Welcome Back To D23 Fallout

Alicea 0:23

Hello everyone, I'm Alicea.

Scott 0:25

I'm Scott,

Nathan 0:26

and I'm Nathan.

Alicea 0:28

Welcome to episode 243 of Adventures and Mouse Capades. Once again, uh D23 has come and gone. Disney fans are still trying to process a weekend's worth of headlines, and our friend Scott Gustin has drawn the short straw of helping us make sense of it all. For the third year running, Scott joins us after spending the weekend on the front lines of Disney fandom, where announcements are flying, rumors are everywhere, and everyone is convinced that they know what Disney should do next. We'll break down the biggest news, the most surprising moments, and what it all actually means for Disney fans moving forward.

Nathan 1:04

So, Scott, welcome back. I feel like at this point you've become our official annual D23 detox specialist.

Scott 1:12

Yes. And and I've somewhat recovered from the weekend um yesterday. Oh, this evening. All right, maybe I haven't recovered. I was thinking yesterday was Monday. Uh so Monday was rough, but uh um yeah, I'm pretty much pretty much back to normal.

Nathan 1:29

Nice. Well, we are for posterity, we are recording this the Wednesday after uh D23, and uh the the dust is starting to settle, and uh sounds like you didn't get too much of a con crud this year. So that that sounds good. An opening question. We went back and listened to last year's conversation we had with you after D23, and one thing really stood out. Uh a lot of the projects you kept bringing up as things Disney needed to address actually got announcements this year. Carousel, Spaceship Earth, Figment, the Yeti. Do you feel like Disney is finally entering a maintenance and modernization

Fixing Legacy Rides Without Stalling Growth

Nathan 2:05

phase for some of these legacy attractions? Or is this kind of a one-off?

Scott 2:09

Yeah, I I think they're seeing the upside of it by testing the water a bit on Buzz and others recently, which have been well received.

Nathan 2:19

Yeah.

Scott 2:19

Um, and I think they for a long time, Imagineering and Florida especially didn't have the best relationship on project timelines and budgets. And I would say in the last, at least since COVID, but I think it goes a little bit before that, they've kind of figured out a good cadence with Walt Disney World leadership and the the projects that they want to get greenlit and work on work on creatively. And by delivering those projects in a timely manner, on budget, in a way that's actually well received by you know most of them, not all of them, by guests. They've kind of earned the trust to do this type of stuff where you know it's worth it to redo buzz when you probably could have just let let it just rot for another 10 years and they didn't have to spend the money on it. They were able to allocate you know not a whole lot to that and get a a much better attraction out of it.

Nathan 3:27

Yeah.

Scott 3:28

I think it's just helped prove out the business need for it and the upside for doing it now. Um we know there's as they they announced a few, but there's others too that will come in the future that they can do alongside opening up Monstropolis and Villains Land. Like we don't have to always have it be one or the other. Um but yeah, I I think they're I wouldn't say that this is like a in the in the tech world, sometimes things go into maintenance mode,

Nathan 4:01

yeah.

Scott 4:01

Where you know an app or a service launches and they're kind of like, all right, we're done like being creative on this. We're just gonna we're just gonna maintain it. Um they're not doing that. They've just found a way to do both where they don't have to pick, we're gonna build Galaxy's Edge, and all of our money has to go into that because it's gonna be so expensive, we can't do all of the other things that we want to do. I think they've figured out how to be able to do both and use those smaller updates and refurbs as the cadence of new offerings while you're waiting for the bigger, newer things to open.

Nathan 4:38

Right. And plus it's a pretty low bar to improve, you know, journey into imagination. Like it is.

Scott 4:46

I mean, and it's like I don't know, 15 years late. Um and I think some people uh their reactions to the announcements, they're kind of baking in that that thought, which is it's about time.

Nathan 5:02

Yeah,

Scott 5:03

um, but at least they're finally doing it. At least it was announced, and we have them on record for what we're getting. And some people don't want to give credit for that, and that's fine. I people can feel however they want about that, but directionally, it is a good sign to see that they're not just keeping their ears plugged on some of these things.

Nathan 5:26

Yeah.

Scott 5:27

Um, not all things. Uh they are keeping their ears plugged on others, um, but at least it seems we're heading in the direction where they're listening and know they're acknowledging, I guess, too. Like they were always hearing it. They're just acknowledging it now that yeah, we need to fix that.

Concrete Plans With Fuzzy Timelines

Alicea 5:44

Last time we talked after uh the D23 Expo, one of your big observations was that Disney seemed to have listened to the criticism from the 2022 blue sky era, and they came back with projects that felt much more concrete. After this year's D23, do you think Disney is still moving in that direction, or might they slip back towards concept first storytelling?

Scott 6:09

Um, I think they're still giving concrete details, you know, on on the announcements. I wish they were more specific on timelines. Um, but I don't I don't think I have a realistic expectation there. Like it's it I get both sides of it.

Nathan 6:24

Yeah.

Samantha 6:24

I don't want Disney to be constantly communicating and walking back and adjusting timelines. I think it the timeline, even if they're vague, it allows people to feel excited, more excited, or potentially less excited for something when they hear about it, if they know it's coming soon. Um versus you know, I mean, the the Figment example, we have no idea when when that project's gonna get prioritized.

Nathan 6:56

Right.

Scott 6:57

I I have heard that it it is going to happen sooner than people think, but uh we don't know that until they say it.

Nathan 7:05

Right.

Scott 7:06

Um and I I would prefer that them not say it than come out there and say, you know, we're doing we're gonna do it next year and then it get kicked down the road because as soon as that happens, people lose faith in it ever happening, like Avatar at Disneyland, right? Like people are just now thinking that ain't never gonna happen.

Nathan 7:25

Um right.

Scott 7:26

Even though I I I still think it is, but but I get why people would think that's never gonna happen. So I I wish there had been some more rough, a rough outline of the cadence of these things. Um, even just knowing is Figment happening before Yeti or vice versa, they're gonna have the same time. Yeah. Is this like uh a 2030 project? Is this a 2027 project? It it would be nice to know that, but I get why they don't say it.

Nathan 7:56

Sure. Sure. So

The Fandom First Message Disney Pushes

Nathan 8:00

if D23 is Disney's chance to tell fans and investors what the future looks like, what is the big story this year? What's the narrative that Disney was really trying to tell across the whole event?

Scott 8:14

I think Disney as a company has been since Josh D’amaro took over, um, really focused on like the fandom. Um, the fans being at the core of what they do, wanting to connect with fans, wanting to reach fans across the business, the One Disney approach that they are pushing very, very hard, all the corporate synergy crap that I don't like, but it it shows up in the earnings reports and shareholder meetings and everywhere else. Yeah, I think they wanted to um respect the guess that they had given general details about projects by following up and saying, here's more, here's more in villains land. We are we are doing this, we are working on it. It's not nothing's changed, as many people thought.

Nathan 9:09

Yeah.

Scott 9:09

Um they wanted to to follow up with those fans, but they also wanted to like show that they hear them, and that's why something that's not in the in the big picture announcing that you're fixing some anamatronic um that's needed fixing for 20 years is not like a big announcement, but the fact that they are doing it and doing it in that space where the fans that know what that is and want it, yeah, can appreciate it, um, I think just is an shows an uh awareness of not only listening to fans, but wanting to show them that they're listening, yeah, proving it out. Um so I I think that was kind of the overall. You know, you always want to put on a good show,

Nathan 9:58

yeah,

Scott 9:59

but um, you can put on a good show and then make a bunch of announcements that that go in the other direction. Like this is the first one where I feel like they wanted to put on a good show, and they also wanted announcements that kind of align with the fandom. And I would say 98% of what they said kind of fits into that bucket.

Nathan 10:19

Yeah, plus you had an excuse to get Gloria Gainer on, you know, to talk about fixing disco Yeti, like you were just alluding to. So that's important. That's a big deal.

Scott 10:27

Yeah, that was that was really funny. Um, and I would give credit to uh a friend who when we got to the Honda Center, he noticed the disco balls in the in the rafters because they had to be up there to lower. And and uh he's like, it sure looks like disco. He's like, is this disco yeti? Are we are we getting this? And he he called it just based on the decorations that were in the rafters. So

Nathan 10:54

that's awesome.

Scott 10:54

That's

What Disney Didn’t Say Out Loud

Scott 10:55

funny.

Alicea 10:55

You spend a lot of time paying attention, not just to what Disney says, but also what they choose not to say. Uh, what was the biggest omission this year?

Scott 11:06

Um, I didn't like how for tropical Americas they didn't give us, they didn't say 2027.

Alicea 11:13

Yeah.

Scott 11:14

Um so that was frustrating. I think it's because that land is gonna open in in phases potentially, and they just didn't want to kind of admit that what they said previously, which is the whole land would open in 27, that that might not happen. Maybe it still will, but they're less sure of it and they wanna don't didn't want to double down on something that they're not as confident in right now.

Nathan 11:39

Yeah.

Scott 11:40

Um so I that uh space there that leaves people unsure about it, like that I felt like that was an omission. Um as far as like things they announced, um I think that was the biggest one. I mean, I I didn't like that they announced Spaceship Earth again. Um that was something that I had kind of said before, and I still feel like you don't announce something twice. And they did. That's what they did with Spaceship Earth. It's yeah, seemingly because they were so vague, the same type of I don't think it's the same exact same vision for the reefer, but it's basically the same type of update. And this is the second time they've announced it. It were me deciding what to say, I would say, guys, we can't do this again. We can't. This is like the um Charlie Brown football, right? Like how many, I don't know how many times we have to do it, and it's not something as it was presented, I don't think it's something that's like getting people super excited. Right. I think they want Spaceship Earth to get the love, right? But without the vision, and the vision was provided last time. That one I I didn't didn't really, really love.

Nathan 12:57

I wonder if they backed themselves into that one because if they were going to mention the Figment update, if they were gonna fix the Yeti and some of this other stuff, that if they didn't also say, Oh, by the way, we're gonna fix the ball too, like it would leave people with like a more bitter aftertaste in you know social media and everything else of people going like, you said you were gonna fix this other thing too. Where's that? So I wonder if it was not intentional, but they just had to.

Scott 13:28

Yeah. Um I would say, but I'm not sure about like omissions. I mean, there were things I thought that um I think the fans were convinced that they were gonna talk about uh a Space Mountain update in Magic Kingdom because there's been a lot of rumors about that. Um I never based on the rumors that have been going around, I didn't think it made a ton of sense because it does sound like, at least right now, they're significantly changing that attraction. And no matter how badly that track needs to be updated and smoothed out,

Nathan 14:07

yes,

Scott 14:08

um, I do think completely changing the experience, which is what what some of the rumors are suggesting, there's gonna be people that are upset that the original, you know, dual track Space Mountain might be going away.

Nathan 14:21

Yeah.

Scott 14:22

Um, and I don't think they ever in these things want to talk about anything that's gonna split the fandom. So that one was not a surprising omission. I think it was surprising for some other people that were expecting it.

Nathan 14:36

I wonder if they're waiting to see how you know Tokyo and Paris do and how the reception is on that once they execute those projects, and maybe that'll influence what they do in Florida.

Scott 14:47

Yeah, I mean, the the the Tokyo one I think people are excited about because um I mean there's there's not as much history, obviously, there with that space, but um it was a very ambitious, you know, project that they're taking on there.

Nathan 15:05

Um and I should say this is they are they are basically rebuilding, replacing the Tokyo Space Mountain, and they are bringing back the original theme of the the Paris Space Mountain and going away from Hyperspace Mountain. Sorry, not everybody uh that listens is in my brain and knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Scott 15:24

Yeah, and and the um the look of the Paris, you know, going back to the original. I love the the artwork and the vision on that. But yeah, I think there were some that were surprised that there was no Walt Disney World Space Mountain mentioned in it in that. I mean, include I mean, many people that were walking the pavilion before Saturday night were fully expecting, based on the the section of the pavilion that had Space Mountain featured, that there would be something about Magic Kingdom being mentioned there, but it wasn't. And yeah, I mean, I think we'll we'll learn more about that soon, but I don't know how soon, based on what what the project's gonna look like. Yeah.

Tomorrowland Stakes And Space Mountain Silence

Nathan 16:06

Five years from now, what announcement from this D23 do you think will look back and and be like the big thing from the the day, you know, that was actually the biggest thing they announced, uh, even if people aren't talking about it much right now?

Scott 16:22

Uh I would say tomorrowland at Disneyland. I I think people are talking about it, but I do think that it's the um I think it's the biggest directional announcement for parks is for them to to take on Tomorrowland when it's at Disneyland when when it's needed it. And I don't think it's just Tomorrowland at Disneyland, like I think Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom um needs some more attention. And even though they're not probably ready to talk about it now, I think Tomorrowland at Disneyland is gonna be more of an overhaul where Magic Kingdom I think they're gonna continue updating things in that land kind of in phases. Um so I think five years from now we'll look back. Hopefully, Tomorrowland at Disneyland will be done or close to done by then. But just know like all these smaller things, you know, at that point the Yeti may be broken again, who knows? Um, but I think that uh that Tomorrowland is a commitment, especially at Disneyland, over multiple years of getting that updated and right. And they somehow find a way to bring back People Mover at Disneyland, and we'll definitely look back and say that was the day. That was the day that it started.

Villains Land And The Universal Effect

Alicea 17:43

A couple of years ago it felt like Disney was explaining their future plans, and now it kind of feels like Disney and Universal are actively competing for attention in a way that we really haven't seen for a while. Did anything announced this year feel like a direct response to the broader industry landscape?

Scott 18:03

Um, I I think I would say the approach to villains land in general, I think, was encouraged by the success of Dark Universe at Epic. Um, I don't think they are trying to replicate or compete, but I do think it gave them the confidence in that direction that they wanted to go. I don't think this idea, the Epic universe and the portal idea was I never thought it was gonna like transform how theme parks are gonna work everywhere because it's just not I think it works really well for Universal, but there are definitely things that you can pluck from those experiences. I think the the coaster in Villains Land, the direction that they locked in for that was influenced by the success of the How to Train Your Dragon coaster at Epic Universe, if you guys have ridden that.

Nathan 19:02

Yeah,

Alicea 19:02

yeah.

Scott 19:02

You don't have to have and I mean Disney's done it too. I mean, Everest is a good example uh of a thrilling coaster that doesn't have to be rock and roller coaster.

Nathan 19:14

Yep.

Scott 19:14

And it's just as fun for small kids as it is big. Yeah. And I I think that's probably more of the it's not really a shift, but just kind of doubling down on parts of of what we've seen from Epic. I hope Disney's not trying to copy anything from Texas because that universal Texas, uh, we don't need anything from there. No, I don't think. No.

Alicea 19:41

That's geared toward much smaller children, though, isn't it?

Scott 19:44

It is.

Alicea 19:45

Okay.

Scott 19:45

Much, much, much smaller. And much smaller budgets.

Alicea 19:48

Yeah.

Scott 19:49

Uh from a parks perspective, but not necessarily ticket prices. Somehow there. But you know, I I think the the the overall shift of focusing in on IP, that's not going anywhere. Right. Like that's that's just gonna stick around. And then hoping that we continue to have creatives who are given this directive from an executive that's something in the the way of when they walked in and said, guys, we need guardians of the galaxy at epcot.

Nathan 20:20

Yeah,

Scott 20:21

have fun figuring that one out. And then they are actually able to create an experience that is one of the most popular at the parks.

Nathan 20:29

Yeah.

Scott 20:30

I think we're gonna have the same thing with cars in Frontierland. I do. I mean, I think everyone that saw the model in person, everyone that I was listening to as they kind of walked up, were way more impressed than they thought they would be. Doesn't mean they're on board with it. Doesn't mean they're happy Rivers of America's going away. Doesn't mean that if given the choice that they would have said, yeah, let's put cars in Magic Kingdom. But man, I I think they did about as good of a job as you could ever hope if forced to do this project.

Nathan 21:03

Yeah. I am excited to walk through that land when it opens. Uh I love Carsland in California because just the the immersiveness in this other environment. And from what we've seen online, uh, I forget the website, but they posted like 75 high-res pictures from like all around the this big, I don't know, it's like a 15-foot square model of the space. Uh, just the level of detail is stunning, and I can't wait to be there.

Cars Replacing Rivers Of America

Alicea 21:37

So, Scott, what are your thoughts on that? Because I know you were not um super excited about it.

Scott 21:43

No, no, no, because from the beginning, let's let's rewind on how that reveal went. This has been one of my harshest criticisms of the parks in the last couple of years. Because two years at D23, they showed the concept art of Cars at Magic Kingdom and that concept art when you look back could have been anywhere. It could have been it could have replaced Tomorrowland Speedway. And you go back and look at it, you're like, I don't know, where are we? What is this?

Nathan 22:12

Yeah.

Scott 22:13

And then uh last time, I did the same thing this year. I took the I took a red eye on Sunday, flew home, landed two years ago Monday, got home, 8 a.m. and then 9 a.m. they dropped the new Frontierland map, which showed cars replacing Rivers of America. Um and that original concept art was not doing the project any favors either. Yeah. Um, but I know that they were still trying to figure out what it was going to be, but to to get the buy-in to replace Rivers of America, they kind of had to work faster on getting the message out than they normally would. But I think my my main take at the time was like if you're going to make a decision like that, it needs to be worth it. It better be worth it. And if it's not, then what are we doing? And they've done about as good of a job as you could imagine with the project.

Nathan 23:11

Yeah.

Scott 23:11

Some people are never going to be fans of that being in the park in that part of the uh of Magic Kingdom. But if they execute on what you can see in that model, all of the detail, all of I mean, there's so much. I I think the the website you're referencing, it's either Disney Tourist blog or maybe it's blog Mickey, but there's there's so many photos and so many like tiny details on the the model. Like there's a cave, like a hidden cave on the mountain where there's a bear car inside the cave. Like the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Nathan 23:50

Yeah.

Scott 23:50

If they if they really execute on that, which I think they will, it's gonna be an iconic land for years for families. I think the attraction is gonna be fun, like it's not gonna be thrilling, but it's gonna be fun. I'm not sure I'm convinced on the second attraction uh being worth the time because I've seen what it looks like in Paris. It's uh the Paris version of that attraction. It's not as fun as aliens swirlling saucers or toe-maters.

Nathan 24:20

Yeah.

Scott 24:21

But I think it's it's still good for smaller kids. And I I will take it over them uh cutting the attraction completely and only having one. So it's fine. But I'm much more, and I have been over the last year since they've given us more details, more optimistic on the project. And when you see the model, and then you go to Disney uh California Adventure and you go to Grizzly River Run, that attraction and the water around it, it is very similar. It is very similar with with things they're trying to the nature they're trying to create and the feeling, the ambiance around the that national Piston Peak National Park. Yeah. Um, they're really leaning into that. And I think fans are gonna love it.

Nathan 25:06

Well, that's great because one of my favorite things to do is just walk on that back path on the backside of of Grizzly River Run. Like that is a fantastic, just chill out spot uh in that park.

Scott 25:17

And if you look, if you look at the park model, they're they've essentially recreated that uh in front of Tiana's. There's a giant waterfall right at the Tiana's bridge.

Nathan 25:27

Okay.

Scott 25:27

And it's just like that waterfall that you have at Grizzly on the back walk boardwalk. So yeah.

Nathan 25:34

Fantastic.

What Feels Locked Versus Still Fluid

Nathan 25:35

Well, let's put everything on the Scott Gustin confidence scale. Which project are you most confident will arrive exactly as presented? And which project do you think still has the most room to evolve before opening day?

Scott 25:51

Um I think, I mean, I I I I think cars is is pretty close to locked. I think the villains uh land, I think the you know the attractions are locked.

Nathan 26:04

Yeah.

Scott 26:04

What exactly that magic mirror dark ride looks like could evolve, but I think is fairly locked. I'm pretty excited about what they told us about Indy. And I do think that that also is further along than people realize. Um, so I think that one is is pretty set, but I think we still have a lot more to learn on that one. Um yeah, I mean, I feel like the ones that we got details on are fairly locked.

Nathan 26:28

Right.

Scott 26:28

The ones that are gonna evolve are the ones that they they were intentionally vague talking about um Tomorrowland. And I think that I think I I guess tomorrowland would probably be the one um because they they were choosing their words very carefully. And I think that's a project that wasn't greenlit that long ago, where they finally decided that they were gonna prioritize it at that resort. So I think that's the one that even what they're thinking now for the land could change before the next expo. Yeah.

Avatar Delays Zootopia Pressure Monstropolis Dreams

Alicea 26:58

You kind of alluded to this before. Um it didn't get much fanfare this D23 after the announcement two years ago. Imagineering did show some more design concepts for the avatar-based attraction in California, uh, but now they are pivoting to prioritize tomorrow land updates first, and we are all for that. What do you think the chances are that the avatar attraction still lands? There's an awfully big pull throughout the fandom for Zootopia to be represented domestically, and they don't have to license that IP.

Scott 27:31

Yeah, I mean, I I think the the avatar, if you look at kind of the timing of when we're expecting the next Avatar film to come out, it does seem that at least for now, they're wanting to shift the land to more closely align with when that movie could come out. Those dates, and I I don't the date that it's even, I think it's positioned for I want to say 29 or 30. Oh, okay. I mean, even that date, it could be a little bit further up. That date is penciled in with these films. But I do think it's it's possible that part of kicking the can down the road a little bit is to make sure that um those films are moving forward and they're gonna move forward at the timing that would be expected. I love I like the Avatar movies, I love Pandora in Animal Kingdom, but I don't want them prioritizing a land for um franchise that might not continue beyond the trilogy. So I I don't really blame them for for doing it, and I like Tomorrowland being the priority over Avatar. Yeah. What doesn't really make sense is what they've developed for Avatar, I think is really, really good. I think the attraction is maybe one of the best from what I've heard. One of could be one of like the best attractions in the same way Flight of Passage is that they've developed, and I know they've spent a lot of money on it developing it. I can't imagine that it just stays on the shelf. I don't think Zootopia really makes sense for DCA in that space. I don't, I don't really think it makes a whole lot of sense.

Nathan 29:10

Yeah.

Scott 29:11

I think Zootopia needs some representation for sure. We're getting a three. Obviously, two do extremely well. There's a ton of international interest in that film, and they want international guests to come to the domestic parks as much as they wanted to go to their respective international parks. So it needs it beyond Zoogether. Um so

Nathan 29:38

come on, that was the perfect replacement for it's a bug life at the Tree of Life.

Scott 29:45

I went there, saw it for the first time in June, and took family that don't go to the parks a lot. Some first time going to the parks. And a family member looked at me during that show like two or three minutes in, and was just like, what is happening right now? It is the most chaotic. I don't even know. I the the loose story that that they try to thread is it's something.

Nathan 30:13

It is something.

Scott 30:14

Um so to to me, I can't imagine Avatar not happening ever. Um if they decide that Zootopia makes more sense for uh the international visitors that do come to Disneyland and just domestic that are fans of the franchise to put that at DCA, uh, they could very easily take that avatar uh attraction and put on the expansion pad Pandora. Um I just don't I just don't think that such a detailed model, yeah, an updated model that people are still actively working on the project.

Nathan 30:52

Got it.

Scott 30:53

It's gonna feel like a huge waste of time if they don't do it. I think it's okay to prioritize and and shift things around, but if they just completely cancel the plan, this this will be this is not the main street theater, this is not Play Pavilion. I don't think Disney either wants to signal that they're moving on from the IP or the franchise either.

Nathan 31:16

Yeah.

Scott 31:16

So I think it's a delicate thing to communicate, even delaying it or deprioritizing it. But good news for Monsters Inc. Monsters Inc. fans that want to continue riding that ride at DCA because it's gonna stick around for a long time. Who knows? Maybe we get Monstropolis at DCA. They do it at Hollywood Studios and someone says we could do another version of Monstropolis at DCA. We keep the ride we got, you build a second one uh or a show or something in that corner, you build Monstropolis is a big city, you build another part of Monstropolis at DCA, yeah. And then it's not a clone, it's just so could always see them doing that.

Nathan 32:00

Would the doors coaster fit in the footprint of the Hyperion theater that they don't really use anymore?

Scott 32:06

I don't that door coaster is only going to be in one place, I think. Yeah, but they could easily come up with, you know, some other type of attraction.

Nathan 32:14

Sure.

Scott 32:15

Um, I do think the the the show that's coming to Monstropolis, from what I've heard, is going to be extremely unique. Using some technology that has not been used in a theme park. It's still going to be a show, so it only goes so far. But in the same way Muppet Vision 3D was brand new for guests to experience. This the tech in this is going to be unique. So they may want to do that again. You know, like that, that they could take that to DCA too.

Nathan 32:48

That's cool.

Scott 32:49

I wouldn't say I want them to do that, but I can see them doing it.

Nathan 32:52

Well, and we also have to remember they have this whole Disneyland Forward project that we really didn't hear much about this time around because they're still working on a bunch of infrastructure and parking decks and things around it. So like there is room on the books for them to put other big lands. It may not just be where we're thinking. I mean, who knows? Maybe we get Monstropolis and Zootopia, you know, and the Avatar uh uh land and that huge attraction. Maybe that all still happens side by side uh with with all the new space that they're pulling out of a hat there in Anaheim. So we'll just have to see.

Scott 33:30

Yeah, I I think the the parking structure is part of Disneyland foreward, but yeah, I mean the the view the vision they have is multi-decade. And there's no park that hates to talk about future more than Disneyland because so much of their their so many of their guests are local and they need people coming next month they don't want to talk about two years from now.

Nathan 33:54

Got it.

Scott 33:55

Yeah. Uh and the the tomorrowland thing being announced is a directional thing, and because I think it's they haven't said this, but I think it's gonna happen in in phases where they're not gonna close the land. You're gonna have Autopia close, and then you're gonna have other sections of Tomorrowland close as they work their way through doing all of the things.

Nathan 34:16

Yep.

Scott 34:16

But yeah, they they don't want to talk about 20 years from now. And I I don't I think very soon we could see Disneyland Forward as a terminology just dropped because they got it approved. They can do what they want to do based on the plan they put out, and then from now on it's just projects, right? And not really this grand massive takeover of Anaheim that that is part of Disneyland Forward. It's gonna just be they're gonna grow as it makes sense, right? Um, but yeah, we can end up getting all those Avatar, Monsteropolis, Zootopia, everything.

How Fans Read Dates And Omissions

Alicea 34:54

Are Disney fans getting better at understanding how long these projects take, or are we still expecting answers to questions that Disney realistically can't answer yet?

Scott 35:05

Um I think we're able to most of the die hard fans are able to read between the lines. Like, no timeline and no date means I shouldn't be that excited. Um you know, hearing a year means all right, we're gonna get, you know, a little more specificity in maybe three months, and then uh three months after that, we might get season, and then we might get date three months after that.

Nathan 35:27

Yeah.

Scott 35:27

Um they as much as I said that for Disneyland, not wanting to talk that, you know, that far ahead, Walt Disney World also has kind of a a baked in, you know, we don't want to give people the reason to to delay or postpone a trip.

Nathan 35:42

Sure.

Scott 35:43

So we don't want to be talking about everything happening in the future. But I think most fans have kind of figured out if they're not giving us a year, then I can check back on this later. You know, I don't need everything right now. Right. They gave us a year and then they took it away. Why? What does that mean? Right. Um, so I think they're fair. I mean, I think we all were okay until the blue sky presentation. And then that kind of broke our brains at the where even the omission of a project in a discussion has to mean something. And Disney knows that now because they've dealt with the consequences of that discussion that they had, where they even if they don't want to talk about something, they have to acknowledge it, or people will think it's canceled.

Nathan 36:30

Yeah.

Scott 36:30

Um, they barely talked about Abu Dhabi all weekend, but it had a place in the pavilion and it was just a screen on a wall because they knew if they didn't do that, people are gonna be like, oh, they're not doing it now.

Nathan 36:44

Yeah.

Scott 36:45

Um, no one was over in that part of the pavilion. Uh and I do think, I think there is gonna be some new concept art for Abu Dhabi coming out to um tomorrow from the moment we're recording in the the new dot the world builders documentary. Yeah, there's some new concept art. It's kind of in the background, but I think it'll be uh an another peek into what that project is for people that care about it. Got it. Um, you know, they knew that they have to have it, you gotta acknowledge it. And if you don't, yeah, people are gonna be like, uh-oh. Yeah, uh-oh. What happened?

Disney Cruise Line Reality Check

Nathan 37:23

Well, speaking of some of the uh-ohs, now we we love our Disney Cruise Line fan community, and there was a lot of disappointment on those shores after the Parks and Experiences panel on Saturday. Were you surprised with how little DCL news we got this year? Or is this more of the same? Like, hey, we've laid out our plans and it's just, you know, we don't build ships overnight.

Scott 37:47

You can't announce four new ships every two years.

Alicea 37:51

Why not?

Scott 37:54

Unless you're Royal Caribbean. Like you can't, and Disney's not, Disney's trying to do that. Uh, but you can't, the numbers don't add up to announce four new ships every two years.

Nathan 38:05

Right.

Scott 38:05

Um, if we get to a two-ship a year cadence like Royal, maybe they start doing that. Um the big thing I don't think people thought enough about, especially for cruise line, is the fast doubling of the number of ships that they have, doubling the number of ships they have to fill. They're very much focused on filling those ships right now.

Nathan 38:26

Yes.

Scott 38:27

Getting those ships in the in the ports and itineraries that make sense for getting those ships booked out. We've all seen they're they're running discounts more than Disney Cruise Line ever has.

Nathan 38:38

Yep.

Scott 38:39

A lot of that's the economy, but all of it, a lot of it is they have double the number of rooms to fill. Right. Um I love Cruise Line with all my heart, but they didn't have to think very hard to fill the ships when they only had four. Right. Um, and two of them were always at Port the do the Dream of the Fantasy were always at Port Canaveral running three, four, and sevens. Those cruises book themselves.

Nathan 39:03

Yeah.

Scott 39:03

That's not where we are anymore. You know, people want to go on the new ships, and then so those are in certain places, those have to be at Port Canaveral, where most of the guests come in there. Um, and then you got to put the other ships elsewhere, and then those prices get discounted to the point where people are like, uh, maybe we'll drive or fly to Fort Lauderdale. People are actually having to make considerations where for a long time it was kind of like, nope, this is the cost of doing business. If you want to if you want to cruise with Disney, you just gotta pay whatever they want over the summer to get on the fantasy. So for them to come out and make some massive announcements never really made sense. Um, and they've already committed to revealing the believe in October. So they could only say so much about that because you know, they still have promised to reveal it in October. So you knew you were only going to get a little bit on that.

Nathan 39:55

Do you think they pushed that off because they were running out of time at D23?

Scott 39:59

Pushed off revealing the believe?

Nathan 40:01

Yeah. No, it's it's all timing. It's all timing. Like the they don't want to reveal the believe right now because they're still trying to sell the current the ships that they got. You know, I think strategically, uh, October is uh a year from when the ship's gonna come out. That's kind of what they've decided is what actually makes sense for revealing it. Because it's gonna open up for booking, like that. That's what they as a business decided to do. D23 just happened to fall in August. So I think they decide we're gonna reveal then, and then the way the company works is D23 is like, well, we need you to give us some stuff to talk about. We need to talk about something here, because if we don't, then it it feels like an omission. Right. But you know, they don't they talked about the new ship class, they showed that that teaser video for more.

Alicea 40:54

Yeah, I was really hoping for more on that.

Scott 40:56

I was too, uh, a hundred percent. It's the thing I'm most curious about. I'm I'm definitely interested to see what they do with the believe, but I know that ship front to back. Right. Uh it's kind of just a sign swap with a lot of the venues. I do think they're gonna do a couple different things with the believe that will be interesting. It's not just uh a re-theme of the sweet shop. But I wanted more on the the new ship class, but I also was willing to acknowledge it doesn't make any sense to do a big talk about it because it got a lot of time and they still need to reveal the believe before they give people a reason to say, nah, we're just gonna wait for that because that looks good. That

New Ship Class Clues And That Notch

Scott 41:40

looks cool.

Nathan 41:40

Yeah. What's your theory on the notch and what they did show of the new Meridian class or what everybody's calling the Meridian class? You know, there is this clearly there's a promenade deck around deck four that goes around the ship, but then there's this big hunk of windows uh that look like Floor to ceiling windows on deck three. Kind of, I guess that would be the the the main lobby, the main atrium right there that would go out to the side with windows. Thoughts?

Scott 42:08

I think they heard feedback on especially the wish that the the atrium can be a bit dark, you know, and I think that that is going to be a wow moment to have all of that light in that atrium. I don't I don't think it's the case, but it does make me wonder also, like we didn't see anything from above the ship looking down, but I do wonder if they don't try to create something similar to the adventure that it has the open air.

Alicea 42:41

Um they have room?

Scott 42:44

That's the thing. When it's such a small ship, it's really hard to have room to do that unless you're giving up a bunch of real estate.

Nathan 42:51

Maybe on the bow.

Scott 42:53

Yeah, maybe so. Maybe. Yeah. But I I think the the glass is just the the atrium. But definitely super intrigued by that. Yeah. There's also one other fun thing that no one has talked about that I noticed only in the video that they showed in the Honda Center and the one that's on Disney Plus. But if you watch that one, because all the social videos crop it, uh the full width video, at the end of it, if you watch the left side of the screen, there is land that as the ship in the last two seconds, the land that is there, which is just green trees, it's like a time lapse, and it shows suddenly like a resort. Trees and and a beach in the left side. And it literally transitions in the way that all of the other anime animation in the beginning of the video were where the blueprints were jumping from like one version to the next version to the next version. So Go watch that. And when I saw it, I was like, hang on a second. They uh are they dropping a little hint here that they're is this a hint? Is this matter? Or is it just how the computer viz program that they used to output this video? It's like a video game when you zoom in and zoom out and things, you know, or just trees, and then you zoom in and suddenly you can see that there's a resort there. Um, but that definitely caught my eye when I watched it, and I was like, hang on a minute.

Nathan 44:32

All right. Scott Gustin calls Lookout Key phase two includes a resort.

Scott 44:38

Um I mean, now you're gonna go watch it, you're gonna be like, okay, I get it. I see, I see it. Um, but I I think it's the latter. I think it's just the the computer program in the way that it but it but it is distracting once you notice it, it's distracting so much that you're kind of like, dang, that that wasn't supposed to be there. How did someone not notice this?

Samantha 44:59

I made Nathan and Alicea stand uncomfortably close to their home theater and watch the D23 video. Those were definitely just trees and not a resort. But nice try, Scott. Love the wishful thinking.

Scott 45:09

The the cruise line segment for cruise line fans was not satisfying, and for non-cruise line fans, it felt like a waste of time. Uh, was the feedback that I got. I was somewhere in the middle. Like I wanted more, but I get why they weren't doing it. Uh, it certainly didn't feel like a waste of time because it is such an important part of the experience's business that you gotta talk about cruise. I was kind of hoping that they would use it for committing, just saying something like, I mean, they said they're gonna double the number of cruises from the West Coast. Yeah. I feel like they should have used it to just say, like, we're gonna home port a cruise ship in San Diego year-round. Something for that audience made a lot more sense. But that was my

Expectations Rumors And The Next Debates

Scott 45:55

only disappointment. Was that

Alicea 45:58

well after everything revealed at D23, what is the biggest narrative that Disney fans are getting wrong this week?

Scott 46:05

I think um, I mean it's all a ridiculous take right after it was over on Twitter, which is our favorite place for bad takes. But it was someone just kind of saying, like, I guess I guess Disney's just gonna give fans whatever they want now, you know. And it's gonna what are we doing, y'all? What what has happened? I I think the the problem with the last expo is there were a lot of big picture reveals and lands. I feel like Disney did a lot to try to manage expectations for this one. Like you can't do that every two years, or you'll never build anything. Right. If you were announcing that type of stuff every two years. Yeah. At some point you gotta work on the things that you've announced. And I I think that that obviously is what what they did. And I I guess there were some that were still expecting these sneaky surprise announcements, which they got just without specifics.

Nathan 47:07

Right.

Scott 47:08

And I I mean it's not I don't I don't think it's fair to ever say that it's anyone getting it wrong. Like, I don't my take is not right, your take is not right or wrong. But I do think it's maybe just being understanding of what happened last time. You know, when you decide to, you know, redo your house or whatever project you have in your in your life, like it starts really fast and you make a bunch of decisions in the beginning. Yeah, then you gotta like call the plumber, you gotta do all this like really like not exciting stuff to get to the fun part, which is having your kitchen remodel or whatever it is. Right. That was a little bit of what this time was. And I I would have loved to have more on the bigger reveals uh where it felt more real. Like I said I was kind of saying earlier, like if it was we're gonna fix the Yeti this year or something, yeah. I I know that fans would be more excited if they knew things were more confirmed in a way that they were willing to put a date on it.

Nathan 48:15

Got it. Yeah.

Scott 48:16

But I get why they're not. Yeah. So I wouldn't say I wouldn't say anyone's getting that wrong. It's just um maybe not realistic to have all that the expectations for all of that all come true. Right. Um, I I read some predictions people had and they were not reading the tea leaves on lowered expectations. Like uh like just just you know the idea that Disney would be saying that, lowering lowering expectations for this in every way that they could without saying please lower expectations. But then to see people that were predicting a third gate announcement for Disneyland, it's like are we on the same planet? Um expectations are everything. If you go in with those, you're gonna be disappointed. Yes. Um so I wouldn't say they're getting it wrong, but it maybe just not being realistic. Yeah. Is probably the best way to say it.

Nathan 49:12

They announced something like $60 billion worth of spend over a decade two years ago. And it's like you you don't spend $60 billion overnight. Like it actually does take a lot of effort and a lot of time to spend that much money on capital stuff like cruise ships and parks and rides and all the rest of that stuff. So yeah, I think this was this was kind of in line with my expectations. We are seeing, we are seeing stuff happen. We're starting to see um some uh positive movement towards, hey, we're not just gonna build new stuff, we're actually going to fix up some of the things that we know have needed some attention for a long time. And that's all good. Uh, and I think it was maybe last year when we were talking, you know, there will be probably come two years from now, maybe a little next year, but definitely two years from now, we'll have some of these things more concretely landing, if not, you know, close to open. And there will be a chance to start talking about, you know, phase two or three or however you want to count phases of what that next iteration of all these big things will happen. I think we've got lots of great stuff to look forward to in the future.

Scott 50:25

Yeah.

Nathan 50:26

Well, last time you were on, you predicted we'd be talking about things like Figment, Tomorrowland, and major Disneyland expansion plans. You nailed two out of the three, and clearly, you know, as we talked about they're working on things around Disneyland Forward and all sorts of other stuff in Anaheim. Looking ahead, what are we all going to be spending the next 12 months arguing about?

Scott 50:49

First of all, I don't remember predicting that. I'm pretty proud of myself.

Nathan 50:55

Uh we're keeping score, Scott. We're keeping score.

Scott 50:58

That's great. I mean, please keep score when I get it right. And then if I don't, just just forget it. Um, what are we gonna spend the next 12 months talking about? I mean, I think for Disneyland, it's gonna be seeing the trickle of progress for Tomorrowland, which I think you know is gonna start with Autopia. They announced new attractions coming there. I I do wonder if that means we say goodbye to anything. I think maybe that is something that we'll find out maybe over the next year, or it could be a um Disney's not saying it, but we're hearing rumblings type of um of news. But uh, I think we're gonna hear a lot of good things about the I ndy ride and Enc anto, but especially like the Indy ride, I think is going to be uh a surprise, very popular update. Um, I think what they decided to do with that story is fun, it's super fun. And um, I think we're gonna start learning a lot more and getting excited for that. I think we're probably gonna hear that that's a phased opening similar to Monstropolis, and maybe get some type of way to lock that in. Um and then I I hope that we're I I not getting a timeline for Coco for Disneyland was also frustrating. Um not knowing like when when that when that's gonna happen. I'm assuming it's 28, but I don't I don't know.

Alicea 52:28

Um tie in with the new movie?

Scott 52:31

Yeah, maybe so. It was shocking to hear that Avengers is not until 2028. I think a lot of people thought that we were gonna see that opening in 2027. Yeah. But yeah, I think I think it's over the next year it's gonna be people wanting to know, all right, when is Figment starting? What are we doing? When is that happening? I genuinely have no clue on that. Same for whatever's gonna happen with the Yeti. I can't can't imagine them doing the Yeti without it requiring some significant downtime.

Nathan 52:59

Oh yeah.

Scott 52:59

I don't think it's as extreme as everyone talks about having to cut the mountain out off to cut the top off the mountain or bulldoze it to the ground to remove that yeti. That's not what's happening. But they still are gonna have to close it for a significant amount of time. Yeah. And it does feel like you don't do that until you at least have Indy open in in tropical. So maybe part of the phased opening for that is gonna be getting indie open while they finish Enc anto. Yeah. And then maybe maybe even waiting for the whole land to open before you close, um, close Everest. So I think well, I think everyone's gonna be trying to figure out how the slots work out.

Nathan 53:40

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think their ability to to finally do the Yeti is honestly all about material science, and that if you know, you don't you have a lot more lightweight and high strength uh materials that you can work with these days in terms of and you don't need to have you know millions of tons, it's not that much, of steel to do that stuff. And so, you know, with with the 20 plus year old tech, yeah, you would have needed to do more open heart surgery on that mountain. But I think uh they can do something really spectacular with modern animatronics that are a lot more lightweight uh and and really deliver the original vision uh in something that's not gonna be as structurally impactful uh on that on that ride. So I'm I'm thankful that, you know, just like all good things, you know, it the the idea didn't die. It just was on the shelf for a while, and now uh technology's catching up and we're gonna get some good stuff out of it.

Scott 54:44

What's funny is I did share some updates um that Disney didn't really put in clear terms about, you know, it will be the same. They're updating this the animatronic, not putting in a new animatronic. Um, but when I looked at the concept art, it looked like a new, it looks like a new Yeti. Yeah. Completely, you know, for those of us that did see it when it worked, which I saw it once, yeah, um, or have seen a special in Discovery that shows it, or you have seen one of the creepy photos that people got of it in the cave. It looks completely different in that concept art. It also kind of looks like a different location. Um, because the on the ride you go under the yeti. Right. And the art shows it off to the side. Um, almost looks like the art is like an interpretation of part of the ride where you're in the cave. Uh-huh. You back up, and then there's the shadow projection up on the wall. It kind of looks like that's the scene that's in the concept art. So that was my first thing when I saw it. Yeah. And being wrong on that, being able to ask someone who knows and be like, I think these two things based on the art, that's why I was able to clarify that it's not that those things. So being wrong paid off. Um, having the wrong interpretation on it paid off for them to say, no, it's the same, it is the same animatronic. We are reanimating it and it's in the same location as the that you have now. Um, which they didn't really make clear in the reveal in the parks panel kind of made clear on the blog, but the the wording is always this is something, this is feedback that I give, I'll give to any company. This but Disney in this case, where when you know what you're talking about, you don't think how important word choice is. Yeah. You know, like if I'm if I know my business sells hamburgers, then I can get real creative with my thesaurus and talk about all these fun words to describe the delicious, tasty, uh hand-pattied deliciousness. Right. But then someone's like, What do you sell? Like, well, oh, hamburgers. You forgot to put hamburgers in there. Um, they do that sometimes. It's like they know what they're talking about, right? But then they don't actually just say it plainly. Uh and I think that was kind of the issue with a couple of the announcements, is it's uh even the Figment one. Like there was some folks that thought the the way it was announced that Disney was just saying they're gonna put like a dreamfinder meet and greet with Figment, you know? And it's kind of like, no, no, no, no, that's that's not what they said. Um but then you yeah, it's an immigrant, you have to go back and kind of piece together all the words to figure out right what it is that's being announced. But they don't think about that because they know what they're doing, right? And then it's just like, oh, we gotta find a fun way to say it.

Nathan 57:43

Right. Um and meanwhile, everybody's brain is melting and they're only hearing half of the words that actually come out anyway. So I know, yeah.

Scott 57:51

I mean, you have Glenn Close, lover, right, accidentally saying she's getting a ride when uh in the I could see the prompter from my seat. In the in the prompter, it said land. She just said ride. Like the joke was supposed to be it's my land. And she said, It's my ride. But then people were like, Oh, third ride, third ride. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. That was a an immediate cleanup job when she uh when she said that. There were people say, nope, that that's not that is not that that is completely made up.

Nathan 58:26

Yeah.

Scott 58:27

Um, but you know, it that part of it is kind of it is kind of fun to have that. But I as someone who also watching that show who uses all of the musical performances as the time to like catch up on what was announced and to cross-reference what they put in in the parks blog with what I heard live and what you know, um, I do try to enjoy some of it. And right I did get a good laugh out of that one because I could see what was on the prompter, but I knew that she had not said what she was supposed to say.

Nathan 59:01

That's

Rapid Fire Picks And Personal Hype

Nathan 59:02

funny.

Alicea 59:02

Well, I have a couple rapid fire questions for you. So top of mind, quick answers.

Scott 59:09

Sure. Biggest announcement that we'll get before the next D23? Um, probably Space Mountain. Okay. At uh Disney World. Whatever, whatever the plan is there. Yeah. I'm not sure, but I would say that.

Alicea 59:22

Most overanalyzed announcement from this D23.

Scott 59:27

Probably Yeti. Given that I've got it all wrong in my brain when I first heard of it. Um I don't know. I'm not sure. I mean, I think coming into it, overanalyzed, could probably go to like the the cars model. Like there's been a ton of discussion about that. And I do feel like the model kind of answered all the questions. Yeah. Uh I really I could be blind to it, but I just haven't seen that much discourse around it now that the plan has kind of been laid out. So I think that was overanalyzed coming into it. All the wrong information about Villains Land in the months leading up to D23 was certainly a waste of everyone's time, obviously. But as far as like new new announcements, I'm not sure. I don't know.

Alicea 1:00:15

What about the most underrated announcement from this D23?

Scott 1:00:19

Archie's Scare Pig Pizza.

Samantha 1:00:21

For those who may not have heard, Archie's Scare Pig Pizza will be the new pizza restaurant in Monstropolis at Hollywood Studios, replacing Pizza Rizzo.

Scott 1:00:31

Here's a funny story about that one. So I knew that one a while ago. Yeah. Just got a tip on it. But I did believe it. I was like, who is who is this Archie? Like I barely remember him from Monsters University, but I had like researched it.

Alicea 1:00:44

Oh, it's university. Okay.

Scott 1:00:46

Yeah, and I'd kind of like put it out of mind. And then I somehow missed the announcement during the expo because it was just like rapid fire of it. Right. And it was like later that night I like saw someone talking about it and I was like, where how did they how did they hear that? Like, like, because I again I had heard it. Right. And I had not seen anyone talking about it. And I went back and looked and I was like, oh yeah, they did say that. They announced that. So that was a big surprise for me. Um, but I would say underrated, just in general, their commitment to hearing what the fans are saying, you know, being very tuned in, that opening number, my goodness. Yeah. You know, like, I mean, come on. Like uh the corny way is not for some people, but if you just run down the list of all the obscure references that were in that opening number.

Alicea 1:01:37

So many inside jokes.

Scott 1:01:39

So many inside jokes. Like that is entertaining for those that get it, confusing for those that don't, entertaining for those that get it. But even the ones that don't should be able to appreciate that they are at least aware of it. Yeah. Like Olaf falling over on stage. I just couldn't believe it. Yeah. Um, I was the only thing that was missing was uh an Epcot um trash can. One of the new things. Neil Patrick Harris unable to figure out how to open the trash can. If they had added that one at the last minute, that would have been perfect. Um I I think maybe um underrated, I think, are the details that we got for the Encanto ride. Like I think this was the first laying out of the that's gonna be a really, really cool ride. Like with some really cool effects, like going up the stairs and that type of stuff. Like it's gonna be top like master class of a lot of things that we've seen piecemeal over years. Yeah. Like uh projection combined with ride vehicle, like it's gonna be the best. Yeah.

Nathan 1:02:50

That looked really exciting.

Alicea 1:02:52

It does, yeah. Project you are personally most excited to experience.

Scott 1:02:58

I think I would like more confirmation on what the magic mirror ride system is. I think I think we know what it is, but I want to know that one has me most intrigued on the the way that story's gonna be told. So that one I'm excited about. Indy, I'm excited about, but probably probably my answer is is the Ridge run rally, the cars, attraction, to see them pull that off. Yeah. Um, it's got some cool things that they didn't talk about, like indoor portions of the ride, and they haven't really shown what that's gonna look like. Yeah, and I'm just excited to like take that first ride around and see national parks are my favorite thing more than Disney parks. They are where I feel the most alive, they're the most beautiful places I've been, and to to have this like the best of thing that exists that's gonna pull from all the different parks. Yeah, and I I can't wait to just see them see how they pull that off. That's awesome.

Alicea 1:03:59

All right, last one. One thing Disney fans should stop worrying about

Scott 1:04:05

trash cans. No, um probably carousel of progress. Um I don't know if there's a lot of people that are super worried about it. I I think there there are there are some, but I feel pretty confident that that it's gonna be um it's gonna be the update that that attraction needs. Yeah. Um and if they weren't updating it, it was gonna get removed. So there does come a point where you either do without or you do with. And they decided to do with and they found the money to update it and make it more uh relevant to an audience because we can all talk about how much we liked it, but I had not been in a full theater in that attraction in a decade. Yep, yeah. And I don't think it's gonna be full once they redo it either. It's still gonna have a low weight because it eats people. Um, and not a lot of people in Tomorrowland are looking for a sit-down show, but it'll be nice to have some new relevant jokes and refreshing. So I do think that the fans can kind of give this one a shot and not worry quite so much about the change there.

Nathan 1:05:27

I've actually been pretty surprised at the level of acceptance of people going, like, yeah, we'll miss the old stuff, but it's time and it's okay. And I think to the the point you started off with, Disney Imagineering and the parks have finally earned not just each other's confidence, but I think the fan community's confidence and that they are going to deliver things on par with you know the new Guardian's ride, or just even the the revamp of Buzz Lightyear in Tomorrowland and Magic Kingdom. Like that is a fantastic refresh of an existing space that is like it puts it back on the list of things that I really want to do. And so they are covering over the sins of the past and journey into imagination with Figment. I looking at that ride as a at least its current iteration is a sin of the past. How that got out the door in its current form is beyond me. And the fact that I I'm excited for that to be refreshed with this modern take in what they're doing. So I think it's just gonna be all good stuff.

Scott 1:06:51

Yep. No, I could agree more.

Nathan 1:06:54

Scott, thank you so much for debriefing after D23 again this year. It was such a pleasure to have you on. Uh, we will have you on again next year, and uh, I'm sure in the intervening months as well, uh, as as big things come up.

Scott 1:07:09

Yeah, sounds good. There may not, we'll we'll have to see what they do with expo in two years. Um, because the Olympics um 28.

Nathan 1:07:18

Oh, good point.

Scott 1:07:19

Um so they may still may still have it, but it's gonna be all the venues summer 2028 in LA, I think, are pre-booked out. And they they we could see D23 do something different um for that. But even if they don't have it when they normally have it, we'll we'll talk, we'll talk beforehand for sure. Absolutely. Awesome.

Nathan 1:07:42

Thanks so much, Scott.

Scott 1:07:43

Thanks. Thanks for having

Disclaimers Reviews And Where To Find Us

Nathan 1:07:45

me.

Alicea 1:07:45

As we wrap up, a reminder that we are not affiliated with Disney or any of its subsidiaries. Everything you hear on the show is based on personal experiences, opinions, and questionable snack choices. We are, however, proudly affiliated with fun and learning about the next new thing.

Nathan 1:08:01

Absolutely. Prognostications. If you're planning a Disney vacation, we always recommend working with a travel advisor or reaching out to Disney directly to help make the magic happen. And if you enjoyed today's episode, please take a second to rate and review the show. It really helps other Disney fans find us.

Alicea 1:08:21

If you have a question, a topic suggestion, or a Disney story you would love to share, please send us an email at podcast at our mousecapades.com.

Nathan 1:08:29

You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads at OurMascapades, and over on YouTube at OurMascapades Pod. And please don't forget to share us with your friends, your family, and Disney fans of all ages.

Samantha 1:08:42

And please remember to come back next week when I let Alicea out of her tin can and back on her normal microphone.

Alicea 1:08:47

Thank you so much for listening. We will be back in your ears next week.