In this listener question-and-answer episode, we discuss our thoughts about the latest changes to Walt Disney World bus transportation and removal of the Grand Floridian ginger bread house, new resort hotels, annual pass breakeven points, how Disney transitions guests between lands, what we would want to take Roy Disney to see, and more listener questions.
Thanks to Carly Caramanna for joining me on this episode! Make sure to pre-order her new book: The Unofficial Disney Parks Retro Cookbook.
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Imagination Skyway is a Disney Parks and Imagineering podcast. Episodes explore attraction design, recap Disney news, and dive into the stories behind the magic, including interviews with Disney Imagineers, Disney Legends, and other Disney creators. Not affiliated with or endorsed by The Walt Disney Company. Disney is a trademark of The Walt Disney Company.
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Transcript (Auto-Generated):
Speaker: When does it make sense to get a Walt Disney World Annual Pass? Can you still resort hop? We’ll answer these questions and more in today’s episode. Welcome aboard Imagination Skyway, your guided tour through the worlds of Disney and Imagineering. I’m your host, Matthew Krul, and it’s my job to explore the stories and places we love and the people who bring them to life. Before we get started, remember that you can unlock ad free episodes and bonus content at patreon dot com slash Imagination Skyway and get complimentary trip support from our sponsors at KMV travel dot com slash skyway. Please be sure to follow Imagination Skyway on social media for even more content and ways to connect with the show. In today’s episode, we answer your questions about Disney, including recent Disney Parks news, travel advice, and Disney fan questions. As we begin our journey, please remain seated. Keep your hands and arms inside the podcast at all times and enjoy your journey aboard Imagination Skyway. Every once in a while, I love to change gears a bit. While most podcast episodes are focused on specific topics, there are so many questions that so many of you listeners and followers on social media will send me time and again. So once in a while, it’s fun to open up a question sticker or a post or even my inbox, and look through questions that have been submitted in the last several months and dive into the answers to as many questions as we can get to. And we’re of course not going to get to all of them today, because there are always a ton sent in. But I wanted to bring on a different guest for this episode, someone who has not been on the show before, but I am really excited to have join us. Who is Carly Caramanna. She’s a theme park journalist and author. Many of you might know her across social media, her adventures by Carly accounts. And I wanted to welcome Carly to the show. So, Carly, welcome to Imagination Skyway. Thank you so much. I appreciate you having me. I am such a fan of the podcast, so I am excited to be on. And I have to say, I was just listening over the weekend on my walk to your Port Orleans episode, and I loved it. I feel like you really nailed it. To express how much of a hidden gem it is, which is crazy to say because it’s been around for decades, but I feel like people don’t get it. And when you when it does click, you’re like, wow, this place is amazing. And under two hundred dollars a night typically. So give a listen to it. I say, well, thank you, Carly. I appreciate you listening to the show. It makes me feel very happy that someone like you listens to the podcast. So it means a lot. I really appreciate that. Um, you’ve got some great things going on. I want to make sure, you know, we’re definitely going to spend some time at the ends talking about where people should go to follow you. But I want to start at the beginning. I want to make sure that people know that you are penning a book that is debuting fall of twenty twenty six, so I want to make sure it’s here at the beginning, just in case people aren’t aware. Because honestly, I wasn’t aware. I try my best to keep up with everything. All my my fellow Disney creators, podcasters, uh, you know, journalists are working on, but I was not even aware you have this new book until I was trying to refresh my memory and everything you have going on. So but you do have so many things going on. So why don’t you talk a little bit about the book before we get started? Yeah, absolutely. So like many, I am obsessed with Disney lore history. I love to get into like the nitty gritty of everything and a lot of those rabbit holes, I like to call them, you know, like I’ll be on YouTube late one night and I’ll discover something that existed in nineteen eighty for two months that I never heard of. And I feel like that’s one of the most beautiful things about being a Disney Parks fan is no matter how much you know, there’s always something new to learn. And I guess maybe I’m just like a lifelong learner. So that kind of sentiment inspired the unofficial Disney Parks retro cookbook. So cookbook is in the title, but it’s actually a lot of history and narrative tied to places that don’t exist anymore at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. So it kind of tells the history and evolution. Starting back in nineteen fifty five, all the way up to present day through the lens of food. And it has been such a fun journey to kind of dive into this. And I know so many people are nostalgic for places that don’t exist anymore. It’s such a huge part of the Disney fan experience. So that is kind of the inspiration behind the book. That is incredible. It combines so many things I think so many listeners enjoy. So yeah, we’ll make sure I’m gonna link everybody to your website because that pretty much has everything there. So go to Carley’s website, check out her new book. You can preorder it now. If you’re listening to this months down the line, you could purchase it and definitely check it out. It’s something I’m looking forward to getting my hands on as well. So much I appreciate. It’s been so fun. Yeah, absolutely. Well, let’s dive into your Disney fandom and then we’ll get to all these listener questions because your new guest, I definitely have to ask you my rapid fire questions. Um, changing them up a little bit for this one. So first question is probably the most basic. Um, and over time, as I’ve asked this question, it’s evolved because it’s, I find that people automatically split it into these two categories. So it has to do with favorite Disney attractions. But people always say my classic favorite and my favorite. So I’m going to ask you the same question. What is your favorite classic Disney attraction and your favorite modern Disney attraction? Okay, uh, Pirates is going to be my favorite classic. And maybe just in general, I would use that answer all the time. That to me encapsulates Disney magic and storytelling and exactly what Imagineering set out to do and I like that’s my must do. I’m in Disney World at. Least a few days a month I have to ride it. It is a non-negotiable for me and I still get those feels. And that’s how I want to feel when I leave an attraction, you know? And that’s kind of what separates a theme park from an amusement park. A thrill is really fun for, you know, getting that top hat going down that coaster. But there’s something about that feeling I get on Pirates that I cannot explain. You know, it’s just that’s Disney magic in a perfect capsule. Yeah. I generally default to that answer too. So you are in very good company. I, I love the Disneyland version. Um, like the Walt Disney World version is awesome. And the queue queue in Walt Disney World is superior to Disneyland, but the ride itself, Disneyland’s version is top notch. Oh yeah. Especially when you’re a little tired at Disneyland because it’s significantly longer and you can just relax and just, you know, to know that Walt Disney was working there and that was, you know, his favorite land because of his love for New Orleans. I mean, there’s just something so magical, but I’ll take either version. Yeah, absolutely. Um, okay. Two more questions for you. This one is right up your alley, but perhaps a very difficult question to ask because of that. Can you name an underrated Disney snack? Yes. Uh, so I would say I have two. One is kind of luxe ones casual at Oga’s Cantina East. So at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World, it’s been on the menu for about two years. And still not a lot of people know about it, but it’s something I get all the time. And it is a pretzel bun that is stuffed with herb cheese with a side of honey mustard dipping sauce. It’s so good. Is massive. Yes. Thank you. Yeah, we’ve had it. It’s really good. Yes, it is amazing. Please get it. Because I never want it to leave the menu. It’s perfect because you have the carbs, but it’s so flavorful with that cheese. And admittedly, I don’t love the pre-match drinks at Oga’s Cantina, so I will usually get just like an IPA or the blue wine, which is fine, but the vibes are perfect. I mean, that’s storytelling. Disney magic. I’m doing that. My other favourite is at narcosis and it is the lobster bisque. This is my favourite, I love soup. I know a lot of us love soup and it’s always soup season. This is one of my favourite go tos and I say snack because soup. It can be a meal. They have an amazing bread that’s sourdough with sea salt butter. But if I just want like a light something, I’m going through narcosis, sitting at the bar and getting the lobster bisque, even when it’s one hundred degrees like it is right now. You know, I just sparked an idea and I’m going to manifest it that you, me and AJ need to from Disney Food blog, need to get together at a restaurant and do like a live review or just gather and do a podcast episode in person next time we all get together. I would love that. And I feel like narcosis is a restaurant that not that many people talk about. Again, been around for a long time. So I hate to say hidden gem because nothing is really hidden anymore in the age of social media, but it is such a gem and one of my favorite spots that I dine out almost monthly. That’s amazing. Last question is tweaked. I mean, it used to be I used to ask this in a very basic way, but now I changed it a little bit. So if you could live in a Disney resort hotel, which one would you pick? I’m going with the Polynesian and that is strictly nostalgic factor. I grew up, my parents were Disney. I grew up like in a Disney family. They honeymooned there. And so we started going in the eighties before I can really remember. And we would stay at the Polynesian. That was when the rates were a little bit different than they are today. Yeah. So I visit often. I don’t get to stay as often, maybe every other year. Uh, but to me, I just that is vibes. That is just so classic Walt Disney World. I mean, it was there in the beginning, and I just have all the feels and nostalgia for that resort. Yeah, well that’s great answers. This really gives everyone, I think, a better idea of where you came from, your Disney fandom. You know, we can make a lot of inferences about how you like to go about the Disney parks just based on that. So it’s a good segue to talking about the questions that were submitted by listeners, Patreon subscribers, before we get to them. I know I keep like delaying till we get to the questions from listeners. I felt over the weekend and in the last week, there have been so many changes that have been announced, and there are many, many speculating about where Disney is going with this and what this all means and how this impacts a park going experience for locals, for people who are staying off property, for people who are maybe staying at a valley resort or a moderate resort. And, you know, those changes are, first of all, the the transportation change from Disney Springs. So the refresh anyone’s memory, in case you missed the news or if you. I did an episode about it, but if you starting now, when you’re listening to this episode, even before. If you are taking the bus or a ferry boat from Disney Springs, you need to have a. You’re basically going to scan your Magicband or your, your my Disney experience account, um, to confirm that you have a resort reservation, a dining reservation, or an enchanting extras reservation, they’re even circumventing the loophole where like, maybe I’ll make a dining reservation and then I’ll cancel. Um, but you will not be able to board that bus with a dining reservation until two hours before your reservation, which is also when the cancellation window closes. So, um, you know, unless you want to basically be paying the cancellation fee to go to that resort just to cancel it. You will need a confirmed reservation at that resort to go there. Um, the other change that we have heard is, and by the way, that’s just from Disney Springs, right? So that’s not coming from the theme parks. If you’re going from Magic Kingdom, you want to take the monorail over to Polynesian. You could still do that. If you’re at Epcot, you want to take the Skyliner from International Gateway over to Riviera. You can still do that. Like there’s still you can still park and resort hop. You just not from Disney Springs specifically, which, you know, rest assured, with the monorail, they’re not going to be able to regulate that. There’s no way. So there’s no don’t worry, because people are going to take transportation and whatnot. So I have to say, don’t worry about that. That’s I don’t I can’t see them scanning or magicband at the entrance there. Yeah. Um, the second thing, and I know these are two different topics, but they’re somewhat related is Disney confirmed. You know, last year they said for Grand Floridian, they’re. The gingerbread house was going to be there, and it made sense because they were doing all this lobby construction. But now they’re saying that the gingerbread house is also not coming back this year. And it seems like the gingerbread house is not coming back to Grand Floridian for the foreseeable future, just based on this announcement. So, um, you know, I have thoughts I’ve shared some of them on the show already, but Carly, I’d love to get your thoughts on this. Absolutely. I have I could see it from both sides of the sword. Uh, resort hopping is a cornerstone of Walt Disney World since it opened in nineteen seventy one. And they used the resort so heavily in marketing materials. People want to go to the resort, people build in resort days. I’m personally a resort girl. I love resort hopping. My favorite meals are at resorts. I especially in like May to September where it gets really hot. I do less park time, more resort time. But on the other edge of the sword, if you are spending top dollar to stay at the Polynesian, for example, and you don’t have preferential treatment, which they don’t offer currently, which I think they should to get into Trader Sam’s to get a Kona Cafe reservation to get Ohana. I have a issue with that because I know how much money people are spending. And then it’s also becomes extra complicated because I have been Polynesian is one of my hangouts. I go to Tambu Lounge a lot. I’ve been there on major holidays where they have restricted access, and I watch my favorite cast members work on a Fourth of July and make like ten dollars in tips because it’s restricted to resort guests only. And I want these people to make money, especially when they’re working on Christmas Day. So I don’t think there’s a right answer to it, but I think you have to do something to give preferred treatment to hotel guests. And Grand Floridian lobby is a mess during the holidays and what they are doing to the lobby to make it more of like a deluxe or, you know, a luxury hotel stay I like. It’s shocking to me that before the perch, there wasn’t a true lobby bar because it’s sometimes hard to get into enchanted Rose. And I think if I’m paying those prices, I want to go to my resort and get a quick drink in the lobby. That’s kind of a cornerstone of every single luxury or luxury hotel, and it’s become quite a mess with the gingerbread house. And I love it. Great tradition, but I think we know how much people are spending in, say, a Grand Floridian. We got to make it a little bit better of an experience for them. And maybe the solution is a gingerbread in a different area that’s reserved just for hotel guests, but we have to do something to kind of just keep that sanctity of that deluxe experience because people are spending so much money. This is their bucket list trip in a lot of cases to stay here. And I want people to have a good time. And I think this is just kind of a natural evolution in what we’re seeing. And I think it has to be done because, you know, hotel guests, it’s it stinks when you spend that much and you can’t get a seat at Citricos. You can’t get a seat at enchanted Rose. You can’t see the gingerbread house because there’s thousands of people there. So I am for it, sadly. I mean, I don’t have strong opinions except for I just want people to get the full resort experience that they paid for. Yeah. I like to frame it to people as imagine maybe you’re not able to do deluxe resort stays all the time, right? But you do like even if you’re splurging for that moderate resort and let’s say you’re staying at at, you mentioned Port Orleans Riverside, like let’s say that you’re staying at Port Orleans Riverside. You’ve splurged on that stay to be able to stay there. And Disney has this incredible great for you staying there, right? Like this incredible, um, authentic New Orleans themed like gingerbread house or like Mardi Gras and spa, like something that’s truly something that people go out of their way to see. They go to Disney Springs. Now, this is no longer possible, right? Like they park for free at Disney Springs. They take the, the boat or the bus over to your resort hotel, and they’re crowding the lobby where you’re staying, where you’ve been splurging to stay in order to see this. And now they’re all going to, you know, float works to, to, to buy, sorry, the river mill that works in French Quarter, the river mill to, you know, the lines are long at River mill mobile ordering is, is like clogged up for people eating there. They’re crowding in River Rouge getting fat cats. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, and now you’re staying there. You’ve been dreaming about staying there. Take out the premium aspect of it because people are thinking like deluxe resort guests, like, you know, maybe snobby, like, you know, like it’s, it’s like you just don’t want the other people there. But, you know, I think it’s that that idea of now the amenities that you’re paying for are harder to get on your resort stay. And even the bus transportation, like imagine taking the bus from your hotel. Now everyone’s trying to go onto the parks and you have to wait like three or four buses. Yeah. In order to get back to that theme park. So, you know, it doesn’t matter what level it is. Deluxe resort guests in this case in Grand Floridian guests in this case are saying, take away our perk, like take away our gingerbread house because it has become difficult for us to have an enjoyable holiday stay at Grand Floridian, where Disney Vacation Club members. One of our home resorts is Grand Floridian, so we do frequent Grand Floridian. Yeah, I am a fan of this change. Like for me, it’s it’s never been something that I say, I’m going to stay at Grand Floridian for the holidays because of the gingerbread house. It’s honestly because of the proximity to Magic Kingdom with my kids for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, which is a late event. I’ve got young daughters. Like just the idea of us being able to like, walk back in the stroller or take the monorail back and not have to fold up the stroller because they’re going to be sleeping in it by the time we’re done and get them straight back into the room. That’s why I’m staying at Grand Floridian. In addition to the ability to use my points at that eleven month window, much easier than I can anywhere else at the seven month window. Um, so, you know, I’ve and there’s the last time we did the very Merry Christmas party was before the, um, before the, and actually it was with just my wife and me. Now that I think about it, um, we were able to get like a really great rate at Grand Floridian. So we’re like, yeah, let’s do it. And I remember when we finally got to like start the party and we’re going onto the monorail, the gingerbread house was there. The line for the monorail was crazy. Like it was. It was wrapped down to the staircase in both directions. We had to wait like four or five monorails in order to actually get onto the monorail. Part of that’s because, of course, it’s the last stop on the monorail line before. Magic Kingdom. So you’ve got people coming from contemporary and Polynesian, um, maybe transportation and ticket center before stopping Grand Floridian. So that’s part of it. But like, my point is that the, you know, to your point, Carly, like people who are staying there are finding the resorts to be super crowded because resort hopping is no longer this subtle thing that just like a few people do here and there on an off day, like a lot of people are going to Disneyland resort hopping. Um, two more experiences I’ll share. Our other home resort is Riviera. Not to do with any resort changes, but, um, there are days that I’m literally, you know, they’re working and I’m working for my room, which is fine, but like, occasionally I want to pop down. I can never work in Voyagers Lounge because it’s mobbed, because people love to work from Voyagers land who aren’t staying there. Um, yeah, it’s mostly people who aren’t staying there. Right? I, I will say guilty. I have done it a few times because that it’s small changes my life. Yeah, but you’re right. And it’s so complicated because Walt Disney World has built themselves on this whole thing that we’re an all encompassing, magical bubble. Once you’re here, you’re here. So it’s just I don’t know what the answer is because it’s never going to be exactly what we want it to be, even though I think we do need to do something that gives hotel guests first dibs at resort reservation restaurants, I think that needs to happen just for their resort that they’re staying at, especially quick service. I think dining is table service may be a different story, but quick service. Exactly. So like, I’m not sure what it is. You know, we see mobile ordering shut off sometimes unless you’re staying at the resort and whatnot. Close proximity. But I think there this is the only viable solution that they can come up with that kind of works without being, you know, you don’t want this like militant experience where everywhere you go, you’re scanning. And that would cheapen the experience. That would make it awful. This is something that works, is realistic, and I don’t think you can get mad about it. I mean, I, I want people that are spending the money to enjoy their own resort. That’s part of it. Yeah, it’s it’s just, I agree. Like any, any time I’ve gone someplace that the last thing I’ll share is Polynesian because you mentioned Polynesian. Last time we stayed there, we got very lucky. Like we did a kind of last minute trip. Um, I was looking for Deluxe Studios to open up. Polynesian opened up. I’m like, beautiful. It’s, you know, relative to some other properties, even like the point value on a deluxe studio at Polynesian is excellent. So like, we’re not paying the rates that other people are paying for Polynesian for that trip. But, um, we stayed there and the first night we said, you know, let’s take a nice casual resort night to our resort hotel because we never stay at Polynesian. This is going to be great. Um, we mobile ordered Captain Cook’s. It was like a thirty minute wait, which is not bad. It was about dinner time, so I thought, that’s not too bad. And we’ll just relax a little bit, unpack, and then we’ll go and grab Captain Cook’s. When we got there, it was packed. And I kid you not, from when I said, we’re ready, we’re here. Prepare my order. It took forty five minutes to get our food. Oh, I believe it because of how packed it was. And it was not like they forgot about us. Like there were people, other people I saw who were there ahead of me in mobile order waiting. And it wasn’t until like I saw them start to get their food that I went up to ask, and they even confirmed like, nope, you’re actually now the next one. It took forty five minutes after I said, I’m here to prepare my order. Staying at Polynesian. So like again, imagine, forget it’s Polynesian. Imagine you’re staying at Port Orleans, Riverside, your mobile order from the river mill. It says thirty minutes. You then get to River mill and it’s packed with people who are not staying at your hotel. And you have forty five minutes before you actually get your food, right. Like it’s just, it would probably be upsetting to you too. And you’d say the same thing. No. Get rid of this gingerbread house. That’s that’s clogging up my hotel. Um, you know that everyone’s coming to visit. Like, it doesn’t matter to me personally, because I’m here for the other aspects of the hotel, too, right. Um, I think it’s just a small percentage of people who are staying. Otherwise Disney wouldn’t have done this, right. Like the people who are actually staying at Grand Floridian, who preferred having the gingerbread house and the crowds over no gingerbread house. And let’s be honest, there’s going to be crowds, but fewer crowds. Um, absolutely. I mean, you have so many draws at the Grand Floridian already with enchanted Rose and Citricos that so many people are going to as destination dining that to have one more thing in the in the system is just too much. It’s overloaded. So I’m with you. Uh, yeah, we need to we need a solution because it’s, it’s not fair. And, you know, you have these parents with kids that are melting down a forty five minute mobile order is a disaster. You know, like it is, it is it was it was pretty hard. I mean, the kids went back to the room with my wife, but like, it was just. It was hard. Um, yeah. All right. So we spent like twenty minutes talking about this, which is fine, but I just wanted a topic that was the hot topic. Like, I think people wanted to hear that more than anything else. Um, there’s other things we could talk about that are that are like hot on social media right now. But I, I want to get to other questions too. And, you know, the first question is, so I’m, you know, for those of you who don’t know, I have a Patreon subscription, um, giving a little bit of priority to my Patreon subscribers here with the first few questions that were submitted, but we are definitely going to get to Instagram questions to the first question is interestingly tied a little bit to what we were just talking about. So it’s is about Lakeshore Lodge, which is opening in twenty twenty seven. So the question is, with Lakeshore Lodge opening in twenty twenty seven, what are your thoughts on Disney focusing on Disney Vacation Club Deluxe Resort builds? Should they look at more affordable options similar to pop century and art of animation? Um, with of course land availability being the obvious issue. So assuming they had land availability, um, you know, should what are your thoughts about Disney continuing to, if you think about the last few resorts that were built, um, they have been focusing on Disney vacation club builds, deluxe resort builds. The last one that they built that was not at Walt Disney World was Gran Destino Tower, which is still kind of like this. And it was seven years ago. So this, it is a moderate resort at a slight premium price. I think it’s still the rates there are typically cheaper than you can get at like art of animation, which is a value I get. That’s one of my favorites is Gran Tower. I’ll get it sometimes in the low twos and it’s literally cheaper than pop century and it’s, it’s perfect. I love it there. It’s, it’s my, I tell people all the time, it’s my favorite cash stay. Um, if I’m not using my points at a Disney vacation club hotel. Absolutely. Um, yeah. So what are your, what are your thoughts about this question, this topic? Um, I mean, Walt Disney World is a business that is first and foremost. And secondly, I look at the number of rooms and the number of rooms when we’re talking about. I say quote unquote affordable stays, which are value. A lot of the moderates, these resorts are thousands and thousands of rooms. I have no problem with them building more deluxe DVC options because it’s a much smaller percentage of rooms. You know, we are not getting if they were to build a mega resort there, it would not be possible simply because of the mega resorts have thousands of rooms. I don’t think that works for this parcel of land and the amount of space that they have. And I’m fine with it. Again, it’s like a numbers game. You have thousands of rooms sitting there that are out of value cost. We also have to have something in a different price bracket. And also DVC is very popular. It is a moneymaker for Disney. I personally am not a DVC member, but I have family. I love the properties and they add something different to the Walt Disney World experience. So I personally am very excited for Lakeshore Lodge, and I also think that there are already a ton, thousands of rooms at that budget friendly rate. So I think it’s very fair. Yeah. Whenever I look at resort options constantly, even cash stays because I’m always dreaming about going and I’m thinking, can I, can I squeeze in a trip this weekend or next month? Is how much is it going to cost? Like I’m always thinking about it. Rarely am I jumping on that last minute trip, but I’m always thinking of like, can I get the best rate possible? And more often than not, the resorts that are left are the value resorts. The deluxe resorts are often the first ones to go. And I think part of that is the number of people who are thinking about doing that once in a lifetime trip, and wanting to spend it at a deluxe resort. Also could be the number of people who are going to Disney who just want to, who prefer to stay at a deluxe resort because of the amenities, because the rooms are larger, you know they are larger room size or because of the the different options that are available for the room types. Because there’s many different types of rooms, value resorts are typically getting a standard or preferred room. Like there’s some suites, family suites, but very few options compared to the deluxe resorts. Um, you know, moderate deluxe are generally the first ones I see to go, but like I can almost always get a reservation at all star. Um, very common. I can still get a room at art of animation. And it is that question of the number of rooms, you know, how many rooms are there and you think about, you know, all stars, three different resorts, and there are three large resorts. Um, pop, century and art of animation are also very large. Um, and I actually did a little bit of math on this, and I think people would be surprised that right now the number of rooms in a value and the three value resorts is about the same number of rooms in all the deluxe resorts, I believe it. Yeah. So we don’t need more value resorts. Your your nail on head. I’m planning a trip in two weeks. And I was just this morning on Walt Disney World dot com looking at the cash rates to add one night. The only things that are available really are moderate and below. And the all stars were like one twenty with annual pass holder discount. I mean, you can get them last minute. I check all the time and it’s pretty much all year long. You could find them. Yeah. And just, you know, even some of the, the options that are available like a standalone Disney vacation club hotel. Again, one of our home resorts is Riviera. There’s only four hundred and eighty nine rooms in Riviera, right? They’re essentially boutique hotels, you know, like Island Tower, Riviera. They’re they’re boutique hotels to me. And they are harder to book because they’re smaller. Yeah. So that’s why, like people often think about it as the number of deluxe resort hotels. But Carly, your point in the beginning is spot on. its inventory. How many rooms are available and the value resorts they have, you know their value resorts because their smaller rooms, they’re able to put a lot more in there. And it’s for many families, it might be that once in a lifetime trip, it’s all they can afford. For other families. It’s like they want to trim the budget as much as possible and stay in a room that’s like a place to sleep. Your your rope drop to close every single day. So it’s just go back, go back to sleep in the room, you know, shower. That’s what you’re there for. Maybe use the pool one day. Um, you still have you got some great quick service options there too. But yeah, it’s, uh, I think the implied in the question is we have to think about like, well, what do you really mean by that? So yes, I do think that the number of rooms like it’s, it’s fine to keep adding deluxe resorts because those seem to be the ones that go first and you still have plenty, plenty of availability with value resorts. But if that ever changes, we’re getting a new lazy river at Lakeshore and Lazy River. Yeah, it’s gonna be great. I’m excited for that too. Um, okay. Another question. Is there an attraction? This is a hard one, actually. Is there because I was thinking about this earlier. You didn’t have advance notice on these. Is there an attraction, past or present where you underestimated the Imagineers? Either you didn’t think it was going to work when it was announced, and then changed your mind once it opened, or you knew it was going to be good, but when it opened, it blew away your expectations. I have one go for it because I’m still struggling with this one. I’m using the word attraction loosely, but I do consider this an attraction. It’s the beacon barrel at Magic Kingdom. I kind of had low expectations for it solely based on Oga’s Cantina. And that’s not to say I don’t love. I love Oga’s Cantina. I go all the time. It’s beautiful. It’s storytelling, but it can be hard to get in and whatnot. Beacon barrel is the next generation of Trader Sam’s and Oga’s Cantina mixed together and it is an attraction because we have an animatronic parrot that comes out. We have cast members that are fully in character, and it’s just such a a beautiful work from Walt Disney Imagineering with all the Easter eggs. I mean, I spend hours and hours looking in every detail, and I think I’ve been about half a dozen ish times and I’m still finding things. It’s an attraction to me. And I bring, like everyone there that hasn’t been there, that blew my mind because my expectations were cool. We’ll have, you know, a bar at Magic Kingdom. This is history. It blew me away and it continues to blow me away. Great answer. Um, I just thought of one, actually, because it’s recent. Um, rock n roller coaster starring the Muppets. I actually did expect this to be good. I had high expectations for this one, but they blew me away. It really fit so well. And the way they designed it, I people are going to get bored of me talking about this if they heard it on the show. But talk about the Venn diagram of legacy rock and roller coaster, Muppetvision 3D and Doctor Teeth and the electric mayhem. And you. That middle of that Venn diagram is rock n roller coaster starring the Muppets. It honors all of those things individually. Um, I miss Muppetvision 3D. Like I get motion sick, so I’m not going to be on rock n roller coaster every week, but like that I still think was a a smart move. And we’re going to get another theater show when Monsters Inc. Monstropolis opens. So, um, we’re still going to get something for people like me who, you know, my family will be on the the new Monsters Inc coaster. Um, I’ll probably be in the show, but it’s, it’s, you know, I think they really hit a home run with rock n roller coaster starring the Muppets. Yes, I, I’m fully agree with you. My hopes were high. Blew it out of the water. I cannot wait like I’m not a lightning lane purchaser just because I’m there so frequently. I’m purchasing Lightning Lane in two weeks because I have to go on it again. And I’ve gone on it maybe like eight times so far. Absolutely incredible. Nails everything and I need kids to learn about the Muppets. So we have them forever. So yes, I agree they can achieve that. Um, okay, let’s jump to here’s a nice little quick Imagineering question I can probably answer. Uh, are there tricks Disney uses to make the transitions between lands in the parks feel smooth? They do. They do this a lot. Um, so the one that I often refer to, which is the classic example, is Main Street USA to Adventureland at Magic Kingdom. The easiest way to think about it or to notice this transition is they intentionally chose Crystal Palace in that location because the Victorian conservatory look fits both turn of the century, Main Street USA and Adventureland’s time period. So it makes sense in both of those lands at the same time. Also, the windows on the main street side are large floor to ceiling glass windows. On the Adventureland side, they are covered with green awnings because as you’re transitioning into Adventureland, you’re going into hotter jungles, so you’re going to have more shade needed on those windows. Otherwise, the conservatory would get really hot. And then of course, there’s the the visual cues. You see the Adventureland sign, you start to hear the bridge, the drums coming from the bridge. So it sort of beckons you into Adventureland. That’s just one classic example, but there are tons of modern examples that we could, I think visual markers, like towering visual markers that serve two purposes. They draw people through so it creates guest flow, but at the same time, it eases that transition because you’re stopping to look where you are and you’re being drawn to something like Swiss Family Robinson. You know, Disney’s been doing this forever back. Disneyland, the chicken of the sea pirate ship restaurant was this massive ship and its guests flow. But it’s also bringing your eye to where you’re going. So you kind of forget where you are and you easily transfer into that new land. I mean, there are geniuses what they do. Yeah, they really are. And they, they just continue to deliver this, these incredible transitions between lands. And, um, I could go on and on just about this topic. I literally could make this an entire podcast episode. So we’re going to keep moving on. Um, this is a more math based question and it’s going to depend, um, but does it make sense to get an annual pass if you live out of state? And this is a question for both Disneyland and Walt Disney World or, you know, either one. So I guess at what point does it make sense to get an annual pass? It’s sort of the question here. My gosh, this is such a personal choice for me personally. I have had a Walt Disney World annual pass since they started in the early nineties. That is just something my family and friends have because also I do this for work, so I am there once a month. It would not be economical. Unfortunately, it’s really just a numbers game and you have to not only look at how many times you’re going to visit, but also the perks that come with it, which I think is the big thing, which is, you know, parking, merchandise discounts. We just had this amazing deal with annual pass holders where it was forty percent off table service dining, which is absolutely crazy. I did dinner at Boatwright’s during that promotion, and I had a beautiful meal, like some of the best shrimp I’ve ever had on property, like a legit meal. And I think it was like fifteen dollars after the forty percent discount merchandise too. If your family is big, shoppers got to look at what those perks are. But truly, if you were going, I think more than once a year, it makes sense to have the annual pass. But again, it is a numbers game and it truly matters. You know, I have residency in Florida, so I pay a monthly rate, which definitely eases the I don’t even want to know how much it costs. I think it’s over fifteen hundred now for the highest level. Fine, but I get a lot of use out of it. So you just have to be realistic and to know, like if you are going more than once and what you’re going to be taking advantage of. A lot of people aren’t food people. So if you’re not a food person, you probably don’t care about the discounts. You know, if you’re not a merch person, which some are, some aren’t, you’re not going to care. Yeah, it’s really a numbers game. The easiest way to do it is think about when you’re going to be going in the next twelve months. And in most cases, you’ll be able to purchase tickets for those trips. So all you got to do is go on to the, you know, Walt Disney World website, Disneyland website, whatever you’re going to do, go to purchase your tickets, go all the way to the checkout, see how much that total is. Let’s say you’re going in, you know, spring break at some point in spring break. Look how much how many days you’re planning to go to the parks, how much that ticket would cost, whether you’re going to do do what you’re going to do, if it’s going to be a base ticket price out the base ticket, if you’re going to do a park hopper, price out the park hopper. Don’t try to price shop and upsell yourself. Actually, look at what you would really do and then do the same thing. Usually if you’re doing one trip, it makes more sense to stick with the tickets for that trip. But Carly, to your point, if you’re doing multiple trips in a year, even if you’re doing two trips, it’s going to come close depending on how many days you’re going to the parks. So price it out, add those two up, see how much it costs, and then if you know, then go to the annual pass, check out and do the exact same thing. Keeping in mind as an out-of-stater to your point, Carly, the only option you have is the pass. So you’re really just looking at the lot. It’s a lot. It’s, you know, that’s being able to go to the parks every day of the year without, you know, any blockout dates. So you can go as often as you want. Uh, if, if you’re paying more per ticket or per, you know, park hopper option, multi-day, park hopper, whatever you’re doing. Um, then the credit pass, then yeah, Go with the and credit pass because you’re going to save money. But if you’re now looking to spend like an extra three hundred dollars for a maybe trip, um, maybe wait it out. You can always change your mind before the first ticket you use ends. You can go to guest relations and say you want to upgrade this park hopper ticket to an annual pass, and they will be able to take care of that for you won’t pay any extra to upgrade you just pay the price difference. But it has to be done before you finish that park ticket. Otherwise you’re starting from scratch. Um, you know, and dynamic pricing is dynamic. So I mean, it really does depend when you’re going because the price fluctuates greatly. It does. In my case, I, I go to Disneyland’s recently it’s been like two or three times a year. Um, I still don’t have an annual pass to Disneyland because I go for maybe one or two park days and even adding up one or two park days, three times a year is less than the Disneyland annual pass. So I just don’t get the Disneyland annual pass. I I don’t see myself going more than that. So I don’t have the Disneyland annual pass. Walt Disney World, I definitely do, because that’s again where Disney Vacation Club members we go there often. We’re there at least three times a year with, you know, with my with my girls altogether. Um, and because Disney Vacation Club members, we get access to the Sorcerer Pass instead of the credit pass. So already and you know, the only times blocked out for us are Thanksgiving, which we’re never traveling for Thanksgiving. Um, and sort of like the weeks around Christmas, which again, like we don’t go to Disney during that time of year. So it works perfectly for us. And it’s about the same as two trips for us. So we get the third one kind of for free. Um, and then all the perks that come on top of that, which are very similar to Disney Vacation Club, annual Disney Vacation Club perks. So dining discounts, merchandise discounts are about equal. Um, it’s really just the, the math, the pure math. Um, so the best way to do it again, price it out. See what’s going to be better. Yeah. Good old fashioned math. Yeah, a little it takes it’ll take you five minutes just to to price it out and see which one works out better. Um, I really like this next question because I forgot who submitted it, but I’ve never heard this question before. And it’s it’s right there under our noses. Um, and I think you’ll like this too. Carly. Everyone asks about waltz, but if Roy were alive, what would you take him to see or do? Ooh. I guess it would have to be something at Walt Disney World that he didn’t get to experience himself. And it would probably be something present day, just because he was so instrumental in keeping Walt’s vision alive. So I’d like to see the fruit of his labors, because it really was his labors. So it would be something modern day, maybe, to go on Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind, which is so weird, but I feel like he would appreciate it just because it’s totally the evolution of the work that he did. Yeah, I think it would be that something has to be something present day. I would take him to Animal Kingdom. Oh, yes. Because two things. One, one, um, you know, Walt had a fondness for animals and conservation. So I think it would be great for Roy to see that element of animal kingdom. Um, and also, you know, Walt for Jungle Cruise wanted live animals. It just wasn’t feasible at the time. So for him to be able to ride Kilimanjaro safaris and see what became of that concept and how, you know, guests are being are able to see live animals on an attraction I think you would really love. And even for him personally, you know, he grew up going, he grew up in Marceline too. It wasn’t just Walt. So like connecting that back to nature and what they loved about that farmhouse in Marceline, I think he would enjoy. Um, so I would love to take him to Animal Kingdom. I think that’d be an amazing answer. I feel like anyone that appreciates the behind the scenes or like technical elements take them to Animal Kingdom and they would be like, wow, we did it, you know? Yeah. Um, all right, let’s do a few more. You know, I just sometimes I want to tackle these heads on head on. Sometimes I don’t, but we’ll, we’ll do it today. The struggle is real. You know there’s a question under the question. Um okay. Has Disney ever decreased ticket prices. The answer is no. The answer is no. Kind of. Kind of not. They’ve done they’ve done offers. So offers is really kind of the answer. That’s not really a decrease. Yeah. You know we get these they’ve been doing a lot of promotions, which is I mean some really in this last year have been pretty mind blowing. Like this summer is forty percent off hotel rates for apps. That’s that’s beautiful. It’s usually twenty five. You know, it’s thirty percent if you’re not in AP, which is usually what the AP discount is. It’s just like now is the time to go. But yes, I feel like with tickets we do see them slowly increase. But you can always especially. That’s why I think it’s good to book through a travel agent because don’t worry about this stuff. I’m not a travel agent. I don’t know how they do what they do. It’s like sorcery. Let them handle. If there’s a price offer after you’re already booked, they will honor that and help you get that money back. So yes, offers, but no, not going back. Yeah. Disney’s never going to decrease ticket prices. And I think the underlying question is also the value, the perceived value for the ticket price itself. Um, you know, I, I, I haven’t paid for a single day park ticket in a long time. And the next time I am, honestly is Disneyland this summer because we’re doing a family trip. We do not do, we do not do multi-day Disneyland family trips. Like I don’t think I’ve done a multi-day family Disneyland trip ever. So the fact that we’re going as a family, and I’m very happy with the rate that we got between the. Because I. I priced these things out constantly. They’re offering an excellent. Like I don’t know if it’s still available when you’re listening to this, but the discount that we got, it was like up to twenty five percent off hotel, which already seemed like a lower price than normal. So, you know, I’m basically paying for grand Californian like, which normally is totally out of price range. You know, if for me, it’s just now a little stretch, um, which for this particular trip is worth it for us. Um, it’s about the same as I would have paid at a lower level, we’ll call it, you know, not Grand Floridian, not Polynesian, maybe like Wilderness Lodge Yacht Club, um, price, uh, to stay at, at Grand Californian, which is to me a steal considering the location and the normal price at that hotel. Um, and park tickets. Um. Maggie. Emily. Still free. Maggie is going four days and a park hopper for two hundred dollars, which. Wow. Yeah, the rates and discounts at Disneyland right now are pretty insane because just maybe two years ago, Disneyland Hotel Grand Californian, it was over nine hundred like often. Yes. Um, and the rates right now are amazing. It’s really a good time to plan a Disneyland trip for that reason alone. Yeah. Josh D’amaro talked about this in a, in the, I think his first, um, shareholder meeting where he was answering questions. This question came up and he talked about seasonality and offers, which, you know, everyone wants to hear prices are going to go down, right? Like, or they’re going to stay the same. It’s unfortunately not realistic to, to ask for that, considering the amount of investments they’re putting into the parks, uh, at this point. Um, and, you know, just when businesses don’t typically lower prices, um, it’s better to infuse more value into them Or to your point, Carly, to do more offers. So yeah, they’re doing deeper discounts on, on resort hotel stays. They’re doing these really, really amazing, especially for kids like free dining plan offers for kids, um, fifty dollars per day park hopper for kids. They do have. And I remind people of this. There’s also I forgot which time period this is again, to Carly’s point, great reason to work with the travel agent. Um, but they’re doing a, I think it’s a ninety nine dollars per day base ticket for. Yes, they are for, um, I think it’s just Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, not Magic Kingdom, but you can go to those three parks, um, for ninety nine dollars a day, which, you know, still might sound like a lot, but it’s a pretty good discount compared to what they’re normally charging for the, the parks. Um, so point being, like, depending if you want to go and stay at Contemporary during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party. The back half of December. They’re not going to be discounting much like that’s a peak time, peak time of year. Everybody wants to go and it is driven so much by demand. The dynamic pricing on hotels, the offers that they have, the park ticket prices. So, you know, that’s one of the big reasons I guess we go to Disney often. It’s typically not, you know, the in demand periods like we go during peak hurricane season in the back half of August when it’s, it’s killer hot and the parks. One of my favorite times though, because it’s so quiet. Yeah, yeah. So like, you got to be willing to go during those times. We avoid spring break. We only went for the first time this year just because plans changed and we again snagged DVC reservation. But and actually flights weren’t that bad at the time, but like normally we avoid spring break. We don’t go. It’s, it’s going to be crowded. It’s going to be pricier. The DVC rates are higher, the cash rates are higher. Um, so it’s just you got to be flexible with when you’re going. Absolutely. And I think now, especially there’s shoulder season changes every single year, especially in a post Covid world. You know, summers used to be so busy. Now they’re dead. You’re getting the discounts. If you could deal with one hundred degrees, I can deal with it just to get good rates and then spend more pool time. So yes, you could be flexible. I know not everyone can be flexible. So it’s just really dependent. Yeah, it certainly is. Um all right. Let’s go to one more question and then I’ll try to do a bonus episode of some kind with the other questions I didn’t get to. But this one’s fun. Um, I like to end on a fun one. Name one defunct or extinct attraction from each park to bring back. Ooh. Number one horizons at Epcot is probably just one of my favorites. I just have so many memories. I don’t know, uh, at Hollywood Studios, it is going to be the great movie ride. Uh, I just, I love that ride so much. I quick story, I had a Disney wedding in twenty fifteen and I almost went with the reception that was the walk through of the different, like cocktail hour reception. Oh, that would have been ride. And one of them was the Wizard of Oz scene. And I have a little bit of regrets that I didn’t do that. Oh, uh, Magic Kingdom, it’s going to be Tom Sawyer Island. And that’s solely because kids need a place to just explore and play and use their imagination. And that was a direct result of Walt Disney. I mean, obviously he didn’t work on the Walt Disney World one, but he did the Disneyland one. And so that whole blueprint like that was all him. So I think that was so magic. And again, to have a place to just be is awesome and an animal kingdom, it is going to be the boat that you used to go around the river. I wish that we had that because again, it’s such a beautiful park. Just to kind of just look around. And that would be a really great way to see it from a new vantage point that we don’t currently have. I love those. I actually have the same answers as you for Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, so we’ll keep those there. I have different answers for the other two parks. Um. Oh yes. So Magic Kingdom timekeeper. Um, for those who remember timekeeper. That’s that’s one I’d bring back. Monsters Inc LaFleur is great, but like timekeeper was awesome. So I would bring timekeeper back and at Epcot, um, it’s the original journey into imagination. I just like, I still like the current version. We do ride it a lot. Um, my daughters like it. I still like it. Figment is still there. Um, but that original was very iconic. Um, Dreamfinder bring, you know, to bring Dreamfinder back and just that grand reveal scene is kind of permanently seared in my childhood brain. It was incredible when you went into that big show scene. I love to let people know who are fans of the attraction that when you board the attraction, you’re standing on a bit of a journey to imagination history I guess. Um, the boarding area is slightly curved if you’ve ever noticed that. And that’s because that is part of the original turntable. That was the dreamfinder sequence. So when you’re boarding it, you’re actually getting towards the near the end of where the turntable was. Um, so that’s why it’s a curved load area. So there’s a little bit of amazing little tidbits. I mean, I still love the ride, which I mean, I, I do too. One of the ones I ride the most to which you, I, I’m not salty. I love new things and new experiences. And when we invest in classics. But that original attraction is just such a core memory as a child. It definitely is. Um, well, this has been fun. I want to make sure people know where to follow you. We talked about your book, but where else can people go to find you online and see everything you have going on? Absolutely, yes. I’m on Instagram at Adventures by Cali and Adventures by Cali dot com. I post kind of everything that I’m up to. I write I podcast, and yes, I have my book coming out this October. So if you are a Disney nerd like me, please come and join the party. It’ll be really fun. Absolutely. Um, and again, we’ll have to do group meetup. You, me and AJ get some food. That would be awesome. Podcast AJ, if you’re still listening, she’s on her book tour. She’s got plenty of things going on, but you will be two very soon enough. Thanks again Cali, and thank you so much. 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