The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Len Testa starts off this week’s episode by sharing his experience at a Cast Member Only preview of WDW’s new Skyliner system. Then Jim Hill looks back at “Illuminations: Reflections of Earth,” the millennium-themed nighttime show that was originally only supposed to run at Epcot for 18 months but wound up wowing the crowds around World Showcase Lagoon for 19 years instead Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim had the Flu, so it was very fortuitous that Dan packed an extra co-host, Tom, in his travel bags. Also, Aaron Adams showed up because he was looking for someone to hang out with that day. They all chat about Star Wars, and Marvel. We even corralled some strangers into a room so we could pretend that we had an audience. (they were released shortly afterward, and no SWAT teams needed to be called in.) So here is the live show that was recorded, and almost lost, but found at the last minute so it could be posted here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about what Bob Iger revealed about Disney’s 2006 acquisition of Pixar in his new book, “The Ride of a Lifetime.” Drew then shares an interview that he did with Jill Culton, the co-director of the soon-to-be-released DreamWorks Animation / Pearl Studios co-production, “Abominable” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aaron Adams & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about the rumors that are making the rounds about which members of the Sinister Six may show up in the next Tom Holland “Spider-Man” movie. Then Jim shares what he’s learned from “The Ride of a Lifetime,” Bob Iger’s recently published memoir, about what went on behind-the-scenes as The Walt Disney Company was pursuing Marvel back in 2008 & 2009. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dustin Fuhs & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by discussing the Universal Orlando Resort’s efforts to keep its plans for the Epic Universe project under wraps. They then talk about how the Universal Studios Hollywood version of the “Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle” show differed from the version now being presented at Universal’s Islands of Adventure Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa starts off this week’s show by talking about some rare home movies that he’s recently seen from the early days of Disneyland Park. Jim Hill then talks about how the roles that castles play at the Disney Parks have evolved over the past 64 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by speculating about how MGM’s “Addams Family” may do over its opening weekend. They then continue their “Where are they now” feature by discussing the post-Disney careers of Andreas Deja & Glen Keane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about why it’s crucial that WDW’s new Skyliner transportation system has a trouble-free debut. Jim then reveals how WDI used fossil fuels as an excuse to recycle one of the more popular aspects of the Ford Wonder Rotunda at the 1964 – 1965 New York World’s Fair Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aaron Adams & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by sharing what Disneyland Cast Members were told about DCA’s Avengers campus area. They then talk about how “Hawkeye” & “Wandavision” (i.e., those two limited series that Marvel Studios is producing for Disney+) are shaping up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Zehr starts off this week’s show with a recap of his experience at this year’s Official Disney Fan Club event at the Anaheim Convention. Jim Hill then looks back at those two “Ewok” TV movies that George Lucas produced for ABC back in the early 1980s Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about how much they enjoyed “Steven Universe: The Movie.” They then reflect on the challenges of covering some animators’ post-Disney careers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa starts off this week’s show by describing what the Disney’s Hollywood Studios version of “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” was like on opening day. He then describes what it was like to go straight from Batuu to the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by discussing several of the television animation-related panels at this year’s D23 Expo. Jim then looks back at what happened with the “Disney Afternoon” during the waning years of this syndicated animation programming block. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episodes by talking about the “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” Coca-Cola “thermal detonator” controversy. Then special guest Christina Testa-Harrison offers her take on the 2019 edition of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at WDW’s Magic Kingdom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dustin Fuhs & Jim Hill start off this episode by talking about the bozos who put a damper on Universal Orlando's most recent passholder appreciation night. Jim also details the sort of theme park that Universal originally wanted to build in Florida when they first revealed their plans for this project back in July of 1981 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aaron Adams & Jim Hill start things off by explaining how Marvel Studios wound up helping Columbia Pictures with its “Spider-Man” reboot back in 2015. They then shine a spotlight on a number of the Marvel-related rides, shows & attractions that were announced at the most recent D23 Expo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about why “Angry Birds 2” failed to take flight. Then Drew shares what he learned this past weekend about Pixar’s “Onward” & “Soul” as well as Walt Disney Animation Studios’ November 2020 release, “Raya and the Last Dragon” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about the Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party Pass & Mid-Day Magic ticket that the WDW Resort recently began offering. Jim then shines a spotlight on how – back in the mid-1970s – the Imagineers turned Disneyland’s “Mine Train thru Nature’s Wonderland” attraction into the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Zehr & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about “Indiana Jones V” (which is supposed to begin shooting in London next April). Then Dan & Jim look back at “Tucker, The Man and his Dream” and how George Lucas made this 1988 Francis Ford Coppola film possible Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about how “Angry Birds 2” garnered better reviews & sold more tickets over its opening weekend than the original “Angry Birds” movie did back in 2016. Drew & Jim then go on to discuss how both Disney & Comcast are struggling to carve out distinctive identities for all of the animation studios these two media giants currently control. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim Hill and guest host Dan Zehr talk about how Halloween is celebrated at Disney theme parks around the globe. Dan then looks back at the three different experiences he had while participating in WDW’s College Program Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

n honor of “Avengers: Endgame” being released on Blu-ray & DVD, Aaron Adams & Jim Hill discuss some of the lesser-known aspects of this Russo Brothers movie. Jim then reads an excerpt from J. Michael Straczynski’s terrific memoir, “Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shelly Valladolid & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about the 50th-anniversary celebration of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion. Shelly then unboxes a Pulp Hero Snap Bot from Far Out Toys’ Marvel-inspired line Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dustin Fuhs & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by discussing the Velocicoaster, the new thrill ride that’s now in the works for the Jurassic Park section of Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Jim then talks about why there’s typically a huge difference between a finished theme park and the first piece of concept art that’s released for that project. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill talk about some of the Disney theme park-related projects that animation master Eric Goldberg created new footage for. They also look back at how Walt Disney Animation Studios struggled in the late 1930s / early 1940s to create a full-length animated feature to follow the hugely successful “Snow White” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this episode with a run-down of the past week’s news, including Universal Orlando’s announcement of their Epic Universe project. Jim then shines a spotlight on Walt Disney Productions’ second attempt to build a ski resort up in Northern California Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aaron Adams & Jim Hill discuss how Professor Hulk was originally supposed to make his cinematic debut in “Avengers: Infinity War” rather than in “Endgame.” Aaron then goes on to explain how Marvel Comics’ “House of X” & “Power of X” could impact Phase V of the MCU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by paying tribute to the late Disney Legend who voiced Minnie Mouse for more than three decades. Drew then shares what he learned at the press junket for Skydance Media’s soon-to-be-released FX tour-de-force, “Gemini Man” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about some of the new holiday-themed offerings that will be debuting at Disney World this November. Jim then shares some excerpts from “Magic Journey,” longtime Imagineer Kevin Rafferty’s soon-to-be-published memoir Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dustin Fuhs & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode with a news round-up related to Universal’s four (soon-to-be-five) stateside theme parks. Jim then does a deep dive on an addition to the Universal Studios Hollywood’s tram tour from the Summer of 1979 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill start things off by talking about what The Walt Disney Company is expected to unveil/announce at this year’s D23 Expo. Len then shares a rumor that he recently heard about an Osborne Lights-like experience that’s supposedly in the works for World Showcase Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the heels of Kevin Feige’s epic Hall H presentation at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Aaron Adams & Jim Hill break down what Marvel Studios will be releasing theatrically over the two+ years and which Marvel-produced limited series will be popping up on Disney+ (i.e., the Company’s soon-to-launch subscription streaming service. Which will officially debut on November 12th of this year). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor starts off this week’s episode by sharing what he learned at the junket for DreamWorks Animation’s “Abominable” (which arrives in theaters on September 27th). He then shares a sit-down that he did with Academy Award-winner Hans Zimmer, who then talks about what it was like to work on both the 1994 animated version of Disney’s “The Lion King” as well as that studio’s photo-real remake of that film Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Zehr & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about the exhibit of stormtrooper armor that Lucasfilm will be displaying at this year’s Comic-Con. Jim then talks about the messaging that The Walt Disney Company may have inadvertently put out about “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” that then resulted in the lighter-than-normal crowds at Disneyland Park this Summer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill talk about WDW’s plans to link the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa to the Magic Kingdom via the walk-around-the-world (and what this potentially means for the Electrical Water Pageant). Jim then looks back at what it was like to be at Disneyland’s “Invitational Press Preview” as well as on the very first day that this family fun park was open to the public. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dustin Fuhs & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by discussing the operational issues that the Universal Orlando Resort is continuing to have with “Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.” Jim then looks at Universal Parks & Resorts’ $2.2 billion misadventure in the Middle East Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor starts off this week’s episode by talking about what it was like to attend the world premiere of Jon Favreau’s “The Lion King” at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre. Drew & Jim then discuss the very best strategies to employ if you’re traveling down to San Diego later this week to experience Comic-Con International Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa starts off this week’s episode by talking about his recent visit to Takumi-Tei (i.e., the signature restaurant that just opened at Epcot’s Japan pavilion) and the extraordinary experience he had while dining there. Jim Hill then looks back at the history of WDW’s convention facilities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aaron Adams & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about how ticket sales for “Spider-Man: Far from Home” compare to those for “Spider-Man: Homecoming” back in July of 2017. They also do a deeper dive on some of the more intriguing aspects of these Jon Watts movies Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about some of the casting decisions that Walt Disney Studios has been making on its live-action reimagining of “The Little Mermaid.” They then look back at those two traditional animation / CG hybrid projects that Disney Studios almost produced in the early 1980s, “Where the Wild Things Are” & “The Brave Little Toaster” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by discussing which aspects of Future World’s old Communicore / Innoventions area are due to shuttered soon as Epcot gets a facelift out ahead of WDW’s 50th-anniversary celebration. Jim then talks about Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences & Products Bob Chapek’s reported frustration with the cost & speed with which WDI develops immersive lands for the Company’s theme parks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First Jim Hill talks about how unhappy he is with the news that the “Marvel Zombies” comic book line is being revived. Then Aaron Adams talks about why he’s so pleased with the way that Mysterio was portrayed in “Spider-Man: Far from Home” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Zehr & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about Kathleen Kennedy’s decision to promote Michelle Rejwan to SVP of Lucasfilm’s live-action development & production. They then discuss George Lucas’ efforts to get King Features to sell him the film rights to the “Flash Gordon” comic strip Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by discussing whether this summer’s pattern of sequels under-performing at the box office impacted “Toy Story 4.” They also discuss the animated feature Taika Watiti may tackle soon after turning his back on “Bubbles” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa starts off this week’s show by talking about his visit to the newly opened Surfside Inn & Suites, which is Phase One of Universal Orlando’s Endless Summer Resort. Jim Hill then looks back at Skyleidscope, Epcot’s initial attempt at staging a daytime extravaganza out on World Showcase Lagoon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aaron Adams & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about what Disney’s doing this weekend to ensure that “Avengers: Endgame” is finally going to be able to beat “Avatar” ‘s all-time / lifetime take at the worldwide box office. Aaron & Jim then use Tom Holland’s recent appearance on “The Graham Norton Show” as an excuse to discuss the very best way to handle movie spoilers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dustin Fuhs & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about how Universal Orlando handled Volcano Bay’s electrical issues. They then talk about some of the menu items that Universal Studios Hollywood plans on serving at Jurassic Café & Isla Nu-Bar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by discussing the troubled history of “Primeval Whirl.” Jim then looks back on when greenmailers Saul Steinberg & Irwin Jacobs were making runs at Walt Disney Productions and threatening to sell off underperforming divisions of the Company to the highest bidders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aaron Adams starts off this week’s episode with his review of “X-Men Dark Phoenix.” He then follows that up with his take on the third & final (for now, we hope) season of Netflix’s “Jessica Jones” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about “It’s A Wonderful Sponge” and the new CG series that Nick is spinning off of this May 2020 release. Drew & Jim discuss how underwhelming ticket sales for “The Secret Life of Pets 2” may impact Universal’s plans to turn this Illumination Entertainment series into a theme park franchise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices