Main Street Talk - A Disney World Podcast

Main Street Talk: Disney World Buzz and Excitement — Test Track Reopens, Spectacular 4th of July Fireworks, , Plus an Awesome Giveaway You Don’t Want to Miss!

• Nick Garcia • Season 2 • Episode 6

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In this episode of the Main Street Talk podcast, hosts Nick and Joni bring exciting news and updates about Walt Disney World, including a new giveaway contest featuring Walt Disney World growth charts and a $50 gift card. They discuss upcoming park events like the 4th of July fireworks at Magic Kingdom and the reopening of Test Track at Epcot. Additionally, the episode covers park refurbishments, such as the Astro Orbiter at Magic Kingdom, the scheduled closure of The Boneyard at Animal Kingdom, and the  Starlight Nighttime Parade with extended park hours. Key tips include details on Disney Cruise Line's reduced deposit offer and the Rider Swap program. The episode concludes with a spotlight on the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor attraction and a reminder for listeners about the giveaway contest and how to participate.


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nick:

Hello everybody. Welcome back to the Main Street Talk podcast, your podcast for all things Walt Disney World related, the news and updates and tips and tricks to make your Walt Disney World vacation. Much easier, more manageable. My name is Nick, and as always, my wife is joining me.

joni:

Hi everyone.

nick:

here in the, in the Midwest, in Illinois, we, uh, we're in the middle of a heat wave. It is currently, what is it, 93 degrees outside. I think it feels like 101

joni:

second day in a row. Second day in a row.

nick:

in a row. Second day in a row. And I think the next continue, the next three days. Nice.

joni:

Yeah.

nick:

So we have that going for us. Our air conditioner's been running like 13 hours a day.

joni:

Do you ever have those days where it's just too hot to even go swimming?

nick:

Yeah. It's like that today.

joni:

It's very thick. and

nick:

You walk outside and it feels like you're walking into an oven. Yeah, I mean, it's central Florida weather we're having right now.

joni:

Yes. Well, And I was doing watering the other day and just to hook the hose to the spigot, the spout, I broke a sweat.

nick:

Yesterday I was hosing off my, uh, flip flops and my back was a little, a little wet. I was outside for 10

joni:

A little steamy.

nick:

Yeah,

joni:

Yeah. It's pretty gross. Yeah. Stay inside. If you're in the Midwest,

nick:

stay inside for sure.

joni:

Or Florida's hot this time too, I'm sure.

nick:

yeah. I don't

joni:

complaining.

nick:

I don't even yeah, I don't even

joni:

Hey, this is just prep weather.

nick:

That's why we go in the winter months,

joni:

just prep weather. Yeah.

nick:

But we have some very exciting news to announce here at the podcast. So we are going to start, you can start entering this week, but we're gonna start the process next week. We are giving away some prizes here. So what we are gonna, what we're gonna do is we have these,. You call'em like growth charts? Yeah. So you know the measuring things you put on your wall and it, you know, it shows you how tall your kids are going. We have some official, official Walt Disney World ones and they're really cute.

joni:

They are cute.

nick:

They have, they're just Disney decorated. They say Walt Disney World on the top and they have all the inch markers all the way up to 72 inches. I think it's probably about 12 inches wide or so, if I had to guess. And they had, they're just all decorated with Disney characters. But the best part about it is it has every attraction with pictures and it says what it is, and it has the height requirement

joni:

Mm-hmm.

nick:

so you can measure your kid as your dates are getting closer to wild Disney World and you know exactly how tall they're gonna be

joni:

and what they can ride and what they can't. So you don't wait in The lines or have to hunt somebody down and or make the trek over to an attraction. And then find out once you get there that it's not allowed. Right.

nick:

Right? Yes. So we're gonna give for the

joni:

Please don't leave your children in a stroller so you can go off and ride a ride'cause they're not tall enough.

nick:

Yeah. Don't, don't do that. Actually, that's part of our tip today. Oh, later. Yeah. So that's funny you

joni:

Oh, That's, just ties, right? in then. I had no idea. Okay.

nick:

So, um, yeah, we're gonna give away, we have eight of those to give away.

joni:

Wait a minute. So you have to give a tip and trick not to leave your children.

nick:

Well, no, I hope not. I

joni:

I'm sorry, I'm rambling.

nick:

Well, I don't know. You never know. Some people maybe,

joni:

Well, I've seen videos,

nick:

but, um, no, the tip or trick ties into that. Okay. So, um, but with these posters, we're gonna give away one a week for the next eight weeks. Okay? Now the bonus giveaway is at the end of these, these eight weeks.

joni:

what is that? What is that week end date?

nick:

Um, that I don't know. It will just be next week will be week one,

joni:

Is it next Monday? Yes. As Our air date? Yes. Okay.

nick:

So today is June 22nd. This will air June 23rd.

joni:

This will air tomorrow. Yeah. We are recording on, um, on a Sunday afternoon. guys.

nick:

So, this will start next Monday, a week from, so that'll be what, June 20 or June 30th?

joni:

No, honey. That's not gonna be June at all. We're in June right

nick:

Yeah. I think it'll be June 30th.

joni:

Oh, oh, I'm sorry. I thought you meant the end of the eight weeks. Yes.

nick:

No. Yeah. So this starts next week, June 30th. Um, that'll be week one, but at the end of this eight weeks, we are giving a way a$50 either Disney gift card or Disney plus gift card. Now, the only rules to this, well, there's a couple rules. If you win a poster. You can only win one poster. You cannot win multiple posters. But if you win a poster, you are eligible for the gift card as well. So that's the only, caveat if you will to this. So you can win a poster and a gift card, but you cannot win multiple posters basically.

joni:

posters. Mm-hmm. Okay.

nick:

So the way to enter is to go to our website, main streete talk pod.com. And subscribe on that website. There'll either be a popup you can subscribe to or there is a subscribe link at the top of the page. Or if you're on your phone, it'll be in the menu. That's all you have to do is subscribe. You'll get an email back and make sure you check your promotion folder, your spam folders.'cause sometimes they will go there. Um, and all you have to do is verify your email again just to say, yes, this was me. I'm not a robot. You know, subscribing to this and you'll be entered. That's all you have to do. We will announce the winners every single week, starting next week, June 30th,

joni:

and eight weeks, then eight weeks from today, or eight weeks from Tom. Uh, next Monday. What are you doing?

nick:

Uh, I think it would be eight weeks from next Monday. Yeah. So

joni:

then eight weeks from then is August 18th. is when we are going to, um, or August the weekend prior. or are You including that? When are we gonna draw for the$50 will it be the following?

nick:

follow we're going to, um, August 25th. Yeah. We'll do August 25th. Okay.

joni:

So.

nick:

on August 25th. So

joni:

the contest ends on August 18th and we will draw our winner that week and we will. Announce the winner on our 25th show, August August 25th, Show. Yes. Okay.

nick:

Yes. So just make sure, like I said, make sure, you're looking in your promotion or spam folders because if you do win, we're going to announce your name on the show and we will contact you probably midweek to get, a mailing address we can send to your poster. And if you win the gift card, the same thing, um, maybe an e-gift card or I don't know, we. What, however you prefer, if you win,

joni:

Okay.

nick:

So, yeah. That's exciting. Yeah. Um, it's first time

joni:

And they are really cute guys. they're they are paper. I wish they were kind of cloth, but they are paper. but They're super cute.

nick:

They're straight from Disney. Um, being a travel agent, these, you know, we get promotional items too.

joni:

Yeah. And you can mark on'em. So you can literally, as you're, you know, each year you take your kids, it can be like a souvenir, like a memorabilia that you keep, you have all your children's ages from the time you started taking'em till their adulthood and you've got it all marked on this. And then if you turn it on the flip side, it's a banner.

nick:

Yes, it is.

joni:

it is. And um, So you can, you know, have it vertical or horizontal. Uh, so yeah, it is super cute though.

nick:

And yeah, and

joni:

foldable paper

nick:

and even like you, let's say it's your first or your kid's first time writing Big Thunder that year, you could even where the Big Thunder image is on the poster, you could write the date down and

joni:

yeah, sure.

nick:

Little Jimmy got to write it

joni:

Absolutely.

nick:

So yeah, they're really cool.

joni:

Or Big Jimmy. Big. If it's big Jimmy's first time

nick:

little Jim. So yeah, just go to the website, main street talk pod.com. I'll leave a link in the show notes as well, just so you can get straight there. And, um, good luck to everybody that enters$50 gift card. Can't beat that. You gotta save at Disney.

joni:

I wanna enter, can I enter You are or am I

nick:

You know, you're excluded. I'm sorry. I should have said that off the bat. You know, when I'm, when I say, you gotta say whatever you can at Disney, I'm reminded of, um, our last trip. Before our animal kingdom stay on our travel day, we stayed at pop century. We went over to, uh, art of Animation to eat. Remember there was that little boy in there about eight years old? He was getting a soda at the same time. I was, I was

joni:

And our refillable cups.

nick:

Yeah, our refillable mugs. So I was filling my mug and he came up and he filled his, and he looked at me and he said, you gotta get your money's worth. You gotta get your money's worth. He said it two

joni:

is so cute.

nick:

So cute. Obviously he heard his mom

joni:

Yeah, Of course, of course. that definitely came from an adult. So that's our promotion. Um, let's get into the news. We're gonna start at Magic Kingdom. I. Walt Disney has confirmed the return of Disney's Celebrate America or 4th of July. Concerted in the sky at Magic Kingdom. Ooh,

nick:

Yes, it's coming back the 4th of July. Fireworks will be perform, be performed at 9:20 PM on July 3rd and July 4th, happily Ever After will not be performed on these dates. So, well,

joni:

Well, I think it's, I think it's a nice break in there. I mean, I love happily ever after. but To see something, you know, so that just is all the more reason why you should go on the second and the third, or the fourth and the fifth. You get to see happily ever after in the, yeah, in the July 4th shows.

nick:

Yeah. You go on July 2nd and yeah, you could see, yeah, both of them do two consecutive nights. It's kinda like going to during, Taking a trip like October 30th through the beginning of November.'cause then you get to see Halloween and Christmas

joni:

And the transition over. Yeah. But you do, um, you do miss the trees going up because

nick:

that's true. Yeah. At the resorts. Yeah.

joni:

We were at our, res, our home resort for a week and

nick:

we never saw Hunt.

joni:

Anticipating, anticipating seeing the tree. And I think it was up just two days after we, left,

nick:

yep. So we're going back.

joni:

time after we left, but that's okay. We'll see it guys. We'll see it. in real life.

nick:

So, July 4th. Fireworks and Epcot will feature the heartbeat of freedom after Luminous the symphony of Symphony of us on July 4th. I don't, I know I threw Epcot in there, but it was kind of relevant to the, uh, the fireworks.

joni:

So let me ask this. Yeah, that's, okay. As we're speaking on Epcot, Luminous, what do you think of that show?'cause there's a lot of people that aren't very,

nick:

I liked it.

joni:

They're not. Okay.

nick:

I,

joni:

I liked it too. I mean, I've only seen it the one time. but There's a lot of people that are like, say they, they're in their opinions. Harmonious, I

nick:

I think is what

joni:

Oh, is that the one that

nick:

people compare it to Harmonious and it's, I've never saw harmonious. But I, I think that was just absolutely amazing.

joni:

yeah,

nick:

I, I liked it. Okay. Um, did you like it?

joni:

Yeah. and I liked the band playing in the Bandstand. next door. Yeah.

nick:

So, yeah, who was that? And that was, 98

joni:

degrees. I didn't wanna say it.

nick:

We were watching, we, we popped a spot for the fireworks right next to the American pavilion where the stage is. And, um, there's nickol, she, 98 degrees, they were singing all the hit. They

joni:

weren't in the

nick:

98, they were singing, uh, Britney Spears and Backstreet

joni:

Yeah. it was like a throwback. For real. Yeah, I'm dating myself, guys.

nick:

Yeah, I was like looking around and I look back and Joni's videotaping him. So I was like, oh, Nick cliche. So back to Magic Kingdom. The playground at Dumbo, the Flying Elephant and Magic Kingdom will reopen later this year. It was supposed to reopen in the spring of 25, but with summer approaching around the corner, Disney has officially delayed the opening. Here is what the website says. The indoor children's playground in the Dumbo Flying Experience Queue is closed for refurbishment, and expect to open later this year. The attraction will remain open and available during this time. So the playground, it will not be open on time. And, um, the Starlight Parade. This is, this is a big one. Everybody's, this is weird. I, this threw me off a little bit.

joni:

little bit.

nick:

So the new Starlight Nighttime Parade. Nighttime parade at Disney has been confirmed, obviously, and it's gonna start on July 20th. Well, the parade will take place twice nightly with showtimes at a 9:00 PM and 11:00 PM with happily ever after fireworks at 10:00 PM Now this parade is gonna go backwards,

joni:

backward,

nick:

is odd. You know what I mean by that? They're not gonna be going backwards. The route is starting on Main

joni:

that. Okay. No, I know what you meant. I didn't, think they were all gonna walk and dance backwards No. Drive backwards. That's, that's kind of dangerous. No.

nick:

Um, yeah. So the parade is going to start on Main Street. Travel towards Frontier

joni:

both showings the nine and the 11.

nick:

That's what I found.

joni:

I wonder why they're doing, that. I mean,

nick:

Oh, you know what I did read? It's for crowd control. Because if you start in Frontier Land and you end at Main Street, everybody's gonna be towards the end of the parade at the gates. And when the parade's done at 11, especially, everybody's gonna be at the gates already. So they want it to go the other way so people can see the parade and leave. You know what I mean?

joni:

Ah,

nick:

it's going the opposite. It's going away from the

joni:

Ah.

nick:

so it's actually pretty smart.

joni:

Well, yeah. Unless you wanna stay for the fireworks too, because then you're sitting at, well, I suppose you're at Main Street and then, you know, by the gates and then you're back by, you know, we, we like all the areas, but we really like in front of the castle by Mickey and Walt. is a Really good spot to watch fireworks off to the side a little bit. But like we've said before, it's nice to watch'em down Main Street too because you get the projections on. the buildings.

nick:

That

joni:

is that kind of contradictory though, if they're going backwards for the nine o'clock show. Because then you have fireworks.

nick:

But see, even with fireworks, if it starts at Main Street, it goes to the hub and then it's going to Advent or uh, frontier Land. Now the hub in front of the castle is open'cause the parade's already gone by. So people can start standing there.

joni:

Okay. So I think

nick:

think it's smart. It's, it's a crowd

joni:

yeah. Well, somebody had their thinking cap on when they did that then. Yep. It took me a minute.

nick:

a, it took me a minute too, and I started thinking about it and I was like, wait. Yeah, that's,

joni:

mm-hmm. that's a good idea. Mm-hmm. Boy, these, um, These, um, brains in this business,

nick:

they make the big bucks.

joni:

they do.

nick:

If it was me, I'd just have it going straight up Main Street and turn around and come back.

joni:

Well, now that he knows the shortcuts, he might

nick:

know Yeah.

joni:

If it was before he knew the shortcuts. it'd be an awfully long parade.

nick:

Disney has adjusted the the operating hours at Magic Kingdom starting July 20th, the park will remain open until 11:00 PM nightly through at least August 2nd. So if you're going after August 2nd, uh, keep your eyes peeled. You can look at the My Disney Experience app. The calendar. The calendar usually is set out for about 60 to 70 days is when they have the,, so if you're going in November and you see the parks closing at five, that's just, that's not, you know what I mean? It's just in

joni:

Mm-hmm. It's not

nick:

It's not official. They haven't got to it yet., Disney has filed a new construction permit for the Walt Disney World. Railroad station in Frontier Land, which is set to close soon due to the construction of the car's expansion and the villains land. Beginning on July 7th, the Frontier Land Station will be closed and it will only be open between Main Street and, um, storybook Circus. Yeah.

joni:

Yeah. Well, you talked about that another, in another episode, That it was just gonna be like a shuttle back and

nick:

back and forth. Yep. Back and forth.

joni:

Yeah. So that official is.

nick:

July 7th. July 7th.

joni:

July 7th. Yeah.

nick:

And they've already, they've already started filing permits for construction on the station. I

joni:

Well, and I love that, um, that you included. Disney's villain Land. in that little uh,

nick:

Yeah, because, you know, why be I'm, the land I'm most excited for is villains land. But we're getting all this information about Carsland and Monsters Inc. And nothing on villains. And I don't know if they're doing it on purpose, but they're killing me. So cars is coming to mind quicker. And then I'm like, oh yeah. Oh, villains,

joni:

Yeah. yeah.

nick:

And, um, the Astro Orbiter has now began testing again. No opening date Announced.

joni:

date, yeah. Okay. So

nick:

they're done with that. They dismantled that whole thing and took it offsite and refurbished it and brought it all back.

joni:

It's nice and polished for everybody. should be,

nick:

I'm gonna go over to Epcot. This is big news outta Epcot. The test track presented by General Motors will reopen on July 22nd, 2025. It's got a new musical score as well as new scenes that highlight technology, making our cars smarter and our lives more fun. From the Disney Parks blog, one of these scenes showcases how vehicles can use advanced cameras and sensors to see the world they drive. Through Walt Disney imagineers, were able to represent this tech utilizing over 29,000 points of light. While test track is always celebrated new and future automotive technology, it's also a reminder of what a road trip is all about, spending quality time in the company of friends and family while embracing the beauty of the world around you. The cast members will be able to experience the attraction and technical rehearsals between June 27th and July 10th. As with previous ride openings and Reopenings, excuse me, cast member previews are usually the first group allowed as the final testing phase before opening to the other groups. Now, Disney also confirmed that previews will also be held for annual pass holders. Club 33 members, Disney Vacation Club members, D 23 Gold members and Golden Oak residents. But those dates have not been announced yet. So Test Track has been down since, I believe, June of last year.

joni:

Well, their testing rehearsals with the cast members. Is literally a week.

nick:

Yeah,

joni:

right around the corner. It's, It's less than, it's Less than a

nick:

Yeah. Next weekend.

joni:

Yeah.

nick:

So, um, you know, I didn't, when we went. What,

joni:

Huh? Friday? It's June, it's June 27th. So yeah, that'd be,

nick:

Um, I thought because there's not a whole lot of attractions at Upcott, you know? I mean, I guess there is, but not like other parks, you know?'cause the world showcase,

joni:

Mm-hmm.

nick:

But I thought with test track being down every other rides, their lines would completely sore up. You know what I mean? Wait times. I didn't feel like that was the case when we were there. I mean, you, Remy and Frozen are always gonna have

joni:

Yeah. But Maybe it was just less populated. And then a lot of people Spend a lot of time around the, around the world showcase too. So, Which can be a day all in itself, visiting all that. Yes.

nick:

That's, that's a big park. So that's it for Epcot. Big announcement for test track, and we're going over to Animal Kingdom where we in Epcot, we have some great news animal kingdom. We have some bad news.

joni:

Well, well

nick:

Bad, bad news for S,

joni:

yeah, let's

nick:

bad and good news because it's bad because something's closing. But it's good because

joni:

well, we, we understand that whole prospect and. Approach to it when it, When one door opens another or what? How does that go?

nick:

door closes, another door

joni:

Right.

nick:

But I don't know, for me, when one door opens, it just shuts on my face. So I don't know.

joni:

You mean when it closes?

nick:

Yeah,

joni:

we're all messed up right now.

nick:

So, according to Disney, the bone yard will have its last day of operation on September 1st, 2025. This will mark the start of the second phase of construction on the tropical Americas land. Which as we know is replacing Dino Land, USA. But if you have kids, not to worry, they are putting in a playground area in Tropical Americas. We, we don't have a lot of details on what this playground is going to be, but we do know that there will be a playground. So the boneyard last day, September 1st, 2025.

joni:

25.

nick:

you're interested in going, trying to find some Disney fossils. Better get over to Animal Kingdom,

joni:

Mm.

nick:

That's it for the parks this week. Oh, what do you got?

joni:

Well, I'm just gonna say the dyno has already been removed. And what about that bone? I mean the uh, Chester and Hester. Dyno has been removed. But what about the one that is at the entryway? The boned one.

nick:

Oh, the Dina You mean the actual like dinosaurs? Yeah.

joni:

The, yeah.

nick:

oh, that I don't

joni:

Is that, is that going, is that still up right now and going to be

nick:

I have not heard.

joni:

yard's closing?'cause It's, right next to it

nick:

could be, yeah. I have not heard if that's been removed or not. I've not read anything. But they did make a big deal. Not a big deal, but it, it. It was widely known when they took the, the big dinosaur down. But that thing was huge. The other one does, the other one you talking about. The one that's, um,

joni:

all bones that they at Christmas time they Put a Christmas hat on it. Yeah, that's the one I'm talking about.

nick:

So that's gonna do it for Park News this week. Some good news and some bad news.

joni:

Mm-hmm.

nick:

that's gonna be the case for the next few years, I think. Get excited about something and then sad about something, but

joni:

But

nick:

look forward to the future.

joni:

Yeah. And have some memories from the past.

nick:

Yep. Exactly.

joni:

Keep growing.

nick:

Yep. Disneyland's never complete. That's what Wild said.

joni:

That's right.

nick:

So over to Disney Cruise Line beginning today. Sorry. Going over to Disney Cruise line, starting on Wednesday, June 18th, Disney Cruise line has lowered the required deposit for future voyages. The deposit, which was once 20%, has gone down to 10%.

joni:

10% deposit. for cruises.

nick:

Yes. How long

joni:

How long is this lasting? or is, this uh, indefinite

nick:

to be their new operating procedure. Wow.

joni:

Okay, so this just happened a few days

nick:

This happened a few days ago. So this, um, this is pretty big news because if, you know, if you go on, if your cruise is, I don't know, you pick a number, it's like$4,000. You know, you only put down 400 hours as opposed to eight.

joni:

800.

nick:

Yeah, the 20%

joni:

Wow.

nick:

if you wanna pay for it over time. So that's pretty big news.

joni:

Yeah,

nick:

That's, that's great. For existing reservation. I should have mentioned this, for existing reservations made on or before June 17th. The original 20% deposit remains in place. So this is for new, new, uh, bookings as of June 18th. So

joni:

can you cancel your reservation, and redo.

nick:

I'm not saying what you can or can't do you, you explore those options on your own but

joni:

may lose your spot?

nick:

Yeah, you

joni:

May lose your cabin.

nick:

May lose your room. But um, if you wanna book a Disney cruise or a Disney World vacation, you can contact me. Oh,

joni:

Oh. how do we do that?

nick:

nick.Garcia@academytravel.com. I am an affiliate with Academy Travel. Um, you can go to our website, main street talk pod.com and hit the, uh, get a free quote button and that'll come to me and I'll get back to you.

joni:

And your services are free.

nick:

services are free. The quote is free. Everything's free until you start paying on your trip.

joni:

But Only 10% down.

nick:

Only 10% now. Good deal. And, uh, I guess we're gonna go back over, we're gonna go over to the resorts, at Disney Road. I should have did this before the cruise lines, but That's okay. Um, Disney has announced the new pool area at Fort Wilderness is coming, the meadow swimming pool area. At Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort in campground is being expanded. Here's a statement from Disney. There's more magic on the horizon At Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort in campground, we're expanding the The meadow swimming pool area to make room for even more fun and relaxation. A brand new zero entry pool and deck area is being added alongside the existing pool, effectively doubling the space for guests to enjoy. The expansion will also include a tennis court, two pickleball courts, giving families even more waves to play together, and the great outdoors and The swimming pool and the wilderness swimming pool will remain open during work. And speaking of resort pools, probably the, the most popular pool at all Disney Resorts is reopening the storm along Bay at Disney's Yacht Club and Beach Club Resort has reopened after a six months refurbishment. Storm and Long Bay is a three acre pool that has been closed for maintenance since January. It features a sand bottom pool, a lazy river, and three whirlpool spas. During the closure, the pool was resurfaced and the deck around the water was redone.

joni:

A three acre.

nick:

Yeah. We've never been to this pool. I feel like we

joni:

Holy moly.

nick:

Beach Club.

joni:

And it has sand in it. Yeah.

nick:

This is, this is the. This is the Disney pool. Like this is where everybody loves it.

joni:

Wow. Well, I'm sure it feels like the beachy because you're you got sand under you.

nick:

Yep.

joni:

Wow. I

nick:

So I feel like we're gonna have to book one night there, do a split stay sometime just to go swimming.

joni:

Just

nick:

Seriously.'cause the, the shipwreck pool and water slide are still under construction and remain under refurb refurbishment until later this year.

joni:

And

nick:

like I just said, only guests staying at yacht club or Beach Club can use storm along bay. But I, from what I understand, it's like a mini waterpark kind of, well kind of,

joni:

Well, yeah, three acres.

nick:

Yep.

joni:

I mean three acres is a lot.

nick:

Yeah. It's kinda lazy river.

joni:

Yeah. So I wonder, I mean it's, I don't know how big the water parks are.

nick:

No, I think they're quite a bit bigger. But for a resort

joni:

Yeah. That's insane. Yeah. I mean? they're not gonna have all the water, slides and you know, all the things that, you know, the water parks do, but I mean, it's a close second.

nick:

Yeah. I mean, for being right on property, right out your door. Yeah, for

joni:

No kidding.

nick:

And Walt Disney World has extended the bounce back offer. That started last fall, allowing guests to save 25 to 35% on future resort stays. Guests can save up to 35% on Disney Deluxe or Deluxe Villa Resorts. 30% on. Select Disney, moderate resorts, and 25% on select Disney value resorts. The bounce back offer is now available into the fall of 2026, and you have to take advantage of this deal as always, within seven days of your checkout day.

joni:

Wait a minute of your checkout, so of your previous one, you have to book your next vacation within seven days of checkout, of checking out of your current vacation, correct? In order to get these. Yes. Well,

nick:

Yep. And that is, that's pretty, um, genius on Disney's part because

joni:

Yeah, it gets people to book more, just like on the cruise ships. they want you to come, in with offers and.

nick:

they tug, at your emotions

joni:

Mm-hmm. Disney blues

nick:

is real. When, when you have to leave Disney, it's. Very sad,

joni:

I know.

nick:

even as

joni:

All you're talking about in the last day of your in your room Is when are we coming back? Yeah.

nick:

So then they're, you know, they're like, well you have seven days, 25%, 35%, whatever it is, you know, depending on the, um, on the resort. So I think it's genius marketing on their part. And it's a good deal for

joni:

Well, sure. You, You get to save money. I mean, why not?

nick:

And what you can do with these is, um, like you can book one and modify it. You know,

joni:

month. no. Yeah, Elaborate. What do you

nick:

Well, they can, it says they can still modify and cancel reservations without penalty up to 30 days before their arrival. So

joni:

let's

nick:

you book it for six months out, you're not locked into that six months. Like it's, it applies to the same rule as another. You can modify, so.

joni:

Okay.

nick:

So the same rules apply,

joni:

Okay. And

nick:

and that is it for the Disney World News this

joni:

Okay.

nick:

outta Magic

joni:

Yeah,

nick:

That Starlight Parade that really threw me off. I'm like, they're going backwards. Why are they going

joni:

No, I think that's gonna be kind of

nick:

Yeah, it's, it makes sense after you think about it.

joni:

Yeah.

nick:

So our spotlight on attraction this week is the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. Mike Wasowski.

joni:

Mike Wazowski.

nick:

So I'm gonna read straight from Disney's website. Participate in a hilarious gag tastic, interactive comedy show, starring monsters, inking company. This is any height. All ages A Mons funny show. Step Inside The Only Laugh Factory in Mons opis, and make your way into a comedy club hosted by a monster of ceremonies, Mike Wazowski. These scare actors love to engage the audience. Don't be surprised if you become part of, become part of the show. Inspired by the Disney and Pixar animated films, monsters Inc. And Monsters University, this attraction scares up some monster laughs. You got a good joke. Text your favorite joke before the lights go down and it could be used in the show. Watch Mike S's video while you wait and listen for the instructions. Standard text messaging fees apply. I'm just reading what it says.

joni:

So The Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor is a interactive stage show. There's um, obviously no height requirements. It's a two tier multi-pass. Um, and it also is a 10 to 15 minute show and. um, it's super cute. They have people going around the audience.

nick:

It is a live action show, meaning that, there are behind the scenes actors and it's live. It's not prerecorded. So they interact with the crowd, like, turtle talk with Crush.

joni:

Okay. So they do have, staff members, Cast members, rather Going around with microphones And they have camera crew that will zoom in on you and, and, um, ask you questions or mm-hmm.

nick:

Where are you from?

joni:

Yep. Different things like that. Yeah.

nick:

And, uh, yeah, they interact with the crowd. So it is a comedy show,

joni:

Mm-hmm.

nick:

but, it's animated, but they interact with the crowd. So it's really, really neat and I was looking into the history of it. This was an attraction circle, vision 360 film called The Timekeeper That opened in 1994, a time traveling robot voiced by Robin Williams.

joni:

Oh neat.

nick:

Oh

joni:

So when did it become the Laugh Floor?

nick:

The Lav four opened in April of 2007.

joni:

Okay.

nick:

So in 2001, monsters Inc. Came out, and obviously it was a huge hit. So, Disney was thinking about what could replace the timekeeper. Mm-hmm. Monsters Inc. Seemed like a good fit.

joni:

Mm-hmm. Well, it must be because they're building the whole land for it, so, Yeah.

nick:

Yeah. I like Monsters Inc. I think,

joni:

I mean, and it'd be a 2007. Um, Walt Disney. When did it come out? In

nick:

the movie? Yeah. 2001. 2001.

joni:

2001. Show. So we're, we're going on

nick:

six years. Oh, oh, you mean

joni:

what do you mean? I mean, just all together? yeah,

nick:

yeah. So the story behind the attraction is after discovering that laughter produces more energy than screams, the monsters decide to open a comedy club and you do have the, the meter. On the side and you have your laughter has to get up

joni:

a certain mm-hmm. and Roz is in there. with, with her Threats You know, you need to fill out your paper work.

nick:

And one thing that, um, this show is known for, I think they do it every show is is they single in on one man? Yes, man. And he's that guy.

joni:

He's that guy. Don't be that

nick:

And they. Go back to him

joni:

Yeah, it's fun.

nick:

The cameras go on'em, and it, it's really fun if you're in there and the person, that guy is really, cooperating with the show. You know what I mean?

joni:

Oh yeah. Some

nick:

people just,

joni:

Yeah.

nick:

So that's pretty fun. It does get a, Christmas overlay and a Halloween overlay, so they do, you know, Halloween jokes, Christmas jokes,

joni:

Mm-hmm.

nick:

so, um. But like I said, we, we just don't know what's gonna happen to it with Monsters. Ink land coming,

joni:

Yeah.

nick:

it. Does it

joni:

Nothing's been said.

nick:

there? Yeah.

joni:

don't

nick:

what happens with it.

joni:

as of late. I would keep it'cause it is such a cute

nick:

in tomorrow way. Would you keep it in tomorrow way where it?

joni:

Well, yeah, they're, Come on, they're monsters. Yeah.

nick:

I don't know. I think I would move it.

joni:

Move it. Where would you move it?

nick:

In the Monster Zine clan In the Muppets

joni:

Oh,

nick:

I don't know. That's what I would do. They might have other plans

joni:

I'm sure that's a lot of Just moving around instead of rebuild. They could, you know,

nick:

Yeah, but they can put something in else in there. I don't know. Lots to be seen. Lots of

joni:

questions. Lots, lots,

nick:

Lots of questions. that's our spotlight on attraction. It's a super fun, super fun attraction if you've never been there. And a great break, you know, you sit down, how long did you say it was?

joni:

10 to 15 minutes. 10 to 15

nick:

10 to 15 minutes. 10 to 15 minutes. So there's, that's 10 to 15 minutes of air conditioning

joni:

Yeah. Getting off your feet. Yep.

nick:

So

joni:

and I don't remember. I think you can take snacks in

nick:

I believe you can.

joni:

So, um, if you've got a bag of popcorn or a pretzel, or you know, Mickey Bar or anything like that, you can take it in with

nick:

Don't leave your trash.

joni:

leave your trash.

nick:

your trash. Take your trash with you. It's kinda a disheartening thing

joni:

Yeah.

nick:

World and a lot of trash

joni:

Yep. Well, and the thing of it

nick:

but you see it and it's like, cast members are good to pick it up,

joni:

right? Well, the thing of it is, is that especially in attractions or shows like that, If if you leave things, then eventually all that's going to cause is not be allowed to bring them in In the first place. So when you, when when things are left, it's not a win situation for anybody. Somebody's gotta pick it up. and you're gonna. Ruin the perks for everyone else at some point. Just

nick:

cause you can't take a, a mickey wrapper out with you.

joni:

Yeah. And you hurt your mom's feelings too. for not picking up after yourself.

nick:

So, uh, so yeah. So now we're gonna get to our tip, which gets back to the Don't leave Your Kid in the Sho

joni:

Oh, Yes.

nick:

Which please don't leave your kid in the sho.

joni:

or your husband.

nick:

Husband. Well, if you, if there was a stroller from my size and you could push me around,

joni:

Oh no. Never gonna happen.

nick:

never gonna happen. I mean, I don't know how many years away we are away from renting, uh, scooters. But

joni:

well, those are electric babe.

nick:

are electric babe. Those are electric.

joni:

I don't gotta push

nick:

push you.

joni:

that.

nick:

Uh, so this week's Tipper Trick is Writer Swap. Some people don't know about Writer

joni:

Swap. Okay.

nick:

What is Writer Swap?

joni:

What is Rider. Swap? Rider

nick:

Swap basically is, let's say you are two adults and a 3-year-old at Disney World, and you both wanna ride Tron,

joni:

well, trons a little extreme, but

nick:

or anything like, ever anything, anything with a height requirement that your 3-year-old cannot go on. So what you do is you go up to the cast member. Working. Um, usually, you know, they're out there in front of the attraction. You tell them I wanna do a rider swap. So they will scan your magic bands or your card, whatever you have. And let's say mom can go on the ride and dad and the 3-year-old wait for mom. When she's done, dad gets to go on the ride, but they get to go in, I believe in the lightning lane line. So, basically it's, um, so everybody can ride all the rides they want to ride. I. You know,

joni:

now we did do this. We did with Tron When we took, the, when we took our grandsons. We did do this, um, Nick and our oldest went, our youngest was not tall enough, so this is the one ride he could not go on. Um, that was open. And then when they got done. Um, he asked the oldest grandson if he wanted to come with me as well. and he said, no. He didn't wanna ride it again. No. but He

nick:

it, but,

joni:

but I don't remember how exactly the Rider swap works. So if mom goes first, dad stays with child.

nick:

Mm-hmm.

joni:

Mom comes off, mom stays with child. Dad goes, what does Dad need to do specifically? Go to the cast

nick:

member, go to the cast

joni:

and tell them what

nick:

have, those tablets and they'll scan the magic band

joni:

Okay. So, so mom in theory would have to let the cast member know also that I'm doing a writer swap.

nick:

you all, everybody goes up together initially with

joni:

that initially,

nick:

they scan everybody's

joni:

Okay. I couldn't remember how we did that. I knew there was a. certain Approach. Okay.

nick:

they'll scan

joni:

Okay. I, it's coming back now. I'm remembering.

nick:

But yeah, the, the cool thing about that, that I was unexpected, I don't know if it was just that cast member or if it's just a rule, but, um, our oldest grandson could've went with, with each of us. He chose not to, but

joni:

yeah.

nick:

I would've,

joni:

well, I know you would've, but he did. He did sit on it and look at you. Yeah. Terrified and say, grandpa,

nick:

he liked Tron. There's

joni:

nothing holding me in. But the, but the back, the back Does come, the back does. Lower onto your lower back. and, And then The legs, um,

nick:

you in. The legs

joni:

they come behind the calves and then.

nick:

then

joni:

arms do not

nick:

cause you're

joni:

just the back. Yeah. And it's a snug fit. They do have a bike. that out front that you can trial to make sure, you know, to kind of see how it's gonna fit on your body if you've got, you know, some joints or whatever that don't bend as well or um, you know, things like that. But it does, it does put you in there pretty, tight. it does.

nick:

And, um, I mean we'll get into more of this when we do Tron Spotlight, but if you're not able to get on those bikes, the last cart on each train are regular seats.

joni:

Yes. So, yes. So even people in, um, those of those folks that need to use wheelchairs or Exactly, um, the motorized vehicles. But you do have to transfer.

nick:

Yes, you do have to transfer. It is, it is like a regular roller coaster seat.

joni:

Yes.

nick:

Um, but yeah, our oldest grandchild, we got on the, TRON light cycles. We just first sat on him and he looked at me and he said, grandpa, there's nothing holding

joni:

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

nick:

I said, just wait

joni:

just give it a second,

nick:

it a second. And then the bat came down and he looked at me. He's like, okay.

joni:

He was fine then. But um, there is a ride photo on there as well. And. Yeah. Hope everybody looks good with their hair slicked back. because That's what you're gonna get. It's, it's fun though. And, and there's usually a cast member standing out, at the beginning of the attraction, you know, a photo pass cast

nick:

Oh, yeah. Yep. With the,

joni:

that has the ring, that you can, that Yeah. That you can take photos with and, and she's got some neat poses and things like that, so yeah. It's pretty cool. And they've got, um, is, is that one of the magic. Shots.

nick:

I don't, we did not get a magic shot. We, no, maybe there

joni:

The boys got the, the boys got the photos. We didn't even do the photos. but the boys did.

nick:

No, yeah, they did the, with the rings, right. Or those discs. Yeah. Yeah. We didn't get a magic shot over there. But

joni:

guess I'm not quite sure where all the magic shots are. throughout the park. That's something We'll look into, And let everybody know.'cause we'd like to know too.

nick:

and I don't know if it's like one day, one person can do it and another, you know what I mean? Like, I, I don't know. How would they do magic shots? Like if it's designated spots or, you know what I mean?

joni:

I think it's designated spots. because The one we got around the tree, when did, we did do that one.

nick:

Yeah.

joni:

That was, that was a spot To be. in. So I mean, and it doesn't, you can't pick and choose. I mean, you can go and do every single magic shot if you want to. If you,

nick:

but some of them, what do I mean? Like some of'em just have Thumper or you know, just a random tinker belt flying. You know what I mean?

joni:

Oh yeah.

nick:

Oh yeah. But I mean, like, you know,

joni:

I'm talking about the Avatar okay. Okay. I think we're on the, I think I'm talking something different than you. I understand where you're coming from. I'm talking about the one. Where we did around the tree and it did the 360 shot or and then we did, and then we did The one in, um, Galaxy's Edge with the ship

nick:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

joni:

boys. Um, Those are the ones I'm talking

nick:

Okay. No, I was talking about the magic shots where they put in like, a banshee over

joni:

yeah, yeah,

nick:

yeah, those photos are, uh, the zoom in photos are cool.

joni:

Is that what they're called? I mean,

nick:

I don't know what they're called, but those, the Millennium Falcon one is a Zoom in, and in that one we have a really cool, one of Christmas. When we're standing in the hub

joni:

Mm-hmm.

nick:

Kingdom.

joni:

Oh, I forgot about that? one. that's cool. cool, Yeah. And then It zooms out and you can't find a, it's like, where's Waldo?

nick:

Yep.

joni:

Uh, yeah. And then It zooms in on you. So Yeah. That's Renee. Oh, I haven't seen that one for a long time. I forgot about that. Yeah,

nick:

That's a cool picture. So, well, I

joni:

know, you get pictures, so you have the memories and

nick:

then they get buried somewhere.

joni:

you just gotta look at'em frequently. So come Christmas. We're just gonna play all of our. Pictures on repeat

nick:

when the family's

joni:

Yeah, sure.

nick:

Have the, the chipmunk singing Christmas

joni:

Yeah, exactly. Chippendale. of course. So, and there was another thing guys that I talked about, we were gonna do on a weekly basis or as, as it arose, um, do birthday shout outs to the characters. However, I'm finding that a lot of. there's a lot of opinions on when these birthdays actually fall, and Nick had actually helped out a little bit and found that there's only three official birthdays noted by Disney.

nick:

Yep.

joni:

So

nick:

which are Mickey Mini and Donald.

joni:

So we are not going to do that birthday shout outs, however, we will go ahead. And beginning next week. Once I get my life together over here.'Cause this was a little bit newer news to me. I was struggling trying to find all these dates because they were all so conflicting I was getting two and three separate dates. We will start going into, um, maybe each, Disney movie and talk about its first, the first appearance. And give a little something about, um, I don't know if we'll go chronological order. We'll go alphabetically order. we'll go. I don't know what, Just a random, I suppose we can do a random too., So yeah, that's gonna be a lot to cover.'cause there's a lot of Disney movies, movies and stuff out there Some of them come from books. Some of them come from plays. Some of them are from the, you know, the Original originals are From the 1600. Right.

nick:

Some of these characters have existed for centuries. It's just Disney turned them into a movie.

joni:

Yeah. Yep. Like Pocahontas. Yeah. And CI Cinderella. Yeah. And there was another one that I was, um, I can't think of the name of it. I can't remember it, but, She's, she's supposed to be 8,800 years old Really? Or ago, so, yeah, it's, anyway, we'll get to more of that, I promise. I'll do my homework and get you guys up to speed. So,

nick:

yeah, looking forward to that.

joni:

Okay, good.

nick:

All right, well that's it for this week's show. Again, before we sign off here, so, uh, subscribe to our email list to get in on the, the Walt Disney World Official growth chart, and at the end of the eight weeks for the$50 Disney or Disney plus gift card, whichever the winner prefers, we won't not be giving away both. We'll give away one or the other according to what the, the winner

joni:

So the gift card could even be used toward, uh. The minimum 30% off resorts, reservations, or Yep. Or toward the, yeah, toward the deposit of that. cruise. The crews of 10%

nick:

Disney gift cards you can use. And yeah. Anything Disney related.

joni:

Yeah. Okay. and, and what Can it be accepted at Target, though?'cause Target's an affiliate? of No. Target. Okay.

nick:

Disney. Disney, um,

joni:

And it can be used in the parks, guys? Yep. It can be used in Nick, like Nick says, he buys, um, he buys a card. Every what, twice a month? You buy one. Twice a month. Twice a month. Buys a card. Saving'em up.

nick:

Yep.

joni:

And, uh, I

nick:

I know some people say, well, why don't you put that in a high interest savings account? I don't wanna spend it.

joni:

it. Oh yeah. Needs, he needs More discipline than that.

nick:

I don't wanna spend it. That's why I don't. Um,

joni:

and it all adds up too.

nick:

yeah, a little bit adds up. And like I said, 5% off at Target. Like that's where I buy'em. I get the 5% off at Target and I think I, you know, by the end of it, I'm gonna be saving,

joni:

I think you said like 80. bucks or something like that.'cause We talked about it being the price, of a shirt or a Quick service meal.

nick:

Yeah, that's, um, that's a couple days quick service meal for you and I,

joni:

every little bit helps. guys.

nick:

Gotta get your money's worth. Like somebody wild, a wise kid once told me.

joni:

And with, that said, guys, we'll talk to you later.

nick:

Yep. Our Facebook page is Main Street Talk. The Facebook group is Disney World Tips and Talk. Our Instagram is Main Street Talk podcast, and our website, which is where everything lives, is the main street talk pod.com. That's where you where you will subscribe for the, um, the giveaway raffle. And again, I am a Disney travel agent. Contact me at nick.Garcia@academytravel.com for any vacation questions or if you just want to, um, inquire about anything. And we are also an affiliate of the Magic Candle Company. There's a link on our website to get, uh, 15% off. Make sure you use the code at checkout. Main Street Talk is the code and you get 15% off your entire order. And these are great candles. So, uh, until then, we will be back next week. We will talk to you real soon.

Contributor

Joni

Host
Contributor

Nick

Host