Disney Insights

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to book a really good 5 day/4 night Disney Cruise Line deal that ultimately led to a remarkably great experience on The original Disney Magic. It's a trip where we left from Port Canaveral, visited Nassau and the new Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, and then disembarked after a day at sea in San Juan Puerto Rico. Our experience gave us great insights to new experiences as well as provid...

No parcel of land at Disneyland has had more title changes than this little wedge of Disneyland. It's perhaps the smallest land in Disneyland, but it has a history that goes back to nearly the beginning. And it's a history few know much about. Most know it as Bayou Country today, and many know it as Critter Country, home to Splash Mountain. But before that it was Bear Country, and before that it went for some time not as Indian Cou...

As 2025 comes to hurling toward an end a new attraction arrives at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Zootopia Better Zoogether is now in the Tree of Life Theater and offers something new for this park which begs for more guests. And at a great time to do so, as this time of year is the best time of year to visit the park, which is free of heat, humidity and exhaustion. The new show replaces "It's Tough to Be a Bug" which premiered with the ...

Welcome! In this podcast, I read three quotes which share two things in common. First, they speak of low attendance in the park and how empty things are. Second, they were all written in 2024. I could share with you several statements like these that emphasize how empty the parks are. To many it sounds like statements heard these last couple of months around both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. But statements like these are actua...

Disney is always looking for new ways to share stories. And increasingly those stories are trying to be more interactive, more immersive and more personalized. And at the same time, high tech companies are trying to be more interactive, more immersive and more personalized. One of those is Meta, or Facebook as many have come to know it. And as Mark Zuckerberg recently announced a new version of their Meta/RayBand eye wear, Disney h...

There's lots of noise out there in the social media world about how poorly Disney is doing, as if it were in dire straits. This podcast today seeks to answer a couple of key questions: First, Is attendance really down and out in Walt Disney World? Second, why are there no big new attractions coming in the short term? Third, Why is it so expensive to come to Disney? Fourth, when will big new attractions like Monstropolis and Villain...

Part of the heart and soul of what originated at Disney-MGM Studios in 1989 was The Magic of Disney Animation. For over a little more than 16 years, it was a place where guests could go to understand and for a time, even watch animation being created. To know the Florida animation studios and The Magic of Disney Animation attraction is to know the story of the last three decades of Disney animation in general. Disney animation is t...

This week we celebrate the 54th Anniversary of Walt Disney World. While the "hoopla" for non-milestone anniversaries is minor at best, There has been a great deal of efforts to recognize the heritage of Walt Disney World while still stepping forward into the future. Yes, there are lots of new projects and with that the farewell of many things that we hold dearly There are many facets of Walt Disney World that are no longer around, ...

I've been asked many times how you plan a trip to Disneyland. This time, it came from my wife's brother and his wife, along with their son. So this one's for you! But it's for anyone who really wants to know how to best manage a stay at Disneyland. And I give great consideration to how folks used to visiting Walt Disney World might take this on. So this is also for you. And then we have our regular visitors. Hopefully there's somet...

With Disney having over 100 years as a company, there have been good times and a few tough times. But relatively speaking, the company has fared well over the long haul. It certainly has grown--enormously from its original roots as a small animation studio to one of the biggest media organizations across the globe. It is envied for its growth, but that growth isn't sustainable unless you're growing your employees in a sustainable w...

Walt loved New Orleans and from day one he sought to incorporate the essence of the French Quarter into Disneyland Park. While New Orleans Square wasn't opened until 1966, there has always been since day one a New Orleans Street. It stretched from the Golden Horseshoe down along the Rivers of America. It was a contrast to the Nature's Wonderland with its mine train, pack mules and stage coaches. It was one of the key dining points ...

We had a chance to visit the Beak and Barrel and we wanted to share that total experience with you. We'll check out the food and beverage, the logistics, but most of all we'll talk about the incredible attention to detail that creates for the entire experience. And we'll talk about its implications for not only all of Caribbean Bazaar at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, but what it might suggest for Disneyland and for the upcomi...

Several weeks ago D23 put out their agenda for their upcoming event being held the last weekend of August. Surprising to so many was the fact that there was no parks panel. In the interim, Walt Disney World came forward with a press event a few days ago giving insight and updates on a large number of attractions and offerings coming the "Most Magical Place on Earth". We'll dissect all of these announcements--and they are really fun...

Mary Poppins would say, "Just a Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Medicine go Down". Well, I've seen that happen as it's been my.privilege to work with organizations big and small, public, private and non-profit. Many of them come to me because they want their organization to be something more like Disney. They want a place where people enjoy working and even have fun at it. In truth, few organizations work harder than Disney. And at the...

As I prepared for this podcast all of the joy and happy moments of our stay during Disneyland's 70th anniversary just flooded over me. This is my opportunity to Celebrate Happy with you. Indeed I would say it was one of the most wonderful and memorable trips our family had--even though it was at time intense given all that we wanted to see, do and perhaps eat. While Disneyland's 70th anniversary will be accented by seasonal events ...

Sorry as I was gone this last week. I visited Disneyland's 70th anniversary a couple of weeks ago. There is so much to talk about when it comes to this celebration of "The Happiest Place on Earth". But the primary reason I felt drawn to come at this time was the new show at the Opera House on Main Street. I feel there is not one but two stories about the new attraction: Walt Disney: A Magical Life. This is of course the highly soph...

This weekend Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away kicked off its inaugural run with two nights of dress rehearsals and an opening on Sunday. This new parade, long awaited and hoped for by Walt Disney World fans is simply magical. It's not perfect, but it's simply beautiful and is what has been needed for so long since its ancestors, The Main Street Electrical Parade and SpectroMagic had long parted. We visit this parade and talk ...

"Third time's the charm" is a saying that suggests perhaps the third attempt will be more successful than the two prior failures. By no means has the past two versions of Test Track been failures. But it seems like this is a huge opportunity to learn from the previous experiences and truly come up with something that could be loved for years to come. We chart out not only all three, but also talk about its forefather, The World of ...

While last week's post shared lament over the closing of Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America, we return to Disneyland's 70th Anniversary to celebrate the heritage of Frontierland. While you might think Frontierland is a thing of the past, knowing the past of this land will give you appreciation for the remarkable role it has played in four of Disney's theme parks around the world. We'll step inside the fort entrance to hear...