The Lido Loop: How to Visit Every Disney Park Around the World.

Jack and Jesse are back for a brand-new episode of the Lido Loop.

On this week’s show, the guys talk about Royal Caribbean launching the “find my kid” feature in their app, then talk about a principal in the United Kingdom getting in trouble for changing the school calendar to better accommodate her upcoming cruise. Finally, they break down Carnival’s announcement of a new class of ship coming as early as 2029.

On the theme park/travel side of things,

A Delta Air Lines executive made headlines this week when he said flight prices will remain the same even if fuel costs return to normal. The guys will discuss why this may not be the case. Disney is in the news again, as another person has exited Tiana’s Bayou Adventure while the ride was in the middle of its run. Jack and Jesse discuss what happened and how to prevent this in the future. Theme park news wraps with Space Mountain rumored to undergo a lengthy refurbishment as soon as 2027.

The show concludes with first-time guests Lydysay and Jasper joining the Lido Loop to talk about how they were able to visit every Disney Park around the world and discuss the best money-saving tips for traveling internationally.

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:00

Welcome to this week's episode of the Leto Loop. I am your host, Jack McCraw. With me as always my good friend, Jesse Barboza. And by the way, Jesse, this weekend, I will be heading back to the casino. Do you think I'm gonna walk away a winner or with no money again? Um, how many times have you walked away a winner, Jack? Uh define winner. If I walk away with money that I actually brought to the casino and then some, then yes. But I would say maybe three out of ten times I go, I walk away with a little something more. But it doesn't happen too often in Louisiana, which is where we'll be heading to. So we'll definitely tell you all about my winning experience next week, hopefully. But on the other side of things, Jesse, what's the latest and greatest in the cruise news?

SPEAKER_02 0:44

Yeah, so in rural Caribbean news, they apparently launched a Find My Kid band. And apparently a principal changes a school calendar in order to help her uh cruise schedule. And the biggest announcement is actually Carnival announces a new class of ship.

SPEAKER_04 1:03

Ooh, I can't wait to hear about that new class of ship for Carnival. On the theme park and travel side of things, there's a Delta executive that's saying flight prices may not go down anytime soon, but we're here to talk about how that might not be entirely true. Another kid has jumped out of Tiana's Bayou Adventure, and there's a big rumor swirling around a certain Disney park attraction that could be going down for a major for refurbishment. That we bring on our friends Jasper and Lindsay to talk about how they went to every single Disney park around the world and advice that they're going to give to you, our audience, as to how you can do that as well. That and much more on this week's episode of the Lido Loop. So for those of you new to the show, welcome. We are the Lido Loop, where we talk about all things cruising, theme parks, travel, and casinos, and of course, much more. We always like to start the show with the cruise news. Now, Jesse, I'm hearing Royal Caribbean is launching a Find My Kid app. So is that you lose your kid and there's like a tracking device on them, or how does that work?

SPEAKER_02 2:15

Yes, it's it's it's kind of I don't know if it's necessary app, it's more of a ban that you get. So apparently uh it's made for ages three to twelve, and you pretty much purchase this band. It is 1499, it's called a Aventure Ocean WOW Band. I'm not sure why how they came up with that name WOW BAN. Do you think it's like an acronym for where oh where is the kid? I just came up with that on the top of my head. Yeah, actually, that oh maybe, I don't know. But um, right now this is available on Star of Seas and Legend of the Seas. I guess they're kind of first testing on the icon class of ship. Um, but apparently the band is going to be reusable, so you can use it for future cruises. So it I mean, if you just pay one time $15, I think it's worth it. I don't know what you think.

SPEAKER_04 3:04

Yeah, especially with you. I mean, I know your kids are a little bit more grown now, but you know, when they were younger, they were just running around the cruise, and it they're at least with your kids, they were a little bit easier to find because one would always be by the pizza and the other one would probably be in the arcade or just finding ducks somewhere, wouldn't you agree?

SPEAKER_02 3:21

Oh, yeah, absolutely. So the biggest thing that like people are saying is that they're gonna they think parents are gonna like put these bands on them and think that that's supervised in them. That's what a lot of people are saying. Which I I can see their point because they kind of know where they're at, but just because they know where they're at doesn't mean they're not getting in trouble or they're not running down the hallways uh dinging, knocking at doors at two in the morning.

SPEAKER_04 3:45

Yeah, but hey, I know where the kid is, you know. I see, look at the app right here, look at the tracker.

SPEAKER_02 3:49

Yeah, so I mean what what do you think? Do you think that it's uh I mean it's definitely I definitely good, I think it's a useful tool, me personally, but what do you think? Do you think it's a useful tool?

SPEAKER_04 3:57

Yeah, I think so. I think it's good to know where your kids are pretty much at all times, especially if your kids do tend to run off. And again, it is a cruise ship, so there's really not a whole lot of places they could go, but at the same time, you know, that kid has that freedom to explore and you know do what a kid does, but at the same time, like the parent has some sort of supervision over them or at least knows where they are in case like they need they're needed or something.

SPEAKER_02 4:19

Yeah, so you don't you don't have to like purchase anything with it, it will pop up on your app itself, so you don't have to purchase like Wi-Fi to use it or anything like that. Uh, but it's actually just more than just a tracker, too. It's also can unlike uh state room doors, which uh MSC they actually have it. They're kind of like medallions on princess cruises, too. Uh, you can actually make onboard purchases if par only if the parents enable the spending part of it, of course. Uh it also displays a child's muster station for emergencies. So um, I don't know. I don't me personally, I don't see anything bad in it, honestly at all. But I don't know why they did three to twelve. I don't know why they decided that age group.

SPEAKER_04 5:02

I mean, I definitely can see younger kids for sure, because you know, sometimes they wander off and you want to make sure, you know, you I yeah, I feel like the younger the kids, you know, especially, you know, they see a pool and they run to the pool and you lose sight of them, or whatever sort of situation could occur where you just momentarily lose the kid. It's like, oh, check the app. Okay, they're right there, and then you can easily find that kid. And you know, I yeah, I am a little surprised. I mean, I guess you could technically use this for adults too, where you could just you lose your friends, like, where are they? Oh, yeah, there they are. Or you can use it so you can avoid that area.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

Oh, see, that's smart. I think that's actually why they did it. Yeah, so it's like, oh, my kid, my kids are right are right next to me. I'm gonna go on the other side of the ship, you know.

SPEAKER_04 5:42

You know, no, so here's the thing, like they're gonna put that on you, and then they're gonna be like, Where's where's dad at? Oh, he's at the casino again. I mean, you we would have figured that out with or without that man, but yeah, I do think that this is definitely a a worthwhile invention, especially for, like I said, like children that do tend to run off. So it's more so a uh secondary safety precaution to find this children uh this kid instead of you know looking all over the ship for them. So overall, yes, I would say the find my kid feature on Royal Caribbean would is definitely a good idea, but you know what wasn't a good idea is a principal changing the school calendar to accommodate her cruise. Jesse, I know you are an avid cruiser and you have to change your work schedule to go on cruises, but I think changing a whole school calendar is a little bit crazy, don't you think?

SPEAKER_02 6:33

Yeah, I don't know if it's crazy or smart. I mean, it's kind of you know, it's it's a it's a definitely you know flip a coin, you know, either way, I think it's kind of smart.

SPEAKER_04 6:41

Do principals not get paid leave like any other job in this in the world? Did the principal just not want to use her vacation time to go on a cruise?

SPEAKER_02 6:50

I don't know exactly because this def this story definitely didn't even happen in the United States, actually happened in England. Uh so the story was apparently a lady named Joy Ballard, she was a former principal at Ride Academy in England, and they apparently investigated her and found that she changed the school academic calendar so it would best fit around her personal cruise vacation. So she admitted that she altered the dates for the 2023 falls year and also the spring of 2024 year. And she also missed the important staff date because she was returning from a cruise. I mean, that's a pretty good reason to miss work if you're returning from a cruise. You can't really just get off the ship and then go to work immediately. Yeah, I mean, I I can I can see why she did it because of the price. Everyone knows that when kids are in school and all that, that's when you're gonna find the cheapest cruises. Because I mean, that's when the ships are gonna be packed, because that's when people normally take vacations, is like during summer or Christmas break. When kids are out of school. Yeah, exactly. So she changed it. I mean, it seemed like she should have been making enough money, right? That she could have should have been able to afford to go on a you know summer cruise or a little Thanksgiving or Christmas. Well, they don't have Thanksgiving, they do, but this is England, or a Christmas cruise.

SPEAKER_04 8:17

It makes me wonder, because I mean, the school you did say it sounds like a private academy, and you know, I don't know that to be a fact, so you know I would think in any sort of public school, this would not fly whatsoever. Like that's like calendar has been set in stone since like the year before. So having her being in charge of a private school, maybe she had a little bit more leeway to do that, but it just flew under the radar for some reason. And I don't know, we we can't really speak if kids in England do get a fall break like we do here in America in certain school districts, but it does seem really odd that this were to happen. And you know, maybe at the end of the day she was just trying to save her vacation days for something else and just take advantage of the fact that hey, if there's no school here, I don't have to take any time off. I'm already gonna be off and go on the cruise. Now it's smart, but probably wasn't the right thing to do.

SPEAKER_02 9:07

Yeah, I'm sure the I mean I I'm almost positive that the when the students, when they saw this, like, why are you out of school and uh it's February, random, random week in February. Why are you not in school?

SPEAKER_04 9:21

Yeah, they they got Valentine's Week off, you know. The kids need to celebrate Valentine's Day like that. But so yeah, if you're a principal, don't be changing the school calendar just so to accommodate your crews, just use your vacation and PTO like everyone else does in the world. And you know, continuing the cruise new news, Carnival has announced a new class of ship. Jesse, the floor is yours. Tell us all about this new class of ship.

SPEAKER_02 9:45

Yeah, so Carnival has officially announced their next class of ships, which uh everyone's been calling the Project Ace. So and they actually kind of kept that name as is this isn't officially gonna be the Ace class of ship. So they officially named the first ship in the uh this category as Carnival Destiny, which uh this is uh old name they use, which I thought they didn't like this name anymore because they changed the old destiny to the Carnival Sunshine, which it is today. Did you I don't know what you what do you think, Jack? You think that they should have choose a different name or what?

SPEAKER_04 10:21

I mean, do you think there's a little bit of nostalgia when it comes to the Carnival Destiny? Because I'm looking on here, it did say it ran from 1996 to 2013. I mean, so the that at least the ship had that name, because the ship, like you said, is still you know readily available and still sailing. But I think it's a good name. It does sound like that carnival could potentially be reusing old ship names for this new ace class ship, as long as they don't use the triumph, right?

SPEAKER_02 10:46

Yeah, uh, yeah, absolutely. What I was thinking is that they're gonna call it Carnival, because I mean they have the Tropical and then they got the Festival. I thought they were gonna try to keep that that cow, you know. So do you think that would be confusing to call it the Carnival Carnival? I mean, I mean maybe that's why they didn't bring it back, but that's what if I had to guess, that's what I thought they were gonna use. But I mean, there's still plenty of other names that they could use for the next class of ships.

SPEAKER_04 11:17

What are some other names that you think that they would use for this next class of ship? Do you think it would be older ship names as well?

SPEAKER_02 11:24

Yeah, I think that it seems like that's the theme that they've been doing because they did the Mardi Gras, the Festival, the Tropical, Jubilee Celebration. Those are all like old names, and then of course now Carnival Destiny. But some of the other names that they haven't used is uh Carnival Victory, which that changed to Carnival Radiance. Uh they haven't used Carnival, they haven't used Holiday, uh Fantasy, and I doubt they're going to use this next one, but ecstasy.

SPEAKER_04 11:54

I I would say that there's a little bit of a let's say innuendo when it comes to ecstasy. Like I understand the word itself just means just you're a high on you know happiness, but yeah, I think they're they would stay away from that. Uh yeah, I think that maybe they own the trademark to those names, and that's why it's probably easier for them to just reuse and rename it. Maybe it's not necessarily a nostalgia play, but having that you know back end of names to use for the ship does make it a little bit easier in the naming process. And you know, even though I did just say it might not be nostalgia, there could be people that did sell these older class ships' names, like, oh, this ship is quote coming back, but it's a brand new ship and has nothing to do with the original. So tell me more about this new upcoming ship, the Carnival Destiny.

SPEAKER_02 12:42

Yeah, so this, like I said, it's good the the Ace class, it's an all-new uh you know class. I'm I'm guessing that they're done with the XL class ships, which is kind of weird because this class is actually bigger than the XL class ships. It's XXL now. Yeah, I said you would think that, right? Uh I don't know, then they might actually end up changing the uh the name, I'm guessing, of the XL class ship. But anyway, so the first they have three ships on order, which would be 29, 31, and 33. So they still got plenty of time to keep creating more and more ships. Uh the expected delivery is is in the summer of 29. Uh Fencaratini is actually the manufacturer. He's he's actually built tons of uh carnival ships, and he's actually a really good shipbuilder. Uh this is expected to be 230,000 gross tons. Uh it's supposed to have 8,000 guests, which is actually more than the icon holds. It may not be as big as a ship, but it actually holds more guests than the icon, which is kind of crazy. Um they're actually gonna, like I said, they're I have two more in this class on 31 and 33. So to put in kind of comparison, Carnival Jubilee is a hundred and eighty-three thousand five hundred gross tons, which will hold six thousand six hundred guests. So Carnival Destiny is two hundred and thirty thousand and hold eight thousand guests. That makes Destiny about twenty-five percent larger than the XL, which is massive. It's definitely uh so apparently there's gonna be a lot of new uh public spaces, new entertainment concepts, new dining venues, technology upgrades, more family attractions, new cabin categories. There's apparently gonna be like four, I think it's like four and a half uh acres of glass that's gonna be on this. And yeah, exactly. And that's actually the main point of that they definitely pointed out when I walk watched Christy's Christy Duffy's, which is the president of Carnival presentation on this, is they pointed out that it's all about seeing the sea. Um I was wondering, like, because we saw this news and we posted on Facebook, the ones that did see it. We were thinking that honestly, when I first saw the news, what did I tell you, Jack? Do you remember what I told you? No, actually, I don't what did you tell me? I actually told you that I thought there was gonna be a new private island because in the background they had Half Moon K and then they actually had Celebration Key in it. I thought they were gonna put something in the middle, like a new private destination, like in Mexico. Maybe they can actually do something in Mexico, unlike they brought back Perfect Day Mexico, they bought it and then they made it theirs. Yeah, um, that's what I was thinking, but then they like it seemed like all they did was add a ship in it. But if you look at the if you look at the actual like picture of the ship, they like did like a 360-degree it you pretty much don't see anything because they're still haven't like pointed out exactly like what's gonna be on it, like what how many slides are gonna be on it, they don't have new venues, anything like they haven't set mentioned no news on that yet. I'm sure that's I mean that's perfect for Carnival because it kind of slowly releases it.

SPEAKER_04 16:09

Yeah, and I think if new new and more details will come out, you know, closer to it, and so so they can start building up hype for this. But you know, one thing that you know I noticed when I was reading the article was that the amount of rooms is going to like increase exponentially for not only you know balcony but also like window uh ocean view rooms, excuse me.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. There's gonna be a lot more balconies and ocean views on this. And they also said that 70% of this is gonna be new venues and stuff. So they might, I don't know, in a worst case scenario, Jack, do you think they're gonna go away the guys burger? There's no way.

SPEAKER_04 16:48

I said I think 75% new 70%. 70% new. So yeah, no, that that 30% that's gonna stake around is pirate pizza, guys burger, hopefully some guys barbecue or you know, Shaq's big chicken. You know, I I think those are the ones the staples that need to stay. Everything else, yeah, brand new. Uh maybe blue iguana, but I mean I'm not really a big fan of that.

SPEAKER_02 17:10

Well, I was thinking they might end up doing with Guys Burger is actually make it more like a restaurant, you know, like have a guy's burger and more or something like that, where there's they still have the normal where you pick up the burger and go, but they also have more seating where they have more food and Guy Fury's more in it, like they have other types of burgers and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_04 17:29

I think that would be a good idea. And I think that there has been an issue with Carnival, especially you know, on the first day when you are just looking for a place to sit and the guy's burger is the only thing open. Uh having a little bit more, you know, food options will definitely help. And you know, I'm curious to try some of the new offerings, and it sounds like there's going to be some, you know, new dining locations, so maybe some, you know, and maybe a new steakhouse, you know, maybe expanded dining from what Carnival normally offers. So it'll be very exciting to see.

SPEAKER_02 17:57

Yeah, I definitely think that if they don't if they go away with Geisberger on this, they might as well call it Carnival Triumph. Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_04 18:04

Yeah, bring back the poop crews without Geisberger. That's absolutely crazy. But in addition to new dining options, what else do you think that they could be putting on this new class of ship, Jesse?

SPEAKER_02 18:15

Well, since they on the new Tropical and Festival, they kind of went away with the roller coaster that they have on like Jubilee. I think that they're gonna expand the water park like that they did on those two ships, and they're probably gonna make it more like an icon with the new slides and stuff like that. I definitely expect there's gonna be a lot more bars. Uh, so some of the iconic bar names, like they may go away completely. Um even tides bar? Well, tides bar, I mean, actually, it's kind of weird. Yeah, Tides Bar is very popular. I actually like the back of the ship bar. Sometimes it's not tides bar, but we no matter what ship we're on, we call it the tides bar, even if they have a different name because we're just so used to it being called the Tides Bar. It's so much easier than saying the the bar in the back of the ship next to the pool with a roof or the hot tubs. Yeah, exactly. But um, I definitely think that they should go away with the Grand Central Station like they have on the Jubilee, because honestly, I hate it because you're you're sitting there and that's where they have a most of the shows are right there in the Grand Central Station. But they like if you want to go to anything, you gotta kind of walk through there in order to go to other venues. And I just I don't know. I maybe it's just I like the iconic walking into the elevator. You you look into the atrium and you see the elevators all the way up. I just maybe that's what it is. That's that's when you know you're on a Carnival ship, right?

SPEAKER_04 19:35

Yeah, it's that's everything first people see is you know just that glorious atrium. It's like, oh man, this is gonna be an incredibly nice, fancy cruise. Go anywhere else, and you're like, okay, yeah, this is just a normal ship.

SPEAKER_02 19:46

But I I definitely can see that they're Carnival, every ship they build, it seemed like they're adding more and more food venues because the people love that. I can tell. Like, that's that's one thing no one even comes close to Carnival is the amount of food venues, you know. There's my I mean, of course, my favorite is Guy's burger, I like Guy's Barbecue. Uh, me personally, I don't even like I know this is a hot take, but I'm not a big fan of blue iguana. I think it's because that first time I got sick after eating it, and that was on Carnival Freedom in like 2016. But hey, I mean some people love it though.

SPEAKER_04 20:19

I mean, yeah, it's definitely a staple, like every single cruise that I've been on, especially Carnival, has a blue iguana, and it's it's one of those staples that probably won't go away. They probably own like the like intellectual property with that. But yeah, like we were saying earlier, I hope that our favorite restaurants stay, but they actually have some new ones as well. I'm excited to hopefully see some more, you know, slides. We went on the Carnival Breeze, and that had two really nice water slides and like the obstacle course ropes race, whereas the you know, the glory, I think it maybe had one slide, but I remember it was also like so rainy that we couldn't even go outside except for one day.

SPEAKER_02 20:58

Yeah, they they did have two sh two slides, but they're kind of basic slides. It that glory and conquest, that whole class isn't really met made for kids. I think that's why that class of ship is mainly they're doing a lot of the sea sellings, which are the adult-only sellings on those ships, because there's really not a lot of stuff to do for um like kids on them.

SPEAKER_04 21:17

Yeah, and that that could also be something that they could have for these new class of ships, is a little bit more kid-friendly, but also you know, pertaining to the adults as well, with those new entertainment offerings and more restaurants as well.

SPEAKER_02 21:28

Yeah, so uh that's pretty much it for the the cruise news. So in travel and theme park news. So, Jack, so Delta executive says that flight prices will remain the same, but it doesn't seem like that.

SPEAKER_04 21:40

I would say that statement is a little bit misleading in kind of a summary of what happened. Delta said airline fares are likely to remain elevated even if fuel prices do decrease. Uh, so the CEO Ed Vaniston said higher labor technology and operating costs are driving ticket prices to go up, and Delta estimates some low. Cost airlines such as Frontier, Allegiant, JetBlue, and so on are still need to raise fares by about five percent to break even. So, yes, that part is true that it's kind of like anything with inflation. Like once it goes up, it rarely ever comes back down. Because you know, we're not gonna see gas at like 67 cents a gallon like we did in yeah in like the late 80s, early 90s. That's just not feasible. But as far as airline prices go, I mean, I think that will fluctuate with the travel demand. Now, I think at this point in time, people are wanting to travel, so that's why the demand is pretty high. But you can also find cheaper airlines depending on where you want to go. Now, yeah, if you want to go to Seattle, you're like just speaking out of Houston, it's probably still gonna be about $400, even on Alaskan Airlines or any other United Delta American. So, yeah, with Spirit gone, the new low-cost budget carriers did increase their prices a little bit, but they can always still keep their prices just under the deltas, the Americans in the United's, because that's their market. Like you and I were looking at frontier flights to Vegas, and we were still able to find them for in the $80 range. Now we have to leave Vegas at seven in the morning, but hey, for $80, that's that's not that bad of a deal. So, yes, in the sense that the big flight carriers are probably going to remain the same price in the $150 to $200 plus dollars, depending on where you want to go. But also just be on the lookout for deals. And I don't think that this is permanent, so to say.

SPEAKER_02 23:38

Do you think that this is something that they release to kind of like give the other CEOs of these other places like, hey, let's keep these prices up?

SPEAKER_04 23:44

Yeah, absolutely. Because I mean, at the end of the day, these airlines are trying to make money. Now, they want our business, yes. And even companies like Southwest used to love to, you know, say, like, hey, we're better than the other carriers because we care about you. You can pick your seat, you can have to pay for bags. That's all gone ever since, you know, private equity. That's what killed these airlines. But yes, they unfortunately that is kind of where we are at in you know the travel society right now is the prices are pretty high. You can blame inflation, you can blame fuel cost, labor cost, technology, whatever. But at the end of the day, they need people's money to operate, and prices to get too high, people are gonna say, okay, I really don't need to go on that vacation, or okay, I really don't need to go here that bad if it's gonna cost this much money. So I think we're at a high right now, but if people stop traveling, it could go down. So just be on the lookout, guys, for deals and don't let what Delta says scare you.

SPEAKER_02 24:47

So, another Disney news, uh, another kid actually jumps out of a Tiana by your venture. We just talked about this last week with how a kid jumped up and he actually fell down the slide.

SPEAKER_04 24:56

Yeah, and this one didn't fall down. It looks like it, they just were able to get out and just walk out. Now, I've did a little bit more research into this. Apparently, this is not all that uncommon at Disneyland. There was a girl who was having a panic attack who she got off the ride and went to the exit. Now, the big problem with this is the log design at Disneyland. Like, like we said last week, the one in Magic Kingdom in Florida, they have a lap bar. So, unless you have the strength of the Hulk, there's not a way to really get out of that. And even when I got stuck on Tiana's Bay Adventure when we went in February, they had to come in, unlock the bars for us to even get out. We were stuck there.

SPEAKER_02 25:39

But you kind of mentioned to me off off air, like that the reason they don't have it, like lap bars there is because if it flips over, is that correct? Like they could like drown because you can't get out.

SPEAKER_04 25:51

Yeah, and it's a design flaw because the design at Disneyland is more of a typical log flume ride, like you would see at your local theme park, where you just sit front to back, and then you there's nowhere you can't go left, you can't go right, you just kind of sit. And I think that there might be like a seatbelt. I don't, I don't, I haven't been to Disneyland in a very long time, but it's very, very easy to get out of Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Now, what I think will happen is because if this becomes continuously becomes an issue, then Disney will have no choice but to redesign the ride again and then incorporate some sort of safety mechanism so these guests don't get out. Luckily, you know, this kid didn't fall down the slide or the big drop, so this kid just got out. But I mean that at the end of the day, doesn't it kind of come down to the parents to control the kid?

SPEAKER_02 26:43

Do you think that this is like like a like everyone's doing it? Like is the new thing? It's a trend.

SPEAKER_04 26:50

It could potentially be a TikTok challenge to walk off of Tiana's by adventure. So, but Disneyland did comment on it and sell TMZ that daily operation at the theme park includes temporary halting of attractions for several reasons. We're told the occurrence on Saturday was appropriately handled by cast members who temporarily stopped the attraction to assist the guests and resumed it. So essentially, yeah, this dumb kid gets off the ride, maybe exits. The cast members probably kick him out of the park, ban him from Disney. The ride continues. Like I said, luckily no one was hurt in this uh uh this person leaving, but I think this ride will definitely get a full makeover pretty soon. This continues to be a trend.

SPEAKER_02 27:30

As someone that's actually been on this ride, do you feel like that it's that scary that people should be getting out of it?

SPEAKER_04 27:38

No. Um I I can't speak for everyone's fears. I mean, I've ridden very scary roller coasters. A log Flume ride is not that scary. The drop is not even the biggest logflume drop out I think I've been on. I mean, I feel without all the you know scenery around it, I think it's only a 50-foot drop, and you and I have been on roller coasters that are you know quadruple that's that drop size. So, no, I don't really think that it's that scary, especially considering most of the ride is a slow-moving ride. I mean, yes, this ride is designed to be, I guess, quote, scary and thrilling for smaller kids, but the people that are jumping off here are teenagers. So it's not like little eight-year-old Timmy is too scared to ride, so he runs away. It's just these teenagers acting a fool of themselves.

SPEAKER_02 28:27

So, another news, so Space Mountain may actually get a long refurfishment.

SPEAKER_04 28:33

Yeah, so according to this is a rumor, I want to say. So, this is uh the uh wwmagic.com, and they're pretty accurate as far as you know projecting with when certain rides will go down for refurbishment. So in the past two years alone, Disney has completely refurbished Big Thunder Mountain, which is one of their other more iconic roller coasters. It opened this year. Uh Buzz Light, your Space Ranger spin, and now they're currently working on the carousel of progress. So it makes sense that Space Mountain would go through a refurbishment. I mean, I don't think they're gonna completely rebuild the coaster from top to bottom. I think they're just gonna more so gonna retrack it, maybe add a few more effects. But Jesse, I would say that this is one of, if not the most iconic rides in all of Disney World. Would you agree with me?

SPEAKER_02 29:21

Oh, yeah, absolutely, definitely. Everyone knows that. Even people who hasn't been to Disney, they would know what Space Mountain is.

SPEAKER_04 29:29

Exactly. And I think that showing this ride a little bit of tender love and care will go a long way. Now, if you, let's say producer Allie, you're she's been begging you to go to Disney for a very long time, she you finally get a chance to go in Space Mountain's clothes. Are you gonna be a little disappointed?

SPEAKER_02 29:44

Um, I mean, I definitely think we should go, and we would go. I would definitely go on this ride, of course. But how long do you think this would like last? Like if they did refurbish it?

SPEAKER_04 29:57

It usually takes about a year to completely refurbish a ride, or at least retrack it, because Big Thunder Mountain was closed from January 25 to about March or April of 26. Um, I know I mean, I know it's not Disney, but Universal closed Jurassic Park ride, and they're gonna be down for about 10 months for a refurbishment. So these longer refurbishments do tend to take about a year. So yeah, it would, I wouldn't say it would be a deal breaker for me because I have ridden that ride very many so many times, but it's also a staple of every time I go to Disney, I want to ride Space Mountain. That's one of my go-to attractions when I when I'm not getting stuck, you know, on Tiana's by Adventure, of course.

SPEAKER_02 30:43

Is there anything that you think that they should be fixing on that ride or or re make it better?

SPEAKER_04 30:48

Um, it has gotten rough. I mean, the ride opened in the 70s, so naturally roller coasters do tend to show their age, I believe, after about 20 years. And I do believe that they did have a refurbishment in the 90s. So it's it's pretty overdue just for some tender love and care. And even if it's just a simple retrack and maybe adding some more lighting effects, how Space Mountain is is when you go through the ride, it they still use practical effect practical effects like projection stars in the dark, and you know, you can't see the track in front of you. It's a very it's a very Disney experience, I think everyone should recommend do. Maybe they can add a little bit more graphics, maybe see some you know solar systems or add a little bit more screens in there to really enhance the you know, you're in going through space experience. Well, like update the technology and stuff like that. Exactly, yes. And maybe they'll change the tracks where it's two people per row instead of the what it currently is right now at Magic Kino, it's one person per row to update the capacity. So, yeah, I would say that it will, if this does happen, like I said, this is a rumor, but you know, wwmagic.com is pretty good at projecting when the rumors will be. So for this next segment, we are going to bring on two of our guests, and we do want to apologize because the audio does sound a little bit different because it was recorded in a different location than where we normally record. So please give us some grace with that. The audio will sound a little bit more hollow, but we appreciate you guys listening, and our next guests have very, very insightful tips as to what you can do on your next Disney trip. So joining us now is Lindsay and Jasper, and they're here to talk about not only some of their upcoming Disney trips, but also these two have been to all Disney parks around the world. Now, the first question I have for you guys is what made y'all decide to want to not only go to the Disney American parks, but explore all parks in, you know, France, China, and Japan as well.

SPEAKER_05 32:54

Well, so I just wanted to visit all the districts in the world as a bucket list. I enjoy travel, so I feel like that was the best plan for me to do is I'm just gonna start with all the distances in the world and then helps with the destination part. So I'm like, we already know where we're going. These are the countries, this is the list, here's the year plan that it's gonna take to do it. So that's why uh I chose Disney. We are Disney Vacation Club members, so I think that also helps with like our cost um staying at Disney resorts. Um helps with our travel and select terms of cost.

SPEAKER_01 33:43

So Lindsay, so follow-up question. So what is the uh Disney Vacation Club?

SPEAKER_05 33:50

So it's basically a timeshare. Um you purchase uh certain amount of points with Disney, and you can stay at any of the resorts depending on the amount of points that you get. So every year you renew like we have a hundred points every year, and then we can use those points to reserve any of the Disney resort hotels uh anywhere around the world. Um so it helps when we travel with our cars because at least our hotel is all discovered. And that's also what helped us decide that we're gonna travel the world and go to Disney because Tim is what always be pee.

SPEAKER_04 34:29

Now, a little bit of a follow-up question I have on that is when you do pick your parks, let's say in France, Japan, or the two other two parks in China, every single one has Disney resorts attached to it, correct? You could always stay there, you don't ever have to stay off property.

SPEAKER_05 34:46

Correct. Yeah, all of them have Disney resources to Disney Commission. And there's one in Hawaii as well, but that one doesn't have a Disney park. It's just a resort there.

SPEAKER_04 35:00

Gotcha. And what order did you go to these parks? I'm assuming did you start with the American parks first? And then did you go to Japan, Paris, Hong Kong, or Shanghai afterwards?

SPEAKER_00 35:14

Yeah, yeah. So we definitely started in the US first. Disney World was the first one we visited uh together as a couple. That was actually our first year anniversary, which I was like a kid in a candy store going to Disney World for the first time. Then naturally we went to uh Cali for the Disneyland, and then from there, once we actually had the funds to afford to go internationally, we started to slowly make our way around the world, which I believe the first one was um China actually, right in Hong Kong. So but yeah, yeah, we uh made sure we could afford it first before we started traveling internationally.

SPEAKER_02 35:51

So y'all went to China first. So did y'all go to Hong Kong or Shanghai first?

SPEAKER_00 35:56

Uh we went to Hong Kong first, which um funny enough, that wasn't our initial attention. Um we didn't know we needed travel visas to go to China. This was our first time traveling uh internationally as a couple, and so when we got to the New York airport, we found out in a very uh interesting way that we couldn't travel to China unless we had travel visas. Kind of long story short, they taught us a way around it, which is to visit China for I think three days, go to a different country, and then come back to China. It's called like a pass-through, uh like a temporary visa that you're passing through. So, in order to make this China trip work, we had to, after three days being in China, leave China to go to Hong Kong because it's not considered technically part of China. And we're like, well, we're gonna be in Hong Kong for like two or three days, we might as well go to the Disney there. So that's kind of how we uh we ended up there.

SPEAKER_04 36:51

I mean, that's certainly a happy accident right there when it comes to going to Hong Kong, Disneyland. Um, you know, kind of going a little bit off script there, but how would you say these international parks compare to the American parks? Do they feel very similar, or do you still feel like there's a certain you know, Chinese, Japanese, or French, you know, aesthetic to those parks?

SPEAKER_05 37:14

I do think the countries have their own aesthetic, um, especially with the food. Their food is typically tailored more towards whatever country that we've been in or that they're in. And so that's what I love the most about having sold a business is all the food that they have. And well, not just like the restaurant foods, but the snacks are also completely different. Um, the cost associated for food. All the international ones are significantly cheaper than all than the ones here on US soil. Uh so but the rides, the characters, that's all similar. Um, all the most of the shows um are still in that country's language, uh, which is good. I mean, we watch the shows and we don't know what they're saying, but uh it's still entertaining because it's the same characters.

SPEAKER_04 38:09

Yeah, it's still Mickey Mouse, you know, at the end of the day, you maybe not he's just speaking, you know, English, Mandarin or Japanese. Uh kind of going back to the planning aspect of all these Disney trips, like how far in advance do you usually have to plan them in order to make these trips happen?

SPEAKER_05 38:25

So with our uh Disney and Vacation Club, they wearing it to use DVC. So a DVC membership, they open up seven months in advance for booking. So they book the hotel uh within that seven month mark, and then I mean flights usually we do three to four months ahead. Um and the tickets, it's usually not for like 60 days before uh we go out. So there's the first thing is the hotel, and that whatever availability they have is gonna be what our trip is gonna be because we're also not fighting, but going against other people that are wanting to book those rooms as well because they sell out fast, so it's really dependent.

SPEAKER_01 39:16

So so you did say you stayed at the Disney resort, so which ones was is your favorite?

SPEAKER_00 39:26

Um for me, uh I don't know if this is gonna be a shock, but for me, I like the resort in Animal Kingdom, um, even though I've traveled internationally. And the reason for that is because of the animals itself, uh, you get a pretty cool view exiting your room. They have like windows along all the walls. So as you're like literally traveling to the center, because it's kind of like a like a circle or like a semicircle, the Animal Kingdom resort, um, at least the one we stayed at, um, where where you're walking toward the center of the building, you actually have a full view of like giraffes and different animals there. So for me personally, that was my favorite.

SPEAKER_04 40:06

And then kind of going back to the food aspect that we talked about, what was the big difference between, let's say, food that you would normally get at Magic Kingdom or any of the Florida parks and California parks versus the ones that you see internationally?

SPEAKER_00 40:22

Well, to put it bluntly, the food's fresh. Um I mean, no, no offense to our own country. It's just it's true. Uh, I mean, just being able to compare it, it's the food is fresh very tell that they actually like the quality of the food is just much better, other than obviously um it being different, American versus like Asian food or wherever we were at. But the quality for short hands down is better, especially in Japan and even in China. Uh, those two countries, in terms of their Disney parts, have the best food, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_04 40:58

So, kind of following up on that, I know that Japan is very well known for their popcorn. And I've seen some things online, they have like barbecue-flavored popcorn or just crazy flavors. Did you try any of those kind of flavored popcorn when you were in Japan?

SPEAKER_05 41:14

We did. Um, and I can't remember exactly all the flavors we tried because every popcorn station was a different flavor, and like all throughout the park. Um, and they give you like these, or you could buy these like buckets and just pay for like refills. Um, but it was so good. Like all the flavors that we tried were so good. There were sweet flavors, savory flavors, salty flavors. Um, and they were just delicious. Like, that's something that you have to do when you're in Tokyo.

SPEAKER_04 41:51

All right, one more follow-up last popcorn question. Did you get the little popcorn uh Mickey Mouse hands to eat the popcorn as well? I've seen that on the plan as well.

SPEAKER_00 42:01

Yeah, well, wish we did.

SPEAKER_02 42:04

So, did you feel like it was hard to like talk to people there that worked at the park and all that? Do you have any issues with that?

SPEAKER_00 42:13

Uh actually surprisingly, no. Um, lucky for American tourists, a lot of these international parks, a lot of people are speak English. Um, and even the ones that don't, there's always someone somewhere that speaks English. So for the most part, we we had no difficulty um communicating with anyone.

SPEAKER_04 42:31

Would you say that there was any sort of cultural differences uh the international parks had compared to the American parks?

SPEAKER_05 42:41

I think culturally, most of the parks were in Asia. Um, and I think that there is a a difference in culture in terms of respect, ride like like a Japanese bow and and you know, the Chinese say thank you a lot to shashia a lot. Um and they're just so friendly, like they're just so friendly. Um, and I enjoyed that, like compared to here in the US, it's you know, very busy, it's very uh fast-paced culture, and I feel like all again all the Disney Mars International that we went to, they weren't super crowded, they weren't busy, they weren't um like we didn't feel rushed, none of the waits were an hour long. Like we got to actually enjoy our time there. So I'm not sure if like they limit the amount of tickets that they sell per day, but um as far as the culture, there's just uh respect for everybody, and there's less people, and everyone's so nice, and like there's no one fighting in life, you know, it's like yeah, go ahead and have your bird.

SPEAKER_04 44:00

An American thing that we have when we're fighting over line, not just a cruise ship. It's not just cruise ships. Well, you kind of talked about the line issues overseas. Did you have to use any sort of Disney apps in order to navigate the park and to show wait times? Uh similar to how we do it here in America with Disney World and Disneyland.

SPEAKER_05 44:21

Yes, we did get the app for all of the parks, um, but we didn't really need to use them. Um, we did use them like to scan our tickets um and just to see a map of the park and where we were going, but uh, we didn't really use it for wait times. There was no fast passes or lightning lanes or anything like that. Um well, we did actually purchase two uh in Japan for one of the rides, the Beauty and the Beast ride, and then in um Shanghai for the Zootopia land. Um, those are the only times that we did purchase, I guess, lightning lane passives, um, but they were still super cheap. They were like 18 bucks, maybe. Um per person, but that's still cheaper than here in the US. So it was still worth it.

SPEAKER_04 45:14

Uh considering I paid $25 to ride uh Rise of the Resistance, yes, I would definitely say that that's cheaper to do it overseas. Uh how about the size of the parks by comparison? Did you feel like any of the international parks were smaller than the ones here in America?

SPEAKER_00 45:32

Um if we're comparing it to uh I'm assuming Disney World, because obviously you have Disneyland and California. Uh definitely more appropriately sized compared to uh the Disney World in Orlando. I feel like in Orlando, you're going on a walking marathon to where the sun's beating on you, it's randomly raining every now and then. And so for me, I was tired. I've been to all five parks, or we've been to all five parks in Orlando uh in Disney World, and it was exhausting. Or four. Okay, sorry. But in like compared to let's say Japan, I honestly didn't feel exhausted. So I would say they're considerably smaller, but I just feel like it's more appropriately sized for what they had.

SPEAKER_02 46:15

Were all the parks designated like for the same age group, or do you feel like they're different ages?

SPEAKER_05 46:24

I think um it's the same for any age, I suppose. I think Disney just does a good job at making you feel like you're a kid. Um, like even taking like pictures with some of the characters. My experience has been the same throughout all the parts. Um, they made me feel like I'm a little girl coming to try and take a picture with the princess, you know. And they just always made me feel like a kid. But I think it's that culture from Disney is the same in all the parts.

SPEAKER_04 47:00

Now, do you have a favorite park of the bunch, including the American parks?

SPEAKER_00 47:05

Uh, for me, just kind of comparing everything, I would say Japan was my favorite, only because they had a major difference, which was Disney C, which no other Disney uh around the world has, which I love water parks, and Disney C for me was definitely worth it.

SPEAKER_04 47:23

So kind of a little bit of follow-up question on Tokyo Disney C. Did it feel like it had if as is ah, it was as if Disney had an unlimited budget and just went crazy with that park?

SPEAKER_00 47:38

Um, I would say so. I was pretty impressed with with everything at DisneyC. Um I I'm very particular with water parks. Um my first water park was SeaWorld here in San Antonio, where I'm from, and that's definitely a little underwhelming. So if anyone's been to SeaWorld, I say Disney Sea is a definite upgrade from that.

SPEAKER_02 48:00

All right, so what what was your favorite ride attraction or experience at each park?

SPEAKER_05 48:07

At each park. Uh Disneyland, like here in California, um, is Carsland. Cars Land is my favorite from all the Disneylands in the world. I still love Carland the best. Um, I think they did such a good job of making it feel like it actually in Route 66. So um that's my favorite with California, um, Disney World in Florida. I think my favorite is Epcot because I just enjoy culture and traveling and just get to visit all of the different places there, and they have really good like imitating visit sculptures of whatever country it is.

SPEAKER_00 48:56

Wow, for me, um, I agree with the Disneyland of California. Carsland was awesome. I like Animal Kingdom section, uh the what is it called? The Pandora section. Um, and then that one ride where you're like riding on the they're not called Teradact. The banshees, I'm gonna call them Teradact Lide of Passage. Yeah, this line of passage, best one of the best rides I've rode, comparing to all Disney's, by the way. So that's definitely an experience. Um, and then for me internationally, I don't know if I have a favorite ride just because I'm a big foodie. So when we traveled internationally, I was more obsessed with the food, oddly enough, around the Disney parks, which I am not impressed with the Disney's here in the US in terms of food. So I liked all the rides uh and the um and the different countries. But then the rides honestly didn't differ too much from Disney World, to be honest. They were very similar. So the food and the cleanliness and the organization of the lines is what separates um the international Disneys from the ones we have here in the US, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_02 50:03

So you kind of hinted at this a little bit. It says, how clean are the different parks, and did the any of them stand out differently?

SPEAKER_05 50:10

Well, yeah, um, I think Japan was probably the or Tokyo Disney was the cleanest park um by far. There's just no tracks anywhere, everything's clean, all the tables are clean all the time.

SPEAKER_02 50:27

Um, there's I've heard that just about uh Japan in general.

SPEAKER_00 50:32

So that makes sense that the park would be too. Yeah. You could literally, I felt like you could literally lay down on the floor and you'll be okay. Like I was dirtying their floor if I laid down on it. That's that's what they felt like. Because just culturally, everyone has the expectation to clean up after themselves. So there really was not that much to clean for the staff because the people culturally just naturally picked up their own trash, put it where it belonged, and went about their day. So yeah, it was definitely the cleanness. I don't think Hong Kong, unfortunately, I think that's the inverse of that. Not that it was super dirty, still definitely cleaner than the American parks, but out of the international ones, I think Hong Kong kind of lower on my list for the international parks.

SPEAKER_04 51:10

I mean, yeah, Japan, I think, just set the bar so high as far as cleanliness goes that you know nothing else really compares to them. Uh so as we all know, people have been to Disney. It can be expensive. Um, so I kind of have a two-part question. One, how do you guys try to save your money as best you can to go to these international parks? And two, is it true that there's you can sometimes go to an international park cheaper than you can here in America?

SPEAKER_05 51:41

Yes. So the Disney World tickets are ridiculous. Um right now right now I think they're like maybe 207 for a day, um, which is insane to me. So when all all the international parks have been like maybe $80 or less a day, uh and I mean that's affordable compared to gear in in the US, but uh flight-wise as well, like we um international, we usually fly Zip Air, which is a Japanese budget airline, and you can get round trip tickets from here to Houston to Tokyo for like 600 bucks, and that's economy. They do have like more expensive seats, but we've always just flown economy.

SPEAKER_04 52:35

Uh any comedy until we nowadays you can it's $200 just to fly any other airline from Houston to Orlando. I mean, yeah, it's not terribly much more expensive to fly to Japan to go to Disney there.

SPEAKER_05 52:48

I was hoping and I thought this was my coworker. It's you know, they're like, I think you travel so much internationally, like, how do you afford it? And I'm like, it's cheaper. I'm like, you I could take a two and a half hour fly for the same price as a 14-hour fly and not be in Japan. Um, so that's that's always helped us with our with our budget is we usually both um low-end budget airlines and then something cheaper than just flying domestically in the US.

SPEAKER_00 53:17

And DVC, of course. Uh we obviously alluded to that earlier, but I think if you're gonna want to travel Disney or go to all the Disney resorts as a party of bucket list, I think as an investment, having uh being a DVC member is worth it because it does definitely save you money on the resorts, which can add up for sure.

SPEAKER_04 53:37

So, how about transportation? Once you fly into Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, or Paris, is there usually a transportation system that will take you to the parks, or do you have to worry about getting a rental car to get there?

SPEAKER_05 53:50

We've never had a rental car. We've always just used public transportation. Google, Maps is awesome. It works all throughout the world. Um, and it's usually cheaper. It's and now, like, or at least all the places we've been to with Disney's, it's everything you just pay on your phone with the credit card, what is it, Apple Pay? Um, well, Samsung too, whatever Samsung's pay is. Um, but yeah, and you just go to the train station, scan your phone and go, and it's like a dollar, two dollars, like one way. Um, and that's how we've always traveled, is just through public transportation or the bus. Um, but Google Maps just maps it up for you and chose you where to go.

SPEAKER_04 54:36

I think internationally it's so much simpler than here in America. I mean, we've all been to Orlando International Airport, it's far away from any of the theme parks. And you know, same depending on where you go in California, you go to LAX, it's an hour drive from there just to go to Disneyland. Uh, in addition to the parks, you guys do go on Disney cruises as well. Um which Disney cruise ship have you sailed on? And do you have a particular favorite one?

SPEAKER_00 55:02

We've only been on one so far, which I'm sure that's going to change in the near future. Um, we went on the Disney Magic uh for Lindsay's uh sister's wedding, which was beautiful. It was very, very nice ship. Um, although it was really nice, uh, because I've been on other cruises too, obviously, like Carnival and Royal Caribbean. For that one in particular, it didn't have as much to do, like amenity-wise.

SPEAKER_01 55:26

You mean you mean Disney Witch?

SPEAKER_00 55:27

Or Disney Wish, sorry, not Disney Magic. Yeah, Disney Wish, yeah. Yeah, that's all obviously I only been up on.

SPEAKER_02 55:32

Well, you're going on Carnival Magic.

unknown 55:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 55:35

Yeah, too too many trips in one year. Um, but yeah, yeah, that the Disney Wish, it didn't have as much to do as I was expecting. Uh I've never been on a Disney cruise, so when I went on that one, I was kind of expecting more activities since we've been to the Disney resorts around the world. And it I don't know, maybe my expectations are a little too high, but it it just didn't have as much to offer in terms of activities.

SPEAKER_02 55:57

So, do y'all think y'all are gonna be trying to do all the Disney cruise ships?

SPEAKER_05 56:02

No, but that's my sister's goal. Um, my sister is has been making her way through all the Disney cruise ships, and we just we're just sticking with the parks.

SPEAKER_03 56:15

So, how does the cruise ships um compare to the park?

SPEAKER_02 56:19

Like, do you feel like it's theme just as much as the parks, or do you feel like entertainment? How is that compared?

SPEAKER_05 56:26

I do think it's similar to the parks in terms of like the characters that walk around, the the entertainment that's there, all the restaurants and bars and everything on the ship is themed. Um one thing I did love about the Disney Wish was they had a Star Wars bar. And now it's super cool. The door would open sideways as if you were on the ship.

SPEAKER_04 56:58

Oh, see, that's what they do. Yeah, that's what they blew the budget in somewhere else. Right. So, for someone who dreams of visiting every Disney park in the world, what's your biggest piece of advice?

SPEAKER_05 57:11

My biggest piece of advice is to try to clump as much as you can. So, like if you go to China, do both do Shanghai and then do Hong Kong. Um and then I mean, I think that's the only one you can clump for. But um it's it's possible, you know. It did take us eight years to do it. Uh, we did visit one one park a year uh within the eight years. Well, I'm including Alani, but um it it's possible. Um, all of our flights that we took were budget airlines, even between countries. Uh, we took their budget airlines, like that country's budget airline. Um, so like flights in between were like 200 bucks to like the three of us. Like it's just it's possible um to save money. Like if you don't have like a DBC membership, um, there's a lot of hotels around all of the parks. And in other countries, like our budget for hotels, like if we uh didn't stay at a DBC resort, well, it's like $130, and you can get a decent hotel for at least $130 anywhere.

SPEAKER_00 58:39

Except here.

SPEAKER_05 58:40

Except except California and Florida, but anywhere else, yeah. So it it is possible, and it does take a lot of planning. Um, even like every time we fly after our first experience of not knowing we needed a visa, like it is a lot of paperwork. Like it, it's just there's even if it's not a visa, like Japan, you don't need a visa, France, uh, you don't need a visa, but there's paperwork that we have to fill out. And it's just it's a lot of planning. Uh, but now that we have Chat GPT, oh my gosh, like like we just input our itinerary. We had a two and a half week vacation, like Asia trip and went to four different countries. And I'm like, hey Chat GPT, we're going here. What do we need? And it's just planned it out for us. It told us what to say to avoid having to apply for visas um when we're traveling to different locations. So that's helpful if like you're new to traveling, like Chat GPT is gonna be your best friend.

SPEAKER_04 59:52

Yes, I have actually more of my recent trips I've done ChatGPT as well, and it will like tweak it, it'll you know suggest certain things. And of course, Chat GBT thinks we have like an unlimited budget if we're going to visit certain places, but yes, I definitely agree with you that Chat GPT is one of the best travel advices you can, especially if you're traveling somewhere new. So, one more thing, looking back, is there anything you would do differently if you were starting this journey over?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:19

Ooh, that's a great question. And I think I'm gonna answer the previous question and the second question all in one answer. So I would say for me, what I would do differently is path wisely. I know that sounds simpler or easier said than done, but going to like, especially when you go travel internationally, you've never done it, you're this is gonna save a lot of heartache. Uh, like for example, when we went to Japan, we didn't know how the washers worked in some of their hotels. So when we were trying to clean our clothes, uh and we were trying to put it in the dryer, it kept washing the clothes continuously to where our clothes just remain wet for like days. So um, and we had way too many clothes, I think, um, than was needed. So we got a little smarter over the years traveling internationally. Uh we use like these vacuum-sealed bags to where um you put, yeah, of course, you fold your clothes the way you want to in these vacuum-sealed bags. And then with the vacuum, it sucks out all the air and it condenses your packs of clothes as tightly as possible. Um, because obviously, when you're traveling internationally, you're gonna need more clothes and traveling domestically, but again, you don't want to overpack. Like, trust me on this one, especially if you've never traveled outside of the US, you're you're gonna want to travel lightly, but not too lightly, if if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:40

It also depends what time of year you go. It's like when we went to Japan and Paris, it was really cold. Um, and it's hard to pack light when it's freezing. Yeah. Um, so just you know, I'm also being being aware of the weather and stuff. But uh in in terms of anything that I would do differently, um, I think I I would have wanted to do like Shanghai and Hong Kong together on one trip. And I don't think like Hong Kong and uh Paris, their parks are really small. There's two different separate parks for both locations, but like you could do them in one day. Like we did them each separately, like one day for one park, one day for the other park. Um, but to save money too, with going to the previous question, like you can do both in Paris and in Hong Kong, you can do both parks in one day. Um, so that helps. And I would have rather have done that because I think even for Paris, uh the second park, not the Disneyland park, I think it's called Hollywood Studios. Um, that park, like we were there for maybe four hours. This is kind of small. Um, but yeah, so that's I think something I would do differently also to have to have money.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:14

So now that you've kind of completed this bucket list, what's the next adventure? Is there another bucket list that y'all are gonna be working on?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:22

Uh not Disney related. For me, it's uh to visit the original Seven Wonders of the World, which I've only literally done one, which is the Great Wall of China. I wanted to see the Coliseum. Oh, I guess Chitsunitsa counts. But that's my bucket list to visit the original Seven Wonders of the World for me.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:41

Don't forget the eighth wonder, the Astrodome.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:44

Okay, there you go. I can complete that one probably today.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:49

They uh Disney, they are opening a Disneyland in Abu Dhabi in sometime in the 2030s. So that's gonna be on the bucket list once it does open. Um, but we'll see how that goes.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:04

So so the last question, ask for the last question this time.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:08

Says if Disney announced a brand new park tomorrow anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be and what theme would you want it to have?

SPEAKER_00 1:04:17

This is a answer because I'm lazy. I would want it to be in Houston because I don't want to travel, right? Or somewhere in Texas at minimum, just because you know, obviously, save on like flights and stuff.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:30

We've been saying we've been saying that forever because you got some on the East Coast, you got some on the West Coast that need something central. And I think in Texas is the best spot for it.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:37

I think I believe it. Everything's bigger in Texas anyway.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:39

I mean, Houston, we don't have a theme park at all, besides, you know, like chemo boardwalk or pleasure pier. So we're due for a Disney.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:46

We could all petition for that and uh being a huge Star Wars fan, so they can somehow theme Star Wars or like have a big Star Wars section, that would be amazing to me.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:59

Was there any other piece of advice that you want to give anyone or anything else you want to add, a favorite memory of any of these international parks?

SPEAKER_05 1:05:08

The only thing I will say is that it's an awesome experience. Um, like not just because it's Disney and it's like magical, but like culturally, it's really awesome. Like you're you're seeing uh you know, different shows and different languages, and the characters are typically dressed in that culture's um like clothing attire, and it's just and the food obviously is amazing. Um, but yeah, it's just it's a wonderful experience. I would recommend it for anybody. Uh, if that's a dream of yours and you enjoy Disney, I highly recommend getting the DVC membership because that has been worth it. Um and and we bought resell with the DVC. If you buy directly, it's way, way expensive. Um, so desire resell with the DVC membership too.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:06

Thank you, Lindsay and Jasper, for coming on and talking about the international Disney parks. It's been very insightful. And you know, I'm sure you inspired some of our audience to, you know, take their own Disney bucket list challenge as well and explore those international parks. And that'll do it for this week's episode of the Leto Loop. As always, you can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, wherever you get your podcast. Check out our Facebook page, we are the Lido Loop, and our YouTube channel, the Lido Loop, as well. I'm Jack, and that's Jesse, and we will see you on the Lido Day or at Tokyo Disney C because that is the best Disney park in the world.