Latest / The Worst: Beyond the Magic / Disney Adults are the WORST!

Transcript

Disney Adults are the WORST! · The Worst: Beyond the Magic

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Jamie, I think Disney adults are ruining Disney.
0:02
SPEAKER_01: Pete, you are a Disney adult.
0:04
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
0:05
SPEAKER_01: I'm speaking as a recovering addict.
0:07
SPEAKER_01: You just got back from Disneyland Paris.
0:10
SPEAKER_01: Relapse is part of recovery, Jamie.
0:12
SPEAKER_01: Don't judge my journey.
0:14
SPEAKER_01: You realize we're about to insult our entire audience, right?
0:17
SPEAKER_01: Both of them, I think, will survive.
0:20
SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to the works beyond the magic, where we love Disney enough to tell you when it's full of crap.
0:29
SPEAKER_01: Today we're talking all about Disney adults, specifically why they're completely ridiculous.
0:35
SPEAKER_00: And before anybody gets too offended, we're including ourselves.
0:38
SPEAKER_00: I'm not throwing stones from a glass house.
0:40
SPEAKER_00: I'm throwing stones from a Disney resort balcony that cost me$600 a night.
0:45
SPEAKER_00: $600 a night.
0:46
SPEAKER_00: Man.
0:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
0:48
SPEAKER_01: A lot of it is points, but we're we're we're getting after it here.
0:52
SPEAKER_01: That is some Disney adult money, my friend.
0:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I know.
0:56
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm embarrassed.
0:58
SPEAKER_00: Speaking of embarrassed, Jamie, what's the most embarrassing thing you've ever done for as a Disney adult?
1:02
SPEAKER_00: I'm guessing it has something to do with Star Wars.
1:05
SPEAKER_01: No, it has absolutely nothing to do with Star Wars.
1:07
SPEAKER_01: I did I didn't it that wasn't me with a photo shoot doing Star Wars poses in front of the Millennium Fuckham.
1:13
SPEAKER_01: No, sir, that wasn't me.
1:14
SPEAKER_01: There are no pictures of that.
1:15
SPEAKER_01: I I think I think the most embarrassing thing I did was with you.
1:19
SPEAKER_01: Here we are, two grown adults at retreat for Travel Mation, and we got our pictures taken together as two men who are married to women, and we we got our pictures taken with joy and sadness.
1:31
SPEAKER_01: And then we went and saw the boss.
1:39
SPEAKER_01: And got our picture taken with him.
1:40
SPEAKER_01: Here we are, two two grown men adults who are married to women, and uh here we are.
1:47
SPEAKER_01: That's so that's what we did.
1:48
SPEAKER_01: I think that's probably one of my more most embarrassing moments.
1:50
SPEAKER_01: I didn't even have my my kids, my kids to blame it on it.
1:53
SPEAKER_01: It was me.
1:53
SPEAKER_01: I am deeply hurt right now.
1:55
SPEAKER_01: But there's I thought we had a moment, Jamie.
1:58
SPEAKER_01: We did have a moment.
2:00
SPEAKER_01: We did have a moment together.
2:01
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I think I think that was it for me.
2:04
SPEAKER_01: I can't think of any others.
2:06
SPEAKER_01: I I tell you what, it wasn't.
2:08
SPEAKER_01: It certainly wasn't dressing up as Bert from Mary Poppins and and going to tea like you, sir.
2:14
SPEAKER_01: Did you ask what the proudest moment was?
2:16
SPEAKER_00: Because I'll own that one all day.
2:18
SPEAKER_00: You're just jealous because you don't look as good and uh Disney bounding as as I do.
2:23
SPEAKER_01: I I don't think I've ever Disney bounded, nor will I ever Disney bound.
2:27
SPEAKER_01: Anyway, so speaking of your your problem, when when does a hobby become a cry for help?
2:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think you're borderline on there when you're Disney bounding at tea at the Grand Floridian.
2:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, borderline is right.
2:45
SPEAKER_00: I think I think I think that's the only thing I can afford at the Grand Floridian.
2:49
SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna tell you, it I think we talked about this before.
2:51
SPEAKER_00: Wasn't that great?
2:53
SPEAKER_00: You spent like 175 bucks a person for some treats that weren't that good and some tea that you can get for um pennies anywhere else in the world.
3:03
SPEAKER_00: But we did it and it was amazing.
3:04
SPEAKER_00: And it might be a it might be a cry for help, Jamie.
3:08
SPEAKER_01: I think it was a that was a cry for help.
3:10
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
3:10
SPEAKER_01: Um you uh people out there listening, if you're however many of you are left, let us know what you think is uh is a cry for help, or if Pete actually needs help, we'll be here, we'll be here to listen.
3:19
SPEAKER_01: We're here to take your calls and your messages.
3:22
SPEAKER_01: So let me ask you this.
3:24
SPEAKER_01: I I I know I fall victim to this one, and I think you do too.
3:28
SPEAKER_01: We we like to enjoy ourselves, and we like to we like to bring that Disney magic home with us, right?
3:33
SPEAKER_01: So if somebody walked into your house without knowing you, how long would it take them for them to realize that you have a Disney problem?
3:40
SPEAKER_00: This is a good one.
3:41
SPEAKER_00: We just recently moved to a smaller apartment, and I was relegated to this room.
3:48
SPEAKER_00: So it does take you a minute to get down the hallway and into the guest room, but once you're in the guest room, you're like, Do you have a bunch of children that live here?
3:58
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, no, just one, and she's off of college.
4:00
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, why is it look like a Disney merch store in here?
4:04
unknown: Exactly.
4:05
SPEAKER_00: You can see the Hatbot Ghost right up there.
4:07
SPEAKER_00: There's a stormtrooper on the other side.
4:09
SPEAKER_00: There's about 12 ears right there.
4:12
SPEAKER_00: Holy cow.
4:13
SPEAKER_00: The back wall, we've got pan.
4:16
SPEAKER_00: We've got another pan.
4:17
SPEAKER_00: I'm not even gonna turn the camera around because it's a little embarrassing.
4:22
SPEAKER_00: What about you?
4:23
SPEAKER_00: I know you're a big salty firefighter, which I'm very impressed with.
4:27
SPEAKER_00: I know you got that great big giant bar that shows all of the reasons why you're a big salty Jake, but how how long would it take people to know you have a Disney problem?
4:36
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, uh, well, if you come to my house at Christmas time, you're gonna know almost immediately when you walk in the door.
4:40
SPEAKER_01: When you see the Disney Christmas tree.
4:43
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
4:43
SPEAKER_01: We have one Christmas tree.
4:44
SPEAKER_01: I'm guilty of that.
4:45
SPEAKER_01: I love it.
4:46
SPEAKER_01: I like the Disney Christmas tree.
4:47
SPEAKER_01: I we have two Christmas trees.
4:48
SPEAKER_01: We have one Christmas tree that's full of Disney ornaments, and I I really want to buy it because I have adult money.
4:55
SPEAKER_01: I really want to buy the uh the monorail that goes around the bottom of it.
4:59
SPEAKER_01: That's something I want to do.
5:01
SPEAKER_01: But that's that's like$400.
5:03
SPEAKER_01: That you know, I don't really need to spend it and you know it on bills, I could spend it on things that we actually need, like, you know, whatever utilities and whatnot, but whatever.
5:13
SPEAKER_01: That's that's neither here or there.
5:15
SPEAKER_01: But yeah, we have a Disney tree, and I like it.
5:19
SPEAKER_00: We do too.
5:20
SPEAKER_00: I mean, we have I have a Disney wreath, I have a Disney tree.
5:23
SPEAKER_00: But I I mean I love the Disney tree.
5:25
SPEAKER_00: The Disney tree is fast becoming our primary tree, and I think one of the things that we like doing is every trip we try to buy an ornament.
5:31
SPEAKER_00: I used to have them right on it with the year and everything, but now we're just we have so many of them.
5:36
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I don't need a reminder of what year it was.
5:39
SPEAKER_00: But I uh here here's the question I have for you, because I know you're actually a Star Wars fan as well, too.
5:43
SPEAKER_00: I mean, is is being a Disney adult actually any different from being obsessed with football or golf or Star Wars or just that thing that makes you happy?
5:52
SPEAKER_01: I don't I don't think so at all.
5:54
SPEAKER_01: I don't I don't think it's so different at all.
5:56
SPEAKER_01: I think I think people like to pick on it.
5:58
SPEAKER_01: I think America likes to spread a put a spotlight on it and make fun of people like you and I that go all the time and go without your children and and enjoy Disney Parks kid free.
6:09
SPEAKER_01: There's there's nothing wrong with that.
6:11
SPEAKER_01: How much it costs to ski?
6:13
SPEAKER_01: You know what a ski trip costs, yeah.
6:15
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm a maker.
6:17
SPEAKER_01: It's an obscene amount of money.
6:19
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's cost way less.
6:22
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, oh my god, and lessons and all lift tickets and all kinds of things that go into that, right?
6:29
SPEAKER_01: And no offense to any skiers out there listening, but it it gets quite expensive.
6:34
SPEAKER_01: If you like, why can't we make fun of those people?
6:38
SPEAKER_01: They're spending five to ten thousand dollars on a vacation too.
6:42
SPEAKER_01: So are we.
7:02
SPEAKER_01: It's a child, I'm a child of 85, so and I I bear the name, no pun intended, Jim McMahon.
7:07
SPEAKER_01: So that's that's it, that's me.
7:09
SPEAKER_00: But anyway, yeah, I know this is a Disney podcast, but I gotta go back to 1985.
7:14
SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: I'm still mad.
7:16
SPEAKER_00: This is this is one of the reasons I hold a grudge.
7:19
SPEAKER_00: 1985, the Bears beat the Patriots.
7:22
SPEAKER_00: My very first time remembering a Super Bowl.
7:24
SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh.
7:25
SPEAKER_01: Uh-huh.
7:25
SPEAKER_01: And that was that one.
7:26
SPEAKER_00: Jim McMahon, the refrigerator parry.
7:28
SPEAKER_01: It was, it was, you know.
7:29
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
7:30
SPEAKER_01: Anyway.
7:31
SPEAKER_01: People go all all mad at my ticket because they didn't let uh sweetness score a touchdown.
7:37
SPEAKER_01: They let the refrigerator pair at number 72, a big O lineman, uh, go ahead and score that touchdown rather than Walter Payton.
7:44
SPEAKER_01: But it's okay.
7:45
SPEAKER_01: It's those are all good memories.
7:48
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:49
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:50
SPEAKER_00: As a Pats fan, I I appreciated that big lumbering refrigerator.
7:54
SPEAKER_00: Go down the field and score a touchdown.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: All right, back on script.
7:57
SPEAKER_00: We're not saying Disney adults need therapy.
8:00
SPEAKER_00: We're saying Disney should probably offer it as a discount package.
8:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, sorry, my brother.
8:05
SPEAKER_00: The most expensive place to be miserable.
8:07
SPEAKER_00: Disney has accomplished something no other company has.
8:10
SPEAKER_00: They've convinced grown adults that spending more money makes a vacation magical.
8:15
SPEAKER_00: And then they charge you extra to skip all the miserable parts.
8:19
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
8:19
SPEAKER_00: Lightning lane, paying extra to avoid something in line that you paid to enter.
8:24
SPEAKER_00: Resort pricing, we're paying for luxury or proximity to our cartoon mouse.
8:28
SPEAKER_01: And of course, no one wants to forget the Disney, the Disney food, right?
8:33
SPEAKER_01: Uh with all the different festivals going on upcott, how much of this food is actually good?
8:38
SPEAKER_01: Because some of it's not.
8:39
SPEAKER_01: It's a hot take.
8:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I also get a I get the question as a travel agent: is the food included at the Food and Wine Festival?
8:45
SPEAKER_00: Because I bought$100 worth of ticket to get in there.
8:49
SPEAKER_01: It's not.
8:50
SPEAKER_01: It's not, but you're gonna eat and drink it anyway, and you're gonna love it.
8:54
SPEAKER_01: You're doing it for you're doing it, you're doing it for the gram.
8:56
SPEAKER_00: You are, and I'm gonna bring back the champagne thing.
8:59
SPEAKER_00: The champagne in France went up by a full ten dollars for a grammar.
9:02
SPEAKER_00: Did it really?
9:03
SPEAKER_00: I didn't even see that.
9:05
unknown: Yeah.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: What is it?
9:06
SPEAKER_00: $32 a glass now?
9:08
SPEAKER_00: $30 a glass.
9:09
SPEAKER_00: It is.
9:09
SPEAKER_01: My goodness.
9:10
SPEAKER_01: That used to be a stop for me.
9:11
SPEAKER_01: I'm skipping it now.
9:12
SPEAKER_01: It better get you drunk.
9:14
SPEAKER_01: Um that's what I'm saying.
9:15
SPEAKER_01: One of those better put you under.
9:17
SPEAKER_00: I paid I paid less for the for the champagne, and uh it we got the collectible champagne flute with it in Paris.
9:26
SPEAKER_00: So, I mean, and that's another thing.
9:27
SPEAKER_00: Why does everything need a collectible version?
9:29
SPEAKER_00: Because I'm the guy, I'm like, oh, we we gotta have that.
9:33
SPEAKER_00: The hat box ghost is brand new.
9:35
SPEAKER_00: I got it this year because I'm like, on advancement, I need the hat box ghosts.
9:39
SPEAKER_00: You need to have that, right?
9:41
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, you don't.
9:42
SPEAKER_01: You don't at all.
9:43
SPEAKER_01: I think and just so everyone knows that listening, if Pete is Pete is that guy who will stand in line for a popcorn bucket.
9:49
SPEAKER_01: That's that's a whole that's a whole nother, yeah.
9:51
SPEAKER_01: That's a whole nother level.
9:52
SPEAKER_01: I'm not there yet.
9:53
SPEAKER_01: I'm not I have not reached that peak Disney level yet, but I'm I'm gonna get there one day, maybe not.
9:59
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I was surprised.
10:00
SPEAKER_01: I got the stormtrooper.
10:01
SPEAKER_01: I thought you'd be like all about that, but you're like, meh.
10:04
SPEAKER_01: I do, yeah, I was it was May.
10:06
SPEAKER_01: I do love Star Wars.
10:07
SPEAKER_01: I do I do love that aspect.
10:09
SPEAKER_01: And going to Star Wars on May the May the 4th, right?
10:14
SPEAKER_01: Right.
10:15
SPEAKER_01: For Star Wars Day, I think that's like that's like a whole nother level thing that they like totally dive into that world.
10:22
SPEAKER_01: I think that's really cool.
10:23
SPEAKER_01: Would I ever go pay the kind of money to go for that day and then be in standing the thousands of people that go to that?
10:28
SPEAKER_01: No, probably not.
10:29
SPEAKER_01: It's more fun to watch online after the fact.
10:32
SPEAKER_01: But I still appreciate it.
10:34
SPEAKER_01: But you brought it up yourself, you are that guy who's gonna pay that premium for for whatever it is, right?
10:41
SPEAKER_01: Whether it be a popcorn bucket or whether it be whatever something merch related, right?
10:46
SPEAKER_01: And that's and that's how they get you.
10:48
SPEAKER_01: And that and that's that that's how they they make this specialty item for only for this particular Halloween party, for for this Christmas party, right?
10:57
SPEAKER_01: That's only available for uh during this time period.
10:59
SPEAKER_01: And if you don't get it now, you're not gonna get it again.
11:02
SPEAKER_01: And there it is.
11:03
SPEAKER_01: And we walk to the merch counter with our credit card.
11:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Disney said, hey, we're gonna pay this$5,000 price tag to come for a week, and it's gonna go deliver an experience for you, but you need to start paying more for that premium stuff.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
11:20
SPEAKER_00: Has they have they trained us to accept less while paying more?
11:24
SPEAKER_01: It's not uh it's it's not not at Disney.
11:27
SPEAKER_01: At Disney that's called missing$300 worth of opportunities, right?
11:31
SPEAKER_01: So you you you had the opportunity, you chose not to do it, and therefore you're gonna stand in line with every brother, every other Joe Schnell, right?
11:38
SPEAKER_01: You had the opportunity to to go ahead and buy this individual Lightning Lane or buy it multi- multi-lane lightning pass, lightning lanes, excuse me, but you chose not to, so you're gonna have different kind of experience than somebody else who paid.
11:52
SPEAKER_01: Or versus the the VIP tour, right?
11:54
SPEAKER_01: So that experience versus someone who is just doing standby lines, completely two different worlds, right?
12:00
SPEAKER_01: What is the difference there?
12:01
SPEAKER_01: What is the outlier?
12:02
SPEAKER_01: The outlier is a dollar number attached to it.
12:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
12:05
SPEAKER_00: So for me, you know, and I think uh adult money has something to do with it and not having a family of five, but you know what's magical for me?
12:13
SPEAKER_00: Sleeping till nine on my vacation.
12:15
SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah.
12:15
SPEAKER_01: No, gone gone are the days.
12:17
SPEAKER_01: Remember when they used to have you get up and do uh virtual cues at seven o'clock in the morning, or was it six o'clock in the morning?
12:24
SPEAKER_01: Do you remember that?
12:24
SPEAKER_01: That's not vacation.
12:25
SPEAKER_01: Nobody nobody wants that.
12:27
SPEAKER_01: Nobody wants that.
12:28
SPEAKER_01: That's it's all that's all gone now.
12:30
SPEAKER_01: It'll be in I think this evolution of pay pay for premium assets or things that basically we used to get for free.
12:39
SPEAKER_01: Um now that we now that we have to pay for, I I think that's gonna um it's gonna evolve and it's only gonna get more expensive.
12:45
SPEAKER_01: It's only get things are gonna continually change, they're gonna dangle things in front of our face that we're gonna go after as as time goes on.
12:52
SPEAKER_01: That's it's only natural.
12:53
SPEAKER_01: They're a business, right?
12:54
SPEAKER_01: As much as we love Mickey Mouse, he he is a business.
12:59
SPEAKER_01: And so the the the the name of that name of that game for any business, whether it be Walt Disney World or anything else, is to stay above the red line, right?
13:09
SPEAKER_01: So Disney has a dollar amount in mind that they need to hit every single day, and uh and they're gonna get there one way or another.
13:19
SPEAKER_00: All right, Jamie, real quick, through three things that you think are or experiences that are ridiculous.
13:24
SPEAKER_00: The prices are ridiculous.
13:26
SPEAKER_01: The prices are ridiculous.
13:27
SPEAKER_01: I I do think I I would pay for a VIP tour.
13:32
SPEAKER_01: I really would.
13:33
SPEAKER_01: I think it is a ridiculous price, though.
13:35
SPEAKER_01: It it is this obscene amount of money.
13:38
SPEAKER_01: If you the way to do it, and we I I was on a different podcast on Kids Uh Kids Travel Tales, uh, shout out to Jen.
13:45
SPEAKER_01: Go listen to that podcast.
13:47
SPEAKER_01: And we'd like to have our the VIP guests on that, uh, from Happily Ever Tap Taylor fam on our podcast as well to talk about their VIP tour.
13:55
SPEAKER_01: But that is a lot of money.
13:58
SPEAKER_01: And specifically for their for their VIP tour, it was only$4,500.
14:04
SPEAKER_01: Now I say only in the word, right, in the in the sentence, which in the grand scheme of VIP tours, they can be much, much more.
14:14
SPEAKER_01: So they got away with a pretty cheap VIP tour.
14:17
SPEAKER_01: And the only reason why they got that was because DVC members were running 20% off of VIP tours.
14:22
SPEAKER_01: So one extra thing is that they that they had a feather in their hat to to play, or one card they had extra to play in their pocket uh to get that discount.
14:30
SPEAKER_01: But complete whirlwind experience.
14:35
SPEAKER_01: Uh, you can do all four parks in one day, you can do one park in one day, however, whatever you want to do, right?
14:40
SPEAKER_01: The day is completely up to you in your VIP guide.
14:43
SPEAKER_01: Now, the second to that, I think that is way too much money, is that premiere pass that you that you enjoyed at Epcot.
14:50
SPEAKER_01: But again, you said it just a minute ago.
14:52
SPEAKER_01: You only had you and your lovely wife, right?
14:55
SPEAKER_01: Myself for my family of five and I looking at a Magic Kingdom Day for a Premier Pass.
15:02
SPEAKER_01: I might as well pay for your VIP tour.
15:04
SPEAKER_01: It it's it's yeah, it's pretty darn it's into thousands of dollars.
15:09
SPEAKER_01: Tell me about you.
15:10
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I was gonna go with ridiculously priced, but worth it for me is and you you you already answered it for me, those premiered passes.
15:17
SPEAKER_00: You know, when we did it at Epcor, it was, you know, I'm just bougie and I I act like I have a lot of money, and then it takes me months to pay it off.
15:25
SPEAKER_00: But man, it was so worth it.
15:26
SPEAKER_00: I've said it almost every podcast.
15:28
SPEAKER_00: Like we we when you get to the ride, you can get on the ride.
15:31
SPEAKER_00: And then we did the same thing with the two parks, because you can use them for both in Paris, and we did it there too, and it was just totally worth the price for me.
15:39
SPEAKER_00: Although it is ridiculously priced.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I think if they were on down, it would just be everybody would do it, and maybe it wouldn't be as accessible.
15:48
SPEAKER_00: So I don't know.
15:49
SPEAKER_00: It's it's a catch 22 there.
15:50
SPEAKER_00: The other thing for me is is recently is where we talked about the food and wine.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: The prices of alcohol and food have just gone up so much because so much of us are willing to do it.
16:01
SPEAKER_00: And supply and demand and commercial and capitalism, and you know, I'm not gonna stop doing it.
16:08
SPEAKER_00: Not which they didn't break the bank on me so much.
16:11
SPEAKER_01: Where where is the end point?
16:13
SPEAKER_01: Where is the stopping point?
16:14
SPEAKER_01: I would consider what we we are pretty average middle class Americans, right?
16:18
SPEAKER_01: So where where is the where is the stopping point?
16:21
SPEAKER_01: Like where where is and how long does it take to to price somebody out, right?
16:26
SPEAKER_01: So as as travel advisors, that's that's something that we you and I look at.
16:30
SPEAKER_01: Like you you tell you come to us and say, hey, we want to do this.
16:34
SPEAKER_01: Number one question is how much do you want to spend?
16:37
SPEAKER_01: And I I'm not acting putting figures in my head and looking in dollar signs.
16:42
SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm actively trying to go, okay, how can I put together the most amount of fun or the most get the most bang out of this buck that they have to spend and not bankrupt them and help make them have a magical trip based on on their budget.
16:57
SPEAKER_01: And it's that number comes in all shapes or sizes.
17:00
SPEAKER_01: You've seen it.
17:01
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
17:02
SPEAKER_01: And I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you can probably have just as just as magical time on a on a smaller budget than you can as a if it was over$10,000 budget.
17:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't want to scare people away, but I was just thinking that very same thing.
17:18
SPEAKER_00: We have uh made this a priority, so we're willing to pay a little bit more.
17:22
SPEAKER_00: But if you're a first-time parkour, I think there are ways, you know, you stay at the value resorts, um, which are great, you know, there's a lot of great theming.
17:29
SPEAKER_00: You know, you get on the Skyliner, um, you know, there's a lot of great perks to some of the value resorts.
17:35
SPEAKER_00: And then you get your tickets appropriate with how many days you're gonna be there.
17:39
SPEAKER_00: And you just wait in line, you bring your family with you, you're having a good time, you're telling jokes and stories and playing heads up while you're waiting in line.
17:47
SPEAKER_00: Um, you can have a great experience there without spending a trillion dollars like we try to do, or like I try to do.
17:56
SPEAKER_00: I'm guilty of it too, my friend.
17:57
SPEAKER_00: There's a way.
17:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there is a way.
17:59
SPEAKER_00: This is the way.
18:01
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to be a hypocrite by saying it, but I really think Disney influencers are making the park less enjoyable.
18:07
SPEAKER_01: That's my hot take.
18:08
SPEAKER_01: What do you think?
18:09
SPEAKER_01: No, I think I think you're right.
18:10
SPEAKER_01: I think they they create they create too much expectation.
18:14
SPEAKER_01: Everything is available to us at all times of the day, every day of the week, every wake-in moment, and in the palm of our hand.
18:21
SPEAKER_01: And it never it never used to be that way.
18:23
SPEAKER_01: It almost seems like you you look online and you think, oh man, this person's having a great time doing this, and then you go and you do whatever that is, and you don't have a great time.
18:33
SPEAKER_01: You have a completely different experience, and you have this feeling of letdown that that, well, I should I should be having as good of a time as that person was.
18:42
SPEAKER_01: They seemed really happy, and then you had you something went wrong, and you had the complete opposite miserable experience by doing the same thing.
18:50
SPEAKER_01: I think it it creates exactly that vision in your head of expectation.
18:54
SPEAKER_00: False expectation.
18:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:56
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:57
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, false expectation, and then comparison of someone else's trip is is what do they say?
19:01
SPEAKER_00: Comparison is the thief of joy.
19:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it is.
19:03
SPEAKER_00: I totally agree with you there, uh, on that sense.
19:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
19:06
SPEAKER_00: All right, what else you got?
19:07
SPEAKER_00: What's your uh hot take, controversial take about Disney?
19:10
SPEAKER_01: I come from, you know, we come from the travel world, right?
19:14
SPEAKER_01: And so I I I think of if you were to book somebody a five-star stay at the Four of Seasons, for instance, or the Walter Fistoria, or uh some other five-star resort, and then you were to book them at the Grand Floridian or you put them at the Polynesian, are those apples to apples?
19:34
SPEAKER_01: Now Disney defines those resorts as as luxury, right?
19:37
SPEAKER_01: Do they not?
19:38
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
19:40
SPEAKER_01: They do.
19:41
SPEAKER_01: So they're not they're not apples to apples, not not whatsoever.
19:45
SPEAKER_00: If you go to the four seasons to the city, you say that there's more luxury there than there is at Disney?
19:52
SPEAKER_01: 100% I am.
19:53
SPEAKER_01: If you stay at the Walter for Story, or if you stay at the the the four seasons, if you stay at the Ritz-Carlton, like you are you are catered to every every moment of every day, right?
20:06
SPEAKER_01: Their their job is customer service, and not to say that Disney's isn't, because it very much is, but you are paying the same amount of price as you were paying that you could be paying at the at the World of Astoria or the Four Seasons, but you're staying within a walking distance to the Magic Kingdom.
20:22
SPEAKER_01: That's the luxury that you're paying for.
20:25
SPEAKER_01: It's proximity.
20:26
SPEAKER_01: It's not so much amenities.
20:29
SPEAKER_01: What you're paying for is proximity.
20:31
SPEAKER_01: That's why they they get away with that luxury tag.
20:33
SPEAKER_01: And I think I think that's one of the things that people people are like wildly don't have enough knowledge about because they see that luxury in front of it and they go, ooh, and they have, again, they have some expectation in their mind of well, I've stated at Waldorf's story before, that Ritz Carlton before, and then they go stay at the Grand Floridian or they go stay at Contemporary or the Wilderness Lodge at one of the Disney's luxury resorts, and it's not what they are expecting, but they're still paying right around the same amount of money as they would at one of those other five-star resorts.
21:04
SPEAKER_01: So it they're they're very, very different from each other.
21:07
SPEAKER_00: I think you're right.
21:08
SPEAKER_00: I think you're you're you're right.
21:09
SPEAKER_00: I I I will say the I think they're defining, and you alluded to this, is they're defining luxury different.
21:17
SPEAKER_00: The luxury is being in the bubble.
21:19
SPEAKER_00: Luxury is not being at all-star with 40,000 sports teams.
21:25
SPEAKER_00: Luxury is uh a slightly better accommodations than the other ones.
21:31
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, you're right.
21:32
SPEAKER_00: I can't argue that.
21:33
SPEAKER_00: I want to argue it, but uh, you know, you're you're definitely paying more for the Disney bubble and a facade of a luxury luxury hotel.
21:44
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, no, yeah, you're you're right.
21:45
SPEAKER_01: I love the grand.
21:46
SPEAKER_01: I again I I will stay uh at uh pop century and walk into the grand like I own the joint, right?
21:52
SPEAKER_01: Nob nobody knows, nobody asks any questions.
21:54
SPEAKER_01: As far as I know, I I am in I'm in the presidential suite of the Grand Floridian, right?
21:58
SPEAKER_01: No one, no one cares.
21:59
SPEAKER_01: You you You get that same level of service, but the price take is much different over Pop Century than it is at the Grand.
22:05
SPEAKER_01: Anyway, continue.
22:07
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
22:08
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
22:09
SPEAKER_00: And you know, a little caveat to both to that.
22:11
SPEAKER_00: Neither of us can afford Glenn, Grand Cluritiot.
22:15
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
22:17
SPEAKER_00: My hot take is Disneyland Paris has better versions of the same of some attractions than Walt Disney World does.
22:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
22:25
SPEAKER_01: Can't even I can't even argue with you.
22:28
SPEAKER_00: You can't even argue.
22:28
SPEAKER_01: I can't.
22:29
SPEAKER_01: And I'm wearing the Disneyland Paris shirt today.
22:31
SPEAKER_01: It says night uh since 1995 on it, for those of you watching.
22:34
SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah.
22:35
SPEAKER_00: No, tell me what, tell me why you think that.
22:38
SPEAKER_00: You know, we talked about it a lot in the past two episodes.
22:41
SPEAKER_00: You know, the the rides.
22:42
SPEAKER_00: I like that the rides are a little less safe, a little less PG or a little less G.
22:49
SPEAKER_00: I mean, Paris definitely does not care, kicks it up a notch, you know, gives you that NC17 rating on some of those rides, and it doesn't care.
22:57
SPEAKER_00: You're like, all right, you know, you'll be alright.
22:59
SPEAKER_00: Whereas Disney is very concerned about making sure that you are safe and having a pleasant time, and Paris is like, whatever.
23:09
SPEAKER_00: We do that kind of job.
23:11
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to to Defend This Bullcrap, where we take Disney's most questionable decisions and attempt to justify them with absolutely no qualification whatsoever, because we're just a bunch of dudes that wanted to do a podcast.
23:24
SPEAKER_00: I love it.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: All right.
23:26
SPEAKER_00: I love it.
23:26
SPEAKER_00: So we're gonna give a situation and I want you to defend it, and then uh we'll switch.
23:32
SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna give you we give you this scenario, and you gotta defend it no matter what.
23:38
SPEAKER_00: Disney introduces$4.99 lightning lanes for the bathroom.
23:42
SPEAKER_00: Defend the business model.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: Do you say$4.99?
23:45
SPEAKER_00: Is that five dollars?
23:47
SPEAKER_01: Or did you give me a?
23:52
SPEAKER_01: Are we wiping my butt in a hundred dollar bills?
23:54
SPEAKER_01: Because we better.
23:56
SPEAKER_01: Is that what is is someone gonna do that for me?
23:58
SPEAKER_00: You gotta defend it.
24:00
SPEAKER_01: No.
24:01
SPEAKER_01: I don't did I eat something that didn't agree with me?
24:05
SPEAKER_01: I don't I don't is it running down my leg?
24:09
SPEAKER_01: Like these are all questions I need to know to answer this question.
24:12
SPEAKER_01: But this is this is great because this is this is great because this is the exact same thing as the rides.
24:19
SPEAKER_01: Exact same.
24:20
SPEAKER_01: If you could pay a little more and get your own private stall to go to the bathroom in separately, would you do it?
24:27
SPEAKER_01: That's no different than when you get on Lightning Lanes for rides.
24:29
SPEAKER_01: You're paying extra to get skip, essentially skip the line, right?
24:33
SPEAKER_01: Maybe they've got the soft toilet paper.
24:35
SPEAKER_01: Maybe they've got a bidet.
24:37
SPEAKER_01: Maybe maybe they got the four for ply.
24:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, maybe maybe they do have the bidet.
24:41
SPEAKER_01: I do love I do love a bidet.
24:43
SPEAKER_01: Once you've used a bidet, it's hard to go, it's harder, hard to go back to regular toilet paper.
24:47
SPEAKER_01: That's one thing that Europe does more than American than America, by the way.
24:52
SPEAKER_01: You had plenty of did you did you use a bidet while you were in Europe?
24:55
SPEAKER_01: Not a single time.
24:56
SPEAKER_01: Don't lie to me.
24:57
SPEAKER_01: Yes, you did, and you liked it.
24:59
SPEAKER_01: I didn't.
25:00
SPEAKER_01: I don't think I understand how to do it.
25:02
SPEAKER_01: Well, I I'm not gonna teach you because that's that's awkward, but they're they're worth it.
25:08
SPEAKER_01: Uh for those out there.
25:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
25:10
SPEAKER_01: Anyway, we could just turn it into a bathroom episode just now.
25:14
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
25:15
SPEAKER_01: I I'm gonna defend this model because they're already using it.
25:19
SPEAKER_00: All right.
25:19
SPEAKER_01: I bet you someone would pay that money.
25:22
SPEAKER_01: I bet you somebody would do it.
25:24
SPEAKER_01: Probably would.
25:25
unknown: Yeah.
25:25
SPEAKER_00: They would.
25:27
SPEAKER_00: They've got the scent pushed in, they've got the they've got the aroma, they've got the lights, they've got the foreply, they got the bidet.
25:35
SPEAKER_00: Someone'll do it.
25:36
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and then they got the bathroom attendant that you don't you don't have to tip.
25:40
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
25:41
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
25:42
SPEAKER_00: No.
25:42
SPEAKER_00: I think the towel and they offer you the mint and the soap and squirt it in your hand.
25:46
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
25:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's right.
25:48
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but we don't want to give them any ideas.
25:51
SPEAKER_01: No, you and I don't belong at restaurants like that.
25:53
SPEAKER_01: I don't think they like our kind.
25:55
SPEAKER_01: No.
25:56
SPEAKER_01: We're we're just a riff-raff, you know.
25:57
SPEAKER_01: All right, give me one.
25:58
SPEAKER_01: Give me something controversial that I have to defend.
26:00
SPEAKER_01: This is 100% you.
26:02
SPEAKER_01: I like I like this one.
26:03
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna love this.
26:04
SPEAKER_01: Because you and I have both done this and you've drug me into it.
26:07
SPEAKER_01: Disney announces that character hugs will now cost$25 each.
26:12
SPEAKER_01: Are you gonna stand in line for a$25 hug?
26:15
SPEAKER_01: Take my money.
26:21
SPEAKER_01: I'm not surprised at all.
26:24
SPEAKER_00: Wait, who are we hugging for$25?
26:27
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna high-five Mickey and I'm gonna hug.
26:29
SPEAKER_00: I, you know, this is funny.
26:32
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to make this too serious.
26:33
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna I'm gonna hug any of the stuff suit characters.
26:37
SPEAKER_00: I am not going to just run up and hug any of the female characters.
26:41
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
26:41
SPEAKER_00: I may we'll do the we'll do the heart, we'll do the fist bump, we'll do the elbow.
26:46
SPEAKER_00: But if you know, if I need to, like Wendy's my favorite when I see her in the park, I do try to go up and talk to her, you know, gotta remind her that I was a lost boy.
26:55
SPEAKER_00: Right.
26:55
SPEAKER_00: But I will definitely can I give you a hug, and then I'll do the little slight hug.
26:59
SPEAKER_00: But um but it's funny too, because I remember I went up to Alice one time and I was like, Alice, can I get a hug?
27:06
SPEAKER_00: And she just seemed crying about it.
27:08
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I came out a little too strong.
27:10
SPEAKER_00: So we just did the we just did the heart.
27:12
SPEAKER_00: She brought it in.
27:13
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, because I'm that Disney adult.
27:16
SPEAKER_00: I think I scared Alice.
27:18
SPEAKER_01: 2319, 2319.
27:20
SPEAKER_01: Back up.
27:25
SPEAKER_01: I'm not I'm not surprised at all.
27:28
SPEAKER_01: I'm not surprised at all.
27:30
SPEAKER_00: For that experience, yeah.
27:32
SPEAKER_00: You're paying for that experience.
27:33
SPEAKER_00: And you know, we've had the best experiences with some of the characters.
27:37
SPEAKER_00: I know you with your kids and and how they've they've had that experience and stuff.
27:41
SPEAKER_00: If I could pay$25 to really like solidify that experience for myself or for my kid or for who someone I'm I'm with, like I would definitely throw that money at that.
27:53
SPEAKER_00: Like, I think some of those character interactions are really make you you talk about them for years after.
28:00
SPEAKER_00: Um, we've randomly run into characters in the park, we've had conversations.
28:04
SPEAKER_00: My daughter with Pocahontas, you know, it really got me when they were talking about the raccoon and what the you know, it just had a whole conversation off to themselves.
28:13
SPEAKER_00: By the I was just like, that's amazing.
28:15
SPEAKER_00: So 25 bucks, take my money.
28:17
SPEAKER_01: I think they I think they already do this, P and they how they disguise it.
28:21
SPEAKER_01: They disguise it around the food, they disguise it around on Disney character dining, right?
28:26
SPEAKER_01: You're already you're already doing this.
28:28
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, that's right.
28:29
SPEAKER_01: Because it it costs it costs a premium for character dining, right?
28:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you can go to Casey's corner on Main Street and get yourself some corn nuggets and some hot dog, some hot dog nuggets, which are delicious, by the way.
28:42
SPEAKER_01: But would you rather go dine in Cinderella's castle with all the princesses?
28:46
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna pay that premium.
28:48
SPEAKER_01: It certainly costs a lot more than$25.
28:50
SPEAKER_01: You're getting a meal out of it, but you get to meet all those princesses together in one place, and they come to your table rather than you standing in line outside the castle waiting for them.
29:00
SPEAKER_01: So again, you're already you're already doing this, but you know, you want to pay an extra$25 to hug to hug lots of then you were gonna stand alone by yourself, sir.
29:11
SPEAKER_00: The only reason I pay so much to go to Artist Point, because the food is okay, but the reason I'm paying so much to go to Artist Point is so I can hear the uh evil queen make fun of me.
29:21
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
29:21
SPEAKER_01: She can you give it the evil sneer at tell much telling you how much she dislikes you.
29:25
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
29:26
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
29:27
SPEAKER_00: All right, man.
29:28
SPEAKER_00: Last one.
29:28
SPEAKER_00: Disney replaces all the park benches with merchandise kiosks.
29:33
SPEAKER_01: Tell me how this is gonna enhance the magic for you.
29:36
SPEAKER_01: It's not gonna enhance the magic with me.
29:38
SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm just gonna sit on a merchandise kiosk.
29:40
SPEAKER_01: I gotta I'm old and fat.
29:42
SPEAKER_01: I gotta sit down, man.
29:43
SPEAKER_01: It this this goes back to Epcot.
29:47
SPEAKER_01: Did you see an Epcot?
29:48
SPEAKER_01: People people started to use the tops of it's called trash can table time for all the food festivals, right?
29:55
SPEAKER_01: There's nowhere for those of you that never never been before, like there's nowhere to like sit down and eat your food that you just got.
30:00
SPEAKER_01: You spent you spent God forever long and waiting in line to get.
30:04
SPEAKER_01: So you have to go and find a makeshift table, and that makeshift table is a trash can.
30:11
SPEAKER_01: And uh oh yeah, I'm not I'm not above that.
30:13
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna I'm gonna sit on top of the trash can.
30:15
SPEAKER_01: I'm enjoying whatever I$50 or whatever I just bought, and I'm I'm I mean yeah, I'm gonna use it as a gourmet table.
30:21
SPEAKER_01: So whatever.
30:22
SPEAKER_01: I'm not I'm not above it.
30:24
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
30:25
SPEAKER_00: They are doing it.
30:26
SPEAKER_00: I've I've definitely had a fancy Epcot meal on a trash can before, and I'm proud of it.
30:31
SPEAKER_00: It's magical.
30:32
SPEAKER_00: Damn it.
30:33
SPEAKER_00: Man.
30:33
SPEAKER_00: Okay, all right.
30:35
SPEAKER_00: We've talked about we've talked about all the Disney stuff and how they're raking us over the coals, but let's bring it back to why we love Disney for just a minute.
30:42
SPEAKER_00: So what what keeps bringing us back, even with all this excess and all this stuff that we keep paying?
30:48
SPEAKER_00: So what what is the one Disney moment that genuinely lived up to the hype for you?
30:53
SPEAKER_01: I think it is it's those character interactions, just like you had that interaction with your daughter and Pocahontas talking about Miko together.
31:03
SPEAKER_01: It's it's it's that.
31:04
SPEAKER_01: It's that when you see your kids' eyes light up, or whether whether maybe you're not with your kid, maybe you are 100% of Disney adult and you're there by yourselves, and you you have that conversation with Wendy about you being a lost kid, and you for five minutes you forget how old you are, and you you are a child again.
31:23
SPEAKER_01: You you are experiencing that magic firsthand.
31:27
SPEAKER_01: I think that's that's what brings people back over and over and over again.
31:31
SPEAKER_01: That in con contractual agreements like D V C, but that's the reason why we go every year, because we have to.
31:38
SPEAKER_01: But but really, but really it's it's it's that it's that magic that you experience because it's the cast members that that provide that.
31:45
SPEAKER_01: Again, they they're not paying a whole lot of money.
31:47
SPEAKER_01: Be nice to them, and and you'll have a magical experience.
31:52
SPEAKER_01: And I and I promise it'll happen.
31:54
SPEAKER_01: You know, you know, come it comes in all different things.
31:56
SPEAKER_00: You can say what you want.
31:57
SPEAKER_00: It does, and you can say what you want.
31:59
SPEAKER_00: But I saw you light up when you saw joy and sadness, so I was there.
32:04
SPEAKER_00: There are pictures to prove that.
32:06
SPEAKER_00: Grown ass man, all excited to see joy and sadness.
32:09
SPEAKER_01: With a fireman mustache, because it was no shade of November.
32:12
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
32:14
SPEAKER_01: That may be not creepy at all.
32:15
SPEAKER_01: Not creepy at all.
32:18
SPEAKER_01: What brings it back for you?
32:19
SPEAKER_01: Why, why, why do you enjoy going every year?
32:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think we talk about this quite a bit, and it's it's the bubble.
32:26
SPEAKER_00: It it's the escape from the normal wear and tear of life.
32:32
SPEAKER_00: You know, you you you're responsible, you do things that that have caused an action at your job, and you just you gotta take out the dog, you gotta make dinner every day, and then you just wanna go and be inside that Disney bubble and bring you back to that childhood nostalgia, the stories, especially when you're going with people that you like and love, like your family, when you see them enjoying it and having a good time.
32:56
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there's breakdowns.
32:58
SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, there's crying.
32:59
SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of crying.
33:01
SPEAKER_00: But it's those moments in between where you've you've had the best rides, you've met the best characters, and you found that one snack that's really good.
33:08
SPEAKER_00: Sadly, Disney takes it away from you once they find out everybody loved it.
33:11
SPEAKER_00: But you know, it's worth finding the good one.
33:14
SPEAKER_00: All right, are we harder on Disney because we love it?
33:17
SPEAKER_00: You know?
33:18
SPEAKER_01: I was just about to ask you the same question, and I think I think we are.
33:22
SPEAKER_01: I think because we know what they're we know what they're capable of, and we know we'd like to call them out when they fall short of it, whether or not they actually fell short of it or not.
33:31
SPEAKER_01: Just in our mind they did.
33:33
SPEAKER_01: So I think, and because you and I do this for a living, where we plan these trips for people, we we have a certain expectation as how it's going to go and how what things because we've been so many times in the past, we we know the kind of experience that the that the guests should get at this point based on what they're doing.
33:54
SPEAKER_01: And if they fall short of that, we hold them to a a higher standard because of it.
33:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Jamie, and I think the reason we started this whole podcast is we love it, we love going there, but we also want to remind people that uh it's not always the hype that the influencers give you.
34:12
SPEAKER_00: There are mouse droppings, and we want to teach you how to avoid them and show you how you can really make the best of your trip.
34:19
SPEAKER_00: So here's the thing for for all the crap we've talked today, I'd still go back tomorrow.
34:23
SPEAKER_01: And that's exactly why Disney keeps raising the prices, Pete.
34:27
SPEAKER_00: We're not victims, Jamie.
34:28
SPEAKER_00: We're willing participants in a very expensive hostage situation.
34:33
SPEAKER_00: So there you have it, my friends.
34:34
SPEAKER_00: Disney adults are ridiculous, Disney is expensive, and apparently neither of us has the self-respect to stop going.
34:40
SPEAKER_01: And if you're friended by anything we said today.
34:43
SPEAKER_01: Good.
34:43
SPEAKER_01: At least somebody's listening.
34:45
SPEAKER_01: That's not how you grow an audience, Pete.
34:47
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, neither's a 45-minute discussion about popcorn buckets.
34:51
SPEAKER_01: But we did it.
34:52
SPEAKER_01: We did it.
34:52
SPEAKER_01: And trash can table time.
34:55
SPEAKER_01: So here's our here's our call to action for you folks out there listening.
34:58
SPEAKER_01: What listeners we have left.
35:00
SPEAKER_01: What is your most unpopular Disney opinion?
35:02
SPEAKER_01: Tell us what we got wrong, give it, send us an email.
35:05
SPEAKER_01: Uh, tell us what we got right, or just go tell us to go to hell.
35:09
SPEAKER_01: Whatever.
35:09
SPEAKER_01: Whatever we want some kind of interaction.
35:12
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't matter if it's happy or sad.
35:14
SPEAKER_01: Um, either way, we'd love to hear from you.
35:16
SPEAKER_01: I am uh unders at five on the fly on Instagram at number five underscore on the underscore fly.
35:24
SPEAKER_00: And Pete is P G Mac P E T R I E M A X uh Instagram.
35:30
SPEAKER_00: Uh or you can just reach us on Gmail or our or Instagram account, which is the worst beyond the magic.
35:37
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
35:38
SPEAKER_00: All right.
35:38
SPEAKER_00: Well, thanks for listening.
35:39
SPEAKER_00: Jamie, take us out.
35:41
SPEAKER_01: Until next time, this has been the worst beyond the magic.
35:44
SPEAKER_01: I can't find the stop button.
35:45
SPEAKER_00: I got it.