Tall Guy Talks Travel with Rick Dougherty

Kylie from I Like Travel and Movies moved from Delaware to Spain and then to Ireland.  She produces great Instagram content that highlights under-the-radar travel locations in Ireland.  Kylie is Rick's guest on the podcast this week.

In honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States, Sarah Says will join Rick on today's episode of the podcast to talk about Disney's failed attempt at a patriotic theme park.  Disney's America was Michael Eisner's counter to Colonial Williamsburg.  There were some odd decisions in the concept art, but the theme park never saw the light of day after intense protests from historians.

In this week's episode, Rick and Maz continue their conversation about the 1996 animated Disney movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the film, the two do a deep dive into how the themes of the film resonate today.  

Rick and Maz will spend the next two episodes of the podcast talking about the 1996 Disney Renaissance classic The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  This movie is an underrated but flawed offering during one of the most successful runs in Disney Animation history.  

 Jeff Galloway was an inspiration to literally thousands of members of the runDisney community.  Earlier this year, Galloway passed away at the age of 80.  Natalie from the Stride Sisters Podcast will be Rick's guest on the show this week to talk about Galloway's impact. 

In the last four years, Alicia Stella and Orlando Park Stop have raised over $100,000 for the Trevor Project.  The June fundraiser is back in 2026 and Alicia joins Rick on the podcast to talk about the importance of helping the LGBTQIA+ community now more than ever.  She also talks about Epic Universe in honor of the park's one-year anniversary.

With the introduction of Original Trilogy characters to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland, it brings up the question as to whether Disney recognizes that the land has grown stale over the past seven years.  Rick and Maz discuss whether that is the case in this week's episode of the podcast.

Just a few months before Walt's death, Disney released a now-forgotten live-action film that never caught on with the public.  "The Fighting Prince of Donegal" is another attempt to tell an historical story.  In this week's episode, Rick discusses the movie which can be really hard to find if you don't have an old VHS copy.  

 In March, Bob Iger stepped down from the top-spot in the Walt Disney Company for a second time.  In today's episode, Rick and Maz continue to discuss Iger's second stint in charge of the company, and the many mistakes he made in that time.

In March, Bob Iger stepped down from the top-spot in the Walt Disney Company for a second time.  In today's episode, Rick and Maz discuss Iger's second stint in charge of the company, and the many mistakes he made in that time.

After losing her husband and being diagnosed with cancer, Jill Siegal Chalsty dedicated herself to traveling with purpose.  She will talk about her journeys with Rick, and she will give advice for how to get out and enjoy your limited time on this planet.

With Bob Iger stepping away from his role as CEO of the Walt Disney Company last month, it is time to look at one of his biggest legacies on the company...Disney+.  Rick is joined by Sarah Says today to discuss whether Disney+ has been a positive or negative for Disney.

Rick wraps up his three-part series on the Disney Renaissance.  Today, he covers the last four Disney animated movies of the 1990s.    

With all of the fuss about Bob Iger leaving his job as CEO of the Walt Disney Company and handing things over to Josh D'Amaro, the announcement that Kathleen Kennedy was leaving the top-spot at Lucasfilm was overshadowed.  In this episode, Rick and Maz continue their conversation from last week in which they discuss the positives and negatives of Kennedy's term in charge of Star Wars.

With all of the fuss about Bob Iger leaving his job as CEO of the Walt Disney Company and handing things over to Josh D'Amaro, the announcement that Kathleen Kennedy was leaving the top-spot at Lucasfilm was overshadowed.  In the next two episodes, Rick and Maz discuss Kennedy's tenure in charge of Star Wars.

A small town built around a chocolate factory has turned into a huge tourist destination.  That transformation exists because Hersheypark decided to change from an amusement park into a theme park.  Partially copying the Disney model, Hersheypark has become a place for fans of roller coasters and sweet treats to visit; transforming the area surrounding it.

Josh D'Amaro has taken over as the CEO of the Walt Disney Company.  Rick and Sarah Says will talk about D'Amaro's resume and what they expect him to do down the road for Disney.

Rick and Maz talk about how Disney's theming has been overshadowed by convoluted new policies and the desire to "keep up with the Joneses" on social media.

With another new Frozen-themed land set to open in France later this month and at least two more sequels on the horizon, it is beginning to look like the company can't survive without the franchise that started in 2013.  In today's episode, Rick and Sarah Says talk about how reliant Disney has become on Frozen, and how it got to this point.  

Disney is starting to send out surveys to guests asking about how they would feel about The Simpsons being incorporated into the theme parks.  Of course, Universal currently has the theme park rights to the intellectual property, but that might change soon.  Rick and Gillian talk about The Simpsons this week, and what they think might happen in the future.

On Monday, Michael Eisner's interview with Graham Bensinger went live.  In that conversation, Eisner discussed topics from Jimmy Kimmel to Donald Trump to Steve Jobs to Harvey Weinstein.  In today's episode, Rick discusses the various topics discussed while adding extra context.  

This week, Sarah Says and Rick continue their conversation from last week about the Hamilton musical on Disney+.  With the 250th anniversary of the United States coming up this year, we are talking about the historical figures being portrayed in the musical.

On our fifth anniversary of the podcast, Sarah Says and Rick start a two-episode conversation about the musical Hamilton.  

Rick and Maz discuss whether or not the changes that have happened and are coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom have or will fundamentally change the original theming of the park.

Over the course of the past two years, Disney has drastically changed its policies and practices for disabled guests.  Many of these changes have hurt disabled Disney fans in dramatic ways.  The DAS Defenders are trying to work to return these policies to the previous incarnation.  The organization also wants to help disabled theme park fans find a community of those who are dealing with disabilit...