Episode 18
Unleashing the Magic: Top 10 Wishes for Walt Disney World
Tony Desiere and Lauren Mallard share their holiday wishes for Walt Disney World in a spirited discussion filled with imaginative ideas. At the heart of their conversation is the desire to see enhancements in the parks, from extending the Skyliner to connecting more resorts, to revitalizing Tomorrowland to reflect a more futuristic vision. They explore the need for unique dining experiences, such as a Toy Story character meal and a Haunted Mansion-themed restaurant, to enrich the guest experience. Additionally, they tackle the complexities of the Lightning Lane system, advocating for a simpler, more user-friendly approach. With a blend of nostalgia and creativity, the duo presents their visions for how Disney can elevate the magic for visitors in the coming years.
Takeaways:
- The hosts discuss their holiday wish list for Walt Disney World, focusing on desired changes.
- Lauren suggests extending the Skyliner to Animal Kingdom Lodge for better transportation access.
- Tony wishes for Tomorrowland to feel more futuristic by updating outdated attractions.
- The idea of a Toy Story character meal is proposed to enhance dining experiences.
- Both hosts express a desire for simpler and more accessible Lightning Lane options.
- A Haunted Mansion themed restaurant is envisioned to capitalize on the ride's popularity.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Disney
- Universal Studios
- ESPN
- Kodak
- Tesla
- Oriental Land Company
Transcript
Foreign of the Wands and Wishes podcast.
Tony Desiri:Glad you could be with us, Tony Desiri along with Lauren Mallard.
Tony Desiri:All the magic travel and we are hoping you are having a great holiday season.
Tony Desiri:And this, this episode we decided to go a little bit more in the Christmas wish list as we look at the Walt Disney World Resort and the parks and everything around that make your vacation so complete.
Tony Desiri:If we could make make wishes come true, what wishes would we want to happen within Walt Disney World?
Tony Desiri:And I think with the caveat of this as being if money was no object, even if space was no object, because Lord knows we all know budgetary reasons and staffs and boardrooms or whatnot.
Tony Desiri:But if we could just wave a magical wand, what are things we'd like to see brought back, changed, etc for our holiday wish list for the Walt Disney World Resort.
Tony Desiri:How are you, Lauren?
Tony Desiri:Happy holidays.
Lauren Mallard:I am good.
Lauren Mallard:Happy holidays to you.
Tony Desiri:Oh, it's getting such a time of year.
Tony Desiri:This is so fun.
Tony Desiri:Yeah, this is.
Tony Desiri:So I thought we would do something fun like this because I know you and I have talked about some changes that are coming to the resorts.
Tony Desiri:We've talked about different things.
Tony Desiri:We have seen change and whether it's those changes are good or whether they're not not so good or we'll wait and see.
Tony Desiri:So I thought this would be more fun because these, some of the things we talked about were very practical, very business oriented.
Tony Desiri:Do X, do Y, do Z.
Tony Desiri:But sometimes if we could just magically create some things within the parks that we wish we could, what would they look like?
Lauren Mallard:Yeah, I love it.
Tony Desiri:All right, so let's, let's get started.
Tony Desiri:You want to get started with this?
Lauren Mallard:You want to go first?
Lauren Mallard:All right, let's.
Lauren Mallard:Okay, so I will start with my first one and this one I guess can be a little bit with the logistics, but I think it also would just be really awesome if we could extend the Skyliner is what I'm saying.
Lauren Mallard:So this is going broad, like whole resort wide.
Lauren Mallard:So I'm thinking, you know, if, if I could extend it anywhere, where would I want to extend it to?
Lauren Mallard:And I'm thinking the only deluxe property that doesn't have access to an additional transportation system is Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Tony Desiri:Right.
Lauren Mallard:And I feel like, you know, I know Animal Kingdom is a far off down the road from everything else, but I think if I'm looking at the map right, I think that they could extend the Skyliner over there pretty easily and it would be like an extension of a ride for a lot of people.
Tony Desiri:I used to think how much would it cost to make a whole branch monorail system within all the parks?
Tony Desiri:Because, you know, sometimes you're waiting on those buses and you're thinking, well, I wonder if that was practical and obviously super expensive and whatnot.
Tony Desiri:But you're right.
Tony Desiri:There could be additional ways.
Tony Desiri:The Skyliner was almost the answer to.
Lauren Mallard:That question, I think so years ago.
Tony Desiri:When I said, is there another way we could do this other than buses or just one monorail between two.
Tony Desiri:The two of the parks.
Lauren Mallard:And the Skyliner is so efficient because it's constant.
Lauren Mallard:It's not like you're waiting and watching for the next monorail to come or watching for the next bus.
Lauren Mallard:Those things are constantly moving.
Lauren Mallard:And so it's just such a good addition to the resort as a whole.
Lauren Mallard:And I just think I would love to see it extended a little bit.
Tony Desiri:All right.
Tony Desiri:My first one is.
Tony Desiri:This is a little bit more of a.
Tony Desiri:But I'm trying to wave the magic wand here.
Tony Desiri:I want Tomorrowland to be more tomorrow.
Lauren Mallard:Oh, I love it.
Tony Desiri:All right, so here's why I think there are a lot of attractions there that need to be either upgraded or just taken out.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:And so I.
Tony Desiri:I said, look, Tron and Space Mountain, they.
Tony Desiri:They give you that feeling of tomorrow.
Tony Desiri:Space Mountain has always done that.
Tony Desiri: n't think there needs to be a: Tony Desiri:This is a carnival attraction that has gone way past very retro.
Tony Desiri:It's very retro, and I don't understand why it belongs.
Tony Desiri:It's doesn't belong.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:But then I also look at, you know, look, Buzz Lightyear probably needs a technological upgrade that's been around since the early 90s, late 80s.
Tony Desiri:The stitch space is going nowhere.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:We haven't had any plans for that.
Tony Desiri:Monsters laugh lore.
Tony Desiri:I get it.
Tony Desiri:But again, it just feels like a little bit more waste of space.
Tony Desiri:And I understand it's Walt's thing, but Carousel of Progress was not supposed to be permanently.
Tony Desiri:They're going through a 20 year jump in time from the turn of the century.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah.
Lauren Mallard:You know, the thing that bothers me about Tomorrowland is there's so many good spots there, but they're all almost like theater style.
Tony Desiri:Right.
Lauren Mallard:And so there's so little that we can really do with it, I think, because I think that really we could have space for some.
Lauren Mallard:Some moving attractions in Tomorrowland again.
Lauren Mallard:And I think that with Buzz Lightyear, you have the same.
Lauren Mallard:The same similar size and space that you probably would with, say, like, monsters in glass floor that maybe you could do a similar slow moving dark ride in Monsters Laugh Floor area to make it, you know, just a little more appealing.
Lauren Mallard:I'm with you there.
Tony Desiri:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:And look, Astro Orbiter can stay.
Tony Desiri:That's always a fun little fun ride.
Tony Desiri:And the People Mover is one of my favorites.
Tony Desiri:Just get.
Tony Desiri:Sit down and relax attraction.
Tony Desiri:But I think it, it lost a little of its Tomorrow ish appeal again.
Tony Desiri:Look, look, I get it.
Tony Desiri:When I was younger, Buzz Lightyear was if you had wings, which was like an airplane ad from Eastern Airlines.
Tony Desiri:It was not, you know, it wasn't.
Tony Desiri:It was like, do you want to get away?
Tony Desiri:Fly us.
Tony Desiri:That was basically the attraction.
Tony Desiri:But it, it just feel.
Tony Desiri:It doesn't feel as Tomorrow.
Tony Desiri:Ish.
Tony Desiri:So that's one of my wishes is that.
Tony Desiri:Take Tomorrowland.
Tony Desiri:You did a great job with Tron.
Tony Desiri:Tron makes you feel so futuristic.
Tony Desiri:Add a little bit of that to the carousel of progress is my biggest complaint.
Lauren Mallard:Right.
Tony Desiri: ted amount of money, start in: Tony Desiri:But you don't have to go back to the turn.
Lauren Mallard:No, we certainly don't.
Lauren Mallard:You know, I think that Elon Musk has plenty of money laying around.
Lauren Mallard:Couldn't he, like, bring Tesla to Tomorrowland Speedway?
Tony Desiri:I think so too.
Tony Desiri:Why are we doing gas cars at Tomorrowland Speed?
Tony Desiri:Why am I smelling.
Tony Desiri:Smelling gasoline?
Lauren Mallard:Yes.
Tony Desiri:From cars that go three miles an hour.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah, let's do that.
Tony Desiri:So that's my.
Tony Desiri:That's my first one.
Tony Desiri:Your second one.
Lauren Mallard:I love it.
Lauren Mallard:Okay, so the second one that I have gonna go into a little bit of dining, but I think that we really, really need a Toy Story character meal somewhere.
Tony Desiri:Oh, yeah, that'd be great.
Lauren Mallard:So I was thinking if we could either build a new restaurant or just put them in Rodeo Roundup because we're not given enough opportunities.
Lauren Mallard:Yes, we have several character meals, but there's so many that have the Fab Five or Mickey and Minnie just in different outfits that I think we're looking for other characters and that will bring more in to keeping their money on Disney property.
Tony Desiri:With the dining, I agree with you completely on that.
Tony Desiri:I think when you can specialize the characters, it really, even, even if you're laser focused on this sort of genre, it really does make a difference.
Tony Desiri:People do gravitate towards those.
Tony Desiri:Yeah, they want to have Mickey and they want to Mickey in different outfits.
Tony Desiri:But if you say, hey, the only time you can get this movie, whatever it is, is through this dining Experience.
Tony Desiri:I agree with you.
Tony Desiri:I think there needs to be a lot more like that.
Tony Desiri:The main reason Winnie the Pooh, we went.
Tony Desiri:We went to the Crystal Palace.
Lauren Mallard:Absolutely.
Lauren Mallard:And, you know, especially with the.
Lauren Mallard:With the announcement of Bluey coming, right?
Lauren Mallard:I'm like, oh, my goodness.
Lauren Mallard:They could have a whole restaurant and just have Bluey and the characters from Bluey and people would flock to it.
Tony Desiri:Absolutely.
Tony Desiri:Now I'm going to stay on the Winnie the Pooh theme for my second one.
Lauren Mallard:Love it.
Tony Desiri:This is very, very personal.
Tony Desiri:So here's the deal.
Tony Desiri:I love popcorn buckets, okay?
Tony Desiri:I get them all the time.
Tony Desiri:If I don't get them, my parents get them.
Tony Desiri:And you want the popcorn bucket.
Tony Desiri:I get the popcorn.
Tony Desiri:I got a bunch of them.
Tony Desiri:I just like them.
Tony Desiri:I think they're kind of cool.
Tony Desiri:I've got Hatbox Mickey.
Tony Desiri:I've got Ghost Mickey.
Tony Desiri:I've got Nutcracker Mickey.
Tony Desiri:But there never is a Winnie the Pooh popcorn bucket.
Tony Desiri:And my wife drives my wife crazy.
Tony Desiri:And here's why.
Tony Desiri:It drives my wife crazy.
Tony Desiri:Because in Tokyo Disneyland, which is run by the Oriental Land Company, they have a ton of them, and they're great.
Tony Desiri:And she's like, I'm not going to Japan to get a Winnie the Pooh popcorn bucket.
Tony Desiri:And I'm not going to spend twice the amount on ebay to get somebody else's Winnie the Pooh popcorn.
Lauren Mallard:I love it.
Tony Desiri:Just one time, one summer, just make them.
Tony Desiri:They'll sell out.
Tony Desiri:They.
Tony Desiri:People go nuts for it.
Tony Desiri:Just do it.
Tony Desiri:You just make.
Tony Desiri:It would make my life a thousand times easier if you could just give my wife one Winnie the Pooh pop.
Lauren Mallard:Winnie the Pooh popcorn.
Tony Desiri:That's all I'm looking for.
Lauren Mallard:I love it.
Lauren Mallard:Not the big ticket item, just.
Lauren Mallard:Just the little thing.
Tony Desiri:Exactly.
Tony Desiri:I walked around with that Mickey Nutcracker one, and I got asked 10 times where I got it.
Tony Desiri:And I was directing people to the popcorn stand right outside Tomorrowland.
Tony Desiri:I said, that's where you want to go?
Lauren Mallard:Yes.
Tony Desiri:Get it.
Tony Desiri:So you got to carry it around with you all day, but I love it.
Tony Desiri:Not bad.
Tony Desiri:Number two.
Lauren Mallard:All right, so this is my number three.
Lauren Mallard:Actually.
Lauren Mallard:We're moving along.
Lauren Mallard:Along.
Lauren Mallard:So this is going to be another one that's kind of more on a broad scale.
Lauren Mallard:So since we lost espn, there's really not anywhere good to go.
Lauren Mallard:Watch a football game.
Tony Desiri:Yeah.
Lauren Mallard:On Disney property.
Tony Desiri:I like where you're going with this.
Lauren Mallard:So, you know, I think.
Lauren Mallard:Because Disney.
Lauren Mallard:I mean, come on, Disney owns espn, so why can't we bring the two together?
Lauren Mallard:Have I Mean, I'm talking like a big complex of several different sports bars that you can go and easily take Disney transportation to and be able to watch Saturday college games, Sunday football, Monday Night Football.
Lauren Mallard:Because I know for a fact that if my husband had the opportunity to get away for a couple hours and watch a game and have a meal, then it would be amazing.
Tony Desiri:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:They used to have the ESPN Zone and.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah.
Lauren Mallard:And it's gone.
Lauren Mallard:They replaced it with the cake bake shop with.
Lauren Mallard:With $40 slices of cake.
Tony Desiri:Right.
Tony Desiri:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:No, you definitely.
Lauren Mallard:We need somewhere that we can go watch sports and have a casual meal and just see TVs playing different sports.
Tony Desiri:That's a good one.
Tony Desiri:That's a good one.
Tony Desiri:A lot of people would probably love that day off to say, I'm going to take a relaxing day, still get a Disney buzz somewhere while I'm.
Tony Desiri:While I'm watching my.
Tony Desiri:That's right, my games on Saturday or Sunday.
Tony Desiri:All right, all right.
Tony Desiri:This is a little bit more on the serious side.
Tony Desiri:I know it's an issue we talked about before, but I still am a big, strong proponent of this.
Tony Desiri:I want them to figure out the Lightning Lane pass a little bit easier.
Tony Desiri:And look, I know it's copying your competition, but just sell the $130 Express Pass.
Tony Desiri:Let it certain amount.
Tony Desiri:Let it sell out.
Tony Desiri:People don't have a problem with this at Universal.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:And I, I get the problem.
Tony Desiri:And I.
Tony Desiri:And I know the difference between Universal and Disney.
Tony Desiri:I've narrowed it down to this is that in the end, Disney has a face of the, of the business and he's long dead, but that's the place people go to all the time with their criticism.
Tony Desiri:Walt will roll over in his grave if he ever heard Disney was doing this.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah, but what would he say about what he.
Lauren Mallard:What they're charging for everything right now.
Tony Desiri:Exactly.
Tony Desiri:And Universal doesn't have that.
Tony Desiri:Universal is like, we're a company.
Tony Desiri:What do you want?
Tony Desiri:What do you want from us?
Lauren Mallard:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:And so the critics always go back to this nostalgia of what it used to be and how it used to be.
Tony Desiri:It's okay if you want to sell $130 badge and have people get to front of the lines.
Tony Desiri:No one has a problem with this at Universal.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:No one thinks Universal is.
Tony Desiri:Is out of line for this or separating the classes over this.
Tony Desiri:Nobody has a problem with it.
Tony Desiri:It doesn't affect your ability to enjoy the park without it.
Tony Desiri:Disney's almost making it like this is what you're going to need.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:You're Going to need.
Tony Desiri:You're going to need something because, well, you don't want to do this all day, do you?
Lauren Mallard:Right.
Tony Desiri:And I.
Tony Desiri:And I just think it's a little confusing.
Tony Desiri:And the other thing, too, is I'm.
Tony Desiri:I'm the kind of guy that I study this.
Tony Desiri:I look at wait times when I'm not even there, you know, just to see what a.
Tony Desiri:Yeah, a Tuesday in August is like.
Tony Desiri:Right.
Tony Desiri:I'll just go, you know?
Tony Desiri:Now, my brother, he doesn't do any of that.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:So my brother goes, hey, I'm taking my kids to Disney.
Tony Desiri:I have no idea what's going on.
Tony Desiri:Wait a minute.
Tony Desiri:They want this and this and.
Tony Desiri:What do you mean?
Tony Desiri:I got to tear this, tear that.
Tony Desiri:I don't have time to pay attention that.
Tony Desiri:I do.
Tony Desiri:And I do.
Tony Desiri:I wonder how complicated it is for somebody.
Lauren Mallard:It absolutely is.
Tony Desiri:I'm not paying attention to this.
Tony Desiri:And now I get there, and now I'm supposed to educate myself on a very complex system.
Lauren Mallard:And that's why even the premier pass that they.
Lauren Mallard:That they have rolled out recently is supposed to be a more streamlined product, but it still isn't, because it's like, okay, what?
Lauren Mallard:But you can buy this for this absurd amount of money, but you can only ride each ride once, and you can only stay in one park.
Tony Desiri:Right.
Lauren Mallard:So why not copy the competition?
Lauren Mallard:Unlimited means unlimited.
Lauren Mallard:And unlimited means all the parks for this amount of money, and people will pay it.
Tony Desiri:I've never been at any ride at Universal where I went, oh, my God, look at how many people are coming through with those badges.
Tony Desiri:Yeah, never.
Tony Desiri:It's always been, yeah, there's a few, then, then we go, then a few more, then we go.
Tony Desiri:And it's always flowed better that way.
Tony Desiri:It's okay to admit you can't quite narrow this thing down.
Tony Desiri:Yeah, it's okay.
Tony Desiri:You've tried different things.
Tony Desiri:It's just getting more and more complicated.
Tony Desiri:And I.
Tony Desiri:And I.
Tony Desiri:I want them to figure it out.
Lauren Mallard:I agree.
Tony Desiri:Get a little better.
Lauren Mallard:Simplify it.
Tony Desiri:All right.
Tony Desiri:This is your fourth.
Lauren Mallard:This is my fourth one.
Lauren Mallard:So I am going to go here.
Lauren Mallard:I'm gonna go back to something that I want back for free.
Lauren Mallard:So I've got.
Lauren Mallard:I've got two things that I want back for free, so.
Lauren Mallard:And I actually wrote down six things, so I may not even get to the other one because I think you might mention it, but I want them to give us the simple magic bands for free.
Tony Desiri:Yeah.
Lauren Mallard:Because it's so easy to be able to go on property.
Lauren Mallard:And yes, they're like, oh, but you can use your phone now.
Lauren Mallard:We have Magic Mobile.
Lauren Mallard:And, you know, not everybody wants to pull their phone out for literally every attraction for everybody in their family, because that means swiping through five different tickets that are on my Apple wallet when I could just scan my band.
Lauren Mallard:But out of principle, I don't want to pay $50 per person in my family for something that you used to give me for free.
Tony Desiri:That's right.
Lauren Mallard:And that costs Disney literally nothing.
Lauren Mallard:You know, if they're just using the basic ones, we don't need the ones that are lighting up.
Lauren Mallard:If you want to have that as an upgrade, that'd be great.
Lauren Mallard:But if you want to just give us the basic ones again, the ones that they're trying to just completely phase out, then people see that as such a value for their vacation.
Lauren Mallard:They want to put them under the tree for Christmas.
Lauren Mallard:They want to be able to give them to their K and say, hey, this.
Lauren Mallard:This signals your.
Lauren Mallard:Your Disney vacation.
Lauren Mallard:But, you know, taking that away, I feel like was a bigger value, Miss, than what they said.
Tony Desiri:I agree.
Tony Desiri:I agree.
Tony Desiri: I remember we went in: Tony Desiri:Had all our bands with our names down.
Tony Desiri:It was such a.
Tony Desiri:Cool.
Lauren Mallard:So fun now.
Tony Desiri:No, no.
Tony Desiri:But when.
Tony Desiri:When did you guys.
Tony Desiri:Do you guys still have original.
Tony Desiri:Original bands?
Lauren Mallard:Oh, yeah.
Lauren Mallard:So we have two different kinds.
Lauren Mallard:We have the ones that were the longer oblong.
Lauren Mallard:I don't think those work anymore.
Lauren Mallard:I think those have probably died.
Lauren Mallard:Basic ones with the circular band in the middle, those still work fine.
Lauren Mallard:We.
Lauren Mallard:We're still rocking them.
Tony Desiri:Yeah, we still do.
Tony Desiri:I.
Tony Desiri:I have the magic band, plus my wife does not.
Lauren Mallard:Okay.
Tony Desiri:So I don't know if I have to upgrade her.
Tony Desiri:She kind of got jealous that I got to wave it and hear different things.
Tony Desiri:All right, number four on my list.
Tony Desiri:I want a haunted mansion restaurant.
Lauren Mallard:I love it.
Tony Desiri:I've said this before.
Tony Desiri:Look, I get it.
Tony Desiri:It's on the Treasure.
Tony Desiri:There's a bar on the Treasure that's.
Tony Desiri:That's themed to the Haunted Mansion.
Tony Desiri:I think this would be phenomenal.
Tony Desiri:This would be fantastic.
Tony Desiri:And I think it capitalizes on a real resurgence of fandom that this attraction has.
Tony Desiri:If you go on Facebook, you can find a lot of fan sites of people who do their own decorations around this ride.
Tony Desiri:Different, you know, knowledgeable people who have.
Tony Desiri:Know the history of the ride, etc.
Tony Desiri:I think it would be fantastic to be in a spooky dining room with ghosts flying around.
Tony Desiri:Dimly lit, but lit enough for safety, and just experience a dinner in a Spooky.
Tony Desiri:Spooky place.
Lauren Mallard:Love it.
Tony Desiri:I think it would be great.
Tony Desiri:You can wave.
Tony Desiri:Just wave the magic wand and put it somewhere close.
Tony Desiri:Yes, I think that would be great.
Lauren Mallard:Oh, I think that'd be.
Tony Desiri:So you got one for Jungle Cruise.
Lauren Mallard:Yes.
Tony Desiri:You've got, you know, Spaceship Earth is getting a lounge.
Lauren Mallard:That's right.
Tony Desiri:So what.
Tony Desiri:What's wrong with the.
Tony Desiri:One of the more popular attractions in.
Tony Desiri:In all of the park.
Lauren Mallard:And we need more dining in Magic Kingdom.
Tony Desiri:I do too.
Tony Desiri:I agree.
Lauren Mallard:You know, so that would be perfect.
Lauren Mallard:It would be a great addition.
Tony Desiri:I'm almost reluctant to see the video treasure.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:Because I really do want to see it first.
Tony Desiri:I try.
Tony Desiri:I, I'm not a spoiler guy.
Tony Desiri:I'm okay with that.
Tony Desiri:But for some reason when I see people posting this is what the bar is, I go, I'm gonna.
Tony Desiri:I want to see it from Wait and see.
Lauren Mallard:I want to wait and see if I get that.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:Haunted Mansion Restaurant I think would be fantastic.
Lauren Mallard:So cool.
Tony Desiri:All right, number five.
Lauren Mallard:All right, I have one more.
Lauren Mallard:So I am actually going to say that.
Lauren Mallard:So it's been a while since we've had a new resort that was not a DVC resort.
Lauren Mallard:So what I actually think would be really cool is like a Fantasyland themed resort.
Tony Desiri:Oh, that's nice.
Lauren Mallard:But I want it to be a deluxe.
Tony Desiri:Okay.
Lauren Mallard:So I'm talking like beautiful, like princess, like different princess themed areas of the resort so that you can stay if you want to stay in the Tiana area or if you want to stay in Aurora's area.
Lauren Mallard:All the different areas of the resort.
Lauren Mallard:And so then we also have a princess meal that's there so that you're not having to go to the castle to have your meal, but you are in just fully engulfed in princesses and all things Fantasyland.
Lauren Mallard:Maybe even have a carousel in the lobby so that you're actually feeling like you're in Fantasy land.
Tony Desiri:Oh, man.
Tony Desiri:You should design this.
Lauren Mallard:I mean, right?
Lauren Mallard:They should just hire me.
Lauren Mallard:I'm for hire.
Lauren Mallard:Disney.
Tony Desiri:All right.
Tony Desiri:This is my fifth one.
Tony Desiri:I.
Tony Desiri:And again, I, I preface this at the beginning of this.
Tony Desiri:Money, space are no object.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:Because this is definitely one where money and space are going to be a problem.
Tony Desiri:But I would love to see just a few more attractions in World Showcase.
Lauren Mallard:Because I think it's working great.
Tony Desiri:I.
Tony Desiri:I know people didn't like the Frozen transformation, but where were you Maelstrom fans before they announced it?
Tony Desiri:I didn't.
Tony Desiri:I never saw you.
Tony Desiri:And then Remy's Ratatouille Adventure.
Tony Desiri:I Think totally works.
Tony Desiri:I mean, the one.
Tony Desiri:And again, I, I'm, I.
Tony Desiri:I'm not like, a huge fan of the movie, but I get its cultural significance.
Tony Desiri:But I was a little disappointed that the Mary Poppins ride didn't go through.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:Just because I think it could have been a nice addition to the.
Tony Desiri:To Great Britain.
Lauren Mallard:Agree.
Tony Desiri:You know, you could do a Luca ride in Italy.
Tony Desiri:You got Milan.
Tony Desiri:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:I'm trying to think of just a couple.
Lauren Mallard:Well, you could go down the rabbit hole with Alice and, like, get down the rabbit hole and then, like, get and see all the different down there.
Tony Desiri:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:Or something like that.
Tony Desiri:I think here's my appreciation.
Tony Desiri:World Showcase came as maturity.
Tony Desiri:And I'm not talking about drinking around the world.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:It wasn't the thing my brother and I were like when we were kids enjoying.
Tony Desiri: When we were there in: Tony Desiri:There's movies and there's a boat ride through Mexico that didn't really have any flair.
Tony Desiri:But now it's.
Tony Desiri:One of my favorite parts of my Disney trip is to walk around World Showcase and really enjoy it.
Tony Desiri:I just think a couple of more attractions would really make it pop.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah.
Lauren Mallard:And families would love that too, because it would be something to keep their kids entertained while they can enjoy the World Showcase.
Lauren Mallard:Just being able to see it and take it in.
Tony Desiri:Exactly.
Tony Desiri:Especially if you're like, we're going to go over to this ride, but before we do that, mom wants to shop over here.
Tony Desiri:Dad wants to take a look at these things.
Lauren Mallard:That's right.
Tony Desiri:We'll be right over there.
Lauren Mallard:Exactly.
Tony Desiri:Exactly.
Tony Desiri:So.
Tony Desiri:And I think that would be a better appreciation for the young, younger people to enjoy World Showcase.
Tony Desiri:Do we have any honorable mentions that we missed?
Tony Desiri:Ten that we have.
Lauren Mallard:Yes.
Tony Desiri:So I know you brought a couple.
Lauren Mallard:So I just have one honorable mention because we, we like to beat this, this into the ground.
Lauren Mallard:Please, please, Disney, just for under the tree, can you just wrap up a little bus and give us back Magical Ex Express?
Lauren Mallard:Yeah, it.
Tony Desiri:It's the whole.
Tony Desiri:The whole idea of just immersing yourself within the world is lost when you're taking your own car.
Tony Desiri:When you've rented your own car, you're taking an Uber.
Tony Desiri:And you know you can get out of it.
Tony Desiri:You know, you get out of there.
Tony Desiri:You know, look, they trap you there because they want you to stay there.
Tony Desiri:But I didn't mind being trapped there.
Tony Desiri:I was a willing participant in the full immersion of being there for seven days or whenever I was.
Tony Desiri:And a lot of it had to do with that bus.
Tony Desiri:Just getting off that bus and knowing kids, we don't even have to get our bags.
Tony Desiri:Yep, they will have their bags.
Lauren Mallard:That was the cool part.
Tony Desiri:We're going.
Lauren Mallard:Right.
Lauren Mallard:They took that away a few years before they took the bus.
Lauren Mallard:Right.
Lauren Mallard:And so bringing that back would be.
Lauren Mallard:I would probably, you know, I am a huge proponent of carry on only.
Lauren Mallard:I'd probably go back to checking my bag if I knew somebody else was going to get them.
Lauren Mallard:So, yeah, I wish they would bring that back.
Lauren Mallard:And, you know, they could still make money if they just increase their fleet of minivans and offer that as a service.
Lauren Mallard:I know for a fact there'd be be plenty of families that are paying for that private transportation and even charge double what they're charging right now for the minivan and then offer the free version for everybody else who still wants to take the Magical Express.
Tony Desiri:All right, I got an honorable mention.
Tony Desiri:And I, I, I gotta think somebody in a boardroom somewhere discussed this.
Tony Desiri:And that is when the figment popcorn bucket came out.
Tony Desiri:There were lines for hours.
Lauren Mallard:Crazy, right?
Lauren Mallard:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:Because there is an attraction to that character, people.
Tony Desiri:Whether it's nostalgic or he's cute, whatever.
Tony Desiri:Yeah.
Tony Desiri:He literally has the worst ride in all of the parks.
Tony Desiri:He is attached to one of the most miserable rides that has been gutted, destroyed.
Tony Desiri:What used to be what that ride was with the original Dreamfinder to what it is now is, is a shame.
Tony Desiri:And everyone knows it.
Tony Desiri:This is not a hidden secret.
Tony Desiri:Everyone knows it.
Lauren Mallard:I agree.
Tony Desiri:They lost funding.
Tony Desiri:It was funded by Kodak.
Tony Desiri:Kodak pulled its sponsorship.
Tony Desiri:They had to make some cuts, and then they just cut.
Tony Desiri:You have a very popular figure.
Tony Desiri:You have a popular figure, and if you just gave him a better attraction, it's.
Tony Desiri:It would be the perfect marriage.
Tony Desiri:I don't know if you could go back to the original Dream Finder and the original ride, but since I'm waving the magic wand with my Christmas wish, that's what I would want.
Tony Desiri:It was my, my favorite ride when, when we were there again when I was a kid because it was so whimsical and so fun and the music was great, and now it's turned into a.
Tony Desiri:Dude.
Tony Desiri:I don't even know what to call it.
Lauren Mallard:Yeah, it's tough.
Tony Desiri:It's a, it's a, It's a real tough one.
Tony Desiri:So give one of your more popular IPS the attraction it deserves.
Lauren Mallard:I like it.
Tony Desiri:There you go.
Lauren Mallard:There we go.
Tony Desiri:All right.
Tony Desiri:So that's doing ours or Christmas wishes.
Tony Desiri:Walt Disney World Edition.
Tony Desiri:These are the things we hope are under the tree this holiday season.
Tony Desiri: if you are planning a trip in: Tony Desiri:Hit Lauren up at Lauren at All the Magic Travel.
Tony Desiri:Hit Me up Travel with Tony D gmail.com thanks for listening.
Tony Desiri:Please subscribe to the podcast.
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