Episodes

Jim talks about Disney's 1980's plans to develop Long Beach Harbor next to Disneyland

There'll be more, including a long-lost Jimmy Hoffa memo, at the event.

Len makes an unusual request at Victoria and Albert's, which causes the manager to stop by the table.

Jim finishes the history of the O Canada! film at Canada's pavilion at Epcot. Also a bit about the potential DVC at Caribbean Beach Resort.

Jim gives the history of the O Canada! film at Canada's pavilion at Epcot. This part of the story starts with Walt himself trying to find his father's family home in Canada, and we end this show at the fabulous Expo '67 fair in Montreal.

We pick up the story after Disney has just sold out the Rather Corporation to corporate raiders, in exchange for the rights to the property around Los Angeles, including the Disneyland Hotel. But what is Disney going to do with all of these real estate holdings? Jim tells the story. This version of the show is condensed to focus on just the story, with no side digressions. The longer episode, with 5 minutes (woo!) of side stories, is available to subscribers at DisneyDish.Bandcamp.com Learn mor...

We'll release the first August show soon. Time is an illusion.

It's interesting to go back and see how Disney was thinking the same thing, for Coronado Springs.

Here's the building in Trondheim, Norway, from which the Royal Sommerhus design was created: tinyurl.com/zdq7sk3

Here's the building in Trondheim, Norway, from which the Royal Sommerhus design was created: tinyurl.com/zdq7sk3

We also talk about the opening of Skull Island at IOA, and Frozen at Epcot

Special guest star: Laurel Stewart. We loved the meal at Tiffins. Kilimanjaro Safaris is interesting at night, not sure we'd make it our only visit to that attraction. Loved The Awakening.

Here's a Why For that Disney fans are sure to go ape over... the history of "Scruffy", one of the rock apes of Gibraltar. Jim reveals how this started as a live-action project only to almost end up as the follow-up to Disney's animated "Robin Hood".

Did you know that Walt and Ray Kroc (the guy who popularized the McDonald's restaurants) were in the same ambulance unit in World War I? There's a Disneyland tie-in there, and you can hear about it when Jim concludes the history of Splash Mountain.

Jim goes through the history of Animal Kingdom's Kali River Rapids ride. The combination of animals and raft rides dates back to Walt's days, and the evolution of whitewater-style rides in the 1980's brought the idea back to Disney.

Jim talks to Bruce Laval, the guy who invented the original FastPass system while working for Disney in the 1990's.

Jim Hill and Len Testa examine SeaWorld’s decision to end captive-orca breeding, Disney’s proposed resort fees, MagicBand personalization, Polynesian bungalows, and the future of animal attractions.

Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge and Kidani Village Walk-Through!

Disney’s Value Resorts were created for reasons that went far beyond offering guests a cheaper place to sleep. Jim Hill and Len Testa trace the history of Walt Disney World lodging, from Michael Eisner’s ambitious Disney Decade plans and the financial fallout from Euro Disney to the creation of the All-Star Resorts. They also explain how competition along U.S. 192, pressure from Osceola County, and Disney’s desire to keep more vacation spending on property helped reshape the resort business. HI...

Disneyland did not begin with a castle, a monorail, or even a piece of land in Anaheim. Jim Hill and Len Testa trace the origins of Disneyland from Walt Disney’s financial struggles after Snow White, through World War II, television, and his early plans for a small “Mickey Mouse Park” near the Disney studio. They also explore how ABC helped finance the project, why Burbank rejected Walt’s original plans, and how the search for Southern California property ultimately set Disneyland on the road to...

This episode is built around the history of runDisney and the Walt Disney World Marathon, tracing how Disney transformed a January hotel-occupancy strategy into one of the company’s most successful destination sporting events. Jim Hill explains how the first Walt Disney World Marathon came together in 1994, while Len Testa shares stories from years of running Disney races himself. Along the way, they explore expanding race weekends, elaborate medals, changing courses, Disney’s operational challe...

Jim Hill and Len Testa explore one of the biggest "what if" questions in Disney history: what might have happened if Walt Disney had lived another five years. Jim looks at Walt's declining health, the projects still on his desk when he died in 1966, and how his personality and ability to win support often determined whether ambitious ideas moved forward. From the proposed Mineral King ski resort and other experimental attractions to Walt's original EPCOT city concept, the episode examines how di...

Jim Hill and Len Testa trace the surprisingly important history of golf at Walt Disney World, beginning with Walt Disney's original plans for a destination resort that offered far more than theme parks. Jim explains how Disney developed the Magnolia, Palm, and Lake Buena Vista golf courses, why Card Walker pushed so aggressively to make golf part of the resort experience, and how the Walt Disney World PGA tournament helped bring stars like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Lee Trevino to the pro...

Jim Hill and Len Testa look behind the scenes at how Walt Disney World handles one of the less glamorous realities of nightly fireworks: fire risk. Starting with the 2014 fire atop Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Jim explains the Magic Kingdom's rooftop sprinkler systems, backstage fire-suppression procedures, and the precautions Disney takes before and after Wishes. The conversation then reaches back to the dramatic 1985 Monorail Gold fire, when passengers had to evacuate onto the roof of the train, a...