In this week’s episode, Kelli covers the very few details that are known about the 30th Anniversary Celebration at Disneyland Paris as well as some unique rides ONLY in Paris. Chris covers the top 5 things we learned on our recent trip to Walt Disney World, including what you need to know about Genie, Genie+, and Lightning Lane.
Listen to us on your favorite podcast platform or at these links:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/supercalifragilistic-awesome-disney-podcast/id1519529786
IHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-supercalifragilistic-aweso-68324055/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7aEKXzO7tTCqZfnvJnzAPC
For show notes, transcript, and more details from this episode, please visit: https://scfadp.com/season-5/disney-news-1-9-disneyland-paris-30th-anniversary-and-the-top-5-things-we-learned-on-our-trip-to-disney-world/
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All music for this episode is available through a creative commons license. The background music for the News segment was created by Kevin Macleod: Fuzzball Parade by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5044-fuzzball-parade
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Show Notes:
Chris and Kelli discuss updates and refurbs in Disney parks, including the closure of Hong Kong Disneyland due to COVID-19, the absence of the Yeti in Expedition Everest, and the return of the Voices of Liberty to the Rotunda. They also discuss 30th anniversary celebrations of Disneyland Paris, including new costumes, attractions, and merchandise. Additionally, they share their insights on how to navigate Disney World efficiently, emphasizing the benefits of small parties seating at table service restaurants quickly without reservations and using the Genie system to prioritize attractions, food, and entertainment based on preferences.
Outline
Disney podcast, earnings call, and park updates.
- Chris and Kelli discuss Disney-related topics, including new Polynesian-themed merchandise and souvenir mugs.
- They share their experiences with downloading audio from various cities and countries.
- Chris and Kelli discuss Nottingham, England, and its connection to Robin Hood.
- They also talk about Walt Disney Company’s q1 earnings call and the Disney Land monorail.
- Chris and Kelli discuss the closure of Hong Kong Disneyland due to COVID-19 and Macron, as well as the refurbishment of Expedition Everest and the return of the Voices of Liberty to the Rotunda in the American Adventure Pavilion.
- Chris and Kelli were surprised by the return of runDisney events to the parks while they were there, despite having no prior knowledge of the events.
Disney races, food, and job opportunities.
- Kelli and Chris discuss running events at Disney World, including the Dopey Challenge and food options at Epcot’s Festival of the Arts.
- Figment and Dreamfinder make a comeback, Disney seeks more princess and character actors.
Disneyland Paris 30th anniversary and new attractions.
- Chris and Kelli discuss the removal of certain syrups and sauces from Joffrey’s cards due to problems.
- They also predict a decrease in prices for the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hotel experience.
- Kelli and Chris discuss their hopes for Disneyland Paris’s 30th anniversary celebration, despite limited information available.
- They highlight unique attractions at Disneyland Paris, such as Space Mountain: Mission 2 and It’s a Small World.
Disneyland Paris updates, including new costumes, castle refurbishment, and merchandise.
- Kelli and Chris discuss the new Mickey Mouse costume for Disneyland Paris, which has a neon vibe and is inspired by the 80s.
- The park’s hub will feature a beautiful gazebo with a section that frames the castle perfectly, getting a “glow up” with a new look.
- Kelli and Chris discuss new attractions at Disneyland Paris, including a special show at Sleeping Beauty Castle and the return of the Disney Stars Parade.
- Kelli shares her thoughts on the limited information available about the park’s 31st anniversary, including new merchandise and treats.
Disneyland rides, including Small World and Toy Story.
- Kelli and Chris discuss Disney’s Magic Kingdom attractions, including classic rides and new ones with French names.
- Kelli and Chris discuss Disneyland’s Toy Story Playland, praising its variety of rides and shows.
Using walk-up reservations at Disney parks.
- Chris and Kelli discuss new Genie system at Walt Disney World, including tips for using it.
- Chris and Kelli had difficulty getting reservations at popular Disney World restaurants, but found success by asking at the walk-up window.
- They learned that splitting into smaller parties and asking at the walk-up window can increase their chances of getting seated at full restaurants.
Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane features.
- Chris explains how the Genie+ feature works, including mobile ordering and personalized recommendations based on user preferences.
- Kelli shares her experience with the Genie+ feature during a busy time of year, such as Christmas, and how it helped them prioritize rides and attractions.
- Chris and Kelli found Lightning Lane to be better than FastPass, with average wait times of less than 5 minutes.
- For an additional $15 per person per day, Genie Plus offers the opportunity to purchase Lightning Lane access for two top rides in each park.
- Chris and Kelli share tips for Disney World, including using lightning lanes and watercraft for transportation.
- They also discuss the Genie Plus system and stacking, and encourage listeners to follow them on social media.
- Walt Disney Co. Q1 earnings call is set for Feb 9
- Disneyland Monorail closes for refurb on Jan 24
- Hong Kong Disleyland closing for at least 2 weeks due to COVID-19
- Expedition Everest entered a months-long refurb the day after we rode it!
- The Voices of Liberty Return to the Amercian Adventure Rotunda today (Jan 9)
- runDisney was in the parks for the annual running crown jewel
- Disney Parks released its Foodie Guide for the Festival of the Arts at Epcot
- Disney is looking for more Princess and Character actors
- Also hiring Vocalists for Voices of Liberty and the Celebration of Festival of the Lion King
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure virtual queue coming to an end and moving to Stand-By line on Jan 10
- Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser has a boatload of availability just one month after opening
- Joffrey’s carts are removing certain syrups and sauces because of the bee problems
- Encanto Inspired Food headlines new and returning offerings
Disneyland Paris:
30th Anniversary Celebration: https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-gb/events/30th-anniversary/
30th Anniversary merch & Food: https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2021/11/27/first-look-at-disneyland-paris-30th-anniversary-food-and-merchandise/
Disneyland Paris vs Walt Disney World: https://www.youneedtovisit.co.uk/disneyland-paris-vs-disney-world-orlando/
Episode Transcript:
Chris 0:27
Welcome aboard Disney fam. Hello, Disney fan. Welcome aboard indeed. My name is Chris.
Kelli 0:36
And I’m Kelly.
Chris 0:37
I gotta say that little Spanish announcement from the monorail hits real different a couple of days after you’ve actually read them.
Kelli 0:44
I wanted to say it with the monorail person.
Chris 0:48
It’s awesome. And today you’re going with some new Polynesian.
Kelli 0:55
So for those of y’all that voted on Instagram that you thought I packed too many years the correct answer was I packed zero and so we ended up getting three pair while we were there and you got me these like as a surprise you saw them in boutique II my favorite store ever. Now that mouse gear is closed. And you brought them to me and I must have worn them your most days. Yeah, no I love those years are really comfy. Yeah, no boat.
Chris 1:23
They’ve got the sequence no bow, no sequence, no bow for heavy. The. And they’re loungefly.
Kelli 1:30
They’re loungefly ears. Yes. And they’ve got the poly logo on the back of them. What’s so cool is for all the poly stuff that they’re selling this year in the little hibiscus flower. It has 50 in it. Oh, that’s cute. So these aren’t just poly ears. They’re poly for the 50th anniversary years
Chris 1:47
and the IRS like the little Tiki man symbol for a Polynesian
Kelli 1:53
we’ve got a couple of souvenir mugs that looked like those years we we
Chris 1:57
spent some we always spend good money in Booth Tiki. They always have something that we just cannot walk out. Yeah, we always good money on souvenir mugs and these Yes, we did again. And these ears were just one of the things we bought at boutique II this year. Yes, absolutely. So it’s that time of the week where I like to talk about where we saw downloads from. And by the way, we’re just I’m humbled by this every week because like, when I was doing this this week, I literally went through and did like six weeks worth of Oh, wow. All because we have so many new cities that are that’s all. It’s great. But this week, we’re starting out in what I’m sure it’s lovely. Granbury Texas. Oh, which is southwest of Fort Worth, Texas. Okay. Fort Worth is a lovely place. One of the most fun cities to say in America is next. Kalamazoo, Michigan. Oh, Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, home of Western Michigan University. I think they’re the Broncos. But if that’s not you guys saw hate on me. It was enough that I knew that’s where Western Michigan is. Yes. And Carmel, Indiana or Carmel, Indiana? Well, I’m not sure I understand how people it’s not caramel. It’s not as definitely care. Not care. Um, no X ray in there. This is a suburb just barely north of Indianapolis. Okay, which is a great town. And this is gonna be fun. Nodding him in the UK. nodding. Yeah.
Kelli 3:30
Oh my goodness. No, we’re Nottingham is it’s where? Sheriff of the Sheriff of Nottingham it’s where Robin Hood lives.
Chris 3:39
Sherwood Forest. Share. It’s got to be where Sherwood Forest is right?
Kelli 3:43
Yes. Robin Hood. Little John.
Chris 3:46
Welcome to the lalalalalala day. It’s halfway between Birmingham and Sheffield, right in the heart of England. So that’s where that’s where Nottingham is? All right. That’s cool. So and they have downloaded the Supercalifragilistic awesome isn’t a pod? Well
Kelli 4:05
welcome Nottingham. We
Chris 4:06
are so proud of him for it. All right. You want to check out Main Street? Let’s
Kelli 4:10
do it. Alright.
Chris 4:12
So super exciting. Walt Disney Company q1 earnings, call it set for February night. Be there or be square.
Kelli 4:22
Do you have to be a shareholder to attend?
Chris 4:24
I think it’s I think it’s open. So it’ll be an open call. As you can find I’m sure that one of the one of the Wall Street news outlets will publish the public link. All right. The Disney Land monorail, which we did not ride and looks much more futuristic than the Disney World monitors. I don’t even remember seeing it. Well, it wasn’t running. Oh, it was. Well, there you go. The next line that wasn’t running and it’s closing is closing again for refurb one January 24. Oh gosh. And honestly, I meant to look up where he runs. I think it’s more like an attraction. There is a true mode of transportation. It is not right. Okay. Whereas the one at Walt Disney World is a legitimate mode of transportation. Right. Okay. Yeah. No End Date posted as for the close of that refurb Hong Kong Disneyland closing for at least two weeks due to COVID-19 and Macron. Merit, which is Yep. That’s a bummer for the folks in Hong Kong.
Kelli 5:32
It is, but be careful people.
Chris 5:34
How about this Expedition Everest entered a month long refurb the day after we wrote it.
Kelli 5:41
That’s insane. What are they doing? Did
Chris 5:44
it say it doesn’t say but they said the Yeti does not the fixing the Yeti, you know, but yeah, he hasn’t worked for some he hasn’t worked for years. And he is he there’s no plans to get him to work as part of this. refurb
Kelli 5:59
Oh, okay. Right. So wonder if they’re going to remove all the hair ties that are up on the side of the mountain?
Chris 6:05
Oh, that’s a thing.
Kelli 6:09
That people will just have to put a bunch more hair ties out. No, no,
Chris 6:13
don’t do that. Just fix the Yeti. Interesting. Yeah. I just like we had no idea that thing was about to enter reefer we just got super lucky. Because how disappointed would we have been if the if we had scheduled things a little bit different and
Kelli 6:29
not available? Not been there? That’s insane. Yeah.
Chris 6:33
The the voices of liberty are have as of yesterday. So we’re recording, sadly on Monday night instead of Sunday night. But as of January 9, the voices of liberty have returned to the Rotunda in the American adventure pavilion. They are still distancing in the rotunda. And they’ve actually got you know, if you’ve ever seen them before they crowd everybody right around that little red circle in the middle. They’re not really doing that. They’ve got they’ve got a barricade so that you can rope line really, that people sit on one side, and then they distance on the other side, right? It’s still all within the rotunda. Up until now, they’ve been performing at the American gardens theater across the way. Yeah. Which you know, for COVID. But so we were trying to catch the voices of liberty. Yeah. And just couldn’t match up with when they were performing at the theater. But I’m glad they’re back in the road to I am to that’s where they need to be and a little bit more intimate there. That’s cool. Yep. So run Disney was in the parks while we were there. And we didn’t know that was coming either. Man. That’s such a thing. It is it is a thing we had no idea is such anybody out there that that follows Ron Disney is in the runDisney community. That’s awesome.
Kelli 7:51
It is and it was so inspiring. It
Chris 7:53
really was it really was we have set a goal of one day trying to take part in a runDisney event, right, especially now, so many people in the podcasting community. Yeah. And in the Instagram community. We’re putting out wonderful information about what kind of pace you need to keep. And there you know, this past week, this was the crown jewel event. They have events all year long. You did a whole bunch of research on there. But this was the crown jewel event, they have been able to have weekend marathon weekend. They haven’t been able to have it for two years since first time in two years. And Thursday was the 5k. Friday was the 10k. Saturday was the half marathon and then Sunday was the full marathon and some people did all some people did all four, which is crazy. They called it a dopey challenge.
Kelli 8:41
I don’t know if that’s it’s absolutely insane. But it was really inspiring. Yeah,
Chris 8:46
we saw so many people in the parks with the shirts that you get and wearing their medals that afternoon after they would finish a race because every finisher gets a medal. Yeah. So it’s, it’s again, we learned that you don’t have to be a great runner to take part in these things. And they’re very fun. And they’re super fun. There’s their environment, amazing characters that you see there that you might not ever get to see in any other context. So definitely something in terms of the 5k and 10k Maybe that we look at doing in the future and be super cool. Yes, I think so. Disney Parks released its foodie guide for the festival of the arts at Epcot. Well again, when we were there. It was one of the it was one of the like two weeks of the year where there’s not a festival which was kind of weird. It was super
Kelli 9:39
weird. I’ll be honest, I thought that they kept the phone and just switched out the menus and the signage.
Chris 9:46
I know and it makes me so impressed to know that they actually know this is legitimate thing they create shut them down new menus and they shut it down when they’re not using it to you know, and I guess on January the 14th Hey, there’s one I think it kicks back off again. They they they will have various festivals I guess that run throughout the year. I’m not 100% sure that the arts festival runs all the way up to the the Flower Garden Festival but I’m pretty sure the flower garden runs right up into.
Kelli 10:14
I’m pretty sure they do food wine.
Chris 10:15
Yeah. So anyway, and they’ve released a figment popcorn buckets all
Kelli 10:23
that. Goodness. He’s so cute. First
Chris 10:25
of all the art like the host, I
Kelli 10:27
guess. He is and I really love that figment is making a comeback. Yes, man. You know, he’s always been marginalized. You know, and I had just I think he’s he’s having his day. I agree. Right, like ears t shirt. I
Chris 10:40
feel sad for Dream finder, the dream catcher dream finder, the guy that originally was a main character Well, along with figment for journey to imagination. But yeah, you know, figma is
Kelli 10:53
I love figma I’ve always loved figment. Yes, for sure. And
Chris 10:57
so have our dogs. Disney is looking for more princess and character actors.
Kelli 11:05
You could try out. You know, I’m
Chris 11:07
looking for a job.
Kelli 11:09
Like I could be Maratha you really could be I mean, I’ve got the attitude and or Ana. No honest way to nice rumor. She’s so concerned about men married Elsa. Oh my goodness, the drama that comes with that when no rumor.
Chris 11:26
Rumor is that they are ramping up for a possible return of the festival of fantasy parade. Okay, Disney had previously announced the return of that parade in early quotes early 2020 to currently open audition spots for ANA Elsa Bell and they’re looking for character performers under five feet tall. Very specific request.
Kelli 11:51
Are they gonna be I don’t know.
Chris 11:53
I don’t really want to speculate
Kelli 11:55
a lot. Because you know the law fits in the parks is massive big.
Chris 12:01
They’re also hiring voice vocalist for voices of liberty and the celebration of the festival Lion King cast. Okay, we did a segment once before on what it takes to become a vocalist for voices.
Kelli 12:11
Man. It’s rough is you got to be just a vocal savant.
Chris 12:17
Do you really do you really did and by the way, does it pay great there for a minute. So for you, so go get it if you want it.
Kelli 12:28
You could be Christoph Hahn,
Chris 12:30
I could be Christoph to you has been drinking the made for 20 years.
Rameez ratatouille adventure virtual cue comes to an end today on January the 10th and is moving to standby so there are no more virtual cues in the park. We’re gonna be talking about Jeannie Plus, you can still do Genie Genie plus and, and lightning lane and all that. Plus lightning lane, but they’re confusing people. But the virtual Q deal is over. They expect the next time we see virtual Q is when Guardians of the Galaxy cosmic rewind launches. Okay. And we’ll have to do a whole thing on our thoughts on Remy. The ride we will Star Wars galactic starcruiser the new hotel that’s an experience in and of itself has a boatload of availability just one month after opening, which is in March, it doesn’t actually open until March they’re going to be doing some test stays for people in January and February. Just to I’m sure to get the crew because the basically the crew is all actors, right? Yes. And but I predict some decrease in prices.
Kelli 13:45
I predict it needs to be decreased in prices. Yeah, no.
Chris 13:49
I mean, people are not happy with like the rooms layouts and
Kelli 13:53
all that it’s in it’s only like three days into two deck two nights, two nights. I mean, it’s a very specific thing for a lot of money.
Chris 14:03
Joffrey is cards you’re gonna love this. Joffrey is cards are removing certain syrups and sauces because of the problems. That is a real thing is a real thing.
Kelli 14:17
I felt so bad for the Joffrey people over in England. I know you did. I mean they were being attacked by the bees. I know. There must have been be swarming around that syrup like so much. And now thinking back on it. I am a little bit sorry for telling the lady that she left my whipped cream on she made
Chris 14:35
her reach into a baby to get the
Kelli 14:38
whipped cream on my drink. But I didn’t think about that she would have to, you know, put on her behalf here.
Chris 14:48
We saw that I couldn’t wait to get this one in there because we saw that. Yes, that’s a blessing man. They really do have to deal with B is a thing in the Joffrey food cart. Let one last thing I know we’re past our time. I add in Kanto inspired food, food, booze headlines that are new and returning offerings at the Festival
Kelli 15:08
of the artists. So then it should be Columbian.
Chris 15:11
It is right. It’s the brand day and vivido. Okay, canto cucina. Okay, so that ought to be really, really good. You ready for the Tomorrowland? I am. All right. I can’t wait.
Kelli 15:26
So we’ve mentioned it before, but we have fingers crossed, hoping that we get to go to Disneyland Paris this summer. And if we do, then they will be celebrating their 30th anniversary. How about that. And so Miley’s anniversary, I know. So my plan for this segment was actually to talk about the 30th anniversary like what’s available, what’s going to happen when bla bla bla bla bla, but the reality is, they are playing this real close to the vest. And there’s not a lot of information out there. So I’m gonna tell you what I know. And then we’re going to talk about things attractions that are at Disneyland Paris that are not in the states like not WWE or at Disneyland. Okay. So first of all, Disneyland Paris originally opened on April the 12th of 1992. Their celebration this year starts on March the sixth of 2022. Okay, which I find interesting. So here we are mid January, and we still don’t have a lot of details and it’s coming March the sixth in less than two months. Disneyland Paris is the number one tourist destination in Europe. What I know like when you thought it would be like the Eiffel Tower even I was gonna say, Buckingham Palace. Yeah. I mean, I feel like there’s other destinations French
Chris 16:44
Riviera, or you know, yeah, whatever. Rome Colosseum in Rome,
Kelli 16:51
the entire row. So anyway, the logo is pretty cool. So the logo has like a very, you know, 80s Neon vibe. So imagine like a Mickey head like just an outline of a Mickey head. That is sort of Wabi jawed like off to the right, sir. What
Chris 17:09
are what is that? Like? Is that like caddywhompus?
Kelli 17:15
Yeah. So anyway, so like, you turn him just slightly to the right, okay. Okay. So he’s laying like on his left cheek. Okay. Okay. And then you erase his right cheek. Okay. And a little bit of his righty. Okay. And what’s left of his body makes a big three, and then his other ear makes the zero. Ah, got it. So it looks like God really modern Mickey head got it in neon, which is pretty cool. So they have celebrations planned for Disneyland Park, Walt Disney Studios Park and the entire resort. And the theme is dream bigger, laugh louder, smile wider. The park will have an updated look for the daytime and the evening. And Mickey Minnie, Donald and Daisy are getting new, shiny, super modern costumes. So I gotta say like minis costume looks straight out of the Jetsons to me is very maybe they
Chris 18:13
borrowed it from the from either old Tomorrowland costumes or the old Epcot.
Kelli 18:18
I mean, it is neon and it looks exactly like the dress that the wife used to wear. So anyway, and here’s the cool part. When you walk into Disneyland Paris, what the first thing you see is sort of their hub. Right? You go around the hub, there’s, you know, kind of like that at, you know, Magic Kingdom or quite so imagine like a hub. In the middle of this hub is the most beautiful gazebo you’ve ever seen the most beautiful gazebo, and you know how gazebo sort of have they’ve got multiple different beams supporting the work maybe yes, and then sort of like a fence going around it type situation. So when you look straight through the gazebo, there’s like essentially a section that frames the castle perfectly, of course, I mean, it’s gorgeous. And so that gazebo is getting a bit of a glow up. They do call that the hub there is looks like a little bit of hub grass around it but for the most part it’s just you know, like a brick walkway. sort of go around it up to the castle
Chris 19:21
centering that we should have never been worried about the castle scrims coming down and unveiling the New Castle refurb since you know they’re getting it ready for this. Yes, absolutely.
Kelli 19:31
So shows they will have a special new show at Sleeping Beauty Castle with dancing and music. And that’s really all you hear about it. There’s a picture of them on the stage and it looks like they’re dancing and it says you can wave hi as you walk by. They do illuminations on the castle. Oh which is interesting. And the world famous that’s in quote. Disney stars parade will also be back so elimination In the parade, we’ll be back interesting 30th anniversary merch that we know about one lounge fly back. It has dark purple sequins like we only know about one lounge while back. Yes, the ears have fireworks on them and the 30th logos on the front pocket. The other merch that they have released is Minnie ears. Again, one set, lots of sequence here looks very itchy and painful. But I will say the bow is super subtle. So I’ll give them that.
Chris 20:29
Okay, how do you do a subtle mini bow?
Kelli 20:32
I can’t explain it. But it is a subtle meaning but I’m still not buying them because of all the sequence but whatever. That’s it for the March there’s the only pictures they’ve released a loungefly in ears 30 of the anniversary treats. No description under this picture zero caption. It is some type of a Mickey shaped chocolate layer cake with like four layers alternating between white and dark. I honestly have no idea. Maybe it’s a mousse. Maybe it’s some type of a Gatto? I have I don’t know. And it is next to what looks like some type of a martini. That
Chris 21:06
seems nice. No
Kelli 21:09
descriptions at all. Also, their Avengers campus is guaranteed to open the summer of 2022. Now that’s broad, right? That could be like late August, especially in Europe. Well, yeah. And I’ve seen pictures and I gotta tell you, it’s not close. Okay, so now let’s move on to the attractions because there’s very little information about the 31st of all Disneyland Paris is 1/6 the size of Walt Disney World, okay, but it really packs a punch. They’ve got the classics. It’s a Small World Thunder Mountain pirates, Peter Pan, blah, blah, blah. But then they’ve got a few others that I think are very interesting. Some of these have French names. So I’m sorry. The first one is lipase de su contains contest day fees. This translates roughly as the land of fairytales. Oh, yeah, it’s like, you got that right. It’s a gentle boat ride that takes you on a tour of a few of their classic rides. Interesting. Yes, they have the Casey Jr. circus train, not in French. That one’s in English. It’s a tiny little train with really tiny fancy cars that you see are the prettiest little train cars you’ve ever seen? almost look like somebody turned a train into like the horses from a carousel like they’re that nice, you know? And it’s like a train and a roller coaster combined. That takes you on a tour of storybook land, where you can also see gives you a view of people eating in the canal boats. I have no idea what that means. But I’m like people eat in boats there. Well, when you sit in the hub grass.
Chris 22:51
A lot of effort to aid specifically in a boat.
Kelli 22:53
Right. So then also, you’ve talked about this before les Chateau de La Belle was Dormont Sleeping Beauty Castle. It’s called one of the most beautiful Disney castles ever built. And the cool part. You told us this in a prior episode. They have the dragon in the venue and you can tour the whole first floor.
Chris 23:16
That’s right. And I do believe this is probably the most beautiful castle they’ve built.
Kelli 23:21
So another one Alice is curious. Curious Labyrinth is an Alice in Wonderland maze for kids in fantasy land. Indiana Jones and the Temple of peril. I love the word peril. I think it’s very underused. This is like a roller coaster Minecart. That goes backwards at one point. Okay,
Chris 23:40
that sounds really cool.
Kelli 23:41
You’ve got Ratatouille, and it is described as a four D ride with 73 different possible outcomes.
Chris 23:49
Oh, now that’s interesting, isn’t it though? Because I know the one that we just rode is like, is it supposed
Kelli 23:57
to be like that? I didn’t know that it had right. Okay, let me keep going because some of these are really good. Cars. Courtrai ru s rally. This is a tiny little car that seats about three people it says you get to spin around Radiator Springs. I want to be super clear. This is nothing like the cars ride in Disneyland. It does sound like okay, I don’t know what this is about. But it’s not that there’s a couple of others Toy Story Playland is totally different. Crush has a coaster where you sit in a turtle shell that is supposedly one of the most popular rides. But there’s a really cool show called Mickey and the magician. This is a 30 Minute award winning Broadway style production, where magicians assist Mickey because he’s given the task of cleaning up the room before sunrise, but he gets distracted. During the show, Mickey finds himself transported to the most magical worlds featuring Cindy, the fairy godmother, Beauty and the Beast Lemire, Belle based Lion King, Aladdin and frozen Wow. And they say it is seriously one of the best shows they’ve ever seen.
Chris 25:04
Well, that makes I love a show it is the
Kelli 25:07
30 Minute Broadway style winning Broadway style production.
Chris 25:12
That’s, that’s great. Yeah. Their
Kelli 25:16
toys land is completely different. three totally different rides.
Chris 25:20
Well, it doesn’t sound like it ought to be one six the size. And that’s
Kelli 25:24
what they say is they really pack a punch with it. They crowded in there, and you get a lot for your money. And that’s what I would say about Disneyland too. Yeah, right. Disney Land has a lot of rides. They do smaller space. They
Chris 25:37
do pack a lot of stuff into Disneyland. Those Yes, question? Yes. Not even including California Adventure Park.
Kelli 25:44
So I think if we make it, it’s going to be a true experience. Honestly, just listening to me pronounce the names of the rides.
Chris 25:52
I’m going to force you to ask every body there where to find the rides,
Kelli 25:56
excuse me, where is les pays, contains day fees.
Chris 26:05
lowered. So I’ve got World Showcase this week. And I decided to talk about the top five things we learned on our last trip now. I can’t count. I’m, I’m blessed. I’m lucky, I can’t count the number of times I’ve been to Walt Disney World. But I’m amazed at how you can learn something every time you get now this time is especially easy, because of the new Genie system. And a lot of the things we learned are focused on the new Genie system in the parks on the app. But we’re gonna do another bonus episode to where we just talk about Genie Genie plus and lightning lines.
Kelli 26:49
Yeah, because there was a huge learning curve there.
Chris 26:51
huge learning curve. And I’m not, I read everything I needed to read ahead of time to have some idea about how it worked Genie versus Genie plus, versus individual lightning lanes, etc. But I’m somebody that learns by doing. And took me about two days to realize using it was not really a problem, like starting to use it. But then after about two days, I realized, Oh, I see how this can really pay off. Right. So in any case, all the things we learned were not about Genie. So I’ll start with small parties can often get seated at table service restaurants quickly without reservations. So
Kelli 27:35
excited about that. Yes. Did not know. One
Chris 27:38
of the if you get stressed about going to Disney, we get excited about like, Oh, it’s this many days out to do dining reservations, and we make a whole thing out of it. But a lot of people don’t get excited. It’s just a chore and it’s cumbersome. And they think oh my gosh, I just we’re not going to eat at the places we want to eat at or they do it last minute and they’ve missed that witness the window or whatever. Well, we were trying to get into the Nomad Lounge, which doesn’t do reservations. But they do have a walk up function on the app. And the walk up function wasn’t working. It was said it’s full the walk up list. And in her Genius Kelly says why don’t we just walk over there and see what happens. So we walked over there. There’s a lady standing at the at a at a lectern, kind of and, and we walk up we say, Hey, do you have any space? And she says, I’ve got two spots to the bar does Sault. We walked right into the bar. We had churros. We had the bread service. We had a few wonderful drinks. I had my third and fourth drinks of the day. Yeah. So tough day there. I had a tough day. I was hard on myself. I was hard on myself that Tuesday anyway.
Kelli 28:47
But yeah, almost didn’t ask. We were bummed out about it. Yeah, just ask. Just
Chris 28:52
ask. So then we decided last minute that we wanted to get into the Sci Fi dine in theater at Hollywood studios today. We were there.
Kelli 29:04
No chance. And we had been looking for reservations. We’d love sci fi we
Chris 29:08
do. And we had been looking and they just know we’re coming up because it’s popular, right? Rightly so. But what the heck this is we walked up and we said we don’t have reservations. But we’re hoping that maybe we can get in behind the lady that was canceling we were. We were so she cancelled. And we said can we have a reservation reservation? And she’s like, well can’t really do that because it doesn’t come out of the system. She says how many in your party we said to she goes for two people and get you seated in less than 20 minutes. Yeah. And honestly, that became like we did the same thing at the create the new crepe restaurant. Yeah, Fran that became our thing. Let’s just ask you just you asked and for small parties. You can you have a real good chance now. There’s not a lot of small two person parties I get it. But if you really want a place, split up into multiple two parts and party Since a walk up and just ask us, you know, salutely it really sort of blew our mind and opened up a lot of opportunities for us in the future. Yeah, I think. Okay, next thing that I that we learned. The next three things specifically related to Jamie and Jamie plus. Okay. So Genie Genie plus part one, base Genie operations. This thing, all it requires that you do is log in there and go to the four parks and tell it what your priorities are. It asks for priorities on attractions, priorities for food. So where do you like to eat the most? What rides? Do you like to ride the most? What entertainments are your favorite things to see like parades? Or shows the various shows at Hollywood Studios? What are your favorites? And then it goes beyond that and says, Hey, do you have certain favorite princesses? Do you have certain certain favorite experiences? Right? I never filled out those. I just did the basic what are your top preferences? If you go if you if you click on too many things that will say, Hey, man, chill out like it all Genie Genie is gonna do its best. Okay, just but stay within reason, I still probably pick 15 things. Yeah, across all three categories. And it really does. Try to organize your day. And so you select those favorites and says, Okay, we’re going to be Epcot. Today, I’m taking account of all of the things you said were your favorite things. And here’s what I think you should do.
Kelli 31:27
Here’s in white lines, here’s mobile, ordering windows, all that exactly.
Chris 31:30
And so I will say that the mind day window can be a little cumbersome, and confusing to look at. All it’s doing is it’s giving you hour by hour of the day. But there are things that it might say, Look, you said you’d like both of these things. And both of these things are good times to go during three o’clock and four o’clock. So I’m listing both of these things there. But that’s also a good time to eat at the restaurant, you said was your favorite place. So I’m also going to list that there, right. So it can be a little bit overwhelming to look to wait through the tip board. So then use the tip board also to help make decisions because between those two tools with the base design Genie package, that doesn’t cost anything extra. It really does try to say it says hey, go ride this ride at this time, because that’s when we expect the the wait time to be the lowest for you. Right, right. Go eat here at this time and mobile order. And this is about what you should expect your weight to be.
Kelli 32:29
Yeah. And your brother used the bass Genie. Yep. And he was actually really surprised to how many rides they got to ride with that many people in the park.
Chris 32:38
Exactly. Because he went the week of Christmas and it’s crazy. Yeah. Okay, Genie, plus. Okay. Genie plus. So for $15 per person per day, you get access to Genie plus, Genie plus gives you the opportunity to use the lightning lanes, which is like a fastest essentially a fast pass for the vast majority of rides and or shows at every park. Yes. Okay. And I’m not gonna go into all the details. We’ll put it into the next to the bonus episode. But it really does offer you the opportunity to ride a lot of rides through lightning Lane
Kelli 33:24
better than Fast Pass. Definitely better than the Fast Pass. So
Chris 33:27
that was going to be the that’s going to be our last night. I’ll go ahead sorry. So that’s okay. So one of the learnings one of the five learnings is lightning lane is a better than Fastpass. Yes, 100%. It works very similarly. And then it gives you an hour timeframe to ride something. But Disney has made the specific recognition that people are paying for this service and they didn’t pay for Fastpass. Right, because they’re paying for this service. They need to get on quick. Yeah. And I don’t have any data to support this. But I would say that the average wait time that we had was less than five minutes. Yeah. When we walked right on, most of them were walk right on. And the only thing excute it was because of a snafu that Mickey made his runaway railway. Right. But otherwise. And here’s the other thing. We wrote everything we wanted to ride we nearly wrote everything at the Magic Kingdom in one day, right? Using lightning. Genie plus right so it does cost money. A lot of people really hate that it separates the haves and the have nots. But we’re choosing to look at it as this is not about haves and have nots. This is about crowd control. Yeah. And and the lightning lane lines are not nearly as long as even the Fastpass lines used to be and the system is better and the system is better but
Kelli 34:52
it but but even still regular Genie is still fantastic regular
Chris 34:55
tons of information. Yes. Yeah. So That’s all great now then you have the the for purchase of the next thing the fourth learning the for purchase lightning lane, which is over and above the $15 per person per day for Genie plus this is basically for two rides and every part is the top two most wanted ride so think Hollywood Studios you’re talking about Rise of the resistance and Mickey minis runaway railway although I would argue that Slinky dog should be the other Yes. Magic Kingdom you’re looking at seven doors mine train and Space Mountain. So two rides in each park that cost extra just to get into the lightning lane again. I believe it’s worth it. Because you really do just walk right onto these rides. Yeah, some bonus things that we learned. You may have all known this already. Let’s see. Did I hit everything there? Yeah, individual purchase lightning lanes are better. Yeah. Some bonuses. The lightning links still work for about 15 minutes after your official time expires. And for about five minutes before your time officially begins. That’s well publicized on the internet. We just didn’t look at it. We didn’t know that going in. But we tested it in real time. And it worked. So we got on soaring, you know few minutes at or light or land I think a few minutes after that. And also, maybe this is obvious to when you’re staying at a Magic Kingdom resort. The very best way to travel to the Magic Kingdom is by small watercraft. Not even the monorails are better about the big ferry boats are not better. The small watercraft such a pleasant way to earn is such a great way there’s hardly ever a line leaving the parks if there is a line. It’s not that long, leaving the parks. Easy. Dirty ZZ pleasant experience really is the way to go. If you’re if you have the opportunity to stay at one of the Magic Kingdom resorts which is contemporary fort wilderness grand flow and Paulie, you
Kelli 36:59
went over on both of your segments. I just want to say that I mean way over on the news and then also on World Showcase.
Chris 37:07
I’m a rule breaker, man, I’m a loner, I go my own way. And with that, that’s all for this week’s show, folks with that little bit of scolding there, you know what to do now? Go out there leave us a five star review. Wherever you get this podcast. Tell the world how great it is and they need to come join us. Yes,
Kelli 37:26
absolutely. And if you’re looking for more things Disney, please visit SCF adp.com. That’s s for Super C for Cali and for French wholistic a for awesome D for Disney P for podcast. We should have some bonus stuff coming out soon where we are talking about
Chris 37:42
food and That’s right we’re gonna talk about the food festival, the arts and we’re going to talk about get into some details on the genie Genie Plus system. Now that we’ve got this thing here, we’re gonna talk about something called stacking. On top of that, follow us on all the socials at SEF ADP at Instagram and Twitter primarily. And folks with that we hope to see you real soon
