Lauren Hersey & Jim Hill start this week’s show by looking back at some of the more memorable pieces of merch offered at this year’s D23 Expo.

They then shine a spotlight on some of the books that Disney Press will be bringing to market in the coming months.

In this episode, listeners will learn about:

• When will the first “Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party” for 2024 be presented at WDW’s Magic Kingdom

• Which two feature-length films did Stephen Anderson direct for Walt Disney Animation Studios

• What phrase did Len Testa coin to describe the exhaustion that people feel whenever they wrestle with the ever-growing technical aspect of a WDW vacation

• What was the must-have collectible for Star Wars fans who attended this year’s D23 Expo

• Which once-a-box-office-flop / now-a-pop-culture-favorite Disney films from the 1990s just got its oral history published

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Eric Hersey & Jim Hill start this week’s show by talking about viewership for the Summer Games in Paris. T

hey then take a look at how Universal Pictures’ recent releases have been doing at the domestic box office

Throughout this episode, listeners will learn about:

• When was Epic Universe originally supposed to open up in Orlando

• In what year does NBCUniversal’s deal with the IOC for the US broadcast rights for the Olympics run out

• Which classic silent horror film is Universal Pictures remaking

• For how many years now has the Broadway musical version of “Wicked” been presenting performances at NYC’s Gershwin Theatre

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Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start this week’s show by looking back at some of the animation-related news that came out of the D23 Expo.

They also discuss a number of the books that event attendees could pick up at this year’s eve

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

• Who now is voicing Elio’s aunt in Pixar Animation Studios’ big release for June of 2025

• Why it’s kind of ironic that the Mouse House just decided to make Frank Oz a Disney Legend

• What’s the reported premise for “Hoppers,” Pixar’s Spring 2026

• What’s intriguing about the visual clues that were included in the “Frozen 3” concept art that Jennifer Lee showcases at the Honda Center

• How many episodes of Pixar’s “Dream Productions” did D23 members get to see at this year’s Expo

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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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 In the eighth installment of this educational series, Shelly & Noe Valladolid talk about how savvy rail & beer companies took advantage of trolley downtime to create new entertainment destinations at the end of the line.

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

• How Tivoli Gardens directly influenced the design of Disneyland

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Drew Taylor starts off this week’s show by looking back at the

“Jurassic World: Chaos Panel” he moderated at last month’s San Diego Comic-Con.

Then Jim Hill discusses the three feature-length films that were made at Fox Animation

Studios in Phoenix

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

 What spot did Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” just claim on the list of all-time worldwide top

grossing films

 When will the Boomerang streaming service officially get folded into Max

 Which “Gravity Falls” -related book now tops the New York Times bestseller list

 On what television broadcast back in the Summer of 2016 did the “Moana” teaser

trailer first appear

 Back when “Titan AE” was still supposed to be a live-action production, what was

the title of this film originally supposed to be

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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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 Lauren Hersey & Jim Hill start this show by talking about the merch currently available at the Universal Orlando Resort.

They also talk about how exactly the Haunted Mansion is coming back online at Disneyland Park

Throughout this episode, listeners will learn about:

• Which new variation of Butterbeer just became available in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

• Where was Disney Legend Marc Davis’ home located in Los Angeles

• When did the National Forest Service award Walt Disney Productions the rights to develop a ski resort at Mineral King

• Who was supposed to have stayed in the Carriage House that’s now being built right by the exit to the Disneyland version of The Haunted Mansion

• How much “The Haunted Mansion” movie that Walt Disney Pictures released last July reportedly cost to make

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