Buckle up your mouse ears and prepare for a whimsical ride through the world of Disney with our special guests Joe and Marisa, the creative powerhouses behind Joe Critelli Art and Mad Madam Mim Co. In our latest episode, we're whisked into their enchanting realm where artistry meets fandom. Joe's hand-drawn illustrations capture the nostalgia and heart of Disney characters, while Marisa's floral mini ears are a delightful twist on the classic park accessory. The pair reveal the love and magic sewn into every piece, giving fans like you a unique way to keep the Disney spirit alive in and out of the parks.
Earlier in the show, Kris and Vanessa discuss fun activities and experiences along with different areas for kids to play that might sometimes be overlooked during a trip. From the whimsy of Dumbo's play area to the swashbuckling fun of a Pirate's Adventure, we've got your map to the treasures that lie beyond the typical rides and parades. Epcot's not just for the grown-ups either; we're sharing all the child-friendly gems like Kidcot Fun Stops that turn the World Showcase into a cultural playground, and the interactive wonders awaiting at The Seas Pavilion.
We round out our adventure with a heartwarming reflection on Walt Disney's own hand in designing the nostalgic Tom Sawyer Island. There's something special about stepping onto the rafts and crossing over to a place where families can connect just as Walt envisioned. Whether you're reminiscing about past visits or planning your next trip, our conversation will remind you why Disney parks are the canvas for creating those cherished memories. So let's set off together – there's a whole world of Disney waiting for us to explore!
- Joe Critelli Art Instagram Profile
- Disney Food Blog Things to do with Kids
- Mouse Hacking Best Attractions for Toddlers at Animal Kingdom
- Mouse Hacking Best Attractions for Toddlers at Epcot
- Undercover Tourist Disney with Young Kids
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Dislove podcast with Vanessa and
Chris.
I'm Vanessa Ferguson.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
And I'm Chris Johns.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
We'd like to welcome you to show number 147.
And for any listeners joiningus for the first time, our show
features things we love atDisney and in each episode we
have a guest who creates Disneymagic for our listeners at home
or on their Disney vacations.
From vacation planners toproduct producers, our guests
can bring Disney magic into yourlife.
And, as a reminder to ourlisteners, we appreciate if you
(00:32):
take time to leave us a reviewon Apple Podcasts or any other
platform where you listen.
That helps new listeners findthe show and, of course, helps
the show grow.
And before we get started,chris, we have a message from
our friends Eric and Alexa.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
They want to help you the next time you come to
Disney, and whether that be abrand new stroller, crib or
other accessory for your child,their company, babyquip, can
take care of you.
That's BabyQuip Q-U-I-P.
As your BabyQuip independentquality provider, eric and Alexa
will provide you with excellentservice by providing clean and
useful equipment to make yourvacation easy.
(01:08):
What's great is and we've usedthem many times is that they
will Karis needs she still needsa stroller.
You know she's doing better,but she still needs a little
help because we're in the parkso long, and with that we also
want a place to keep our stuff,and so we have rented multiple
strollers from Baby Quip.
The delivery is always on time,prompt, with a smile, and the
(01:28):
equipment is top-notch and brandnew.
And so, with that, reach out toBaby Quip that's Eric and Alexa
to take care of your next needswhen you go to Disney World.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
And, of course, we have the link to their page
right in the show notes, socheck them out.
We have the link to their pageright in the show notes, so
check them out.
Now, on today's show, I'mexcited because, again, if
you've been listening recently,we've had quite a few guests
that we've gotten a chance tomeet in person, which is always
super exciting.
So today we have a duo, butthey have two different
(01:59):
businesses, so I'm excited aboutthat as well.
We have a husband and wife team.
We have Joe from Joe CritelliArt and his wife, marissa from
Mad Madam Mimco.
Joe does commissioned fanartwork and I personally have a
great figment piece from himthat I love I got when we saw
(02:19):
him in Florida.
And Marissa's business includeshandmade and custom ordered
Disney inspired floral mini ears, and you'll hear more about how
we met them at the House ofMouse Expo in a little bit, but
we're really looking forward tosharing about their businesses.
But before we get to thatinterview, we want to talk about
some of the best things to dowith your kids when at the park.
(02:41):
So when we met Joe and Marissa,they had their daughter with
them, and we always travel withour daughter a lot of the time,
so I wanted to share some ofjust some of those unusual
things that you might not thinkof.
I'm not going to talk aboutstandard rides.
We're going to talk aboutexperiences and maybe some of
those off the beaten path things.
So before we get started, Ijust want to say I use some of
(03:03):
our personal experience.
We also looked at some greatthings from our friends at
Touring Plans, disney Food Blog,undercover Tourists and Mouse
Hacking for their tips as well,and we're just going to go park
by park like we usually do.
Now some of these are going tobe more obvious, and some I even
found a couple things that I'mnot known about either.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Really Tell me more.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Yeah, so I'm not sure .
Of course, our daughter hasonly been with us since 2019,
and we had a couple years ofCOVID in between, so we probably
aren't as seasoned as some ofthe parents, so hopefully some
of these areas will be new toyou as well.
Now, starting off in MagicKingdom, I did pick one that was
kind of obvious and we havebeen there with our daughter,
(03:46):
but I think sometimes peopledon't pay attention when they're
in the ride queue.
If you go and get in line forthe Dumbo ride, there is a play
area that's right in the queue.
It's nice because it's aplayground.
It has a lot of like climbingequipment, it's inside and air
conditioned, which is definitelya plus, and they have some
interactive things as well.
(04:06):
Our daughter can't climb onstuff as much, but we have been
in there with her.
It allows you to basically bein line without being in line,
which that's always a benefit aswell, and so usually Dumbo, I
think, is a given for takinglittle ones to the park, of
course, yeah, so it gives you alittle bit of a break when
you're waiting in line for that.
The playground is really a lotof fun, so definitely check that
(04:29):
out.
Moving now to some more thingsthat you might not think about.
This is kind of a fun thing,especially if you have a little
bit older kids.
I had a friend who recentlywent and I suggested this to her
for her and her son.
It's called A Pirate'sAdventure Treasure of the Seven
Seas, and this is an interactivething that takes you through
(04:50):
Adventureland.
So what you do is you start outat the old cartography shop
near Golden Oak Post and this isright near like after you've
walked past Pirates and you'rekind of circling around the
backside of Pecos Bill that'swhere you'll see it and you
essentially you with your magicband you are going to activate.
(05:12):
They have one of five differentmissions and with it, when you
go there and you set up thisactivation, they have a map that
goes depending on which missionyou select, and what it will do
is it will take you to four orfive different stops throughout
Adventureland and when you getto each stop you're going to
scan your magic band and thenthere's like a little animation
(05:35):
and a little story that unfoldsin front of you, and this is
usually about 30 to 45 secondsand it's a fun experience.
It adds a little something ifyou've been there a lot of times
.
I think it's also in your kindof you're on this adventure to
help find missing treasure,which is super cool and it's all
in that one area.
So if you're just looking for,maybe it's a busier time of day
(05:58):
and you want to just dosomething to escape the lines
definitely a fun thing to do andeach station is really
integrated well into the spacewhere it's at and kids love this
a lot.
I know we haven't done thispersonal one.
We did some of its predecessorsand just watching kids they
really get into it and there'ssome special effects that get
(06:19):
triggered depending on what spotyou're at.
So Pirates Adventure I wouldsay adults enjoy this as well,
but definitely for the kids inyour group, they will enjoy that
quite a bit.
Now, moving over to a placethat we've gone we actually
haven't been here in a long timeTom Sawyer Island.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Really.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Yeah, we haven't been there in a long time.
We actually like to go there toget a break from the park.
When it's busy or when it's hotit's a nice reprieve.
But what you do is you board araft that is right across from
Big Thunder Mountain and ittakes you across to the island,
so Tom Sawyer Island, if youdon't know where that is, that's
essentially the island that yousee where the riverboat goes
(07:02):
across and it kind of surroundsthe area between Frontierland
moving into towards HauntedMansion, and there on Tom Sawyer
Island they have a lot ofdifferent things and really this
is a great place for littleones to run off energy, because
you can't really let your kidrun around the regular park.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
You cannot.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
So if you have a little one that needs, or maybe
an older one that needs to burnoff some energy, tom Sawyer
Island is a place that they canrun and run freely Over at.
When you first get there, theyhave, like, the white picket
fence where you can pretend likeyou're painting the fence.
Where did we go, do that, chris?
I'm going to ask you a triviathat's non-Disney related.
Ask me that one more time so Ifully know when did we go?
Speaker 2 (07:50):
do the white picket fence from Tom Sawyer when?
Speaker 1 (07:51):
did we go Huckleberry Finn?
I guess technically.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Huckleberry Finn.
I'm drawing a blank, I'm sorry,hannibal Missouri.
Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes,hannibal Missouri.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Yeah, so anyways, they had the white picket fence
and then, moving past there,they have Scavenger's Fort and
this is where it looks like Tomand Huck created a playground
out of parts of ships and lumberand barrels, so it's a great
way for kids to play.
And then, moving from there,there is an area where there is
(08:19):
a cave and with the cave it'sactually called Old Scr, old
scratch's, mine, and there youcan walk through.
I guess old scratch was alisten to this the pre-civil war
name for the devil old scratchyes, okay, so old scratch is
mine is a cave that you canwander through.
(08:40):
It has, um, a kind of a spookylooking face on the outside rock
and and it's kind of a neatthing it has a dark passage.
They have like bat soundeffects and different things
like that.
I know when I've been there Idon't know if it's just because
it's dark, but it always seemslike it's a little cooler in
there and from there you can goalong.
(09:01):
There's a wooden bridge that'ssuspended over a pit and it
takes you over to a mill areaand there you can go to.
There's a wooden bridge that'ssuspended over a pit and it
takes you over to a mill areaand there you can go to the top
of the mill and you can look outand there's a good overview,
like a great view of MagicKingdom.
And of course, in the main partof the island is Fort Langhorne
and this is kind of cool becausethey have a blacksmith shop
(09:22):
with the audio animatronicblacksmith and there's some
cannons that are out pointedtowards the rivers of America.
So it's just kind of a funexperience.
It takes you back to adifferent time, much different
than the hustle and the bustleof the rest of the park.
And I will say, Chris, do youremember even being on Tom
Sawyer Island?
I'm betting you don't.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
I do not.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
So we would like to go.
There are some chairs rockingchairs that you can go and sit
and face towards Big ThunderMountain and it's fun just to
watch the ride and you can watchthe riverboat go by.
That's not really kid orientedlike we're talking about, but
definitely a great place foryour little ones to run and get
some energy off.
One note that is important fora lot of people it's not.
(10:09):
Most of the island is nothandicap accessible and
strollers are not allowed on theisland either.
So that's a note to keep inmind, depending on if your
little one needs a stroller, butyou have a space that you can
leave them when you take theraft over to the island.
But just a few things to keepin mind.
So that kind of rounds out ourmore unusual things at Magic
(10:30):
Kingdom.
Moving over to HollywoodStudios, there's some things
that you may or may not haveexperienced.
I will say Hollywood Studioshas the best shows for kids.
Our daughter loves Frozen,singalong and the Beauty and the
Beast show, but I think thoseare pretty obvious.
To go to those, definitely.
Now, one that people don'toften know about or maybe don't
go to over in the animationcourtyard there's the Disney
(10:52):
Junior where you can meet andgreet some of the characters.
But a lot of people don'trealize towards the far side of
that is the Disney Junior playand dance party.
And you go in there and they'llhave characters from some of
the Disney Junior Play and DanceParty.
And you go in there and they'llhave characters from some of
the Disney Junior series.
They have music and the kidscan dance and have a good time.
It reminds me of the danceparties that they do at some of
(11:12):
the after hours events and theneven like some of the cruise
line.
It's a great way if you have alittle one that likes to dance,
and get to see some of thosecharacters up close as well, as
it's in the air conditioning,which is always a bonus.
Another thing, kind of in atucked off in another corner.
Now, we've never stayed for thewhole show, but if you have a
(11:33):
little one who loves cars,you'll definitely want to check
out the Lightning McQueen RaceAcademy.
It's just a 10 minute show butit has lightning where he talks
about his experiences, andthere's a video that's like a
360 video.
I've heard from people whosekids love cars that they
absolutely enjoy a lot.
Now, our daughter isn't superinto cars, so we went into the
(11:56):
courtyard area and there you canget pictures with some of the
friends from Radiator Springs,you can meet crews, they'll have
a DJ that will be playing musicright after each of the regular
scheduled shows and they'll dosome Cars-inspired games and
dances.
So it's kind of a nice fun areathat immerses you in that world
(12:19):
.
It's definitely not like CarsLand at California Adventure,
but it still gives you a goodtaste of that.
I think most people don'trealize where it is because it's
tucked back behind Rockin'Roller Coaster, so it's really
quite a hike back there, like wewalked back there and did some
photos in that, but it'sdefinitely not somewhere you
have to be going there Exactly,so that is a nice thing to check
(12:42):
out as well.
At Hollywood Studios.
Now we're going to move over toAnimal Kingdom and I think one
place that a lot of people knowabout but maybe they just walk
by, is over in Dinoland, theBoneyard.
This is an open air space whereit looks like it's a play area
for kids, but it looks like it'sa dinosaur dig and you get to
(13:03):
pretend that you're apaleontologist, which is super
fun If you have a kid that lovesdinosaurs or maybe just needs
some energy to run off.
Definitely a great place to dothat.
Now, when you move over tofurther back in the park, you
can take the Wildlife Expresstrain and it takes you back to
an area that is really great forlittle ones and we need to take
(13:27):
our daughter back here again.
They have a petting zoo, anature trail.
They show the animal carefacility.
Little ones will especiallylike the petting zoo If you have
some older ones with you backthere.
They also have the animationexperience where you get to
create a Disney character andthey show you how to draw them,
(13:47):
which is super fun.
So really this place has stufffor little ones and for older
kids and our friends Shane andCharlie.
They had their pre-reception atthe train station.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Very nice.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Yes, so great area.
Another thing that I think isgreat to do our daughter always
enjoys it is they have thetrails throughout the park where
you can look at differentanimals.
But we really enjoy doing theMaharaja Jungle Trek where you
can see the tigers, and that's acool experience.
We've also done some of theones where you can see the apes
(14:18):
up close.
But if you have any kids thatlove animals, I think taking
those trails is a niceexperience, because on the
safari you're never guaranteedwhat animals you're going to see
, and on these trails you'lldefinitely see specific animals,
which is nice.
Now, last but not least, we aregoing to move over to Epcot, and
one of the things that I thinkpeople overlook is they often
(14:41):
think that Epcot is not for kids, and I would argue that it's
one of our favorite places to gowith our daughter because
there's great character, meetand greets and things like that,
but there's also a lot ofinteractive things for kids and,
kind of as a side note, if youhave little ones, do not.
I would highly recommend avoidgoing to Epcot on the weekends
(15:04):
during food and wine.
It just gets so crazy busy onSaturday and Sunday.
I've been there as an adult,since we've had our daughter,
but she thankfully wasn't withme, I was with my friend.
I just would not recommendgoing during food and wine with
any little ones.
That's kind of my side noteBack to what we were talking
about with any little ones.
(15:24):
That's kind of my side noteBack to what we were talking
about.
One of the things that I thinkis fun to do in the World
Showcase is they have the kidspots where these are little
activities where at each of thepavilions kids get a card and
they get a sticker and learnlittle things about the culture
that's at each country, and so Iwill put in the show notes the
locations of these, becausesometimes they're tucked a
(15:45):
little further back and youmight not know where they're at.
But I've even picked up like onour recent trip our daughter
wasn't with us so I picked upsome of the little cards and
stickers for her.
They're really great aboutletting you do that and the
KidKat spots.
It engages them when you'regoing around the countries,
because that's not always themost exciting, depending on what
your kids interests are, andwhen you move further towards
(16:11):
the front of the park in futureworld one place.
That is a lot of fun and we'vespent a lot of time.
There is in the seas pavilion.
They have the area that's afterthe ride.
Part of it's called Bruce'sShark World and then part of
it's just the open aquariums.
Our daughter really enjoyswalking through and looking at
all the fish and the dolphinsand everything in the large
(16:33):
aquarium spaces and we've spentquite a bit of time there.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
And it's just a great place just to kind of unwind,
relax.
It's a wonderful ambiance forfamilies.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Yes, and they have a really cute photo op in the
Bruce's Shark World area whereit looks like you're in his
mouth, which is fun If you havekids that really like finding
Nemo or just are really amazedby kind of interactive things.
You have Turtle Talk with Crush.
That show is in that area aswell, so I highly recommend
checking that out.
(17:02):
One place that I had neverheard.
I mean, I've been on this ridebut I didn't realize they had
this area, maybe because wedon't really ride Mission Space.
I don't even remember the lasttime we rode Mission Space,
Correct?
So even if you don't rideMission Space, near the exit
there's what's called theAdvanced Training Lab and Space
Base, and so here this is supercool.
(17:24):
They have a play area, which isa whole playground, where kids
can climb and slide and explorethings, and it's all in the AC.
So if you have a little one whoneeds to run off some energy,
go to the Space Base over byMission Space.
They also have in the AdvancedTraining Lab they have some
things that are great for alittle bit older kids.
They have a what's calledExpedition Mars, where you're on
(17:48):
a mission where you to takefour astronauts to Mars, and I
guess it's like a four minuteinteractive experience.
Then they have Mission SpaceRace, where you are working to
get your rocket back to groundcontrol first, and they have
different teams and essentiallyup to 50 people can play this
(18:11):
and it's kind of a fun thing.
It takes about 15 minutes to doso if you decide to engage in
that, make sure you have sometime.
And then finally just this iseven something the adults can
enjoy you can send postcardsfrom space, where you can email
a video postcard to anyone,which is a fun little souvenir.
I always like having thoselittle things that you can email
or share on social media.
Now, something that variesdepending on the time of year
(18:33):
you go are the festivalscavenger hunts.
These do have an added costthey're usually around $10, but
you can get them and they'lltake you around to different
parts of the World Showcase,Like we were there last year
around Easter and they had onethat took you around where all
the Easter eggs were duringFlower and Garden.
(18:54):
They have one.
They had one with Figmentrecently.
So they're scavenger hunt mapsthat you purchase and then you
go and you look for these thingsin different locations in the
World Showcase and at the endyou receive a little prize you
go to.
There are certain designatedshops that you go to to get them
, so those are fun.
And, last but not least, this isa new attraction which I think
(19:16):
people go there to get photos,but they don't really take time
necessarily always to enjoy allthe interactive experiences
there.
But the Journey of Water,inspired by Moana, has a really
great trail that as you walkalong it there is all kinds of
interactive things that makemusic and you can control the
water to do lots of differentthings, which is super fun.
(19:38):
And I'm bummed, the time wewere there with our daughter it
started raining so we reallydidn't get to experience a lot
of it.
But definitely check out theJourney of Water.
That Moana area is really cool.
So give us that kind of roundsout, everything that we talked
about with the different parksand some of those fun
(19:59):
experiences you can do with kids.
Now give us just a minute andwe'll get our call up with Joe
and Marissa.
We'd like to welcome Joe andMarissa to the show.
We have kind of a specialepisode today because they are a
husband and wife team and theyeach have their own Disney
related business, so we're superexcited to hear from them.
So Joe has his business, JoeCritelli Art, and he does some
(20:22):
commission pieces.
I got a really cool figmentpiece from him recently.
And then Marissa has an earbusiness.
She has Mad Madam Mimco whereshe does some really cute fun
designs in Mickey ears.
So we are super excited to havethem both on the show.
Hi, Welcome, Thank you.
Now, as usual, we always startoff by asking our guests a
(20:45):
little bit about what they enjoyat the Disney parks.
So right now we've been askingpeople what is your favorite
event at any Disney park?
Speaker 3 (20:53):
Probably I would say just going around the autumn
time is like my favorite.
I mean I guess it's notnecessary.
I mean I guess it could be anevent if you stay for the
Halloween party.
So I guess, yeah, that'sprobably my favorite.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
I love going that time of year I actually like the
we did once was just theregular after hours.
The regular we did that forMagic Kingdom.
It was fun.
It really was.
When we went it wasn't thatcrowded at all.
It went by fast, even though Ithink it's only like two or
three hours.
I forget how long it's going tostay for the after hours, but
it was a lot of fun.
I just really enjoyed doingthat Because the crowds when you
(21:33):
have that, you feel like you'rethe only one in the park with
that many people For sure.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
We've done those before and we always like that a
lot too.
Now we are going to go back andforth and hear about both of
your businesses.
So first, if you could eachtell us about your business and
the products you offer connectedto Disney.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
So for my business, which is the Mad Madam Mimco, my
shop is on Etsy and it's whereI really just kind of do
inspired mini Mickey ears withit's.
Mostly they have like that nicefloral touch and they're all
inspired with the color or thestyling of like.
If there's a one of them, I dida Lilo and Stitch inspired one.
(22:14):
So I did like red flower, redflowers with white, so it almost
looked like Lilo's dress.
And then I also do customorders where people will
specifically reach out to me andask for something that they
have in mind.
And recently I had one forMonsters Inc where I had to
custom make those.
So, which was fun, I got to dohorns and, yeah, just a little
(22:37):
bit more different than just theflowers also, so I was able to
sculpt some stuff.
Oh, fun, that's very nice.
I love doing the custom ones.
That's where I get to reallykind of work my inner creativity
.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Now, how about you, Joe?
Speaker 4 (22:53):
Yeah, so I do basically a lot of hand-drawn
illustrations for Disney.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
So I just do a lot of .
Speaker 4 (22:58):
Disney characters on mostly 4x6 cards, More
personalized.
I use inks and Copic markers todo so.
I love drawing all Disneycharacters.
We try to do a lot of uniqueones that you know people at
cons come and see and catchtheir eye oh, I remember that
one.
Or, like you know, ones fromforgotten Disney attraction,
(23:20):
Like we did smart one from Epcotfor the old communicor.
So Murphy here gives me a lotof ideas too for which ones to
do.
So we like to try to do somedeep dives, but also some
regular ones, obviously too,when newer movies come out, or
you know it's our favoritemovies or attractions.
So we kind of run the gamut ofjust the regular animation and
park illustrations.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
That's awesome.
Now for both of you.
What were your inspirations tostart your business?
You know you're both creative,but you're in different areas.
Tell our listeners a littlemore about that.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
Well, I come from a background of fashion design and
when I started, when I had tolike work a regular kind of like
nine to five job it was more itwasn't quite as creative as I
wanted.
So I needed an outlet for mycrafts and stuff like that.
So and I love Disney, for mycrafts and stuff like that, and
(24:07):
I love Disney and I felt thatthis was a really good way for
me to use that muscle and keepmyself both in the Disney
community and using my creativeskills while I still had a day
job.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Right right.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
How about you, joe?
Yeah, so I've always lovedillustration and drawing when I
was a kid and I went on to thatin college too, learned a lot of
illustration but also kind ofsplintered into graphic design
and did a lot of graphic designright out of college.
But it kind of went back intomy illustration skills.
So I'm always I was always abig fan of Disney.
Aladdin is my favorite movie ofall time.
(24:37):
I used to just draw the genieconstantly.
He's my favorite character, youknow, and I'm also a kid of the
80s and 90s, so I also draw alot of Ninja Turtles and stuff
like that.
I feel like to do that now, andnow that I feel like I've
gotten a bit better at it, Ilike to just make things that I
used to love as a kid, andDisney is one of the things I
loved as a kid.
I still do, obviously, but it'sjust fun being able to draw
(24:57):
those characters.
Now it's just become a real—Ido graphic design still, but you
know, this is kind of like mymain passion that I would love
to pursue and kind of continueon with.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Now you've both shared about some of the great
things that you do through yourbusiness.
Could you share a little bit ofhow you think these kind of add
some Disney magic to yourcustomers' lives?
Speaker 4 (25:17):
So I think kind of reiterates what I said before is
that I think it's I get a lotof fun reactions for when people
kind of go through my stuff atshows and they see like unique
characters that either no one'slike either drawn or like they
remember, either minorcharacters from movies or from
the parks.
So it's fun getting thatreaction from them and them
saying, oh man, I forgot aboutthis, or man, I remember this
(25:38):
when I was a kid or somethingalong those lines.
So just adding that kind of funin is, I think, is special, I
think it's it's fun for me, Iget a good sense of it too and I
feel like a good accomplishment.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
And I guess then for myself then it would just be
seeing photos of my customerswearing their ears at the parks.
It's like you can see thatthey're, they got that little
spark of joy and then me seeingthat is just like exactly what I
want.
It's just so.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Now we've talked about all these great things
that you both make.
Where can people find them?
Like, how do they?
If I wanted to order a artpiece from Joe, or if I want a
pair of ears from you, marissa,how do I go about ordering those
?
Speaker 3 (26:17):
The best way to do it would be through, or it would
be to go to my Etsy shop and andthat would be the best way to
do it I already have like a setpair, like I always have these
ears.
They're ready, they'rerelatively ready to go, and then
I also have custom orders.
And or you can, people can DMme through my Instagram account,
(26:38):
which is basically the sameit's mad, mad and then co
through it on Instagram, andeither either way, that's the
best way to uh reach out and toand or to purchase something how
about you joe with your art?
Speaker 4 (26:51):
yeah, for me, um, I'm I'm pretty active with my art
on my instagram at jay cortellijr, but, uh, people can dm me
right there.
That's mostly how I take a lotof my commissions, um, and we
could talk what's needed fromthere.
I also have a forum on my site,um cartelliartcom, to where
people could also reach out andgoes right to my email to do
commissions and also yourthreads.
Yeah, I have a thread it's thesame same name at jay cartelli
(27:14):
jr.
Um, so most, most socials, butmostly instagram is where I'm
most active these days now, if Iwere wanting to get, uh, one of
, I'll ask for both things.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
If I were wanting to get one of, I'll ask for both
things.
If I were wanting to get acommissioned piece of art, let's
say for a gift, how soon wouldI need to order something?
And then same thing, marissa.
If I were wanting ears for anupcoming trip, how soon would I
need to order through you If?
Speaker 3 (27:34):
you want it for an upcoming trip.
It usually takes me anywherefrom five to eight days is my
order and that's for one pair.
So like I'll start from scratch, I usually so that takes
anywhere from five to eight daysand shipping is usually
relatively quick.
I ship through regular USPS andit ships any people have gotten
(27:56):
their orders anywhere fromthree to six business days, so
that would be like kind of likethe time frame if someone needs
anything, probably like about agood two weeks.
Ok, great, how about?
Speaker 4 (28:07):
you, joe.
Yeah, so basically for me, onceI get the commission and we
settle on exactly what's neededand based on, you know, the ask
of it, if it's multiple pieces,if it's a bigger piece, if it's
a small piece, so it coulddepend between for me, basically
two to three days to do theartwork and then sending it out
from there, depending where theperson lives.
(28:27):
So maybe up to a week or sobetween actually getting all the
information, doing the actualart pieces and then sending it
out, I would say is probably apretty good estimate.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
Now I always like to ask do either of you, or both of
you, have a favorite piece ofwork that you've done?
Or, in your case, marissa, afavorite piece of work?
Speaker 3 (28:46):
that you've done, or, in your case, marissa, favorite
pair of ears?
Oh yeah, it's.
It's definitely my tiki.
I love my tiki inspired ears.
Those are my, those are myfavorite ones to do.
Those are what I get the mostreaction.
Those are my highest orders ismy red tiki ears that are also
velo and stitch inspired.
They're they're so pretty, Ilove them how about you?
Speaker 1 (29:03):
do you have a favorite art piece?
Speaker 4 (29:06):
So kind of yes, I turned it into a sticker, but I
probably should turn it into aprint.
One of the more recent things Idid is the genie as a superhero
from.
Actually, he did it for like asplit second in the Return of
Jafar movie, which is actuallyone of my other favorite movies,
believe it or not, the sequelto Aladdin and I thought, oh man
, that was always such a coolthing.
(29:27):
I don't know why.
I mean, I'm also a bigsuperhero fan and Genie is also
my favorite character.
So drawing that one splitsecond kind of thing he did was
fun, and I think people seem tosee that go wow.
I don't see this around veryoften already at all, so I think
it's one of my favorite thingsI've drawn.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Now this is just for Marissa.
If anybody's listened to ourshow for a long time, they know.
Whenever we have anyone whomakes ears, I have to ask.
I have a really big head andeveryone knows like the
Disney-branded ears are not verycomfortable for most people.
So how do yours rate forcomfort?
Speaker 3 (30:01):
So word on the street is, or at least the feedback
that I've gotten from theheadbands that I order from that
they are very, very comfortableand in fact the ones and I've
worn my own ears to the park andthey are they are pretty
comfortable, they're very,they're very, they're not overly
thick, they don't compressagainst the head, they're just
easy to wear for the most part.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Now do you?
Speaker 3 (30:21):
know, and they're also very lightweight.
I know the um, the ones thatyou get at the park are not as
lightweight because they're very.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
They're compressed and stuff perfect and I know I
saw some of your ears.
They looked like they were morecomfortable.
When we saw we saw you guys atthe house of mouse expo.
They looked great.
But you always have to ask.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
I always have to ask absolutely yeah no you can't try
them on necessarily now, withthat, you mentioned your artwork
the ears.
Where can people go online tofind the great?
With that, you mentioned yourartwork, the ears.
Where can people go online tofind the great things that both
of you create?
Speaker 3 (30:47):
Yeah, honestly, it would be through my Instagram.
If I come up with anything new,I usually post on there.
That's definitely the best wayto see any artwork or new
designs.
And then, of course, if youjust frequent the Etsy shop,
that would also be the best wayto do it, and anything that's
new that would come in would beposted on there on both.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
Now, how about your artwork?
Speaker 4 (31:08):
Yeah, mostly I, like I said, like Instagram is kind
of where I showcase a lot of myartwork, so my Instagram is
probably the best place forwhere I showcase pretty much
anything.
Recently I do.
I do update my siteoccasionally with some new
pieces just to show, for youknow, portfolio stuff and just
to get the page updated.
(31:28):
But mostly Instagram is where alot of my art will be shown.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
Now we will make sure to put the links to all of the
socials in your website and Etsyshop and the show notes, but we
want to thank you both forjoining us today.
Speaker 4 (31:42):
Yes, thank you so much for having us.
This is fun.
It was so great to meet youguys at the expo.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Thank you again to Joe Marissa for joining us today
.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
And now we are on to our two-minute trivia and our
wisdom from Walt Quote and Chris, you are up with trivia.
Well, we talked a lot about.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
Tom Sawyer Island.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Yes, we did so.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
I'm going to ask you a trivia question about Tom
Sawyer Island.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
True or false, tom Sawyer Island has the
distinction of being the onlyattraction actually designed by
Walt Disney himself.
False, incorrect.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Oh, he did it all by himself.
According to the internet, hewas unhappy with the original
(32:35):
design, so he took the planshome, redesigned the island and
had the workers execute hisvision show.
Right, all right.
Now we talked about familiesand experiences you can do
together.
So this goes back to one ofthose tried and true quotes that
you've probably heard numeroustimes.
But we believed in our idea afamily park where parents and
children could have fun together, and that's what Disney is all
(32:58):
about going, whether it be withyour kids, your parents, family,
friends, all kinds of differentthings that we can all
experience it together.
And thank you so much forjoining us on this episode.
Make sure to follow us on oursocial media and to check out
all the other episodes on ourBuzzsprout page.
And thank you so much forjoining us on this episode of
(33:19):
the Diz Love Podcast withVanessa and Chris.
I'm Vanessa.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
And I and Chris, I'm Vanessa.
Speaker 4 (33:23):
And I'm Chris.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
This podcast is not affiliated with the Walt Disney
Company or its holdings, and itis intended for entertainment
purposes only.
Welcome to the Dislove podcast with Vanessa and
Chris.
I'm Vanessa Ferguson.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
And I'm Chris Johns.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
We'd like to welcome you to show number 147.
And for any listeners joiningus for the first time, our show
features things we love atDisney and in each episode we
have a guest who creates Disneymagic for our listeners at home
or on their Disney vacations.
From vacation planners toproduct producers, our guests
can bring Disney magic into yourlife.
And, as a reminder to ourlisteners, we appreciate if you
(00:32):
take time to leave us a reviewon Apple Podcasts or any other
platform where you listen.
That helps new listeners findthe show and, of course, helps
the show grow.
And before we get started,chris, we have a message from
our friends Eric and Alexa.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
They want to help you the next time you come to
Disney, and whether that be abrand new stroller, crib or
other accessory for your child,their company, babyquip, can
take care of you.
That's BabyQuip Q-U-I-P.
As your BabyQuip independentquality provider, eric and Alexa
will provide you with excellentservice by providing clean and
useful equipment to make yourvacation easy.
(01:08):
What's great is and we've usedthem many times is that they
will Karis needs she still needsa stroller.
You know she's doing better,but she still needs a little
help because we're in the parkso long, and with that we also
want a place to keep our stuff,and so we have rented multiple
strollers from Baby Quip.
The delivery is always on time,prompt, with a smile, and the
(01:28):
equipment is top-notch and brandnew.
And so, with that, reach out toBaby Quip that's Eric and Alexa
to take care of your next needswhen you go to Disney World.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
And, of course, we have the link to their page
right in the show notes, socheck them out.
We have the link to their pageright in the show notes, so
check them out.
Now, on today's show, I'mexcited because, again, if
you've been listening recently,we've had quite a few guests
that we've gotten a chance tomeet in person, which is always
super exciting.
So today we have a duo, butthey have two different
(01:59):
businesses, so I'm excited aboutthat as well.
We have a husband and wife team.
We have Joe from Joe CritelliArt and his wife, marissa from
Mad Madam Mimco.
Joe does commissioned fanartwork and I personally have a
great figment piece from himthat I love I got when we saw
(02:19):
him in Florida.
And Marissa's business includeshandmade and custom ordered
Disney inspired floral mini ears, and you'll hear more about how
we met them at the House ofMouse Expo in a little bit, but
we're really looking forward tosharing about their businesses.
But before we get to thatinterview, we want to talk about
some of the best things to dowith your kids when at the park.
(02:41):
So when we met Joe and Marissa,they had their daughter with
them, and we always travel withour daughter a lot of the time,
so I wanted to share some ofjust some of those unusual
things that you might not thinkof.
I'm not going to talk aboutstandard rides.
We're going to talk aboutexperiences and maybe some of
those off the beaten path things.
So before we get started, Ijust want to say I use some of
(03:03):
our personal experience.
We also looked at some greatthings from our friends at
Touring Plans, disney Food Blog,undercover Tourists and Mouse
Hacking for their tips as well,and we're just going to go park
by park like we usually do.
Now some of these are going tobe more obvious, and some I even
found a couple things that I'mnot known about either.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Really Tell me more.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Yeah, so I'm not sure .
Of course, our daughter hasonly been with us since 2019,
and we had a couple years ofCOVID in between, so we probably
aren't as seasoned as some ofthe parents, so hopefully some
of these areas will be new toyou as well.
Now, starting off in MagicKingdom, I did pick one that was
kind of obvious and we havebeen there with our daughter,
(03:46):
but I think sometimes peopledon't pay attention when they're
in the ride queue.
If you go and get in line forthe Dumbo ride, there is a play
area that's right in the queue.
It's nice because it's aplayground.
It has a lot of like climbingequipment, it's inside and air
conditioned, which is definitelya plus, and they have some
interactive things as well.
(04:06):
Our daughter can't climb onstuff as much, but we have been
in there with her.
It allows you to basically bein line without being in line,
which that's always a benefit aswell, and so usually Dumbo, I
think, is a given for takinglittle ones to the park, of
course, yeah, so it gives you alittle bit of a break when
you're waiting in line for that.
The playground is really a lotof fun, so definitely check that
(04:29):
out.
Moving now to some more thingsthat you might not think about.
This is kind of a fun thing,especially if you have a little
bit older kids.
I had a friend who recentlywent and I suggested this to her
for her and her son.
It's called A Pirate'sAdventure Treasure of the Seven
Seas, and this is an interactivething that takes you through
(04:50):
Adventureland.
So what you do is you start outat the old cartography shop
near Golden Oak Post and this isright near like after you've
walked past Pirates and you'rekind of circling around the
backside of Pecos Bill that'swhere you'll see it and you
essentially you with your magicband you are going to activate.
(05:12):
They have one of five differentmissions and with it, when you
go there and you set up thisactivation, they have a map that
goes depending on which missionyou select, and what it will do
is it will take you to four orfive different stops throughout
Adventureland and when you getto each stop you're going to
scan your magic band and thenthere's like a little animation
(05:35):
and a little story that unfoldsin front of you, and this is
usually about 30 to 45 secondsand it's a fun experience.
It adds a little something ifyou've been there a lot of times
.
I think it's also in your kindof you're on this adventure to
help find missing treasure,which is super cool and it's all
in that one area.
So if you're just looking for,maybe it's a busier time of day
(05:58):
and you want to just dosomething to escape the lines
definitely a fun thing to do andeach station is really
integrated well into the spacewhere it's at and kids love this
a lot.
I know we haven't done thispersonal one.
We did some of its predecessorsand just watching kids they
really get into it and there'ssome special effects that get
(06:19):
triggered depending on what spotyou're at.
So Pirates Adventure I wouldsay adults enjoy this as well,
but definitely for the kids inyour group, they will enjoy that
quite a bit.
Now, moving over to a placethat we've gone we actually
haven't been here in a long timeTom Sawyer Island.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Really.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Yeah, we haven't been there in a long time.
We actually like to go there toget a break from the park.
When it's busy or when it's hotit's a nice reprieve.
But what you do is you board araft that is right across from
Big Thunder Mountain and ittakes you across to the island,
so Tom Sawyer Island, if youdon't know where that is, that's
essentially the island that yousee where the riverboat goes
(07:02):
across and it kind of surroundsthe area between Frontierland
moving into towards HauntedMansion, and there on Tom Sawyer
Island they have a lot ofdifferent things and really this
is a great place for littleones to run off energy, because
you can't really let your kidrun around the regular park.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
You cannot.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
So if you have a little one that needs, or maybe
an older one that needs to burnoff some energy, tom Sawyer
Island is a place that they canrun and run freely Over at.
When you first get there, theyhave, like, the white picket
fence where you can pretend likeyou're painting the fence.
Where did we go, do that, chris?
I'm going to ask you a triviathat's non-Disney related.
Ask me that one more time so Ifully know when did we go?
Speaker 2 (07:50):
do the white picket fence from Tom Sawyer when?
Speaker 1 (07:51):
did we go Huckleberry Finn?
I guess technically.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Huckleberry Finn.
I'm drawing a blank, I'm sorry,hannibal Missouri.
Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes,hannibal Missouri.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Yeah, so anyways, they had the white picket fence
and then, moving past there,they have Scavenger's Fort and
this is where it looks like Tomand Huck created a playground
out of parts of ships and lumberand barrels, so it's a great
way for kids to play.
And then, moving from there,there is an area where there is
(08:19):
a cave and with the cave it'sactually called Old Scr, old
scratch's, mine, and there youcan walk through.
I guess old scratch was alisten to this the pre-civil war
name for the devil old scratchyes, okay, so old scratch is
mine is a cave that you canwander through.
(08:40):
It has, um, a kind of a spookylooking face on the outside rock
and and it's kind of a neatthing it has a dark passage.
They have like bat soundeffects and different things
like that.
I know when I've been there Idon't know if it's just because
it's dark, but it always seemslike it's a little cooler in
there and from there you can goalong.
(09:01):
There's a wooden bridge that'ssuspended over a pit and it
takes you over to a mill areaand there you can go to.
There's a wooden bridge that'ssuspended over a pit and it
takes you over to a mill areaand there you can go to the top
of the mill and you can look outand there's a good overview,
like a great view of MagicKingdom.
And of course, in the main partof the island is Fort Langhorne
and this is kind of cool becausethey have a blacksmith shop
(09:22):
with the audio animatronicblacksmith and there's some
cannons that are out pointedtowards the rivers of America.
So it's just kind of a funexperience.
It takes you back to adifferent time, much different
than the hustle and the bustleof the rest of the park.
And I will say, Chris, do youremember even being on Tom
Sawyer Island?
I'm betting you don't.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
I do not.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
So we would like to go.
There are some chairs rockingchairs that you can go and sit
and face towards Big ThunderMountain and it's fun just to
watch the ride and you can watchthe riverboat go by.
That's not really kid orientedlike we're talking about, but
definitely a great place foryour little ones to run and get
some energy off.
One note that is important fora lot of people it's not.
(10:09):
Most of the island is nothandicap accessible and
strollers are not allowed on theisland either.
So that's a note to keep inmind, depending on if your
little one needs a stroller, butyou have a space that you can
leave them when you take theraft over to the island.
But just a few things to keepin mind.
So that kind of rounds out ourmore unusual things at Magic
(10:30):
Kingdom.
Moving over to HollywoodStudios, there's some things
that you may or may not haveexperienced.
I will say Hollywood Studioshas the best shows for kids.
Our daughter loves Frozen,singalong and the Beauty and the
Beast show, but I think thoseare pretty obvious.
To go to those, definitely.
Now, one that people don'toften know about or maybe don't
go to over in the animationcourtyard there's the Disney
(10:52):
Junior where you can meet andgreet some of the characters.
But a lot of people don'trealize towards the far side of
that is the Disney Junior playand dance party.
And you go in there and they'llhave characters from some of
the Disney Junior Play and DanceParty.
And you go in there and they'llhave characters from some of
the Disney Junior series.
They have music and the kidscan dance and have a good time.
It reminds me of the danceparties that they do at some of
(11:12):
the after hours events and theneven like some of the cruise
line.
It's a great way if you have alittle one that likes to dance,
and get to see some of thosecharacters up close as well, as
it's in the air conditioning,which is always a bonus.
Another thing, kind of in atucked off in another corner.
Now, we've never stayed for thewhole show, but if you have a
(11:33):
little one who loves cars,you'll definitely want to check
out the Lightning McQueen RaceAcademy.
It's just a 10 minute show butit has lightning where he talks
about his experiences, andthere's a video that's like a
360 video.
I've heard from people whosekids love cars that they
absolutely enjoy a lot.
Now, our daughter isn't superinto cars, so we went into the
(11:56):
courtyard area and there you canget pictures with some of the
friends from Radiator Springs,you can meet crews, they'll have
a DJ that will be playing musicright after each of the regular
scheduled shows and they'll dosome Cars-inspired games and
dances.
So it's kind of a nice fun areathat immerses you in that world
(12:19):
.
It's definitely not like CarsLand at California Adventure,
but it still gives you a goodtaste of that.
I think most people don'trealize where it is because it's
tucked back behind Rockin'Roller Coaster, so it's really
quite a hike back there, like wewalked back there and did some
photos in that, but it'sdefinitely not somewhere you
have to be going there Exactly,so that is a nice thing to check
(12:42):
out as well.
At Hollywood Studios.
Now we're going to move over toAnimal Kingdom and I think one
place that a lot of people knowabout but maybe they just walk
by, is over in Dinoland, theBoneyard.
This is an open air space whereit looks like it's a play area
for kids, but it looks like it'sa dinosaur dig and you get to
(13:03):
pretend that you're apaleontologist, which is super
fun If you have a kid that lovesdinosaurs or maybe just needs
some energy to run off.
Definitely a great place to dothat.
Now, when you move over tofurther back in the park, you
can take the Wildlife Expresstrain and it takes you back to
an area that is really great forlittle ones and we need to take
(13:27):
our daughter back here again.
They have a petting zoo, anature trail.
They show the animal carefacility.
Little ones will especiallylike the petting zoo If you have
some older ones with you backthere.
They also have the animationexperience where you get to
create a Disney character andthey show you how to draw them,
(13:47):
which is super fun.
So really this place has stufffor little ones and for older
kids and our friends Shane andCharlie.
They had their pre-reception atthe train station.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Very nice.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Yes, so great area.
Another thing that I think isgreat to do our daughter always
enjoys it is they have thetrails throughout the park where
you can look at differentanimals.
But we really enjoy doing theMaharaja Jungle Trek where you
can see the tigers, and that's acool experience.
We've also done some of theones where you can see the apes
(14:18):
up close.
But if you have any kids thatlove animals, I think taking
those trails is a niceexperience, because on the
safari you're never guaranteedwhat animals you're going to see
, and on these trails you'lldefinitely see specific animals,
which is nice.
Now, last but not least, we aregoing to move over to Epcot, and
one of the things that I thinkpeople overlook is they often
(14:41):
think that Epcot is not for kids, and I would argue that it's
one of our favorite places to gowith our daughter because
there's great character, meetand greets and things like that,
but there's also a lot ofinteractive things for kids and,
kind of as a side note, if youhave little ones, do not.
I would highly recommend avoidgoing to Epcot on the weekends
(15:04):
during food and wine.
It just gets so crazy busy onSaturday and Sunday.
I've been there as an adult,since we've had our daughter,
but she thankfully wasn't withme, I was with my friend.
I just would not recommendgoing during food and wine with
any little ones.
That's kind of my side noteBack to what we were talking
about with any little ones.
(15:24):
That's kind of my side noteBack to what we were talking
about.
One of the things that I thinkis fun to do in the World
Showcase is they have the kidspots where these are little
activities where at each of thepavilions kids get a card and
they get a sticker and learnlittle things about the culture
that's at each country, and so Iwill put in the show notes the
locations of these, becausesometimes they're tucked a
(15:45):
little further back and youmight not know where they're at.
But I've even picked up like onour recent trip our daughter
wasn't with us so I picked upsome of the little cards and
stickers for her.
They're really great aboutletting you do that and the
KidKat spots.
It engages them when you'regoing around the countries,
because that's not always themost exciting, depending on what
your kids interests are, andwhen you move further towards
(16:11):
the front of the park in futureworld one place.
That is a lot of fun and we'vespent a lot of time.
There is in the seas pavilion.
They have the area that's afterthe ride.
Part of it's called Bruce'sShark World and then part of
it's just the open aquariums.
Our daughter really enjoyswalking through and looking at
all the fish and the dolphinsand everything in the large
(16:33):
aquarium spaces and we've spentquite a bit of time there.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
And it's just a great place just to kind of unwind,
relax.
It's a wonderful ambiance forfamilies.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Yes, and they have a really cute photo op in the
Bruce's Shark World area whereit looks like you're in his
mouth, which is fun If you havekids that really like finding
Nemo or just are really amazedby kind of interactive things.
You have Turtle Talk with Crush.
That show is in that area aswell, so I highly recommend
checking that out.
(17:02):
One place that I had neverheard.
I mean, I've been on this ridebut I didn't realize they had
this area, maybe because wedon't really ride Mission Space.
I don't even remember the lasttime we rode Mission Space,
Correct?
So even if you don't rideMission Space, near the exit
there's what's called theAdvanced Training Lab and Space
Base, and so here this is supercool.
(17:24):
They have a play area, which isa whole playground, where kids
can climb and slide and explorethings, and it's all in the AC.
So if you have a little one whoneeds to run off some energy,
go to the Space Base over byMission Space.
They also have in the AdvancedTraining Lab they have some
things that are great for alittle bit older kids.
They have a what's calledExpedition Mars, where you're on
(17:48):
a mission where you to takefour astronauts to Mars, and I
guess it's like a four minuteinteractive experience.
Then they have Mission SpaceRace, where you are working to
get your rocket back to groundcontrol first, and they have
different teams and essentiallyup to 50 people can play this
(18:11):
and it's kind of a fun thing.
It takes about 15 minutes to doso if you decide to engage in
that, make sure you have sometime.
And then finally just this iseven something the adults can
enjoy you can send postcardsfrom space, where you can email
a video postcard to anyone,which is a fun little souvenir.
I always like having thoselittle things that you can email
or share on social media.
Now, something that variesdepending on the time of year
(18:33):
you go are the festivalscavenger hunts.
These do have an added costthey're usually around $10, but
you can get them and they'lltake you around to different
parts of the World Showcase,Like we were there last year
around Easter and they had onethat took you around where all
the Easter eggs were duringFlower and Garden.
(18:54):
They have one.
They had one with Figmentrecently.
So they're scavenger hunt mapsthat you purchase and then you
go and you look for these thingsin different locations in the
World Showcase and at the endyou receive a little prize you
go to.
There are certain designatedshops that you go to to get them
, so those are fun.
And, last but not least, this isa new attraction which I think
(19:16):
people go there to get photos,but they don't really take time
necessarily always to enjoy allthe interactive experiences
there.
But the Journey of Water,inspired by Moana, has a really
great trail that as you walkalong it there is all kinds of
interactive things that makemusic and you can control the
water to do lots of differentthings, which is super fun.
(19:38):
And I'm bummed, the time wewere there with our daughter it
started raining so we reallydidn't get to experience a lot
of it.
But definitely check out theJourney of Water.
That Moana area is really cool.
So give us that kind of roundsout, everything that we talked
about with the different parksand some of those fun
(19:59):
experiences you can do with kids.
Now give us just a minute andwe'll get our call up with Joe
and Marissa.
We'd like to welcome Joe andMarissa to the show.
We have kind of a specialepisode today because they are a
husband and wife team and theyeach have their own Disney
related business, so we're superexcited to hear from them.
So Joe has his business, JoeCritelli Art, and he does some
(20:22):
commission pieces.
I got a really cool figmentpiece from him recently.
And then Marissa has an earbusiness.
She has Mad Madam Mimco whereshe does some really cute fun
designs in Mickey ears.
So we are super excited to havethem both on the show.
Hi, Welcome, Thank you.
Now, as usual, we always startoff by asking our guests a
(20:45):
little bit about what they enjoyat the Disney parks.
So right now we've been askingpeople what is your favorite
event at any Disney park?
Speaker 3 (20:53):
Probably I would say just going around the autumn
time is like my favorite.
I mean I guess it's notnecessary.
I mean I guess it could be anevent if you stay for the
Halloween party.
So I guess, yeah, that'sprobably my favorite.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
I love going that time of year I actually like the
we did once was just theregular after hours.
The regular we did that forMagic Kingdom.
It was fun.
It really was.
When we went it wasn't thatcrowded at all.
It went by fast, even though Ithink it's only like two or
three hours.
I forget how long it's going tostay for the after hours, but
it was a lot of fun.
I just really enjoyed doingthat Because the crowds when you
(21:33):
have that, you feel like you'rethe only one in the park with
that many people For sure.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
We've done those before and we always like that a
lot too.
Now we are going to go back andforth and hear about both of
your businesses.
So first, if you could eachtell us about your business and
the products you offer connectedto Disney.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
So for my business, which is the Mad Madam Mimco, my
shop is on Etsy and it's whereI really just kind of do
inspired mini Mickey ears withit's.
Mostly they have like that nicefloral touch and they're all
inspired with the color or thestyling of like.
If there's a one of them, I dida Lilo and Stitch inspired one.
(22:14):
So I did like red flower, redflowers with white, so it almost
looked like Lilo's dress.
And then I also do customorders where people will
specifically reach out to me andask for something that they
have in mind.
And recently I had one forMonsters Inc where I had to
custom make those.
So, which was fun, I got to dohorns and, yeah, just a little
(22:37):
bit more different than just theflowers also, so I was able to
sculpt some stuff.
Oh, fun, that's very nice.
I love doing the custom ones.
That's where I get to reallykind of work my inner creativity
.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Now, how about you, Joe?
Speaker 4 (22:53):
Yeah, so I do basically a lot of hand-drawn
illustrations for Disney.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
So I just do a lot of .
Speaker 4 (22:58):
Disney characters on mostly 4x6 cards, More
personalized.
I use inks and Copic markers todo so.
I love drawing all Disneycharacters.
We try to do a lot of uniqueones that you know people at
cons come and see and catchtheir eye oh, I remember that
one.
Or, like you know, ones fromforgotten Disney attraction,
(23:20):
Like we did smart one from Epcotfor the old communicor.
So Murphy here gives me a lotof ideas too for which ones to
do.
So we like to try to do somedeep dives, but also some
regular ones, obviously too,when newer movies come out, or
you know it's our favoritemovies or attractions.
So we kind of run the gamut ofjust the regular animation and
park illustrations.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
That's awesome.
Now for both of you.
What were your inspirations tostart your business?
You know you're both creative,but you're in different areas.
Tell our listeners a littlemore about that.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
Well, I come from a background of fashion design and
when I started, when I had tolike work a regular kind of like
nine to five job it was more itwasn't quite as creative as I
wanted.
So I needed an outlet for mycrafts and stuff like that.
So and I love Disney, for mycrafts and stuff like that, and
(24:07):
I love Disney and I felt thatthis was a really good way for
me to use that muscle and keepmyself both in the Disney
community and using my creativeskills while I still had a day
job.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Right right.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
How about you, joe?
Yeah, so I've always lovedillustration and drawing when I
was a kid and I went on to thatin college too, learned a lot of
illustration but also kind ofsplintered into graphic design
and did a lot of graphic designright out of college.
But it kind of went back intomy illustration skills.
So I'm always I was always abig fan of Disney.
Aladdin is my favorite movie ofall time.
(24:37):
I used to just draw the genieconstantly.
He's my favorite character, youknow, and I'm also a kid of the
80s and 90s, so I also draw alot of Ninja Turtles and stuff
like that.
I feel like to do that now, andnow that I feel like I've
gotten a bit better at it, Ilike to just make things that I
used to love as a kid, andDisney is one of the things I
loved as a kid.
I still do, obviously, but it'sjust fun being able to draw
(24:57):
those characters.
Now it's just become a real—Ido graphic design still, but you
know, this is kind of like mymain passion that I would love
to pursue and kind of continueon with.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Now you've both shared about some of the great
things that you do through yourbusiness.
Could you share a little bit ofhow you think these kind of add
some Disney magic to yourcustomers' lives?
Speaker 4 (25:17):
So I think kind of reiterates what I said before is
that I think it's I get a lotof fun reactions for when people
kind of go through my stuff atshows and they see like unique
characters that either no one'slike either drawn or like they
remember, either minorcharacters from movies or from
the parks.
So it's fun getting thatreaction from them and them
saying, oh man, I forgot aboutthis, or man, I remember this
(25:38):
when I was a kid or somethingalong those lines.
So just adding that kind of funin is, I think, is special, I
think it's it's fun for me, Iget a good sense of it too and I
feel like a good accomplishment.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
And I guess then for myself then it would just be
seeing photos of my customerswearing their ears at the parks.
It's like you can see thatthey're, they got that little
spark of joy and then me seeingthat is just like exactly what I
want.
It's just so.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Now we've talked about all these great things
that you both make.
Where can people find them?
Like, how do they?
If I wanted to order a artpiece from Joe, or if I want a
pair of ears from you, marissa,how do I go about ordering those
?
Speaker 3 (26:17):
The best way to do it would be through, or it would
be to go to my Etsy shop and andthat would be the best way to
do it I already have like a setpair, like I always have these
ears.
They're ready, they'rerelatively ready to go, and then
I also have custom orders.
And or you can, people can DMme through my Instagram account,
(26:38):
which is basically the sameit's mad, mad and then co
through it on Instagram, andeither either way, that's the
best way to uh reach out and toand or to purchase something how
about you joe with your art?
Speaker 4 (26:51):
yeah, for me, um, I'm I'm pretty active with my art
on my instagram at jay cortellijr, but, uh, people can dm me
right there.
That's mostly how I take a lotof my commissions, um, and we
could talk what's needed fromthere.
I also have a forum on my site,um cartelliartcom, to where
people could also reach out andgoes right to my email to do
commissions and also yourthreads.
Yeah, I have a thread it's thesame same name at jay cartelli
(27:14):
jr.
Um, so most, most socials, butmostly instagram is where I'm
most active these days now, if Iwere wanting to get, uh, one of
, I'll ask for both things.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
If I were wanting to get one of, I'll ask for both
things.
If I were wanting to get acommissioned piece of art, let's
say for a gift, how soon wouldI need to order something?
And then same thing, marissa.
If I were wanting ears for anupcoming trip, how soon would I
need to order through you If?
Speaker 3 (27:34):
you want it for an upcoming trip.
It usually takes me anywherefrom five to eight days is my
order and that's for one pair.
So like I'll start from scratch, I usually so that takes
anywhere from five to eight daysand shipping is usually
relatively quick.
I ship through regular USPS andit ships any people have gotten
(27:56):
their orders anywhere fromthree to six business days, so
that would be like kind of likethe time frame if someone needs
anything, probably like about agood two weeks.
Ok, great, how about?
Speaker 4 (28:07):
you, joe.
Yeah, so basically for me, onceI get the commission and we
settle on exactly what's neededand based on, you know, the ask
of it, if it's multiple pieces,if it's a bigger piece, if it's
a small piece, so it coulddepend between for me, basically
two to three days to do theartwork and then sending it out
from there, depending where theperson lives.
(28:27):
So maybe up to a week or sobetween actually getting all the
information, doing the actualart pieces and then sending it
out, I would say is probably apretty good estimate.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
Now I always like to ask do either of you, or both of
you, have a favorite piece ofwork that you've done?
Or, in your case, marissa, afavorite piece of work?
Speaker 3 (28:46):
that you've done, or, in your case, marissa, favorite
pair of ears?
Oh yeah, it's.
It's definitely my tiki.
I love my tiki inspired ears.
Those are my, those are myfavorite ones to do.
Those are what I get the mostreaction.
Those are my highest orders ismy red tiki ears that are also
velo and stitch inspired.
They're they're so pretty, Ilove them how about you?
Speaker 1 (29:03):
do you have a favorite art piece?
Speaker 4 (29:06):
So kind of yes, I turned it into a sticker, but I
probably should turn it into aprint.
One of the more recent things Idid is the genie as a superhero
from.
Actually, he did it for like asplit second in the Return of
Jafar movie, which is actuallyone of my other favorite movies,
believe it or not, the sequelto Aladdin and I thought, oh man
, that was always such a coolthing.
(29:27):
I don't know why.
I mean, I'm also a bigsuperhero fan and Genie is also
my favorite character.
So drawing that one splitsecond kind of thing he did was
fun, and I think people seem tosee that go wow.
I don't see this around veryoften already at all, so I think
it's one of my favorite thingsI've drawn.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Now this is just for Marissa.
If anybody's listened to ourshow for a long time, they know.
Whenever we have anyone whomakes ears, I have to ask.
I have a really big head andeveryone knows like the
Disney-branded ears are not verycomfortable for most people.
So how do yours rate forcomfort?
Speaker 3 (30:01):
So word on the street is, or at least the feedback
that I've gotten from theheadbands that I order from that
they are very, very comfortableand in fact the ones and I've
worn my own ears to the park andthey are they are pretty
comfortable, they're very,they're very, they're not overly
thick, they don't compressagainst the head, they're just
easy to wear for the most part.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Now do you?
Speaker 3 (30:21):
know, and they're also very lightweight.
I know the um, the ones thatyou get at the park are not as
lightweight because they're very.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
They're compressed and stuff perfect and I know I
saw some of your ears.
They looked like they were morecomfortable.
When we saw we saw you guys atthe house of mouse expo.
They looked great.
But you always have to ask.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
I always have to ask absolutely yeah no you can't try
them on necessarily now, withthat, you mentioned your artwork
the ears.
Where can people go online tofind the great?
With that, you mentioned yourartwork, the ears.
Where can people go online tofind the great things that both
of you create?
Speaker 3 (30:47):
Yeah, honestly, it would be through my Instagram.
If I come up with anything new,I usually post on there.
That's definitely the best wayto see any artwork or new
designs.
And then, of course, if youjust frequent the Etsy shop,
that would also be the best wayto do it, and anything that's
new that would come in would beposted on there on both.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
Now, how about your artwork?
Speaker 4 (31:08):
Yeah, mostly I, like I said, like Instagram is kind
of where I showcase a lot of myartwork, so my Instagram is
probably the best place forwhere I showcase pretty much
anything.
Recently I do.
I do update my siteoccasionally with some new
pieces just to show, for youknow, portfolio stuff and just
to get the page updated.
(31:28):
But mostly Instagram is where alot of my art will be shown.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
Now we will make sure to put the links to all of the
socials in your website and Etsyshop and the show notes, but we
want to thank you both forjoining us today.
Speaker 4 (31:42):
Yes, thank you so much for having us.
This is fun.
It was so great to meet youguys at the expo.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Thank you again to Joe Marissa for joining us today
.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
And now we are on to our two-minute trivia and our
wisdom from Walt Quote and Chris, you are up with trivia.
Well, we talked a lot about.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
Tom Sawyer Island.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Yes, we did so.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
I'm going to ask you a trivia question about Tom
Sawyer Island.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
True or false, tom Sawyer Island has the
distinction of being the onlyattraction actually designed by
Walt Disney himself.
False, incorrect.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Oh, he did it all by himself.
According to the internet, hewas unhappy with the original
(32:35):
design, so he took the planshome, redesigned the island and
had the workers execute hisvision show.
Right, all right.
Now we talked about familiesand experiences you can do
together.
So this goes back to one ofthose tried and true quotes that
you've probably heard numeroustimes.
But we believed in our idea afamily park where parents and
children could have fun together, and that's what Disney is all
(32:58):
about going, whether it be withyour kids, your parents, family,
friends, all kinds of differentthings that we can all
experience it together.
And thank you so much forjoining us on this episode.
Make sure to follow us on oursocial media and to check out
all the other episodes on ourBuzzsprout page.
And thank you so much forjoining us on this episode of
(33:19):
the Diz Love Podcast withVanessa and Chris.
I'm Vanessa.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
And I and Chris, I'm Vanessa.
Speaker 4 (33:23):
And I'm Chris.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
This podcast is not affiliated with the Walt Disney
Company or its holdings, and itis intended for entertainment
purposes only.
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