Transcript
Speaker: Hey folks, welcome to episode 17 of the Rhubarb Travelers podcast. We are recording this show on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. twenty twenty six I am Blake. ah Damon is not back yet, so unfortunately you will have to listen to me run this show solo again. i know it's it's kind of rough, but Rest assured, Damon is coming back. We just need to give him a little more time to get back to 100%. And then he will be back to give me plenty of grief when I get things wrong on the podcast. So just keep Damon in your thoughts. He will be back. So.
Speaker: Let's do a little trip report. um Just a couple of weeks ago, i actually had the opportunity to go out to Seattle, Washington. um I'm fortunate enough that my company that I work for has a company meeting twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. And so for this spring company meeting, we went to Seattle, Washington, and it just so happened that that the trip coincided with my wife's and son's spring break. My wife is a kindergarten teacher here where we live, and my son is in eighth grade.
Speaker: And so it occurred during their spring break. So we thought, you know, why not? Let's just all head on out there. So that's what we did. We went out to Seattle. ah We stayed there for a week, ah did all the touristy things,
Speaker: ah Leading up to the company meeting, you know, we went to Pike Place Market. We went to the mothership, the the very first Starbucks coffee, and got some coffee there.
Speaker: Enjoyed all the things there in downtown Seattle. um And then the highlight of the trip for my son was that we went to the Boeing factory up in Everett, Washington, And got to tour the Boeing aircraft factory. My son is ah an an aviation nut. He wants to be an an airline pilot when he grows up. So we went out to that.
Speaker: And I got to tell you, it is a neat, neat experience to go out there. um It's about an hour and a half tour. you get to go to what is, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest building in the world. And it it is truly that. It is impressive when you can see seven, and i and I'm going to say that again, seven airline our airplanes being built in an assembly line fashion. It is something else to behold.
Speaker: um So if you ever have a chance to go out to Seattle, I highly recommend you taking the the Boeing aircraft factory tour. So that's the trip report for this week's episode. We'd like to thank our Patreon subscribers. Thank you so much for subscribing. um Your support helps keep this show going.
Speaker: um If you are interested in helping support the show and becoming a Patreon subscriber, head on over to Patreon.com and do a search for Rhubarb Travelers Podcast. um It's only $5 a month, but trust me, it helps more than you realize in keeping the show going.
Speaker: Okay, let's go to a listener question. And we had one listener question today, and it is a timely question and quite honestly, a fair question. Joe wants to know very simply, is Damon okay? So the short answer to that is yes.
Speaker: Damon is okay. And like I just said a little while ago, he is coming back. But instead of me trying to explain further, I'm going to let Damon explain it in his own words. Damon recorded a short little piece, and we're going to play that for you now. So all you folks who just love Damon and love to hear him talk, here you go. This one is for you.
Speaker: Damon, take it away. Hey everyone, I'll be back soon. I had to cancel my trip across country, but my kids and my wife are still going to the World Cup, so hopefully they'll have some information when they get back. They'll be going to Dallas.
Speaker: And it looks like I will still be going to my trip to Dollywood to see the new coaster in August, if all goes well. Talk to everyone soon. All right. And there we go. Thank you, Damon. And just like he said, he will be back. So and we are looking forward to that.
Speaker: All right. It is time for the news. And our sponsor for the news this week is DontResistTheTravel.com. They are your go to source for helping to plan any trips that you might be thinking about taking. Let them handle all of the details for you. They are great at it. So head on over to DontResistTheTravel.com.
Speaker: All right, let's get into DVC news. And folks, we got a lot of news to go over today. First off, there They have announced the DVC exclusive preview of the Rockin' Roller Coaster starring the Muppets, and that is going to occur on May 24th. So this is in advance of the official opening ah for Rockin' Roller Coaster to the general public. That is going to occur on May 26th. So if you are a DVC member, you will have the opportunity to preview this two days before it opens to the general public.
Speaker: um Also, if you are an annual pass holder, you will get to preview it on May 21st through the 23rd. So ah three days you get it if you're an annual pass holder. That occurs before the DVC preview.
Speaker: um The interesting thing here is that if you are an annual pass holder, you will have to use a virtual cube when you go to do your previews. Now, the DVC preview is just going to be the traditional standby line. Now, you do have to have a Disney Resort hotel reservation that is required for you to be able to participate, and you must be eligible for membership extras in order to take part. Now, if you meet all of this criteria, well, if you meet at least the membership extra criteria, you're going to receive an email from DVC letting you know what you need to do to to be able to take part in the preview.
Speaker: And I posted in our our show notes that are available to our Patreon subscribers, I might add. there There's an Instagram post from Animal, from the Muppets, regarding the opening. It's pretty cool to look at. So if you are headed down to Hollywood Studios on May 24th, just be aware that you will be able to preview Rockin' Roller Coaster if you are a DVC member. All right.
Speaker: In other news about previews, and by the way, May 24th is going to be a huge day for previews across the entirety of Walt Disney World down in Florida. Okay, and what do I mean by that? So the next preview is going to be Soarin' Across America.
Speaker: Your preview for DVC will be May 21st. The official opening is going to be on May 26th as well, just like it is for Rockin' Roller Coaster.
Speaker: But DVC previews will be on May 21st. The annual passholder preview is going to be May 19th and 20th, just like for Rockin' Roller Coaster. It's going to occur two days before the DVC preview.
Speaker: Now, for Soarin' Across America, for annual pass holders, their preview is going to be a traditional standby queue line. There's not going to be a virtual queue for that. And again, you must have a Disney Resort hotel reservation. It is required and you must be eligible for membership extras. And just like for Rockin' Roller Coaster, keep a lookout in your email inbox. You will receive an email if you are eligible to take part in this DVC preview.
Speaker: All right, moving on with more DVC news. Welcome Home Weeks. They are back for this summer. They're going to run from July 22nd through August 26th.
Speaker: And DVC members can once again enjoy an exciting lineup of exclusive events, perks, and discounts today. throughout all of the parks, through the cruise lines, ah through through stores and and so forth. So for instance, at Disneyland, you can get 20% off one quick service mobile order. So if you're going to do any quick service meals at Disneyland, do it through your My Disney Experience app. And if you are a DVC member, you will get 20% off one order, no matter what it is.
Speaker: Now, here is a big one. And by big, I mean it's got a lot of options and it's a pretty good sizable discount. If you are going to Walt Disney World Resort during this July 22nd through August 26th, you will get $40.
Speaker: 40%, that is 4-0% off of food and non-alcoholic beverages at select table service restaurants across Walt Disney World Resort. And folks, if you use table service meals, you know that 40% off can be quite a bit of money. So,
Speaker: What are the details? This only applies for dining from Mondays through Thursdays through that date period. And it's available at certain restaurants in Walt Disney World. And here's the lineup.
Speaker: It is at hollywood vine excuse me Hollywood and Vine. That's at Disney Hollywood Studios. It's 40% off breakfast, lunch, and dinner. okay Then there is the Tusker House Restaurant over at Disney Animal Kingdom. That is 40% off lunch and dinner.
Speaker: My favorite, the Beer Garden Restaurant in Germany in Epcot. You will get 40% off, but it is only for lunchtime dining. It's not for dinner, only at lunch.
Speaker: ah Then we have over at Whispering Canyon Cafe, that is at Disney's Wilderness Lodge, you get 40% off brunch and dinner. Tiffin's Restaurant at Animal Kingdom is 40% off dinner.
Speaker: The Coral Reef Restaurant at Epcot is 40% off dinner. The Garden Grill restaurant where there is a character meet and greet, by the way, 40% off lunch and dinner there.
Speaker: Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom. Now, this one is only 20% off, okay, lunch and dinner, but there's also... A character meet and greet there. Keep that in mind.
Speaker: Be Our Guest Restaurant, which is always popular. 20% off. That is only at lunch. And of course, that's at Magic Kingdom. And then lastly, Trattoria Al Forno.
Speaker: That is at Disney's Boardwalk Resort. 40% off breakfast and dinner. And so folks, again, if you are headed to Walt Disney World during this time, You might want to consider doing a table service just so you can take advantage of this 40% off.
Speaker: And like I mentioned on a couple of those, just remember that some of these have character meet and greets involved. So if you've ever wanted to do a meet and greet, but you haven't wanted to, you know, spend a couple of hundred, let's be honest, couple of hundred for, you know, a family of four ah for for a traditional sit down meal, this might be your opportunity.
Speaker: take Take this 40% discount and run with it. All right What else is coming for welcome home weeks? Besides those discounts, you will have complimentary Mickey premium ice cream bar or an ice cream sandwich or a fruit bar. Those are going to be at select Disney locations. it could be at Walt Disney world. It could be out at Disneyland. Um,
Speaker: You will get one per person per week. So if you are an annual passholder and a DVC member and you can go to Walt Disney World multiple times or at least once a week during this time, you will be able to get, you know, one premium ice cream bar, one ice cream sandwich per week.
Speaker: Next up is Welcome Home Wake Up. That is coffee and a morning treat for eligible members and up to four guests. Now, there are two places where this is occurring at Walt Disney World. One is at Bay Lake Tower. That is at the top of the World Lounge.
Speaker: And the other is at the Wilderness Lodge, the Reunion Station, where the member and guest will be will have access to a coffee and a morning treat. So just think of like a Danish or other pastry type thing.
Speaker: In addition, there are character close-up encounters. Think of these like enhanced meet and greets. couple of places that these are going to be happening, Walt Disney World. They're going to be at the Atlantic Dance Hall at Boardwalk Resort.
Speaker: And there are select dates for these. They're kind of random. I'm not going to go through all these dates. So if you're going to be at Walt Disney World for the July 22nd through August 26th, and you want to do these character close-up encounters at the Atlantic Dance Hall at Boardwalk Resort, go check the DVC website to see when they are going to be available while you are there. And lastly, to wrap up,
Speaker: the The perks for the Welcome Home Weeks is the thing that everyone wants is the Welcome Home Weeks button, right? Everyone wants a button. These will be available while supplies last, and here's where you can get them. At the McKim's Mile House. That is the, by the way, the new DVC lounge in Magic Kingdom that took the place of the old shooting gallery in Frontierland.
Speaker: And then the Imaginatrium, that's hard to say, that is the Epcot DVC lounge that is above Journey into Imagination. And then there'll also be available at DVC Discovery Guests. So go get your button while supplies last.
Speaker: All right, for our last bit of DVC news this week, there's going to be, for our West Coast listeners, a DVC member meetup.
Speaker: This is going to occur at the Golden Vine House in Disney's California Adventure. ah adventure but excuse me ah You will be able to enjoy a free continental breakfast, and it's going to occur on three dates.
Speaker: It will be on May 20th, June 3rd, and June 17th. It will be from 9 to 10.30 a.m. m Again, this is at the Golden Vine House. Advanced registration is not required. However, theme park tickets are required for the member, and that member can bring up two, four guests. and And of course, those guests will need to have theme park tickets as well. So if you are on the West Coast or you are heading out to Disneyland on any of those three dates, head on over to the Golden Vine House and you will be able to meet other DVC members and have coffee and a continental breakfast while you are at it.
Speaker: OK, so that wraps up our news for DVC. And so before we head on over to news for the Disney parks, let's have a word from our sponsors.
Speaker: Folks, are you looking for help planning your next vacation? Then look no further than our sponsor, DontResistTheTravel.com. DontResistTheTravel.com is there to help you regardless of what type of travel you're looking for.
Speaker: Want a family getaway to Walt Disney World or Universal Orlando? They've got you covered. They can plan your entire trip to ensure your days are filled with excitement and that you don't wander around going, what should we do next? It's already planned for you.
Speaker: What about if you're wanting a romantic getaway with that special someone? They've got you covered. Personalized travel that blends glamour and comfort with dining and spa treatment reservations and anything else designed to provide a pampered, luxurious trip.
Speaker: Wanting to get on a boat and take a cruise? They've got you covered. As partners with Disney Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean, they can handle every aspect of the process down to room selection and suggesting the best excursions to take so you get the most from port to port.
Speaker: So don't wait. Head on over to DontResistTheTravel.com and get the folks there to start helping you create that unforgettable vacation. And don't forget to let them know the guys at Rhubarb Travelers Podcast sent you.
Speaker: That's DontResistTheTravel.com.
Speaker: And we're back. All right, let's get into some Disney news. First off, Rock and Roller Coaster is officially reopening on May 26th with, of course, the Muppets as the Starliners. all right, so this is not just a tiny little overlay. You know, this whole thing sounds like, you know, a colorful, music-heavy Muppets takeover ah built around the Electric Mayhem. And the Electric Mayhem, of course, is the band that the Muppets are a part of. You know, so for me, this kind of feels like one of those updates that keeps the core thrill ride intact while giving it a fresh personality.
Speaker: I think that's going to be pretty exciting. So this is... Again, coming on May 26th. We just talked about earlier about the preview. So, by the way, if you are eagle-eyed, you will be able to see cameos by a number of celebrities. And among those Awkwafina, Danny Trejo, Darren Criss, Uncle Jesse himself, John Stamos will have a cameo in there. Then avowed Disney fanatic Neil Patrick Harris will be there.
Speaker: Travis Barker, Yvette Nicole Brown, Wayne Brady, who, it by the way, if you've never seen Whose Line Is In Anyway, you need to go find some rerun episodes of that and go look at that because he is hilarious. He also does the new version of Let's Make a Deal.
Speaker: And then lastly, the last cameo is the one, the only, the American treasure that is Weird Al Yankovic. He will be making cameo there. I will go see it just so I can see.
Speaker: Weird Al. So again, Rockin' Roller Coaster officially opening on May 26th at Disney Hollywood Studios. All right, let's move over to Animal Kingdom, where ah keeping with this May 26th date, it's going to be a big day for Walt Disney World.
Speaker: Bluey's Wild World opens on May 26th, And of course, that is going to be at Animal Kingdom. It is taking over the spot from Disney's conservation station. Now, Disney is making this a virtual queue when it opens. So that alone should tell you that Disney expects there to be a lot of demand for this this experience.
Speaker: Now, as far as the virtual queue is concerned, it's going to open up at 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. every day on the My Disney Experience app.
Speaker: um And you will be able to to sign up for your virtual queue, hopefully then. Now, for the 7 a.m. m sign up, you do not have to be inside the parks, obviously. But for the 10 a.m. m virtual queue sign up, you must be in Animal Kingdom to be able to do that. It will not allow you to sign up for the virtual queue if you are not in the parks for the 10 a.m. m ah sign up.
Speaker: Now, obviously, this is for families with younger kids, and this could become one of the most talked about additions of the summer because Bluey is one of those few characters right now that can instantly jump to the top of the must-do list for any family. and And quite honestly, it's not just kids. You know, if you've if you've ever watched the show, there are some jokes there that are kind of geared towards adults that, you know, the adults get and just kind of go over the heads of of kids. So...
Speaker: Now, we will say, of course, you know, patience is going to be a virtue, right? It's going to be the key because of the transportation involved with getting to conservation station. And of course, this is that train. So,
Speaker: Please, you know if you're going to do this, bring a lot of patience and just bring some of that Disney magic for your fellow members. And of course, there's going to be tons of bluey merchandise that is going to be available. There's going be shirts, there's going to be sweatshirts, and there's going to be headbands with the with the Bluey and Bingo ears sticking up from them. I'm sure they are going to sell like crazy. And then, of course, there will be some Bluey-inspired food that they will be offering during this time. So, Bluey's Wild World opens May 26th over at Animal Kingdom.
Speaker: Let's head back over to the Magic Kingdom. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has now officially reopened. It opened up on May the 3rd. It's got the refreshed show elements, including the Rainbow Caverns.
Speaker: It has the new track, the new trains. ah It did open to a virtual queue when it when it first reopened from that refurb, but now it's back to the traditional lightning lane and standby line. So you are headed to the Magic Kingdom.
Speaker: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is ready for you to get back on it. All right, lib we're going to talk about something here transportation-wise. And, you know, this is not something that you normally talk about. This is a ah sleeper headline, but I think it's pretty cool.
Speaker: And because I'm running the show today, I get to talk about it. Walt Disney World has expanded its ferry boat fleet for the first time since 1976. All right and a right. So before then, there were three ferry boats. They are now adding a fourth ferry boat to the rotation.
Speaker: Now, it's expected to go into service sometime in 2027, and I suspect that they are doing this, adding this fourth boat in to try and help mitigate the crush of people that are going to be trying to use the monorail and trying to use the buses because of the opening of Cars Land and Villain's Land that is going to be happening in 2027.
Speaker: So to help out with that transportation back and forth to the Ticket and Transportation Center, where all of the parking is, they are adding in, I believe, this fourth ferry boat.
Speaker: They're trying to help out. Now, the three ferry boats that already existed, you know, they have names. One is the Admiral Joe Fowler. The other is the General Joe Potter. And if you don't know your Disney history, those are the two gentlemen, or two of the gentlemen, that were instrumental in engineering and building Walt Disney World back in back in the late 60s for the opening in 1971.
Speaker: they you know They did all of the work on those 24,000 acres. The third one is called the Richard F. Irvine. Dick Irvine was ah Disney CEO back in the 80s, if I remember correctly. I wish Damon were here. He'd be able to correct me on that.
Speaker: And then, so this fourth boat, what are they going to call it? It is being called the Meg Gilbert Crofton. And Meg Crofton was Disney World's fourth president.
Speaker: She served from 2006 through 2013. through two thousand third te So there is your bit of transportation news. A fourth ferry boat is coming to the Seven Seas Lagoon at Magic Kingdom to help guests get back and forth from the Magic Kingdom to the Ticket and Transportation Center.
Speaker: right, let's head over to Disney's Hollywood Studios. There are some new updates on the Mandalorian and Grogu editions that are coming to Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run. So they're going to be adding some new characters, such as Mandalorian and Grogu. You will also be able to see some other characters.
Speaker: They are adding new locations to travel to as well. We've heard about that. But now here is some interesting news. Now, and this is rumor, but, you know, let's just take this as it is.
Speaker: we We do know that the engineer positions will have some added responsibilities to them. So if you've ever written this before, you know that the two back seats, they didn't always get to do the most interesting things. And the the Imagineers took the comments from riders and they are plussing this, as Walt used to say.
Speaker: So what are they doing? The rumor is that one of the engineers is going to actually get to pick the locations that you will travel to on the ride. And the other engineer is going to be able to interact with Grogu as the ride progresses. So Again, that's rumor. But if it turns out to be true, it will be very cool for the folks that ride in those backseas. Now, you know a lot you know, a lot of people always try to get the pilot or the gunner because those are the front. But for folks, and I'll have to be honest, for folks like me that are a little prone to motion sickness,
Speaker: Those two front seats where you are having to look out the window, that can get pretty nauseating pretty fast. So whenever I ride that, I tend to ride in one of the engineer positions. And that way I can just look at that screen and that panel of buttons right in front of me. And when my buttons light up, just hit the button and I know I've done my job. And that way I don't have to look out the window, the cockpit window.
Speaker: And now when I go back, hopefully I will get to interact with Grogu or I will be able to choose one of the locations since I'm sitting in that engineer position. So updates are coming for Millennium Falcon's Smuggler's Run.
Speaker: Let's head over to Disney Springs where level 99 is getting ready to open. Now, if you haven't been keeping up level 99, it has taken the place of the Disney quest and the and NBA experience. They were house housed in that giant building.
Speaker: All right, but now it's going to be called Level 99. It is geared toward teens and adults because it includes 60, over 60 life-sized mini games and real world challenges. So it's not quite an escape room.
Speaker: ah type deal where, but it is where you will have many games and you will um have things you have to do. you know, the pictures that I've seen where they have the axes that are swinging back and forth and you have to maneuver in between them. um So it's going to be challenge rooms, and PvP duels, which sounds really cool ah really great.
Speaker: for ah For those of you who are not into gaming, PvP stands for player versus player, which I think is going to be really cool. Again, no exact date yet, but ah everything is pointing to it will open up this summer. So we are pretty excited about that.
Speaker: All right. Last little bit of Disney news. They've released some new creative details for the Tropical Americas that is opening up at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Speaker: um The article here is that the Imagineers described the research that went into designing the tropical Americas. They traveled to Honduras and Colombia and other Central and South American locations, all to get this feel of the tropical Americas and the house from Encanto to feel like it is truly there in location. um In addition, guests are going to be invited to celebrate Antonio's, and Antonio is one of the characters from Encanto, will be invited to celebrate Antonio's new gift, the ability to speak to animals while you are on this ride. So sounds really cool.
Speaker: The only dates we have right now are that Tropical Americas will open sometime in 2027. If I had to guess, it's going to be pretty close to the dates when Cars Land and Villains Land is going to open because Disney is going to want to kind of disperse the crowds, as they say.
Speaker: If they don't have new things opening in places other than Magic Kingdom, they're Can you imagine the crush of people in Magic Kingdom? So they are going to try and open up as much as they can, as close as they can to Cars Land and Villains Land.
Speaker: So Tropical america America's opening in 2027. Okay, folks, that is going to do it for our Disney News this week.
Speaker: And so, of course, that means it is now time for the aftershows.
Speaker: And we are back for the after show. Not a lot of after show news here, but let's get to it. Over at Universal Orlando, Mythos Restaurant at Islands of a Adventure is now officially closed. And this marks the final space in that area of the park that was open from the previous theming in that area. So the Adventures of Sinbad, I believe it was called, that that show that was there, they were using that area actually for queue line for, forget what ride it is, but I stood in it for, I can't remember how long. They were using it as a queue line for one of the attractions.
Speaker: But Mythos Restaurant is now closed. So now that makes room for the full re-theming of that area to whatever Universal has planned. And they have not made the announcement of what is going there officially.
Speaker: the the The rumor is that it could be more Harry Potter. um It could be Legos. We're not exactly sure. So Mythos Restaurant is now closed.
Speaker: Let's head over to Dollywood and Dollywood's Splash Country is going to open for its 26th season. And Splash Country is Dollywood's water park. I've been there. It's actually really nice. I kind of enjoyed it, to be honest. um It's going to open on 16th.
Speaker: It's going to include new nighttime events for the first time and new food items. And believe it or not, this is a fact that I didn't know. It's on almost 30 acres of land, which seems really big for a water park to me. But anyway, Dollywood Splash Country is opening on May 16th. So if you're headed to Dollywood, think about going to the water parks. It's pretty cool.
Speaker: And then finishing off our after show news at Dollywood still night flight expedition. yeah The only thing we're going to say here is that the official opening should be very soon. Reports are suggesting it could be early to mid June. um And by the way, that is night flight expedition represents Dollywood's most expensive addition to the park.
Speaker: as attraction wise ever. So they are putting a lot into this attraction. It should be pretty neat. All right, folks, that is going to wrap it up for the show this week. We'd like to thank our sponsor, DontResistTheTravel.com. Let them handle every detail in creating and planning your next extra extraordinary getaway. It does not have to be to Walt Disney World. It does not have to be the Universal or Dollywood or any theme park.
Speaker: They can help you out with travel to anywhere. Listen to us on all of your podcast streamers and rate us. If we are not on your favorite platform, ah drop us a message in the Facebook group and we'll they let us know so we can get set up there on that platform.
Speaker: Please go and leave us a five star rating on Apple podcasts and Spotify and leave us a review that five star rating. And that review helps get our show in front of eyeballs so that we can get out to more people.
Speaker: If you have questions or if you would like to submit a trip report, please send it to rhubarbtravelerspodcast at gmail.com. We always love trip reports. We will be happy to talk about it and we would be happy to answer your questions.
Speaker: We talked about Patreon. Go to patreon.com, search for Rhubarb Travelers Podcast, and please consider becoming a Patreon subscriber. And then lastly, we are on all the socials.
Speaker: You can go to Instagram. We are on there. We can go to Facebook. We are on there. And we are on TikTok as well. And folks, we'd like to remind you to please take some time over the next couple of weeks and go support your local youth arts program.
Speaker: Whether it's instrumental music or choral music or theater arts or traditional painting or graphic design, go support your local youth arts program because without the youth programs of today, you won't have the Disney performers of tomorrow.
Speaker: And with that being said, on behalf of myself and Damon, will be back very soon, we will see you on the next show. Folks, the Rhubarb Travelers podcast is for entertainment purposes only. We are not employed by the Walt Disney Company or NBC Universal, the parent company of Universal Studios. And as such, all opinions expressed on the show are exclusively our own.
Speaker: Please consult a DVC or Disney cast member or Universal team member for more information about anything we might have talked about today.
