Welcome to the Great British Mickey Waffle, your home for all
things Disney with a British accent.
Whether you're dreaming of your first trip or you're a seasoned
pro looking for an extra bit of magic, you're in the right
place. So we're here to share The
stories, the tips and the laughs are made to being a Disney fancy
special. Today, we're joined by two
experts who know exactly how to navigate the Disney Bart without
breaking the back. Hello and welcome to the show.
I'm Ben. And as always, I'm not alone.
Today I'd like to welcome Rebecca.
Hello. I can't quite believe that we're
in May already, which also means we'll one show closer to our
next trip and looking forward to it.
I can't wait, it's not long, someone's around the corner, so
I'm very much looking forward to it.
Three months. Yeah, we're going in August, so
it's not not not long. So we have we have a great
episode line up today. And without further ado, we'd
like to welcome in Darren and Ashley, also known as Mr. and
misses WDW with me on Instagram. Hi, guys, how are you?
Hello. There.
Yeah, we're fine. Thanks for having us on.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to this.
It's been in the planning for a little while.
It's just leaning forward to finding out more about your
Disney history and and all about you.
Yeah, good. So it's good, Yeah.
Life's just getting the way, hasn't it?
We've been to record this for a while and life I.
Know, yeah, he was like back in January, we were organising it
and everyone's on a holiday and then life just gets in the way
and before, you know, it's Easter and just yeah, time
flies. Everything gets away but three
months to your next trip? That's awesome.
Yep, it's it's been in the planning for a little while.
We it's a Disney Cruise. Nice.
Disney World this. Year yeah, we we took the chance
on our last Disney Cruise to put down a placeholder so we get 10%
discount. So I was like that it was like
it was refundable. So if we didn't decide to book
it, the treasure. Nice, nice.
I've done The Wonder three times, but that's been, that was
when I was a cast member. So yeah, I've done them three
times. But I'm trying to talk Ashley
into a cruise, but she's not. She's not a fan of boats so.
I would say we were pretty much similar to that before our first
cruise. Well, I was always worried about
the seasickness, but I've got a friend that doesn't do boats and
open water and all of that thing.
So like you, she'd have to do a cruise.
But actually getting ownership? I thought I don't even know what
it is. I just, I get cabin fever or
quite literally cabin fever. I can't stay in the one place or
one small area for any length of time before I start getting
agitated. So to be confined, I know you're
not confined to a cabin. But and and then I know you may.
Yeah. It's.
Yeah. You don't have that freedom to
like there's nowhere to go. Yeah.
And I totally understand it. And I.
Yeah, there is. And there was something really
nice about going to sleep in one place and waking up somewhere
completely different. Yeah, better place to wake up
than Castaway. But I would love for them to do
like an open house type thing after the ship was maybe not
sailing for a while to let people go and have a look at it
before they actually booked it. Because I think that would
probably sway me. And if you can watch as many,
you know what it's like when you watch YouTube videos.
You can watch as many as you like, but it doesn't show off to
spill potential. Yeah, the size of them.
It's a bit like honey bodies and water blogs and like that walk
down Main Street is so different to when you're walking down the
versus what you've seen. And I have to admit, when we did
books, we had a cruise book during COVID, which then got
cancelled. And then they did the, the Magic
at Sea in the UK ones. So we would, that was our first
Disney cruise. So we booked one of those, which
was for three nights out of Essex.
So it, it was interesting. I wasn't so sure at first, but
by getting off it, I felt like I was at Walt Disney World, but
just on a ship. It had the smells, it had the
food, it had Mickey Ruffles. It was.
We very nearly went on the end at the end of that for that I
before we very nearly went to guest services to see if they
had any more any of the following one that followed on
straight afterwards. We didn't.
We paid ourselves. We thought about it.
If I had an extra day off work, I think we would have.
We would have done it. But no.
I didn't make it ads. We are, isn't it?
That's a good advert for sale and.
I could have made it back to work in time.
I just don't think we could have afforded after how much we
probably spent on those three nights of fine Disney
merchandise on the cruise. Yeah, yeah.
The. The shops are about special in
the shop as well. But also I think what you would
spend on a cruise, say a three or a four night cruise, you
could get almost two weeks in Disney World for that price.
And I would rather have a two week holiday than a three.
And I know it's different and I know you get to go to the
island, but I would rather have two weeks out of it than three
nights. Yeah, again, that true that that
it's true. I think we'll talk a quiz a
little bit later because I have a feeling that would be a good
topic to. But huge thank you for joining
us today and we can't wait to find out more about you.
But as with every guest episode over the past six years, we have
our carousel of questions. So it's 15 quick fire ish
questions to see what your likes dislikes are.
And as you're a couple, you can have separate answers, but go
with your heart and you'll probably wake up tomorrow with a
very different answer. So Are you ready?
Yeah, yeah. Ready for them?
OK, so we'll start. What's your favorite park?
Yeah, cool. Halloween Studios.
I love that. Don't get hold of Wood Studios
is the not very often and that's yours.
It is my favorite. Is our kids favorite as well.
They love Halloween studios. I I worked in IT court as a cast
member, so it always has my heart, yeah.
Yeah, that makes sense. OK, a ride that you hate.
Gardens. Small world because we get stuck
on it one time for about 25 minutes it.
Was older than that, it was 20. 40 and the music kept going, but
the dolls stopped moving. Yeah, yeah.
Been there. We've we've had experience of
that. We were in diesel and Paris and
and that happened to us. It was.
They stopped the music as well after a while so all you had was
the cookie noises of the dolls moving.
Oh yeah. Oh, I think it was.
Worse. Yeah.
And then then you had like every few minutes as like the safety
announcement, but. That's 12 different languages,
yes. And just for.
Me, it was Guardians and I just think it's so overrated.
Oh, that's interesting. You're going to get hate for.
A lot. I've never known anyone to
really dislike it unless it makes you like I'll.
I just. I hate the hype about it.
It's it's a good ride, but it's just not as good as I was.
Going to say that I think that's what you hear about it because
everybody else loves it. You're like, no, don't like it.
No, I'm not. That's not.
I'd like to be contrary. Yeah, just totally opposite and
I I get that some there are some things that are just especially
the get hyped for social media and so much things that lead up
to excitement for a new attraction.
And I can I can see that. I feel like that should be
another topic of what's over hyped or unliked at Disney.
I am making a note. Yeah.
Well, is John one of his posters when you need him?
That's true. What is your most overrated
snack? Spring rolls, the spring rolls,
the cheeseburger spring rolls. Do not like them at all.
And they're expensive, yeah. Yeah, they used to be a snack
credit. No, they're not.
Changed and you used to get was it?
You used to get 3 from the same dress or and now it's going to
be two. Yeah, we, we actually got them
the last trip, not for us, but for our friends to try them.
And they loved them. And I was like, we've been
dusting these things for months before we went like, you're not
going to like them, you're not going to like them yet.
And they're like, they're really, they're really good.
And I was like no the. Reuben version's not too bad.
The Reuben sandwich ones aren't too bad.
They're just not. They're not green.
Cheeseburger steak rolls are the most overrated.
Chinese are the pepperoni ones. Yeah, yeah, I want to try those,
but I know they're also a Hollywood studio.
If they're anything like the cheeseburger pods as Tuli
Canteen, I'm not going to like them because I didn't like.
Those Oh see, I like them. I don't think they'll like that.
No, I'm not. I'm not like that at all.
It was the pickle included I didn't like.
I think this is but small enough that I don't think you could.
Yeah, the Pickles, definitely. And the spring rolls.
But very, very. Very, very, very, very.
But no, I just think, yet again, it's very overheight, very
publicized over social media that these are the best things
ever. And actually, there's better
snacks, so much better snacks out there.
It really shows that everyone has their own opinion and so
different things you don't. It's so easy, especially with
someone who's going on their first trip of like what's the
must do? What should I go for?
And actually, by going for something that everyone else is
going for, you might miss something else.
And there are so many snacks and so many different things that
Disney have on the menu. I think I hate for anyone.
If it's your first trip, try it because you might like it, but
be prepared to find something else.
Yeah, I think we've also found that the more Instagram worthy
it is, the worse it tastes. So the nicer it looks, the worse
it is. Apart from the Madame Madame
Liotta push pop, that thing was beautiful looking and taste that
was stunning. I know.
I know which one you mean. Yeah, we didn't.
Didn't. We don't.
When we go to the parties, we don't tend to buy.
No, we press snacks. No, we pretend to just end up
getting all the candy and you've got the was it the Stitch
popcorn bucket last year? And just filling that up with
candy as we're going around. I think I get the push pop
because I was waiting for the mini Sanderson sipper Sleepy
Hollow so I just got the the the Madame Leota.
That's a snack credit, yeah. And it was absolutely
incredible. It's quite interesting to see
what's at the party and what's also a snack credit and what
isn't because I always used to think like it's at the party,
they're going to charge more for it.
It probably won't be a snack credit, but it's surprising when
you're actually looking at the menu and looking at the lists,
the stuff appears on the sort of as a snack.
Credit. OK, So what is your favorite
transportation like in Walt Disney World?
Sky Liner. Sky Liner.
I love that it's my I agree with you and I know you're not a fan.
I'm not a fan, but I'll go on it if I have to.
I don't know, Kite. So I'm allowed to not like it,
yeah. We literally book a resort
around sky liner. That's why we enjoy Pocketed
Tree so much. Although when we were there in
November, it was just, it was due an upgrade.
It was due kind of like refurbishment, wasn't it in
January. In January and you could tell
because it was stopping and starting quite often and you
know your normal journey from Pops entry to Caribbean beach is
normally about 6 minutes. You know it was taking that 1012
minutes because it was. There was one day we were going
to meet our friends. They stayed at the Riviera.
They're DVC, so they've they obviously get the DVC resort, so
they were staying there. We were staying at Pop and it
took us an hour to get from Pop to the Riviera, which only takes
13 minutes normally. Yeah, yeah.
Now we've, we've not, not, not like to do lines like that.
That's that. Was crazy and it wasn't like it
wasn't queues to go on to the sky liner that was literally on
the actual gondolas wasn't. Just clutching so but I think I
think since the refurbishment or the the the work it's been it's
been growing really well. So it was obviously just, didn't
it they? Also they missed last year's
refurb, they didn't do maintenance last year on it.
So because we we kind of researched that making batch
thinking. Because it was the last week of
January, I think since has opened, yeah.
Yeah. So 2025 they didn't do it at
all, which obviously might be they're going to probably need
to do it every year now rather than but I would still say the
skyline even though there was issues that time 100%.
You got to love the the original buses though, just for the
nostalgia, you know? It's, it's the voice, it's the
sound of going like you're on your way to Magic Kingdom.
And yeah, I, I love that I just every time I hear a scorpy
TikTok or Instagram and I just hear that sort of sound like a
cat. Can't wait to.
Yeah, that's it. And watching it just so you can
listen to it. Yeah, but also the our kids.
So our first stay on was on a Disney resort as a family was
our animation wasn't it? And they remember the songs that
were played on that animation bus.
And they still play them in the car to this day because it just
reminds them it's obviously memories for them of their first
their first time. And what annoys me about the
buses though is see if you see like a Star Wars bus at Magic
Kingdom. You're.
You're just you're just really annoys me.
Hollywood Studios. Somewhere else.
It's not Animal Kingdom that just that that plays with my
mind. I just like how how's that?
Plus here that should be at Animal Kingdom, that shouldn't
be at another park. See, that's why I was like like
the sky liner because a lot of them are wrapped.
You like character? Hunting in the skyline.
Seeing what ones, because I know it's a good distraction for you
to avoid from that height. It's like, OK, which ones you
see? Yeah.
Because you can see as well out of the wrapped ones either,
can't you know? So if you have you are scared of
heights, you can actually see listen, can I wait to get one
with a picture on it? Because I don't really
particularly want to see outside.
So I've. Seen people do that.
Yeah, we have. And I was really surprised as
well, too. We've been there love over there
last summer. And I was surprised how cool it
was in sky liner. When you think like, OK, this is
going to be when they announced a few years ago, I was like, I
don't want to get stuck in it like middle of August 8.
It's it's not going to be air conditioning.
It's it's, it's going to be very hot.
But I have to admit the way they move and the way the air flow
goes. Yep, completely agree with that
then. We do though if the windows
aren't open and then we open the windows.
So what is your favorite table service restaurant?
Lacelle. Siara before we ate at Lacelle.
Lacelle is my answer. Yeah, but then there's also
another one, Topolinos. Topolino Terrace for me is, is
the best one. But we, we were fortunate
enough, our friends, when we went in November last year, they
treated us to dinner at Lacelle and it's just out of this world.
It's it's insane. So I think we'd stake for about
two months after we get home because we just couldn't match
it. We just couldn't.
I. I.
Yeah, I can. I can turn my hand to making a
good steak from time to time. But Lacelle crushed my
confidence, let's put it that way.
Yeah. It was.
It was outstanding. It was incredible, but on on the
I wouldn't even say on the the cheaper pricing because toppling
doesn't exactly cheap by any means, but the character
breakfast 100% yeah, toppling us.
Yeah, we've never had a bad meal there.
Never. Done Lacelli.
Ever. No, Lacelli has been on the
list, but we've just not made it yet.
I'd highly, highly recommend it. It was one of those that if we
done on a trip, we would do it on a trip.
We went, we went fast. We weren't like Lacelli has to
be this trip or that trip or this trip.
If it happened, it happened and it's what happened last year and
it was just, it was outstanding. But I would also say from now on
we would probably use that as like a special.
Yeah, yeah, it'll be a special it.
Would be like a 10 year wedding anniversary meal or it would be
like. We're going to be going, but
then we go next year. It's going to be celebrating
partly your 4040, so we'll be doing.
I mentioned the lady's age. Yeah, no, it's definitely a
restaurant to go to if you're celebrating something special
because it is that little bit pricier.
But then I mean, there are there are cheaper options on the menu,
but you just, yeah, you wouldn't go there.
I wouldn't go there on my burger.
I had one of the the cheapest cuts of meat that they do and it
was still probably the best that I've ever had in my life.
You could cut it with a butter knife.
Oh, was it a standard? This is making me hungry.
We sell dream of that meal. Yeah, I think we've all had that
one meal. But there is some restaurants
that you do keep aside for special occasions.
Cape May have a. Special mention for Cape May.
Cape May Breakfast. Yeah, cafe has to get a special
menu, so. Just pack one.
So it does. We've changed from favour to top
three I think, so that's fine. OK, what resort?
You haven't stayed up, but want to more than anything else on
Earth. Poland.
Easy. Polly.
Yeah, I love. I love the look of the Polly.
Like again, to mention eating again, Hannah, I love a Hannah.
So yeah, this. Is quickly turn into food.
Yeah, So Polynesian has always been one avid my own.
That's that's where I would love to stay.
Beach club we. Went and looked to the beach
club last year and very very very nice resort.
Each club's my one as well. My bucket list.
It's absolutely stunning.
Next year we're close. Yeah.
But Boardwalk next year, Boardwalk getting that little
bit closer. Yeah.
Boardwalk's lovely. We've done a couple of days.
Actually the views better because you can see beach club.
Yeah, yeah. That's actually a really good
point you. Can't see.
It, that's a really good point, yeah.
Yeah. I'm tagging all the photos that
I take from the balcony. Right.
Odd one. What is your favorite car park?
Oh. Go.
I like the animal Kingdom one just because sometimes we get
parked in Unicorn and I was like Scotland's national animal so
might be my answer for that. I'm going to say Magic Kingdom,
and the only reason I'm saying that is we've not driven.
Yeah, we've not done a. Car in a long time.
Like a long, long time. One of my first memories of our
eldest is driving into car park at Magic Kingdom.
And she was, I've got it. I've got it in video.
And she was pouting like a Princess.
And I just remember driving around to Magic Kingdom car park
with like in the background. And that's the only reason I'm
saying that, because I don't really have a.
No an animal game for me because sometimes it parked in Unicorn
which is called the national anthem Animal anthem.
Got to sink. No, I just.
Think. I don't think we've ever had
either of those answers, actually.
No, I don't think we have. And I love the reasoning behind
both as well. Yeah.
But also like following the the castle, see if we like, we very
rarely took the the little tram thing because we just set the
tram up at the car and that was it.
We just went rather. Than.
Just kept going. So you you just follow the
little castles. And, and The thing is, by the
time you get there in the morning as well, and it's like
you see the cram, it's like I'm going to do some walking today.
You end up just going, then I'm just like the ferry.
But we're always ridiculously early that we've been the first
few rules anyway, but we're never like way, way, way at the
back that. First, first time we had to
stress time. We hired a car.
I remember if we turned up a Hollywood studios really early
that they turned us around because it wasn't open yet.
I was like, I must be a business.
I just, I don't think I thought like how quiet it would be that
time in the morning. We would go look for a car and
then walk round to Beach Club for breakfast, so we had a
reservation at Ellen Compass OR. So yeah, we thought that, but
because it wasn't open, we'd go, we'd just go and park on a
resort and then. Around instead, yeah.
Definitely, definitely do you. Do have any change of plans
accordingly? Yeah, so I didn't have to pay
for parking in the morning. Yeah, always a bonus.
Definitely. Yeah, that's true, because it
doesn't always happen. It isn't he no.
So yeah, say okay, Typhoon, Blizzard or Volcano Bay.
Typhoon all day long. Volcano Bay we will probably not
go back to. We didn't enjoy Volcano Bay at
all. We've been once and it wasn't
the best experience. And do you ever get that, that
you go somewhere and they it's just not great and it just puts
you right off because you know you're going to get something
better somewhere else? Yep.
Typhoon Lagoon is just. Again, for the memories of the
kids, like you get videos of them getting washed away.
I washed away. Quite literally washed away.
Yeah, that that title pool, that's that wave as it's coming
for us. It's just.
And I think we, because we had a cabana the last time, it's
Typhoon Lagoon as well like that.
That was the best experience ever.
Yeah, that was, that was kind of a fuss for us.
We thought we'd just give it a try and it was worked out pretty
well. So yeah, yeah, yeah it.
Was so good. Yeah, Typhoon Lagoon.
Yeah, we've, we've never been the biggest fan of water parks.
I haven't been to many recently, so we've not been to Volcano
Bay, but Blissa Beach was always one of our favourites because we
had a memory of where we were there on an anniversary.
And you've noticed we have one of the badges on.
And it's like you walk in, it's like you're back to pay for your
locker for the day. It's like it's on Mickey, you
don't have to pay it. And it was just one of those.
It just sticks in your mind and it's like, yeah.
Just shows you how a cast member can make your experience just
that would be a bit better and that is then going to be your
favorite going forward, isn't that?
Definitely cast members, definitely make the magic.
They do indeed. All right, this is a difficult
one in our house. Galaxy's Edge or Diagon Alley?
Galaxy's Edge. Not in yours then.
No, no, no, we are our youngest daughter is starting to kind of
get like in Harry Potter, but it's never been a a family thing
for us. We've.
Not done Universal since 2018 because both our kids are
ridiculous adrenaline junkies and we can't take them to
Universal because one of them's like the tiniest little bit too
short to go on some of the rides.
And I don't want to be like, oh, look at that ride, You could go
on it, but sorry, you can't, you're too small.
So we've just, we've just totally taken it out because you
know what it's like trying to fit both into a two week
itinerary. It doesn't work.
It's really difficult to do. You end up sacrificing one over
the other. And it's when, if I've got to
fit in a few days at Universal, what am I going to sacrifice at
Disney? Where do I take this away?
And it's like you don't want to. So we've always said that when
they're old enough, we're going to just, yeah, we're going to go
for, we're going for three weeks next time.
But what we'll maybe do is we'll stay overnight at one of the
Universal hotels and get the express passes and just do it
that way. And then you get as much done as
you can. Like Epic probably still
wouldn't appeal to the kids as much next year.
I don't think it will to you because you're just the biggest
child ever. But I think we need to let them
next year go to Universal. Yeah, yeah.
I think that should have been like the universal.
And for us to do it, I think we just, we just do it that way.
We just do the. 22 night stay at the hotel and just.
And I think when when we do it, this is going to make me sound
really cheap and I'm not meaning it this way at all.
But see, when you've paid for a dining plan or you've got the
dining plan, you then don't want to go somewhere else and pay for
pay for food somewhere else. Yeah.
It's something that goes into that six spreadsheet when you're
budgeting, when you're going to work out to make the dining plan
worth it. OK, I'm off site.
So it's like I'm actually, it's not value for me because I'm
because you've paid for the dining plan.
It it, it is a difficult sort of juggling app to try and fit in.
We're with the dab last year and they had the quick service
dining plan at Coronado Springs. So when we were doing like days
at Epic and then we're the universal, so it's like we're
going off site for food here. It's like they'll end up with
more credits that are leftover on the end of the trip.
I. Mean we we had a couple left
last time we just picked us people in the the food court
just asking them, are you in the dining pan I.
Had a lady cry because I said, Sir, can I pay your your meal
for you? And she was like, what's the
corn? What's the corn?
I was like, I'm telling you, there's no corn.
Just let me do it. Just let me do it, please.
And then I did. And then there was something
that I needed to photograph. What I'd done was I bought one
of the prepackaged or I got used a credit for one of the
prepackaged Nassimage type things.
And after I bought it, took a couple of photos of it and I
gave it to her and I said, go and put that in your fridge for,
for later. And then she cried again.
I was like, I can't hope for this.
That's all. People cry.
You know, it's just so lovely. Thank you so much.
This is like a once in a lifetime trip.
And I've saved for ages for it. And I'm just, I'm buying the
cheapest meals and I'm doing this.
And oh, it just broke my heart just because people.
Yeah, people. Yeah.
I'm going off on a tangent. Now we're just we're not
trusting anymore. I think it's one of those things
I remember. So once we would give Erudisland
Paris and we had the paper fast passes and it was for Hyperspace
Mountain, we decided we just didn't want to go on it.
And so we ran to the first people in the queue trying to
give it to them. And it's like they were turning
away. Like, no, you can go and you can
say you can say you can go into that one.
But it it was. It's such a sad state for
humanity to be in that you try and do something nice for
someone and they're like, right, So what was the catch?
What's what's happening? Yeah, I think just everyone's
got banned from one thing or another and it's just they
become a little bit more unjusting, yeah.
Will become cynical. Yeah.
It's not good. A little bit of Disney magic in
our lives. Yeah, definitely.
Talking of magic, so are you an early morning or late night park
visit? With the kids, we're
predominantly early morning. We'll try and drop drop where we
can. Yeah, I think the well that's,
that's just kind of different because the first half of the
holiday we're always early morning because the kids body
clocks are in UK time. AM. 4:00 AM Wake up.
Yeah. And the second-half of the
holiday we do tend to stay out and do the majority of the the
kind of the later shows and the fireworks and things.
We don't try and push too much in the first week for that
because push the kids too far. They just meltdown central.
Not worth it. Absolutely worth it.
And that's another reason we actually stay at Skyliner Resort
because as much as Orla's eight, we still take a pram for her and
she just crawls in it whenever she's tired, doesn't she?
No, but this is, this is not a tangent.
This is the reason why we take a pram so that we can stay at that
little bit later and we can do things maybe you haven't managed
to do through the day. And if she's asleep in the pram
anyway, it doesn't matter because she's still sleeping.
And then you just wheel her onto the sky liner.
You don't need to take it out, you don't need to wake it up.
It's great. That's the best thing.
That's Skyline versus the bus. Definitely sleeping children out
of them in the evening. Just get back on the bus and
then. So many nights we just lifted
her straight out of the pram. Straight and our best.
Is fine for you. You go with the two kids and sit
down. It's me that's the donkey that's
I don't understand the wee dad call with the the bus.
Oh, so you call that, isn't it the dad call for the bus?
The bit beside the the doors in the middle.
The doors in the middle when Yeah, the last thing is just
when you get back to the resort and they turn the lights back
on. Yeah.
I was like, yeah, definitely to make sure you've woken up
because I have this little snooze on the way back to the.
It was. One of our was it the last trip
we were getting on the bus going back, it was after the DVC man
like magic where we're at and we were on the bus and Ella sat and
do you know the state the two steps as you're going up to like
the kind of the second level. Ella sat in one of those steps
and I think she was sound asleep By the time we get back to Pop's
entry. She was sitting like that.
Like our head was on our hands and she was our eyes were closed
and I was like, she's sleeping. Yep, she's sleeping.
Yeah, she was. She fell asleep not even on a
tear or a stair. Literally honest there.
It just sounds like me, yeah. I'm really for a full on a
street standing up on those buses before so.
There really is no tired like Disney Tired though, is there no
tired? Like 20-30 thousand steps a day.
The best kind of tire? Yeah, but you would do it all
day every day if you could. Yeah, best kind of tired from
the best kind of beds and pillows.
Where do they get those pillows? I want my beats just because the
waist is so tired but when I kill it.
That's true, You're just laughing at my tangents now.
So would you rather keep the magic or get all the backstage
detail? I'm going to say backstage
detail and you're going to say keep the magic because you know
all the backstage detail. I've.
Experienced it as a cast member. So I've I've seen the magic the
ruined if you will. So yeah, I want, I want to keep
the magic as long as I can. Yeah.
Do you know that I'm the kind of person that will sit on the way
to Orlando on the British Airways flight and watch the
behind the attractions? Yes, on repeat the whole way
because I just, I'm fascinated by it.
The the worst thing I have ever done is The Walking tour of the
Haunted Mansion elites on It's the worst thing I've ever done.
Yeah, I think that would probably completely ruin that
ride. The worst thing I ever decided
to do. How it was done, Yeah.
I can still never figure out where the camera isn't that
right? Actually, I know you keep saying
it's it's. Such and such a third portfolio
up on the right. You told me the wrong one.
No, I told you a different one. It's a cat lady if that's any
help. Yeah, I I remember we did the
keys looking not that long ago and it's always been on our list
to do. And it it it's nice to be able
to see behind the magic, but also trying to keep as much
magic as possible. It's it's a difficult balance
and going down to see the tiller doors is a very different level
of Main Street. And it's really interesting to
see and just knowing all the history behind certain bits that
happen. But then sometimes you do just
want to go like, OK, I want to be that guest that's never been
to Magic Kingdom before. And you walk down and just take
it all in. Now I get lost in the utilidors.
We we've got a friend who we met when we were out there one day
where we're sitting in wine bar George and he used to be
security. It doesn't he, but he worked
like in the utilidors and down that that kind of area and he
said he has never I'm going to think of going to meet
Cinderella ever again in our beautiful dress when she's
sitting eating a cheeseburger. In the canteen.
Yeah, that's, that's the kind of
backstage magic that we thankfully don't get to.
No, that's. True.
And I've just, I've never forgotten that story that he
said he told us that night. And I was like, do you know
what? You don't actually think about
these things. Like where do the princesses
have their lunch? The the underground.
Corridors. They have lunch.
Clueless Cinderella is a cheeseburger, yeah.
OK, what is your favorite other podcast or vlogger about Disney?
Podcast. I'm going to say Devonshire
does. We just love Adam.
Yeah, so. Although he phoned me today to
get me to do his Halloween party tickets because he was having an
issue with it. So I did that for him.
But with regards to vlogger, I would say there's, there's two
that I watch on a regular basis. And because sometimes, you know,
when you come back, you don't want to watch vlogs because it
just, it depresses you so much. But when we've got the, the
pages that we've got, we're constantly asked for advice and
things that we need to watch them.
It's like punishment if you want to watch these things when you
come back. Especially when you haven't got
a countdown yet. And it's just one of those
things when you think like how long is it going to be between
next trip? And then it's like, OK, I've
just got back. And but you want you want to
stay. So you want to stay up, stay
with everything. Yeah, so we, I watch Molly from
Mammoth Club a lot. She seems to be very informative
of just just the way that she, she explains things.
It's very, I want to say an idiot's guide.
And that's not what I mean by that, but it's very
straightforward. Anybody would be able to
understand what she. Was saying, especially if she's
trying to explain Lightning Lane or what would she need plus or
fast pass and just sort of something like that along to it
or if someone's going to do a festival for the first time, I
like they're like like just saying what a best fest is.
Is layman's terms, isn't it? She puts it into and it's just,
it's so easy to understand. And Nate Page and Mr. Morrow, we
just love him. We just he's, he's fantastic.
Yeah, I I strangely don't watch a lot of it.
You don't. I, I genuinely kind of don't
watch many of it, Nate, obviously Page and Mr. Morrow,
but I also like super enthused. Yeah, I like Jackie.
Jackie. 'S lovely I.
Do so. And the kids, the kids love
followers. We met Emma and Sage in the
parks and they were like, it was as if like they'd met Taylor
Swift. Honestly, they were starstruck,
like starstruck. And then there was one day we
were an Epcot and Jackie walked past us, didn't she?
But she was, she was like gone. I, I probably didn't go up and
say anything to any of them because I'm a bit like, OK, I'll
just stay back here and just let them kind of go on.
You don't know what they're doing.
You don't know what they're filming.
If they're filming anything, you just just leave them.
And you were like, that's, that's, that's Jackie.
That's and I, I don't even know what made you.
She's tiny, isn't she? She is really small.
I. Think I think it was just the
new and green glasses. I know it's the ones, but yeah,
I don't, I don't generally watch a lot of them.
No, you. Don't.
I think leading up to a holiday we will you're you're 1 from not
wanting to watch like rides POV you want to.
See if there's like new rides and stuff like that.
Actually I'll watch the first video available of it to see
what the rides like. I'm like I'm going to ride it
first. I'm I'll I'll wait and see what
it's like in real. Life, yeah, that's what I.
Prefer to do. Definitely.
I've already watched the POV of Big Thunder Mountain when it
opened at the weekend. No, no, I haven't watched it.
I know I will be watching. I've not watched.
I'm surprised you haven't watched it yet.
I I wanted to see it. I just spent there with me.
What's the really annoying part of it is you then try and show
me the video and I don't want to see the video.
I do that too. Exactly can we watch That
started. But I'll tag you in if there's
like a small view of it and you're like stop doing that,
not. Probably.
It's, it's really interesting. There's so many differences and
for me it's just I've always had that anxiety.
I never used to be into roller coasters or Thoroids, but since
COVID, since going back since then, I've always been like OK,
I need to know everything about the attraction.
So good. The inside workings of how Tower
of Terror works. Once I understood that I like
OK, the next trip I went on it did it and that was one of my
favorite attractions. What?
Was it? I posted the other day it was
APOV video that of one of our one of the rides that we did.
I can't remember whatever one it was.
Anyway, I put it onto Facebook. It's been on YouTube for ages
and there was a comment to see it.
I much prefer to see it in real life but this would really help
my daughter because she suffers really bad emotion sickness.
So this is actually really helpful for her to see this
before we before we go. And I thought I'd never thought
about it like that, No. And I think everyone has a
different way because some people are planning their trip
and want to know everything about it, but some people go
like, I don't want to know anything about it because I want
to explore it and find out then. So I'm not I'm not.
There are some rights where I don't think Apov would ever do
it justice. I.
Don't think you could do apov of.
Guardians, for example. Well, that's mostly in the.
Dark it it's in the dark. Spinning, it's a bit like Space
Mountain as well. Yeah, Tron, I don't think you
would get the feel. On a Tron on APOV no, so I
don't. Think the POV.
Is a feminalized the resistance doing that?
Just no. No.
No, definitely not. No, especially if you.
Don't go, especially when you go through the whole queue and have
the whole experience. It's great to see that even the
queue when you. Walk into that room of the
stormtroopers. That just takes you.
No matter how many times you've done that, that takes your
breath away every single time. You know it's happening, you
know. You're going to walk there and
and these storm tumors are everywhere, but you still just
it's the scale of it and I still think they're going.
To jump out on you every time you walk by them.
I still think there's one that's that's going to be an actual
character one of these days. Yeah.
And they do move. One day they do.
They do move, yeah. That's that's that's you were
talking about like yesterday about the the people that are in
the the rise to a pirate student Halloween party terrifying.
Yeah. I think I might know the answer
to this one, but on site or off site?
On site every. Single day.
On site the benefits. Everything have you stayed?
Off site before yeah yeah, yeah, I've.
Done. I've done pretty much every
version of a Disney holiday you can imagine, but prior to
meeting Ashley I'd only stayed on site once.
It was All Star Movies with my parents, but then most of my
holidays have been Villas, Champions, Gate, Canaria, but
ever since mean our shift started going to put on site and
it's just we when we get. Married, we stayed in a villa,
we stayed in a villa. The time before that we stayed
just off international Drive in Westgate.
I mean, that was brilliant, but we can't get that.
I don't know how I got that. We've got.
That really cheap 1 here. But see, by the time we factor
into what, what led us to on site initially was the age of
our kids and the car seat issues, car seat rooms because
it's just as a minefield. So we thought, let's take all
that out the equation and just stay on site.
Then we don't need to worry about car seats.
We don't need to then worry about driving.
We don't need to you don't mind driving there.
But when we stayed on site, it was just by the time you you
factored an off site car parking, sometimes off site
resort fees, sometimes like all the extra food, if you're not
getting the dining plan included by the time you've added all
that, you're at the. Same price as being on.
Site anyway, aren't you? So sometimes you're just as as
cheap, if not cheaper to stay on site.
Yeah, it it makes. Sense I, I, I, I totally
understand why people say in villains, but for us, since
we've stayed on site, I think back in 2015, we've apart from
the the odd universal. Side, I think we've stayed down
outside of Disney, yeah. Yeah.
A very. Hard push for us to do it again.
You don't like the term Disney? Bubble, but I don't like leaving
that I really don't I don't like going away from the whole it's
not I don't feel like it's not I don't feel safe.
It's it's perfectly safe, but I just like being in that bubble.
It's nice to just. If you're comfortable a little
bit, it's like you, you know what to expect everywhere you go
and it's what like you've got the dining plans.
So everywhere you go, you can use it with this quick service
table service, you, you sort of know what you you're getting
when you're going off site. There are so many different
types of hotel chains, There's so many different resort fees.
There's so many different things that you have to put into it.
So car hire tolls, all the sort of bits that then when you put
into your budget, into your spreadsheet into working out, is
it worth it or not? It's only if you can get a good
price on car hire. And then actually how much we're
paying for parking in the in the parks, which is like $30 a day
now. And it's, it's those sort of
things that actually from staying on site isn't he don't
need the car. So don't want that sort of trip.
That's fairly true. See enough to get an Uber or
Lyft. So yeah, that works Well, yeah,
if we were, if we were going. Anywhere which we don't, we
don't tend to go off site at all actually.
I think when you're planning on Universal next time you're going
to do a few days at Universal. So it sort of makes sense to, I
think that's as far as we tend to go off site when we're doing
a split, say sometimes it's like we'll do Disney and then we'll
do a few days at Universal and just it doesn't make sense.
You might as well just get an Uber there and Uber back by the
time you've added on the cost of car hire.
Absolutely. And it's.
Just that it pays for itself, I think doesn't certainly stay on
site. Just the the perks that you get
the I mean the perks used to be better, but that's the perks
that we do get once. You add everything together and
work out what you want from your trip.
You sort of know whether you're going to go on site or off site.
We have now got to the final question.
So Fest of The Lion King we're Finding Nemo the musical.
Find the Nemo. I knew you were.
Going to say that because you do not like Lion King.
I was traumatized. As a kid my my mum used to take
me into it whenever we'd have an Animal Kingdom day.
My mum used to go see it two or three times a day and I would
get dragged into every single time.
I think yours is more. Dramatized, yeah, rather than
I'd get PTSD. Lion King.
I didn't think that was possible.
Believe me, I like. I like Finding Nemo.
I'm surprised that's surprised you said that.
No, I like both. But I really like the Broadway
Bradshaws and they're in Finding Nemo.
And I think that's why I I prefer that show over The Lion
King. I just think Nemo has done.
So, well, the way it's done is just so well done you've not
even seen the the. Latest version?
It was the old version you've seen and even I like the new
version too. I just think with Nemo it
captures the kids more. I feel like it doesn't get as
much. Love between the two.
Lion King is one of those properties that no matter where
you put it in Disney, everyone associates with it.
I think we're Finding Nemo. It's that it's there, but
everyone needs to sort of search for it a little bit more.
It's something that we've got a friend who's who's Dory Katie
Wetzel, and it's really nice to see how we've grown with her
past few years since COVID and since have come back and how it
adapted it and just seeing what she's been doing in that rather
than various entertainment. It's really nice to see Broadway
show style in a Disney park. It doesn't and I I think
Professor Lion King is good. It is what it is.
It is one of my favorite shows, but I think that's just because
it was. My favorite film growing up.
So then going to see Animal Kingdom and then going to see
that and you, you, you get attached on a star job with
festival. Flying, which I don't think
Nemo. People going to Finding Nemo,
How has my nostalgia? Well, not from our generation.
No generation or two after hours probably do, yeah.
Yeah, that's just sad. Sad Finding Nemo hands now.
Yeah, the the sad thing. Is The Lion King is generally
one of my top three Disney movies, but just because the
show and the way I get dragged into it and stuff, I, I just, I
can't, I'll maybe I'll maybe I'll maybe I'll maybe face it
the next time we go back. I I do like it.
But looking at the kids faces when they see The Lion King
show, and looking at the kids faces when they see the name of
show, they're more captured by the name of show.
They've they've really. Been big fans of the movie Lion
King? No, they haven't really.
But to be fair, I think that's weird.
Our kids kind of start when Frozen came out that that kind
of generation where nothing else really mattered other than
Frozen and then Moana and then like all these princesses came
up rather than the actual classics.
And probably, to be fair, that's that's probably our fault for
not putting it on in the background and things.
But realistically, they like Nemo.
Yeah, they're off the movies, but.
Just as more the colours. And stuff and that, whereas I
feel like Festival Lion Kings very like the songs are very
musical minded whereas the ones in Nemo are really catchy for
the kids. The best show I've ever seen.
Disney. Was in the cruise ship, the Toy
Story musical and the the cruise ship I've ever seen Disney do.
Yeah, I think the best. Show I've seen Disney do is Lion
King Rhythm of the Pride Lands of Disneyland Paris.
We were there in 2020. I think we saw it and it was
just. It was amazing, yeah.
It's better than. Fest of The Lion King it's I
would put it on par of watching The Lion King on the West End.
It was sort of like thought by West End calibre.
It was just it. I was so impressed from
beginning to end. They get the right people for
the. Job, don't they?
They're really doing what they're doing, and what I like
is they. Didn't just do it's so easy when
you look at we've got a successful Lion King show in
Walt Disney World. We could just do that in
Disneyland Paris. Why don't we just copy the exact
same formula, the exact same thing?
But it's nice that they've looked at a different audience
and just doing something different with it instead of
just doing a cup and coffee, which I think is quite nice,
like Phantom Manor and. Disneyland like I, I love the
Haunted Mansion, like absolutely love the Haunted Mansion, but
for me, Phantom Manor's better. It's just hard to say but but
it's good that they have got. These different can add options
to these things because would you go on it somewhere else if
it was the same, right? Probably not.
Or the same. Show or whatever.
So yeah. And we all know big.
Thunder Mountain of Disneyland Paris is better than one of all
Disney World see we've. Never been on it we've.
Only been to Paris once and it was January and it's freezing.
The the tracks were frozen so it wasn't running, so we've never
actually been on it. We had to go back to a room to.
Put on extra layers of clothing. It was minus so cold -6 that.
Moment I think oh we've. Been there and it was a jibbery
half term once and it that was cold.
Yeah. Not, not not that cold.
It was. There was snow in.
Front of the castle which was beautiful to see.
Gorgeous. But.
Cold, you don't expect to be anywhere in Disney in the cold
just because you're so used to Florida and Orlando weather and
then being somewhere that's got a parade and you're standing
shivering was just it was the strangest experience ever, but
it was it was so good. It was.
And I think that's The thing is. Weather impacts everyone's sort
of trips to Disney. You, you assume if your first
trip is to Walt Disney World, you go, OK, I'm used to 30°
heat. This is sunny and this is lovely
warm. Yes, it rains if you're going
during the summer and at 3:00 in the afternoon, but 1/2 an hour
later it's dried up. Where you go to Disneyland
Paris, sometimes you're there for a day and it's just cold,
raining. Or if you're there during the
summer, we've been there and it's like 35° heat and it's
since what time are you going? Yeah, Yeah.
We go in September this. Year Don't we go in September?
And it's just like, well, what? What is it going to be like?
Is it going to be cold, cold, cooler, warm?
You just don't know what it's going to be.
So it's packed for all weathers, isn't it?
Yeah. So when was your?
Last trip to Disney NN. 2025 was our last trip and that was a wee
bit up in the air that. 1 So I was diagnosed with breast cancer
in November 2024 and we were supposed to give the kids a trip
to Disneyland Paris in January of 20/24/25 for the Christmas.
But because I was diagnosed, I mean, this was all booked, but
because I was diagnosed, we changed it to Disney.
We're going to Disney. So that could be Disney on Ice,
that could be the Disney Store in London, like whatever we
could do. They didn't obviously know, but
they probably don't know too much about the diagnosis just
now anyway. But it was very much, well, that
holiday's now having to be cancelled.
Got the money back for it. I need, I need a focus.
And the focus was to go back to Orlando in November.
But we never, we, it was only really us that kind of knew
about that. Yeah, our friends were always
good. And we went with friends and
they were always good in November.
So we can hijack their trip. Yeah, but just like.
That so. But I still remember the day we
got told that you were fit enough to go.
I was told I was allowed to go and.
I like chest my oncologist but. It was such a definite
experience. Going though, because obviously
we don't know what we're going to get.
And then when we got it was like, you're so grateful to be
there. But at the same time it's so
bittersweet because there's so much I couldn't do.
Like so many rides I couldn't ride.
So just just so much like I did ride test track and I've got
like the disgusting kind of port thing going on in my chest for
the the chemo and the seat belt just kept rubbing off it and you
don't think about these things gives me the heat beats.
It's not nice. And then I did ride guardians,
But obviously I was like this to my wig.
I was holding my head on my head and a friend who was sitting
behind us. He's like, I had visions of
getting his wig just shoved in my face halfway through right?
That that. That ride does spin a lot and I
think wasn't the first time. First time I went on it, I got
hit in the head with someone's hat.
It's off someone's head, so it's like hit me straight in the
head. It's like, yeah, it just he
never got that back. Happened.
I don't think he did. No, no.
We'd never got that. Back but yeah, it was just it
was very much like I'm lucky to be here so enjoy it.
But at the same time I was like, I want to go on that right and I
want to do this and like rock and roller coaster.
I was desperate to do that for one last time, but there was no
way I could do that. Like no way at all.
And that's another reason why we got the cabana and things.
I couldn't really go in the water too much, so I was so I
was guaranteed to have like shade.
But yeah, that was for a friend's 50th birthday.
And we we can hijack the trip a little bit, don't we?
Then he end up paying for. Lacelli for his 50th birthday.
So his birthday. He paid for the dinner.
So it was all good. Yeah, definitely.
But yes, it's not not long for your next trip or you because
you're going to do some Paris in September.
Yeah, September. Disneyland Paris for a few
nights and then to Paris for a few nights as well.
Trying to get the kids a little culture to see the Eiffel Tower
and stuff like that. I'm obviously.
Yeah, that's a really. Good thing to do, because I
haven't. We every time we've gone to
Disneyland Paris, we've just been to Disneyland Paris.
We used to get to Paris itself one day apparently.
It's the one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, I
think, just because we're. Down in Kent for us it was like
like a 3-4 hour drive down to Disneyland Paris or and we used
to go to Eurostar when it run from the Ashford.
So just sort of it would drop you outside of Disneyland Paris.
By now we sort, we have to go to Paris, then get to the Paris.
So I think now we'd be more inclined to spend a few days in
Paris. Yeah, because you have to go
that way. Anyway, so he pays well, don't
that. The thing is, I I.
Work with emergency services. I'm a police officer, so I
basically get told where my time off is, but it's not always
school holidays. So I do have to take the kids
out of school a lot to go on these holidays.
So. So where can I like.
Yeah. Yeah, we're kind of trying to.
Culture it up a little bit by taking them and saying, well, we
might have took them out of school but we took them to
France, you know, that's an education for them as well.
Yeah, let them see the Eiffel Tower.
We're going. To go to what's the name of the
the museum? We have the Mona Lisa.
Want to go see the Mona Lisa? We'll go there.
There's there's, there's lots that they want to do and we're
kind of trying to actively encourage them to research
things that they want to do as well so that that part of so
they don't get bored in Paris. They're because we're doing
Disney. First, Disney would be a very
good thing to do. Second, because it would be a
case of it, come on, let us do this because we've then got
Disney to go to. I've not decided if I'm coming
to. Paris.
Shit, you're going to Paris, You're leaving.
Disney and you're coming to Paris.
That's Disney and staying at Disney's.
Yeah, that is what. You would do?
Yeah, definitely. Kids don't want to stay with
you. Yeah, no.
I'm going on a solo day. A solo track, yeah.
So where did? Both of your sort of Disney
history start. So you mentioned that you were a
cast member. Yeah, I was a cast member in.
2000 and nine, 2010. In Epcot I'd done the cultural
representative program and I worked in the UK pavilion in
Epcot. I'd done the merchandise side of
things. My love of Disney.
I've started very young. I've always been into animation.
I love animation. The first most that I ever
watched the cartoons and stuff like that wasn't Mickey himself,
It was Tom and Jerry. So that that was my first kind
of, that was my first big that's made me love animation.
But then obviously you start to learn about Walt Disney himself,
the multiplaying camera, you know, all of that kind of stuff.
And it just grabbed my interest and just a general love out of
animation. So that's where my love of
Disney came from. And I was very fortunate growing
up that my parents took me to Disney World quite a lot.
My first holiday abroad was Walt Disney World, and I've been
fortunate enough to go a few times with them.
And then I've been myself. I think we've been together.
I've been as the kids, yeah. But the year I spent as a cast
member was just outstanding, as you can probably imagine.
It's just, it was such a great opportunity that I've got to do
so. Yeah.
And I think that's another reason why we.
Go back often, you know, people out there, we go and meet them
and we've got friends out there, so we go and see them.
It's not just, yeah, we go for the holiday, but we go and visit
them too. And it's, it's nice to have
that, that side of it as well. You weren't really.
Massive on on Disney until you really met me.
No, I'm still. I'm not saying I'm still not
massive on it. I love going to Disney World.
I do. I love it.
I went twice as a child and then when I met you, you were
desperate for us to go because you wanted to show me
everything. And we, it was great.
We did. We went.
And the more I've got to know about it, the more I love it.
I'm still not one for wearing character clothing.
I don't. I just don't do it.
I'm not, I've only recently started wearing ears.
So we're, we're getting there slowly.
But Darren's like the polar opposite.
He's like the biggest, as you can see right now, he's wearing
a Haunted Mansion Roosevelt's. So like he's constantly wearing
something Disney. Whereas, I mean, I've just put a
a Disney hoodoo on tonight, but that's the 'cause I.
Thought I need to talk. About for us, we're talking
about Disney. But but yeah, I think it's just,
it's not, it's not the Mickey Mouse thing, it's not the Disney
thing. It's just the feels that you get
when you're there. It's the smells, it's the food.
It's just people think, oh, you're going there again.
Yeah, yeah. We are and I don't anywhere
else. It's the it's.
The reason you have that reason to go back.
And I used to have someone who used to go to Spain every year
and I asked them, they said, oh, we'd love the beach, we'd love
this. And like, that's your reason for
going back. I have my reason because I feel
I'm in that bubble. I mean that I know what, but
after our first trip it was like we didn't get to do.
It's a typical first trip where you buy all the tickets for
everything, but you have two weeks and you don't get to do
half of it. And then you realise how much
stuff there is and they keep adding and you just like, I want
to go back and do more and they know how to capture.
You don't even know how to get you back.
There's always something new. There's always.
Something happening and it's always constantly evolving, and
that's the thing as much. As sometimes you don't agree
with what they're doing. Dinosaur.
Yes, that's. Exactly what I was thinking.
But they they know what they're doing and they know why they're
doing it. And it always seems to work.
It was like the castle as well. I was gutted that they were
painting it pink. And then we seen it and I was
like, don't paint that back. Don't change it back.
Just leave it because it's so beautiful.
And now they've changed it back. And I'm like, yeah, that was the
right thing, too. Yeah.
But we we were both. Working to see the 25th
anniversary we that was Oh, it's the kind.
And we actually both. This is such an unpopular
opinion. We both loved it.
Absolutely. That you've got to see it.
Like it might be one of those things.
Yeah. You see a picture and it's
different to what you see. It's better in real.
Life, I mean we, we've seen it with eyes.
So I can say to me it's been one of the best castles and two was
it 2? Years ago we were there and
inside one of the shops they had a key chain with up on it,
didn't they? And we bought it and it's the
very first piece of merchandise we've seen since with the cake
on it. And I just, I think it's
definitely one of these things that you had to see to
appreciate. And I say appreciate it.
Everybody just absolutely slates it.
But I absolutely loved it. And we actually worked out that
we were both there at the same time.
So we've been scouring photographs to see if we're in
the backgrounds of each other's photographs.
Oh, that's amazing. It's yeah, I think that's, I
think our, our, I remember when they announced they were
changing it to pink and it was like, obviously we can go there
because of COVID, but we're all like watching on social media
and looking at them painting and going like, oh, it doesn't look
right. I want it back to the way it was
because that's what you know, and that's what you remember it
to be. And now seeing the pictures of
what it has been painted back to now, like I can't wait to go and
see it. Yeah, that's that's quite how.
Much I missed for that colour. Yeah, I'm.
Absolutely dying. To see it back there, I was so
annoyed that they were going to paint.
It back now they've done it. I'm like, yeah, I can't wait
till he. Lies on it yeah.
So yeah, I. Think that's.
That's been our. As I say, it was just animation
for. Me, I was just animation, right,
left and center. Walmer Brothers was my first go
to. But Disney, as soon as I started
to properly look at animation and the multiplane camera, what
Walt was doing, it was different from everybody.
No, I say, Walt, what Walt and his team were doing, it's
different from everybody else. So yeah, I've always been a big
animation fan. Yeah, and I think it's just been
you. That's that's kind of not not
dragged me into it as such, but that's a harsh 1.
Dragged me. I've gone along for the ride.
It's. It's one of those things, isn't
it? It's so difficult I might as
well just. Drag you to Spain?
No, I remember you saying. Though that Oh yeah, there's no
tables so we'll just stay on top of this trash can.
And I went what? That's a right of passing.
What? And then say, now I'm like, no,
there's no tables. There's a trash can that'll do.
It's like, you just change your mindset, Don't you like when you
get to it? And I think now because I'm
spearheading our page and doing whatever, whatever we need to
do, I'm kind of taking the lead now on it.
And now I'm more interested in certain aspects of it than what
you are because I'm I'm focusing on that every single day so we
don't have to keep your mind off of.
Things yeah, to doing that just now to.
Keep my mind off everything but I can't do it while I'm.
Working and trying to keep the roof above our heads, No.
Well, that's true, but. Yeah, it's, it's a good focus
and it's definitely, Disney has definitely got me through this
last year, like on all aspects of it, like aiming for that trip
and then after that trip helping other people plan their trips.
That's that's what's got me through this.
And I just think it's Disney's just amazing.
I would have never. Got any intention of going
anywhere else we would miss a holiday?
One year so that we could go to Disney the following year.
Yeah, we've. Done so many different types of
trips and that's the thing for Disney, especially going to
Florida. Some different ways to do a
trip, whether you want to do a part Disney, part Universal or
Disney and a cruise or what time of year you go to Disney.
Whether you're doing a Halloween party, Christmas or just going
for when there's actually nothing on because I'm looking
forward to. I think we're planning to go
next May when there isn't the only thing on probably be Flower
Garden Festival but they'll be straight without any
decorations. Yeah, it's been in August.
Recent last year, so there's pumpkins everywhere at the
beginning of August It's it's everyone there's so many
different ways of doing a trip to Disney and I'm sort of in the
four different rockeries lately One thing I'll never.
Go back in November? No, because the crowds were.
The crowds. Were insane.
That was crazy, but, and I know the crowds Disney used to have a
quiet period inverted commas. You know, you're August to maybe
the first week of October was your kind of war season, but it
just doesn't happen anymore. But those crowds in November
that we experienced were insane. We took a trip to the.
Outlets on veteran's day. We forgot it was veteran's day
and it was a three hour wait for the character warehouse.
Yeah. No, veteran's day is.
We were there in November for Veteran's Day.
We've done it a few times. Yeah.
And and our first trip in 2014 in November was incredible.
It was quiet. It felt like it was quiet season
apart from every day, apart from investments day.
But since sort of 2020, I think, yeah, it's just there's no
quiet. Everyone wants to.
Go all the time, regardless of the prices increasing.
How much we moan about them and that's people are still paying
it aren't? They people are still paying the
prices like we were. We were looking at prices for
the Premier past the other day and they were, they were
completely sold out. And I was like what?
Why are people paying? Why are people paying for?
That it just like how much is a day and it's when you think if
you've got a family of four or larger group and it's just, it
doesn't make sense. We talked to a friend a few
months ago who was pricing up the Premier Pass versus how much
it would be to do with the VIP tool.
And actually VIP tool works out better value if you're in a
larger group than the Premier pass and you've got so much
other added benefits to it. But people are spending that
amount of money to have that sort of special time in Disney.
And one part it's. Crazy Yeah 1.
Part. For for us, it's not on our
budget. At all, it's definitely.
Not. It's not.
Worth it, especially if I find
from, especially going from the UK, generally you're going to be
there for a couple of weeks. So generally the only time we
ever buy Lightning Lane is if it's towards the end of the trip
and we haven't managed to get on attractions if something's
happened. Or I think last year in August
we did it for Animal Kingdom because I, we were, I'll, I was
old for a day. And then there was just because
when you have one with our annual Kingdom, I want to make
sure I got on Everest and everything.
Else I thought, do you know what it's?
The last day, let's buy it. I didn't need it in the end, but
it was one of those things that I'm glad, glad we did, glad you
had it. It's.
Not something we have. In to use every day.
It's not we're not there for a three night trip so just fit
everything in. It's not I'm not travelling all
that way to do 3 nights because it goes bad to the question.
Earlier you're a rope drop person in a late night, you go
either of them, you're going to get your rice done that you want
to get done. You rope drop, you get the
biggest ride during the day, you're already ahead of the
game, but as if you're staying later on at night.
Naturally the queues are lower at the end of the night and the
fireworks so. If you've seen the fireworks
jump in the cute fireworks, then you go.
It's just about climbing. It and thinking about jumping 10
minutes before. Closing.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's it's a great thing to
do. We've did that with a passage.
We're one of the last time to walk out of Pandora.
And then you just see the security guards behind you as
just sort of edging you close to leaving the park.
It's like, OK, maybe we have overstayed a little.
Bit we did. Hang around a little while
because there was a thunderstorm in the distance and the pictures
and video we were getting that was amazing.
Because you in Pandora with bioluminescent flora.
And it was just, Yeah, it was the sounds.
It was. It's amazing.
It really is. And this is the special thing
about Disney. I don't know many other
locations in the world that people come together and talk
about a place like this that has those those memories.
Do you not think though that? That when people say, oh, you
just grow up like you don't Disney's a place for everyone.
It's not. It's not because you like the
whole Mickey Mouse parades, blah, blah, blah.
Yeah, that's great. But there's so much for adults
to do and it's just incredible. And it's that's your favorite
drinking around the. World.
Yeah, drinking around the world or a skettering at all.
But what I do think is people who are saying this are people
who haven't experienced it. And I think they have to
experience it to to see what you're actually talking about.
I've got I've got a brother. Who has been to Florida as many
times as I have, and he loathed the place.
He absolutely loathed it. And he was brought up the same
as me, you know, watching Disney movies and stuff like that.
But for some reason he absolutely loves it.
So even within families, you can have that.
Like he says to me all the time, you're not going back to Disney,
are you? I'm like, Yep.
But we've actually we've got a. Friend who said I'm not going
to, I'm not taking my kids to Disney World because I don't
want them to eat burgers and chips for two weeks.
And I'm like, but it's so much more than that anymore.
Yeah, it's so much more. Than that the food's so diverse
now. I mean, maybe back in the 90s it
was burgers and chips and chicken tenders for a free meal.
Chicken tenders you. Want to?
Start Disney chicken tenders are the.
Best to be fair. No, no, no, no, no Disney.
Disney Cruise Line chicken tenders.
That's that's. That's the game.
Yeah, you still got one over. That one.
That's fine. Then I'll just I'll just.
I'll just go my cruise myself and just go back to the bed
where a whole bunch of chicken tenders will be delighted so you
can get room service. Chicken tenders, yeah, yeah,
that'll be after the. Finished, you need to leave
yourself to. Finish on the new pack.
But no, I think if our. If we go with our kids and with
the heat, if it knocks them off and all they want to eat is
fries for the entire two weeks, then do you know what is it
doing any harm? It's only two weeks.
It's a. Holiday what no matter where you
go, there's going to be chicken tenders or burgers and stuff on
the menu if you send the UK, you go to the UK theme park if you
look what's on there, it's like you're in McDonald's you're
you're having the similar sort of options to eat yes.
It's so it's, it's priced higher than McDonald's, but it's one of
those things that I think we're Disney.
We were looking the other day because we're doing a few days
before our cruise and after our cruise somewhere we want to eat.
But we it took us a good couple of hours scrolling through the
menus. We're just seeing what is
available to eat. And I don't think I come across
a burger that I was going to have once on there.
Well, Eric has actually. Kept asking to go back to our
friends resort the Raviera for the state Bolognese because they
walked up the quick service at Levieros.
Upstanding it is Primo piata it's.
Nothing like absolutely the best one and.
We've we've kind of worked out well.
This is what we say to to our followers as if you're unsure of
what it sounds like if you go and do a fake mobile order.
If it's a quick service, you can see the pictures, yeah.
Yeah, and it's so. Easy to look at and go, no, I'm
not going to like that or yeah, I think I'll like that rather
than trying to read obviously some some words or some some
ingredients in American are it's different to yeah, they don't
translate as. Like they don't use the same
the. Same words.
Yeah. So, yeah, it's so much easier to
do that. And you can even show the kids
like, well, you like that and I won't like that.
Well, yeah, it's not what I like about mobile.
Order it's that customize support options.
So it's like, OK, I don't want the cheese on this, so I don't
want sort of pickle that comes with this.
It's like, OK, that's an option on there to to choose so you can
so it's like made to order so it doesn't feel like you're in just
like a regular place, just going like is the burgers.
I've been sitting Outback just under a heat lamp.
It feels like it actually, it's going to.
It feels like it's going to be. Made fresh, yeah.
And I. Think what what we like about it
is when we go to Casey's Corner, we can change the adult meals to
kids meals because there isn't any kids meals and it just and
you can save so much money. As well, by going for kids
meals, we had the kids meal in connections.
And the kids meal. Was one large slice of pizza
with two small portions of fries or and a refillable drink and it
was like we just had one of those to share it was it just
definitely a great way of. Saving money.
Yeah, and that's the thing, there are.
There are ways that you can go and you can splurge, but there's
also ways that you can go and you can do it as cheap as you
you can really we we like beating the dining.
Plan though, yeah, we, we, we like beating the dining when we
do the dining Plan. We.
Go big or basically go home,
don't we? Honest thing.
If you've got the dining plan, you, you've prepaid for it, so
you want to make the most out of your money.
We've done the quick service a few times, a few free and
because we PVC, we pay. We paid for it once just to see
what it was like because it actually worked out.
If we had our plan exactly what it was, we will be beating the
plan for like $50. It just sold for us.
It made sense. Like why?
Why would I spend now it's a bit different because we have a car
and we go off site a bit more. It doesn't make it worth it for
us anymore. And so it's one of those that
you need to just, it's really weird.
It's horrible to say, but it's doing the maths, it's doing that
working out with whenever someone's booking a holiday
budget is one of those big things that whether you're going
this year or whether you save six months to go the following
year, look at the deals that Disney do and then work out what
sort of holiday you want. Because some people want a villa
holiday, some people want to be on site and have food taken care
of. You know, we thought we were
going. To fail this year at the dining
plan though, didn't we? Because Ayla turned 10, so she's
automatically an adult on the dining plan and obviously
because she can't get alcohol. It's like, how do we work around
this? How does that work out your
hair? And actually, we did we.
Took in cans of Diet Coke and bottles of water for her and we
ordered the adult meal with an adult beverage and we just
shared it. So we've still, we've still got
it and we got an extra drink. Can't complain, put.
It in the fridge for lighter yeah, absolutely.
That's what we. Did, wasn't it?
Yeah, so. There's ways round it.
There's ways. Round it and so like no matter
what what you do, there's there's always ways to beat it
unless you are having a lot of your time.
I've always told people, Disney. Can be as expensive as you want
it to be, but you can also do it as cheap as you want it to be.
If you want to go and spend two $300 a day in merchandise, you
can by all means, go and do it. Yeah, if you don't, you could.
Quite do that easily. Maybe they're doing in back
bags. Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I, I. Get one of.
Those, I don't know if you see them in America, it's the, the
little arm bands that the kids get with the, the, the rope on
it. So they can't.
Yeah, away from all. The I get one of them whenever
we get into. Disney World just because I'm
not allowed to go just grab your bag and.
Pull you away from all the merch?
Don't. I'm not.
I'm not allowed. I'm.
Not allowed. Left unsupervised the last time
it. Was always easy to just.
Charge it back to the room. It's like magic band tap.
Oh, it's free money. You don't keep an.
Eye on what you're spending. Sometimes you just be careful.
Yeah, when the last time you were?
Left unsupervised, you can buy it with two big popcorn buckets,
not just one. OK.
Doesn't sound like a bad idea. Depends on the popcorn bucket.
Depends on this little. Luggage space because they're
big. Yeah, that.
Was the that was the Mickey Elf one in Epcot, wasn't it?
Yeah, there's another one. Oh yeah, I don't.
Remember that other one? Yeah, no, I think.
We've finally got 2 popcorn buckets like that.
So exactly. It's not.
We're not. Starting popcorn bucket
connection. No, I'm a zipper and popcorn.
Bucket fiend I I love a novelty popcorn bucket and zipper like
the Sanderson Benny zipper is still the crown jewel of
Michael. To be fair, we those.
Are our Halloween decorations. We bring them out.
That Halloween and use them as. Decorations, so they're not,
they don't sit out all the time. They just, they go away and they
come out. I would if we could.
Yeah, if you. Have the space if you What the
hell? It's yeah, it's it's one of
those things. I don't have enough room
boundary but I've got a lot of Lego in the corner left to build
and it's like it's all my leg. Unfortunately is upstairs in
boxes because someone doesn't allow me to have it out and
about. Not pointing any fingers, I'm
just they painted. They painted the castle back
because now my castle matches the cover that was like so.
You built that castle, didn't you?
The first one, because we've got, we've got the two of them.
We've got the 1st, yeah, haven't we?
You built the first one. You finished it after about
what, 2 weeks? You lifted it and dropped it.
It didn't take me two weeks to build.
It that makes that makes me look so bad.
No, no, But it wasn't every. Night what I mean and like you
were working in between, you weren't just constantly building
it and I was trying to do Orla. Yeah, but he.
Lifted it to move it from the table he's building onto the
other table and dropped it. It's the only Lego set ever.
Dropped in my life that that one.
Has. Been rebuilt 3 times with.
A Disney canvas. Once before in nine year old
house and just out blue fell down on top of it and just Lego
all on the floor. And so I think I've got a
picture, so I might have to put that up in our Facebook
community at some point just to see what people think of that.
And then when we moved house, yeah.
And then I gave it to you with Bitbubble wrap and I just heard
like the noise of Lego crunching that's just falling apart and
not going back. So that eventually got put back
together and it's just what 1 was it I put?
In the front seat, the seat belt on it when we moved.
Was it the Cinderella Castle? It was the castle I put it in.
The front seat of the car and. Put a seat belt around.
It was a castle they transported.
I don't know what castle. It was one of the castles.
Or later, the youngest. She's what, 8?
And she's right into her Lego just now.
She builds so many sets, doesn't she?
She's so good, Snow White. Cottage.
Yeah, Which is the most beautiful Lego set I have ever
laid my eyes on. Yeah, no, it's gorgeous, but.
She's she's very much interested in videoing it for YouTube.
So we do time lapse and then she dropped the iPad in the bath.
Then shame we lost all the footage.
Oh, so the iPad went for a swim. But she's, she's quite, she's
delighted with her home alone house because that's she thinks
she's got something like 5500 views or something on YouTube.
And she's like every every other week she's like, let me see my
views now. Let me see my views now.
If you. If you.
If you don't have it, I'd recommend getting the the Snow
White House. It's the most beautiful Lego set
ever. Our next one's a Dalmatian.
That she's going to build. I've seen that one that looks.
Really good. The only way I.
Would get a pet in here I think is Lego.
There are so. Many and I I love the
collaboration in Disney and Lego and Star Wars as well.
And so many. Different.
Ways I just keep seeing scholars who ticked off Instagram.
They're like all new sets that are out.
And I'm a big Formula One fan, so there's been a lot of Formula
One merchandise past year and I started to do sort of drivers
helmets and I'm like, OK, I don't have room for these
Bibles. I'm going to end up with another
collection. The camera behind your head
there, that's one of my favorite sets, so it was one of it.
Surprised me how cheap it was when it got announced there was
like 85 or 95 lbs. It's really surprised.
I love, especially with the film at the end.
Yep, Yep, Yep, she loved. And the little and the little.
Multiplying camera that comes with I've mentioned multiplying
camera a lot, yeah, but some modern marvel she she just.
Loves doing it. There was one set she get really
frustrated with what 1 Was that the the riverboat?
I planned and doing. I don't know if you've seen it,
but it was the kind of Steamboat riverboat set I've seen on
Instagram. Someone had converted it to the
riverboat that confirmed at the end of Fantasmic with all the
characters on it. Oh, I love that.
So we have. This.
Plan in my head right or low about that and then we'll
transform into the fantasmic. But she gets so bored of it.
It was so technical insights, so don't think it was like she.
Likes sets that she can see happen quickly and see how it's.
Developing from some, there are some bits where you put together
it's like, how does that go to that?
But it doesn't. And then you just, you have to
go through the motions for it. It just it wasn't happening
quick enough for. Her.
I think she'd just get bored with it, doesn't she?
I think her favorite one she did was Jack.
And Sally, yeah, she liked that one.
She didn't. Like the stitch build she's got
the the stitch. She did not like that.
She got fed up with that one, didn't she?
Even I didn't enjoy finishing. That I don't know what it was
with that build, but there's no many Lego builds that I've said
that I haven't enjoyed. And do you remember much like
what I've got upstairs? Yeah, there's a lot, yeah.
Yeah, easily has been us, but yeah, it's it's been a great,
great time, son. Genuine pleasure having you join
us for the show today. But before we let you go,
where's the best place for our audience to find you and keep up
with your future adventures for? On Instagram, it's probably the
best place to contact us at the moment.
Well, certainly me. WDW under stroke with under
stroke me. Apologies for under stroke.
It was only that I could get it to work on Instagram.
That's where it's best to get ahold of me.
We do have Facebook as well. WDW again under stroke with me,
which Ashley takes charge of at the moment.
So if you're speaking to us on that, it's normally Ashley
you're going to be speaking to. We've also got our YouTube
channel that we that we do and we've we've recently started
branching into the world of podcasts as well.
I think we've got what, 5 up six up six up five.
I've got another. One launching tonight, yeah.
So where do I actually bonus? One last night and 1:00 tonight.
Tomorrow, yeah, yeah, so. For us, yeah, it's, it's just
throughout most of the socials that we do, we've also got our
link tree kind of page that we set up.
You set that up. I don't know much about that.
So yeah, link tree can. Obviously has just got all the
links on it hasn't set which is on your Instagram.
Yeah, yeah. I'll do.
I'll put all your links. And everything in the
description on YouTube and also in the show notes for the
podcast. Everyone come forward.
Perfect, Chip. Yeah, yeah.
So yeah, yeah, we do try our best to get back to you as
quickly as possible. I'm at work, obviously, so I'm
going to take a little bit longer on my personal Instagram,
but unless she's WDW with me on Instagram, she'll reply
instantly and also on Facebook. So yeah, yeah.
And we, we love hearing from everyone.
We absolutely. And what a lot of people don't
realize as and actually someone that I used to work with contact
me and she was a little bit hesitant to let me help her.
We don't charge anything for what we do.
We, we planned people's holidays.
We booked the dining forum 60 days out because Ashley's
already touched this morning this this evening that you know
she booked what 9/12/12 families families tickets today for the.
Party yeah, so we we do this just.
For, well, I do it. As a former cast member, I know
how difficult this holiday can be if you don't plan it well
enough or, you know, in the thought of someone going to
Disney World but not enjoying it makes me feel sick.
I, I just, I can't have that in my conscience.
So I think we've all been. There when we've had a trip and
like we haven't planned our our honeymoon is like we got the
tickets. We didn't think about anywhere.
It's like when we walked into a few restaurants, like have you
got dining reservations? Like what's a dining
reservation? No one needed one.
And it's that sort you just you don't think about it.
I mean, to be fair, we were a bit.
Planning the wedding that is true.
It was a. Honeymoon.
So it does happen, but it's one of those things actually,
because Disney can be a minefield, especially when we
spoke about like Lightning Lane and booking tickets and how many
sons over the year. You now need AVPN to connect to
sort of tickets and all of this sort of thing.
Sometimes it's easier to hand it over to someone who who can do
it for you. Yeah.
And I think it's because. We, we are so familiar with the
app and the website. It's just, it's so easy for us
to do it just really quick. Generally we do.
It just out the goodness of our hearts, you know, just test a
hobby just to help. People as much.
As we can, and you know, it's a great sense of community.
Well, definitely, definitely. And I think that's what we've.
Found since doing our podcast for several years and during
COVID, there was times where we all couldn't get back to the
parks. But we've met so many friends in
in Florida and and many times our Disney trips.
Now we get to a point where it's like we're we're meeting so many
people throughout them. So we're not just having just
going there for just obviously going there for a lovely
holiday, but it's nice to catch up with sort of friends and the
TuneIn some show. I've got a really good friend.
That works in August Cantina that I worked with there, yeah,
she's still working on her, so it's always a joy to see her
when we go and stuff like that. So yeah, we've got friends over
there that we meet up with often.
So yeah, yeah. Completely understand what you
mean by that. Yeah.
It's always good to go and see. Yeah, so.
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review or hit the like and subscribe button.
It really is the best way to help our channel grow and keep
the conversation going. So don't forget we're live on
YouTube every Wednesday at 8:30 PM.
It's our favorite time of the week where we digest all the
latest Disney news and share a little midweek hug to get us
through to the weekend. So a huge thank you to every
single one of you who've made it this far today.
We appreciate you more than you know.
Until next time, we'll see you soon.
See you real soon.