The Park Hopper Society - A Disney World Podcast

Happy birthday America! We celebrate America’s 250th by exploring how Disney has honored the United States throughout its history, from Walt’s patriotic ideals to theme-park tributes. From Walt's own service as an ambulance driver, to supporting the World War II effort, to today's Flag Retreat Ceremony and more, we look at the more patriotic side of Disney.  Plus we bring back one of our favorite...

This episode we do a deep dive into one of our all time favorite movies, The Lion King. We talk about our own personal memories of seeing this in theaters as kids, go through the history of its creation, and discuss its legacy and impact since then. This is our first Movie Night episode but we are planning to do more of these in the future. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment wherever...

It's our one-year anniversary episode and we decided to celebrate by complaining! We talk about the things that irk us at Disney and rate them on our extremely scientific bothersome scale. Let us know what we got right, what we got wrong, and whether or not we're the passholes. We also look back over the last year and talk about what we've learned, what our favorite episodes and segments have been...

This is the audio from our June 17, 2026 After Hours Social Livestream. We do these about once a month on Facebook and YouTube. It’s a more open ended relaxed discussion and we answer your questions in real time! Make sure to check our socials so you’ll be able to hang out with us next time! This time we talk about Disney's recently announced transportation restrictions from Disney Springs and we...

We dive into the history and legacy of Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, the upcoming overhaul that replaces every scene (and adds a Walt animatronic), and the tension between preserving Walt’s connection and modernizing the show. We also discuss our upcoming True Life Adventure when we'll be doing a one-day trip to Disney World to ride the new Smuggler's Run and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, say goo...

This episode we tackle the always appropriate question about Disney, how to deal with the heat. The summer brings hot weather, thunderstorms, and new experiences. We dive into all of those as we discuss how to beat the heat and more new experiences coming this summer. From Bluey to Grogu, Jess to Olaf, and everything in between we preview what's coming and give some of our early thoughts and opini...

This is the audio from our May 17, 2026 After Hours Social Livestream. We do these about once a month on Facebook and YouTube. It’s a more open ended relaxed discussion and we answer your questions in real time! Make sure to check our socials so you’ll be able to hang out with us next time! This time we talk about upcoming ride re-openings, favorite resorts and Disney Springs restaurants, our best...

We discuss our recent trip down to Disney World where we rode the new versions of Big Thunder Mountain and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, tried almost everything at Epcot's International Flower and Garden Festival, and experienced the madness that was May 4th at Hollywood Studios. We recap our experiences, give our opinions, and forget what promises we have made mid episode. Let us know what...

We are joined once again by the Masked Maniac himself Frankie Goodman! We talk life, Disney, restaurants, the Junkies group, bathrooms, and a whole lot more. As always you do not want to miss this, because you never know where the conversation is headed next with Frank!

This is the audio from our April 16, 2026 After Hours Social Livestream. We do these about once a month on Facebook and YouTube. It’s a more open ended relaxed discussion and we answer your questions in real time! Make sure to check our socials so you’ll be able to hang out with us next time! This time we recap the D23 ticket debacle, discuss Disney World news including the Muppets retheme of Rock...

Is there really such a thing as a Disney Tax? Are you actually paying a premium for Disney World just because of the name and the mouse? We decided to dive into the numbers and find out. We compared the cost of everything from tickets, to resorts, even to parking between 5 different theme parks (2 Disney, 2 Universal, and 1 that's near and dear to us), and the results were actually a little surpri...

Step into the Park Tank as we read some of your best pitches to change, modify, and add to Disney World. We took our favorite listener submitted ideas ranging from retheming parts of Animal Kingdom to an entirely new hotel concept, and voted whether we would be in or out. Of course we offer up some of our own ideas as well. Plus, we finally get around to playing Pass or Stay with the deluxe resort...

This is the audio from our March 23, 2026 After Hours Social Livestream. We do these about once a month on Facebook and YouTube. It’s a more open ended relaxed discussion and we answer your questions in real time! Make sure to check our socials so you’ll be able to hang out with us next time! This time we hang out and recap a seven-day Disney trip full of new experiences — Festival of the Lion Kin...

We discuss the history of Disney CEO's starting with Walt and going through Bob Iger (twice), exploring each man's impact on the company's parks, films, and business strategy. Will Josh D'Amaro be a steady hand like Don Tatum? Or will he usher in a new Disney Renaissance like Michael Eisner?

We are joined by friend of the podcast (and friend in real life) Dave to discuss what Disney was like from the very beginning. Dave started working at Disney in 1975 as a bartender before joining Disney University and helping to write training programs for all sorts of roles throughout Walt Disney World. This was a really cool interview, and if you like imagining what a day in the park was like ba...

We discuss the similarities and differences between Disney World and Disneyland. From comparing rides and food, to the "Disney Bubble" or lack thereof, to resort offerings, and more, we dive deep into both destinations and give you our thoughts and opinions. Plus, in honor of President's Day here in the US we talk about the history and evolution of The Hall of Presidents. We learn some interesting...

What if Walt hadn't died? We discuss the evolution of Disney parks under Walt from his original idea as he watched his girls play at Griffith Park, through the construction and opening of Disneyland, to the land acquisition and unveiling of The Florida Project and ask ourselves: what would Walt think of Disney World today? We also play Sail, Float, Sink to decide which classic Disney attraction we...

We've seen the meme that it's cheaper to go to Disneyland Tokyo than it is to go to Disney World, but is it really? We put that to the test  by comparing three realistic family trips across parks worldwide. We look at hotel, park tickets, and even food prices as well as flights from 4 different cities in the US. We also preview the booth menus for the 2026 Festival of the Arts (which we very matur...

We take a look at major 2026 additions and refurbishments for Disney worldwide, and debate which international parks are our number one pick to visit this year.   We also share our opinions on the best times to visit Walt Disney World in 2026 — covering festivals, crowds, weather, and price to make the most of your trip.

We make our Disney Christmas Wish Lists. From the mundane, to the unlikely, to the unhinged we list the things we hope and wish could happen at Disney. We hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season!

We discuss the history of Lightning Lane at Disney World. From the early days of paying for individual rides, through ticket books, Fast Pass, Genie+, to today's Lightning Lane we discuss how things have changed and what we think of the current version. We also take a look at the 2025 Festival of the Holidays food menus.

We are joined by the one and only Frankie Goodman! We talk Disney, the history of the Disney World Junkies Facebook group, and so much more. You never know what exactly you're getting with Frankie but you always know it's going to be entertaining! He was an incredible guest and we had an absolute blast talking to him.

We talk about what we're thankful for at Disney, and we talk about what we'd change if we could be CEO for a day. Plus we ask the question: Do the seasons change too early at Disney? 

To celebrate our 13th episode and Halloween being almost here we discuss the scariest day you can have at Disney. Including things like getting sunburnt on a 40 degree rainy day. We also attempt to rank our 3 scariest rides at Disney but end up just talking about past, present, and future rides at Disney that could be scary.

We discuss the recently announced price increases at Disney and do a little historical research to try to provide some context. We also play Pass or Stay with the moderate resorts and the Cabins at Fort Wilderness (which on this day were listed as a moderate on the Disney website for some reason).