Did you know that Walt Disney World partially built Phase 2 of Disney's Pop Century Resort? I promise, this episode will be Legendary!
At the end of the 20th Century, the powers that be in Walt Disney World came to the conclusion that another Value Resort needed to be built on Disney property. This new resort, tentatively named Disney's Pop Century Resort, was set to double the number of rooms available to guests at Value Resorts. Due to a number of unforeseen factors, only half of Pop Century was ever finished. What happened to the second, partially built part? You'll have to listen in to find out!
Which things do we wish were still available in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom? We have at least ten to tell you about!
The memories may remain, but over the years many things have been removed from the Magic Kingdom. Beloved attractions, favorite characters, delicious snacks and entertaining shows have all been removed from the Most Magical Place on Earth over the years. Jump in our DeLorean with us as we explore out favorite things that we miss about the Magic Kingdom!
Finally, the news so many Disney fans have been waiting for is here, Disneyland is almost set to reopen! We'll also go into Disney Cruise Line and Walt Disney World news!
If you're a Disneyland history buff like me, you'll want to check out these lesser known stories from the early days of the park!
I recently downloaded and listened to an audio tour of Disneyland which was narrated by Disney Legend and Imagineer Rolly Crump. I had never heard some of these stories before and since I can no longer find the tour online, I wanted to re-tell some of his stories this week on the Word of the Week. I may not tell the stories as well as Rolly does, but I hope you find them as interesting coming from me as I did hearing them from Rolly!
Have you ever been hit with a smell all of a sudden that instantly transports you back to Disney? This episode is for you!
The Disney theme parks aren't just about the sights. They are a full sensory experience that flood all of your senses with amazing sights, sounds, touches, and especially smells. Our sense of smell is strongly linked to memories, even more so than any of our other senses. So, of course, everyday smells can sometimes return us to the moments that we've last smelled those certain smells.
Walt Disney World and Disneyland are full of restaurants, attractions, shows, and even streets that have their own very distinctive smells. This week we'll explore some of those smells that take you back to WDW as soon as you smell them!
Have you ever been hit with a smell all of a sudden that instantly transports you back to Disney? This episode is for you!
The Disney theme parks aren't just about the sights. They are a full sensory experience that flood all of your senses with amazing sights, sounds, touches, and especially smells. Our sense of smell is strongly linked to memories, even more so than any of our other senses. So, of course, everyday smells can sometimes return us to the moments that we've last smelled those certain smells.
Walt Disney World and Disneyland are full of restaurants, attractions, shows, and even streets that have their own very distinctive smells. This week we'll explore some of those smells that take you back to WDW as soon as you smell them!
Flowers? Check. Gardens? Check. Amazing food, fantastic beverages, and fun for the entire family? Check, check, and check!
Epcot's International Flower and Garden Festival is no longer the lesser of the park's two festivals. Find out why you should go to Epcot's Flower & Garden Festival this year!
Did you know that Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom has 15 opening day attractions still in operation?
The Disney company has always understood that nostalgia is a large part of its brand. Guests want to take their children and grandchildren on attractions that they themselves once rode as kids. Guests come back year after year to experience all that is new and all that is old and classic in the parks. These attractions have become nostalgic classics that hopefully will never be removed from the park.
While there are WAY more than ten great things about Pirates, we did our best to narrow it down and give you our favorites!
Pirates of the Caribbean opened in Disneyland on March 18, 1967. It has been a guest favorite since day one. Who doesn't love to sail among the swashbucklers while singing "Yo Ho"? The attraction was so popular that when Magic Kingdom opened without it in 1971, guests complained and demanded that Walt Disney World open a Pirates attraction in the park!
Even confident, professional (hopefully!) Disney travel agents can make mistakes sometimes! I present to you, The Great Snow White Debacle.
Which Walt Disney World audio animatronics are the coolest, according to us? I can almost guarantee there will be no spitting camels on this episode!
The Disney theme parks have given us world class audio animatronic figures since the 1960's. Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and the parks around the word are loaded with robotic characters that range from the wildly simplistic Tiki Birds to the amazingly complicated Shaman from Pandora: The World of Avatar. So which of these figures made our Top Ten List? You'll have to listen in to find out!
Disneyland's first ever Director of Entertainment lived an extremely fascinating life. This week's Disney Word of the Week is all about "Tommy the Toe" Walker!
Tommy Walker is responsible for several of the amazing traditions of Disneyland and Walt Disney World. So why isn't his name up there with the likes of Tony Baxter, Joe Rohde, Marc Davis or Bob Gurr? We'll take a deep dive into his amazing life this week and try to figure it out!
I recently saw an article online where the author ranked all of the attractions in Walt Disney World. She was way off! Here are the real rankings!
On this episode I fly solo and rank all fifty-six attractions (no shows with live performers) in all of Walt Disney World. My goal is to save you time and help you avoid riding attractions that you might've skipped otherwise. The only problem is, I love almost all of them!
We made it. 2020 is over! It's time to start thinking and planning for the future and What We're Looking Forward To in 2021!
The Disney Company has a lot of things on the horizon for the year 2021. New original Disney+ TV shows, movies, resorts, attractions and other additions to the theme parks are in store for us over the next twelve months. This week we will take a look at all of it and let you know what you should be most excited for in the coming year!
Sadly, Disney Legend Ron Dominguez recently passed away. His legacy, however, still stands tall inside Disneyland.
Ron Dominguez was just about twenty years old when Walt Disney purchased his family's land and home in 1954. Little did he know then that he was about to start out on his path of becoming a Disney Legend in the next half century.
Which Walt Disney World parks are the best for babies, toddlers, adults, grandparents and more? We'll break it down for you!
One question I get almost all the time from first time or first time in forever Walt Disney World guests is, "Which park is the best for us?" While each theme park in WDW has something for everyone, some parks are better than others for different age groups. Whether you're traveling with babies, teenagers, princes or princesses, this episode will help you prioritize the parks you'll need to visit on your Disney vacation!
Trying something a little different this time and bringing you my family's Christmas Eve tradition.
Since my wife and I have had kids I've been reading the poem "Twas The Night Before Christmas" to them on each and every Christmas Eve. This year I wanted to bring a little bit of our Christmas Eve tradition to you. So get the fireplace going, get the cookies and milk ready for Santa, grab a drink and a snack for yourself, and relax. It's Christmas!
Where did Buddy the Elf rank on our list of Top Ten Christmas Movie Characters? How about Kevin McCallister? Find out!
We expanded our horizons a little bit this week and came up with our list of not only Disney characters, but our all time, overall favorite characters in Christmas movies. I'm joined by my family on this episode and you can feel the buzz of the Christmas season running through my kids and right out of your speakers or headphones!
Over the years many of our favorite attractions have gone the way of the dodo. On this episode we'll take a virtual ride on three of my favorite extinct attractions.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Horizons, and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride are three classic, favorite attractions we can no longer ride in Walt Disney World. That doesn't mean we can't ride them on the podcast just one more time! I'll give you some fun stories behind each of these favorite attractions and we might even virtually ride through one or two!
The Walt Disney Company has been releasing wonderful Christmas specials and films going all the way back to 1958. On this episode we'll talk about our favorites!
From Mickey to The Muppets, from Scott Calvin to Ebenezer Scrooge, Disney has been synonymous with fantastic Christmas entertainment for generations. On this bonus episode that was first released in 2017, my guest and I talk all about our favorite Disney films and specials that make the holidays a little extra special every year.
Trash is almost invisible in the Disney theme parks across North America. How is it removed almost undetected?
Over the years you've probably noticed that Disney & Pixar like to hide little tributes to other movies in their films. We'll tell you where to find them!
The animations wizards at Disney and Pixar have been hiding characters and props from other films in their films for years. Think about it: how many times have you spotted the Pizza Planet truck in other films besides the original Toy Story? This week my very sharp and musical guest host and I will clue you in on all of the Easter eggs we've found!
I don't interview a guest this week. Instead, a couple of guests interview me.
This week two of the members of the Ear To There Travel team prepared questions for me for the show. We talk about everything from my time as a Disney cast member to going back in time to hang out with Walt Disney. It's a wide-ranging show full of fun stories and interesting topics. Enjoy!
From pardoned turkeys to the infamous Turkey Legs, Thanksgiving and turkey has been a big part of the Disney Parks for decades!
This week I'll go into the history of Thanksgiving in the Disney company and talk all about the World Famous Turkey Legs that helped inspire the title for this show! We'll find out how many turkey legs the parks sell each year and even what kind of meat they actually are made of!
The Ear To There Disney Podcast is now Turkey Leg Talk! It's the same fun show with a new name and logo. Find out what we're thankful for in 2020!
Disney has helped get us through a very tough 2020. We're thankful for so many things this year including Disney+, looking forward to future trips, not riding a certain Disneyland attraction and more!