Len Testa starts off this week’s episode by sharing his experience at a Cast Member Only preview of WDW’s new Skyliner system. Then Jim Hill looks back at “Illuminations: Reflections of Earth,” the millennium-themed nighttime show that was originally only supposed to run at Epcot for 18 months but wound up wowing the crowds around World Showcase Lagoon for 19 years instead Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 30, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 237
Len Testa starts off this week’s show by talking about some rare home movies that he’s recently seen from the early days of Disneyland Park. Jim Hill then talks about how the roles that castles play at the Disney Parks have evolved over the past 64 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 23, 2019•43 min•Ep. 236
Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about why it’s crucial that WDW’s new Skyliner transportation system has a trouble-free debut. Jim then reveals how WDI used fossil fuels as an excuse to recycle one of the more popular aspects of the Ford Wonder Rotunda at the 1964 – 1965 New York World’s Fair Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 16, 2019•47 min•Ep. 235
Len Testa starts off this week’s show by describing what the Disney’s Hollywood Studios version of “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” was like on opening day. He then describes what it was like to go straight from Batuu to the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 09, 2019•48 min•Ep. 234
Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episodes by talking about the “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” Coca-Cola “thermal detonator” controversy. Then special guest Christina Testa-Harrison offers her take on the 2019 edition of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at WDW’s Magic Kingdom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 02, 2019•46 min•Ep. 233
Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about the Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party Pass & Mid-Day Magic ticket that the WDW Resort recently began offering. Jim then shines a spotlight on how – back in the mid-1970s – the Imagineers turned Disneyland’s “Mine Train thru Nature’s Wonderland” attraction into the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 26, 2019•44 min
Jim Hill and guest host Dan Zehr talk about how Halloween is celebrated at Disney theme parks around the globe. Dan then looks back at the three different experiences he had while participating in WDW’s College Program Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 19, 2019•1 hr•Ep. 231
Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this episode with a run-down of the past week’s news, including Universal Orlando’s announcement of their Epic Universe project. Jim then shines a spotlight on Walt Disney Productions’ second attempt to build a ski resort up in Northern California Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 12, 2019•46 min•Ep. 230
Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about some of the new holiday-themed offerings that will be debuting at Disney World this November. Jim then shares some excerpts from “Magic Journey,” longtime Imagineer Kevin Rafferty’s soon-to-be-published memoir Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 05, 2019•39 min•Ep. 229
Len Testa & Jim Hill start things off by talking about what The Walt Disney Company is expected to unveil/announce at this year’s D23 Expo. Len then shares a rumor that he recently heard about an Osborne Lights-like experience that’s supposedly in the works for World Showcase Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 29, 2019•36 min•Ep. 228
Len Testa & Jim Hill talk about WDW’s plans to link the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa to the Magic Kingdom via the walk-around-the-world (and what this potentially means for the Electrical Water Pageant). Jim then looks back at what it was like to be at Disneyland’s “Invitational Press Preview” as well as on the very first day that this family fun park was open to the public. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 22, 2019•41 min•Ep. 226
Len Testa starts off this week’s episode by talking about his recent visit to Takumi-Tei (i.e., the signature restaurant that just opened at Epcot’s Japan pavilion) and the extraordinary experience he had while dining there. Jim Hill then looks back at the history of WDW’s convention facilities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 15, 2019•54 min
Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by discussing which aspects of Future World’s old Communicore / Innoventions area are due to shuttered soon as Epcot gets a facelift out ahead of WDW’s 50th-anniversary celebration. Jim then talks about Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences & Products Bob Chapek’s reported frustration with the cost & speed with which WDI develops immersive lands for the Company’s theme parks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 08, 2019•39 min•Ep. 225
Len Testa starts off this week’s show by talking about his visit to the newly opened Surfside Inn & Suites, which is Phase One of Universal Orlando’s Endless Summer Resort. Jim Hill then looks back at Skyleidscope, Epcot’s initial attempt at staging a daytime extravaganza out on World Showcase Lagoon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 01, 2019•39 min•Ep. 224
Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by discussing the troubled history of “Primeval Whirl.” Jim then looks back on when greenmailers Saul Steinberg & Irwin Jacobs were making runs at Walt Disney Productions and threatening to sell off underperforming divisions of the Company to the highest bidders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 24, 2019•39 min
Len & Jim start off this week’s podcast by discussing how Disney’s Hollywood Studios plans on dealing with the crowds once that theme park’s version of “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” opens. Jim then talks about the various ideas that the Imagineers have considered as they’ve looked for ways to expand the U.K. pavilion at Epcot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 17, 2019•39 min•Ep. 222
While waiting for Len Testa to return from Batuu, Jim Hill shares a story about the thrill ride that the Magic Kingdom almost got back in the early 2000s. One that took its inspiration from “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” and would have sent Guests through an erupted volcano aboard a transforming coaster Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 03, 2019•31 min•Ep. 221
While Len’s getting ready for the opening of Anaheim’s “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge,” Jim Hill shares an interview that he did with former Imagineer Terri Hardin. She then reveals the role that she played in the creation of a proposed attraction for Disney-MGM Studios Japan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 27, 2019•42 min•Ep. 220
Len Testa & Jim Hill talk about the significance of a number of surveys that The Walt Disney World Resort has sent out to Guests recently. Jim then discusses how Bob Chapek’s decision to focus in on the Company’s billion-dollar IPs is changing Disney Parks & Resorts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 20, 2019•43 min•Ep. 219
Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by discussing the mysterious construction that’s going on at Disney’s Animal Kingdom out behind Pandora – The World of Avatar. Jim then talks about “The Ride of a Lifetime,” Bob Iger’s soon-to-be-released memoir (which will hit store shelves on September 10th) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 13, 2019•32 min•Ep. 218
Len Testa & Jim Hill start off of this week’s episode by discussing why WDW management opted to push off the opening of “Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios ‘til the Spring of 2020. Jim then continues his Chronological Disneyland series by pointing out how Bob Iger’s approach to that Anaheim Resort differed from Michael Eisner’s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 29, 2019•44 min•Ep. 217
Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by discussing what’s significant about that new Disney Cruise Line survey which is currently making the rounds. Jim then talks about how the Imagineers keep trying to get the theme park-going public to embrace an attraction that features binaural sound. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 22, 2019•35 min•Ep. 216
Len Testa & Jim Hill start off by talking about how “Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy” will use promotion to try & overcome its unfortunate, out-of-the-way positioning at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. They also talk about a patent that The Walt Disney Company has recently filed which Mouse House managers hope will get Guests to look up from the screens on their iPhones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 15, 2019•31 min•Ep. 215
Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about Disney Villains After Hours, that new hard ticket for WDW’s Magic Kingdom which will be offered on select nights in June, July & August. They also do a deeper dive on that Universal Parks & Resorts survey which offers some clues about what sorts of rides, shows & attractions are possibly in the mix for Universal Orlando’s Fantastic Worlds theme park Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 08, 2019•41 min•Ep. 214
Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by discussing how The Walt Disney Company is still struggling with “Song of the South.” Jim then continues his Chronological Disneyland series by revealing why the Rockets Rods went down for rehab in September of 2000 and never re-opened Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 01, 2019•38 min•Ep. 213
Len Testa starts off this episode with an enthusiastic review of Disney Spring’s latest addition, Jaleo by José Andrés. Len & Jim then share a survey that Universal Parks & Resorts is using to zero in on just the right mix of rides, shows & attractions for Theme Park No. 4 (i.e., Universal’s Fantastic Worlds) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 25, 2019•48 min•Ep. 212
Len Testa starts off this week’s show by dissecting Disney World’s latest round of ticket price increases and what that will mean for Resort Guests in the coming months. Jim Hill then talks about the behind-the-scenes decisions that led to the Company recently revealing that “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” would open in Anaheim on May 31st and in Orlando on August 29th a_edr Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 18, 2019•46 min•Ep. 211
Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about how the Imagineers plan on reconfiguring the front half of WDW’s science & discovery park. They also continue their Chronological Disneyland series by discussing how Michael Eisner’s Montana-inspired visions of the future eventually translated into Tomorrowland having decorative displays of kumquats & kale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 11, 2019•36 min•Ep. 210
Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by discussing the progress that’s been made to date with WDW’s Skyliner system. They also point out that Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is obviously supposed to serve as a rebuttal to any theme park fan who claims that “Universal Creative only builds screen-based attractions.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 04, 2019•30 min•Ep. 209
Len Testa & Jim Hill talk with Carlye Wisel of “Travel & Leisure” magazine. Ms. Wisel shares what she learned about “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” while participating in that three day-long media event that Disney Parks & Resorts held this past weekend Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 01, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 208
