Nathan: 0:03

Please stand clear of the doors.

Alicea: 0:16

Please stand clear of the doors.

Nathan: 0:20

Because this here is the wildest ride in the wilderness.

Alicea: 0:23

Hello everyone. I'm Alicea.

Nathan: 0:25

I'm Nathan.

Wesley: 0:26

And I'm Wesley.

Alicea: 0:27

And welcome to Adventures and Mouse Capades.

Nathan: 0:30

You've got it right this time. You got your name right.

Wesley: 0:32

I remember. I remembered.

Nathan: 0:35

Well, uh, if you didn't listen to last week's episode, uh, you need to go back and listen to last week's episode 205. Uh, we have Wesley on uh version 5571 on the socials and everywhere, and you've got a website going too. We'll talk about that here in a little bit. Um, we are picking up where we left off. Uh, we're talking about the absolutely glorious Disney Destiny, Disney Cruise Line's brand new cruise ship, and Wesley was on the maiden voyage. So let's see. We're talking about new space.

Wesley: 1:11

It sounds so fun when you say it like that. Wesley was on the maiden voyage.

Nathan: 1:16

You were on the maiden, yeah. Big deal.

Alicea: 1:19

You got to do the thing.

Nathan: 1:20

Yeah.

Wesley: 1:21

Oh man, uh, it's it's the only kind of street cred I've ever wanted, man.

Nathan: 1:26

I love it. So let's talk about some more new spaces or at least newly themed spaces that we have here on the Destiny. Um let's let's focus on the Pride Lands, Feast of the Lion King. This is the third main dining restaurant. You still have uh 1923 and Worlds of Marvel, which yeah, okay, great, nice. Sure, nice we've seen those a couple times before. Let's talk Pride Lands.

Alicea: 1:54

Yeah, and Pride Lands is basically it's like the dinner show, dinner with a show, whatever you want to call it.

Nathan: 2:00

Right. What did you think? The the room from what we've seen in pictures online looks incredible.

Wesley: 2:07

Yeah, so they've continued this like really deep theming uh stuff that they got going on on the Destiny, it's like really well. It looks it looks awesome. It looks awesome. Again, like even and I know this because we had we went to Pride Lands twice in a row. We um we did it two nights in a row. Yeah. So one night was the show, the next night was pirate night.

Nathan: 2:34

Got it,

Wesley: 2:34

and I could tell you that walking down that long hallway back to the restaurant on the first night, they had certain lighting, they had certain music, and it looked one way. On the next night, when it was Pirate Night, it was like the maintenance lights were on or something. Not really, not really, but like it was just lit different, the music was different, it looked different, it felt different. So they really, they really, obviously, they know what they're doing.

Nathan: 3:00

Yeah.

Wesley: 3:01

Um, they it really sets the mood and the vibe going down the hallway there to to Pride Lands, and it's dark, and you can see like the savannah like sunset in the background as you walk in on those back windows of the restaurant. Um and just like deep warm colors um on like the tables and the chairs and the and the and the flatware and the dinner wear.

Nathan: 3:30

Yeah.

Wesley: 3:30

Um it's gorgeous. It looks it looks great. Um we kind of sat in the more towards we like sat past the stage, uh, but still on kind of like that inner circle, you know, there's like the walkway around. We're still kind of on the inner circle, but past the stage, so looking back. So that kind of sets the stage for everything to come. And yeah, the s the stage is small again. We've only been on the wish, so the stage is a little bit smaller than on the wish. It's not like a big square stage, it's more of like a just like a s a bit smaller uh performance area, which I assume they probably did because they're trying to get uh squeeze a little bit more space like in between tables and chairs. Right.

Nathan: 4:14

Which you get two and a half inches between tables instead of just one and a half.

Wesley: 4:19

Yeah, yeah. But the stage was also built in a way that felt more organic to you know, like the savannah or you know, the you know, that area. And so, you know, because it was it was like round and there was like different levels of height. And so it just seemed to fit the space a bit more better than than like the I mean it wasn't like big and clunky on in Frozen or in Arundel, but you know, it just fit the space.

Nathan: 4:49

Yeah.

Alicea: 4:50

Now we've seen um both the Arendelle show and the Coco show, and I will say Arendelle it's really loud. Coco is not it's like they fixed it a little bit. How's the volume level in Pride Lands?

Wesley: 5:05

Um probably an 11.

Nathan: 5:08

Yeah.

Wesley: 5:09

It's very loud.

Nathan: 5:11

Yeah,

Wesley: 5:11

it's uh yeah, I mean, they have uh a big part of this show is is drums. Oh, yeah. There's like a couple there's a couple dudes on drums and they're just banging away. So it's loud. It's very loud.

Nathan: 5:27

Yeah.

Wesley: 5:28

And listen, the music is phenomenal, the performers are phenomenal, the you know, the performance itself, like the dancing, great, the costumes, great. Um, but it's a little the show, just to cut through the chase, like the show's a little long. I feel like I feel like there's I don't know. In the frozen show, I felt like there was like this like ebb and flow and vibe to it where like there was like a big thing, and then like Oaken would come out and he would do his funny little like, you know, kind of thing. And so like it kind of gave it a break. And then also I haven't seen the Encanto show, but in Frozen, you know, uh Olaf comes out and that that breaks it up a little bit.

Alicea: 6:19

Yeah.

Wesley: 6:20

And this Lion King show is just these performers almost non-stop. I there is a little bit of a break because they've you know try to fit in a break where someone can come take your order or bring you this or bring you that. But it's still it's very den, it's very dense and it feels very heavy the whole time. There's not uh there's not any moment that I can remember of like levity or kind of a lighter moment.

Alicea: 6:54

Yeah, is there a storyline to it, or is it more just like a concert type performance?

Wesley: 7:00

I think it's more of a concert type performance. I'm not the best to tell you like what like I couldn't give you a playlist or like a set list because there were definitely songs in there that I didn't know, and maybe I maybe I should have known. It wasn't just the Lion King.

Nathan: 7:18

No, there's definitely some stuff that are like only in the Broadway show. There's some stuff from like Lion King 2

Wesley: 7:25

Yes, yeah.

Nathan: 7:26

There's a bunch of yeah, there's a bunch of stuff in there.

Wesley: 7:29

So so it's it's loud and I don't want to say relentless, but it's it's it's constant. This doesn't take away from like how well it was it was done, but also dinner is happening. Yeah. So so it's uh I I I don't want to give it bad marks in any way because it was great, but I would have liked it to ease up a little bit from time to time.

Nathan: 7:59

Broadway show tunes aren't necessarily always the best dinner music accompaniment.

Wesley: 8:06

That's a good point. Yeah, just a good point. You know, like I'm not trying to eat like fine dining at like a rock concert, and that's kind of kind of what this kind of what this felt like.

Nathan: 8:16

Yeah, I will say we saw um, I think it was Mammoth Club's video uh the other day of uh their dinner in Pride Lands. And look, I'm a drummer, I I loved everything I heard, but even I like turn to Alicea and I go, like, that's that's too much. Like the I would actually change some of the cymbals out. Like they have cymbals that you can hit that are not gonna be that loud. I was like, oh, that's the that's the wrong piece of brass for that room. Um yeah. They didn't ask me though, so you know

Alicea: 8:52

it'll be a learning thing. I mean, I'm sure they'll switch stuff out over time because people will will um give their opinions about it, and there's gonna be people that are like right next to this drum set and are gonna say, It hurts my ears.

Nathan: 9:06

Yeah. Yeah.

Alicea: 9:07

Yeah.

Nathan: 9:07

Yeah. Versus I already have hearing loss, so it's fine.

Wesley: 9:12

And there might have been other people there who thought it was perfectly fine and wanted more or wanted it to be louder.

Alicea: 9:17

Oh, yeah. That's I mean, that's the thing, it's all subjective, but we like to hear we like to hear opinions on it.

Nathan: 9:23

How is the food there?

Wesley: 9:24

Oh, the food was great. The food was my favorite out of the three restaurants. It was, you know, the flavors seemed a bit more complex. I think the quantity of food in my like main dish, my entree, was more than you would get, or that I've experienced from other restaurants or other main dishes. Um, plus, like it was almost spicy. I got the shrimp curry.

Nathan: 9:52

Okay.

Alicea: 9:53

I like that. It almost spicy.

Wesley: 9:56

Like from my mother-in-law would probably say it was spicy. I would say like it was almost spicy. Uh but like the shrimp curry came in like a like a cauldron-looking dish, and then there was rice, and then like some bread that I'm sure has a name that I don't know. But it was it was plenty. Like, if that was the only thing I got, I I still would have been pretty satisfied with you know, with my dinner. It was really good.

Alicea: 10:24

Did you hit either of the coffee bars, the Merida or the Megara coffee bars?

Wesley: 10:29

Yes, I went to both. I went to Cafe Merida on the first day. I needed a drink. We were in line for the Dr. Facilier parlor.

Nathan: 10:41

Okay.

Wesley: 10:42

I went over there just to check it out because I wanted to wanted to see it. And then I thought, okay, I'm here. I should I should probably get a drink. It wasn't like totally packed. Most of the people were at the sail away party at this time, which we skipped because we wanted to do the Dr. Facilier thing. Right. Um, I don't drink, and so I got what I thought was like a fancy chai tea. And because it said the title of it was Fiery Redhead, and I thought that's sounds like something I want to have. And it said it had some words that I didn't know, and then it was like a chai tea with like ginger, and I was like, perfect, let me get that. And it was probably 90% alcohol.

Nathan: 11:26

Oh no.

Wesley: 11:28

After I got it, I walk like the whole it kind of like the whole bar space kind of smelled alcohol-y, which you would expect. Yeah. And so when I got my drink and I walked away, I thought, wow man, this really they're really loading these people up. And then um, and then as I got farther away, I was like, no, it still smells really alcohol-y around here. And um, yeah, it turns out the words that I didn't know were definitely like a like a false uh something. I don't know. I couldn't tell, and I even tried to give it a I got back in line at Dr. Facilier and I was like, Does anybody want this? Yeah, because it was expensive and it looks really good. Um, and the one dude he didn't drink, and then uh someone took it and she took a little sip, and she was like, There's no way I can finish this. Wow. So it was fiery, I suppose. Um but again, I like the vibes of Cafe Merida. Um, it's kind of the bigger of the two bars that are or little cafes that are on top of each other. Yeah. Um yeah, really well, really well done. Yeah. The carpet definitely took a picture of the carpet in there in Cafe Merida. It had like um, you know, the plaid.

Alicea: 12:47

Oh, like a tartan?

Wesley: 12:48

What do they call them? Like, yeah, a tartan. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. That's cool. Yeah, it was fun.

Nathan: 12:53

How about Edna A-la-mode? Did you guys uh get up there and get some get some sweets?

Wesley: 12:59

Uh I walked in just to check it out. We didn't actually order anything in there. Again, it was just so we were always being pulled in different directions. So one time I was alone, I popped in just real quick to check it out. Um nothing to report. Yes. Nice.

Alicea: 13:19

Yeah. It's it's hard on the ships that if you haven't been on the ship before, like um when we were on the Treasure, we were on there for seven nights and it still wasn't enough time for us to see everything.

Wesley: 13:30

I mean, I'll tell you this. Between between dessert at dinner, which there's always, you know, at least two, right. I try to try them. You know, I try to try them. And then and then so between all that and then and then just ice cream or soft serve on the pool deck, like I'm I'm good. Like I don't need to pay for ice cream that I've already pre-paid for otherwise.

Alicea: 14:01

understood.

Nathan: 14:01

Yeah. Fair enough. Fair enough.

Wesley: 14:03

It might be better, but I've already paid for this other stuff, so I'm gonna go for that stuff.

Nathan: 14:07

Sounds good. All right, so of course, we'd be remiss if we didn't get your thoughts also on the revived slash revised main theater show, Disney Hercules. What did you think of this new show?

Wesley: 14:23

Okay, so this whole show kind of represents like a full, like I've all I've come all the way around. So on my very first cruise on the on the what? What was it called?

Nathan: 14:36

The Wonder.

Wesley: 14:38

Yeah, that's the one. I'm trying to be all sentimental about it. I can't even remember what it's called. So uh my very first cruise on the Disney Wonder was they had Hercules. Yeah, the musical.

Nathan: 14:53

Yeah.

Wesley: 14:55

And it's one of the things that really sticks out in my mind about that first cruise that I went on was this stage show. Yeah, it was my first experience with that caliber of stage show, like on a cruise ship. Yeah, I mean, it was my it was my first cruise. I had been to like a Broadway show before, and I had been to like a stage production on the West End, but not like this, but uh with you know, uh obviously there's uh it's a smaller space, they have different, you know, constraints that they have to work with, and so I thought incredible. It was you know, it was funny, it was um, you know, it's it stuck to the story of the movie that we know. The songs are great, and they didn't kind of like try to deviate or or you know mess with it at all.

Nathan: 15:47

Yeah,

Wesley: 15:47

it was the story of Hercules. The muses stole the show for me on that first time, they were so great, like the gospel vibes of of the songs just really resonate with me. I it just it makes me feel good, and you know, I like I like that that music, and so again, I had really high expectations coming into this new version, you know, updated, like the technology's better, you know. They they have so much more experience producing these shows at sea, it's gonna be bigger. Um and from what I saw, uh, like those behind the scenes things of like the puppets and like of the hydra and then the the

Alicea: 16:32

Titans?

Wesley: 16:33

Thank you, the Titans you know, really got me excited about it. So I knew it was gonna be busy. They did a matinee on uh so they had a two o'clock show and then the regular shows. We chose to go to the two o'clock show just to kind of get out ahead of it.

Nathan: 16:50

Yeah.

Wesley: 16:51

Um, we we waited upstairs for the balcony seats for about an hour, so we got in line about one. We were about 40th in line to get in. And so there's not a bad seat in the Walt Disney Theater, really. Right. We sat on the balcony um on the right side, kind of towards the center. And what can I say? It was it was fantastic. The music was great. There was an extra song that I don't remember from the movie that Meg sings. And unlike I'm I'm not a fan of this. I I don't like it when they try to add in extra songs. I'm like, I just people like I like the movie. I just want to see a stage production of the movie.

Nathan: 17:36

Yeah.

Wesley: 17:37

Um, so when I found out there was another song, I was like, but it it was uh it didn't dominate like the act, it didn't dominate like the whole show. It was it was integrated very nicely and made it really made sense that that song was there in the story, in the otherwise abbreviated story of Hercules. So I think it did in this instance make sense and kind of push the story along a little bit. Yeah. Uh the costumes were great, all the actors were great. It was the first show on the Maiden Voyage. Obviously, they've been rehearsing for a while and they've had preview showings, but this was the first one. So I think there was like a little bit of nerves, you could tell, yeah, on some of the some of the cast. And but still I thought it was fantastic. And even with like a little bit of nerviness, like the it tells me it's just gonna get that much better because as they as they each settle in to their roles and get more comfortable with each other and the stage and the space and the costumes, it's just gonna age really well, I think. And and they'll adjust, you know, maybe some timings of certain things or or whatever. And by the time this cast is done, they're gonna have it really down. So if you're going on this, if you're going on the Destiny like in six months from now or five months from now, I think you're gonna get the best version of a stage show that Disney Cruise Line has to offer. I think it's really great.

Nathan: 19:15

That's awesome. That's great to hear. That's great to hear.

Wesley: 19:18

I was hoping the the muses take the lead in a lot of the songs or a lot of the big, you know, powerful songs. Yeah. And so, you know, they make, you know, this the guy who plays Hercules, like he's like a big you know, people are really excited about him. And I wish there was more opportunity within the play for him to kind of like really belt it out and to like let it go so we can see like what he has. Because just within the structure of the narrative as it is, like there's not a ton of opportunity for him to like really give it to us.

Nathan: 19:55

Yeah. So they'll find they'll s they'll find those ways. Um And and like you were saying, as everybody sits in with the show more and gets more familiar with it, it the the shows just evolve. Um, we were lucky enough to see Hamilton on its first run here in Seattle um uh several times. And we saw opening night and closing night, and that was like a seven or eight week run. Yeah, and and it was the first, it was like the the what the And Peggy company. It was like the third touring company that they that they they uh stood up. Oh or the first or the first, I think it was the first actual touring company. They had like some like a company in Chicago that sat for like almost a year. They had a company out in San Francisco or LA or wherever it was that sat for a really long time. And this was the third company that they stood up here domestically, and seeing it just develop over seven or eight weeks, just from opening night to closing night here in Seattle, it was incredible to see how each of the actors just made the character their own and brought their own spice to the role and everything. It's just absolutely incredible. And and I like you, I think you know it will get better. I have to believe that the same is is likely happening with Moana. Um, we saw it, you know, a couple months in. And you got to remember on the treasure, we were on the treasure in February. We were probably on the eighth or ninth sailing, and they only do that once a week. Whereas here with the Destiny, you're gonna do it on average two-ish times a week because you're doing you know what mostly fours and fives on the Destiny, five four and five nighters. So they're gonna get more repetitions of the show. It will get better. I'm really looking forward to seeing it. Unfortunately, we won't see this opening cast. We will see the next one. Uh when we're on in June. But um, yeah, very, very much looking forward to it.

Wesley: 22:02

But even still, I think like the second cast will still have an advantage because the crew, the uh other crew will likely mostly be this be the same.

Alicea: 22:10

And they'll do tweaks here and there. Yeah, I'm sure.

Wesley: 22:13

Absolutely. Absolutely.

Alicea: 22:14

And there's something to be said for rehearsing versus actually performing.

Nathan: 22:19

Yeah.

Alicea: 22:20

So they'll get that little extra in there, I'm sure.

Nathan: 22:23

Yeah, the energy of the people.

Wesley: 22:24

Yeah. Absolutely.

Nathan: 22:25

Yeah.

Wesley: 22:26

But yeah, yeah, they uh I mean, obviously, like everyone in the in the theater loved it, you know. Yeah. Standing ovation. Everybody was hooting and hollering about it. They liked it. Like for me, it was really like this like flashbacky time to like when I was much younger and and uh you know, on a cruise for the first time. So it it sparked like some a bit of like sentimentality for me uh to be there. Obviously, this time was with my family, first time I wasn't. So like so this whole thing was very it was a great, it was a great moment. It was a great way to like go out on the cruise, like having having seen this stage show. Yeah, that was it was great. Yeah, and plus like I just kind of have like an affinity towards like mythology um in general and like the stories that they tell, I think they can be really powerful and transformative. Um and so for them to have like this stage show, I mean Disney is always like kind of you know, aims for like that inspirational type, like anyone can do it, you could be the hero. But yeah, I think when you dig a little bit deeper into mythology, and this is one of the things that I learned when I was in college, like if you put you like these myths are structured in a way where you can very easily like insert yourself into this role of the of the hero and imagine what it would be like to take on these steps and relate them to your life in a way where it actually can help you overcome something that you're you know stacked up against when there's some adversity or whatever. So I think on a deeper level, I really enjoy like the mythology of the story and and how it can relate to our in our own lives.

Nathan: 24:25

Yeah.

Alicea: 24:26

Well, Disney has played up the other characters on the ship too, as as part of their whole narrative through lines for the voyage. Um, there's Loki, Cruella de Ville, Dr. Facilier, and Black Panther. They're all part of the journey. Uh, do you think Disney is barking up the right tree, making things a little bit more interactive on the ships?

Wesley: 24:47

I think the short answer is yes. The long answer is a bit more complicated because I don't want to see I think it would not I think it would lose its potency if now every ship has all of all of this. I think this makes it very unique and special and something that you it's not something I want to do every time I go on a Disney cruise. I don't want to, you know, I suffer from FOMO very much, and so I don't want to be on a on a cruise like this every time where I feel like oh I have to see this and this and you know, all these like special things like the Loki, Maleficent, like you're saying, Black Panther. Like it's a it's a lot, and I and I and I think like it's special in a way that makes this cruise unique and something that people should a hundred percent like seek after if you're a fan of some of these things. Uh but I would like to see it be more exclusive to maybe this class or even to this degree on this ship only. Yeah, I don't know if I yeah, because I mean we saw Loki, we saw Dr. Facilier, which absolutely incredible. The guy who plays Dr. Facilier is stunning in his portrayal. He's he's witty and off the cuff, and and obviously has like a script to follow, but yeah, but interacts with like uh this group of people. I believe he is Dr. Facilier when I when I'm when I was in the when I was in the parlor for him with him, you know, and and interacting with him, and he asks me questions directly and I you know respond in a way where I try to elicit like a certain response and he and he goes for it.

Nathan: 26:46

Yeah I don't want to give out any spoilers or anything about that experience uh of being in the parlor with Dr. Facilier. Uh as you mentioned, like there can be a really long line for that. I guess just two quick questions around that. Like A, was it worth it? Sounds like yes. And then B, like, how long is that experience with Dr. Facilier?

Wesley: 27:12

If you don't see Dr. Facilier, I think it will be I think your cruise will be less because of it. There's not another experience that equals it.

Nathan: 27:23

Wow.

Wesley: 27:24

Now. If you don't like magic, skip it. Right? If you're not into I know like I know some people just aren't into magic, just then don't waste your time and don't take the spot of somebody else who would who would appreciate it. Uh there's about 10-ish, 12 people in my group. We were the we were we skipped the sail away party. For whatever that's worth, I don't know. But like Maiden Voyage Sail-away Party, maybe they did something new or clever. I don't know. I wasn't there. I got I got I just wanted to be in the first, you know, uh um I just wanted to be in the first group to go see Dr. Facilier.

Nathan: 28:09

That was a priority for you.

Wesley: 28:10

I knew the line was gonna be long, yeah, and I didn't want to, it was right after the muster drill. So I just thought, okay, we're not we're not like already involved in something else and have to break away to go wait in line for an hour to see this guy. Yeah, let's just go now and and get it done. And we did, and we we still waited about 40 minutes. Okay. But like I said, we were in the first group, the whole interaction once we were in the parlor with him lasted maybe 10 minutes. Okay. It sounds like a big commitment, you know what I mean? Like wait 40, wait 40 minutes to hang out with this dude for 10, and most of the people are just watching. Yeah. You know, like I'll tell you this: like, you go, like your group goes in, it's like your first impression is gonna be like, holy smokes. But but but then three people got chosen to like kind of sit down at the table with him and and to interact. But he does a really good job of interacting with other people who are standing too. Good. Yeah, so there's the three people, and then there, and then he like he like he is he like come come closer, like stand closer. I don't know. It's just a cool, it's just such a cool vibe, you know what I mean? And they set the room. I wish there was a bit more like set dressing, or I think I wish there was more of a dedicated space, because it is just kind of like a pop-up. They they put a thing over a door that's already there.

Nathan: 29:42

Uh got it.

Wesley: 29:44

Put put some like light props like in the room and the lighting is dim. But so I wish there's a bit more, but all your focus is on the actor when you're in there, and all of his focus is is trying to interact with as many people who are as there as possible. Not everybody, but but everybody gets kind of the same takeaway.

Nathan: 30:07

Yeah, hey, and a and a 40 or even an hour wait for a 10-minute experience is still better than waiting, you know, we've seen like three hours to do a you know 90-second or two-minute ride on Avatar Flight of Passage in the Animal Kingdom. So, you know, it's still working out.

Wesley: 30:25

Yeah, I'll tell you this. Four days later, we waited we waited almost an hour for Voyage of the Little Mermaid at Magic Kingdom. So we're

Nathan: 30:35

not the same payoff.

Wesley: 30:36

Yep, yeah, we're not great with time management, and that proves it. Dr. Facilier, yes, little mermaid, no, not so much, yeah. Not so much.

Nathan: 30:48

Now I know you don't make a point to hang out with the mice, but did you happen to come across Hero Minnie in her brand new outfit?

Wesley: 30:57

Oh, yeah. Immediately, immediately we got on the ship and she was there.

Nathan: 31:02

Nice.

Wesley: 31:02

She was on the little balcony area. Yeah. And she was there when we went when you know we were announced and they were announcing other people. And you know, she was hitting her poses, fixing her buttons, you know. Yeah, she was there. I again, I'm not trying to hang out with her, yeah, but the the fact that she was there, I respect that. It's fine. I'm glad she was there. I'm glad I got to see her. Yeah, you know, I make I I I created like a magnet in her likeness. I make I I make those little like uh you know, magnets together, like to pixie desk for people.

Nathan: 31:41

Yeah.

Wesley: 31:41

Um a crew. So yeah, I made I made one of those for the Maiden Voyage, and it she's the star of the ship, kind of. So yeah, I respect her.

Nathan: 31:50

I love it. I love it.

Wesley: 31:51

There's no there's no dig on Hero Minnie.

Nathan: 31:55

I don't know. It's just interesting that you have Hero Minnie and Edna Mode on the ship at the same time, and Hero Minnie has a cape. I know. And Edna has a hard line, no capes. And I it's just an interesting choice.

Wesley: 32:09

The thing is that you never see Hero Minnie and Edna Mode uh at the same time. So maybe they have beef. Maybe they're beefing and they don't want to.

Nathan: 32:18

Yeah.

Wesley: 32:18

Yeah.

Nathan: 32:19

Maybe they're the same people. Maybe Hero Minnie is Edna Mode.

Wesley: 32:24

Or maybe, or maybe Edna Mode also doesn't like to hang out with the mice who don't talk back. Maybe, maybe. Maybe Edna doesn't know what to say. She feels maybe she feels awkward. There you go. I don't know her.

Alicea: 32:37

Let's see. Dining. Of course, uh, there are returning favorites to um like 1923 and World of Marvel for the main dining. How is your overall dining experience on the cruise?

Wesley: 32:51

I uh dining for me is one of like the big selling points on Disney Cruise Line. Yeah, I like all the food, some of it more than others. I even like the Pirate Menu, which I know people really get down on. But like, what's not to I don't understand what's not to like necessarily.

Alicea: 33:13

We haven't had Pirate Menu in many, many years. We're gonna try it again in February if they have it.

Wesley: 33:19

Yeah, try it. Yeah I got this pasta with shrimp and scallops. What what do you want? What what do people? I don't understand the people who dislike the menu. Like, what are they looking for that they can't get? Because I get everything that I want. There you go. I get I get everything that I want.

Nathan: 33:36

The last time we had the pirate menu, it was the old pirate menu, and it was not as good. Yeah. And like I said, I can't many, many, many. For me, I don't want shrimp and scallops. I'm I don't eat shellfish, yeah. So and it's not because I'm allergic, I just grew up on the ocean and I understand where those things live.

Alicea: 33:57

Yeah.

Nathan: 33:58

Like if you're I don't care.

Wesley: 34:01

Don't don't ruin it.

Alicea: 34:03

I know where they live. I don't care. They taste good.

Nathan: 34:06

Happy for you. It's all right. I I also eat escargot, so I'm just weird. It's fine.

Wesley: 34:11

Yeah, see. Um, so do we. It was uh I don't I don't mind the Marvel menu. It's it's probably my least favorite of the three.

Nathan: 34:22

Yeah.

Wesley: 34:22

But if I had to rank them, but um I'm happy to eat there.

Nathan: 34:27

Is it the Guardians of the Galaxy um dinner menu and dinner show at Worlds of Marvel on the Destiny?

Wesley: 34:34

Yes, it was all about like it was all about like Rocket and Groot. Groot, got it. Okay, yep, okay. Yeah, I thought that I thought that show was more tame than the other Marvel one, which I appreciated. I don't want always like these like loud, raucous like things when I'm trying to eat, but there was still enough like interactive elements to like to keep the kids interested in what was going on all night. And I thought the food was I thought the food was good.

Nathan: 35:04

Nice. Uh you also got to hit both castaway and lookout keys. Yeah. Any highlights from I mean those these are fantastic locations. We just hit lookout for the first time ourselves. We were in love. What did you think?

Wesley: 35:20

Yeah, um, so this is our second time going to Lookout. We've been to you know, castaway on every other every other sailing. Yeah. And I like them both. They're both fun, really like immersive spaces to hang out and enjoy the beach. Yeah. They each have their uh strengths and weaknesses. You get something at one that you don't get at the other. So if you have an opportunity to go on a sailing where you go to both, I think that's the best case scenario.

Nathan: 35:52

Yeah.

Wesley: 35:53

Because what you might have missed at one, you'll gain at the other. If you're forcing me to choose, which I feel like you are, I would I would definitely choose Castaway as my favorite. Castaway Disney Castaway Key is probably my favorite location to visit of any place I've ever been. And I will go there on every sailing from now until forever, even if I never go to another foreign port destination again in my entire life.

Nathan: 36:26

Yeah.

Wesley: 36:26

I think the way it's aged and the way it's weathered and the way it's set up and its proximity to everything else on the island, yeah, and the visual storytelling that you get as you approach and as you disembark and as you get to the tram and around the island, I think is on par with how they tell the story of the theme parks. Right? When you when you get to Magic Kingdom, let's say, you can and you're at like the TTC or whatever, you're waiting for the monitor, you can see the castle. It's on a hill, it's in the background, you can see it. You it like it, like gives you this anticipation for what's coming up, and as you get closer, uh it goes out of view and you can't see it. But now you are you now you know it's there, so now you have to go find it.

Nathan: 37:20

Yeah, right?

Wesley: 37:21

And then so like you go through the tickets and then you go through the tunnel, and then you come around the corner, and then you can see it, and like there's just always these like visual cues that keep drawing you further and further into the park. And this is especially true at Disneyland, where you can see like I always think of like going left, like you go to the hub, you go left, and it's like adventureland, but then you can kind of see New Orleans Square in the in the back, you know, behind it. And then when you're in Northern Square, you can kind of see like crater country, or what used to be crater country, I don't know what it's called now, but you can kind of see that, you know what I mean? And so you keep it like you you find what you're looking for, but then there's immediately something else that you're trying to get to. And I find the same thing to be on Castaway. You can see the island when you're when you're on the ship and you get off, and some of it is hidden from view, and then and then you kind of go around. I find that that type of visual and narrative storytelling to be missing or lacking from um from Lookout Key.

Nathan: 38:20

Yeah.

Wesley: 38:21

Um, however, it's not a problem that can't be fixed if they're interested in fixing it. Yeah, it's an opportunity for more storytelling all along the pier. There's opportunities for visual storytelling that they haven't taken yet. And then even in the distance, there could be, and I think even in some concept art, there is some kind of like structure that was supposed to have been built, or I don't know if it was supposed to, but it was in some concept art that would kind of be a visual cue, yeah, to like kind of bring you, okay. Yeah, we're gonna go on, we're gonna walk this pier, and then we're gonna get on this tram, but it'll all be worth it because you've already seen what you're gonna get.

Nathan: 39:03

Yeah.

Wesley: 39:03

And now you just gotta get there, and it'll be it'll take, it'll take uh kind of a monotonous you know, walk and tram ride to the other side of the island to oh, this is something I can't wait to get. I can't wait to get on this tram because I know at the other end there's gonna be this thing. Now I've been there, so I know what's on the other side of all that, and it's this stunning pink sand beach. It's incredible. But um, there's there's a lot that you have to endure before you get there.

Nathan: 39:35

You need that thing to draw you through. It's what you're talking about. Like Walt called it uh the the weenie, right? Like the castle is the weenie, or or the the ball in Epcot, or the you know the tower, like the things are the thing that visually draw you around. You've got to have that stuff there, and and it's in it's important. It's important. And I I agree with you. I think lookout doesn't look out is famous. Fantastic. And it is an incredible destination. It's just, it's really spread out and doesn't quite feel cohesive yet. Yeah. And I'm with you. It needs a it needs a phase two that just adds it pluses it.

Alicea: 40:18

Well, it also concentrates more on the culture of the island. Rather, castaway has a story that it's telling. It's a castaway island.

Nathan: 40:28

Yeah.

Alicea: 40:28

Um, so there's no specific story like that for um lookout. And I know they did that on purpose, so I'm hoping they can draw something in to make it a little more uh interactive or or just have people concentrate more on what's there.

Wesley: 40:47

Yeah.

Alicea: 40:48

Yeah.

Wesley: 40:48

We did see, we did see like the junk anoo for the first time and and some of that stuff. And uh well, I did. Uh everybody else kind of scattered and went in different directions. So, you know, I hung back and saw it. But uh like it was something that I saw because it was happening. Yeah, I definitely didn't, I definitely didn't seek it out. Yeah. I mean, people, there's no wrong way to vacation, but dude, once I'm on Castaway or Lookout, like I'm I'm there for the for the water sports. I'm there for like swimming, for the snorkeling, for like the laying on the beach, for like the you know, that kind of stuff. I'm not necessarily out there looking for another show.

Nathan: 41:31

Right.

Wesley: 41:31

You know what I mean? Right, right, right. I sometimes like to also do things, not just watch things. Yep, yep, yep.

Alicea: 41:37

That sand is amazing though. That sand and that water is perfect.

Wesley: 41:43

Yeah, it's crazy. It's like it like exfoliates your skin. Like I'm in the water and the water feels like I live in California, we go to the beach, and the water feels rough and and like tough and like harsh. And I get out and there's like oh, I have like a layer of salt on me, like after like going to Huntington or whatever, wherever we go. But like this beach at Lookout is it's like smooth and soothing. It's like it feels silky and soft. The wall, it's weird to the water feels soft. I don't know how that's like possible, but like the water feels soft, and we went snorkeling again this time, and there's not like a dedicated snorkeling reef, but like there is well, you know, wildlife in the water. Yeah, there's reefs, and I I brought like an underwater camera this time, and we saw like schools of fish, and oh, and we saw a stingray, just like a random wild stingray, like swam by it was huge, it was probably about like five, six feet wide. Wow. And it was a little unnerving, but uh but also really cool, you know, for my kids to just like you know, just randomly come across that kind of kind of stuff. Also, this time I made a point to walk all the way down to the south end of the beach to where like those rock formations are. Yeah. And it's so stunning down there. Um, you know, it's quiet, it's away from everything. The the water is even more gorgeous down there than it is like down at the beach. And I kind of walked around like the southern tip, and like the waves are kind of crashing, and I'm like holding on to my balance the best I can because I don't want to I have like cameras and everything with me, and I don't want to fall in the water, but yeah, it was it's great. It's it's a it's a memory, it's a picture in my mind that I'll always have that I can't get anywhere else. Yeah, and I'm so everyone should go. Everyone should go here.

Alicea: 43:45

We'll have to hit that in June with the kids.

Nathan: 43:46

Yeah, absolutely.

Wesley: 43:47

Yeah, it's all it's it's much farther than it looks. Like I just walked along the beach and I was like, this is this is a little far. This is a little if you think about walking if you think about walking from the south tip of Eleuthera back up to the tram, take the tram, and then walk back on the thing, like it's it's a hike. Yeah it's a hike.

Alicea: 44:11

Well, what were your most memorable moments from this cruise?

Wesley: 44:16

For sure, the Dr. Facilier interaction was like as our first time, like nothing. I don't think nothing's gonna match like the first time. Yeah, my my first time with Dr. Facilier will is is very memorable. Um the Zaya and Gamble interactions, you know. We saw them with Loki, we saw them with them with the Marvel thing in Deadpool, and we saw them again with Maleficent. And all of them were so well produced and and excellent, and then them two, as those characters, have the kind of chemistry that other people can only hope for. Like they like really know each other and play off each other really well. So if if you get a chance to see them, see them. Hercules is the third thing that I think I will take away. Is again a stunning production. Like the music is is great. We even got my kids singing it, and they're like not the biggest uh Hercules fans, but I'm all about it. I'm all about it. The fourth thing that I think I I'll take away from this sailing in particular is meeting different people and just kind of like the overall camaraderie, like amongst like the guests and getting their take and their perspective. Like I've been on I've been on other shows and like then meeting meeting like Brian and Sam in person was great. Like his their son and my son like got on well and they were hanging out, and so like that's a special memory for them too. Yeah, just just kind of like being in a place where people have common interests and common passions and common likes, it takes the vacation and and it makes it even better because you can leave all that other stuff out of the equation for a little bit, and you can have a good time, yeah, and you can make new friends and make new memories and have different experiences that we don't have when we're at home. Yep. And and I think that's like the big takeaway here is yeah, is is um yeah.

Nathan: 46:28

Fantastic segue into what I the next question I wanted to ask, which is um about the vibes on on being on a maiden voyage, and it sounds like everything I had thought it would be. Um I can't wait to try to do one at some point in the future. Would you do a maiden voyage again?

Wesley: 46:48

Yeah, I was talking to my wife about it because going into this one, I thought, well, I I was so bummed that we missed the maiden voyage of the treasure. Yeah. Because it just looked like such a blast, like such a party and such a you know, such a good time. And so I really made a point to go, you know, to book this cruise like immediately. Yeah. Because I wanted to be on the Maiden Voyage, I wanted to say that I was, you know, one of the first to sail on this ship. But I think the short answer is yes, I would definitely do a Maiden Voyage again, but there's some caveats, right? Because, like we talked about earlier, a lot of people are there and they're trying to get content. Yeah, you know what I mean. They're just like straight up trying to like make their blog, yeah, make their vlogs, which is fine. Like, and I knew that going into it, but the hype around some of these areas is real, and you're not gonna get to do everything that you want to do. It was a shorter sailing, there's a lot of new stuff. So I guess the next goal is to go on a preview sailing, which would be great in its own way, but also I know that would be a lot of work too.

Nathan: 48:03

Yeah.

Wesley: 48:04

So I think I don't know if I would maybe I would go on a maiden voyage, but just like me and my wife. Yeah. And then take the kids on a sailing in a month or so. Yeah. I don't know. I don't know. That's I don't know how many cruises we can go on, but you know what I mean? You know what I mean? Like take them later uh when we can because I too, I wanted to see everything, and I'm like, we should go do this, we should go do that. And some of the times they were like, hey, you need to calm down too and let's just relax, you know. But I wanted to see everything. I wanted to, I wanted to check everything out. And so I don't know, maybe I need like a a check it out kind of cruise and then a cruise where where we can really just like chill out, have a vacation, yeah. Yeah, but I do like the vibe, like the overall like excitement and enthusiasm that everybody has for the main voyage, not just the not just the the guests, but the crew. They're super excited to have everybody because some of them have been living on the ship now for like a month or so, and you know, now finally there's like real guests that they can take care of. Like our servers were really excited, you know, to have us there. Yes, I would. The answer is yes.

Alicea: 49:21

Was there anything we haven't covered yet that you want to call out?

Wesley: 49:25

I would just say, like, definitely, I mean, this ship has something for everyone. I know a lot of people are like, look, it's it's like Marvel, it's it's like a Marvel ship, it's like heroes and villains, but like all the cruise stuff is there that you already love. Yeah. You know, all that stuff is still there and it's still available to you. Go on this ship anyway, because I guarantee you're gonna be surprised by something that like you didn't anticipate being surprised by or liking or being involved with in a way. You know, there's like these, you know, chance encounters with like Jack Sparrow was like running around one day, like at on like Pirate Night and ended up in Cask and Cannon, and like just like just the things that I don't even know about happen to other people that that might that might happen to you. So I would say like don't be afraid to go on the ship if you're not like a huge Marvel fan. You don't need to know Marvel anything to be on the ship. You could go to that comedy Marvel show, not know a dang thing, and still be entertained because the quality of the storytelling and the actors is so high that that they draw you in. It the Marvel is just like the method both for which they like they deliver um you know their talent to you. Yeah. And so many of the casts are multi-purposed, you know, that one of the muses also sang in Saga um before and after that Marvel show, and she was phenomenal. You could I posted uh uh a little clip of her of her singing in in Saga before the Marvel show. Yeah. And she's like one of the best, she was like one of the best performers on the on the ship that I saw. And that was her role, and and she was also a muse. Not even like the main muse, but like in the cast of muses. Right. Um, so you're gonna find something like we did, like we didn't do things that we normally do, like we didn't go to the spa, we didn't go to the rainforest room, we didn't, we didn't go to polo, we didn't play bingo. When we went to castaway, we didn't get in the water, we just rode bikes. It was one of our goals to like ride bikes like around the island together. So, like we just did that. So there's so many things that you can do, you can't do them all. Yeah, and this is the perfect vessel, um, figuratively and literally to do those things.

Nathan: 51:57

The the your Disney marketing check is in the mail. That is uh uh a well-placed pun, Wesley. Nice job, nice job. Now it gets a little bit more difficult, unfortunately. It's time for Alicea's patented Disney torture test. But oh yeah, you know, you grew up in Southern California. Uh you're from you've done a bunch of cruises, you're gold now. Um, but seriously, good luck.

Wesley: 52:22

Bring it, bring it. I'm not scared, I'm not scared Alicea.

Alicea: 52:26

This is where I say. One, it's not patented. And two, I don't think this is torture. This is just your Disney favorites from everything under Mickey's umbrella. So like Disney Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, whatever. Your favorite Disney character.

Wesley: 52:45

Stumped. No, just kidding. Um I it can change a lot right now. I lie, I think I'm oh, I don't know.

Nathan: 52:56

It just changed.

Wesley: 52:57

Yeah, it did just change. Um, I like I definitely don't have like the definitive, like, this isn't, you know, some people I identify with one person like all the time. But I think Aladdin might be my favorite.

Alicea: 53:13

Nice. It's like, who would you stand in line for to meet?

Wesley: 53:19

Yeah. Come back to me. Uh uh that's a tough question. Who would I stand in line to meet? I don't know. I don't know.

Alicea: 53:31

Your favorite movie?

Wesley: 53:33

Also Aladdin.

Alicea: 53:35

Okay. Favorite ride. Don't say magic carpet.

Wesley: 53:41

How dare you? Um my favorite ride, because I'm a sentimental person, has to be Pirates of the Caribbean.

Alicea: 53:52

Which one?

Wesley: 53:52

Um just for like nostalgia. Uh Disneyland. Yeah. Any ride that I say that is on both coasts, it's gonna be Disneyland. Yes. And people can people can come at me if they want, but that's these are just facts. These are like observable facts. Right.

Nathan: 54:08

Those are empirically the correct answers.

Wesley: 54:10

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Alicea: 54:12

Well, next one is Disney World or Disneyland.

Wesley: 54:16

Come on. Disneyland. Again, I will say Disneyland is for me and my wife. Disney world is for the family.

Alicea: 54:24

Yep, yep, yep.

Wesley: 54:25

So we love them both. We just went to Disney World. We're going again in February. Uh, but me and my wife are going to Disneyland on Monday. Just the kids are going back to school, and we're just gonna we're just gonna Disneyland it up for a little bit.

Alicea: 54:38

Love it.

Nathan: 54:39

Yeah.

Alicea: 54:40

Out of all the individual parks you've been to, which is your favorite?

Wesley: 54:43

Disneyland. The OG. Followed closely by like Epcot. If you want me to be like diplomatic about it, you don't have to. Disneyland, Disneyland. No, I know, but I also want people to like me. I uh Disneyland is the best, objectively, empirically. Uh Epcot is is my would be my favorite park at at Disney World. Epcot. Yeah. I don't know if there's another question about this, but I'll just tell you it goes Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios.

Nathan: 55:18

That's a that's a hot take.

Alicea: 55:20

Hey, everybody has their opinion.

Wesley: 55:21

No, I it's I'm here for it.

Nathan: 55:23

Yeah.

Wesley: 55:24

Listen, I also like Hollywood Studios. It's I worked there. That was the first like theme park I ever worked at, was Hollywood Studios. But they're what? What is it? What does it become? There's nothing that I can do. There's nothing that I can do there that I can't do at Disneyland or California Venture, with the exception, maybe, of um Toy Storyland. I was gonna say tower, I was gonna say Tower of Terror. They have the original Tower of Terror, which is a draw. Yeah, I do I do like uh Rock and Roller Coaster. I will say that Muppets and Monsters will be the thing that will get me to go back to Hollywood Studios on a regular basis. Yeah. Once Monsters Land is open and the Muppets take over Rock and Roller Coaster, yeah, then this will be a park that will have something for me to do.

Nathan: 56:15

Yep, yep. That's fair. That's fair.

Alicea: 56:16

Yep. Favorite hotel or resort?

Nathan: 56:19

Pier 66.

Alicea: 56:21

That's not Disney.

Wesley: 56:23

It should, it should be. Yeah. It's incredible. Um, my favorite hotel, and it's one that we stay at all the time, is Port Orleans Riverside.

Nathan: 56:36

Nice.

Wesley: 56:37

I just like the like the small individual buildings. It's big and they're scattered about, like there's all this lushness like between them. Yeah. I love I love it. The first hotel I ever stayed at Walt Disney World was Beach Club, which is up there in my book. I I like that hotel a lot. Also, Animal Kingdom Lodge is someplace I've stayed that I really enjoy. Um but definitely Port Orleans.

Alicea: 57:07

Favorite DCL ship.

Wesley: 57:13

I don't know. I still think my f well, okay, so I have not sailed on the fantasy or the treasure.

Nathan: 57:23

Okay.

Wesley: 57:26

I listen, we had an absolutely incredible time on the Destiny. I will definitely sail on that ship again and take part in everything that it has to offer. But I still like the Dream, I think. Okay. Better better. Just as far as I just worry, I just wor uh again, amazing, incredible time. I just worry that it's gonna be too much. If you know they I know they can't help themselves, and it's gonna be too much, and they're gonna keep going down this path, and it's gonna be it's gonna be too much. Yeah, the dream is still like this idyllic ocean liner with an ocean liner theme. Yeah. And that's what I'm here for. That's what I'm here for. That's why I want to go on a cruise. I don't want to go on a cruise necessarily to experience all these theme park things. That being said, a cruise is still an easier, better vacation than a theme park. So to have those park touches on the ship is nice, but they can't help themselves. It's gonna be too much.

Nathan: 58:44

I think you just articulated why I still put the Wonder above the Treasure in my book. We haven't been on the Destiny, obviously, yet, but the Wonder still ticks the box just above the Treasure for me because it is a cruise ship in a cruise ship theme, and it is small and it is intimate, and it's not trying to be something it's not.

Wesley: 59:08

Yeah.

Nathan: 59:09

And I absolutely love it.

Wesley: 59:11

Right. Like the fact like side note on the Adventure, like the fact that there's rides on this ship. Yeah, I'm not interested.

Alicea: 59:21

But Disney did not build that specifically, they bought it.

Wesley: 59:25

Yeah, I know, but they didn't have to.

Alicea: 59:28

No, they didn't. That's true.

Nathan: 59:30

No, they got Chapek-ed into that one. Yeah. Yeah.

Alicea: 59:33

All right, just two more. Favorite Disney restaurant.

Wesley: 59:39

I do like Ohana at the Polynesian. Um yeah, I'm gonna go with that. All right.

Alicea: 59:49

Still haven't been there for dinner.

Wesley: 59:51

Yeah, it's nice because you can you can either get lucky with your time and see fireworks while you're having dinner.

Nathan: 1:00:00

Yeah.

Wesley: 1:00:00

Or right after dinner go down to the beach of the Polynesian and watch fireworks on the beach. And that's my that's kind of like my favorite thing to do. Like we can see it, they play the music. It's getting a little crowded these days, but like in the past it's been very sparsely attended. And you can lay on the beach or in a hammock and watch the fireworks. Yeah.

Alicea: 1:00:21

My last one. Favorite Disney snack.

Wesley: 1:00:25

Popcorn.

Nathan: 1:00:27

Excellent. Classic.

Wesley: 1:00:30

I'm not like I'm I'm just like a savory kind of snack person. Like I would I'll take two entrees over a dessert. And so popcorn fits the bill. It's like a nice snack and it's salty and I and I love it and I love it.

Nathan: 1:00:46

Excellent. Wesley, you survived. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. So you've started recently a new website called version 5571. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

Wesley: 1:00:58

Yes. Um, it was born out of so we like to go to Walt Disney World, like I've said.

Nathan: 1:01:04

Yeah.

Wesley: 1:01:05

So the idea is that there's a lot of trip planning tools out there in the world. We use touring plans when we go to Walt Disney World. Yeah. It's it has a lot of like excellent data points and gets you uh, you know, can help you maximize your efficiency. But we've all been in this situation where like we've been in the theme park and we notice something that maybe we haven't noticed before, and we think, oh, that's new, or that's changed, but maybe it hasn't, and maybe you just didn't notice it before. Or maybe it really has changed, but there's all these little things that are changed and updated from time to time that is impossible to cover all of it. So, my so the idea behind the website and the tool that I'm trying to build is a theme park uh Disney Parks version tracker. So if we if you can think about Magic Kingdom, for example, as as if it were software, and every time they made an update, then you would version up the software.

Nathan: 1:02:14

Yeah.

Wesley: 1:02:15

So when Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, it opened as version 1.0.

Nathan: 1:02:21

Yeah.

Wesley: 1:02:21

And then every change since then has either been a big major change, like a new ride or a new land, or maybe a smaller, minor change, like uh like an updated cue or music or lighting, or maybe even a smaller change, like a patch, like you would patch a ver a piece of software, yeah, to you know, maybe it's like a new, maybe they painted something, or I I don't know, small changes like that. Maybe a seasonal overlay might be a patch, because it doesn't fundamentally change the way you experience the park, right? But it is new. And so my idea, it's a work in progress, is that I'm trying to catalog all of these changes over time and version the park as as you would uh for software. So the idea eventually will be when you go to the website, you'll be able to input the last date that you visited, Magic Kingdom, and it it'll just all this information will be in a database and it'll tell you you last visited the park version 34.6.2.

Nathan: 1:03:25

Yeah.

Wesley: 1:03:26

And and it'll tell you everything that's new, everything that's closed, and everything that's changed since the last time that you visited the park. And it and in this way, you'll be able to better prioritize the things you want to do while you're there.

Nathan: 1:03:42

Yeah.

Wesley: 1:03:42

Like we went to Magic Kingdom recently, and there was a new like overlay of Tron for Tron Ares that we didn't do. And so it would be great if before we went to the park, we could enter the last date we went, and then we can get all of these all of these changes um laid out for us so that we could uh try to prioritize that stuff. Help us, yeah. So when we're doing all of our planning and getting our lightning lanes and such, we can we we have it'll just help us on our roadmap to having it spending a day in the park. But it's complicated and there's a lot of information that needs to be gathered. So I'm gathering that information and I'm trying to um I'm working with somebody who knows how to do databases and things because I don't. Yeah. So so it's a work in progress. And in the meantime, it's just uh me blogging, and I'm a photographer and video uh I work in video production by trade, so it's pictures and it's information about updated uh parks things and cruise things.

Alicea: 1:04:46

Nice. Where can people find you and follow along?

Wesley: 1:04:49

Yeah, they can just go to uh version5571.com and from there there's links to Instagram and X and threads and all that. All that stuff.

Nathan: 1:05:00

Great. Well we'll include a link to that in the show notes.

Wesley: 1:05:03

So I would love that. You guys have been so great.

Nathan: 1:05:06

Yeah.

Wesley: 1:05:06

So gracious.

Nathan: 1:05:08

Last question, the the hardest one ever. What's next? You've you've mentioned you have a few things in the in the hopper. What's what's what's next for 5571 for the family?

Wesley: 1:05:19

Well, next for the family, we're going on a New Year's Eve cruise.

Nathan: 1:05:24

Ooh.

Wesley: 1:05:25

Excellent. On Harmony of the Seas. Oh. So that'll be it'll be my kids' first time on a Royal Caribbean ship. Uh so we're doing that with some of our extended family over New Year's. And then in February, we will be sailing on the Disney Fantasy for the first time. Oh, nice on a five-nighter, and it just goes to Nassau and Lookout Key.

Nathan: 1:05:50

Okay. Perfect. Perfect.

Wesley: 1:05:54

You want me to keep going? There's more. There's more. We're going to Alaska in in May.

Nathan: 1:06:00

Oh, wow.

Wesley: 1:06:01

On the on the Wonder.

Nathan: 1:06:03

Oh, very cool. Yes.

Alicea: 1:06:05

Have you done Alaska before?

Wesley: 1:06:07

No, it'll be our first time. So, like when our kids turn 12, we take them, me and my wife take them on a trip, just one kid.

Nathan: 1:06:15

Yeah.

Wesley: 1:06:15

Um, Preston wanted to go to New York, so we went to New York. Preston, I mean Oliver, who's turning 12 this February. Um he's maybe he's maybe has gotten wise to the situation. And so he's gonna, he wants to go to Alaska uh via cruise. That's awesome. Wow. Smart kid. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We'll see what the third one comes up with.

Nathan: 1:06:43

Awesome. Well, Wesley, thank you so, so much for joining us. It was a pleasure. You got a double episode on, your first time

Wesley: 1:06:51

that's fantastic.

Nathan: 1:06:53

Nice job. Yeah. Nice job. Awesome. Well, it was it was a pleasure getting to know you and uh can't wait to uh talk to you again.

Wesley: 1:07:01

Guys, I appreciate what you do and and for the invitation to come on and let me ramble on about this kind of stuff. Um, because I love to talk about it. And any anytime, anytime I'll I'll be happy to come on and and fill an hour of your time with with my amusements. We'll we'll take you on that. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much. Thanks, Wesley.

Alicea: 1:07:20

Please remember we are not affiliated with Disney or their subsidiaries. These are personal opinions and suggestions that are based on our own experiences and our guests' own experiences. We recommend working with a travel agent or contacting Disney directly to plan your own perfect vacation.

Nathan: 1:07:37

Indeed. And if you have any questions or suggestions for us or would like to be interviewed on our show to share your Disney experiences, please do send us an email at podcast at our mousecapades.com.

Alicea: 1:07:51

You can follow us on socials. We are at OurMouseCapades. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook threads, and YouTube.

Nathan: 1:07:58

And please do give us a rating and a review in your podcast app. That really helps people find us.

Alicea: 1:08:05

Of course, don't hesitate to share us with your friends and fellow Disney lovers of all ages.

Nathan: 1:08:10

Thanks for listening. We'll be in your ears next week. Thank you for flying Star Tours. Bye bye.