Len Testa and Jim Hill welcome award-winning mind reader and performer Chris Cox (BBC and Broadway) for a deep dive into one of Disney’s most fascinating “what could have been” stories.

The ambitious plans for David Copperfield’s Magic Underground restaurant

How the New York flagship nearly opened before money troubles pulled the plug

Michael Eisner’s enthusiasm for magic and themed dining in the 1990s

Why Disney-MGM Studios was slated to host Copperfield’s magical dining experience

How timing, costs, and the decline of themed restaurants caused the project to vanish

From collapsing billboards in Times Square to a restaurant where your table might levitate, this is the story of the Disney dining experience that almost was — and why it disappeared.

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Jim Hill and Len Testa dig into how fans really rate Disney’s nighttime spectaculars — and why those scores decide which shows stay and which ones fade away. Along the way, they cover the latest park news and wrap up the story of how Jack Sparrow sailed into Pirates of the Caribbean.

TouringPlans survey data reveals the winners and losers among Disney’s fireworks and nighttime shows

Why “average” ratings are the kiss of death for spectaculars like Enchantment

New menus and a $65 all-you-can-eat croissant buffet at Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival

Destination D23 schedule updates, including hints of a Villains Land presentation

Construction progress on Disneyland’s new Marvel e-ticket attraction

Universal’s permit filing that could mean another Epic Universe hotel

How Johnny Depp, Captain Barbossa, and Davy Jones made their way into the Pirates of the Caribbean rides

From fan-favorite fireworks to the behind-the-scenes drama of Pirates overlays, this episode blends data, history, and Disney news you won’t hear anywhere else.

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Len Testa and Jim Hill break down Disney’s latest earnings call, including park attendance trends, hotel occupancy shifts, and how Epic Universe may be quietly impacting Orlando tourism. They also review a fascinating new Disney Cruise Line survey that tests potential discounts and onboard perks, as well as what those offers could mean for future sailings.

Listener questions cover everything from the Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow projection tech to Walt Disney World’s mysterious white bus lane lights, and Jim continues his multi-part history of how Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa found their way into the Pirates of the Caribbean attractions. Along the way, they explore the behind-the-scenes stories of the Pirate Tutorial, the Pirates League, and Disney’s new Beak and Barrel lounge at Magic Kingdom.

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While Len Testa enjoys a well-earned week off, Jim Hill is joined by special guest AJ Wolfe of the Disney Food Blog to talk about her new book Disney Adults: Exploring and Falling in Love with a Magical Subculture. But first, Jim shares updates from around Walt Disney World, including real demolition progress for the Monsters Inc. Door Coaster, the curious lack of vertical construction for Encanto Land, and new details about the General Joe Potter ferry accident currently under investigation.

Why Disney Adults may be “the most hated group on the internet”

What’s missing from Animal Kingdom’s Encanto and Zootopia areas

The Monsters Inc. Door Coaster transforms Muppet Studios

Fantastic Four meet-and-greet rules (and international waters loopholes)

A heartfelt tribute to longtime podcast collaborator Brian Gaughan

AJ Wolfe also shares behind-the-scenes stories from her Disney Food Blog journey, the early days of Disney dining coverage, and why writing Disney Adults meant sharing some very personal truths—debt, joy, and all.

Buy the Book: https://www.amazon.com/Disney-Adults-Exploring-Falling-Subculture/dp/1668069210

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Unlocked Magic, powered by DVC Rental Store and DVC Resale Market, offers exclusive Disney & Universal ticket savings with TRUSTED service and authenticity. With over $10 MILLION in ticket sales, use Unlocked Magic to get the BIGGEST SAVINGS.

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Thinking about joining Disney Vacation Club or selling your contract? DVC Resale Market is the leader in the secondary market, with over 70,000 satisfied DVC members. Their expert team of 21 former DVC Cast Members brings unparalleled knowledge and experience to every transaction, making buying or selling DVC simple and stress-free.

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Dreaming of deluxe Disney accommodations at a fraction of the cost? The DVC Rental Store connects guests with incredible savings on Disney Vacation Club resorts. Whether you’re a DVC member looking to rent your points or a guest looking to stay in style, the DVC Rental Store offers a seamless process for both. Don’t forget—they also offprovideciting point swaps for unforgettable experiences like cruises and adventures!

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start this week’s episode by taking a close look at the recently announced plans to revamp the Animation Courtyard area at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

They then continue their interview with Don Hahn & Chris Merritt, the authors of “The Happiest Place on Earth: The Incredible Story of Walt Disney’s Disneyland”

For this episode, listeners will learn about:

·      

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Thinking about joining Disney Vacation Club or selling your contract? DVC Resale Market is the leader in the secondary market, with over 70,000 satisfied DVC members. Their expert team of 21 former DVC Cast Members brings unparalleled knowledge and experience to every transaction, making buying or selling DVC simple and stress-free.

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Len Testa & Jim Hill welcome Don Hahn & Chris Merrit, the authors of “The Happiest Place on Earth: The Incredible Story of Walt Disney’s Disneyland.” This show kicks off a two-part interview that reveals how Walt’s family fun park first came to be.

For this episode, listeners will learn about:

Who bought the very first admission to Disneyland Park back in July of 1955

When is the third “Prep & Landing” holiday special – “The Snowball Protocol” – expected to debut on ABC

Who did Walt bring in to help the Evans brothers with the horticultural aspect of Disneyland Park

What did Adventures by Disney’s “Take Me Out to the Ballparks” trip entail

Why was DHS’s “Legend of Jack Sparrow” show so short-lived

SHOW NOTES

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Thinking about joining Disney Vacation Club or selling your contract? DVC Resale Market is the leader in the secondary market, with over 70,000 satisfied DVC members. Their expert team of 21 former DVC Cast Members brings unparalleled knowledge and experience to every transaction, making buying or selling DVC simple and stress-free.

⁠Learn More⁠

DVC Rental Store

Dreaming of deluxe Disney accommodations at a fraction of the cost? The DVC Rental Store connects guests with incredible savings on Disney Vacation Club resorts. Whether you’re a DVC member looking to rent your points or a guest looking to stay in style, the DVC Rental Store offers a seamless process for both. Don’t forget—they also offer exciting point swaps for unforgettable experiences like cruises and adventures!

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Planning your next Disney vacation? Be Our Guest Vacations is a Platinum-level Earmarked travel agency with concierge-level service to make every trip magical. Their team of expert agents plans vacations across the globe, from Disney and Universal to cruises and adventures, ensuring you have the best possible experience without the stress.

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Len Testa and Jim Hill look at Disney’s latest surveys, hotel rumors, and Halloween Horror Nights announcements—then plunge into the second half of their deep-dive on Pirates of the Caribbean. This time, Jim reveals how Disney navigated a real-life guest frenzy over Captain Jack Sparrow, the surprisingly expensive costume drama that followed, and the face character chaos that nearly derailed New Orleans Square. Plus, early plans for a pirates-themed restaurant, and how Dead Man’s Chest almost broke the box office and the parks.

Why a cleared canal near Magic Kingdom might be future hotel space

Christmas party dates, Festival of the Holidays updates, and DJ Dance Pants

How Disneyland kept guests from mobbing Jack Sparrow face characters

The $60,000 costume that sparked a parade of cease and desist letters

A scrapped pirates dining experience that had Jack eating off your plate

Also: Warner Bros. surveys some Vegas-worthy IP ideas, Morrissey or Horror Night house?, and why Robin Williams’ mime days live on in Disney animation trivia.

SHOW NOTES

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Thinking about joining Disney Vacation Club or selling your contract? DVC Resale Market is the leader in the secondary market, with over 70,000 satisfied DVC members. Their expert team of 21 former DVC Cast Members brings unparalleled knowledge and experience to every transaction, making buying or selling DVC simple and stress-free.

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Dreaming of deluxe Disney accommodations at a fraction of the cost? The DVC Rental Store connects guests with incredible savings on Disney Vacation Club resorts. Whether you’re a DVC member looking to rent your points or a guest looking to stay in style, the DVC Rental Store offers a seamless process for both. Don’t forget—they also offer exciting point swaps for unforgettable experiences like cruises and adventures!

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Planning your next Disney vacation? Be Our Guest Vacations is a Platinum-level Earmarked travel agency with concierge-level service to make every trip magical. Their team of expert agents plans vacations across the globe, from Disney and Universal to cruises and adventures, ensuring you have the best possible experience without the stress.

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Len Testa and Jim Hill tackle a packed show, from new Eat to the Beat concert acts and Test Track Lightning Lane changes to a survey that hints at Disney bundling sports vacations with ESPN and Adventures by Disney. Then in the main segment, Jim unpacks the wild story behind the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise—including how one clever Imagineer added a cursed treasure twist to the ride years before it hit the big screen, and why Michael Eisner insisted on a subtitle that technically made no sense.

New Eat to the Beat lineup adds Bowling for Soup, Jordin Sparks, and The Beach Boys

Disney files plans for the Monsters Inc. Door Coaster building—yes, it’s a real land

ESPN and ABD surveys tease premium sports-based vacation packages

What really happened to Pixar’s Elio, and how politics may have changed the movie

Behind the scenes of Curse of the Black Pearl: casting, rewrites, and a fake curse

Plus, Len pitches a villains-themed restaurant where customer service is intentionally bad, and Jim explains why Tower of Terror on TV paved the way for Jack Sparrow in theaters.

SHOW NOTES

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DVC Resale Market

Thinking about joining Disney Vacation Club or selling your contract? DVC Resale Market is the leader in the secondary market, with over 70,000 satisfied DVC members. Their expert team of 21 former DVC Cast Members brings unparalleled knowledge and experience to every transaction, making buying or selling DVC simple and stress-free.

Learn More

DVC Rental Store

Dreaming of deluxe Disney accommodations at a fraction of the cost? The DVC Rental Store connects guests with incredible savings on Disney Vacation Club resorts. Whether you’re a DVC member looking to rent your points or a guest looking to stay in style, the DVC Rental Store offers a seamless process for both. Don’t forget—they also offer exciting point swaps for unforgettable experiences like cruises and adventures!

Learn More

Be Our Guest Vacations

Planning your next Disney vacation? Be Our Guest Vacations is a Platinum-level Earmarked travel agency with concierge-level service to make every trip magical. Their team of expert agents plans vacations across the globe, from Disney and Universal to cruises and adventures, ensuring you have the best possible experience without the stress.

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Len Testa and Jim Hill cover the latest Disney news, including a major update to the dining reservation system, a rerouted parade to improve park flow, and the latest tweaks at Epic Universe. Then, Jim dives into the real story of how Epcot’s CommuniCore was shut down and transformed into Innoventions—Disney’s answer to a park in crisis. With budgets tight and tech aging fast, Michael Eisner turned to Las Vegas for inspiration, resulting in a CES-style exhibit hall packed with rotating sponsors, interactive demos, and a built-in refresh cycle.

Disney’s new patent could make Haunted Mansion feel spookier

A smarter parade route helps clear Main Street faster

Why Tron still isn’t available during Early Entry

Epic Universe’s early admission strategy evolves again

The creation, success, and legacy of Innoventions

It’s a look at how Disney reimagined the future—and managed to sell it to sponsors one booth at a time.

SHOW NOTES

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DVC Resale Market

Thinking about joining Disney Vacation Club or selling your contract? DVC Resale Market is the leader in the secondary market, with over 70,000 satisfied DVC members. Their expert team of 21 former DVC Cast Members brings unparalleled knowledge and experience to every transaction, making buying or selling DVC simple and stress-free.

Learn More

DVC Rental Store

Dreaming of deluxe Disney accommodations at a fraction of the cost? The DVC Rental Store connects guests with incredible savings on Disney Vacation Club resorts. Whether you’re a DVC member looking to rent your points or a guest looking to stay in style, the DVC Rental Store offers a seamless process for both. Don’t forget—they also offer exciting point swaps for unforgettable experiences like cruises and adventures!

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Be Our Guest Vacations

Planning your next Disney vacation? Be Our Guest Vacations is a Platinum-level Earmarked travel agency with concierge-level service to make every trip magical. Their team of expert agents plans vacations across the globe, from Disney and Universal to cruises and adventures, ensuring you have the best possible experience without the stress.

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Len Testa and Jim Hill look at recent updates across Walt Disney World and Epic Universe, including a new water play area in Animal Kingdom, a July reopening for Test Track, and a revealing Disney Cruise Line survey. Then in the main segment, Jim takes us back 30 years to the wild creation of Disneyland’s Videopolis—a teen dance club built in just 100 days that introduced churros, challenged norms, and (almost) ran over some tourists.

New Indiana Jones-themed play area replaces Animal Kingdom’s Boneyard

Test Track reopens July 22—why we still don’t know what’s inside

Epic Universe adds stage permits and steampunk restaurant progress

A Disney Cruise Line survey that might explain recent price drops

The teen problem Disney had to solve—and how Videopolis became the answer

Churros, breakdancing, and Michael Eisner’s MTV-fueled moonshot

Videopolis wasn’t just a dance floor—it was a cultural reset, a churro revolution, and a crash course in fast-tracking theme park design.

SHOW NOTES

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DVC Resale Market

Thinking about joining Disney Vacation Club or selling your contract? DVC Resale Market is the leader in the secondary market, with over 70,000 satisfied DVC members. Their expert team of 21 former DVC Cast Members brings unparalleled knowledge and experience to every transaction, making buying or selling DVC simple and stress-free.

Learn More

DVC Rental Store

Dreaming of deluxe Disney accommodations at a fraction of the cost? The DVC Rental Store connects guests with incredible savings on Disney Vacation Club resorts. Whether you’re a DVC member looking to rent your points or a guest looking to stay in style, the DVC Rental Store offers a seamless process for both. Don’t forget—they also offer exciting point swaps for unforgettable experiences like cruises and adventures!

Learn More

Be Our Guest Vacations

Planning your next Disney vacation? Be Our Guest Vacations is a Platinum-level Earmarked travel agency with concierge-level service to make every trip magical. Their team of expert agents plans vacations across the globe, from Disney and Universal to cruises and adventures, ensuring you have the best possible experience without the stress.

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