The Disney Tech That Worked - And the Stuff That Didn’t (Ep. 100)
Jim Hill and Lauren Hersey celebrate 100 episodes of I Want That Too by diving deep into one of Disney’s most fascinating recurring patterns: the company’s obsession with technology. From the rise and fall of Go.com to MagicBands, My Pal Mickey, Disney Infinity, and interactive park experiments that never fully worked, Jim traces Disney’s long history of swinging big on tech innovation. Along the way, they also cover Toy Story 5 fast food partnerships, Alice in Wonderland’s 75th anniversary, and new Small World anniversary merchandise.
NEWS
• Toy Story 5 teams up with Papa Johns in Disney’s latest fast food collaboration push.
• Burger King’s Mandalorian promotion sparks conversation about Disney’s growing restaurant partnerships.
• Alice in Wonderland celebrates its 75th anniversary with restored screenings and limited merch.
• Disney launches America 250 merchandise across Walt Disney World.
• New It’s a Small World 60th anniversary pins and collectibles arrive for Disney Parks fans.
FEATURE
• Jim revisits the rise and rapid collapse of Disney’s Go.com initiative and why the company struggled to compete with Yahoo and AOL.
• The history of Disney’s biggest tech experiments, including holograms for The Black Cauldron and Journey Into Imagination.
• Behind the scenes stories about My Pal Mickey, Glow With the Show ears, and the unrealized ambitions of MagicBands.
• The original interactive plans for MagicBands included personalized Small World dolls, reactive character greetings, and real-time park tracking.
• Disney Infinity, Epic Mickey, Lucky the Dinosaur, and Turtle Talk with Crush reveal how Disney repeatedly reinvents its approach to immersive technology.
• Josh D’Amaro’s latest comments about Disney Plus suggest the company may once again be trying to build a digital centerpiece for the Disney brand.
HOSTS
• Jim Hill - X/Twitter: @JimHillMedia, Instagram: @JimHillMedia, Website: jimhillmedia.com
• Lauren Hersey - X/Twitter: @laurenhersey2, Instagram: @lauren_hersey_
FOLLOW
• Facebook: @JimHillMediaNews
• YouTube: @jimhillmedia
• TikTok: @jimhillmedia
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jimhillmedia/
SUPPORT
Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at https://www.patreon.com/jimhillmedia.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Edited by Dave Grey
Produced by Eric Hersey - https://strongmindedagency.com
SPONSOR
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