The Mad Chatters Podcast | Walt Disney World and Around the Disney Universe

Don't call it a comeback. Just call it a party! This week our extended hiatus comes to an end as we host another edition of our wacky and pointless questionnaire, a Mad Q Party. For this week's series of ten questions, we dream up new Muppet films, look back at embarrassing mistakes we made during our first Disney trip, reimagine menus on Walt Disney World property, and much more! Plus, we play wh...

As awards season gets underway in Hollywood, we roll out the red carpet for special guest Aaron Wallace, who joins us on this episode to look back at the many times The Walt Disney Company has been celebrated or honored at the Academy Awards during the ceremony's 95-year history. First, we discuss our favorite Disney moments from the televised ceremonies, including song performances, acceptance sp...

Twenty-five years ago, over a span of just two months, Disney and ABC gave us original films such as Tower of Terror, Toothless , and Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella . On this week's episode, we take a closer look at these films, as well as the Elijah Wood-starring version of Oliver Twist , and we break down what we love about them, what elements do and do not hold up in 2022, our biggest nit...

Come sail away with us on the brand new Disney Wish, on which we spent four days dining with Elsa and the Avengers, sipping cocktails in a galaxy far, far away, celebrating Halloween with Mickey and the gang, and rediscovering the joys of a relaxing and worry-free vacation. Join us for this special trip report as we discuss everything the newest Disney ship has to offer, as well as reminisce about...

Now that the most recent class of Disney Legends has been named and inducted, we're taking this opportunity to discuss the Disney Legends whose projects and contributions to The Walt Disney Company have meant the most to us personally. Guest Guy Selga joins us for a Disney Legends Draft, in which we each compile a team of ten Disney Legends we want to pay special tribute to. Help us celebrate thes...

The Mad Chatters are back this week to do some mad chatting in the form of some of our favorite segments. Join us for a grab bag of games, segments, and silliness, including: Alternate Titles (For this game, we took the names of various Walt Disney World experiences and replaced every word with a synonym for that word. Can you guess the attraction?) Madsterpiece Theater The Good, the Bad, and the...

Over on the Dizney Coast to Coast podcast, our friend Jeff DePaoli (whose show is currently on hiatus) has been spotlighting other Disney podcasts, including our own. To return the favor, we're bringing you one of our favorite episodes of his show, which he recorded with fellow friend and podcaster Courtney Guth. On this episode, Jeff and Courtney take a look at the evolution of Cruella de Vil, fr...

With the recent return of The Amazing Race, which is currently airing its 33rd season on CBS, we thought it would be fun to dream up a season of the show that took place entirely on Walt Disney World property. We asked Dan Heaton, host of The Tomorrow Society podcast and fellow fan of the CBS reality show, to help us come up with ideas for challenges teams would have to complete if The Amazing Rac...

It's time to play the music. It's time to light the lights. It's time to raise the curtain on our annual awards night. We proudly present: The 2021 Chatties! As we celebrate the dawn of a new year, we also want to take a moment to look back at the year that just concluded and highlight the best and worst moments throughout The Walt Disney Company during 2021. Tune in to find out what events, attra...

Our favorite Disney questionnaire is BACK! This week, special guest Brooke McDonald joins us to answer ten random questions on topics such as Epcot food booths, WDW Christmas decorations we wish we could take home, ideas for future "Olaf Presents" shorts, and more! Plus, Brooke gives us the lowdown on the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend that took place earlier this month. As Derek prepare...

Last week, to honor The World's Most Magical Celebration, we highlighted 25 of the biggest moments that brought the vacation kingdom to where it is today, one for each year from 1971-1995. This week we are BACK to wrap up the list and pay tribute to one major milestone from each of Walt Disney World's most recent 25 years, 1996-2020, and discuss why the impact of each moment is still felt today. A...

Now that The World's Most Magical Celebration has officially kicked off, we're taking time to pay tribute to Walt Disney World in our own way: by celebrating the biggest moments that brought the vacation kingdom to where it is today. Join us as we highlight one major milestone from each of Walt Disney World's 50 years and discuss why the impact of that moment is still felt today. Also on this epis...

Sixteen players... Six Disney games... Immeasurable fun... Our fifth GAME NIGHT episode is here! Grab a snack, put on your thinking hat, and play along as Jeremy, Derek, and a ton of special guests compete in Disney-themed games like Password, Match Game, "Which Disney Character Said It?", Before & After, and more! Our "Game Night" episodes would not be possible without our INCREDIBLE guests. Here...

Halloween Horror Nights, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar — Some of Orlando's best theme park offerings are actually found outside the boundaries of Walt Disney World and instead are part of Universal Orlando Resort. On this week's show, we discuss some of our favorite attractions, restaurants, procedures, and other elements of Universal Studios that don't have an...

Will Walt Disney World ever see a nighttime parade again? Will Disney Genie+ be embraced by guests as a worthy replacement for FastPass? How much longer will we have to wait for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind? On this episode we take a broader look at Walt Disney World to talk about which areas of the parks have not yet gone back to the way they were before the resort closed in 2020—and wh...

In Epcot's nearly 40 years of existence, there have been countless rumors and speculations about additional nations being introduced to World Showcase. But in reality, we haven't seen a new country join the loop since Norway was completed in 1988.   Enter the Mad Chatters. On this week's episode, guest Courtney Guth helps us dig through The Walt Disney Company's rich past and its deep ties to othe...

If you've ever wanted a bottomless carpetbag like Mary Poppins or dreamed of rubbing a magic lamp and having three wishes of your own, have we got the episode for you! Tune in as guest Jeff DePaoli helps us list fantastical objects, magical places, and just plain practical items from Disney movies that we wish existed in real life. Also in this episode, we play a virtual game of hide and seek with...

The show must go on, as they say. And that is why we are BACK this week to close out our two-part series on the ABC sitcoms that filmed episodes at the Disney Parks. This week we kick things off with the 1998 episode of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch that coincided with the opening of Disney's Animal Kingdom, and we make our way all the way to 2019, when The Goldbergs spoofed National Lampoon's Vacati...

Has there ever been a more magical example of corporate synergy than when our favorite ABC sitcoms filmed episodes at the Disney Parks? On this week's episode we travel back to the 90s—before DVR and streaming were part of everyone's vocabulary—and we talk about six episodes of classic 90s sitcoms that take place in Disneyland or Walt Disney World. Join us and our guest Teri Deel as we catch up wi...

In light of the recent news that Jungle Cruise is about to be enhanced, we thought we'd take this opportunity to highlight other attractions and experiences at Walt Disney World that we think could use some TLC. From stale rides to dated resorts to embarrassing uses of technology, we each talk about ten areas we'd most love to see get updates and enhancements (1:02:33). In this week's Countdown to...

Join us for a musical tour of the Hollywood that never was and always will be: Disney's Hollywood Studios! Years ago, we launched a series in which we discussed the background music and the original songs that play in each Walt Disney World park. At the time, Disney's Hollywood Studios was mostly a construction zone, but now that the park has completed its glow-up, we figured it was high time we c...

On February 8, 2001, Disney's California Adventure opened to the public as Disneyland Resort's long-awaited second gate . . . and fell flat. However, after some initial misfires and long-lasting growing pains, the park was able to turn things around and bring us some truly original and inspired experiences. This week, on the park's 20th anniversary, guest Guy Selga helps us count down ten ways in...

What better way to ring in the new year than with a party? After a long hiatus (sorry!), we are back this week with one of our favorite segments: the wacky, hypothetical Disney questionnaire we call a Mad Q Party. Join us and special guest Aaron Wallace as we pose and then answer ten questions on topics ranging from Muppet remakes of Disney films, to LEGO sets we'd like to see Disney release, to D...

They're rascals and scoundrels. They're villains and knaves. They're devils and black sheep. They're really bad eggs. They're the infamous crew of misfits and evildoers known as the DISNEY VILLAINS! On this week's show, guest Marshal Knight helps us take a closer look at the deep well of villains in Disney's catalog, from the Wicked Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to the can-you-believe-t...

Last week we got to spend a few days in the parks—and we have thoughts! On this mini episode we give our take on the current state of the parks, what it's like experiencing the parks with so many precautions in place, what to know and how to prepare before visiting, why a Disney trip might or might not be best for your family right now, and much more! We had a lot of listeners reach out with quest...