In this episode of The Disney Dish, Jim Hill and Len Testa bring you the latest Disney theme park news, dive into listener questions, and share some fascinating theme park history.

Tune in for an entertaining and informative discussion featuring:

Join Jim and Len for a fun mix of history, humor, and theme park insights!

Show Notes can be found here.

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start this week’s show by discussing the three tiers of hotels that the Universal Orlando Resort just rolled out.

They also talk about why Disney wants to know more about how you allocated your cash during your most recent trip to Orlando.

For this episode, listeners will learn about:

• Why the Universal Theme Parks want to learn more about which brands & IPs your young daughter is interested

• Who was just placed in charge of the committee to find a successor for Disney CEO Bob Iger

• Why it’s likely that DCL will soon need to replace the Magic & the Wonder

• How many people visited the Magic Kingdom in Florida during the first full year that theme park was in operation

• Which opening day attraction for Walt Disney World did Tony Baxter go to the field to install back in 1971

SHOW NOTES

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In a special solo show, Jim Hill first talks about which Disney Villains just made their debut at DCA’s “Oogie Boogie Bash.”

He then looks back at how Walt adapted J.B. Barrie’s play & novel to the screen back in 1953

For this episode, listeners will learn about;

• Who did Roger Bart sing for in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Summer release for 1997

• Who wrote the songs for Disney’s full-length animated feature for 1953

• When is Disney on Broadway’s new stage production of “Hercules” supposed to open in London’s West End

• Which two animated features was WDI originally considering as their jumping-off point for their upcoming redo of DAK’s Dinoland U.S.A.

• When was Bob Hope’s sequel to his 1948 Western comedy, “The Paleface,” first released to theaters

SHOW NOTES

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start today’s episode by discussing the changes that will soon be coming to Tom Sawyer Island at WDW’s Magic Kingdom.

They also look back at when the “Be Our Guest” restaurant opened at that same theme park back in December of 2012

Over the course of this episode, listeners will learn about:

• For which Disney animated feature from the 1990s did Ricky Martin voice the title character (for the Latin American / Spanish version of this film, that is)

• What did the Imagineers once toy with installing inside of the “Hall of Presidents” show building

• What does Universal Orlando’s new dining offer tell us about when Epic Universe will likely open to the public

• Why did Disney’s Central Reservations Office have to rethink the number of seatings they could book daily at “Be Our Guest” just six months after this new Magic Kingdom restaurant first opened

• Why did the load-in of the Ballroom’s chandelier prove to be a challenge to the “Be Our Guest” construction team

SHOW NOTES

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 Len Testa & Jim Hill start this week’s episode by getting the skinny on thinly sliced pieces of bacon.

They then discuss whether the changes that have recently been made to DAS have actually lowered wait times at WDW’s park

Throughout this episode, listeners will learn about:

• Where did the wax figures from the “Davy Crockett Frontier Museum” eventually wind up

• Why would Disney Procurement likely have bought pork products in bulk last year

• When did the West Coast version of “Country Bear Jamboree” first open

• What’s the name of that Royal Caribbean stage show themed around superheroes

• Which Harvard professor helped to turn the American cowboy into that mythic figure we know today

SHOW NOTES

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 Len Testa & Jim Hill start this week’s episode by reviewing Universal Orlando’s plans for “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic.”

They then talk about which WDW DVC may soon be expanding

Over the course of this episode, listeners will learn about:

• What’s significant about the survey Universal Orlando recently distributed about possible price points for annual passes

• Where does Steven Tyler get the scarves that he uses to decorate his mic stand

• How tall was Walt Disney

• Which moment from the third episode of the “Davy Crockett” limited series did Disneyland’s Frontier Museum recreate

• Why were Fess Parker & Buddy Ebsen wet when they made their entrance in “Dateline Disneyland”

SHOW NOTES

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On this week’s show, Len Testa & Jim Hill are joined by veteran Imagineer Jim Shull & Len’s twin sister, Linda. These four then discuss the news of the day and look back at the grand opening of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith.

For this episode, listeners will learn about:

• What idea did the Imagineers explore for improving DCA’s Grizzly River Run?

• How long has it been since a major new thrill ride opened at one of the theme parks found at the Universal Orlando Resort?

• How has the roll-out of Lightning Lane Multi-Pass been going so far

• What contributed to Disney’s decision to only present “Rogers: The Musical” in the Hyperion Theater for a single summer

• Who influenced Kelsey Mann to find a place for Figment in “Inside Out 2”

SHOW NOTES

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Len Testa starts this week’s show by revealing which attractions will be open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios during Extended Evening Hours at that theme park later this year.

And then Jim Hill wraps up his history of Epcot’s “Maelstrom” attraction.

In this episode, listeners will learn about:

• Why was the original version of “Country Bear Jamboree” trimmed down back in October 2012

• What land does Hong Kong Disneyland that is traditionally found at other castle parks

• Why did the Imagineers dial back the North Sea scene in “Maelstrom” just before this World Showcase attraction officially opened in July of 1988

• Which animatronic figure from “The Hall of Presidents” can also be found as a eunuch along “Spaceship Earth” ‘s ride track

• When – according to the U.S. census – did the wide open spaces of the American West officially come to a close

SHOW NOTES

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 Len Testa & Jim Hill welcome Disney author & historian Foxx Nolte. Who gives them a preview of his latest book, “Scoundrels, Villains, & Knaves: Disneyland, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Popular Culture” 

Throughout this episode, listeners will learn about:

• What are the differences between the VIP tours offered at WDW versus those made available to visitors at the Universal Orlando Resort

• Which train show staged back in the mid-1940s reportedly influenced the design of New Orleans Square at Disneyland Park

• What’s the rumored reason that character greetings are not being offered as part of Lightning Lane Multi-pass

• Which scene was originally designed for the Escher Staircase area for WDW’s version of the Haunted Mansion

Show Notes

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