Going Beyond The Castle
Going Beyond The Castle is your ultimate travel podcast that takes you beyond the magical gates of Disney. Join hosts Fred, Lori and Ashley as they explore a world of vacation possibilities, diving into the best experiences from Universal Studios, Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Virgin Cruise Line, Sandals Resorts, and so much more. Whether you're a seasoned traveler or just dreaming of your next getaway, tune in for expert tips, in-depth reviews, and insider secrets to make your vacation truly unforgettable.
Going Beyond The Castle
Fireworks & Nighttime Magic: Best Shows in the Parks
Ever wondered why some Disney nighttime shows leave you sobbing while others just don't hit the same? Our hosts dive deep into the emotional impact, technological marvels, and strategic viewing spots for Disney's premier evening spectaculars.
Happily Ever After at Magic Kingdom emerges as the tearjerker champion, with Jordan Fisher's vocals and the Hercules segment consistently triggering waterworks. We explore the show's remarkable technology – 58 moving searchlights and extensive projection mapping that transforms not just the castle but Main Street itself. From secret viewing spots to the mysterious identity of Tinkerbell (spoiler: possibly a grown man), we uncover the magic behind the most beloved fireworks show in Disney history.
The conversation shifts to Epcot's Luminous, where massive fountain barges shoot water 100 feet high around World Showcase Lagoon. We share insider tips on prime viewing locations, including the Japan Pavilion's second level and the strategically sloped area behind Port of Entry where height differences won't block your view.
Hollywood Studios' Fantasmic rounds out our nighttime spectacular tour. This theatrical experience offers a different energy – Mickey battling villains in an amphitheater setting complete with water projections, character appearances, and that impressive Maleficent dragon transformation. We even discuss the unique pre-show atmosphere with its nostalgic soundtrack and enthusiastic crowd participation.
Whether you're planning your first Disney trip or your fiftieth, our practical advice on dessert parties (are they worth it?), dining packages, and alternative viewing experiences like fireworks cruises will help you create the perfect Disney evening. We also share strategies for avoiding the post-show transportation crush that has many guests skipping these spectaculars altogether.
What magical memories will you make after dark? Subscribe now and join our Disney community as we continue exploring all things beyond the castle!
Stay up to date with all things Going Beyond the Castle at beacons.ai/GoingBeyondTheCastle
and the tinkerbell part. Like every time, tinkerbell comes out like it's just. First of all, I want to try that I think you could be like 65 pounds you do. Yes, I would use the weight for it.
Speaker 2:I would, absolutely that's that's why you're doing the yeah, the peloton, yeah, you're gonna try out the tinkerbell.
Speaker 3:Well, I don't know if y'all I don't know which facebook group it was going around. It might have been rope dropping humor, the one that I talked about last week, but there was one and it was a. It was a picture of Tinkerbell, but it was clearly like a grown yes, man, exactly you're talking about, yeah, so there's hope.
Speaker 2:Tinkerbell's a man, there's hope from 150 feet up.
Speaker 1:Nobody's gonna know what I look like. As long as I got the figure and the wings on, it's fine I think you got an led blonde hair right, sign me up.
Speaker 1:What is up? And welcome back to going beyond the Castle. I am one of your three fabulous hosts, fred Riley, and I am henceforth going to be known as Chaos Squid number two. With me is the fabulous Chaos Squid number one, miss Ashley Rude, and, of course, the podcast Pinterest, miss Lori Talibone. All I'm saying is last week I was told there was going to be a crown. There it is. Oh yeah, let's crown there. It is Okay. Oh yeah, got it. Let's go, let's go, there we go.
Speaker 3:I was like I am and thanks to my good friend Lori Bush, she gave us these crowns when we went on a trip together and I kept it.
Speaker 1:Look at that.
Speaker 3:Yes, so who knows?
Speaker 1:I'm proud of change your little thingy to podcast. Princess, Go for it. Anyway, welcome back. We are super excited to be back for episode 34. I hope everybody had a fabulous holiday weekend. I know I think I can speak safely for all three of us and say that we each had a pretty great holiday weekend.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:Well needed time spent with family, so hopefully you guys out there listening got that time for you as well. So, uh, tonight, as we wrap up the weekend, we are heading into all things disney, nighttime shows. So there are two experts in this group that are that can talk about it and one that's going to wing it because she doesn't believe in nighttime shows.
Speaker 3:Wait, that's okay. So I'm the one who's winging it. Yes, little mick, I never stay for the nighttime shows. Wait, that's okay.
Speaker 1:So I'm the one who's winging it. Yes, little miss, I never stay for the nighttime shows.
Speaker 3:I have been to them before. I just don't stay all the time.
Speaker 1:Thanks, that's all I needed to hear you say, anyway. So we're super excited to dive into that tonight. But before we do, we do have a one announcement.
Speaker 2:It was a pretty slow week for the park, but I'll hand it over to Missley and we'll we'll cover that announcement yeah, absolutely, uh, before I get started, I just posted to every facebook group I could, and I think my new goal is to see which facebook groups I can get banned from after they say going beyond the castle.
Speaker 4:So if you're not there, you're on facebook.
Speaker 2:Please find us wherever you can and boot me out of whatever facebook group you can anyways yeah, so the only very sad day at walt disney world is today's last day for the liberty bell, liberty liberty square boat and tom sawyer, ireland, when I think, as of now it is done operating it is. I have a friend who actually worked on the liberty square boat and him and I were chatting today and he was saying, you know, he's actually surprised at how long it took for him to kind of scrap it.
Speaker 1:But we've had the conversations many times. Yeah, the liberty tree or the liberty bell for a very specific set of people that went to disney and it wasn't a majority like, unfortunately. Like back, I mean 90s, early 2000s maybe yeah, but nowadays like it's not.
Speaker 1:It was. It was super great for people who wanted to chill in the parks, um, or, you know, especially for kids with, you know, special needs that kind of needed a break to get away from the park. Yeah, and the loudness of it all, like comsworth island was fabulous for that, um, and you know there's definitely a lot of families out there that you know do disney differently than everybody else, where they pack their lunches and you know they take their time and they do stuff. It was fabulous for that. But for you know, what I feel like disney is targeting right now, which is the do it all, see it all, spend all the money you can.
Speaker 2:It's just not great for that, that target audience yeah, yeah, I agree, and there was a quick service stand out in tom sawyer island so even if you weren't a pack your lunch family kind of catered to everyone. It was low-key, I mean, I only went over there like once and I barely remember it. But yeah, definitely, I mean it was quiet, it was secluded and it will be missed by some people, but not all.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Josh and I went for the first time. I don't know when we went, maybe in February for Liv's cheer trip. I was like, let's just, let's go check it out. Oh, we might have went in 2014 when we took the kids, but we had never gone back.
Speaker 1:So I was like, let's just go one last time check it out. I really debated it with jabelle and I was like I have way more important things to do, so yeah, yeah, the priorities I think we mentioned this like previously.
Speaker 2:Like when you are like planning your day, you're like, yeah, we'll probably have time to hit it. And then, like, once you're in the swing of things, it gets to be like seven, eight o'clock and you're like, oh, we didn. We didn't even go to Tom Sawyer Island like we had planned.
Speaker 1:Did y'all see that lineup for Epcot the?
Speaker 3:band lineup. Yeah, feed to the beat.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm super sad there's some solid bands on that list and I'm kind of salty Makes me want to book a trip.
Speaker 3:I'm pretty sure last year we went through them and I was like I don't know who this is.
Speaker 1:You makes me want to book a trip. I'm pretty sure last year we went through them and I was like I don't know who this is. You didn't know any of them I can't help it that I'm old, and then I would be like laura, you have to know this person.
Speaker 3:She'd be like no idea who that is. Well, and then some of them, to be fair, like my whole family, I don't know. I don't know why I just I don't learn the names of people. And josh will talk about an actor or a band. I'm like I don't know who that is. And he's like, yes, you do, and he'll tell me and I'm like, oh okay, yeah, I know. So some of them I may know, but that was a lot of them yeah, joey fatone and friends.
Speaker 2:You know who, joey fatone? Is right yeah, okay, great, toby mack will be there, mercy me will be there the week we are there uber stink like come on, who ben rector the fray did you say come on who?
Speaker 3:Ben Rector, the fray Hoobastink, come on Lord.
Speaker 1:You don't know who Hoobastink is. Corey, what I'm? Telling you, she was deprived as a child.
Speaker 3:What do they sing? And I might know it.
Speaker 2:Smash Mouth we were just talking yesterday. We were at the pool yesterday and they were talking about how Smash Mouth did like One concert in like a little suburb of Indianapolis a couple weekends ago. So that was all we listened to.
Speaker 1:I also appreciate that Bowling for Soup is going to be there.
Speaker 2:And the 1 to 2.0. I forgot they even were a 1.0. There's some solid artists this year It'll be great.
Speaker 1:That's okay, we'll listen to some people at church on Sunday.
Speaker 3:I'll change the playlist in the sanctuary. Yeah, we ended up making it to one service today, but I heard at the first service they had a blackout over at main campus during Pastor Josh's message.
Speaker 2:That's fun. Yeah, wouldn't happen on Fred's watch.
Speaker 1:I was busy listening to a sermon from a biker Sweet, I can get down with that. It was pretty dope. I couldn't hear a word he was saying, but it was pretty powerful you felt empowered just by listening to all right, I'll take your report.
Speaker 3:I miss my girls, though, because it's been, were they not, were y'all not there last sunday?
Speaker 1:it's been a week.
Speaker 3:Oh, we were we can't hear you.
Speaker 2:I don't know how to help you can y'all?
Speaker 1:hear me, yeah, yes it's your internet. It's messing up tonight, not ours.
Speaker 2:Well, while she can't hear us.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about how much she doesn't appreciate the nighttime shows got it yeah oh hey, welcome back. Can you hear us?
Speaker 3:thanks. My headphones randomly connected to my phone instead of my computer, so I need to go in.
Speaker 1:We weren't talking bad about you at all. No, we were talking about your appreciation for nighttime entertainment?
Speaker 3:Yes, Look for the record. I do like them. I would love to stay and watch them. Just not everybody agrees.
Speaker 1:All I'm saying is two out of three people in this group have cried over Happily Ever After.
Speaker 2:And one person has no heart.
Speaker 1:That's just no heart that's just silliness, but wow, okay, great remove her from this chat real quick yeah if you don't mind, I have seen, seen the show and I like it.
Speaker 3:I just I don't know, I just don't cry, I don't know. So do you not?
Speaker 2:stay because you're tired, or do you not stay because that's majority vote?
Speaker 3:would you rather?
Speaker 2:go do other things. What's? What's the vibe here?
Speaker 3:probably all of them. We're like I don't know, we, we just kind of go until now. Josh and I almost stayed for phantasmic in february, I think, or maybe it's when we went october, because we love phantasmic, we would have stayed. However, it started to drizzle and we left, and we were glad we left, because it rained and the show got canceled.
Speaker 2:So there's a second show we have gone. Yeah, every time we've gone the last few years it's been rained out or it's been like pouring we're like yeah they're gonna rain it out, and then by the time we're back to our resort, it's not rained out. So that's why we haven't seen it.
Speaker 3:Initially it started because they were like oh, instead of instead of watching it, let's go ride rides. So we would go and do rides because it's shorter lines, and then, but now we don't even really kind of stay for that, we all kind of like poop out a little bit.
Speaker 1:There's three type of Disney people. There's three type of three types of Disney people. You have the person who cries and absolutely loves all the shows. You have the person who skips it all and goes and rides, rides. And then you have the person who just goes home and goes to bed yeah, yeah, definitely yeah we're a mix between two and three.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I am hoping. I am hoping when I go in december, since I'll be with um, the agency folks, that I'll have some that will stay late now when I go when I do the agency trips, like we'll stay, especially like when we go to the halloween, like we'll stay, especially like when we go to the Halloween party, we'll stay. You know, I know it's not the same, but we stay and watch those. So I mean I do stay, I do enjoy them. It just Well, and it's not like they ever change yeah right.
Speaker 1:Especially for people like us that go to Disney quite often like Right disney quite often, like right, I'll sit here and give you crap about it all day, but like, honestly, you see the show one time you could be good. Like they're great shows, don't get me wrong. I, you know I love going to see all of the shows. But like luminous for me is a prime example of like I that could be a one and done for me. Like yeah, if the park didn't close at nine, like if it was like magic kingdom and I could go ride more rides. Like I would probably skip luminous and go ride rides, but that one just there's nothing to do. The park closes.
Speaker 3:Let's either see the show or go home yeah, for sure I just got a text from danny danny dixon yeah, saying how it was a wonderful surprise to see us at church today, because they weren't expecting us.
Speaker 1:You never text me, I don't have to have a conversation with them, anyway, anyway, magic Kingdom.
Speaker 3:Are you going to cry talking about it?
Speaker 1:I'm like. It's just like Listen. I am so glad that I never saw Wishes, which was the precursor to Happily Ever After.
Speaker 2:It was amazing.
Speaker 1:I still listen to it from time to time it was garbage get out of here. That compared to happily ever after a close.
Speaker 1:It's a close one, see, and everybody has their own opinion, which is fine yeah, yeah I'm just super glad that they didn't keep enchantment because that was garbage, like the projections didn't work, like they tried to expand the projections and it didn't work, that the music just did not hit the feels that, happily ever after, did wishes? Did wishes really got into the feelings of disney but disney's enchantment they tried for the 50th anniversary. They should have left it alone, which luckily Disney got smart. And I still remember sitting on the floor of my living room watching D23 and hearing who was it.
Speaker 2:Josh DeMauro or Bob Iger One of the two.
Speaker 1:I think it was Josh DeMauro.
Speaker 2:I think it was.
Speaker 1:Josh when he was like we're bringing back Happily Ever After, and I ran around my living room yeah, yeah, I think it's important to know that.
Speaker 1:Like I'm pretty sure there was a child drinking a bottle in my lap and the child just got launched and I'm like it was just I'm so glad it came back like it really is a great show, like and there's so much that goes into it. Like really all of the nighttime shows, like there's so much that goes into it. They're not just your typical like quick and easy nighttime shows. There's like. I did some research because I actually had some time today proud of you thank you on happily ever after.
Speaker 1:there are 58 moving search lights that are staged all around the park. I tried finding it. I don't think I could find it, but the amount of projectors that they have shining on the castle down Main Street it's just crazy. The amount of technology that goes into it and the mapping of Cinderella's Castle and I love what they've done. I never take the time because really I think that's what did it for me between Wishes versus Happily Ever After is the projections.
Speaker 2:It's valid.
Speaker 1:I just feel like they do a really good job with the projections and I really like what they've done with going down Main Street and you wouldn't get to see the projections. But now with what they've done on Main Street like they brought more of the park into the projection- yeah, like there's not a bad spot. There's not Not anymore.
Speaker 2:No not since they put those projections on Main Street. Not anymore, no, not since they put those projections on Main Street. I do think it's important to note that we had Happily Ever After. It was great. They said we're taking that away from you and on that last trip that I had, before they were taking it away, I cried because Happily Ever After and I cried because it was going away. And then we got Enchantment. It was very mid and then I was like Fred and I and I was like, okay, we can bully them back into this. And we did, and the disney adults won and it worked.
Speaker 1:It was good. Yeah, I'm just like song. The intro song with jordan fisher is just when I, when I feel sad, I listen to that song. I have it on my phone and I just listened to that song and it's just when he sings ready to begin. It's just like oh, there it is yeah, I mean it.
Speaker 3:I like you know when that song comes on, or like when I'm listening to the um park radio. Whatever I mean, I do get the, the feels of it. I don't know, I just I guess I haven't felt it that much to where I actually cry. Maybe next time I I go, I don't know, I'll let y'all know. In December I'll go. I'll make sure that I watch it and I'll let you know. I'll go live and that way, if I cry, I can cry for you.
Speaker 2:Well, fred, now we'll hype you up for tears Well.
Speaker 1:I'm going to text you all day disney movies yeah yeah, like I'm gonna make you think about bambi and homeward bound right. Yep, and homeward bound, yeah, rival into it yeah, you're gonna make me have a meltdown hey, crying is crying, regardless of the reason yeah, that's the end result we're looking for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it doesn't matter why you're crying, just cry yeah, exactly, it's the hercules part that always does it for me. Look inside yourself it's that's when the trumpets play and they all just like man.
Speaker 1:Well, one like it really just does a good job, like the voiceover of like setting it up, like like we each have this like desire, this dream that we want to achieve, which and you know, which is true for a lot of us, especially like the kids like as we grow up, we have these dreams that we want to live and really set out to achieve and, you know, even as adults, we have the same thing.
Speaker 1:So it really kind of speaks to all of us, uh, and then, like it goes through, like they just did this really good job of going through all of the emotions and all the experiences that you would go through as you're setting out to achieve these dreams. Like you're going to talk, like you have stuff about friendship, you have stuff about falling in love, you have stuff about adversity, like you have all these different emotions that they really bring into this overall theme of like this dream that you're, you're, you're searching for and trying to find. And it's just again the, the hercules part. I think that that's what gets everybody. It threads the needle, it does, it does truly. And the tinkerbell part. Like every time tinkerbell comes out, like it's just first of all, I want to try that I think you could be like 65 pounds you do.
Speaker 1:Yes, I would use the weight for it.
Speaker 2:I would, absolutely that's that's why you're doing the, yeah, the peloton, yeah, you're gonna try out the tinkerbell.
Speaker 3:Well, I don't know if y'all I don't know which facebook group it was going around. It might have been rope dropping humor, the one that I talked about last week, but there was one and it was a. It was a picture of tinkerbell, but it was clearly like a grown yes, man, exactly you.
Speaker 2:I know exactly what you're talking about.
Speaker 3:So there's hope. Right, Tinkerbell's a man. There's hope.
Speaker 1:From 150 feet up. Nobody's going to know what I look like as long as. I got the figure and the wings on.
Speaker 2:it's fine I think you'd look cute in LED blonde hair.
Speaker 1:Right, sign me up. Yeah, yeah, no, thanks what you wouldn't zipline his stinker bone across Magic Kingdom. I wouldn't zipline anywhere, I don't like heights Neither do I, but ziplining is amazing.
Speaker 3:I know I want to. That's a whole other story I have to tell you. One time I took the youth kids and I couldn't do it. Or I might have told y'all I couldn't do it.
Speaker 1:But no Ifney would make bank right if they, if they fortified that zip line and they made that like a like you got keys to the kingdom. You got like behind the scenes over it. Animal kingdom, like up close encounters with the elephants or whatever zip line over magic kingdom like you could you come to the park at like 3 am and then you get one turn going across the zip line. You know how much money disney could make off of that like until they get sued.
Speaker 1:That's why you signed the waiver you know how many times disney gets sued every year like I know crazy. Somebody tried to sue them the other day for the water park and it's like you're the one that walked into the frickin' wave pool.
Speaker 3:I saw that.
Speaker 1:Like you should have known what was going to happen.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I also saw a video of that where and I don't know if it was a TikTok or something, or maybe it was a commercial, I don't know they were like. They thought that they, like the family was lined up with their back turned, thinking they were going to get a picture, and like the big wave came and crashed everyone.
Speaker 1:One it's hilarious it's a death trap.
Speaker 2:Two it's hilarious yeah, yeah, so I did just a quick search yeah, let's bring it back in.
Speaker 3:I did a quick search on chat gpt just to see what it would say about happily ever after, and the first thing it says it's a heart tugging. 18 minute fireworks projection show back.
Speaker 1:So heart tugging, tear jerking you know which, one of the things that I do love to going on to the fireworks like one. They do a great job with the fireworks. It's a fabulous fireworks show, but one of the things that I love is that a majority of the fireworks are done outside of the park, which nobody would ever know. Um, and then two.
Speaker 1:If you pay really close attention, the roofs that are over fantasy land beside the castle have sprinklers going off the entire time that the the firework show is going on, because they don't want the roof to catch on fire, because some of the fireworks are right there, so if you look, you can actually see the sprinklers going off above, like over peter pan, bippity bop, bippity, peek, that stuff like that. That's cool.
Speaker 2:I think the best firework is the one with uh, the mulan scene, where she's like aiming the. Thing like shoots out the sun. That's the coolest one yeah that's cool. Sorry, go ahead, lori no, that's okay.
Speaker 3:As I say, we actually not intentionally uh one time timed it where I think it was when we took my in-laws and I was kind of frustrated a little bit that we didn't go and watch it, because it was her first time there and probably never go back, but we chose to ride rides instead. But we actually were on Big Thunder Mountain and we like going right up when the fireworks were going off, so I was like we couldn't have timed it any better fireworks were going off so I was like we couldn't have timed it any better.
Speaker 1:Totally different. But I did that at cedar point on one of the rides they were doing. We went on the fourth of july and I can't remember what ride we were on. If I saw it on a map I'd point it out. But like perfectly, as we came around the bin like the fireworks just started going off and it was like the few time it perfectly. It's one of the coolest things ever nice, very nice sweet.
Speaker 1:But yeah, like and that's one of the great things like I love about like happily ever after is just like the if there's so much to it, like if you're not into the projections, you don't have to watch the projections, you can just watch the fireworks from wherever you're at. Like some of the most popular spots to watch happily ever after are like not even anywhere near the castle.
Speaker 2:Like it's really just the soundtrack and the fireworks for so many people yeah, I think where you sit is all like how you want to consume. It matters a lot when it comes to because, like we have stood in front of the castle and like you don't get much fireworks when you're right in front of the castle, you are all projections there yeah so like. If that's what kind of person you are, then great, stand closer to the castle, make sure you secure that spot.
Speaker 3:But you know, the further back you move, the more fireworks you're gonna have I remember the first time we saw it in 2014 because, again, I don't research anything for sure now, but back then I didn't even know to research and so we just happened to be. It's on the side, kind of where sleepy, how sleepy hollow is, um, I guess, maybe where the spring roll card is like. Maybe along that side is where I remember standing, and I do remember we were blown away, like because we weren't anticipating that.
Speaker 1:Back over here.
Speaker 3:Actually no, because we were kind of closer up in front of the cat, but like maybe where that second bridge is. I'm pointing at my screen, like you can see, when I'm pointing at it.
Speaker 4:A little girl. Yes, like right up in there.
Speaker 3:I think we were kind of closer on that side, yeah. And so you know we were closer off Because we watched at that time the nighttime electric parade and then we just kind of stayed for the projection show I always go for, like right here in the center, always every time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, we go there and to discuss later. We do the balcony at the contemporary a lot oh yeah, that's for another segment in this episode fun they used to have.
Speaker 1:I don't know if they still have it, but they used to have like I think it was right back a little bit here the handicap section isn't it back in like the reserve section not? The handicap.
Speaker 2:No, the handicap section's back over here yeah, because the other side is for um. Yeah, the dessert party.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the handicap section is fabulous. Loved taking my parents who were in well chairs. That was some great views, especially because you don't have to rush to get there. You could literally show up like 10 minutes before and you're gonna have fabulous seats. But yeah, like, really anywhere down main street is fabulous. But yeah, like really anywhere down Main Street is fabulous. But yeah, it's going to get. When we went back in May, it started getting. I mean, I want to say the show was around nine. We got there at like 830 and it was already packed. Like this whole area was already packed out. So we just we didn't have anything to do, so we just hung out and chilled. We sat like right here.
Speaker 1:It was fabulous yeah some other good spots that I've heard about is, if you're just in it for the fireworks is over here in the Rapunzel area. That's a really good spot to watch the fireworks and then also back over here in the back.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Great spot, yeah, which the fireworks are done, like some of the big fireworks are done back over here, so you got some pretty good shots, but yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:That's where.
Speaker 1:I recommend that's where we always go.
Speaker 3:You were at Ohana one night for dinner and, um you know they piped the music in there.
Speaker 1:So we happen to be, um, not close by the window, but close enough where we can watch it if you could get dinner at one of the resorts and do a window seat like that's also a fabulous like spot to view the fireworks. If you're not looking to be in the chaos of right well, and that's the thing too is if you stay and view the fireworks, if you're not looking to be in the chaos of parks.
Speaker 3:That's the thing too. If you stay and watch the fireworks, if you're not Back when we went years ago, you could stay in the park an hour longer. I don't know if it's still. I guess it depends on when it closes.
Speaker 1:It depends on when it closes and what time the show is.
Speaker 3:Yeah, once the fireworks end, you could be waiting a hot minute for a ride back to your resort.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And that's a lot of the driving factor too. It's because you know the fam doesn't want to wait.
Speaker 1:Which that's what we did. Like, I want to say, the show was at 930. The park closed at 10. Maybe the show was at 920. And the park closed at 10. So, like, immediately after the show, we had no desire to try to get out of the park because it's pure chaos. So we went and did a Swiss family tree house, which is one of my favorite things to do after Happily Ever After, because you get to see the park all lit up. We went and wrote Tiana's and then by the time Tiana's was over, the park was closed. So we slowly got our way back. We took pictures down Main Street, got some photo passes and then by the time that we got to our bus stop, like it was empty. So we only had to stall out like 40 minutes maybe.
Speaker 2:That's not too bad.
Speaker 1:Yeah, nice, we already talked dessert party. Yes, I've heard mixed reviews. I've never done it. I've thought about doing it a couple of times, but I've heard some mixed reviews about the dessert party.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Primarily, that the views suck and the desserts are nothing to write home about.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's what I've heard. The foods aren't that great.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I did hear that the pre-party is better than the post-party. The pre-party is better than the post-party. Yeah, I believe. Hopefully I don't have it backwards, I think that's what yeah, Because I like I don't know.
Speaker 1:I mean it was the same for, you know, World of Color. When I saw Disneyland, Like, honestly, the seats were what I thought were the best part of it. The desserts were nothing to run home about, the drinks were pretty cool, but for like $109 at Disney World, at Magic Kingdom, I feel like that's a little. I don't know if I would ever be like you should go do this. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree, but I mean you do get like a dedicated area with a bunch of other people and you do get like all you can eat like snacks and desserts. Yeah, drinks, if you're 21, you can. You can have the alcoholic beverages, um. But yeah, again, like I've heard people complain about the views that they've gotten and end up getting a refund out of it just because, like I mean, ultimately you're paying to see the show in like a reserved area.
Speaker 1:But hey, I mean it's totally up to you and it's crazy yums now, one of the things that I would always recommend and I I tried to get one of my clients to do it, but she just she didn't want to do it is the uh, the fireworks cruise that takes off from contemporary like that, like just that sounds super cool that's cool if I ever had enough people go with us to disney, I would totally do it should we manifest that for 2026 too?
Speaker 2:I?
Speaker 1:think my wife would murder me. She's already on the verge of murdering me.
Speaker 2:Let's not spend a lot of time in the car today together maybe 2027 yeah, there we go, that's fine, much better we're gonna have to start like planning out our years, disney land and and Disney World can only happen in the same year.
Speaker 1:I was lucky to pull that off this year.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I don't think that's ever going to happen again. Also, I would just like to nobody mentioned my shirt, but Olivia, if you're watching, I just want you to know. I wore this shirt for you tonight.
Speaker 2:I need to let her know. Yeah, I watched that movie for the first time rachel's watching it right now.
Speaker 3:I'm pretty sure so the reason my child is traumatized by? Because you take her to waters that are shark infested and say it's a vacation no, because my my mom let her watch jaws when she was somebody's calling me um. When she was younger, she watched jaws, jaws and I'm like my mom's, like it's not scary, yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean in your mom's defense. It could have gone one of two ways. She could have developed a love for sharks or a fear for sharks.
Speaker 3:Well, and guess what?
Speaker 1:happened to go the wrong way, so really it's Liv's fault.
Speaker 3:For the longest time she was scared to take a bath. I'm like Olivia shark is is not gonna come through the faucet I mean she was little yeah, everything swimming, like you can't say shark in a swimming pool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was uh what would happen if I just yelled shark in the church one day?
Speaker 3:I don't, you'd be dead yeah, you would die.
Speaker 2:I don't try it, let's sing.
Speaker 1:I'll wear this shirt in two weeks when I'm not serving yeah, do that I saw it at walmart I was like I have to buy it. It's $6.
Speaker 2:My wife bought me a Jaws tank top today, so we're going to be twinsies soon.
Speaker 1:I wonder if there's sharks in Disney water.
Speaker 3:We did see there was a shark near us in Pensacola this weekend.
Speaker 2:I remember you saying that there's sharks everywhere, it's fine, it's just like alligators they're not they're not always gonna eat you, it's just a very small chance. See, we're all Texas and was like there's a shark in the water, but it was only like five foot and me and Fred were both like that still sounds like pretty big shark to me because the lady was like, oh yeah, it was like this big and she's like she did more, like three feet.
Speaker 3:and then another guy was like, yeah, it was probably about your size and I'm'm like I'm fine, I mean, I know I'm short, but I think in shark life that's big. That is not a baby. It's not a baby.
Speaker 1:No, anyway, anyway. So yes, dessert party is definitely an option if that's up your alley. But if you're going to have like four or five people, just go to Disney Springs, get some desserts, desserts, and then go do the firework cruise.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a good way, better idea so that's with all of this. It's important to say that, like, while these nighttime spectaculars are set to like be a memory for all of your family, the memories are kind of what you set them to be like. Yeah, you know, I have memories, not of watching fireworks with my family, but of like playing techers with my dad on main street at night. Not of like watching fireworks or parades or anything like that. So you know what we, what we do, talk about all this stuff. You guys have to make your memories what you want.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, I mean again, I think we've talked about it before yeah, um, you know the way that I was raised, going to Disney was not going to Disney because we were very bored yeah.
Speaker 1:I didn't go until I was back in 2018 and you know, the first couple trips that I took like was all about that's. You know, rachel's family did the show and so I was taught to do the shows, like laurie's family. They didn't have people to tell them how to do disney and so they, you know they did shows, but that didn't necessarily become a priority for them. You know, other things became a priority, like yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So you know I will sit here and say like all day, if you go to disney for the first time, you have to see all the night shows oh, absolutely yeah, but after that, like, find what you love, find where the memories are made, and do that like yeah no judgment at all as long as you continue to go to disney and not universal this is not a paid ad for disney or a pun against universal. Yeah I'm just kidding.
Speaker 2:I love universal anyways, who's back laurie? You want to do epcot?
Speaker 3:sure, sure, let's go to epcot. Um, yes, I didn't realize until I was, because I did a bit of research myself today. I didn't realize this one debuted on olivia's birthday, on december 5th in 2023. And, and I'll be honest, I've seen the other epcot shows. I haven't realize this one debuted on Olivia's birthday, on December 5th in 2023. And, I'll be honest, I've seen the other Epcot shows, I haven't seen this one. I feel like, with Epcot, though, it's got to be very similar and you know, because it's not like they have a castle, it's projected on the lagoon, so it's you know, it's not like it's on the castle where you have, yeah, you know the projections or whatever, whatever. But the cool thing about it let me go back to my other notes lost is that these barges that they put out I know that was very controversial in the beginning. I know during a day they sit out there, but those barges, it says the fountains shoot up 100 plus feet, which is pretty pretty big, pretty intent.
Speaker 3:They're pretty intent yeah, um, the concept of it is to move like a symphony and I don't know that's weird. I'm not gonna say that.
Speaker 1:Um, somebody sings, did you type this in a chat gpt did you type? This in a chat gpt. Hey, gp chat gpt tell me about luminous I have.
Speaker 3:No, this is actually, this is in wikipedia, but which is probably second best. No, the one thing that this was a google search and it said, um, that it's highlighting a human journey birth, childhood, friendship, love, adventure and remembrance. That's why I was kind of like I don't know. Yeah, anyway, there's a lot of fun things though at epcot. I feel like it's not the same vibe as, I think, magic kingdom where you get all the feels, but there's a lot of stuff, I think, to do around the nighttime shows at epcot, because you don't necessarily, because it's not the projection, I mean, you won't see all of the visuals, but you can go on the boardwalk. There's a lot of stuff to do along the boardwalk if you want to. You know, hang out there.
Speaker 3:We actually 4th of July two summers ago we arrived on 4th of July, so we didn't have park tickets that day. So we just took the Skyliner over from Art of Animation to Epcot and we just kind of walked around in that area. And then I asked a cast member I'm like when is a good time to get back on the Skyliner so that we'll be in the air when the fireworks went off? And so he kind of let us know. I think it was like maybe 10 minutes before the fireworks show was supposed to start. Now, on 4th of July, they do have an extra fireworks show, so they have the regular one and then they have the I think it's called Freedom. Where is it? Heartbeat of Freedom? So it's a little bit of an extended fireworks, but that was super cool. So like we made it up in the Skyliner as the fireworks were going off. So that is really neat.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there's a lot of different things out there, but where's the best spot to view it? As well, I think the majority of folks say by the Japan pavilion. So let me ask this, because I didn't know this and I was asking Josh because he's way better at remembering things than me, but he doesn't remember it either. So that store that's there in Japan is there like a second level? Because it was showing the pictures, was showing like people standing outside on the second level and so like that was like a really good view of where you can see, see Luminous. But I was like I don't. I don't ever remember. We go in that store, especially when braden's with us. We go in there every time, and I don't remember going on the second level kashi store or whatever yes teppanetto yeah yeah, because it's on the bottom.
Speaker 1:Right is the store yeah, the downstairs is the, the store, and then upstairs you have the sushi and then, on the far side, you have Teppanito.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I guess because we never ate up there, so we never went up there before. But yeah, that's super cool. Teppanito is where it's at. Yeah, josh has a friend that loves that place. I think they eat there all the time. There's also the bridge between UK and France. That's supposedly a really good viewing spot. Fred's gonna bring up the map for us.
Speaker 2:There it is there it is and right there to the right of it. Isn't that reserved right down there?
Speaker 1:yeah, I've never gone over there, I don't know I think it is.
Speaker 3:There's one spot, oh, I think it's in italy, in the italy pavilion, they said it's really good, like by the um, the lagoon showcase, but that spot is reserved a lot. So if it's reserved, then it's in Italy, the Italy Pavilion, they said, is really good, like by the Lagoon Showcase, but that spot is reserved a lot. So if it's reserved, then it's probably going to be roped off where you can't see it, yeah. And then also in Mexico, which La Hacienda, yeah.
Speaker 4:I always get the two mixed up. Which one Is a?
Speaker 2:good spot for viewing yeah for viewing, and then we always go right there, fred, right behind the port of entry.
Speaker 1:Right, this is exactly where I go, because it's slanted, so like I always sit right up at the top and like when everybody stands up, there's nobody blocking my view.
Speaker 2:I have a perfect view every time and they have it all like taped off, so that way no one gets in your way. The last two times we've watched harmonious and luminous, we've sat there, and it's been.
Speaker 3:I always sit right there I feel like when we have, because we actually have been in epcot more for fireworks than anything, because usually we're hopping there as a second park of the day, so we kind of ling it around at night. Not that we necessarily sit around and watch it, but I always feel like we're in the back area by Mexico.
Speaker 1:It just happens to be, I think we primarily always watched it here. I think one time I watched it over here in Germany.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Germany's a good spot too.
Speaker 1:But I think for the most part, this is always where we go Because, like I said, it's nice and slanted. So when everybody's standing up, nobody's blocking you and again, you don't have to get there super early, which is super nice.
Speaker 2:I think the one time we sat in Japan was when it was Epcot Forever.
Speaker 1:Was Epcot Forever, the one with the jet skis?
Speaker 2:Yes, but the jet skis did not last very long.
Speaker 1:No, they didn't. Jet skis don't tend to last very long in any show at Disney, apparently.
Speaker 3:No, I know, like the feather. No, not the feather. What was it? The kite?
Speaker 1:tails I can't ever remember that.
Speaker 3:I know we talked about that once before and y'all made fun of me, but anyway, and then also at Epcot, there's some dining packages that you can get, which like Spice Row Table, which I've never eaten there. It's that one's a little bit cheaper. It's $81 for adults, $31 for kids and you get two small plates, your choice of two small plates. Okay, I had to look this up. A shared, I don't even know if I want to say it right, where did Fred go?
Speaker 2:I have no idea. Please run camera hub to use Elgato virtual camera that's weird, I don't know.
Speaker 1:That is super weird. Y'all keep talking do you know?
Speaker 3:okay, so it's. And I was like Josh, what is this? It says a shared I don't know if I'm gonna say it right tagine. So I had to look it up and it's like, I guess it's like a pot of like stew, I don't know. Interesting, yeah, um, and then you get a dessert platter and unlimited beverages and that's over at spice road table yeah, the food over there is very adventurous.
Speaker 2:I don't think I would ever find myself willingly going to that. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm not too sure about that one either. This one says check in 60 minutes before the show and then the dining experience lasts approximately 90 minutes. Wow yeah, which was a little bit different. So over at Rose and Crown, that one was a little bit more. At Rose and Crown, that one was a little bit more. Not much more, but $92 for adults, $41 for kids. You get an appetizer, an entree, a dessert and unlimited beverages. This one says check-in begins 15 minutes prior to the show. So I wonder why there's such a big gap between the two.
Speaker 2:I wonder if you get like actual dinner at Spicer Table but at Rosenkrantz you mainly just get like the viewing experience.
Speaker 3:He's back Maybe, so, nope, you can see him, oh no.
Speaker 2:I can see him, but he's not moving. I can't see him, great job, go Fred.
Speaker 1:Oh, I have no idea what's happening.
Speaker 3:You're doing a great job. Keep it up. Yeah, just, you're doing a great job. Keep it up. Yeah, just keep talking. Anyway, both of them have a 24-hour cancellation policy. I don't know that I'd be that interested in doing that, like. I feel like when we get to Hollywood Studios, maybe the Fantasmic Dining Package might be a little bit more, but I don't know that I would do either one of these two.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think a margarita.
Speaker 3:And the viewing area by Port of Entry is all I need honestly Right, and it's way cheaper than $90 per adult and kid.
Speaker 2:Yeah, agree.
Speaker 3:Yeah, this one also has the firework boot cruise, which I do have a client that did that and they enjoyed it a lot. He's one of my favorite clients. He likes to book those kind of things. But yeah, him and his family did the fireworks cruise and they really enjoyed it a lot, said it was it was awesome, that's like.
Speaker 2:Like the epcot fireworks cruise, you get a lot more up close and personal than you can for the magic kingdom one yeah, and it starts at 450 dollars, um, and it's for up to 10 people.
Speaker 3:So again, if you go in with friends and not just your family, then you know you could split the cost, but you know it's kind of pricey. Just so I mean I guess for the experience. You know, like I said, if you have a bunch of friends that go in just to do something, or if you have the money and you want to spend it, go for it. Call me up and I'll help you out. Yeah, just put your email again right, um, anyway.
Speaker 3:But yeah, I feel like the epcot experience is just a little different. It's kind of not that it's just fireworks, um, because it's a little bit more than that, but it doesn't have the feels like, you know, magic kingdom might. Some of the tips and I think I went through those already, you know, to the line, you know, if you're not at the park or if you are at the park and you want to leave and you're at a Skyliner resort, I highly recommend going, get in line before the fireworks start and then you just, you know, can watch it. And then we also were able to see and I can't remember if it was Hollywood Studios or maybe Magic Kingdom, but we were, as we went, it had to be Hollywood Studios, since it's along that route we were able to see some of those fireworks from the Skyliner as well, and then over at the Boardwalk, especially around. This was more Fourth of July type events. I don't know if they have it all year round, which I'm sure they do. They have street performers out there. You know different things taking place. They have street performance out there. You know different things taking place.
Speaker 3:Josh and I, what we did, oh, when we took the boat. When we stayed at Port Orleans we ended up taking the boat back instead of the Skyliner. The Skyliner was down and so we had to go through the Swan and Dolphin. Like there was multiple stops that we had to take before we could get off the boat. And he's like why don't we ever come walk around the boardwalk? I'm like I don't know. Like we always say we're just going to take chill trips and just go kind of do those different things. But now that he's seen that area and we've seen stuff, I think when we go in February maybe we'll go check it out, because we've never just kind of walked around on that side to just check it out.
Speaker 2:I'm always dying to go to beaches and cream, just never got to do it. Yeah, we have. We've done the boardwalk. I, my wife and I and the kids have done the boardwalk at night, but we've also I've also gone with a friend a couple years ago, probably seven, eight years ago, and we like went to I think it was called big river, the big river bar and grill. We had a few beers there and grill. We had a few beers there and then we had a few drinks at the abracadabra and they're like street performers out. We had boardwalk pizza, like it was a whole experience and I highly recommend like just hanging out the boardwalk yeah we're gonna do that in february.
Speaker 2:We gotta get it I think covid did some damage to the street performers on the boardwalk, but I know what it sounds like.
Speaker 3:They're slowly but surely bringing them back coming back yeah yeah, when I was doing some research it had I mean it could have been false, but it had. You know, july 4th 2025, like street performers and stuff. So yeah, but yeah, I feel like Epcot's not as heartwarming to talk about like Magic Kingdom and even Hollywood Studios with Fantasmic, because I think those two are the top of the line shows.
Speaker 2:For sure.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I don't know if you have anything else you want to talk about or we can move on to yours.
Speaker 2:I am ready to talk about Hollywood Studios. If you are, let's go for it.
Speaker 3:I love Fantasmic.
Speaker 2:For the sake of the listener and not the viewer. Fred briley has just jumped ship on us. Not sure where he is, but sure he'll join us soon. Yeah, I texted him that we miss him to see kind of how it's going, and we haven't heard yet right, especially because he's like the main one.
Speaker 3:So hopefully we don't lose the recordings and stuff isn't all for nothing, right.
Speaker 2:Lose the recordings and stuff isn't all for nothing right, we'll have to do a repeat. Yeah, moving on to hollywood studios, I'll kind of do the lead up before phantasmic because you know phantasmic is the nighttime spectacular of hollywood studios. But yes, there is the wonderful world of animation which is like a projection slash mini fireworks show that is on the chinese theater gabby and I happened to stumble into it one night and the audio from it was like pounding. Not sure why it was so loud, but it was a really cool like projection show up on the chinese theater and you had the occasional firework and stuff, which was really cool.
Speaker 2:Fred's here, he's just. Oh, that's not Fred, that's my mom. She said I'm here, hi, mom. But that was a really cool thing to see. And then in between that and Fantasmic, highly recommend just people watching on Sunset Boulevard and sitting at like the ABC commissary and like people watching down commissary lane, because people are like struggling to get to that very last attraction before Fantasmic and they're struggling to like get to the line to queue up for phantasmic. So it's kind of funny just to watch everyone kind of scatter around and see where they want to go. He's back. He's back the long-awaited fred riley. I just want you guys to know.
Speaker 1:I had you pulled up the whole time, so I heard everything that you said. Good, I don't know why my phone randomly decided that it was not gonna work as webcam anymore, so I had to go back up.
Speaker 2:Oh, I guess we can ask if you have anything else to say about epcot, even though we've moved on to hollywood I don't.
Speaker 1:I think laurie did a fabulous job that's what we like to hear thanks.
Speaker 2:You can't get a nighttime package with phantasmic before you go see it. You can eat dinner at hollywood and vine these prime times, sci-fi dining and the hollywood brown derby. If I had to pick any of those, I'd probably go 50s prime time. I don't know that I've ever eaten a real meal at hollywood brown derby hollywood vine is fabulous.
Speaker 1:Josh can't say the same, but I could say it's absolutely fabulous and loved hollywood and vine. I was super salty, though, because I paid the up charge for the dining package and the show got canceled because oh, that's a bummer.
Speaker 2:I also did the hollywood and vine package years ago. We did, uh, during star wars celebration, so they had like all the star wars characters out like pluto or goofy and mickey and everyone dressed up as like Jedis and Darth Vader and whatnot oh fun. And then we saw Phantasm too, and that is when I realized that, like, you don't really need a dining package to see Phantasmic because there's not a bad show in the amphitheater whatsoever.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's not. Unless you sit super close front row, then you're going to get soaked, and if that's not your desire, Then don't sit there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, don't. I'll be throwing on my poncho. Yeah, of course you would gosh. And then there is phantasmic what up disney describes as be there as the forces of good and evil battle it out in mickey's dream during this extravagant open-air nighttime musical.
Speaker 1:It really is a fabulous show, it really is.
Speaker 2:I might cry, if you're breaking news.
Speaker 3:I'm not going to cry.
Speaker 2:Lori has feelings.
Speaker 1:I'm not going to cry.
Speaker 2:I do love it, though there is the iconic Mickey dance too, mickey dance too, anyways, um, and then there's the water projections and the fight scenes and mickey just being mickey, it's all wonderful the dragon fabulous scene.
Speaker 1:Yes, it's, yeah, it's, it's well thought out, like when mickey starts down here it goes dark, mickey's up there, like it's just it's. It's well thought out, like when mickey starts down here it goes dark, mickey's up there, like it's just it's a well, well planned show.
Speaker 2:It really is and the fireworks coming out of his fingers yes yeah, we had to do that scene there you go.
Speaker 3:You can be tinkerbell first, and then you can go over and be phantasmic making with a good time yeah, I know. Yeah, we did a my agency a couple years ago. We did like a little party so we had like a private event right behind the theater where we had dinner and dessert and then we was able to go. Actually, I think we might have sat in the tables and watched it. That was super cool.
Speaker 1:I love phantasmic, it is that one I would stay for yeah well and like like phantasmic is a show, like it's a, it's a performance, like yeah, it's different than the others, like it really kind of it really pulls everybody in because you're like like, whereas the other ones you're just kind of staring and watching some water shoot up into the sky and some projections on a castle.
Speaker 2:I also haven't seen it since the new Moana Frozen 2. Solid scene yes, yeah, I haven't seen that version yet, but I'm changing that in September.
Speaker 1:It's a solid scene. I like the addition.
Speaker 3:Yeah, when did they? I don't remember now, because the last time I saw it was probably three or four years ago.
Speaker 2:It was right after covid that they debuted it all, because there was like a whole like oh, then I must have watched yeah yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And then the boat show, the boats at the end, with all the characters like that's a really good like way to just finish it out, yeah yep, yep, um, I also I told you guys about the book series I'm reading kingdom keepers for any disney nerds that like to read, highly recommend. But the third book I just read was all about, um, they were saving everyone from maleficent and the dragon and phantasmic and like walked through all the like background stuff of that and it was super cool.
Speaker 3:Your mom said she saw it in march she did see it in march.
Speaker 2:She went on a little hollywood studios escapade without you.
Speaker 1:Saw it in march.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she went down there, actually met with my best friend, katie and they went to hollywood studios and they ate at mama carola's. Before it closed not bitter.
Speaker 1:My mom, obviously. And my mom went to disney with my best friend, I would flash her tires.
Speaker 2:That's for after the podcast we could talk about that.
Speaker 1:That cuts deep. My mom and my best friend at Disney without me. That's all good, I'd be a stack of bodies.
Speaker 3:Speaking of someone who's gone to trips with his best friend without his wife, first of all oh, I thought you were gonna say something else.
Speaker 1:Okay, sorry first of all, don't shoot shots, because shots are gonna come straight back at you. I know?
Speaker 3:hey, y'all are always shooting shots at me. I gotta get them in when I can, it's not that often listen.
Speaker 1:the only thing that I will feel bad about is Disneyland. That's it. Disney World was a straight guy's trip. If I had went without with Rachel's dad, that would have been different. Yeah, this was a straight guy's best friend's trip. Now Disneyland, you could shoot the shot. I feel bad about that one. Well, that was a work trip, though I wish she could have gone. It was. I still wish she could have gone.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was. Yeah, we don't refer to it as work trip. I'm not allowed to Tax write-off. Yes, Work trip, no, Work trip no. Oh gosh.
Speaker 2:I don't really have much else to say about Fantasmic have you ever done the dessert party. For Fantasmic. Yeah, uh-uh, I forgot it even existed it does I feel like the seats are garbage.
Speaker 4:Great, don't do it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't know, like I've never heard great things about the dessert party for phantasmic, the dining pad plant or the dining package, whatever you want to call it like.
Speaker 1:That really is the way to go like, especially if one of the the options like sci-fi drive-in dining package, solid like because you really do get great seats and you don't have to show up an hour before the show starts but, again, like you said, like honestly, you can, you could show up right before the daggone show starts and you're gonna get a your seat yeah, yeah now if you have ocd and like to be center of the stage it's gonna be very. You're gonna want to be there an hour before, yeah, but if not, sit anywhere sit where you can last thing I want to mention fantastic pre-show.
Speaker 2:All of the music they play are throwbacks and bangers and I think about them a lot, actually tisdale's kiss the girl I won't miss it, wouldn't miss it for the world Every time and like there's a different vibe at Fantasmic, you got the wave going.
Speaker 1:Yeah, people are truly living their best lives at the Fantasmic free show.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah 100%.
Speaker 1:I hate getting out of Fantasmic, though, like that is worse than getting out of Magic Kingdom of phantasmic, though, like that is worse than getting out of magic kingdom.
Speaker 3:The bottleneck is awful. Yeah, oh, it's rough, especially if you are in the middle and like where you have to get up through all those people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, or if you're like all the way at the left side and in the very bottom front row, then you got to wait to get all the way up and then all the way out all the way out see.
Speaker 2:This is why we don't do nighttime shows you're helping lori's case here yeah, we don't have the patience there was also the time when they were doing phantasmic and then they were doing the fireworks for star wars because they had just opened on the chinese theater yeah and like yeah. People were like trying to rush from phantasmic to the fireworks and it was everywhere yeah, see, that's why I now rush from phantasmic to the fireworks and it was everywhere.
Speaker 1:Yeah see, that's why I now rush from phantasmic to olga's cantina now I can just sit there and drink for an hour yeah or if you ask the lady at the bar, 45 minutes, because that's the time limit oh, really 45 minutes is it?
Speaker 2:still a two drink limit, or is it just 45 minutes?
Speaker 1:uh, I don't know. I had two drinks and I was at 45 minutes, I don't know yeah, either, or maybe fun times.
Speaker 3:What's next? I think we just did kind of like planning the perfect disney evening, although we already know what mine is gonna be all three shows go to bed all three shows, all three shows.
Speaker 1:Somehow it's pulling it off. That would be amazing, amazing If I could see all three shows. The ideal evening would be if I could see, if they could bring back Rivers of Light At Animal Kingdom and I could see all four shows.
Speaker 3:That would be awesome. I wish they would bring back. Stop it. Stop for some ice cream in between Speaking of Somebody's popping fireworks right now, like 4th of Julyuly is over no, it's not. Fourth of july is not over until midnight let's go fourth of july weekend it's all one big yeah um, and I see I guess that was you that put on here about the boardwalk pizza and entertainment, so hanging out over there I really recommend the electrical water pageant over at bay lake.
Speaker 2:It's always a favorite. Have you guys ever watched it?
Speaker 3:can't you see that from no poly beach too, like over by?
Speaker 2:yeah, I'm pretty sure I've seen it over that way yeah, I posted a little video of it, but it's right after. Well, it's like 30 minutes after, happily ever after. But it starts over at the contemporary and comes over through the water over to the poly and then makes its way over to um, yep, uh, wilderness lodge and then fort wilderness. So it does kind of like a circle and it's really cool. It's patriotic too. Fred, you're're welcome.
Speaker 1:There's no Jordan Fisher and there's no Hercules, so I'm sorry.
Speaker 2:No, out of my alley there is a King Triton-ish.
Speaker 1:There is.
Speaker 2:So there's that. So I highly recommend doing that. One night we did. We watched the fireworks at Happily Ever After, grabbed a cocktail, waited on the beach for the electrical water pageant, and that was a cool. Little evening we had for the electrical water pageant, and that was a cool little evening we had Sweet.
Speaker 3:I liked it, point stops. It is lots of nighttime activities, not just around. I know we kind of themed it around 4th of July, but I didn't. I know you didn't.
Speaker 1:I just showed up.
Speaker 2:You did a great job, even though you were the least present of all of us.
Speaker 1:Hey, that was my goal. I actually unplugged my camera on purpose to see if you two could handle this on your own I think we did, we did it again, we did a good job, except for the point where you stressed him was like we may have to re-record this whole thing slight panic, slight panic again I was listening the whole because before I didn't talk about before I just left. I pulled it up on my mic, my laptop, so I could keep tuned in.
Speaker 1:So gotcha fun times so next week we are talking all about how to pack like laurie, pack like a pro I.
Speaker 3:I think I do a very good job at packing. I legit can pack for a week in my carry-on in my backpack.
Speaker 1:Question is when do you start packing?
Speaker 3:well, it's questionable for disney and universal. Definitely at least a few weeks before I'll start throwing stuff in this, like I'll have the suitcase out on the floor and I'm like throwing things in it because I wear very specific outfits when I go on those trips. So I'm like I started gathering my I started and josh is like why are you already packing? I'm like because I'm trying to get my thoughts together on what I want to wear anything earlier than the day before is unacceptable.
Speaker 2:We've got a whole like tote in the closet in front of me with outfits for our September trip. They're not like planned out, but there's just a crap.
Speaker 3:Yeah, stuff that you're getting and you just kind of start throwing in there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we have outfits for the kids every day, so we know what they're going to wear and now we can kind of coordinate with the kids. You know how it works, friend and Lori.
Speaker 3:I'll have to send you all my video. Last time when we went to nationals, last time, I made a like a little video of me packing all my stuff. It was cute.
Speaker 1:I always pack the day before I'm sure your wife loves that she handles herself and the girls. I handle me. I help with the girls, but I pack all of my stuff gets thrown in the day before all the way up, kind of how josh is too.
Speaker 3:Final moments before we leave and I think I'm the only one in the family that packs that far in advance. Everybody else is like too much, kind of, but I'm like what, if you need something now, it's too late to go buy it, so absolutely you're gonna have to.
Speaker 1:You got what you got there's walmart delivers, target delivers, amazon definitely delivers if I forgot the next day.
Speaker 3:Absolutely well, walmart and target, well, but not amazon.
Speaker 1:But if I forgot something, I'll just buy it. I mean, at that point I'm at disney, I'm gonna spend a butt ton of money anyway.
Speaker 2:Might as well add to it, yeah my friend that went to hollywood stewart's my mom, that's what she's for. We're always like, hey, katie, we forgot this, can you meet us at the hotel when we get there? And she's like, yeah, I'll be there sweet she's the greatest get katie's.
Speaker 3:We're gonna need to get katie's number I'll throw katie in the group chat, all right?
Speaker 1:so that's next week. Make sure you tune in and join us next week as we talk about how to pack like a pro and all the fun travel essentials that you probably didn't even think about. That will come super in handy at all sorts of different locations. So we're gonna not solely talk disney world, but we're gonna talk some other locations as well. So, yeah, make sure you tune in. Um, as we wrap up, I want to give a shout out thanks, everybody that joined us. Really appreciate you guys joining us, uh, even though I was absent for like half the show, but it's totally fine, we'll figure that out next week. Yep, all right.
Speaker 1:So the easiest way to stay in contact if you want to learn more about going beyond the castle is probably our website. We update our website each and every week with all things going beyond the castle, whether it's our audio podcast, video podcast or blog post or things like that. Definitely head over to wwwgoingbeyondthecastlecom. Check that stuff out. For the fastest way to find us, you can head over to our beacons channel beaconsai forward slash going beyond the castle, and that is going to be all the locations of everything going beyond the castle, as well as laurie and i's travel agent pages. And then, of course, we do have an email. If you're looking to reach out to us for whatever reason, whether it be to book a trip, whether it be to inquire about coming on the podcast, talk about something or even just to recommend a podcast topic, reach out to us info at goingbeyondthecastlecom. And, with that being said, any last words before we wrap up the episode.
Speaker 2:Shout out to mom for participating this week.
Speaker 1:Yeah, your mom has been great yeah, it's been hanging out with us to disney without you and went with your best friend. It's happened more than that. I'm not. I think I'm salty about that.
Speaker 2:I think you're more upset than I am at this point that's funny.
Speaker 1:I'm not saying anything about mom because she's great mom's she's great 90 of the year that for when she goes to disney without her daughter but yeah, yeah, whatever maybe she had her reason yeah, yep, anyways, anyways that's all I got anything?
Speaker 2:nope, all right, cool, cool thanks for joining us.
Speaker 1:We will talk to you guys next week. See you guys.
Speaker 2:Bye.
Speaker 4:Thanks so much for hanging out with us today on Going Beyond the Castle. We hope you had as much fun listening as we did sharing. To stay up to date on all things Going Beyond the Castle, head over to our website goingbeyondthecastlecom. There you'll find more info about your hosts, both audio and video versions of our episodes, our weekly blog and even some fan favorite merchandise. Want to follow along on social media? The easiest way to connect with us is through our Beacons channel beaconsai forward slash. Going beyond the casket, you'll find links to all our social platforms, travel updates and giveaways in one place. And hey, if you're dreaming about your next big adventure, whether it's Disney, universal, a cruise or a tropical escape, we'd love to help make it happen. Our travel planning services are completely free when you book through us. No-transcript.
