Main Street Talk - A Disney World Podcast

Week 3 Winner, Disney Holiday News, Liberty Bell Closure, Small World Update, Cinderella History & Dumbo Spotlight

• Nick Garcia • Season 2 • Episode 9

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In this week's episode of the Main Street Talk podcast, hosts Nick and Joni delve into a plethora of Walt Disney World news, updates, and tips. The episode covers detailed news about Disney World's upcoming holidays, including Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and Jollywood Nights. Nick highlights the closure of the Liberty Bell in Magic Kingdom, ending an era. The hosts discuss a recent update to 'It's a Small World' featuring a new verse by Richard Sherman. They spotlight Dumbo the Flying Elephant as an iconic attraction and debate the pros and cons of using Fuel Rods, now favored by Nick for their convenience. Joni explores the history and details of Cinderella, while they both share additional tips for Disney park visitors.

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Nick:

Hello everybody. Welcome to this week's episode of the Main Street Talk podcast, your go-to podcast for everything Walt Disney World related, the news, the updates, the tips, the tricks, the closures, the construction, everything Walt Disney World related. My name is Nick. With me is Joanie, as always.

Joni:

Hi everyone.

Nick:

So, they

Joni:

finally turned my mic on.

Nick:

I did. I've been having, uh, the last few weeks we've had to do some retakes because at the beginning I have her mic mute muted because our, uh, podcaster here seems to do better when one mic is muted at the beginning because it kind of differentiates between the two of us. And I have been forgetting to unmute her. So we have to do retakes, so.

Joni:

If only there was an actual one for real life, huh?

Nick:

Yeah. Okay.

Joni:

Oh, hey. That was a trap. and you fell right into it. into it.

Nick:

it. So this week's a little different. We are recording very early. We're recording on Thursday, July 10th, as

Joni:

as opposed to

Nick:

usually we record on Saturdays. Yeah. Saturday or Sunday. So, um, all the news is gonna be current through Thursday. So if anything big happens over the weekend, I apologize, we will catch up to it with next week's episode. But, uh, we are going outta town this weekend to visit family in the Chicago area, so, uh, we're not gonna be home Saturday or, or Sunday. So we're recording a little early, but, uh,

Joni:

lots to share, lots

Nick:

to share and we will catch up next week. Like I said, if anything big happens over the weekend, um, we'll definitely, we're gonna be sitting outside in the sun watching softball games. Yeah. All day this weekend. Yep. so I guess we'll just get right into it. How festive do you feel right now?

Joni:

How festive do I feel? Well, considering it's Between 85 and 90 degrees outside? not very,

Nick:

yeah. You know what? There is, there is a local brewery here, actually back in my, uh, back in my, my days that, they make a Christmas beer, actually, it's called Jingle Jingle Java, and

Joni:

it's a very thick, like lagger

Nick:

coffee stout. I think it's in July. I don't know. I haven't, you

Joni:

A Christmas in July, Christmas

Nick:

in July, they would release a batch of the jingle Java.

Joni:

Yeah. I never did like it.

Nick:

I used to like it back in my day. but how festival are you feeling now?

Joni:

How fest? Well, you know, I am one that, and Nick can, uh, vouch for this. I leave a tree up year round.

Nick:

That is true.

Joni:

our living room. And I decorate it. This is the first year I've done it. I just didn't take it down after Christmas. And then January, it got snowflakes on it in February, it got hearts on it. and March it got shamrocks. So with every month it's just a tall, slender pencil tree. And, so right now it's, got flags and

Nick:

Sam hats.

Joni:

It's Uncle Sam hats and, and flags and little firework, pompoms on it. And uh, it's cute. So I suppose I'm always festive.

Nick:

Well, you're gonna be much more festive. Oh yeah. After today. Okay. I don't tell a lot of, I don't tell Joni a lot of what we're gonna

Joni:

about. I have no idea

Nick:

what I'm gonna talk about on

Joni:

Except our rides.

Nick:

Except the rides. We, we coordinate some things together, but Disney dropped a ton of holiday news over the

Joni:

Wait, are we talking holiday first? or Are we gonna go into parks First, what are we doing?

Nick:

gonna do holidays, because holidays is most of the news this week. Okay. Like, you know, and it's only Thursday, so,

Joni:

switching it up on me. Usually we Start with Magic Kingdom.

Nick:

We do start, but Yeah. But

Joni:

that's let's like cake and butter. Bread and butter rather,

Nick:

bulk of, of the, um, the talk with Disney

Joni:

Okay.

Nick:

This, first piece of information has me a little confused. Maybe I didn't look far enough into it, but, so Disney announced that the holidays this year would be from November 14th. Through December 31st. Okay. Now, the reason that confuses me a little bit is because in all the years

Joni:

on. Can I back you up? I'm, I apologize. We're talking Christmas. Christmas, holidays. Yeah. Okay. When you said holiday, I was including not so scary is in there also. No, we're

Nick:

no. They already announced all

Joni:

Christmas

Nick:

talking. We're talking. Yeah.

Joni:

Okay. Christmas. stuff. I was like, wait a minute. Those dates. Just are not jiving with, yeah. Okay. Go. proceed please. So

Nick:

they announced November 14th through December 31st. Now, the reason I'm a little confused is because in years past, most years past Magic Kingdom especially transformed from Halloween to Christmas overnight after the last not so scary party, which was usually Halloween. I think sometimes they would do it on November 1st. Correct me if I'm wrong, but, but yeah. And they announced November 14th through December 31st.

Joni:

well, Now it's November 14th.

Nick:

Yeah. So it, what's going on? I, I don't know. I didn't, I didn't really look into if that meant Halloween or not. That remains to be seen.

Joni:

So you're thinking they might extend Halloween?

Nick:

No. I'm thinking they might take a break between Halloween and November 14th. I. Dunno,

Joni:

Well, maybe they'll go around to the hotels and get all the trees up. So next time we're there, we can see our tree. Yeah,

Nick:

that could be it. We just missed our tree by days last when Yeah. We were at Animal Kingdom. They did announce some holiday stuff. They announced that they teased rather that gingerbread displays will be up again at resorts. Okay. They didn't say which ones, but we do know that the Graham Floridian, the big gingerbread house will not be. In 2025 because of the refurbishment that's going on there. So the big one will not be there.

Joni:

Okay.

Nick:

So stay tuned for what they announce for gingerbread. I'm assuming all the regular ones will still be there, but like I said, they haven't announced it.

Joni:

When you mean regular,

Nick:

you'd like the carousel and I think that was at Boardwalk. And then, the, what was the Cinderella Castle at Contemporary? The animals, the animal kingdom lodge. So, but that remains to be seen. We'll, we'll, we're definitely gonna stay on

Joni:

yet to see the carousel and the animals. at Animal Kingdom because We've missed those. also.

Nick:

just missed them.

Joni:

We did get to see the gingerbread house and the castle. And they list the ingredients on that castle, like how much flour they use. and How much of everything they use it's an ungodly ridiculous amount of ingredients. For that.

Nick:

Yeah. And when you walk into the Grand Floridian, it just smells amazing. Yeah. And I don't, I'm not even a huge gingerbread fan, but it just, it smells amazing. Amazing. Yeah.

Joni:

Yeah.

Nick:

So along with the holidays obviously comes the Mickey's very Merry Christmas party. So they have announced it will be running from November 7th to December 31st. The dates in November are the seventh, 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 20th, 21st, 25th, 26th, 28th, and 30th. In December, it's gonna be the second, fourth, fifth, seventh, ninth, 11th, 12th, 14th, 16,

Joni:

we're done. 21. Okay.

Nick:

This will be posted on our blog.

Joni:

I hope so.

Nick:

So, but this

Joni:

head is spinning, right? now.

Nick:

I know I, there's a lot of dates, but we're gonna post this on our blog for sure. The party begins at 7:00 PM but ticket holders can enter at 4:00 PM now. Tickets go on sale for guests. Staying at Disney World Resorts, Walt Disney World and Swan and Dolphin and Shades of Green on July 16th. Tickets will be available to all other guests starting on July 22nd. Now as far as ticket pricing goes, um, it's, it's the usual format. The earlier parties, so you know, the earlier November dates will be cheaper than the dates get leading up to Christmas. There was, from what I saw, a$10 increase from the most expensive ticket from last year to this year. Disney also confirmed that during the holiday season, the Starlight prayed will continue. Except at the very merry Christmas party.'cause they have the, you know, they have the Christmas parade, so the Starlight Parade will not be going through the Christmas party.

Joni:

Okay.

Nick:

Oh, I thought you were gonna say something.

Joni:

well, I was, but if you have anything else to add, I,

Nick:

no, go ahead. I'm gonna move on to something else. Interject

Joni:

here and ask, in your opinion, we've seen, pretty recently and very close. Together in proximity of time-wise, both the Halloween Parade and the Christmas parade. Which one? And Now? Nick is a, nick is big on Halloween.

Nick:

I am. It's my favorite holiday.

Joni:

Which parade did you think was

Nick:

I'm gonna even go a step further. Okay. Halloween is my favorite holiday. Okay. You know that I love watching horror movies.

Joni:

our yard in the

Nick:

Yes. We have a very blow up. Yes. Now. With that being said, the Halloween party, in my opinion for me, was a one and done. Okay. I liked it. I liked it a lot. I'm glad I went.

Joni:

Mm-hmm. I,

Nick:

I thought the Christmas, I had more fun at the Christmas party,

Joni:

with

Nick:

exception of the parade. The booty you parade is amazing. Yeah, it's absolutely great. But overall as a party, I would rather go to the Christmas party.

Joni:

s Okay. But the parade, you.

Nick:

the parade, the parade was fantastic. The booty you prayed has is better than the Christmas parade, in my opinion.

Joni:

I liked a lot. Those uh, grave diggers, you know,

Nick:

diggers are cool. Yep.

Joni:

their, um, shovels on the concrete,

Nick:

all the villains. Yeah. Yeah. It's a, it's a great parade. It,

Joni:

we're really gonna love villains land. when it comes. We're gonna love villains land when it Oh, I know.

Nick:

know. We're gonna love it. And you know, the, I think the, what sets the tone for that parade I think is so cool as the headless horseman.

Joni:

Oh yeah. he comes, down he way ahead of the Yeah. Like five, 10 minutes before the parade. comes. he

Nick:

sets the whole tone. Yeah. It's so cool. But yeah, but that being said,

Joni:

can hear him clapping.

Nick:

yeah. You can hear'em. And they put horseshoes on them, so, but yeah, I would rather do the Christmas party than the, the Halloween party. Nothing is only, I liked it.

Joni:

Well, I mean, I was, I was generally speaking as far as like the parades is concerned because we have another one that we're going to be able to, have a ranking on, a personal opinion ranking on that when they do the Starlight Parade.

Nick:

yeah.

Joni:

Oh yeah. So,

Nick:

yeah. And, uh, we're, we're gonna be there in December again this year. Um, so we're, we're gonna try to check out all the gingerbreads. You know, and stuff.'cause we don't have a whole lot of plans that we we're just going to kind of go hang

Joni:

We're actually two time in Disney. and We're gonna go to Universal

Nick:

We're going to the other park. Don't tell

Joni:

That's okay. We're not sponsored by Disney. So we don't care. We don't care if they know,

Nick:

but I,

Joni:

we still love you Mickey.

Nick:

I don't see us being in Orlando and not hitting a Disney Park at least one day.

Joni:

already talked about. going to at least Maybe Animal Kingdom. Yeah.

Nick:

Lemme do

Joni:

we'll be at that resort.

Nick:

So,

Joni:

are, we are using, we are doing a stay K at Animal Kingdom. but we're just gonna visit over to Universal in any case. So,

Nick:

Where we're, oh, Christmas. Yes. Christmas in, in Disney. Joll Wood Knights has been announced again this year. It's ranging from November 8th through December 22nd.

Joni:

don't read. dates.

Nick:

What

Joni:

are you gonna read? Dates?

Nick:

I am gonna read dates, but it's a lot less.

Joni:

Oh boy. Okay, so,

Nick:

so it's from November 8th to, um, December 22nd. There are only 13 dates total. So the dates are November 8th, 15th, 17th, 22nd, 24th, 29th. December 1st, sixth, 10th, 13th, 17th, 20th, and 22nd. That's it. That's it for those days. This will be up on our blog as well.

Joni:

Yep. so I guess I don't remember them being a lot less in quantity

Nick:

of the Hollywood Knights. Yeah. Yeah. There was quite a few less than

Joni:

Even when we went

Nick:

than Merry Chris then, Mickey's very merry Christmas party. Yeah, I

Joni:

I guess I, just didn't pay attention. It's still fun though.

Nick:

I thought Jolly night. I thought that was a lot of

Joni:

Yeah, that was a lot of fun.

Nick:

The only thing different this year is you'll be able to start entering at five 30. party begins at seven 30 last year. They didn't let you in until six and the party goes till 12:30 AM and again, for Disney World Resort guests, Swan and Dolphin guests and shades of green guests will be able to buy tickets on July 16th. And on July 22nd, tickets will go on sale to the other guests. But yeah, Dollywood Knights, I know the last year was a buy

Joni:

in July for the parties. Yeah. Okay. So that's why. Okay.

Nick:

Yeah. Last year was Hollywood Night's second year. Mm-hmm.

Joni:

Mm-hmm.

Nick:

And they had a lot of problems the first year. Right. I remember watching a lot of loggers. Um, they just Right. Did not have things organized. I think they got it better by the end. Well,

Joni:

you know, you learn from your mistakes and Right.

Nick:

mistakes, right. But last year, Joni and I went, it was, it was absolutely amazing.

Joni:

Yeah. It was seamless.

Nick:

It was seamless. We had a, such a good time. Yeah. If you have a chance to go to that, I know it's only five hours and you know, it's kind of pricey, but it, it's, there's a lot to do.

Joni:

Which one did we go to where we sat in the theater.

Nick:

Is that, oh, that was, that was Jolly Knights when, the Muppets and Kermit and Miss Piggy came out. And Mickey, yeah. Yep. That's the big, that's the beauty in the Beast Theater.

Joni:

Yes. Okay. Yeah.

Nick:

But we did do a lot of rides. We got on a lot of

Joni:

Yeah. We were able to get a lot. of those knocked out. So

Nick:

we had now ice skating.

Joni:

If you guys haven't picked it up yet, I am like kind of somewhat directionally challenged. I'm very organized, but, um, Nick, has, Nick has to be my navigator for me a lot and, um,'cause I can literally get lost going to the local Mexican store, to,

Nick:

the grocery store. There is a Mexican grocery store downtown that we've been to several times and she does, still doesn't know how to get

Joni:

And at, at. our old, where We used to live, it was literally what, seven, eight blocks? away from the house, but

Nick:

less than a five minute drive. And,

Joni:

And, but there were one ways and this and that, and I could never figure out which street I was supposed to turn down. It was just, it was ridiculous. It was absolutely ridiculous. So, in any case, a little, little, tidbit on me.

Nick:

And at Epcot, the 2025 Epcot Festival of the Holidays begins on November 28th. The day after Thanksgiving and runs through December 30th. I have one last thing about the holidays guest visiting the Walt Disney. This actually started today on July 10th. Disney's running a promotion. You can save up to 20% on hotel rooms at select Disney resorts, and as well have the opportunity to get a$100 dining and shopping card. So the shopping card, you have to buy a resort package with at least a four day ticket package. The hotels are values, I believe are 10% discount moderates or 15% discount. And deluxe are 20% discounts. And these are for, Sunday through Thursday from October 12th through November 20th, as well as nights from November 23rd through December 25th. So basically it's starts on October 12th, goes through the Thanksgiving time, pauses during the Thanksgiving time, and then picks up after Thanksgiving.

Joni:

So when you're saying that you have to book uh, a minimum for, for

Nick:

to get the dining card? Yes. Okay.

Joni:

Does that also qualify for DVC members cash? or is

Nick:

This is for cash days. Yep. This is a cash incentive? Yep. Okay. A cash stay. Okay. Um, unfortunately, DVC we don't get the, the free dining packages or anything like that.'cause that's for the cost is buried in the cash stay, you

Joni:

Well there's, dis there's other, discounts are here and there for having, being a DVC member. Yep. Discounts on snacks And, foods and stuff, so, okay, well good.

Nick:

if you wanna take advantage of that, you can always contact me. I can book that vacation for you. I am an affiliate of Academy Travel. My services are free. Nick dot Garcia at Academy Travel, or just go on the main Street Talk pod website and click the free quote button and that'll come right to me. If you're interested, I can hook you up with that deal. That's it for holiday. I told you holidays were kicking off. So,

Joni:

so with that, is there any monies down on that booking through you? Is it what the 10%, 20% or

Nick:

it's the, the normal deposit, which is$200. 200? Yep. Okay. And then you can, I, payment is due 30 days prior to arrival. Okay. Or the, you know, the payoff amount.

Joni:

Okay.

Nick:

So that's it for the holidays. Lot, lots of stuff. There was a lot more detail to go into, but we could have made this a three hour show if we were gonna be talking

Joni:

Well, and you know, we're six months out from the holiday, we'll have plenty of times as you know,

Nick:

And Disney is ever changing, ever evolving and changing things. So, but for sure, we'll let you know where the gingerbread displays are gonna be up. Yeah. When they announce that. Yeah.

Joni:

announce. Yeah.

Nick:

And sadly we're going over to Magic Kingdom where it was Chewy. The end of an era. On July 6th at 8:42 PM the Liberty Bell took its final lap in the rivers of America. It returned to the dock at around 8 59 and was permanently closed

Joni:

Was it, Was it occupied with guests on

Nick:

it? was occupied with guests,, during

Joni:

if they did like A solo somber kind of.

Nick:

No cast members were, and I, I don't, I think this is how it went. They were giving out wristbands for people on the last ride, like they were dedicated to the last ride. I think that's how it went down. But cast members were

Joni:

make me cry,

Nick:

They were definitely given out wristbands. Oh,

Joni:

Okay,

Nick:

okay. So a little bit of history on that. Rivers America was present when the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971. The riverboat began operating in 1971 and Tom Sawer Island opened in 1973. Now, as with every era, if you looked on the Mind Disney Experience app the following day on July 7th, it was gone from the map,

Joni:

updated that quickly. They

Nick:

updated that quickly, and. The one thing when I was looking at the app and saw that the rivers was gone on the app,

Joni:

a big space.

Nick:

Do you, I never realized on the map how long of a walk it is from the Haunted Mansion to Big Thunder. I. You can really see it now that the river's gone and it's just green with grass. You're like, oh my Lord. Yeah. That's a long walk.

Joni:

Yeah, it's a big area that's, that's no longer filled, in,

Nick:

like cars lands comes in that area. Walking from haunted mansion to Big Thunder is gonna be a, if you can't walk through cars land, which it looks like you will be able to, it's going to. Save a ton of time.

Joni:

Oh, they have to be able to let you through there. There's always kind of shortcuts and Things like that. Um,

Nick:

But yeah, that walk just looks long. I guess. You don't realize it'cause you're walking by the,

Joni:

Well, and there's

Nick:

a big horseshoe.

Joni:

Well, there's always something to do. Yeah. something to Look at, You can stop here and grab a snack. You can stop here on this ride. or, you know, Guess

Nick:

this, I don't know if this is magic. I'm gonna put it in Magic Kingdom. I'm gonna group this with Magic Kingdom, but beginning on July 17th, both Disney World and Disneyland will debut an updated final scene, and it's a small world. This is featuring a brand new verse written by the late Richard Sherman, of course, of the Sherman brothers, who wrote a lot of Disney's music. Yep. So the Sherman Brothers wrote the original song in 1963, and he penned this final verse as a personal parting gift to Disney before his passing, according to his son. The new lyrics reflect the attractions enduring message of unity and shared humanity. Do you wanna hear the verse? Yeah, now imagine this, and it's a small world tomb. Mother Earth unites us in heart and mind, and the love we give makes us humankind through our vast, wondrous land when we stand hand in hand. It's a small world after all. It gives you goosebumps, isn't

Joni:

sure does. Wow.

Nick:

so that is it for the news this week. Like I said, this is Thursday, so, um,

Joni:

a lot for being a

Nick:

for being a couple. The holidays, I'm, you know, this show would've been, had the holidays not been announced, this would've been a 10 minute show.

Joni:

No, it wouldn't, have because I got. some Stuff.

Nick:

I know, I know. But, but

Joni:

well not, I don't know if I got that much stuff, but I got some stuff

Nick:

the holidays, that was a lot.

Joni:

yeah. Well, and we'll definitely get those dates put up there. That's a little easier to follow along. And

Nick:

yeah, you didn't, if you were trying to write that down when I was talking, I apologize. It will be up on our blog, both

Joni:

spinning. I was

Nick:

Main Street talk pod.com.

Joni:

That's right.

Nick:

uh, I'll put those up on the blog, so I think, I think we should get onto our week three. Winter. Okay. Brenda won last week. so I think it's time before we get into, uh, the rest of our show. We always do it after the news, so even though it was a short news segment, why

Joni:

Okay.

Nick:

So

Joni:

I gotta find my little ticker here. Okay.

Nick:

Joanie's got the wheel. I got the list. So whenever she is ready,

Joni:

I am ready.

Nick:

Everybody's assigned a number, so if your number's picked, good luck to you.

Joni:

Count me down.

Nick:

Go ahead.

Joni:

Okay, here we are.

Nick:

It's spinning. It's spinning, it's spinning, spinning, spinning.

Joni:

Number 31. 31.

Nick:

Alley.

Joni:

A. Ally,

Nick:

LLY and Allie has the word Steelers in her email address. Mm. Must be Steelers fan. Mm-hmm. So Allie, if you have the word Steelers. And your email address, congratulations. You are this week's winner of the Disney World official Disney World Growth Chart poster. And don't worry, you're still eligible for that$50 gift card. You are just not eligible for any more posters. So congratulations, Allie. Yeah,

Joni:

Yeah, congratulations. We

Nick:

be emailing you midweek. Make sure you check your spam folder or promotion folder. We will email you to get your address so we can get that sent out to you.

Joni:

Yeah,

Nick:

and so everybody, make sure you tell your friends and family to subscribe at Main Street Talk pod.com to get in on this contest. This is week three of eight, so we're almost halfway there. Okay? And then the big$50 gift card after that on August 25th.

Joni:

Congratulations Allie.

Nick:

We're gonna move on to Spotlight on attraction. So we finish Tomorrow Land. Tomorrow Land's done. Yes. We're gonna move on to Fantasy Land. And I know like, you know, storybook Circus is part of Fantasy Land, in my opinion.

Joni:

Mm-hmm.

Nick:

Some people say differently, but, uh, we're gonna head over to one of the most iconic attractions at Wild Disney World, not. You know, the most thrilling, obviously, but one of the most iconic, and that would be, well,

Joni:

well, everybody knows

Nick:

one. Yeah. You see it in pictures almost every time you see a Disney World commercial on tv. Not every time, but I bet you know at least 75% of the time you see this ride. Yeah, and it's Dumbo, the flying elephant.

Joni:

elephant. We just watched this,

Nick:

we did

Joni:

we just watched this the other day with our uh, granddaughter.

Nick:

Granddaughter. I had not seen Doo since I've been a

Joni:

Oh, are you kidding me? no, I'm, I watch Disney movies way more often than you do.

Nick:

Nope. I have not seen it since I've been a child

Joni:

and I am the type of person that if a Disney, if, if a movie doesn't even have to be a Disney, if a movie is started, I finish it. I am like glued to it and Nick knows this. And if I get up to go. get a snack or use the restroom, he pauses it for me. It doesn't matter if it's a child's movie or, or what. And I'm into it.

Nick:

If I, if I don't pause it, I hear it from the other room. Are you not gonna pause that?

Joni:

That's Or or you have to back it up?

Nick:

I gotta, yeah, I gotta rewind it. You know what? I'm glad you mentioned we watched Dunwood the other day because like I said, so I have not seen it since I was a kid, but something that I found myself realizing, watching it as an adult, the gossipy old elephant ladies. Mm-hmm. Used to make me sad when I was a kid. Now I'm an adult. Ladies made me angry.

Joni:

Oh,

Nick:

You know, the, the elephants always,

Joni:

sure a lot

Nick:

fun of Dumbo. I'm

Joni:

sure a lot of. people Can relate to, that's how some of their family members are.

Nick:

I know, it just, I thought that was just a, not a sign of maturing, but just difference when you're, your eyes as a kid and your eyes as an adult. Yeah.

Joni:

But that's okay. Your, Dumbo flies in the end and his mom's treated like a queen.

Nick:

The movie's the same. Yeah.

Joni:

And they're the, cute, the cute scene at the end. Dumbo gets his revenge on these gossipy

Nick:

Yeah,

Joni:

on these gossipy girl elephants.

Nick:

What do you got for Dumbo over there?

Joni:

Oh, you want me to do it? Okay. Yeah.

Nick:

Why don't you start out with Dumbo?'cause Joni has all the rides, categorized and,

Joni:

okay. So Dumbo, the flying elephant. obviously as Nick had said, is in fantasy land. And this ride is a slow spinning Ride where you soar high in the sky and see an elephant fly on a whimsical, flight aboard Dumbo, there are no height requirements. You have two riders per gondola or per elephant. There is the seating, um, has a little bit of a special arrangement. You want to, have the smaller rider sitting on the inside because as it fans out. The

Nick:

gra the gravity. Yeah,

Joni:

to the outer. So, So that no littles get squished. This one is currently a tier two multipass and you must be able to transfer from an electric vehicle and or wheelchair. There's no action photo. The ride duration is about one and a half minutes, and this is an opening day attraction in Walt Disney World. of October 1st, 1971.

Nick:

You have a photo of me in, in Dumbo, don't you?

Joni:

I do.

Nick:

I think you should. I think we should post that on our website or Facebook.

Joni:

Yeah. They have,, outside the ride, they have a, like a little platform or stage kind of thing that you can go up and they have um,

Nick:

they have a Dumbo,

Joni:

they have one up there that you can sit in and get, a photo shoot. and I think, if I remember right, it's got like a, a tent or something behind it. Something circusy. Behind

Nick:

Yeah. It's got something.

Joni:

Yeah, it something. Yeah. Yeah. I'll find it.

Nick:

So their website. And it's funny'cause I, on my website here I have all my tabs pulled up that I need to talk about and Dumbo on the Disney website. It's an actual video of Dumbo spinning. So I've been watching this for the last 10 minutes. Um, on the website it says, Dumbo, the flying elephant soar high in the sky and see an elephant fly. An airborne adventure based on the 1941 Disney animated masterpiece. Dumbo. This glass of attraction lets you hop a top, everybody's favorite circus elephant as he discovers he can fly.

Joni:

complied.

Nick:

Dumbo's faithful friend Timothy Q Mouse helps keep you aloft with his magic feather. As the jubilant organ melody begins, lift off for a graceful cruise around and around and around, storybook circus, fly high or stay low. You can adjust your altitude during the flight so you can soar high. Yep. Or swoop low.

Joni:

That's right.

Nick:

right. So that's what the Disney, website says. Have those

Joni:

Have those little, gears in there.

Nick:

Basically it's like, what is, there's Dumbo carpet carpets and there was triceratop spins and you can throw Astro Orbiter in there. but the idea for the original Dumbo Ride was developed in the fifties for Disneyland in California.

Joni:

Mm-hmm.

Nick:

The original version opened shortly after Disneyland's Grand opening, and it quickly became a fan favorite. So the first Dumbo to Flying Elephant Ride at Magic Kingdom looked very similar to Disneyland's 10 Elephant rides vehicles circling around a central hub. This says it was located in fantasy land. Near Cinderella's Castle, and for decades it was one of the most popular family rides in the park, but it was such a low capacity ride. You know, there's only 10 elephants and two people per elephant that the long. Lines, the long weights was getting people irritated and the queue was completely outdoors. So in 2012,

Joni:

mm-hmm.

Nick:

they did the makeover. Disney didn't just update Dumbo, they completely reimagined it. They moved the ride to a new area in storybook Circus, added a second Dumbo spinner. So now two riots could operate side by side. And they introduced an indoor air conditioned interactive queue.

Joni:

Mm-hmm.

Nick:

Designed like a, uh, big top circus where kids can play.

Joni:

Yeah, it's cute. I think that was probably a very, very wise idea. Like not even only just introducing the second, yeah. Vehicles, you know, but just moving it away from the castle.

Nick:

No, yeah, I agree.

Joni:

I don't think that sounded like it would've been a very. Prime spot for it. I think it's perfect right where it's at.

Nick:

Yeah, I'm sure. Well, magic Enum looked a lot different back then too. But yeah, I think it's, um, I think adding the second one's huge because, you know, it's not a high moving

Joni:

Right.

Nick:

A high capacity ride. Right.

Joni:

But I mean, it is only a minute and a half ride.

Nick:

Is that a minute and a half and a half

Joni:

duration. Yeah. But yeah, I liked it. It's uh. That they put the two together and it and the shade, having the, having that tent.

Nick:

Oh yeah. Style

Joni:

is nice as well.

Nick:

Especially Yeah. In that Florida heat for sure. So it's a classic. Yeah. If you've never done it because you're like, I'm not gonna do Dumbo, I, I think you should do it.

Joni:

So here's my

Nick:

to do it.

Joni:

If you, if me personally, if I had to pick one of the spin rides, if I was gonna do Dumbo, Aladdin, or. The triceratops. spin,

Nick:

leave out orbiter.'cause orbiter's a little different. Yeah, it's different. Yeah. These,

Joni:

These, three. But these three. will. Provided, let's just say tri The Triceratop spin was

Nick:

Okay. Yep.

Joni:

My number one pick would be Dumbo. Is it? Yep. Only because it's an older, well,

Nick:

like the classic nostalgia

Joni:

I think. I think a child may pick something different, but me growing up with Dumbo. and You know, those kinds of. Older movies. Aladdin wasn't out when I was a kid, so I didn't grow up on that. Mm-hmm. You know, my kids did, but I think I'm more prone to picking the Dumbo over.

Nick:

over. I would

Joni:

it's iconic.

Nick:

I would pick Dumbo too, but for different reasons. Okay. I think Aladdin, there's not a lot of views with Aladdin. It's kind of, you know, there's, there's not a lot of views with it. I think out of the spinner rides, Dumbo has the best views. That's why, I don't know. Trons right there. The castle's not far.

Joni:

Yeah.

Nick:

Yeah. So that's why I would choose Dumbo.

Joni:

Well, Aladdin would be my second.

Nick:

I, I think I would agree with that.

Joni:

But then

Nick:

like Aladdin.

Joni:

You know, I used to sit and watch Aladdin with the kids. So, and the triceratops is Just, I mean,

Nick:

it's a dinosaur. Dumbo dinosaur.

Joni:

I mean,

Nick:

dinosaur

Joni:

really got into dinosaurs, although that was a cute area. I never did go into the Dino dig, but

Nick:

no, we never did. We never made it in there. We should

Joni:

but That was a hot land over there.

Nick:

Oh God. That, yeah, it's

Joni:

that was almost as. Hot as. Toy Story

Nick:

Toy Story. Yeah. Toy story landing. I'll put that heat up against anybody

Joni:

Waiting in line to for the meet and greet, man. Everybody had umbrellas. It was,

Nick:

a hot land. I don't know what it is about Toy Story land. I don't know if there's this not a lot of air flow through there.

Joni:

know but it's brutal. it's hot

Nick:

and people say animal kingdom's the hottest park when

Joni:

it's the most humid, but it has all that foliage, but it's the most humid because it has all the plant life.

Nick:

Yeah, no, that makes sense. But I, I don't know, I, I put tour to her land there. Up there.

Joni:

yeah, me too.

Nick:

That's it for our spotlight on attraction. Dumbo. If you've never done it, if you think you're too cool for Dumbo, go do it. Just experience it. You'll have fun. So we're gonna

Joni:

going to

Nick:

go over to Joanie with her, first appearance series,

Joni:

shift Gears. here. Okay. shift gears. So I think how I'm going to be approaching this, I'm gonna try my best to keep it in a first appearance chronological order. With that being said, last week we talked about Snow White. This week we're gonna do Cinderella.

Nick:

I like Cinderella

Joni:

Cinderella at the time of her,, first appearance, which was February 15th, 1950. Her age was 19. This movie is one hour 16 minutes, and its creator is Charles, and I'm gonna slaughter this name Peralt, or I'm, he was the writer in 1967. Mark Davison animator, Eric Lawson, Les Clark and Walt Disney are in there as well, helping with that. So this movie is based on the story of Cinderella by Charles Peralt, and I actually was able to find the lyrics for the original opening of Cinderella. We're not gonna play them. I'm not gonna sing them, but we're not gonna play them'cause we don't wanna do any copyright kind of stuff. But I will read what they say.

Nick:

So this is the, like, this is how the movie starts with

Joni:

Like, like when they're going through like the opening credits. and things like

Nick:

This is the music playing.

Joni:

And and, um, so if you are interested in how the actual melody goes.

Nick:

Watch the movie,

Joni:

look it up, or whatever. But it says, the opening lyrics of the 1950 Disney animated film for Cinderella Art Cinderella. You're as lovely as your name Cinderella. You're a sunset in a frame. Though you're dressed in rags, you wear an heir of queenly grace. Anyone can see a throne would be your proper place. Cinderella. If you give your heart a chance, it will lead you to the Kingdom of Romance. There you'll see your dreams unfold Cinderella. Cinderella in the sweetest story ever told.

Nick:

And

Joni:

so that part of the song is supposed to emphasize hope and romantic possibilities that lie ahead for Cinderella. So,

Nick:

That's a foreshadowing. Yeah.

Joni:

So anyway. Her occupation in this is she's a Scho m maid. Her mother and father are both deceased, so she's raised by her stepmother and she has two, not so nice stepsisters. They are Anastasia and Della, her spouse, if you would, is, prince Charming. And, She's French and her sidekicks. I love that I get to say their

Nick:

sidekicks.

Joni:

Are the mice primarily Jack and Gus? She has a fairy godmother and her animal friends, including her, the dog Bruno, and I have to mention her anti sidekick is the stepmother and the stepsister's cat. Mm-hmm. Who is a very, very naughty boy. It was originally nominated for three Academy Awards and it won a Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. In 2018, Cinderella was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant. Really, I yeah, her traits are, that she's kind, carrying and hopeful. and there were several movies that followed after this original Which are, I don't know if I should go, I'm not, I'm not gonna go into those, but I just wanna make a mention to them. Cinderella, two is called Dreams Come True. And that's a 2002 Cinderella, three A Twist in Time, 2007. And then there was, the latest one, Cinderella, and that was, a live action. That was in 2015.

Nick:

I remember that. I've seen that one. Yeah.

Joni:

You have? yeah, I'm shocked.

Nick:

Yeah, I think, I think we went to a movie and watched it in Chicago, I'm pretty sure.

Joni:

Huh? I don't remember, but I am shocked. Yeah. So anyway, that's what I've got on, on Cinderella

Nick:

and I like Cinderella and of course, Cinderella Castle, imagine Kingdom named after Cinderella. Well, thanks, Joanie. That

Joni:

That interesting. Yeah. You're welcome.

Nick:

So we're gonna get onto our tip or trick.

Joni:

Okay.

Nick:

This tip or trick is a, I've, I completely did a 180 on this. I was very anti this thing and now I'm very pro this thing. So what I'm talking about is the fuel rod. A fuel rod is a portable phone charger that it's about what? It's about the size of, let's say a pack of gum or something. I don't know.

Joni:

Is it, maybe like a size D battery or a C

Nick:

It's about as thick as a C battery, probably two C batteries stacked on top of each other, maybe a little bit smaller. That's a good, good, uh, reference. So they're phone chargers. Now these things are not gonna charge your phone from, I think if you're at 50%, it might get you to 90 or something, maybe a hundred from 50% depending on your phone.

Joni:

And how the Usage, the

Nick:

right. Depending on the usage. But the good thing about fuel rods is every park and a lot of resorts have, um, swap stations. So when you do charge your phone and you need a new fuel rod. You go to the park, there's kiosk there, you put it in and it spits you out a, a fully charged fuel rod. And for this service, it is free. So you, you swap a dead one for a fully charged one. Now you can buy these on Amazon. I recommend doing that because they're more expensive at the Disney parks, but you can find them on Amazon. Now when I say I was very anti fuel rod, I used to be because they don't. They're not gonna charge your phone from zero to a hundred. That's not what they're meant to do. They're meant to get you through until you can get to another station and swap it. I used to use, an anchor, you know, actually this one sitting right here.

Joni:

It's they're, they're big and bulky. They're

Nick:

big and bulky. It's big and bulky. They're

Joni:

That is like the, maybe it's a little bit larger than a size, longer than a deck of card size.

Nick:

Oh yeah. It's bigger than a deck of cards.

Joni:

Maybe two deck But Maybe they have smaller ones, I don't

Nick:

No, they do. But the good thing about this one is it's, this will power your phone. I could probably charge my phone three times from 0% with this. The bad thing about it is carrying around Disney World. Hmm. They take, they're big and they're bulky,

Joni:

Mm-hmm.

Nick:

and I don't like carrying a bag, a backpack anymore. I carry, you know, a small fanny pack. Yeah. Over my, over my torso. So the fuel rods are great for that. They're small and like I said, if you can swap them at Disney World at many kiosks there, so. That's our tip is to get the fuel rods. I know people, you know, people don't like'em for the fact they don't charge your phone all the way. I get that. But the big ones are not as convenient

Joni:

So on these fuel rods, so when you get one, what is when you get one from a machine? Mm-hmm.

Nick:

Mm-hmm.

Joni:

Okay. Firstly, do you know the cost if you were to just buy one outright at a machine?

Nick:

I don't know the cost. I know they're more expensive than, than you would order them on Amazon.

Joni:

Okay. Secondly, do, do you know, so when you swap it out, what is the rate? If you're putting, Oh, it's free. It's a free. swap out.

Nick:

Absolutely free. Okay. You put your old one in, a new one spits out. But the new one that spits out will not have cords when you originally buy it. The fuel rod comes with any kind of attachment you need for any, any kind of phone.

Joni:

Keep'em. You need'em.

Nick:

So when you do swap it out, it will not, it'll just come with the rod itself. Okay.

Joni:

the, okay.

Nick:

So I, like I said, I was against it and I bought one for our trip. We went last August just to see, you know, what the difference was. And honestly, I prefer, I prefer the fuel rod now it's much more convenient fits in your pocket.

Joni:

Okay. Well I have found a little bit of extra news, don't hold me to this if it's a few dollars, give or take. Um, but I did find that a fuel Rod portable phone charging system costs$38 at Walt Disney World kiosk. This includes a fully charged fuel rod, but this one says it has the necessary adapter cables if you buy

Nick:

them brand new,

Joni:

you buy them brand new. Okay. So if somebody doesn't have anything to swap out, their phone dies. They need,

Nick:

one at fuel rod

Joni:

You can buy a fuel rod at a kiosk. Get the cords. For 38 bucks.

Nick:

Yep. It'll come in a plastic

Joni:

Okay. You, can also purchase fuel odds online, as Nick was saying, for a lower price before the trip. So it's a single fuel rod. It doesn't really, I'm not finding where it, says about how long it charges.

Nick:

Well, and it's, every phone's different. You know what I mean? Yeah. It, I think it charged, I think it charged my phone. I have a Samsung 22 plus s 22 plus. I think it charged my phone about 45%, 45 to 50%, which was fine because it got me through the day. Okay.

Joni:

okay, So another little thing, because I know there's many different types of phones and outlets and chargers and whatnot, and people have got, you know, boxes or CS or whatever. This initial purchase includes a fully charged fuel rod, A-U-S-B-C to A-U-S-B-C cable. Mm-hmm. A USB micro adapter and A-U-S-B-C to Apple Lightning cable. Yeah.

Nick:

It comes anything you would need. So it's in

Joni:

Yeah. And You know what? And even if you don't have that for your phone, I would maybe keep it anyway.'cause you never know. Like, you know, these are good for. You know, if your spouse or a friend or a family member has a different style of phone than you do?

Nick:

Oh yeah. Oh, you talking about the

Joni:

Yeah. yeah, for sure. I mean, even if, even if it's not a cord that fits, I mean, I do, I'm trying to, you know, try to be helpful to others.

Nick:

I even took, we took ours on our cruise ship last year. Yeah. That's how you know, obviously there's not anywhere to swap it on a cruise ship.

Joni:

but

Nick:

We charged them every night. Yeah. Or I charge mine every night. Yeah. So they are rechargeable. So you know, you don't have to swap it, you can recharge it. Yeah.

Joni:

Yeah.

Nick:

But

Joni:

So, yeah.

Nick:

yeah. So I'm actually gonna put that up on, on the blog to, I'll links to purchase fuel rods.'cause like I said,

Joni:

where are you gonna do your purchase link through? I'll

Nick:

do it on the website. On a blog.

Joni:

but which, which

Nick:

Oh, through Amazon.

Joni:

Through Amazon, Okay. Do you know offhand how much it. is on Amazon?

Nick:

I don't, I think, uh, it, I look today, but today is still prime day. Oh, yeah. So it's not real accurate. I think there was a three pack

Joni:

Yeah. And by the time this airs. It'll be all, prime day.

Nick:

It was either two or a three pack for$60. I want to say

Joni:

That's good because If one at Magic Kingdom or in within the, is it just Magic Kingdom that has,'em or the other

Nick:

person? No, every, yeah. And a lot of resorts.

Joni:

Okay. And are$38.

Nick:

yeah. I didn't know

Joni:

if you're getting two for 60. Yeah. You're saving right there. Okay.

Nick:

So yeah, I will have links for that.

Joni:

And if I remember right, they do come in a, like, it's not waterproof, but it's water resistant. Like, you Can't like jump in a pool with it in your

Nick:

No, no, no.

Joni:

But if you go on a water ride, yeah. Don't be safe. It'll be,

Nick:

they come in a, a plastic, A plastic case, for lack of a better word, that snaps. You can snap everything in there and all your cords fit in there and everything very tightly.

Joni:

Tightly. Yeah. Yeah. But they fit in there. Yeah. So it'll at least not get damaged by any water like if you go on Tiana's and decide to sit in the front.

Nick:

Yeah. Yeah. Like I said, I wouldn't throw it in a, in a bathtub full of

Joni:

no.

Nick:

but yeah.

Joni:

Well, if I could just say one more thing. Yeah. Okay. So I just wanna kind of back it up a little bit. I know we finished Tomorrow Land, but I just wanna make a, a mention of, characters. That can be seen over in tomorrow Land and in, you can often meet Stitch near Buzz, Lightyears, Space Ranger, spin exit

Nick:

Stitch hangs out over there.

Joni:

Yeah. Yep. So, there's a stage back there I've not known of him to come off of the stage for photos, but he will photo bomb you if he sees you.'cause he is, he's done that to us. picture. Uhhuh. Yeah. And then, he may also appear in the, friend's cavalcade.

Nick:

cake. Mm-hmm. You

Joni:

see him there. And another space that he, can be just found roaming around. Now

Nick:

to roam around,

Joni:

he is known to roam. So we can look for him either nearby the stage, at the exit of Buzz light years spin

Nick:

Yeah. In that

Joni:

and just kind of walking around so. I just wanted to make a mention before we closed out tomorrow. Land.

Nick:

All right, there you go. Tomorrow lane is closed.

Joni:

Okay.

Nick:

Well, that's gonna do it for this week's show. Make sure you visit our website, mainstream talk pod.com. You can follow us on Facebook. can join our Facebook group, which is, Disney World Tips and Talk. You can follow our Instagram page. All these links are down in the show notes. And if you want a free vacation quote, that's a main street talk pod.com. You can email me at nick dot garcia. At Academy Travel, get your quote there as well. And we are an affiliate of the Magic Candle Company. Bring the theme park Sense home with you. The link is on the website and in the show notes. So that's gonna do it for this week. Like I said, if there's any news that breaks over the weekend, we will include it in on next week's show'cause we are recording early.

Joni:

So

Nick:

until then, we will talk to you real soon.

Joni:

everybody.

Contributor

Joni

Host
Contributor

Nick

Host