Disney Insights

It's hard to believe that Disney's Animal Kingdom is 25 years old! And with it come so many memories of a park that is truly distinct among all other Disney theme parks worldwide. Join me on on this 25th birthday celebrating not only the park but Earth day. I visit each of the lands of the park and share some unique memories not only of my own experiences here professionally and with my family, bu...

Since D23 last summer there have been many rumors about if and what kinds of expansion plans are in the works for Magic Kingdom. At that time WDW Imagineering Portfolio head Chris Beatty and Walt Disney Animation head Jennifer Lee joined Josh D'Amaro on some blue sky dreaming of what might happen in the Magic Kingdom. Since then a big change came with a new CEO to Disney. With that came even more...

In this special Disney Insights podcast, we review what was shared Monday, April 17th in a News Conference Governor Ron DeSantis held at The Reedy Creek Improvement District Headquarters in Lake Buena Vista. Many sound bites were shared during this conference, but we take a look at the details of the conference and how the governor is firing back at Disney. And we'll look at the implications to yo...

This week we bring back to you an interview we did with Tom Morris back in 2019. This segment showcases not only Tom's work with Disneyland Paris, but that of his colleagues during that time. It's a perfect piece to return to as we continue our Disneyland Paris series on each of the themed lands of this park. While references occur to Disney at Work and Disney at Play, we do bring to you many of t...

My friend Brian went to Disney's Typhoon Lagoon only to find it was closed for capacity during Easter weekend. What happened? By sharing a chronology of nine different water park experiences here in Orlando, we'll offer you context on what is occurring in the very competitive water park arena here in Central Florida. We'll also examine certain red flags that are on the horizon not just for water p...

It may be Paris, but somehow Disney has managed to bring the jungle to the City of Love. In this podcast we bring you Disneyland Paris's Adventureland. This land begins with the streets of Agrabbah, only Disney's Aladdin wasn't even a hit film until after the attraction was designed, constructed and opened. While adjoining Frontierland has no Tom Sawyer Island, this land offers an Adventure Isle o...

On April 3rd, The Walt Disney Company held its 2023 Shareholder Meeting. This meeting included recorded and live portions, to include a question and answer session. We look at the highlights of that presentation and what it means for Disney moving forward. Difficult issues were put forward and more than just responding to them, Bob Iger as CEO set a tone for the shareholder meeting in a way that w...

There are many things happening across Disney these last few days and possibly bigger events in the days to come, so before things move on it's time to acknowledge the news about what is happening in this year's International Flower & Garden Festival at Epcot in Walt Disney World. It's been happening for a couple of weeks now, but we wanted to do a more thorough review and offer insights for visit...

After what has perhaps been the longest wait for an announced restaurant, Roundup Rodeo Barbecue has finally opened in Toy Story Land at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World. What is this restaurant all about and is it worth dining at? We look at the setting, the food and the service. And at the end we compare it to other barbecue offerings around Walt Disney World and even beyond. We e...

Welcome to what is the first podcast under our new title, Disney Insights. Since there are so many new listeners, I decided that I wanted to bring my most popular podcast back for this, our first Disney Insights podcast. It will reference both Disney at Play and Disney at Work, but that's okay because Disney Insights builds on the previous podcasts and posts we have done over the years. This parti...

Last week as part of the press event for Tron, details-sparsely given-were provided on Epcot Celebration and construction at the heart of Epcot that never seems to end. Given an important image made public a few years ago, we seek to explain why this section of Epcot is going to become what it is. It also will help us to understand why the uniquely designed Festival Pavilion never got built and wh...

Howdy! Welcome as we continue our series on Disneyland Paris with a left turn into Frontierland. The French love the American West and Disney delivered a version that is truly over the top. Here you get favorites like Big Thunder Mountain, but you also get Disney's version of the Haunted Mansion, known as Phantom Manor. The Rivers of the American West offers an impressive experience. And this is t...

This past week Disney Legend Rolly Crump passed away after having a unique career helping to build such memorable attractions as The Enchanted Tiki Room and "it's a small world". One of his first assignments was remodeling the Adventureland Bazaar. We share that story and its messages around trust. And then we head to two separate Emporiums across the globe--one at Walt Disney World and the other...

We begin a multi-part series that looks at the amazing details around Disneyland Paris. Today we begin at Fantasia Gardens and the Disneyland Hotel in the front of the park. We then step down the left side of Main Street U.S.A., which seems on the surface very similar to Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. But we'll look at details you'll never see in Florida as we peel back the layers to this fan...

Journey Into Imagination has been one of the most visited, mentioned, and missed Epcot attractions since it opened 40 years ago this week. We look at what this entire corner of the park was really all about and specifically what the attraction Journey Into Imagination really was. Because the original attraction was significantly gutted and changed back in 1999, many guests simply don't know what t...

Taking photos and making memories through them are such a big part of the Disney experience, no matter which Disney resort you may visit. And yet we've never really taken the time to discuss how to best capture the magic through photos. So today I have the privilege of Ryan Crane joining us to share his insights on just that. If you are like me, you're always looking for that ideal way of capturin...

Yesterday, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law legislation that puts the State of Florida in charge of a reconstituted body known The Reedy Creek Improvement District. Positioned at a firehouse down the way from Disney Springs, the governor put into law this legislation. It occurs on the same day his new book came out, The Courage to Be Free, Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival. Now called...

Let's walk around the World! It may be the annual Walt Disney World Princess Marathon this weekend but don't worry if you've missed it! Don't even worry if you don't run! In one day you can do a thirty mile walking marathon that covers not only all four Disney Parks: Magic Kingdom, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios--but Walt Disney World Resorts and Disney Springs. My f...

We have entered into a new portal of Disney magic and we want to invite you to learn all about it. Join me, my daughter Jennica and my son-in-law Jason as we share with you our first impressions of experiencing TRON for the first time here at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. We'll look at the queue, the ride and the challenges of embracing this new high octane thrill ride that goes up to 60...

Last week we spoke of the first quarter earnings and the strategies Bob Iger has put in place for revitalizing The Walt Disney Company. One of those opportunities is to build capacity in the parks. To that end he announced the addition of an Avatar experience at Disneyland, with the intent that it would not only create greater capacity thus allowing more guests to visit, but would draw more intere...

In the 1st Quarter earnings report for 2023 Bob Iger shared the status of the Walt Disney Company and made a startling announcement: An Avatar experience is coming to Disneyland! We will look at how this could happen and what it could mean? Where could you put this? There is a way! We'll also look at other announcements made in this event and what it means to those who love to visit Disney Parks a...

In previous podcasts I've shared not only my love of all things Disney but a largely wonderful experience I had being a part of the Walt Disney World Company. For me, working at Disney was the best thing that ever happened to my career. But leaving Disney was the second best thing I ever did in my career. This is that story of how I left and how I eventually learned the business of consulting and...

I've spent several decades having a date night with my wife once a week. Every year we share with all of you the latest and greatest at each of the annual Epcot Festivals. Rather than just go through the motions of sharing the latest and greatest differences in the most recent festival, I thought I would talk about how to make a date night really special for you and the one closest to you. Much of...

In previous episodes we spoke of my life long love of Disney and how it eventually led me to an opportunity to work with The Walt Disney Company, first as a consultant, and then as a leader with Disney University Professional Development Programs, a group that later became part of, and then took over The Disney Institute. In a previous podcast I spoke of that merger, and how I was also responsible...

With Disneyland's kickoff of the 100 years of Wonder celebration this weekend, we have the opportunity to pause for just a moment to see if events that have unfolded over a century's worth of time aren't happening again in some form or another. We'll look at three such issues, which focuses on competition, Cast Member buy-in and wolves on Wall Street. We'll also look at how Disney needs to grasp i...