Disney Insights

Howdy folks! And welcome to the one and only original Disney Insights! The Country Bear Musical Jamboree has opened and we bring to you a review of the entire experience. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much happening at Magic Kingdom and we want to cover all of it. From the new stores of Tiana's Bayou Adventure to Smellephants on Parade, we'll check it out all out. We'll visi...

Starting July 24th a new virtual queue system will be put in place. Building off of both the Genie+ system and the earlier FastPass+ system, Walt Disney World will now offer Multi & Single Pass Lightning Lane experiences. I've invited David Zanolla of Zanolla Travel, to help me make sense of it all. We'll review what has happened over the last 25 years beginning with FastPass, followed by Fast...

Well, Humunga Kowabunga! Typhoon Lagoon is 35 years old this year. We've had the opportunity to celebrate the 35th anniversary of several Walt Disney World attractions, and we would be remiss if we didn't take the plunge on this one as well. We'll dive in on the history of this water park and how it came to be. We'll also look at how it compares attendance wise to parks across the globe. Then we'l...

This week we had a chance to visit and experience Tiana's Bayou Adventure in a set of five visits. Our previous podcast was an in-depth look at why Splash Mountain ended and why Tiana's replaced it. This podcast goes into big details as to how this entire experience plays out from arrival, through exterior/interior queues, the entire ride, and afterwards. This is a major spoiler alert, and we thin...

With previews well underway on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, and before I spend the time giving insight to what works and doesn’t work on this attraction, now is the time to understand why this attraction has been built, and why it has replaced the enormously beloved Splash Mountain. Critics abound and some have a point to be made. But it makes no sense to crit...

This week the Vice President of Epcot, Kartika Rodriguez, announced that “after years of creative vision, innovation and dedicated work, I’m thrilled to share that the historic transformation of our park is complete.” We will look at this final puzzle piece of this important transformation. CommuniCore is a complex which includes food and beverage, meet ‘n’ greets, indoor and outdoor event space,...

Last week we shared how the better part of 7 decades took George Lucas as a child from the Disneyland Park gates in 1955 through to creating the cinematic masterpiece Star Wars to working with Disney to build Star Tours the attraction to even selling Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Company. Today we step off from that point to see how Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge came to be. We’ll share the moment it was...

The story of how Star Wars Galaxy's Edge came to be is one that goes back nearly 7 decades. It is a story that circles back around to Disney’s own history again and again. This presentation showcases those milestone moments that paved the way for this attraction to occur. It is the story of George Lucas and how he created one of the most beloved film franchises, one that truly seemed like it was s...

Like Disney-MGM Studios, Pleasure Island at Walt Disney World opened up 35 years ago. Also like Disney's Hollywood Studios, it morphed over time. Unlike the studios however, it's gone--with only a few remnants reminding us of that strangely unusual "outside the brand" creation. We consider each of the clubs, plus restaurants, stores and more. We look at how it got started, and how it met its demis...

Last week we spoke about new announcements at Disneyland Paris and their implications for American Parks. This last week news and video has been coming out about the new Fantasy Springs that is beginning to open at Tokyo Disney Sea. Plus news of Disneyland Forward being approved by the Anaheim City Council means that work can commence on a future Disneyland that has many more possibilities than ev...

Big new announcements have been made at Disneyland Paris and whole new lands and experiences are opening at Tokyo Disney Resort. We not only look at some very new ideas for what could be in a Disney theme park, but we see how some of this could be coming to Disneyland or Walt Disney World here in the United States. Perhaps not the show, but the concepts, the intellectual properties, special techno...

May the 4th be with you! This podcast is a replay that celebrates all things Star Wars in a very unique way that ties also to The Golden Girls, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and a man by the name of Andrew Gold. It has great insights so join us as we share this unique podcast. __________________________________________________ My new book, A Century of Powerful Disney Insights is available! Now avai...

o much of what was the Disney-MGM Studios over the years has come and gone. Only one attraction remains as it was largely designed during its opening. This park is perhaps more radically different than any other Disney park between its opening and the present. And yet there are some really wonderful gems that were there when the park opened, and they are still here today. We look at those timeless...

It seems hard to imagine that Disney's Hollywood Studios opened 35 years ago! The first park to open under the leadership of Michael Eisner, the Disney-MGM Studios as it was known then has a storied past. How it got started, why it became the way it did, and how it competed with Universal Studios is the stuff of movie legend. Join us as we look at how an idea became Walt Disney World's third theme...

Over the last couple of decades Disney has been attentive and has invested seriously in supporting guests with disabilities. I suppose it was a slow news day, Disney social media influencers decided to call fire in the Lightening Lane. Headlines and statements were irresponsible, and in most cases, just wrong. We will look at Disney's history is providing accessibility. We will look at the stateme...

This May and June Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park, and Disney's Pleasure Island will be 35 years old. The only way this would have occurred is if there were employees to make that happen. By this time the market for available front line employees was tight as Universal was preparing to open its first theme park, and other competitors and hoteliers in the area were ne...

The Walt Disney Company held its annual meeting of Shareholders. This event was seminal in that it concluded a feud between outside investors and Disney. It allowed Bob Iger to emphasize a message of 'Renewed Strength'. But there is more to learn from all of the tea leaves of this presentation. We'll discuss not just some of the many facets of where Disney is and what it intends to do moving forwa...

BREAKING NEWS! Disney and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight's District has come to an Agreement! More at the end of the podcast! We come to you from deep in the jungle of Disney's Animal Kingdom to not only tell you the latest and greatest on what's happening at Disney's Animal Kingdom, but how these connect to major happenings across the Disney universe. The big news is in Dinoland, but Asia,...

You can learn a lot about what's going on at Disney by spending a little time at the Magic Kingdom of Walt Disney World. My recent visits there provide background and context for a number of things that are going on or are set to happen. Like the song from Disney's Princess and the Frog, "We're Almost There". Or so it seems. We'll check out every land around the Magic Kingdom and talk about what's...

For months now Disney has been in a proxy fight with several outside entities in the strategic direction of Disney moving forward. In taking the offense, this week Disney filed with the SEC a statement of how it will move forward. There are four key priorities the company has during this time to strategically transform. Our focus is Experiences Growth--particularly in the theme parks. We will expl...

This last week a business program I delivered took me to Kansas City, where Walt moved to around age 10, and where he returned to after serving in the Red Cross during World War I. If Disneyland's Main Street U.S.A. symbolizes Marcelline, Missouri, then Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom Main Street should symbolize Kansas City. We'll talk about the sights I saw and the impressions I had. It is a s...

Have you taken time to see some animated features on Disney+ that go way back into Walt Disney’s own vault. During the 1940s you will find Disney animated features like Melody Time, Saludos Amigos, and Make Mine Music. These were known as package films, similar to Fantasia, but with far less attention to detail. They compose the War Era, which was during World War II and its aftermath. This era wa...

As a park, Epcot has in many ways evolved over the years--especially in what we have always known as Future World. But which version of Epcot is the best version? We look very carefully at Epcot's timeline over the decades to determine if there was a time and place when Epcot was at its very best. And we consider the possibility that the Epcot of today is perhaps better than any other version of E...

In an unexpected last minute turn of events, I ended up having the opportunity to visit the Disneyland Resort. My focus was on Disneyland Park as well as the Downtown Disney/Hotel District Area. We'll visit these locations to see what's new and what's happening here at "The Happiest Place on Earth". We'll look at new offerings such as Adventureland Treehouse, Pixar Place and Tiana's Palace. Speaki...

No Disney Cruise is "typical" and this is no "typical" Disney Cruise review. Our family spent four nights on the Disney Dream which sailed out of its new home in Fort Lauderdale. We look at the good, the bad and the "Petroleum Port" ugly of that arrival experience. We then set sail only to arrive in Nassau, where the U.S. State Department has issued a travel advisory after some 18 murders on that...