206. Disney's Destiny Continues

The drums hit before the curry cools, the Muses raise the roof, and a shadow man steals the show—Wesley's maiden voyage on Disney Destiny was packed with moments that surprised in the best ways. We're picking up where we left off last week to continue our look into Disney's newest cruise ship.

We dig into Pride Lands’ dinner theater, where gorgeous savannah lighting and rich design meet a sound mix that sometimes overwhelms the meal. The food is a genuine highlight—complex, abundant, and anchored by a standout shrimp curry—while we wrestle with the core question: how much concert belongs at the dinner table?

Over in the Walt Disney Theatre, Disney Hercules lands with heart and swagger. Updated staging, sharp costumes, and a thoughtful new Meg song bring fresh energy without losing the movie’s soul. We talk cast chemistry, why early runs improve fast, and how the Muses keep the momentum humming. Between shows, the ship’s narrative threads come alive through interactive touchpoints—Loki’s mischief, Cruella’s flair, and especially Dr. Facilier’s parlor, a 10-minute, worth-the-wait immersion that proves performance can transform a simple room into event theater.

Shore days show the contrast between Castaway Cay and Lookout Key. Castaway remains the masterclass in Disney-style storytelling: visual “weenies,” intuitive flow, and that feeling of being guided from ship to sand. Lookout Key dazzles with pink sand, silky water, and quiet snorkeling spots, but it’s spread out and light on narrative cues. We share what worked, what needs a Phase 2, and why both stops are worth your time for different reasons. Along the way, we trade practical tips on seating, lines, and sound, debate cruise-ship identity versus theme-park density, and spotlight Version 55.71—Wesley's passion project tracking Disney Parks changes like software updates (https://version5571.com).

If you’re weighing a maiden voyage, curious about Pride Lands, or planning days at Castaway and Lookout, this is your guide to the wins, the tradeoffs, and the can’t-miss moments. Enjoy the ride, then tell us: would you brave the drums for that curry, and is Castaway still your number one? Subscribe, share with a Disney friend, and leave a review to help others find the show.

----
Adventures & Mousecapades is a passion project from Alicea & Nathan Novak - two Seattleites addicted to The Mouse. We are not affiliated with Disney, nor are we travel agents. Opinions are our own.

Instagram, Threads, Facebook, Twitter: @ourmousecapades
OurMousecapades.com
[e-mail]

Episode Transcript

Nathan (00:03):
Please stand clear of the doors.

Alicea (00:16):
Please stand clear of the doors.

Nathan (00:20):
Because this here is the wildest ride in the wilderness.

Alicea (00:23):
Hello everyone.
I'm Alicea.

Nathan (00:25):
I'm Nathan.

Wesley (00:26):
And I'm Wesley.

Alicea (00:27):
And welcome to Adventures and Mouse Capades.

Nathan (00:30):
You've got it right this time.
You got your name right.

Wesley (00:32):
I remember.
I remembered.

Nathan (00:35):
Well, uh, if you didn't listen to last week's episode,
uh, you need to go back andlisten to last week's episode
205.
Uh, we have Wesley on uhversion 5571 on the socials and
everywhere, and you've got awebsite going too.
We'll talk about that here in alittle bit.
Um, we are picking up where weleft off.
Uh, we're talking about theabsolutely glorious Disney

(00:59):
Destiny, Disney Cruise Line'sbrand new cruise ship, and
Wesley was on the maiden voyage.
So let's see.
We're talking about new space.

Wesley (01:11):
It sounds so fun when you say it like that.
Wesley was on the maidenvoyage.

Nathan (01:16):
You were on the maiden, yeah.
Big deal.

Alicea (01:19):
You got to do the thing.

Nathan (01:20):
Yeah.

Wesley (01:21):
Oh man, uh, it's it's the only kind of street cred
I've ever wanted, man.

Nathan (01:26):
I love it.
So let's talk about some morenew spaces or at least newly
themed spaces that we have hereon the Destiny.
Um let's let's focus on thePride Lands, Feast of the Lion
King.
This is the third main diningrestaurant.
You still have uh 1923 andWorlds of Marvel, which yeah,

(01:48):
okay, great, nice.
Sure, nice we've seen those acouple times before.
Let's talk Pride Lands.

Alicea (01:54):
Yeah, and Pride Lands is basically it's like the dinner
show, dinner with a show,whatever you want to call it.

Nathan (02:00):
Right.
What did you think?
The the room from what we'veseen in pictures online looks
incredible.

Wesley (02:07):
Yeah, so they've continued this like really deep
theming uh stuff that they gotgoing on on the Destiny, it's
like really well.
It looks it looks awesome.
It looks awesome.
Again, like even and I knowthis because we had we went to
Pride Lands twice in a row.

(02:28):
We um we did it two nights in arow.
Yeah.
So one night was the show, thenext night was pirate night.

Nathan (02:34):
Got it,

Wesley (02:34):
and I could tell you that walking down that long
hallway back to the restauranton the first night, they had
certain lighting, they hadcertain music, and it looked one
way.
On the next night, when it wasPirate Night, it was like the
maintenance lights were on orsomething.
Not really, not really, butlike it was just lit different,
the music was different, itlooked different, it felt

(02:55):
different.
So they really, they really,obviously, they know what
they're doing.

Nathan (03:00):
Yeah.

Wesley (03:01):
Um, they it really sets the mood and the vibe going down
the hallway there to to PrideLands, and it's dark, and you
can see like the savannah likesunset in the background as you
walk in on those back windows ofthe restaurant.
Um and just like deep warmcolors um on like the tables and

(03:25):
the chairs and the and the andthe flatware and the dinner
wear.

Nathan (03:30):
Yeah.

Wesley (03:30):
Um it's gorgeous.
It looks it looks great.
Um we kind of sat in the moretowards we like sat past the
stage, uh, but still on kind oflike that inner circle, you
know, there's like the walkwayaround.
We're still kind of on theinner circle, but past the
stage, so looking back.
So that kind of sets the stagefor everything to come.

(03:52):
And yeah, the s the stage issmall again.
We've only been on the wish, sothe stage is a little bit
smaller than on the wish.
It's not like a big squarestage, it's more of like a just
like a s a bit smaller uhperformance area, which I assume
they probably did becausethey're trying to get uh squeeze
a little bit more space like inbetween tables and chairs.

(04:13):
Right.

Nathan (04:14):
Which you get two and a half inches between tables
instead of just one and a half.

Wesley (04:19):
Yeah, yeah.
But the stage was also built ina way that felt more organic to
you know, like the savannah oryou know, the you know, that
area.
And so, you know, because itwas it was like round and there
was like different levels ofheight.
And so it just seemed to fitthe space a bit more better than

(04:41):
than like the I mean it wasn'tlike big and clunky on in Frozen
or in Arundel, but you know, itjust fit the space.

Nathan (04:49):
Yeah.

Alicea (04:50):
Now we've seen um both the Arendelle show and the Coco
show, and I will say Arendelleit's really loud.
Coco is not it's like theyfixed it a little bit.
How's the volume level in PrideLands?

Wesley (05:05):
Um probably an 11.

Nathan (05:08):
Yeah.

Wesley (05:09):
It's very loud.

Nathan (05:11):
Yeah,

Wesley (05:11):
it's uh yeah, I mean, they have uh a big part of this
show is is drums.
Oh, yeah.
There's like a couple there's acouple dudes on drums and
they're just banging away.
So it's loud.
It's very loud.

Nathan (05:27):
Yeah.

Wesley (05:28):
And listen, the music is phenomenal, the performers are
phenomenal, the you know, theperformance itself, like the
dancing, great, the costumes,great.
Um, but it's a little the show,just to cut through the chase,

(05:49):
like the show's a little long.
I feel like I feel like there'sI don't know.
In the frozen show, I felt likethere was like this like ebb
and flow and vibe to it wherelike there was like a big thing,
and then like Oaken would comeout and he would do his funny
little like, you know, kind ofthing.
And so like it kind of gave ita break.

(06:11):
And then also I haven't seenthe Encanto show, but in Frozen,
you know, uh Olaf comes out andthat that breaks it up a little
bit.

Alicea (06:19):
Yeah.

Wesley (06:20):
And this Lion King show is just these performers almost
non-stop.
I there is a little bit of abreak because they've you know
try to fit in a break wheresomeone can come take your order
or bring you this or bring youthat.
But it's still it's very den,it's very dense and it feels

(06:44):
very heavy the whole time.
There's not uh there's not anymoment that I can remember of
like levity or kind of a lightermoment.

Alicea (06:54):
Yeah, is there a storyline to it, or is it more
just like a concert typeperformance?

Wesley (07:00):
I think it's more of a concert type performance.
I'm not the best to tell youlike what like I couldn't give
you a playlist or like a setlist because there were
definitely songs in there that Ididn't know, and maybe I maybe
I should have known.
It wasn't just the Lion King.

Nathan (07:18):
No, there's definitely some stuff that are like only in
the Broadway show.
There's some stuff from likeLion King 2

Wesley (07:25):
Yes, yeah.

Nathan (07:26):
There's a bunch of yeah, there's a bunch of stuff in
there.

Wesley (07:29):
So so it's it's loud and I don't want to say relentless,
but it's it's it's constant.
This doesn't take away fromlike how well it was it was
done, but also dinner ishappening.
Yeah.
So so it's uh I I I don't wantto give it bad marks in any way

(07:53):
because it was great, but Iwould have liked it to ease up a
little bit from time to time.

Nathan (07:59):
Broadway show tunes aren't necessarily always the
best dinner music accompaniment.

Wesley (08:06):
That's a good point.
Yeah, just a good point.
You know, like I'm not tryingto eat like fine dining at like
a rock concert, and that's kindof kind of what this kind of
what this felt like.

Nathan (08:16):
Yeah, I will say we saw um, I think it was Mammoth
Club's video uh the other day ofuh their dinner in Pride Lands.
And look, I'm a drummer, I Iloved everything I heard, but
even I like turn to Alicea and Igo, like, that's that's too
much.
Like the I would actuallychange some of the cymbals out.

(08:38):
Like they have cymbals that youcan hit that are not gonna be
that loud.
I was like, oh, that's thethat's the wrong piece of brass
for that room.
Um yeah.
They didn't ask me though, soyou know

Alicea (08:52):
it'll be a learning thing.
I mean, I'm sure they'll switchstuff out over time because
people will will um give theiropinions about it, and there's
gonna be people that are likeright next to this drum set and
are gonna say, It hurts my ears.

Nathan (09:06):
Yeah.
Yeah.

Alicea (09:07):
Yeah.

Nathan (09:07):
Yeah.
Versus I already have hearingloss, so it's fine.

Wesley (09:12):
And there might have been other people there who
thought it was perfectly fineand wanted more or wanted it to
be louder.

Alicea (09:17):
Oh, yeah.
That's I mean, that's thething, it's all subjective, but
we like to hear we like to hearopinions on it.

Nathan (09:23):
How is the food there?

Wesley (09:24):
Oh, the food was great.
The food was my favorite out ofthe three restaurants.
It was, you know, the flavorsseemed a bit more complex.
I think the quantity of food inmy like main dish, my entree,
was more than you would get, orthat I've experienced from other
restaurants or other maindishes.

(09:45):
Um, plus, like it was almostspicy.
I got the shrimp curry.

Nathan (09:52):
Okay.

Alicea (09:53):
I like that.
It almost spicy.

Wesley (09:56):
Like from my mother-in-law would probably say
it was spicy.
I would say like it was almostspicy.
Uh but like the shrimp currycame in like a like a
cauldron-looking dish, and thenthere was rice, and then like
some bread that I'm sure has aname that I don't know.
But it was it was plenty.

(10:16):
Like, if that was the onlything I got, I I still would
have been pretty satisfied withyou know, with my dinner.
It was really good.

Alicea (10:24):
Did you hit either of the coffee bars, the Merida or
the Megara coffee bars?

Wesley (10:29):
Yes, I went to both.
I went to Cafe Merida on thefirst day.
I needed a drink.
We were in line for the Dr.
Facilier parlor.

Nathan (10:41):
Okay.

Wesley (10:42):
I went over there just to check it out because I wanted
to wanted to see it.
And then I thought, okay, I'mhere.
I should I should probably geta drink.
It wasn't like totally packed.
Most of the people were at thesail away party at this time,
which we skipped because wewanted to do the Dr.
Facilier thing.
Right.
Um, I don't drink, and so I gotwhat I thought was like a fancy

(11:04):
chai tea.
And because it said the titleof it was Fiery Redhead, and I
thought that's sounds likesomething I want to have.
And it said it had some wordsthat I didn't know, and then it
was like a chai tea with likeginger, and I was like, perfect,
let me get that.
And it was probably 90%alcohol.

Nathan (11:26):
Oh no.

Wesley (11:28):
After I got it, I walk like the whole it kind of like
the whole bar space kind ofsmelled alcohol-y, which you
would expect.
Yeah.
And so when I got my drink andI walked away, I thought, wow
man, this really they're reallyloading these people up.
And then um, and then as I gotfarther away, I was like, no, it

(11:49):
still smells really alcohol-yaround here.
And um, yeah, it turns out thewords that I didn't know were
definitely like a like a falseuh something.
I don't know.
I couldn't tell, and I eventried to give it a I got back in
line at Dr.
Facilier and I was like, Doesanybody want this?
Yeah, because it was expensiveand it looks really good.

(12:10):
Um, and the one dude he didn'tdrink, and then uh someone took
it and she took a little sip,and she was like, There's no way
I can finish this.
Wow.
So it was fiery, I suppose.
Um but again, I like the vibesof Cafe Merida.
Um, it's kind of the bigger ofthe two bars that are or little

(12:33):
cafes that are on top of eachother.
Yeah.
Um yeah, really well, reallywell done.
Yeah.
The carpet definitely took apicture of the carpet in there
in Cafe Merida.
It had like um, you know, theplaid.

Alicea (12:47):
Oh, like a tartan?

Wesley (12:48):
What do they call them?
Like, yeah, a tartan.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
That's cool.
Yeah, it was fun.

Nathan (12:53):
How about Edna A-la-mode?
Did you guys uh get up thereand get some get some sweets?

Wesley (12:59):
Uh I walked in just to check it out.
We didn't actually orderanything in there.
Again, it was just so we werealways being pulled in different
directions.
So one time I was alone, Ipopped in just real quick to
check it out.
Um nothing to report.
Yes.
Nice.

Alicea (13:19):
Yeah.
It's it's hard on the shipsthat if you haven't been on the
ship before, like um when wewere on the Treasure, we were on
there for seven nights and itstill wasn't enough time for us
to see everything.

Wesley (13:30):
I mean, I'll tell you this.
Between between dessert atdinner, which there's always,
you know, at least two, right.
I try to try them.
You know, I try to try them.
And then and then so betweenall that and then and then just
ice cream or soft serve on thepool deck, like I'm I'm good.

(13:53):
Like I don't need to pay forice cream that I've already
pre-paid for otherwise.

Alicea (14:01):
understood.

Nathan (14:01):
Yeah.
Fair enough.
Fair enough.

Wesley (14:03):
It might be better, but I've already paid for this other
stuff, so I'm gonna go for thatstuff.

Nathan (14:07):
Sounds good.
All right, so of course, we'dbe remiss if we didn't get your
thoughts also on the revivedslash revised main theater show,
Disney Hercules.
What did you think of this newshow?

Wesley (14:23):
Okay, so this whole show kind of represents like a full,
like I've all I've come all theway around.
So on my very first cruise onthe on the what?
What was it called?

Nathan (14:36):
The Wonder.

Wesley (14:38):
Yeah, that's the one.
I'm trying to be allsentimental about it.
I can't even remember what it'scalled.
So uh my very first cruise onthe Disney Wonder was they had
Hercules.
Yeah, the musical.

Nathan (14:53):
Yeah.

Wesley (14:55):
And it's one of the things that really sticks out in
my mind about that first cruisethat I went on was this stage
show.
Yeah, it was my firstexperience with that caliber of
stage show, like on a cruiseship.
Yeah, I mean, it was my it wasmy first cruise.
I had been to like a Broadwayshow before, and I had been to

(15:16):
like a stage production on theWest End, but not like this, but
uh with you know, uh obviouslythere's uh it's a smaller space,
they have different, you know,constraints that they have to
work with, and so I thoughtincredible.
It was you know, it was funny,it was um, you know, it's it

(15:38):
stuck to the story of the moviethat we know.
The songs are great, and theydidn't kind of like try to
deviate or or you know mess withit at all.

Nathan (15:47):
Yeah,

Wesley (15:47):
it was the story of Hercules.
The muses stole the show for meon that first time, they were
so great, like the gospel vibesof of the songs just really
resonate with me.
I it just it makes me feelgood, and you know, I like I
like that that music, and soagain, I had really high

(16:08):
expectations coming into thisnew version, you know, updated,
like the technology's better,you know.
They they have so much moreexperience producing these shows
at sea, it's gonna be bigger.
Um and from what I saw, uh,like those behind the scenes
things of like the puppets andlike of the hydra and then the

(16:30):
the

Alicea (16:32):
Titans?

Wesley (16:33):
Thank you, the Titans you know, really got me excited
about it.
So I knew it was gonna be busy.
They did a matinee on uh sothey had a two o'clock show and
then the regular shows.
We chose to go to the twoo'clock show just to kind of get
out ahead of it.

Nathan (16:50):
Yeah.

Wesley (16:51):
Um, we we waited upstairs for the balcony seats
for about an hour, so we got inline about one.
We were about 40th in line toget in.
And so there's not a bad seatin the Walt Disney Theater,
really.
Right.
We sat on the balcony um on theright side, kind of towards the

(17:12):
center.
And what can I say?
It was it was fantastic.
The music was great.
There was an extra song that Idon't remember from the movie
that Meg sings.
And unlike I'm I'm not a fan ofthis.
I I don't like it when they tryto add in extra songs.
I'm like, I just people like Ilike the movie.

(17:33):
I just want to see a stageproduction of the movie.

Nathan (17:36):
Yeah.

Wesley (17:37):
Um, so when I found out there was another song, I was
like, but it it was uh it didn'tdominate like the act, it
didn't dominate like the wholeshow.
It was it was integrated verynicely and made it really made
sense that that song was therein the story, in the otherwise

(17:57):
abbreviated story of Hercules.
So I think it did in thisinstance make sense and kind of
push the story along a littlebit.
Yeah.
Uh the costumes were great, allthe actors were great.
It was the first show on theMaiden Voyage.
Obviously, they've beenrehearsing for a while and
they've had preview showings,but this was the first one.

(18:20):
So I think there was like alittle bit of nerves, you could
tell, yeah, on some of the someof the cast.
And but still I thought it wasfantastic.
And even with like a little bitof nerviness, like the it tells
me it's just gonna get thatmuch better because as they as

(18:40):
they each settle in to theirroles and get more comfortable
with each other and the stageand the space and the costumes,
it's just gonna age really well,I think.
And and they'll adjust, youknow, maybe some timings of
certain things or or whatever.
And by the time this cast isdone, they're gonna have it
really down.
So if you're going on this, ifyou're going on the Destiny like

(19:03):
in six months from now or fivemonths from now, I think you're
gonna get the best version of astage show that Disney Cruise
Line has to offer.
I think it's really great.

Nathan (19:15):
That's awesome.
That's great to hear.
That's great to hear.

Wesley (19:18):
I was hoping the the muses take the lead in a lot of
the songs or a lot of the big,you know, powerful songs.
Yeah.
And so, you know, they make,you know, this the guy who plays
Hercules, like he's like a bigyou know, people are really
excited about him.
And I wish there was moreopportunity within the play for

(19:39):
him to kind of like really beltit out and to like let it go so
we can see like what he has.
Because just within thestructure of the narrative as it
is, like there's not a ton ofopportunity for him to like
really give it to us.

Nathan (19:55):
Yeah.
So they'll find they'll sthey'll find those ways.
Um And and like you weresaying, as everybody sits in
with the show more and gets morefamiliar with it, it the the
shows just evolve.
Um, we were lucky enough to seeHamilton on its first run here
in Seattle um uh several times.

(20:18):
And we saw opening night andclosing night, and that was like
a seven or eight week run.
Yeah, and and it was the first,it was like the the what the
And Peggy company.
It was like the third touringcompany that they that they they
uh stood up.
Oh or the first or the first, Ithink it was the first actual

(20:38):
touring company.
They had like some like acompany in Chicago that sat for
like almost a year.
They had a company out in SanFrancisco or LA or wherever it
was that sat for a really longtime.
And this was the third companythat they stood up here
domestically, and seeing it justdevelop over seven or eight
weeks, just from opening nightto closing night here in

(20:59):
Seattle, it was incredible tosee how each of the actors just
made the character their own andbrought their own spice to the
role and everything.
It's just absolutelyincredible.
And and I like you, I think youknow it will get better.
I have to believe that the sameis is likely happening with

(21:21):
Moana.
Um, we saw it, you know, acouple months in.
And you got to remember on thetreasure, we were on the
treasure in February.
We were probably on the eighthor ninth sailing, and they only
do that once a week.
Whereas here with the Destiny,you're gonna do it on average
two-ish times a week becauseyou're doing you know what

(21:43):
mostly fours and fives on theDestiny, five four and five
nighters.
So they're gonna get morerepetitions of the show.
It will get better.
I'm really looking forward toseeing it.
Unfortunately, we won't seethis opening cast.
We will see the next one.
Uh when we're on in June.
But um, yeah, very, very muchlooking forward to it.

Wesley (22:02):
But even still, I think like the second cast will still
have an advantage because thecrew, the uh other crew will
likely mostly be this be thesame.

Alicea (22:10):
And they'll do tweaks here and there.
Yeah, I'm sure.

Wesley (22:13):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.

Alicea (22:14):
And there's something to be said for rehearsing versus
actually performing.

Nathan (22:19):
Yeah.

Alicea (22:20):
So they'll get that little extra in there, I'm sure.

Nathan (22:23):
Yeah, the energy of the people.

Wesley (22:24):
Yeah.
Absolutely.

Nathan (22:25):
Yeah.

Wesley (22:26):
But yeah, yeah, they uh I mean, obviously, like everyone
in the in the theater loved it,you know.
Yeah.
Standing ovation.
Everybody was hooting andhollering about it.
They liked it.
Like for me, it was really likethis like flashbacky time to
like when I was much younger andand uh you know, on a cruise
for the first time.

(22:46):
So it it sparked like some abit of like sentimentality for
me uh to be there.
Obviously, this time was withmy family, first time I wasn't.
So like so this whole thing wasvery it was a great, it was a
great moment.
It was a great way to like goout on the cruise, like having
having seen this stage show.

(23:08):
Yeah, that was it was great.
Yeah, and plus like I just kindof have like an affinity
towards like mythology um ingeneral and like the stories
that they tell, I think they canbe really powerful and
transformative.
Um and so for them to have likethis stage show, I mean Disney

(23:30):
is always like kind of you know,aims for like that
inspirational type, like anyonecan do it, you could be the
hero.
But yeah, I think when you diga little bit deeper into
mythology, and this is one ofthe things that I learned when I
was in college, like if you putyou like these myths are

(23:51):
structured in a way where youcan very easily like insert
yourself into this role of theof the hero and imagine what it
would be like to take on thesesteps and relate them to your
life in a way where it actuallycan help you overcome something
that you're you know stacked upagainst when there's some

(24:13):
adversity or whatever.
So I think on a deeper level, Ireally enjoy like the mythology
of the story and and how it canrelate to our in our own lives.

Nathan (24:25):
Yeah.

Alicea (24:26):
Well, Disney has played up the other characters on the
ship too, as as part of theirwhole narrative through lines
for the voyage.
Um, there's Loki, Cruella deVille, Dr.
Facilier, and Black Panther.
They're all part of thejourney.
Uh, do you think Disney isbarking up the right tree,
making things a little bit moreinteractive on the ships?

Wesley (24:47):
I think the short answer is yes.
The long answer is a bit morecomplicated because I don't want
to see I think it would not Ithink it would lose its potency
if now every ship has all of allof this.
I think this makes it veryunique and special and something

(25:08):
that you it's not something Iwant to do every time I go on a
Disney cruise.
I don't want to, you know, Isuffer from FOMO very much, and
so I don't want to be on a on acruise like this every time
where I feel like oh I have tosee this and this and you know,
all these like special thingslike the Loki, Maleficent, like

(25:29):
you're saying, Black Panther.
Like it's a it's a lot, and Iand I and I think like it's
special in a way that makes thiscruise unique and something
that people should a hundredpercent like seek after if
you're a fan of some of thesethings.
Uh but I would like to see itbe more exclusive to maybe this

(25:54):
class or even to this degree onthis ship only.
Yeah, I don't know if I yeah,because I mean we saw Loki, we
saw Dr.
Facilier, which absolutelyincredible.
The guy who plays Dr.
Facilier is stunning in hisportrayal.
He's he's witty and off thecuff, and and obviously has like

(26:19):
a script to follow, but yeah,but interacts with like uh this
group of people.
I believe he is Dr.
Facilier when I when I'm when Iwas in the when I was in the
parlor for him with him, youknow, and and interacting with
him, and he asks me questionsdirectly and I you know respond

(26:40):
in a way where I try to elicitlike a certain response and he
and he goes for it.

Nathan (26:46):
Yeah I don't want to give out any spoilers or
anything about that experienceuh of being in the parlor with
Dr.
Facilier.
Uh as you mentioned, like therecan be a really long line for
that.
I guess just two quickquestions around that.
Like A, was it worth it?
Sounds like yes.

(27:07):
And then B, like, how long isthat experience with Dr.
Facilier?

Wesley (27:12):
If you don't see Dr.
Facilier, I think it will be Ithink your cruise will be less
because of it.
There's not another experiencethat equals it.

Nathan (27:23):
Wow.

Wesley (27:24):
Now.
If you don't like magic, skipit.
Right?
If you're not into I know likeI know some people just aren't
into magic, just then don'twaste your time and don't take
the spot of somebody else whowould who would appreciate it.
Uh there's about 10-ish, 12people in my group.

(27:44):
We were the we were we skippedthe sail away party.
For whatever that's worth, Idon't know.
But like Maiden VoyageSail-away Party, maybe they did
something new or clever.
I don't know.
I wasn't there.
I got I got I just wanted to bein the first, you know, uh um I

(28:05):
just wanted to be in the firstgroup to go see Dr.
Facilier.

Nathan (28:09):
That was a priority for you.

Wesley (28:10):
I knew the line was gonna be long, yeah, and I
didn't want to, it was rightafter the muster drill.
So I just thought, okay, we'renot we're not like already
involved in something else andhave to break away to go wait in
line for an hour to see thisguy.
Yeah, let's just go now and andget it done.
And we did, and we we stillwaited about 40 minutes.
Okay.
But like I said, we were in thefirst group, the whole

(28:32):
interaction once we were in theparlor with him lasted maybe 10
minutes.
Okay.
It sounds like a bigcommitment, you know what I
mean?
Like wait 40, wait 40 minutesto hang out with this dude for
10, and most of the people arejust watching.
Yeah.
You know, like I'll tell youthis: like, you go, like your

(28:55):
group goes in, it's like yourfirst impression is gonna be
like, holy smokes.
But but but then three peoplegot chosen to like kind of sit
down at the table with him andand to interact.
But he does a really good jobof interacting with other people
who are standing too.
Good.
Yeah, so there's the threepeople, and then there, and then

(29:19):
he like he like he is he likecome come closer, like stand
closer.
I don't know.
It's just a cool, it's justsuch a cool vibe, you know what
I mean?
And they set the room.
I wish there was a bit morelike set dressing, or I think I
wish there was more of adedicated space, because it is
just kind of like a pop-up.

(29:39):
They they put a thing over adoor that's already there.

Nathan (29:42):
Uh got it.

Wesley (29:44):
Put put some like light props like in the room and the
lighting is dim.
But so I wish there's a bitmore, but all your focus is on
the actor when you're in there,and all of his focus is is
trying to interact with as manypeople who are as there as
possible.
Not everybody, but buteverybody gets kind of the same

(30:06):
takeaway.

Nathan (30:07):
Yeah, hey, and a and a 40 or even an hour wait for a
10-minute experience is stillbetter than waiting, you know,
we've seen like three hours todo a you know 90-second or
two-minute ride on Avatar Flightof Passage in the Animal
Kingdom.
So, you know, it's stillworking out.

Wesley (30:25):
Yeah, I'll tell you this.
Four days later, we waited wewaited almost an hour for Voyage
of the Little Mermaid at MagicKingdom.
So we're

Nathan (30:35):
not the same payoff.

Wesley (30:36):
Yep, yeah, we're not great with time management, and
that proves it.
Dr.
Facilier, yes, little mermaid,no, not so much, yeah.
Not so much.

Nathan (30:48):
Now I know you don't make a point to hang out with
the mice, but did you happen tocome across Hero Minnie in her
brand new outfit?

Wesley (30:57):
Oh, yeah.
Immediately, immediately we goton the ship and she was there.

Nathan (31:02):
Nice.

Wesley (31:02):
She was on the little balcony area.
Yeah.
And she was there when we wentwhen you know we were announced
and they were announcing otherpeople.
And you know, she was hittingher poses, fixing her buttons,
you know.
Yeah, she was there.
I again, I'm not trying to hangout with her, yeah, but the the
fact that she was there, Irespect that.

(31:24):
It's fine.
I'm glad she was there.
I'm glad I got to see her.
Yeah, you know, I make I I Icreated like a magnet in her
likeness.
I make I I make those littlelike uh you know, magnets
together, like to pixie desk forpeople.

Nathan (31:41):
Yeah.

Wesley (31:41):
Um a crew.
So yeah, I made I made one ofthose for the Maiden Voyage, and
it she's the star of the ship,kind of.
So yeah, I respect her.

Nathan (31:50):
I love it.
I love it.

Wesley (31:51):
There's no there's no dig on Hero Minnie.

Nathan (31:55):
I don't know.
It's just interesting that youhave Hero Minnie and Edna Mode
on the ship at the same time,and Hero Minnie has a cape.
I know.
And Edna has a hard line, nocapes.
And I it's just an interestingchoice.

Wesley (32:09):
The thing is that you never see Hero Minnie and Edna
Mode uh at the same time.
So maybe they have beef.
Maybe they're beefing and theydon't want to.

Nathan (32:18):
Yeah.

Wesley (32:18):
Yeah.

Nathan (32:19):
Maybe they're the same people.
Maybe Hero Minnie is Edna Mode.

Wesley (32:24):
Or maybe, or maybe Edna Mode also doesn't like to hang
out with the mice who don't talkback.
Maybe, maybe.
Maybe Edna doesn't know what tosay.
She feels maybe she feelsawkward.
There you go.
I don't know her.

Alicea (32:37):
Let's see.
Dining.
Of course, uh, there arereturning favorites to um like
1923 and World of Marvel for themain dining.
How is your overall diningexperience on the cruise?

Wesley (32:51):
I uh dining for me is one of like the big selling
points on Disney Cruise Line.
Yeah, I like all the food, someof it more than others.
I even like the Pirate Menu,which I know people really get
down on.
But like, what's not to I don'tunderstand what's not to like

(33:12):
necessarily.

Alicea (33:13):
We haven't had Pirate Menu in many, many years.
We're gonna try it again inFebruary if they have it.

Wesley (33:19):
Yeah, try it.
Yeah I got this pasta withshrimp and scallops.
What what do you want?
What what do people?
I don't understand the peoplewho dislike the menu.
Like, what are they looking forthat they can't get?
Because I get everything that Iwant.
There you go.
I get I get everything that Iwant.

Nathan (33:36):
The last time we had the pirate menu, it was the old
pirate menu, and it was not asgood.
Yeah.
And like I said, I can't many,many, many.
For me, I don't want shrimp andscallops.
I'm I don't eat shellfish,yeah.
So and it's not because I'mallergic, I just grew up on the
ocean and I understand wherethose things live.

Alicea (33:57):
Yeah.

Nathan (33:58):
Like if you're I don't care.

Wesley (34:01):
Don't don't ruin it.

Alicea (34:03):
I know where they live.
I don't care.
They taste good.

Nathan (34:06):
Happy for you.
It's all right.
I I also eat escargot, so I'mjust weird.
It's fine.

Wesley (34:11):
Yeah, see.
Um, so do we.
It was uh I don't I don't mindthe Marvel menu.
It's it's probably my leastfavorite of the three.

Nathan (34:22):
Yeah.

Wesley (34:22):
But if I had to rank them, but um I'm happy to eat
there.

Nathan (34:27):
Is it the Guardians of the Galaxy um dinner menu and
dinner show at Worlds of Marvelon the Destiny?

Wesley (34:34):
Yes, it was all about like it was all about like
Rocket and Groot.
Groot, got it.
Okay, yep, okay.
Yeah, I thought that I thoughtthat show was more tame than the
other Marvel one, which Iappreciated.
I don't want always like theselike loud, raucous like things
when I'm trying to eat, butthere was still enough like
interactive elements to like tokeep the kids interested in what

(34:58):
was going on all night.
And I thought the food was Ithought the food was good.

Nathan (35:04):
Nice.
Uh you also got to hit bothcastaway and lookout keys.
Yeah.
Any highlights from I meanthose these are fantastic
locations.
We just hit lookout for thefirst time ourselves.
We were in love.
What did you think?

Wesley (35:20):
Yeah, um, so this is our second time going to Lookout.
We've been to you know,castaway on every other every
other sailing.
Yeah.
And I like them both.
They're both fun, really likeimmersive spaces to hang out and
enjoy the beach.
Yeah.
They each have their uhstrengths and weaknesses.

(35:42):
You get something at one thatyou don't get at the other.
So if you have an opportunityto go on a sailing where you go
to both, I think that's the bestcase scenario.

Nathan (35:52):
Yeah.

Wesley (35:53):
Because what you might have missed at one, you'll gain
at the other.
If you're forcing me to choose,which I feel like you are, I
would I would definitely chooseCastaway as my favorite.
Castaway Disney Castaway Key isprobably my favorite location
to visit of any place I've everbeen.

(36:14):
And I will go there on everysailing from now until forever,
even if I never go to anotherforeign port destination again
in my entire life.

Nathan (36:26):
Yeah.

Wesley (36:26):
I think the way it's aged and the way it's weathered
and the way it's set up and itsproximity to everything else on
the island, yeah, and the visualstorytelling that you get as
you approach and as youdisembark and as you get to the

(36:47):
tram and around the island, Ithink is on par with how they
tell the story of the themeparks.
Right?
When you when you get to MagicKingdom, let's say, you can and
you're at like the TTC orwhatever, you're waiting for the
monitor, you can see thecastle.
It's on a hill, it's in thebackground, you can see it.

(37:08):
You it like it, like gives youthis anticipation for what's
coming up, and as you getcloser, uh it goes out of view
and you can't see it.
But now you are you now youknow it's there, so now you have
to go find it.

Nathan (37:20):
Yeah, right?

Wesley (37:21):
And then so like you go through the tickets and then you
go through the tunnel, and thenyou come around the corner, and
then you can see it, and likethere's just always these like
visual cues that keep drawingyou further and further into the
park.
And this is especially true atDisneyland, where you can see
like I always think of likegoing left, like you go to the
hub, you go left, and it's likeadventureland, but then you can

(37:43):
kind of see New Orleans Squarein the in the back, you know,
behind it.
And then when you're inNorthern Square, you can kind of
see like crater country, orwhat used to be crater country,
I don't know what it's callednow, but you can kind of see
that, you know what I mean?
And so you keep it like you youfind what you're looking for,
but then there's immediatelysomething else that you're
trying to get to.
And I find the same thing to beon Castaway.

(38:04):
You can see the island whenyou're when you're on the ship
and you get off, and some of itis hidden from view, and then
and then you kind of go around.
I find that that type of visualand narrative storytelling to
be missing or lacking from umfrom Lookout Key.

Nathan (38:20):
Yeah.

Wesley (38:21):
Um, however, it's not a problem that can't be fixed if
they're interested in fixing it.
Yeah, it's an opportunity formore storytelling all along the
pier.
There's opportunities forvisual storytelling that they
haven't taken yet.
And then even in the distance,there could be, and I think even

(38:41):
in some concept art, there issome kind of like structure that
was supposed to have beenbuilt, or I don't know if it was
supposed to, but it was in someconcept art that would kind of
be a visual cue, yeah, to likekind of bring you, okay.
Yeah, we're gonna go on, we'regonna walk this pier, and then
we're gonna get on this tram,but it'll all be worth it
because you've already seen whatyou're gonna get.

Nathan (39:03):
Yeah.

Wesley (39:03):
And now you just gotta get there, and it'll be it'll
take, it'll take uh kind of amonotonous you know, walk and
tram ride to the other side ofthe island to oh, this is
something I can't wait to get.
I can't wait to get on thistram because I know at the other
end there's gonna be thisthing.
Now I've been there, so I knowwhat's on the other side of all

(39:24):
that, and it's this stunningpink sand beach.
It's incredible.
But um, there's there's a lotthat you have to endure before
you get there.

Nathan (39:35):
You need that thing to draw you through.
It's what you're talking about.
Like Walt called it uh the theweenie, right?
Like the castle is the weenie,or or the the ball in Epcot, or
the you know the tower, like thethings are the thing that
visually draw you around.
You've got to have that stuffthere, and and it's in it's
important.
It's important.
And I I agree with you.

(39:56):
I think lookout doesn't lookout is famous.
Fantastic.
And it is an incredibledestination.
It's just, it's really spreadout and doesn't quite feel
cohesive yet.
Yeah.
And I'm with you.
It needs a it needs a phase twothat just adds it pluses it.

Alicea (40:18):
Well, it also concentrates more on the culture
of the island.
Rather, castaway has a storythat it's telling.
It's a castaway island.

Nathan (40:28):
Yeah.

Alicea (40:28):
Um, so there's no specific story like that for um
lookout.
And I know they did that onpurpose, so I'm hoping they can
draw something in to make it alittle more uh interactive or or
just have people concentratemore on what's there.

Wesley (40:47):
Yeah.

Alicea (40:48):
Yeah.

Wesley (40:48):
We did see, we did see like the junk anoo for the first
time and and some of thatstuff.
And uh well, I did.
Uh everybody else kind ofscattered and went in different
directions.
So, you know, I hung back andsaw it.
But uh like it was somethingthat I saw because it was
happening.
Yeah, I definitely didn't, Idefinitely didn't seek it out.

(41:08):
Yeah.
I mean, people, there's nowrong way to vacation, but dude,
once I'm on Castaway orLookout, like I'm I'm there for
the for the water sports.
I'm there for like swimming,for the snorkeling, for like the
laying on the beach, for likethe you know, that kind of
stuff.
I'm not necessarily out therelooking for another show.

Nathan (41:31):
Right.

Wesley (41:31):
You know what I mean?
Right, right, right.
I sometimes like to also dothings, not just watch things.
Yep, yep, yep.

Alicea (41:37):
That sand is amazing though.
That sand and that water isperfect.

Wesley (41:43):
Yeah, it's crazy.
It's like it like exfoliatesyour skin.
Like I'm in the water and thewater feels like I live in
California, we go to the beach,and the water feels rough and
and like tough and like harsh.
And I get out and there's likeoh, I have like a layer of salt
on me, like after like going toHuntington or whatever, wherever

(42:05):
we go.
But like this beach at Lookoutis it's like smooth and
soothing.
It's like it feels silky andsoft.
The wall, it's weird to thewater feels soft.
I don't know how that's likepossible, but like the water
feels soft, and we wentsnorkeling again this time, and
there's not like a dedicatedsnorkeling reef, but like there

(42:26):
is well, you know, wildlife inthe water.
Yeah, there's reefs, and I Ibrought like an underwater
camera this time, and we sawlike schools of fish, and oh,
and we saw a stingray, just likea random wild stingray, like
swam by it was huge, it wasprobably about like five, six
feet wide.
Wow.
And it was a little unnerving,but uh but also really cool, you

(42:51):
know, for my kids to just likeyou know, just randomly come
across that kind of kind ofstuff.
Also, this time I made a pointto walk all the way down to the
south end of the beach to wherelike those rock formations are.
Yeah.
And it's so stunning downthere.
Um, you know, it's quiet, it'saway from everything.

(43:13):
The the water is even moregorgeous down there than it is
like down at the beach.
And I kind of walked aroundlike the southern tip, and like
the waves are kind of crashing,and I'm like holding on to my
balance the best I can because Idon't want to I have like
cameras and everything with me,and I don't want to fall in the
water, but yeah, it was it'sgreat.
It's it's a it's a memory, it'sa picture in my mind that I'll

(43:37):
always have that I can't getanywhere else.
Yeah, and I'm so everyoneshould go.
Everyone should go here.

Alicea (43:45):
We'll have to hit that in June with the kids.

Nathan (43:46):
Yeah, absolutely.

Wesley (43:47):
Yeah, it's all it's it's much farther than it looks.
Like I just walked along thebeach and I was like, this is
this is a little far.
This is a little if you thinkabout walking if you think about
walking from the south tip ofEleuthera back up to the tram,
take the tram, and then walkback on the thing, like it's

(44:08):
it's a hike.
Yeah it's a hike.

Alicea (44:11):
Well, what were your most memorable moments from this
cruise?

Wesley (44:16):
For sure, the Dr.
Facilier interaction was likeas our first time, like nothing.
I don't think nothing's gonnamatch like the first time.
Yeah, my my first time with Dr.
Facilier will is is verymemorable.
Um the Zaya and Gambleinteractions, you know.
We saw them with Loki, we sawthem with them with the Marvel

(44:37):
thing in Deadpool, and we sawthem again with Maleficent.
And all of them were so wellproduced and and excellent, and
then them two, as thosecharacters, have the kind of
chemistry that other people canonly hope for.
Like they like really know eachother and play off each other

(44:58):
really well.
So if if you get a chance tosee them, see them.
Hercules is the third thingthat I think I will take away.
Is again a stunning production.
Like the music is is great.
We even got my kids singing it,and they're like not the
biggest uh Hercules fans, butI'm all about it.

(45:19):
I'm all about it.
The fourth thing that I think II'll take away from this
sailing in particular is meetingdifferent people and just kind
of like the overall camaraderie,like amongst like the guests
and getting their take and theirperspective.
Like I've been on I've been onother shows and like then

(45:42):
meeting meeting like Brian andSam in person was great.
Like his their son and my sonlike got on well and they were
hanging out, and so like that'sa special memory for them too.
Yeah, just just kind of likebeing in a place where people
have common interests and commonpassions and common likes, it
takes the vacation and and itmakes it even better because you

(46:06):
can leave all that other stuffout of the equation for a little
bit, and you can have a goodtime, yeah, and you can make new
friends and make new memoriesand have different experiences
that we don't have when we're athome.
Yep.
And and I think that's like thebig takeaway here is yeah, is

(46:27):
is um yeah.

Nathan (46:28):
Fantastic segue into what I the next question I
wanted to ask, which is um aboutthe vibes on on being on a
maiden voyage, and it soundslike everything I had thought it
would be.
Um I can't wait to try to doone at some point in the future.
Would you do a maiden voyageagain?

Wesley (46:48):
Yeah, I was talking to my wife about it because going
into this one, I thought, well,I I was so bummed that we missed
the maiden voyage of thetreasure.
Yeah.
Because it just looked likesuch a blast, like such a party
and such a you know, such a goodtime.
And so I really made a point togo, you know, to book this

(47:08):
cruise like immediately.
Yeah.
Because I wanted to be on theMaiden Voyage, I wanted to say
that I was, you know, one of thefirst to sail on this ship.
But I think the short answer isyes, I would definitely do a
Maiden Voyage again, but there'ssome caveats, right?
Because, like we talked aboutearlier, a lot of people are
there and they're trying to getcontent.

(47:29):
Yeah, you know what I mean.
They're just like straight uptrying to like make their blog,
yeah, make their vlogs, which isfine.
Like, and I knew that goinginto it, but the hype around
some of these areas is real, andyou're not gonna get to do
everything that you want to do.
It was a shorter sailing,there's a lot of new stuff.

(47:51):
So I guess the next goal is togo on a preview sailing, which
would be great in its own way,but also I know that would be a
lot of work too.

Nathan (48:03):
Yeah.

Wesley (48:04):
So I think I don't know if I would maybe I would go on a
maiden voyage, but just like meand my wife.
Yeah.
And then take the kids on asailing in a month or so.
Yeah.
I don't know.
I don't know.
That's I don't know how manycruises we can go on, but you
know what I mean?
You know what I mean?
Like take them later uh when wecan because I too, I wanted to

(48:28):
see everything, and I'm like, weshould go do this, we should go
do that.
And some of the times they werelike, hey, you need to calm
down too and let's just relax,you know.
But I wanted to see everything.
I wanted to, I wanted to checkeverything out.
And so I don't know, maybe Ineed like a a check it out kind
of cruise and then a cruisewhere where we can really just

(48:50):
like chill out, have a vacation,yeah.
Yeah, but I do like the vibe,like the overall like excitement
and enthusiasm that everybodyhas for the main voyage, not
just the not just the theguests, but the crew.
They're super excited to haveeverybody because some of them
have been living on the ship nowfor like a month or so, and you

(49:11):
know, now finally there's likereal guests that they can take
care of.
Like our servers were reallyexcited, you know, to have us
there.
Yes, I would.
The answer is yes.

Alicea (49:21):
Was there anything we haven't covered yet that you
want to call out?

Wesley (49:25):
I would just say, like, definitely, I mean, this ship
has something for everyone.
I know a lot of people arelike, look, it's it's like
Marvel, it's it's like a Marvelship, it's like heroes and
villains, but like all thecruise stuff is there that you
already love.
Yeah.
You know, all that stuff isstill there and it's still
available to you.
Go on this ship anyway, becauseI guarantee you're gonna be

(49:48):
surprised by something that likeyou didn't anticipate being
surprised by or liking or beinginvolved with in a way.
You know, there's like these,you know, chance encounters with
like Jack Sparrow was likerunning around one day, like at
on like Pirate Night and endedup in Cask and Cannon, and like
just like just the things that Idon't even know about happen to

(50:10):
other people that that mightthat might happen to you.
So I would say like don't beafraid to go on the ship if
you're not like a huge Marvelfan.
You don't need to know Marvelanything to be on the ship.
You could go to that comedyMarvel show, not know a dang
thing, and still be entertainedbecause the quality of the
storytelling and the actors isso high that that they draw you

(50:34):
in.
It the Marvel is just like themethod both for which they like
they deliver um you know theirtalent to you.
Yeah.
And so many of the casts aremulti-purposed, you know, that
one of the muses also sang inSaga um before and after that

(50:55):
Marvel show, and she wasphenomenal.
You could I posted uh uh alittle clip of her of her
singing in in Saga before theMarvel show.
Yeah.
And she's like one of the best,she was like one of the best
performers on the on the shipthat I saw.
And that was her role, and andshe was also a muse.

(51:18):
Not even like the main muse,but like in the cast of muses.
Right.
Um, so you're gonna findsomething like we did, like we
didn't do things that wenormally do, like we didn't go
to the spa, we didn't go to therainforest room, we didn't, we
didn't go to polo, we didn'tplay bingo.
When we went to castaway, wedidn't get in the water, we just

(51:38):
rode bikes.
It was one of our goals to likeride bikes like around the
island together.
So, like we just did that.
So there's so many things thatyou can do, you can't do them
all.
Yeah, and this is the perfectvessel, um, figuratively and
literally to do those things.

Nathan (51:57):
The the your Disney marketing check is in the mail.
That is uh uh a well-placedpun, Wesley.
Nice job, nice job.
Now it gets a little bit moredifficult, unfortunately.
It's time for Alicea's patentedDisney torture test.
But oh yeah, you know, you grewup in Southern California.
Uh you're from you've done abunch of cruises, you're gold

(52:19):
now.
Um, but seriously, good luck.

Wesley (52:22):
Bring it, bring it.
I'm not scared, I'm not scaredAlicea.

Alicea (52:26):
This is where I say.
One, it's not patented.
And two, I don't think this istorture.
This is just your Disneyfavorites from everything under
Mickey's umbrella.
So like Disney Pixar, StarWars, Marvel, whatever.
Your favorite Disney character.

Wesley (52:45):
Stumped.
No, just kidding.
Um I it can change a lot rightnow.
I lie, I think I'm oh, I don'tknow.

Nathan (52:56):
It just changed.

Wesley (52:57):
Yeah, it did just change.
Um, I like I definitely don'thave like the definitive, like,
this isn't, you know, somepeople I identify with one
person like all the time.
But I think Aladdin might be myfavorite.

Alicea (53:13):
Nice.
It's like, who would you standin line for to meet?

Wesley (53:19):
Yeah.
Come back to me.
Uh uh that's a tough question.
Who would I stand in line tomeet?
I don't know.
I don't know.

Alicea (53:31):
Your favorite movie?

Wesley (53:33):
Also Aladdin.

Alicea (53:35):
Okay.
Favorite ride.
Don't say magic carpet.

Wesley (53:41):
How dare you?
Um my favorite ride, becauseI'm a sentimental person, has to
be Pirates of the Caribbean.

Alicea (53:52):
Which one?

Wesley (53:52):
Um just for like nostalgia.
Uh Disneyland.
Yeah.
Any ride that I say that is onboth coasts, it's gonna be
Disneyland.
Yes.
And people can people can comeat me if they want, but that's
these are just facts.
These are like observablefacts.
Right.

Nathan (54:08):
Those are empirically the correct answers.

Wesley (54:10):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Alicea (54:12):
Well, next one is Disney World or Disneyland.

Wesley (54:16):
Come on.
Disneyland.
Again, I will say Disneyland isfor me and my wife.
Disney world is for the family.

Alicea (54:24):
Yep, yep, yep.

Wesley (54:25):
So we love them both.
We just went to Disney World.
We're going again in February.
Uh, but me and my wife aregoing to Disneyland on Monday.
Just the kids are going back toschool, and we're just gonna
we're just gonna Disneyland itup for a little bit.

Alicea (54:38):
Love it.

Nathan (54:39):
Yeah.

Alicea (54:40):
Out of all the individual parks you've been to,
which is your favorite?

Wesley (54:43):
Disneyland.
The OG.
Followed closely by like Epcot.
If you want me to be likediplomatic about it, you don't
have to.
Disneyland, Disneyland.
No, I know, but I also wantpeople to like me.
I uh Disneyland is the best,objectively, empirically.
Uh Epcot is is my would be myfavorite park at at Disney

(55:09):
World.
Epcot.
Yeah.
I don't know if there's anotherquestion about this, but I'll
just tell you it goes Epcot,Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom,
Hollywood Studios.

Nathan (55:18):
That's a that's a hot take.

Alicea (55:20):
Hey, everybody has their opinion.

Wesley (55:21):
No, I it's I'm here for it.

Nathan (55:23):
Yeah.

Wesley (55:24):
Listen, I also like Hollywood Studios.
It's I worked there.
That was the first like themepark I ever worked at, was
Hollywood Studios.
But they're what?
What is it?
What does it become?
There's nothing that I can do.
There's nothing that I can dothere that I can't do at
Disneyland or CaliforniaVenture, with the exception,

(55:45):
maybe, of um Toy Storyland.
I was gonna say tower, I wasgonna say Tower of Terror.
They have the original Tower ofTerror, which is a draw.
Yeah, I do I do like uh Rockand Roller Coaster.
I will say that Muppets andMonsters will be the thing that
will get me to go back toHollywood Studios on a regular

(56:05):
basis.
Yeah.
Once Monsters Land is open andthe Muppets take over Rock and
Roller Coaster, yeah, then thiswill be a park that will have
something for me to do.

Nathan (56:15):
Yep, yep.
That's fair.
That's fair.

Alicea (56:16):
Yep.
Favorite hotel or resort?

Nathan (56:19):
Pier 66.

Alicea (56:21):
That's not Disney.

Wesley (56:23):
It should, it should be.
Yeah.
It's incredible.
Um, my favorite hotel, and it'sone that we stay at all the
time, is Port Orleans Riverside.

Nathan (56:36):
Nice.

Wesley (56:37):
I just like the like the small individual buildings.
It's big and they're scatteredabout, like there's all this
lushness like between them.
Yeah.
I love I love it.
The first hotel I ever stayedat Walt Disney World was Beach
Club, which is up there in mybook.
I I like that hotel a lot.
Also, Animal Kingdom Lodge issomeplace I've stayed that I

(57:00):
really enjoy.
Um but definitely Port Orleans.

Alicea (57:07):
Favorite DCL ship.

Wesley (57:13):
I don't know.
I still think my f well, okay,so I have not sailed on the
fantasy or the treasure.

Nathan (57:23):
Okay.

Wesley (57:26):
I listen, we had an absolutely incredible time on
the Destiny.
I will definitely sail on thatship again and take part in
everything that it has to offer.
But I still like the Dream, Ithink.
Okay.
Better better.
Just as far as I just worry, Ijust wor uh again, amazing,

(57:52):
incredible time.
I just worry that it's gonna betoo much.
If you know they I know theycan't help themselves, and it's
gonna be too much, and they'regonna keep going down this path,
and it's gonna be it's gonna betoo much.
Yeah, the dream is still likethis idyllic ocean liner with an

(58:15):
ocean liner theme.
Yeah.
And that's what I'm here for.
That's what I'm here for.
That's why I want to go on acruise.
I don't want to go on a cruisenecessarily to experience all
these theme park things.
That being said, a cruise isstill an easier, better vacation
than a theme park.
So to have those park toucheson the ship is nice, but they

(58:41):
can't help themselves.
It's gonna be too much.

Nathan (58:44):
I think you just articulated why I still put the
Wonder above the Treasure in mybook.
We haven't been on the Destiny,obviously, yet, but the Wonder
still ticks the box just abovethe Treasure for me because it
is a cruise ship in a cruiseship theme, and it is small and

(59:05):
it is intimate, and it's nottrying to be something it's not.

Wesley (59:08):
Yeah.

Nathan (59:09):
And I absolutely love it.

Wesley (59:11):
Right.
Like the fact like side note onthe Adventure, like the fact
that there's rides on this ship.
Yeah, I'm not interested.

Alicea (59:21):
But Disney did not build that specifically, they bought
it.

Wesley (59:25):
Yeah, I know, but they didn't have to.

Alicea (59:28):
No, they didn't.
That's true.

Nathan (59:30):
No, they got Chapek-ed into that one.
Yeah.
Yeah.

Alicea (59:33):
All right, just two more.
Favorite Disney restaurant.

Wesley (59:39):
I do like Ohana at the Polynesian.
Um yeah, I'm gonna go withthat.
All right.

Alicea (59:49):
Still haven't been there for dinner.

Wesley (59:51):
Yeah, it's nice because you can you can either get lucky
with your time and seefireworks while you're having
dinner.

Nathan (01:00:00):
Yeah.

Wesley (01:00:00):
Or right after dinner go down to the beach of the
Polynesian and watch fireworkson the beach.
And that's my that's kind oflike my favorite thing to do.
Like we can see it, they playthe music.
It's getting a little crowdedthese days, but like in the past
it's been very sparselyattended.
And you can lay on the beach orin a hammock and watch the
fireworks.
Yeah.

Alicea (01:00:21):
My last one.
Favorite Disney snack.

Wesley (01:00:25):
Popcorn.

Nathan (01:00:27):
Excellent.
Classic.

Wesley (01:00:30):
I'm not like I'm I'm just like a savory kind of snack
person.
Like I would I'll take twoentrees over a dessert.
And so popcorn fits the bill.
It's like a nice snack and it'ssalty and I and I love it and I
love it.

Nathan (01:00:46):
Excellent.
Wesley, you survived.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Thank you.
So you've started recently anew website called version 5571.
Can you tell us a little bitmore about that?

Wesley (01:00:58):
Yes.
Um, it was born out of so welike to go to Walt Disney World,
like I've said.

Nathan (01:01:04):
Yeah.

Wesley (01:01:05):
So the idea is that there's a lot of trip planning
tools out there in the world.
We use touring plans when we goto Walt Disney World.
Yeah.
It's it has a lot of likeexcellent data points and gets
you uh, you know, can help youmaximize your efficiency.

(01:01:27):
But we've all been in thissituation where like we've been
in the theme park and we noticesomething that maybe we haven't
noticed before, and we think,oh, that's new, or that's
changed, but maybe it hasn't,and maybe you just didn't notice
it before.
Or maybe it really has changed,but there's all these little
things that are changed andupdated from time to time that

(01:01:52):
is impossible to cover all ofit.
So, my so the idea behind thewebsite and the tool that I'm
trying to build is a theme parkuh Disney Parks version tracker.
So if we if you can think aboutMagic Kingdom, for example, as
as if it were software, andevery time they made an update,
then you would version up thesoftware.

Nathan (01:02:14):
Yeah.

Wesley (01:02:15):
So when Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, it opened as
version 1.0.

Nathan (01:02:21):
Yeah.

Wesley (01:02:21):
And then every change since then has either been a big
major change, like a new rideor a new land, or maybe a
smaller, minor change, like uhlike an updated cue or music or
lighting, or maybe even asmaller change, like a patch,
like you would patch a ver apiece of software, yeah, to you

(01:02:42):
know, maybe it's like a new,maybe they painted something, or
I I don't know, small changeslike that.
Maybe a seasonal overlay mightbe a patch, because it doesn't
fundamentally change the way youexperience the park, right?
But it is new.
And so my idea, it's a work inprogress, is that I'm trying to
catalog all of these changesover time and version the park

(01:03:04):
as as you would uh for software.
So the idea eventually will bewhen you go to the website,
you'll be able to input the lastdate that you visited, Magic
Kingdom, and it it'll just allthis information will be in a
database and it'll tell you youlast visited the park version
34.6.2.

Nathan (01:03:25):
Yeah.

Wesley (01:03:26):
And and it'll tell you everything that's new,
everything that's closed, andeverything that's changed since
the last time that you visitedthe park.
And it and in this way, you'llbe able to better prioritize the
things you want to do whileyou're there.

Nathan (01:03:42):
Yeah.

Wesley (01:03:42):
Like we went to Magic Kingdom recently, and there was
a new like overlay of Tron forTron Ares that we didn't do.
And so it would be great ifbefore we went to the park, we
could enter the last date wewent, and then we can get all of
these all of these changes umlaid out for us so that we could
uh try to prioritize thatstuff.

(01:04:03):
Help us, yeah.
So when we're doing all of ourplanning and getting our
lightning lanes and such, we canwe we have it'll just help us
on our roadmap to having itspending a day in the park.
But it's complicated andthere's a lot of information
that needs to be gathered.
So I'm gathering thatinformation and I'm trying to um
I'm working with somebody whoknows how to do databases and

(01:04:24):
things because I don't.
Yeah.
So so it's a work in progress.
And in the meantime, it's justuh me blogging, and I'm a
photographer and video uh I workin video production by trade,
so it's pictures and it'sinformation about updated uh
parks things and cruise things.

Alicea (01:04:46):
Nice.
Where can people find you andfollow along?

Wesley (01:04:49):
Yeah, they can just go to uh version5571.com and from
there there's links to Instagramand X and threads and all that.
All that stuff.

Nathan (01:05:00):
Great.
Well we'll include a link tothat in the show notes.

Wesley (01:05:03):
So I would love that.
You guys have been so great.

Nathan (01:05:06):
Yeah.

Wesley (01:05:06):
So gracious.

Nathan (01:05:08):
Last question, the the hardest one ever.
What's next?
You've you've mentioned youhave a few things in the in the
hopper.
What's what's what's next for5571 for the family?

Wesley (01:05:19):
Well, next for the family, we're going on a New
Year's Eve cruise.

Nathan (01:05:24):
Ooh.

Wesley (01:05:25):
Excellent.
On Harmony of the Seas.
Oh.
So that'll be it'll be my kids'first time on a Royal Caribbean
ship.
Uh so we're doing that withsome of our extended family over
New Year's.
And then in February, we willbe sailing on the Disney Fantasy
for the first time.
Oh, nice on a five-nighter, andit just goes to Nassau and

(01:05:49):
Lookout Key.

Nathan (01:05:50):
Okay.
Perfect.
Perfect.

Wesley (01:05:54):
You want me to keep going?
There's more.
There's more.
We're going to Alaska in inMay.

Nathan (01:06:00):
Oh, wow.

Wesley (01:06:01):
On the on the Wonder.

Nathan (01:06:03):
Oh, very cool.
Yes.

Alicea (01:06:05):
Have you done Alaska before?

Wesley (01:06:07):
No, it'll be our first time.
So, like when our kids turn 12,we take them, me and my wife
take them on a trip, just onekid.

Nathan (01:06:15):
Yeah.

Wesley (01:06:15):
Um, Preston wanted to go to New York, so we went to New
York.
Preston, I mean Oliver, who'sturning 12 this February.
Um he's maybe he's maybe hasgotten wise to the situation.
And so he's gonna, he wants togo to Alaska uh via cruise.
That's awesome.

(01:06:36):
Wow.
Smart kid.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We'll see what the third onecomes up with.

Nathan (01:06:43):
Awesome.
Well, Wesley, thank you so, somuch for joining us.
It was a pleasure.
You got a double episode on,your first time
that's fantastic.
Nice job.
Yeah.
Nice job.
Awesome.
Well, it was it was a pleasuregetting to know you and uh can't
wait to uh talk to you again.

Wesley (01:07:01):
Guys, I appreciate what you do and and for the
invitation to come on and let meramble on about this kind of
stuff.
Um, because I love to talkabout it.
And any anytime, anytime I'llI'll be happy to come on and and
fill an hour of your time withwith my amusements.
We'll we'll take you on that.
Yeah, absolutely.
Thank you so much.
Thanks, Wesley.

Alicea (01:07:20):
Please remember we are not affiliated with Disney or
their subsidiaries.
These are personal opinions andsuggestions that are based on
our own experiences and ourguests' own experiences.
We recommend working with atravel agent or contacting
Disney directly to plan your ownperfect vacation.

Nathan (01:07:37):
Indeed.
And if you have any questionsor suggestions for us or would
like to be interviewed on ourshow to share your Disney
experiences, please do send usan email at podcast at our
mousecapades.com.

Alicea (01:07:51):
You can follow us on socials.
We are at OurMouseCapades.
You can find us on Instagram,Facebook threads, and YouTube.

Nathan (01:07:58):
And please do give us a rating and a review in your
podcast app.
That really helps people findus.

Alicea (01:08:05):
Of course, don't hesitate to share us with your
friends and fellow Disney loversof all ages.

Nathan (01:08:10):
Thanks for listening.
We'll be in your ears nextweek.
Thank you for flying StarTours.
Bye bye.