The New Disney Springs Transportation Rule, Explained

Lou Mongello
00:00:01.120 – 00:17:25.820
This week I’m doing something I almost never do. I’m taking a piece of my Wednesday Night Live show and turning it into an episode.

Because you’ve been asking me about something that we talked about on it a lot. There’s a new Disney Springs transportation rule, and online people are metaphorically melting down, as the Internet sometimes does.

So let me pull up a chair and really talk with you about what changed, why I think it happened, and why so much of it comes back to the guest experience. And here’s why I wanted to bring this onto the podcast. Because what I share today isn’t just about this one rule.

I think it applies to many decisions Disney has made and will make, and I think once you see it through that lens, some other things might start to make more sense. Along the way, I’m also going to take us back to a place a lot of us miss, the Adventures Club and Pleasure Island. Why I think that really closed.

I’ll also share my thoughts. I don’t understand why people say honest before thoughts, because all of my thoughts are honest.

I never understood qualifying it as if your other thoughts are not honest. But I digress. On the new Pirates of the Caribbean Animatronic, why a place like Level 99 made me so happy.

A little bit on Choosing the Good and yes, a tease about what is coming from WWWE radio at D23, the ultimate Disney Fan Experience in just a few weeks. Hello, my friend, and welcome to WW Radio, your guide to the Disney parks and experiences around the world.

I am Lou Mongello and this is show number 872. Whether this is your first episode or you’ve been with me since the very beginning, welcome home. Welcome back.

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But for now, sit back, relax and enjoy this week’s episode of the WDW Radio Show. Hello my friend. Welcome home or welcome back for the very or welcome for the very first time I should say to WDW Radio Live. I am Lou Mongello.

It is Wednesday night. As I’m sure you are aware, it is my favorite night of the week because I get to spend and share it with you if you’re watching live.

Thank you for being here, spending part of your Wednesday evening with me with us. This is where the community, where the family comes together. If this is your first time watching, I appreciate you.

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So Lorraine Roseno, how do I feel about the new boat bus rule at Disney Springs? All right, so this, this is what I was alluding to earlier.

I have gotten a lot of questions about this from listeners, from friends, from like I’ve got inquiries from like TV and media and things like that.

Let me and I don’t think it, you know, I thought about talking about on the podcast, but I like my podcast episodes to be as relatively evergreen as possible. So let me sort of share a little bit of my thoughts about this and that. I certainly open it up to you for discussion right out of the gate. Right.

And I think this is the thing that we have to keep in Mind. First and foremost, Disney’s primary goals are always going to be to improve the guest experience like it is.

It might not always seem that way, but it is to improve the guest experience. It’s not about taking something away, right? Despite what some folks online may see.

And I think there are always a lot of very logical business and operational reasons for the change. Let me quit. So let’s first set the table in context. What is really happening?

As of two days ago, June 28, guests leaving Disney Springs on Disney transportation, resort buses or boat now must be staying at a Disney resort or have a valid dining experience reservation at a resort. It doesn’t eliminate resort hopping, despite what I’m seeing online. It just changes who can use Disney Springs as the starting point. And here’s our.

Here is what I think is some of the reasons why.

And look, this is in no particular order, but yes, part of it is to eliminate that free parking loophole because for years people would go, they would park at Springs, take a bus to a resort, take the monorail, skyline or boat, whatever, to a park in order to avoid paying theme park parking. I get it, it’s expensive, whatever. Social media made this hack very popular.

And you know, Disney, I think, has been testing certain restrictions to try and address this behavior. And look, I get it.

While some guests might just be interested in resort hopping, most guests, a lot of guests are using Disney Springs as this sort of free park and ride parking, which is not what you are supposed to be doing, right? That is not what the transportation is there for.

But I think beyond that, I think beyond that, this is also about helping to preserve transportation for the people who are paying for it.

And I think this, when you think about this, and look, I understand the personal frustration you might have, but Disney spends millions, millions and millions of dollars every year operating one of the largest private transportation systems in the whole world. People who are staying at resorts, right?

Resort guests are paying a premium for hotels that include that complimentary transportation as one of the core benefits.

If buses are continually full with people who aren’t staying on property, if you are a guest who’s actually paid for that benefit, you are having a worse experience. You have to think about it this way.

It’s similar to hotel pools being reserved for hotel guests, you know, hotel shuttles being reserved for hotel guests, cruise ship transportation being reserved for cruise ship passengers. Transportation is part of the resort product. It is part of the package. It is part of what you are paying for.

And put yourself in the position of not somebody who wants to park for free. And again, I understand the expense.

But if you are staying at a Disney resort, if you are paying that premium, this is one of the things that you’ve paid for. And now if those buses are full and you have to wait, that is detracting from your experience.

All of a sudden, the premium you’ve paid has less value. Because what this is also going to do, right? Sort of a tertiary benefit of this is to reduce overcrowding on the buses.

Look, transportation capacity is not unlimited. Every extra guest that is getting on a bus from Disney Springs for free means what?

Longer lines, longer waits, more passengers that have to stand, more buses that are required, higher operational costs. Start TR those last two, the additional buses. And the higher operational cost means what?

It’s cost Disney more, which means they have to make up for that cost. If you are a business owner, you have to think like a business owner. If I am spend.

If I am now being forced to spend more money for people who are taking advantage of something for free, I’ve got to make up that margin.

Somehow I think Disney would rather have capacity available for resort guests than for people who are simply using the transportation network as free public transit, because that’s not what it is. And I think another reason is about protecting that resort experiences.

Look, Disney has, over the last number of years, increasingly positioned its resorts as destinations, not just places to sleep. Right. Resorts have signature restaurants, lounges, activities, pools, shopping, entertainment.

I think Disney wants those guests enjoying those amenities to be primarily like, first and foremost, the hotel guests that are paying for those. Right. The people who are dining there, the people who do have reservations for some of the recreational activities.

What’s happened because of, I don’t want to call it a loophole because of maybe advantage being taken of the systems.

There are now people just taking up, I don’t mean taking up space, but who are sort of wandering and exploring and enjoying the resort because the free transportation has now made it convenient for them. What does that do? I think that detracts from the experience that people who are paying to stay there have paid a premium to receive.

And I think, I think too,. You.

Know, look, and Disney Springs is a big location and there are multiple parking lots. I get it. But you have to think about it this way, too. If there’s a lot of guests who are coming to Springs simply to park, what have we found?

And as a local, I see this a lot, especially on weekends and holidays. This allows Disney Springs parking to be available for Disney Springs guests.

You know, I don’t love Going to Disney Springs and having to park on the fifth floor roof because parking is crowded or I’m pulling up to Orange Garage and it says that it’s full. And I, this is something I don’t think gets mentioned enough because I think some of the people who are not locals don’t necessarily see this.

Disney Springs can become incredibly busy.

And if hundreds, if thousands of people are parking there just to leave for the parks and resorts, that is parking inventory that’s unavailable for the people who are actually shopping and dining again, paying to go to, to a certain degree at Disney Springs. What does that mean?

That’s bad for restaurants, it’s bad for the retail tenants, it’s bad for Disney Springs revenue and it’s bad for guest satisfiers.

When you’re pulling up to Disney Springs and you see that the orange garage is full, I have to imagine that there are a certain percentage of people go, well, it’s too crowded, there’s nowhere to park. Let’s just go, right.

If I’m, if I’m a third party operating participant, if I am a restaurant, I, I’m going to be very disappointed that I am potentially because of things like that, losing revenue.

And if I’m a guest, I’m disappointed because now the place that I wanted to go, that I enjoy that again as a local, I feel Disney Springs is like my fifth. I spend more time at Disney Springs than I probably do in the theme parks. That’s not an exaggeration. And it’s not only at Boathouse, I promise.

But I think what this also does to 1, 2, 3, this is like maybe a sixth reason. This also rewards you for staying on property.

And look, we understand the cost of staying at a Disney resort, at any resort, let’s be honest, across the board, across the planet has gone up. But what I think Disney’s trying to do is increase the value proposition of staying at a resort, right?

You get things like early theme park entry, extended evening hours at some resorts, free transportation used to get package delivered, recreation, proximity to park.

I think restricting that transportation to the guests who are staying there, again, it comes with tangible benefits that if you are trying to encourage people and make people understand why the premium to stay at a Disney resort is higher. This is one of the things.

And if I, if I’m paying for something and this is a value added benefit and I’m saying, well, wait a minute, I’m paying to stay here, but I now have to wait for three buses because I can’t get, I could see how that will be frustrating and might make some guests change their thinking about where they want to stay. And I also think we have to. And I think this is what gets lost in a lot of people.

Look, I have been a business owner myself, as well as my family, so I always try and look at things. Maybe this is a recovering attorney in me. I also try and look at things from both sides of the coin.

And if I’m a business owner, this also helps to improve the operational predictability of the very complex, very expensive, very large transportation system.

When Disney knows that a significant portion of its transportation, transportation demand comes from the resort guests, they’re better able to predict the frequency, the staffing, the fuel usage and consumption and cost and allocation of vehicles and wait times. When you’re able to do that, what happens? Your wait times go down, the buses are less crowded, you have a much better overall experience.

And Disney, from an operational perspective, is able to look. Disney’s a numbers company at the end of the day.

Like, it is about numbers and guest flow, and it’s not just in the parks, it’s in transportation as well.

And when you start getting these spikes, which I have to imagine from a data perspective, that’s what they look like from thousands of guests who are off site, it makes it a lot harder to manage and understand and predict. Like, how many buses do we need?

Well, if we know we’ve got this many guests staying at the resort, our little abacus tells us we’re probably going to need this many buses this time of day.

Because again, historically, data, when now you have all these people coming into Disney Springs and filling up buses, that’s got to throw those numbers off a little bit. So. And look, I think at the end of the day, too, this is not stopping resort hopping at all.

And I get frustrated when I see these things on social, which I don’t spend a lot of time much on anymore. It’s a separate conversation for a separate day. But you can still visit the resorts. You can still dine, you can still shop.

You can use the monorail, you can use the Skyliner, you can use the boats. Like, the free transportation systems are still there.

All this is saying is you can’t begin your journey for free at Disney Springs unless you have business at a resort. Disney is not saying do not visit our resorts. I wanted to scream at. Scream at my screen, right? It is not what they’re saying.

All they’re saying is, don’t use Disney Springs as your transportation hub. It’s not sort of the. The the loophole for free parking and free transportation.

The complimentary transportation system that is there is designed primarily for those guests who are staying at Disney resorts and those guests who are visiting the resorts for dining and other experiences.

Listener Voicemail
00:17:26.060 – 00:17:26.420
Right.

Lou Mongello
00:17:26.420 – 00:37:59.590
If you’re going to see a show, if you’re going to do whatever by doing this, maybe I think Disney sort of needs to make this more.

I think Disney sometimes has to explain the logic a little bit to people to help them understand this change helps to ensure transportation availability for the guests who are staying there. It’s going to improve the operational efficiency. It’s going to reduce unnecessary congestion. Right.

While we have too many buses, we have too many people. And it’s also going to preserve the parking and resources for guests who are visiting Disney Springs. I think that is reasonable. Right?

I think when you think about it that way, and that’s no like spin, that’s just like those facts are the actual facts. It’s not a spin on anything, but it’s. I think this all comes from the way that we want to or have to or feel that we look at things.

It’s easy, I think to get a very knee jerk reaction. Well, look, look, Disney’s taking away the. It’s not. I think they’re trying to make things overall better for all guests. Yes.

Including and primarily the guests who are staying at the resort for the reason that I’ve just given.

And look, I also understand, right from the opposite side of the coin, this is a, this has been for a lot of people, you know, an important hack for them and a money saving hack for them. People don’t like losing something that they’ve been able to do for years, even if it wasn’t the intended use.

Like you find this loophole, you find this hack, you, you take full advantage of it. When it gets recognized and taken away, certainly you get, you get disappointed.

I also understand and this is why I wanted to sort of highlight, you can still take the Montreal, you can still take the boat. Disney has long encouraged guests to explore the resort hotels because I think it does enhance your overall Walt Disney World experience.

And maybe you’re going to visit a hotel, go, wow, I’ve never, I’ve never been here before. We should stay here next time because I really love Riviera, I love Grand Florida. Let’s do something special and go to policy.

This the barrier now for spontaneous resort hopping for off site visitors and locals is raised a little bit. So I understand the, the accessibility of it. All that being said, again, I understand it from a Guest perspective.

I understand it from a business perspective. And Lorraine, that was probably a way longer of an answer than you were hoping for or deserve.

But I wanted to be as, you know, thoughtful and complete about it as possible because I really, I’ve thought about this a lot since I saw come out, and I’ve gotten again, this, this question a lot from people. So there you go. Jim, I agree that Springs is the fifth gate. Never thought of hurting the Disney Spring shopping. Absolutely.

I, I, There have been times I’ve driven by and I’m like, orange Garage is closed. Lime must be, like, packed. I’m not gonna. And I do. I just drive by and I’m like, well, just go eat somewhere else.

And I go down to Palm Parkway or I’ll go somewhere else. So. And Jim, I’m with you. I like. And I, look, I understand, you know, money does not grow on tree.

I mean, it does grow on trees because it’s made out of paper, which comes from trees, which is me. But, but, like, I’m like, wow, that’s a lot of, like, if I want to go to Grand Floridian, I’m like, all right, we’re going to park at Springs.

We’re going to go through security. When I go down, we’re going to get to the bus, go. Like, my time, there’s a time value of money and a money value of time.

Like, for me, my time, I think, is sometimes more valuable than the cost of paying to park somewhere. But it’s, you know, Jim says, I’ve never had a problem.

Look, the Internet is, I don’t know if you’ve seen Jim, the Internet is losing its collective marbles once again. And that’s okay. I will, I’ve said it before. I will say it again.

If you want to make Disney fans lose their marbles, tell them that you are changing something. So Kira says they’re good points, necessary points. I love traveling from Springs to other areas, but I also get it. It’s about the guest experience.

And everything impacts everything. It is a domino effect. That is a perfect way to put it.

And I think, Kira, I think that’s what sometimes gets lost on the guest who’s like, look, they’re taking something away. And that, that’s, that’s not. Like, Disney doesn’t just get together on Monday morning meetings and going, okay, everybody, a good weekend.

You, Bob, Jim, Sally, what can we take away this week? I think they’re just getting a little too happy. What can we take away? What do you want to take away?

Transportation Like, I don’t think I could be very wrong. I don’t think that’s what happens. I think they look at the data and they listen to guests and go, wow, this is, this isn’t.

This is a guest dissatisfier for guests who are paying the premium to stay at our resorts. What can we do to improve it? And oh, by the way, this is sort of a loophole that people are taking a lot of advantage of.

And listen, if you do find like a super cool hack, maybe sometimes it’s best not to share it because this is what happens, right? You it goes viral. Everybody on Ticky Tock is posting about it. What happens. Everybody starts to do it and then it gets taken away. So your mouth shut.

Baymax. I have a giant Baymax in the corner. Anyway, Su pass hour of Mei and mouse fan travel frame.

And just an overall good person said, you said this perfectly. I’m glad they’re putting. I’m glad they are putting. They are trying to elevate the guest experience and I think that’s what I do. Sue.

I think that is primary motivation of trying to enhance the overall guest experience, including the people who are trying to use this bus system. I think what’s most shocking is it’s still free to park at Disney Springs. Kendall, it’s a great point and something nobody talks about.

I mean, I think if you start paying to park at Disney Springs, I think that will have a much greater. Impact,.

You know, especially on the operating participants who are there. I don’t imagine seeing that happen. Remember way back when, when Disney Springs was Pleasure island and you used to have to pay to get in.

Wait, you kids are too young to remember that.

But way back it was like right after fire was invented, was fire and then electricity and then you had to pay to go into Pleasure island mannequin stands. Palace. I will forever miss you. I although Morimoto Asia, I love you equally as well. So Allison says I try to park in the grapefruit lot every time.

Grapefruit is one. Grapefruit is the. Wait is grapefruit the. The surface lot, right by Cirque du Soleil. Right. And I think strawberry.

Strawberry and grapefruit next to each other. And then there’s also lots across the street too. Grace Kurba, also of Mei. It is a mouse fan travel party today. I agree.

It’s getting back to one of those true benefits of staying on property. It is an efficient move. I get it.

And if you are somebody who stays on property, I think you’re going to see an immediate like this will be something that’s going to immediately and positively impact your vacation. So. And I love all of the Kungaloosh references as well. Adventures Club, how I miss you. So let me catch up. Casey Cross. Hello from Utah.

Nice to see you as well. TJ says let’s take away Skeletons of Pirates. I am reserving judgment on pirates in Disneyland until I see it with my own eyes again.

Listen, I understand not everything is perfect. It’s cool. And I also know that I’m gonna choose a good guy, which I also. It helps me sleep better and feel happier.

I am not, you know, the people who are judging the pirate Pirates of the Caribbean based on the videos they’ve seen. I just don’t. Look, I know a fair. Fair is the thing you take your kids to.

I will judge when I see it for myself and I will determine what I think the impact of that effect looks like. So I am not going to lose my marbles. Iggy Torre says, I was there for Pleasure island and all my years of going Disney.

I’ve never have parked there or just to just to go or to resort or park. I haven’t either, but there must be a lot of people doing it. I’ve actually never taken a bus from Disney Springs, period.

I mean, because I live here, right? I live here. I get it. But Paulette Gordon Donodo, I do remember New Year’s Eve. I remember the DJ being up sort of in like the catwalk thing.

And there was the West End stage and they would count down to New Year’s Eve Mannequin’s Dance Palace, Rock and Roll Beach Club, Cats and Dogs. Look was a good time. I did love me some. I did love me some Pleasure island way back when. So, okay, Grapefruit is across the street by the Casper.

I always get. So Strawberry is. Is. I think Strawberry is a Surfers Lot by Cirque. I don’t really. I don’t usually park in the surface lots.

So Karen says my missy, Adventures Club 2, my favorite hangout on Thursday nights. So, Karen, and I’m not saying you specifically, but that was part of the problem.

Part of the problem with the Adventures Club is it was free to get in. It was a favorite hangout of locals who would go in.

They would sit down for hours, drink water because there was no food, there was no merch, there was no cover. But you’re still paying Equity actors and performers and cast and crew and all the people backstage.

And the place would fill up with locals who would sit there all night, watch all the shows, go in and out of the mask room and things like that. And so from a revenue perspective, I don’t know this for fact. This is my assumption.

From a revenue perspective, you have this venue with super high operational costs on a nightly basis with a disproportionately low degree of revenue, because there are a disproportionate number of guests who are in there who are not buying anything. Places like Adventures Club live and die on one thing, and it’s alcohol. Like that. Let’s. It is what it is. I’ve been in the restaurant business.

I’m going to tell you, your margins on food are zip, zilch, not a nothing. Your margins on alcohol, that’s where it comes in. So when you have a place like Adventures Club, which sadly had no food, that’s what they relied on.

And if you have, let’s be fair, we’ll say 50, 40%. 50% Of your guests not drinking because they’re just coming in to hang out. That does not make good math sense.

And this is why some people get mad at me for this. And that’s fine. I will put my face on the dartboard. You have to think about certain things from a business owner’s perspective.

You can’t be like, well, Disney’s got a lot of money. They should just allow. That’s not how you run a business. Like, it’s okay, we’ll just let this one part of our business just hemorrhage money.

You don’t do that. It was also not a guest satisfier because if you were not local and you try and get into the Adventures Club, you couldn’t.

And you’d sometimes wait outside for hours. Because it was an operation. There was a. A capacity that you could only fit X number of people in that building at a certain time.

And if locals and cast members who are off are just sitting there, like all night to watch their friends and just sort of hang out, it does not. It does not make for good business. They should have had apps. They also should have had a kitchen, which they did not. And that’s, you know, that’s.

Unfortunately, was. Was one of the biggest problems. I loved eight tracks I recorded. So I was a. I. I loved the. I loved eight tracks. I actually have a video.

I should put it with the grease tape of God, what they call it. It wasn’t Star Search. It was Star Something where you can go and like, record your own karaoke thing.

So Minnie Mouse says, I’m so glad you choose the good. I can’t listen to the negativity. Pirates. Animatronic looks cool. Look like that’s what I mean, you know, And I feel so bad.

And I think this is something else that gets lost to, you know, that there are folks in Imagineering who’ve been working on this technology and on this project and on that figure for years. And we’re so excited to finally have it be revealed to guests. They probably looked at that the day before, like, this is it.

This is what I’ve, like, worked so hard for.

I can’t wait for guests to see it and their jaws drop and kids be amazed and then they start seeing, like, videos of previews and people just ripping it apart. Like, you know what, man? Like, there’s human beings on the other side and I get it. Like, you know, you don’t give every. You don’t get.

I’m not a participant participation trophy kind of guy, but I do feel bad. Like, I do feel bad for these things that some people work so hard on and they look so forward to guest reaction.

And, you know, the Internet, a lot of times a knee jerk reaction is just so negative and it’s so sad. It’s part of the reason why not to go down another tangent. When I was at level 99, I did not know what to expect.

They did like a media thing last week and I’m like, I don’t know, man. I remember when this was. I still have, like, like PTSD for when this was the opening of the NBA experience. How is this going to be received?

Everybody that I talked to loved it. Everybody. As I was walking around, everybody was like, laughing, having fun, like, nobody was complaining.

And I spent a lot of time with a couple of friends, one of whom was in a wheelchair. And I’m like, all right, now let me sort of see what. We had a blast. We had a. Could we do every single room? Of course not.

But were there a lot of rooms that were accessible for her? Absolutely. They loved it. The food was great. The environment was great.

The team members, like, this is like, I’m so happy when something opens and people are genuinely happy. And then I go home and I open up social and people want to, like, burn down Pirates of the Caribbean. I don’t know, man. The Internet’s a.

The Internet is a. Is a wild place. And that’s all I’m going to say. So. All right, let me catch up here. Amen. Lou. At the end of the day, it’s a business.

Angela, As a business owner, you know you know, sometimes business decisions have to be made as business. Not everything should be. Let me be clear. Not everything, not every decision should be made based on numbers alone. Not just any business.

Disney, I’m looking you square in the eye and telling you the same thing. I get it. You’re a public company. You have a board of directors. You have shareholders and stockholders and board of directors.

Not every business should be. And whether you’re a mom and pop shop or Disney, not every decision should be based on money.

And I know folks at Disney and I can tell you that it’s not. I will tell you flat out. I cannot give specifics.

I can tell you there are specific examples where a bad business decision is sometimes a great business decision because it’s not about the numbers on a sheet. But what the long term benefit of that decision might be, it might not make sense.

And I think even like when I at Momentum and things like that, whether you’re a solopreneur or not, sometimes you have to play the long game. It’s not about the immediacy of a little win. It’s the long term benefit of a big win.

It’s not trying to get money out of a customer, consumer, client, whatever it is in the short term, like Disney, you’re trying to get not just a lifelong customer, but you’re trying to build a community of evangelists. You don’t want somebody just to come in once. You want somebody to come back over and over again.

And more importantly, like Walt said, tell their friends about it. You have to sometimes think long term, not short term. Sometimes it makes. I’ve given. I’ll use myself as an example.

I’ve in the past made decisions that might not make smart sense from a financial perspective if you look at it in a box, but when you play it out over long term. I gave out so many Main Street USA audio CDs. I probably gave away just as many as I sold. Why?

Well, because one, I was proud of it and I wanted people to have it, but I knew that if people listened to it and hopefully enjoyed it, that first one, that they would come back, that one, they would tell other people and two, that they would come back and buy the rest of the. I think it worked. And I just so you know, I only stopped doing the audio tours.

And yes, I promise I’m going to update the podcast with the free podcast with the other ones, but just because again, the spinning of way too many plates all at once. So is level 9 one like Disney quest? Yes and no. It is a multi floor. It is a 63 room. I’m a 63 or 67 of different experiences.

And there are mental games and physical games and challenges and things you can do. There’s also food. Like, it’s such a cool place. And I thought the cost to get in, I was like, oh, they’re gonna charge like $59. It’s.

It’s like 27 or $29 for an hour and a half. I think it’s like five or ten dollars more for like two and a half hours. And what? Okay, bad business decision. Good. You can.

So you get like a wristband that you like, tap to get into all the different games. It also monitors your time and your score. But if you want to take a break and relax, get some food, which was amazing, by the way, use the potty.

You can tap out and it doesn’t count against your hour and a half of time. Like, I went up to somebody, I was like, that was the smartest business decision you could make.

It’s a tiny little thing, but it’s a huge guest satisfier and I just love that. So let me see.

I bet the pirate skeleton looks much better in person compared to a camera that is trying to artificially increase the lighting, steady the shot and zoom in all at once compared to us floating by. I would. If you have a microphone, go ahead and drop it because I agree with you 110%. So let me see. People gonna melt down with Carousel of Progress.

Am I expecting to be perfect? No. But unsure if word isn’t like, I agree with you, William.

I am excited about what’s coming for Carousel Progress and I’ll just sort of leave it at that. So can we get a WW radio 23 and hear what’s coming for you and the community of curious how many spinning plates you’re focusing on now.

And soon I will tell you, Hannah, that something is going to be revealed and drop at D23. It’s one of the things I was working on when I told the story about I got home on Saturday night. Last Saturday night at.

By the time I got home from the airport, it was like 2:30 by again, like body clock all screwed up. Got up the next day. I was like, all right, I’m going to get up early.

I’m going to try and like force my body clock to like reset itself and get back on East Coast.

Listener Voicemail
00:37:59.590 – 00:37:59.910
Time.

Lou Mongello
00:38:02.720 – 00:58:11.900
Was working, putting stuff away, you know, doing all the stuff that you do when you come home from a long trip. And I was like, man, I gotta, you know, traveling is great. Catching up stinks. So I was like, all right, let me just like chill a little bit.

I’m gonna sit on my couch, I’m gonna catch up on email and some work that I have to do because I have a lot of. There’s a lot of pressure at this D23 for me, the details of which are unimportant, but there’s a lot of pressure and there’s something.

There’s a lot of very, very, very strict, time sensitive deadlines that needed to be met. So I was working on something and I am on my couch and I’m like plugging away and I’m like doing my thing and there’s TV on in the background.

I’m not really paying attention to what’s going on there. I’m not really watching. And at one point the light goes on and my wife was leaving for work and I’m like, what are you doing up so late?

She’s like, have you been up all night? I’m like, up all night? What is it, like 2 o’? Clock?

She’s like, at 6:30 in the morning, my body clock was so whacked out that I just worked all the way through. But it’s fine. It was a very, very quiet, productive evening. So, Hannah, there is something that’s going to drop at D23.

There was something else that I. There’s another project I’ve been working on that I had planned on revealing at D23.

And for reasons that are outside of my control, I just, I couldn’t make it happen. It was just impossible for. For me to make it happen. But there’s. There’s something else that’s going to be coming soon that I’m looking forward to.

There’s a lot of things that I’m trying to pull together to have at and for and announce and reveal at D23. We will see how much I get.

So if this is the problem that I’m having as just a solo guy, I can’t imagine what it’s like from a logistical perspective from Disney and all the different aspects of that company. So let’s see. William. I agree. Anger takes so much more energy than enjoying something.

As I get older, I’d rather just enjoy things, especially stuff like you’re paying for, right? Like, that’s sort of where this all came from. Like, if I’m paying for something, why am I just going to complain about?

Like, let me try and find something good in the thing that I’m doing. Maybe the meal isn’t perfect, the hotel’s not perfect, the. The movie’s not perfect. I’m gonna try and get my money’s worth out of it.

And my money’s worth is not me being miserable. And money’s worth. It is me being happy. Right.

Whether it’s a day at Disney or somewhere else that you’re going, I think that’s how it happened and that’s why it was like on the show one night that choose the Good just sort of fell out of my mouth because that’s what it is. I’m excited to see here what it is. Is there an idea as to when we will know what the announcement will be at D23?

So those attendants could be there for the. So it’s not really like a formal announcements, but it’s something that I should. Be careful, Mangelo, you have a tendency sometimes to. You’ll know.

You’ll know when you get there. Just come by the booth. So just come by. Just come by the booth, invite your friends, and it’s fun again. So who’s going to D23? Please let me know.

Please let me know. By the way, we’re going to have tons of giveaways at the booth. And I don’t just mean like, oh, look, another WW sticker.

Like, I promise we’re going to have some really, really, really cool stuff to give away at the booth. You never know who might be stopping by, which is always part of the fun if you’re there.

We’re going to be recording live podcast stuff and social stuff, so definitely please come over more than once. So Kelly says personal recommendations for a way to celebrate with Lou Montel for his birthday is to attend a WWE group trip in August.

For us, two thirds of our group trips have included his birthday. It’s not on purpose, Kelly, I promise. My birthday. So my birthday for me is never a big deal. Like, I don’t like making a big deal on my birthday.

I don’t like. It’s not about me. You know, it just happens to be the day I was born. So, you know, it’s funny thinking back.

Like, my dad, I think, was very much the same way. Like, he enjoyed celebrating his birthday, whatever. But one thing my dad used to do, which I love, and I. And I tried to carry on this tradition.

So when it was my dad’s birthday, which. So my dad was born on November 17, which is when my daughter was supposed to be born, but she was like, no, no, no, I’m holding out.

I’M going to wait a couple hours till after midnight. So one, I get my own birthday and two, I share it with Mickey Mouse. So my dad was the 17th, my daughter is on the 18th.

Where were you going with the story? Oh, so whenever it was my dad’s birthday and we would have like, we would have like a lot of people over the house of a party, whatever.

I’ll never forget he had, we had like a closet in a hallway on the second floor by his bedroom and be like, come with me. We got upstairs and in the closet he would have hidden like boxes and boxes and boxes of my. I’m going to cry.

My dad gave everybody else a present on his birthday. Like that was just his thing. He would like, is Nordstrom still around? Remember Nordstrom?

Like, my dad single handedly, like kept Nordstrom in the black in November because he would go to Nordstrom and he’d buy all the women like perfume or like a scarf or a sweater or something and he’d buy something else for all the dudes. And everybody got a box. Everybody got a present for his birthday. And I love that because it was just, it wasn’t about him.

It was about him just wanting to be generous to others. So I try and do similar things like that without just trying to, you know, copy what he did. But I want to emulate the spirit of what he did.

So there you go. So Kelly there, there to explain. I saw somebody else say something about this too.

So in the past there used to be what they called, it’s gone through a couple of different names, but they called it the Emporium. And it was an opportunity for third parties to get space on the show floor. And there was like a marketplace.

They called it the, the Emporium over the last few years and it would allow us to go. And some people, you know, had huge booths where they would like sell collectibles or sell artwork or like us. I never sold anything.

Like we just had the first year I did. I think I sold trivia books and audio tours and celebrations magazines. And I’ve told that story a million times before.

But over the last few years, like, it’s not about selling for me. This is D23 is A, is a huge money loser. Like it’s a massive money loser for me. And I don’t care.

It’s about the honor of being able to have that presence on the floor. And just for me, the purpose of having the booth was not to sell stuff. It was to have a community hub.

And this past year they did do away with the Emporium. There is no. I don’t like. The people called it a flea market, but there is no. There are no booths like that anymore.

This year, all of the vendors and participants in the Emporium are gone.

However, thanks to the incredible trust and generosity and everything else of D23 and Michael Vargo, I WDM radio, we were invited back, but as a participant, a licensee, as it were, on the show floor. So I can’t give too much away right now because I don’t know what has been sort of shared. I can tell you. Can I tell them? I think I can.

It doesn’t matter. We are going to be located right next to the Walt Disney archives. So where the giant Walt Disney archives.

And there’s gonna be a lot of cool stuff happening there. I already know where the archives are going to be. We’re going to be right next to it. So the WW booth presence is going to be larger.

It’s going to be a little different. It’s going to be a place to gather. It’s going to be a place that I’m going to be doing, like, live recordings and things like that.

There’s also going to be fun giveaways and some other stuff. So that it is. It is. It is a huge honor. It is a huge responsibility. There’s a lot of pressure this year. It’s a. It’s a whole.

It’s a whole different league that I’m playing in this year. So when I say that I came home and I’ve been under the gun, there’s a lot of.

A lot of the plates that I’m spinning are bigger and heavier and more expensive than they were in the past because of what my responsibility now is. And the privilege of being in that room with those other participants is huge. And I take it very, very, very, very seriously.

So I am trying to ensure that I earn my place on that show floor and that I. And that we collectively make a good showing. So if you’re going to be there, please come by and say hi, because, yeah, there’s a lot of pressure. So.

But it’s all good, and I’m super excited. Your dad was a hobbit. If you don’t know, they. Oh, they give revenue. I was like, my dad was a big dude. I’m the hobbit.

But now I understand what you mean. Dawn says, I’m excited for the cruise next May. Dawn, I cannot wait for our Alaska cruise next year. I’ve.

I have a couple of friends who’ve just been on Alaska cruises relatively recently and I’ve seen their photos and videos. I’m talking to some friends from cruise line and I just I cannot wait. We still do have room. We’re also going to do something.

We’re having sort of a special optional post cruise train trip that you can choose to participate in or not but you can go to ww.comalaska2027 and get a free no obligation quote from my friends over mouse fan travel.com but yeah, so I cannot wait for Alaska. So you live up to your dad’s legacy when giving a birthday. It’s a good way to remember him.

Yeah, I miss my dad a lot and hopefully he is looking down and proud at what what I do and what we do. And you know, I’m not practicing. I mean he was still alive when I stopped practicing law and was if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be here.

There you go. So with that. Oh my God, has it been an hour already? Gosh, time flies.

When we were so much for me saying I was going to do a short show, but I think that is the perfect time. Just a couple of quick reminders. If you haven’t checked out this week’s show about the ETT hotel near Walters World, please do so.

And please do me a favor, share it with somebody who might enjoy it. I think you, I think them would enjoy it.

And if you I’d love to hear from you either call the voicemail comment in the clubhouse, let me know what you think and I’m going to post this in the clubhouse.

But if you have not, if you’re not, if you have not ever left a rating and review for the show over an Apple podcast or Spotify and you can also leave comments over in Spotify you can leave comments every week which are very, very, very helpful. Wink, wink, nudge nudge. Comments and Spotify help again. Trying to sort of grow awareness for not just the show, but our community and family.

Please do me a favor. Leave a review over Apple or Spotify. It’s easy to get there. Just go to www.comapple or www.comspotify.

Open up either or both of the apps and go and leave a review. I really, really, really appreciate it. Couple of last thoughts and reminders. Well, it doesn’t really matter.

The only thing I’ll tell you is I am more excited than ever for this year’s Momentum Weekend Workshop in Walt Disney World. I’ve revealed the list of speakers. I’m gonna have full sessions Coming soon.

I will tell you that our leadoff keynote speaker is gonna be Michael Collier. I’ve known him for a long, long time. I interviewed him on the show eons ago. He was a Walt Disney World ambassador.

Very smart, very nice guy and really sort of understands not just the Disney experience, but about leaving that behind and then pursuing something and building a business from scratch. Because that’s what Momentum is all about, is finding that thing that you love and turning it into the thing that you do.

Four days, one room, 50 people. You do the work in the room. You leave with a 250 page workbook and a lot of friends and great relationships.

And I promise you will leave in a different place than you were when you walked in. If you have any questions, questions, just email me. I’ll be happy to talk through it with you. We are more than halfway sold out.

The event sells out every year. So if you’re at all Interested, go to lumongello.com momentum. The Early Bird special, I think ends. Oh, it might end next week. I have to look and see.

Go and check it out and let me know. And by the way, it takes place in Walt Disney World during the Food and Wine Festival. It’s not by accident. I think that’s it. I think that’s it.

Listen, no matter where you are, no matter what you do, but especially if you are here in the States or if you are celebrating overseas somewhere, Happy Fourth of July. Happy Independence Day. 250 Years America. Listen, warts and all, you’ve never looked better.

And hopefully this year, as we celebrate, you know, such an important, important day in our country’s history, we remember that we are supposed to be a United States of America. And no matter what you do, no matter what you believe, no matter who you are, it’s all about coming together.

You know, we are one people, we are one nation, we are one like sense of humanity. And that’s all I want. That’s all I want for my birthday. Right?

It’s just to see more people choosing the good and being united as just a race of humanity and being good to one another. And the best way to do that is by setting an example for others. By the. By your words and by your actions. I love you.

Gosh, I gotta try and make that heart thing happen. Whatever. There you go. I love you. I appreciate you. If you are celebrating, have a very, very, very safe, healthy and happy 4th.

So until next time, I love and appreciate you. Bye. How well do you know the sights, sounds, secrets, history and trivia of Disney. Let’s find out in this week’s Walt Disney World trivia challenge.

If you think you know the answer, you can enter via our online form for a chance to win a Disney prize package. Of course. Before we get to this week’s question, let’s go back, review last week’s and select our winner.

So last week we were talking all about my trip to Shanghai Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland and I mentioned that Shanghai Disneyland has a full sized, beautiful and lush hedge maze. In Fantasyland, the question was to tell me what film inspired it and who do you meet at the center.

If you entered last week, thank you very much for playing and hopefully that you knew that. The answer is, of course, Alice in Wonderland.

Inspired by the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland, which leads to the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party and the Queen of Hearts at the center. This is one of many walkthrough attractions in Shanghai Disneyland. It opened with the park back in June 2016.

Again, this comes from Tim Burton’s live action Alice in Wonderland. So it’s a little bit more whimsical, a little bit more surreal.

You wander through these giant hedges and oversized flowers and you sort of choose your own adventure and path towards the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party at the center.

And I like the fact that this is a very sort of like relaxed, self guided experience rather than an attraction or ride, which I think is a nice change of pace. It’s also great for photo spots. Fits right in with the go explore and discover it yourself spirit that I talked about on the show.

But anyway, I took all the correct entries, randomly selected one and last week you were playing for the WDW radio keychain stickers, pin a new iron on patch or you can sew it on I guess. And a mystery prize that I brought back for you just from Shanghai Disneyland. And last week’s winner, randomly selected is Anna Riccardi.

So Anna, congratulations. Your prize package is already out the door on its way to you.

And if you played last week and didn’t win, that’s okay because here’s your next chance to enter in this week’s Walt Disney World Trivia challenge. So we’re talking a little bit about transportation this week, which made me think about a transportation related question.

And so tell me, before they were renamed back in 1997, what were the original names of the three Magic Kingdom Ferry boats? What are the original names of the three Magic Kingdom ferry boats?

You have until Sunday, July 12th at 11:59pm Eastern to go to www.radio.com click on this week’s podcast. Use the form there. Again, you’re going to play for a keychain, stickers, pin patch and a mystery prize. Who knows where it may come from.

So good luck and have fun. That’s going to do it for this week’s show. Thank you once again for being here.

I know how valuable your time is and the fact that you spend some of it here with me, with us, means more than you know. So thank you. If something in this episode made you smile, made you think, or maybe even see something a little bit differently, please do me a favor.

Share it with somebody who you think might enjoy it. That’s how our family and community grows. One person, one friend at a time. Of course I want to hear from you.

Like I said, come over to the clubhouse, be part of the conversation and community. Join us for the live show this and every Wednesday at 7:30pm Eastern. It’s a great way for you to be heard.

Start a conversation, ask a question, whatever it might be. And something I want to quickly mention one more time.

I think I mentioned it during the live show because it’s this really started from a way for me to try and help you and repay you for the gift that you have given me.

Because if you have an idea, if you’re trying to build a business or a brand, or if you have a podcast, whatever it might be, something that you’re building, that’s something that you love.

Momentum Weekend workshop is my four day, one room 50 person weekend workshop for creators and solopreneurs and entrepreneurs held right here in Walt Disney World during the Food Wine Festival in October.

Again, it’s intentionally intimate, 50 seats so you don’t miss a session and the focus stays on you, your business, your brand, your questions, your challenges. You leave with not just a real custom plan for you, but you actually leave with the momentum to use it. We are more than halfway sold out.

Early bird pricing and soon and you get a 200 plus page workbook that you’re not only going to do the work in the room, the that you can continue to do the work to learn, make progress and build your momentum long after the event is over. So if you’ve been on the fence, this is your nudge.

If you have any questions, if not sure if Momentum is right for you, reach out email me louwwradio.com otherwise visit lou mongello.com momentum and as always my friend, and you are my friend whether we have met yet or not. If you’re planning to come to Momentum or visit Walt Disney World or any other destination on the planet.

Or please go my Visit my friends over@m MouseFanTravel.com thank you, thank you. Thank you once again for not just listening, but your friendship and your love and your support. None of this happens without you.

So be kind, choose the good. Have an amazing day and even better tomorrow. I love and appreciate you. So until next time, see ya.