The Disney Dish with Jim Hill

Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about why the menu at Tiffins has been mutating over these past few months. They also discuss the DVC Resorts that Disney execs ultimately decided not to build, including the Times Square Villas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill start off their November 2018 tour of Disney’s Hollywood Studios by checking out all of the holiday decorations along Hollywood & Sunset Boulevards. They also discuss WDW Entertainment’s plan to replace “Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage!” with a new “Tangled” -themed show out ahead of the Resort’s 50th anniversary celebration in 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this episode by talking about one of Disney’s biggest concerns when it comes to “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.” Which is that people’s need to get selfies of themselves in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon will then significantly slow down the load / unload time for “Smugglers Run.” Len then talks some of his recent dining experiences around the WDW Resort Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Len Testa & Jim Hill conclude their 2018 walk-thru of WDW’s Magic Kingdom, they discuss many of the changes that have been made to Tomorrowland over the past few years. The topics covered included the U.S. version of Shanghai Disneyland’s TRON Lightcycle Power Run Coaster as well as what WDI possibly has in the works to replace “Stitch’s Great Escape.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill continue their audio tour of the 2018 version of WDW’s Magic Kingdom with a stroll along the Rivers of America. They discuss how a Guest who’d been an annual passholder for 24 years found out the hard way what happens when you test Disney Corporate’s patience one two many times. Len & Jim also talk about how recent changes to the props used to decorate the queue space with “Splash Mountain” illustrate the Company’s continuing efforts to stay PC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill continue their walking tour of WDW’s Magic Kingdom by strolling through Fantasyland. They talk about Guests’ increasing use of mobile devices forced the creation of in-park charging stations like the ones found around the Rapunzel Tower. Len & Jim also discuss why Disney World’s Safety team ordered that changes be made to the Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak water play area. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by reflecting on what millenniums now expect to find in their hotel rooms heavily influenced the design of “Reflections: A Disney Lakeside Lodge,” “The Cove,” and Universal’s Aventura Hotel. They also look ahead to the construction challenges that WDW’s Entertainment team will be facing as they ready World Showcase Lagoon for Epcot’s new nighttime extravaganza (which is slated to open in 2020). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill continue their walk-thru of WDW’s Magic Kingdom by exploring the colonial corner of this theme park. As they head towards the Hall of Presidents, Len & Jim talk about the stylized open sewer that the Imagineers inserted in this land. They also talk about why the Haunted Mansion’s interactive queue has had trouble connected with international visitors to this Resort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill kick off this week's show by talking about Walt Disney Studios’ decision to push back the release of “The Jungle Cruise” movie from October 2019 to July 2020 is new impacting the Imagineers’ long-in-development plans to overhaul Adventureland. They then discuss how the Jungle Skipper Cantina Restaurant has been a real challenge for WDW’s Food & Beverage team. Len & Jim close things out by pointing out how “A Pirate’s Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas” is similar to the Magic Kingdom’s “Dumbo the Flying Elephant” spinner ride. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill kick off a brand-new walk-thru of WDW's Magic Kingdom by exploring Main Street, U.S.A. This tour starts off with an update on that theater project which Disney Parks & Resorts Chairman Bob Chapek first revealed at 2017's D23 Expo. Len & Jim then discuss how the redo of this theme park's Central Plaza didn't go quite as the Imagineers had hoped. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa and Jim Hill kick off this week's show talking about how EPCOT will be expanding its International Festival of the Arts to seven days a week in 2019. They then discuss those "Rehire James Gunn" billboards that have been erected outside of the Disney Parks & Anaheim. They also contrast Disneyland Park's plan to handle the crowds for "Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge" with the way Disney's Hollywood Studios is thinking about having Guests queue up for this 14-acre land. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a special listener mail edition of the Disney Dish podcast. Len Testa and Jim Hill start things off by discussing the history of Epcot's Garden Railway. They then reveal Joffrey's wound up at the specialty coffee and tea provider for Disney Parks & Resorts. Len then shares a bunch of patents that The Walt Disney Company recently filed and speculates on how all of this cutting-edge technology may be employed as part of "Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill starts off this episode by talking about how Disney World finally officially announcing that long-rumored DVC which will be built where Fort Wilderness' River Country was once located. After that, Len and Jim discuss WDW's new date-based ticket pricing system (which debuted on October 16th). They then share new information about the Marvel superhero-themed land that's being built at Disney California Adventure Park. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa and Jim Hill start off this week's podcast by talking about the name that Disney Vacation Club is considering for the new resort they're planning on building on top of River Country's old location. Len and Jim then speculate on what Disney Parks & Resorts will charge for early morning access to "Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge." Finally, Jim reveals how the placement of the banks & camera stores at WDW's Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Park influenced where Walt Disney Imagineering placed the in-park Starbucks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this listener question show by revisiting WDW's Skyliner system. They then encourage a Disney Dish listener to brave the crowds at Black Spire Outpost when "Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge" first opens in to the public in Anaheim in the late Spring / early Summer of 2019. Finally Len & Jim weigh in on the new tool that's about to come online for Disney World's flexible ticket pricing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill discuss the impact that swapping out Epcot's nighttime show will have on all the restaurants around World Showcase. Then Len & Jim look back at "Thunder in Paradise," the short-lived syndicated series from the producers of "Bay Watch" that was shot around the Walt Disney World Resort in the early 1990s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa starts off this episode by discussing what changes are in the works for Artist Point at Disney's Wilderness Lodge Resort & Mickey's Backyard BBQ at the Campsites at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort. Next Jim Hill talks up Evermore Park, that immersive theatrical experience which is about to throw open its doors in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Then Len & Jim discuss how Port Canaveral is getting ready for the next three ships that are about to be added to the Disney Cruise Line's fleet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len starts this week's podcast off with his impressions of Disney Springs' newest eateries, Chicken Guy! and Terralina Crafted Italian. Mr. Testa then shares his thoughts about how Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival could be improved (i.e., Ice Cream 'round the World). Then Jim uses the closure of "A Bug's Land" at Disney California Adventure Park as an excuse to look back at the closing of "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" at WDW's Magic Kingdom as well as offering a construction update on the TRON Lightcycle coaster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len braves the Florida heat to get the latest news from Toy Story Land and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. He also can't resist talking about this episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color in which Walt takes Ambassador Julie on a tour of Imagineering for Disneyland's 10th anniversary. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0768379/ And to prove that the use of technology in and around the parks is advancing by leaps and bounds, Jim and Len discuss the possible application of a novel floor system for a person walking in a VR environment in both The Void Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire (video below) and Galaxy's Edge. https://youtu.be/Oad_t6k3w5c Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim and Len update us on new info about the Skyliner that changes everything we thought we knew. And also get fidgety when talking about taking a spin around the new Aventura Hotel. (That will make sense after you hear the show, promise.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a transportation themed Disney Dish. Instead of trains, planes and automobiles, Jim and Len talk about increasing cruise prices, the helicopters that you used to be able to take to Disneyland and how real do they really want to make the interactive part of the Millenium Falcon ride. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill check out "TRON" coaster construction as well as the Magic Kingdom's new Instagrammable beverages. They also reveal the unlikely places where you can get some of the very best eats in Orlando (EX: An outdoor grill right next to the Hall of Presidents as well as inside of Volcano Bay, Universal Orlando's water theme park). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What will, won't or may happen in Epcot and elsewhere in WDW could depend on the numbers. Check out a time-lapse video of the construction of the massive Guardians of the Galaxy ride in EPCOT - https://youtu.be/gOrxEam1X64 . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim and Len discuss what's happening restaurant-wise in Disney Springs plus answer a few listener questions before getting into which restaurant ratings. Get ready for some surprises. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this latest Disney Dish podcast, Len & Jim give listeners an update on Disney's Hollywood Studios. To be specific, how construction of "Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge" is proceeding and how "Toy Story Land" has fared over its first few weeks of operation. Then Len and Jim talk about "Superboy," the very first TV series to be produced at DHS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len walks through Toy Story Land right before it floods. A listener sends in a survey question from Universal Orlando that hints at something big. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Come walk through Toy Story Land and ride the rides with Len. Plus Jim tells us what else is coming up in the next year for the Studios. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We also review new Disney survey questions on ride sharing and new technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim also a listener question about how Annual Passholder park dates might change around Galaxy's Edge opening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len visits Donald's Dino-Bash at the Animal Kingdom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Also Len visits Disney's Animal Kingdom for the new Up! bird show and Satuli Canteen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim also explains how crowd control is likely to work when Galaxy's Edge opens in Disneyland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our main story we talk about changes to Disney's Photopass system using artificial intelligence to make better photos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We also cover the Maleficient Dragon fire during the Festival of Fantasy parade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len and Jim talk about the new WDW one-day tickets that come with pre-selected FASTPASS options. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len visits Epcot to see whether there's enough space at International Gateway for Skyliner traffic. Len also goes over hints about how gameplay at the Star Wars hotel might work, based on academic papers published by Disney. Jim talks about the Guardians coaster, and more... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In news, Len and Jim talk about Animal Kingdom's extended morning EMH throughout early summer 2018. Len also talks DHS waits with Toy Story Land opens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len talks about new Disney patents for self-driving cars and virtual reality and a new update to the Agent P game in World Showcase. Jim hears more about Disney's concerns for Epcot's Skyliner station capacity, and how they might deal with it in the short- and long-term. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In other news, Disney announced a new app called "Play Disney Parks", with features Len and Jim hinted about last November. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len notes that Disney has quiety announced new Flamingo Crossing apartment developments, and Jim points out how this ties in to the closing of Crossroads Plaza. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len eats at Jiko and Enzo's Hideaway and wonders when menus became incomprehensible. Jim begins telling the history of Disney California Adventure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len finds some interesting pricing trends in Disney's latest hotel discounts, and Jim explains the strategy Disney's using. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim tells a story Len's never heard before about how Pirates of the Caribbean almost got a holiday overlay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In news, we talk about the Disney corporate re-organization and how it'll affect the parks, a quick take on parking fees, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In news, Len talks about how Disney World is handling spring break crowds, including whether older rides can reliably run at full capacity for days on end. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In news, we talk about Disney's latest price increases and what we can expect between now and when Galaxy's Edge opens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In news, we also talk about what Black Panther's success means for Disney's theme parks, the new changes at Be Our Guest, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To do this, Disney make a TV movie called 'Totally Minnie Mouse.' Not only was it Minnie's first solo starring role, it included TV personalities Suzanne Somers, Vanna White, and (somehow) Elton John. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim casually drops news that the new name for Hollywood Studuios is 'Disney Cinemagine Park', and goes through all the other name options considered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Also, Jim not being Norwegian, can't pronounce 'Akershus'. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices