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Episode 267: Damon’s Cruise, Lightning Lane Updates & Disney Treasure
1.1k Plays4 months ago
On This Episode
Damon is back from his recent cruise and gives the guys a trip report. Genie+ is being retired and replaced with Multi Pass, which will allow guests to book advanced ride reservations. DVC introduces a series of free member events called Welcome Weeks. With Halloween starting in a few months at the parks, Disney announced some of the events and details that will be part of the celebrations. The Haunted Mansion will be reopening at Disneyland with a virtual queue. The Disney Treasure is currently under construction, but Disney Cruise Line has released new concept art for an Aristocats themed lounge. Along with the new concept art, DCL gave a preview of new dishes that will be available on the Treasure.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsor
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 DVC Rental Store. Thank you for joining us on episode 267 of Welcome Home, a Disney Parks and Vacation Club podcast. I'm Tom here with Trevor and Damon. yeah i'm Yeah, I'm disappointed
Wendy's Frosty Flavors Discussion
00:00:44
Speaker
already. I thought we were getting this orange cream Wendy's Frosties are done for the summer. Okay, so it's funny you say that. get hold on they done oh It's funny you say this because i was I was on the highway today and my wife said, ooh, Wendy's has a triple berry frosting. Yeah, that's what I'm eating right now. Yeah, and I was like, wait, does that mean the orange cream one is gone now? And she and she's like, I don't know. And I'm like, I bet it is. And that would be dude awful.
00:01:11
Speaker
Orange cream one was so good. So good. It's such a random thing. We literally had this conversation today. I think triple berry is not bad. Probably just tastes like strawberry though, right? No, definitely no. It definitely tastes like a mixed berry sort of thing. Okay, okay. What a random way to start after we've been gone for two weeks. I'm just going to leave this on. It's so great that you guys have this stuff, but we don't have it in Canada. We'll come back to that part later. Wait, you don't have Wendy's? No, we don't have the orange creamsicle frosty in Wendy's. What? It was so good, by the way.
00:01:46
Speaker
So let's sideline that because that's going to come back into the conversation later. It was a cream sickle. Yeah, pretty much a cream sickle. no Yeah, it was not in Canada. let Let's leave it there. It was it was the it's the orange swirl dole whip. That's I mean, that's what it is. No, no, how dare you? It's better. The cream sickles. It was better. Yeah. Good humor. Cream sickles. Yeah, there's there's not. I know.
Damon's Shirt Story and Listener Review
00:02:06
Speaker
Listen, I'm a big creamsicle fan. So yeah, I was I was pretty upset about that. So but um yeah, no, listen, we it's funny because we haven't talked in a couple of weeks, right? So it was like it's whatever we haven't talked in a couple of weeks because, you know, we were we were out last week because I was off in the mountains doing things. But ah but yeah, no, it's funny that we we just kind of talked for like a whole half hour before we started this episode. We're getting backpacks.
00:02:30
Speaker
But not for you guys, sorry. Not just for us. Why would you tell them that? Just like, hey, we're getting backpacks. so no Nobody else can have one except for us. I mean, except Dan. yeah mean We'll make one for Dan. Yeah, just for Dan. Which Dan, though? Which Dan? There's too many Dan. Dan H, definitely. Of course. Because he got the special shirt. He didn't have a special backpack to go with. That's true. He did. And he actually, my favorite part about the special shirt, for those that don't know, is Damon was like, I'm going to put this up for like 100 bucks. They bet he doesn't buy it. And then he like bought it. I feel like that deserves a backpack, man. Yeah. It was like, I'm going to make a special shirt for him and we make it super expensive just as a joke. And then he ended up buying. I love that. That's respect for the podcast. It is. It is. He's been, he's been with us a long time now, man. He he really has. And he's a, he's a good one. So, um, anyway.
00:03:16
Speaker
let me Let's do the review of the week and then we'll we'll talk about your cruise, Damon. I know you are talking about it on on the Golden Button Detour Show and also... you know Just the island, man. Just the island. You just want to talk island? You don't want to talk about the rest of the cruise? No, no. I said all I did on Golden Button is just talk about the island. Oh, okay. So you're talking about... Okay, got it.
Disney Cruise Experience
00:03:34
Speaker
So the review of the week comes from DarthDadMan. which you know, I like my and the title of it is my 4.7 rating contribution is a five star review and it says this is my contribution in the effort to get the show to a 4.7 where it belongs. It's never gonna happen though, man.
00:03:53
Speaker
I just like the fact that it's not, it doesn't belong at a five to Darth Dad, man. It belongs at a 4.7 and I'm okay with that. yeah i respectful Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, if you see a 4.7 on an Amazon listing, you're going to buy that one, right? That's that's good. Maybe. ah Really? Okay. Well, I mean, it's hard to get higher. think The thing is a 4.7 on an Amazon review makes me feel scammy. That's that's a hundred you got to read the reviews. So, yeah, it's a finish reading this review and then we can we can see if it's worthwhile for the. so So he continues just a few dads cutting it up about TVC and Disney Parks. Keep doing what you're doing, fellas. Always enjoy the conversation of banter each week. So thanks, Dad. Why is outline number B just a bunch of stars outline? What are you talking about in the outline? That's the start. That's the stars from the review. It's a five star review.
00:04:43
Speaker
But we needed that in the outline. I mean, okay. I copy and paste it. Okay. its Just how Google sheets formatted that. Anyway,
00:04:59
Speaker
so yeah, so thank you. If you guys want to hear your review read on the show, uh, go ahead and, uh, and leave that for us on, uh, apple podcast. I still feel like we should have more reviews. I don't get it. We've been getting a lot lately, actually. I mean, it's been quite a few over the past couple of weeks. What did I say? It's some special number. We were going to do something. I don't remember what number that was. It may be 500. So we had to set out a while. So you're making promises that you just forget. Yeah, I mean, someone will call me. And I think I'd still, oh, what's your name? A hat. And she sends me a message on Discord. And it's actually a friend, actually one of my friends' friends. And I still can't bring myself to go to the post.
00:05:38
Speaker
you Anything I promise is always up for grabs as, you know, yeah, I have all good intentions, but am I actually going to make it to the post office? The answer is probably no. Yeah, it's always a challenge, right? The office is a challenge for sure. It is, it is. All right, so so let's talk about your cruise, David. I know. Yeah. You know, I i saw ah you know your some of the pictures you posted. I also saw the rare picture of Damon on on his vacation. I feel like I never see human pictures. Yeah, so that's true. Even on my Facebook, I try to keep my Facebook more from my kids, because like I said, I post, I mean, i I make books out of them, right? But then I was like, oh, I'm going to be dead and my kids are going to be like, yeah, these are great pictures of us. And I'm like slotting myself in there, everyone. Three pictures of dad. yeah exactly i just lock my picture and they every once so on um I have a bunch of notes.
00:06:34
Speaker
But like there are more, like there's a lot about the island, which you just have to go listen to the other episode. I mean, you're not going to tell us about the islands at all. I mean, go, isn't there 17 minutes, dude, golden buttons, 10. Like it's, it's just about the island. Um, but there's some things that I learned about the island after I recorded that episode. So I will touch on that. Um, all right, let's see. So I was on the Disney, Disney magic. It's an old boat, man. old boat. It came back to haunt us a little bit. I'm just going to be all over the place because my notes are just all over the place here. um I don't even know where to start, so just be prepared for, you know, a Tilt the Whirl, a Tilt the Whirl kind of of of the cruise here. Well, the magic is the first Disney cruise. Yeah, I don't know, man. It's tough these days. So I will tell you that we all work kind of a little iffy
00:07:25
Speaker
And I was like, I was thinking to myself, I don't understand why, right? So I've been on the fantasy, been on the dream, been on the magic, right? And we were like in a tropical storm on the one of the other ones. And like, there was just like a night we felt queasy. But this go around, like,
00:07:43
Speaker
I don't even know what it was about. Like the the water was like glass. Well, not really, but it was like, it was pretty close. Like I think that because this was a three night cruise that like they just put the pedal to the metal overnight to kind of get you to these places. I don't know man but it was like it was you're going fast oh it was like it was rough you felt yeah like because it was bad i feel like maybe it was faster just why it was rough listen i one night at like two o'clock like in the middle of the night like it woke me up and it was funny cuz me and my daughter like so she woke up as well and we just both looked at each other like.
00:08:19
Speaker
Like, you know, it wasn't like, it wasn't like throw up sick, it was never throw up sick, just like lazy, uneasy like that. Like, I'm easy like I was like, I can't sleep through this because I feel like I'm on the humps of a roller coaster. Oh, gosh, but you get what I'm saying? Like, yeah, throw up. But like, I was just was like, and then We were also not in the exact middle of the boat, which was a downfall of the other two. We were in the middle of the boat. We were not this time. We weren't super forward, super after super port or whatever but they are. But like we were. And again, I guess I was told to call it a ship, like whatever. but like from one of the people. Wait, instead of a boat, you're not going to call it a boat. And I did look it up and he didn't write. Technically correct. Technically correct, but I don't care. Now it's a dinghy. yeah I said the magic is the smallest of the ship, so it should be classified as a boat. But anyway, and so it was like, it was just uneasy. And like one night we were watching the show and because of the show isn't Is this show in the front or the back of the boat? I don't know. It's not in the middle of the boat, though. I feel like it's in the front. Like, my daughter was like one night, she's like, yeah, this is just not it. Like, this is just not it. And I was like, I kind of felt that too. Like, it was weird. i i I really, honest to goodness, think it has to do with the age and size of the boat. I do because the other ones were just not as bad.
00:09:39
Speaker
I was gonna ask you that if you like, because it sounds like if it's the oldest boat, maybe there's something with the stabilizers. i think They have to the stabilizers have to get better and better. I mean, I feel like at some point, the new boats are gonna have like these AI stabilizers, and you feel like you're going to be like, you're like just in real time. Yeah, exactly. You're not even moving. um But there was that which was kind of weird. But okay, cool. The thing is, we we know that the drama mean is at the um desk and you know, the main desk. So you can just go get as much as you want. I didn't take any, but my kids did. And that was like more than they took on the other potent during the tropical storms or whatever. I don't even know what to say about that. I mean, again, it wasn't
00:10:21
Speaker
It didn't, like, make it, like, ruined for me, but it was, like I said, I mean, I don't think I got a great night's sleep until the last night back, which, again, I think is the shortest a distance. And then, because sleeping on a boat is normally, like, the best. Like, it's like being rocked to sleep like a little baby. Exactly. Except that night. This is just is so funny because we talked about the next day, she's like, Because, you know, my kids usually again, as you're younger, you kind of forget waking up in the middle of the night. And she's like, did we wake up and look at each other? And a I was like, Yes, we did. That definitely did happen. um All right, let's see. So from the first two trips, I will tell you people are rooter. There's no doubt about it. I don't know what's happening with society, but people are absolutely out of control. Cast members are just no, no, no, no, no, pet general people cast members are fine. um Like,
00:11:11
Speaker
During the plays, this the amount of just parenting shenanigans that were going on go was just unreal. Here's the other thing, too. Like, don't wear ears when you have somebody sitting behind you for a play. But yeah it's whatever, man. Like, we get past that. People would leave their kids at the show. Like, they're like sitting next to us, there must have been two two kids, i maybe like five and seven, just rampaging. And the parents were just like, whatever. The parents came back, like they left them there for like 15 minutes. Just kids were just rampaging. I mean, there were
00:11:53
Speaker
So, like, the shows are absolutely phenomenal, by the way. I mean, the shows were great. Like, i think really good. So, you had um this dream sequence with Peter Pan. That was probably the the weakest one of the three, but it was still pretty good. Then you had a tangled Rapunzel one, which was pretty good. But then,
Reflections and Future Cruise Plans
00:12:10
Speaker
really, the the knockout one is a Cinderella. It's called Twice Something, I don't know. But there's an evil fairy godfather. Like, it's really good. It's a really good show. Very well done. Well, during, like... I forget what show it was. like There was a guitar. And like I said, the boat was kind of heathen that night, right? And so she drops the guitar and like adults are laughing at her. And I'm like, for real? Like, really? like yeah and And the thing is, like you're at these shows, you would think that like when the show's over, so you know the people come out and they do their bows, do people bounce? like So when they're going for their curtain call,
00:12:47
Speaker
people are already leaving. It's just so disrespectful. Yeah, they didn't stick around to like applaud the people. That's terrible. That's rude. That is just flat out rude. Yeah, totally disrespectful. But the shows are really good. Like I said, the Cinderella one was really, really funny, really good. I always think that that's probably the best part of the Disney Cruises, that entertainment. um Let's see what else we have here. Like I said, I'm just going through my notes on my phone. The other thing is too, are waiters... like the food was The food is not as good as it used to be. Listen, it's just not. like I think the food at Cabanas, which is the buffet, was actually better in general than it was. I think the buffet food is a little bit better, but the sit-down food is definitely not as good. The desserts were pretty good, but like the food itself
00:13:36
Speaker
I think though, some of that may be to do with just like, I don't think meat is as good anymore, just in general. there's There's a lot of me like talking about like society as a whole now, because just like from the difference. But like, I don't think meat is as good as it was five years ago. Interesting. I haven't noticed that, but okay. This is my take on it, right? Yeah, that's interesting. Post-COVID meat is just not as good. Anyway, our dinner owners were messed up like three times. These are servers, that is your job. I ordered something, didn't get it twice, and it was like, all right, whatever. It was like a salad or whatever. Okay, and then one time I tried to order two desserts and I didn't get it. The last night I was like, listen,
00:14:15
Speaker
I'm ordering two desserts like i had like make it like a point and i was like that just seems kinda weird to me and i also felt like they were doing this thing where like normally they're like hey you know fell out the survey form but they were like it was like a car dealership were like they're like hey fill out the survey form him put this put that you know i get extra sleep if you do this like i was like. Wow, I don't really care about your sleep that much. Let me be honest with you, like, I get it. But like, you weren't even that good, to be honest. So there was that. um Like I said, this is just a random sort of crazy bunch of notes here.
00:14:52
Speaker
Let's see. So we had the awkward dunk on that, which was kind of cool. It was a ah drop slide, which I thought was nice in comparison to some of the other things. And we got my daughter to do it. So i it's so funny. I realized teenage girl, like what's, you know, she wants to go shopping for clothes by herself for high school and she did not want to go on. She doesn't go on like crazy rides. I was like, If you go in the aquedunk, I will let you go shopping 100% by yourself. like but we won't I said, I'll just show up and pay and I won't even look at the stuff. And she was like.
00:15:29
Speaker
I'm going to do it. She's giving her the card, right? Just give her the credit card and just go. It was interesting because even for like, my kids are going to listen to this stuff later and be like, what are you saying? It was interesting because I didn't, again, having my third one being a girl, You know, when she went bathing suit shopping, I was like, uh, she was like, well, do you want to look at it? I was like, I don't need to see it. Like, do you like it? Cool. Then let's just go. Like, I don't need this whole, like, she's like, Oh, thank you so much. And I was like, okay, like that's fine. So I asked, so she went on the aqueduct. I thought it was good. I went on it a few times. Um, it was fine. I'm trying to see what else we got here.
00:16:07
Speaker
the I don't know, it was a short cruise, man. Oh, my my kids had it. So again, my sons are 20 and 18 now, so they could do a lot more. My daughter did not do any of the vibe or edge or anything like that. um and my sons were playing the practical Joker's card game like where you get cards like you have to do stuff like they were obviously having a blast I just thought maybe we're going to get thrown off the ship but I mean we didn't so that was good. um I mean they had a blast of doing it so I mean it gets us good they went to the gym one night they went to the spot to kind of check it out and things like that we didn't do an awful lot because it was like I said just 3 days so
00:16:50
Speaker
I realized we probably should have done Atlantis at NASA because I really want to do it. And I don't know why we didn't do it, but we didn't because we were just like, hey, you know, this is kind of like a free cruise because we're just using points. We're not paying for anything. And I didn't want to like add on expenses, really. So I was like, we're not really doing anything. So we got off at NASA and walked around. That was fine. um But like I said, I would have liked to have done plants. I think we would do Atlantis next year because we already booked a placeholder. So we're doing a cruise next year again as well. so I say you say that that you're like a cruise family now. Are you still doing Disney cruises or are you going to do? So we're going to do Disney cruise because again, we hope took the placeholder. The placeholder is 250 bucks for a 10 percent discount. And like, dude, our cruises are like 12 grand. So it makes sense. Why would I not take that placeholder? Yeah. So we took the placeholder. I think we're going to do one in July.
00:17:42
Speaker
next year. That's my my guess. So we'll do another one July, I think we're probably going to do a similar cruise like a three night and then do cast away though for sure. Definitely for sure. um Go listen to the other one if you want to know but definitely cast away. ah But I think we'll then do the Atlantis excursion as well. I think that will be fun. And then, like I said, we're going to do a Royal Caribbean. But overall, like I said, I mean, it was it was it was fine. But I just.
00:18:15
Speaker
I don't know. like There's a lot going on there for a cruise. We did the DVC thing. right We got the DVC gifts, which were not half bad, by the way. We got some some hats. Got some, yeah, but some of the you know the, what are the backpacks called? the The ones that are like the Thai ones. Gosh, I can't think of the name of them now. the cheapie, the sling bags, thank you. Yeah, sling bag. They were nice. And like I said, the hats were nice. um And then sliders, you get like the for the magic band sliders, there's a DVC members at C one. Yeah, yeah, we got those. um But they were nice. I mean, the people were and kind of funny. ah One of the DVC reps had gotten a ah ticket in Raleigh. So we were talking about that.
00:19:05
Speaker
um He had lived up here for a little bit and he was the same the last time he came to visit me they were very nice and went to the mixer and and I'm still don't understand what happened so we go to the the mixer and there's free drinks and so my my sons were like there's no way we're going to that so. said, my daughter, you don't come with us. You can go with them. She said, I'll go with you. I like dropped a drink. And I don't even know how. i was like It felt like the table like wasn't sturdy. So like what happened was is I kind of like put the drink down, but then like it got knocked up in the air. I don't know. My wife tried to catch it. It turned and told me. And then like I was like, oh, the table must be wobbly. And then I was like, the table's not wobbly at all. like I don't know what happened there to me. But whatever. um That was interesting. I got it all over myself. So I smelt like. and
00:19:51
Speaker
Champagne, Prosecco, whatever it was. I don't even know what it was. Let's see. Oh, the other thing during the show. Dude, there were people talking on the phone during the show. What? Yeah. That's crazy. Who are you talking to on a phone on a cruise? Well, see, that's the thing too. like A lot more people were talking on their phones like doing business. like They were away, but they're not. and Here's the other thing. so If you're an iPhone user, I message works to everyone in the world, right? Like, so you could still use I message. So that was a thing I would say that for next cruise, like I would, I didn't know that when we got on, you know, the cruise app that you can talk to like, you know, family members to like, kind of coordinate stuff. But I don't know how it works, but for whatever reason, I message works. So like, my kids were texting their girlfriends, like I was like, yeah, I thought this was going to be a cruise where we didn't necessarily have our phones out all the time. And then it was like a three day that after today one, and then it was already too late. You know what I mean? Like, I was like, I'm not having this battle. Now next time I would say that like, we'll have dinners like phone free, but I was I was surprised. And for even for me, like I didn't necessarily love that I wanted to disconnect a little bit as well. But it was, it was tough to kind of do that when you have access to iMessage.
00:21:04
Speaker
I don't like to talk about food, but I will talk about something. I don't like to talk about food, but I did eat this, so that's fine. So the Mickey Churro waffles are like on point, like I didn't realize how good they were. Like they're good, good. Say, would you have like a lot of them? as Yeah, I did. Yeah, I did. They were good, good. They were definitely good. I like them. and Pretty sure I've had those before. They're Crystal Palace, I heard. But I heard the ones at Crystal Palace are not as good, which I didn't understand. But I heard that from multiple people. So I was surprised about that. Maybe that is where I had them. But I mean, it was good there, though. I mean, when I had them. Yeah. so yeah
00:21:43
Speaker
um All right, so I will talk briefly about the island. So again, I learned a few things after the fact. i don't it was it would The island was okay. It was like a really nice beach. I mean, that's kind of my overall vibe about it, is that it was just like a nice beach. and We didn't do any excursions, which in hindsight, again, but you don't know going in, there wasn't a lot to do. I mean, it's a great setup, but there's not a lot to do. And it was like, ah all right, what are we doing? So we we hung out on the island for a while, but it was more beach-related than anything. Like I said, go listen to Golden Buttons 10, 17 minutes. It's not even a long one. Go everything on the island. But after the fact, I i think I started to realize is that you know I saw these videos of people snorkeling, right? Because I was kind of like bent out of shape that like no cast members knew where anything was. And this whole snorkeling thing was weird. I didn't understand. and And I was like, well, there's two sets of buoys.
00:22:38
Speaker
I think what it is, and listen, I could be wrong, but I think that like the first set of buoys is for swimming, and then the further out buoys are for snorkeling. I don't know. Someone's got to explain this to me, because I was on the island and I still don't understand it. um like I don't know where snorkeling was. like It would make sense if that was the case. Listen, there's also no shark nets for anyone that's like crazy about that. And I'm kind of crazy. I thought there was shark nets. I thought the second set of buoys were shark nets. They're not. But they do have a cast member patrolling the waters in a jet ski. It's kind of funny. For sharks, really? I don't know, for whatever, but like... For something. Yeah, or just maybe lifeguarding, you know what I mean? Like being out there, but... Probably lifeguarding, yeah. The water was nice, and like I said, I mean, the thing is, is that a Disney cruise is expensive, right? um And I just... I didn't get like this overall...
00:23:26
Speaker
uh, Disney experience in general, this, this go around. I just, and I don't know if that's just because of just whatever or my expectations or things were better in the past or I'm just nostalgic. I don't know the answer to that or the ship. Like I i can't place it. Was it good? I mean, it's a vacation. It's a cruise. It's always good. Did I expect more? Yeah, probably. I think maybe my expectations were lowered because I didn't have to pull money out of pocket to go. Yeah, but I'll tell you darn well if I was paying nine grand, I don't even think it would have been that maybe even seven grand like God might have been a little bent. um the The rooms were are fine. Like I said, we do the five person room which is
00:24:08
Speaker
fine. yeah You know what I mean? Like, fine like, that there's, it barely works for us now. I mean, because my daughter and my one son, like, so the three beds in that room are, there's two that come down. I'm trying to think now there's one that comes to Murphy that comes out of the wall, and then one that comes over the couch and then the couch bed. But the two beds have footer things on them, right? The metal things for like, the end of the bed. Not the headboards, but the baseboards, whatever they call those things. And thank goodness, the one that's a Murphy bed does not. I mean, my son's six foot one. There's no way, right? There's no way he's fitting on that, but it was good. So he took that one, and the other two took the other ones, and it was fine.
00:24:54
Speaker
it just We're in this weird spot where like, I mean, you know, say my kids, but you know, they're 20 years old and 18, like, they had a fun time. But like, it's definitely more geared towards younger kids, right? Sure. It just it just is. And that's okay. So I mean, we still enjoyed it. But I would say that's why we're going to try a Royal Caribbean, I think next year. So we're, yeah, so we're tapped out. And he said, my my son, even my kids were like, yo, I don't, I don't think I want to go back to Disney. Like, there's nothing there for me. It's like, they're like, well, what's new? And I was like, Tom, Moana and Tron. They're like, yeah, no. Oh, and Tiana. They're like, yeah, definitely not. They're like, Tiana, the same, is it the same ride? And I'm like, yeah I mean, there's new animatronics. They're like, is it the same ride? And I'm like, oh, yeah. And they're like, nah.
00:25:41
Speaker
We could. So I don't think we'll actually see a park for a little bit. Now we also burned our points though, doing the screws, we burned our points for 25 anyway. So. Yeah. So you can't go anyway. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So that's, that's easy enough. But yeah, I mean, we're going to do a Disney cruise 25. We'll do a Royal Caribbean 25. There's still no date on epic universe so ah again they're gonna force me to not go I mean I don't think universal care is that much if they're forcing me to not go but like the thing is like I'm ready to make plans for next year like our next year vacations like we make them now because with three still p three people still in school right we got a plan.
00:26:23
Speaker
So with Epic Universe, them not being able to tell us anything. I just, I don't think I can do it. So we're just going to do cruises. Like we'll do two cruises next year. And then I won't be able to go to Epic Universe until 26 then. I mean, that's just what it, you know, the summer 26. And that just seems like it's going to be what it is. But. Whatever. how i So, yeah sorry, just one thing. I know you kind of touched on it. I'm curious, you've you've done this cruise. I'm wondering how your cruise next year will go to is going to go because you'll you'll probably be on a different boat, right? like Absolutely. so like so So I have to wonder how much of the experience is tied to the boat because like you said, man magic is it is an older boat. And that's not to say that older boats um automatically means bad, but I have to wonder if maybe just operationally they've gotten used to.
00:27:11
Speaker
Well, I don't know. I would agree. I mean, again, the food, I don't know if I can pin on the boat, the service, I'm not sure. um the the The waves, I think I can. And then, i mean I mean, everyone was nice. But again, as as I touched on on the other episode, like the cast members on the island just had no clue. And I was just so surprised. like You have no clue. Actually, I'll tell you the truth. Even the cast members on the boat, like it was like a 50% crapshoot. Some of them like knew what was going on, and then some of them just like really didn't have a clue. And I was like, this is not really what I expected. And again, i it was still a fun time. It really was. But I was just surprised at like, overall that it was just not what I was used to. I mean, our last cruise though was
00:28:09
Speaker
eight years ago. So that's a long time ago, pre COVID versus COVID. After you know, post COVID is two different worlds. So I don't know, man, I just I couldn't get on board with some of these people like these, some of these people were crazy. There was a couple just literally yelling at their kids. There's so many people just either yelling at their kids or letting their kids go bonkers. There was like no in-between. How many times I said, oh my goodness, that is some terrible parenting. I don't know. I must've said it so many times. I was like, oh my goodness, that is just terrible parenting going on right now. This is why I don't go to movie theaters anymore. Yeah, yeah, same kind of deal it it really was just the the extent of what people like they just like because they think it's a boat they just let their kids go absolutely crazy and I was just I was surprised because that just wasn't the case previously and again, I know it's not anyone's fault but
00:29:02
Speaker
I can go to Walmart to hear people talking on their phone about work. like I don't need that during shows. like I don't need that while I'm walking. I was just surprised at how many people were on their phones. he this is This is a vacation. like Come on. and then There was a lot of camaraderie. like I felt like on the other times that I had cruisers, there was more like kind of camaraderie. Like you met people and hung out with them like a thing. Yeah, not even but like just the boat in general like was like people are just nicer and more willing to like chit chat or this that. and Yeah, there didn't feel like there was a lot of that. So not and I didn't see Brian. I mean, I saw Brian, but I didn't talk to Brian.
00:29:44
Speaker
Yeah, I was just talking about backpacks. That's about it. But we're going to have backpacks. out Yeah. You're talking about Brian from DCL2. Yes. They were a couple of doors down from us. But again, on vacationing, it was a three-nighter. There wasn't a lot of spare time in general. now i didn't do like Again, like we didn't really utilize a lot. like Last time we did the spa, we did all this. We did you know karaoke night. There also wasn't, like on our other cruises, because they were longer, there was more entertainment. the entertainment here. We did a drawing, you know, the drawing class, but even like that's mailed in. Like, so you go to the, we go to this drawing thing, right? And we're like, all right, cool. First of all, I just want to point out that, you know, I have a daughter that's going into some skipping grades of art for high school, right? And a wife who's very artistic and my group still slapped both of theirs.
00:30:36
Speaker
And so much so that my daughter's like, you drew that? I was like, I was sitting right next to you. Like, what do you think? Like, yes, I drew it. I called it a ringer. Yeah, I called it a ringer. But the thing is, it was just videos. Like, it was just some lady pressing a button for videos. I was like, Oh, so it wasn't even like live just now. It was wow. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Like, it was just there was stuff like that. And I was just like, OK. Right. Like, all right. Oh, oh, this is a story. This is funny, though. So. Me and my wife were, again, my kids were off doing this in practical jokers nonsense that I felt better sending my daughter with them. Because again, I felt like it was just safer. Like, right, you have an 18 year old and a 20 year old boy, but yeah I mean, you got a 14 year old girl in check, like you feel like, okay, well, people aren't going to be as mad at them, right? Like yeah the end of the day, for whatever nonsense they're doing. um And we're walking around the boat, it must have been late, um maybe like 10 ish. I mean, that's late for me.
00:31:35
Speaker
And Rapunzel's just walking around the boat by herself. No handlers, just Rapunzel wandering. And im like we bump into her. like She's like... Oh, hi. Like, you know, she's Rapunzel, some Rapunzel remark. And I'm just like, Rapunzel remark? Yeah, like, okay, whatever. And my wife's like, was that Rapunzel? Yeah, she's just walking around. Like, I don't understand what she's doing. But okay, like, that works. That's fine. Yeah, so that was that was actually kind of funny. I was just like, all right, yeah, we just bumped into Rapunzel. It was like, it was kind of like in a weird spot, too. You know what I mean? Like, it wasn't like, we were down by like, where the characters are, like, she was just walking like through, I think maybe through, what is it, shutters? where Was that what they call it, the photo place? That's another thing too. You almost have to buy pictures. Like last time we bought the whole book, this time I was like, du the book's like $149, I can't do it, right? I'm on this super cheap cruise. But like we still had to buy two pictures, because there was still like really good pictures. My kids were like, we're going to make the goofiest pictures every single time. So like, there's just this,
00:32:39
Speaker
madness of goofy pictures. And I'm like, okay, like you should see some of the ones that my boys took when they were on their own with one of these light lanterns. Oh, ah that's another thing. So again, I'm back to this whole rude people thing. So they're doing this show. And there's like these light lanterns, right? it Just like the Chinese floating lanterns. From the movie, yeah. Is that from Rapunzel? I don't remember. Yeah, that's from the movie. Yeah, the floating lanterns. It's like he's seen in the movie. yeah Okay. I don't even remember if I've seen the movie. so you know they're They're doing that and they're running kind of through the crowd. so A lot of these shows, they will run through the aisles. They even make an announcement like, hey, if you're going to be in the aisle, like watch your step. There's performers in there. Yeah, cast members are going through. so yeah
00:33:23
Speaker
So they have these lanterns you know floating around all over the place and kids are smacking them. What? Like the parents sitting right next to them too. And this is why we can't have roaming droids and galaxies. that What are you doing? Why are you smacking these lanterns? Well, I guess after the show, there must have been pictures with these lanterns and the goofiness that my two boys took with them. I don't even know. like They're like, I'll check out the pictures when tomorrow. And I'm like, I don't even want them. Them just asking the fool with these lanterns. You know when they say that. was like Yeah, that's a amazing. Yeah, I was like, Oh, boy. So we saw them. We're like, Okay, yeah, that's kind of funny. But yeah, again, like I just some of the stuff that just went on was just gosh, this parenting is terrible. It's like,
00:34:16
Speaker
no one disciplines their kids at all, at all, or they're yelling at them. Like I had somebody was yelling at their kid and I'm like, it's ah like 11 o'clock at night, right? Like, what do you think your kid's gonna be like? It's 11 o'clock at night. They're five. They're five. They should not be in bed. We did not even do Pirates Night because why? But Again, the cosplay that went on for pirate night, what it's like a half an hour, mind you. Let's just be real about this. It's a half an hour. i These were like movie quality costumes these people were donning. I was like, wow. like i And then I was like,
00:34:57
Speaker
Wow. Okay. Right. I was like, Oh my goodness. That's, and I'm like, this is a half an hour.
Inside Out 2 Review
00:35:03
Speaker
Like you brought all that stuff for a half an hour. I mean, there was some cool outfits, like surprisingly good outfits, like surprisingly good outfits. I was like, you, like you would see them at like a show and I was like, Oh, okay. So yeah, they're too lazy for that. Like, no way I would ever do that. We were far too lazy to even go. We didn't go to the disembark. you know, party the pirates night or they're like going back to dock part like we did none of that because I'm like, why want to do that? So yeah, I mean, it it was it was it was like I said, it was fine. It was a cruise. We're still doing another one. So it's not like I'm totally against it. I'm just curious about
00:35:47
Speaker
I think you need a couple of data points. Yeah. yeah you you need You need some comparisons, like you said, because you haven't gone in so long. You need to see if this is the norm or if you just kind of caught a weird one, right? Yeah. Yeah. so we're doing I think we're doing the wish in July, I think. I would love to do the treasure, but we're just going to do another three day. um I think the wish in July of 25. Well, I'll tell you all about how the treasure is when I go on it. Yeah, that would be nice. Yeah. Wait, how long is yours? It's a seven. It's a seven day. here Yeah, it's seven nights, eight days. Yeah. Yeah, that would be nice. So we'll have data to compare. yeah I mean, it's tough because we'll have two different people though, and he's also got a daughter that's younger. and there's like there's
00:36:30
Speaker
Yeah, it's going to be way more focused on the young kids. Yeah. yeah but But there still will be certain things we can make comparisons on, right? Of course. Yeah. Well, and I also have this Royal Caribbean cruise coming up here in six weeks or so. Which boat are you going on for that? ah The Adventure, I think. It's an older boat. um it's It's funny though, Damon, because I i haven't been on a cruise in a long time. And then you're going to this summer. Yeah. Well, doing this one and then, you know, May next year is the Disney one, right? So just- Oh, that doesn't even count. Let's see it next year. Yeah. So this next year. So I'm only doing this one and then, you know. So I haven't done a cruise in a long time and the last time I did a cruise, I didn't have to pay for anything, right? Like I was with my family, I was a kid, didn't have to pay for things. So now I'm here and I'm like, okay, six weeks out, like I'm looking at like some of the excursions and like- Excursions are expensive, man. they're so expensive. And then like, even on the private island for Royal Caribbean, you have to pay for everything, like literally everything. Yeah. So I, um, I delved into, like I said, we're doing that golden buttons with that dude, Matt, at some point. But I was like, so I'm driving home because remember we drove to this cruise and I was like,
00:37:35
Speaker
I drove down there, I was listening to a Dungeons and Dragons book, which was actually pretty good. But as I was listening to that, because my kids were just like, yeah, whatever, just wake me up when we get there. Because it was, remember, my wife and my son flew and me, my son and my daughter drove. So I listened to that. But on the way back, all I listened to is this dude, Matt, and just all the Royal Caribbean podcasts. That's all I listened to. And you're right, like, that's the thing, like, they have a lot more up pay things than Disney does. Yeah, like I'm looking at this island, I'm like, oh, that water park looks pretty cool, and it's like $90 per person. And I'm like, really? Yeah, and I don't think that water park would be like your daughter's vibe. like No. like That's like big boy water park. Yeah, it is. And then you know like i mean i I know there's stuff you can do for free there, but it's like, yeah man, they just nickel and dime you on like literally everything. And I, you know, I'm curious to see, like I said, where the price point comes out, right? So we're doing we're doing an episode on that. So we'll we'll let you know. But yeah, I'm curious to see, like, is is like Disney Cruise apps, you know, with that much more expensive? It's I guess it just depends on how much you want to do. And I'm squeaking my chair all over the place. yeah I mean, I have to get like readjusted here. I have my microphone in a different place. I actually think it's better. Yeah.
00:38:44
Speaker
um But like you were like riding your chair down the stairs as you know, no, this is an old chair. Yeah, I'm kind of curious to see how it kind of turns out as well. I mean, I guess the other thing is I did, we did get to see Inside Out 2 on the boat, and I'm still bitter about the end. so But did you like the rest of it or just? I thought it was a really, really good movie. I just I hate when they end stuff like that. OK, well, I don't know. I haven't seen it. did i'm not there' of spoilers i'm just I mean, I'm just saying, but I just don't like when
Disney's Lightning Lane Changes
00:39:11
Speaker
movies end like that. Like, and listen, every series, every movie, every everything that's entertainment in the world should always go flash forward a year later. And then I'm cool. Like I'm good. Like that's what everything should be like. And then I would make it happy for me.
00:39:27
Speaker
Yeah, like I like shows like that like Keepo and the Age of Wonder Beasts like awesome. Like are you flash forward a year? That's exactly what I want. Like then there's closure. I'm good. Like I know what happened. It's kind of that happily ever after establishing even if it's bad like you can give me bad. Give me bad. Just give me something like this closure. Yeah, some sort of closure. Meanwhile, I just read that in two weeks that Inside Out 2. It's gonna be at a billion. Yeah, it's out earned. It out earned the original already in two weeks. Yeah, like it's insane. like it was hold It was good. It was really good because I think it hits um it hits that like generation. Again, like it's right before high school. It's middle school. right like yeah Obviously Diary of a Wimpy Kid you know taught us that that is the money maker. Middle school is it because you either have the younger kids that are like pining for middle school or the kids that are are in middle school or the nostalgic high schoolers. I remember that. I remember that.
00:40:27
Speaker
I remember how awful that age was. yeah like So I can understand why they're doing extremely well. And in general, the animation is very well done. um Yeah, it's it's definitely good. And again, as everyone kind of said, as you talk about anxiety, I think a lot of people can relate, and they do a really good job with that. Nice. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Let's let's talk about this other thing, man. I'm i'm already exhausted. All right, wait. So we'll do this Welcome Home Week thing, and then we'll do our ad, and then we... No, man. We're going right into it. You want to talk about fast passes? Let's talk about fast passes, and you guys can do whatever you want to your heart's content. So Disney teased this... months ago. And we didn't really hear anything about it. They said, okay, we're going to set up a way for you to book lightning lanes ahead of time. But I didn't think we were going to get this. So now we have, starting in July 24th, so a couple weeks, basically, first of all, they're getting rid of the really janky names that they had for everything, which you remember when they- It was so confusing. Yeah, it was so confusing. And now it's better, I think. I think this makes more sense. Multipass, single, pass. Everyone makes the fifth element joke about the Multipass, of course. Of course, with the Multipass. I immediately put that gif into our Discord because that's the first thing I thought of.
00:41:51
Speaker
um And then I was like, I haven't seen that movie in a while. I should watch it. But anyway, so G plus is is done. It's it's dead. It's going away. It's going to become lightning lane multi pass. We're also still going to have the individual lightning lanes, which is going to be called lightning lane single pass. So it makes sense now. Totally makes sense. like Makes more sense. yeah Way easier. right So here's the the the difference. You're going to be able to book lightning lanes ahead of time. You're going to be able to do three at a time. ah And not only that, you're going to be able to book them before you purchase. And here, folks, is the key. That is the key. Yeah.
00:42:27
Speaker
Because I have to tell you, when I was at on my last trip, I was at Epcot one day, and we literally bought Genie Plus just to do Frozen, right, for the kids. And we did it right and early in the morning. And as soon as we did it, it was like 4.30 in the afternoon. And I'm like, oh, man, like, I totally wouldn't have bought it if I would have known it was gonna be 4.30 in the afternoon. It's not even that. this well could the the lightning lane single nonsense, right? yeah Having to get up at seven o'clock in the morning on vacation is stupid. yeah It's just stupid. And we had to do that the last two trips and it's just stupid. And okay, let let me just reiterate on this. Our trip, the way it went was I set my alarm, I woke up, I booked GE plus and lightning lane stuff. Then we went back to sleep for an hour. because and that's my my kid was not getting up. Like he's a teenager. I'm not going to ask him to get up that early. My wife didn't want to get up either. Like we were not rope dropping. And exactly to your point is that I don't want to be up and at seven o'clock going, Oh God, you know, I haven't even like, you know, gotten out of my pajamas, but I really hope that I get this lightning lane today. Like, yeah, yeah yeah I don't, I agree that that was not the best design choice around this. Yeah. No. and so you know So the other thing is you're going to be able to book multiple lightning link passes for different days all at once. So like you'll be able to pick everything all at once. basically like It's basically like we went back to old fast passes. This is what we did. We just lost money now. Yeah. So you can make up to three when you get... Go ahead, sorry. But here's my question though. So right so but you can only make three at a single theme park. But as soon as you use the first one, you can make another selection.
00:44:09
Speaker
But at that same theme park? I think you can start. You can make them another theme parks from what I can. But can you now have we we definitively got that? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. No, they said you could. Yeah. OK. Yeah. So this is where park hopping becomes a challenge. Yeah, sure. Right. Yeah. But that was the same. That was the same with the old FastPass system, though, too. Right. Because it's like now do you use your initial one. You you know, you got find other a piece of paper a paper. No, I'm sorry. Plus, bus yeah, the 60 day out thing. So. I also love that it's only seven days out, which I think is way better. yeah but but days But hold on, but back to this. Yeah. So I don't, I don't, I don't love that. So you got to make three at a park and then your fourth can be at a different park.
00:44:52
Speaker
i mean What if your third is at 4.30 in the afternoon? i mean You could probably modify it or you could cancel it. i think oh You don't have to use all three to make your next reservation. so You could and could feasibly drop two if you decided you were switching parks. You book three anyway and then decide that you're going to park jump. Yeah, yeah this this is kind of my issue with it. it like I agree, Tom, first of all, that you know this is getting better. Oh, definitely better, for sure. It is better. But there is a but here that um my issue is is that you know everyone's like, oh, it's like the old FastPass system. No, yeah it is not. It's not. Because yeah you know with the old FastPass system, to your point about you know if I was booking stuff, you know I would book stuff for a park.
00:45:39
Speaker
and then knowing full well that you know if my plans changed, I would just you know switch parks, like you know except that I wasn't gonna get the you know all the perfect fast passes or whatever, but it had that flexibility because it was not a paid system. yeah well yeah yeah This is my issue with it right now is that you know even booking seven days out, which technically you you can book up to three weeks out because you can do up to, depending on how long your stay is, yeah so people are gonna be booking like three weeks out before before, um, if they're staying there. Yeah. Um, my issue is, is that I, I know from my, my own experience on, on our last trip that you, you're not always going to stick to the plan and you're not always going to say like, you know, on any particular day, it's like, well, you know, sorry, I know we really wanted to go back to Epcot, but I already booked for lightning lanes at magic kingdom and I paid for it.
00:46:35
Speaker
yeah So it's like, do I just accept the fact that I'm out that money now because I want to go to another park? And I know they have they have a certain amount of modification, but again, the problem is is that the further you get into that seven days, you it it really limits your ability to be spontaneous because they're They're going back to the same old problem where it was like, you had to commit to it months in advance, and you had to have that time solidified. How many of these single passes can you get, by the way? I think it's still one per day, because they didn't say anything about that changing.
00:47:13
Speaker
No, you're talking about the single Lightning Lane? Okay, the individual ones. um Yeah, I don't think that they said anything too much about that. and You can do one per day. Yeah, because it's saying you'll be able to secure a time to ride. Will those be at different parks? I don't know. That's a good question. It's a good question. That's what I'm saying. Can you single pass and multi pass at two different parks? Oh, yeah. I think you can do that. Yeah. So we did this on our last trip. I did Genie Plus at other parks, but then we really wanted to ride Guardians more than once. So I was doing lightning lanes for Guardians, even though we were at Animal Kingdom. So I don't think they're going to stop you from
00:47:59
Speaker
doing that still. like I think the the two systems are technically separate in that the single the single pass rides are their own thing. like that They're not limited to the restrictions of the multi-pass system, I guess. Yeah. This also says, so I'm just looking at the FAQ, you can do up to two single lightning lanes per day. so That's actually not bad then. yeah so and and also to you know Part of what I like about this though better too Trevor is like, you know Disney before when it was genie plus, right like they would only guarantee they didn't guarantee you, but they say like, hey, you'll probably get like two rides out of this. like you know i mean At least to me, this guarantees me three rides. right like i'm I'm guaranteed I have three skips. so like To me, that's a better value. right like I know that I'm going to be able to skips. Has there been pricing on this yet or no?
00:48:49
Speaker
No, I think not yet. I'm assuming it's going to be similar to what they're charged. I hope so. But we'll see. I mean, I mean, it's going to be it's going to be hard to gauge how because it's a hefty time of the year. Yeah. Yeah. july It's going to be expensive anyway. So it's going to start looking very expensive. I like I love this single pass, though, two times a day. Can you book the same thing twice? I don't think you can book the same thing twice. I think you could just do two different rides. I don't think you do the same thing. But we don't know that at all, right? I'm not 100% sure. I got to look. and yeah so i mean I would definitely double up on single passes for certain things. oh yeah yeah You might be out 200 bucks, but yeah. Yeah, I know. but but But sorry, Disney hasn't given me a lot of reason to buy souvenirs, so I got spare money. And interestingly enough, we did not buy one souvenir this trip. yeah si cruise and it was It was crazy because we had talked about my wife's favorite mug of all time is this anchor mug. And each anchor is the character we had a Disney character and she got it on our last cruise and where she's like, yeah I want to get another mug. And I'm like, yeah, definitely. And then we're there and we're just like, do we really want anything?
00:49:58
Speaker
the Disney merch is not hitting right now. and the And the Lookout Key stuff was like, all right, it's Lookout Key. But who's where like my kids, again, are at that point now. They're not wearing that stuff. yeah So there's no point in getting that. The the ornaments. Being real, I'm not paying $36 for an ornament. yeah Like, just straight up. Like, my wife is all into ornaments, too. And she's like, oh, this cruise ship went $36. It's like, I can't. I can't. Like, first of all, the thing was like, ah you know, alic
00:50:30
Speaker
it was well they would yeah and It was also like ah a weight. like It was like 20 pounds. right like i mean we have We have fake trees now, which again, I know people don't like that. I i do make seriously soon i love fake trees. When we moved down here, I got like the greatest deal on one of the best fake trees before they got bought out by that conglomerate, you know, Balsam Hill. Yeah. yeah but They used to just be like they used to like um sell and not distribute. right so like You could get their stuff pretty cheap. I ended up getting a nine footer for like 400 bucks. Anyway, so I could put an acrylic ornament on there right and it would be fine, but I was like, dude, $36?
00:51:09
Speaker
Yeah. I can't. Just to go back to what we were talking about. So it does say if you have Park Hopper, you can choose a multi-pass experience in a different theme park after you use your first one. So after you use your first of the three, you can pick in other parks, which was similar to how FastPass Plus was, right? But you still paid for those other two, so do you have to drop them or use them or whatever? I mean, yeah, you would have to. This is under the assumption. Or you can modify them for the other park or whatever. yeah Yeah. Yeah. I guess that's a question too, is, you know, they're, they're talking like, like, I guess, are you going to have to concede that, you you know, you're, you may end up just and paying for multi-park, multi-passes because, because they offer them by park right now, right? Yeah. Plus. Yeah. Yeah.
00:51:56
Speaker
but it may end up being that you know if if you're not 100% sure of your plans, you're forced to pay for the multi-park one, which again, doesn't feel great because it's like for for the luxury of being able to be spontaneous, you're being forced to pay extra money. I will point out Trevor that it's it's not saying that you have to purchase a different option. right it it just says you if you have park hopper then you can choose a different experience so i know now if you want to do park hopping you have to choose that multiple resorts one but it doesn't seem like that's going to be the case with this but i don't know yet we'll have to see or yeah maybe maybe they're going to go away from that and yeah maybe they got feedback that there's no longer can we just go back to the paper once man
00:52:41
Speaker
No, no, because yes, because it's no, I don't care. I don't say the same. What if they weren't paper, but you used your phone and MCF? but but then i got my why do you want to walk all around the park and to it It wasn't walking around the park. i would I had to run back and forth across the park to get those paper things. I'm not doing that anymore. did i would not that not i no that was it was It was like a mission. It was like a spy mission. like yeah But it's hot and I don't want to do that when I'm there.
00:53:12
Speaker
like Okay, can I go back a little bit there too? Okay, so really quickly. So single pass attractions are Magic Kingdom is Seven Dwarves Mind Train and Tron, Epcot is Guardians, ah Hollywood Studios is ah Just Rise of the Resistance, and Animal Kingdom is just Avatar Flight of Passage. I do want to mention too, this is also the return to tears. Single passes? Those are just the single pass ones that are not included in multi, right? And we're also going back to tears. So if you remember, yeah so we're
00:53:43
Speaker
We're going back to tears, which, you know, listen, it's funny to me when people complain about that. It's like, do you understand that? Like, what did you say? Was that Hollywood with tears? What? Um, just rise, just rise, just rise. Yeah. So, but like, you know, Disney opened with tears. They used to have the ticket books like, and they tiered the rides. Like this is not a new concept, but anyway, so like magic kingdom tier one is big thunder, jungle cruise, Peter Pan, space mountain, Tiana, and then everything else is tier two. Uh, and then Epcot is just frozen ever after Remy and Sorin top three, which is interesting. Sorin's in there, but you know, we don't need to get into that. So my, my understanding is you can only pick one from the top. That's right. yeah Top tier. So um you agree with that yeah.
00:54:24
Speaker
There's two tiers and then the single pass, right? Yeah. so So, so the, the intention I guess is that, sorry, I know you're kind of listening off, Tom, but just for people that are kind of envisioning this, it's all the popular stuff is in one tier so that you can't just book all the popular stuff. So it's your book, one of the more popular rides, and then you have the selection of the less popular rides for tier two. Exactly. Yeah. and And it makes sense. We did that before. This is not new, right? Right. but Yeah. So the only thing that's new is a sore and is weird as a two one. Yeah. why yeah
00:54:57
Speaker
Well, because it doesn't have that much of a line as much. for g right Are you having your mind? It definitely does. I don't know. Soren's always like 45 minutes, but i can beat you I can bet you once a Test Track reopens, that'll drop down to tier two, guaranteed. You know what? You're right. I bet Test Track takes that over. You're right. yeah And then Hollywood Studios, Mickey Minnie's, Millennium Falcon, Smuggler's Run, Rock and Roller Coaster, Slinky Dog Dash are top tier. Everything else is not top tier and then there's like no tier to animal kingdoms are two other rides at hollywood studios hit here one Aliens, swirling saucers, Beauty and the Beast. Star Wars, man. Yeah, it's all that stuff. Star Tours, a Twilight Zone Tower. You've got Tower Terror, Gina. Trevor, that's in second tier. Okay. Toy Story Mania. Come on. And then Animal Kingdom has no tiers. Yeah, because there's like not enough stuff there right now. Well, yeah. Yeah, that's- It was Dino Lens, effectively closed. Yeah. for the yeah R.I.P. Because that's terrible.
00:55:53
Speaker
I do want to mention though too, so it's seven days in advance if you are staying in a Disney Resort Hotel so or others, you know some of the the good neighbor hotels they have. um It's three days up to three days in advance for everybody else. um you know which is I like to see that we're back to the the preference being given to resort guests and you know maybe it's just me being You know, because we'd stayed DVC and we always stayed at Disney Resort. Maybe I'm just, but I mean, I think you should get a benefit for that. Right. I mean, absolutely. There there should be a benefit for staying on site. Yeah. Because I mean, you're spending a lot of money to stay on site. So i I do love that it's only seven days now because I used to kind of hate the 60 days because like, at least I know more of what I'm doing seven days out as opposed to 60 days out when I'm like,
00:56:37
Speaker
You know, it's also much can change in two months, you know. Also, I hated the 60 days because it felt like you were like so locked into it. Yeah. And then if something did and I have this happen where, you know, something goes sideways and you feel like all your, you know, even though it wasn't like you were spending like all your time looking at it, but it was still like I booked that two months ago. Yeah. yeah and And it feels like, you know, having to let it go. So, yeah, you know, a week, you're right, is I feel I hope they don't go any further than a week out because, yeah, they really shouldn't be getting back into this game of people planning this stuff months and months ahead of time. Yeah, exactly. exactly I agree. i'm I'm happy that it's a shorter time period. I think that makes it a lot easier. um i know so There was also a lot of stuff going around the internet about international guests not being able to do this, which
00:57:26
Speaker
I saw, number one, I did not see anything official from Disney on this, so I believed none of it, because unless all the Disney blogs were basing, they they're not they don't exactly have journalistic standards at the Disney blogs, right? So they they everybody saw this screenshot of like a customer service discussion with somebody where they said, Yeah, no, international guests cannot participate in this. They can't book ahead. They have to wait till they get there, which may be true, may not be true. I don't know, but customer service people get things wrong sometimes, you know, especially when something new rolls out, right? yeah Kind of to Damon's point on the cruise that um not everybody is informed of or not all the people working there are given the information ahead of time either. So, you know, some people could have just been lost and
00:58:13
Speaker
answering what they thought they knew, which is fair. because i mean i'm I'm on the Disney website for this and I see no mention that only guests in the United States can participate. like there's There's nothing about it on the site. But it's the same thing as like the magic bands where they say, you know can you have your magic band shipped home, but then and in the fine print, like again, this is actually- But there's not even fine print on this though. There's no fine print. But this is not this is not like fully in production yet. They they haven't Like I think we'll know better once it actually launches. Yeah. But for now, it's like, you know, yeah, people are trying to get clarity on it.
00:58:51
Speaker
You did see the article today that Canada is exempt from this now, right apparently. Yeah. So so so again, my my thing is, is you know obviously, yeah being an international traveler, being told that I can't book seven days in advance, that immediately feels awful. And and you know to your point about, you know I don't see anything, so maybe it's not true, there is plenty of other things that Disney has done that deliberately excludes international travelers. So this is not that far-fetched. Um, I, I get that. I just, I don't believe anything on the internet until I hear it from Disney themselves. Yeah. And honestly, again, you know, the, you know, the thing is, is that this is a month out. Let's see what it looks like in a month. And I get, you know, for people that are, you know, maybe traveling at that time, but honestly, you know, anybody coming from Canada, most people from Canada don't go to Disney in the middle of July because it's too hot for us. So, um, yeah, it's ah like, I get the.
00:59:48
Speaker
i get the outrage about it but and like i said for for me it was like you know if that is the case that's not goingnna feel great if i'm trying to book a trip and it's like oh i don't get to prepick any of this stuff i basically have to roll the dice and hope that like like it puts me back into the position we're in now where Um, you know, the day I get there, I have to hope that I can find what I want. Right? Like I just, yeah I don't, I don't like that. Like, like this is, this is not, um I'm not saying Disney's not going to fix it. I'm just letting people know my feelings on it. I don't want to be in a position where I feel like I'm losing out because of things that are outside of my control. Like if it's, if it's, a you know, they gave me seven days and I chose not to book it.
01:00:33
Speaker
That's on me you know fine i did i chose not to participate in that but the fact that everyone else is getting the option and i'm not. Yeah. that That makes me not want to spend my money there. Period. And that that goes back to the whole thing about, you know well, it's like old FastPass and everything. No, no, no. Anytime where where you money is involved and I have to invest money into it and and also yeah also factor in that you know you can say, hey, you know it's only $20 for um a Multipass.
01:01:05
Speaker
And you know if you lose that you lose that well yeah the promises that the exchange rate for me makes that even more so you know for for a family you know even for three of us you know i could be out a hundred dollars in a day. for just for multi-passes if we change plans. Again, not liking that, right? like i But see, to me, like I like the fact that I'm guaranteed three, whereas before I was guaranteed nothing. You know what I mean? like I could get one per day and pay $30 a person, and that's that's it. you know like it's yeah Again, like like i'm not I'm not saying that like the system is bad. it's just the the
01:01:46
Speaker
decisions that Disney makes sometimes is like Like again, as an international guest, it's like, Hey, it's not just people from Canada. There's people that travel from the UK, from all over the place. And it's like, you know, there's a lot of things that Disney does. We're like, well, you know, we're not just not going to do this because we don't want to deal with, you know, international exchange or whatever. And it's like, come on. Just work with us here for a minute. We want, like, I'm, I'm trying to give you money and you're making it difficult. Yeah. Well, it's funny to see the internet reaction around this because I've seen both people saying, like, thank God that Genie Plus is gone, like this is better. And then I've seen people complaining about it, which is odd to me because I thought the general consensus was that everybody hated Genie Plus and wanted to go back to this, or not go back to this, but go to scheduling ahead of time and having another... Just not the getting up at 7am stuff. Like Damon said, I do not like having to get up at 7am when I'm on vacation. Yeah. Listen, to me, this is a huge improvement. I think they've done a good job here with listening to guest feedback and really kind of combining some of the best elements that people like.
01:02:59
Speaker
you know I think this is good. I really do like this. I would i wish it was free again. you know I don't like paying for it. um But at the same time, like I feel better about paying for it with this new system than I did before. um so And we'll have to see how it's priced. I don't know how it's going to be priced. you know Most people are assuming it's going to be more expensive, and it probably will be. Let's be honest. Um, but we'll have to see. I have no, no clue. Maybe they'll keep it around the same. I don't know. Um, but I think it's interesting that people like to complain about this when like, you know, you look at the comparables at like universal and universal's past cost a lot more than what Disney. Yeah. is Yeah. Yeah. you Universal deliberately makes the past prohibitively expensive. Exactly. Yeah.
01:03:44
Speaker
exactly you know to control you know nobody using it or or the you know that that the lines are like extremely low on that because you know there there isn't a lot of people using it. Whereas you know I feel, again, it does speak to people people want to believe that you know Universal and Disney are equivalent in their size and they're not. like no Like Universal is not dealing quite on the same scale as Disney and the fact that Disney still, you know, they're trying to make sure that these systems are working in a way that and people say, you know, Disney does things where, you know, you know, these paid systems are excluding people and all that. It's like.
01:04:21
Speaker
They are. Yeah. But yes, yeah but yes and no, because it is creating, you know, different, you know, you know, people who are willing to pay to skip the line would not, but it's not stopping you from going like you can still go to the park. You can still do all of these things. There's there's no, like, there's no ride out there where it's like, you know, lightning lanes or, or yeah, you know, single pass lightning lane only. yeah There's always still a virtual queue. There's always still a standby queue. There's always still a way to do these things. And this goes back to you know what I was saying before is that i'm you know if I choose not to partake in these things, that's my choice. But Disney is giving us more choices. They are giving us the ability to choose what we're doing.
01:05:07
Speaker
Like I said, I just still kind of waffle on is it or, you know, as as long as as long as I'm not putting in for potentially hundreds of dollars and then having something get blown out of the water and, you know, losing that money, that's that's the only part I'm concerned about about this whole thing. And and that's kind of where I hope to like, you know, they I know they have like the book seven days in advance. And I know previously, like they they were pretty adamant about you know if you buy genie plus, it's non-refundable and all that. I hope that maybe they consider some leeway on that, or I hope that you know when we actually get into the system, people find out it's like, hey, you know if you if you book it seven days in advance and you find out you know three days before, that you're not gonna be able to be there for whatever reason. like likell I'll use, you know to not this last trip, but the previous trip, you know we had somebody in our family get sick,
01:06:00
Speaker
And we end up sacrificing park days for it, which again, you know, losing tickets is bad enough. But then if I had to lose like, like it would be nice if I could actually cancel things like ah like a multi pass. yeah Yeah. You know, a couple of days beforehand, but we'll have to see how that plays out. like but yeah But I hope that they're being cognizant of that. And I know they don't you know they don't want to refund anybody's money, but you really should, Disney. like like it's it's It's a good idea. Yeah, no, I agree. I agree.
01:06:33
Speaker
so all right So why don't we go ahead and do our ad? i like I think we can probably talk all day about this. I will say one thing. ah If you have a lot of time on your hands, it is worthwhile now that we're we're going more towards back to where we were before. Like you said, it's different, but it's it's more in that general direction. And and go check out that Defunctland video on YouTube where they really break down the old FastPass system and why it was free and and what happened with it. right that's I think it's a really great option. The whole thing is on that is you know we are getting back closer to that, but don't let your rose-colored glasses of the old ways you know cloud you from what is what they're actually doing. right like like yeahs It's not always better just because it used to be that way.
01:07:24
Speaker
but that's That's the funny thing to me about the reaction to this, right? It's like, oh, everybody hates genie plus. And then they they're like, okay, well, we'll get rid of genie plus. And then everyone's like, but why are you getting rid of it? Like, but wait, like you hated it. Like, you know, or like even magical express, you'd see people constantly complain about how long, like how far ahead of time they'd have to get on the the bus to get to the airport or, you know, late about this item and this item. And then it's gone and and they're like, Oh, but I wanted that. I liked it. you know like it's It's funny how that works, though, you know because like I just think, oh, Genie Plus is going away. Everyone's going to be happy, right because people don't like Genie Plus. And yet, half the things I'm seeing on social media are people complaining about it. and it's like and it But it's not going away, I guess. that That's the part that gets me. It's not. like It's different. It's different. And and you know there's nothing saying you can't book it the day of, still. You just have to you know
01:08:17
Speaker
You're not necessarily going to get what you wanted anyway. And I mean, truthfully, even if you're getting up at 7 a.m., you're not getting what you want either. So what's the difference? like Exactly. Exactly. You know, you're youre you're totally right about that. So I just I just always find it funny, those reactions, right? um It happens every time, right? There's no pleasing people. No, there's absolutely no pleasing people. No matter what they do, though they listen to feedback, they do what people ask for, and then people are still like, wait, why are you doing that? It's like, okay, whatever. um Just wait and see. yeah Let's go ahead and do our ad. all right
01:08:55
Speaker
Alright, the sponsor of this episode is DVC Rental Store. The DVC Rental Store, a world of DVC company, 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. Want to learn more? Go to dvcrentialstore.com slash welcome home or call 1-855-DVC-RENT. That's 1-855-382-7368. And when you do ah call them, let them know that welcome home sent you. All right. So, you know, I listen, I feel like I could talk about the the whole FastPass thing forever. I just bring back the FastPass name. Like just bring it back.
01:09:40
Speaker
um and but but so yeah Fast multi-pass. I don't know. Just to Fast Plus Plus. Just go back to Fast Plus Plus. You know, just bring it back. like No. it's But it's the same problem as, sorry, the reason they got rid of Genie Plus is because people were confusing Disney Plus with Genie Plus. Well, and also Genie with Genie Plus, right? Those are two yeah different things. So even though Genie Plus is going away, Genie still exists, which is the little planning software within the app, right? Yeah. Genie's still a thing. But then, yeah,
DVC Summer Perks
01:10:10
Speaker
Genie Plus, I remembered hearing people, or I actually
01:10:13
Speaker
I've read about this a couple of times where people thought that having a Disney Plus membership got them oh god Genie Plus perks. like like yeah and stop Maybe just stop using Plus. like Even for FastPass, it shouldn't have been FastPass Plus. but but I know, I know. but it's It's just interesting with the term FastPass because it became like a it became like Google and and Xerox, right you know where you would say it as any opportunity. Oh, you got a FastPass. Yeah, when you skipped a line for anything. right Oh, you got a FastPass. And that became like ah a thing that people said. you know like Right now, you don't say, oh, I'm going to do an internet search. Oh, I'm going to Google it. right like that's yeah That's what FastPass had kind of become, not and on a smaller level, but you know it it was still there.
01:10:56
Speaker
um But yeah, it's just interesting they moved away from that. And and listen, i like I said, I think this naming convention is way less confusing than it was before. um they It was very confusing to a lot of people. I think it's funny because I saw a video right before we got on the podcast here of somebody saying that, not a video, is there's an article where they said Disney's making it more confusing. I'm like, yeah I don't think it is more confusing. I thought the two hour rule thing with Genie Plus was way more confusing than what this is. This is straightforward. You book three, seven days ahead of time, as soon as you use one, you book another one. like That's not difficult to make. What's the issue? I don't know. ah People just like to find things to complain about.
01:11:37
Speaker
So listen. Okay, we have something here not to complain about. so Oh, yeah. Okay. Well, I don't know. You might complain about this first item here. No. Okay. so So this is a DVC piece of news. but Oh, i was I was going elsewhere. Oh, okay. i Well, no. i So I was starting at the welcome home. Going back. Okay. yeah Yeah. Welcome home weeks. Good. ahead Talk about it. Yeah, so um so DVC is they're doing some stuff over July and August for five weeks that there's going to be some ah ah perks going on, such as morning coffee gatherings and free ice cream.
01:12:15
Speaker
at various parts in Disney World, Disneyland, and Hawaii, apparently, which is kind of cool, I guess in in a lot of you. But um one of the things actually that was kind of surprising is um in Disney World, um from July 22nd to August 24th, you get a one-time mobile order food discount. Wow. They never do quick service food discounts. Yeah. so So it's a one-time quick service discount, but you got to be there in the absolute hottest time of the year in order to take advantage of it. That's true. Yeah. no yeah um They also have members and up to four guests can get a free ice cream at ah select locations within the Disney theme parks. It looks like Hollywood Studios, Tower of Terror Courtyard.
01:13:05
Speaker
Uh, and then animal kingdom. Uh, so there's a couple of places you can go get free ice cream too, which is nice. Yeah. And see, I, I like that. I would, I really liked the idea of, you know, if i I go on tower of terror and then I get off and you know, go get free ice cream, like yeah yeah right that's pretty awesome. Okay. Oh, cool. Free ice cream. And then, uh, they also have the welcome home wake up, which is going to be a coffee and treats for DVC owners at the top of the world lounge. ah And also over at Wilderness Lodge at Reunion Station, which is a place I forgot existed. yeah The Reunion Station. Reason to get people there, yeah. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And then so you can do that. And then they're going to do character meet and greets. And they're actually doing it with ah frozen characters, which is interesting because I feel like these are usually i like the costume characters, not the face characters. So like when they do these private meet and greets, you know, it's ah but yeah makes usually like Mickey and Goofy and stuff. Yeah.
01:14:01
Speaker
Yes, it's kind of weird that to do you know they're doing face characters. And so that'll be at the contemporary a couple of dates in July and August. So that's that's also cool ah that they're doing that. um Also the ice cream parlor, they're going to have complimentary ice cream at Saratoga Springs. ah and so you know if That's where I got my free ice cream when I ah went to you know check out DVC. so that was that was i do work yeah I do like one part here they say is note that the event or event parking is not permitted at Saratoga Springs, please use Disney's transportation. So they actually don't, they don't want people to just drive over there just to get the free ice cream and they don't want you clogging up the the parking lot makes sense to get free ice cream. i get but but But I guess the way I look at that is, you know you know, Saratoga is pretty close to downtown Disney. So if you're planning to, um,
01:14:54
Speaker
to be you know if you're heading over to downtown disney maybe take the bus over to sarah toga get your ice cream and then head over to downtown disney or vice versa right because i know it's running from eleven am to five pm yeah yeah which i mean middle of the day it's still actually i guess that's the best time to have ice cream especially in florida I mean, i I also think this is just probably a good benefit for anybody saying at Saratoga. You just pop over to the preview center, go get yourself some ice cream and you're good to go. That too. And then um they are they're also doing ah the free ice cream at Disneyland as well in the Starview station, which is the member lounge. Why aren't they doing it at the member lounge at Disney World? I know it's it's temporarily in The Odyssey, but they could give free ice cream out in there. I mean, like, why not? But then you got to, or well, actually, I was going to say, then you got to get into the park, but I guess, yeah, Disney, you still have to get inside the park at Disneyland. Yeah. and Yeah. you that Yeah. So, yeah. Good, good question. I don't know what the- Auto mission. Auto mission. Yeah. Yeah.
01:15:53
Speaker
And then also in California Adventure at the the Golden Vine House, you'll be able to get it as well. so Nice. yeah They're also doing the Welcome from Home Wake Up 2 as well at the villas at at Disneyland Hotel. yeah so Yeah, so you can do all this cool stuff and all these times when we're not there. like Well, I mean, OK, I would go to Disneyland this time of year, potentially. It's still really hot, but Disney World this time of year. But I guess that's probably why they're doing is that they know that the amount of
01:16:24
Speaker
DVC members that are coming in July and August is probably way less than yeah going into fall, especially because of food and wine and all that. So yeah, it's it's a way to, you know, incentivize people that do travel this time of year. And yeah, like you said, for me, definitely not go in there for ice cream. It's not worth it. Yeah, you're going to buy as a very expensive flight to go get free ice cream. We should mention too, the other DVC destinations like Hilton Head, Varro, Alani are also doing some some events as well. They they you know have some things happening in July and August, ah whether it be you know a pool party or a there's a pirate-themed experience at Varro.
01:17:05
Speaker
ah cultural stuff over at Elani. This is cool that they're doing this across all the properties everywhere. yeah so I hope that it extends beyond this time of year, though. I'm not saying that it should be all the time or anything, but it would be nice if they sprinkled these things throughout the year, maybe a little more. It just didn't do it as limited, yeah. Yeah.
Haunted Mansion and Holiday Prep
01:17:29
Speaker
So let's hop ahead here, because we talked a lot about other stuff the first half of the show, and we should probably blow through. So now you want to talk about Halloween? Is that what you were telling me?
01:17:37
Speaker
So no what I'm telling you is if you click on the hall halfway hut to Halloween article yeah and read number one, you might have an issue. ah Yeah, that is an issue for sure. So for those that don't know, no, to be fair, there is a good reason for this, okay? So the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland is going to be reopening, but with a virtual queue only. There will be no standby line ah for the time being, but the reason for that is that they're rebuilding the queue, right? So they just don't have a queue line right now, so they're just going to do a virtual queue instead. But I know some people are going to be mad about that because they hate virtual queues, but
01:18:14
Speaker
Like, you know, listen, they're they don't have a queue line right now. What else do you want them to do? Do you want to just keep it closed? I guess like it's good that they're reopening it. Yeah. And and I mean, that like that area, it's right by Tiana's Bayou Adventure. So, yeah, again, you know, there's there's nowhere to put people for for a queue at this point. So, yeah, at least they're they're conceding that they can make use of the virtual queue technology in order to do it. Unfortunately, they're also choosing to do the holiday overlay. whatever eight that quality overlays that much I'm just it sucks because like I basically can't go to Disneyland from like September to January.
01:18:53
Speaker
if I wanna have a proper Haunted Mansion experience. yeah Because it it runs that long. and and yeah so So it's like if if I really wanted to to enjoy Haunted Mansion, and okay, it's not to say that, you know, it's it's a pretty impressive overlay, like the the amount of, like it is effectively another ride yeah when you get on it. Like it's it's impressive the amount of stuff that they do to change up the Haunted Mansion, but I've done it at enough times that I don't need to keep doing it and I'm going to get hate for this and you know, you know okay guys, let's let's have at it. I am not a fan of Nightmare Before Christmas. i don't talked about that before I don't think it's a great show. It's not my favorite by any means and having it sit there for months is just, ugh.
01:19:46
Speaker
They should do it like every other year instead of every year. Right. Yeah. You know, I mean, but then you'd also have people on the other side of the spectrum that are like, Oh man, I missed the number for Christmas overlay. Right. But I mean, you could say the same thing about like the Christmas decorations in, in a magic kingdom or, and ah you know, maybe that it's, you know, stop it at Halloween for once. Like, you know, give us, give us some time over Christmas where it's just normal or I don't know. i I get your point on this. I you know i totally understand wanting just like the the the pure original you know and not the old one. Yeah, because you got to like you got to appreciate the original. like like Even you know saying to you, like you know you want to go to Disneyland at some point, it's like you know don't go in the second half of the year.
01:20:35
Speaker
Yeah, like if you if you want proper haunted mansion, you have to go from like January to May, basically, or, you know, I guess go in the summer if you really want. But yeah, I just. I get it, man. I get it. The only reason I put that article on there was to talk about that. I don't really want to talk about the rest of the stuff. Yeah, I don't know. It's funny that there is funny that they're advertised or I guess, yeah, this is the time of year where, you know, why are we talking about Halloween? Well, because Disney loves pushing Halloween.
01:21:07
Speaker
but This far in advance, right? Don't forget, it's it's it's July, basically, and Halloween at Disney starts in August. We're a month away from Halloween at Disney. so yeah yeah Just think about that. We're literally a month away from Halloween at Disney. That's why we're talking about it now. It seems weird, but you know that's that's how it is. Halloween starts early for Disney. Sure does, yeah. August 23rd. So really, I mean, it's more it's more like a month and a half, but still, we're we're pretty much there.
01:21:42
Speaker
And then, you know, it's funny because Disneyland did the Halloween stuff. Disney World posted an article about the Christmas stuff or the holidays stuff that's coming back. And ah they they're bringing back the Jolly Wood Nights, which I remember was kind of disastrous when it first launched. But
Jollywood Nights and Nostalgia
01:21:57
Speaker
it seemed like they, you know, i just you better fixed it. But this is Hollywood Studios, actually. Yes. A nighttime thing in a nighttime party. Yeah. Skating. Whoa, okay. Wait, they're skating? why I totally missed that. Yeah. per Hollywood Boulevard will have a dazzling skating spectacular oh set to your favorite holiday tunes. That's pretty cool. Yeah. How's that going to work? Probably fake ice, I guess, right? um I actually remember ah years ago, this was probably, it was when the first Frozen came out.
01:22:34
Speaker
The second building next to Toy Story Mania where they now have the second track, it was just an open building and they they did a frozen thing in there and I feel like they had snow and maybe some skating too. I think they yeah out there yeah they they did. They had that in Disneyland as well. so yeah we saw it We went in there in Disneyland, which yeah, you know the whole place is air conditioned and there was actually like snow and ice and everything. i mean not It doesn't feel natural, necessarily. yeah i mean if you you If you know what like natural like ice, an ice rink feels like that's actually frozen over, you can tell that, yeah, there they're doing some Disney magic to make it happen. but
01:23:19
Speaker
Yeah, so this is going to be, though, I guess they're going to they're going to have actual like skaters doing stuff ah in it. It says in a traditional ice show, but there's no way they're doing that outside, though, right? No, it kind of seems like they are, man. I don't know.
01:23:36
Speaker
yeah's Yeah, it's got to be something with, ah they're on like rollerblades. Several times each evening, taking the grace and skill of international champion skaters in an awe-inspiring twist in the traditional ice show. So it's basically, you get to watch some Disney on ice right in front of you. Yeah, and and let's talk about the ah the real important thing here is that Santa Duffy is going to be there. Santa, dut wait, where did you see that? I don't care about the name of Duffy. ah yeah that's What is this? What is this? What are the reunites of Japan? Who cares? Reunite with beloved characters like Phineas and Ferb. That's cool. um Santa Duffy and Santa Stitch. Why do they even bother with Duffy here? Nobody cares about Duffy here.
01:24:17
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. Well, I mean, that's why you don't see Duffy stuff most of the time. but I mean, they just see they do see Bo Peep, Lotso, Baloo, and King Louie from Tailspin. So like, that's pretty cool. Like, Tailspin character's cool. Yeah, yeah yeah actually I forgot. i was It took me a minute to realize what they were saying there with ball Blue and King Louie, but um from Tailspin, they actually specifically mentioned from Tailspin. Which is, you know they're just appealing to people our age, I feel like. Yeah, that is entirely a nostalgia callback and tell them to solve until they redo Tailspin as a show. Yeah.
Disney Treasure Cruise Features
01:24:52
Speaker
I mean, to have a lot so and but I mean, they're they're doing like rare characters, which I think is what you have to do if you're going to do a paid holiday event like this. Right. Oh, totally. Yeah. So that's all I really wanted to talk about on this one, too. So we can okay unless there's anything else, you know, I. I'm just starting summer vacation, so let's not get too far into Christmas. All right. Well, I will do one more thing here and then we'll get out of here. um I wanted to talk about the Disney treasure because I'm going to be on the Disney treasure next year. Absolutely. So they announced a couple things about the Disney treasure, you know, it's currently under construction. And they're, I think the actual boat itself is done at this point. And they're just, they're they're doing all the inside stuff, which you know of course is, you know, really hard as well, right? There's a lot of work to be done. And so now they're, they're starting to reveal more about some of the things that are going on. So
01:25:42
Speaker
ah One of the things they've revealed now is that there's going to be a lounge on this boat. Now, remember, the treasure is going to have all sorts of parks themed stuff on it, right? But it's also going to have an aristocats lounge, which when I saw that, I was like, really? You're going to go aristocats? Cool. like like Yeah. Definitely reaching into the archives for that one. but But I think that's the thing is that aristocats is like in that weird place where it's not gotten a remake, but it's still strangely popular. Is is it popular? I don't know like i mean i mean people still i like you know. I do see people looking for like character meets with Marie and stuff, and I believe actually even over it, it's got more popularity in um Paris, I believe, than it does here. yeah
01:26:30
Speaker
Because I think you can meet, I think it's Toulouse and Marie. I could be wrong on that. but I mean, it it actually makes sense though too because they're going to do like an, they're saying they're going to do like an old school jazz club, right? Which I actually kind of dig. I think that's cool. I like this. Yeah. like Like looking at the pictures, I do like that that old school jazz club vibe. Yeah. Well, and also I was thinking to myself, my in-laws are going to be with us and they love just cats in general. So like a cat themed lounge is going to appeal to them quite a bit. I'm going to have real cats on the boat. I know, but I mean, at least it's, at least it's, you know, cat themed, I guess. Right. That's such a recipe for disaster.
01:27:07
Speaker
you Imagine if they made into like a cat lounge like that like they have like the coffee places that have like cats just roaming around Yeah, like that would be ah but on a boat which us No, no another cat ah jumped overboard this but like Or you know, you know the the boat shifts and then the cats are gripping into the guests trying to hold on. Yeah There's all sorts of problems with it. But yeah but but no, listen, I dig this. i It looks very classy. It looks very nice. And like I said, I'm i'm excited for to check it out, even though I'm not a huge Aristocats fan. But I'm more excited because they gave a first look at the food. And I'm all about food. And we I keep seeing reviews and people on the the the Facebook page saying you know more food. We need to talk about more food.
01:27:50
Speaker
And so I want to talk about this food really quickly and then we'll get out of here. But all right, especially since I am going to get to eat this food, Trevor, like that's that's what's, you know, making me very excited is I'm going to actually eat this food. So how adventurous are you going to be this time? Not very much, but ah um so a couple of things we have here. So there's the there's going to be the cocoa restaurant there, right? There's going to be the cocoa, you know, show restaurant. um And that's going to have a couple of different things, you know, like obviously some some ah Mexican dishes. Right. um But it's going to look fantastic, by the way. They do, right? I'm excited about the chorizo street croquettes with ah the chili lime crema and cotija cheese and cilantro. I love croquettes. No, I am super pumped for this and I will probably eat a million of these.
01:28:46
Speaker
Okay, but that poblano pepper next to it with the cheese and rice. Oh, yeah. i mean Okay. I know you you may not go for spicy, but I bet that's going to be amazing. Fantastic, right? Yeah. Yeah. And and then there's also a shrimp ah with chipotle sauce, cilantro, pickled red onion, and toasted. ah I don't know what that is. Barrotes. I don't know. I'm not sure I know what that is. Yeah, not sure. Yeah. But anyway, it looks delicious. All good. Yeah. Yeah. ah so like As soon as I saw those the chorizo, I was like, oh man, I want to eat that. um Then they also are will have some other dishes here too. There's a grilled snapper, there's a sea bass, there's a a chicken, it's pollo asado, ah citrus chicken, cilantro rice, and and a serrano tomatillo salsa.
01:29:39
Speaker
ah That's another thing I'll eat. I would also eat this port wine braised center cut beef ah short rib with cheddar cheese and green onion red mash. That also looks delicious. I mean, there's something for everybody here. Yeah. Yeah. It's alsos it's a good menu for sure. yeah Absolutely. And even the dessert Mexican chocolate, uh, tart with a spice chocolate, uh, creme and, uh, caramel pecan nuts and chocolate glaze. I would eat that. I would not eat the coconut trace ledges cake. I love trace ledges, but I do not like coconut. Okay. Fine. What, what about the, uh, what about the margarita lime cheesecake though? I mean, sea salt, shortbread and raspberry agave margarita Cooley, like
01:30:18
Speaker
Well, I'm not a big cheesecake fan, but I would eat this because I do love lime and I do love I just had like some key lime pie from a good. Yeah. The other day. Oh, man. Yeah. That's exactly where my head was going with this is that it's going to be like a like a really nice key lime pie. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. So we also go into this cat cat lounge here to the one we just talked about. First of all, the the glass ah has a cat on the bottom. Do you see that? Yeah, so what I mean by a cat on the bottom is you look into the glass and there's just a cat staring at you, which in ways to me is creepy, but I guess some people will enjoy it. The eyes are piercing. They are. they they there They very much are. They're looking into infinity for sure.
01:31:06
Speaker
Yeah. um So then we've got um the jumbo sweets, which is from Zootopia. So we're going to have ah some of the some of this stuff from Zootopia. What we're gonna what we're looking at, there's a carrot cupcake, which looks like a carrot, right? It looks straight up like a carrot. um And it's like a cake. It looks like a cake pop almost, right? Yeah, yeah I was gonna say it looks like a cake pop. It does. Yeah. Raspberry and cream cupcake. ah There's also the paw shortbread sandwich, which is the two paw shaped red velvet shortbread cookies, vanilla frosting, and dulce de leche. That's ah like the, it looks like the ice pop from the movie, you know? It's the popsicles. Yeah, but it's got a cookie sandwich yeah and I want it.
01:31:47
Speaker
Yeah, totally. Oh, yes, I'm I'm there for it, too. Yeah, this looks delicious. And then we're also talking about some. ah Oh, wait, maybe that's the cakesicle. The no, that's that's different. OK. um But then there's, oh, no, wait, the carrot chocolate covered strawberries. That must be what's in that picture, the chocolate covered strawberries. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. That makes more sense. Yeah. And then there's also Zootopia chocolate bark postcards, um which, you know, again, I love chocolate bark. I want to eat all this. Like I know I think I will be eating every single thing that exists in this place. um So.
01:32:22
Speaker
yeah All right. Well, that's all I got, Trevor. Why don't we wrap things up and get out of here? And I appreciate everyone hanging in with us as we got back to being gone for a couple of weeks. Yeah. And I
Future Disney Changes and Listener Engagement
01:32:35
Speaker
mean, yeah, you know, it is it is summertime and all that. So, you know, it's it's got to be more of this. Yeah. good Good to have a break. But also good for us to get back into what's going on. um I said, i I'm really looking forward to seeing how the the lightning light stuff shakes out. I know we like we kind of if people aren't, you know, 100 percent certain at this point,
01:32:58
Speaker
We are positive about it, but that doesn't mean that we're going to just, you know, blanket love everything that Disney does all the time. So, but I'm curious used to see how it shakes out. So, you know, you know, stay tuned to the show as we get closer to that launching. And, you know, hopefully we as we get more information, we'll definitely talk about it on the show and let you guys know what we think. But absolutely Yeah, so in the meantime, though, if you've, you know, anything you've listened to on the show, you know, if you want to send us, you know, feedback, or, you know, if you got questions, or, you know, just want to share your own experiences, you can always find us at welcome home podcast at gmail dot.com. We do love hearing from you guys, as usual. And um you can also find us on social media. So on Facebook, you can find us as welcome on podcast YouTube, you can also find us as welcome home own podcasts and Instagram, you can find us as welcome home picks. Make sure on Facebook that you check out our our group, Welcome Home Disney Waitlist, where we talk about these episodes. We talk about just you know people planning their own stuff and looking for feedback. you know we We got lots of smart people in the group. And if you'd like to come and hang out, please check out the group. And if you'd like to support the show, you can go to store.welcomehomepodcast.com and check out our
01:34:15
Speaker
uh shirts and fanny packs and stuff like that um you know maybe you need something for your next trip coming up uh you know you know check out the store and and get some get some swag for your next disney trip and similarly we also have a patreon uh which is patreon dot.com slash welcome home pod and patreon has some exclusive merch or an exclusive logo that you can only get um from ah doing different levels of support on Patreon, and our Patreon supporters also get access to the Discord server, which is yet another place that we have ah more conversations like the ones we do on Facebook, but also other just fun random stuff to to talk about on there.
01:34:57
Speaker
um you know ah to give a shout out to Dan on there. you know he he yeah He tried to call out us Canadians. Yes, I'm calling you out now, Dan, because you did that. I mean, that was a little harsh. Yeah, yeah and yeah you know we were we were talking about the ah the whole you know Canadians not being able to use the multi-pass thing. So obviously, you know yeah we you know we're not're it's not just us talking about it on the show. we We talk with everybody on the Discord about it as well. So Um, you know, make sure you check that out if, uh, if you're interested in, uh, um, getting in on that conversation too. Uh, last but not least, as you know, we mentioned at the beginning of the show, we, we do, uh, love getting reviews on iTunes and Spotify, you know, no, get as close to that 4.7. Leave us a five star review because it'll.
01:35:42
Speaker
It'll skew the numbers to a point where we'll actually get a 4.7. But also, you know, write us a review because we love hearing what you guys think about the show. And, you know, we do read them out on the show. So please check us out. Yeah, I always like reading the... Because you guys come up with some really funny stuff and and creative stuff, so I always like reading them on the show. It's always fun. ah But you know the other important thing, if you haven't or have given us a review, make sure you subscribe to Welcome Home Podcast and 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 out there, you can find us. Just search for Welcome Home.
01:36:22
Speaker
And just a reminder to our listeners, welcome home podcast. For 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 contact 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 for this episode, for sponsoring this episode. Great partners of ours for a very long time now. Please check them out for anything DVC related. Join us next time for more Disney parks discussion. Of course, more DVC talk. We hope to see you all real soon. Welcome to Albert A. Wall, the voice of the jungle, signing off from Welcome Home Podcast on the TVC.