The Disney Dish with Jim Hill

Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by sharing a survey that the Disneyland Resort sent out to Oogie Boogie Bash event attendees. They then look back at September of 1971 and the final frantic days of WDW construction.

Show notes are here.

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 Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by answering a metric ton of listener mail. They then wrap their look back at the development of the Haunted Mansion attraction for the Disney Parks.

Show notes for this episode are here.

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Len Testa & Christina Harrison report on World Showcase’s newest attraction, “Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.” Then Jim Hill continues his series on the development of the Haunted Mansion attraction for the Disney Parks

Show notes are here.

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start this week’s show by digging through a pile of listener mail related to recent changes at the WDW Resort. Jim then continues his history of the development of The Haunted Mansion attraction

Show notes here.

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about how Mouse House management is frustrated with the narrative that’s now out there about Disney Parks & Resorts. They then continue their new series on the decade-long development of The Haunted Mansion

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by answering listener mail & then sharing some recent surveys from the WDW Resort. Jim then continues his history of The Haunted Mansion and talks about the original walk-thru version of this attraction that Disney Legend Ken Anderson developed

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Len Testa & Jim Hill discuss the news of the week, including Disneyland’s new Magic Key program and the sample package rates that were recently revealed for “Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.” They then begin a new series on the development of Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction.

Show Notes are here.

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about Disney World’s new policies regarding mask use at the Parks. They then look back at why the Imagineers spent 18 months & $25 million to dredge a channel at Castaway Cay

This episode's show notes are here.

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Len Testa & Jim Hill welcome special guest Christina Harrison, who talks up where to find the very best eats -- and the strongest air conditioning -- at the 2021 edition of Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival

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Len Testa amd Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about the “Disney Very Merry After Hours Special Event” at WDW’s Magic Kingdom. They also look back at October 31, 1994, and KIIS 102.7 FM’s infamous promotional event at Disneyland Park

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about which WDW Resorts will be re-opening over the next three months. They also look back at the horticultural challenges that Disneyland Park faced less than 10 days from its grand opening back in July of 1955

Show Notes for this episode are here.

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this episode by discussing WDW’s decision to reportedly make Evening Extra Magic Hours a Deluxe Resorts & DVC Member exclusive. They also conclude their look at the history of “Toy Story Midway Mania!”

Show Notes for this episode are here.

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 Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by listing the nighttime shows which will soon be returning to the WDW Resort. They then look back at many of the concepts for Mickey Mouse-based rides, shows & attractions that never quite made it off of WDI’s drawing board

Show Notes are here.

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by answering all sorts of listener questions. They then talk about how the Rivers of America at Disneyland Park almost encircled a Mickey & Minnie Mouse-themed island, rather than Tom Sawyer Island

Show Notes for this episode are here.

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Len Testa starts off this week’s episode by planning out the perfect progressive dinner for fans of WDW’s monorail resorts. He & Jim Hill then reveal when they each believe Disney World’s golden age occurred 

Show Notes for this episode are here.

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about how WDW Resort Guests will have the inside track when it comes to scoring tickets for “Disney After Hours Boo Bash.” They then talk about how Disneyland’s “Rocket to the Moon” ride became a “Mission to Mars”

Show notes for this episode are here.

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 Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about Universal’s decision to raise the starting wage for new Team Members to $15-an-hour says about the tightening Orlando labor market. They then share stories about how miserable service on Disney’s Magic Express has reportedly gotten.

Show Notes for this episode are here.

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 Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode about the DVC-related change that’s coming to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in 2022. They then finish their look at Davy Crockett & Zorro in the Disney Parks

Show Notes for this episode are here.

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Imagined Life Family immerses you in the surprising moments and challenges that shaped someone’s life before they became successful-- but there’s a catch. You won’t find out who you are until the end of the episode unless you follow the clues along the way! In this episode, you long to go to Africa and have adventures like Tarzan. But everyone tells you girls aren’t supposed to do things like that. You’ll just have to prove them wrong. Take a journey with Imagined Life Family and see the world through someone else’s eyes. 

Listen at http://wondery.fm/ILF_DisneyDish

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Len Testa and Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about the news that came out of the most recent Disney quarterly earnings call. Then Jim Hill reveals why the founder of the American Broadcasting Company didn’t think that Roy & Walt were very good businessmen.

Show Notes for this episode are here.

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by comparing WDW’s Boo Bash Disney After Hours event to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. They then continue their look back at Fess Parker’s time at Walt Disney Studios.

Show Notes for this episode are here.

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by discussing some of the bars & the restaurants that just got revealed for the Disney Wish. They then discuss the huge part that Davy Crockett played in the first year or so of Disneyland Park’s operation

This episode's show notes are here.

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 Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about how Disney’s decision to update its guidance when it comes to Cast Member grooming & appearance will impact the rest of the hospitality industry. They then look back at how the Farmers Market at EPCOT Center’s The Land paved the way for food courts at WDW Resorts.

This episode's show notes are here.

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So what happens when Len Testa & Jim Hill each record their contributions to a Disney Dish episode separately? You’re about to find. Special thanks to editor extraordinaire Aaron Adams who stitched this show together.

Check out the Show Notes for this episode here.

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by discussing how the Anaheim version of the Avengers Campus is supposed to be opening at DCA on June 4th. They then discuss why the Imagineers opted to transform the Papeete Bay Verandah at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort into ‘Ohana.

This episode's Show Notes are here.

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 Len Testa starts off this week’s show by talking about how the “HarmonioUS” barges haven’t exactly improved the view WDW visitors have as they look out on World Showcase Lagoon. Jim Hill then completes his five-part history of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

This episode's show notes are here.

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about how the Disneyland Resort is actively getting ready to re-open its theme parks. They also talk about how facial recognition technology may play a role in the next generation of rides, shows & attractions that WDI is developing for Disney Parks.

Show notes for this episode are here.

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 Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about Disneyland’s announced April 30th re-opening. Jim then continues his series on the development of the Tower of Terror attraction.

Show notes for this episode are here.

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As of today, this formerly-Bandcamp-Exclusive show can now be heard by everyone. Check out what the Imagineers were originally thinking of as they tried to create an Audio Animatronic extravaganza that could then be presented inside of Epcot’s United States pavilion.

Cast Listing:

Narrator … Barry Silverman

Ben Franklin … David Chatel

Young Ben Franklin … Peyton Clarkson

Mary Twain … Jerry Powell

Pilgrim Father / Town Crier … Dennis Gould

Susan B. Anthony … Wilma Haupt

Will Rogers … Aaron Adams

Tech Credits:

Audio Engineer … Denny Gould

Executive Producer … Aaron Adams

Producer … Len Testa

Special thanks to Jessica Nolan of ASCAP for setting up all of the musical licenses for this presentation

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by discussing the challenges the Disneyland Resort faces as it readies for re-opening. They then talk about why the Imagineers couldn’t decide where to build a Freefall-inspired attraction at Euro Disneyland.

This episode's Show Notes are here.

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 Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by sharing a survey that shows that the WDW Resort may be rethinking how it handles attraction photos. They then discuss how a thrill ride at Magic Mountain inspired the Imagineers to develop an ambitious addition for EDL’s Frontierland area.

This episode's show notes are here.

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 Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about when the Walt Disney College Program should resume operations. They also look back at when the Disney Cruise Line first began to expand its fleet.

This episode's show notes are here.

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by discussing the new mobile checkout feature at Epcot’s Mouse Gear store. They then talk about how the “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” puppet-based show led to the Magic Kingdom’s “Legend of the Lion King.”

This episode's show notes are here.

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 Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about Epcot’s revamped & repositioned “Leave a Legacy” display.

They then complete their look at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort

This episode's shownotes are here.

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 Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by answering listeners' questions. Then Jim continues his history of Disney’s Vero Beach Resort by talking about Fantasy Island, Frontier Village, and the Magic Kingdom Suites hotel.

Show notes for this episode are here.

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Len Testa & Jim Hill are joined by Seth Kubersky, author of the “Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando 2021.” These three then discuss the latest theme park-related news coming out of Orlando, Anaheim & Osaka.

Shownotes are here.

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by discussing the Disneyland Resort’s decision to cancel its annual passholder program. They then look back at when the Imagineers proposed building “Disney by the Sea” in Brevard County back in the early 1970s.

This episode's shownotes are located here.

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about WDW’s decision to shut down the Magical Express as well as “Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.” Jim then reveals Disney’s long-range plans for Epcot’s “Person of the Century” poll

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about why WDW may be suggesting that Resort Guests use their own cars to get over to the theme parks. Then they look back on the origins of the “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” show

Show notes are available here

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 Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about how parking the HarmonioUS barges out in the middle of World Showcase Lagoon is actually a return to the way Disneyland Park used to do things back in the 1960s & the 1970s. They then discuss the Company’s post-pandemic plans

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about what sort of discounts the Walt Disney World Resort will be rolling out in 2021 in order to entice more people into traveling down to Orlando. Then Jim looks back at when a key member of the Fab Four stayed at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort in December of 1974

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Len Testa starts off this week’s episode by talking about why WDW’s Coronado Springs Resort may have changed the name of its Pepper Market food court. Then Jim Hill talks about how Southern Californians seeming to lose interest in Disneyland’s “Bear Country” area led to the creation of “The Country Bear Christmas Special”

Shownotes here

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Len talks about how the Spice Road Table restaurant at World Showcase’s Morocco pavilion may soon see a menu change. Then Jim Hill shares the tale of the Southern Californian family which provided Disneyland Park with its Christmas Trees for nearly two decades

Shownotes here.

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by describing WDW’s new character caravan, which is now making regular stops at several on-property hotels. They then look back at how Disneyland Entertainment director Tommy Walker made that theme park’s earlier holiday celebrations look bigger & grander than they actually were

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Wondery’s newest podcast, Little Stories Everywhere, is the perfect immersive experience to share by the fireplace with loved ones this holiday season. 

Each episode will be the reading of a children’s classic - some of the most magical stories ever told, now reimagined with enchanting sound design for families to enjoy together or adults to enjoy on their own. 

Little Stories Everywhere is out now, premiering with A Merry Christmas, a collection of holiday tales by Louisa May Alcott that truly embody the holiday spirit, no matter what you celebrate. 

Listen today at http://wondery.fm/disneydish_LSE

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by looking back on the career of Joe Rohde, who recently announced that he will be retiring from Walt Disney Imagineering in January. Jim then concluded his series on the renaming / rebranding of Disney’s Dixie Landings Resort

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Len Testa starts off this week’s show by sharing a real Thanksgiving dinner conversation starter, the Cube Rule of Food. Jim Hill then continues his series about the development of the Port Orleans & Dixie Landings Resort for the WDW Resort

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Len Testa & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about why WDW officials have decided to hold off opening “Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure” at Epcot ‘til the first quarter of 2021. They then share a recent survey that throws a spotlight on what the WDW Resort is considering offering to lure Guests back down to Central Florida once a coronavirus vaccine is readily available

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Len Testa shares news about how the Disney Cruise Line must first go through simulated cruises where the boats remain tied up to the dock before the CDC will then clear them for sailings. Then Jim Hill talks about how Dick Nunis once wanted to use the Empress Lilly as the jumping-off point for a Southern-themed expansion of the Walt Disney World Village at Lake Buena Vista

Ep 295 Shownotes here.

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 Len Testa starts off this week’s show by sharing a survey Six Flags recently sent out, which shines a spotlight on the grim reality that the entire theme park industry is facing right now. Then Jim Hill looks back at the history of River Country, WDW’s first water park.

Disney Dish Ep 294 shownotes:

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