February 1, 2024 • 35 mins
Discover the hidden sanctuaries within Disneyland's lively atmosphere as Paul from the Window to the Magic podcast guides us to pockets of tranquility where the magic of relaxation meets the wonder of Disney. Amidst the whirlwind of excitement, we navigate through serene spots that offer a much-needed reprieve. From the sensory-friendly oasis of Popcorn Park in Toontown to the hushed nostalgia on Main Street's porch, our conversation is a treasure map to peaceful havens that provide a restful escape for all, including sensory-sensitive guests and those just longing for a quiet moment.
Join us on a leisurely stroll around Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park as we unearth quiet seating areas and the lesser-known picnic spot near the park entrance—the perfect place to enjoy the Esplanade's soothing music. We venture beyond the lively throngs to reveal the peaceful corners behind Flo's V8 Cafe in Cars Land, sharing our tips to find these hidden gems and how to savor a moment of calm with a chicken and coleslaw side. Our journey through these tranquil locales is a gentle reminder that even amidst the theme park bustle, spots of serenity await to rejuvenate your spirit.
The episode closes with an intimate look at the creation of the Window to the Magic podcast, where Paul shares how his vision of delivering an immersive auditory Disneyland experience has connected listeners around the globe. We learn how the magic of ambient park sounds can offer therapeutic relief and joy, as Paul recounts heartwarming tales from fans whose lives have been touched by these magical soundscapes. Tune in for an inspiring conversation that invites you to experience the enchantment of Disneyland's atmosphere in a whole new way, and stay tuned for future collaborations that promise to amplify the delight.
Right now, our tools are just for Disneyland, but we hope to expand to other parks soon. Disney changes policies, prices, and shows often. Be sure to visit our website at Parkmagic.com or Disneyland's Website for more information.
Park Magic is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or Disney Enterprises, Inc. Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Mickey Mouse are all registered trademarks of Disney Enterprises, Inc. Any use of third-party names or trademarks is for identification purposes only and does not imply, nor is it intended to imply, any affiliation with, endorsement from, or business relationship with any third party, including with Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome to the Park Magic podcast, your place for
insider tips for your nextDisneyland adventure.
Whether you're a first-timer orfirst-time in a while visitor,
we're here to unwrap the secretsto creating and simplifying
your dream Disneyland vacation.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Do you hear that?
I do.
I hear this amazing guest.
Nobody knows the sounds ofDisney parks better than our
guests.
We have Paul from Window to theMagic, which is a podcast that
I love listening to as somebodywho goes to the parks and the
parks are my happy place.
I actually told him when I methim just a couple weeks ago that
sometimes when I get reallystressed, I'll put on his
podcast because it brings tolife the magic of the park
(00:58):
through the different soundsthat you would hear.
So nobody knows the sounds ofthe park better.
So, paul, thank you so much tocoming on to share a little bit
about the quietest places in theparks.
There are a couple placesaround the parks that can be a
really great place to get thatquiet fix and I was kind of
hoping you could share, fromyour years and years of
(01:19):
recording at the DisneylandResort, where are some of the
best places?
And then some of the placesthat might seem like a good
quiet place but might end uphaving some noisy surprises.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Thank you so much for having me on the show.
I appreciate it and, yes, Ihave, at this point, made a
almost 20-year career out ofpodcasting the sounds of
Disneyland, and so I am veryfamiliar with what the park
sounds like and where you can go.
One of the places that I wasgoing to mention and I'll just
(01:50):
start with that one is calledPopcorn Park and it is in
Toontown and it is one of thenew spots.
When they redid Toontown, theydid it in such a way that they
had in mind sensory necessarykids, and so they have
redesigned it in such a way thatyou can have fun regardless of
(02:14):
your abilities or needs.
And Popcorn Park is in the backand it is a covered area in the
back.
They have got grass there nowit is fake grass, but they have
got grass and benches and whereToontown has all of that tunish
music playing and it is fairlyloud and things like that.
(02:34):
Once you get back into PopcornPark, it is designed for kids to
get away from all of thatstimulation, and so it is darker
and there is not a lot to see.
Back there it looks like a caveand they are playing Disney
music, but really lo-fi, likedownbeat Disney music.
(02:57):
You almost cannot identify whatsongs they are playing.
That is how off the beaten pathit is.
It is really a nice place to goand kick back.
Really, the only noise you hearis the sound of Chippendales
Gadget Coaster, because that isover in that area as well.
That is 50 feet, 75 feet away,and it is a fairly quiet coaster
(03:21):
, so it is not too bad.
I would say that is the newestand best location in the park
for this type of activity.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
I actually really like that area.
You might have some peopletalking or background noise, but
for the most part it is reallyquiet.
When you walk into Toontownthere is also a grass area.
That is right as you come in.
That is not what he is talkingabout.
You are going to head to theleft and go until the road end.
I agree that is one of the bestplaces to get a little sensory,
so it can be a nice place todecompress for both adults and
(03:51):
children.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
The location is just immediately to the left of
Mickey's house, between Mickey'shouse and the Chippendale
gadget coaster.
It's really nice.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
What are some of the other areas at Disneyland,
because I feel like there'sfewer areas at Disneyland just
because the footprint is sotight.
Where are some of the otherareas at Disneyland that you
think might be a good place toget a quiet break?
Speaker 3 (04:13):
La Salon Nouveau and Club 33.
Oh, you mean like anybody?
Okay, yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
So for those of you who don't know, club 33 is like
the ultra exclusive, like if youdon't know what it is, you
probably can't get in.
For sure, even if you know whatit is, you probably can't get
in.
But yes, it is very quiet andpeaceful there.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
My next choice, kind of working my way logically
around the park, would be theold motorboat cruise launch dock
and that is over by IdlewiceSnacks and it's under the
monorail track immediatelyacross from the Matterhorn, and
it is a very quiet place becausemost people look and they go.
(04:56):
Well, that's like an abandonedboat dock and all I see is some
chairs there, but there'snothing going on, there's no
theming, there's no nothing.
And so if you walk down to thefar end of that boat dock, it's
just quiet.
There's water all the wayaround you, except for the way
you walk in, and the only soundsyou will hear is the sounds off
(05:20):
in the distance, coming fromyou know, small World Mall, that
sort of thing, the occasionalsound of the monorail running
above your head.
The monorail doesn't honk whenit's above you, thankfully, but
this is one of those placeswhere you want to be aware,
because this is right next toSmall World Mall.
That's on the parade route.
So if the parade is running, ifthere's a marching band, if
(05:44):
there's any sort of activityhappening on the parade route or
if it's fireworks time, it isnot going to be quiet.
Of course it's not going to bequiet anywhere in the park
during fireworks, but thisespecially because this is
closer to the fireworks by a lotthan being out on Main Street.
That sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
I think sometimes I see people like oh, go, take a
call on the outside betweenmonorail and over by Galactic
Grill, and it is quiet theremost of the time.
But when a parade comes throughit is very much not quiet, and
I think that's where Disneylandcan be especially.
You know, it can be trickybecause there are announcements
that come through, things alongthose lines that can definitely
(06:25):
bring up the volume quite a bit.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Now, depending on how actually quiet you want it to
be, if you don't mind the soundof the occasional Autopia car
going by, I would say one of themost fun places you can go to
is actually just a little bitdown from that boat dock and
it's the former smoking areaunderneath the monorail platform
over by where Autopia and thesubmarine voyage meet.
(06:52):
The only issue you know it'slike a business call, probably
not a good idea.
You get going by in thebackground and the occasional
sound coming from the Matterhornof people screaming and
whatever, but for kids they'renot going to mind either of
those noises, and so I thinkthat would be another good
location.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
I feel like you're taking me through a voyage, just
like you do on your podcast.
What would be the next locationfor you?
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Another location that I enjoy, oddly, is completely
on the other side of the parknow, which is all the way over
in the backside of the HungryBear restaurant.
The Hungry Bear restaurant isactually on the second floor and
its seating area goes aroundthe restaurant and behind it
next to the railroad tracks, butit's actually the second floor.
(07:38):
If you take the stairs down,you end up on the first floor,
which has got some additionalseating and the Country Bear
bathrooms and things like that,and that's where the walkway to
Galaxy's Edge is.
If you go all the way to theback without going down the
stairs, you go all the way tothe back.
Unless it's a busy day, you'regoing to have an entire seating
(07:58):
area to yourself where the onlynoises you're going to hear are
the of the train as it goes by,and you can wave at everybody as
they're going by, and that's afun.
Especially for somebody who'saudio driven, like I am, it's
really neat to hear that traingoing by, and then you'll hear
(08:21):
the Mark Twain as it goes downthe rivers of America, and then,
if the Columbia is running,that's the only time you run
into a little bit of a problemwith this area, because that is
the area where they fire thecannon.
So if the Columbia is running,be aware that once every 20
(08:41):
minutes, once every 30 minutes,the ship is going to come around
the corner and you're going toget a big bang and then it's
quiet for another 20, 25 minutes.
But this is a really nice area,nice seating.
You get a hungry BearRestaurant there so you can get
your food and go over there andeat and even if it is crowded,
it's still fairly quiet backthere.
The farther you go back, thebetter it gets.
(09:03):
How?
Speaker 2 (09:03):
do you feel about over the area over by Harbor
Gallery Cross from HauntedMansion?
Speaker 3 (09:08):
Are you talking about the new area that they just
built or the area that's beenthere for years?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
You know, can you go in?
And then there's like you can'tsee the tables from the front.
There's like kind of like alittle kind of secret seating
area.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
That's the hidden path, the Harbor Gallery hidden
path.
That really has no purposeexcept just to be a nice little
walk, and about halfway alongthat walk is five tables four
tables, something like thatFairly exclusive location.
If you can get seating there,that's really nice.
And that is super isolatedbecause most people don't know
(09:45):
that it's even there and so, andlike I said, you have to walk
around the boat.
If there's a boat in the dockyou're completely blocked from
every other noise in the parkexcept for whatever's going
around the rivers of America.
So that's not a bad area.
There's also they just built anew area like Harbor Galley
(10:06):
Seating area.
That's the one with the birds.
I can't remember the name ofthe birds right now Pelican
Landing, I think, is what theycall it and that is actually not
a bad location either.
Although it's very much infront of Haunted Mansion and on
a walking path, it's not loud,there's not a lot of foot
traffic that goes through therebecause it's kind of blocked off
(10:30):
.
And when Phantasmic is running,if you're sitting there and
you've seen it before and youjust want to be there for it,
it's not a bad viewing areaeither.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
What do you think about Pirate Lair?
On times I find that TomSawyer's Island is, it's kind of
like literally a walk in thepark.
You know, like you know, evenover there, we were there on a
day that was like oppressivelybusy.
It was that day that there waslike a fire alarm and like
plumbing happened and like nearTiki Land, so they had all of
Adventure Land blocked off andit was just oppressively busy.
(11:01):
And so we went over to PiratesLair at Tom Sawyer's Island and
especially on the far side ofthe island, I found it very
quiet, very peaceful and sinceso few people go over there, you
know, a lot of personal space.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Nobody goes over there.
It's one of those locations, Imean, there's maybe 10 people on
the island at any time and so,especially when they have the
actual Pirate's Lair open andyou can go into the area that
used to be Injun Joe's Cave andstuff like that, that is, that
(11:35):
is some really good getting awayfrom it.
All time at Disneyland that Iused to go over there I have.
We used to do a video series onWindow to the Magic, called the
Window Series, and we would goaround the park and we would
shoot video.
We would tripod, mount a camera, point it at a really nice
scene and let it run for 10minutes, wouldn't talk, wouldn't
(11:57):
do anything.
We just captured the sounds ofthe park in the video and the
idea basically is that you youturn it on on your television
and it had surround sound, andso we would just surround you
with the magic.
You weren't supposed to look atthe television other than just
glancing, like when the MarkTwain went by or something like
that.
(12:18):
And one of the shots that we didwas from Tom Sawyer Island up
in the treehouse, pointed acrossthe river at Sleeping Beauty
Castle and the Matterhorn.
You can hear Disneyland off inthe distance, because this area
is so quiet.
You can hear things happeningon the other side of the water
and so you can hear big thunderhappening way off in the
(12:39):
distance and you know you canhear the Mark Twain or the
Columbia coming around, you know, and as they leave and all that
other stuff, it just just abeautiful, beautiful shot.
And so, yeah, that spot on theisland is absolutely fabulous.
I have one one that is right inthe middle of the action but
(13:00):
oddly removed, and that is theporch on Main Street.
Oddly, once you step onto thatporch, you're just far enough
away, especially if you've gotkids and you know you can let
them play on the porch andthere's like a little defined
area where they can just runaround and do whatever, and
they've got five feet in eachdirection to move around and you
(13:21):
know whatever.
And it's just far enough awayto where you can see Disneyland
happening off the porch.
But you're on the porch andthat's totally different.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
When my kids were little I used to go into the
Main Street Cinema because theyhave all of the silent movies
and so when I was trying to getmy littlest one down for a nap,
I would kind of just do circlesin there and then they have
benches for adults to sit down,so it can be a.
That can be a nice quiet areaas well.
And then you know, outside ofgreat moments with Mr Lincoln, I
(13:51):
love it there for a littlequiet break, a way for the heat
and the sun.
I mean, obviously there'smoments inside, great moments
with Mr Lincoln, that are veryloud because there's a war
happening, but they've got a lotof these and there's a lot of
cycling through exhibits andthen some permanent exhibits,
but they're really interestingif you like history, and so for
(14:12):
my son that's like a super likeinto, like we can't pass a
plaque.
We joke in our family about ohno, there's a plaque.
It's a nice place for us to geta little bit of decompression
and maybe a little break on ahotter or wetter day too.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
And I can tell when you go to the park versus when I
go to the park, because yousaid, go to Mr Lincoln to escape
the heat and I go to Mr Lincolnto stop from freezing.
So I am definitely a nightperson.
I go to Disneyland primarilyafter sunset.
I'm one of those weirdos wheremy favorite time of year is
right now Well, actually lastmonth, technically when the days
(14:48):
are shortest and the nights arelongest, and so it's, you know,
4 30pm and it's completely dark.
I will show up as the sun isgoing down, especially being
follically challenged as I am.
It is nice to go to Disneylandand not have to wear a hat to
stop from being sunburned.
And so if I go to the park then, like I, there's been times
(15:12):
where I've gone out to recordfor the show, because we'll
record things for the show,events that happen and parades
and fireworks and things, andwhen seasonal things happen,
like the Christmas fireworks,we'll go out there and we'll
record.
Well, sometimes we end upsitting there for an hour
because we've got a nice spotand we don't want to lose it,
(15:33):
and so I'll end up freezing andso I'll like have my son sit
there and I'll go into MrLincoln and warm up, and then
I'll trade places with him after15 minutes and then we'll
switch back and forth and so,yeah, that's, that's always a
good place, and my best friendand I used to go to Disneyland
when we were in our teens andtwenties and Mr Lincoln was
(15:55):
named nicknamed by us.
Great naps with Mr Lincoln.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
So comfy those seats.
Yeah, I love that and thehistory on that is that
attraction is so, so deep and solovely and I think those are
the big ones for Disneyland.
Should we do CaliforniaAdventure?
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Sure, except on the way over.
I'd like to stop at the picnicarea.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Yes, very few people have seen that.
They just they're so focused,they just scoot right past it.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Not only is that a nice little area, as you're
facing Disneyland, it's on yourleft If you go over by where the
bathrooms are.
There's the lockers and thenthe bathrooms and then there's
just a hole in the fence.
Basically, you walk through andit's this big area with all of
these picnic tables and lockersand like jumbo lockers, and also
(16:47):
speakers, and those speakersare playing the Esplanade music
so you can sit there and enjoyyour meal or whatever you're
going to do, or just sit thereand your kid can take a nap and
you can hear the music from theEsplanade.
The monorail goes over yourhead every couple of minutes but
it just kind of by.
(17:07):
It doesn't honk or anythinglike that the only shortcoming
of this spot.
I went there one time when theDisney 100 celebration started
and I was like I'm going to sitin.
This area is nice and quiet andI will record the background
loop and share it with mylisteners and I very quickly
found out that that is where allthe trucks park, on the other
(17:28):
side of the fence, backstage atDisneyland, where they make all
the deliveries, for you know,just the whole time we were
delistening the music and thenall of a sudden you'd hear as
the trucks were backing up andthen they would drop off their
loads and whatever.
And then you know it's like,well, it's kind of a shortcoming
(17:53):
, but alright, it's not loud,it's not.
You know it's not gonna wakethe kids up, but it's when
you're trying to record thebackground music for something
and there's this loud beepinggoing on.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
I think that's the trick about Disneyland 2.
You might look in the wholeresort, including the hotels.
You might think this is a greatplace, that, and especially if
you're going to do business call.
Just know that at any point.
You know there are people thatare on vacation that are loud,
there could be a vehicle there.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
You know there's a lot of unexpected things in a
lot of those locations, for surefire trucks, oh, and in the in
the picnic area also, althoughway off in the distance, the two
firings of the gun from theJungle cruise.
So you'll hear Off in thedistance again, not loud enough
(18:41):
to wake your kids up, but stillsomething to be aware of.
And when we get into DCA we'renot gonna get.
And how far do you think we'regonna get in to DCA before I've
got a spot?
Nope, not even gonna get to theflagpole, oh, Look at you, fancy
because there's that park rightthere, right as you walk in the
(19:03):
front door, right in front ofOswald's, and also there's some
permanent benches off to theright, right as you walk in the
entrance, look to your right,and it's by the exit.
So it's not all that popular,but if you sit there you can
hear the music from Buena VistaStreet and it's although it's in
the middle of all the action.
(19:23):
Again it's like the porch onMain Street.
It's just far enough removed towhere.
If you're in that park sittingon the benches or you're over on
the right sitting on thosePermanent benches, you're gonna
be fine, nice, quiet area.
Nothing loud ever happens there.
The only sound that comes andgoes is the red car trolley, and
(19:44):
that's that really pleasant.
So that's not gonna disturbyour kids either.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
What's your next favorite place?
Speaker 3 (19:51):
the Hollywood pictures back lot area is quiet,
that that entire Section of thepark is a quiet area.
Because if you, if we're justlooking in that area Underneath
the, the building that used tobe Muppet vision it they used to
have that big entrance forMuppet vision which is now not
(20:11):
an entrance or an exit that areais a seating area that is quiet
.
And then if you go over by thatlittle stage, that's also very
quiet.
And then if you continue to goin, there's that Snack shop with
all the neon at the end andpast that, right in front of the
soundstage, is Another seatingarea all very quiet areas and
(20:33):
there's a bathroom right there.
So that is a plus as well.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
I feel like that is one of the quietest areas on
that side of the park, becauseAvengers Land kind of has, you
know, a lot of shows that comein, so it might be quiet when
you sit down or when you.
But you know, the Warriors ofWakanda will come by, or Star
Lord will come by and startdancing, and then Cars Land has
a lot of beautiful sights andsounds in it.
I think kind of the next onewould be between if you kind of
(21:01):
go behind flows there's awalkway behind flows to San
Francisco and kind of back there, the only sound that really you
hear is the cars from radiatorSprings, racers going by.
What do you?
What are your thoughts on thatone?
Speaker 3 (21:14):
My thoughts would actually be not the walkway, but
actually inside Flows Proper,not the building.
In that outside seating areathere's a covered seating area
out the back of flows.
I always sit out there and thatis isolated from the walkers.
So the people that are walkingby and whatever, and, like you
(21:37):
said, you get to hear the carsgoing by every 12 seconds, but
they're 75 feet away, whatever,and it's not a real cars noise
and so everything is kind ofmuted over there.
It's nice and cool during thesummer, but if it's raining it's
covered, so that's a plus aswell.
Not so bad at all, actually.
(21:58):
I have one area that I like tosit in which is over by
Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta.
I go over to Poultry Palace andI pick up the best chicken at
DCA.
The reason I like it is becauseit tastes like shakenbake and I
will get myself a chicken withan extra coleslaw, which I think
(22:18):
they sell now by themselves.
Because I ask so many times.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
It's so good and it's gluten free.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
You walk over by past mood swings and out the other
side and just to the left wherethe parade comes out there's a
little walkway and before youget to the building on your left
is a little walkway with alittle seating area and it's
just like a little area.
It's got maybe 10 tables, gottrees above it.
(22:46):
So it's shady if you happen tobe unfortunate enough to be
there in the daytime and you'rejust again just far enough
removed to where you can have anice quiet meal, you can go in
and get the awesome sun-driedtomato pasta at Boardwalk Pizza
and Pasta and also immediatelyacross from there, if you don't
mind, a little music is theunderneath the silly symphony
(23:10):
swings.
There's a walkway on the groundlevel If you walk around, you
can walk all the way around thebuilding and it takes you out by
the water and there's benchesback there and things, and the
only time that's not a goodplace to be is during World of
Color.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
When I find even the main seating by Boardwalk and
Paradise Grill before 10 am.
You can't actually make abusiness call there.
For the most part, after 10 amthey've got bands playing and
everything.
So your options would be betterfor sure, without a doubt.
And then I think the next placewould be kind of heading down
over to Redwood Creek Challenge,which is.
(23:47):
I think sometimes peopleunderestimate how awesome these
playgrounds are.
If you have little ones, andthat one is, not only is it
quiet, but there's so manythings that aren't on a normal
playground.
And my son was willing to hangout with his sister on that at
(24:07):
16.
And I was like, and he cameback panting and having a good
time.
I was like I'm so nice of youto just do that with your sister
Not that you would want to behere and he's like, no, no, just
to be with my sister.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
Yeah, I actually, when you said Redwood Creek, I
thought so.
Going from Little Mermaid,walking towards the wheel, I
actually thought turning rightinstead of turning left, going
behind the Grizzly River Run or,more correctly, underneath the
Grizzly River Run, where thereis a huge path that you and like
(24:40):
a long area where you can walkand you're literally walking
underneath the attraction asit's going.
Warning, you may get wet attimes because it's a water ride,
but there's, there's waterfallsback there and there's areas
where you can view theattraction and things and most
people take that area out in theRedwood Creek Challenge Trail
(25:03):
main walkway that you would takein.
Most people walk that way.
So if you go this way, you'regoing to be by yourself and it's
.
It's not necessarily quiet, butit's not noisy.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
And I don't think they have any music piped over
there, do they?
Speaker 3 (25:19):
Yes, there is music back there.
Typically, the waterfall is theyeah, it's, it's the primary
sound that you're hearing.
So you got the white noise ofthe water.
So, but as you walk, if you'recoming from Little Mermaid, you
go and you turn right and you gounderneath the rise in that
area you'll hear the music andthen you'll get over towards the
(25:39):
waterfalls and then you won'thear it much anymore.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Oh OK.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
But, but then also back in that area is the area
where you can walk out andactually watch the people coming
down the big drop at the end.
Drowns it up and that's a funplace.
You might get wet there too,but still fun.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
And it's really beautiful it.
You know, I think that area ofthe park is really really pretty
and peaceful and you know thereare several places kind of
along that row that you know arequieter to.
You know, like, little likeover by the plane there's a
little plane where you can get apicture with Goofy, if the
character's not there, thatusually is a pretty, you know,
(26:17):
fairly quiet place, but themonorail goes right over there,
so you'd have to have you'd havethat monorail noise
occasionally.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
Right and underneath the scout tower in front of
Soren is another one of thoseareas.
As long as you don't mind thezzzz of the monorail going by
every 12 minutes, then you'refine and that's a nice quiet
area with the background musicgoing on, you know very quietly,
(26:45):
but pretty much no other noiseother than just the rumbling of
people's voices as they walk by,and no parades, no fireworks in
that area, no, nothing.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
People tell me they have to do like a business call,
I'll usually tell them they'reprobably better off going into
one of the hotel lobbies.
So Disneyland Hotel.
You know we did a recording foryour show which was I kind of
fangirled and like had a littlebit of like trying to keep the
panic down.
But you know we, you know overin Disneyland Hotel there's some
outdoor areas that you know,and then, but the Grand
(27:18):
California has a lot ofdifferent places to take quiet
calls.
There's a lot of nooks andcrannies and you know, sometimes
they'll have piano music in thebackground but overall it's,
you know it's not going to beblaring, you know, disney music
anywhere in that lobby.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
And in the in the new DVC tower, there's the new
restaurant that they have by thepool.
Oh yes, it's underneath thehotel tower and so it's
protected from the sun.
You get to see the pool on oneside and the and the monorail
pool on the other side.
It's a little windy if you'reunder there because you're
underneath the hotel and it'snot.
There's nothing blocking thewind, so it's it's a little wind
(27:55):
tunnel.
So if it's windy, be prepared.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
I think they even had some power outlets for laptops
when my husband went, which andthat's the harder thing to find
is quiet and a power outlet isis a difficult combination,
unless you're in one of thehotel areas.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Bring your batteries, people.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
But yeah that's.
That's not a bad place.
And then, depending on whetherthey're open or not, the lounge
at the Disneyland hotel is alsoquiet place where you can go.
You could have a business callthere if it is not the evening
time when they're doing briskbusiness.
Nice and quiet over there.
(28:31):
Quiet, comfy chairs.
You could sit there and be onyour laptop and talk on your
phone, as as long as your bossdoesn't mind you talking to the
bartender while you're havingyour meat.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Well, I think this helps.
I feel like it's a questionthat people ask over and over
again and you know somebody onlycame one time a year or
anything like that.
I think I remember it was kindof quiet, but they might not
realize that you know some ofthe things that you said.
You know, like my daughter is,like more sensitive to beeps and
honks, and so you know thereare there.
Depending on what somebody istrying to do, whether they're
(29:05):
trying to mask the Disneybackground where it's
identifiably Disney, or whetherthey're trying to avoid a
specific sound or a certainvolume level, I think this will
really help them in trying todecide where they need to go.
So I think everybody shouldlisten to your podcast and I
think, especially if you have alittle one, that, or you as an
(29:25):
adult, or somebody that doesn'tlike surprises and likes to be
acquainted with something,listening to his show is a
really great idea of what toexpect in the sounds of the park
.
You know, because I have adaughter that is more sensitive,
I will tell you when we go tothe parks we bring not only in
earplugs like the little kindsthat you would bring.
You know that they might giveyou at the hotel if they're
(29:47):
doing construction.
But we also bring like aheadset that like the that we
just got at Home Depot for the.
It's the same kind of gardenersused to protect their ears from
the noise and there are somerides that it really that those
we actually use both together.
But for the most part justhaving one of those in brings
the volume down enough whereit's makes Disneyland much more
(30:10):
enjoyable for her, where youknow she would have been fine
but it wouldn't have been fun.
Speaker 3 (30:13):
That's good, that's good.
Yeah, that's.
You want it to be enjoyable foreveryone.
And the idea behind Window tothe Magic although we started as
a as a DVD creation thing, whenpodcasting came around, I
realized I was listening to theofficial Disneyland podcast with
(30:34):
Michael Gohagen and he waswalking through the park and he
was talking to Tim O'Day ortalking to Tim Allen or whoever
it happened to be, and he wouldwalk around and they would be
talking as they went through thepark and I would be like this
is really neat, but I wish theywould shut up.
I want to hear Disneyland.
And so I thought to myself well, wait a second, I could do that
(30:59):
.
And so for the first couple ofyears, the Window to the Magic
was around and you can still goback 20 years in our audio and
hear these shows.
We did a thing called when inthe Park and we would go into
the Esplanade and I would say hi, everyone, welcome to the show,
blah, blah, blah.
This is what we're gonna do.
(31:19):
I would explain the premise andthen I would stop talking, and
the only time that I would saysomething is like to a cast
member or something as I walkedin the main gate hi, thank you,
whatever.
But then I would walk throughthe park taking a specific path
and you would have to followalong with your ears and you
(31:42):
would have to determine, usingonly the sounds, where we were
going.
And then at the end I would say,okay, we're at our final
location, you have a minute tofigure out where we are, and
then we'll go do the ride, showor attraction that we have
reached, and then I would wait aminute and then I would just
(32:04):
get in line for whatever it isand I would edit out the boring
parts, go in and do theattraction, and people loved
that, and that's basically whatwe do now, except we've kind of
morphed to where you're hangingout with us in the parks now, so
(32:25):
we're kind of just casuallytalking to you as we go through.
You know, as I'm walking downMain Street, I'm like, well,
it's actually a really nice dayhere today.
You know it's 75 degrees andyou know it's not a lot of
people and you know, oh, lookthere's.
You know that kind of thing andI'm literally committing the
same foul that Michael Goheganwas doing back with the original
(32:50):
Disneyland podcast.
There's probably a lot ofpeople going.
I wish this guy had just shutup.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
Sometimes I'll listen to it on my phone, sometimes I
listen to it in my car.
You can ask Alexa to play itfor you as well.
So it's really great.
So I you know I've done severalpodcasts over the years and I
know how much work that goesinto them.
So the amount of love that ittakes to continue to do this and
provide this for so many peoplefor so many years is just.
(33:14):
I mean, it's beautiful andthank you for doing it.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
Well, you're quite welcome.
My favorite thing that I get iswhen people send me a message
and say you have helped methrough this time in my life.
Or I have anxiety and I put onmy headphones and I'm
transported to Disneyland, orlike I'll go through social
(33:39):
media and I'll look at peoplethat say man, you know like I
just saw somebody yesterdayyesterday day before she said if
I could be at Disneyland everyday and ride it was like Space
Mountain or something.
She said I probably wouldn'tneed my anxiety meds.
And I responded back and I saidI don't know if this will help,
(34:00):
but we provide audio in theparks.
Please give it a try.
We'd love it if it helped you.
And we've had people that haveliterally sent us emails and
said you did nothing short ofsave my life.
I was in such a bad spot thatbeing able to put on the
headphones and go to Disneylandhelped me, and that is the
(34:21):
biggest compliment I could everget is just for somebody saying
I'm still here because of you.
Thank you so much, and I'm likeI'm just beyond my honor.
What you do really does matter.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
And you can find it on iTunes pretty much any place
where they have podcasts.
If you want to go to hiswebsite, it's
windowtothemagiccom.
You might even see himstrolling around the park.
So thank you again so much forcoming.
I so appreciate you being sogenerous with your time and
sharing with our listeners.
Yeah, I'm sorry it took us solong to get together the first
(34:56):
time, but now you're gonna be onmy show.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
I'm gonna be on your show.
Look at us, look at us.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
Thank you very much, you, betcha, have a good one,
and to everyone out there.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
We'll see you over on Window to the Magic.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
Thank you so much, you're awesome.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
We'll be selecting one reviewer to win a one hour
planning session with Robin.
Winners will be announced atthe end of the first episode of
every month.
Thanks for tuning in andremember that we are here to
help you have a less stressfuland more magical trip to
Disneyland.
Welcome to the Park Magic podcast, your place for
insider tips for your nextDisneyland adventure.
Whether you're a first-timer orfirst-time in a while visitor,
we're here to unwrap the secretsto creating and simplifying
your dream Disneyland vacation.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Do you hear that?
I do.
I hear this amazing guest.
Nobody knows the sounds ofDisney parks better than our
guests.
We have Paul from Window to theMagic, which is a podcast that
I love listening to as somebodywho goes to the parks and the
parks are my happy place.
I actually told him when I methim just a couple weeks ago that
sometimes when I get reallystressed, I'll put on his
podcast because it brings tolife the magic of the park
(00:58):
through the different soundsthat you would hear.
So nobody knows the sounds ofthe park better.
So, paul, thank you so much tocoming on to share a little bit
about the quietest places in theparks.
There are a couple placesaround the parks that can be a
really great place to get thatquiet fix and I was kind of
hoping you could share, fromyour years and years of
(01:19):
recording at the DisneylandResort, where are some of the
best places?
And then some of the placesthat might seem like a good
quiet place but might end uphaving some noisy surprises.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Thank you so much for having me on the show.
I appreciate it and, yes, Ihave, at this point, made a
almost 20-year career out ofpodcasting the sounds of
Disneyland, and so I am veryfamiliar with what the park
sounds like and where you can go.
One of the places that I wasgoing to mention and I'll just
(01:50):
start with that one is calledPopcorn Park and it is in
Toontown and it is one of thenew spots.
When they redid Toontown, theydid it in such a way that they
had in mind sensory necessarykids, and so they have
redesigned it in such a way thatyou can have fun regardless of
(02:14):
your abilities or needs.
And Popcorn Park is in the backand it is a covered area in the
back.
They have got grass there nowit is fake grass, but they have
got grass and benches and whereToontown has all of that tunish
music playing and it is fairlyloud and things like that.
(02:34):
Once you get back into PopcornPark, it is designed for kids to
get away from all of thatstimulation, and so it is darker
and there is not a lot to see.
Back there it looks like a caveand they are playing Disney
music, but really lo-fi, likedownbeat Disney music.
(02:57):
You almost cannot identify whatsongs they are playing.
That is how off the beaten pathit is.
It is really a nice place to goand kick back.
Really, the only noise you hearis the sound of Chippendales
Gadget Coaster, because that isover in that area as well.
That is 50 feet, 75 feet away,and it is a fairly quiet coaster
(03:21):
, so it is not too bad.
I would say that is the newestand best location in the park
for this type of activity.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
I actually really like that area.
You might have some peopletalking or background noise, but
for the most part it is reallyquiet.
When you walk into Toontownthere is also a grass area.
That is right as you come in.
That is not what he is talkingabout.
You are going to head to theleft and go until the road end.
I agree that is one of the bestplaces to get a little sensory,
so it can be a nice place todecompress for both adults and
(03:51):
children.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
The location is just immediately to the left of
Mickey's house, between Mickey'shouse and the Chippendale
gadget coaster.
It's really nice.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
What are some of the other areas at Disneyland,
because I feel like there'sfewer areas at Disneyland just
because the footprint is sotight.
Where are some of the otherareas at Disneyland that you
think might be a good place toget a quiet break?
Speaker 3 (04:13):
La Salon Nouveau and Club 33.
Oh, you mean like anybody?
Okay, yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
So for those of you who don't know, club 33 is like
the ultra exclusive, like if youdon't know what it is, you
probably can't get in.
For sure, even if you know whatit is, you probably can't get
in.
But yes, it is very quiet andpeaceful there.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
My next choice, kind of working my way logically
around the park, would be theold motorboat cruise launch dock
and that is over by IdlewiceSnacks and it's under the
monorail track immediatelyacross from the Matterhorn, and
it is a very quiet place becausemost people look and they go.
(04:56):
Well, that's like an abandonedboat dock and all I see is some
chairs there, but there'snothing going on, there's no
theming, there's no nothing.
And so if you walk down to thefar end of that boat dock, it's
just quiet.
There's water all the wayaround you, except for the way
you walk in, and the only soundsyou will hear is the sounds off
(05:20):
in the distance, coming fromyou know, small World Mall, that
sort of thing, the occasionalsound of the monorail running
above your head.
The monorail doesn't honk whenit's above you, thankfully, but
this is one of those placeswhere you want to be aware,
because this is right next toSmall World Mall.
That's on the parade route.
So if the parade is running, ifthere's a marching band, if
(05:44):
there's any sort of activityhappening on the parade route or
if it's fireworks time, it isnot going to be quiet.
Of course it's not going to bequiet anywhere in the park
during fireworks, but thisespecially because this is
closer to the fireworks by a lotthan being out on Main Street.
That sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
I think sometimes I see people like oh, go, take a
call on the outside betweenmonorail and over by Galactic
Grill, and it is quiet theremost of the time.
But when a parade comes throughit is very much not quiet, and
I think that's where Disneylandcan be especially.
You know, it can be trickybecause there are announcements
that come through, things alongthose lines that can definitely
(06:25):
bring up the volume quite a bit.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Now, depending on how actually quiet you want it to
be, if you don't mind the soundof the occasional Autopia car
going by, I would say one of themost fun places you can go to
is actually just a little bitdown from that boat dock and
it's the former smoking areaunderneath the monorail platform
over by where Autopia and thesubmarine voyage meet.
(06:52):
The only issue you know it'slike a business call, probably
not a good idea.
You get going by in thebackground and the occasional
sound coming from the Matterhornof people screaming and
whatever, but for kids they'renot going to mind either of
those noises, and so I thinkthat would be another good
location.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
I feel like you're taking me through a voyage, just
like you do on your podcast.
What would be the next locationfor you?
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Another location that I enjoy, oddly, is completely
on the other side of the parknow, which is all the way over
in the backside of the HungryBear restaurant.
The Hungry Bear restaurant isactually on the second floor and
its seating area goes aroundthe restaurant and behind it
next to the railroad tracks, butit's actually the second floor.
(07:38):
If you take the stairs down,you end up on the first floor,
which has got some additionalseating and the Country Bear
bathrooms and things like that,and that's where the walkway to
Galaxy's Edge is.
If you go all the way to theback without going down the
stairs, you go all the way tothe back.
Unless it's a busy day, you'regoing to have an entire seating
(07:58):
area to yourself where the onlynoises you're going to hear are
the of the train as it goes by,and you can wave at everybody as
they're going by, and that's afun.
Especially for somebody who'saudio driven, like I am, it's
really neat to hear that traingoing by, and then you'll hear
(08:21):
the Mark Twain as it goes downthe rivers of America, and then,
if the Columbia is running,that's the only time you run
into a little bit of a problemwith this area, because that is
the area where they fire thecannon.
So if the Columbia is running,be aware that once every 20
(08:41):
minutes, once every 30 minutes,the ship is going to come around
the corner and you're going toget a big bang and then it's
quiet for another 20, 25 minutes.
But this is a really nice area,nice seating.
You get a hungry BearRestaurant there so you can get
your food and go over there andeat and even if it is crowded,
it's still fairly quiet backthere.
The farther you go back, thebetter it gets.
(09:03):
How?
Speaker 2 (09:03):
do you feel about over the area over by Harbor
Gallery Cross from HauntedMansion?
Speaker 3 (09:08):
Are you talking about the new area that they just
built or the area that's beenthere for years?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
You know, can you go in?
And then there's like you can'tsee the tables from the front.
There's like kind of like alittle kind of secret seating
area.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
That's the hidden path, the Harbor Gallery hidden
path.
That really has no purposeexcept just to be a nice little
walk, and about halfway alongthat walk is five tables four
tables, something like thatFairly exclusive location.
If you can get seating there,that's really nice.
And that is super isolatedbecause most people don't know
(09:45):
that it's even there and so, andlike I said, you have to walk
around the boat.
If there's a boat in the dockyou're completely blocked from
every other noise in the parkexcept for whatever's going
around the rivers of America.
So that's not a bad area.
There's also they just built anew area like Harbor Galley
(10:06):
Seating area.
That's the one with the birds.
I can't remember the name ofthe birds right now Pelican
Landing, I think, is what theycall it and that is actually not
a bad location either.
Although it's very much infront of Haunted Mansion and on
a walking path, it's not loud,there's not a lot of foot
traffic that goes through therebecause it's kind of blocked off
(10:30):
.
And when Phantasmic is running,if you're sitting there and
you've seen it before and youjust want to be there for it,
it's not a bad viewing areaeither.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
What do you think about Pirate Lair?
On times I find that TomSawyer's Island is, it's kind of
like literally a walk in thepark.
You know, like you know, evenover there, we were there on a
day that was like oppressivelybusy.
It was that day that there waslike a fire alarm and like
plumbing happened and like nearTiki Land, so they had all of
Adventure Land blocked off andit was just oppressively busy.
(11:01):
And so we went over to PiratesLair at Tom Sawyer's Island and
especially on the far side ofthe island, I found it very
quiet, very peaceful and sinceso few people go over there, you
know, a lot of personal space.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Nobody goes over there.
It's one of those locations, Imean, there's maybe 10 people on
the island at any time and so,especially when they have the
actual Pirate's Lair open andyou can go into the area that
used to be Injun Joe's Cave andstuff like that, that is, that
(11:35):
is some really good getting awayfrom it.
All time at Disneyland that Iused to go over there I have.
We used to do a video series onWindow to the Magic, called the
Window Series, and we would goaround the park and we would
shoot video.
We would tripod, mount a camera, point it at a really nice
scene and let it run for 10minutes, wouldn't talk, wouldn't
(11:57):
do anything.
We just captured the sounds ofthe park in the video and the
idea basically is that you youturn it on on your television
and it had surround sound, andso we would just surround you
with the magic.
You weren't supposed to look atthe television other than just
glancing, like when the MarkTwain went by or something like
that.
(12:18):
And one of the shots that we didwas from Tom Sawyer Island up
in the treehouse, pointed acrossthe river at Sleeping Beauty
Castle and the Matterhorn.
You can hear Disneyland off inthe distance, because this area
is so quiet.
You can hear things happeningon the other side of the water
and so you can hear big thunderhappening way off in the
(12:39):
distance and you know you canhear the Mark Twain or the
Columbia coming around, you know, and as they leave and all that
other stuff, it just just abeautiful, beautiful shot.
And so, yeah, that spot on theisland is absolutely fabulous.
I have one one that is right inthe middle of the action but
(13:00):
oddly removed, and that is theporch on Main Street.
Oddly, once you step onto thatporch, you're just far enough
away, especially if you've gotkids and you know you can let
them play on the porch andthere's like a little defined
area where they can just runaround and do whatever, and
they've got five feet in eachdirection to move around and you
(13:21):
know whatever.
And it's just far enough awayto where you can see Disneyland
happening off the porch.
But you're on the porch andthat's totally different.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
When my kids were little I used to go into the
Main Street Cinema because theyhave all of the silent movies
and so when I was trying to getmy littlest one down for a nap,
I would kind of just do circlesin there and then they have
benches for adults to sit down,so it can be a.
That can be a nice quiet areaas well.
And then you know, outside ofgreat moments with Mr Lincoln, I
(13:51):
love it there for a littlequiet break, a way for the heat
and the sun.
I mean, obviously there'smoments inside, great moments
with Mr Lincoln, that are veryloud because there's a war
happening, but they've got a lotof these and there's a lot of
cycling through exhibits andthen some permanent exhibits,
but they're really interestingif you like history, and so for
(14:12):
my son that's like a super likeinto, like we can't pass a
plaque.
We joke in our family about ohno, there's a plaque.
It's a nice place for us to geta little bit of decompression
and maybe a little break on ahotter or wetter day too.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
And I can tell when you go to the park versus when I
go to the park, because yousaid, go to Mr Lincoln to escape
the heat and I go to Mr Lincolnto stop from freezing.
So I am definitely a nightperson.
I go to Disneyland primarilyafter sunset.
I'm one of those weirdos wheremy favorite time of year is
right now Well, actually lastmonth, technically when the days
(14:48):
are shortest and the nights arelongest, and so it's, you know,
4 30pm and it's completely dark.
I will show up as the sun isgoing down, especially being
follically challenged as I am.
It is nice to go to Disneylandand not have to wear a hat to
stop from being sunburned.
And so if I go to the park then, like I, there's been times
(15:12):
where I've gone out to recordfor the show, because we'll
record things for the show,events that happen and parades
and fireworks and things, andwhen seasonal things happen,
like the Christmas fireworks,we'll go out there and we'll
record.
Well, sometimes we end upsitting there for an hour
because we've got a nice spotand we don't want to lose it,
(15:33):
and so I'll end up freezing andso I'll like have my son sit
there and I'll go into MrLincoln and warm up, and then
I'll trade places with him after15 minutes and then we'll
switch back and forth and so,yeah, that's, that's always a
good place, and my best friendand I used to go to Disneyland
when we were in our teens andtwenties and Mr Lincoln was
(15:55):
named nicknamed by us.
Great naps with Mr Lincoln.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
So comfy those seats.
Yeah, I love that and thehistory on that is that
attraction is so, so deep and solovely and I think those are
the big ones for Disneyland.
Should we do CaliforniaAdventure?
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Sure, except on the way over.
I'd like to stop at the picnicarea.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Yes, very few people have seen that.
They just they're so focused,they just scoot right past it.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Not only is that a nice little area, as you're
facing Disneyland, it's on yourleft If you go over by where the
bathrooms are.
There's the lockers and thenthe bathrooms and then there's
just a hole in the fence.
Basically, you walk through andit's this big area with all of
these picnic tables and lockersand like jumbo lockers, and also
(16:47):
speakers, and those speakersare playing the Esplanade music
so you can sit there and enjoyyour meal or whatever you're
going to do, or just sit thereand your kid can take a nap and
you can hear the music from theEsplanade.
The monorail goes over yourhead every couple of minutes but
it just kind of by.
(17:07):
It doesn't honk or anythinglike that the only shortcoming
of this spot.
I went there one time when theDisney 100 celebration started
and I was like I'm going to sitin.
This area is nice and quiet andI will record the background
loop and share it with mylisteners and I very quickly
found out that that is where allthe trucks park, on the other
(17:28):
side of the fence, backstage atDisneyland, where they make all
the deliveries, for you know,just the whole time we were
delistening the music and thenall of a sudden you'd hear as
the trucks were backing up andthen they would drop off their
loads and whatever.
And then you know it's like,well, it's kind of a shortcoming
(17:53):
, but alright, it's not loud,it's not.
You know it's not gonna wakethe kids up, but it's when
you're trying to record thebackground music for something
and there's this loud beepinggoing on.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
I think that's the trick about Disneyland 2.
You might look in the wholeresort, including the hotels.
You might think this is a greatplace, that, and especially if
you're going to do business call.
Just know that at any point.
You know there are people thatare on vacation that are loud,
there could be a vehicle there.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
You know there's a lot of unexpected things in a
lot of those locations, for surefire trucks, oh, and in the in
the picnic area also, althoughway off in the distance, the two
firings of the gun from theJungle cruise.
So you'll hear Off in thedistance again, not loud enough
(18:41):
to wake your kids up, but stillsomething to be aware of.
And when we get into DCA we'renot gonna get.
And how far do you think we'regonna get in to DCA before I've
got a spot?
Nope, not even gonna get to theflagpole, oh, Look at you, fancy
because there's that park rightthere, right as you walk in the
(19:03):
front door, right in front ofOswald's, and also there's some
permanent benches off to theright, right as you walk in the
entrance, look to your right,and it's by the exit.
So it's not all that popular,but if you sit there you can
hear the music from Buena VistaStreet and it's although it's in
the middle of all the action.
(19:23):
Again it's like the porch onMain Street.
It's just far enough removed towhere.
If you're in that park sittingon the benches or you're over on
the right sitting on thosePermanent benches, you're gonna
be fine, nice, quiet area.
Nothing loud ever happens there.
The only sound that comes andgoes is the red car trolley, and
(19:44):
that's that really pleasant.
So that's not gonna disturbyour kids either.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
What's your next favorite place?
Speaker 3 (19:51):
the Hollywood pictures back lot area is quiet,
that that entire Section of thepark is a quiet area.
Because if you, if we're justlooking in that area Underneath
the, the building that used tobe Muppet vision it they used to
have that big entrance forMuppet vision which is now not
(20:11):
an entrance or an exit that areais a seating area that is quiet
.
And then if you go over by thatlittle stage, that's also very
quiet.
And then if you continue to goin, there's that Snack shop with
all the neon at the end andpast that, right in front of the
soundstage, is Another seatingarea all very quiet areas and
(20:33):
there's a bathroom right there.
So that is a plus as well.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
I feel like that is one of the quietest areas on
that side of the park, becauseAvengers Land kind of has, you
know, a lot of shows that comein, so it might be quiet when
you sit down or when you.
But you know, the Warriors ofWakanda will come by, or Star
Lord will come by and startdancing, and then Cars Land has
a lot of beautiful sights andsounds in it.
I think kind of the next onewould be between if you kind of
(21:01):
go behind flows there's awalkway behind flows to San
Francisco and kind of back there, the only sound that really you
hear is the cars from radiatorSprings, racers going by.
What do you?
What are your thoughts on thatone?
Speaker 3 (21:14):
My thoughts would actually be not the walkway, but
actually inside Flows Proper,not the building.
In that outside seating areathere's a covered seating area
out the back of flows.
I always sit out there and thatis isolated from the walkers.
So the people that are walkingby and whatever, and, like you
(21:37):
said, you get to hear the carsgoing by every 12 seconds, but
they're 75 feet away, whatever,and it's not a real cars noise
and so everything is kind ofmuted over there.
It's nice and cool during thesummer, but if it's raining it's
covered, so that's a plus aswell.
Not so bad at all, actually.
(21:58):
I have one area that I like tosit in which is over by
Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta.
I go over to Poultry Palace andI pick up the best chicken at
DCA.
The reason I like it is becauseit tastes like shakenbake and I
will get myself a chicken withan extra coleslaw, which I think
(22:18):
they sell now by themselves.
Because I ask so many times.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
It's so good and it's gluten free.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
You walk over by past mood swings and out the other
side and just to the left wherethe parade comes out there's a
little walkway and before youget to the building on your left
is a little walkway with alittle seating area and it's
just like a little area.
It's got maybe 10 tables, gottrees above it.
(22:46):
So it's shady if you happen tobe unfortunate enough to be
there in the daytime and you'rejust again just far enough
removed to where you can have anice quiet meal, you can go in
and get the awesome sun-driedtomato pasta at Boardwalk Pizza
and Pasta and also immediatelyacross from there, if you don't
mind, a little music is theunderneath the silly symphony
(23:10):
swings.
There's a walkway on the groundlevel If you walk around, you
can walk all the way around thebuilding and it takes you out by
the water and there's benchesback there and things, and the
only time that's not a goodplace to be is during World of
Color.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
When I find even the main seating by Boardwalk and
Paradise Grill before 10 am.
You can't actually make abusiness call there.
For the most part, after 10 amthey've got bands playing and
everything.
So your options would be betterfor sure, without a doubt.
And then I think the next placewould be kind of heading down
over to Redwood Creek Challenge,which is.
(23:47):
I think sometimes peopleunderestimate how awesome these
playgrounds are.
If you have little ones, andthat one is, not only is it
quiet, but there's so manythings that aren't on a normal
playground.
And my son was willing to hangout with his sister on that at
(24:07):
16.
And I was like, and he cameback panting and having a good
time.
I was like I'm so nice of youto just do that with your sister
Not that you would want to behere and he's like, no, no, just
to be with my sister.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
Yeah, I actually, when you said Redwood Creek, I
thought so.
Going from Little Mermaid,walking towards the wheel, I
actually thought turning rightinstead of turning left, going
behind the Grizzly River Run or,more correctly, underneath the
Grizzly River Run, where thereis a huge path that you and like
(24:40):
a long area where you can walkand you're literally walking
underneath the attraction asit's going.
Warning, you may get wet attimes because it's a water ride,
but there's, there's waterfallsback there and there's areas
where you can view theattraction and things and most
people take that area out in theRedwood Creek Challenge Trail
(25:03):
main walkway that you would takein.
Most people walk that way.
So if you go this way, you'regoing to be by yourself and it's
.
It's not necessarily quiet, butit's not noisy.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
And I don't think they have any music piped over
there, do they?
Speaker 3 (25:19):
Yes, there is music back there.
Typically, the waterfall is theyeah, it's, it's the primary
sound that you're hearing.
So you got the white noise ofthe water.
So, but as you walk, if you'recoming from Little Mermaid, you
go and you turn right and you gounderneath the rise in that
area you'll hear the music andthen you'll get over towards the
(25:39):
waterfalls and then you won'thear it much anymore.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Oh OK.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
But, but then also back in that area is the area
where you can walk out andactually watch the people coming
down the big drop at the end.
Drowns it up and that's a funplace.
You might get wet there too,but still fun.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
And it's really beautiful it.
You know, I think that area ofthe park is really really pretty
and peaceful and you know thereare several places kind of
along that row that you know arequieter to.
You know, like, little likeover by the plane there's a
little plane where you can get apicture with Goofy, if the
character's not there, thatusually is a pretty, you know,
(26:17):
fairly quiet place, but themonorail goes right over there,
so you'd have to have you'd havethat monorail noise
occasionally.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
Right and underneath the scout tower in front of
Soren is another one of thoseareas.
As long as you don't mind thezzzz of the monorail going by
every 12 minutes, then you'refine and that's a nice quiet
area with the background musicgoing on, you know very quietly,
(26:45):
but pretty much no other noiseother than just the rumbling of
people's voices as they walk by,and no parades, no fireworks in
that area, no, nothing.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
People tell me they have to do like a business call,
I'll usually tell them they'reprobably better off going into
one of the hotel lobbies.
So Disneyland Hotel.
You know we did a recording foryour show which was I kind of
fangirled and like had a littlebit of like trying to keep the
panic down.
But you know we, you know overin Disneyland Hotel there's some
outdoor areas that you know,and then, but the Grand
(27:18):
California has a lot ofdifferent places to take quiet
calls.
There's a lot of nooks andcrannies and you know, sometimes
they'll have piano music in thebackground but overall it's,
you know it's not going to beblaring, you know, disney music
anywhere in that lobby.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
And in the in the new DVC tower, there's the new
restaurant that they have by thepool.
Oh yes, it's underneath thehotel tower and so it's
protected from the sun.
You get to see the pool on oneside and the and the monorail
pool on the other side.
It's a little windy if you'reunder there because you're
underneath the hotel and it'snot.
There's nothing blocking thewind, so it's it's a little wind
(27:55):
tunnel.
So if it's windy, be prepared.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
I think they even had some power outlets for laptops
when my husband went, which andthat's the harder thing to find
is quiet and a power outlet isis a difficult combination,
unless you're in one of thehotel areas.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Bring your batteries, people.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
But yeah that's.
That's not a bad place.
And then, depending on whetherthey're open or not, the lounge
at the Disneyland hotel is alsoquiet place where you can go.
You could have a business callthere if it is not the evening
time when they're doing briskbusiness.
Nice and quiet over there.
(28:31):
Quiet, comfy chairs.
You could sit there and be onyour laptop and talk on your
phone, as as long as your bossdoesn't mind you talking to the
bartender while you're havingyour meat.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Well, I think this helps.
I feel like it's a questionthat people ask over and over
again and you know somebody onlycame one time a year or
anything like that.
I think I remember it was kindof quiet, but they might not
realize that you know some ofthe things that you said.
You know, like my daughter is,like more sensitive to beeps and
honks, and so you know thereare there.
Depending on what somebody istrying to do, whether they're
(29:05):
trying to mask the Disneybackground where it's
identifiably Disney, or whetherthey're trying to avoid a
specific sound or a certainvolume level, I think this will
really help them in trying todecide where they need to go.
So I think everybody shouldlisten to your podcast and I
think, especially if you have alittle one, that, or you as an
(29:25):
adult, or somebody that doesn'tlike surprises and likes to be
acquainted with something,listening to his show is a
really great idea of what toexpect in the sounds of the park
.
You know, because I have adaughter that is more sensitive,
I will tell you when we go tothe parks we bring not only in
earplugs like the little kindsthat you would bring.
You know that they might giveyou at the hotel if they're
(29:47):
doing construction.
But we also bring like aheadset that like the that we
just got at Home Depot for the.
It's the same kind of gardenersused to protect their ears from
the noise and there are somerides that it really that those
we actually use both together.
But for the most part justhaving one of those in brings
the volume down enough whereit's makes Disneyland much more
(30:10):
enjoyable for her, where youknow she would have been fine
but it wouldn't have been fun.
Speaker 3 (30:13):
That's good, that's good.
Yeah, that's.
You want it to be enjoyable foreveryone.
And the idea behind Window tothe Magic although we started as
a as a DVD creation thing, whenpodcasting came around, I
realized I was listening to theofficial Disneyland podcast with
(30:34):
Michael Gohagen and he waswalking through the park and he
was talking to Tim O'Day ortalking to Tim Allen or whoever
it happened to be, and he wouldwalk around and they would be
talking as they went through thepark and I would be like this
is really neat, but I wish theywould shut up.
I want to hear Disneyland.
And so I thought to myself well, wait a second, I could do that
(30:59):
.
And so for the first couple ofyears, the Window to the Magic
was around and you can still goback 20 years in our audio and
hear these shows.
We did a thing called when inthe Park and we would go into
the Esplanade and I would say hi, everyone, welcome to the show,
blah, blah, blah.
This is what we're gonna do.
(31:19):
I would explain the premise andthen I would stop talking, and
the only time that I would saysomething is like to a cast
member or something as I walkedin the main gate hi, thank you,
whatever.
But then I would walk throughthe park taking a specific path
and you would have to followalong with your ears and you
(31:42):
would have to determine, usingonly the sounds, where we were
going.
And then at the end I would say,okay, we're at our final
location, you have a minute tofigure out where we are, and
then we'll go do the ride, showor attraction that we have
reached, and then I would wait aminute and then I would just
(32:04):
get in line for whatever it isand I would edit out the boring
parts, go in and do theattraction, and people loved
that, and that's basically whatwe do now, except we've kind of
morphed to where you're hangingout with us in the parks now, so
(32:25):
we're kind of just casuallytalking to you as we go through.
You know, as I'm walking downMain Street, I'm like, well,
it's actually a really nice dayhere today.
You know it's 75 degrees andyou know it's not a lot of
people and you know, oh, lookthere's.
You know that kind of thing andI'm literally committing the
same foul that Michael Goheganwas doing back with the original
(32:50):
Disneyland podcast.
There's probably a lot ofpeople going.
I wish this guy had just shutup.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
Sometimes I'll listen to it on my phone, sometimes I
listen to it in my car.
You can ask Alexa to play itfor you as well.
So it's really great.
So I you know I've done severalpodcasts over the years and I
know how much work that goesinto them.
So the amount of love that ittakes to continue to do this and
provide this for so many peoplefor so many years is just.
(33:14):
I mean, it's beautiful andthank you for doing it.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
Well, you're quite welcome.
My favorite thing that I get iswhen people send me a message
and say you have helped methrough this time in my life.
Or I have anxiety and I put onmy headphones and I'm
transported to Disneyland, orlike I'll go through social
(33:39):
media and I'll look at peoplethat say man, you know like I
just saw somebody yesterdayyesterday day before she said if
I could be at Disneyland everyday and ride it was like Space
Mountain or something.
She said I probably wouldn'tneed my anxiety meds.
And I responded back and I saidI don't know if this will help,
(34:00):
but we provide audio in theparks.
Please give it a try.
We'd love it if it helped you.
And we've had people that haveliterally sent us emails and
said you did nothing short ofsave my life.
I was in such a bad spot thatbeing able to put on the
headphones and go to Disneylandhelped me, and that is the
(34:21):
biggest compliment I could everget is just for somebody saying
I'm still here because of you.
Thank you so much, and I'm likeI'm just beyond my honor.
What you do really does matter.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
And you can find it on iTunes pretty much any place
where they have podcasts.
If you want to go to hiswebsite, it's
windowtothemagiccom.
You might even see himstrolling around the park.
So thank you again so much forcoming.
I so appreciate you being sogenerous with your time and
sharing with our listeners.
Yeah, I'm sorry it took us solong to get together the first
(34:56):
time, but now you're gonna be onmy show.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
I'm gonna be on your show.
Look at us, look at us.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
Thank you very much, you, betcha, have a good one,
and to everyone out there.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
We'll see you over on Window to the Magic.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
Thank you so much, you're awesome.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
We'll be selecting one reviewer to win a one hour
planning session with Robin.
Winners will be announced atthe end of the first episode of
every month.
Thanks for tuning in andremember that we are here to
help you have a less stressfuland more magical trip to
Disneyland.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.