The Lowdown on the Plus-up - A Theme Park Podcast

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We share a quick update on our release schedule while Pete gets his new house ready, plus a few theme park history notes we can’t resist.

Thanks for listening!

We'd love it if you would give us a review on your podcast platform of choice: iTunes, Spotify, etc... They're really helpful.

And get in touch and let us know about YOUR Plus-Ups for the attractions we've talked about!  We'd love to tell them on the air.

Come visit us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, or whatever social media you like. Just look up Lowdown on the Plus-Up and you'll probably find us.  Or drop us a note to [email protected] and let us know any questions or comments about how YOU would like to plus-something-up!
 
We are a Boardwalk Times production.
Boardwalk Times, https://boardwalktimes.net/
Boardwalk Times store, https://boardwalktimes.store .

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He sold his house, ditched a brand-new Cadillac, and moved into a trailer just to finish his mine train. Wendell “Bud” Hurlbut, the brilliant designer and engineer behind some of the most important rides in Knott’s Berry Farm history and the origin of much of what makes a theme park today.

The messy reality of innovation is the story of this theme park titan who paid for and owned the rides he built for parks named after someone else.

An unsung hero, who we are gonna sing about: Wendell "Bud" Hurlbut.

If you care about theme park history, Knott’s Berry Farm, ride engineering, or the real people behind the magic, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share with a fellow park nerd, leave a review, and tell us: what’s your favorite Bud-era detail on the Mine Train or Log Ride?

Thanks for listening!

We'd love it if you would give us a review on your podcast platform of choice: iTunes, Spotify, etc... They're really helpful.

And get in touch and let us know about YOUR Plus-Ups for the attractions we've talked about!  We'd love to tell them on the air.

Come visit us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, or whatever social media you like. Just look up Lowdown on the Plus-Up and you'll probably find us.  Or drop us a note to [email protected] and let us know any questions or comments about how YOU would like to plus-something-up!
 
We are a Boardwalk Times production.
Boardwalk Times, https://boardwalktimes.net/
Boardwalk Times store, https://boardwalktimes.store .

Send us Fan Mail

D23 dropped a pile of Disney Parks news, but the most interesting story is Disney's announcements that they will finally fix the stuff that’s been broken, stale, or creatively stranded for years. We dig into what that says about the company right now: the path from surprisingly strong attendance numbers to the complicated mix of discounting and operational decisions that helped park attendance explode!

Disney just went all-in with fan-service, will Kelly and Pete call their bluff?

If you like smart theme park talk with strong opinions and real affection for the craft, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more park nerds can find us.

Thanks for listening!

We'd love it if you would give us a review on your podcast platform of choice: iTunes, Spotify, etc... They're really helpful.

And get in touch and let us know about YOUR Plus-Ups for the attractions we've talked about!  We'd love to tell them on the air.

Come visit us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, or whatever social media you like. Just look up Lowdown on the Plus-Up and you'll probably find us.  Or drop us a note to [email protected] and let us know any questions or comments about how YOU would like to plus-something-up!
 
We are a Boardwalk Times production.
Boardwalk Times, https://boardwalktimes.net/
Boardwalk Times store, https://boardwalktimes.store .

Send us Fan Mail

A new Pirate has theme park fans arguing like it’s a courtroom drama, and we had to jump in. We break down what’s actually bothering people: projection mapping looks amazing in a lab, but on an animatronic face it can drift into uncanny valley fast, especially when you’re stepping from bright daylight into a dark ride scene and your eyes haven’t adjusted. The result can feel less like a living pirate and more like a screen trying to pretend it’s skin.

We also get picky about something that matters more than any single effect: story. Pirates of the Caribbean is built like an immersive storybook, with a timeline that moves from the dead men’s grotto into the living pirate raid and then back out again. When a transformation gag lands in the wrong moment, it doesn’t just look odd, it breaks the ride’s internal logic. That’s why we argue this isn’t a “tear it out” problem, it’s a placement problem.

Join us for this mercifully short episode!

Thanks for listening!

We'd love it if you would give us a review on your podcast platform of choice: iTunes, Spotify, etc... They're really helpful.

And get in touch and let us know about YOUR Plus-Ups for the attractions we've talked about!  We'd love to tell them on the air.

Come visit us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, or whatever social media you like. Just look up Lowdown on the Plus-Up and you'll probably find us.  Or drop us a note to [email protected] and let us know any questions or comments about how YOU would like to plus-something-up!
 
We are a Boardwalk Times production.
Boardwalk Times, https://boardwalktimes.net/
Boardwalk Times store, https://boardwalktimes.store .

Send us Fan Mail

What makes a theme park attraction “work” even when it is low-tech, weird, and proudly uncool? We've never stopped loving this goofy retro dark ride from the '60s that endures beyond most of its regional cousins.

We get into the caveman craze that spawned it and its evolution through time being reshaped by artists like Ken Forsse, the inventor of Teddy Ruxpin, and Rick Bastrup, the modern king of regional dark rides.

Is it the most perfect ride ever? Yes, my friends... Yes it is.

*Please note, we are recording in a new place and had some unavoidable audio issues. We did our best to clean it up, but if you hear more echo than you like, sorry.  Growing pains.*

Thanks for listening!

We'd love it if you would give us a review on your podcast platform of choice: iTunes, Spotify, etc... They're really helpful.

And get in touch and let us know about YOUR Plus-Ups for the attractions we've talked about!  We'd love to tell them on the air.

Come visit us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, or whatever social media you like. Just look up Lowdown on the Plus-Up and you'll probably find us.  Or drop us a note to [email protected] and let us know any questions or comments about how YOU would like to plus-something-up!
 
We are a Boardwalk Times production.
Boardwalk Times, https://boardwalktimes.net/
Boardwalk Times store, https://boardwalktimes.store .

Send us Fan Mail

Theme parks feel like cutting-edge engineering, but a lot of the best ride magic is centuries old and sometimes way stranger than you’d guess. We follow the historical lipstick traces behind modern attraction design, learning how people first learned to build believable “other worlds” using water pressure, puppetry, miniatures, mirrors, and projection. If you love dark rides, practical effects, and the craft behind Disney and Universal style immersion, this is a history detour that pays off fast.

Body snatchers, dinosaurs and opium all factor in to this madcap story!

Subscribe for more theme park deep dives, share this with a friend who loves ride secrets, and leave us a review with the oldest illusion you still can’t believe works.

Thanks for listening!

We'd love it if you would give us a review on your podcast platform of choice: iTunes, Spotify, etc... They're really helpful.

And get in touch and let us know about YOUR Plus-Ups for the attractions we've talked about!  We'd love to tell them on the air.

Come visit us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, or whatever social media you like. Just look up Lowdown on the Plus-Up and you'll probably find us.  Or drop us a note to [email protected] and let us know any questions or comments about how YOU would like to plus-something-up!
 
We are a Boardwalk Times production.
Boardwalk Times, https://boardwalktimes.net/
Boardwalk Times store, https://boardwalktimes.store .

Send us Fan Mail

King Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World, has lived so many lives across movies and theme parks. We follow Kong from the 1933 classic to the attractions that helped Universal Studios evolve from a tour into a destination, to the surprising story of how King Kong vs. Godzilla finally did the monster's creator in.

Most importantly, even those who think they know everything possible about the 1933 R.K.O. classic will be amazed by Pete's deep dive into the movie's origins and the astonishing story of the creative force behind the story: Ruth Rose.

Then we hit the theme park turning points: Hollywood’s King Kong Encounter with Bob Gurr, Jay Stein, and Henry Bumstead, including the bridge shake illusion, the close-up animatronic terror, and the legendary banana breath effect. We compare it to Florida’s Kongfrontation, a bigger, riskier swing with gondolas, two Kongs, timing challenges, and opening-day chaos. We also revisit the 2008 Universal Studios fire, the shift toward screen-based replacements like Kong 360 3D, and Skull Island: Reign of Kong.

What Jaws did for Universal in the '70s, Kong did in the '80s. Join us as we celebrate the legend of the greatest of the giant monsters, King Kong.

Thanks for listening!

We'd love it if you would give us a review on your podcast platform of choice: iTunes, Spotify, etc... They're really helpful.

And get in touch and let us know about YOUR Plus-Ups for the attractions we've talked about!  We'd love to tell them on the air.

Come visit us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, or whatever social media you like. Just look up Lowdown on the Plus-Up and you'll probably find us.  Or drop us a note to [email protected] and let us know any questions or comments about how YOU would like to plus-something-up!
 
We are a Boardwalk Times production.
Boardwalk Times, https://boardwalktimes.net/
Boardwalk Times store, https://boardwalktimes.store .

Send us Fan Mail

A three-pound glow-in-the-dark skull from Disneyland sounds like a joke until you realize it was real, widely sold, and now weirdly hard to find. We’re talking about Randotti skulls: handmade chalkware souvenirs that once hung from hot rod mirrors, lit up under Haunted Mansion blacklights, and gave Adventureland and Pirates of the Caribbean shops a darker edge than you’d ever expect from a theme park aisle. 

If you love Disneyland history, vintage theme park souvenirs, Adventureland tiki culture, or Disney nostalgia collecting, hit play, then subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave us a review so more park nerds can find us.

Thanks for listening!

We'd love it if you would give us a review on your podcast platform of choice: iTunes, Spotify, etc... They're really helpful.

And get in touch and let us know about YOUR Plus-Ups for the attractions we've talked about!  We'd love to tell them on the air.

Come visit us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, or whatever social media you like. Just look up Lowdown on the Plus-Up and you'll probably find us.  Or drop us a note to [email protected] and let us know any questions or comments about how YOU would like to plus-something-up!
 
We are a Boardwalk Times production.
Boardwalk Times, https://boardwalktimes.net/
Boardwalk Times store, https://boardwalktimes.store .

Send us Fan Mail

A giant boulder looms, your jeep “panics,” and somehow you leave feeling like you just lived a 1920s Republic serial on steroids!

We trace how Indiana Jones is born from the language of movie serials and classic adventure cinema, then follow that thread straight into Disney Imagineering. We saw Imagineer Tony Baxter give a lecture on this attraction last week and his fingerprints are everywhere here: environmental storytelling, practical effects that feel physical, and a ride vehicle design that turns a machine into a character. We also talk about the bigger Disney parks shift toward licensed IP, why Star Tours opens the door, and how Indy becomes the proof that a non Disney story can still feel like Disneyland if the craft is right.

Then we get nerdy about mechanics: Enhanced Motion Vehicles, Maraglyphics decoder cards, the best ride queue ever, and the effects now lost to Disneyland's technical debt. We also share the behind the scenes drama that shaped Indy’s voice and likeness, plus our patented plus-ups!

Listen now, then subscribe, share with a fellow park nerd, and leave a review if you want more deep dives like this. What’s the one Indiana Jones Adventure effect you’d bring back first?

Thanks for listening!

We'd love it if you would give us a review on your podcast platform of choice: iTunes, Spotify, etc... They're really helpful.

And get in touch and let us know about YOUR Plus-Ups for the attractions we've talked about!  We'd love to tell them on the air.

Come visit us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, or whatever social media you like. Just look up Lowdown on the Plus-Up and you'll probably find us.  Or drop us a note to [email protected] and let us know any questions or comments about how YOU would like to plus-something-up!
 
We are a Boardwalk Times production.
Boardwalk Times, https://boardwalktimes.net/
Boardwalk Times store, https://boardwalktimes.store .

Send us Fan Mail

Something is quietly disappearing inside Disneyland, and it isn’t a single ride. It’s the feeling of Walt Disney himself: the founder's fingerprints, the hand-crafted oddities, and the design choices that made Anaheim’s original park feel like a living, ebullient, organism.

We take a thoughtful walk through Disneyland history and ask a focused question: what is actually left of Walt? We talk about how the man used to be omnipresent in the park, why that kind of creator presence still matters to Disney adults across generations, and how it might be aa little tougher, but he's still there... if you know where to look.

In this short episode, Kelly and Pete speak from the heart, and get a little melancholy.

Hey, we're human!

Thanks for listening!

We'd love it if you would give us a review on your podcast platform of choice: iTunes, Spotify, etc... They're really helpful.

And get in touch and let us know about YOUR Plus-Ups for the attractions we've talked about!  We'd love to tell them on the air.

Come visit us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, or whatever social media you like. Just look up Lowdown on the Plus-Up and you'll probably find us.  Or drop us a note to [email protected] and let us know any questions or comments about how YOU would like to plus-something-up!
 
We are a Boardwalk Times production.
Boardwalk Times, https://boardwalktimes.net/
Boardwalk Times store, https://boardwalktimes.store .