldn't, you shouldn't have to over promote stuff like this.
00:44:57
Speaker
but I'll be honest. I'll be honest. I I'm reading through all this stuff that you put on the rundown for Elio. Um, Elio has not been on my radar you because I'm not looking for a new Disney movie at the moment.
00:45:11
Speaker
Yeah, I get it. It's not that I feel like it would be bad or anything, but this might actually pique my interest in it. So we'll see. I mean, it's it's a i mean it's very sci-fi movie, and you you do like sci-fi stuff. so I do, yes.
00:45:25
Speaker
So, yeah. So, they they have this fun video of Spaceship Earth being abducted by aliens, which is you know kind of funny. um so It's kind of weird to see that spot without Spaceship Earth. ah yeah So that movie actually already came out, so it's out now. um But, you know, they're doing a whole bunch of different stuff along with this ah cool kid summer thing.
00:45:43
Speaker
So there's doing they're doing a dance party over in Tomorrowland, which I feel like they haven't been doing the dance parties over there in a while. They used to have them all the time. Yeah, know because it used to be the, ah it was Monsters, Inc. It was Monsters, Inc., yeah. yeah Yeah, I feel like every time I've been, I haven't it. Yeah, I haven't seen a dance party in quite some time.
00:46:01
Speaker
yeah Even for the after hours parties, they weren't doing any kind of dance party or anything. Which is a shame because they have that whole spot over there. You know, you use it up. Then over at a Merchant of Venus, actually, no, I'm sorry, at Antigravities, they have a Elio-inspired float, which looks all kind of crazy all kinds of crazy.
00:46:18
Speaker
um So yeah it's Sprite with purple shimmer and fruit-flavored boba pearls topped with vanilla soft serve gold star sprinkles and blue sprinkles. raspberry sour straws.
00:46:31
Speaker
The ingredients don't sound as crazy as it looks. Yeah, I think it's the purple shimmer stuff that's really... that That's putting it over the top, I think. It's like, hey, do you want to drink glitter? Sure.
00:46:45
Speaker
it it actually reminds me of... um You know when you're... or I guess you've only been on Space Mountain once. You probably don't remember this. but Yeah, yeah. Or is it... It's gone now. but they used to have... um ah When you're coming up out of Space Mountain, there was like this weird ball pit off to the side where like it was it was all these these metallic orbs.
00:47:08
Speaker
And it was just so they could like fill a space. Right. Like it wasn't. Yeah. yeah um It was it was just kind of there. But it kind of became its own little thing. You know, people would always take or I would see pictures of it everything.
00:47:19
Speaker
This is reminding me of that. But like the boba and everything it's is very much giving like. like space mountain kind of energy, which I feel like with the, with the, you know, you know, Elio, it all kind of ties in together. it goes together.
00:47:33
Speaker
Space and aliens and all that of stuff, which, yeah, you know, you know, not, not mad about, you know, you know, not mad about something to try that, you know, it may not be like, you know, the most amazing thing from a flavor standpoint, but it looks cool.
00:47:49
Speaker
Yeah, no, agreed. It does. There's also some stuff going on at Disneyland. It looks like there's some like exhibits, right? um And then there's, I don't know, there's their merch. i say yeah yeah There's a couple of merch. There's like stuffed animals. A couple plushies, yeah. Yeah, some pins, some action figures.
00:48:04
Speaker
will say whatever this one action figure is, it looks pretty cool. The green guy that's got like ah like some sort of armor. It kind of looks like a, don't even know what what you would call it. but Kind of reminds me of the bugs from Wreck-It Ralph.
00:48:17
Speaker
that's got yeah Yeah, maybe okay that that could be it. yeah it's It's kind of cool, though. i I don't know what it's about, and I'm sure there's more context if you you know see the movie and stuff. um there's ah It says, yeah, looking at it, so it's a three-pack of action figures that includes Elio, Ambassador Grigon, and Glordon.
00:48:38
Speaker
Glordon is the one over to the left, I think. Are you are you sure? Because I feel like Grigon and Glordon, those names could be interchangeable. could see You know what? You might be right. I don't know.
00:48:50
Speaker
I only saw the trailer, so I don't i don't know. um But yeah, I i mean, listen, it it looks like a cool movie. It looks like another good Pixar movie. So and like I said, it's getting good reviews.
00:49:01
Speaker
I it's it is interesting, though, that it's not um if you want to know why Disney keeps making sequels and why everyone else keeps making sequels, it's because things like Inside Out 2 makes you know, almost $2 billion. dollars And this one is tracking for a like $20 million dollars opening weekend, which is not terrible, but terrible by Pixar standards.
00:49:20
Speaker
Right. Like, and so like, and it's, they try to do original stuff though. Like it's when they try to do this original stuff. Like, so if you want original stuff, go watch this movie so they have incentive to keep doing it. Yes, exactly. And, and the thing is is, sorry, they need to stop comparing them.
00:49:35
Speaker
Like, I know, I know. Like not every, not every movie or every IP can like, be the next Cinderella. I know. yeah But there is space for them. Sure, of course. yeah You know, like you said, the fact that it's still going to make money, it's like, but it's not enough money. But just let it exist. Like, you know, yeah I want to see how, like, you know, see how things play out with it.
00:49:59
Speaker
And it may be one of these things, too, where, um because I feel, maybe I'm misremembering this, but I feel like Frozen is, was the same kind of thing in that the, like, I don't remember there being a ton of publicity around it initially.
00:50:15
Speaker
Yeah. That was a word of mouth one. That one spread. Yeah. And, and, and the thing was, is that it, it didn't. So because of that, it wasn't like opening weekend was good, but it didn't really blow up until later.
00:50:27
Speaker
So, you know, yeah sometimes like, you know, the whole opening weekend thing, like, I don't, I don't like using that as a gauge for like, is it good or is it bad? It's like, yeah, that's just whoever decided to get on the hype train for the first weekend, right? but Yeah, yeah.
00:50:42
Speaker
But i'm I'm curious to see where this is going to sit in, you know you know, a month, two months, three months kind of thing. Because there has been a lot of Disney movies, late especially lately, that it's like, you know, they come out and you forget about them. Like, sorry, yeah if if I offend anybody with this next sentence, you know, sorry, but...
00:51:02
Speaker
But Wish was... Yeah, I think a lot of people... It was a nothing movie. Like, like yeah like you know, we saw Asha in Epcot when I was there with my brother.
00:51:13
Speaker
And there was a bit of a line, but it was like, we were just kind of like, oh, like okay, cool. Like, it's... Yeah. Like, sorry, but, you know, if you liked it, great. But it's like...
00:51:24
Speaker
you know, you know, sometimes these movies just don't click, but i feel like you also got to give it a chance to like, yeah. So yeah. You know, you know, this feels like it'll be an interesting movie or, you know, they've got a good premise here with it.
00:51:39
Speaker
And, you know, I, I hope it does well. And, and I guess the fact that they're already doing stuff in the parks for it, like maybe Disney is also kind of listening to, you know, we've, we've always, um, I feel like we've talked about this many times where, uh,
00:51:53
Speaker
uh you know they'll release movies and it's like you go oh that was cool but i can't find any merch for yeah yeah movie right it feels like they're trying to answer that a little bit here like they actually have it's not a ton of merch but there is some stuff attached to it so you know maybe if you know if you have something in your family that like really identifies with it like at least there's something you can get right so yeah no that makes sense Yeah, it's listen, it's I, I think Pixar is has kind of set this thing up for itself where it's like, you know, they they for a long time, it was like Pixar couldn't lose. Right.
00:52:30
Speaker
you know And then they had a couple of movies in there that were a little rough. And given some of the pandemic kind of did that, too, um because, you know, they had two movies that came out during that time. Actually, three, I think. Right. I mean, there was there was Lightyear, which I actually watched and really liked.
00:52:44
Speaker
I really enjoyed um And Turning Red, again, great movie that didn't get a lot of love. ah And then also Soul, right? like you know Those movies did not really do anything in the box office because there was no box office at that point. But you know it's funny because you you hear this about you know like about you know does like they're not making quality stuff anymore. But then you look and they're the leading...
00:53:06
Speaker
they're the leading um Movie studio, you know, in the United States. Still, I mean, they're they're the first ones this year to cross a billion dollars. They already went past a billion dollars in total box office.
00:53:18
Speaker
So, I mean, you know, they're still doing something right, obviously. It's just stop comparing them to themselves. right No, I agree. I agree. it's It's hard to compare to something like Inside Out 2 or, you know, like these ones that make two billion dollars. Like, you it's not fair to compare every movie to that, you know.
00:53:32
Speaker
Yeah. Like, ah I really hope that Elio does well. Like, it seems yeah it seems like it's getting enough attention and, you know, it doesn't doesn't seem like it's a bad movie. It's just, you know, I guess, will it resonate well enough? Like, you know, a Frozen or a mowaana Right. And um unfortunately, that's the problem, though. Right. And that's why they're so like they don't like to do original stuff. right Because it like they could end up spending two hundred million dollars and then it no one cares about it. Right.
00:54:00
Speaker
And like so it's just safe to do the the sequels and the live action stuff because they they do really well. You know, and I listen, i I've talked to law thinking, though. i don't really it is like I know not you saying it. i um I'm just.
00:54:14
Speaker
I'm just pointing out like that is so flawed because there are so many things that have, cut you know, they become cult classics when at the time of their release, they didn't hit at the time. Like, like you know, this is the thing is they're like, well, it didn't hit the time. We didn't make our money back. It's like yeah, but you're a big company and you should be in this for the long haul. And, you know, sometimes it's a matter of, you know, maybe re-promote it, you know,
00:54:37
Speaker
a couple of years later something even like Hocus Pocus is a great example of that. Oh yeah. It did not hit well when it first came out and it has, it got a sequel because it built enough of a following over years that, you know, Disney invested back in it again. But,
00:54:53
Speaker
you know you got to and But also, you know maybe you also got to just cut your losses too sometimes. and Yeah. yeah you know not not doing Not doing new things because you're afraid of failing, I feel like kind of goes against the entire um mantra of Disney. and but like my Yeah. my opinion you know you know i'm gonna i'm gonna die on this hill because You know, people love doing the, you know, oh, but Walt would not approve of this. No, the one thing Walt would not approve of is not taking chances because the entire thing of Disney was taking chances. Yeah, that's true. It's true. That's that's 100 percent true.
00:55:29
Speaker
I get from a business perspective why it's hard, but you're right. There's so many things that were, like you said, they were bombs and ah they, they later found an audience, you know, and, and that just happens. And I mean, that actually happened with elemental, right? Elemental basically trudged along to making like a lot of money, but it took them a long time because it was all so word of mouth, you know? And, and um you know, that, and to your point, frozen was kind of like that too. I, I remember that time, Trevor, because I remember that,
00:55:58
Speaker
We ended up going, and this was prior to my daughter, we ended up going just because we heard it was good. Right. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I remember seeing a trailer and being like, what what the heck is this movie? Right. Like, OK, great.
00:56:10
Speaker
But then, like, we had several people tell us, oh, yeah, like the music's really good. It's really funny. It's really well done. And we're like, oh, all right, let's go check it out. And then you go watch it and you're like, oh, OK. But because Disney seemed taken.
00:56:23
Speaker
They were they were, ah you know, they were they were not, I think, expecting Frozen to do what it did. when it you know When it happened. Oh, yeah. I don't think they were either. like it was it There was a lot lot of reactionary stuff that happened. But that's why I think that you know they need to...
00:56:38
Speaker
not necessarily lean into shows like Elio, but, you know, like I said, get give them room to breathe. And, and this seems to be what they're doing here with the, with the merch is like, it's like, you know, they're acknowledging like, Hey, you know, we're releasing a movie.
00:56:51
Speaker
We're letting it, you know, sit for a minute, see how people react to it. If the merch doesn't sell, you know, whatever, move on. Right. But, but, you know, not giving a chance for these IPs though. I feel like that's,
00:57:04
Speaker
if, if, if there was just another sequel and not this movie, I would, I would be getting really annoyed with Disney at this point. This actually, um for me is a little redeeming of like, and I know it's Pixar, but like, like Disney and Pixar, it's like, you know, the fact that that it's not Toy Story six or whatever number we're on now. Um,
00:57:24
Speaker
Toy Story a million. Yeah, exactly. Right. Like, it like, like the fact that they're actually taking a risk, I feel, I feel Disney needs to get back to that.
00:57:34
Speaker
Yeah. This is unrelated, but I was, i was flipping around, ah you know, streaming, trying to watch something new. I don't know, a couple of nights ago and I stumbled across Spaceballs. And I was like, man, I haven't watched baseballs in a while. Right. And there was, that's a weird coincidence. I can't, I know, but I just was like, ah, man, didn't watch a while, but they make a joke in that movie about giving a review of Rocky 5,000. Right. And I was thinking to myself saying, yeah, that's like, that's going to like toy story. It's going to be like toy story 5,000 at some point, you know, there's to keep making them for the rest of time.
00:58:09
Speaker
So why, why is that a funny coincidence? Were you watching it too? Yeah. No, the coincidence is that Spaceballs 2 got announced. Oh, well, that's that partly triggered it, yes. Yeah. I'm actually very excited for that because that it is one of my favorite movies from childhood, and but it's still really funny.
00:58:25
Speaker
I mean, it still holds up, totally. And Rick Moranis is amazing. I mean, love him. He's coming back for it, which is yeah which is insane. like Like, this is... Rick Morass has been out of Hollywood for a long time. So, well, and Bill Pullman's son is, was, has been casted as his son in the movie. And yeah.
00:58:43
Speaker
Yeah. Which is amazing too. What's the character's name? Wildstar? No. Lone Star. Lone Star. Lone Star. Yeah. Yeah. yeah So, ah which, ah first of all, I've seen that actor a bunch of times and had no idea it was Bill Pullman's son. And now that I look at it, look at him I'm like, oh, okay. How did I miss that? He looks exactly like him.
00:58:58
Speaker
um Yeah, but anyway, because he was in Thunderbolts, Bill Pullman's son was. Oh, okay. Yeah, he was the the main character. going to say character. I haven't watched Thunderbolts yet. so You should, because it was really good.
00:59:09
Speaker
um It's not stream. heard that. Again, hey word of mouth, I'm hearing Thunderbolts is good. Maybe I'll go watch it. Dude, it was hilarious. It was it was almost like a straight up comedy. It was like it reminded me of like old Marvel movies, not old, mar you know, but like some of the earlier MCU stuff where was just fun and loose and silly. And, you know, and like I love that kind of stuff.
00:59:27
Speaker
So anyway, sorry, we got on a tangent and that happens.
Disney Plus Ride Videos and VR Rumors
00:59:29
Speaker
But um I wanted to talk about this because I found this very interesting. So Disney Plus is i don't know if you saw this, Trevor, but Rise the Resistance.
00:59:38
Speaker
There's a a POV video of Rise of the Resistance on Disney Plus that Disney themselves filmed. Right. But I haven't watched yet, but I wish you haven't watched. I know because I know people are mad that I haven't been on rides.
00:59:50
Speaker
We're not mad. We just want you to check out. But the interesting thing here is that Disney, I feel like Disney just kind of woke up and we're like, hey, there's like tons of videos on YouTube of all of our rides that get hundreds of thousands of hits.
01:00:06
Speaker
Why are we not capitalizing that? done with iPhones or terrible like camera equipment when they have access to all the camera equipment and the rides like yeah yeah they can do multiple angles and everything they can they have they can do the best yeah they can do like 3d experiences through the rides like yeah exactly so now now Disney is going to be adding 16
01:00:29
Speaker
POV experiences to, uh, from Disneyland in honor of Disneyland's 70th anniversary. I, you know, it's funny, Trevor, when I, I saw this, I was like, okay, well, that's smart of them to take advantage of this. But then I also thought to myself is the reason they didn't do it for the longest time. Like they were worried people were just going to watch a video of like pirates of the Caribbean and like, but I don't need to write it now. Forget going to Disneyland.
01:00:50
Speaker
Like, I feel like that's not how things work, but I, you know, if that's, if that's their reasoning, I mean, Do you really want those people in the park? like oh No, because it's it's different watching a video and experiencing it. Yes, totally.
01:01:05
Speaker
It's not like you get the smell from pirates through your TV screen. Well, and also me watching a video doesn't preclude me from going on it. Right. Like just because I watch it on video doesn't mean like um it doesn't mean i' like, oh, no, now I'm not going on it.
01:01:17
Speaker
Like, ah you know, so but they're doing Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, Radiator Springs Racers, ah and Credit Coaster, Haunted Mansion, Tiana's Bayou Adventure, Cars. It just has Cars Land. So I'm going to guess they're just going have someone walking around Cars Land. oh that um That's all right.
01:01:33
Speaker
Yeah, that's cool. Pixar. Yeah. They they separate Raider Springs racers from Cars Land. So, yeah, it sounds like there'll be a walk around thing. Big Thunder Mountain, Jungle Cruise, Soaring Around the World. Interesting for Jungle Cruise, by the way, like they're going to have to pick a really good skipper for that video.
01:01:48
Speaker
um Oh, yeah. Yeah. So and around the world, Avengers Campus, Hollywoodland, Main Street, USA, Mickey's Toontown. So it seems like a bunch of them are just them walking around the lands. I mean, you could also look at it as an advertisement to entice people to come to. Right.
01:02:02
Speaker
But it's true. And then also nighttime spectaculars. It says just generally nighttime spectacular. So, listen, i guess I think this is smart of them. I think that they it they really should have done this a long time ago because, like I said, I mean, there are tons of videos on YouTube of all of these things. But like you said, they're not always...
01:02:22
Speaker
the most well-produced things in the world. And, you know, ah they, but they have hundreds of thousands of views. I know this because my daughter watches them all the time. so Oh, yeah. I mean, that that's, you know, for for a long time for us, it was, you know, before we started going to Disney World regularly with DVC, we were watching these videos because, yeah, you know, you know you you still want to go, but to fill the time between when you can go, because not everyone can go, you you know, once or multiple times a year.
01:02:52
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. You know, let people watch the movies. And, and you know, if it's if it's another incentive for people to get into Disney Plus because you can get like, you know, good videos of the rides like it kind of seems like a no brainer.
01:03:06
Speaker
It does. honestly Yeah. Like, it seems like a no-brainer to me, too. I mean, why wouldn't you put those things on and capitalize on it? I mean, and you're drawing... i mean, I guess you're drawing more people to Disney+. I don't think anyone's going to, like, sign up for Disney+, plus so they can watch one of these ride videos where they can watch for youtube ah on YouTube for free. But, you know, right nonetheless, it's still good. But it might tip scales, right? The thing is, ah like, when I'm looking at a streaming service, it's like, I don't... Like, I didn't buy Netflix because of, you know, watching Stranger Things. There is a bunch... Like, I had to have, like...
01:03:37
Speaker
you know, six, seven, eight different shows that at least would get me in the door. Yeah. To get me to go and look at other stuff. Like this is, again, one of these things that, you know, Hey, you can, you can watch Disney plus shows and also you can check out ride attractions if you're interested in that.
01:03:52
Speaker
Right. Yeah. Yeah. Like it's a selling point. It's like, it, it doesn't have to be the the main feature of it, but it's definitely a selling point. The one that isn't a weird choice, which actually, and and this is actually where this gets interesting is they they put on this list Hollywoodland, which Hollywoodland is going away.
01:04:10
Speaker
Yeah, you say, that's not going to exist, right? Yeah. yeah so So the other side of this, too, is that it does become an interesting um archival thing as well. Yeah. Where, you know, as, as you know, mean, honestly, a lot of the stuff on this list, you know it's not going away anytime soon. or like i mean, if it did, that would be...
01:04:28
Speaker
crazy. yeah Like some of these are are timeless rides, but um you know, as rides change over time and whatnot, it's interesting that, you know, they may like, you know, they can keep this stuff out up there. So, you know, for all of us that have nostalgia about it, you can still see it, but I can also see too, or, you know, maybe Hollywood land won't happen or they'll take it down after a point because the other side of that too, is you'll get people that are like, Oh, I've, I've gone and watched all the videos of, um,
01:04:59
Speaker
of, you know, Magic Kingdom or Disneyland. And then I got there and Hollywoodland wasn't there. Yeah. Right. Like I can see, I can see where they may, like, you know, maybe yeah but but they may want to like put a date on it. Like, you know this was dated, like, you know, this day, you know, this time. And, you know, this doesn't exist anymore. Put that in the description somewhere.
01:05:20
Speaker
No, people don't read the descriptions on videos on, at least I don't. I don't know about you. I don't go like heavily reading into what show I'm watching on on Netflix or anything like that.
01:05:32
Speaker
and's instead of ah Instead of doing this last thing, I kind of want to talk about something else, like a rumor. All right. I mean, listen, if you want to know more about the Disney Junior Let's Play event that's happening at Disneyland, go check that out.
01:05:45
Speaker
because Yeah, I'm not interested. Whatever. what i wanted to I don't even know why I didn't put this on the rundown, but... did i I don't know if you saw this, Trevor, that and and this makes total sense to me. In fact, I believe I said this, that apparently that before Muppet Vision 3D was closed down, they filmed the entire thing with VR cameras.
01:06:03
Speaker
Oh, with or the 360 cameras. yeah Yes. and so And apparently what apparently apparently the Jim Henson company confirmed that they were talking about bringing this to VR. Yeah.
01:06:20
Speaker
Like, just bringing the Muppet Vision 3D to VR. So, i mean, listen, this isn't a rumor category, but I think it's a good rumor. I actually think it makes a lot of sense, right? Put it out there in VR. VR is becoming more and more prevalent.
01:06:32
Speaker
Like, I'd go check it out in VR. I'm sure you would. I mean, that yeah, that's easy, because... You can just sit on the couch watch it whenever. Yeah, exactly. I mean, listen, you're not going to have, you know, things spraying you and such, but um you can still get a good feel of it, right? i mean... You get the sights and the sounds. And here's the weird thing about that is that you, like, you had the 3D glasses for the 3D effect, but...
01:06:57
Speaker
That can just be done in VR. Exactly. Because you're talking about. Yeah. So, yeah, i listen, I don't know if this is true. This is a rumor. I just saw it and I was like, hmm.
01:07:08
Speaker
and look I mean, listen, we we really don't know. Just because they filmed it in VR doesn't mean they're going to do it, but it would make sense. It's an easy way for them to kind of preserve it in a way. Yeah. So, yeah. Yeah, no, I...
01:07:20
Speaker
I think about that, like like you said, yeah, i think I feel like you talked about that, but i I think about the whole VR thing is, yeah, like it's the same kind of thing as what we were just talking about with the the stuff going on to Disney Plus is, you know, there's nothing wrong with, it doesn't have to be one-for-one translation of it, but it's good for archiving stuff, right? And it's a good way to, you know, give people...
01:07:46
Speaker
you know, the attractions that, that do go away over time because they always do, um, you know, it gives a way for people to go back and, you know, re-experience that. And it doesn't hurt Disney to do that because if you're paying for a subscription anyway, like, you know, what's, what's one more video.
01:08:03
Speaker
Agreed. Agreed. Agreed. So yeah. All right. Well, that's all I got, Trevor. don't know if you have anything else. No, I think that was a good cross-section of stuff. Solid episode. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of different stuff this week. And yeah, it was good. All right. Let's wrap her up then.
01:08:19
Speaker
All right.
Engagement and Social Media Presence
01:08:20
Speaker
So yeah, as usual, you know if you guys want to reach out to us or you know talk about anything that... We talked about on the show, share your trip reports, anything like that. You can always find us at walk-in-home-podcasts at gmail.com.
01:08:31
Speaker
Uh, similarly, we, uh, as Tom mentioned at the beginning of the show, um, you can also, uh, leave us, uh, a voicemail. You can call us at, uh, 833-WHP-TIPS. That's 833-947-8477.
01:08:43
Speaker
that's eight three three nine for seven eight four seven seven um So, yeah, you know, you got a couple of different ways you can reach out to us and share stuff. And we love hearing from you guys. So so keep keep that kind of stuff coming to us. And you can also find us on social media.
01:08:59
Speaker
Facebook is Welcome Home Podcast. YouTube is Welcome Home Podcast. And Instagram is Welcome Home Picks. Uh, also on Facebook, make sure you check out our group. Welcome home, Disney wait list, where we also talk about stuff from the show. There's great memes that go in there. People sharing their own, ah trip reports, questions, all that kind of stuff. So if you're looking for a place where, you know, not just fans of the show, but Disney fans in general can come and talk, you know, and check out the group.
01:09:26
Speaker
If you want to help support the show, you can go to store.welcomehomepodcast.com and check out all of our different merch there. Um, if you're needing some shirts for your next trip, you know, you know, consider, consider a welcome home podcast shirt for your, uh, your attire for your, um, while you're watching the parade going the wrong way down main street.
01:09:45
Speaker
Yeah. The wrong way. I use air quotes. Uh, yeah. Um, yeah. So yeah, you can check out the store if you want some merch and we also have a Patreon. You can go to patreon.com slash welcome home pod.
01:09:55
Speaker
And check out our different levels of Patreon support. All of our Patreon listeners also get access to the Discord server, which is yet have another place that we talk about stuff from the show. We have great conversations as well there. And we also do preview some of our shows, you know, things like food time and interviews and stuff get previewed on the Discord. So if you want to get access to that stuff a bit earlier than everybody else, you know, um check out our Patreon.
01:10:20
Speaker
Last but not least, if you're listening on iTunes or Spotify or anywhere that you can leave us a review, leave us a five-star review because it just helps it helps us feel better about ourselves. It helps more people find the show. and you know You can write us review on iTunes because, again, we also love hearing what you guys think about the show because you know it just helps us to you know continue to continue to do what we're doing here. So, yeah. Don't forget to subscribe to Welcome Home Podcast. And can be reminded every time we release a new episode, you can find our podcasts and apple podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Stitcher, Spotify, YouTube, YouTube Music, just about any place you can find podcasts, you can find us.
01:10:56
Speaker
Just search for Welcome Home and look for the Disney podcast.com. ah Just a reminder to our listeners, welcome home podcast is entertainment only. We are not employed by the Walt Disney Company and as such, all opinions we express on the show are our own. So please consult a DVC cast member or Disney cast member for more information about anything we talked about today.
01:11:15
Speaker
Huge thank you to our sponsors, DVC Resale Market, for sponsoring this episode. So please go check them out if you have any DVC resale needs. Join us next time for more Disney Parks discussion. Of course, more DVC talk.
01:11:27
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.