Episodes

Disney’s Value Resorts were created for reasons that went far beyond offering guests a cheaper place to sleep. Jim Hill and Len Testa trace the history of Walt Disney World lodging, from Michael Eisner’s ambitious Disney Decade plans and the financial fallout from Euro Disney to the creation of the All-Star Resorts. They also explain how competition along U.S. 192, pressure from Osceola County, and Disney’s desire to keep more vacation spending on property helped reshape the resort business. HI...

Disneyland did not begin with a castle, a monorail, or even a piece of land in Anaheim. Jim Hill and Len Testa trace the origins of Disneyland from Walt Disney’s financial struggles after Snow White, through World War II, television, and his early plans for a small “Mickey Mouse Park” near the Disney studio. They also explore how ABC helped finance the project, why Burbank rejected Walt’s original plans, and how the search for Southern California property ultimately set Disneyland on the road to...

This episode is built around the history of runDisney and the Walt Disney World Marathon, tracing how Disney transformed a January hotel-occupancy strategy into one of the company’s most successful destination sporting events. Jim Hill explains how the first Walt Disney World Marathon came together in 1994, while Len Testa shares stories from years of running Disney races himself. Along the way, they explore expanding race weekends, elaborate medals, changing courses, Disney’s operational challe...

Jim Hill and Len Testa explore one of the biggest "what if" questions in Disney history: what might have happened if Walt Disney had lived another five years. Jim looks at Walt's declining health, the projects still on his desk when he died in 1966, and how his personality and ability to win support often determined whether ambitious ideas moved forward. From the proposed Mineral King ski resort and other experimental attractions to Walt's original EPCOT city concept, the episode examines how di...

Jim Hill and Len Testa trace the surprisingly important history of golf at Walt Disney World, beginning with Walt Disney's original plans for a destination resort that offered far more than theme parks. Jim explains how Disney developed the Magnolia, Palm, and Lake Buena Vista golf courses, why Card Walker pushed so aggressively to make golf part of the resort experience, and how the Walt Disney World PGA tournament helped bring stars like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Lee Trevino to the pro...

Jim Hill and Len Testa look behind the scenes at how Walt Disney World handles one of the less glamorous realities of nightly fireworks: fire risk. Starting with the 2014 fire atop Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Jim explains the Magic Kingdom's rooftop sprinkler systems, backstage fire-suppression procedures, and the precautions Disney takes before and after Wishes. The conversation then reaches back to the dramatic 1985 Monorail Gold fire, when passengers had to evacuate onto the roof of the train, a...

Jim Hill and Len Testa tell the surprising story of the Disney Wilderness Preserve and how a tract of protected Florida wetlands helped unlock Walt Disney World's biggest era of expansion. Jim traces Disney's environmental commitments back to Walt's original land purchases, then explains how development plans in Osceola County collided with growing conservation concerns in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The solution was an ambitious wetlands mitigation deal involving the Walker Ranch, a project...

Jim Hill and Len Testa examine the major transformation beginning at Disney's Hollywood Studios as Disney prepares to move away from the park's original working-studio concept. With the Studio Backlot Tour, American Idol Experience, and American Film Institute showcase closing, Jim explains how Disney could use the newly available space for a much larger mix of Pixar and Star Wars attractions. They also look back at why Disney-MGM Studios struggled as an actual production facility and discuss po...

Jim Hill and Len Testa examine a major shift in live entertainment at Walt Disney World, including the announced departures of Off Kilter, Mo'Rockin, the World Showcase Players, and the Spirit of America Fife & Drum Corps from EPCOT. They explain how Disney evaluates live performers, the role of Actors' Equity in the parks, and why character experiences, seasonal events, and high-profile entertainment were becoming more important to attendance and guest spending. The conversation also looks at F...

Jim Hill and Len Testa trace the history of Disney Vacation Club from Old Key West and BoardWalk Villas through Disney's experiments with off-site resorts, abandoned projects, and the growing strategy of converting existing Walt Disney World hotel inventory into DVC. They examine plans and rumors involving the Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge, Yacht and Beach Club, Caribbean Beach Resort, and even the long-dormant River Country site. Along the way, they explain why Disney Vacation Club became such a...

Jim Hill and Len Testa look ahead at Walt Disney World's next major wave of development, with Disney's Hollywood Studios emerging as the resort's biggest long-term project. Jim explains why Disney was preparing to move away from the park's original movie-studio concept, how Star Wars could reshape the area around Echo Lake and Star Tours, and why smaller family attractions would be just as important as headline rides. They also discuss Avatar at Disney's Animal Kingdom, a possible replacement fo...

Jim Hill and Len Testa go international with a look at two major theme park projects changing expectations for immersive attractions. Jim breaks down Ratatouille at Walt Disney Studios Paris, from its trackless ride system and massive 3D projection environments to the rat-sized restaurant guests encounter at the end, then shifts to Universal Orlando's Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express. Along the way, they explore interactive wands, hidden details, Harry Potter easter eggs, operational challe...

Jim Hill and Len Testa take a detailed look inside the Leaky Cauldron at Universal Orlando's Diagon Alley, with Jim reporting from a special menu tasting and walkthrough. They explore how Universal built the restaurant around authentic British pub food and Harry Potter references, from Scotch eggs, fish and chips, cottage pie, and bangers to Gilly Water, wizarding ales, and book-inspired beverages. Jim also reveals how Universal protects the Butterbeer recipe, how Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream P...

Jim Hill and Len Testa dig into the new stories being prepared for the 2015 edition of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, starting with behind-the-scenes tales from the Magic Kingdom. Jim explores possible changes to Pirates of the Caribbean, how Frozen reshaped the Festival of Fantasy Parade, and the Imagineering technology behind Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. They also uncover abandoned plans for an interactive Peter Pan's Flight queue, the unlikely origins of "it's a small world," and how ...

Jim Hill and Len Testa go inside the development of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, the centerpiece attraction of Walt Disney World's New Fantasyland expansion. Jim explains how the coaster grew out of earlier plans for the land, why Disney ultimately replaced elaborate princess meet-and-greet concepts with a family thrill ride, and how construction challenges stretched the project across several years. They also break down the attraction's swinging mine cars, interactive queue, Audio-Animatronic dwarf...

Jim Hill and Len Testa take an early look at Universal Orlando's Hogwarts Express, the ambitious Harry Potter attraction connecting Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure with King's Cross Station at Universal Studios Florida. Jim explains how Universal Creative designed the experience to function as both transportation and attraction, complete with Platform 9¾, authentic train details, immersive special effects, and different journeys in each direction. They also dig into the operational challenge o...

Jim Hill and Len Testa trace the surprising history of one Tomorrowland attraction space at Walt Disney World, from Flight to the Moon and Mission to Mars through the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter and Stitch's Great Escape. Jim explains how changing ideas about the future repeatedly forced Disney Imagineers to reinvent the attraction, why Alien Encounter proved too intense for many Magic Kingdom guests, and how Lilo & Stitch eventually gave Disney a more family-friendly alien to put in the ...

Jim Hill is reporting from Orlando after getting a rare construction-site walkthrough of Universal Studios Florida’s new Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley. Jim takes Len Testa through the land shop by shop, from the Leaky Cauldron and Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to Knockturn Alley, Gringotts, and the massive new Ollivanders. They also dig into the Hogwarts Express, King's Cross Station, Universal's obsessive attention to architectural detail, and why Jim believes Diagon Alley could est...

Jim Hill and Len Testa explore the history of the Osborne Family Lights, Christmas at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, and Walt Disney World’s most unusual New Year’s Eve traditions.

Jim Hill and Len Testa trace the growth of Christmas at Disney, from Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and Candlelight Processional to Haunted Mansion Holiday, Disneyland snowfall, and Frozen-inspired attractions.

Jim Hill and Len Testa explore how Disneyland’s earliest Christmas experiments grew into enduring holiday traditions.

Recorded live on Disney's Castaway Cay, Jim talks about the Disney Dream and the future of the Disney Cruise Line.creditsreleased November 26, 2013 Audio: Len Testa with Jim Hill Edited by: Len Testa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recorded live on Disney's Castaway Cay, Jim talks about how Disney got into the cruise business.creditsreleased November 1, 2013 Audio: Len Testa with Jim Hill Edited by: Len Testa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Released on Friday the 13th! Jim and Len swap ghost stories around a campfire at Fort Wilderness, and Jim recounts the history of Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.creditsreleased September 13, 2013 Audio: Len Testa with Jim Hill Edited by: Len Testa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices