Main Street Talk - A Disney World Podcast

“New Disney Night Parade, Test Track News, Cruise Line Deals & Animal Kingdom Lodge Tips”

• Nick Garcia

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In this episode of the Main Street Talk podcast, host Nick and his wife Joni discuss the latest news and updates from Disney World. Topics include the new signage at Epcot's Test Track, changes in check-in points at Hollywood Studios' Toy Story Land, and the announcement of the Disney Starlight Dream parade in Magic Kingdom. They also cover special offers from Disney Cruise Line and share their personal experiences from their first cruise. The episode highlights Animal Kingdom Lodge as a recommended stay and provides tips on riding the Astro Orbiter and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. The podcast concludes with practical advice on how to manage post-fireworks crowds at Magic Kingdom.


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nick:

Hello everybody. Welcome to this week's episode of the Main Street Talk podcast. I'm your host Nick, bringing you all the latest Disney World News, parks, updates, and travel tips. Thank you for joining us this week. Um, not a lot going on in news of Disney World this week, kind of a, a slow week like it was last week. But, uh, we got a few things to talk about and like I said last week, we have a special guest joining us today. My wife Joanie. He is joining us today. Hi,

joni:

everybody.

nick:

Everybody. Jonie Jonie, everybody. So she's gonna be along, um, talking about the news and, uh, this year's us, or excuse me, this episode Spotlight on Attracts gonna be buzz light year. So that should, that should be pretty fun. And I know we did Astro Orbiter last week, and actually we do have some, uh, news for the Astro Orbiter.

joni:

Astros. What

nick:

are your thoughts on the Astro orbiter? Joni, you like it?

joni:

Astros? Um, my first time on it, we had our grandkids and um, we did it in an evening after the parade and I thought that it was amazing. Um, just being at night with the colors and I think, that it, gives you a good. A good, um, view of the park and it was just thrilling.

nick:

That's what I said last week when I was talking about it. I, I said, um, the only time we've wrote it has been at night and I don't, I don't think I would write it during the day, to be

joni:

No, I don't think I would like it during the day either. It's, it's definitely something you know, you feel like you're in space with the planets and, and such going, that it's definitely something that is more enjoyable and eye appealing at nighttime.

nick:

I also said. last week. I think it'd be awesome to do during the fireworks. Can you imagine the views,

joni:

Oh yeah. Oh yeah.

nick:

Getting that timed perfectly with that elevator system, getting up there and getting on. I mean, it could be done'cause everybody's watching the fireworks and the line wouldn't be that long. But it, it would be, it would be really cool.

joni:

That's true. And I do have to say you know, if we're gonna be completely honest that the elevator is a. little stuffy, so. Um, and they squeeze quite a few people in there, but the longest part of it was, was the weight of the elevator. But they do do their best to get everybody, um, run through in a, in a timely manner. And I think it's worth it.

nick:

I would be very happy if they just had escalators leading up to that thing.'cause that elevator kind of, um, like you said, it's stuffy and just waiting down there for it. Mm-hmm. And then getting up there. Yeah.

joni:

Yeah.

nick:

So, yeah, I'd be perfectly happy if they put in escalators, but they're not gonna listen to me.

joni:

But the. the actual ride itself is very cooling. After, after waiting for so long, you get a lot of breeze.

nick:

It's relaxing. Especially at night.

joni:

So. Exactly, Exactly. Wouldn't be that The

nick:

way in the The midday Florida sun.

joni:

That's right. And our grandkids, who were five and seven. At the time. um, absolutely loved it. And like I said, we went after the parade to let the park clear out a little bit and had no weight at that time.

nick:

Yeah. And remember our oldest grandson actually fell asleep. Before the fireworks. During the fireworks. We woke him up after the fireworks and then he was ready to go. He's like, let's go. What's going on A ride?

joni:

around.

nick:

Went

joni:

bought a hot dog and then went on a ride.

nick:

Alright, anyways, we're gonna get into the news and um, like I said, there's not a lot going on, so, uh, I think the first thing we're gonna talk about is at Epcot. The only thing going on at Epcot that I found on the news this week was the new sign at Test Track has been, installed. While this seems exciting, um, the sign is there and it's covered with a black tarp, so you cannot see anything.

joni:

black,

nick:

But that to me, we're just inching closer to, uh, to an opening. So I guess that's exciting in that sense.

joni:

Well, unveilings are always nice. The anticipation builds and so

nick:

Yeah. Anyway, you can get baby steps closer to the opening. I like test track. I'm excited to see what they're gonna do for it.

joni:

Yeah. The only time that, um, that I've ridden on test track, we did have an episode where It had gone down and then, the same visit with our grandkids. Our oldest one actually was so excited that, um. He went down for a, a little bit. and, came to, and, didn't remember anything of it.

nick:

Nope. He was, he was screaming and screaming, I think just'cause the excitement, you know, when it starts accelerating. And then he stopped screaming and I looked over and he was not awake. So I think the excitement hit him and the head rush and we got done. And I said, you okay? And he said, I think I passed out. And I said, I think you're right.

joni:

And now he can't wait to go on it again. Yeah,

nick:

he wants to go on it again. And over at Hollywood Studios, they have changed the early entry checkpoint to get into Toy Story land. So this of course, if you're going to be

joni:

early

nick:

entry in, um, slinky Dog or anything over in Toy Story Land, we've never actually done this. We've always went right to, I think we've always done, haven't we?

joni:

Yeah. Yeah. For the most part.

nick:

I think we did tower at tower

joni:

Mm-hmm.

nick:

Just to get it outta the way. But anyways, this says that the, um, early entry check-in point is used to be up between, uh, Walt Disney, Disney World presents and the toy storyland marque. That checkpoint has been moved forward. Early entry guests heading the toy storyland will be stopped at the Hollywood Studios archway by animation courtyard. And I guess this is where they hold the, regular part guests to enter the queue is. So I haven't heard how that's going. I think they just started this. Um, it'd be interesting to know. I don't think it'd be that big of a deal. I don't know. Like I said, we've never done it, so

joni:

Yeah, it looks like it started, around the 27th of May-ish, so just a couple days ago

nick:

Yeah.

joni:

at this taping time.

nick:

I forgot to mention today is, uh, we're taping on, Friday the 30th. So all the news is current to the 30th. And over at Magic Kingdom, they have finally announced the,

joni:

the,

nick:

um, debut day for the Disney Starlight Dream. The night away, the new night parade that's coming, like they used to have back in the day. Um, they got, they're bringing it back. July 20th, there's gonna be floats inspired from films like Moana, Encanto, Peter Pan, and Frozen. And it's gonna open up, it looks like with the, uh, blue Ferry from Pinocchio to start out the parade. The parade is going to follow the same, uh, path that the daytime parades go, the ones that start in Frontier Land and go to Main Street, and there's gonna be. Two shows a night, one before the fireworks and one after the fireworks. So this is pretty exciting. They haven't had a nighttime parade, I think I read since 2016.

joni:

which means I've never seen one except the Halloween parade.

nick:

Yeah. But that parade is, that parade's awesome.

joni:

Yeah.

nick:

We're gonna talk about that another

joni:

We just love parades.

nick:

yeah, love all parades. I'm excited to see that.

joni:

And

nick:

And we normally don't talk about Disney Cruise, cruise lines on this show, but, uh, this is a pretty couple big things coming outta Disney Cruise Line. They're offering a limited time offer, giving you up to 30% off prevailing rates on select cruises. This discount applies only to new bookings and is valid on state room categories inside Ocean View or veranda views. Here's some things that, uh, you need to know before booking. You'll be assigned a state room in the selected category or higher. Full Payment is required upfront for all guests at the time of booking. These bookings are non-refundable except for bookings made in a UK or eu where standard cancellation fees apply. You must provide the full legal names of all guests at the time of booking.

joni:

No

nick:

name changes are allowed later. Your specific state room will be assigned later based on availability. Gratuities and Port of Ventures are not included in the rate. This offer cannot be combined with Disney Vacation Club points or other discounts. They are, they have a limited number of rooms for this deal, and all bookings are subject to Disney Cruise Lines, terms and conditions,

joni:

Line,

nick:

coming out of Disney Cruise lines, which they have announced. If you are a Disney Visa credit card holder. You can receive$250 on onboard credit when booking select cruises using your Disney Visa card. Software's a billable now through September 1st, 2025 for travel on select August and September, 2025. Disney Cruise Sailings card members can also save up to 30% on sailings between August 1st and September 15th, 2025. This offer is valid for new bookings only and for inside Ocean View and Veranda State Rooms. Full payment is required at the time of booking and bookings are non-refundable except for the United Kingdom and European Union. And if you are a DVC member, there is a similar offer available. Eligible DVC members can also get the 250 onboard credit for use for use aboard the Disney wish, specifically on select bohemian ceilings when using points, cash or both. Members can combine this onboard credit with an offer to save up to 30% on select ceilings when booking a guaranteed state room with restrictions. To book this, members must book this offer by phone to receive the deal. This offer applies to Bohemian ceilings in August and September, 2025, and must be booked by September 14th. And if you're interested in any of the aforementioned Disney crew stuff, you can contact me. To book that and any Disney World travel. My email is nick.Garcia@academytravel.com. I am an affiliate of Academy Travel. So that's pretty much it for the news this week. Like I said, there was not a lot going on, so, big news on the cruise stuff though,

joni:

Yeah, the combining of the offers is pretty nice.

nick:

30% off was$250 onboard credit.

joni:

Yeah. There's not very many places that you can, um, double up on your, your offers and collect from both.

nick:

Yeah. Seems like a good deal. Mm-hmm.

joni:

So when are we going?

nick:

go? When do you wanna go? That's the question.

joni:

Yesterday we

nick:

we actually went on our first, or, or Joni's First Cruise in March

joni:

we did.

nick:

We went on a Royal Caribbean cruise. How'd you like it?

joni:

We did. I loved it. I think I found a new, A new love. An additional new love besides you honey.

nick:

Yeah. She said, I think I like, I think I found something else I like and we had a good time. We went to um, where'd we go? Dominican Republic and Haiti.

joni:

Yep.

nick:

The Royal Caribbean owns that beach in Haiti, so that was nice. Yeah.

joni:

it was, and I think from the last time that you were there, you said that, uh. They had built a dock because the last time you were there, they, You had to be

nick:

shuttled in

joni:

had to be ord ord in by boat. Yeah. So

nick:

was engines.

joni:

Oh, okay. I thought maybe they made all the passengers take an ore and help.

nick:

no, it was like a, uh, literally like a shuttle boat back and forth. But yeah, they built a new dock there

joni:

yeah. so uh, actually a quite interesting. thing that we actually found out when we were on our cruises. We met several different couples, but this one couple had told us that the reason that that dock was, um, built was that the country had made an agreement with Royal Caribbean to, um, that they would allow them to put that in there if they installed electricity for a portion of the island. So there's, um, there is electricity there for them. Win-win. Yeah.

nick:

I think they signed, didn't they sign like a 30 or 40 year contract or something to stay there?

joni:

Can't. remember how long, but it was pretty big. Yeah.

nick:

So yeah, that was our cruise experience. We've not made it on a Disney boat yet. I think someday we will.

joni:

Yeah,

nick:

we'll get there.

joni:

Nick's really excited to do the water slides. Me, I will be beach side, um, in a chair. With a sun hat and he can have all the slide Funny wants

nick:

The ship we were on unfortunately did not have a slide. Um. It was actually the smallest ship in the fleet of Royal Caribbean. But it was nice because It didn't take long to get from one end of the boat to other, I mean, don't, it was big. It was 900 something feet. But it didn't take long to get from the front to the back.

joni:

no it didn't. But for me, my first one, it was big enough.

nick:

Oh yeah. It was big

joni:

break me in baby steps.

nick:

Oh, we're talking about vacations. I kind of wanna talk about,

joni:

so

nick:

became DVC members last year. And we had our first DVC stay in, uh, November. We went to Disney World on our anniversary trip and we did, All the Christmas things, but our first DVC stay, our home resort is Animal Kingdom Lodge, so we enjoyed that. Kind of wanna talk a little bit about Animal Kingdom Lodge. Our first, we did a split stay, meaning we spade, I guess you can call it a split stay. We did four nights at Jambo House and three nights at Kani. Which one did you like better?

joni:

I really liked, I think I liked Jumbo better. Did you? I think I, did. Yeah.

nick:

is it the wow factor, like

joni:

is absolutely the wow

nick:

because you walk in that lobby

joni:

it's just massive

nick:

jaw dropping

joni:

and it smells so wonderful.

nick:

wonderful in there.

joni:

And you know, you have for each, for each place you have the, animals right outside, but there's just something about walking into that one with those high ceilings and that that lobby and those big gigantic windows that just look outside, it makes you feel like you're right. And. Right In another country right

nick:

like you're in Africa. Yeah. Really does. Yeah.

joni:

And the staff there, when you go out on the little tours, just, you know, it's got a little area that's fenced off, but you're still very close. to the animals, not in arms reach or whatnot, but there's lots of staff that, um, are very helpful and eager to share, you know, insights with You. and give you information on all the animals and things that you. Wouldn't even think to ask. They're just super excited to, you know, help you out. And one time we even had, um, a couple of gentlemen at a table that you had to, um, guess the dung for, which would, to which animal?

nick:

Or, uh, name the feces to the species. That's right.

joni:

That's right. And I think we got it. interesting, I, and and they were very informative as well,

nick:

and it was actually real, real dung. But I mean, it's not like, you know, it was preserved and encased. I don't know. I even know how to explain it.

joni:

I did not. know it was

nick:

It's real. Oh, I

joni:

Oh, I did not know that.

nick:

it. I did read.

joni:

Did I touch it? I, don't know.

nick:

I, I, they were definitely touching it. I don't know if I touched it, but now I wanna go wash my hands. But yeah, I read that it's real and they like encase it and like, um, cause it's hard. It's like a, a glossy hard feeling.

joni:

Yeah. But You know, some of those like, you know, you gotta match to a giraffe. You have to match to an elephant. You have to match to different animals. And some of the size, some of the size, you would not think. goes to these large, enormous animals. But, um, you know, I learned that, The giraffe is very, he's my favorite animal. I love the giraffes and, um, I learned quite a bit about their digestive system when I was there. So anyway, enough About, Doug, but

nick:

and the species. Um, another interesting fact about Animal Kingdom Lodge is it is the largest, has the largest African museum, What do you call'em? Artifacts, exhibits. The most, the biggest African museum outside of Africa. If you go in the lobby, there's a ton of stuff to look at there. And even in the side rooms and then down, down the hallways, even going to your room

joni:

and they're massive hallways. They all inter, they all connect. And each one has little, um, cubbies that has, and By the elevators, things hanging. And they're all very unique and, um, original to Africa.

nick:

Yeah. I was looking at, um. I was walking down the hall, I don't remember what I was doing, but I stopped'cause they had, uh, it was like wooden sandals that were made in Africa. That was, that's just the kind of stuff they have. Just stuff you would never think about. But, they have that there. And, um, the food there. So in Jambo house they have the Mara, which is the quick service. You have to, I mean, they have your normal stuff. They have flatbreads and chicken strips and hamburgers, but. They also have, you gotta be a little adventurous to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge'cause you're gonna get tired of chicken strips every day if you're not adventurous.

joni:

Yeah, they have different styles of bowls that you can get. Um, and to a certain extent they can be a little made to order.

nick:

Yeah, yeah.

joni:

You can omit or add things. I know I did.

nick:

I did too. And I remember the first bowl I bought there. I remember it. it. The first couple bites I took just'cause it had some different, like African spices. I guess

joni:

It

nick:

about two or three bites for my taste buds and then I liked it.

joni:

Well, we better like it'cause we're gonna, be there, quite often, so,

nick:

but it's a big eating area. It's a big restaurant. Yeah. They have all the desserts and stuff and it's right outside the pool. The pool of Jambo house is nice. I think I liked the Kani one better. I, I liked Kani overall. Kanis pool was

joni:

Kanis pool was very nice. Yeah. And it. was, um, it did seem a little quieter Now that just Right. Keep in mind that people that are not DVC can also., Stay at Kani. Mm-hmm. Because they can rent others points. Mm-hmm. Correct. Okay. Because, I don't believe everyone's staying. Were DVC?

nick:

No, and you can even buy em, you can book it on Disney's website too. It's expensive.'cause they, can use their own points to rent out basically. But yeah, not everybody. There was DVC for sure. think I liked Kani better. Um, it doesn't have the wow factor of John Bo house. Obviously the lobby's really small, but it's, it's very intimate.

joni:

Yeah. I su I suppose for that. I mean, if you're, if you're going to, I'm, I'm the same. I think I'm the same with that. Yeah. It, it seems longer, it seems like it takes more effort, more steps to get around jumbo because it's so, so big. But once you get past the initial wow factor of it, the hallways are the same at, at Kani. The rooms are slightly different. I think

nick:

they, were a little different.

joni:

Um, but we went from, which type of room did we have? At Jambo?

nick:

At Jambo we had a, um, officially it was a resort room resort view room, which means we should have been looking at the parking lot or the pool but we ended up getting a partials of Van V room because there, if you know those people pens, they have,

joni:

yeah.

nick:

So they have these people pens to where if there's a, if there's an emergency and you need to evacuate the building, you have a space where humans can be separated from the animals.

joni:

Mm-hmm. So

nick:

call em people pens, and there are these big circular fenced in areas. And if those are in your view at all, it's considered a resort, a resort view. And we had a.

joni:

we had, we could see the People pen, but we could see a lot of animals as well.

nick:

I mean it was

joni:

I think at one time we counted like. 12 different types of birds.

nick:

Yeah,

joni:

The, remember the birds kept following and it was so cute to watch the staff go out and feed'em Because they would all come running and trotting and waddling and, and the staff would just talk to'em like they were human. it was so cute.

nick:

Yeah. And that we had a lot of giraffes in zebra. On that Savannah

joni:

and there was wildebeest and

nick:

wildebeest,

joni:

Um, I think I would like. to rotate around though, and, and stay at different ones. Because I'm different Savannahs. Yep. Yeah. there's the, because there's several different Savannahs that, that house several different animals because, you know, in the wild certain animals are never gonna come in contact with other animals. So they separate them accordingly on these different savannahs to, you know, make it seem as much in their natural habitat as they possibly could.

nick:

And um, at Kani we did have a true Savannah view room and, uh, we had a completely different set of animals than we did at John Bo house.

joni:

than mm-hmm.

nick:

Mm-hmm. I mean, they do have the same animals, but our particular Savannah we were on was different. We had, uh, vultures. Oh,

joni:

Yes.

nick:

p is that what they're called?

joni:

called? Copies? Mm-hmm. Oh, copies. They

nick:

like zebra horses. Yeah.

joni:

They were. I've never seen one They were really cool

nick:

and there was a baby there. Little one. And uh, what was funny was the vultures were, uh, causing trouble the entire time. that they were chasing all the other birds and stuff. Yep.

joni:

Yep. They wanted to be perched up on the, on the trees.

nick:

Turkey. Yeah. And we told the, uh,

joni:

told

nick:

of the guides that we said, oh, they were making us laugh cause they were causing, or they were, you know, bullying or whatever. And he said, yeah, they always cause trouble. So they kind of run that Savannah.

joni:

but nevertheless, still fun to see.

nick:

Yeah. And the food options at Kani was, uh, Ana, which we were gonna, we had a reservation for, we ended up canceling it.

joni:

canceling. We have yet to eat there and try the bread service. Please try the bread service. Let us know what you think?

nick:

Yeah, that's, that's kind of what we wanted to go there for. And then, uh, they also have gco, so there's no quick service at Kani, but, um. In the morning, Sonata turns into a quick service breakfast, so we ate there and it, it was really good.

joni:

Yeah, go hungry.'cause there's a lot of food and you're gonna wanna try lots if not all of it.

nick:

and we didn't even talk about the best restaurant there, forgot to talk about it, which is boma.

joni:

talk. Mm

nick:

How'd we miss that?

joni:

dunno.

nick:

Me and my food, and I missed that somehow.

joni:

I don't know. Boma is delicious. Boma is. very delicious. So

nick:

So if you get a chance to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, um, I suggest you do it. Like I said, that's, that's our home resorts. We're gonna be spending a lot of time there when we go there. We're gonna check out other resorts too. Like, um, when we go, we have a trip planned in December. We're gonna do one night at Bay Lake Tower because, uh, we were lucky enough to find a

joni:

theme

nick:

park view room just for one night. So we're just going there just for that.

joni:

We wanna see the fireworks from the room and see how, what the, what the hype is.

nick:

Yep. So we're gonna go there one night and uh, head over to Animal Kingdom Lodge. So that's our, that's our plan for December.

joni:

up. And don't forget the enormous headdress, which you cannot miss, that is in the lobby at, uh, Jambo. That actually, um, is constructed of two pieces. It's an actual headdress or, um, headgear of some sort that, An individual is selected to wear it and perform skills to be a known elite. Right. Or for lack of better words in their community. And it is about 240 pounds.

nick:

So when you say giant, this thing is,

joni:

massive.

nick:

yeah. When you think about the human head in

joni:

think this, this thing is 16 feet. in height. And weighs 240 pounds and it's, um, constructed a very bright, vivid colors. Um, well with some blacks and yellows and reds and all handmade things that have different ornamentals. Um. Implemented into it, you know, for the African culture, for their beliefs in different animals, bringing different strengths and things like that. Anyway, you can't miss it. can't miss it. It's enormous. huge. And, uh, there's plaques all around it that give a little bit more insight and information on it. But, um, like I said, you can just plan a whole day at these resorts and

nick:

yeah, and I think Animal Kingdom is, if you want to have a rest day, you're not going to a park. It's a perfect place to go because, there's animals there, especially with kids.

joni:

and if you still wanna get your steps in, you can get'em in. If you want to venture around and look at all the artifacts they have, they have over 500, African artifacts. Yeah.

nick:

And then, yeah, you can just walk up and down the halls, like especially at Kani, like you start at the end of the hall and be to the lobby in about two and a half hours. So,

joni:

and then work your way back on a different floor. Yeah.

nick:

So for our spotlight on attraction, and this was not done on purpose, but I think we're just gonna

joni:

we'll just do

nick:

it anyways. Um, we did the people mover, did the Astro Orbiter.

joni:

and

nick:

had no intentions on doing one land in each park, but since we've done two in tomorrow land, we're just gonna knock out tomorrow land. Yeah,

joni:

we thought of the bouncing around, but yeah, we'll just,

nick:

I have no idea how that happened, but it happened. So

joni:

That's okay. We're gonna cover all of'em. So

nick:

Yeah. Uh, we're gonna do, today we're doing buzz light year space Ranger spin. And on Disney's website, this says, fire your laser to earn points and defeat the evil emperor zurg as you journey through a galactic space battle.

joni:

Any

nick:

hype,

joni:

all

nick:

ages, a slow ride spinning and attraction photography. So there is an action photo on this.

joni:

is a dark indoor, also

nick:

dark indoor, um, and then also says this is kind of the description on the Disney World website. Not today, zer. Buzz light years arms, or excuse me, buzz light years arch ness from Toy Story two is stealing batteries from helpless toys to power a new weapon of destruction. Become a junior space ranger and help to stop Zer. Board your XP 37 star cruiser and voyage deep into the gamma quadrant where you'll take aim at the glowing Z targets with your infrared laser cannons. Use your cruiser's joystick to spin full 360 degrees so you can blast all the targets in sight.

joni:

you

nick:

have what it takes to stop Zer in his rampaging robot army? Before it's too late, the fate of the universe is in your hands. So that's Disney's, Description of it. It does say no before you go Buzz light. Your space Ranger spin is a dark, slow, moving and suitable

joni:

And when we, when and when we say dark, we don't mean pitch dark. It's got like the neon glows. Yeah, so the littles I think would still enjoy it. um, especially knowing the characters and whatnot. But You do spin from one side to another, to try to get your targets. So for those who might have, you know, um, some sort of. vertigo or dizziness, um, might not be the best ride, but, and you can see I don't know if you've already said this, it's, um, two guns. Yes. But Disney also said two to three riders. So that probably means

nick:

a toddler or something sitting between you.

joni:

probably like a little on your lap. or, or something like that. Um. Is

nick:

not getting my gun.

joni:

You would give it to your grand? if they wanted it. Not if

nick:

in the cart.'cause I don't

joni:

think I,

nick:

I'm terrible at buzz light year and I don't think I've ever beat you.

joni:

Oh, well it's never gonna happen. So let's just move

nick:

kids gotta go. He is not

joni:

Let's just move along. So anyway, um, it's also. It says a four to five minute ride. And I don't know if you mentioned the, opening day for the opening day and year might be kind of interesting to know.

nick:

What was that?

joni:

That was, uh, November 3rd, 1998.

nick:

really? Yeah.

joni:

Yep. So it's almost, almost, what, 30 years? It's almost 30 years. 27.

nick:

Yeah.

joni:

27 years.

nick:

Wow. Has Toy Story been out that

joni:

Wow. I don't even wanna talk about, it's crazy. I don't even wanna talk about it. And it's still a, it's still a, uh. A very interesting movie for, for the kids. They love it. And toys are still coming out. Yeah,

nick:

there's a new one coming out. Yeah. Toy Story five. Yep. But did you know this was an original ride? It was if you had wings and then Delta Dream Flight and later Take flight was all done in that building. It was a, uh, a Delta Airline sponsored ride.

joni:

Which

nick:

I have, and I don't know where this came from. And when we started, when I started reading about this, I have a vision. My first time at Disney World, I think I was 10, my dad took us,

joni:

I have

nick:

a vision of being on a ride and I thought it was an Epcot where you're in a, um, you're in a, like a cart and you're in the, you're moving forward and it looks like you're in a plane. There's this big oval screen around you, and I think that's. The last room in Buzz light year right before you exit. It has to be,

joni:

Hmm.

nick:

I'd never thought about that before this, cause I always had that picture in my mind of that, and I didn't know where it came from. But obvi, I think it was apparently, uh, the Delta sponsored ride back in the eighties at Magic Kingdom.

joni:

Still having it in your dreams.

nick:

Still in my

joni:

dreams.

nick:

So the attraction uses backlight scenes animatronics and neon props to create a stylized retro sci-fi world. It's full of fun details like Giant Battery Powering a Robot, or Aliens with oversized Ray guns. It's a blend of Toy Story Char Classic Tomorrow Land. So the point of buzz light year is. You have two guns in each ride and you, you compete against each other, shooting targets through it. Now, however, there is a way to become a galactic hero. Do you know how many points you need to become a galactic hero?

joni:

I do, I do

nick:

How many?

joni:

999,999.

nick:

But that's a lot of points. That

joni:

a lot of points. But We have, we have tips. oh, we have tips. We have tips. Yes.

nick:

Share your tips,

joni:

I'm not. gonna share all of them. I'll share a couple. So, um, when you first get in Room one There's not any extra bonus. I mean, you'll collect points, but there's not the bonus points. And by bonus I mean a hundred thousand

nick:

for one. Target

joni:

for one target. For one target. So, um, in room one, just hit what you want. room two there are two targets in room two.

nick:

two bonus targets.

joni:

bonus targets. Yes, there's lots of other targets, but the two bonus targets, I'll Give you. one, you have to find the other. So the first one that I'm gonna, the one that I'm gonna share in room two is to the left, is an orange robot. And you wanna shoot on the inside of his left arm or left hand. You hit that a hundred thousand points. And like I Said there's. two in there though, but that's, that's a freebie. You gotta find the other one, then you're gonna travel into a little further. And, there is actually on the volcano, one of the volcanoes, has one, I'll just say it's, uh, near the top. And then of course, everyone knows that RG has. A hundred thousand point target on him as well. And it also, if you wanna have a buddy system going with this, you can have your partners drive and spin while you shoot. And another thing is, if you are sitting, if you're alone, if you decide to do this ride alone and you max out your gun, you can hurry up and try to switch over to the other seat and max out and you can do a double max out. So

nick:

you got two

joni:

you got two guns. you can be a.

nick:

You're like a gun

joni:

That's right. Clint Eastwood. That's right. A super duper Galactic hero,

nick:

Eastwood in space.

joni:

That's right. So 999,999 is what we're looking for, guys. Oh, and the one last, thing I'll let you know is too, so in the final. room, That's when you wanna put on your Pretty smile. And show your pearly whites because you will have your photo taken.

nick:

you know what's funny So all the pictures we've gotten on buzz light year, and we've gotten some, you know, the, the photos, sometimes you get other people's photos in your, your account. Every photo I've seen of buzz light year, the concentration level of people in

joni:

would be hilarious. Oh yeah, Oh yeah.

nick:

it's hilarious. It's because you're just, you're just focused. Nothing else. You're shooting targets

joni:

don't even, well, and you know, and I say put on the pearly whites, but I'm sure everybody will be, you know, focused,

nick:

So it's coming to light a little bit. Why I am so terrible at Buzz Lightyear

joni:

He's hitting the wrong targets. I'm hitting

nick:

wrong target. I'm just shooting at anything that's coming in front of me. You have a

joni:

Oh man. I should have shared my tips.

nick:

It's gonna make it a whole different game

joni:

a team effort. it's a team

nick:

It's a competition. It's

joni:

okay. Well, you still don't know where the other one's at

nick:

you like, uh, buzz Lightyear or Toy Story Mania? Better?

joni:

I think that I am Seemingly better at Buzz Lightyear Spin.

nick:

wonder why,

joni:

but

nick:

aesthetically

joni:

and. because it doesn't spin, I like Toy Story mania, But I'm not as good at that one.

nick:

You don't have to read up about, about, uh, hidden targets in Toy Story

joni:

Romania. I know that's right.

nick:

I think I agree with you. I think I like Toy Story mania better, but uh,

joni:

it's kind of got a carnival aspect. to it.

nick:

Carnival. The only thing I don't like about it is your arm is dead by the

joni:

time That's true. Absolutely. I

nick:

it doesn't have the shoot system. I mean, you're shooting a gun, but you're pulling a

joni:

Yeah. You're pulling a string constantly to Yeah. To shoot. And You know, a lot of times the balls kind of lob out there, so you gotta aim a little bit higher. So I'm not as well, I do enjoy that one. a little more so I think. But,

nick:

And it's newer. I mean, it's, you know, it's got newer technology and it's updated,

joni:

sure.

nick:

but yeah,

joni:

and you wear, you wear 3D glasses with that,

nick:

with what? Oh yeah. You do wear, oh, you do, don't

joni:

And, um, so it's. it's, I don't know, I just think it's more eye appealing and.

nick:

I

joni:

The graphics are super cool.

nick:

like I said, just your arm is so tired when you get

joni:

It is. You gotta learn how to use both

nick:

in that aspect, buzzes better'cause you're just hitting a button over and over and over and over again.

joni:

which can Still work The arm muscles

nick:

well that's gonna do it for a spotlight on attraction, I think. And I think we're just gonna go ahead and knock out tomorrow, Ann, and in the next few weeks. So this week's tip or trick, I think, um, I was thinking about this, and this has to do with the fireworks. If you stay to watch fireworks, which I'm guessing 90% of the crowd does, guess what happens when the fireworks are over? Everybody tries to leave the park at once. So

joni:

So

nick:

tip of the week is to not leave. Magic Kingdom right after the fireworks. Go ride a ride, go shopping, just walk around, enjoy the park. The park's very beautiful at night.

joni:

it? Every single land

nick:

Yeah. Every single land, because getting out of there right after fireworks is, is it's a zoo. Mm-hmm.

joni:

well, your bottlenecked at the gates. Then when you get to your trans, your mode of transportation, whether it's an Uber, you're standing there forever. If the buses are just. You could be, you could be two buses deep by the time you get there. And if, um, you know, if you've got littles that are Needing to go that's fine. And there's another tip for that, that if you have littles, that you, you are wanting to leave after fireworks, I would suggest getting as close to the end of Main Street by the gates as you can. So you are one of the first peoples out. And then That way too. I mean, you're not right up, you can still hear the music because it pumps through, but the side shows that come across the building fronts is just, it's really cool. yeah,

nick:

projections, they do the projections not only on the castle, but um, they do it on all the buildings on Main Street too, so. Yeah, if you've never done that, actually just do that.

joni:

Yeah, we've done, we've done both.

nick:

Yeah. I like both. I like being up, you know? Yeah. By Walton Mickey, kind of right behind Walton Mickey statue, and then at Down Main Street a

joni:

Yeah. Just pay attention to the kind of day you're having and you know, the group of people that you're with. If you have littles or you know, people that, um, you know, played hard all day. that need, that are gonna need to be going. Um, just be mindful of that, that if you are Midway. Up toward the castle and you try to get out, you're gonna be waiting a considerable amount of time for your transportation. Yep. Even if you drove because Getting outta the parking lot's gonna be,

nick:

You gotta take the monorail over to the, uh, TTC. Yes. And the monorails are backed up.

joni:

Yes. they are.

nick:

So, yeah, do some shopping. Ride a ride. Get an ice cream, do something,

joni:

or go early if you need. to. Stay, Stay toward the, stay toward the front and be one of the first ones out. Just,

nick:

Good tips.

joni:

Well, thanks for having us. Thanks for having me in. And, we'll see you next week.

nick:

Yep. That's it for this week's show. Um. You can visit our website at Main Street talk pod.com. That's kind of the home base. All the links are in there. You can contact us then on there. Our Facebook page is Main Street Talk podcast. On Facebook, we have a Facebook group. It's Disney World Tips and Our Instagram page, main Street Talk And again, I am a, uh, Disney travel agent, so you can contact me at nick.Garcia@academytravel.com. I'm an affiliate of Academy Travel. You can contact me, I can plan your next, uh, Disney World Vacation

joni:

or, Disneyland. Or Disneyland. Or Disney Cruise. Or Disney

nick:

Or Disney Cruise. Or Disney Cruise, anything Disney, really. So So tune in for our next week's show and we will talk to you real soon.

joni:

Goodbye.