Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchSeaWorld Ends Orca Breeding, Disney Resort Fees and MagicBand Personalization
Episode 99
Jim Hill and Len Testa discuss SeaWorld’s landmark decision to end its captive-orca breeding program and the long chain of events that pushed the com…
10 years, 6 months ago
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge and Kidani Village Walk-Through!
To celebrate Earth Day, Jim and Len walk through Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge and Kidani Village, talking about the construction, architecture, craf…
11 years, 3 months ago
How Disney’s Value Resorts Changed Walt Disney World Hotels (Ep. 72)
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 histo…
11 years, 7 months ago
How Walt Disney Built Disneyland: The Origins of the Happiest Place on Earth
Episode 71
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 W…
11 years, 8 months ago
The History of runDisney and the Walt Disney World Marathon
Episode 70
This episode is built around the history of runDisney and the Walt Disney World Marathon, tracing how Disney transformed a January hotel-occupancy st…
11 years, 8 months ago
What If Walt Disney Had Lived? EPCOT, Mineral King & Disney’s Alternate Future (Ep. 69)
Episode 69
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 fi…
12 years, 4 months ago
Walt Disney World Golf: From the Magnolia & Palm to Four Seasons Tranquilo (Ep. 68)
Episode 68
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 desti…
12 years, 5 months ago
Disney World Fireworks Fires: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Monorail Gold & Magic Kingdom Safety (Ep. 67)
Episode 67
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. S…
12 years, 5 months ago
Disney Wilderness Preserve: The Land Deal That Made Walt Disney World’s Expansion Possible (Ep. 66)
Episode 66
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 D…
12 years, 5 months ago
Disney’s Hollywood Studios Overhaul: Star Wars, Pixar & the End of the Backlot Tour (Ep. 65)
Episode 65
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 origi…
12 years, 5 months ago