The Disney Dish with Jim Hill

Disneyland did not begin with a castle, a monorail, or even a piece of land in Anaheim. Jim Hill and Len Testa trace the origins of Disneyland from Walt Disney’s financial struggles after Snow White, through World War II, television, and his early plans for a small “Mickey Mouse Park” near the Disney studio. They also explore how ABC helped finance the project, why Burbank rejected Walt’s original...

This episode is built around the history of runDisney and the Walt Disney World Marathon, tracing how Disney transformed a January hotel-occupancy strategy into one of the company’s most successful destination sporting events. Jim Hill explains how the first Walt Disney World Marathon came together in 1994, while Len Testa shares stories from years of running Disney races himself. Along the way, t...

Jim Hill and Len Testa explore one of the biggest "what if" questions in Disney history: what might have happened if Walt Disney had lived another five years. Jim looks at Walt's declining health, the projects still on his desk when he died in 1966, and how his personality and ability to win support often determined whether ambitious ideas moved forward. From the proposed Mineral King ski resort a...

Jim Hill and Len Testa trace the surprisingly important history of golf at Walt Disney World, beginning with Walt Disney's original plans for a destination resort that offered far more than theme parks. Jim explains how Disney developed the Magnolia, Palm, and Lake Buena Vista golf courses, why Card Walker pushed so aggressively to make golf part of the resort experience, and how the Walt Disney W...

Jim Hill and Len Testa look behind the scenes at how Walt Disney World handles one of the less glamorous realities of nightly fireworks: fire risk. Starting with the 2014 fire atop Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Jim explains the Magic Kingdom's rooftop sprinkler systems, backstage fire-suppression procedures, and the precautions Disney takes before and after Wishes. The conversation then reaches back to...

Jim Hill and Len Testa tell the surprising story of the Disney Wilderness Preserve and how a tract of protected Florida wetlands helped unlock Walt Disney World's biggest era of expansion. Jim traces Disney's environmental commitments back to Walt's original land purchases, then explains how development plans in Osceola County collided with growing conservation concerns in the late 1980s and early...

Jim Hill and Len Testa examine the major transformation beginning at Disney's Hollywood Studios as Disney prepares to move away from the park's original working-studio concept. With the Studio Backlot Tour, American Idol Experience, and American Film Institute showcase closing, Jim explains how Disney could use the newly available space for a much larger mix of Pixar and Star Wars attractions. The...

Jim Hill and Len Testa examine a major shift in live entertainment at Walt Disney World, including the announced departures of Off Kilter, Mo'Rockin, the World Showcase Players, and the Spirit of America Fife & Drum Corps from EPCOT. They explain how Disney evaluates live performers, the role of Actors' Equity in the parks, and why character experiences, seasonal events, and high-profile entertain...

Jim Hill and Len Testa trace the history of Disney Vacation Club from Old Key West and BoardWalk Villas through Disney's experiments with off-site resorts, abandoned projects, and the growing strategy of converting existing Walt Disney World hotel inventory into DVC. They examine plans and rumors involving the Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge, Yacht and Beach Club, Caribbean Beach Resort, and even the...

Jim Hill and Len Testa look ahead at Walt Disney World's next major wave of development, with Disney's Hollywood Studios emerging as the resort's biggest long-term project. Jim explains why Disney was preparing to move away from the park's original movie-studio concept, how Star Wars could reshape the area around Echo Lake and Star Tours, and why smaller family attractions would be just as importa...

Jim Hill and Len Testa go international with a look at two major theme park projects changing expectations for immersive attractions. Jim breaks down Ratatouille at Walt Disney Studios Paris, from its trackless ride system and massive 3D projection environments to the rat-sized restaurant guests encounter at the end, then shifts to Universal Orlando's Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express. Along t...

Jim Hill and Len Testa take a detailed look inside the Leaky Cauldron at Universal Orlando's Diagon Alley, with Jim reporting from a special menu tasting and walkthrough. They explore how Universal built the restaurant around authentic British pub food and Harry Potter references, from Scotch eggs, fish and chips, cottage pie, and bangers to Gilly Water, wizarding ales, and book-inspired beverages...

Jim Hill and Len Testa dig into the new stories being prepared for the 2015 edition of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, starting with behind-the-scenes tales from the Magic Kingdom. Jim explores possible changes to Pirates of the Caribbean, how Frozen reshaped the Festival of Fantasy Parade, and the Imagineering technology behind Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. They also uncover abandoned plans...

Jim Hill and Len Testa go inside the development of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, the centerpiece attraction of Walt Disney World's New Fantasyland expansion. Jim explains how the coaster grew out of earlier plans for the land, why Disney ultimately replaced elaborate princess meet-and-greet concepts with a family thrill ride, and how construction challenges stretched the project across several years....

Jim Hill and Len Testa take an early look at Universal Orlando's Hogwarts Express, the ambitious Harry Potter attraction connecting Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure with King's Cross Station at Universal Studios Florida. Jim explains how Universal Creative designed the experience to function as both transportation and attraction, complete with Platform 9¾, authentic train details, immersive speci...

Jim Hill and Len Testa trace the surprising history of one Tomorrowland attraction space at Walt Disney World, from Flight to the Moon and Mission to Mars through the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter and Stitch's Great Escape. Jim explains how changing ideas about the future repeatedly forced Disney Imagineers to reinvent the attraction, why Alien Encounter proved too intense for many Magic King...

Jim Hill is reporting from Orlando after getting a rare construction-site walkthrough of Universal Studios Florida’s new Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley. Jim takes Len Testa through the land shop by shop, from the Leaky Cauldron and Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to Knockturn Alley, Gringotts, and the massive new Ollivanders. They also dig into the Hogwarts Express, King's Cross Station,...

Jim Hill and Len Testa trace the history of Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland Theater, the building now home to Mickey’s PhilharMagic. They explore its beginnings as the ambitious Mickey Mouse Revue, its later transformation into Magic Journeys and Legend of the Lion King, and the technical challenges behind each production. Jim also explains how Mickey’s PhilharMagic helped Disney convert its classic a...

Jim Hill and Len Testa continue their history of the holidays at Walt Disney World with a look at Christmas celebrations at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, along with the resort’s early New Year’s Eve traditions. They trace the origins of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, explain Disney’s short-lived experiment with Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons, and...

Jim Hill and Len Testa continue their history of Christmas at the Disney theme parks, beginning with the years after Walt Disney’s death and the opening of Walt Disney World. They explain how Disney transformed a once-quiet holiday period into a major attendance season through Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, attraction overlays, special entertainment, and increasingly elaborate decorations. T...

Disneyland did not begin with an elaborate holiday spectacular. Jim Hill and Len Testa trace how Walt Disney and his team gradually transformed Christmas at Disneyland from a modest seasonal experiment into a growing park tradition. Along the way, they revisit the short-lived Mickey Mouse Club Circus, Disneyland’s first carolers, the birth of the Candlelight Processional, homemade holiday parades,...

Recorded live on Disney's Castaway Cay, Jim talks about the Disney Dream and the future of the Disney Cruise Line.creditsreleased November 26, 2013Audio: Len Testa with Jim HillEdited by: Len Testa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recorded live on Disney's Castaway Cay, Jim talks about how Disney got into the cruise business.creditsreleased November 1, 2013Audio: Len Testa with Jim HillEdited by: Len Testa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Released on Friday the 13th! Jim and Len swap ghost stories around a campfire at Fort Wilderness, and Jim recounts the history of Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.creditsreleased September 13, 2013Audio: Len Testa with Jim HillEdited by: Len Testa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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