But MOSTLY Disney

This week on But Mostly Disney, Andrew and I welcome a truly fascinating guest — Richard Kraft! He's a Hollywood talent agent, passionate Disney collector, and the man behind the legendary That's From Disneyland! collection.

Richard has spent his career surrounded by some of the biggest names in entertainment, but his love for Disney, Disneyland history, and the incredible people who helped create the magic makes him one of our favorite kinds of guests!

We're talking Hollywood, Disney nostalgia, collecting pieces of theme park history, and what makes Disneyland so special to those who truly love it. From the world of show business to the wonderful world of Disney memorabilia, Richard brings a perspective you don't get to hear every day.

And, of course, knowing us, we'll probably wander off topic a little along the way. After all, it's But MOSTLY Disney!

Whether you're a Disney history buff, a collector, a fan of classic Hollywood, or just someone who loves a great story, pull up a chair and join us for this special conversation!

Find more Disney fun at www.butmostlydisney.com, subscribe to our newsletter, and join us live on YouTube and Facebook for future episodes. We'd love to have you be part of the conversation!

Taking tiny toddlers to Disney can be a challenge. This we share top tips to help you navigate your next family park visit.We are joined this week by our good friend Karen St. Pierre, who shares her tips and tricks for small children in the parks. We cover practical advice for navigating Disney with small children and share insights from someone who has been a part of the magic for over 40 years. It is a great resource for anyone looking to make their next Disney vacation easier and more memorable.Don't forget to subscribe for more Disney tips and park news, and let us know in the comments what your favorite memory is from visiting the parks with your kids!

This week Andrew and I are joined by Chris, better known across the socials as Trumpet Squid, the Maryland-based Disney creator who keeps showing up at the top of my TikTok feed. We get to learn where his handle comes from (spoiler alert - keep an eye on the underwater scene in Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway), shares his Disney origin story, and makes the case for “vibes over rides.”

From there the questions fly:

• Buying into DVC on a first Disney cruise, and a first DVC stay at BoardWalk over Thanksgiving week
• Favorite resorts: Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Tater’s one true Disney complaint about the Polynesian lobby
• Watching the Wilderness Lodge Christmas tree go up at 2 a.m.
• Bucket list trips: Aulani, Tokyo, Disneyland, and Adventures by Disney
• Victoria & Albert’s vs. Takumi-Tei, and whether Club 33 is just forbidden fruit
• Why Chris started creating content, impostor syndrome, and finding your niche when you don’t live in Orlando
• Tater’s honest take on Bob Chapek’s book
• Price increases, ticket costs, and what staying on property should get you
• Why Lightning Lane is so hard to explain to first-timers
• The joy of a park day with no rides at all
• Chris ranks the four Walt Disney World parks, plus why Jollywood Nights is worth a look

Also in this episode: a PSA about a bank text-and-call scam making the rounds (and a DVC version of it), and the date for the next group call, Sunday, October 25 at 5:30 p.m.

Find Chris at @trumpet_squid on Instagram, TikTok, and Threads, and at trumpetsquid on Facebook.

Listening to the audio? Come hang out with us live on Tuesday nights on YouTube and Facebook, where the chat helps steer the show. Subscribe to the But Mostly Disney newsletter to get in on the monthly group calls, and grab a shirt while you’re at it.

Grab a snack and pull up a chair — Andrew and Tater are going to chat about all things Disney, and this one's extra special: Disney historian and author Jim Fanning will be hopping on the show to talk shop with us and tell us all about his amazing Disney journey!

Jim's the author of The Disney Book and Drawing: 100 Years of Disney Wonder, a longtime contributor to D23 and Disney twenty-three magazine, and one of the most knowledgeable Disney history buffs around amd it's going to be facinating to listen to him speak!

As always, it's a mostly-Disney (but occasionally we wander) conversation, but also a chat with a new friend and all of our fellow Disney nerds.

Skipper up! On this episode of But MOSTLY Disney, hosts Tater and Andrew welcome Disney author and Celebrations Disney Magazine editor Tim Foster (author of 50 Years of Walt Disney World Magic) to talk all things Jungle Cruise. Tim joins the show to dig into his new coffee table book celebrating the history, humor, and legacy of one of Disneyland and Walt Disney World's most beloved Adventureland attractions. We trade favorite skipper puns, trace how the ride has evolved across the parks over the decades, and look back on 78 episodes of Disney conversation as they creep toward the big 100.

Whether you're a die-hard Jungle Cruise fan, a Walt Disney World and Disneyland history buff, or just here for the wisecracks, this one's for you.

New episodes of But MOSTLY Disney drop almost every week — subscribe so you never miss a chat about mostly Disney. Questions, topic ideas, or feedback? Reach out at butmostlydisney.com.

This week we're joined by Phil Gramlich — author of Walt and His Park: The Stories You Probably Haven't Heard and CEO of Ear to There Travel. Phil spent years sitting down with Disney Legends like Bob Gurr, Julie Andrews, Floyd Norman, and Rolly Crump, and turned those conversations into 80+ firsthand anecdotes about Walt Disney and the making of Disneyland. He also hosts his own long-running Disney podcast, Turkey Leg Talk.

We ask Phil a few questions, then let him go — and he delivers story after story about the people who actually built the park alongside Walt. Recorded live, with your questions answered in the chat.

The great thing about the show this week is whether you've been to D23 or not, you're going to want to listen in. This week, our good friend Bozena Thrower shares with us her incredible story of how she attended D23 and got to sit right next to some of your favorite stars. She details how it works, how it goes, and how you should participate. Whether you've been to every single D23 since they started holding them or it's your just now thinking about going to the next one, this is the show for you! You're going to get expert-level tips and beginner advice all at once. Join us for a front-row seats for D23.

Our buddy Brian Crawford — one of our favorite people on the internet — is back in the house, and there's never a lull when he joins the show. This week Andrew and Tater sit down with Brian for another wide-ranging, wonderfully unfocused conversation, with a little D23 talk mixed in for good measure.

Funny, fast-moving, and mostly Disney.

Since 1956, the Mai-Kai has been the crown jewel of Polynesian Pop — a mid-century marvel of flaming volcanoes, hula dancers, and rum-soaked cocktails hidden in plain sight in Fort Lauderdale. After a four-year, $20+ million restoration, it reopened its doors in November 2024, and this episode digs into what makes it so special.We're joined by Jim "Hurricane" Hayward of The Atomic Grog, the go-to source for everything Mai-Kai since 2020 and a fixture of the Tiki scene through his work with The Hukilau. Hurricane walks us through the restaurant's storied history, the mammoth restoration effort, and why this Fort Lauderdale institution matters so much to Tiki culture — plus a few cocktail recommendations for when you visit.Grab a Mai-Tai and settle in — this one's mostly Disney, but very much Tiki.

This week Andrew are I are joined by Jeremy Stein, who co-hosts the Main Street Magic podcast with his wife Rhonda — closing in on their ninth anniversary and 900th episode of covering the parks from two hours down the road in St. Augustine. Jeremy also opens up about his recovery memoir, Still Loud, Now Clear, chronicling his first 18 months of sobriety, which Tater (sober over 22 years himself) calls one of his favorite reads of the year. The crew digs into Disney quietly pulling its zero-proof Lyre's mocktails property-wide, mourns festival foods that never made it to a permanent menu (RIP the Food & Wine Spam bowl), speculates about what's actually going to be on the menu at the new Harryhausen's, and debates whether Carousel of Progress-style change is coming for the "untouchable" rides next. Funny, a little reflective, and mostly Disney — plus a first look at next week's guest, tiki historian Jim Hayward.