Construction at Animal Kingdom’s upcoming Encanto attraction is finally starting to pop above the fence line, and Jim and Len do what they do best - stare at aerial photos until they start seeing ride-height changes and possible “big thing” anchors. Then the show veers into a surprisingly tight math problem: is it actually cheaper for an American couple to fly to Japan and do Tokyo Disney than it is to do a weekend at Walt Disney World? (Spoiler: the internet is almost right, which is somehow worse.)

NEWS
• Aerial photos suggest the Encanto ride site at Animal Kingdom may include a ride-height change (and at least one very suspicious hole in the ground).
• Orange County tourist tax collections hit a new record for October, up 15 percent year over year - yes, people are still going to Orlando.
• Disney Cruise Line Port Canaveral numbers show strong October sailings - Disney Magic at 81 percent occupancy, Treasure and Wish at 89 percent.
• Hallmark and Disney team up for the first in-park holiday movie, “Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True,” arriving in 2026.
• Disney’s surprise AI headline: a reported $1 billion OpenAI investment tied to Disney characters appearing in Sora, and what Disney might really be building toward.

FEATURE
• Why Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure (and its Paris counterpart) reportedly switched from 3D to 2D - guest comfort, visibility, and the ongoing cost of 3D glasses.
• The long history of Disney’s ever-changing 3D eyewear “story names,” from MuppetVision safety goggles to opera glasses and beyond.
• The wild near-miss: Avatar: Flight of Passage allegedly came close to becoming 2D, and how producer Jon Landau pushed back.

For this episode’s full show notes, click here.

HOSTS
• Jim Hill - IG: @JimHillMedia | X: @JimHillMedia | Website: JimHillMedia.com
• Len Testa - IG: @len.testa | Website: TouringPlans.com

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PRODUCTION CREDITS
Edited by Dave Grey
Produced by Eric Hersey - Strong Minded Agency

SPONSOR
This episode’s Disney-ish News is sponsored by UnlockedMagic.com - from our friends at DVCRentalStore.com.

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