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Dec. 20, 2017
In part 2 of this show, Jim ALMOST FINISHES the history of the SpectroMagic parade.
Dec. 14, 2017
Jim gives the history of the SpectroMagic parade by starting out with an explanation of *why* Disney needed a nighttime parade to begin with, and what they tried to begin with.
Nov. 30, 2017
We talk with musicologist (and Disney parks fan) Dr. Gregory Camp about how Disney chooses music to convey mood and theme inside its theme parks. We've added music to the re-release of this episode, so you can hear what we'r…
Nov. 20, 2017
In this live event at Walt Disney World, Len shows Jim a set of around 60 slides culled from the Disney archives, and asks Jim to explain what's being shown.
Nov. 7, 2017
Jim starts to answer a listener question about how Disney's TV shows end up in the theme parks.
Oct. 25, 2017
In the first installment of a brand-new series of podcasts, Jim Hill and Aaron Adams use "Spider-Man Homecoming" as an excuse to look back at the past 15 years worth of Spidey movies. They also talk about the "Venom" project…
Oct. 19, 2017
Jim finishes the history of the Mineral King project, which fell apart for a number of reasons.
Sept. 28, 2017
Jim continues talking about how Toontown was formed, including what happened after it just opened.
Sept. 14, 2017
Jim starts telling us the story of how Mickey's Toontown came to Disneyland. It all started - and who'd believe this? - when Disney found itself in need of a quick attraction to boost short-term attendance numbers. And by "s…
Aug. 31, 2017
Jim finishes the history of Fantasmic at Disneyland. After the initial success of the show, Disney faced challenges in updating it and in rolling it out to Walt Disney World. Jim tells those stories, as well as what we can e…
Aug. 14, 2017
Jim and Len look back at the career of Disney Imagineer Marty Sklar, who passed away on July 27. Marty started his career editing the Disneyland newspaper in 1955, working directly with Walt. Over the years he was responsibl…
July 31, 2017
Would you believe that Maleficent's flames involve non-dairy coffee creamer? In this episode, Jim and Len continue the history of Fantasmic, talking about how Disney Imagineers came up with some of the show's iconic effects …
July 15, 2017
Jim is back from D23 where he interviewed lots of people attached to lots of projects, some of which got announced and some that didn't. Jim tells why the things that didn't get talked about, didn't get talked about.
July 15, 2017
With the impending re-opening of Disneyland's Fantasmic!, Jim walks us through the history of the attraction.
June 30, 2017
Jim walks through the history of Pixar's involvement in Disney's theme parks, from inspiring films, to parades, and rides.
June 16, 2017
Jim also updates us on the Star Wars hotel idea that's being considered for Disney's Hollywood Studios.
May 31, 2017
Jim attends the opening day ceremonies at Universal's Volcano Bay water park, then flies across the country for the debut of Guardians of the Galaxy at DCA.
May 25, 2017
Jim and Len walk through the food and merchandise to tell you what's interesting and what's tasty.
May 15, 2017
It's been almost 6 years in the making, but Disney's Animal Kingdom has finally opened Pandora - The World of Avatar, based on James Cameron's film franchise. Jim and Len walk through the land and rides to tell you how it tu…
April 30, 2017
Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Disney wanted to build malls as part of its Downtown Disney strategies. In order to get elite, anchor stores like Harrods into Florida, Disney supposedly offered them a two-for-one dea…
April 13, 2017
Jim talks about how Imagineer Kim Murphy's aquarium-centered career at SeaWorld and Epcot's The Seas leads to the ideas for another of Disney's nautical-themed second gates for California - Disney Seas.
April 3, 2017
Jim tells the story of how back in the early 1990's, when Disneyland was looking to expand, it considered the Queen Mary in Long Beach Harbor as part of its expansion plans.
March 18, 2017
Every spring, Jim and Len get together to talk about the mini-stories that go into the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. It's how the podcast got started, in fact. This show is our actual conversation about what's going…
March 2, 2017
Back in 1990, Disneyland was ready to invest in a second theme park in Anaheim. It wasn't the first time, though, that the Disney corportation looked to expand its footprint in California. In fact, Walt had an ambitious plan…