WDW Radio # 700 – Let’s Talk About 700… and “Turn The Tables”

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As I started to approach show number 700 not only was I in disbelief that we had even reached this milestone, but I started to wonder how to celebrate it with you. So I asked you I always said that the show is Buy for with and about you, so I wanted to know. From you, what you thought we should do, because I never would've thought when I started the new show on February 11th, 2007, mouse Tunes, the first show I was on was started in spring of 2005, ended on February 4th, 2007, and WW Radio was born the next week.

Certainly when I started, I never thought that we would get to 700. I didn't know that I would make show number seven to be honest with you. But I did ask you and I received a number of suggestions, some of them more interesting than others in the clubhouse, as well as via email and private mess messages and Facebook posts.

But a recurring theme that I kept on seeing and hearing was that people wanted to sort of like turn the tables a little bit and have me be the interviewee. Rather than the interviewer. And a couple of people said, and I'm paraphrasing here, said, mano, I've got some questions for you, and that makes this so incredibly frightening for me on so many levels and wildly uncomfortable for, oh, so many reasons.

I also thought it would be, could be fun. It also shows how much I trust you. So please be gentle. So, I, I, since I, I couldn't. Every question that every listener might have. I decided to invite members of the WW [00:02:00] Radio Nation family to join me on a live call, as well as take some questions from the community via the clubhouse group on Facebook, or some people want to leave a voicemail.

So I invited the nation to a call and this is what is going to happen. So here we go. What we're gonna do is I'm gonna call on you one by one. Feel free to chime in if and when necessary in no particular order. If you have a question, let's get to it. Ray, go ahead. Okay. I'm gonna ask a couple questions that are probably right in your wheelhouse.

So wait quickly. First re introduce Ntroduce. We're gonna yourself, we're go straight to food. Wait, introduce yourself. Cause I've known you for a long time. Oh, I'm sorry. This is Ray Kasner. . I currently live in Wisconsin, but I'm gonna soon to be a Florida resident. Congrat. And you're old school, right? Like we're finishing up a house.

You go back to like forum days, right? Disney World trivia Forum days. Yeah. I'm, I might be the most senior person that's been with you as, as long as, and maybe anybody. So yeah, I've been, I've been with you from pretty much the beginning. We're gonna go straight to food. What is your favorite restaurant in a park?

Theme park. So we're, we're, we're throw, we're tossing out boathouse. We're taking that right off the table cuz we know that's what the answer's gonna be. . So what's your favorite theme? Park restaurant. You would think this would be more difficult than it is, but I actually have not just an answer. I have the defacto answer.

Because if we are taking boathouse out of the equation in park and out, I think Takumi in the Japan pavilion is. Far and away the best overall dining experience, not just in a Disney, in a Walt Disney World theme park, but in Walt Disney World, period. It is remarkable in terms of the quality of food, the presentation of food.

I love the environment. The service is exceptional. I am super excited that it is opening up again very, very soon. If only there was somebody, [00:04:00] anybody that I could find to go with me to Ku Mate is number one on the list without. Okay. And then what is your, what is your secret or your hidden gem for a resort restaurant?

A, a hidden gem for a resort restaurant? I'm repeating question one that you love but is like under the radar for a lot of people, you know, it's hard because there's not a lot really that's under the radar anymore. Although, I will say the first thing that popped into my mind is, Olivia's at Old Key West.

I, I think Olivia's does not, couldn't agree with you more. Yeah. , I think especially for like breakfast and lunch. I think Olivia's is a really, really nice place to go. It's usually not very crowded. They have great dishes. Great service as well. You're right there by the water. So I'll go with Olivia's.

Thanks Lou. Thank you. Andrew Mylan, you are next. Hello, Lou Andrew Mylan, Charleston, South Carolina. I've been following Lou since, geez, 2007, probably looking for a Disney podcast and came across it. It's been a fun ride. Thank you brother. Question would be with all the technology that has come over the last 50 years, you've seen a lot of attractions since being down there.

I know we all say we want to see things remade, but with current technology, what would be one ride that you would like to see have a current spin on with the, with 3D 40 fived sound ride attraction? So what ride, what at what current voltage world attraction would I update, or what attraction would I bring up?

No, no. Like a past ride. Like if something your childhood that you love, that you think. Be awesome now with everything that we have available. So my heart is, is split on this one because at first I think that Horizons has incredible potential from a, a storytelling perspective with advances in technology.

Not just where we are, but where we are going. But there's also a, a very [00:06:00] nostalgic, sentimental part of my heart that would love to take that, walk down that, oh, so very narrow and treacherous staircase down into the submarine and go 20,000 leagues. I almost did a really bad James Mason impression, by the way.

20,000 leagues under the sea in in Magic Kingdom. That's mine as well. I would love to see that again. And then my eight year old Addison, she had a simple question. She asked what your favorite character is. You know, I, I still have, and I look up on my wall because Dave Roone, wherever you are, made me this years New York.

Dave Roone, who wrote and sings with his wife Kathy. The WW Radio theme song knows that how much I loved Peter Pan, how much I loved Peter Pan. And wrote out this nine panel picture about the top nine reasons why Peter Pan is the overall best Disney character. Not to mention the fact that he never has to grow up.

He can fly. He lives on this beautiful island. All of the, all he like gets to hang out with his friends. He gets to play and beat the villains all the time. There's a lot of reason to love Peter Pan. So I will go with my nostalgic childhood and first impulse answer. Awesome. Thank you. That's all I got.

I appreciate it. Thank you buddy. Dan Badora, you have your hand raised. Hello there. Yes. I have a question for you. Not to be morbid, but if you had to have your last meal, not specifying how large the plate will be, I don't want it to be a top 10, but what Disney World's food items would be on that plate, sir.

And you can mix and match from a couple restaurants. So it's, it's sort of like the death row last, right? It's like a death row meal question. But yes. In Disney World. So if, if Disney was going, you lived a good life. This is the last meal. . If Disney was going to cater my, not that I would be on death row, but di if Disney was going to cater my last meal, man, I choose the, choose the best, not just the good.

Choose the best. That's right. It's cuz it's gonna, it would be this, this incredible hodgepodge of different flavors because I would have to have something from the boat. [00:08:00] And I don't know if I, do I go like with the slider route or do I go with like a raw seafood that the tuna is so good there, but I also love the pasta at topos.

I would sure need something Japanese, so I would probably have an incredible array. Sushi, this guy from from Tekume ta, which I just mentioned. I'm not a sweet guy, but I guess I need some sort of sweet in there. For dessert, it might be the blueberry cheese. That's what I'll do. I'll do a little bookend at the boathouse.

I'll do raw bar tuna and then I'll have the blueberry cheesecake at the end. A little bit of sushi. And the chicken sugo rigatoni from Topo Nino's Terrace. And I'm, I'm like hesitating cause I , I know I'm forgetting something obvious and somebody's gonna go, how did you forget this thing that you love so much?

But I'm under the pressure because I, I know I'm about to croak, so I want to, I wanna get my food in while I care. I just love that it's a tough question. More, more and more every day. There's more great options. So any throwback foods that you missed or that you remember growing up as a kid, getting with your family?

Ah, dude, gimme a hand witch and give me, give me a teriyaki burger from Okay. The Adventureland Veranda sponsored by Kiko Man in Adventureland. And what did they have, like a pineapple ring on it or something? They did. And had teriyaki sauce. Yeah, it had Teri sauce. That's the classic I grew up with those sandwiches.

Was it a burger or was it chicken? I think it was a burger. I think they had like burgers and they had like a, like a Hawaiian hotdog or something like that in the as sauce too. Yeah. . Oh, that's a good answer. It's a big one, but good answer. I like the fact that the first two questions are about food. This is, this is easy.

I got this . Thank you brother, I appreciate it. Karen St. Pierre. Hi Lou. Hi. My name is Karen. I've been listening since just before show 500, but my question it's sadly not about food cuz I knew there would be a ton of food questions, so I didn't wanna have something that was going to be [00:10:00] repeated. But other than Wal Disney World or Disneyland what was the thing that brought you to love Disney?

Cuz I'm gonna show you something I know listeners won't be able to see, but I have a Bambi album. I have Lady in the Tramp and these ones open up in her books. But this one right here was a small world, it's Disneyland. I just remember listening to this album over and over and over again, and looking at the pictures.

And falling in love with Mary Blair's work. So that's, you know, when you asked me the question Karen, that's actually the first thing that I thought of, right? I was going to go to the music because I, I keep thinking back to growing up, but it's an extension of what I think the correct answer is, which was, you know, I think for a lot of us growing up, Disney was very much a part of our lives, even if it wasn't going to the parks, but it was watching the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday or going to a Disney movie, like for me, with my parents and with my little brother, and that's where sort of our, not just my individual, but our sort of familial love of Disney came to be.

I think the music is, is definitely a, an emotional extension of that. But that, watching those movies and, and getting together literally like, you know, like we're at Carello progress, like gathering around the TV to watch as a family and then going to the movies and then eventually going to. The parks over and over and over again as a family is really sort of what fostered my, my love of Disney as a kid growing up.

For so many years, I would sing the song and go, do you remember this ride that had the song, if you had wings? If you had wings? And nobody knew what I was talking about until I found this group and I said that. And they're like, oh yeah, that was, you know, the Eastern Airlines, you know, if you had wings ride.

But you said, wonderful world of Disney. And that was the other thing. seeing Michael [00:12:00] Eisner did the little introductions like Walt used to. I don't think I realized that Walt was dead. . Yeah, I'm, I'm obviously much older than you, so I remember seeing the, the reruns, I remember seeing the reruns with, with Walt Disney.

And that's sort of what, that's what I grew up with, so. And listen, if you love and know the words to, if you had wings, then you clearly are in the right group. Karen Goki yours is the next hand I saw. Go. Two Karen's in a row. Watch out everybody. . So Lou, I've been listening to you, I think must have been 2010, 2011.

And the first time we were driving a Disney World from Indiana. I'm in Carmel, Indiana, and one of my good friends said, oh, you need to listen to my favorite podcaster Luella. I'm like, okay. And we didn't. It was a top 10, I forget which one it was with little Timmy Foster. And we just fell in love and we've been listening ever since.

But my question for you is, one of the things that I've enjoyed a lot is listening to you talk about your family and you know, the kids and your dad and your mom and your experiences through the park, and just how much of an influence that's been on you. So my question is, if you could have a day in the park with your dad knowing, I know, I'm sorry, and I make you cry , but knowing so much of everything that has changed and involved, what would you want him to see?

And we'll throw it in there and taste. Whew, man. Going right for the water. Works like 10 minutes in. You know, it's a really interesting question because, you know, as we get older and our parents get older and, and, you know, time moves on and, and there's this transition that happens sort of unknowing for, for a lot of of children who go from being the child to becoming the caregiver for their parent.

And it really changes your perception on a lot of things. And I had to do that for my dad. I had to do that for my mom. And now if he was able to come back or if they were able to come back for a day, [00:14:00] I, I wouldn't be going as the child anymore. I would be going sort of not as the caregiver, but as sort of the person who, instead of him taking me around Disney, I would be the one taking him around Disney.

Oh, you aren't gonna make me cry.

Because I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. Right. Mm-hmm. , and

it did, wouldn't even matter like where we went or what we rode, or dare I say, even what we eat. Although I would take him to boathouse. Just being able to, to walk that park with him the way that he did with me and my brother. I, I would give anything for that, that's a great question. And I'm sorry, I got I'm sorry, I didn't, I wasn't expecting that.

So yeah. Thank you for that. I ne I never sort of really thought about what that would be like, so. Although Dad, I'm sorry, I could not put you on my shoulders the way you did , when we were, somehow, I have a picture of my dad. He has me in, in one arm and he has my brother who's six years younger than me on his shoulders walking around tomorrow.

Land in what I have to imagine is incredibly oppressive heat. I'm assuming it's 1976. Cause we all have these funky 1970s red, white, and blue hats on. So yeah. So thank you very much for, for that question. Lisa Murro Glassner, you too. Have your hand up. I do Lisa Genito Glassner from the Castle Run.

Lou, I've been listening to you since I guess 2014 now which seems crazy, but used to keep me company on my horrible commute to my law firm when I would be on 4 95 for hours on end. So it's been a while. I have so many questions, but I think so you've done 700 shows now. And looking back, I have some guesses on an answer, but looking back, can you tell us about what show or interview you were most nervous about going in?

I think, I think I was [00:16:00] probably most nervous, and it, it, it, it may seem overly obvious, but I think I was most nervous for Julie Andrews because she was the person that. I felt you didn't need to be a Disney fan to know who she was. Right. Richard Sherman, who it was like, it's like interviewing your grandfather's, like the nicest man on the planet and he means something to us, right?

Because we're Disney fans. But when I first interviewed him back on show 80 again, it was before, even before he was sort of, out in the forefront, thanks to Disney and, and D 23 and, and events like that. But Julie Andrews, who when I reached out, I never thought I would have a chance to get her people told me I had like 15 minutes max.

And I think, you know, 45 minutes later we were still chatting. I literally remember I was living in Naples in a rented house, . I had taken one of the extra bedrooms, which was incredibly echoy due to the high ceilings. I literally hung on the walls to give a sense of behind the scenes. I hung on the walls huge blankets and like moving blankets to try and deaden the echo.

And when I knew that I was going to be. To speak to Julie Andrews. I cleared the house like I gave my family 20 bucks. I'm like, go get something to eat and don't come back until I call you. And I had like seven different recording devices going just in case cuz I didn't want to lose it because it's a, you know, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity.

And I, I to, to make reference back the sort of the, the lawyer in me. I, I always think it's, it's so important to be prepared and if you're gonna have a guest on your show, you better believe, like, you have to be incredibly well prepared, right? To show them the respect of them giving you their time. So I, I prepared a lot for the show to, to, to talk to her, try to be as professional as, as possible until the very [00:18:00] end when we sort of stopped recording.

And I just, you know, fanboyed a little bit and I won't do my Julie Andrew's impression again because I'm sure I've done it on the show before. But when she said, oh no, I just, my little brains fell outta him. I can't help it. It's like my favorite story. Cuz that was a one, like, I could tell my mom, I, I interviewed Julie Andrews and she would know exactly who I was talking about.

So that was a, like, I can't believe I got to do that moment. So can I quickly follow up and ask, like, with the passage of time and experience and people that like we've lost along the way, alive or dead, is there any interview that you wish you could go back and revisit or sit down with the person again?

So I will edit. I think everything that we go through is, is a lesson ages ago and, and forgive me that I don't remember what year it happened. I was able to track down thorough ravenscroft and it was very, very difficult cuz it was, again, it, it was almost like pre-internet. Like there was no sort of way to easily find it.

But I did, I found out where he was and I was able to, Speak to his caregiver, his nurse who, whomever it was, and arrange time to speak with him like seven or eight days later. And after I had spoken with her, he passed like three days after that. And I will always like, you know, strike while the iron's hot.

My father used say, eat your macaroni while it's hot. Like, I'm, I'm so, you know, I'm so sad that I didn't get that opportunity to capture his voice and share it with other people. And again, to talk to somebody whose work I just loved and appreciated so much. So record everything. Record everything because you don't know if you'll get a second chance.

So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Elizabeth Kinten. Hey Lou. Hey everybody. My name's Elizabeth. I have been. Getting email updates from Lou since 2007. And I've been in the [00:20:00] Facebook group for I think, as long as it existed, but I only started actually listening to the podcast about a year and a half ago, and I listened to all of them in about a year.

So they're all very fresh for me. And my question was, that's a lot of Lou Woo. In fact, a lot of, Lou, I have a very long drive, so it didn't seem so bad. But my question is, when you first started your partnership with Miss Becky Macon, did you expect for it to be this long? And well, important , man, there's so many ways I can enter this.

And Becky's literally like shooting daggers. Like, okay, Ello, let's hear what you have to. I, I remember the moments that I first met Becky and sat down and spoke with her on a table off to the side at an event up in the Northeast. That was sort of the beginning of a conversation that I had. And, and I will tell you that that incredibly fortuitous meeting and conversation with Becky led me to have one of the most difficult conversations I've ever had to have because when I met her I was dating somebody else.

Meeting I had I was working with another, another travel agent who was very nice was very, very kind to me and had a great relationship. But when I talked to Becky and, and. You know, dug a little bit deeper in conversations with her. I saw that there was not just great opportunity in terms of things we can do together, but a great, hopefully long-term partnership that we could have.

And I, and I explained that to her and I told her, you know, I'm seeing somebody right now, but if things change and you know, I'm a very loyal person. I'm a very, very loyal person. And I literally remember being at work. I used to be the, the The Chief Technical Officer for a medical imaging company when I was still living in New Jersey and I closed the door to my office and I shut all the blinds.

And, and I, I was talking about being nervous. I was sweating. I [00:22:00] had such nerves calling her and explaining to her that I, I needed to, you know, move on. I, I found someone else and I was crying like I was crying because she was a, she was a good partner, but I knew that Becky and the way she does business and who she is, and I have to pretend that Becky's not here.

I literally can't look at her. I knew that the person that she was and the way that she does business would not only be mutually beneficial in the short term, but I really, I just had, you know, sometimes you meet somebody and you just have a feeling that it's the right thing to do. And as difficult as that conversation was a lot of the things that have happened since that time, And today wouldn't have happened without my relationship with Becky.

So it was all worth it. And I'm not gonna even ruin it with a joke. , she, Becky's in shock. Maybe this, wait, is she crying? No, no, she's not crying, but she's, she's in shock. Thank you for that though. Thank you. What year was that? That's gotta be 2008, right? Becky? Is it, is it 2007? Eight, somewhere around there.

I think it's two, maybe 2007. It has to be 2007 or I think it was seven. I think it seven. Six was when we talked. Yeah, seven was when seven was happened because we did our first cruise, I think in 2008. Maybe eight? Yep. Mm-hmm. . Wow. It's been almost 15 years since our first cruise. I know. Isn't that amazing?

That's crazy. Talk about not knowing where certain decisions and, and choices might lead. I never could have expected so. Well, when was episode one recorded? of the show February of 2007. Wow. Yeah, and again, that's not including the old, the, the mouse tune show that I had done before that, which I did starting in spring of 2005.

So it's, it's coming up on 18 years of, of podcasting, which is funny, like when I go to conferences, like I go to podcast conferences and I'll be talking to people and I'll, and [00:24:00] you know, say, oh, when did you start podcasts? Like, oh, I started back in 2005 and I Oh, you mean 2015? I'm like, no, man, I mean, 2005.

Like, I know I'm the old man in the room. So again, even with shown one, I, I never could've I never could've expected. So Matthew Wooey. Hi Lou. How you doing? Hi everyone, I'm Matt Wooey. I'm from, I'm another Jersey guy. So I wanted to ask Lou a question about. I know on a lot of our nation calls, we always talk about certain things you miss from back home.

What's one thing, one jersey thing that you would want to bring down to Walt Disney World and where would you put it? So I would've said bagels, but we're starting to get some good bagel places, right? They've got the right water. They're doing it right. They're literally like importing the water down here.

They have pork roll and it's like five minutes away. So it's not, it's sort of inside the bubble. That being said, well, they still don't have balis. They don't know what a Bali is down here, , and there's a couple of, and there's no like, and only maybe if it's only a, a, a northeast thing, so you might get it, you might not.

There's no like Italian pork store that you can go and get sandwiches and, and freshly slice sliced meats and cheeses and, and like the wet regatta ball. Oh my God, it's so good. And, and now that I'm thinking about the holidays, this is like when you would normally go and there's no like really good Jewish deli down here.

You would think with so many people migrating from the northeast, they would be everywhere. But I guess everybody is retired. That being said, I would love just, we don't get a lot of fall and winter down here anymore, but if we could get like, just a couple of weeks of fall, maybe some leaves changing color every so often, it would be nice.

It would be nice. Oh, right. But yeah, I don't, you know, I had great memories growing up in New Jersey, but I will tell you that when I moved down here, And actually when I moved, cause I was in Naples first for a couple years and then after my, my father [00:26:00] passed, then I, they moved up here. Cause I was still four hours away from where Walt Disney World was.

When I moved to where I am now, which is, and it's not just because I'm behind the castle, but to be perfectly transparent, this is the first place in my life since I was a little kid, that

it's the first place that I felt like I really belong. And that it's where I was supposed to be. And there was a moment when I came here and, and I found this area and I found like a church and I found all the things that were important to me. And I'm like, this is where I'm supposed to be. And it is, this is the most comfortable I've felt since, since I was a little kid.

So, thank you. Thanks though. Yeah. Dan, do you have another question? Yeah, I do, sir. Kind of a throwback. Our family moved down from Jersey as well six years ago. I was just searching my Gmail to see the first instance of Luman, jello . We were Facebook friends July 26th, 2008. Wow. I had gotten married that fall to my now wife's and it's just, it's funny cuz I haven't, unlike Elizabeth, I haven't listened to every episode I fully admit.

There's some gaps in the history as the kids have, you know, taken over. But you know, I, one of our comment threads back then was talking about Gary, meeting him at the wine library, Gary V Yeah. So I'm sure Gary and many others have been an influence on I ob you're your own man, and, you know, Gary has his own war zone at all too.

But like, what other influencers or, or people in the social space as they've built kind of a personality and, and a group around them, have you taken influence from who's really inspired you on your journey, even outside of the Disney space and why? So, it's interesting because, you know, so first of all, the word influencer wasn't even a word back then, right?

Like, it just wasn't, it wasn't a thing, just like the word social and media weren't together. I first met Gary at a conference. We were both speakers at a conference in Las Vegas. . God, it's gotta be. That's awesome. [00:28:00] 2006, seven, somewhere. And I remember being in the audience and watching this guy on stage and how dynamic and authentic and genuine he was.

And I ended up finding out later that we actually grew up like a couple of miles from each other. In, in Edison, he was in Edison, I was in Plainfield, but like right down the street from one another. Sure. And there was something about his genuineness and his passion. And then obviously Gary became Gary.

I read his book multiple times and it really sort of spoke to me and crush it. Which one was it? Crush It. Yeah. The very first one. And then, and then he had jab, jab, jab after that. Yep. But I had met him, you know, a couple times and spoken to him a a couple times and I, I, it probably had more.

seeing what he was doing and this thing that he loved or, you know, he talked about wine, I talked about Disney, but they were sort of yeah. Parallel in a way, right? Talking about this thing that we loved and just having your own style and, and way to do it. Obviously Gary and I talk very differently, about the things that we talk about, but, but it comes from an authentic place of exactly passion.

You know, in terms of other influences. I was, I just had this conversation with somebody the other day, and I know that this is like the lame answer, but it's true. I never realized what an influence my parents were. And what I mean was not as my mother and my father, but my fa my parents always were, and I didn't realize it at the time that they were always entrepreneurs.

Right. Which I didn't know even what that word meant, cuz when I was a kid, if you were an entrepreneur in air quotes, you were a bum. It meant that you were unemployed. . But, you know, my dad was an attorney. My mother ran my Yeah. Uncle's, you know, neurosurgical practice with, you know, mul. But they always had something going on aside.

Right. And this is, I think mm-hmm. where I learned about entrepreneurship without realizing I was learning about it because they had an antique store. They had a store in the flea market. They had a bagel store, they [00:30:00] had all these different things going on on the. and it wasn't about the money, right? They just loved doing these things.

So I spent every weekend in the flea market and I spent every vacation in a car going across the country, sitting in front of antique stores for hours at a time doing estate sales. But I was learning about what entrepreneurship was without them ever sitting me down saying, this is entrepreneurship. And, and two, you know, Walt Disney is the ultimate entrepreneur.

You know, the $40 and a and a, you know, and a suitcase is the ultimate entrepreneur, passion driven, not give up story. So if there are influencers in my life that's , you know, those are probably the people that I would, would call had the most influence. Awesome. Great question, man. Thank you. Jeremy.

Hello everyone. I'm Chapel. Been listening to the podcast for several years, but only got involved on the Facebook group probably in the past year, year and a half. My question is I was wondering what attraction in Walt Disney World do you think you have? Probably the most personal connection with or most sentimental connection with.

So maybe it's not even your favorite ride, but I take it like I get on the carousel of progress and it takes me back as a kid with my parents, just cuz my mom really liked that one. So I guess the question is what attraction really would do that for you? You know, that's a great question. Because on one hand I think about my kids and the first time I took my kids and through no pre-planning of our own.

Both of their first attractions that they rode was Pirates of the Caribbean and one if not both slept through most of it, which fine, it doesn't matter cause it was more about for us than for them. Then I go back to thinking about going with my parents or going as I was [00:32:00] growing up, again, things, attractions that aren't there anymore are seem to be the ones that that pop into mind first.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, like we loved if you had Wings. My dad loved that attraction, not just because it was free. But I can hear that song playing in my head. I can see that grainy video of the fishermen and the fish that kept on growing and shrinking and the speed tunnel and all of those different scenes and coming out, and it, this memory is vague at best, but when you came out of, it's a it's a small one.

When you came out of, if you had wings, there was an Eastern Airlines Travel Agency kiosk there because they wanted you to sort of come out and be like, whoa, we can travel to all these exotic Destin destinations. Let's just book it right here. It's like a bounceback offer on Disney cruise line without actually going on Disney Cruise line.

And they gave you wings. They gave you like pilot wings. So, Those attractions, I guess, that aren't there anymore, may be the ones that I remember going on most, although, very quick story. Does anybody remember for a very brief period of time in the haunted mansion, , sorry, mom in the Haunted Mansion when you get to the endless hallway, there is a suit of armor that's standing there for a very, very, very short period of time.

Maybe it's my mother's fault. There used to be somebody in that suit of armor, right? They had a real person in that suit of armor that wouldn't actually touch your vehicle, but would sort of like jump out and move. I don't know how sort of authentic or manufacture this memory is of my mother making sure when we got out of the attraction, she needed to have a conversation, which I don't know, maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, but I, I do remember my mom not reacting well to the person coming out.

Sorry again, mom, but. That's what I recall. So Chris, [00:34:00] hi Chris Altra. I've been listening since 2008, 2009, and was just wondering what, what podcasts do you listen to or what do you recommend? So I will tell you that and I'll explain why. So I don't listen to any other Disney podcasts. Not because I don't like and appreciate the work that other podcasters do.

It's been fascinating for me to watch how. . Back in 2005, there was maybe two three of us that had started in the Disney podcast space, and obviously it has exploded exponentially, which I love because I think there is a voice for everyone, not just to share, but a voice for everyone to sort of, you know, I think you resonate with different hosts for different reasons.

So I love the fact that there is a wide variety of content and content creators to choose from, but I don't listen to other Disney podcasts and it really is, is for two reasons, three reasons. One No one can ever accuse me of stealing an idea or a topic or an opinion because I just don't listen to anybody else.

And it's not anything intentional about any podcast or specifically, I just don't listen to other Disney podcasts. One for that reason. Two I don't, you know, the only time I listen to podcasts is in my car. I don't spend a lot of time away from my desk. I'm not in my car that often. And when I do three, when I do listen to other podcasts, they're usually business related or completely unrelated entertainment wise.

So I'll listen to business entrepreneurship. Sometimes I almost called it a book on tape, sometimes an audible book. For a while, I would listen to a couple of different podcasts about lost the TV show Lost. It was because that is and was sort of my mental sort of escape and break. So I know when I would go and pick up my kids from school, which I don't do anymore, which is why I'm not my car as much.

That's the kind of stuff that I would [00:36:00] listen to, but I would also sort of give me sort of a mental respite from thinking about Disney all the time.

Did that answer your question without being specific? It did, and I wasn't anticipating looking for Disney podcasts. I was thinking what, what ones do you listen to? Like the, the entrepreneurial ones? Is there anyone in particular that you do listen to? You know, it's funny because I don't have one in particular because I, I, I, I bounce around a lot because ones that I listened to 5, 7, 10 years ago, didn't necessarily continue on.

Right. Pod fading is, is a real thing, and longevity sometimes is an issue for, for podcasters. In terms of having a show that can, you know, go 10 to 15 years. If I start, I'm afraid that if I start listening list listing one and that I don't list other, I'm gonna feel bad that friends of mine who are podcasters, like in the bid, in the business space I would, I would accidentally omit, but I, I will sh you know, I'll do, I will take a screenshot of the podcast I subscribe to and I'll post it in the clubhouse.

How's that? Sounds good. Thanks. Cool. Thanks brother. Stuart pos Hey Lou. And, and Nation friends. So I've been listening for a while. I don't know how long time has lost all meaning to me. My big question is, can you talk to how hashtag Choose the Good Came about and how it's affected your life and what you do?

That's a great question. I don't remember when I, I know that it was, I think it was either like a Wednesday night show or it was a podcast I was recording and I, I can't speak to what specifically prompted it, but I think it was, look, I'm, I'm a very positive person, not [00:38:00] just on the show and about Disney and things, but just in general and.

You know, sometimes we, especially we see it on, on social media, that there's just so much negativity going on and, and it's, it, it sucks the life out of people. It does for me. Right. I try and avoid that as much as possible because it does, it, it's an energy suck. All that negativity. And I realized over time and when it fell out of my mouth, which is exactly what it did, it sort of fell outta my mouth as I was on doing the show or, or doing the live.

Then I realized that, that there is good to find in, in almost anything, right? Not nothing is perfect, and I get that and, and I'm, you know, I sort of unapologetically maybe look at certain things with rose colored glasses, although I acknowledge when things are wrong and things aren't perfect, but if I'm going to, for example, spend my money to go to.

a restaurant, a movie, whatever. I, I'm, I don't wanna be miserable, right? I wanna try and find something good about it, whether it's the people that I'm with, something funny that happened, the drink, the appetizer, whatever. And I, and I sort of choose the good sort of happens, like I said, accidentally in terms of trying to find something positive in any situation.

Because I do believe that that, a, as, as toxic as negativity can be, I think that positivity has equal, if not more powerful ability to be contagious. And look, I know that me and my show and the way that I am is not for everybody. And I'm okay with that. Like, that's cool. And that's why I said earlier, Hundreds of different Disney podcasts is great because there's something and, and somebody for everybody.

But and who I am, I like talking about the things that make us happy about going to this place. And I, and you know, those of you that know me on a more personal level know that that's just the way that I approach things and, you know, I, I feel like I'm happier for it. So I'm not sure if that [00:40:00] answers the question.

I don't even know if I know the answer to the, to that question, but it's just an extension of this conscious and, and subconscious way that I, that I approach things. And, and hopefully it, it's had some sort of positive ripple effect on other people as well. I, real quick, I can actually say that for me, it is actually a get up in the morning, have to put on the, that hat of.

looking at the world through the choose the good lens, right? It's an active thing that you have to do, or else you just get sucked in by all the negativity. And I think choosing to sometimes distance yourself from negative people as hard as that might be is for me, that that works too. You know, or trying to help people that maybe are like that and, and maybe to see things a little bit of a different way as well.

So Caleb, Joshua Hill, you're back.

I gotta, I gotta on unmute. Oh, okay. Hi, I am Caleb, Joshua Hill. I'm from Spring Mountain, Pennsylvania. I've been listening to the show for about four years. So that, It's been, it's just been a ride. So it's really great listening, all of the podcasts. So my question is, what do you think about the a hundred years of Disney Magic or wonder for next year?

What is your thoughts on that? So, I'm, I'm really curious to see what Disney and D 23 3 and, and the, the company as a whole does My hope as a, as a Disney enthusiast and someone who has a love for this company that spans a very wide spectrum. I really hope, and I believe based on things that I saw at D 23 Expo, I really hope that we [00:42:00] don't lose sight of one thing, that it was all started by a man.

And that more attention is given to, I should say, I should have said Man slash men, that more attention is given to Walt Disney, the, the man, the father, the husband, the human being, and his brother Roy, who oftentimes does not get the attention and the credit that he deserves. It's, it's why we did a show about Roy.

I don't remember what number it was, because I think it's really important. So I hope that in addition to everything that, that the company has accomplished, In, in a remarkable hundreds of years that literally has changed the world as we know it, not just entertainment. I hope that attention is focused and more people learn and understand about Walt Disney and his brother Roy, and the, the people who got them from the $40 in a suitcase to, to where we are in 2023.

That's great. And my second question is, what is your favorite Disney theme park around the world? Caleb? My heart lives here in magic. In, in, in Walt Disney World, but man, oh man. Tokyo, Disney Sea is on just a different level. It is, it is a remarkable, remarkable place. That is, I think, some of the best.

Storytelling and placemaking that Disney has done anytime anywhere. And I'm gonna take this moment, Becky, to announce that we'll be returning to Tokyo. I don't know yet. Not yet. Not yet. Not yet. But we will, we will be Going back to, to, we did an adventures by Disney years ago as, as a, as a WW radio group, which, you know, to say was a life-changing trip.

I mean, really is, is not, it's not sort of hyperbolic, like it's true to learn not just about the country and the [00:44:00] people and the culture, but to see that park where, Nothing you see on a video, nothing you read about, nothing you hear about can really make you understand just how remarkable that place is.

Not just because of the Disney stories, but the, the, the culture and dare I say, the food and the unique variety of attractions and lands that are, that make up Tokyo Disney Sea specifically. It is, it is an incredible and incredible place. And I can't wait to go back cuz we didn't even get to see Becky.

We literally didn't get to see and do everything while we were there. No, not at all. We barely scratched the surface of, of Japan. And I think it's gonna take maybe one or two trips back at this point. But I shouldn't encourage you. , listen, lemme just mute Becky again and I'll give you dates as to when we're

No, not until we have a contract. You know how that goes. Plans, plans are underway, but we just don't know. Yeah. I hope to go one day to Tokyo, Disney, C and Tokyo, Disneyland cuz it's just, I mean, I listen to the music on YouTube and I, I see pictures and videos and it's fantastic. So I can't wait. One day I, I'll say one last thing, Caleb is, As much as I love and, and it's the music of my childhood, right from the, the Sherman brothers in, in the theme parks and, and attractions and, and movies.

I think, and I'll have to do, we'll have to talk about this at some point in, in some context, but I think Compass of Your Heart by Alan Macon from the Sinbad Adventure Traction, maybe the single most beautiful piece of Disney music. Mm-hmm. moving. The lyrics, and if you can find it on YouTube, and it's very easy.

Look up Alan Minkin, D 23 Expo, Japan. He sings in English. Compass of your heart. If you don't cry, something's wrong. [00:46:00] Because it is an absolutely beautiful, inspiring piece of music that I, I really wish more people knew and, and heard. So definitely go and check it out. So thank you. All right, Brian Kerschner.

Hi, Brian Kerschner from round Lake, Illinois. I wanna say congratulations on 700 shows and I started listening probably around 20 16, 20 17 with so many shows. Is there one or two that is most memorable, memorable to you?

You know, they're like children, Brian. They're all memorable to me. some more memorable than others. It, you know, it's easy to go to. Some of the interviews because they're, they're people whose work I had admired. Going back to, you know, I think the first interview, I think the first interview I did was it, it was either Charlie Ridgeway or it was Michael Broy.

I'm like, show 3, 4, 5, 6, somewhere around there. And the people that I have had occasion to meet and get to know and befriend has been beyond my wildest expectations and dreams. Like not just as the creator of, of the, the content on the podcast, but as a Disney fan. Having been able to, to get to know some of these people has been remarkable.

And I won't, I won't drop names, but I'm sure you can sort of piece together some of those people. In terms of other shows, you know, I, I will say I always love ones where. We get to record them live something like this. But when we get to record them live in person, because when I say that the show is not just for you, but it's by with and about you.

I love being able to, and that's why I wanted to do this. Cause this, this is not about me, it's about the show and the community that you have all created. I, I love having different voices and, and contributing. Man, I don't know. That first show though was six minutes of torture. But [00:48:00] other than that, I can't remember.

I, I can't sort of speak specifically to any other ones that cuz again, if I start mentioning one, then I'll feel bad if I don't mention others. All right. Anybody else? Ray, you got another question? Yeah. Kind of a follow up to Lisa's question. Your, your interviews are usually s are, are, are so thorough and well researched and professional.

Outside of maybe the Julie interview, is there anybody that you interviewed that you were worried about Fanboying on?

I don't think so because. I, I take what I do, like, look, we talk about Disney World and Disney Parks, but I take what I do very, very, very seriously. And I hold myself to a very high standard one because my name is attached to it. And two, because we're talking about a company that holds itself to the very highest of standards, right?

We have expectations of, of what the standards of Disney are. So trying to be professional is, is of paramount importance. That being said, all right, and please understand, I'm only answering this this way because of the question that you asked. . Again, this is not about me, but I've had remarkable opportunities as, as a result of, of this, and I've made friends who are my friends for life.

Again, growing up I did not have a lot of friends and never thought that I would have a, a circle of friends like you and, and other people in the community. And one of the most remarkable experiences I ever had was being invited out to a press junket for Avengers Infinity War out in California.

And I like, couldn't believe I was there. I couldn't believe I got invited. I couldn't believe. I was like, don't Beverly Hills in this crazy hotel. And I, I walk in and I'm just, I'm giddy. I'm like a five year old and, and I'm just gi. and I get there and I put my little like backpack and my little rolling suitcase, and I get in the elevator and I'm going up to my, [00:50:00] just wanted to go to my room and, and drop off my stuff and go walk around and, and I stop on a floor and the door opens and it's Chadwick Bozeman.

And kind of drawing blanks on the, it, it's Chadwick Bosman and Chadwick and my God, why am I blanking on Loki's name? . Tom Hiddleston. Thank you. Chatter Willman. Tom Hiddleston and oh Paul Beany. Were in the elevator, by the way. They're all incredibly tall. Not just cause I'm so, and here's me like on the side of the elevator now I'm like holding my bag like really close to me.

Like I don't want to even like invade their space and they're just like chatting away, like being all handsome with their great accent and all that. And I'm again. I'm trying to be professional, not like hey, I love the movies. And the door opens. No. So, oh, sorry. It was Tom Hiddleston and Paul Beany and the elevator opens and Chadwick Bozeman is standing right there, like in front and they're all like, Hey, whatever.

And they're like hugging and here's me and I'm trying to like squeak by them, like with my little bag, like trying to just get. my room. It was really hard not to fan. Were there and my son still yells at me after I dropped off my bag. I want got back in the elevator. I just wanted to go get something to eat and I get in the elevator and who gets on?

But Tom Holland, so it's me and Tom Holland and Tom Holland's like. Dude that he's with and he's just like hanging out, talking about like his pants. There's this like slow motion moment. I like, I wanna sort of fanboy and I wanna like take a selfie and I wanna be like, Hey, I love you as Spider-Man and like be like the five year old nerd.

And I didn't cuz I was trying to be somewhat professional. My son still to this day gives me grief about not saying something to Tom. That was actually one of the funniest text strings I've ever received from you one after another after another of you won't believe who I just met or saw. You won't.

It was hilarious and [00:52:00] I knew that that's where you were going when you started that story. I, I still to this day, like it was an incredible opportunity. Again, doesn't happen without all of you. Like that does not happen without, Your support and, and for the show. And, and that was a moment I, I won't forget.

So Becky Macon, do you have your hand raised? I do, because I have a question. Sweat, I'm literally sweating right now. Go ahead. And I, I'm gonna be good. I'm gonna be nice to you because I'm actually very curious about this. I'm not going to, I know you, I know you too well, so I can't just say one, but I wanna know from you up to three, we've had, well first let me back up.

Thanks Elizabeth for that question earlier to earlier. That really takes me back on the journey that Lou and I have had over the years. And I was looking back in the email and yeah, it was 2008 and I found the actual original email after we had our first conversation and it's there. And our first cruise was in 2009.

We've had this wonderful opportunity to do a lot of amazing things with the W DW Radio Ohana, and we've done a lot of trips. We've gone to several places around the world. We've done a, a ton of cruises. I'd like to know up to three of your favorite moments, not destinations, but moments that you can remember from those trips that had an impact on you and why.

Oh, man. So when you, when you throw the qualifier of impact mm-hmm. , right. It sort of changes the, the, the question and my answer a little bit. Okay. Because when I think of impact, there's, there's sort of impact on just a personal level, right? Standing on the Great Wall of China is an impactful experience, right?

Being in the center of the forbidden city in, in China is an impactful. [00:54:00] Experience different than

going on a cruise and being in a room with 500 people that you can call your friend. That's impactful for a different reason, right? I was a kid who had no friends. That's impactful to me. And again, it's not, I don't know how to articulate it, like it's not about the number of people, but it's that we as a community can come together and do these things together. Even just like from an outsider looking in, like watching people come together and friendships and relationships form.

That's incredibly impactful to me because if I had a small hand in helping people find their people, Man, like that's, you know, that's impactful beyond me. It's impactful to, to those people in a positive way. Impactful moments of things that we've done together.

Gosh, it's hard, right? It's hard. It is. It's hard. It's really hard. It's meant to be hard. I'm not trying to throw you a softball. You could have, you could have like fed me this question ahead of time, . Because again, I, I think about, again, from a personal perspective, the places that I have been able to go and see and the things I've been able to do.

with my friends, like with you. Like you're not just a partner, you're a friend. But being able to do those things together is impactful for me. But I try and think not about me. I think about, you know, how it impacts the community as a whole. It's why I thought about the group events and, and stuff that we get to do like that.

Like being able to create experiences for people that they wouldn't have had otherwise, being able to. Help. When I talk about the, the building of the clubhouse metaphor, like it's true. [00:56:00] It, I, I've had nothing to do with bringing people together other than helping to create a place and foster a sense of community that you populate and you make the relationships and you make that community flourish.

Like, that's impactful for me because I can step back on the outside and look in and watch conversations happen that I have nothing to do with. And that, that's impactful for me because I hope that it's impactful for the people who are participating, if that makes any sense. Okay. So follow up to that then.

Oh, aside from, I kidding. The antique story. It's impactful. Forget, it's the imp it's the antique store in Japan. Oh my God. I love that moment so much. . I wanted that katana so bad and I couldn't find it. Looking at it a different way then if I say W g w radio group trips that we've done together, what immediately pops into your head as a memory or, you know, something that you, that immediately dawns on you is something that you'll always remember from one of those trips?

You know, China pops into mind first because it's a place I, I never would've gone otherwise. I, I really don't think I ever would've gone to China and, and being able to do those things like the Great Wall and the Forbidden City ever. Had it not been for the community and you and Adventures by Disney? I just wouldn't, it, it just never would have happened otherwise.

It's the same thing with Italy coming up in, in March. Mm-hmm. a trip that I've waited my whole life to do, and that's not me exaggerating. My dad always wanted to go. My mother didn't fly. They never built the bridge in between New Jersey and Rome, so he never got to go. It is, it has been a, a bucket list trip for me personally.

Like to see certain things, like to go to the Vatican and to go to the Sistine Chapel is something that I have felt that I've needed to do for a long time. But to know [00:58:00] that I'm going to complete the trip that my dad never got to do is meaningful, meaningful for me as. That's amazing. And two more really quick, cuz I'm gonna, you know, be here for a second.

what is the funniest moment from one of those adventures that we've had that you can, that I can share, share on the show that I can actually, that I can share on the show? Yes, you can share . Oh man. Gosh, the funniest moments cuz there, there's, there have been so many and sometimes they're funny in hindsight.

So you probably thought it was hysterical in the moment. I did not. But I know you love the picture of the very first D 23 expo when we had no idea what to expect. I had a booth. You had a booth. We literally, like the Berlin Wall, we tore down the wall in between our two booths, which were next to each.

Nobody knew what D 23 Expo was. I was still involved with Celebrations Magazine at the time. I tried to find out how many people were going to expo. I, I was able to sort of pull out a number from them. That was not the right number. It was for one reason or another it was way higher. So we ordered and shipped thousands and thousands of magazines to D 20 Expo.

Just a quick aside, celebration of magazine is such a high quality print publication. Magazines are very, very, very heavy. And they're very heavy to ship. Well, because the numbers were off and were not what we had anticipated, not in terms of selling magazines cause I was giving them away, but in terms of the number of people who were actually in attendance, when the when the, the convention center company brings your boxes out from where they store them when the convention is over and it's time to pack up and.

There's a picture of me sitting on the floor with feigning a smile, and I'm literally, it's like I'm at [01:00:00] CHIA because there's a giant pyramid of boxes of celebrations, of magazines. It's not funny. Thousands of celebrations, magazines piled up behind me. Like, it's the pyramid of Giza and you know, they're expensive to ship one way.

They're even more expensive to ship back. And we, we had to sort of make a call and decide that it was literally, it was less expensive to dispose of the magazines than it was to ship them all back. It was a very sad moment. I, I don't, I'm having a little PTs d thinking about it, but that's the, I heard that one that popped in your head.

I was actually thinking about the trips we've taken, not, not the conventions, but I'll, I'll, I'll let you think on that and by the end of the show if you can come up with whatever that was. But finally, what is the n number one non Disney destination that's on your bucket list that you haven't been to before and does It's Egypt, you're not currently booked on Egypt.

Egypt, yeah. I want to see Egypt. I'm not gonna go into my whole ancient alien aliens. Right. I know I have to do a lot of research before we book that trip because No, I, I would love, I would love to go see Egypt, I, I'm fascinated by the, the, the, the history I in Egypt same thing in, in someplace like Greece because of the, of the historical aspects to it, same thing.

I, I would like to go to Central America and, and see you know, pku and, and, and some of the, the ancient, because again, aliens got it. I'm not mentioning aliens, but if Giorgio SLO was here, we won't be talking about aliens. Well, congrats on 700 episodes and thank you so much for taking me along on this journey because it's been amazing and I can't wait to see what we do next.

Well, it couldn't happen without you grace. Hey Lou, it's Grace Corba. I just wanted to say thank you for sharing all the magic with us. I've been listening to you for 11 years now, and I, I just can't believe it's been that long. But thank [01:02:00] you. And my question is, what is that special space or attraction in Walt Disney World that you find yourself returning to after all these years?

That space where you know, you're in the presence of magic? Ah, that's a great question. And because you phrased it that way, it, it alters my answer a little bit because I have spaces that I like to just go to. It's not gonna, it's no surprise when I talk about going to the Japan Pavilion and Epcot sitting among the bamboo forest and, and hearing the music and the, the waterfall on the koi pond and looking down at the promenade is, is one of my favorite places in, in a Disney theme park anywhere.

But there's something special about Magic Kingdom, and there is something special about finding a spot on Main Street and watching the world go by a little bit. And I, I'm an observer more than anything else, and I love watching the dynamics of families. I love seeing the expression on people's faces. I love watching big, strong, tough dudes walk in with their daughter dressed as a princess on their shoulder and.

Ball and just weep at the sign o of the castle because there is something special about this place. And I will, I will wave that flag hard till the day I die. As many times as I've been, I still think, especially in Magic Kingdom, there is something, it's called Magic Kingdom for a reason. And maybe I am a total crazy person and, and nerd and that's fine.

I, I embrace it. But sitting on Main Street and, and hearing the horse drawn carriage go by and that ragtime music and the castle off in the distance and Walt and his window and all that, there's, there's something special right there.[01:04:00]

Thank you. And the boathouse. Now, who am I kidding? It's also the boathouse. And the chicken tenders on Disney Cruise line. But I, I'm, I'm, I'm digressing. Alright. Anybody else? Any other last couple questions? There's a couple I want to take from the, I'll give you a chance to raise your hands. Let me see.

I know you're not a sweet guy. I know you're not a sweet guy. Why there's a lot of those. Jim Zakreski. Zach Greski. I think that's it. Reflecting back on 700 plus shows, what was the aha moment that helped you pursue your passion for Disney and switching careers? I don't know if there was, there was a, I'm gonna answer these like rapid fire.

I don't know if there was a, there was a single moment, but there was a moment that I came to the realization that I needed to go from where I was in New Jersey to be where, what I. Do is like, I, I couldn't keep going back and forth from Orlando, I'm sorry, from New Jersey to Florida. Not just because it was ridiculous, ridiculously expensive, but I had, you know, a young daughter at the time and when I realized and, and said like, I think this is what I, I need to do.

And before my wife had the word yes out of her mouth, I was downstairs packing. Cause I didn't want to give her a chance to think about it too much. That was probably the single moment. Kevin Lively, he says, is the Greek grease tape real? It is a yes or no question. I will just say, yes, it is hermetically sealed and will come with me to my grave.

Jim Roski again, somebody who's been with me since the beginning. This is actually a great question. If and when you plan on retiring, what will happen to W D W Radio? Will the box be sent to the recyclers?

I as long as one person. So on one hand I say, as long as one person still listens, I, I will keep doing the show. But the honest answer, Jim, is the day that this stops being fun is the day that I stop doing it. There is no, that being [01:06:00] the case, there is no end in sight. I will probably, you know, I'll probably kill over in front, in front of this microphone that I've been using for the past, you know, 18 years because I still love this.

Like, I get get excited every week to do the show. I get even more excited for the live show on Wednesday nights. I get excited for the events that we do. I excited, I get excited to go to the parks, whether I'm going alone, doing research, meeting friends, going with my family, like it still means something to me and I still love every second.

I, I don't know what'll happen. To WW Radio. You tell me look, you tell me what happens. I, I don't. Everybody's like, well, is your son gonna take over? I don't think he has any interest or intent on doing so. So I don't know. I should need, I can need to consult an attorney. I don't know. , I don't know what happens to the show.

When I go, I would be interested to hear from you guys what should happen to the show when that now I'm worried, like, is something wrong with me? Like, does Jim know something that I don't know? Like, is this my farewell show? I'm looking at you on Zoom to see, you're laughing so you guys know something.

Karen is laughing hysterically so she knows something that I don't know. Let me see what is, wow. There's a lot of questions about, lot of questions about food and a lot of questions about Greece. What role did I play in Greece? On what day will the grease tea be released? I am Does that surprise you?

Really? I mean, let's think about this for a second. I'm not, I'm not asking. Lori and Montgomery are you okay when we come up? If you want to sell Lori, I, I'm a hugger. Bring it in. I'm selfies or I'm always I, yes. Where will I take my f Chandler Paint? What, what is the first Disney park and attraction you're gonna take?

Your grandchild, Chandler. I felt that one, like I'm having a slight myocardial infarction when you talk about my grandchild, please. My daughter's, my daughters only 19. You gonna make me cry? He says, I mean, it's gonna be several years from now, but let's start thinking about it. She goes to magic. He or she goes to Magic Kingdom and I don't know, maybe we go to, maybe we, we go to, to , to, to pirates, just because that's where my kids are.

When are [01:08:00] we going to visit Marcine? That, that, that group trip has been part of conversation. Did you re Becky May, did you really eat all 14,000 chicken fingers that were consumed on the Disney wish? No. All right. I'll come back to some of those. Gracie, you have another question, and if anybody else does, just raise your, raise your hand.

Maybe not. Grace just left her question her hand up. If anybody else on the call has any other questions, raise your hand. Bill, Danny says, can you teach someone to be an entrepreneur or does it have to exist in a person? Well that's a, that's an interesting question. Sort of obviously non-related to Disney, but sort of the other side of what I do.

I, I think, bill, I think it has to be something that is, that is in you, because I think, and when you're talking about being an entrepreneur, I, I think you're talking about taking a leap of faith and starting a business or leaving a job to pursue something that you are passionate about, because that's the key, right?

So you have to, it, it has to exist from a place of passion. You can't buy it, you can't manufacture it. And if it's not there, that thing that you want to do is gonna start to feel like a job and. Succeeding, however you define success, is very, very difficult because what you don't see is what a lot, what most people don't see.

They don't see the late nights, they don't see this financial stress, they don't see the early mornings. They don't see the sacrifices that you make because nobody needs to see that. Right? What they don't need to see how the saucers get made. But those things don't happen if it doesn't come from a, a place of passion.

So you can teach entrepreneurship, but you have to have something. You definitely need to have something inside. Top of my bucket list, not Disney related. Lisa Neuro Glasser, you have raised your hand once again. Well, I, I didn't wanna interrupt the questions from the rest of the clubhouse but I thought maybe a nice way to wind up or [01:10:00] a note to.

I don't wanna finish on, but to reconnect on is Becky talked, was talking a lot about, you know, group trips and special memories and things that you've done on group trips, but you know, you've kind of blazed this path for yourself and all of us you know, starting at the very beginning and have created so many different opportunities for yourself and your family.

And this just really cool things that you've been able to do along the way. So I'd just be curious to hear like, what is the one sort of opportunity or thing that's crossed your path that has come out of all of this that stands out the most to you? I think there has, I'm gonna answer your question in a, in a relatively circuitous manner because I'm thinking about it as a, i, I think what has happened has been completely unexpected.

Right. This all started with a personal challenge because I was always in the service business, right? I, I had an IT consulting company while I was practicing law. I had this idea for making a book. It, it was just a challenge. Can I write a book and can I get it published? I thought that was the complete end game.

And all these other secondary and tertiary and beyond have happened as a result from it on the Disney side. And as time has gone on, other businesses for me have developed as a result. In terms of You know, speaking professionally, not just sort of sharing my story on stage when I first started going to conferences to learn, but speaking consistently, not just at conferences, but working with businesses and, and going to schools, which I love cause I love sort of hopefully impacting and inspiring young kids as well.

But it's made me realize, right, because out of those things, the Momentum Workshop was born, the retreats were born, the the one-on-one coaching and all that stuff. So there's this other sort of side of my business and it's made me realize in hindsight that, and I didn't [01:12:00] recognize it at first, but this is what I think, that what I've always wanted to do is help.

When I practiced law, I was a plaintiff's attorney. I wanted to help people who needed help. I wanted to help people who were in trouble. I started doing it work because I wanted to help people be more efficient in their business by networking their computers, by developing a website, by being more effective in, in what they were able to do.

I wanted to help people by sharing this, this idea that you can turn that thing that you love into the thing that you do, and. Let me help you along the way, cuz I didn't have that, I didn't have somebody. Yes, my parents were incredibly supportive and things like that, but I didn't have anybody to help guide me through those things.

So the very long-winded, and I'm not even sure if correct answer to the question, was, I, I've learned that my, my goal and maybe the reason why, you know, God put me where he put me, was to help people in, in whatever way I am able to do that. Whether it was, you know, originally was trying to have a better experience when he got went to the Disney parks or, you know, be better in your business.

Or more importantly, I think I really wanna help people just overall in, in their, their personal life, not just in their business as well. Because as entrepreneurs, the two are so incredibly intertwined as I'm sure you know your business and your personal life and the happiness that can come from both.

That's about what I was expecting is my answer, so that's perfect. A part of me feels like you could have been talking about anything and this would've happened, like it's a, it works really well because it's, Disney has sort of a community and a, and a fandom and a, and a solid location where we can all come together.

But, you know, whether you were talking about like 1970s and 1980s stuff, or Disney or whatever it, it was, it, it feels like it could have [01:14:00] manifested in the same way because of what your underlying. Intent has always been. And, and it, I never realized it was my intent until later, right? Until sort of the, the hindsight being 2020.

So hopefully, you know, cuz somebody in, in, I'm trying to find it. I had copied a number of questions from the clubhouse and somebody had asked me a question, Jennifer Smith said, what is the legacy you wanna leave the world? Which is very heavy and it's very, very deep, but it's also very profound and I think it's important.

And as we get older, words like legacy start to creep into your, your mind and into into your vocabulary. And there's the legacy that I wanna leave, like for my kids in terms of hopefully what they have learned and, and what. What they will grow to become. And then there's a legacy from all this. And, and my, the, the, the simplest answer I can give is I just hope that I have had a, a positive impact on the lives of people that I've touched.

In, in whatever form that is. So and Dan says, Hey, don't kick the bucket anytime too. , don't kick the bucket anytime soon. I'm trying, I'm really trying. I'm eating healthy-ish. It doesn't matter. Becky said, we need to start planning show one 1000. Now I feel that heart attack coming again when you start to red show 1000, let me see.

300 times, sorry. Likes not that far away. Really, if you think about it, it's like six years. It's like six. Hey listen, it it from your lips to God's ears that I'm, I'm still here and, and anybody's still listening in, in in six years. Yeah, some of these, some of these are, are much longer questions that I'm not gonna have time to answer.

Like, why am I really not a sweets guy from Drew Pike? I think that's really, I think that's really it. And maybe, you know, maybe the legacy question isn't, is an appropriate way to. To sort of round out this, this q and a thing, which I, I hope doesn't come across as, as self-serving. I, [01:16:00] I, I really did it because so many people had have asked me over ti time and, and had posted in the group.

But because this show and, and this community is, is very much not about me, like. I, people ask Meem all the time, like, what's the show about? And I'm like, it's not about Disney. It's about people and it's about friends, and it's about extended family. And, and you know, people sometimes, especially when I go to conferences, ask me things about like numbers and stuff like that, and like, I don't care.

Like if you know me well, you know, like I don't know my numbers. I don't care about my numbers because I only care. I don't care about how many people are listening. I care about who is listening. I worry who is there and, and how I can help you and how I conserve you and, and what the show does for you.

And that you're there for the right reasons. And I, I just want, I just want you to know that, that. I, I put love into everything that I do. A and I mean that when I talk about our, our family, and that's what we are like, people always say like, you can't choose your family like your family chooses you. I I, I, I don't like they say, you can't choose your family.

And I, and I agree and I disagree because I think sometimes your family chooses you. And, and I feel like I have been chosen to be part of this incredible warm and loving and caring and thankfully drama free family. So thank you for, for choosing me and, and I always want WW Radio to not just be a, a a, a a safe and, and happy and welcoming and positive place and escape and.

To, to your question before, like long after I'm gone. I hope that it, I hope that the community that you built and that you'd nurtured can continue to bring people joy and maybe a little bit of inspiration. And without getting sappy again, I am profoundly, profoundly grateful [01:18:00] for the, the love and the gifts that you give me just by, just by being here and by being my friend.

So thank you, thank you, thank you. 700 show number one. None of this happens without you. I truly love and appreciate you. Thank you everyone who is part of the call from the WWE O Nation tonight. You don't know how much you, being part of that additional extended community means to me and listening.

Home in your car, wherever you are. We really are friends. And I, if you know me, you know that this is true because when we do it, it, it pays out. But we really are friends whether we have met yet or not. So thank you. Thank you, thank you. I, I love you so, so very much. And thank you. That's it.

That's all I got. There you go. That's it. And, and you only like cried a couple of times. That was pretty awesome. Let me tell you something. These I, I put nails under my desk and I just jammed my fingers into 'em. Whenever I feel I'm about to start crying. , some of those questions were good. You guys were really, really good.

Yeah, I you're like, oh, if we can make Luke cry, that's, I mean, I appreciate it. It's podcast Gold, so thank you for that. , I'm sorry. Thank you. Cry. I thought it was a risk, but I thought it was a good question. . No, they were great. A good question. They were, they were really, really very thoughtful and, and meaningful questions and, and I appreciate it.

I was trying to get in, when, when Ray asked about the interview question, I think it was after Lisa did what would be your. Like, cuz like I would love to hear you interview Eisner. Oh, I saw, I saw your thing saw. It's his bucket list. I meant to, yeah, I meant to, to say that in the, yeah. Eisner Eisner right now is my bucket list interview.

That's my bucket list for you too. Yeah, . And he doesn't really do interviews. There's like roundabout ways that you can do it, like, because he is got other stuff going on, but I, you know, I want to, I don't wanna talk to him about like, top baseball cards. I wanna talk to him about his time at Disney.

So hopefully one day the opportunity will present itself because I, I really, [01:20:00] he's another person who, you know, sometimes when you leave, people only remember the reasons why he left. They remember sort of the bad stuff at the end, and he did so. For this company, save this company. I, I would really, I would, yeah.

I would love to sit down with him. And you know, Neil Lou, I think with, he's been pretty quiet about Disney up until the, the Igar rehire. And I'm wondering if maybe it's more of a po It's, I'm wondering if we're getting closer to a possibility of you, of him being able to talk about that than he had been in the past.

Yeah. Because he'd been pretty quiet about Disney. It's like he just didn't, since he left anything. Yeah. Since he left, he's, he's really hasn't done anything up until recently. Yeah. So keep knocking, knock on that door. I'll put it this way. If I in, if, if, if I can interview Eisner be careful Manel, cuz somebody relax me, I'll say if I can, I was gonna talk about some sort of exchange for Eisner and Grease information, but I, I'm not ready.

No, I'm not ready to. I'm gonna start , start making phone calls. You know what I don't want start reaching out to people. I don't want that interview that bad. It's, it's, It's fun. Well, he's 80 moving on it. Isn't he like 80? Yeah, he's up there. Okay, so if you get that, you can recreate the grease tape. No, God no Live.

S No. Stop laughing at me. Andrew, I see you over there, . Yeah. No, nobody needs to see that. Becky, trust me, , you would be horrified if you do get to interview him. My, my number one question is, because I think he's the only one of all the the presidents of the company that have ever done Wonderful World of Disney and done that intro.

Oh, Wal, what was it like to step into those shoes? Well, he wanted to be Wal. Oh, wow. I mean, he wanted to be, you know, he, he, he was not just a creative, but he wanted to be the, the face of the [01:22:00] company, you know, which, right. Those who have followed him did not necessarily want to do the same way. So, by the way, Becky, you first appeared.

Becky, Becky first appeared on show number 68 on April 20th, 2008. I knew it was, it was in the sixties. I wasn't exactly sure where. Can we find that on the page? Please don't. Yes. Oh, it's there. Please, please. I should have, you know what? All the way, I gotta cue this one up and, and see, because it, she's so, feel as bad about my, she's so, she's so awkward and uncomfortable, like , because I didn't, I barely knew you and I was waiting for, like, I had no idea what you were gonna do or say, or ask me or put me in a corner.

And, and then I remember there was a point where you like, just gave me a zinger over something and I sat there thinking, do I respond to this? Or do what? How do I, do I just professionally pretend like I. That, that went over my head. What do I do? And then I got, kind of got back at you and that's where we were.

Wait, somebody, I just thought, I just thought about this. Somebody asked a question about events that we have done and memorable moments, and if you have to go, just sort of drop off. But in two 10 years, a little more than 10 years ago, being in New York and almost getting arrested because they thought that we were occupy Wall Street.

I thought you were gonna bring up something like that. But when I said the funniest or the, and you were just like, I forgot about that. I remember going to Bryan Park and it was me. It was like me and Tony, I think it was Tony, but it was like the two of us were like, we go there. Cause I didn't know who was gonna show up, right?

This is 2012. Like technology was different. And like we got a little bagel and we're like sitting like on the other side, you're recording am I, we're sitting on the other side of the park having a little bagel and, and I'm like, oh, this is fine. Like, nobody showed up. That's cool. And somebody comes over, he's like you're in the wrong [01:24:00] spot.

And I'm like, what do you mean? He's like, Lou, you're supposed to be, and we walk down there and there's like 250 people in Bryan Park and it's great. We're all having a great time. And then the police showed up like on horses and they thought we were occupy Wall Street and we didn't have a, it was, yeah, it was crazy.

That was fun. I was gonna, were you there Grace? I was, yeah. Yeah. Occupy Main Street, usa, Connecticut, and oh my gosh, I was so excited to meet Lou. And I saw these hundreds of people and I'm like, why is the police here? . . And then I dunno about this. And then we walked down to the Disney store and we sort of like occupy the Disney store, all of us.

Right. And they did like some storytelling. They didn't, they do like some story time or something in the Disney story under like the tree . Yeah. So funny. And then you went to the Broadway show. Did we? I don't remember. Andrew, what were you gonna say? What, what, what was your favorite cruise? Nu Cruise nuMe.

I, I mean, I think it was hanging out with Andrew on this past cruise, obviously. My favorite cruise, you know,

I have a lot of favorite cruise memories. Mm-hmm. . I, I mean, look, I hate to sort of see, keep falling back on, on Sherman. And there's, there's one, there's one I'm thinking of. There's one that you're thinking of. Now. I'm, now I feel like I need to mute Andrew. Like I several. That terrified me. There was a few, made me laugh.

There was a few, it, it was a stupid move. Like just deciding to like announce a 40 hour show without thinking about it. Yes. That was dumb. It was, that was the one that terrifi terrified me. I will say, when we were on stage in the Walt Disney Theater, and please, this is not about me, but I want you to sort of put yourself in this position when we're standing on the stage in the Walt Disney Theater and it was like, me, [01:26:00] you, I think Tony and Richard Sherman is rehearsing on the piano.

Yep. Like it's just so, alright. I, I take that back. I, I add to that when, and, and forgive me that it's like about a person, but cuz it's not when he sang Happy Birthday to my daughter mm-hmm. like that. And I reminder of that every single year. I thought you were gonna say the moment that you thought that I was rushing you off the stage and it turned into the roast, that sucked.

That was so dumb. That was, that was one of the best things ever. Oh my God. Glen's video. Glen's video. Oh my God. Come on. Glen's video was great. Your brother coming up and, and speaking so highly of you, . Yeah, and Tony And there was slides and, yeah, I think I was gonna say the Puerto Rico cruise when Andrew and me, Andrew and your mom.

After the, when we were in Puerto Rico and we were hanging out in the water together. You're right, you're right. That was nice. That was really, really nice. The Puerto Rico cruise was great. I loved Alaska. The Marvel Day at Sea Crews, like I love them all for different reasons.

Salmon in Alaska. The salmon in Alaska was crazy. Mm-hmm. . It was so good. Salmon, Alaska, it was so good. All of us just in that back corner. Yeah.

I couldn't believe we were all there. It was, it was amazing. Marvel Date Sea was great. Being a music person, the thing, the story that you tell that always gets me and I would do anything to be in that spot was when you said Richard Sherman took your children by the hand and they wa walked him to the theater.

I'm going, I can't even imagine if [01:28:00] I was in your seat. My god. Yeah. Watching him walk with my children. I mean, being a music person that just, they were so tiny too. . It's not even being a music person. It's just like, it's a, it's a, he's just such a good person. Like, he's just such a good, I, like, I knew who the Shermans were.

Karen, I didn't trust my parents alone with my kids, let alone anybody else. And I'm like, go ahead, Shermans, take my kids to the, to the theater. I'm, we were eating Indian, remember they brought Indian food. We were eating Indian food at the table. . That was a good cruise. But see, I, I know the Sherman brothers from outside of Disney.

So when I went to college, you know, I, I did a lot. I sang a lot of the Sherman songs in my repertoire. That was just the music that I liked. So then when I learned that they were the ones who wrote for Disney, when I got a little bit older, I was like, oh my gosh, no wonder I love this music, , because on these albums, it doesn't say the Sherman brothers, it says, the co it says Disney Music or if you look, you'll find it, it says The Sherman.

Cause I have a couple of those. Or I had 'em before I put 'em up on evening. Oh, you're right. Yep. It does the she Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. Yeah. But it says Wonderland Music Company like the, some of the other ones don't. But this was a small world one, so I'm, I will say, And these are hard because they're, they're so, they're so personal to me.

But like I, when, when I experience them, I share them because I, I know like you as Disney fans would appre like going to Alice Davis's house and seeing where Mark Davis worked and all this original art everywhere was nuts. Although I'm still freaked out. I remember like leaving and in her front hallway there was an original Mary Blair just sitting there like laying on the table.

I'm like, do you want this? Are you like, is this going in the [01:30:00] trash? Because I'll, I'm happy to sort of get this off your hands.

I remember watching, oh my God, what is his name in Alaska? Sitting there drawing a picture for every single person. Oh, Ron Kohe. Ron Coy. Thank you Ron Coy. Yeah. He's every single person and he was so happy to do what? Smile on. Right with the Yeah, I see everybody. He still thanks me for that. I'm like, Ron, you are the, I'm supposed to be thanking you.

The, the totem pole is my favorite piece of art. Yeah. You know, I think it's time we do Alaska again. Yeah. Who, who would wanna go to Alaska if we did it again? Look, Becky, there's like 10 cabins right here. Make it happen. Did you hear me say, yeah. Make it happen. Let's go. I'm all, I'm all in for Alaska again, I don't have to fly across the country for it.

20. And that's really what we're really, your convenience is really what was is on paramount importance. Well, you know, that's my favorite itinerary. I think 2024. I think 2024, like June, 2024 would be a perfect time.

I'm gonna say be, didn't Becky say you're booked out until like 2020? We have ideas to fill through 2025. And do you re you remember way back when there was a time when I said 2023 we're done, 23

Wait, is there something that's only gonna go to 2023? And then we're done. And right now we're already into 20, that five. Are we done? Are we done next time? I like the idea about a pilgrimage to Marcine. Mm-hmm. . So we've talked about that too. Cause it really is a pilgrimage because Marlene's in the middle of nowhere, like mm-hmm.

Marcine is two hours from mm-hmm. from any other civilization. So That's right. You know, you gotta go to like Kansas City and then like, bus over for two hours. But I think there's like, didn't somebody say they just like refurbished the hotel or something there? So like now you can like, stay over in Marcine.

Yeah. There's, there's not much there. It's like a Best Western . Yes. That's where Walt used to stay. [01:32:00] Walt was a big fan of the Best Western. He had a lot of points, a lot of best Western points. But I, I do have a contact there now at the. At the house. So you got a lot of stuff to plan. You got, I know, got a lot of stuff to plan.

There's not enough days in the calendar in the air for what we've laid out several times and had to move stuff around. So Yeah. But I'm all for Alaska. I'm all for going back Alaska, Japan, Egypt. Mm-hmm. , the river cruise with the Christmas markets. Mm-hmm. , the treasurer. The treasurer, the, the Asia ship. We have to go to the Asia ship when it's, I mean, oh, 2025

It would be a sin if we didn't, what was the other thing we said too? Christmas markets. There's several things we said. Hush. Well, no, I'm just, I wanna just get 'em out now. It's the Christmas market's in the Disney cruise line will be 25 next year. Mm-hmm. thought about that. Yeah. You know what, Becky, maybe Wait, wait, wait, wait.

Anniversary to celebrate the anniversary of Disney Cruise Line. We should go on every single ship in a one year period. Oh my God. Just like people who pick and choose where they wanna go. Every ship that we wanna do the original floor at this point. Yes, yes. You just start with, we can say that we've done the wish and move on back to the other four.

Okay. Well we kind of are cuz we got the fantasy. For those of you who have cruised before on Disney Cruise Line, what is your favorite ship fantasy? Why why not? All the space, you know what it's the adult area for me. The ship itself oh, the, the adult space is phenomenal. The ship itself the size, just all of it.

I, I'm, yeah, that's my fave. Anybody else?[01:34:00]

I know others of you have cruised before. You have to have a favorite ship. Andrew, what's your favorite?

The wish because

I met my Disney best friends on this ship that whoop for the on. Nice, nice. Aw, that's awesome. I like that. So I loved all the pictures, Andrew of you and your mom on that cruise. They were good pictures. Andrew and his mother are like the biggest party animals. They are out like first thing in the morning and they're the last ones to go to bed at night.

I don't know how they do it. . I don't know how they do it. Like we're at at pizza at midnight and here's Antonio's like hanging out. What's your favorite ship, Luke? So, I really love the classic. I I look, I, I love the ship that I'm on, right? But I, I really love the classic ships and I, and I love lo, love the Magic, but the Wonder Unplug, it's the New Orleans theme, promenade lounge and Tiana's place that I really, really like, that it may tip the scale slightly in, in favor of the.

but I, I do, I like that. I like that, that I've been think the wonders at the top. Yeah. And I do too. I just, I picture that area, like hanging out in that Tiana's area and that's, it was so well done. The, the entire experience with the, the Tiana overlay mm-hmm. . And when they, cuz you can sit there and just sort of like chill.

You can play a game. They've got like light music, they do like other activities there and it's open. But unlike the bayou, it's not open on both sides. So you still feel like you're sort of set off from the, the hallway. Mm-hmm. a little bit. Yeah. That was really nice. I, I, I really like that. Do all of the ships have an area like the wish does for the kids to go?[01:36:00]

Yes. Yes. Not as, not as the size may brand. Yeah. The, the wish is pretty impressive in terms of the, the space that they have for kids.

So I do like the slide down. That's pretty cool. Oh my gosh, that was so cool. I think the other Oceaneer clubs are great. I think the Wish probably does like the older kids spaces better because they kind of like, edge feels a little bit like an afterthought in the older ships. So those are cool and like were, they are able to set up like that in credit course.

Mm-hmm. . That's so cool. That was wild. Just having that flex space that they can, you know, they can adapt that space without having to take down walls and ream, they just put stuff in there so they do diaper dash in there, they do the in credit course, they do golf, so they can do a lot of different things just by having that, that cavernous space.

Like that. Mm-hmm. Smart. Yeah, there's, there's elements of the wish that I really like that I almost wish that I could put in some of the other ships and make sort of like a best of of Disney cruise line. So, yeah, Mike, he said that he wished that there were more adult spaces. There seemed to be lacking in adult spaces on the width.

There's a lot of small, intimate spaces on the wish. Lemme just put it that way.

not great for groups. So there you go. Anywho. All right guys, this was this was a ton of fun. It was very insightful. Some of your questions. I, I appreciate it. I, you know, I thought it was gonna go 20 minutes and here we are two hours later. So I really start off these shows with, with good intentions of keeping them as short.

But thank you for . You're funny. I know. I, but thank you for not only being here and, and being part of everything, but for being part of the, the show too. I, I really appreciate it. Is there anything else you wanted to ask, either on the show or just in general before we call tonight? [01:38:00] Just wanna say thank you.

Yes, thank you. Congratulations on 700 podcasts. Thank you guys. Thank you guys very much.

I just wanted, I just wanted to thank you, Lou, for everything you've done with all the shows and for probably two of the most spontaneous things that have, that I've ever done in my life, cuz I'm usually a planner. That when the first one was when you guys was, when you talked about the having the meetup for when Universal Energy was closing.

And it was the same weekend that the great movie Ride was closing and it was like literally four weeks before it was happening. And I've never planned a trip that close to leaving that it was like we were like 60 days out or, or four weeks out. And I'm going like, I think we can do this . And we like it was a weekend that I was off.

I was like, yep. It's like, wasn't like crazy. Wasn't like super, super hot. That weekend. Yeah. Yeah. And then the other one was when you announced Richard Sherman on the, the dream cruise, it was like, I hadn't even thought about doing a cruise. All of a sudden you announced Richard Sherman. I literally came home, talked to my wife, I says, we need to go

And got on the phone, somebody at em going like, we need to book this. I don't care how much it costs. We're going , and then I, you get this. And I've never been on a cruise. And it was like the way the cruise works and everything. And I'm going like, oh, you get that sticker shock of what the cruise is for, like a family of four, A four or five.

And it is, and all of a sudden it's like when we got home, because of everything that's included in the cruise, it's like it was actually cheaper than going, it was actually cheaper than going to the parks. Yeah. , we save money. , have you been back on the cruise? Sense. But you know, those are two the most spontaneous things I've ever, cause usually we plan, it's like we're going like, okay, when are we going [01:40:00] next?

And this, this, and that and that. And then it's like, and then it's just, it was just like, okay, we gotta do this. And when you, you know what? Right, when you were asking the first question before, I was trying to think of, it wasn't your, nick wasn't your name on the forms? Tigger. R P h? Yes. Okay. I was like, it's, it was bother.

Very good. It was bother like I know. Cuz you like, cuz then you explained like it was Tigger and then like pH was because you're a pharmacist, right? You're in pharma. Yes. R pH is the designation of a pharmacist. Yes. I'm old and I'm gonna be retiring soon. Good. Then we're moving And you're moving. Yeah.

You're moving to Florida, so that's great. Yep. House is almost done. We're gonna be closed at the end of the month. Good for you man. Congrats. And just tell people where you're moving from. Welcome to the party. Davenport. No. Where are you moving from? Oh, Wisconsin. So your winters are gonna be a lot nicer.

Yes. moving in the winter. I've never been a huge fan of winter. I'm gonna give you, I'm gonna give you one piece of sage advice. I'm looking at you in the eyes to tell you this. Purge all your, I don't wanna curse in front of Andrew's stuff. Purge all your stuff. Don't, don't bring it down here like I did.

My mom is already purging. Good. Purge it all. Purging, purge it all. You're purging. Stop food. If I can't get rid of it, it's just gonna go on. I'm getting a dumpster. Yeah. . It's ol man going, . So you know, I know. We could go on all night and everyone's like, oh, please stop talking Karen. But there's just one thing I just wanted to bring up cuz I just thought of this is just, , how many experiences we've all shared together with Sun Cruises.

Good or bad? Choosing the good, but I was just thinking about Covid and that episode when, I guess it was dizzy announcement, they were gonna be closing and you, Lisa, you were probably there and I think Deanna was there, went somewhere to one of the [01:42:00] hotels and you did like, like a quick episode there just to touch base with everyone and thinking about that.

But then also then thinking about when they were opening up and that episode when you brought everyone into the park on the day it opened and that was, I remember us, there was a community like that. I remember cuz that night, Lisa, you were there, but then you left and it was like me, Jason, and Kenneth when they announced it and, and my mom, we walked over.

Yeah. We were all together. Like when the college program kids found out. Remember it was like just this swarm of crying. It was awful. Literally getting pulled off stage. We had pulled off stage. We were, we were recording the walkabout for Flower and Garden, remember? And then I had to go get my kids and we ended up reconvening to finish that show, knowing at that point that the parks were closing.

And so like the second half of the show's tone was very, very different. Do you know who release that? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because you, you're right. You can tell the first part of that. And I remember having to address it, having sort of like record it and address it and say, look, I'm still gonna put it out.

But clearly everything was, was different. But I remember like standing in world showcase when we found out and going to a beach club and there was just this, you know? Mm-hmm. very sort of clearly emotional response to what was, but we all thought it was gonna be two weeks. Remember like, oh, it'll be close for a couple weeks.

It won't be that bad. I remember we were, cuz then we were all in Magic Kingdom the last night. As they were closing. And I remember like, that's crazy. We were getting like the, like all the information was like flying in. And I remember at one point seeing something where somebody said something about six weeks, I remember like looking at each other and being like, six weeks

Like, that's insane. And Andrew's mom was there with his sister. Andrew's mom and his sister were there too. Mm-hmm. like, cause she was one of the old cast members that were affected. Yeah. Crying. Oh my [01:44:00] God. It was just, it was heartbreaking. It was heartbreaking. T s d for me right here. That's, yeah. It was the, the first live show you did.

yeah. Mm-hmm. after the it, everything shut down. I remember that, that live show. Mm-hmm. , that one was then very quiet, but then, yeah. And then the, the live show, when you brought us back to the park, I cried. Oh gosh. Oh gosh. Yeah. Entire time I cried and cried and cried because it was like, the world just felt like it was good.

I will say like, we can, you know, that, that whole time it just sucked, right? Everything about it sucked except mm-hmm. , how empty the parks were. like, every now and then, I'm going, remember when the parks used to be like empty and you sort of had the whole place to yourself and you got off flight of passage and I asked if you wanted to just get right back on again.

like there was something very eerie. There was eer, there was something missing. Right? There was that, that that sort of cacophony of voices and sort of, that you could sort of visualize like the sound of just the voices being up here. It wasn't there anymore. It was here and the music sounded so much louder and everything seemed so much brighter cuz there weren't a lot of people.

But it felt empty and, and it felt empty in a good way. And it felt empty in a really, really strange way too. So, but fortunately those days are, are gone. Couple of last things. Tekume ta open up already. Like, I'm ready. You're one of the last like, remnants of, of cume. I'm, I'm, I'm back here really soon. . What date is it Open?

It's open for Walkups. It is it open for Walkups? It's op. It's open for Walkups. I literally tagged you in the story and I told you four times when we were there and you were saying, I'm hungry. Right. You saw that story, it's open for Walkups and you were like saying nothing and you wanna go around. This is what I do to make my friends crazy.

Like I pretend that I don't remember this stuff that they say. Seriously. Just so I could have people reaction. See, so Lisa makes the free, [01:46:00] Lisa throws her hands up in bed. He goes, really? Really? It's fun for me. Like this is, yeah.

that swear there, like brother and sisters separated at birth. I am totally. I'm back in a few days. We're we're gonna go. I know we're gonna go. I know we will. So are there any other restaurants that are still closed or is that I think that's it. I think that's it. I'm making a reservation. Wait, is 1900 Park Fair open yet?

No, that's not. . That might be the only two. That might be the only one that's, I haven't been there in ages either. What are they waiting on? staff? Probably. Hmm. Staff because it's faces, characters, like a lot of his characters. And are there any it's funny cuz I was gonna look last time, but with Sean, I didn't have a moment to even look.

Are there any gift shops that are still closed or are they, how they, because I remember when I went in 2020 it was really bizarre to see gift shops closed. I shop still closed in Germany. Yeah. The Christmas shop in mgm. I keep calling it mgm. It's, I think still closed too. I think it is. Yeah. It's a wonderful shop.

Oh yeah, I know. We really have to get out in the parks one of these days. . I, I really should do a little, I'm just glad that, and I didn't even get to go. I had, I had bought some special cast member cards for, thank you for coming back for the international . And then because of Ian, I had to end up really downsizing my Epcot time, so all my food went out the window, except I did go to Canada and get the cheese soup and the steak, cuz I wasn't missing that.

But I was, I had these cards for all the internationals because they had just come back and I was so excited to hear that they all get to come back. So it was nice to see being there last week. It was nice. I, I was in Japan and seeing Japanese cast members in the food [01:48:00] wine booth, I bought extra just to thank them for being there.

Are they from the China pavilion? Are they, did they, they, are they back? I'm just wondering if, if China's letting them out. It'll be really nice what they have all back. Cause I mean, because the last time, the last couple times we've gone, it was weird in World showcase to not have them there. I mean, you go, you go to like the, the, the Cery in, in France and it's like, yeah, there's no people that were even remotely French

You go to these other ones, it's like you go to the, even the shows and it's like the people introducing the shows. It's like, yeah, they're, they're not Chinese. Yeah. You go the China, there's, there's Fred behind the counter. So 20 20, 20 21. I walk into the France bakery and I go, Bo, and they're all like, hi, what's up?

Something not right about that. There's just something not right. Mm-hmm.

All right, my friends, I've kept you on long enough. I've got all kinds of. Mixing in things to do. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you again. Thank you Lou. Hopefully I'll see you guys on a Wednesday night. Thank you, Lou. If not, have a great holiday and Merry Christmas. You too, guys. Merry Christmas.

Thank you. Cheers everyone. Thank everybody. Chicken, chicken tenders 14 by the way. Recording stopped. He's all done.