27. Park Pulse: Summer 2026 at Disney World

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[00:00:57] Coming up, we're checking the pulse of the park for summer 2026. Highlighting all of the changes and updates you can experience starting this summer at cool kids summer and beyond for Walt Disney World. There are so many changes to keep up with. It's hard for us to even keep track sometimes. And spoiler alert, we forgot to mention H20 glow nights at Typhoon Lagoon. And all of the amazing changes, updates and things you can experience that is one we even forgot ourselves. So Disney World is a place

[00:01:26] to be this summer. We're going to talk about why break it down and even rank some of the new experiences. I thought the whole area was very charming. You walk back there now, you see the sorcerer Mickey hat. You're going to be meeting characters in the courtyard. They had Donald there while I was hanging out there. Goofy was on the other side. There's a lot happening there now. Hey there, everyone. Welcome to another episode of the Moms Behind the Magic. I am your host,

[00:01:56] Allie. I'm here today with Katie and Carla. We are checking in on the parks, keeping you up to date with everything you need to know. I'm really excited about this episode because I feel like with Disney, no matter how much we keep our M&Ms updated and informed, the very next day, something can change. Case in point, Bluey is a virtual queue. And then, hey, by the way, a week later, Bluey is a standby queue. And so it's very difficult to keep up. So we're going to start

[00:02:24] taking the pulse of the park. We're calling this our park pulse. We're going to keep doing it quarterly, keep you updated. What's changing? What's new? What can you expect that's going to be new? And really lay it out for you in a way that you need to know what is a priority in the new things, right? Because when something is new, we feel like it's a priority no matter what. But before we dive in, y'all, it is 70 degree summer here. It's like cold when the sun goes

[00:02:52] behind the cloud. We're chilly. And I was laughing because when we started, Carla was like my I said, your bangs are banging. And she was like, until I go outside. And I was like, oh, it's probably so hot and humid there. And here I'm wearing sweatshirt. I was like, why are you bragging, Allie? Yeah, for real. My thermostat is set to like 71 or 72 in our house. But by the end of the day, it cannot keep up. It is 77 degrees inside my house at the end of

[00:03:20] the night. And we're all like dying to have our fans on. And it's way too hot. We don't even have our air on right now. That's disgusting. It must be so nice. I do turn off my air during the day. And being home for summer, I don't think that that's going to work out so well. Because I turn it up to 80. And it gets up to 80, 81 degrees in here. Yeah. And with the kids home, they're like, Mom, it's so hot. And there goes my electric bill.

[00:03:48] I like to keep all of our doors open. So I will turn our air off just so I can keep the doors open and have like fresh air blowing through. I love that very, very much. Speaking of electric bills, y'all don't have pool heaters in Florida, do you? I have a pool heater. We do. Yeah. Really? I have propane tanks. So whenever I put on the spa, Matt tells me I'm taking a $60 bath because it just blows through the propane. That's hilarious.

[00:04:15] Ah, so you do have pool heaters. Well, I mean, our pools are open year round, even in the winter for a lot of people. Right. So of course we still need a pool heater. Well, and I guess we always talk about how the pools at Disney are heated. Yeah. And that's true. So interesting. Yeah. Yeah. We have ours cranked up because we want to use, our pool is an open year round. We talk about this a lot, right? We only get a few months of pool weather and so we want to use it. And so we have to crank the heater up because

[00:04:45] otherwise we're not, we have a pool that we don't get to use at all. People in my HOA are cranky because we have two pools. We have a lap pool and then like a family pool and they did not install heaters for either pool. And they're like, why did we pay all this money for these pools? And they don't have heaters. I would be pretty ticked off about that too. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That seems silly. We tried to have family pool day yesterday because it's summer and you know, you feel that mom guilt of trying to do all the things.

[00:05:12] And we were just, okay, we'll do a family pool day. But I was covered with like a towel by the poolside. It was kind of silly. How is week one of summer going for everybody? Everybody's surviving. Everybody's still happy. It's summer. You know what? Check in with me week two of summer. We are still at dance. We're still, we haven't finished our season yet. And so half of our day is still spent at the studio. We're still working late. Our recital is mid June. I couldn't look, but I don't know when this is scheduled to come out. So by the time people are hearing this,

[00:05:41] we might be done, but, but at this time that we're recording it, we're not done. So our life isn't just upended yet. That happens in a week. I'm anxious about that. It won't be until the third week of summer that we start getting into a routine here. So Bella's doing like a summer reading camp before she heads into fourth grade. And I'm going to have just the younger two for half a day, like Monday through Thursdays. So at that point, we'll establish routine, but for right now it's the wild, wild west.

[00:06:09] Yeah. Carla, you can relate to this because I don't think, I mean, we're kind of past the age where we need routine in that way. And so we don't have a summer routine. I actually, that's my favorite part about summer is everybody can sleep whenever they want. If we're at a friend's house, we can stay super late. It doesn't matter. You know, I'll go to bed and my kids will still be up. And I'll just be like, please go to bed soon. I agree with that. But I also don't,

[00:06:33] because if I don't give my kids a routine at all, or some sort of ballot, like if my kids just have a free for all day, which technically they could, they would just be on their TV and tablets and phones just all day. And there goes their brains for next year. Right? So we are, my daughter loves organization and she writes herself out a list and she's like, I'm going to wake up and I'm going to drink water and then I'm going to take Maverick for a walk. And then I'm going to take a shower

[00:07:02] and then I'm going to work out. And I'm like, you might want to adjust some of those things on your schedule. So they make a little more sense. Like don't take a shower before you work out, maybe work out and then take a shower, things like that. But also Liam's really liking cooking right now. So once a week, he's going to be cooking dinner for the family. And Monday night he cooked us dinner. He cooked us smash burgers and they were actually really delicious. So I'm like,

[00:07:27] that's so fun. Maybe once a week, London could clean the house. Yeah, we can get some stuff done. I'm a little past the, we need the red, the rigid routine, like Katie still needs with her littles, but I'm not quite to where you said where they'd be on their devices all day. They don't even have, my kids don't have phones and they have limited tablet time. Like we don't, they don't have a free for all with their iPads. I don't have them with them most of the time. And so I'm not in that space

[00:07:57] cooking and making these delicious smash burgers. I'm sure he did it on his own. That is, I look forward to that. So when people are so sad that their little kids grow up, I'm like, give me my teenage son cooking me dinner over me needing to regimen bedtime, even in the summer, like literally any day. Yeah. I look forward to that too. My kids are much further from the teenage years, but that said, hearing how London like organizes her entire day and she knows everything that she wants to do.

[00:08:24] I'm like, man, I want to be like London when I grew up. I think at the end of the day, they don't want to be bored either. And just, you know, scrolling on their phone is that gets boring after a while. Just trying to find little, little ways to keep them busy. That also help us out in the house. Right. My kids, when I say we have no routine, I mean, my kids are, my girls are still at dance. They're still actively dancing four days a week. Uh, and my son is doing this thing called the

[00:08:50] stack program. So he's there now 8 AM, three days a week. And it's basically a sports. Yes. And it's all through June, July at 8 AM, three days a week. And so they're learning about nutrition, protein packed snacks. They're working on stamina, strength, endurance. And so, because he's, you know, he's playing three sports and so he needs that. So they're still doing, you know, they're for their age. That's their activities are what you are still having to set an alarm. It sounds

[00:09:17] like three days a week. Although you guys probably do this too, in your families, although it, the dynamic might be a little bit different just because with Zan and I, we work together. So our schedules are pretty mirrored. So there are certain responsibilities that I would say are mine and certain that are hers, right? I do school pickup every single day. Are we both available for it? Yes. But it's just kind of one of those things I do, right? Like I typically do the dentist. There are things that she will typically do. I've kind of given her stack,

[00:09:46] kind of been like, I mean, I will take him, but it's kind of become her thing to take him to. So anyway, we still have to set that alarm, but I am liking summer so far to, to long-winded answer your question, Carla, but talk to me when our dance season ends and things really become a free fall. Yeah. Talk to me three weeks. I did go to the grocery store the other day. I think it was on Monday. It's either Sunday or Monday. And there was like eight bags of chips. And I was like, nothing says summer, like eight bags of chips. Oh my gosh. The amount that we are

[00:10:15] instantly spending more in groceries is like, help us. Groceries and air condition for me. Yeah. This week on our first week of summer, and I'll just leave it here because I'm sure I'll talk about this a ton on the podcast, but I did book Ben and I a flight to Europe. Okay. And I've never been to Europe. I've never been abroad, believe it or not. And so I did book a flight and I'll, I'll talk about what we're doing, where we're going a lot probably in the next couple of months,

[00:10:43] because the trip is a bit away, but I did book our flight this week. And so I'm exciting. Something to look forward to for this year, for next year, obviously for this year, it is this year. Yeah, it is this year. So I'll talk about that more a bunch, but I did get the ticket. So I'm very excited. All right. We're going to talk about the park pulse. It's summer 2026 at Walt Disney world. On the other side. This episode of moms behind the magic is brought

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[00:12:55] babyquip.com code magic pack light, travel happy. All right. We wanted to keep Eminem's all of you listeners informed on updates and changes as they happen quarterly at the parks in Walt Disney world. This is park based primarily. I'd imagine if there are huge resort updates going forward on these park pulses. We can touch on that just because change is really the goal here, but this is a park focused

[00:13:20] episode. This is park information forward. We want you to know what to expect in the parks. And as you are listening to this, it's mid June, summer is in full swing at Walt Disney world. There's still time to plan a last minute trip. And sometimes those are the most fun. And if you already have an upcoming trip, this is important information that you're going to need to know. As we do on this podcast, we wanted it to be done in a fun way. So for Eminem's that don't know, and I did a little bit more research to this because I actually first learned this on the keys to the kingdom tour that

[00:13:50] they do at magic kingdom. They explain this, they talk about it. They even show you some ticket booths before 1982. So this went from opening to the early eighties. Disney guests did not just get to walk up to a ride and ride it. They needed a ticket book or a, just a ride ticket and attraction ticket. And primarily that was sold in a book. Right. And they came with lettered coupons that were labeled

[00:14:14] a through E and every attraction had a ticket tier, which might be the inspiration for the tier system that we use for lightning lane today. And with how confused we all get sometimes with lightning lanes and tears and how they change, and it's all digital. And we have information at our fingertips. I bet the ticket booklet was maybe really confusing for some people back then when they're before the digital era and before chat GPT, where you could just be like, what, what does this mean? Right.

[00:14:42] But the way that it worked was that the scale was a to E with a being the lowest, which I think is weird. Yeah. That's counterintuitive. Yes. And E being the drop everything you must do it. So E ticket is the must do and a is the acknowledgement, right? And then everything in between. So a is kind of the small stuff. When the ticket system was being used, that was horse drawn trolleys on Main Street,

[00:15:11] the flower market, things like that. No one's rushing to it. A B ticket is a bit of a step up. So back then the Swan boats, there was a Mickey Mouse review show, fun things, but forgettable. These things don't even exist at Disney anymore. See tickets were now we're talking type thing. This is really interesting that these were C's Dumbo, Mad Tea Party and Small World. The way they

[00:15:35] were looked at was worth doing, but not worth a sprint. Dumbo, that's surprising to me. In the early days of Disney, I would think Dumbo would be a much more of a priority. D was the good stuff. This is also shocking. Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, the Country Bear Jamboree, solid highlights, but not the must do. Things doesn't go in that category. Like one of those things doesn't fit. The Country Bear Jamboree. The Country Bear Jamboree is great. Shut up.

[00:16:03] I talked about loving it and not loving it, but liking it. I'm just reading that list. I'm like, that's great. That's great. Okay. Really? If anything, it's making me feel like whatever we give our ticket rankings today, it's like, it doesn't have to make sense. Because this didn't make sense. The E-Ticket was the golden standard. That was Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise, Big Thunder Mountain. The reason you came were those things. But I mean, I've also heard stories where on opening

[00:16:32] day, there was no Pirates of the Caribbean at Magic Kingdom, but there was at Disneyland and people were walking around actively looking for it, expecting it. So I've just, I'm surprised that's not an E-Ticket attraction. Anyway, we're going to give each updated and new Disney experience an A through E-Ticket ranking based on how much we love and appreciate the change in addition. And we can get it as weird as we want because the original list was weird. But we are rating them in

[00:16:56] four categories, rides and attractions, lands and areas, food and dining, and characters and entertainment, which is wild that there's this much new at Disney right now. My family is planning to come to Disney this summer for just a few nights and do one park day. And I'm like, we can't possibly do everything in one day. It's just not going to be, we're going to have to eliminate some things. With Cool Kids Summer, they offer so much in this time frame. And we're

[00:17:25] going to talk about Cool Kids Summer itself later in the episode, but they have just released so many new things. We've had new refurbishments going on. There are new offerings exclusively for summertime. There is just a lot going on. Yep. We're going to dive in because we have a lot of categories and I really want to make sure that we hit everything. And again, we're taking the pulse of the parks for summer, 2026. These are the new things. Some of these things are staying in. Some of these things

[00:17:52] are only here for a limited time. So pay attention because if you have a trip plan, you're going to want to know if this is something you're going to get to see, do an experience, or if it's going to be gone by the time you come. We're going to start with rides and attractions. And the very first one, which I am excited about, but I'm glad that it is only a limited time because I would hate for it to be the all the time option. For America celebrating its 250th anniversary, Epcot has replaced Soarin'

[00:18:20] Around the World. It opened May 26th and it is now Soarin' Across America. And it features 12 landscapes and cityscapes with the same kind of elements, the flights, the score, the sense, but new destinations, interactive National Geographic trivia has been added to the queue while you wait. And I think it's really exciting. I think it's really cool, especially to like a fun nod to

[00:18:44] celebrate the 250 years. I haven't done it yet. Katie, I know you have. I don't want spoilers. I don't know that spoilers are the angle to take to reveal what the 12 views are, but you can talk a little bit about if you liked it and you thought it was good choices. I don't think there's a way to talk about the new Soarin' that really would spoil it if I'm honest with you. I mean, there are some really iconic scenes that happen, which is cool, but obviously we want you to be able to see that.

[00:19:11] And so I'm not going to talk about those scenes. My favorite part of Soarin', one of my favorite things about it is how you don't know what's coming next and you just pop into a new space. And I think if you know what's coming, it kind of takes that element out of it. So 12 iconic images from within the US and I'm excited to find out what they are when I ride it. To your point, like we've been seeing the same scenes over and over and we still love the ride,

[00:19:34] right? Right. And we still, for some reason, run to it. Right. I'm super excited about just this new view and awesome that it's America. I'm always telling Matt, he's always like, what do you want to do for vacation? Where do you want to go? I'm like, we have so many places we haven't seen in America. So it's like, why would I jump on a plane overseas, especially when I could just go to Epcot, right? But also now that we can go to Soarin' and see all these different landmarks,

[00:20:02] I think I'm super excited about, I've always wondered why they don't do this more often, why they're not changing this up like every couple of years. And sure, we've seen, I think, the over California version. But we've seen this version that's been happening for years now, we've seen and we've come to know those scenes and those transitions. So I'm really looking forward to this change. Me too. I think it's awesome. And I agree with you, Disney has that ownership

[00:20:29] or partnership or whatever, you know, with National Geographic, I feel like acquiring and getting this footage and wouldn't be that difficult, right? So I think a change more often would be amazing. It's something I would love to see. I think this is a huge deal, having this change. And the fact that they have done the ride all the way, and Katie, you can say if this is true or not, but the way they've marketed it is sights, smells, transit, you know, that they've gone all the way

[00:20:55] with the remodel. So because of that, because they didn't cut any corners and we got something new, I think this is, this is an E ticket, right? This is a must. You got to do this. My, my inkling, my guess is that since this is to celebrate America's 250th, I mean, Disney celebrated it's that the 50th that we just had recently, they celebrated that for 18 months. So I'd imagine that they may celebrate this anniversary for, for an extended period. Um, especially since they put so much time, but this won't be permanent.

[00:21:25] Katie doesn't look like she likes it. Katie, did you like it? No, I, I actually, I really did like it. So, uh, I went on our podcast, Instagram stories, and I talked about it a little bit because at this point I've done almost everything that is new or recently refurbished. And I'll be honest, I was not looking forward to Soarin' Across America. I really love Soarin' Around the World. I did not want it to go away. I was like, I don't,

[00:21:51] I don't need this change happening right now. But, um, I really, in my heart was not looking forward to Soarin' Across America, but I was surprised that I went and I saw it and I had this sense of awe again, and it kind of renewed this desire to want to go see all of the beauty that is inside the United States. So I appreciated it from that perspective. If anybody can make me feel patriotic,

[00:22:21] it's the Disney Imagineers. So I thought that it was really good. I really, I appreciated it a lot more than I thought I would. I left with this sense of, I really do want to go travel the same way that Carla said. There's, there's so much to go enjoy in the United States. Why don't we go do it? Of all of the new offerings, I'm also going to say that it's e-ticket worthy. I just think Soarin' is such a popular ride anyway. And if they went all the way and you can see

[00:22:50] something so different, that's likely temporary. And again, that's just a guess. I think you got to go. Do you agree, Carla? For sure. I love that they kept the score, the, like the original Soarin' music that you're used to. I love that they kept that because that makes it feel more, you're prepared for this. Doesn't that feel like a spoiler? That's not, doesn't that feel like a spoiler? That's not a spoiler. Sounds like a spoiler to me. You literally said they kept the score. I thought a score. I thought it might be new music. I don't know. Well, there you go.

[00:23:18] If anybody doesn't know, spoilers are my least favorite thing in the world. It literally says same beloved elements, the flight, the score, even the sense. She didn't say that. That's just what Becky said. And I also thought it was different. Like, I thought it was just like the fact that they were using sense in us for, like, it was the same idea. Anyway, there's a talk about this on the pod, something big that happens at the end of the series for young Sheldon. And we watched it all school year with my oldest. And we were up to like the last three episodes. We had only,

[00:23:46] we had three to go and we were so excited. And I was saying that to a group of my dancers that I was standing with. And one of my dancers said, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Like I would never say it right now. It was the biggest spoiler ever. And I just looked at her like, what? What did you just do? I mean, she ruined it for me. I hate spoilers. My twins who are only eight years old. No, do not spoil anything for me. If you see a show or a movie before me, don't do it. I hate it.

[00:24:14] Okay. Well, I'm done being rigged across the coals now for saying the exact same thing that was in the outline. I'm just saying that there might be listeners. They hate spoilers too. Okay. All right. Rock and roller coaster starring the Muppets. This is a polarizing one. Aerosmith version closed permanently back in March. It was 27 years old. I am still sad about that. Electric mayhem headlines. The biggest concert Hollywood has ever seen. That's the theme of the ride. Guests arrive

[00:24:43] as VIPs and they board the LIMO, the lengthy immediate motion object. It's the same coaster system. It's an all new cue and pre-show, new story, new soundtrack. Muppets are relocating here because the original Muppet vision area will eventually become the Monsters Inc. land. Muppet mayhem. This is a big one. It's a huge change.

[00:25:06] I don't know if I should talk. Gosh, stop being a baby, Katie. I am excited about this. I, listen, I love to ride this because I love this coaster. I think it's one of the most thrilling coasters. That moment when you're sitting there and the countdown starts and I'm hoping that they didn't take that element out. Katie, don't spoil it for us, but I'm assuming like that was a pretty big thing.

[00:25:32] And the way my heart starts to race when it hits like a five and then like, I have to start like deep breathing because I am 42 years old and that's what I have to do now to get me through those next couple of seconds. And then you go in big inhale. Yeah. Oh yeah. And then exhale really hard. Yeah. And then I close my eyes and then I just start screaming. Um, and I don't care who it is. I loved Aerosmith cause that's all I knew, right? I'm probably going to love Muppets because that's

[00:26:01] going to be the new, new, but most of all, I just love this coaster and I just think it's a really fun ride and I'm excited to experience it. I agree. I am curious. Part of the fun I personally liked about Aerosmith is similar to Guardians of the Galaxy, not knowing what song you were going to get. And I knew all of the Aerosmith music. And so I'm a little worried about, I actually haven't even listened to the sound. Like they started slowly releasing the songs for Electric Mayhem prior to the opening of the ride. I actually didn't even listen to them. Didn't look at what they were.

[00:26:32] And I think you'll like them all. I hope so. I hope so. Yeah. And, but you know, regardless, I'm excited to try this. I've been open-minded to it since they announced it. I'm not a big Muppet fan. I'm not an Electric Mayhem fan. I do think my preference ultimately will be the Aerosmith version is my guess, but I've been very open to this change and I am absolutely going into it with an open mind.

[00:26:57] I might love it. Okay. I mean, it's, it should come as no surprise to our listeners. If you've been listening, Rock and Roller Coaster is not my favorite coaster because I feel it's headache inducing because I don't love the track. However, the new theming is really cute. If this is the way that we have to keep the Muppets IP in the parks is Rock and Roller Coaster. I do think it's an improvement over Aerosmith, but that said, I'm not a huge Aerosmith fan. I was happy for it to no

[00:27:25] longer be Aerosmith. They do have this soundtrack and you know, you get this song. And so it is kind of this cool thing that every time you go on the ride, it will be a different experience. The song that I got whenever I went on was Love Roller Coaster. I think it's called. No, that's an Aerosmith song, isn't it? Love in an Elevator. Take that out. Oh goodness. No, we've had it for sure. Anyway,

[00:27:51] I'll be interested to see like, you know how we've had so many conversations about Guardians and we're like, if you have this song, this is the mood of the ride. Or if you have this song, this is the mood of the ride and it's something totally different. I'll be interested to see how the new soundtrack affects that on Rock and Roller Coaster. But my overall take was, is it an improvement? Sure. Really love the new pre-show. It's cute. Do I love Rock and Roller

[00:28:15] Coaster now? I mean, it didn't change my mind. I still personally would think that this is an E-ticket. It definitely is. The day that I went, they, I was there like first thing in the morning and they had already closed the single rider line. They're like, the single rider line's too long. You may be waiting as long as the standby queue anyway. And at like 9.30 in the morning or something like that, my wait was 75 minutes. So certainly still an E-attraction, even if I don't necessarily

[00:28:45] agree with that. Well, and I just don't think that we get, I mean, a new attraction is really hard to do. And I think they did this one really fast. I can't believe it's already open. You know, when this closed in March, I thought, well, we won't see this reopening for a year. This is where I push back though, because Big Thunder Mountain was closed so long because they redid the track. The Rock and Roller Coaster was not closed as long because they didn't really change the ride. They just re-themed the ride. But isn't that, would you, and correct me if I'm

[00:29:15] wrong because I haven't done it, but isn't that what they did to Splash Mountain? They re-themed it. Yeah. I mean, they didn't, you're correct. I mean, that was closed for like, that was close to like- Yes, but Splash Mountain had massive amounts of animatronics and stuff. Yeah. And just bigger scenes in general. And there are some animatronics, I'm assuming, in the pre-show here. But for the most part, from what I've heard, they just slapped some

[00:29:38] lipstick on a pig, the pig, Miss Piggy, but I feel like it's definitely more of an overlay, but just that the coaster itself is just a great coaster. Yeah. I mean, it is. Rock and Roller Coaster is one of the biggest thrills at Disney World. And I, unlike Katie, do love this ride. And I can't, I mean, I've talked a lot. I wanted to get my kids on the Aerosmith version before it closed. We couldn't make it happen. So I'm definitely excited to get them on this one. Yeah. It's an E. When you get a new attraction or a new theme to an attraction,

[00:30:07] it's a big deal at Disney because it doesn't always happen. You know, it's a couple of different things a year, you know, out of hundreds of options. So I think anytime that happens, it's a big deal. I tell you what though, I am excited to see what Monsters Inc. brings us where Muppets used to be for sure. Well, very excited. That's going to be one of the best things that's ever happened to Disney. That's my bold prediction. Like a Monstropolis with that hanging coaster. I mean, that's about to be- Nobody's ever done that before, right? Yeah. That's about to be-

[00:30:35] Where it like lifts you up and takes you? The concept art and video that we have seen just looks like this is about to be a scream. They're going to totally use that. They're going to use that. I think that you guys know this, but maybe our M&Ms don't know this. I have a hangup that I don't like attractions where I don't have a foot platform. And so I am subtly very nervous for the new Monsters Inc. roller coaster that's coming, but I do think it's going to be incredible.

[00:31:04] I wish we were going to our local amusement park when you guys come to Cincinnati. We have a great leg dangle coaster. Can you guys focus? We have a lot of things to get through. Okay. All right. Yeah. We're still in the rides and attractions category here. Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. This has been open now for a bit. This was open early April. They have updated the ride vehicles. There are new handheld blasters and a refreshed interactive

[00:31:30] target option throughout this otherwise pretty classic ride. It's sharper and more fun because it is sharper. Previously, I really felt like a plastic toy gun shooting at cardboard and nothing was actually registering. That's kind of how it felt to me. And they have taken care of that problem. Yeah. The visual aspect of the refresh of the Buzz Lightyear ride makes it a lot more enjoyable. I am on the record saying I don't like the Buzz Lightyear ride.

[00:31:56] I like it so much better now. Like I might actually get in line for it now. You know, the only reason I would say that this might not be a D attraction is because we have another Toy Story themed shooter attraction at Disney and I don't care what they do. I just don't think it's going to ever top Toy Story. This is such an interesting conversation because I usually feel

[00:32:20] the same way. However, I feel that the way that they have updated the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger spin ride, I think that it's actually more accessible now than the Toy Story Mania ride. In the Toy Story Mania ride, you are still shooting with like an imaginary object, but it's going to appear on a screen after you hit the trigger. This is, I've hit the trigger and there's immediately a laser and I can see

[00:32:48] that it's my laser and I'm seeing exactly where it's going. And then in Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger spin, the targets are like lighting up and there's sounds. The soundtrack makes it a lot better than it was before as well. It doesn't feel hokey or kitschy anymore. It just feels fun and immersive. So I think that all of those factors make it really good. And I believe there is a crowd that could make an argument that it might be better than Toy Story Mania now.

[00:33:17] What would they be, right? It depends on what is important to you. Listen, the way that you have to shoot the gun thing at Toy Story Mania is so weird with like the ball and the rope and the... It hurts. Who came up with that? Yeah. My forearm literally hurts afterwards, but also the fact that it's still stationary. Yep. I'm actually excited because I like a little competition, right? So to be able to experience

[00:33:44] the new Buzz Lightyear, I'm wondering, can you still... What is it when you get the highest score? What is that called? I don't remember what they call it, but they do still have the same tier that they have before. And I have never gotten super high on it. I know that Becky is really good at it. Have you guys ever looked up like how to do that? Yes. No. There are like certain targets that you have to go for. You can like hack it. I know. Yeah. I'm surprised you haven't, Allie. I'm just saying. I know. Not insinuating that you're a

[00:34:11] cheater or anything. I'm just saying. I'm surprised. Remember my dirty little secret is that I'm really competitive, but I'm terrible at these games. I'm horrible at Toy Story Mania. Well, I remember before they did the refurb, they would talk about aiming for these like rotating targets that were at the top of this like far part of the building. And they don't have targets on that anymore. So I'm sure that they probably changed which targets are more high value. At the end of the day, it never even

[00:34:38] really occurred to me that there were two of similar type games that were both Toy Story related, which I guess that should have occurred to me. I just never thought about it. But I'm assuming that people do compare the two and that Mania has always kind of won out. But I'm assuming just because Mania was newer. I think that there's a world where Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin wins out. They're both good. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not complaining. Yeah. Okay. So then are we calling

[00:35:05] this an E? I would think so. I would still give it a D attraction if it were me. I think it's I think it's that's what I would that's kind of what I was leaning towards. Are we doing D? Okay. Yeah, I think D. I just think I mean, it's new and it's better. But it's still not something that people are like, I'm going to Magic Kingdom. So I can do Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. Okay. Yeah. I think that's fair. All right. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad returned finally in May

[00:35:33] following a very, very long refurb. It has new touches of magic. It's centered around the mysterious rainbow caverns hidden inside the mountain. And it's still the wildest ride in the wilderness. These are Becky's words when her actual words were like, I don't know if it's still the wildest ride. Right. It's no longer the wildest ride. Yeah. As I was just reading that, I was like,

[00:35:56] did she say it wasn't the wildest ride? It is a lot tamer. So with the refurb of Big Thunder Mountain, they did lower the height restriction. I if I'm honest with you, I actually like Big Thunder Mountain better. I am on the record saying I don't love a herky jerky roller coaster, which is probably also why I don't like rock and roller coaster. Yeah, but I I would like Big Thunder Mountain just to go with my kids because it was a lot of fun.

[00:36:23] I think that the track change is an improvement. I think that the theming how they're leaning stronger into theming is also an improvement. I like it a lot better than it was before. That said, Becky was like, No, this is this is not the wildest ride in the wilderness anymore. I think either way, this is such an important attraction at Magic Kingdom. So where you're not saying I'm going to Magic Kingdom so I can ride, you know, Buzz Lightyear. I think you are saying

[00:36:51] I'm going to Magic Kingdom and I want to do the mountain. Yes. You know, this is this is premium attraction. And I, I really feel like it's a must do to reimagine to try to maintain what's made it so popular, but make it better. And it took so long. It's a must. It's Big Thunder Mountain. It's one of the mountains. For sure. Frontierland in general is the whole land is now completely refurbished,

[00:37:15] right? Yeah, because Country Bears and Thunder Mountain. Tiana's and Big Thunder. I think it's important that we know because I have had some clients ask that it's still not open for early entry over there. I don't think that section of the park is open for early entry still. No, it's not. So but I still think you can kind of strategize your day where if you want to hit Tiana's and Big Thunder Mountain that you just go stand at the rope over there and be ready for when

[00:37:43] it does open. But that you're giving up, you know, other early entry opportunities to do that. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. But I think it's worth it. For sure. So it's a D. I mean, it's an E. Excuse me. Okay. All right. This one I'm excited to talk about Smuggler's Run with the new Not Baby Yoda storyline. Can you just go over that whole conversation that we had last night? Well, in my family and apparently in Carla's as well. And Becky's. So all all the people that are not Star Wars

[00:38:12] people. Oh, Becky too. I thought Becky. I thought Becky was. This is why I can't follow text threads. I thought Becky was telling me I was crazy. No. Oh, she was on our shoes with us. Yeah. I thought that until yesterday, I thought that Grogu was just Baby Yoda. Like actually the same character Baby Yoda. Like Yoda baby. Like, oh, the younger version of Yoda. Like Yoda in baby form. I thought Yoda

[00:38:37] Yoda was one of one. I did not know that Yoda was an entire species. Yes. And so it did not. If I think Yoda is one of one, then I can't possibly think that there's another version of Yoda. To your point, the entire fan base before they knew what his name was called him Baby Yoda. So I will give you I will give you some leniency there. Oh, well, that's stuck. That's stuck for me. My girls still call him Baby Yoda, although they know his name is Grogu. Well, my oldest daughter

[00:39:05] was obsessed with Baby Yoda. She obviously never saw any material that featured Baby Yoda, but she liked him as a concept. And she doesn't know that his name is Grogu. And she has a Baby Yoda backpack and Baby Yoda stuffy. And we are all things Baby Yoda or we were. She's kind of outgrown it now, but I don't know if I'll ever not call him Baby Yoda. It is a he, right? Yes, he is Grogu. Okay. I mean, I don't know. I need to verify. Who knows at this point? That's a zen.

[00:39:33] My kids, even being little kids, have watched The Mandalorian with us. And they are like invested in The Mandalorian storyline with us. We have not seen the new film that's out in theaters right now. I am excited to go see it. But even for me being like little kid mom and I have girls, most people kind of assume or put us in this box that your girls probably aren't into Star Wars. And I'm like, no, you have nerd parents. And yes, we can watch The Mandalorian together.

[00:40:02] Yeah. Well, and to your point, I actually think if I did go down that rabbit hole with my kids, I think they would love it too. Yeah, totally. For sure. They really enjoy it. Like they watch and love watching the Kylo and Rey movies with me, which I know are polarizing and nobody likes them but me. It's like the Thomas house is all of the Disney Plus streams. I get it. But we like it. Okay. And I think that they would go down that rabbit hole and like it as well. But we haven't done it. We haven't done it. So I thought Becky

[00:40:31] was a big Star Wars fan and knew this. I thought she was not on our page yesterday. So I'm glad to hear that she was. But anyway, the reason we're saying this is because there is a new Grogu storyline on Smuggler's Run, which debuted at the end of May, May 22. And it has a refreshed Mandalorian and Grogu narrative. The engineering role has new responsibilities that are tied to Grogu, which is awesome because the engineer role was a little bit boring. If I'm being honest,

[00:40:59] the shooter and the pilot were great. But the engineer was a tad boring. So to recognize and change that and I think kind of swiftly was great. It's a low key update, but a really big deal, especially for Star Wars fans. The day that I went, I wrote it four times. There you go. But you are a Star Wars fan. I am a Star Wars fan. But answer this. I want to hear what you're going to say really badly. And I also in your context want to know, is this a big deal for a non-Star Wars fan?

[00:41:25] Yes. I think that even if you don't know anything about Star Wars, that you're still going to enjoy the attraction and you're going to want to ride it multiple times. As you had said, Allie, they updated the engineering seat a lot. It's more than just, Oh no, the ship broke. Hit this button. Right? Like you're, you're doing a lot more now, which is great. But I wrote it four times because there are three different storylines now. So part of your job as the engineer now is you are going to

[00:41:51] help choose the mission. You are going to choose the location that we go to, which is why you should ride it multiple times. You can go to Bespin. You can go to Coruscant. And I don't remember the last one. Sorry. I'm, I'm failing in my, in my lore and my famdom right now, because I don't remember which all planets you can go to, but you will go to different planets and do different missions as you are seeking the, the bounty that you're there to get with Mando and Grogu. So it's really cool.

[00:42:21] And I love doing it. And I, I spammed it. You guys, I went through the single rider and I got out and I was like, I can just go do this again, which is exciting. Cause you, you already like super love this ride. And so I think it's really fun that you got to have that experience and you were there by yourself. Yes. It was fantastic. It's really cool. It was so good. You guys, it was, Oh, it was

[00:42:44] amazing. So are you able to be, I know how much you love it. Is it still an E you know, if Buzz Lightyear and, and the reason I use Buzz Lightyear is a D because it's not the prime real estate of Magic Kingdom. Sure. Is Smugglers Run also a D? Well, people go to Hollywood studios for the experience of going on the Millennium Falcon. And that has always been true. Yeah. Well, but I would say, yeah, I agree with you. I'm not trying to disagree. I'm just trying to give every vantage

[00:43:13] point. Sure. Rise of the Resistance is probably a bigger pull. For sure. Rise of the Resistance is still a bigger pull than Smugglers Run. Yeah. Even with it being brand new and having an update. Sure. So, okay. Does that fact make it? Is there something that's like D and a half? It's a D plus. I think we could give it an E. I think the problem with Hollywood studios is that most of the rides there are E's. I think every attraction has an argument for E. I agree.

[00:43:41] That is what's true. If you think about it. Yeah. I don't know why Hollywood studios gets a little bit of a bad reputation. I don't think there's a bad thing to do at Hollywood studios. Even Alien Swirling Saucers is like a more fun teacup. Let's do this. And I should know the answer to this. Is Smugglers Run a group two at Hollywood studios? Or is it group one? It's a tier two, right? I believe so. Yeah. That kind of answers your question. I still think it's great.

[00:44:08] But we can leave it an E. Whatever. Yeah. I actually kind of think it's an E because I had that experience at Disneyland this summer where my love for this ride went up. You know, when my kids were flying us into mountains and we were trying to shoot targets that we could, I mean, it was never, I was crying laughing. I was having so much fun, but that engineer role was kind of bad and you didn't get in on that fun. And so if that's better now and you get in on the fun and everybody kind of gets

[00:44:35] that opportunity, then I think go for it. I wrote it four times in a row. And every time I wrote it, the people that I was riding with were like clapping at the end of the ride. Like this was great. We're going to call it an E. If it gets applause every time we're going to call it an E. All right. We're going to move to lands and areas out of attractions. We are going to first start with the Walt Disney Studios lot at Hollywood studios. This is a really big deal. The animation

[00:44:59] courtyard fully re-imagined kind of a love letter to the Burbank studio campus. Becky just did the Burbank studio tour, like the Disney studios tour with her girls. And she says that this looks exactly like it, that it is basically a love letter to the studios that they have imagined it to look that way. It opened at the end of May as well. The end of May was crazy at Walt Disney world. And now

[00:45:25] all through the summer and beyond for some of these things, we get to experience it. The studio lot brought to Hollywood studios, which I just absolutely love all throughout. There's hidden characters, fun activities, a lot more to do in this courtyard. It was just dead space and it's not anymore. What do you think? It's an area to go experience. So is it a re-imagined dead space? I feel like Becky said this really well on a prior episode. She was like, whenever you imagined that courtyard area before

[00:45:53] you would walk through the arch and they had like the Star Wars launch bay there, the aerial shows there, and the Disney Junior Dance Party was there. They weren't using the space in a way that made people want to go explore back there. But the way that they were making changes made us feel like this is an area that's alive and thriving now. Do I miss the archway? I kind of miss the archway a little bit, but we do have the new sorcerer hat now. And I feel like it's very appropriate in its location,

[00:46:23] right? I thought the whole area was very charming. You walk back there now, you see the sorcerer Mickey hat. The animation place hasn't opened quite yet at this point, but everything else in that area has. You're going to be meeting characters in the courtyard, right? Like they had Donald there while I was hanging out there. Goofy was on the other side. Like you can meet characters there. There's a lot happening there now, but there's also these really cool photo ops with all those little hidden characters.

[00:46:51] Do you know what was happening there yesterday? I don't know what was happening there yesterday. Rapunzel was playing Duck Duck Goose. Oh, shut up. That would be so amazing. Rapunzel was playing Duck Duck Goose with a bunch of kids in the animation courtyard yesterday. Where we crave this, you know, authentic character interaction that is typical at Disneyland, I feel like we're going to start seeing that more here in animation courtyard in Hollywood studios.

[00:47:17] Yeah. The way that I talk about the experiences on like a cruise and how I happened upon Black Panther, right? I told that story. I feel like this being animation courtyard, these are your animated characters kind of coming to life and spending time with you. And for that, I mean, okay. When Monstropolis opens, that might be, I mean, my hopes are so high. It might be the best. I mean, I don't know if it's going to top Star Wars, right? So I'm kind of thinking through this as

[00:47:47] you're going to have to go to Monstropolis. It's going to be an E. Compare this to what that is expected to be. Yeah. Is it an E? I mean, those character interactions, like if there's a chance that we can play Duck Duck Goose with Rapunzel, like that, but it's not a guarantee, right? No. I mean, it's just going to be whatever characters they have there that day. I loved, even if there's not characters hanging out in the courtyard, even just to walk around and do photo ops, like they had Jiminy Cricket on top of one of the signs. And then you go and they have

[00:48:15] this like pergola where they have the snake from Robin, Robin Hood there. And the little, is she a gerbil or a mouse in Zootopia? Oh, she's a gerbil. Yeah. Yeah. All of these really cool, iconic Disney creatures are just there for photo ops, which is really cool. Pluto's Corner. Shall we? This area is an E. I was debating whether it was even a D.

[00:48:39] I mean, we're ranking areas, right? So I don't think that you can compare an area to an attraction, but is it worth going to see? Yeah. I think it's a C. Yeah. If you make it over there, you should definitely go spend time and you may happen upon some unbelievable character interactions. I feel like that's fair at this point. Here's the thing, but the animation courtyard isn't open quite

[00:49:04] yet as we are recording this. And I, I am really excited to go into the actual animation courtyard area. We have said forever, the one thing that Hollywood studio is lacking is a playground for little kids. We're finally going to have a playground for kids back there. There's going to be a lot of character interaction happening. That's where you're going to be sketching things. They moved that from Animal Kingdom back in Conservation Station. Now you're going to go do the Disney animation sketches

[00:49:31] in Hollywood studios where it feels more at home. So it makes more sense. Yeah. I'm a little worried though, because they have listed and said that you're going to meet Rapunzel back there, like Milan and Rapunzel. If she's princesses. Yeah. If she's greeting, like, are we, is this duck, duck goose thing that I saw on social media that temporary while they're finishing this? And then once they have like, is it going to be like a Royal, what's that called in Magic Kingdom? Where you go meet them? Fairytale. Is it just going to be a different version of Fairytale Hall? And we're not going to get

[00:50:01] those super organic fun experiences anymore. Cause I mean, Rapunzel surely can't meet us in the animator room and play in the courtyard with us. Could be. Yeah. And, and that's less desirable to me, but I think from what I've seen of it so far, it's worth heading over that way. If you have little kids to happen upon an experience, I think it's a C. These next ones are tricky. We can kind of go through them quickly, I think, because they're not open yet. So the magic of Disney animation experience, which is what you were just talking about. That's coming later this summer and it's

[00:50:30] replacing the star Wars launch bay. It's inspired by once upon a studio, which was the short film, the Disney short film, and it's an off the page area. So it's where this is what I was just saying. You can meet the princesses inside themed animation departments. And there's the animation experience coming with Olaf, the Mickey sorcerer hat is back, but it's nothing like the original one, right? Like it's much smaller and it's not as yeah. Yeah. So I, I kind of weird. It's like paying

[00:50:55] homage to what that was, but it's not back, you know, the old sorcerer's hat. Everyone said was intrusive because of the location and the size, this is smaller and it's not in the same location. I feel like it's pretty good where it is. Yeah, probably better. Yeah. It's really better. I mean, you could not see the Chinese theater when, when this original sorcerer's hat was there and it really blocked that really beautiful view of Hollywood Boulevard. Um, when you walk down in, when you,

[00:51:22] when you enter Hollywood studios. So I would not want that back personally, but I do like that they have, they're paying homage to it. I mean, this experience seems like it's going to be cool for littles. I don't see a reason that Carla would need to spend time there. I appreciate that. Someone who really likes art. I think that you could go there. I've seen tons of adults in the art sketch area, you know? Well, tell me, talk a little bit more about that then. Cause that's a fair point.

[00:51:46] Yeah. So if we're going to get the animation, the sketch experience, I believe is with Olaf. Is that what that is? Like, because you know, this inaccessible, we always wanted to do back when they had the sketch experience at animal kingdom, we always wanted to do it, but it was honestly hard to get to like, to go out there. It was just really hard. Yeah. I do think that the sketch experience will draw more people here than just people with little kids. Um, and I think it's going

[00:52:11] to be really good. We were meeting Olaf over in, it was some sort of character spotlight section and we're not meeting Olaf there anymore. So this is how they're bringing Olaf back into the parks is in the animation area. Have, have you guys seen those shorts on Disney plus where it's like Olaf reenacting the other Disney films? Absolutely. Those are hilarious. If they incorporate that somehow

[00:52:37] in this section, I will be like over the moon happy about it. Yeah. I, if they're doing a sketch class, I think that's really good use of this space. And especially if it's, you know, it's an animation experience. Uh, that sounds cool. That gives it more value beyond just little kids. So I still don't think it's a must must do right. I still think it's a B or a C. Yeah. I feel like that's fair. Yeah. Which one let's give it a B. We're going to give it a B.

[00:53:03] I do think that it has some cool pull. I do think it sounds like it's going to be cool. And maybe we'll, once it's open fully, maybe we'll up that. But for now that's where it's going to be. All right. Dinoland USA closed. Thank goodness. Uh, the tropical Americas are coming. Dinoland USA. Wait a minute. My kids were so disappointed when we were in animal kingdom this, this weekend, and they have all these green walls up and they're like, mommy, we want to go ride dinosaur. And I'm

[00:53:29] kiddos. I told you last time we were here, you were not riding dinosaur ever again. And they were distraught. Yeah. At the end of an era. I still wish they would have made that Indiana Jones like Disneyland and then kept the boneyard. That was like a no brainer. Yes. Yes. I mean, Indiana Jones in a boneyard. Yeah. I mean, that just makes sense. We literally cried this weekend in animal kingdom because they were like, we can't go to the boneyard. And I'm like, no, it's been gone for a long time

[00:53:57] now. No, it's not there. And like Tally cried. Yeah. They're going to replace it with some other playground, right? Yeah. Well, they are Indiana Jones to be fair is coming right. So in the tropical Americas, which is going to be amazing. Yes. And I don't know, is it confirmed that it's the same ride that they're bringing Indiana Jones from Disneyland to world or is it a new ride? We've heard that it is going to be Indiana Jones themed, right? What was the dinosaur ride? And it was

[00:54:23] originally supposed to be that forever ago before they pivoted to the dinosaur. Here's my thing though. I've been to the attraction in Disneyland and I've ridden dinosaur many times. That is not the same track. And I feel like the track at Disneyland is a lot of what makes that ride really cool. And I've heard it is the same track. I've heard it is the same track. I like I've heard that rumors.

[00:54:50] I don't think it can be, but just the grandeur of Disneyland. I don't know how they would do that. That ride at Disneyland is everything. It's yes, it's out of this world. Yeah. If it was a carbon copy of what's at Disneyland, I will be so happy. I would be so happy. So we don't know for sure. What we do know is that it's going to be the tropical Americas taking the place of Dinoland, which is going to be great. It will have Indiana Jones ride into a Mayan temple. It will have an

[00:55:19] Encanto inspired casita attraction. Is that going to be a ride? Like, what is that? I don't think we have a lot of, I want to know. Yeah. And it's one of the most ambitious animal kingdom expansions ever announced. Is it? I mean, we have Pandora there, so I don't know. I don't know if it's as ambitious as that. Okay. This isn't going to be an E this is so needed at animal kingdom. I agree. I think it, everybody is welcoming it and it's going to be for sure. We're getting

[00:55:46] Encanto and Indiana Jones and a whole new theming of an entire area. So I think it has to be an E. Yeah, it totally has to be. I mean, do we love Dinostorland USA? I mean, it was kind of eh, right? So for it to become the tropical Americas, I think is going to be huge and it speaks more, it leans more into what animal kingdom is like the essence of animal kingdom. But the other thing that's really great about it with the inclusion of Encanto is whenever animal kingdom opened decades

[00:56:16] ago, they said that it was going to be like, we're going to look at past with the dinosaurs. We're going to look at the mythical side too. That's why there's a unicorn as like one of the, over one of the entryways that was supposed to explore this sort of mythical animal aspect. And we never got that. So I kind of like the Encanto is that nod to the fantastical. All right, we'll make it an E. It's exciting. It really is exciting. And Carly, you're right. So

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[00:58:01] foot and your pain. If you're tired of sore feet slowing you down, or it's something that's holding you back when it comes to planning for Disney World, this is one of those small changes that actually make a big difference. And by using code magic today, you can get 15% off of your order. That's code magic for the best 15% savings your feet will ever have. And let's face it, feet are the star of the show on long theme park

[00:58:27] days. Head to popsoul.com, enter code magic and give your feet the relief they deserve. That's popsoul.com or by following the link in today's show notes. All right. The next really interesting conversation lands in areas, which I don't know why this isn't in attractions. It should have been in attractions. That's okay though. Yeah, that's all right. Whatever. It's our, it's our show,

[00:58:52] our rules carousel of progress recently announced a major overhaul. It closes July 6th. You're going to be at my house. Yep. Uh, the biggest update since it's since the current version debuted in the early nineties and the timeline is going to jump 60 years forward. The final beloved scene will change. Uh, Disney has emphasized that imagineers are approaching it with care for its history and the

[00:59:18] reopening is not planned until 2027. So let me link the overhaul. Is this a good choice? Is this good evolution? Katie, you made a great point about like Walt's original vision when you were acknowledging this change, which I think you should talk about, but before you do, I think it's worth mentioning that when carousel progress was first brought to magic kingdom, it was a B tier attraction.

[00:59:43] It was later upgraded to a D or even an E as it became more coveted until the ticket system was gone. So it did ultimately make it all the way up. Yeah. Before I start talking about this, I just want to acknowledge the fact that my muscles are tensing and pulsating and I'm feeling stressed. I just feel like you have to acknowledge that for a moment. So the, the day that they announced this,

[01:00:09] which was last week as we're recording this, I woke up to five texts. It was the last day of school for my kids. I woke up to a text from Carla. I woke up to a text from our friend, Barb. I woke up to like five texts from people saying, did you hear the news about carousel progress? And I was like, Oh, what? And so I read about the changes. So they announced last year that they were going to be

[01:00:34] updating carousel progress with the, with the Walt animatronic as like an introduction to the show. And whenever they announced that, I feel like all of those of us that are part of the carousel progress family that love it so much, we're like, okay, we like that. That sounds good. Everyone's like, let's keep wall and let's update the final scene. That is the general consensus among huge carousel progress fans. Keep wall, update the last scene. They have announced that they are updating the

[01:01:02] entire show. So it's going to start in the 1960s with the lunar landing and it's going to go, you know, eighties, the two thousands. And then the final scene is supposed to be our distant future. And what I don't like is the family's on another planet. They're not even on planet earth anymore. Okay. So we're talking really reaching into the future. Uh, here's the deal.

[01:01:30] Walt's vision for this attraction specifically, and for everything that Disney is has always been looking at how far we've come with innovation and leaning further into leading innovation. So I appreciate that the whole entire overhaul of the show is really what's needed for the next generation to understand it, to love it. And it leans so hard into what Walt's values were for it

[01:01:56] and his vision for it. Am I still really sad about it? I'm so sad about it. And I went on my Instagram stories and I told everybody about it and I cried, but the part of me that's sad is this through line that is dying. That relates back to my childhood, right? Like as we get older, the direct connections that we have to our childhood tend to fade away. And so this was one of those things that I could

[01:02:22] always connect instantly to what that was for me and how special it was for me from the time I was a teenager. And especially that connection to my grandma. The part of me that's sad is that that connection that I have, that direct link is fading, but I, I do think that what they're doing is a good move, the best move and what carousel progress sorely needs. Interesting. I mean, obviously you're the perfect person to talk about this. I do wish the new scene and it's hard to speak on something we

[01:02:52] haven't actually seen yet. We're just going off of what we've been told. I wish the new scene was going to lean more into just progress that, I mean, I don't know, living on a new planet. Yeah. What's funny to me is the current show, the end scene, which was futuristic at that time is sort of like eighties, nineties ish. Right. You got like the hanging metal pots in the kitchen and like everything feels dated at this point. Right. We are entering a time when the carousel of progress,

[01:03:18] like the scenes are happening during my lifetime. Oh no. Yeah. I think that there's an E just if we can all ride it with you so we can watch you have a total coronary as you go. I think you're going to flip out. I think that is going to be like the bigger attraction. We should absolutely make a plan that whenever carousel of progress opens that we are all together and ride it together. That would mean a lot to me. Okay. We'll try to make that happen. So what's it going to be then?

[01:03:47] I mean, carousel of progress is always an E attraction in my heart. I know it's an E. It's always been an E and always will be an E for Katie, but for everybody else in the world, it's probably a C. That's what I was leaning. And I don't know that this new, I don't know that this new scene is going to bring it up to E status. Do people go to Magic Kingdom for carousel of progress? Some people. There's a small sect of us. Absolutely not. They go to carousel of progress for air conditioning. One time Carla and I rope

[01:04:17] dropped carousel of progress. So you can't even say nothing, Carla. And a nice little nap. And I'm sure the whole way over Carla was just like, Katie, I'm so excited to rope drop carousel progress with you. This is going to be the best day ever. Oh, it really was. There's a lot of change coming though. I mean, this is, this is big. Katie doesn't necessarily like change. This is a lot of change coming. This is just proof that we're all getting older and that change is hard.

[01:04:42] You know what? Today's magic word will be change. There you go. All right. Let's move into our new category then food and recreation. We've got food by Swedish chef opened May 26th by rock and roller coaster at Hollywood studios. It replaces the KR and R the rock station that was over by rock and roller coaster. It's the same truck, just overhauled menu. I looked at the menu and it, I don't know. They're all new snacks and drinks that are designed around the Muppet vibe. She said,

[01:05:12] Bork, Bork, Bork. Is that a Muppet reference? That is. Yes. It's a Swedish, Swedish chef reference. So looking at the menu, it is just like a snack stand basically. Right. So it says they got Waka walking nachos, mini corn dogs, chocolate chip cookie, churro drumsticks, assorted chips, mayhem soft serve float, which is frozen Fanta blue raspberry and vanilla soft serve topped with pink

[01:05:38] cotton candy. I actually would love that sans the cotton candy. And then they have, you know, blue slushies, waffle cones, floats, things like that. So it's basically a slushy stand with some extra stuff. Those Waka walking nachos say they're corn chips with queso blanco, tomatoes and guac. So, I mean, that's substantial. I would much rather have tachos. I would too. You said it.

[01:06:03] I would too. I would be such a big Woody's lunchbox fan. Yeah. Yeah. I think that this snack stand is an A. Yeah. I agree. It's there. It's there if you are hangry and somebody's having a meltdown and eat something really fast, but there's no way you're going out of your way to go here. Right. There's no headliner here that you're like, we've got to run and grab that. What surprises me is that this food stand really even exists because literally right around the corner,

[01:06:30] you're on Sunset Boulevard, but they have all of those quick service places. Like, yeah, it doesn't really make sense. One thing that's kind of cool is they have a flavored churro, like that churro has mixed berry sugar or something. And like, that's a very Disneyland thing to have flavored churros. So interesting that they're bringing that idea over, but all right, let's talk six Ravens by Gideon's Bakehouse opening this summer, new grab and go

[01:06:58] hand pies known as coffins. It's a spot at Disney spring. And it, I mean, it's one of the owners that did Gideon's, which is, you know, my favorite ever of all time. Gideon's already has a super long line at Disney Springs. It's hard to get in. So this is going to be a really big deal. The name six Ravens is a nod to the tower of London and a legend of the resident Raven who still guards the tower to this day. It's very on brand and on theme for Gideon's and their creators and their theming.

[01:07:28] And this is going to be say a savory spot done by sweets people. And I think this is going to be like out of this world. I have high expectations. If you had to describe the theming of Gideon's and now also six Ravens to someone who has no idea what Gideon's is, how would you describe that ambiance? Gothic? Dark, gothic, quirky. Kind of like Nightmare Before Christmas-ish.

[01:07:56] Yeah, like dark. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Because they have those dark sketches, you know, there's sketches and things. Here's my thing. I was really hoping that this was not quick service or not grab and go. I was kind of wishing that this was more of like a sit and enjoy and it doesn't sound like it's going to be that. Honestly, what it sounds a lot like but with better theming is the Cooks of Dublin, which is the little like grab and go spot that's with

[01:08:22] Raglan Road. Raglan Road. So it's the little like quick service spot that's kind of affiliated with Raglan Road or like right next to it that you can grab hand pies and go. So I'm wondering if that's going to survive having something very similar coming along. I do think that everything that Gideon's does knocks it out of the park. There's no better cookies, in my opinion, on Disney property. So I'm excited about this change. But my gosh, if I have to wait an hour and a half for a

[01:08:49] freaking hand pie, I'm going to be ticked off. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. And Disney Spring, it's a Disney Spring. I want so much more. I really wanted to like sit down and be like fully immersed. I agree. I'm kind of disappointed to read that it's grab and go. It is. And I bet it's going to be delicious. Like it says that they are flavorful sandwich ingredients fully encased in a house made yeast roll. Here's the thing. And here's the reason I think it is a B ticket because it's all the way at Disney Springs. You're not going out of your way

[01:09:18] to go to a quick service at Disney Springs. Like you're just not. If you are planning a day at Disney Springs and you're walking around most like I mean, most people, my family anyway, we're going to Disney Springs because we have a dinner reservation and then we will do shopping while we're there. I know that some people go for shopping only, but like I'm not going to tell you not to get a sit down reservation at like the boathouse if you're there. So it's hard to say go to the quick service site. Definitely don't go out of your way. But if you're there and you don't have plans to eat,

[01:09:47] this is probably a great option. It's probably going to be delicious. I have, you know, a high standard when it comes to those people. I but I would call it a B and you're not going out of your way. Totally agree. What do you think? Yeah, I think B. Okay. Listen, I think the hype is going when it opens, there's going to be a lot of hype there. But that's for the people that already are hyped up about Gideon's cookies. Like it's just you know what I mean? The same way that there's like

[01:10:12] a cult following for Gideon's, it's going to be those same people that love this. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Gideon's cookies are great. For somebody that has no idea what this concept even is. Yeah. There's no way you're going to go all the way to Disney Springs just for this. Hand pies are I feel probably something that's more prevalent in Europe. In America, we're kind of like what's a hand pie? Right. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Let's talk Garden View Lounge reopening at the Grand Floridian. It's been open for a couple

[01:10:41] months now. Open in March with a full Alice in Wonderland makeover with British style afternoon tea, the whimsical orangery of Lady Grey tea tower. It's been closed since the pandemic. It's back. Are you going to go there over the Enchanted Rose? Maybe with your kids. Yeah. Maybe this is like you want to take your kids for tea here. Yeah. I think that this is, this is the thing that for

[01:11:07] people who are planning a trip and coming down, it's like, we want to have a resort day. We want to chill. We're going to have the kids with us. Wouldn't it be cute if we all wore tea dresses and got lace gloves and just had a fancy kind of afternoon? I think that that's what this is. And I'm dying to have that moment with my own girls, by the way. What I appreciate about this is in the context of Disney Cruise Line, you can do like fancy tea service things on Disney Cruise Line as well.

[01:11:35] But in my opinion on Disney Cruise Line, the menu sucks for those tea parties. The menu here for the Grand Floridian leaning into the Alice in Wonderland theming and just the accessibility of what they're offering, my kid would sit and eat that and I would enjoy that too. So I think that, I think it's a grand slam in my opinion. I love it. I think the setting is perfect. I think if you're going to have

[01:12:01] high tea somewhere on Disney property, for sure, it's going to be at the Grand Floridian. Where is Alice in Wonderland? Like, where is Alice? Like, why is she not, why is this not now a character experience? That would be cool. If you're going to go and do a tea, like just take it just one step further and make it a character experience. I think that that would be just knock it out of the park. I think it's an okay experience. I would pay more for it to be a character experience. If they were

[01:12:30] like only certain hours, you can do the Mad Hatter and Alice. I'd be like, yeah, I'll go pay for that. For sure. Yeah. To me, it's, I don't know, a B. Yeah. I would almost say C. Like it's more, I think C feels better. It's definitely better than more special. Raven. It's definitely more special than the six Raven place. Yeah. You're right. If you are the family who is staying at the Grand Floridian and you're, you're fully immersed in this

[01:12:53] very upscale, luxurious grandeur, then this is a hundred percent for your trip. And I mean, Hey, even if you're staying at all-star sports, this is still for your trip, but this is what I'm saying. Like this is the experience that the Grand Floridian offers. It's so quintessential for it to be there. I'm surprised that it took them this long to come back after 2020. Yeah. You think Bibbidi-bobbidi-boutique at Grand Floridian is on its way, or you think that's just over?

[01:13:21] Uh, you know, the pandemic was six years ago now. And so I think a lot that we have lost and that hasn't come back probably isn't like how you used to be able to buy merchandise in the parks and they would like bring it to your room and stuff like that. Like they haven't brought that back either. And it's kind of disappointing. I will say that their competitor park in Orlando does do that. So I'm like, come on, Disney up your game. Come on. Yeah. All right. Next one up here. Food wise,

[01:13:50] we have level 99, which is coming to Disney Springs. It's an interactive entertainment venue with a two story craft cocktail bar and a chef crafted menu. So this is going to be a reservation spot. Famous Detroit style pizza already earning rave reviews at other locations. So it's a bit of a chain opening is not confirmed, but construction is underway and tracking about to be this summer. Are you excited about this, Katie? She seems like it. What's interactive about it? She does.

[01:14:17] I'm very excited about this. So they have 60 themed challenge rooms. This is not like an escape room. Okay. This is like levels of a video game. This is like you living out a video game. Okay. So I'm looking at some of the photos and promotional material on it. The pizza looks incredible. Totally incredible. They're showing these games and all these people having a lot of fun. And one of the things that they're showing is how, you know how, if you're playing super Mario brothers and you get

[01:14:45] to a castle and they have those like axes that swing back and forth and you got to like time when you're going to go, you're going to have that moment in real life. And I'm like, I really want that experience. That's really cool. Yeah. If this feels like popping into a video game, I'm here for that all day long. And I think people that are traveling to Disney and they're doing dining experiences, they want to feel leveled up. They want to feel immersive. You know, Disney is you, when you go there,

[01:15:13] you want everything to feel next level and special. So the way you're explaining it, I didn't know much about it. That sounds very, very awesome. It says you'll, your team will have one to four minutes to be each challenge. So you have to act quickly, but literally there are 60, 60 different things to do. It's incredible. Okay. So what do we think? D? C? It's not an E. Probably a C. It's not an E. Probably a C.

[01:15:40] Yeah. I feel like C's probably right. I, it might be getting robbed, honestly. But we haven't done it yet. So it's not fair to say. I think C is good. Yeah. So I feel like C's good. All right. I'm excited to talk about this next one, the Disney dining plan expansion. This is a preview for 2027. We know this is coming. I know this is a summer based episode, things that are already available, but we're just going to talk about this because people are booking their trips for next year. The deluxe table service dining plan is returning in

[01:16:10] 2027. And that's going to include two table service meals per night of stay. And this has been gone since the pandemic. It's worth discussing now because people are planning their trips now. And because 2027 balance back offers are now available to book. So if you're traveling this summer, you can use that balance back offer, get your 2027 locked in with a huge savings. And you're going to be making decisions like, should you add a dining plan? Are you all believers in this deluxe dining plan?

[01:16:36] I think it's extremely indulgent to do two table service meals a day. I mean, I would love to live that kind of indulgent lifestyle. I think that some people enjoy it. The people that want to do those character meals that are two table credits, this would be great for them. I don't know. Would I do it? No, because I already feel like I maybe don't utilize the dining plan to the best of my ability.

[01:17:03] But for those people like that do want to sit down meals a day, then great. Awesome. Great that they have the opportunity to add this to pre plan for this in 2027. What's interesting to me, because I went to the Disney dining plan fam a few years ago, where they had multiple travel agencies there. And we talked about this. And we talked about how not every guest ends up using all of their credits, and some guests will blow through all their credits, right? So

[01:17:29] this comes back to understanding what kind of meals your family wants. And it might be that after you have done your 60 day dining window, and you've grabbed your reservations, and you look at everything you want. If you have a lot of reservations that are those two credit meals, I think this will make sense for that family that's like, we want to do all of these really highly coveted things. I don't necessarily think it's going to be a lot of families that are like, we have to have two sit down meals a

[01:17:58] day. Are there families that are like, hey, Florida's hot, and we want to sit down meals a day? Sure. But I think that they're in the minority. I think really, the ideal guest for this offering is going to be somebody who's like, yes, we have to do Cinderella's Royal Table, we have to do like several of those two credit meals, it will make sense for you to get this dining plan. I think this is an A. I think that this is so unnecessary. I think you have to be a very

[01:18:25] specific family, like you just said. And I think you will identify yourself as that family as you're planning your trip. And I love that for those families. But upfront, for the average, I just I don't see this being something like that. Yeah, well, I will say and Disney, I hope you're listening is if someone could get a you know, the regular Disney dining plan that includes one table service credit

[01:18:49] per day, or per night, I should say, if if someone who has already purchased a dining plan could add on credits a la carte, I feel like that is probably a better solution for consumers. That's cool. So yeah, we're gonna go to characters and entertainment. This is an exciting little segment here. I think characters are a huge obvious draw for Disney. Number one, Bluey and Bingo have arrived at Animal

[01:19:14] Kingdom. Bluey and Bingo are some of the most iconic popular Disney Junior identifiable characters of all time. I mean, Carla, you've really missed them. You didn't have kids that were Bluey bingo kids. But honestly, I wouldn't be surprised like if London likes Bluey. I'm not even kidding because Bluey is relatable to everybody. This show people love this show. And it doesn't seem to have an age range.

[01:19:39] Older kids at my dance studio will have Bluey on. Yeah, it's wholesome entertainment. It's bite size. And it's funny without being inappropriate. It hits all the marks for me. Bluey is incredible. Like I have no problem when my kids want to turn Bluey on and I'm glad that they still want to. Like we've been out of Disney Junior for a long time. Although Sophia the First is back on Disney Plus. And I'm thrilled because that was totally our little area. So I'm so excited with new episodes.

[01:20:05] Yes, she's totally back. I love it. Tally loves Sophia the First and she's really excited by the new episodes. But I get on my kids about not watching AI slop that they find on YouTube. And because the animation style is like slightly different than it was like 10 years ago, Emma was like, Mommy, this is fake. This is not fake. This is just the new iteration in a slightly

[01:20:33] different animation style. But it is good. It's great. Bluey and Bingo have a play theme area now. Right? They have games and they're doing keepy-uppy. And this is a permanent experience. This is staying. It's at Conservation Station. You have to take the train to get out there. You have to be very intentional. Where I used to, you know, we didn't, we weren't intentional enough to go to Conservation Station to do the animation class at Animal Kingdom. This we will do. And I think most people will do this.

[01:21:03] I think I'll just be bold and say this is an E. Bluey and Bingo are, I'm like worried for how hard it's going to be to see them. Yeah. I feel that that's fair. And the fact that Disney dropped VQ after a week, I was gobsmacked. Okay. Yeah. No virtual season. Does that prove that maybe it's that this is for a specific age range? Because I looked yesterday afternoon and the, it was 15 minutes. Now granted, I think we discussed this, like the whole experience from the time you get on the train

[01:21:33] to get back. How long is that taking you, Katie? Because you've experienced it. Yeah. So I think if you get on the train, go to Conservation Station, do the show, and then they also have a new area that where the petting zoo was. Now it's kangaroos and wallabies. I think if you do everything, it's probably going to take you like an hour and a half. Yeah, that's good to know. That's a lot. I mean, that's a lot. You're giving up a lot of time to go see Bluey and Bingo. Is an hour and a half worth it for your family?

[01:21:58] I definitely think it is. Maybe that makes it a D. Yeah, I think so too. But the perspective of Carla and older kids is important. So here's what I want to impress upon people. My kids are, Bella's going to be 10 next week, Emma is seven, and Tally is five. And my kids were among the oldest kids in the room. Most of the families that are going out to see Bluey have like two and three-year-olds

[01:22:24] are little babies. So it's definitely an attraction that's drawing in those younger families. So what about this? What about this? It's isolating enough not to be an E, but it is important enough to be a D. To be a D. I think people that maybe were thinking about skipping Animal Kingdom are now going to Animal Kingdom for this experience.

[01:22:49] For sure. So this is what I had experienced. I kind of thought that with the addition of Bluey and Bingo and how you have to get on a train and go to a whole other section of the park, I was like, this will help alleviate wait times in other areas of the park. That was in fact, not my experience. Like all of the wait times had increased because I think everybody wants to go see what's going on with Bluey and Bingo. Okay. So we'll leave that at a D. And I think that's really, really fair. I like that.

[01:23:17] Okay. We have one more permanent thing to talk through, and then we'll just hit the highlights for summer specifically kind of quickly. The Disney Junior Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live. It's the new musical show at Hollywood Studios featuring Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Daisy, Pluto. It opened at the end of May. It was previously debuted at Disneyland's California Adventure in 2025, and it's a great option for young kids visiting Hollywood Studios. This is a great way to get interaction with those popular

[01:23:47] headliner characters. For instance, do this, not Chef Mickey's. Yeah. If you want to meet those characters, right? Go dance with them. You're not going to get the autograph, but you are going to get the experience, and that may be better. But this is extremely isolating, and it's less... What is the word I'm looking for for Bluey and Bingo that I can't quite put my finger on? Bluey and Bingo feels accessible to basically everybody, whereas Disney Junior, like Mickey Mouse

[01:24:12] Clubhouse feels specifically for little kids. Well, not only that, but Bluey and Bingo are available in one place. All of these characters you can see in multiple settings throughout the parks, restaurants, everything. Yeah. Disney Junior is a very specific moment in time in your life, and most parents can say our Disney Junior era, you know, and it was this very small window, and I value that. We talk about that on the show all the time. We're like, I love our little

[01:24:38] Disney Junior era. I loved turning those shows on when my kids were little, but we outgrew it pretty quickly. Would my kids still enjoy this? Probably. They love to dance. It's inside. The characters are there. I'm sure they would love this, but is it a priority? No. Is it a C? I would say it's a B or a C. Maybe a C. Okay. What do you think, Katie? So here's what I will say. From the perspective of someone who has little kids or is edging out of that little kid area, I think that the criticism

[01:25:05] of Hollywood Studios, why people skip it is because they go to Disney World with their littles and they feel like Hollywood Studios is too much of a throw park. So I do think that the Disney Junior Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live is needed, especially for that demographic, but you're exactly right. Like it is isolating to that demographic. I will say too, I'm glad they added this into your point, like for little kids. But again, the reason that families go to Hollywood

[01:25:32] Studios that when they're worried that it's going to be too old for their kids, right? Things are too big. It's a bunch of shows, which is great. Like I love that, but some families that might be a little bit like, we don't want to watch shows or whatever. And now here's another show type experience, not an attraction. You know what I mean? But as someone with little kids who have to get their wiggles out, if you tell my kid, Hey, let's go to the Little Mermaid show and they're expected to sit still and be quiet the whole time versus I'm going to go next door to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live where I can

[01:26:01] dance and play with bubbles and high five people. It's a different thing. So I feel like the C rating is fine for it, but I also feel like it is critically needed for that part. Yeah, definitely. So I think still though, it's like a C because I don't think it's like a must do you. Oh my gosh, you're going to Disney. Nobody is like, yeah, I almost think it could be a B. I think you're going to have a lot of fun there. But if you put it in a sentence, oh my gosh, you're going to Disney, you're going to Hollywood Studios. You got to go dance Disney Junior. You know what I mean?

[01:26:30] Listen, I have said that to many people is you have to go do Disney Junior dance party. I love it. We literally listened. I bought the song on iTunes and my kids listen to the Disney Junior dance party song in the car almost every day. So I think it's great, but it is specifically for that family with little kids. Okay. So C? Yeah, C is fine. Okay. All right. Good. Okay. We're going to take a quick break. We're going to do our friend like me segment. When we come back,

[01:26:58] we're going to touch some highlights for cool kids summer. I want to talk about some of the temporary things that are coming that are so exciting that are just specifically for cool kids summer. We'll hit a lightning lane, but first don't fast forward, listen to our friends. They have so many exciting things they are doing on their personal Instagram pages in their Facebook communities. I know you all love being part of our community and being part of theirs is just as fun. So give a listen, give a follow, and then join us on the other side for some cool kids, summer tidbits and

[01:27:27] a lightning lane. If you are looking for ways to level up your Disney vacation, you have to join our friend Maureen at doing Disney deluxe style on Facebook from resorts to VIP experiences and exclusives, different types of dining add-ons, anything that you can think of to make your Disney vacation even more deluxe than it already is. Maureen has your back. Planning a Disney trip is a once in a lifetime for so many families, or if you go so much that you're looking for new and fresh ideas,

[01:27:57] Maureen's group doing Disney deluxe style is where you want to be. Do your kids have a wide age gap between them? Join our friends Laura and Kate in their Facebook community, Disney Vacations designed for toddlers, kids, and teens. Laura and Kate are two moms who each have three kids with wide age gaps ranging from infant to college. In their group, they know and understand that families need help when they're seeking adventure and excitement in Walt Disney

[01:28:24] World and beyond. They make sure you fit into the puzzle between your kids who have that wide age range. Join them at Disney Vacations designed for toddlers, kids, and teens on Facebook. Join the conversation on how to travel when you have a wide age gap between your kiddos. Over the last couple years, Disney, I feel like summer used to be prime time for Disney. School was out and people went to

[01:28:50] Disney. And then I think there was this trend that happened a few years ago where summer became off season for Disney. Disney recognized that and they have started this new thing. I think this is like the second year and it's bigger this year called Cool Kids Summer. You get really great promos that lean towards kids, like good ticket promos, especially where you could save a lot of money on a ticket for a kiddo. But they also have these limited time, really awesome things that are going on inside the parks

[01:29:18] where it's only happening during Cool Kids Summer, roughly May 26 through September 8th. So like Memorial Day to post Labor Day. A couple of those things. Jesse's Roundup in Frontierland at Magic Kingdom. This one is wild to me, especially with Toy Story 5 coming out. It's happening now through September 8th. It's at the Diamond Horseshoe in Magic Kingdom, which is a perfect place for this. And there is a Toy Story inspired hoedown. You can join Jesse, Woody, Bullseye, and it's packed

[01:29:44] with singing, dancing games and other playful activities. That's incredible. This is temporary, right? Yeah, it is temporary. Why wouldn't they do this over at the Hoop-dee-doo review and like really make that a spectacle over there? Because a lot of people are skipping that because it's just like a dinner and it's that uncanny humor, no characters, but it's like a show and it's great. But my goodness, if you did this over there, I think it would just knock it out of the park.

[01:30:12] I think the whole point of Cool Kids Summer is to like lean into the parks and get people in the parks and be like, hey, there's a lot happening at Disney. Valid. Which a couple of the things we're going to talk about though aren't at parks, but another really temporary thing, the Goofy Corps at Communicore Hall at Epcot. That's basically a dance party, right? With Goofy? Yeah. They have a DJ that comes in, Goofy and Max too. They're coming around, they're playing games with the kids, they're dancing. My girls were doing the limbo with Goofy this week. Like it was fantastic. My kids

[01:30:41] beg for Goofy Corps to come back. The Communicore Hall changes what's happening in it seasonally. So during the Festival of the Arts, they have like all the Broadway stuff that comes in there. And at Christmas time, they're going to build a big giant gingerbread spaceship earth, right? Like there's always something different happening in Communicore Hall, but they bring in this really cool carpeting that looks like your kids are in a life-size Candyland game. It is really cool.

[01:31:07] And my kids beg for it all year long. And as soon as we were like, oh, hey, Cool Kids Summer's back, they were like, can we go play with Goofy now? Like they, this is a draw to Epcot for my kids. The Goofy Corps is such a fun thing. This is like these little additions and bringing them temporarily only for summer. It's really smart strategy on, on Disney's part. Both water parks are open all summer long, which is rare and fantastic. That is a summer treat. And then

[01:31:35] something else they're doing character visits more routinely, more regularly at select resorts for on property guests. We already know that characters will pop up at resorts. Occasionally, this is going to come with more frequency at the select hotels. And then also they have these libraries where characters will read to the kiddos at select resorts. So you're, you're getting park and resort experiences throughout Cool Kids Summer that is kind of leveling up your experience for

[01:32:03] your kiddos and making it even more worthwhile to go during the summer. Yeah. And to your point about, you know, both of the water parks being open as well, throughout all of 2025, Disney ran this perk that if you were staying on Disney property, you got free water park access on your check-in day. And they brought that back just for the summer of 2026. So you're getting even more value. Not only are both water parks available and you can choose which one you want to go to, but you can potentially go for free.

[01:32:33] So, yeah. Well, I think Cool Kids Summer in general is an e-ticket. A hundred percent. It's so good. It's so good. Yeah. And there's so many anything. I can't wait to do that. Jesse's roundup at the Diamond Horseshoe. I think that that's so good. And we need more of Toy Story in Magic Kingdom. The fact that all this time, it's just been Buzz Lightyear and Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger spin. Toy Story is, is so quintessential in the Disney experience. Like I, I need them more than Magic Kingdom.

[01:33:03] But there's a whole land at Hollywood. Let it live there. A whole land. Yeah. But it can, nah, even Toy Story land is too small. We know Allie's feelings on the land, but it's, it's there. It doesn't need to be, I mean, little, little pieces in other places, fine, but. Are you guys excited for Toy Story 5? Yeah. I've already bought my tickets. So yes, absolutely. I think that maybe this is just being a 90s kid thing. I think I was five or six whenever Toy Story came out. So

[01:33:32] Toy Story is so embedded into like who I am as a person that it feels like a miss to me to just be like, oh, we're only going to keep Toy Story in this one park, in this one section of the park. Like millennials want more Toy Story. Give us more Toy Story. Yeah, that's fair. Okay. So Cool Kid Summer is an E. Carla, you didn't get a say in that, but we did name it that. It's fine. It's all about you guys. We're just here for support.

[01:33:59] Let's do a lightning lane, but you have to go first, Carla. Okay. Okay. And then, and then Katie. All right. What is the best e-ticket type attraction at Disney World that we rarely talk about, but you do love to ride? Let's say specific to summer. I'm going to go Tiana's. I love that ride. I love the drop. I love the multiple drops. I love the theming. Yeah. It's fun. And when we never talk about it, cause it's a wet, you know, water ride,

[01:34:25] nobody wants to get wet, but in the summer, you're already going to be like dressed down. You really shouldn't have makeup on because it's just going to come off. Like why not ride a water ride? It's a great answer. We don't talk about that one that much. Yeah. I feel like that's a really good choice. I'm going to go with it too. It's a great one. We really don't talk about Tiana's very often. It gets overshadowed all the time. I am actually going to go with Expedition Everest because... That was the other one on my list. That was totally my second on my list.

[01:34:54] Because I feel like before Guardians of the Galaxy came out, everyone was like, oh yeah, Expedition Everest is where it's at. And now that Guardians exists, we're like, oh yeah, probably Expedition Everest sometime. Yeah. But it's great. What about an A type attraction that is totally chill, but you do still love to experience it? But that's kind of tough because... Mansion. That's not an A. An A is like... People rarely go on it. Country bears. Oh, you know what? It's probably an A. People mover.

[01:35:24] Right? Yeah. Carousel of progress. Don't do this to me. I was actually going to say, I feel like an A type attraction is probably Cali River Rapids because I don't feel that a lot of people go on it. And it's certainly not something that people are like, I'm going to Animal Kingdom so I can do Cali River Rapids. But it's so good. I love it. Right? Do you love that ride? What about like, I think that's more than an A. What about like Wings of Flight at Animal Kingdom? That's more like an A. You should go watch those birds. The bird show? Yeah. That's like an A.

[01:35:53] You just insulted Carla so hard. All right. Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach? I've been to either. I would say Resort Pool Day. Oh my gosh. I don't even know. Volcano Bay. That's crazy. Yeah. Volcano Bay. I'm going there this weekend. Anyway, Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach? This is so hard because Blizzard Beach has so many fun things with the frozen stuff. And I like that they have that little zip line that the kids can jump in. But I actually think Typhoon Lagoon wins

[01:36:22] because this is going to sound silly, but the Lazy River is slightly deeper at Typhoon Lagoon to the point that it's comfortable for adults. And that has to be the winning factor for me. So. Wait a minute. Summit Plummet is a 48 inch height. Okay. That feels crazy to me. That means my twins are. I was just looking because I'm the worst. Can you ride that? Can you ride that? Stop it. I'm the worst travel agent for my own trips. I'm really bad. Like it'll be way past my

[01:36:49] 60 day mark. And I'm like, we have nothing. What are we doing? And I just now remember like just now in this moment that we're going to have this free water park day when we go to, when we go this summer. I didn't even consider that we should go, but we definitely, I just looked at the heights and I love my answer is Blizzard Beach. My family's never been, and my kids are tall enough for every attraction and they're good swimmers now. So I think we should do it. I'm going to go talk to Zan about it right when I'm done here. I think we're going to do it. Yeah, do it. All right. Grogu or Chewy mode on Smuggler's Run. I've never done either, but probably Chewy.

[01:37:17] What do you think Katie? Cause I haven't done Grogu. So how do I know? Oh no. It feels like sacrilege not to say Chewy mode. Cause that's where my heart lies. I feel like baby Yoda mode. But the, the updates with Grogu are so, so good. It has to be Grogu, but it hurts my heart a little bit. Not to say Chewy. Okay. And the very final one is it's almost July and you're wanting to plan a trip for 2026.

[01:37:45] When are you planning for? Christmas. For sure. The next time we get cool weather. I don't really understand this question. 2026 is half over. So you want to plan a trip now. Right now, since 2027 literally dropped yesterday when we're recording this, why wouldn't you be planning next year's trip? The question is for 2026 because there's still a ton to plan for this year. Okay. Christmas. I have a wait list in for the cabins for Halloween time. That would be great. For your family? If I get it. Yeah. If I get it, I'm going.

[01:38:16] Those cabins do look so cute. Mm-hmm. So I actually think that there really is a perfect time to go. And I think it's the end of August into the beginning of September, whenever the school year is starting. That is statistically when there are the lowest wait times, when there's the less people there, and when Disney costs the least of the entire year. So I would say sometime in that- Also when it's the hottest and the most frequent hurricane season.

[01:38:45] But you're never going to have everything completely perfect. And if I'm going to spend money on a Disney vacation, I want to get the most out of it. So I want to go on its cheapest, and there's less people there. So last two weeks of August, first two weeks is really all of September, the entire September. And you can see Mickey's not-so-scary Halloween party. Yeah. All right, guys. Well, this is really fun. I love checking in with all the changes. I'm sure some of the things we talked about today are going to continue to change and evolve. And that's just

[01:39:14] what happens at Disney is things are continuously changing and evolving all the time. So make sure you are staying up to date with all the changes, capitalizing on all the changes, and striking while these temporary things are happening at Disney World. I can't wait to see you do an experience. Some of them Katie already has. I'm sure Carla's about to at some point soon as well. And so should you. That's going to do it for us on another episode of The Moms Behind the Magic

[01:39:42] podcast. And until next time, we're sending you fun, love, and joy, and we'll see you real soon. And look at that. I was like, I don't know when this episode comes out. But it's literally the second line of the outline. Am I doing solo monologue today? Like, is this... I have to pause a second. There's something else that should go under characters and entertainment that is not here. It's listed. It's listed at the bottom in Cool Fit Summer. No, Becky didn't let us down. All right. All right. Go ahead. Get into it.

[01:40:09] 250. That's what? Bicentennial plus 50. And what is it called? I don't know. I don't know. There you are. Can you hear me? I can now. Did you guys hear what I said? No, but that's probably... It wasn't important anyways. Carla, you're not speaking. There's something coming out. There's something coming out. Hello. There you are. Yeah, there you are. Meditieren, yoga, joggen. Nichts entspannt mich. Echt? Mich entspannt meine Steuer total. Steuer? Wie Finanzamt? Die Steuererklärung?

[01:40:38] Ja, ich hab ganz locker über 1000 Euro Zugriff bekommen. Hast du geheime Connections? Nö, nur die Visu-Steuer-App. Wow. Und das ist einfach? Klar, die macht fast alles automatisch. Plötzlich fühl ich mich so entspannt. Hol dir dein Geld zurück. Tiefenentspannt mit Visu-Steuer. Ich hab nur die