The Disney Dish with Jim Hill

Jim outlines the history of The Little Mermaid-themed attractions in Disney's parks, from Storybook Canal Boats in Disneyland, to unbuilt Euro Disney attractions, to present-day DCA and Magic Kingdom.creditsreleased July 30, 2013Audio: Len Testa with Jim HillEdited by: Len Testa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim finishes up the history of how Disney's Caribbean Beach, Port Orleans, Dixie Landings (that's French Quarter for you young folk) and Coronado Springs resorts got built.creditsreleased July 19, 2013Audio: Len Testa with Jim HillEdited by: Len Testa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim was just back from the Transformers press junket, where he got to see Transformers, Springfield USA and a hard-hat tour of Diagon Alley. Hear what Jim saw!creditsreleased July 12, 2013Audio: Len Testa with Jim HillEdited by: Len Testalicense Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim sorts through all of the rumors of a Star Wars-themed land going in to Disney's Hollywood Studios, including ride, restaurant, and entertainment options.creditsreleased July 1, 2013Audio: Len Testa with Jim HillEdited by: Len Testa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you know that the original plan for the Dixie Landings resort placed it next to Downtown Disney, near the riverboat-themed Fulton's Crab House? And that plans for the Grand Floridian pre-date Michael Eisner's tenure by half a decade? Learn this and many other details about Disney's hotel business as Jim goes through how Disney (eventually) developed their moderate resorts.creditsreleased June...

Did you know Disney was producing a pirate-themed film before Pirates of the Caribbean opened as an attraction in 1967? Jim walks through that 1968 release, a Peter Ustinov-as-Blackbeard film that began the first cycle of stealing from movies to build attractions, which were then stolen from to make more movies. Lots of great Johnny Depp stories, too.creditsreleased June 3, 2013 Learn more about y...

An update on the status of Disney's Next Gen project, including MagicBands, Fastpass+ and My Disney Experience.creditsreleased April 23, 2013 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Jim and Len as they discuss the history, development and evolution of Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Seas. Initially rebuffed in the 1960's by the Disney Company in its efforts to build a Disney theme park, the Oriental Land Company found itself in much better position in the late 1970's, when Disney needed cash to finish Epcot. Hear how those negotiations went and how the rides were designed, p...

Grab a soda (Jim and Len did!) and listen to us talk about Epcot's new fitness- and diet-themed Habit Heroes exhibit at Innoventions. Jim also talks about the new IBM Think! exhibit and gives some background on the history of Future World.creditsreleased March 18, 2013 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Jim and Len as they walk through the newly-refurbished Test Track pavilion and ride. We also discuss rumors about the future of the Imagination pavilion.creditsreleased March 18, 2013Audio: Len Testa with Jim HillEdited by: Len Testa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim tells how New Fantasyland came to be, from Walt's idea for a Seven Dwarfs coaster back in the 40's, to the first, estrogen-heavy plans for New Fantasyland in 2010. Think the Swiss Family Treehouse will be a good place for Pixie Hollow? Hear Len vow to fling himself from the branches.creditsreleased July 25, 2016Audio: Len Testa with Jim HillEdited by: Len Testa Learn more about your ad choices...

Jim tells the story of how Disney's idea for a Western River Expedition complex ended up as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.creditsreleased July 25, 2016Audio: Len Testa with Jim HillEdited by: Len Testa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim Hill and Len Testa explore the history of Disney’s Hall of Presidents, from Walt Disney’s fascination with Abraham Lincoln to the attraction’s 1971 debut at Walt Disney World. They trace the show’s roots through Disneyland’s unrealized Liberty Street, the 1964 New York World’s Fair, and the development of Disney Audio-Animatronics. The conversation also covers malfunctioning Lincoln figures, p...

Jim Hill and Len Testa explore the long, complicated history between Disney, Jim Henson, and the Muppets. From Michael Eisner’s early interest in Henson’s characters to the ambitious Muppet-themed attractions once planned for Disney-MGM Studios, the episode traces a partnership that nearly transformed an entire section of the park. They also examine how Jim Henson’s death changed the negotiations,...

Jim Hill and Len Testa explore the complicated history of Disneyland’s Tomorrowland, a land that has always struggled to keep pace with the future. They trace its evolution from opening-day exhibits such as Rocket to the Moon, the House of the Future, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea through the ambitious 1967 redesign, Space Mountain, Star Tours, and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Jim also reveal...

Jim Hill and Len Testa explore how Mickey’s Toontown was built at Disneyland and why it took decades for Disney’s characters to receive a permanent home inside the park. They trace the land from the arrival of walk-around characters and the rapid creation of Mickey’s Birthdayland at Walt Disney World through the success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Disney’s plans for a much more ambitious Toonto...

Jim Hill and Len Testa explore the many transformations of Disneyland’s Fantasyland, beginning with ideas Walt Disney developed years before the park opened. They trace the land’s evolution from its modest tournament-tent facades and opening-day dark rides through the elaborate 1983 redesign that created the European village guests know today. Along the way, Jim shares the histories of Peter Pan’s...

Jim Hill and Len Testa tell the unlikely history of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. What began as an Arkansas father fulfilling his daughter Breezy’s request for Christmas decorations grew into a neighborhood display of millions of lights, a legal dispute that reached future Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and one of Walt Disney World’s most pop...

Jim Hill and Len Testa explore the history of Disneyland’s Critter Country, a remote corner of the park that Disney repeatedly struggled to make guests visit. They trace the area from its Frontierland origins and Disneyland’s oversized bet on the Country Bear Jamboree through a series of unrealized concepts involving Mark Twain, moonshining bears, interactive shooting, and seasonal overlays. Jim a...

Jim Hill and Len Testa explore the history of Disneyland’s Frontierland, from its opening during America’s television-western craze to Disney’s efforts to keep the land relevant as interest shifted toward the Space Age. They revisit Davy Crockett merchandise, staged gunfights, the Golden Horseshoe Revue, Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland, and the operational challenges of Disneyland’s earlies...

Jim Hill and Len Testa explore the history of Disneyland’s New Orleans Square and the attractions that transformed this corner of the park. They explain how Pirates of the Caribbean evolved from a planned walkthrough into a boat ride after Disney’s work at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, why the Haunted Mansion shifts from eerie suspense to supernatural comedy, and how Walt’s enthusiasm for transp...

Jim Hill and Len Testa continue their walk through Disneyland by exploring how Adventureland grew from a single ambitious boat ride into one of the park’s most atmospheric lands. They trace the Jungle Cruise from Walt Disney’s original plan to use live animals through the development of mechanical creatures, elaborate rockwork, and early special effects that helped define Disney attraction design....

Jim Hill and Len Testa continue their walk through early Disneyland by exploring what guests encountered on Main Street U.S.A. when the park opened in 1955. They examine the train station, cinematic design of the entrance tunnels, the myths behind Main Street’s architecture, and the unusual shops and concessions that helped finance the new park. Along the way, Jim explains why cannons, corsets, al...

Jim Hill and Len Testa separate Disneyland history from familiar mythology to uncover what truly pushed Walt Disney toward building a theme park. They trace the idea from Walt’s early visits to the Universal Studios lot through his plans for a small attraction beside the Disney studio, his growing fascination with trains, and the search for a much larger site in Southern California. The story also...

Jim Hill and Len Testa trace the long, expensive effort to rescue Disney California Adventure after its disappointing 2001 debut. They revisit the park’s early quick fixes, from imported parades and A Bug’s Land to Tower of Terror and Pixar overlays, before examining the internal decision to stop patching the park and rebuild it around stronger Disney storytelling. The tour moves through Buena Vis...