Circle of Parks Podcast: Talking all things Walt Disney World
Because there's far too much to see and do. We're here to help guide you through. We are a married couple with two boys age 9 and 6 talking all things Disney World. This podcast will cover the tips and tricks we've learned along our journey, history of the parks and attractions, and most importantly why and how Disney makes us feel how we do while in the parks and that it's ok to feel that way.
Circle of Parks Podcast: Talking all things Walt Disney World
Episode #215: The Final Episode: Celebrating Four Years of Disney Adventures
After 215 episodes of Disney magic, our journey comes to a bittersweet end. In this emotional final episode, we're joined by special guests Johnny, Darth Mouse, and Travel Planner Erica to celebrate four years of Disney adventures while explaining why we're hanging up our Mickey ears.
Life has a way of shifting priorities - between demanding work schedules, family health concerns, and our sons' competitive soccer careers now taking us across the southeastern United States, we've reached a crossroads where something had to give. But this isn't goodbye to Disney - just a pause in how we share our experiences.
We go out with a bang through heated debates about the parks! Would you rather be stuck on It's a Small World for an hour or wait three hours for Flight of Passage? Is Animal Kingdom underrated or the weakest park? Which resort doesn't deserve the hype? We rank everything from quick-service restaurants to nighttime spectaculars, and reveal our most controversial Disney opinions (prepare to be shocked by some hot takes about Figment and Harmonious).
The most meaningful part of this podcast journey has been connecting with fellow Disney lovers and helping others plan magical vacations. Walt Disney's story reminds us that dreams take courage and persistence - which perfectly describes our podcast adventure.
Thank you for being part of our Circle of Parks family. While our regular episodes end here, our Disney journeys will continue, and perhaps someday we'll find new ways to share the magic again. Until then, remember that in the words of Walt himself, "All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them."
Please Check Out Our Links Below:
Our Sponsor:
Email Us:
Our Website:
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/circleofparks
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/circleofparks
X:
Ad Music:
Carefree Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Music promoted on https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
hello and welcome to circle of Parks podcast episode number 215. Today is going to be our final episode. There is far too much to see and do and for the past four years we have been here to help guide you through. But before we do that, we must talk Disney merch. So this week on DisneyStorecom they're all about the Haunted Mansion right now, and there is a new Haunted Mansion Dooney and Burke crossbody bag priced at $228. Priced at $228. And you'll find yourself in a grave situation everywhere you go with this crossbody haunted mansion from Dooney Burke. The front is simulated leather bag, features the cemetery with the three hitchhiking ghosts trying to thumb a ride out, while the back features more of the attractions inhabitants with a lineup of the singing bust. So again, a whole new line coming out for the haunted mansion, not just with duny and burke, but spirit jerseys and all, and that is this week's disney merch the final merch is haunted mansion.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, all right, thank everybody for joining us. Episode number 215, this will be our last one. I'm Zach.
Speaker 1:I'm Brittany.
Speaker 2:And for four years we have taken you to Walt Disney World or Disneyland every week and helped you get through your week. This is going to be tough to do. We have guests with us, awesome guests. We have Johnny Hello, hello. Darth Mouse and Travel Planner Erica with us. Hey, hey. And we're just so happy to have them here with us and doing this final episode with us. It's going to be a fun one. We're going to have fun with it, but I guess we need to talk about the huge elephant in the room, right?
Speaker 1:Well, you had me say it in the beginning, I know yes.
Speaker 2:Why are we ending the podcast? Well? Well, you had me say it in the beginning, I know, yes, why are we ending the podcast? Well, it's a long story and we're going to try to shorten it up here, but I think the wheels kind of started getting into motion. Around January. My work schedule changed. I was I'm an air traffic controller. I've not ever said that, but I am an air traffic controller here at BNA and we do work six day work weeks and it's very stressful and all that. I've never mentioned that because I never wanted it to be about that. Right.
Speaker 2:Right, it's one of those jobs where everybody wants to talk about how cool it is and this and that it's not what I wanted this to be. So I've never said that before. But yes, I'm an air traffic controller. Our schedules change. This year, instead of a rotating schedule, which I was home every night of the week, we went to a week of days and then a week of nights. The week of nights we weren't recording at all. Right, during the week of days we were recording two podcasts a week. Yes, on top of already doing six days a week, work weeks, the travel, soccer, life, family and it started to become too much to do two episodes a week. And, if you noticed, we stopped doing the Disney trivia, which I do miss.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:I do really do miss doing the Disney trivia. It was just I couldn't keep up with what week was what right.
Speaker 1:That would just be too much you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:And then I said on our beginning of the year podcast that I wasn't going to let other factors bother me anymore and I was going to get back to doing the did, you knows, and all that stuff. Well, the other factors were my work and I know, if you're listening to this and you're in the United States, air traffic controllers got put in the huge spotlight in January.
Speaker 2:And so yeah not that that directly affected me, but that weighs on you, though, right and all of that, all those ideas and everything gone, like I was just burnt out. I didn't want to do anything really, so that happened, and then we were kind of trudging through, right, we were doing okay. Yeah. And then our trip got canceled.
Speaker 1:Yeah, in February, and work was getting tough.
Speaker 2:For me, work was getting tough for Brittany and me. And then in May the family emergency had was my mom had a heart attack and everything kind of stopped right then.
Speaker 4:Right.
Speaker 2:Y'all had a family emergency as well. Yes, yeah, and that kind of resets everything Right. During this time I'm like, okay, my mom's in the hospital, my dad was having a procedure as well, and I was like I'll get a lot of writing done for the book, I'll get a lot of like podcasting stuff done, while just sitting in the chair there with her at the hospital, right, had my laptop out and just nothing came to me right, just blank right.
Speaker 2:Well, also during this, we, our boys, had soccer tryouts, travel soccer tryouts, and our youngest, nolan, is on the ecnl team for his soccer club. Yes, and if you know anything about travel soccer and you know what the ecno league club is, you just had two thoughts. One wow, he must be really, really good. And yes he is. He was a top-ranked striker in the state of tennessee for his age group just past spring and two I'm so sorry for you yeah because, are you gonna be traveling?
Speaker 2:we just got our. We had our team meeting yesterday and we're not even doing friendlies or state league or our tennessee state league. We are playing in this ecnl league with 20 teams from georgia, florida, kentucky, mississippi, alabama, south carolina and a couple teams from tennessee, and that's all the teams we're playing wow, okay, so that's a lot of traveling. It's a whole lot of traveling. So we went from travel ball.
Speaker 6:And our other son is playing soccer too.
Speaker 2:So we went from traveling in middle Tennessee to the whole south, the whole south. My goodness and after our team meeting yesterday, the coach was like yeah, fall break. We just automatically thought fall break and spring break, completely devoted to soccer now. And it's going to be yeah. So all of that running together, we're like you know what.
Speaker 1:We're just not going to have time to do this anymore, and it's one of those like yes, we do some short episodes sometimes, but we don't want to be rushing all our episodes just to try to squeeze it in. Rushing all our episodes just to try to squeeze it in, like we want to still provide accurate information to you guys and share our experiences the way we've always done, and so I feel like if we continue doing that, it would just be quickly put together it would be way too much.
Speaker 2:And you all know, doing these podcasts we're not just getting together and talking like there's a lot of work and research and sitting down and looking at this stuff. It takes hours of prep work to put a podcast on right. We're not just sitting around randomly talking right now yeah, it's just the show notes.
Speaker 2:It'll take you several hours for a one hour podcast yeah, and it's just the social media, if you notice, I stopped doing the daily walt dis Disney quotes and just all of that just became too much. And I had somebody tell me back in April like, also during this, I was really putting pressure on myself for the book. I was reaching out to editors trying to start getting that in line and they were wanting to change the book. They were wanting to oh, we need to develop it, develop it. I'm like it's a walkthrough. What, what are you developing? And it just became way too much. Like I just got overwhelmed and this person I was talking to were like was like, do you hear yourself? And they were like it's okay, just because you take a day off and don't do anything, you're not lazy. On my one day off always felt like I've got to write, I've got to do the podcast like I've got to do this, I've got to do that.
Speaker 2:stop like you don't have to do that. And if I didn't do it, I felt lazy and felt like I was worthless, and that's. That's not the case, right, you know? So I needed a break, britney needed a break, and it's just I I missed. I'm going to miss this.
Speaker 1:I really am, yeah, but Well, sorry, that's not on purpose. I did get choked up the first time I tried to do the intro to the episode, and then now I'm choking up again for other reasons. But no, we will definitely miss it for sure. And you know I mean who's to say we won't ever do it again.
Speaker 2:I don't know, you know to say we won't ever do it again. I don't know, you know we're keeping all the equipment and it's just. It's not because we don't like disney it's not that you know like and we all have we're going to get into our opinions here in a bit, um, but it's no, it's, and I hate to be doing it right now our show. We've got a lot of new listeners and thank you for for listening to us. I really do appreciate it. Thank you to erica for sponsoring us. Uh, the past bit.
Speaker 2:This is how much we believe in erica she. We've been advertising for free for her for the past two months, since we've decided to do this which thank you very much I deeply appreciate that, and well, I'll save mine for later. I'll save all that okay, um, but we still love it. We're still going to go to the Disney parks. We're just not going to be going as often as we have been. We're still doing our Christmas trip. The boys still think we're going to.
Speaker 1:Pop Century, but we're going to Animal.
Speaker 2:Kingdom Lodge, brittany is going cruising next year.
Speaker 1:Yay, I'm so excited, so a shorter one to start with. Let's hope for calm waters.
Speaker 2:Yes, but we still love Disney, we're still going to love the parks, but it's just. It's time for us to move on from this, I think, and I'm going to enjoy fly fishing more. I'm going on a trip next month to Colorado to go fly fishing. And just on my day off I'm just going to do nothing and that's OK.
Speaker 6:It's absolutely okay, it is okay, and if you guys ever do get bored or miss podcasting, you could always come on ours oh, shameless plug wow johnny, once upon a park podcast.
Speaker 2:Go check them out, we would love. I mean, we had fun when we were on two weeks ago yeah and we still want to do all that like this isn't, we're just completely done, we're walking away, but I just think it mentally for the time.
Speaker 3:This is something we have to do for the time being so, but yeah, what's next for us?
Speaker 2:um, I'm gonna try to slow down some. Yeah, I'm gonna finish the book. I got two and a half chapters left. It's gonna be done, but I'm not putting a time limit on it though. Okay, you know right yeah, I mean that's. You have a lot of goals still, so it's not like you're retiring no, no, not at all, and and we up until about a month ago, we were seriously talking about moving down to orlando yeah really even like three weeks it was.
Speaker 2:I mean, we were seriously talking about it. But with my parents health and britney's Brittany's mom's health, there's no way we can leave right now.
Speaker 4:Right, it's just not, yeah, so okay, we're going to have fun.
Speaker 2:We're going to have fun. It's going to be a fun episode. We're going to do some would-you-rathers Are you in or out? And we've got questions.
Speaker 5:Yes, lots and lots of questions.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this should be interesting, and I'm laughing because my original, original Disney merch is on my notes. Sorry guys, it took me a minute to get new Disney merch that I shared a little while ago because I was like, oh, where was it that I had written down what I was originally going to do and then now I found it. But it's okay. All right, if you want a second Disney merch real quick. It was going to be a new magic band plus that was leopard print. That would be perfect for your animal kingdom days.
Speaker 5:Well, there you go, there you go.
Speaker 2:Oh, we're definitely gonna talk about animal kingdom today all right, we're gonna start with some, would you rather? We've got two each. We're gonna let Erica go first. Oh, I get to go first okay, um.
Speaker 5:So my first would you rather is would you rather get stuck on it's a small world for 60 minutes or wait in line for fly to passage for three hours? Oh, that's an easy one I'll wait, you'll wait. I'm sorry, I'll. I will go last. Oh, I thought you made like you would wait for three hours. Okay, johnny, what say you?
Speaker 6:With Disney, time is money. I'd rather be stuck for 60 minutes than wait in line for three hours. Okay.
Speaker 2:That's fair. Yeah, brittany.
Speaker 1:Are the kids with us? Yes, oh, Ryan would be going crazy on.
Speaker 6:It's a Small World but it is only an hour versus three hours.
Speaker 1:Three hours is just just almost half your day it's indoors and air conditioned too, that's true, that's true with little cell service I don't need cell service britney initially what popped in my head was waiting in line the three hours, but then I got to thinking of how long that really truly is. But then for an hour I'm going to have Ryan be like. I don't like this song. I don't like this song. I might do the waiting three hours because I know how Ryan would be.
Speaker 2:I'm waiting three hours. Wow, that cue at Flight of Passage, it's fine are we talking outdoors in the summer Both? Did you know? Oh, oh, did you know? Hold on.
Speaker 1:We're outside for part of the wait. Yeah, oh, in the summer.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Oof.
Speaker 5:Suck it up. I should have been more detailed in my question.
Speaker 1:So then I might change that to the one hour. No, you already answered, Kim Doe.
Speaker 2:There is a rookery on the outdoor part of the queue on the floating mountains when you're waiting in line for flight of passage outside there is what's?
Speaker 6:a rookery. I was wondering that too, and now you're muted.
Speaker 2:I might get muted too. The Banshees? Oh yes, yes, yes. And now you're muted.
Speaker 5:I might get muted too. The.
Speaker 2:Banshees. Oh, yes, yes, yes. If you look on the floating mountains, when you're on the outdoor part of the queue and fight a passage from behind, there are a bunch of Banshees gathered together. See, that's the kind of stuff I nerd out on.
Speaker 6:Okay, all right, that makes sense.
Speaker 5:But you're not seeing it the whole time.
Speaker 2:You're in line, no, but there's so many, so much detail and storytelling in that queue. I would be completely fine. Three hours in there, no problem. Okay, I'd enjoy that way much more, it's a small. I'd rather wait in line for three hours and then just not even ride.
Speaker 1:It's a small world now, if it was definitely like it's a small world in disneyland, I would have definitely chose that.
Speaker 5:See, that would be a completely different question. Would you rather be stuck on? It's a Small World in.
Speaker 1:Disneyland or in Magic Kingdom. Disneyland, disneyland, yes, yes.
Speaker 2:All right, erica, you have to answer your two.
Speaker 5:Oh, Small World.
Speaker 2:Small World All right For 60 minutes.
Speaker 6:Johnny, what's your first one? All right, would you rather?
Speaker 5:ride the people mover all day long, or carousel of progress, oh, oh that's a really good question, good one, britney, what do you think?
Speaker 1:people mover.
Speaker 6:Oh gosh, people mover pass, come back to me uh, yeah, people mover so my thought was you could take a nap during carousel progress, because indoors and everything people mover is kind of jerky you yeah there's a lot of people watching but you can nap in carousel of progress as well yeah, yeah, that's what I probably do, but
Speaker 1:you can nap on on people mover too though, but he's saying like the jerky movements, yeah, yeah, there's some fast parts of it so which one are you?
Speaker 5:choosing, I would do carousel progress so people would be like walking over you to get off of it really have you been in carousel of progress? Yeah, yes, I've taken naps in the carousel of progress um my oh gosh.
Speaker 2:This one's hard for me because carousel progress will always. It's just constantly the same, right. But on the people mover, it's always like, yes, it's always a people mover, but you're seeing different people and different things at the same time a different time of day. Yeah, yeah, you might catch, you know yeah I'm going people mover because I love it at night. Okay, okay, in the Carousel of Progress, it's always the same. It's always the same.
Speaker 1:Well, I, just, I like People Mover because you can relax, maybe not fall asleep, but like just seeing, you know the castle, you know in Tomorrowland outside, hearing the screams and everything of Space Mountain and you know certain other features on it and stuff too, and it is relaxing, yeah yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, I'm a people mover. Good, all right, brittany, what's your first one?
Speaker 1:Would you rather no, this is character dining choices.
Speaker 2:I'm out.
Speaker 1:Hey, would you rather eat at Quit muting me, that's the first time. Would you rather eat at topolino's or tusker house for breakfast?
Speaker 6:oh, I'm gonna go tusker house okay I can go hide in tusker house I'm gonna say topolino's, because I don't think I've ever had Tusker.
Speaker 5:House. You have not been to Tusker House.
Speaker 6:So I know Topolino's and it's amazing.
Speaker 5:Oh boy. Yeah, I'm going to say Topolino's as well, because the sour cream waffles are fire.
Speaker 1:Yes. Brittany. This one's very difficult for me because I love, love, love both, like I love the theming in both the outfits that they wear at both um this. The selection is definitely more at tusker house and I love animal kingdom. However, when I really finally thought it all through, I think Topolino's Wow. This was before they said Topolino's.
Speaker 2:I'm the only one for Tusker House. Yeah, should be no surprise to anybody.
Speaker 6:Yeah, yeah, location, location, location, Right, right.
Speaker 1:But you also had said that Topolino's is a good one.
Speaker 2:Topolino's was fine, it was all right.
Speaker 1:You said it was one of your more favorable.
Speaker 5:It was better character dinings it was, it was better not as good as garden grill, though right we'll get to that in a bit okay, we'll get to that in a bit.
Speaker 2:All right, my first would you rather, would you rather go to walt disney world for seven days and only go to animal kingdom and not ride rides or do the same except magic kingdom? So you can only go to either animal kingdom or magic kingdom for seven days, no rides, just relax.
Speaker 5:This is very specific for them oh boy, um, this is an easy one.
Speaker 6:This is a slam, slam dunk. I'm going to Magic Kingdom because I could just sit and do like Main Street and just walk around and see all the little parts of Magic Kingdom that I just zip right past, usually to go to rides.
Speaker 2:I love that answer. That's awesome.
Speaker 6:There's so much. Yeah, there's so much.
Speaker 2:Definitely yeah, shameless plug here. You know, there's going to be a book that comes out that's going to have all the information I was actually thinking.
Speaker 5:I'm like I could take your book and actually do the tour.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, you could do that for sure. Oh, am I going next, uh whoever just chimed in.
Speaker 5:Oh boy, you know what I'm going to surprise you. I'm actually going to say animal kingdom. Wow. I'm going to say animal kingdom only because I give Animal Kingdom a very hard time and I have spent so much time in Magic Kingdom. I feel like if I had seven days, no rides, to really dig into Animal Kingdom, I would probably enjoy it a little bit more.
Speaker 2:I love it. I love Johnny answer. That's awesome. Take your time in the the magic king. There's so much storytelling there.
Speaker 1:There really is and a couple of years ago that might have even been my answer, you know, because I used to really love like sitting around the castle and just taking it all in and and everything. But I would say, you know, just for like no rides, relaxing, observing and stuff. It would probably still be animal kingdom now, just because I know the quiet spots where I would want to be just to chill. But then I also know, you know, where some of my favorite animals are that I could watch for hours if they were out, things like that.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I'm going to animal kingdom as well. Magic kingdom is just too. We talk about having to leave the Magic Kingdom during the mid part of the day just to get away from that, and there's a reason for that, it's overwhelming.
Speaker 5:Yes, oh yeah, which is why Magic Kingdom is a two-day park.
Speaker 2:Soon to be three-day.
Speaker 5:Soon to be four.
Speaker 1:Yeah, or four yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all right.
Speaker 5:Erica, what is your number two, would you rather? All right, my number two, would you rather is would you rather only stay at value resorts for life, or only?
Speaker 2:visit during peak holiday times Value resorts.
Speaker 5:Wow, that was a really fast answer Really quick Okay.
Speaker 6:I say value too, because I don't care to be at the hotel.
Speaker 2:I'm going to be in the parks yeah well, I just don't want to be around 50 000 like, yeah, just it's too much yeah, value, because even though we've enjoyed, like when we have gone to the parties and stuff, it's still just so many people.
Speaker 1:Yes, you know, like it's like okay, yeah, we experienced it, but I don't know yeah, I'm good.
Speaker 2:So all-star movies made top 10 resort for me wow, yeah, really coming out tomorrow, no, next week, next week well, you're listening to this ahead of that. So last week's episode two weeks, what's up? Yeah, wow. Is it overwhelming? Yes, is it relaxing? No, but it's still a very well themed resort.
Speaker 5:I should have been more detailed in my questions. Like you, can only stay at a resort like no park days yeah can't go back and change it now.
Speaker 2:Can't go back.
Speaker 6:Can't go back I say value as well, unanimous all right, mine's gonna make you, uh, really not like me get the mute button ready.
Speaker 2:It's fun.
Speaker 6:Would you rather re-theme it's a small world to a marvel ride? Or would you rather bulldoze the castle for a Star Wars attraction?
Speaker 2:Oh, re-theme it to Small World.
Speaker 6:Really.
Speaker 2:Easy.
Speaker 6:Did you say bulldoze the castle? Yes, take the castle out and make it into a Star Wars attraction. Why would you even suggest that? Because this is one, you gotta just kill one.
Speaker 2:Oh, get Small World. I have no emotional attachment to small. I get the history, I understand, I get it. But yeah, bulldoze that one or or change it into uh, marvel, I'm good with that yeah, I guess maybe, since it's well disney world it's not the original, original small world.
Speaker 1:I'm still fine it's not the best yeah for, for here, for sure, it's a small world, or have some of them be the superheroes from Marvel.
Speaker 5:You know, like theme it that way.
Speaker 6:Yeah.
Speaker 5:Groot was in a small world.
Speaker 6:I thought there'd be a little bit more emotional attachment to small world.
Speaker 5:No castles.
Speaker 2:Now, if you said Carousel of Progress, I might would have a different opinion.
Speaker 5:They should just get rid of Carousel of Progress altogether. I I might have a different opinion. They should just get rid of Carousel of Progress altogether.
Speaker 2:I see what you're saying I know I'm not going to mute you.
Speaker 6:Harsh statements.
Speaker 2:Harsh statements here.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I guess I'd get rid of Small World too you can't get rid of the castles.
Speaker 5:Those are iconic, those are the symbols of the park.
Speaker 6:Not all of them, just that one, just Cinderella's Castle. You can't, no, you don't want a giant like Millennium Falcon.
Speaker 2:We have one, we have it in Hollywood.
Speaker 4:Well, I mean.
Speaker 6:All right, something else from Star.
Speaker 2:Wars.
Speaker 5:Can we get Darth Vader's lair. That actually would be really cool.
Speaker 6:Giant Death Star yes, replaced with a Death.
Speaker 2:Star, no Darth Vader's lair.
Speaker 6:Oh.
Speaker 2:I forgot the name of the planet.
Speaker 6:I forgot the name of the planet. Is that the lava, the lava planet?
Speaker 5:yeah, That'd be actually pretty cool. Wrong park.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 1:All right, brittany, all right. This one not too tough of a question. It's just which one you would prefer. Would you rather wait one hour for Flight of Passage or one hour for Everest?
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:You have to pick one.
Speaker 2:I'm in for both.
Speaker 1:You have to pick one. I'm doing both Like if this was the only one you could ride, and they were both listed at an hour Flight of Passage or Everest.
Speaker 2:I have gone on record of saying that Expedition Everest queue is the best in Walt Disney World, so I would be remiss if I didn't choose that one so you're saying, I'm saying everest. Okay, yeah, I can just hang. I can stay in that room in that queue all night, like the room where the cot is. I'll sleep there. I'm good with that. Like I've been in the queue before and people have been up behind me and I'm like just keep, I'm just hanging out.
Speaker 5:Interesting. Yeah, I would say Everest as well, because I feel like if you haven't seen Avatar, if you haven't seen any of the Avatar movies, you're not going to fully understand the queue of Flight of.
Speaker 6:Passage.
Speaker 5:But Expedition Everest, anybody can understand. So I say Expedition Everest.
Speaker 6:I like both rides. Everest. Hmm, I like both rides, but I guess the hour for Everest would be better, because it seems like I'm never sitting in it long enough, so I just zip right through that.
Speaker 2:Those rooms are so awesome.
Speaker 5:Yeah, they're really cool, it is.
Speaker 2:It's such detail. All of those artifacts have been used on tracks for exhibition for Everest. Those aren't like fake props. That's the real deal, pretty.
Speaker 1:I'm not big on Everest, Sorry guys.
Speaker 6:So I'm doing Flight of.
Speaker 1:Passage.
Speaker 2:And she's muted. I'm kidding. Alright, my last. Would you rather? Would you rather go to the Magic Kingdom and only be able to ride? It's a Small World or go to Animal Kingdom and only be able to ride Dinosaur?
Speaker 5:Oh gosh.
Speaker 1:I would do Animal Kingdom Dinosaur, if that's all.
Speaker 2:Hello.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness.
Speaker 6:For the audio only listeners. He has a dinosaur sock puppet.
Speaker 2:I have the one that Dr Vigman uses oh my goodness I got it from the store there, of course you did.
Speaker 6:I mean, they don't really care for dinosaurs.
Speaker 5:We don't care for dinosaur. What was the other one? Small World?
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 6:Dinosaur is more of a thrill ride, so I'd go with that one Nice.
Speaker 5:Oh, dinosaur, because it's going to go away soon. Fair enough.
Speaker 1:I said dinosaur.
Speaker 2:We just have a ton of fun on dinosaur we love it.
Speaker 1:I'm going gonna miss it when it's gone. I really am, because the kids have enjoyed it.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah, all right, we are now heading to in or out, erica. What is your first? Are you in or are you out?
Speaker 5:my first one is are you in or out to watch every nighttime show at every park of your trip, even if that means having to deal with all the crowds leaving at the same time? Bus only transportation.
Speaker 2:So we have to stay in the park.
Speaker 5:You have to stay in the park and watch Fantasmic and fireworks and the Epcot fireworks that you love so much.
Speaker 2:We're going to talk about that in a bit.
Speaker 5:Okay.
Speaker 2:You know what I'm gonna be in, because I can wait till after everybody leaves and still get the bus. Okay, I can just hang out which has been our plan to be it.
Speaker 1:Since we've been going, we just never do it well, and we've done it before, a few years ago and stuff too, so we used to do it.
Speaker 6:So, yeah, I'd be in I'd be in too, especially if I don't have to rope drop in the morning oh come on that's the problem is we go rope drop and it's just go, go, go. We go hard and then by the end of it I'm like I don't care about fireworks.
Speaker 5:I've seen fireworks yeah, I'm out especially on our epcot day, because it always rains without fail yeah, it always does for us too and and it's only at Epcot.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 5:It's bizarre.
Speaker 2:Every trip. Yeah, johnny, what's your first?
Speaker 6:are you in or are you out Doing the four park challenge? Oh, I'm in Brittany.
Speaker 2:I don't know if she knows what the four park challenge is.
Speaker 6:So you got to ride a ride, you had to eat a snack and you had to take a picture with a character and the icon of the park.
Speaker 5:And we had to do all the modes of transportation.
Speaker 6:Oh yeah, that was a little side quest.
Speaker 2:It's like bus, boat, skyliner, monorail. I'm out, I'm doing character pictures.
Speaker 6:We just have you won.
Speaker 4:It's just kind of like proof you're there yeah no, I'm out.
Speaker 2:You lost me at characters. I was in until then.
Speaker 1:All right, I'm in, I'm in.
Speaker 5:I'm in.
Speaker 6:I'm out. I've already done it before, but yeah, I'd do it again.
Speaker 5:Well, we did it when there was park hopping restrictions. We couldn't park hop until two o'clock, so we were booking it two o'clock so we were booking it.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I mean, it's definitely you aren't getting to do everything in the park. So if you've already done all the parks before, it's a fun little thing to see if you could do it all in one day you lost me at characters yeah, sorry britney.
Speaker 2:What is your first? Are you in or are you out?
Speaker 1:I don't think I really did it right to tell you the truth.
Speaker 2:Do you want me to go and you want to try to fix it?
Speaker 1:No, you're just going to tell me which you'd prefer in this game.
Speaker 2:Okay, well, that's kind of what this is.
Speaker 1:I put cinnamon roll and LeFou's brew at Gaston's in Magic Kingdom or school bread and Viking coffee in Norway.
Speaker 2:So that's a, would you rather? So that's Brittany's third. Would you rather, let's?
Speaker 1:just go with it.
Speaker 2:I'm in with the school.
Speaker 1:Yeah, again. So cinnamon roll in LeFou's brew, or school bread and Viking coffee.
Speaker 2:I would only take one bite of the cinnamon roll and then a sip of the lafuse brew because it is way too sweet for me. But the school bread I do not like I say neither yeah, yeah, did we like the cinnamon roll.
Speaker 6:We did not like the cinnamon roll and that's hard because, yeah, cinnamon rolls are um I mess up.
Speaker 5:I like the gray stuff cupcake that's there, the LeFou's brew it's way too sweet. It is too sweet, I hate to say, because I love sugar and sugary treats but yeah, it's way too sweet. But I don't do coconut so I can't do the school bread. Okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for me, I was going to choose school bread and Viking coffee. I'm not huge on the school bread, but it's good. It's just not my favorite, um. And then the viking coffee was really delicious when I just had it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah all right, my first one. Bob eiger has stated that all new attractions will only be disney ip based. No non-ip attractions will be built. Are you in or are you out on this?
Speaker 6:I'm 100% out.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 6:I'm out. I'm sorry, I don't need a ride for every movie that comes out. Or yeah, it used to be the other way around, right, they'd build an attraction and Pirates of the Caribbean, then they made a franchise about it, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 6:Yeah.
Speaker 5:I'm in.
Speaker 2:You're in On all IP Okay.
Speaker 5:I'm in on all IP only because the IP is what everybody knows of Disney. Okay, so you're going to a Disney park. You want like the feel good, feels, Like. I think that's why we reminisce about like the old times and everything, because we grew up on like Disney, like original Disney Channel and everything, and we have like those rides from our era and everything. So I'm all in.
Speaker 1:Yes, bring it, yeah, and I'm like I'm 50-50, really, because I get both sides completely stuff like this in prior episodes. I'm always like, yeah, but you have to think what. You know, what's currently popular, what's going to keep the younger families going, and even though I may not personally want everything to be IP, that's what's going to keep them going, you know, and it doesn't necessarily have to be like every movie that comes out, but you know the more popular ones. For sure, like initially, the first time I watched Encanto, I wasn't huge on it. Then the more popular ones. For sure, like initially, the first time I watched incanto I wasn't huge on it. Then the more I watched it I was. And now it is kind of exciting that they're going to do something like that in animal kingdom, you know, because so many people loved that movie. So that's going to bring more people to see it.
Speaker 2:I'm out um I I do like that they have a lot of the ip attractions. I blame universal, though oh yeah I blame universal because, all their stuff is ip focused right and they're they're.
Speaker 2:They're competing with universal right now. That's what this is all about. But I'll go back and look haunted mansion, pirates of the caribbean People, mover Expedition, everest Dinosaur, jungle Cruise, jungle Cruise All this stuff, great Big Thunder Mountain, the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, all that storytelling All of that's going to be gone now. No new stuff will be original storytelling and they did such an amazing job with that and that's what I know. They're not catering to me anymore, but that is why I have loved these parks so much Test track, living with the land, all this original storytelling they're not going to have that anymore.
Speaker 5:Do you think that the Imagineers peaked?
Speaker 2:I think this is my honest opinion. I think they always had these great ideas and then they just kept telling nope, nope, nope. And then most of them because I follow a lot of them on twitter and instagram they've gone on to start their own businesses. They've left disney to start their own businesses and do their own creative thing. Could you imagine a Joe Rohde in this Disney environment now?
Speaker 5:Oh man what.
Speaker 2:Animal Kingdom would have looked like. Yeah, could you imagine? Yeah, that's yeah, that's tough. He was such a, you know, or Tony Baxter, or oh name any ex-famous Imagineers you know x bob ger, bob ger.
Speaker 2:Yeah, hmm, just, but just all that creativityness. Creativeness, you know. I'm trying to say here yes, that's gone. Now it's like, hey, just come up with a side story for cars and that's essentially what it is right, and we're going to blend that into frontierland or tiana's replacing splash mountain, which I get, but it my problem is it does not tie into the story of frontierland I agree with that that's my problem with it. If they turn that little corner there into like well, the same at disneyland.
Speaker 1:It doesn't fit with Critter Country right granted it is close to like New Orleans Square, but it's not in New Orleans Square, it's.
Speaker 5:It's in Critter Country. She deserved her own space. Yeah, and I.
Speaker 2:I completely agree. And what made Splash Mountain work? No, it was not Wild West 1800s, it was post-civil war south 1800s. But the way they blended the attraction into the area, they were still able to tell that story. Yes, and I think Tiana deserves not much more than just a rethemed attraction. I think she deserves her own thing.
Speaker 5:She needed something new.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I've been saying this since day one Turn Paddlefish into Tiana's place they have that at disneyland. I'm just saying but no like the the paddlefish restaurant yeah, and have everything there character dining the food, like make it the real tiana's place on the paddlefish.
Speaker 5:I think that would be that's actually a really good idea, yeah disney contact me yeah so, yeah, I'm passionate about that, as you can tell.
Speaker 2:Right, you know, like I would have never guessed two hours later all right moving on hours later. Yes, johnny, what is your number two? Are you in or are you out?
Speaker 5:wait. Did I go or do you wait? You go?
Speaker 6:did you just go? No, he just went right.
Speaker 2:No, okay yes, okay, sorry, number two okay, uh, number two.
Speaker 5:Um, are you in or out, spending your entire day at epcot without writing a single ride in, without writing a, without writing a single ride?
Speaker 2:and 100, I can walk around world showcase. Give me a beer in my hand, I can go sit with walt in the dreamers. I can just go and listen to that music and just chill, hang out.
Speaker 1:Give me a snack, give me a drink like you're, but we're there from open to close. I'm good, I'm fine, like all day.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm fine, I can eat. Early entry to close. I'm fine, I can eat, I can snack, I can go to the restaurant, I can chill, I'm down, I'm in 100 open to close.
Speaker 1:I don't think I could for several hours? Yes, because we do that, but oh, I'm in but I I mean, like I love Soarin', I love Remy's, you know, even though it's the same thing every time, I still love Spaceship Earth, you know. So, yes, we spend several hours on the World Showcase side, but it's after we've done several rides too.
Speaker 2:I can, I'm in 100%. I'm out, I'm out, you know the food Like I could.
Speaker 6:obviously the food there's pretty good, but yeah, I'm not going to just sit there and look at the giant golf ball and not go in it. It would be too heartbreaking.
Speaker 5:I'm out, I'm out. There's no way, I'm going to Epcot and not going on Cosmic Rewind.
Speaker 2:There's no way. Okay, there's no way.
Speaker 4:Ain't no way.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the South All right.
Speaker 6:Enter you out. Staying off property at Walt Disney World Out.
Speaker 5:No, why? Okay, wait a second. Let me, okay, wait. Caveat, it's the four seasons. Fine, I'm out.
Speaker 2:I'm out. I'm out. We stayed at the Dolphin and on our. We just talked about this a lot On the previous episode. Yeah, I know that's considered On property still, but it felt like and I said this before it's like you're invited To the cool kids party but no one talks to you. Yeah, because you're, and this was even on property. Yeah, and it was a non-Disney theme, it wasn't. No, and this was even on property.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it was a non-Disney theme. It wasn't no. I couldn't even imagine staying off property. It was a very nice resort, but it just felt like other Marriott's we've been in.
Speaker 2:You know, it felt like you were miles away from the Disney stuff?
Speaker 6:I'm out 100%. Do they have bus and stuff that goes to the parks? They do, yes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, although like Magic Kingdom and stuff, they don't take you to the bus depot.
Speaker 2:I'm out. Yeah, no, unless it's the four seasons.
Speaker 6:We've literally never stayed off property.
Speaker 5:Because it's that amazing. And there's so many benefits. Come on, we don't have to drive, we don't have to do anything really.
Speaker 6:All right.
Speaker 5:All inclusive, especially with the dining plan now.
Speaker 6:All right, I'm out. Okay, everybody's out.
Speaker 1:Out with the dining plan now. All right, I'm out, okay, everybody's out. Out. All right, britney? Well, again, I didn't do this right. So when y'all are laughing at johnny earlier, I'm like, oh, I think I messed up, so, um, okay. So it's a rainy day. You need a poncho or a raincoat all day long in hollywood studios are you a row Would? You be, would you it's? A would you rather so would you rather do that or a 110 degree day in Hollywood studios?
Speaker 2:Oh, put my rain jacket on. I'm going to town. Yeah, I'm good, I'm fine with rain.
Speaker 6:I got my Crocs on, I'm good.
Speaker 5:It's 110 degrees with a poncho on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm good with the rain, but rainy or just miserably hot in 110 degrees.
Speaker 5:Rain, I'll take rain.
Speaker 2:Rain.
Speaker 5:Rain, yeah, rain we have good raincoats.
Speaker 4:I'm good.
Speaker 6:Yeah, we always pack our ponchos and we bring our Crocs with us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all right. Are you in or are you out? The 24-hour coast-to to coast mountain challenge starting in disneyland yes, one million percent yes not even sure what it is, but I'm in. Okay, I'll explain it starting in disneyland. Okay, you got to ride. Uh, we're gonna all the mountains, we have to do big thunder matterhorn we're gonna have tianas in space space mountain all right, and then splash mountain formerly splash mountain and then fly, take a red eye uh-huh and then do tianas, big thunder, space and expedition everest.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm in in 24 hours, yeah yes yes, britney even though I don't like everest, I'm in, you're in, I'm in I've wanted to do this for a long time yes, I he is.
Speaker 2:I think this would be something. I know it's going to be exhausting and you'll be tired, but I think it's something that would be fun to do, you know 2026.
Speaker 6:It's like the Amazing Race, but only in Disney.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that would be a fun trip. That would be really fun.
Speaker 5:That would be really fun to do, actually, okay, yeah.
Speaker 2:You could take two days and do that.
Speaker 5:Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2:That would be really fun.
Speaker 5:It would be exhausting, but you know, okay, good stories.
Speaker 2:All right, we're going to go to questions now and everybody's going to have their own answer. Number one we'll start with Erica and go around. What is your most underrated resort in Waltalt disney world?
Speaker 5:disney's port orleans resort, french quarter okay, please explain beignets beignets.
Speaker 5:That's all you need. Okay, I feel like as a moderate it I think it gets overshadowed by like caribbean beach and coronado and especially with having riverside right next door, like you have so many opportunities for more dining and shared amenities and everything and it's smaller than riverside. And there's beignets in two places there and I actually love their quick service. They have like the best shrimp and grits that I've ever had in my life at that quick service at french quarter. So I say french quarter johnny.
Speaker 6:I mean I don't really know if it's underrated, but I'm going to say Pop Century, just because Skyliner Food Court actually has some pretty good food and it's a value. So you know, you don't have to break the bank. You get to Hollywood Studios and Epcot pretty easy on the Skyliner, and then that's my favorite part.
Speaker 2:Brittany.
Speaker 1:So I put Port Orleans Riverside oh, wow yes, because, because I feel like I think like both the Port Orleans resorts don't get enough credit, you know, like I haven't stayed at French Quarter, stayed at Riverside, um, but you just don't really hear a lot about those resorts, I feel, and they do have so much to offer, like the food court at Riverside had some really good food like jambalaya and gumbo, you know, and um the like carriage rides that they offer, like later in the evening, just really yeah and yes, um it just I don't know.
Speaker 1:I think they the theming and everything is definitely on par, but it's not like disney in your face you know, but it makes you really feel like you're you know, and down south you know, um, and yeah, I just I don't know. I think that you just don't hear a lot about it because, like you said, you hear more about caribbean beach. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm going Saratoga Springs. Wow, okay, we stayed here on our first trip and maybe because I'm looking back at that nostalgically, but I thought it was very peaceful, very relaxing. The rooms are a lot larger, the theming isn't in your face and it's a good location next to Disney Springs if that's what you want to do. But I don't hear anybody talk about it none of the youtubers, none of the, the, the, you know more popular social media people. Nobody talks about saratoga springs and I think it's a great resort it is, I'll give it.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I'll give it that.
Speaker 2:Well, because it's gbc right, but you can still stay there. You can still stay there. Yeah, you can 90 of the yeah, you can. 90% of the resorts are.
Speaker 5:GBC. Yeah, that's, true, or maybe exactly.
Speaker 6:With more coming too.
Speaker 5:So, yeah, yeah, I can see that.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I don't think I've ever been there.
Speaker 5:No, We've only gone over to that area for well, we together have only gone over to that area. So you haven't been to Old Key West either I want to go there.
Speaker 6:Yeah, there's a couple resorts I haven't actually been on property in. Yeah.
Speaker 2:All right, most overrated resort in Walt Disney World.
Speaker 5:Johnny, you can go first. Oh yeah.
Speaker 6:I'm going to say Pauly for 100 Alex. Just I grew up in a house with wood paneling, so it just feels outdated to me. Like this Hawaiian seventies tiki thing and it just I don't know if I have flashbacks of a wood paneled house or whatever, but I go in there and I'm just like I don't really care to be here.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 6:That's a bold answer. Yeah.
Speaker 5:I almost said Polly Okay. Um, I actually say Polly, okay, I actually say contemporary. Oh, wow.
Speaker 5:Okay. I say contemporary only because if you wanted to be close to Magic Kingdom, I would 100% say go to Polly. However, contemporary to me does not make sense, and I don't care for the Incredibles retheming that. They did it. Just I feel like it's missing something and they don't have a good pool either. At contemporary it just feels like an airport terminal yeah, it's, it's missing something and it just doesn't make sense to me and I just unless you're, of course you're in like a theme park view room right that's like the only reason.
Speaker 5:Okay, stay there. In my opinion.
Speaker 1:Right Brittany, yeah, grand Floridian.
Speaker 5:Oh wow, the Montreal Resorts.
Speaker 1:I mean, yes, it's grand, it's beautiful, but Out of the two grands, grand Californian in Disneyland is by far way better than Grand Floridian because of the theming and everything and it's bougie, but it's not like bougie in your face where you feel out of place there if you're not like super rich. Where.
Speaker 1:Grand Floridian. I mean like even the gift shop. I'm like OK, can't really afford too much in here. You know, again it's nice. Okay, can't really afford too much in here, again it's nice. But I just I don't know, I don't know, I just feel like it's overrated for the rooms that you get and stuff too. I mean, the rooms were all right, but they weren't my favorite.
Speaker 2:It was just almost too crisp. I guess you could say Grand Floridian for me as well. Wow, and it's because you're paying and I'm just going to say price right now. What do we pay? $950 a night when we stayed here, but it was at Christmas time too. Okay, but still you're paying. What is the average price of somebody staying at Grand Floridian?
Speaker 5:You price this stuff out all the time. That is a very loaded question because it depends on the type of year, and are there promos? And how many people and what room category are we talking? Are we talking? It's just, it's very hard.
Speaker 2:But you're looking seven to nine hundred At minimum Minimum Right.
Speaker 1:And ours was on a little bit of the higher end because it was Christmas yeah.
Speaker 2:But what are you getting extra for that money? That's what I look at right. You're not getting, as opposed to the Polynesian. You're getting the monorail right, the pool's nice, you have nicer restaurants, but you have to pay extra for that. What am I paying? An additional $200 to $250 to stay here over the Polynesian Because it's the flagship? Yes, that's it, but that's just because that's all you're paying for and I plus I feel too.
Speaker 5:I think this is gonna be a hot take. I'm gonna get in trouble for this one. Um, I think disney kind of shot themselves in the foot this year specifically, um, because they are not doing the gingerbread house in the lobby. They're not no, because they are building a bar in the lobby. So there will be no gingerbread house in the lobby this Christmas season and I think that was a terrible idea.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was a terrible idea Because we saw the construction of it or where the walls were. I'm like this just takes so much. What is that adding to that place? Nothing.
Speaker 5:There's a bar right up on the second floor. It's called the Enchanted Rose. You, there's a bar right up on the second floor. It's called the. Enchanted.
Speaker 2:Rose, you can go to the pool bar.
Speaker 5:It's beautiful. There's many places to get a drink there. It was unnecessary.
Speaker 2:The Enchanted Rose fits there 100%.
Speaker 5:It's a beautiful place.
Speaker 2:Yes, I don't understand that. Is it a?
Speaker 6:permanent bar.
Speaker 2:Yes, oh.
Speaker 6:So they're probably never going to have the gingerbread.
Speaker 2:Don't say that, don't put that out there and they're in.
Speaker 6:Why, would you say, is it in the same spot? No, it's where the bird cage used to be.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's just construction which I could care less about the bird cage, but yeah yeah, and I feel like there's just been so much construction. It's just ongoing at grand floridian right now I feel like you're just paying the extra money to say you stay at the grand floridian yeah, I would say, if you wanted to do that, do a split stay yeah and start at the grand floridian and then, like, move to animal kingdom lodge or wilderness lodge, stay in the deluxe category to have the deluxe benefits.
Speaker 2:But yeah, it's, it's unnecessary yeah, yeah, all right, number three. What is your? What do you think is the best quick service restaurant in Walt Disney World?
Speaker 5:Erica. Okay, so this is where I got a little tripped up, Because are we talking resorts or are we talking parks In Walt?
Speaker 2:Disney World, because I have one for each.
Speaker 1:So like anywhere.
Speaker 5:Just in property, oh that's even harder.
Speaker 2:Okay, you can do one for each.
Speaker 5:Resorts.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 5:Primo Piatto at Riviera we have yet to eat there. I go out of my way to go to Riviera and eat at that quick service, as well as Bar Riva, their pool bar next door and the Riviera signature cookie box. Is worth getting on the skyline or getting on a bus and going to Riviera for just for a little box of cookies, because they are not super sweet. So you guys would like them and they're way better than Gideon's For Parks.
Speaker 2:ABC Commissary at Hollywood Studios. That's a good, very good one. It is a good one. It's a very good one. You want to care to expand on ABC.
Speaker 5:Commissary, buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich.
Speaker 2:I don't have the applause on the sound pad anymore.
Speaker 5:But nice, it is good, it is delicious and the fish tacos 100 carnitas tacos are good too they are good yeah johnny.
Speaker 6:Um, for me, I did connections eatery nice, epcot that that it's called the french bistro burger. It's a good burger, isn't it? It's a good burger. Um, there's always plenty of seating, air-conditioned, it's not like super hectic.
Speaker 1:Except the day we went. Well, when?
Speaker 6:we went, it wasn't hectic. Maybe we were like an hour before or after lunch or something Maybe. But we just sat there and enjoyed the air-conditioning and the food was good. I love the music in there too. Yeah, yeah no, that's a good one Location. It's away from World Showcase, right by Guardians.
Speaker 1:And you get a lot of food too. Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2:You do get a lot, and this is a higher level than your regular quick service restaurant.
Speaker 6:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:But it's still quick service. Yeah yeah, that's a good one, brittany.
Speaker 1:So you said on property. So I picked one in Disney Springs. Okay, okay, polite Pig.
Speaker 2:Wow Okay, best quick service yeah.
Speaker 1:Just the amount of food you get. I'm usually even though the rest of my family is big on barbecue I'm usually not, but everything here was delicious and it was quick service. But it also didn't feel like quick service. Yeah, yeah, and yeah, the food was just really really good. Um, I think we definitely got our money's worth with the dining plan there and all of that.
Speaker 2:So definitely, yeah should be no surprise to anybody here gosh satouli canteen, and, yeah, the atmosphere here is is probably one of the best quick service atmospheres you can get. The cheeseburger pods yes, they're just cheeseburger pods, but there's just something to eating a cheeseburger pod and having a hawk's grog ale in that environment, with the music and that theme. It's just awesome. And then the but the variety of food you can get here, though.
Speaker 6:The bowls are good.
Speaker 2:You do have some very healthy options here, erica. Just let it out. Just let it out, just let it out.
Speaker 5:I'll save it.
Speaker 2:We've got more coming. We've got more coming. Oh, I know where you're going.
Speaker 1:I just realized Go ahead.
Speaker 2:Erica, what is the worst quick service restaurant on property?
Speaker 1:I have two go ahead no, don't mute her cosmic rays I don't disagree with you on that and satouli canteen.
Speaker 2:Hey, stop muting her oh, I hit my computer, you have have I get cosmic rays. It's just burgers.
Speaker 6:I get that. It's burgers and it's always crowded. I love Sunny Eclipse though.
Speaker 1:He's outdated. I'm sorry.
Speaker 6:He belongs at Chuck E Cheese oh yikes, now you're muted.
Speaker 4:Wow.
Speaker 5:Bunny Trail. Did you see that? Chuck E Cheese? Oh man, here we go. I'm muted too. Stop. Chuck E Cheese is starting an adult restaurant chain.
Speaker 6:Oh no, really.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yes.
Speaker 6:That's going to be creepy.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 5:Maybe he'll end up there, maybe he'll retire there.
Speaker 2:Okay, maybe, okay, please, here we go. No, you have to elaborate.
Speaker 5:No, no, move on, you got to elaborate. What don't you like about Satouli Canteen? I don't like the menu. It's a me problem, I don't care for anything on the menu, and Cosmic Ray's is just. It's not good to me. I'll go to Casey's Corner I get it.
Speaker 2:No, I get it. But did you know Cosmic Ray's is the most visited restaurant in the country?
Speaker 5:Yes, I did know that, because you mentioned that on a prior podcast.
Speaker 6:Yes, yes, it's because there's no other good options.
Speaker 2:Well, it's just, it's right there, everybody's there.
Speaker 1:It's just, and I think, because you get the burgers and the chicken tender, this is basic burger, right?
Speaker 6:Yeah, I think they could definitely use another quick service. Option in Tomorrowland yeah. Option in Tomorrowland yeah, just because of the traffic.
Speaker 2:So, johnny, what do you think is the worst? Quick service restaurant.
Speaker 6:I said the Friar's Nook at Magic Kingdom. It's in Fantasyland, it's just, the menu is like very select. I think it's like for lunch. It's like hot dogs and some sort of tater tot thing.
Speaker 2:They're usually like specialty things.
Speaker 6:Yeah, the food just wasn't good. There's really like no seating. There's like maybe four or five seats, like, and where it is located like they just need it needs to be bigger, with a bigger menu, because there's so much traffic there but do you think they put the worst food there?
Speaker 2:because they they're they thinking oh, this is the most trafficked area.
Speaker 6:People's gonna come here no matter what I, I don't know, I don't know, yeah, I I we've never, actually we've never eaten there.
Speaker 5:To be honest with you, because it's always just like it's, oh, it's like chili and cheese, corn dog or chili and cheese tater tots and it's like I'm not gonna eat that, I'm just yeah like I'll get stuff like that at Sonic, but not.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, okay, that's a good one. You're not missing much, yeah, brittany.
Speaker 1:It's a Magic Kingdom Pecos bill.
Speaker 5:Okay.
Speaker 1:I agree with that. Yeah, yes, we've only been there one time and it wasn't like awful, but I kind of expected more at the same time, because I was like, really, how can you do tacos wrong? I don't know it was but they did. Yeah, it just wasn't very tasty, like I was just telling myself okay, we paid this much for it, I need to eat a little more, kind of thing, you know.
Speaker 2:I I love the theming in here. I actually write about it extensively in my book. However, yeah, the food is not good. And then they they've changed the menu again. Oh really, yeah, it's not even like tacos anymore, it's just like fajitas.
Speaker 5:Still not great yeah.
Speaker 2:I love the theming here. I love beautifully how Pecos Bill transitions Adventureland and Frontierland together because you get the Caribbean caribbean like the spanish caribbean theming coming from adventure land, blending perfectly into the southwestern uh, mexican theming of the southwest, like it blends perfectly. And that's going back to the old imagineering stuff I love that yeah um, yeah, I didn't, I wasn't impressed with it, me and and Ryan went again a couple years ago and we were like eh.
Speaker 1:Yeah. No.
Speaker 2:My worst quick service is Pinocchio's Village House. Oh my gosh, staying in Magic Kingdom, wow.
Speaker 6:Yeah.
Speaker 5:Magic Kingdom's striking out. Not surprising though. Yeah yeah, Magic Kingdom does not have good food.
Speaker 2:It's the worst park for food. Yeah, unfortunately it's just.
Speaker 5:For now high hopes, I'm not.
Speaker 2:I have high hopes, but it's just flatbread and it's worse than rat pizza. I'm sorry to say it, I don't know if I get it that far.
Speaker 6:Rat pizza's amazing Well everything's worse than rat pizza, because rat pizza's so good, it's so good yes, no, I think Pizzafari's worse than this.
Speaker 2:It's the same pizza I don't know.
Speaker 1:No, I think Pizzafari is worse than this.
Speaker 2:It's the same pizza, I don't know. No, no, the Pizzafari, it's just a puffy pizza. I think it's a puffy pizza over going to Pinocchio Village House.
Speaker 6:Flat bread. Yeah, it's just not good.
Speaker 2:All right, so we're going to go to what is the best sit-down restaurant in Walt Disney World. Erica, what do you think is the best?
Speaker 5:So again, I have one for resort and one for parks. Okay, that's fine For resorts. I have Ale Compass Restaurant at Yacht Club.
Speaker 2:I'm sad we did not go there. It's amazing what were you giving me the eye look for.
Speaker 5:And for parks making a comeback in Magic Kingdom. Skipper Canteen. Oh, that is good yes yes please elaborate um, ale and compass has my the best meal I've ever had on property at a sit down and it's funny because I don't usually like pot pies and this was a seafood pot pie and it was just so flavorful and so well done. I I think it was what like three years ago we went there for the first time yeah I still dream about that meal it was that good.
Speaker 5:Um, skipper canteen and magic kingdom. There are so many good amazing sit-down restaurants that are in all the parks across property, but there's something different about skipper canteen because of the storytelling okay, there's so many little hidden gems and, like the, I feel like the cast members are so just on a different level at skipper canteen. Every cast member that I've encountered there has just been super into their role and super friendly, super nice. I've never had any issues there and and the food is really really good. It tastes like chicken because it is, yes, it's just really good.
Speaker 2:Johnny.
Speaker 6:Mine was the Yachtsman Steakhouse, another one we wanted to go to At Yacht Club.
Speaker 5:Yeah, at Yacht.
Speaker 6:Club. It's just a high-end steakhouse, you get you know the service is great, the food is great. It high-end steakhouse, you get you know the service is great, the food is great. Um, it just was a really good meal and maybe it was.
Speaker 5:Was it for my birthday?
Speaker 6:or yeah, it was your birthday, you know, maybe it was just special because it was the two of us, but it was a really good meal and I yeah, I liked it.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, britney all right, so I put two. Okay, summer House on the Lake.
Speaker 2:It was very delicious.
Speaker 1:It was very delicious and just the theming around it and everything very, very, very good. And I put Geyser Point.
Speaker 5:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Excellent choice.
Speaker 1:Yes, excellent choice, because again the theming, the views you have there, the food, it was just yeah. It was a great experience as well.
Speaker 2:Geyser Point is the most confused restaurant in Walt Disney World. For sure, it's a sit-down, it's a quick service, it's a lounge and it's a pool bar.
Speaker 5:Pool bar.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's amazing at all of them. Yes, yeah, I agree, I was torn on this one because there are so many great options, but when it came down to it, I kept asking myself what do I always go back and talk about? And there was only one answer Skipper Canteen.
Speaker 5:Wow, we agree, skipper.
Speaker 2:Canteen bringing some hope back to the Magic Kingdom for food. Skipper Canteen bringing some hope back to the Magic Kingdom for food. I think it's also the most underrated restaurant in all of Walt Disney World as well the food you talked about is delicious.
Speaker 2:It is so good. It tastes like chicken because it is chicken, maybe the best piece of chicken I've ever had in my entire life. The theming here, like you said, on point, the cast members are on point. The storytelling here, the wall of China. You know that. Yes, yes, so awesome. I think this is the best restaurant food. Just overall experience Overall experience, and it's a sleeper.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 4:It's a big, it's a sleeper, yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, and I wish we had gotten a chance to experience it even more at this point yes you know. But I think the menu initially when we, when our kids were younger, kind of threw us off a little bit.
Speaker 1:But don't do that like if you're listening and you have younger kids because they they make exceptions, you know like you know they can do just French fries and things like that, you know for the little. So don't let that menu like scare you away. You know, and yeah, like I enjoyed it when we were there and you know one of the appetizers, the ponte cacio. That's Ponte cacio, thank you, that's my aunt or my sister-in-law.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:That you know it's not on the menu, but they tell you about it once you sit down. And it was delicious. It's so good yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, all right. So do you want to shamelessly plug yourself, or you want to hear us talk about you recorded it.
Speaker 5:You can play that one.
Speaker 2:Okay, we're going. Planning a Disney vacation can be overwhelming, but that's where our new sponsor comes in. You've heard us talk about her for a long time and now she's the official sponsor of this podcast, travel planner Erica with Wishes Co Travel Planning. As a travel planner specializing in Disney destinations, she takes care of every detail, from finding the best resort options for your family booking, dining reservations to park strategies and now offers a special, lightning-ling booking service to your park days. She truly offers top-tier service from start to finish, and the best part is her planning services are free when you book your room and ticket package with her.
Speaker 1:We're thrilled to have Travel Planner Erica as the official sponsor of this podcast, and exclusively for Circle of Parks listeners. When you plan your next Walt Disney World or Disneyland vacation or your next run Disney racecation with Erica, you'll receive a Disney gift card based on the value of your trip on your arrival day to put towards your Disney snacks.
Speaker 2:So if you're dreaming of a magical Disney trip, she's the expert you want, on your side, ready to plan. Reach out to Erica at TravelPlannerEricacom or follow her on Facebook and Instagram at TravelPlannerErica. She's amazing.
Speaker 5:She is awesome, she does it all she sounds familiar.
Speaker 2:All right. So what is the worst sit down restaurant? Mine was an easy one.
Speaker 5:I had a hard time. I didn't.
Speaker 6:I didn't. I had a hard time.
Speaker 5:For resorts. I hate to say it, but Ohana, I would have said that, yeah, ohana, at the resorts and for parks Hollywood, brown, derby. All right, they did me dirty and there's just no coming back from it, okay. Yeah.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I went with Ohana for breakfast, if you don't know. We had a terrible experience, terrible. I've never ever written a Yelp review or emailed a company to complain. I just will never go back. But I actually emailed Disney about it because it was so bad. Yeah, I understandney did the right thing.
Speaker 5:They actually they made it better. It was good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, good to hear, but yeah, I'm not going back to a hunter for breakfast all right, britney all right, um I put the edison all right oh.
Speaker 1:So I mean, the food was okay, but definitely overpriced and definitely yeah just I don't know like they were trying to make things bougier than it needed to be. I mean, like the theming there, the decor, the bar area and stuff seemed really cool, but the food itself like it was just kind of like a lit down it'd be a great place to go have a drink yeah, but that's in like an appetizer or something that's where the bacon on the wire is.
Speaker 5:Huh, yes, okay, yeah, but even that wasn't that great like a presentation okay, but other than that, yeah, okay going stk steakhouse I knew, I had a feeling you were gonna say that.
Speaker 2:So if you want to go to a, no, it was not if you want to go to a nightclub and go. Oh, you know what's missing here a steak.
Speaker 1:That's what this is that's what this is it would be good, though, like if you're younger or the stories you've told me from back in the day before we met but you know, I've never been in a nightclub or a bar and go.
Speaker 2:You know what I want a good steak right now.
Speaker 6:That's what I want I've never said that big old steak meal yeah, I mean the food.
Speaker 1:I don't know, the food's good. It was okay, but it is. It is loud in a party scene, yeah no, all right, best character dining erica topolino's terrace for breakfast all right.
Speaker 5:It's just very unique in the menu. Yeah, it's regular breakfast food. However, it's just so much nicer the sour cream waffles, I'm telling you, don't let the name fool you, and the characters in their artist costumes. It's just. You just have to experience it. I don't want to ruin it for anybody, but great views outside as well. It's just really, really nice.
Speaker 2:I did do a Disney trivia with Mickey at Topolino's Terrace.
Speaker 5:He's the best.
Speaker 6:Johnny, I also said Topolino's Terrace. It's away from the parks, so you don't feel as rushed, you just enjoy it. The food was really really good, really good. Yeah, and there was no shortage. There was quite a few characters there's four, yeah they came around quite often so you didn't.
Speaker 1:It wasn't like ohana where they came around real quick and left yes pretty uh, I will also say topolino's at riviera wow, okay I just I think it comes down to like the way they're dressed. Minnie's outfit, oh yeah, oh, many, many, many many. She just is so cute in her outfit there and, yes, it is more relaxed. The food, you know, I didn't realize you got like those pastries at the beginning too, so that was a nice surprise. And then I had the quiche and it was very good.
Speaker 5:I have had the quiche. It was good yes.
Speaker 2:I always think of Robin Williams' comedy special.
Speaker 5:On quiche. You call this quiche.
Speaker 2:Sorry, I said the Garden Grill.
Speaker 5:I knew it, of course.
Speaker 2:For one reason and one reason only there's a buffer between me and the characters. I can sit in the back of the booth, plus. I mean you're you're seeing living with the land. Yes, come on. Yeah, that's definitely a bonus. Where can you go wrong? Is the food great? Yeah, it's. I mean it's, it's your basic disney food yes, so but yeah, I get a buffer between the table and the characters. That's what I like about it.
Speaker 5:Fair, that's fair.
Speaker 2:Alright, best snack Erica.
Speaker 5:This one was a tough one.
Speaker 2:It's a tough one. I have so many. I said Churros and Magic Kingdom, absolutely not no.
Speaker 6:Where's my no button at? Oh man, you left it at home. You should have brought it Dang it.
Speaker 5:No, where's my no button at? Oh man, you left it at home. You should have brought it. Dang it Okay. Best snack for me is the Mickey chocolate cookie sandwich in the Germany Pavilion at Epcot in Caramel Cushy.
Speaker 6:Nice, the Werther's store.
Speaker 5:Yes, there is a special seasonal one as well, for Christmas, and it's the gingerbread cookie sandwich. It's fantastic, it's so good. I will, but this Mickey chocolate cookie sandwich I will get every trip okay, johnny, mine's a little bit more basic.
Speaker 6:You get it at all the parks pretty much. Oh gosh a warm Mickey pretzel with cheese.
Speaker 2:I like it. It's gotta be warm. Sometimes it's you got to be just bread and cheese.
Speaker 6:You know it hits the spot yeah get you through to the next meal. I get it I have three.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh. So, uh, I couldn't think of the name of the place in disneyland that has the meat skewers.
Speaker 2:Oh, a bengal barbecue why can't we get one of those in badger?
Speaker 5:kingdom. No, that needs to stay in california there's plenty of room.
Speaker 2:Uh, where across from? Why am I going in adventureland?
Speaker 5:across from aloha aisle.
Speaker 2:Yes, that little nook right there, because a lot does not meet people anymore.
Speaker 3:It's very rare yeah, put it there, yeah well, you guys have skipper canteens instead.
Speaker 5:That's true. Fair point the bar is coming, the tavern yeah, fair enough. Okay, fair enough.
Speaker 1:But yeah, so the meat skewers there in Magic Kingdom, the Dole Whip Swirl that I love, the coconut and pineapple together, oh, it's just a whole other level. And then Nomad Lounge, churros. Oh man. They were good.
Speaker 2:They were good. They were good, they're fine. Okay, I'm staying basic.
Speaker 1:Like johnny, you can get this anywhere, just your mickey premium bar.
Speaker 2:Yeah, really, yeah, okay, look, I'm not a dessert. I'm like it. I'm not a big dessert and sweet person, right, that's true, but you know sometimes you just want to make it premium.
Speaker 6:I get one every day you know, it's just no little ice cream, you know, yeah cool, you know yeah all right, now we're getting into the meat and potatoes of these questions.
Speaker 2:Erica, rank the parks in walt, disney world and disneyland from worst to best easy okay, animal kingdom okay he's the worst, is the worst, worst yeah worst to best okay
Speaker 5:animal kingdom okay magic kingdom okay, hollywood studios, epcot, dca, disneyland okay, I'm not biased or anything.
Speaker 6:No, johnny so mine is based upon how the parks are right now, like closures and everything Okay. So if I was to go to the parks now, how I would rank them? Okay. Animal Kingdom, Epcot I don't want to walk around that much Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, DCA, Disneyland Not biased at all Okay.
Speaker 1:So mine's mixed up a little bit Magic Kingdom, hollywood Studios, disneyland, epcot, dca, animal Kingdom wow my heart.
Speaker 6:I'm surprised DCA got so high. Wow, I just DCA, because Cars Land. Wow, I just Cars land, dca because Cars land.
Speaker 1:It's special with the boys, especially Ryan. Yeah, you know. And I mean they just did Such a great job Theming it and when you're there, when they turn the neon lights.
Speaker 6:On, and everything too, yes.
Speaker 1:And I mean I'm 40 years old and Lightning McQueen's Driving down the road.
Speaker 2:I'm like Lightning McQueen Well years old and lightning mcqueen's driving down the road. I'm like bigger news. She just admitted for the first time how old she is.
Speaker 1:Yes, she's been 39 for four years welcome to the club thank you, so yes just recently turned 40 but, but yeah, but no but yeah, dA, mainly because of Cars Land for it to be number two. Yeah.
Speaker 2:All right, I'm going worst to best. Magic Kingdom Epcot.
Speaker 1:Epcot's down there for you really Okay.
Speaker 2:Hollywood. I've been enjoying Hollywood Studios more than Epcot lately. I have as a whole.
Speaker 6:Yeah, star Wars Land.
Speaker 5:As a yes, the Galaxy's Edge.
Speaker 2:It's not Star Wars land as a yes, galaxy's Edge, it's not Star Wars, it's whatever, it's Batuu if you want to get technical about it thank you, hollywood Studios DCA, disneyland Animal Kingdom all right, that's more acceptable. Yeah, all right. Disneyland was number four for me. All right, that's fine.
Speaker 6:Mine's more acceptable.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 6:All right.
Speaker 1:Hey, Disneyland was number four for me.
Speaker 2:One experience in Walt Disney World that no one talks about. That you must do.
Speaker 5:Am I going first? Yeah, erica go first Okay, so mine's a little different. Erica go first Okay, so mine's a little different. Going the week right after Halloween, being there for, like the very last, mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, and then the next day, it being Christmas, traveling during that time. You're getting a twofer. Basically, not all the resorts are going to be decorated and everything but Magic Kingdom, specifically. Overnight it goes from Halloween to Christmas.
Speaker 2:I love that.
Speaker 5:So I think that is something that not a lot of people think about, because when we talk about like vacation time and school and when a school break and everything, I think that's just a really magical time to go.
Speaker 2:I like it.
Speaker 6:Yeah, johnny, so mine was, um, you kind of touched on it earlier, but it's actually leaving magic kingdom in the middle of the day and jumping on the monorail and going to one of the you know, one of the resorts to get lunch and everything one of the most overrated resorts we've just talked about. Yeah, yeah, well for me, don't go to poly, yeah, but yeah, just getting out of the park and getting away from the crowds for a little bit and going and getting you know food at a resort yeah, I like it yeah britney
Speaker 1:uh, I put the behind the seeds tour at upcut yes so good yes, yes love it because, I mean, I don't even know if a lot of people know about it really, and you know, you're probably thinking well, you're just behind the scenes of you know you're behind the seeds
Speaker 1:no, I know, but that's what people are thinking you know, um, but it it was definitely worth it. It's not really that expensive and very informational and you get to sample like the cucumbers they grow there, at least on the one we did I don't know if it's every single time, but, um, and they do taste different in a good way, and yeah, I just I really enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and I think more people should try to learn about it and experience it.
Speaker 2:So aren't you glad I talked you into doing it?
Speaker 6:yes, all right it's not very expensive no it's like 35 dollars.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I was like it was less than 40.
Speaker 2:Yeah um, mine, uh. One experience in what doesn't really no one talks about that you must do is go see ye ha bob. I know I'll talk about him ad nauseum, and I do that for a reason. He is an icon. Yes, he is the. So last time I saw him this past trip I I was assuming that's the last time I'm going to see him for a long time, and during his intermission he meets with all the guests that are there, and I told him I was like you are the embodiment of what Walt Disney envisioned, of parents and children having fun together, and it's just amazing how he blends these songs and makes it fun for everybody, everybody.
Speaker 2:I will say this, though if you're we, we talked about on our last podcast how, when you walk into Port Orleans Riverside, you walk in, you go. This is relaxing, it's peaceful, the music is chill. If you walk in and check in on a Thursday, friday or Saturday night from 9 to 11 pm, you're gonna see an 80 year old bald man, goofily dressed, going and you're gonna go. What in the world did I just walk into? Yes, and it is awesome yeah, but any other time.
Speaker 2:It is very peaceful here um, but yeah, I think no one talks about even when he came back, I think, like one youtuber mentioned it, and maybe for a reason because yeah but when I've been here, every time it's the same bartenders it's the same servers. Every time they don't go anywhere and that place is always packed always.
Speaker 5:I love barely standing room. I mean, we have his autograph, right there, you know he's an icon.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he is. He should be a dis Disney legend and have his name on the window in Main Street.
Speaker 5:I agree with that. He is an icon.
Speaker 2:All right, your one must-do in each park.
Speaker 5:Erica Animal Kingdom Nomad Lounge, Not for churros but for the lobster mac and cheese from Tiffin's Next Door.
Speaker 2:Nice, at least you're there, at least I'm there. Yes, I'll take it.
Speaker 5:Castle pictures at Magic Kingdom. Ok, every trip that's a must do. Margaritas from Epcot, from Mexico.
Speaker 2:You rope. Drop that, don't you I? 11 o'clock.
Speaker 5:Yes, 11 am is when that little stand opens up. Yes, hollywood Studios really taking in Galaxy's Edge. As a Star Wars fan, I could spend all day in Galaxy's Edge. Those are my must-dos, johnny.
Speaker 6:Mine are all rides.
Speaker 5:Of course they are, that's fine.
Speaker 6:I'm a ride focus, that's fine. Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom, cosmic Rewind at Epcot, rock and Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios and People Mover at Matching I love it.
Speaker 2:I love it.
Speaker 6:People Mover is just so nostalgic and I really wish Disneyland would bring theirs back, because the tracks are, the infrastructure is there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, not the tracks, but Not the tracks but they didn't tear down all the stuff so, okay, let me ask you a question here, Because the real reason why they got rid of the PeopleMover was because of what was going on in grad nights.
Speaker 5:That's what the majority of the population knows.
Speaker 2:If they were to bring the PeopleMover back but not have it open during grad nights. I think it would be just as bad you think it would okay. Yeah, okay, if you want to know what we're talking about, I'm sure you can go google, google that, moving on.
Speaker 1:Yes, moving on. All right, my musty in each park, so I did rides as well, even though I I love a lot of experiences and stuff, but, um, I chose people mover as well, even though I love a lot of experiences and stuff, but I chose People Mover as well in Magic Kingdom you know, because we've talked even several times on episodes where like hey, can I just stay on, let me ride one more time around.
Speaker 2:You know how they have the red or green thing at Brazilian steakhouses.
Speaker 5:Yes, you need one of those for People Mover. Oh, that would be really cool, like Mickey's glove, like thumbs up or thumbs down, Just give him a little twirl like let's go again.
Speaker 1:I did pick two at Animal Kingdom because I have to do Safari and Flight of Passage each time.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:And then at Hollywood I did Toy Story Mania or Pew Pew Pew. Pew, pew Pew with Nolan yes. And then Epcot Ratatouille.
Speaker 2:Okay For me and Magic Kingdom. Pirates of the Caribbean. Bet y'all didn't see that, huh.
Speaker 5:No.
Speaker 2:It's so. I love the one in Disneyland better, but this one is just. It's so well done.
Speaker 1:Because a couple of trips ago we skipped it and we missed it. I was angry.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love Pirates of the Caribbean Hollywood Studios again. Like you said, erica, I can hang out in Galaxy's Edge all day long and all night.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That, I think, is up there. Oh my gosh, If I had to rank the themed lands, it would be Cars Land and Galaxy's Edge.
Speaker 5:I agree with that that would be tough to decipher.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know. Yeah, I remember, because when we went on this last trip, I was in the mindset I don't know when we're coming back here.
Speaker 2:I just don't know. And I hung out in Galaxy's Edge a lot and I just love it. Give me a Gold Squadron beer. I just love the noises, the music, the sounds, everything. Especially at night it really comes alive. Love it. Epcot I have to do Living with the Land. It's a must do. It is the closest thing there to what Epcot was supposed to be. Epcot Center was originally supposed to be Animal Kingdom. I've said it before eat cheeseburger pies and have a Hawk's Grog Ale and Satooli canteen. It just takes me to a different place. The, the theme, the music, the decor, everything. It's just I'd rather do that than do everest or flight of past. You know, like that's just my chill place. I love it, okay, so all right. Moving on, question number 12 what is your favorite country in epcot?
Speaker 2:erica france and mexico you can only pick one.
Speaker 5:Oh man, okay, it's fine I'm gonna oh gosh, it's fine, you can have to. If I had to, oh france france.
Speaker 6:France is my favorite yeah, I also went with france because of ratatouille and, um, I'm not even to try to pronounce the names of the places in there, but the pastry shop. The pastry shop in the back where you could get sandwiches and croissants.
Speaker 5:The patisserie, the patisserie, the patisserie, but then the one next door where you get the ice cream, the ice cream.
Speaker 2:Yes, the holistic glacier.
Speaker 5:The ice cream sandwich yes.
Speaker 6:The brioche Brittany.
Speaker 1:France, norway, mexico, japan, that's all one. So France, same reasons, just in the theming and everything, the music when you get closer to Ratatouille, and everything like that. Norway, just we as a family, I think, thoroughly enjoy spending time in Norway, from looking at the shop and getting some desserts there, and now, like, my favorite drink is Viking coffee, apparently. And then Mexico, just I love how it feels like you're at a village somewhere at night, you know, just I love it, I love it, love it. And Japan, you know it can be very peaceful if you go back towards the garden area, and we love walking through the store there and everything too.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I was torn because I answered this correctly. I was really torn between Japan or Norway. Okay. And the more I got to thinking about it, I went back to which country do I have a t-shirt from? And it's Norway. Okay.
Speaker 2:I love the music. If you ever can hear the background music, I love the music here. It's very dramatic but done really well. I love the shop here. It's got some very unique items outside of frozen it and that can be a, but it doesn't seem as crowded of a pavilion as Japan or France. Like France you're throwing bows to get through in France and I like some of the unique lagers they have here their bakery shop. I don't like sweets, but like that potato bread thing, with cinnamon on it and, like some chocolate, it's very light.
Speaker 5:Yeah, did we have that? We probably did. I think we have it's very delicious.
Speaker 2:I love the the stave church. Here I actually did a coast to coast disney trivia with loki in dca and then you can find loki and thor. Loki and thor and and all that, the storytelling there at the State of Church. I just think it's really well done and, aside from the Frozen stuff, I do love the Frozen queue.
Speaker 5:I will go on record and say yeah, the queue is fun.
Speaker 2:What's his name? Oaken Oaken. I just want to go to the cast and be like hey, can I just go hang out in Oaken's for a bit?
Speaker 6:I don't want, I just want to just hang out in there, you know. But yeah, norway, I am actually wearing the cologne from Norway right now.
Speaker 5:Oh, nice yeah. That was a birthday present.
Speaker 6:Greer G-E-I-R.
Speaker 5:I don't know, but it's from Norway.
Speaker 6:The Norway Pavilion.
Speaker 5:I just think it's more. It smells great.
Speaker 2:I just think it has more unique items and stuff that you don't like. Yeah, that. And stuff that you don't see in other countries yeah yeah, yeah. That's my opinion, all right. Favorite attraction in Walt Disney World Erica.
Speaker 5:Cosmic Rewind. I love it.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I'll also go with Cosmic Rewind.
Speaker 1:Okay, brittany Flight of Passage.
Speaker 2:I'm going with Flight of Passage as well.
Speaker 4:Split yeah, two for. Two.
Speaker 2:Do y'all Care to elaborate on?
Speaker 6:Cosmic Rewind. It's just the. It's an amazing roller coaster. The music I really liked the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, and the music and everything, and Disney nailed both rides. Yes.
Speaker 1:Cosmic.
Speaker 5:Rewind and Mission Breakout in.
Speaker 6:California, that's yeah, I just love that ride yeah.
Speaker 5:Yeah, it's always fun when you're like what song are we going to get? You guess, if you don't know about Row 9, get Row 9 and everything. They did a very, very good job with Cosmic Rewind. I think they did as well. It's just fun. It's fun it is fun.
Speaker 6:It's very fun, brittany.
Speaker 1:What for Flight of Passage, Would you care to elaborate? Uh, it's just, it's a, it's a whole other experience, you know, and all the like 40 that you get from it. Um, and you know it goes back to like. You know, ryan had been able to ride it with us the whole time due to height and everything, but nolan had to wait a couple of trips and then when he finally did, just finally finally getting to see that look of ah, you know, this is what they're talking about. I mean, his whole face just lit up. You know, I think now when I look at both of them when we're writing it, I still picture them as those little kids, you know.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I love it when we have written it several times not every time, but several times when it's done and everybody's like aww, or they clap really loud because just everyone went through that experience together and was like wow, that's amazing, yeah, yeah um, I said flight of passage as well.
Speaker 2:I love cosmic rewind. It is a, like you said, it is a fun coaster, but flight of passage, it just for four. Was it four minutes? Three hour, three minutes and 50 seconds. You are in pandora you are you are in that, you're fully immersed in that, and that's I mean it's it's almost emotional, you know, yeah, and that's to me there's been nothing like that since I've never found anything better than that yeah, yeah, it is definitely a full immersive attraction. Yeah, yeah all right, we're going to y'all's coast now.
Speaker 5:Favorite attraction in disneyland slash dca okay, so I have one for each park because I'm like well um, I don't know I got one for each as well um over at dca guardians great choice mission breakout um and disneyland was kind of hard. It was hard for me to choose one, but Haunted Mansion with the Nightmare Before Christmas, overlay.
Speaker 2:All right Care to elaborate.
Speaker 5:It's so good. I'm a huge Tim Burton fan and I love, love, love, love. Nightmare Before Christmas and the way that they pulled it off so quickly, just turning it over from haunted mansion to nightmare before christmas, astounds me every year and I can never get sick of that story. I love sandy claws and I love seeing zero. I just an oogie boogie at the end. I just I love it so much okay.
Speaker 5:Yeah, they did a really good job with that and mission breakout because it's amazing and everybody needs to go on it johnny, for me I just chose Space Mountain, because it is just so smooth and just so nostalgic.
Speaker 6:It was one of the first real roller coasters that I ever rode. I love all the overlays they do. The Ghost Galaxy and the Star Wars one.
Speaker 5:Hyper Space.
Speaker 6:Mountain. It's a must ride every time I'm at Disneyland. Yeah, okay, brittany.
Speaker 1:So in DCA Cars Land the racers.
Speaker 5:Radiator Springs Racers yes.
Speaker 1:Just again going back to you know, ryan loved the Cars movies growing up and Nolan too, and they just, you know Ryan loved the Cars movies growing up and Nolan too, and they just, I mean, they just are on point with how they did that ride. You know you can either get new tires or a paint job, depending on what side you're on, and just the way you're like going through the canyons and everything is just, you know, beautiful, it's peaceful, exhilarating, all at the same time.
Speaker 2:So yeah, what about disneyland or that?
Speaker 1:just overall that was oh well, yeah, that was just overall in on the west coast okay yeah, um, mine at dca is guardians of the galaxy mission breakout.
Speaker 2:It is fun, it is pure fun, that's all I can say. Yeah.
Speaker 5:It is a party, yeah.
Speaker 2:Like as soon as those doors close. People are like woo.
Speaker 5:Oh, I'm on countdown. Yes, oh, it is awesome.
Speaker 2:And then in Disneyland, Pirates of the Caribbean. Yeah, it's classic. I love it I can go on it every time, like back to back, to back. It's just so well done.
Speaker 1:I will say real quick Disneyland. Even though I wasn't huge on the movie like you were, I think they did a really great job with the Roger Rabbit ride there.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, yeah, very well themed In Toontown.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah.
Speaker 6:That was like the only attraction in Toontown for a long time.
Speaker 5:Yeah, it was. There was the little roller coaster, gadget's Go-Go Coaster. It's kind of like the Barnstormer but gadgets, go-go coaster.
Speaker 1:It's kind of like the barnstormer right, yeah, we did right ever, yeah, yeah, I tell you one I will not do again. In dca is the goofy sky school never again. Oh my goodness we stopped.
Speaker 5:We stopped going on that ride a long time ago and it's called mahalan madness mahalan, uh, mahalan, drive madness mahalan madness yeah, you're right, um. And then last year when the kids and I went to Disneyland, we went back for Oogie Boogie Bash. Riley and I went on it and he was terrified and I was like I tried to tell you this was awful Never again.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, I was thinking because it doesn't didn't have like huge drops or anything. Something else is like a kiddie coaster, like the next level, not like the basic, but like next level and oh my oh man.
Speaker 5:Yeah, mm-mm, never again. No.
Speaker 2:All right. Last question, this is the big one your most unpopular Disney opinion that you're dying on the hill for Erica.
Speaker 5:I have several. One oh, man, I can't pick one. Okay, all right, ever roll One oh man, I can't pick one. Okay, all right, oh gosh, Filming fireworks should be banned.
Speaker 2:Okay, I don't think that's too controversial.
Speaker 5:Yeah, jungle Cruise needs an update.
Speaker 2:I don't think that's too controversial either.
Speaker 5:Epcot does not need a festival 99% of the year.
Speaker 2:I agree with that too.
Speaker 5:Yeah, figment is overrated. Okay, they can get out right behind you.
Speaker 2:disneyland is a better park than magic kingdom I don't think you want to disagree with that one, churros are better on the west coast.
Speaker 5:Okay, that's okay. All of them. I will die on the hill for, okay, multiple hills elaborate on on figment.
Speaker 2:Of all those, the figment one is the one that his ride needs. He's a little overrated.
Speaker 5:He's a little fromrated. He's a little From somebody that did not grow up going to Walt Disney World and Epcot, that doesn't understand the backstory of Figment. Okay, All right. It's a little strange. It is strange. And his ride it needs love.
Speaker 2:It needs a lot of love. So you're. You think so you're not separating the attraction from figment.
Speaker 5:Well, he is the attraction, though.
Speaker 2:But he's a figment of your imagination.
Speaker 5:Imagination Okay, I don't know.
Speaker 2:He needs some new clothes too. Well, he's wearing the Epcot 40 behind you.
Speaker 5:I know, but he needs more Christmas sweaters.
Speaker 2:He needs more merch Gotcha Okay.
Speaker 6:Johnny, I had a hard time thinking of this one. I just said, park hoppers are a waste of money. I think it's pointless For your first time. No, just go to the park and enjoy the park you're at.
Speaker 5:Each park.
Speaker 6:If you can't spend a whole day at a park and this has come from someone that doesn't even like to spend a whole day at Animal- Kingdom you gotta get in line for a bus and go and this has come from someone that doesn't even like spend a whole day at animal kingdom like going to. You know you got to get in line for a bus and go to another place, just enjoy the park, okay, okay.
Speaker 2:Brittany, this one's directed towards me.
Speaker 5:I can already tell Nomad lounge has the besturros in all of Disney. Where's your no button when you?
Speaker 2:need it. You can't mute her. I got the controls. Oh, dang it, I don't know.
Speaker 1:So I really I'll elaborate on that a little bit. So I don't know if the second time we went to Disneyland and got a churro it wasn't in the park, it was in, like the.
Speaker 1:That was the problem, but see we'd had it from downtown Disney the first time too, and they all tasted fine, like pretty much the same. So last year we went and you know, the year before Nolan had probably almost 20 churros. I might be exaggerating a little bit, but he had to get a churro every time we pass by, you know. Um, then last year when we went he got that one and it just wasn't good at all like it tasted like the ones that you would get in magic kingdom and walt disney world and I was like what happened?
Speaker 6:is this how it is now?
Speaker 1:um, and so I don't know if that adds to this or what where? No, my lounge has been consistent every time we've gone and um, and so it's not necessarily a dig at you guys it's just. Every time we've gone it's been it has been consistent yeah yeah, but I but I think most people would say no, disneyland's better, or why would you go get churros at nomad lounge, you know? But yeah, but they're the best alright, mine is.
Speaker 2:Harmonious is the best nighttime show Epcot has ever had and I loved the barges. Come at me oh, no what out of all the things yes.
Speaker 4:I'm dying on this hill the music.
Speaker 2:Okay, I'm going to explain. The music in harmonious was beautiful. It was disney ip, but they blended it really really well. And the use of the different languages for the countries in epcot was epcot right, like you're, you're doing an ode to apcot there, okay, and the music was just so well done. It was beautiful, everything about the barges in the show. It just worked. I know the biggest complaint was the barges in the middle of the lake, right it wasn't terrible.
Speaker 2:A lot of the barges are there for a luminous now yes they're not as gaudy, but they're still there, right and illuminous. Now I'm gonna say it sucks. Here's what they did.
Speaker 1:You've only seen it one time though twice.
Speaker 2:Here's what they did. Okay, so they they heard the complaints about people not liking harmonious and how much they loved illuminations. Right, I've seen illuminations on youtube, not in person. But what they did with the luminous was they took the original music from. Like, try to take some of what made a illumination so great was not ip music but original music. But they try to do that and blend disney ip music in with it and it does not work. It just does not work. You can't have illuminations and harmonious and call it illuminous. The two, the two types of music, just do not blend. They just don't. That's my opinion it just doesn't work.
Speaker 2:You have thoughts.
Speaker 5:Well, that's how people feel about Wishes. The firework show that was at Magic Kingdom and Enchanted, Like everybody hated it. Enchantment sucked. Enchantment. Everybody hated, it Sucked and everybody loved. Happily Ever After. I don't think Happily Ever After is the best.
Speaker 2:That should have been your most unpopular opinion.
Speaker 5:do you know what the best is?
Speaker 2:wondrous journeys at disneyland that should have been your most unpopular disney opinion right there oh I people would hunt me down all right, I don't know.
Speaker 1:I was just thinking like a luminous, like I've only seen it all the way through once and we didn't have the best view where we were, um, and then I've seen it, like as I'm walking out of the park, like walked around it, you know, and glanced over and stuff. But I just feel like you know, I might need to see it one more time again, but it's on a time when no one hadn't been at the park all day and ready to go, so it just doesn't mix.
Speaker 6:What was the show we saw at epcot?
Speaker 5:harmonious okay yeah, you haven't seen the new one yet. What was your opinion?
Speaker 1:the barges were big, but, like you said, this current one still has barges, they're just not as big and the biggest thing was right get rid of them yeah and they're still there, yeah um, I wasn't really big on harmonious.
Speaker 6:I mean, it's just having to watch these things that are far away. I mean once you've seen World of Color at DCA. Oh man Any other water shows kind of.
Speaker 5:Yeah, fair enough, blackluster. Okay, yeah, that's really true. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I can see that because we loved that at DCA. Yes, we did, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:All right, erica, do you have any final thoughts on anything podcast or Disney related or anything that you would like? Final thoughts on our podcast.
Speaker 5:Actually I do.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 5:And I'm going to have to take my glasses off for this one. Oh no, I wrote you a love letter.
Speaker 2:Oh, thank you. I wrote you a love letter.
Speaker 5:Oh, thank you, Dear Zach and Brittany. It's hard to believe we're here at the final episode of Circle of Parks and while I know all good things must eventually come to a close, I still find myself feeling a little emotional as I say this next part oh okay. Working with you as your travel planner has been such an incredible journey, from the first quote to the last countdown. It's been more than just logistics and bookings. It's been sharing in your excitement, your adventures and your love for Disney. But somewhere along the way it became much more than that. It turned into something rare and special, a true friendship. You've let me be a part of your magical moments, from Vero Beach Sunset to Popcorn Bucket Quest in the parks and through it all I got to witness the joy, the laughter and the realness that made Circle of Parks such a gift to listeners. You brought honesty, humor and heart to every episode and I know so many people felt like they were right there with you, because I sure did.
Speaker 5:Your podcast wasn't just about Disney, it was about connection and for me the greatest gift has been connecting with the two of you. Thank you for trusting me with your travels and for welcoming me into your world. I've loved every second of it. Circle of Parks has been something really special. You've invited people in, made them feel a part of the story and reminded us all why we fell in love with Disney in the first place. And even though this is the final episode and goodbye, I know it's not the end, not for our friendship and not for the magic you two bring to the world. Wherever your next adventure takes you, I'll be cheering you on and probably sending you a few resort quotes along the way.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much. You've been an amazing travel agent, amazing friend. Yeah, I'm so glad that we've eventually gotten to where we are now.
Speaker 2:You know, we kind of took a little bit of a side track there but, you've been an amazing travel agent, amazing friend, and I've always said this if we did decide we ever wanted to start a travel agency, I would say you do it how you want to do it. We're just going to be like the silent financial backers. You do it because we believe that much in you, your passion, your dedication, your work ethic, your it's just yeah, thank you. Whoever your clients are, I'm thankful to be a client of yours and friends and you've been great. You really have, thank you.
Speaker 1:Because every trip you go above and beyond, and whether it's special notes that you've left the cast members to put our anniversary on there because he didn't want the extra attention, or you know the our appetizer we had on our anniversary, you know just different things like that. But I mean, you know you have always paid attention to detail. You know and I know, yes, we're friends, but you do that with all your clients. Yes, we're friends, but you do that with all your clients. You know you want to make sure that you know every experience is very personable for them and memorable and stuff, and you know it really shows.
Speaker 2:And we're going to continue to use Erica for not just our Disney travels, our boys. Another reason why we're moving on from this is the boys want to go to other places. They're getting older, you know, they want to go to Cabo. They want to go to other places. They're getting older, you know, they want to go to cabo, they want to go other europe. We want to do these places. We're still going to use erica for all of our travels, always. I mean, it's not just because she sponsored our podcast right, we still are squeezing disney from time to time yeah, we're still gonna see, yeah well, thank you very much thank you, guys, you're
Speaker 6:welcome, johnny, anything yeah, it's kind of crazy to think that you know uh listening to a podcast and then you become friends with the people from the podcast and it's like it's just uh friendship develops, you know yeah, and it's you know we, a love for disney is what first brought us all together.
Speaker 6:but you know, like your boys and our boy, you know, hang out from time to time or we'll go out to dinner or something and and it might be the end of something but it's not the end of friendship and stuff. No, right, yeah, no.
Speaker 1:Definitely still be getting dinner and all that yeah.
Speaker 5:Well, now we have to go to our Italian place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays because they have a cheese wheel that they do the pasta in.
Speaker 1:Oh, nice, yes, nice, yes, yes, very nice, yes, still doing hockey too. We still got to catch a game. Yeah Well, I'll be seeing you guys?
Speaker 6:I mean, might be seeing you guys at the park. Yes, yeah, so.
Speaker 1:Yep, because I know anytime we are at that park, you know, one of them's always like is Johnny here? I'm like I don't know yeah.
Speaker 6:Yeah, it's Saturday. After Handsome at the park.
Speaker 5:I mean and plus two, you never know. I mean crazier things have happened, zach might do a run. Disney run one of these days.
Speaker 1:No, that's not you never know, Maybe you're setting some PRs right now. I know you never know Not going to happen.
Speaker 6:Never say never. Yeah, we could do a local run together.
Speaker 1:Local race If you keep up the way you're doing maybe a little short one final thoughts well it uh. I I honestly don't think this will be our last one for good. We'll put it that way for a while. It will be for a while, but I don't think we're going to be completely gone. Um, I see us from time to time finding some way to communicate things out there, whether it be in the podcast format or not, and, of course, your book coming out when you're, when you finish.
Speaker 1:And just you know, because we will be doing some Disney things still and I think somehow we will probably still try to share that, even if it's just a random Instagram post, you know, six months from now or something you know, Because you know, as we all just said, you know it brought us together, you know, six months from now or something, you know, um, because you know, as we all just said, you know it, it brought us together, you know.
Speaker 1:And then so many of you listeners, when we have questions stopping before you know, have reached out like oh, no, please don't, or um, I didn't know. At times where you know, early on, when I was like, oh, zach was like maybe we don't need to do disney merch anymore, several people like no, keep, keep it keep it.
Speaker 2:They were adamant. I was attacked.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:I did yeah.
Speaker 1:And then one listener from another country. She said we really helped her on her first trip and overcome some fear. She had a little bit and everything, so it's goodbye for now.
Speaker 5:Yeah's ttfn. Ta-ta for now.
Speaker 2:Yeah um, I want to say thank you to our listeners. Y'all have been great. Thank you so much on going on this journey with us for for four years. Um, mine's more disney related um, the I hope people of that that have listened to this got one thing out of this Disney can be whatever you want it to be. If you want it to be a woke company that you're never going to go see again, then that's fine. That's what you see, disney.
Speaker 2:As that's not what I see it as I see it as the Walt story right, and I think the Disney parks still communicate that story of you can be whatever you want to be. You can live your dreams, but it's going to take hard work and you're going to fail along the way and I still think the Disney parks show that and express that and I think that is the most important life lesson that I think you can give to anybody and I hope our boys have seen that. I hope our listeners have gotten that.
Speaker 2:And to me, that is the most inspirational thing, because I think our dreams have come true. I mean, we're sitting here talking about Disney and we go multiple times a year. Our kids are at high level travel soccer. We have become successful, right? And our dreams, I think our dreams have come true. Would you agree? Disagree, no for sure. But it wasn't easy though, right? No, yeah, I mean, doing these podcasts aren't easy, but doing you know where we are to where we are now to get.
Speaker 1:Here has not been easy.
Speaker 2:There has been a long struggle, so that's what I see, disney, as inspiration do what you love right, find what you love and be courageous enough to do it. That's what I see it as, and with that I'm going to end with what I think the best mashup ever made. Yes, it's for harmonious, I don't care, but this is, I think, the most inspirational way we can end this I've been staring at the edge of the water long as I can remember, never really knowing why I Because they don't allow me to be in it Wherever I want to be.
Speaker 4:That point in which the sea calls me and I know how far it is and I know how far I'll go. I have often dreamed of a far-off place when a great, warm welcome will be waiting for me. I will run away. I will have no more.
Speaker 4:Ti saluterà dicendo questa è casa tua? I will. There's a line where the sky meets the sea. It calls me my way. Yes, I know what shall that I can do. All over the world, with my wind in my sail, all the sea stays behind me. I'm gonna take a go. I'll go. I will search the world. I can go the distance Till I find my heroes will come along to me, right where I belong. I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm.