What if Disney magic met hip hop flair? This episode of the DisLove Podcast with Vanessa and Kris explores this intriguing blend with Bethanee from Park Swagger Tees. She shares her journey of creating edgy yet family-friendly Disney-themed T-shirts that are making waves in the fashion world. Discover the inspiration behind her unique designs, like the "partner statue" and "turn down for Walt" shirts, and get a sneak peek into what’s next for this up-and-coming brand.
Use the code DISLOVE to receive 10% off for the next month (August - September 2024)
As Halloween approaches, we reminisce about our fun experiences at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom. From Mickey and Minnie's new neon spider web costumes to the enchanting Boo to You Parade, we cover this year's exciting additions. Also, get ready to have your taste buds tantalized as we discuss the festive treats available during the spooky season at Disney World, such as the worms in dirt churro and candy corn soft serve sundae, as well as savory delights like the Cajun burger at Pecos Bill.
We round off the episode with an overview of the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, highlighting its diverse food marketplaces, engaging scavenger hunts, and the exciting Eat to the Beat concert series. Whether you're a foodie or just looking to soak in the festive fall atmosphere, we have all the tips you need to make the most of your Disney adventure. Stay tuned for more magical episodes, and don’t forget to follow us on social media and subscribe to our YouTube channel for even more Disney delights.
- Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
- Halloween Treats at Walt Disney World - Disney Food Blog
- Park Swagger Tees Instagram
- Park Swagger Tees TikTok
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Where In the Park game packs are fun & challenging for anyone who knows the parks and for newbies.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
For all the latest news about our episodes follow us on Instagram @dislovewithvanessaandkris or on YouTube.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Vanessa Ferguson (00:05):
Welcome to the Dislove podcast with Vanessa
and Kris.
I'm Vanessa Ferguson.
Kris Johns (00:09):
And I'm Kris Johns.
Vanessa Ferguson (00:10):
We would like to welcome you to show number
153.
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
(00:36):
take time to leave a review forus on Apple Podcasts or any
other platform where you listen.
That helps the show grow and,of course, we love to give shout
outs to people as well.
And a new thing that justhappened within the last week,
google Podcasts went away, so wenow have a YouTube channel with
all of the shows on it too.
So if you're somebody who likesto subscribe and listen to
(00:56):
things on YouTube, I will makesure to start sharing out that
link as well.
So make sure to subscribe onYouTube.
And before we get started, wehave a couple of messages.
Kris Johns (01:03):
Yes, we have a message from our friends Kevin
and Amanda.
They make scavenger hunt gamepacks called when in the Park.
They're fun and challenging foranyone who thinks they know the
park like the back of theirhands, and what's great about
this is that if you're pros likeVanessa and myself, here's
what's awesome Vanessa is a proand she knows all the details.
Vanessa Ferguson (01:22):
I noticed you hesitated A little bit, a little
bit.
Kris Johns (01:25):
Well, hear me out.
Vanessa's a pro.
She knows where everything is.
You can play with a personwho's been there a lot but
doesn't really remember anything, and I'm going to find there'll
be things that'll be new to me,even though I've been to Disney
.
How many times, Vanessa?
At least 15, probably 20.
Vanessa Ferguson (01:39):
Yeah, I think probably 20.
Kris Johns (01:40):
Too many times.
I mean, it's a lot of fun.
So that's the great thing aboutthese scavenger hunts Not too
many, but I'm just saying we'vebeen there a lot.
The great thing is, not only isit for Disney, they also have
Universal Parks, as well asDollywood and King's Dominion
coming soon, and so what'sawesome about these is that it's
one of those things where thatsame ride we've ridden probably
the Caribbean hundreds of times.
(02:00):
Why not get these scavengerpacks and look for that one
thing that you've never reallylooked for because you didn't
need to know it?
These when in the Parkscavenger packs are awesome.
To make your next trip evenmore fun, use the code DISLOVE10
through the link in the shownotes to save 10% off your next
order.
Vanessa Ferguson (02:18):
All right, and on today's show we're going to
be joined by Bethanee from ParkSwagger Tees, her shop.
They consider themselves Disneyfans, but they wanted to have
park tees that had a little bitof hip hop mixed in, and it's
super fun and exciting.
You're going to love some ofthe plays that they have on
words with their shirts, solooking forward to having
Bethanee on the show.
(02:38):
And what do we have from her?
Kris Johns (02:47):
Bethanee has a special code just for our
listeners DisL, D-I-S-L-O-V-E 10for 10% off your next order and
make sure to use it this month.
Vanessa Ferguson (02:51):
That code is going to be live for the first
month that the show's out, sowe'll make sure to put that note
in the show notes as well.
And before we hear all theawesome things Bethanee has in
her shop, we are going to talkabout all the fun festivities
for spooky season at Walt DisneyWorld.
So we're going to look at allof the Halloween and just fall
activities, so things that aregreat for people who like scary
(03:14):
things, people who love food orjust kind of just something new
and different at the parks.
There's something excitingthere.
So we're going to start offwith a kind of the one that we
talk about every year you haveto talk about, which is Mickey's
Not so Scary Halloween Party,which is at Magic Kingdom.
And I think we've done this atleast four or five times At
(03:35):
least, and we've done it acouple of times with our friends
.
I know we've done.
I've done it with my friendJudy, we've done it with our
friend Shane and Charlie.
It's always a lot of fun andlast year we did it with our
family.
We did get rained out last year, which was a bummer.
We did yeah, we were there withyour mom and my mom and dad the
night before our cruise.
Kris Johns (03:53):
I don't remember that.
Vanessa Ferguson (03:54):
It was so exciting he forgot.
No, but the Halloween party isa lot of fun.
They actually started in earlyAugust.
They started on August 9th andthey run all the way through
Halloween.
We have a friend that said thatthey're going right on
Halloween, which is extra fun.
So if you've never been, it'san after-hours ticketed event.
A couple weeks ago we did ashow about just all the
(04:16):
different after-hours events andthis one you do buy a separate
ticket.
We have a friend going inOctober and we really recommend
it.
They're not even doing theparks that day, they're just
(04:39):
going to the Halloween party andyou can get in early.
You can get in at four o'clock,which is awesome.
And there's a.
Here's a way for you to guesson something.
Mickey and minnie have a newhalloween costume that they're
wearing at the halloween party,and like what spooky kind of
theme do you think theircostumes are?
vampires that's actually a goodguess.
But no, they have spider, theyhave neon spider web costumes.
(05:02):
Wow, yeah, so something fun.
It's always neat to do that,and one of the things that I
really love is the Boo to youParade.
Oh, of course, that's one of myfavorite special parades that
they have, and I tell you whatthat catchy tune when you play
it.
When it's Halloween season, Iturn that on YouTube and I just
play it, that song.
You can't get it out of yourhead.
(05:22):
I think it's worse than it's aSmall World, or better, I guess,
not worse, I wouldn't say worse, but it sticks in there.
I agree with you.
Yes, do you remember that song?
Kris Johns (05:31):
Boo to you Boo to you.
Vanessa Ferguson (05:34):
And you, and you, and you, and you, and you
and you.
And here's another one I didn'tshare this with.
I think he would like this.
So when we went to theHalloween party last or actually
it was a Kris party last year,because we went to both the
Halloween and Kris party we metMirabelle in the Fairytale
Garden.
But guess which okay, I'm goingto keep this whole show is
(05:55):
going to be Kris guessingsomething?
Guess what character fromEncanto is going to be joining
Mirabelle just at the Halloweenparty?
Bethanee with Park Swa (06:03):
Isabella From the movie?
Vanessa Ferguson (06:05):
Oh, that's a good guess.
Who don't we talk about?
Bruno, yeah, bruno.
So Bruno's going to be there.
That's super cool.
I think that's a fun experience.
And then, of course, there'sall the trick-or-treating, and
then people always like to seeJack Skellington.
We're not Nightmare Before Krisfans.
We've never stood in line for aJack, but I know lots of people
(06:27):
who are super excited about it.
But check it out.
Definitely do the party if youcan.
I am bummed.
We're doing a super fast, noteven 48-hour trip and we're
going to one of the MoonlightMagic ones, offerings for DVC
(06:47):
and the only out of the twonights that we're there, the
only night the Halloween partyis the same night as the DVC
event.
So we will not, sadly, be goingto the Halloween party this
year, but I hope all of you doand we look forward to seeing
some of your things.
A couple more things.
Another new thing I know ourdaughter's not old enough to be
into this yet, but there's goingto be a Disney's Descendants
(07:08):
show.
There's a Descendants danceparty at the Rocket Tower Plaza
in Tomorrowland, so that kind ofgoes in hand.
There's a Disney Junior onethat they typically have at
Cosmic Rays.
So if you have some of thosetweens or a little bit older,
they may enjoy the DisneyDescendants Dance Party.
It's the Descend Dance Party inTomorrowland, so check that out
(07:31):
.
That, I think, is somethingthat is a fun addition.
There's always something new atthe party, so check it out, you
will enjoy it.
I don't think that any of theparties.
I've never been disappointed bygoing to any of the parties.
How about you?
Oh no, so definitely put thattop of your list.
If you're there at spookyseason, check it out.
For sure you will enjoy it.
(07:57):
Next up at the parks is all ofthe great Halloween treats, and
some of these are available justat the party, but then there's
also ones that are available allthroughout the resorts.
And I'm going to give anothertrivia how many fall slash
Halloween themed snacks do youthink?
There are 14.
50.
Wow, yeah, so 50.
So obviously we are not goingto talk about all 50, and Disney
(08:19):
dubs them spooktacular snacks,but there are ones that are not
only at the parks but also atthe resorts.
So I'm going to just give yousome of the highlights of some
of the ones that people are likereally getting excited about.
Some of them are sweet, some ofthem are savory.
So one is you know how?
The churros are kind of a reallybig thing, more at Disneyland,
(08:40):
but we are fortunate there's anew one at Disney World.
There's a worms in dirt churro.
It's rolled in cookies andcream dust topped with
marshmallow and sour gummycandies, and this one's at the
churro cart near the castlethere's also.
Okay, I know this iscontroversial, but do you like
candy corn, Kris?
I do not See.
I like candy corn.
(09:00):
I feel like I'm one of the fewpeople that I now.
I've not had one.
Kris Johns (09:04):
If you're having it's if it's in a mix.
There's one or two bites.
Okay, acceptable, but just togo, a handful of candy corn.
Vanessa Ferguson (09:11):
So let me read you this no, ma'am.
So there's a candy corn softserve sundae.
It is a sweet corn soft serveand a butterscotch shell and
then a butterscotch shell andthen it has candy corn on top
and this is the anti-gravitygalactic goodies.
I would try that.
I would try that maybe whenwe're there.
(09:32):
I know we're going to have alot of a short time and a lot of
food, but I'm intrigued by it.
There's also a Cajun burgerwhich I've had a mix of this.
It's, it feels very similar orit sounds very similar to one I
had at the Halloween party acouple years ago.
But this one has a fried greentomato.
It's with a black bun, hasCajun and Uli dip and then a
(09:52):
Creole sauce, and that's atPecos Bill.
There's also a mini witch hat,which is a chocolate cookie
topped with peanut butter mousseand it has milk chocolate,
ganache and buttercream, andthat's at Main Street Bakery.
There's also a haunted forestapple mousse and it has milk
chocolate, ganache andbuttercream, and that's at Main
Street Bakery.
There's also a haunted forestapple mousse.
It's a green cake with cookiesand cream mousse and sour apple
mousse, and this is at theContempo Cafe over at
(10:14):
Contemporary Kind of sounds alittle bit like the one dessert
that is at the Snow Whitecharacter meal at Wilderness
Lodge and the name is escapingme of the restaurant right now,
but that sounds very similar toone of the desserts there.
Another fun one that is at oneof the resorts is there's
pumpkin spiced soft serve.
(10:36):
That's at the Pineapple Lanaiin the Polynesian.
This one sounds really good.
You can get it with it's.
The soft serve is served withcaramel drizzle and graham
cracker crumbs.
I don't think I'm gonna haveenough time to go to Polynesian,
but it sounds very delicious.
So I'm really looking forwardto seeing what we get a chance
to try and then some of youhopefully can share pictures of
(10:58):
things that you've tried on yourtrips as well.
Another thing that's not like atreat specific, but I think
this counts as kind of like aHalloween.
The food is not themed, but ifyou go over to Disney's
Hollywood Studios if you've everbeen to Hollywood and Vine they
have At lunch and at dinnerit's always a Minnie hosted meal
and for Halloween it's Minnie'sHollywood Dine and there you
(11:23):
have Minnie, mickey, pluto andGoofy and they're all in their
Halloween costumes.
They're super cute.
I know the one time Kris hasgotten some cute selfies with
them.
I think it's fun becausethey're always in their costumes
.
I always try to make sure thatwe have Halloween ears when we
go.
We've only went a few times,but throughout the year the
characters change their outfitsbased on the season and I think
(11:45):
the Halloween costumes are quitecute.
The rest of the restaurantisn't really overly Halloween
themed.
They have one backdrop at thefront but in the morning they do
Disney Junior, so they reallyjust do the holiday stuff in
terms of like the charactersoutfits.
So check it out.
That is fun over at HollywoodStudios gives you a little bit
more of the holiday spirit and,of course, it's just kind of a
(12:07):
fun experience to be able to seethe characters in something new
.
I think that's something wealways like to do Now, something
that is not really Halloweentheme, but it is fall and
something going on is the Foodand Wine Festival that starts on
October, on August 29th, and itruns through November 23rd, so
we are just going to miss this.
(12:28):
This starts right after we goand if you've not been, food and
wine is fun.
I enjoy it.
I would say I prefer not goingduring the weekends because
there's so many locals.
That goes well.
It just gets really crowded inthe world showcase.
But I've even when I've beenthere a couple times with
friends where, like the friendsare doing, like my one friend
the one day, she wasn't feelingwell and I just went and walked
(12:49):
around myself.
Um, there's over 30 of thosemarketplaces.
As we know, epcot always has afestival, but the food is great.
For food and wine, it'ssomething that you'll really
enjoy.
Besides the food, there's alsoEpcot's known for their
scavenger hunts or cookie crawlsand different things, depending
on the time of year.
Remy has a Ratatouille hide andsqueak scavenger hunt.
(13:12):
That's a fun way to keep thekids involved.
I mean, I think as an adult Ienjoy these as well.
And then, of course, there'sthe Eat to the Beat concerts.
There's a lot of fun acts thisyear.
Those typically will be threeto four nights a week and you
can check out the schedule andusually a person will be there
about two nights.
They have a wide range of stuff, a lot of stuff from like the
(13:35):
90s and early 2000s.
Hanson is there, boys to Men,which I've always wanted to see
Boys to Men in concert.
They come to Detroit a lot.
My watch, though I'll probablysee them in Florida before I see
them in Detroit and so thatkind of rounds out the Food and
Wine Festival Definitely notHalloween focused, but it is
going on.
Check it out, enjoy it whileyou're there.
Now there are some things thattake, so that's really at the
(14:00):
parks.
Magic Kingdom is kind of themain hub.
Even if you don't go to theHalloween party, there's lots of
great decorations that you cansee during the day, get great
photos, try some of those greattreats we talked about.
Now, over at Disney Springsthey start in September,
starting on September 9,.
They have a bunch of seasonaltreats.
There's some specialentertainment and then, of
(14:21):
course, lots of Halloweenshopping they have on the
weekends.
They call them the squad ghoulsthat perform and the zombie
drummers, and so this squadghouls perform every Saturday in
October and the zombie drummersare roaming throughout that
town center, that main area, onthe weekends as well.
I think that would kind of befun to see.
Zombie drummers are roamingthroughout that town center,
that main area, on the weekendsas well.
I think that would kind of befun to see zombie drummers.
(14:42):
What do you think when you'rewalking around that?
Kris Johns (14:44):
would be awesome.
Vanessa Ferguson (14:45):
Yeah, so that would be fun to see.
I've not seen any pictures.
I don't know if this is fullynew for this year or just people
haven't really caught them anddone a lot of pictures for them,
so that's something fun to see.
And then at Disney Springs,some of the vendors have some
special food items as well.
Check them out.
I know all of the dessertplaces mostly have special
(15:09):
things throughout the fallseason, so check that out as
well.
Now, something that happens tocoincide with Halloween itself
is the Disney Wine and Dine HalfMarathon.
That weekend is going to runfrom Halloween itself all the
way through November 3rd.
So if you're there checking outthe end of the Halloween season
, be prepared.
If you didn't register and youwanted to run, I think it's
(15:30):
already sold out.
So if you're there, though, forHalloween festivities, you may
run into a lot of runners.
That's kind of a funny way tosay it, but you'll see a lot of
the runners at the parks withtheir medals that they win, and
typically certain restaurants oncertain days will be busier as
they fuel up for their races.
So that's kind of something tokeep in mind if you're there at
(15:52):
the same time.
And then, of course, there isall kinds of things throughout.
And then, of course, there isall kinds of things throughout.
So if you're there for aHalloween party and you're going
trick or treating, or if youjust want to check out the
special decorations, or ifyou're there for some of the
special treats throughout,everywhere whether it be at one
(16:13):
of the resorts or at the parksor at Disney Springs there's a
lot of magic in the fall.
I'm not even a big Halloweenperson, but I really enjoy
Halloween at Disney.
It's a lot of fun.
Kris Johns (16:24):
Oh, it's a lot of fun.
Vanessa Ferguson (16:26):
Now be prepared if you're going, as
some people will try to takelots of costumes and, depending
on the temperature, check outthe temperature.
Be smart about it.
I know last year we wentearlier in October and it was
still pretty hot, so we justwent with t-shirts.
We went later in October and wewent ahead and went full
costume.
So just kind of be mindful ofthat so you can have the best
(16:48):
time possible and enjoy it asmuch as possible as well.
And I just like to think I'vegot some great information from
our friends at Disney Food Blogand then some of the other
information I got right fromDisney themselves.
So looking forward to hearingall about your experiences for
this Halloween season we're kindof not really getting to take
part in that this year, so I'mexcited to see what you all have
(17:11):
found out and what you enjoythis year and before we get our
call up with Bethanee.
Kris Johns (17:18):
We have a message from our friends Eric and Alexa.
They want us to remind you thatwhen you're planning your next
Disney vacation with the littleones, make sure to reserve
anything you need from them,including strollers, car seats,
cribs and more that will bedelivered directly to your
resort as your BabyQuipindependent quality provider.
Eric and Alexa will provide youwith excellent customer service
by providing clean and usefulequipment.
(17:38):
We can attest to that.
We've used BabyQuip multipletimes and the great thing about
what Eric and Alexa do is acouple of things.
Number one great customerservice.
Brand new equipment and Imentioned to Vanessa great
customer service.
Vanessa Ferguson (17:51):
For sure yes.
Kris Johns (17:53):
And what's great is, not only do they bring it to
your resort, they bring it rightto you.
They call you no wasted time,because you went every minute in
the parks.
And that's what the great thingabout BabyQuip independent
quality providers, eric andAlexa, is that they're going to
help make your life easier asparents.
Visit the show notes to makeyour next reservation today.
Vanessa Ferguson (18:11):
And give us just a minute and we will get
our call up with Bethanee.
We would like to welcomeBethanee to the show.
Her shop Park Swagger Teeswhich she has with her designer
friend Sarah.
They're big Disney fans andthey wanted to make some teas
that had a little bit of hip hopmixed in.
And one of the fun things is isthey are very subtle Disney
(18:32):
teas, which is fun becausepeople can catch that little
hint to the hip hop and Disneyconnection as well.
So we'd like to welcomeBethanee to the show.
Bethanee with Park Swagger T (18:41):
Hi , thank you guys for having me.
Vanessa Ferguson (18:44):
Now we always start off with a question
related to what you enjoy at theparks, and lately we've been
asking people what is yourfavorite special event at any
Disney park?
Bethanee with Park Swagger T (18:56):
Oh , you know it's kind of
controversial, but I haven'tbeen to that many special events
oh, wow I know I tend to takeadvantage of the lower crowds
during the day, say when magickingdom is having an evening
event yes, that's a good ideaand then sometimes I will have
dinner at the contemporary andwatch the special events
(19:17):
fireworks afterwards.
Vanessa Ferguson (19:21):
That's actually a good strategy, for
sure.
Bethanee with Park Swagger T (19:24):
Oh yeah, and it costs about the
same right To take two people todinner at the Contemporary.
Vanessa Ferguson (19:28):
It's about the same as the ticket price.
No, for sure, for sure, andthen that gives you a taste of
it.
And again, like you said, thoselow wait times during the day,
because when we go to thosenighttime events we usually
don't ride rides because therides get so hectic, we end up
doing everything else.
So, yes, definitely sounds likea good strategy.
Bethanee with Park Swagger (19:47):
Yeah , it definitely just depends on
what you're.
You know, what you go to theparks for, which is one of the
great things is that there's somany different things for
everyone.
Vanessa Ferguson (19:54):
Oh, for sure, that is for sure.
Now, we, of course, are all bigDisney fans, so we'd love to
hear all about your business andwhat are the products you offer
connected to Disney.
Bethanee with Park Swagger (20:06):
Yeah , so we started Park Swagger
Tees.
We currently sell on the Etsyplatform and hope to scale up to
our own website someday.
But we we wanted T-shirts thatwe felt comfortable wearing in
the parks and at home, but thathad a little bit of edge to them
(20:26):
.
You know we like we havechildren, we want everything to
be family friendly.
But we also want to you know,showcase that we're kind of moms
from the 90s and we like alittle hip hop and we like
contemporary hip hop and thereare so many good lines or hip
hop songs that go with some ofthe rides and attractions at
Disney.
So we thought, you know, we'llsee if other people like that
(20:49):
too.
Kris Johns (20:51):
That's awesome.
Now, where did you get theinspiration to have a hip hop
inspired Disney line?
Bethanee with Park Swagger (20:57):
I've been listening to a lot of hip
hop myself recently listening toa lot of hip hop myself
recently and I just thought thatsort of happy vibe that I get
when I listen to hip hop that'swhat I'm getting when I'm at the
parks and I always think it'samusing when I see someone mash
up something really cleverlywith Disney and when I can do
(21:20):
that it just feels like a like awin.
So I thought maybe others wouldenjoy that as well.
Vanessa Ferguson (21:25):
Now, how long have you and Sarah had the
business?
Bethanee with Park Swagger T (21:28):
We have only been up and running
for about, I want to say lessthan six months now.
Vanessa Ferguson (21:33):
Oh wow, we're very new.
Yes, there's been a lot of newones.
We saw a lot during COVID andthen this year there's been a
big explosion.
So it's always great to see allof the new lines that are
coming out from everyone.
Bethanee with Park Swagger T (21:45):
Oh my gosh, there's so many and
they're also good.
Yes, exactly.
I already own way too manyDisney t-shirts, but I can't
stop.
Vanessa Ferguson (21:51):
Oh for sure, and that kind of goes into our
next question.
We'd like to know how do youthink your products add Disney
magic to your customers' lives?
Bethanee with Park Swagger (22:02):
Well , of course, you can wear them
at home, right.
So there's, when you're not atDisney, you're getting some some
Disney magic when you wear them.
But I also think that whenyou're in the park and you are
wearing sort of a deep cutDisney shirt, um, for those of
us that are kind of more UberDisney fans, there's a little
bit of of recognition, right.
There's a little bit ofrecognition right.
There's a little bit of like, oh, I see you in the park, and so
(22:27):
that's what I like.
When I wear them to the parksand then when I wear them at
home, I just enjoy, you know,having a little bit of my Disney
experience in my everyday.
Vanessa Ferguson (22:35):
Now could you share with us a couple of your
favorite designs?
Bethanee with Park Swagger T (22:39):
Oh , absolutely.
There's two right now that Ican't stop wearing.
The original one is the partnerstatue and it's paired with a
start from the bottom.
Now we're here, which I thoughtwas amusing but also kind of
really sentimental, because it'sthe perfect thing to imagine
Walt saying to Mickey you know,they're overseeing their kingdom
(23:00):
and it's like look what we did.
Right, we started in Marceline,started with nothing, and here
we are.
And my second favorite is ourprobably our best selling t
shirt, which is turned down forWalt.
We have a 90s version and afloral version to kind of cater
to your taste, but I've, youknow, I can't I can't claim
(23:21):
credit for coming up with that.
I had seen that line elsewhere,but I had never seen it on a
shirt that I thought was welldesigned, and so that's what I
think, that we've got here, andI wear that all the time.
I love it.
Vanessa Ferguson (23:34):
Now tell us a little bit about your shirts,
because I know everybody's alittle bit different in their
process and the types of shirtsthey have in their process and
the types of shirts they have.
Bethanee with Park Swagger (23:48):
Yeah , so we are trying to be as size
inclusive as possible, as justas inclusive as possible in
general.
So we are committed to offeringevery size that both Gildan and
Bella and Canvas shirts come inon our website.
We are outsourcing currently toPrintful so that we are not
building up a lot of stock andpotentially polluting the
(24:08):
environment with shirts if noone wants them, but instead,
yeah, we do the design and thenwhen you order it, it is printed
and shipped out by anothercompany.
But we order everything firstto make sure that it's up to our
quality standards before we putit on our website.
Vanessa Ferguson (24:25):
So that also adds to what is your turnaround
time, so like if I were going ona trip.
How soon should I order a shirt?
Bethanee with Park Swagger (24:32):
Yeah , so the turnaround time is
about two weeks.
It's a little bit longer thanthan if you were pulling it off
a shelf, but you know, I thinkit's worth it.
Vanessa Ferguson (24:44):
And do you just?
Bethanee with Park Swagger (24:45):
have adult sizes.
No, we currently offer some ofour shirts in kid sizes.
We hope to add all of them tothe line and kids specific ones.
We have the word to your motherEpcot spaceship spaceship Epcot
shirt.
And we have two kids versionsthat say word to your mother.
(25:06):
Epcot's spaceship spaceshipEpcot shirt.
And we have two kids versionsthat say word to your mama.
So that's a great familyfitting outfit.
But we're also very open ifthere are individual sizes or
things that people need you know.
Send us a DM on Instagram we'reat Park Swagger Tees or send us
a message on Etsy and we wouldbe happy to work with you.
Vanessa Ferguson (25:22):
And do you do set releases or do you just kind
of have set designs already inyour shop?
I know you just mentioned aboutlike if you had a new idea, but
do you have certain times thatyou release new products?
Bethanee with Park Sw (25:33):
Currently we're working off of when the
inspiration hits.
Vanessa Ferguson (25:36):
Oh sure, that's a good strategy too.
Bethanee with Park Swagger (25:39):
Yes , yeah.
So we're working now on our, onour Halloween one, which, of
course, since the parties havealready started, I really have
to get up very soon, but youknow, I'll hear a song and then
something will pop into my headfrom the parks, and that's when
we release a new one that isawesome.
Kris Johns (25:55):
Now I know you mentioned the platform again,
but will you tell people whereyou're at online, as well as
socials?
Bethanee with Park Swagger (26:00):
Yeah , we are currently on Etsy under
Park Swagger Tees.
We are also under Park SwaggerTees on Instagram and TikTok, as
well as Facebook.
Vanessa Ferguson (26:09):
Perfect, and I will make sure to put the links
to all of your socials and yourEtsy shop in the show notes.
Thank you so much for joiningus today, Bethanee.
Bethanee with Park Swagg (26:18):
That's great.
Thank you, guys, for having meand for spreading the Disney
love.
Kris Johns (26:27):
Thank you again, tohany, for joining us today.
Don't forget to use the codedis love 10 d-i-s-l-o-v-e.
Vanessa Ferguson (26:29):
10 for 10 off, and it's good for the next
month, so make sure to placeyour order today and now we are
on to our two-minute trivia andour wisdom from won quote and
Kris, you are up with trivia.
Kris Johns (26:44):
Okay, we talked a lot about Halloween related
activities at Disney.
Vanessa Ferguson (26:48):
Yes.
Kris Johns (26:50):
So here's a question how many individually themed
carved pumpkins adorn thebalconies and window sills of
main street, usa, during theHalloween festivities?
And I'll give you a plus orminus of 20.
Vanessa Ferguson (27:05):
75.
Kris Johns (27:06):
One more guess.
Please Go higher, much higher175.
I'll give it to you.
190 individually themed carvedpumpkins adorn the balconies and
windowsills.
Isn't that something else?
Wow?
Vanessa Ferguson (27:20):
that is something that's crazy, very
neat, and I saw like this yearthey have where you can buy some
of the wreaths that have, likethe Mic pumpkins, so that's
pretty cool as well.
Now, today, I couldn't resistbecause we and actually we
already said part of it earlier,but we're going to go with it
anyways I couldn't resist anyquote from one of my favorite
(27:42):
Halloween experiences at thepark and, Kris, you could say
this one with me too.
Why don't we say it together?
Let's see how well this goes.
A boo to you and you and you andyou.
Happy Halloween, all right.
So if you haven't gotten achance to go to Mickey's Not so
Scary Halloween Party, Idefinitely encourage you to, or
(28:05):
at least look up the parade andlisten to the song.
You'll enjoy it.
So we hope that you all have agreat fall season and enjoy some
of these awesome things at thepark.
Don't forget to check out allof our other episodes on our
Buzzsprout page and follow us onsocial media.
Subscribe now on YouTube foreven more Disney magic, and
thank you so much for joining uson this episode of the Di Love
(28:27):
Podcast with Vanessa and Kris.
I'm Vanessa and I'm Kris.
Kris Johns (28:39):
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 Kris.
I'm Vanessa Ferguson.
Kris Johns (00:09):
And I'm Kris Johns.
Vanessa Ferguson (00:10):
We would like to welcome you to show number
153.
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
(00:36):
take time to leave a review forus on Apple Podcasts or any
other platform where you listen.
That helps the show grow and,of course, we love to give shout
outs to people as well.
And a new thing that justhappened within the last week,
google Podcasts went away, so wenow have a YouTube channel with
all of the shows on it too.
So if you're somebody who likesto subscribe and listen to
(00:56):
things on YouTube, I will makesure to start sharing out that
link as well.
So make sure to subscribe onYouTube.
And before we get started, wehave a couple of messages.
Kris Johns (01:03):
Yes, we have a message from our friends Kevin
and Amanda.
They make scavenger hunt gamepacks called when in the Park.
They're fun and challenging foranyone who thinks they know the
park like the back of theirhands, and what's great about
this is that if you're pros likeVanessa and myself, here's
what's awesome Vanessa is a proand she knows all the details.
Vanessa Ferguson (01:22):
I noticed you hesitated A little bit, a little
bit.
Kris Johns (01:25):
Well, hear me out.
Vanessa's a pro.
She knows where everything is.
You can play with a personwho's been there a lot but
doesn't really remember anything, and I'm going to find there'll
be things that'll be new to me,even though I've been to Disney
.
How many times, Vanessa?
At least 15, probably 20.
Vanessa Ferguson (01:39):
Yeah, I think probably 20.
Kris Johns (01:40):
Too many times.
I mean, it's a lot of fun.
So that's the great thing aboutthese scavenger hunts Not too
many, but I'm just saying we'vebeen there a lot.
The great thing is, not only isit for Disney, they also have
Universal Parks, as well asDollywood and King's Dominion
coming soon, and so what'sawesome about these is that it's
one of those things where thatsame ride we've ridden probably
the Caribbean hundreds of times.
(02:00):
Why not get these scavengerpacks and look for that one
thing that you've never reallylooked for because you didn't
need to know it?
These when in the Parkscavenger packs are awesome.
To make your next trip evenmore fun, use the code DISLOVE10
through the link in the shownotes to save 10% off your next
order.
Vanessa Ferguson (02:18):
All right, and on today's show we're going to
be joined by Bethanee from ParkSwagger Tees, her shop.
They consider themselves Disneyfans, but they wanted to have
park tees that had a little bitof hip hop mixed in, and it's
super fun and exciting.
You're going to love some ofthe plays that they have on
words with their shirts, solooking forward to having
Bethanee on the show.
(02:38):
And what do we have from her?
Kris Johns (02:47):
Bethanee has a special code just for our
listeners DisL, D-I-S-L-O-V-E 10for 10% off your next order and
make sure to use it this month.
Vanessa Ferguson (02:51):
That code is going to be live for the first
month that the show's out, sowe'll make sure to put that note
in the show notes as well.
And before we hear all theawesome things Bethanee has in
her shop, we are going to talkabout all the fun festivities
for spooky season at Walt DisneyWorld.
So we're going to look at allof the Halloween and just fall
activities, so things that aregreat for people who like scary
(03:14):
things, people who love food orjust kind of just something new
and different at the parks.
There's something excitingthere.
So we're going to start offwith a kind of the one that we
talk about every year you haveto talk about, which is Mickey's
Not so Scary Halloween Party,which is at Magic Kingdom.
And I think we've done this atleast four or five times At
(03:35):
least, and we've done it acouple of times with our friends
.
I know we've done.
I've done it with my friendJudy, we've done it with our
friend Shane and Charlie.
It's always a lot of fun andlast year we did it with our
family.
We did get rained out last year, which was a bummer.
We did yeah, we were there withyour mom and my mom and dad the
night before our cruise.
Kris Johns (03:53):
I don't remember that.
Vanessa Ferguson (03:54):
It was so exciting he forgot.
No, but the Halloween party isa lot of fun.
They actually started in earlyAugust.
They started on August 9th andthey run all the way through
Halloween.
We have a friend that said thatthey're going right on
Halloween, which is extra fun.
So if you've never been, it'san after-hours ticketed event.
A couple weeks ago we did ashow about just all the
(04:16):
different after-hours events andthis one you do buy a separate
ticket.
We have a friend going inOctober and we really recommend
it.
They're not even doing theparks that day, they're just
(04:39):
going to the Halloween party andyou can get in early.
You can get in at four o'clock,which is awesome.
And there's a.
Here's a way for you to guesson something.
Mickey and minnie have a newhalloween costume that they're
wearing at the halloween party,and like what spooky kind of
theme do you think theircostumes are?
vampires that's actually a goodguess.
But no, they have spider, theyhave neon spider web costumes.
(05:02):
Wow, yeah, so something fun.
It's always neat to do that,and one of the things that I
really love is the Boo to youParade.
Oh, of course, that's one of myfavorite special parades that
they have, and I tell you whatthat catchy tune when you play
it.
When it's Halloween season, Iturn that on YouTube and I just
play it, that song.
You can't get it out of yourhead.
(05:22):
I think it's worse than it's aSmall World, or better, I guess,
not worse, I wouldn't say worse, but it sticks in there.
I agree with you.
Yes, do you remember that song?
Kris Johns (05:31):
Boo to you Boo to you.
Vanessa Ferguson (05:34):
And you, and you, and you, and you, and you
and you.
And here's another one I didn'tshare this with.
I think he would like this.
So when we went to theHalloween party last or actually
it was a Kris party last year,because we went to both the
Halloween and Kris party we metMirabelle in the Fairytale
Garden.
But guess which okay, I'm goingto keep this whole show is
(05:55):
going to be Kris guessingsomething?
Guess what character fromEncanto is going to be joining
Mirabelle just at the Halloweenparty?
Bethanee with Park Swa (06:03):
Isabella From the movie?
Vanessa Ferguson (06:05):
Oh, that's a good guess.
Who don't we talk about?
Bruno, yeah, bruno.
So Bruno's going to be there.
That's super cool.
I think that's a fun experience.
And then, of course, there'sall the trick-or-treating, and
then people always like to seeJack Skellington.
We're not Nightmare Before Krisfans.
We've never stood in line for aJack, but I know lots of people
(06:27):
who are super excited about it.
But check it out.
Definitely do the party if youcan.
I am bummed.
We're doing a super fast, noteven 48-hour trip and we're
going to one of the MoonlightMagic ones, offerings for DVC
(06:47):
and the only out of the twonights that we're there, the
only night the Halloween partyis the same night as the DVC
event.
So we will not, sadly, be goingto the Halloween party this
year, but I hope all of you doand we look forward to seeing
some of your things.
A couple more things.
Another new thing I know ourdaughter's not old enough to be
into this yet, but there's goingto be a Disney's Descendants
(07:08):
show.
There's a Descendants danceparty at the Rocket Tower Plaza
in Tomorrowland, so that kind ofgoes in hand.
There's a Disney Junior onethat they typically have at
Cosmic Rays.
So if you have some of thosetweens or a little bit older,
they may enjoy the DisneyDescendants Dance Party.
It's the Descend Dance Party inTomorrowland, so check that out
(07:31):
.
That, I think, is somethingthat is a fun addition.
There's always something new atthe party, so check it out, you
will enjoy it.
I don't think that any of theparties.
I've never been disappointed bygoing to any of the parties.
How about you?
Oh no, so definitely put thattop of your list.
If you're there at spookyseason, check it out.
For sure you will enjoy it.
(07:57):
Next up at the parks is all ofthe great Halloween treats, and
some of these are available justat the party, but then there's
also ones that are available allthroughout the resorts.
And I'm going to give anothertrivia how many fall slash
Halloween themed snacks do youthink?
There are 14.
50.
Wow, yeah, so 50.
So obviously we are not goingto talk about all 50, and Disney
(08:19):
dubs them spooktacular snacks,but there are ones that are not
only at the parks but also atthe resorts.
So I'm going to just give yousome of the highlights of some
of the ones that people are likereally getting excited about.
Some of them are sweet, some ofthem are savory.
So one is you know how?
The churros are kind of a reallybig thing, more at Disneyland,
(08:40):
but we are fortunate there's anew one at Disney World.
There's a worms in dirt churro.
It's rolled in cookies andcream dust topped with
marshmallow and sour gummycandies, and this one's at the
churro cart near the castlethere's also.
Okay, I know this iscontroversial, but do you like
candy corn, Kris?
I do not See.
I like candy corn.
(09:00):
I feel like I'm one of the fewpeople that I now.
I've not had one.
Kris Johns (09:04):
If you're having it's if it's in a mix.
There's one or two bites.
Okay, acceptable, but just togo, a handful of candy corn.
Vanessa Ferguson (09:11):
So let me read you this no, ma'am.
So there's a candy corn softserve sundae.
It is a sweet corn soft serveand a butterscotch shell and
then a butterscotch shell andthen it has candy corn on top
and this is the anti-gravitygalactic goodies.
I would try that.
I would try that maybe whenwe're there.
(09:32):
I know we're going to have alot of a short time and a lot of
food, but I'm intrigued by it.
There's also a Cajun burgerwhich I've had a mix of this.
It's, it feels very similar orit sounds very similar to one I
had at the Halloween party acouple years ago.
But this one has a fried greentomato.
It's with a black bun, hasCajun and Uli dip and then a
(09:52):
Creole sauce, and that's atPecos Bill.
There's also a mini witch hat,which is a chocolate cookie
topped with peanut butter mousseand it has milk chocolate,
ganache and buttercream, andthat's at Main Street Bakery.
There's also a haunted forestapple mousse and it has milk
chocolate, ganache andbuttercream, and that's at Main
Street Bakery.
There's also a haunted forestapple mousse.
It's a green cake with cookiesand cream mousse and sour apple
mousse, and this is at theContempo Cafe over at
(10:14):
Contemporary Kind of sounds alittle bit like the one dessert
that is at the Snow Whitecharacter meal at Wilderness
Lodge and the name is escapingme of the restaurant right now,
but that sounds very similar toone of the desserts there.
Another fun one that is at oneof the resorts is there's
pumpkin spiced soft serve.
(10:36):
That's at the Pineapple Lanaiin the Polynesian.
This one sounds really good.
You can get it with it's.
The soft serve is served withcaramel drizzle and graham
cracker crumbs.
I don't think I'm gonna haveenough time to go to Polynesian,
but it sounds very delicious.
So I'm really looking forwardto seeing what we get a chance
to try and then some of youhopefully can share pictures of
(10:58):
things that you've tried on yourtrips as well.
Another thing that's not like atreat specific, but I think
this counts as kind of like aHalloween.
The food is not themed, but ifyou go over to Disney's
Hollywood Studios if you've everbeen to Hollywood and Vine they
have At lunch and at dinnerit's always a Minnie hosted meal
and for Halloween it's Minnie'sHollywood Dine and there you
(11:23):
have Minnie, mickey, pluto andGoofy and they're all in their
Halloween costumes.
They're super cute.
I know the one time Kris hasgotten some cute selfies with
them.
I think it's fun becausethey're always in their costumes
.
I always try to make sure thatwe have Halloween ears when we
go.
We've only went a few times,but throughout the year the
characters change their outfitsbased on the season and I think
(11:45):
the Halloween costumes are quitecute.
The rest of the restaurantisn't really overly Halloween
themed.
They have one backdrop at thefront but in the morning they do
Disney Junior, so they reallyjust do the holiday stuff in
terms of like the charactersoutfits.
So check it out.
That is fun over at HollywoodStudios gives you a little bit
more of the holiday spirit and,of course, it's just kind of a
(12:07):
fun experience to be able to seethe characters in something new
.
I think that's something wealways like to do Now, something
that is not really Halloweentheme, but it is fall and
something going on is the Foodand Wine Festival that starts on
October, on August 29th, and itruns through November 23rd, so
we are just going to miss this.
(12:28):
This starts right after we goand if you've not been, food and
wine is fun.
I enjoy it.
I would say I prefer not goingduring the weekends because
there's so many locals.
That goes well.
It just gets really crowded inthe world showcase.
But I've even when I've beenthere a couple times with
friends where, like the friendsare doing, like my one friend
the one day, she wasn't feelingwell and I just went and walked
(12:49):
around myself.
Um, there's over 30 of thosemarketplaces.
As we know, epcot always has afestival, but the food is great.
For food and wine, it'ssomething that you'll really
enjoy.
Besides the food, there's alsoEpcot's known for their
scavenger hunts or cookie crawlsand different things, depending
on the time of year.
Remy has a Ratatouille hide andsqueak scavenger hunt.
(13:12):
That's a fun way to keep thekids involved.
I mean, I think as an adult Ienjoy these as well.
And then, of course, there'sthe Eat to the Beat concerts.
There's a lot of fun acts thisyear.
Those typically will be threeto four nights a week and you
can check out the schedule andusually a person will be there
about two nights.
They have a wide range of stuff, a lot of stuff from like the
(13:35):
90s and early 2000s.
Hanson is there, boys to Men,which I've always wanted to see
Boys to Men in concert.
They come to Detroit a lot.
My watch, though I'll probablysee them in Florida before I see
them in Detroit and so thatkind of rounds out the Food and
Wine Festival Definitely notHalloween focused, but it is
going on.
Check it out, enjoy it whileyou're there.
Now there are some things thattake, so that's really at the
(14:00):
parks.
Magic Kingdom is kind of themain hub.
Even if you don't go to theHalloween party, there's lots of
great decorations that you cansee during the day, get great
photos, try some of those greattreats we talked about.
Now, over at Disney Springsthey start in September,
starting on September 9,.
They have a bunch of seasonaltreats.
There's some specialentertainment and then, of
(14:21):
course, lots of Halloweenshopping they have on the
weekends.
They call them the squad ghoulsthat perform and the zombie
drummers, and so this squadghouls perform every Saturday in
October and the zombie drummersare roaming throughout that
town center, that main area, onthe weekends as well.
I think that would kind of befun to see.
Zombie drummers are roamingthroughout that town center,
that main area, on the weekendsas well.
I think that would kind of befun to see zombie drummers.
(14:42):
What do you think when you'rewalking around that?
Kris Johns (14:44):
would be awesome.
Vanessa Ferguson (14:45):
Yeah, so that would be fun to see.
I've not seen any pictures.
I don't know if this is fullynew for this year or just people
haven't really caught them anddone a lot of pictures for them,
so that's something fun to see.
And then at Disney Springs,some of the vendors have some
special food items as well.
Check them out.
I know all of the dessertplaces mostly have special
(15:09):
things throughout the fallseason, so check that out as
well.
Now, something that happens tocoincide with Halloween itself
is the Disney Wine and Dine HalfMarathon.
That weekend is going to runfrom Halloween itself all the
way through November 3rd.
So if you're there checking outthe end of the Halloween season
, be prepared.
If you didn't register and youwanted to run, I think it's
(15:30):
already sold out.
So if you're there, though, forHalloween festivities, you may
run into a lot of runners.
That's kind of a funny way tosay it, but you'll see a lot of
the runners at the parks withtheir medals that they win, and
typically certain restaurants oncertain days will be busier as
they fuel up for their races.
So that's kind of something tokeep in mind if you're there at
(15:52):
the same time.
And then, of course, there isall kinds of things throughout.
And then, of course, there isall kinds of things throughout.
So if you're there for aHalloween party and you're going
trick or treating, or if youjust want to check out the
special decorations, or ifyou're there for some of the
special treats throughout,everywhere whether it be at one
(16:13):
of the resorts or at the parksor at Disney Springs there's a
lot of magic in the fall.
I'm not even a big Halloweenperson, but I really enjoy
Halloween at Disney.
It's a lot of fun.
Kris Johns (16:24):
Oh, it's a lot of fun.
Vanessa Ferguson (16:26):
Now be prepared if you're going, as
some people will try to takelots of costumes and, depending
on the temperature, check outthe temperature.
Be smart about it.
I know last year we wentearlier in October and it was
still pretty hot, so we justwent with t-shirts.
We went later in October and wewent ahead and went full
costume.
So just kind of be mindful ofthat so you can have the best
(16:48):
time possible and enjoy it asmuch as possible as well.
And I just like to think I'vegot some great information from
our friends at Disney Food Blogand then some of the other
information I got right fromDisney themselves.
So looking forward to hearingall about your experiences for
this Halloween season we're kindof not really getting to take
part in that this year, so I'mexcited to see what you all have
(17:11):
found out and what you enjoythis year and before we get our
call up with Bethanee.
Kris Johns (17:18):
We have a message from our friends Eric and Alexa.
They want us to remind you thatwhen you're planning your next
Disney vacation with the littleones, make sure to reserve
anything you need from them,including strollers, car seats,
cribs and more that will bedelivered directly to your
resort as your BabyQuipindependent quality provider.
Eric and Alexa will provide youwith excellent customer service
by providing clean and usefulequipment.
(17:38):
We can attest to that.
We've used BabyQuip multipletimes and the great thing about
what Eric and Alexa do is acouple of things.
Number one great customerservice.
Brand new equipment and Imentioned to Vanessa great
customer service.
Vanessa Ferguson (17:51):
For sure yes.
Kris Johns (17:53):
And what's great is, not only do they bring it to
your resort, they bring it rightto you.
They call you no wasted time,because you went every minute in
the parks.
And that's what the great thingabout BabyQuip independent
quality providers, eric andAlexa, is that they're going to
help make your life easier asparents.
Visit the show notes to makeyour next reservation today.
Vanessa Ferguson (18:11):
And give us just a minute and we will get
our call up with Bethanee.
We would like to welcomeBethanee to the show.
Her shop Park Swagger Teeswhich she has with her designer
friend Sarah.
They're big Disney fans andthey wanted to make some teas
that had a little bit of hip hopmixed in.
And one of the fun things is isthey are very subtle Disney
(18:32):
teas, which is fun becausepeople can catch that little
hint to the hip hop and Disneyconnection as well.
So we'd like to welcomeBethanee to the show.
Bethanee with Park Swagger T (18:41):
Hi , thank you guys for having me.
Vanessa Ferguson (18:44):
Now we always start off with a question
related to what you enjoy at theparks, and lately we've been
asking people what is yourfavorite special event at any
Disney park?
Bethanee with Park Swagger T (18:56):
Oh , you know it's kind of
controversial, but I haven'tbeen to that many special events
oh, wow I know I tend to takeadvantage of the lower crowds
during the day, say when magickingdom is having an evening
event yes, that's a good ideaand then sometimes I will have
dinner at the contemporary andwatch the special events
(19:17):
fireworks afterwards.
Vanessa Ferguson (19:21):
That's actually a good strategy, for
sure.
Bethanee with Park Swagger T (19:24):
Oh yeah, and it costs about the
same right To take two people todinner at the Contemporary.
Vanessa Ferguson (19:28):
It's about the same as the ticket price.
No, for sure, for sure, andthen that gives you a taste of
it.
And again, like you said, thoselow wait times during the day,
because when we go to thosenighttime events we usually
don't ride rides because therides get so hectic, we end up
doing everything else.
So, yes, definitely sounds likea good strategy.
Bethanee with Park Swagger (19:47):
Yeah , it definitely just depends on
what you're.
You know, what you go to theparks for, which is one of the
great things is that there's somany different things for
everyone.
Vanessa Ferguson (19:54):
Oh, for sure, that is for sure.
Now, we, of course, are all bigDisney fans, so we'd love to
hear all about your business andwhat are the products you offer
connected to Disney.
Bethanee with Park Swagger (20:06):
Yeah , so we started Park Swagger
Tees.
We currently sell on the Etsyplatform and hope to scale up to
our own website someday.
But we we wanted T-shirts thatwe felt comfortable wearing in
the parks and at home, but thathad a little bit of edge to them
(20:26):
.
You know we like we havechildren, we want everything to
be family friendly.
But we also want to you know,showcase that we're kind of moms
from the 90s and we like alittle hip hop and we like
contemporary hip hop and thereare so many good lines or hip
hop songs that go with some ofthe rides and attractions at
Disney.
So we thought, you know, we'llsee if other people like that
(20:49):
too.
Kris Johns (20:51):
That's awesome.
Now, where did you get theinspiration to have a hip hop
inspired Disney line?
Bethanee with Park Swagger (20:57):
I've been listening to a lot of hip
hop myself recently listening toa lot of hip hop myself
recently and I just thought thatsort of happy vibe that I get
when I listen to hip hop that'swhat I'm getting when I'm at the
parks and I always think it'samusing when I see someone mash
up something really cleverlywith Disney and when I can do
(21:20):
that it just feels like a like awin.
So I thought maybe others wouldenjoy that as well.
Vanessa Ferguson (21:25):
Now, how long have you and Sarah had the
business?
Bethanee with Park Swagger T (21:28):
We have only been up and running
for about, I want to say lessthan six months now.
Vanessa Ferguson (21:33):
Oh wow, we're very new.
Yes, there's been a lot of newones.
We saw a lot during COVID andthen this year there's been a
big explosion.
So it's always great to see allof the new lines that are
coming out from everyone.
Bethanee with Park Swagger T (21:45):
Oh my gosh, there's so many and
they're also good.
Yes, exactly.
I already own way too manyDisney t-shirts, but I can't
stop.
Vanessa Ferguson (21:51):
Oh for sure, and that kind of goes into our
next question.
We'd like to know how do youthink your products add Disney
magic to your customers' lives?
Bethanee with Park Swagger (22:02):
Well , of course, you can wear them
at home, right.
So there's, when you're not atDisney, you're getting some some
Disney magic when you wear them.
But I also think that whenyou're in the park and you are
wearing sort of a deep cutDisney shirt, um, for those of
us that are kind of more UberDisney fans, there's a little
bit of of recognition, right.
There's a little bit ofrecognition right.
There's a little bit of like, oh, I see you in the park, and so
(22:27):
that's what I like.
When I wear them to the parksand then when I wear them at
home, I just enjoy, you know,having a little bit of my Disney
experience in my everyday.
Vanessa Ferguson (22:35):
Now could you share with us a couple of your
favorite designs?
Bethanee with Park Swagger T (22:39):
Oh , absolutely.
There's two right now that Ican't stop wearing.
The original one is the partnerstatue and it's paired with a
start from the bottom.
Now we're here, which I thoughtwas amusing but also kind of
really sentimental, because it'sthe perfect thing to imagine
Walt saying to Mickey you know,they're overseeing their kingdom
(23:00):
and it's like look what we did.
Right, we started in Marceline,started with nothing, and here
we are.
And my second favorite is ourprobably our best selling t
shirt, which is turned down forWalt.
We have a 90s version and afloral version to kind of cater
to your taste, but I've, youknow, I can't I can't claim
(23:21):
credit for coming up with that.
I had seen that line elsewhere,but I had never seen it on a
shirt that I thought was welldesigned, and so that's what I
think, that we've got here, andI wear that all the time.
I love it.
Vanessa Ferguson (23:34):
Now tell us a little bit about your shirts,
because I know everybody's alittle bit different in their
process and the types of shirtsthey have in their process and
the types of shirts they have.
Bethanee with Park Swagger (23:48):
Yeah , so we are trying to be as size
inclusive as possible, as justas inclusive as possible in
general.
So we are committed to offeringevery size that both Gildan and
Bella and Canvas shirts come inon our website.
We are outsourcing currently toPrintful so that we are not
building up a lot of stock andpotentially polluting the
(24:08):
environment with shirts if noone wants them, but instead,
yeah, we do the design and thenwhen you order it, it is printed
and shipped out by anothercompany.
But we order everything firstto make sure that it's up to our
quality standards before we putit on our website.
Vanessa Ferguson (24:25):
So that also adds to what is your turnaround
time, so like if I were going ona trip.
How soon should I order a shirt?
Bethanee with Park Swagger (24:32):
Yeah , so the turnaround time is
about two weeks.
It's a little bit longer thanthan if you were pulling it off
a shelf, but you know, I thinkit's worth it.
Vanessa Ferguson (24:44):
And do you just?
Bethanee with Park Swagger (24:45):
have adult sizes.
No, we currently offer some ofour shirts in kid sizes.
We hope to add all of them tothe line and kids specific ones.
We have the word to your motherEpcot spaceship spaceship Epcot
shirt.
And we have two kids versionsthat say word to your mother.
(25:06):
Epcot's spaceship spaceshipEpcot shirt.
And we have two kids versionsthat say word to your mama.
So that's a great familyfitting outfit.
But we're also very open ifthere are individual sizes or
things that people need you know.
Send us a DM on Instagram we'reat Park Swagger Tees or send us
a message on Etsy and we wouldbe happy to work with you.
Vanessa Ferguson (25:22):
And do you do set releases or do you just kind
of have set designs already inyour shop?
I know you just mentioned aboutlike if you had a new idea, but
do you have certain times thatyou release new products?
Bethanee with Park Sw (25:33):
Currently we're working off of when the
inspiration hits.
Vanessa Ferguson (25:36):
Oh sure, that's a good strategy too.
Bethanee with Park Swagger (25:39):
Yes , yeah.
So we're working now on our, onour Halloween one, which, of
course, since the parties havealready started, I really have
to get up very soon, but youknow, I'll hear a song and then
something will pop into my headfrom the parks, and that's when
we release a new one that isawesome.
Kris Johns (25:55):
Now I know you mentioned the platform again,
but will you tell people whereyou're at online, as well as
socials?
Bethanee with Park Swagger (26:00):
Yeah , we are currently on Etsy under
Park Swagger Tees.
We are also under Park SwaggerTees on Instagram and TikTok, as
well as Facebook.
Vanessa Ferguson (26:09):
Perfect, and I will make sure to put the links
to all of your socials and yourEtsy shop in the show notes.
Thank you so much for joiningus today, Bethanee.
Bethanee with Park Swagg (26:18):
That's great.
Thank you, guys, for having meand for spreading the Disney
love.
Kris Johns (26:27):
Thank you again, tohany, for joining us today.
Don't forget to use the codedis love 10 d-i-s-l-o-v-e.
Vanessa Ferguson (26:29):
10 for 10 off, and it's good for the next
month, so make sure to placeyour order today and now we are
on to our two-minute trivia andour wisdom from won quote and
Kris, you are up with trivia.
Kris Johns (26:44):
Okay, we talked a lot about Halloween related
activities at Disney.
Vanessa Ferguson (26:48):
Yes.
Kris Johns (26:50):
So here's a question how many individually themed
carved pumpkins adorn thebalconies and window sills of
main street, usa, during theHalloween festivities?
And I'll give you a plus orminus of 20.
Vanessa Ferguson (27:05):
75.
Kris Johns (27:06):
One more guess.
Please Go higher, much higher175.
I'll give it to you.
190 individually themed carvedpumpkins adorn the balconies and
windowsills.
Isn't that something else?
Wow?
Vanessa Ferguson (27:20):
that is something that's crazy, very
neat, and I saw like this yearthey have where you can buy some
of the wreaths that have, likethe Mic pumpkins, so that's
pretty cool as well.
Now, today, I couldn't resistbecause we and actually we
already said part of it earlier,but we're going to go with it
anyways I couldn't resist anyquote from one of my favorite
(27:42):
Halloween experiences at thepark and, Kris, you could say
this one with me too.
Why don't we say it together?
Let's see how well this goes.
A boo to you and you and you andyou.
Happy Halloween, all right.
So if you haven't gotten achance to go to Mickey's Not so
Scary Halloween Party, Idefinitely encourage you to, or
(28:05):
at least look up the parade andlisten to the song.
You'll enjoy it.
So we hope that you all have agreat fall season and enjoy some
of these awesome things at thepark.
Don't forget to check out allof our other episodes on our
Buzzsprout page and follow us onsocial media.
Subscribe now on YouTube foreven more Disney magic, and
thank you so much for joining uson this episode of the Di Love
(28:27):
Podcast with Vanessa and Kris.
I'm Vanessa and I'm Kris.
Kris Johns (28:39):
This podcast is not affiliated with the Walt Disney
Company or its holdings, and itis intended for entertainment
purposes only.
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