Episode Transcript
[00:00:06] Speaker A: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Mouse Ears podcast, where we talk about all things travel, but mostly Disney, brought to you by fairy tale journeys.
[00:00:17] Speaker B: Travel.
[00:00:21] Speaker A: Hello, everybody. Welcome in. Welcome back to the Mouse Ears podcast. My name's Kelton. I'm one of your hosts for today's or this evening's podcast episode. I've got two great people with me. Steph is back. As you saw, if you watched our live yesterday about the Moana two trailer, you saw she was back from her vacation from Walt Disney World. So, Steph, welcome back. You know, we're happy you're back.
[00:00:48] Speaker C: Oh, I'm always happy to be here. It was two long weeks not having my Thursday podcast nights, so I'm happy to be back. I'll be back for several weeks now. I don't have anything planned yet, but you never know. It's Disney.
[00:01:02] Speaker A: Absolutely. And along with Steph, Brooks is here with us as well. Brooks, welcome in ho, neighbors.
There we go. So that's it. And, yeah, you know, we're pretty simple minded.
[00:01:18] Speaker B: What else do you need? By Wilson. Wilson. Wilson's greeting from home improvement.
[00:01:24] Speaker A: Hi.
So let's. Let's go ahead and we're going to get started. We. We did mention last week's episode that this was going to be a universal Das episode with our favorite, one of our favorite guest host, Jen Turlington. However, we've had to, as they say on friends, we're going to pivot and we're gonna go to a different episode.
So I wasn't gonna yell at, you know, being this close to the microphone. I could go back there, though.
[00:01:56] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:57] Speaker A: And yell that if you ever get.
[00:01:59] Speaker B: A chance, watch the bloopers from that episode. It's so funny.
[00:02:03] Speaker A: Oh, it is so funny.
[00:02:05] Speaker B: I have literally every time we move a couch now, I go, pivot, pivot.
[00:02:12] Speaker A: So, tonight's episode, we are doing a great top three attractions at a park that a lot of people probably call a half park. However, here on the podcast, we don't think so. We are doing top three attractions at Disney's animal kingdom.
So it's going to be a good episode. I'm excited to see.
We, the three of us have kind of been talking, and we think we might have, you know, the same. We don't know what everybody has picked, but we think it's pretty close.
But we're gonna. We're gonna find out here. We're all gonna find out together. So it is. It's gonna be pretty cool.
So. But to start it off, we've got our favorite news news anchor guy Brooks over in the studio. Brooks, take it away with the new news.
[00:03:15] Speaker B: Welcome back to the new news here in the mouse ear studio. I am your anchor, Christian Brooks. Thank you. So starting off with the new news today, we hope you had a chance to watch the Facebook live last night when we gave our real time reactions to the Moana two teaser trailer.
It has been all over the Internet since it dropped today. Disney revealed that yesterdays release set a new record for the most watched animated trailer launch in Disney history.
The trailer surpassed 178 million views across the Internet in its 1st 24 hours.
Over 20 million more views than inside out two's trailer back in November of 2023.
I can't even imagine 178 million views. That's more than a Mrbeast video.
[00:04:21] Speaker A: It really. But you know what? I really do think that that deserves a round of applause. So way to go Disney. That means the movies are coming back. That's really awesome.
[00:04:32] Speaker B: And we're just gonna keep the clapping going because the salvage Stormtrooper helmet popcorn bucket is now readily available for mobile order at Hollywood studios.
[00:04:49] Speaker A: That deserves a cheer. There we go.
[00:04:55] Speaker B: You know this. They released that one during Star wars weekend May 4 through the six. And it was figment level lines, but now they've brought it back. But I don't know how long it's going to be there, but it's available. You can go on the my Disney experience app and order it. It is limit to per order, but order one today and if you do order one, please remember me and I will pay for the bucket, the shipping, and a Joffrey's coffee for you. Moving on, Disney gave his first look inside the new communicor hall and Plaza. Particularly in the Mickey and friends meet and greet. You can see the Mickey and friends just right over the walls there.
And in the sneak peek, they showed Mickey, Minnie, goofy, um, and all of his pals, uh, be available to do meet and greets there. Uh, and the communicore hall and plaza will open in on June 10, 2024. So just in a few weeks. Um, excited to see all that. And then also new details for Disneyland's half marathon weekend, uh, taking place January 30 through February 2, 2025. Um, themes will include heroes five k, which I believe I saw it is Groot, um, Star wars themed ten k.
Steph, I think you would be excited to see this because it is Ahsoka tano. Um, yes, it is.
I sent that to the running Ohana, Jordan and Robbie earlier today, and Jordan literally flipped her script and all caps was texting and then she said, Robert immediately said, no way. We're already doing marathon weekend. I.
[00:07:08] Speaker C: So side note, Breeze Airways just announced today that they're bringing back seasonally, temporarily, $89 round trip starting price, $89 round trip tickets from MCO to San, not LAx, but in California, to be able to go to the parks over in Disneyland because they know that this is the time for people to go and travel and go to the parks. And when I saw $89.
[00:07:45] Speaker A: Gentlemen, you're talking. Gentlemen. John Wayne Airport in Orange county, right?
[00:07:51] Speaker C: Which one?
[00:07:52] Speaker A: John Wayne in Orange County? I can't remember. Maybe remember the air. That's the one. That. That is right by Anaheim in Disneyland. That's.
[00:08:00] Speaker C: Yeah, I knew it was an lax. I saw the letters and I was like, ah, okay, whatever.
[00:08:04] Speaker A: But it's still close.
[00:08:06] Speaker C: Gotcha.
[00:08:07] Speaker A: It's not San Diego. I just. Yeah, we just moved tools there today, so it's not Sandy, San Diego.
[00:08:12] Speaker C: Appreciate the little, what is it?
[00:08:16] Speaker B: Tidbit.
[00:08:16] Speaker C: Pocket of. Yeah, whatever.
[00:08:18] Speaker B: Pocket of nut.
[00:08:19] Speaker C: Yeah. Listen, there you go. Yeah, let's just do it. Let's just go to Disneyland and run a couple miles over there. The weather must be better.
When I saw Star Wars, I was like, oh, my.
[00:08:32] Speaker B: So catano.
[00:08:34] Speaker C: Yeah. You just sold it for me.
[00:08:37] Speaker A: I may have, you know, I don't think breeze flies, you know, anywhere from at least Texas, so. No, not. Not. I haven't seen.
[00:08:51] Speaker C: Oh.
[00:08:51] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. There we go.
[00:08:53] Speaker C: That is awesome. Like, even, like, the ten k that they have right now. It's so.
That's a. That's baddie. I'm gonna pg it. That's baddie.
[00:09:04] Speaker B: It's lit.
But continuing on, you have the Star wars theme, ten k, the safari Mickey and Friends half marathon, and the Dumbo challenge, which will be the five k to ten k and the half marathon even more. There are also kid races and in park yoga available as well for price. They also do that at Walt Disney World as well. To read more on this or when registration opens up to the public, follow our facebook page. And while you're at it and you book a trip, contact your fair, your favorite fairytale journeys agent to help you with that. Moving on, for our DCL fans out there, Disney has revealed that it's new mega ship, the Disney Adventure, will be sailing out of Singapore in 2025. This new addition to the DCL fleet will sport Captain Mickey Mouse on the bow. And we will also keep you informed as more information comes out. And I'm sure Laura Gekko Greco will be out there at some point. To sell that.
Moving on to just right across the interstate there. Universal Orlando has confirmed that there will be an epic universe preview center in Citywalk, and it will open sometime next month. They have not released an exact date as of yet. The center will feature a theme park model, exclusive merch, and themed photo ops. So stay tuned for that. Um, and then also moving on, uh, with Halloween horror nights coming up here soon, have you ever heard a premium scream night? Well, neither have we, because this is the first ever event that Universe Orlando has announced where guests can preview Halloween horror nights before it officially opens to the public in September. This exclusive event will not only have a substantially reduced, uh, capacity, but guests will also experience shorter wait times. All you can care to enjoy food. That means all you can eat and more premium scream night will take place on August 29, so make sure you wear shorts because I'm sure it's going to be a little toasty. And tickets will go on sale June 6 at $350 per ticket plus tax.
That's expensive. That's expensive. But if you think about it, which is. Yeah, with the, all you care to enjoy with the food and then also shorter wait time. So you can potentially, you could do all the houses. You could do all the houses if you probably, if you forego food or have someone get food and then bring it to you in the line. So, Kelton, we'll just both get it. You bring me food while I'm in the lines going through all the houses.
[00:12:15] Speaker A: Nope.
[00:12:16] Speaker B: Oh, come. Okay, I tried. Uh, also, everyone, this is your friendly reminder to reach out to your, reach out to fairy journeys travel to learn more about all the amazing summertime deals going on for Walt Disney World, Disneyland resort and universal Orlando. Right now, there are some of the best deals going on all year, especially for Disneyland resort. It's not too late to plan and book your summer vacation, so don't forget to visit fairytalejourneys.com for a free, no obligation quote. And for our last bit of news, a little bit of a somber note. Last week, we lost a Disney landscape in Richard Sherman.
If you are, if you're well, if.
[00:13:08] Speaker A: You don't live under a rock, let's be real.
[00:13:12] Speaker B: If you're fans of some of the kind of golden age music, especially Mary Poppins, you know, the Sherman brothers, they also wrote there's a great big beautiful tomorrow. We've, I've talked about my love for that. I literally have it hanging on my wall. Um, but, uh, he unfortunately passed away in 95, and I'm sure he is up there playing feed the birds for Walt right now. Well, tomorrow on Friday, because he plays on Fridays.
[00:13:47] Speaker A: God, that just, that, that hitch you, that hits you hard.
[00:13:51] Speaker B: So. But that is it here at the mouse studio. For new news, I am your anchor, Christian Brooks. Now back over to Kelton. Kelton.
[00:14:11] Speaker A: I didn't know that. We got a new co host of Christian Brooks. That one. That's a first for me.
[00:14:16] Speaker B: So was he here? I've been wanting to meet him.
[00:14:22] Speaker A: He, he was here for like a hot second and then he was gone.
[00:14:26] Speaker B: Just. He's very elusive.
[00:14:28] Speaker A: Very elusive.
[00:14:29] Speaker B: His. He's Christian Brooks runner. He's not a walker.
[00:14:32] Speaker A: He is definitely a runner.
[00:14:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:14:37] Speaker A: Anyway, so let's get off that somber topic of Richard Sherman passing away. But you always gotta, you always gotta mention a Disney legend. So we're going on to our top three attractions at the end shows. I'm sorry, attractions and shows at the best half day theme park that Disney can offer, which should be a full day. It's actually a full day, people. Animal kingdom, full day.
[00:15:04] Speaker C: Full team, full day. Over here, it is a full day.
[00:15:07] Speaker A: I mean, and if you do everything correctly, it is a full day park, you know, but you're not, you're, you get to enjoy without. I mean, animal kingdom has like 13 attractions and shows, I think it is, or something like that. Magic Kingdom has over 40.
So it's a good relaxation, you know, type of day. And the theming, of course, is quality over quantity. Sometimes. Sometimes it really is. So we're gonna see what kind of quality we can get into in our top three lists. So no honorable mentions.
[00:15:51] Speaker C: Oh, come on. I had one.
[00:15:53] Speaker A: Nope. No honorable. We are doing.
[00:15:55] Speaker B: I mean, I could, I can throw one in real quick.
[00:15:58] Speaker A: The. If we were talking about universal, that would be acceptable.
[00:16:02] Speaker C: However, it's a good one. I know, I know. No one else has it.
[00:16:07] Speaker B: I mean, look. Look at this guy.
Can you say, can you say no to Dota?
[00:16:14] Speaker A: I can right here.
[00:16:15] Speaker C: No, no, Grogu.
[00:16:18] Speaker A: Because.
[00:16:19] Speaker B: No reason.
[00:16:21] Speaker A: And the reason why, though, y'all, is because it's supposed to make it harder for all. We can't have it easy, you know?
[00:16:30] Speaker C: Okay, hear me out. This is complete my case.
You have a list here, Kelton. There's eleven items for attractions and or shows.
My honorable mention didn't even make it to this list. That's how unlikely y'all are gonna have this on your list. Even on your top three, to be.
[00:16:54] Speaker A: Fair, exist in the park.
[00:16:57] Speaker C: Sorry, Brooks. I'm sorry. Yes, it does exist. It currently exists in the parks, and it's not on this. So I'm just saying it's a good one.
[00:17:10] Speaker B: I mean, California tour.
[00:17:11] Speaker A: Oh, fine.
[00:17:14] Speaker C: Depending on the time. Depending on.
[00:17:16] Speaker B: I won't give an honorable mention. I don't have. I didn't have one written down.
[00:17:20] Speaker A: Steph, go ahead.
[00:17:22] Speaker C: Really?
[00:17:23] Speaker A: Go.
[00:17:24] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:17:25] Speaker A: You got, like, 30 seconds, and I'm timing you.
[00:17:27] Speaker C: 30 seconds. Rafiki's planet watch and the train.
[00:17:32] Speaker A: The train to Rafiki's planet watch.
[00:17:34] Speaker C: Yes. Yes. I'm just, like, imagining, like, the sign plan, you know, Rafiki, splash planet walk. A watch as you walk out of Kilimanjaro safari. It's like, banko left, or do you go somewhere else? It's like, no, we're gonna go through, and we're gonna see all the animals. And my favorite part about that is, I actually was told this by a cast member just now when I was at the park. The train track of Turfiki's planet watch is longer than I think he said. The track, the monorail track, something like that. Something crazy like that.
Cass wanted to mention that to me. Maybe I should have looked into it before I said it, but that was really interesting. But my personal reason why I love it so much is because you get to pass by some of the different locations that they have on property, where they do some of the vetting for the animals and where they really take the concept of conservation and protecting the species that they have on property to the next level. So, like, just now, when I was on it last week, we were able to see all the rhinos getting checked out by the different cast members and their vets.
You can only get to see that there, or unless you're watching animal kingdom on Disney plus. So that's my honorable mention, because it's not really what people consider a ride, but it is. It's fun.
[00:19:05] Speaker A: I would say it's an attraction. Yeah, yeah, it. Yeah. I mean, it kind of begs the question, is the steam train around Walt Disney World, railroad around the Magic kingdom, and attraction?
[00:19:18] Speaker B: Of course.
[00:19:19] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:19:20] Speaker A: See, there we go.
[00:19:21] Speaker B: So they even have, you know, over there, too.
[00:19:25] Speaker A: They have a lot of stuff back there that I really think a lot.
[00:19:28] Speaker B: Of people realize, especially for little kids. It is phenomenal.
[00:19:33] Speaker A: Oh, absolutely.
[00:19:34] Speaker C: And then.
[00:19:37] Speaker B: I was gonna say the drawing.
[00:19:39] Speaker C: Mm hmm. And again, they have cast members available. They are not just to talk about the different animals like they do throughout the park at all the different animal sanctuaries, but also just to talk about different conservation efforts that Disney does. Like, I had the pleasure of speaking to a cast member who talked to me about their conservation efforts to protect turtles over at Vero beach, the resort.
[00:20:03] Speaker A: Disney Resort Vacation club. Vero beach.
[00:20:06] Speaker C: Yep. So there's a lot. It's really, really neat. That's my honorable mention. Thank you.
[00:20:11] Speaker A: And especially, you know, like me growing, I born and raised a block and a half from the beach, you know, over on the east coast of Florida. So, yeah, sea turtles are a. Are a big, big, huge. Especially in the state of Florida. So, steph, since you went ahead and mentioned an honorable mention, even though we said we weren't going to do that, why don't you go ahead and give us your top three? Or your number three for your top three.
[00:20:34] Speaker C: Hey, my number three. So sorry for.
[00:20:38] Speaker A: Number one. For last.
[00:20:40] Speaker C: Got it. So my number three.
My reason for picking it is nostalgia.
[00:20:47] Speaker A: Hold on, we gotta pass for just a second. I'm sorry, we didn't even read off the attractions.
[00:20:52] Speaker C: That's really smart. Let's do that. Let's do that.
[00:20:54] Speaker A: I didn't even. I was gonna do that and then you mentioned your honorable mention. Here we go.
[00:20:58] Speaker C: Sorry.
[00:20:59] Speaker A: No, no, it's. I just lost track.
[00:21:02] Speaker C: I derailed the train.
[00:21:03] Speaker A: I also just realized that Brooks switched the tv around, so that's throwing me off too.
[00:21:09] Speaker B: You do run the train for a train?
[00:21:12] Speaker A: Pretty much.
Okay, so the attractions now there are twelve. We have the train that takes you to Rafiki's planet watch in animal kingdom.
You've got Avatar's flight of passage and Navi river journey. Over in the Avatar area, get the good old fashioned dinosaur and triceratops spin over in Dinolandhe which ride it now because it might be gone soon.
Going around the pond, you got expedition Everest, legend of the forbidden disco. Yeti mountain because he doesn't move anymore. Poor Yeti ever.
Not anymore. Cali river rapids, festival of the lion King, finding Nemo, the big blue and beyond.
It's tough to be a bug. Feathered friends in flight Kilimanjaro safaris now that we've gone through the list, Steph.
[00:22:08] Speaker B: Curry, Rafiki's planet watch.
[00:22:11] Speaker C: Yeah, mentioned that one first.
Again, I want to emphasize that animal kingdom is and can be a full day park. Especially if you really take time to walk and observe all the different paths to the different animals and take advantage of the cast members out and about who are there. Not just to feed and do their job, but also to talk to guests and educate them on just about anything regarding those animals. But moving along, my number three was definitely the hardest for me to pick.
My reason for going with this option is for nostalgia purposes. And because this is something that everyone and anyone can participate in. Not every ride at Disney's animal kingdom is for the family, for instance.
So I chose, what's it called? Festival of the Lion King.
It's been around forever.
I was just at Disney with my mom, and she was talking to me about how when animal Kingdom first started, actually had a different location.
[00:23:23] Speaker A: Camp mini Mickey.
[00:23:25] Speaker C: Exactly. And it used to inhabit more of closer into the Pandora area. I obviously didn't remember.
So we had a whole history lesson. We were looking up, you know, the history of festival the Lion King while waiting for the show to start. And it's just some of those things that it just always hits home. I'm super glad that, you know, a few years after Covid, we got back the monkeys and we got back the interaction with the kids at the end, because we didn't have that in the first two years, two, three years post Covid. And I feel like that's something that makes it so much more charming.
But, yeah, this is something that the whole family can enjoy. Doesn't matter your age. I feel like everyone knows the Lion King, so it's very enjoyable. And who doesn't love a good ac break in Florida? So my number three is festival the Lion King.
[00:24:19] Speaker A: Now that is true. When it was in Camp Mitty Mickey, it was not air conditioned at the time. I do vaguely remember that. Vaguely.
[00:24:29] Speaker C: It was a. Like, it was outside.
[00:24:31] Speaker B: What year did it move?
[00:24:33] Speaker C: Oh, I just looked this up, too. Um, I couldn't tell you. I couldn't remember. I think in 2014 is when it moved to its new location.
[00:24:44] Speaker A: I want to say that's about right.
[00:24:47] Speaker C: So they had to close that original location down. Like, camp mini Mickey closed before the actual venue closed, and then the venue for festival Lion King closed when they were getting ready to create pandora, so. And that's when it got its new location. Plus, it's ac.
[00:25:11] Speaker A: I think it's a little bit bigger, too.
[00:25:14] Speaker C: So potentially, I couldn't. I couldn't speak to that.
[00:25:18] Speaker A: Um, Brooks, we'll move on over to you. Why don't you go ahead and give us and the listeners your number three attraction?
[00:25:31] Speaker B: So I feel like I'm going to be bringing on some controversy.
[00:25:35] Speaker A: I can already guess it by the picture on the tv.
Is it that? No, maybe not.
[00:25:41] Speaker B: No.
[00:25:42] Speaker A: Oh, I thought you have to be a bug.
[00:25:44] Speaker B: No, no. Even though I do like that one does that, I. Spoiler alert, that is not in my top three.
So my number three. And again, these are extreme. This was extremely hard to pick.
Well, I would say number three, number two, my number one new friend, the jump. But number three, number two are just, like, right below it.
And I could even switch number three. Number two. But my number three. And again, prefet this with. I love this rod, is Kilimanjaro Safari.
The. I feel like the flagship even is you see something new almost every time.
I remember. Go on it.
First time, like 2004 and then 2005, where they had the.
The storyline with the elephant poachers with little red, the elephant.
And then I remember telling my wife about it. And when we went in 2017, they had completely done away with that storyline because I was waiting for it. I'm like, oh, wait.
Okay, it's not. They don't do that anymore, but it's. It's a new ride every time you do it. Depending on different times of the day, you know, if you go more at night, the lions will be more active.
If you go first thing in the morning, a lot. A lot of the other animals more active, you may have a traffic jam because of a zebra or a giraffe or rhino.
Steph, whenever you did the live on tick tock, was a zebra that calls the traffic jam.
[00:27:42] Speaker C: It was a zebra.
[00:27:43] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:44] Speaker C: Was the zebras. Mm hmm.
[00:27:46] Speaker B: So the last time we went with us, it was actually a giraffe. And, I mean, that's the closest, other than going to a zoo, which I do nothing. Animal kingdom is not a zoo. People preach. That is the closest I've ever been to a giraffe.
Fun fact.
Do you know what sound a giraffe makes? It is not what you think it is.
[00:28:14] Speaker A: A low bleeding sound, like a she.
[00:28:18] Speaker B: They also grunt. They also.
So learn that whenever.
[00:28:24] Speaker A: Casey from Chuck.
[00:28:26] Speaker B: Yeah.
Learned that whenever we're trying to teach Ellie animal sounds. And where it's like, what sound does a giraffe make? Wait, what sound does a giraffe make?
[00:28:38] Speaker C: Or festival. The lion king. They show you there, too.
[00:28:42] Speaker B: Yeah. So.
But number again, love this rod. But number three, and it's always a must do. Kilimanjaro, safari.
Kelton.
[00:28:55] Speaker A: Good choice.
[00:28:57] Speaker B: What is your number three?
[00:28:59] Speaker A: This is where we get controversial, because I feel like on all three of.
[00:29:03] Speaker B: Our lists, they're all must do. Is it. Is it in here, Kelsey? Is it.
[00:29:08] Speaker A: Oh, no, it's not in there.
[00:29:10] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:29:10] Speaker A: It's not on it. Side note, by the way, and you can look it up. The tree of life in the animal kingdom, to build it, they took a. I believe it's half of a cargo ship sunk it into the ground at an angle and then built around it. There's your tidbit for the day.
So, my number three, my top three, it is a must do. But as we go up the list, I should say from three to number two, it's like, if we were to skip it, I wouldn't be hurt. My number one is a no skip.
[00:29:45] Speaker B: Like.
[00:29:46] Speaker A: Like, I will never travel to Disney with you again if we skip it. So we'll have to see what that's gonna be. My number three is expedition Everest. And, I mean, my reasoning for it's, you know, a little nostalgic. Nostalgic with it, but, you know, it's fast, got drops. A roller coaster goes backward. I mean, what more could you ask for? And it's a great ride. So, do you know the reason why they stopped? The yeti stopped moving or swinging at the train?
I'll tell you. I'm glad you don't know. So, um, it's actually because the. When. When it would, like, swing down and move, uh, the roller coaster and the mountain have two different structures, so it would be, I guess support beams were kind of getting too close to each other when everything would kind of move, so they had to stop one. And the poor yeti, he also has taste buds and has a name, so the more you know. And the reason why. I know. You may go, Kelton. Why do you know all of this useless information?
[00:30:54] Speaker C: It's not useless.
[00:30:55] Speaker B: I was gonna say useless to about.
[00:30:57] Speaker A: 98% of the world, but we are that 2%.
So, back in, I want to say it may have been 2013. 2014. My wife and I both were cast members at Magic Kingdom outdoor foods. Shout out to my popcorn and ice cream people. Um, we got to do a backstage tour of Mount Everest, and we got to climb all the way up to the top.
[00:31:20] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:31:20] Speaker A: Like, actually, we climbed, uh, when you board, you go down, and you climb up the mountain. We climbed up the. The main lift all the way up to the point where, you know, the tracks break and you go backwards.
[00:31:35] Speaker B: We walked.
[00:31:36] Speaker C: That's all there. So how long did that take?
[00:31:40] Speaker A: Well, we started at 530 in the morning just because you had to do it, you know, before park and all that stuff, so. But we did get to watch sunrise from up there. That was. Wow.
[00:31:50] Speaker C: That's one of those experiences that are priceless. They don't do that anymore.
[00:31:54] Speaker A: Do they know they still do. It's all. Yeah. Cast members, you know, they. You can do it as a cast member.
[00:32:01] Speaker C: That's awesome.
[00:32:02] Speaker B: So quick note. How upset do they get with people.
[00:32:06] Speaker A: Throwing hair ties at the time, I couldn't tell you. I don't think they really care. I'm not sure, though. We'd have to ask an attractions attendant at Expedition Everest. Anyway, that's my number three. Steph, we're onto you. We're getting close to the top.
[00:32:22] Speaker C: My number two is Kilimanjaro Safari.
Yeah, for me, this is like a can't miss.
Even though it's my number two, it's a can't miss because like we mentioned, it's always going to be a new ride and you experience every time. And it's always, no matter what, I feel like you look at these animals and it's always such a surreal experience because this is pretty, pretty immersive, as immersive can get without being in Africa. Right.
And you're always safe. Obviously, that's like Disney's number one rule. But beyond that, too, the ride time fluctuates constantly throughout the day. So it's very.
I don't want to jinx it, but, like, it's pretty easy to do a wait 20 minutes or less throughout the day if you just time it correctly.
Back in the day, it would, like, the rides would stop. I think it was like an hour before park close, and now it goes till the very end, at least it did when I was there. And park closed at six, which is a pretty early park day. But, you know, if you're there from 07:30 a.m. with early entry or 08:00 a.m. for the rest of the guests, I mean, it's still a pretty long day, but, you know, plugging in our TikTok.
What is it? Mouse Ears podcast. It is Mouse Ears podcast, guys.
You know, we'll sometimes go live on there. I just went live for the first time this past trip and I was able to do Kilimanjaro Safari.
It was so fantastic. I feel like I was able to showcase almost every episode.
Side note, best view is the very back row if you request it, because even when you pass an animal, you get to turn back and you get to see, you know, a little bit more and not having any obstruction. So it's really, really cool.
Beyond that, my very last two more tidbits. One, yes, they had the poacher storyline a few years back, and one of the reasons why it changed was because people were complaining that it was going too fast and you couldn't really see anything or observe the animals, and they wanted to change the narrative to promote more conservation and again, you know, bringing, bringing some much needed love to the environment to protecting species, endangered species. So again, Disney goes above and beyond when it comes to those topics.
And lastly, if you haven't watched the secrets of the animal kingdom show on animal or, sorry, on Disneyland, I'm a huge, huge, huge advocate. I love that show. Doesn't matter your age. Like, if you're planning on going to Disney, watch it with your kids.
They not only talk about how Disney take care of their animals, but at the same time, they show you some of the things that they do to kind of promote more activity from the animals while they're in their natural habitat on the, you know, in the, in the path of the ride. So, you know, for instance, the lions, they have air vents like, you know, fans in the rocks so that they're feeling cool while laying on their, you know, structure. So, you know, it's pretty, pretty cool information if you ask me. And again, just love animals. So it's a no brainer for me to have Kilimanjaro on this list?
[00:35:58] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, definitely.
[00:36:00] Speaker A: No, it's, I mean, it's a good, it's a good attraction indeed.
Brooks, moving on over to you, your number two, sir.
[00:36:11] Speaker B: So my number two, Kelton, was your number three expedition Everest, legend of the Forbidden Mountain.
I remember first time going to Disney in 2004. They were building that attraction at that point.
And I remember my brother being very, very upset that it was not going to be open while we were there because he was really looking forward to it.
Fast forward to 2005.
I go with my youth group at church and we're able to ride it. And growing up, I didn't really do that many roller coasters because I am very afraid of heights.
I honestly that this ride and our trip in 2004 really gave me my love for roller coasters.
And I think it's because even though you're doing all these turns and if you get on the front of expedition Everest and you get to that point to where the tracks are broken and you stop, you can look down and see how high you are. You are, you're pretty up there, and then you look down like, oh, good grief. But with, as well as those rise are made of, you never feel unsafe.
You know, we're. I remember going to another theme park. I'm not going to say the name of it, but I remember going on a roller coaster and literally being on it. And in the middle of the ride, my safety bar goes up and it's.
[00:38:10] Speaker A: Got to be the old wooden coaster. Gwazi at, uh, at bush Gardens. No, no, it wasn't.
[00:38:16] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:38:16] Speaker A: Not push gravitz.
[00:38:17] Speaker B: No.
Carol. Breeze. Maybe something like that, if you catch my drift.
Breeze. Carowinds. I'll just say it. Carowinds. I don't know. I don't remember the name of the rod, but I remember getting a depth grip on that bar in front of me and, like, holding on to it. And we get to the end, and my friend is sitting next to me. He did not realize this happened the whole time because there were individual bars. And he's like, dude, were you that scared? And I'm like, bar failed.
[00:38:54] Speaker C: And it was not funny, but the way that you said it is. Oh, God.
[00:38:58] Speaker B: And I had left hand prints, like, indentions in that bar of gripping it so hard.
[00:39:06] Speaker C: Oh, God, that's terrifying.
[00:39:07] Speaker B: I have never been to carowinds since I had no.
No desire to go.
[00:39:15] Speaker C: Please don't.
[00:39:16] Speaker B: I I assume that that was just a one time thing. I've never heard of that happen to anyone else, but it happened to me.
But did not happen to me at exposition Everest. Has never happened to me at exposition Everest. And I love that ride. So my number two, expedition Everest.
[00:39:37] Speaker C: Nice side note for expedition Everest, when you're going uphill, uphill. You know what I mean? You're going up. When you first start near. If you're sitting on the left, you're going to have a very nice view of both Hollywood studios tower of terror and spaceship Earth at Epcot. So get a pretty nice, like, 360 degree view of a lot of Walt Disney world property on that ride, which is really freaking cool.
[00:40:07] Speaker A: It really is. It's a good attraction.
[00:40:10] Speaker B: So, what is your number two?
[00:40:13] Speaker A: My number two is Kilimanjaro safari.
And I kind of figured we're all gonna have kind of the same ones. Uh, killing, I mean. So also got to do a backstage tour of kilimanjaro safari.
Oh, I mean, I'm gonna talk about it. It's great. I. We loaded in from a, you know, to the trucks from the cement. So up a ladder. You know, each row had to get up the ladder.
They test out the audio by satellite points. I get. Wait, I think it's satellite points. Or maybe there was a little pucks in the ground that used to queue up the audio. So they have the same thing for when they tune to the radio and in the truck, kind of the same thing. So. And the fact that we got to go through, you know, no narration. It was just the driver and us telling us all about the attraction and whatnot. Also, those trucks are on the big GMC box truck platforms, and they all run on natural gas now. So talk about conservation and moving forward.
So that's why you don't get that gas smell anymore.
But Kilimanjaro safari for me, that's my number two. Steph, I think it's time.
The big number one.
[00:41:33] Speaker C: I don't. I don't know what any of y'all's number one is, but I feel like we should all say it in unison, what our number one is.
[00:41:40] Speaker A: I don't think we're all going to have the same number one.
[00:41:42] Speaker B: I don't think we are, no.
[00:41:44] Speaker C: Okay. I hope. I hope not. That'd be great.
My number one, without fail, is flight of passage.
Yeah. Love that ride.
[00:41:59] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:42:00] Speaker C: Without a doubt. I mean, up until guardians of the Galaxy came around, this was by far my number one for a while. Like, in all of Walt Disney World.
A, Avatar is my favorite movie, like, of all time.
B, the smell, the visual effects. I mean, just the immersion. Yeah. Your freaking vehicle breathes. Are you supposed to be on Navy? Right? And it breathes. You're hearing the. The. What's it called? Oh, my gosh. I'm drawing a blank right now.
Freaking. Not the na'vi.
Oh, gosh. I'm thinking sivako, the ekronous. Geez. Thank you. The ecron. You're riding the vehicle that is supposed to imitate the e cron. It's breathing. You're hearing it and you're feeling it. Breathe. You're going through all these different terrains and ecosystems, and you're smelling every single one of them. One. I mean, I just think the whole concept. James Cameron blew it out of the park with the movies, both of them. And then to have a ride to immerse you into a world like that. Amazing. I just. God, every time I leave that ride, I'm always like, man, it sucks here.
I just. There's everything about that ride that I love.
[00:43:31] Speaker B: Why can't I be 9ft tall?
[00:43:34] Speaker C: Yeah. Seriously.
I want to connect with the animals in that way. It's just so cool, the whole.
Anyways, that's my number one. I could honestly talk about it forever, but I won't. What are y'all's favorite, do you think?
[00:43:49] Speaker A: Sunscreen on?
They probably don't put sunscreen on, do they?
[00:43:53] Speaker C: No, it's harmful. Harmful for the environment.
[00:43:58] Speaker A: Brooks, you have a number one, don't you?
[00:44:02] Speaker B: I do have a number one.
[00:44:04] Speaker A: Go ahead and let us know what is it all right?
[00:44:06] Speaker B: My number one is dinosaur.
[00:44:16] Speaker C: I like this one. I love this one.
[00:44:18] Speaker A: So can I make it?
[00:44:20] Speaker B: Yes. So before we got on tonight, I was looking all over for it and couldn't find it. So for our long trip that Kelsey and I took in 2019, I had a not or dino t shirt.
I was also a larger man back then.
It sent hangs on me. I have cut off the sleeves. I have worn it to paint on the walls. So it has paint all over it. I will not let Kelsey throw it away. Nope. I will keep it. So we were. I was telling her about our topic earlier this week, and she found the shirt and said, oh, you have to wear this when you tell your number one. Fast forward to tonight. I'm looking for it. It's like, hon, do you know where that shirt is? She was like, I know where it was when we were cleaning. I don't know. Now it. She has not thrown it away.
[00:45:28] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:45:31] Speaker B: If she did, we would be having a very long discussion, but I know that it is. We have saved her because I have literally saved it multiple times, just like I have always saved her living life in the fast pass lane t shirt.
[00:45:48] Speaker A: Oh, that's great.
[00:45:49] Speaker B: She said it has stains on it. Why do you keep it? I say because I want them to bring it back.
Bring that back or just do express pass like universal does. But dinosaur, I love it. I hate that it's going away.
And it's also sentimental to me because I've talked about in 2004, going with my mom and the which we do video when we're recording. I showed it. I was holding up a picture from that ride. It's literally in my office.
The look on her face. We have a video. We have a picture of it. She's the one in the yellow next to my brother in the blue shirt. But she is literally making this face it.
She's just.
[00:46:52] Speaker A: That camera gets me every time.
[00:46:54] Speaker B: Yeah. She is just ecstatic and priceless that it will always be my number one animal kingdom.
[00:47:06] Speaker C: I don't want it to go away. I love that ride. And I was really going back and forth about adding it on this list. So I'm glad you gave dinosaur its moment of glory on tonight's episode.
[00:47:19] Speaker B: I will say my honorable mention was going to be flight of passage.
I. To be fair, I have. I have only ridden that ride once.
[00:47:30] Speaker C: Well, it was very hard because the line is very long.
[00:47:34] Speaker B: Yes. So in 2019, when we went, we had a fast pass for it.
I went on the test seat. I could not fit. So I wasn't able to ride it then.
Another time when we went out was closer, but couldn't fit when we went in. I think in 20.
I think 2021. Yeah, I think in 2021, I was able to fit then. And the cast member, we.
Yeah, I think. I think it was 2021, but we told the story about us, my wife and I losing weight, couldn't fit on the ride before, and the cast member let us go through the Fastpass line.
[00:48:29] Speaker C: So shout out to those cast members.
[00:48:31] Speaker B: Sprinkling in that little magic. Um, so the ride is incredible, but I've only ridden it once. I feel like I would have to ride it more than. More than once in order to put it above any of my top three. But it's still an incredible ride.
[00:48:54] Speaker C: Next time you go.
[00:48:55] Speaker A: No, it absolutely is an incredible ride, that's for sure.
[00:49:00] Speaker C: Well, not just the ride, all of the land, but.
[00:49:03] Speaker A: Oh, great area.
[00:49:07] Speaker B: But say, I think my wife's probably one of her top three is Na'vi's river journey. She loves that.
[00:49:13] Speaker C: Really?
[00:49:14] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:49:15] Speaker C: Can't say I've heard that one.
Not because it's not awesome, but because it is so short.
[00:49:23] Speaker B: Yeah, it is pretty short.
[00:49:25] Speaker A: That is the downfall.
[00:49:26] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:49:26] Speaker C: Yes. Because it is gorgeous.
[00:49:30] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:49:30] Speaker C: Absolutely gorgeous.
[00:49:32] Speaker B: Animatronic at the end.
[00:49:33] Speaker C: No. Unbelievable.
[00:49:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:49:36] Speaker C: But, you know, I. I haven't even just it in my sea and I have to get back up again cuz it's done. Like, it just heartbreaking.
[00:49:44] Speaker B: At least it's longer than Tron.
[00:49:47] Speaker A: Ouch. Throwing shade.
[00:49:51] Speaker B: I mean, Tron is pretty short.
[00:49:53] Speaker C: It's very short. It's grown on me a lot, though, I have to be honest.
[00:49:58] Speaker B: Tron again. I mean, incredible ride, but I think storm. Storm. Uh oh, man.
What? Barnstormer. I think it's longer than Tron, probably. Yeah.
[00:50:13] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:50:13] Speaker B: But getting back to animal kingdom, Kelton, what is your number one?
[00:50:19] Speaker A: So I will tell you this much. My number one is not flight of passage.
[00:50:24] Speaker C: Wow. I thought all of us were gonna have it, like.
[00:50:29] Speaker B: All right, do you want me to drum roll, Kelton?
[00:50:33] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:50:34] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:50:40] Speaker A: Festival of the Lion King.
[00:50:42] Speaker B: Whoa.
[00:50:43] Speaker A: 100%. So people may not realize I am a young child at heart. Loud music and lights, two of my favorite things. Even at 33 years old, I'm getting my son into. Into lights right now. Like, I just bought two led whips for my. My atv. He loves them. We have to turn them on every time we're in the garage. But no, like, I can skip if we don't do expedition Everest on our park day. I'm okay. It's. I'm okay.
We always do try for Kilimanjaro safari because we've all talked about it, you know, different ride every time. It's a good attraction. But if we miss it, I'm okay.
If we miss Festival of the Lion King, whoever I'm traveling with, I will not travel with again.
My wife has learned that we do festival. We do festival of the Lion King always. Just like Brooks's cup.
Plus, Kenny loves the Lion King.
[00:51:49] Speaker B: You, you will, you will have many matatas if you miss festival, the Lion King, many worries.
[00:51:56] Speaker A: Oh, somebody will.
[00:51:58] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:51:59] Speaker A: I won't. Because I'll just leave the party and, you know, and go back to animal kingdom the next day.
[00:52:03] Speaker B: I mean, Steph, did I, did I mispronounce it? Is it.
[00:52:07] Speaker C: Dude, I'm here. Laughing.
Obsessed. Could that be like, on a shirt or a sticker?
[00:52:16] Speaker A: I love many matatus of the Lion King. We're gonna have many.
[00:52:23] Speaker B: Many.
[00:52:25] Speaker C: Oh, my gosh. That is the phrase. Oh, I had to give me a.
[00:52:31] Speaker A: Beverage or we're gonna have many matatas.
[00:52:33] Speaker B: Many.
[00:52:38] Speaker C: Oh, that's the easiest way to end this episode. Wow.
[00:52:43] Speaker B: Don't get pork, pork egg rolls. We will have mini matatas.
[00:52:48] Speaker A: No, it's. It has always been, you know, my favorite thing, I mean, even, because when we, when we lived there, our apartment to animal kingdom was like a twelve to 15 minutes drive, depending on how much traffic was on 192. So I could be at from my front door of my apartment to festival of the lion King about 22 minutes.
[00:53:13] Speaker C: So with or without the tram?
[00:53:17] Speaker A: No, we would just walk because I'd. Parking. Cast member parking.
[00:53:20] Speaker C: True.
[00:53:22] Speaker A: Brooks, I haven't.
[00:53:25] Speaker B: You poor things.
[00:53:26] Speaker A: You know, I'm not like the.
[00:53:28] Speaker B: I mean, I walk. I didn't have it in my top three, but it's, it's a must do for me as well. And like we said, it was hard to do this list. I think, Steph, you talked about how picking.
It's your favorite children.
[00:53:46] Speaker C: Yeah, I love Everest. You guys mentioned Everest. I love.
[00:53:53] Speaker A: Here's our blue cards.
[00:53:55] Speaker C: That's awesome. Oh, yeah. So young.
I love dinosaur. No, she called me old.
[00:54:04] Speaker B: I mean, you're not, not like Moana's father. I had, I saw someone point out in the trailer the gray hairs. Well, like Moana's mom, aged five minutes. Moana's dad aged 15 years.
[00:54:16] Speaker A: He has a daughter.
He has a. You're gonna learn that here in about two years.
[00:54:21] Speaker B: Well, his daughter is Moanataindeh, so, I.
[00:54:25] Speaker A: Mean, the man should have many gray hairs. And many matatas.
[00:54:30] Speaker B: He has many matatas.
[00:54:34] Speaker A: So.
[00:54:37] Speaker B: I'm just surprised no one had Cali river rapids.
[00:54:41] Speaker C: Who wants to really get. Yeah, you really get what on that ride.
[00:54:45] Speaker A: You wanna.
[00:54:46] Speaker B: Or you could. Hold on, hold on, hold on. I have these.
[00:54:51] Speaker A: Could get stabbed in the back.
[00:54:53] Speaker B: Uh, you have the. You could have these. These are some new. I have. They're called flow first.
They are like croc loafers, but they.
[00:55:04] Speaker A: Float, but they're always in their name.
[00:55:10] Speaker B: They're called flofers. Not a sponsor, but I mean, if you want to. Floafers.
[00:55:18] Speaker C: That's so funny. Um, yeah, no, can't say Kelly river in my hemisphere.
[00:55:24] Speaker B: That way. You. You really have kuna matatas. No worries when you're wearing flo furs.
[00:55:30] Speaker C: Well, no worries with the shoes and the socks. Then everything else just gets wet.
[00:55:35] Speaker B: You. You don't wear these with socks. It's like wearing sandals.
[00:55:39] Speaker C: That's what, that's what I'm saying. Like, I wear sneakers, and if I go on Kilimanjaro's and I get my socks wet, like, I hate getting my shoes wet. My socks getting wet. It's game over.
[00:55:48] Speaker A: Like, what are you doing on Kilimanjaro safari to get your socks wet?
[00:55:55] Speaker C: On Kilimanjaro safari, me and Cali river rapids.
[00:55:58] Speaker A: That's okay.
[00:56:01] Speaker B: I was gonna say how close to that hippo tank hippo pond are you're getting?
[00:56:05] Speaker C: I'm sorry.
[00:56:07] Speaker A: Hippos swimming with the flamingos, bathing with the elephants.
[00:56:13] Speaker C: Did you know a bunch of flamingos together called flamboyant?
[00:56:19] Speaker A: Yes. Do you know where they pink color from? You should, because they tell you on the attraction.
[00:56:26] Speaker C: I know. Is it from their shrimps? Their shrimp, their diet.
[00:56:30] Speaker B: And did you know they stink to high heaven? They do.
[00:56:37] Speaker A: Can you not smell it when you go around the island?
Or maybe that's just everybody in the truck who needs deodorant.
Mini matatas.
[00:56:49] Speaker B: Mini matatas. Is that puberty or flamingos over there?
[00:56:55] Speaker C: Okay, mini matatas is officially going to be a sticker. And this episode has run its course.
[00:57:01] Speaker A: And we are at that part. Quick final thoughts.
[00:57:09] Speaker C: I love animal kingdom. It is my favorite park. There is so much more to do there than just rides and attractions.
Take advantage. There are so many more character meet and greets. There are other kinds of shows that are not required sitting down, like in Africa, or as soon as you walk, you gotta go.
[00:57:31] Speaker B: Street performers.
[00:57:34] Speaker C: A lot of street performers. Fantastic food. Fantastic food and drinks. Arguably. I think that animal kingdom has some of the best adult beverages.
My favorite character dining is Tusker House for breakfast. So don't sleep on animal kingdom.
It is awesome. They have fantastic decorations for the holidays.
[00:58:00] Speaker A: Oh, they do?
[00:58:02] Speaker C: Yeah. Just little ten minutes out there for Christmas specifically. Fantastic time of the year to go.
I love animal kingdom. Next, brooks.
[00:58:14] Speaker B: Again. I used to be in the camp of half day park with animal kingdom.
The more I've gone, the more I have definitely realized it is not a half day park. It is definitely a full day park, especially if you take the time and smell the flamingos.
And also, I feel like now season one was marked, was marked by my sweat is colder than the Florida weather. And now season two is marked by. I will have many montanas if we skip. That's for the lion King.
[00:58:52] Speaker A: I think we should put many matatas and a.
What was the smell? It's thinking like a flamingo that you had just said it.
[00:59:02] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
[00:59:03] Speaker B: Is that. Is that puberty?
[00:59:04] Speaker C: Stop and smell the flamingos.
[00:59:08] Speaker A: That should also be made into a sticker.
Stop and smell the flamingos.
No, I mean, what is your last thought? Animal kingdom. Dose sleep on it. Great food, great drinks, a lot of really hidden trails. You can go down, a lot of shade, give it a shot.
Start at rope drop if you're buying lightning lane and genie. Plus, go straight to the safari. If you're like any of us, minus Stephen, who chooses not to do flight of passage or have it on your top three, go to the safari. Write it then, and then write it at night. Get that lightning lane or genie plus for the evening. Like we said, two different attractions, but.
[00:59:54] Speaker B: And also I will say, do not sleep on the feathered friends in flight. It is a phenomenal bird shot. And the cat. The cast members that, you know, mc that show are hilarious. So.
And it's a little bit of a different show every time, too, because you're dealing with live animals and sometimes they do not want to cooperate.
[01:00:22] Speaker A: That's how you know they're live.
[01:00:24] Speaker B: And you may have audience participation.
[01:00:28] Speaker A: Don't give it all away. Don't give it all away at all.
So last and final thing, we will be presenting our top three attractions and give our reasons for the order that we rate them. But check out the Facebook page, because what we're gonna end up doing is we're gonna put our three top three, all our three top threes. No names on who it is because the episode drops on Monday. So of course you guys are gonna already have it all done by then because it's going to open up, I think, tonight or tomorrow. And it'll end Sunday at about midnight eastern or central somewhere around there.
So all in all, we're going to see who gets the most votes and they may win a special prize or they may have to, well, do a punishment. And I'm hoping we don't have to do punishments.
[01:01:22] Speaker B: What the punishment is for the person could be potentially for the person that gets the least amount of votes they.
[01:01:29] Speaker C: Have to pay for my Joffrey's coffee.
[01:01:31] Speaker A: Let the people decide.
Well, folks, that just about does it for this week's episode of the Mouse Ears podcast.
Don't forget to join our Mouse Ears podcast Facebook page.
And if you're on Tick Tock, follow us there because when we're in the park, we do tend to go live. So check it out there as well.
If you're interested in having a fairytale journeys travel agent, book your next trip. Visit us fairytalejourneys.com and let them know that the podcast had sent you. Lastly, if you have enjoyed listening to us, I would love for you to leave us a review at wherever you listen until the next episode, everybody. Have a great day and we'll see you on the next one. Bye, everybody.
[01:02:19] Speaker C: Bye. Good night, everyone.
