Fresh from the thrill of Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights, we spill the beans in this episode about the spine-chilling attractions including 'The Darkest Deal' house. We promise to educate you on how to navigate these horror houses like pros, while also sharing our own hilarious reactions to some of the most dread-inducing moments. You'll discover our honest opinions about the sour apple beer and the merits of the Express Pass for the event.
Imagine jumping into a lake at Epcot, or donning a bear costume to film a pedal tavern – we’ve got all this and more in our repertoire of crazy park stories. A highlight of our conversation revolves around Disney's Josh D'Amaro and the weird obsession some of us have developed. Alongside, we discuss our ongoing search for the perfect bear costume and our thoughts on the precarious Nashville weather.
Our chronicle doesn't stop at Halloween. We also talk about our experiences at Disney World's dance events, specifically the mini Celebration dance festival. Hear us out as we reminisce about the fun times at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, reflect on our favorite parade performances, and draw comparisons between the Halloween festivities at Disney and Universal Studios. So, tune in for some Disney nostalgia, a dash of dance appreciation, and a good dose of laughter. Trust us, you wouldn't want to miss this one!
Fresh from the thrill of Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights, we spill the beans in this episode about the spine-chilling attractions including 'The Darkest Deal' house. We promise to educate you on how to navigate these horror houses like pros, while also sharing our own hilarious reactions to some of the most dread-inducing moments. You'll discover our honest opinions about the sour apple beer and the merits of the Express Pass for the event.
Imagine jumping into a lake at Epcot, or donning a bear costume to film a pedal tavern – we’ve got all this and more in our repertoire of crazy park stories. A highlight of our conversation revolves around Disney's Josh D'Amaro and the weird obsession some of us have developed. Alongside, we discuss our ongoing search for the perfect bear costume and our thoughts on the precarious Nashville weather.
Our chronicle doesn't stop at Halloween. We also talk about our experiences at Disney World's dance events, specifically the mini Celebration dance festival. Hear us out as we reminisce about the fun times at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, reflect on our favorite parade performances, and draw comparisons between the Halloween festivities at Disney and Universal Studios. So, tune in for some Disney nostalgia, a dash of dance appreciation, and a good dose of laughter. Trust us, you wouldn't want to miss this one!
Hey, hey, hey. Happy Friday everybody. We are back in a on a beautiful day in Nashville, tennessee. It's going to be like 80 degrees again today, but fantastic. I hate it, I love it All the fall leaves are on the ground.
Speaker 3:Until.
Speaker 1:Monday It'll be freezing, the wind blows, leaves are flying through the air, pumpkins are out everywhere, moms are setting out and it's 80 degrees in Tennessee. And I'm here for it. And Dana's back, dana's back, thank you, thank you very much, thank you.
Speaker 3:I don't have to do her voice anymore.
Speaker 1:No, you can't. You don't have to mimic her.
Speaker 3:I couldn't find it. I was about to do it.
Speaker 1:So we've got a few things today, so we are going to jump right in. The first thing is we have a voicemail.
Speaker 2:Okay, erica. This is Catherine. I heard your idea about going down to Broadway and filming the pedal tavern and I will totally go with you. You just let me know I will dress up like a bear and we will go downtown and film that, okay.
Speaker 1:Thanks, this would be the weekend to do it, so if we're going to do, I've looked for bear costumes in July.
Speaker 4:That's hysterical. I've had like four different stores and they have sloths and hippos and pandas, but nobody has a bear.
Speaker 1:We should have checked Amazon. They got everything we should have checked.
Speaker 4:When we're done with this, we'll check Amazon, we'll get back to you.
Speaker 1:We have prime, we can get it tomorrow.
Speaker 3:It's fine, I'm not getting a bear outfit.
Speaker 1:I've got crazy things happening in Disney parks. Did you guys see the news this week coming out of Epcot?
Speaker 2:Oh yes yes, we did.
Speaker 1:Yes, so some random gentleman or an animal whichever you want to call him was his friends bet him $6,000 that he would or would not jump into Crescent Lake at Epcot and it looked to me like they were on the bridge between UK and France, based on the boat and the water he crawled up out of and he stood there and he contemplated it on the opposite side of the rail, like where he was ready to jump because he was going to do it. But it's like he thought about it for a minute and he was like how deep is that water? And then he's like sitting and you can hear people yelling you're going to get kicked out of Disney. And so he jumped into the water and immediately crawled out. He crawled over the top of the little prop boat sitting there and then just right up the steps I think they were possibly down on that area. You cross over the bridge and then there's steps going down where the dessert party area I think he drunk right there on the corner down steps right up.
Speaker 3:So did they kick him out?
Speaker 1:I'm sure they did Enjoy that lifetime band. I hope his friends paid him the $6,000. Probably not.
Speaker 4:Could you imagine? No, so.
Speaker 3:I don't think, I don't know. I might do it for six. I know it's going to universal Ouch.
Speaker 1:Well, so, um, and I should have wrote down their, their Instagram username, and I didn't, but someone, someone, I think. Actually it was Diz family adventures on Instagram.
Speaker 3:It was Diz family adventures, I'm pretty sure they're the ones that jumped off in the water.
Speaker 1:No, they're the ones that were standing there filming and jumping, and even the person holding the camera. Someone yelled it walking across the bridge and then, when he's standing there right before, or maybe right- after he jumped she yelled um you're going to get kicked out of Disney.
Speaker 3:You remember the lady who took video of the people in the fountain?
Speaker 1:Yeah, she got a bunch of hate Really.
Speaker 3:Just for taking the video.
Speaker 1:Well, you know I act a fool. Somebody's going to capture it so. I was thoroughly entertained. So thank you so much for standing there. I would have one request that next time you see something crazy in the parks, zoom out on your video. You can get everything at the time cause she was kind of zoomed in or whoever it was and parts that he kind of disappears out of the camera. It's like back your camera up.
Speaker 3:Is that the same spot where they were smoking last time?
Speaker 1:Yes. With the baby on her chest, I think, but they were on the underneath, but they were on the opposite side of the bridge from where those people were, so I've seen people over in those spots before. You're not supposed to be there, but the, the, the. The request here, people, is that if you see somebody doing stupid at Disney, please get good video. Stand seal. Keep your camera straight and steady, don't zoom in, pull out, so you can see the whole as a whole thing. I think of it as a TV show. You got to see everything happening because the guest reactions add to the content of the video. So, yeah, for sure. Yeah, we got to be cinematic here.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's 4k. We can, we can zoom in, we can do the editing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we could zoom in and edit for ourselves. We'll even help you. We got to get the entire content in here.
Speaker 4:So anyways um thanks for the voicemail, Catherine. That was super sweet of you. It was fantastic.
Speaker 1:We appreciate it. And what's funny is we were recording two weeks ago and, uh, we, we sometimes we record and we we normally open here where we're at at 10, and that week we just absolutely went over and she came to the door so we had to pause. Mike's got killer editing skills. We had to pause the the podcast and let her in, and I think she felt pretty awkward walking in on this like this, but then I think she got more curious. So, catherine, you absolutely did not interrupt a thing. You are welcome here every time. You are absolutely one of our favorites and we appreciate the fact that she is now a new listener. She didn't have a clue. We did a podcast, um, in that she left a voicemail. So, guys, if you want to leave a voicemail, there is a phone number that I currently do not have in front of me.
Speaker 3:Are you serious? You wrote all those notes and you have no phone number.
Speaker 1:It's on my desk Um we'll find it. We'll find it and we'll say it here at the end. Uh, but if you'd like to leave a voicemail, we would love to hear from you guys. So anyways.
Speaker 4:So, guys, I am patiently waiting waiting. I'm patiently waiting for my silver fox. Oh my God, oh, your silver fox. Patiently waiting for the silver fox. I've seen so many pictures of him across social media from the earmark conference and I'm jealous.
Speaker 1:Okay, so apparently people saw him in the parks and at the contemporary which there are convention centers there. So mixed sense that he was there for a conference, right? Um, does he appear? So I think what we need is we need everybody to chime in and tell us where you have seen him. So when Erica is running the marathon, she knows where and when to break her leg Half marathon.
Speaker 4:Yes, I need to know what port-a-potty to step in. Please let me know. Yeah, so if you don't know who we're talking about, we're talking about Hunky Josh and his silver hair. Hunky Josh, josh Damaro.
Speaker 1:And he's, he's the she's quite smitten.
Speaker 4:I am smitten with gosh. What's his?
Speaker 1:title. I'm blank at the moment Disney parks. Uh, chairman, there you go.
Speaker 4:I'm gonna give him a chance to employ you 2023.
Speaker 1:Or that? Okay, so we're going to make a calendar. So, josh, if you're listening and most likely he's not listening so if you're listening and you have a connection to Josh tomorrow, let him know. Let him know that Erica would like to make a calendar and he can be all 12 months of the calendar. We will devote the calendar to him. We will give you rights to sell these in the park for a commission. Back to us.
Speaker 2:It's our idea?
Speaker 1:Obviously yeah, but I don't think he understands and I had no clue. There was a Josh Damaro love club.
Speaker 2:Love club. There's definitely a love club.
Speaker 1:There's so many people who are smitten with that man. One lady we talked to this before at the marathon had pants made with his face all over him, like little faces all over her pants, our T shirt, and that was the marathon where she broke her leg and kept running. So, josh, you've got a pretty dedicated person here. So what you got to understand is she ran your marathon last year. Which one was it?
Speaker 4:The marathon during dopey in January. How long is dopey Total or how long is the marathon? How long was dopey? 48.6 miles.
Speaker 1:Okay, and you broke your leg on mile.
Speaker 4:Well, I broke my leg on mile five of the marathon, which was 26.2 miles, and she kept going. I kept going.
Speaker 1:The marathon. This is dedication. I love to meet Josh now. I think she has earned a spine to have company with Josh tomorrow for photos and everything, and also guys. Here's something else If you meet Josh tomorrow in the parks or anywhere, ask him if he could film a quick video to say hello to Erica at the Elton podcast.
Speaker 2:Just tell him.
Speaker 1:You are Erica's silver fox. Could you please say hello to Erica in a quick video? I wonder how?
Speaker 3:many times he hears that. Send it to us.
Speaker 1:That would be so amazing. You can go. We have a group on Facebook. It's LTAD podcast is the group name. You can go in there and just upload the video there and we will absolutely get it. Oh my gosh, I hope we get one today.
Speaker 4:Could you imagine that would be it for me? I was gonna. She'll be totally done. That would make my life.
Speaker 1:She would be wrecked and complete at the same time. Yeah, I'd be wrecked.
Speaker 4:I love my husband, johnny, thank you. But she loves the silver fox. This is fun to look at, that's all.
Speaker 3:Wrong one.
Speaker 1:We try, we try. Okay, guys Next up, me and Mike would like to tell y'all about our night at Halloween Horror Nights. We went down. It was the October 7th party, I believe I believe, so yeah. Because I think we went down on the 6th and we did the party the next day and we did Halloween Horror Nights over at Universal Orlando and, man, it was a fun time. We really enjoyed it. This is our second year in a row actually to go do it.
Speaker 3:I think we were trying to get out of last year. We were trying to just do a couple of haunted houses and then get out of the place because we yeah, Sorry, Dana.
Speaker 1:Oh, and say you did it yeah. Yeah Well, I don't feel like we even looked at anything like that Well, last year we had gone down and we had an agency meetup down there where we were working with Universal for education. So we had literally walked around all day long looking at resorts, all their resorts, multiple room types within the resorts and guys, if you think about when you're down there, you walk around your resort just to get from your room to a food court, to a bus, to get to the park. It's a lot of walking. Well, we had walked around all of their resorts pretty much, seeing all the amenities, every gym on property. We saw it. And remember that year we had a reason we were looking for a peloton for our client.
Speaker 2:My fault yeah.
Speaker 1:And like we searched just high and low in these resorts. So by the time, mike, that we went to the party, I was worn out, like I was ready to go lay down or sit by the pool. I was not looking to go into a theme park.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think we did two haunted houses and then we left.
Speaker 1:Yeah, four to six hours because we were wiped out. Yeah.
Speaker 3:I was ready to go.
Speaker 1:But y'all were with us on that and we did the that year, we did the one with Jason and then we did the pirate one. And still they that the pirate one is still my absolute number one faith of what I've seen. Yeah, yeah. So that was fun. But this year we went down and we did the party on. I believe it was October 7th and Aaron went with us. So we literally jumped in the car, drove down on Friday, checked in Friday night, woke up Saturday and then we went shopping in the area. It's where I got the crate and barrels from Caribbean Beach Resort. If you've been in a pirate room at Caribbean Beach Resort, you know those rooms are now completely empty and refurbished but they're selling. They sell off the pieces that were in there. So I have a, the big barrel that holds the refrigerator, and then I've got the crates that acted as your dresser drawers for that, and then I got a piece of artwork right there with Jack Sparrow on it in the treasure room.
Speaker 3:So I love these pieces and she's been trying to get them. For what? Three years, two or three years?
Speaker 1:A couple of years. Yeah, it's like every time we went down to do it something would happen, and either the trip got canceled or we just didn't get the chance to go over and buy them from last time we got almost to Atlanta in our truck. Oh, that's right.
Speaker 3:Like the, air conditioners quit working, yeah, and we're like it was like a hundred and some degrees.
Speaker 1:We're like, no, let's turn around. Yeah, we can't do that.
Speaker 3:We went back home and finally I went up underneath. It was just a wirelessly, it wasn't meant to be.
Speaker 1:You see, that's correct and you know, sometimes those could be blessings and disguise had we continued on. Maybe it's something was waiting for us, right, um, but the same place. I got this crate and barrel and getting off topic here for a second that the this man has purchased all of the cabins from Disney's Fort Woodenness Resort. So if you all have not seen the news of the past year or so at Disney, the plan there is they're turning those cabins into DVC's, so they're going to be DVC cabins, but in doing so, they could not use the cabins that were there. They've been there for a while, they're old and instead of choosing to refurb those cabins, they simply move them out and they're going to be putting new, more contemporary, modern type cabins in to kind of match more of the price of a DVC, which is fantastic. We love Fort Woodenness and those cabins are going to be awesome, so we're excited for that. But this man has purchased all of those cabins and, from what I understand, a lot of them are sitting behind ESPN right now, um, but he is going to eventually move those out. He plans to sell them, he told us, for $26,000 per cabin and then you can pay to have it move to wherever you want it to go. He's going to take some of them and set them up and sell them or rent them out like Airbnb.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and then he's going to have to sell them to a property like one acre lot somewhere around. I don't know where he's from, but wherever that is that he's going to? Move them on there and make them like little rentals, but there's nothing really special about them.
Speaker 2:No, just little cabins. You can buy them here, but they're from Disney, that's right, that's the hook right there, but they're ripping the decking off.
Speaker 3:It's so there's. The deck's not going to be there. You're going to have to rebuild that, so it's just a bot, it does make me wonder how much of the inside will remain intact?
Speaker 1:Right, I assume the furniture is not in there. They'll probably remove the furniture, but like, will they leave the cabinets or are they going to like gut it before he takes them? So those questions we don't know, we should have asked him, but I was just.
Speaker 3:I was like I won't one, I was just more excited about how can I get one to Tennessee. I don't know why they wouldn't leave the furniture in there. Well, I wouldn't. They're in, maybe I haven't seen it for sale nowhere.
Speaker 1:I know, and he would be the one to have it.
Speaker 3:That's right. He would be selling it right now.
Speaker 1:So maybe the furniture did remain in there. I just think it'd be super cool, especially where we live, to have one yeah.
Speaker 3:We could just tear our house down and roll one right up in there and just live in it. Heck, yeah, bug beds bug beds.
Speaker 1:We'll get two and Erin can live in one and we'll live in the other. We'll get a third one and Kendall and Charlie can live in that one, a compound you can have a family compound.
Speaker 3:We'll stay in the cabin, they can stay in the tent, and then we're just like perfect yeah.
Speaker 1:Perfect Mike's on to something. But anyways, that got way off shopping. But that's what we did Saturday prior to the party. Then we came back, we got dressed. It was a very, very, very warm that day.
Speaker 3:And, by the way, driving down to where was that? Lakeland or somewhere south, I don't even remember. Sucks, do not ever drive around Orlando.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the traffic going out over Orlando there's not a whole lot of options, like here in Tennessee. You can take this back road and this back road and you go everywhere. There might be one or two, it seemed.
Speaker 3:in Florida, even Google Maps was just taking us along routes that just 30 miles away from Disney, and it took us two hours to get there and over two and a half hours to get back. Oh yeah, it was just dead. Stop everywhere. It sucks, I hate it.
Speaker 1:So if you're driving to Disney in that area or Orlando from anywhere outside of Florida, you have got to pay attention and be careful, because I guess there's just a mesh of people who live there and they all drive wild and differently and aggressively. You got to be careful.
Speaker 3:You cross that Florida line, you're on your own. You better get ready.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so put on your seatbelts, pay attention.
Speaker 3:It's a 100 mile an hour rush hour. Let's go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and don't try to keep up. Just get over in the left lane, because that's where all the slow people stay, right and just the left lane. Yes. And hang out they will pass you on the right, they do not care. Oh yeah, so anyways.
Speaker 3:Sorry, there we go. Another topic there, right?
Speaker 1:So the first thing we did is we went into City Walk. We actually aided the bowling alley that day. Right, yeah, yeah, we ended the bowling alley at Cabana Bay. Oh, we got to talk about Cabana Bay. So when we got to get Cabana Bay on Friday night, there is the little swizzle lounge on the side of the lobby. The decoration there was so cute. They had these pumpkins all lit up. They had these lights behind the bar to the left and right of the bar Looks very neat, it was super cute. How fun. I think. Of all the decoration we saw, that was my absolute favorite decoration right there, yeah, so then there is a at Cabana Bay. What's it called? Chuckie's Twisted Playground is found on the second floor to the left of the bowling alley in the arcade. There is a conference room right there called the Fun in the Sunroom, and at Halloween time for the past couple of years they've kind of set up like a little walk through attraction there, and this one was Chuckie's Twisted Playground. Chuckie seemed to be the star of Halloween Horror Nights this year and that was neat. Now it closes at 10 pm and you have to show a universal resort room key to have access to it. It's not open to the public, gotcha, but you. I mean it took us five minutes, but we did it a second time and took about 10 minutes to walk through and it's a cute little thing and it walks you through. Oh yeah, there's the picture of those pumpkins from Swizzle Lounge, just super cute Only us can see it.
Speaker 4:Post it in the Facebook group.
Speaker 1:Yeah, post it in Altad Podcast, facebook. But anyways, it was cute and Chuckie's little girlfriend was in there and there were like different scenes. But it was also a couple of photo opportunities in there. So one was where Chuckie was pushing you off the top of a skyscraper and you would fall to the ground. So I had Aaron pose. I said Aaron lay down. I was like I don't want to do that. I said Aaron lay down. So so Aaron laid down and got a photo. So it looks like Chuckie has pushed him off the top of the skyscraper. So they had one little room set up like a circle but it was just all mirrors and then you had Chuckie in there laughing and you could spin. It was kind of cool. Y'all kill me. It was like not scary at all. There was nobody in there jumping out at you, I got something for you that's not so scary, but we'll get to that so that was good. That was cool. You're staying at Universal during this time but you're not doing Halloween Horror Nights, or maybe you are it's. It's a fun little trek over five, 10 minutes to spend at Cabana Bay second floor guys to the left of the bowling alley in the arcade, and you'll find a little queue set up and the cast members are cast members the Universal members sitting there, but you got to show your room key, so have your room key with you. So that was that was cool. Then we went over to City Walk and knew this year in City Walk is another attraction but it's free, but all it is is a photo spot.
Speaker 3:This was kind of silly.
Speaker 1:Then it was, but I got a really cool exorcist photo of myself. But if you go to, if you're going through City Walk and you get down into the heart where you would go right to the Universal Park and then straight to Islands of Adventure right there across from the stage, go left and go back there beside the, the newest escape room and then directly to the left of the escape room there's a door and there's there's like no signage or anything to get right up on it. So it's kind of hidden. You got to know what you're looking for. But the escape room directly to the left, the very first building adjacent to the escape room on the left. You walk in and first thing you got to be prepared for is it's hot as crap in there. There is no air conditioning in that room. They got a couple of fans that have a man. It was standing there waiting for it.
Speaker 3:I was like and I noticed another thing too. There was, well, you said, cast members. While we were taking pictures, there was employees coming in, taking pictures and like waiting for us to get done or taking the spots right and taking pictures. It was really weird that they were just up there in name tags and we were having to wait for them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but well, there was like a party of four in front of us and then a party of two in front of us, but it was so hot we were like, oh my gosh, I'm not standing here for more than 30 more seconds. Well, luckily we got right in front of the fan and it helped us. But the first little photo spot you come to is the Exorcist and there's a bed there set up up against the wall like up to down on the wall, so you can stand in front of the bed and pose like you're floating up off the top of the bed and then just take your photo and then take it and flip it. So when you post it it looks like you're floating up off the top of the bed. So that was cool. They had Megan there and then the black phone. I don't know what in the world the black phone is, I'm sure there's.
Speaker 3:Is that from a movie? Yeah, it's a movie. I never saw it, but I thought it was on a long time ago.
Speaker 1:I don't know. I had no clue what I was looking at.
Speaker 3:It's something like a kid gets kidnapped or something, and the phone rings. It's like and it's an old kid that got kidnapped and died in that room called him from the past, I don't know. Anyway.
Speaker 1:Well, it was on the wall ringing and then there was Five Nights at. Freddy's. So you kind of got those animatronic bears or whatever they are standing there.
Speaker 4:Is Aaron all about Five Nights at Freddy's? Oh, yes, him and his friend Luke are gonna go see it. She's like oh, film, film for that movie.
Speaker 1:Well, him and his friend Luke are. Is it today Friday?
Speaker 4:Is it finally Friday, because I've been calling it.
Speaker 1:Friday, all week long, yeah, uh yes. I was texting with Aaron yesterday. He was like hey, me and Luke are gonna go see Five Nights at Freddy's Friday night, is that okay? And I was like or? He said tomorrow. And he said is that okay? I said, no, caitlin's wedding is tomorrow. He goes that's Saturday, right? And I was like oh yeah, what day is it Nevermind? So I've been doing that all week long. They're going tonight to see it.
Speaker 3:Oh, okay, yeah, him and his friend Luke. It's night opening night, or has?
Speaker 4:it been out for a while. No, I think today is opening day yeah, I hate to be him.
Speaker 1:But they play that in the game or something. They play that. So when you take those games like that, is it the last of us? That was apparently a game, the best game. And then they turned it into a TV show. So Five Nights at Freddy's was a game and now they turned it into a Halloween hard night. What is that game? You play with the VR goggles and we made my mom do this one day and you walk around this room and things pop up and scare you.
Speaker 3:I don't. It's a haunted house thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:I don't remember what it is, but it's terrifying.
Speaker 1:Thank you. They should do that at Halloween hard nights next time because it's pretty scary, but it was.
Speaker 3:Well, now I bet they will.
Speaker 1:So we are not the type of people to rush a gate when park opens. It's not my style. I think we did that literal years ago when Kendall was real little at Magic Kingdom Park and I was like, yeah, I'm not gonna see it again, and out of the thousands of people that were there, I think there might have been five of us.
Speaker 3:that was not their style. But we were all sitting, doing not getting in that line.
Speaker 1:So we just kind of hung out and sat around the edges of that entrance area and it's like whatever. By the way, we at Universal when we purchased our tickets. you can pick up your tickets at the kiosk right there outside the gate and there was nobody in line, nobody in line, but there was this huge line going around all the way because their customer service window is around the backside of that little building. There's a line stretched all around it, and so we walked up to the kiosk and, if this helps anybody, you basically scan the confirmation of your ticket and or you enter your number and then you just insert a credit card that has the League Passengers name on it. It doesn't charge your card, it's just saying yes, this is me. That computer can see that credit card belongs to Janna and these tickets are in the name of Janna.
Speaker 3:That's why they'd rather do that than an ID. Yeah that's true, I'd rather have my ID in there. I don't really want credit cards.
Speaker 1:Right, it was like why are you taking my credit card? But you know, just use something that doesn't like. We've got one card that we keep such a low balance on it, that's we use it for things that we're forced to do like that. So if anything happened, it's not a big deal, we can take care of it easily. But it was super easy to use the ticket kiosk for ticket pickup. So if you are going, whether it be your park ticket or a Halloween Horror Night ticket, you can use the kiosk as long as the League Passengers you have a credit card in the name of the League Passengers that's currently with you, traveling with you. Because if you don't have a credit card in that name, that's not going to work. You're gonna have to go stand in line for it. But otherwise we had our tickets in three seconds.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we were there what about hour and a half before the party maybe, and when we got the tickets we were like, well, let's go get in line. There's nobody there in line. And we did. We went and walked around, I think we went and ate and did whatever else, and when we came back it was backed up all the way over the bridge.
Speaker 1:Yeah, go one over the bridge to the MSC Sports Grill thing. We just sat back, so we just found somewhere to sit down and we hung out and we did some of the little shopping carts around in front of MSC Sports Grill, whatnot. But then they, Dr, Do Something do it's not it's not Do Little. Who is it? Hang on, I've got a, pick a name right here. I can do Little. I don't know.
Speaker 3:The whole Halloween Horror Nights is about him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, doom Something I don't know. They know what I'm talking about, if you don't just Google it.
Speaker 2:Dr Do's a Marvel character.
Speaker 1:Well, it was a man dressed up with a real tall top hat. Michael, show your picture, I'm gonna be young figure it out.
Speaker 3:See the guy that was up there talking.
Speaker 1:Yes, so he opens the park each night. They open the gates and then this flood of people go in and then they close the gates. Then you have to go through the turnstiles on the right and left, so but that it was a huge crowd but it moved pretty good. You didn't just stop and stand for five, 10 minutes, you were constantly kind of moving forward, but we got to the back of that because we didn't want to be up in the big crowd of it. We finally got in. Okay, great, we're here. The first thing I noticed is last year they had this huge thing set up to where it was. It was like crossing over the top of the road and it had pumpkins all over it and eyes lights and stuff. And it said Halloween hornites. Well, that wasn't there this year. I was like, okay, so it's gonna change a little every single year, but I can tell you I liked last year better. So the scare zones and the features on the streets.
Speaker 3:Dr Oddfellow, Dr Oddfellow there you go.
Speaker 1:The features on the street, the food those things were better last year. This year I was not at all impressed with anything that was on the street. My favorite part of the street area is where it was the summer of blood, set in the year of 1969. And that was over there by the store. What do you call it? The tribute store? Yeah, so it was that stretch of road right there. The best thing I liked about that was the music and I thought that was kind of fun because you've got all these hippies running around, dead, zombie, bloody, whatnot.
Speaker 3:Not all of them were bloody and everything.
Speaker 1:Some of them just looked dirty they did.
Speaker 3:They look like some guy from Alabama. You know what I mean. I think it's a worker or not.
Speaker 1:But what was fun about?
Speaker 3:it, and then they jump at you is.
Speaker 1:You couldn't really not always distinguish who was a scare actor versus who was just a park guest.
Speaker 3:So that's why it's time I look like some guy from Alabama. People do dress like that.
Speaker 1:But what they would do is, while you're walking, kind of looking around at what's the scene and the music and all the zombies or whether they're dancing, whatnot, and then suddenly somebody who was walking past you on the shoulder to shoulder walking past you would go whoa, and they would just kind of scoot over real quick right in your face People screamed. And then real quickly move back. So imagine walking through your house, past your mom, and you just get in her face for half a second and scream, and then you keep walking. That's what they were doing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they don't stop and mess with you, they just boom. That's it. It was so funny. That's how you get punched in the face.
Speaker 1:Well, that's what I was like Because I am. You guys can ask Cindy, who used to be part of the LTED podcast, if I get startled, which is rare, but when I do I swing.
Speaker 4:Yeah, oh boy.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I told Mike nothing about that was gonna startle me, like you just watch them and it's funny and whatnot and you would get used to it. You could kind of watch them coming at you and you knew they were either gonna target you or they might walk right past you. You could be prepared for it. But I told Mike. I said somebody's gonna get punched in this. This is an accident way into happening, because some people react physically when they are startled and apparently I'm one of those people. I smacked the crap out of Cindy one night because she hid behind the countertop and when I came through the room and around just there she was and it was like smack, like it hurt her. Oh my God. Sorry, cindy, but she learned to never do that to me again, yeah, so.
Speaker 3:Well, I mean, they jump at you. So fast they do. They're literally walking at you and you're like no, that's not one of them. And then boom there, so, and then you just keep walking Right. They don't say nothing else.
Speaker 1:So we also had we ate a little bit that night and I don't remember what it's called, but it was over in like the streets where the Blues Brothers are at same place where they had the princess mate last year, oh, okay, and I'll remember the theme and that's kind of what I was talking about Was it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was the last of us.
Speaker 1:Okay, see, I'm not familiar with it, and that might be why I was not as impressed with the street scenes this year is because I didn't really understand what I was looking at.
Speaker 3:We didn't even know that was back there and Aaron was looking for the. It was just a little kiosk set up and it was the little food thing. You're gonna go in one way and you had to come out the other way.
Speaker 1:And they served ravioli and like a beef stew.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and the ravioli was horrible.
Speaker 1:It was not good. Oh, the beef stew was delicious.
Speaker 3:The beef stew was great.
Speaker 1:So I was kind of regretting my choice Me and Aaron got ravioli, he got beef stew, but it was so hot I didn't want no beef stew.
Speaker 3:Now their beer. I got some. Like grape something it was like no, it was apple, Like a sour apple. Yeah, it was not good.
Speaker 4:Those drinks we had last year when we were in line for the first haunted house and we were like, well, we're gonna be here for a while, let's go ahead and just go get some drinks. Those were fantastic.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they were.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was great. I took a sip of it. That was great. It wasn't sour apple, it was a purple can, that was grape.
Speaker 3:So I don't know, it was not good. He didn't like it. It wasn't like beer anywhere.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:It was like ciders and beers yeah, so I do.
Speaker 1:Like ciders, I do too, so I like the drink. But I don't drink alcohol. Yeah, it messes with me. And like I it's not like I don't even drink enough to get a buzz off anything, it's just it messes with me. I have thyroid issues.
Speaker 3:Well, I had to go over to Duff's.
Speaker 1:I'll react to it, for some reason.
Speaker 3:Warsh that crap down.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we did so we did eat there, but speaking of Duff's beer. So first of all, the first house we did was the darkest deal. I didn't understand what I was going through which one was that that was the very first one. The very first one we did was the darkest deal.
Speaker 3:They all ran together.
Speaker 1:I didn't understand what I was going through and later somebody said oh, it's a musician at a carnival who sells his soul to the devil for fame. Then I was like, oh well, now I want to walk through it again. So the mistake I made on Halloween hard nights is I did not read about the houses before.
Speaker 2:I went.
Speaker 1:So I'll walk through these with no idea what was happening, the stories that were playing out. That was my mistake. I won't make that mistake again. Now I understand you need to read what these are about before you go through them.
Speaker 3:So you can pick up the story. We need to go with your traveling guide that, the one you sell down there every year. Yeah, he knows everything. He was telling me about the.
Speaker 1:Doctor.
Speaker 3:Doolittle or whatever his name is, and all the stories.
Speaker 1:Doolittle, doolittle, odd fellow, odd fellow, odd fellow Doctor Doolittle's.
Speaker 3:An ALSA thing I like that, but he knew everything about it.
Speaker 1:They knew everything. So we are probably going to try to team up with our friend and client, michael and his son, jr. They go every year and I think we spoke about them on the last they go every year. Father son trip. Jr is a young 20-something and Michael and they're so excited to go and this year we were talking about it. And they don't miss nothing, but Aaron's college schedule wouldn't allow us to go the weekend they went. So we're going to do that next year and I'm thinking about just putting a group together and doing like an RIP tour and everybody's splitting the call so that we can move through quickly. Because I can tell you, the darkest deal line it was like the first one we did. It was basically a walk on. I think we waited about two minutes. But the next house we did, which was the last of us, that was a line.
Speaker 3:I think it was 75 minutes on the board.
Speaker 1:It was way more than 75. That line was huge.
Speaker 3:I think it's all that board went to was 75.
Speaker 1:Maybe, but for us we had Express Pass, oh yeah. So I am going to highly highly recommend Express Pass, not only for Halloween Horror Night events, but also for your part days, Because it's going to help you move through the parks so much faster. And there's another theme park in Orlando who, even if you purchase that type of product from them, it's still a very, very, very long day.
Speaker 3:It's very different than Universal? Have we reversed roles? We don't say that word, no more.
Speaker 2:I just don't want to call it out directly, are we?
Speaker 1:But I'm in the wrong place. But you also have to keep in mind they're very different parks. There's so much more to do in a Disney theme park versus Universal. They're not big parts. You said the D word. I know I love the D word. We don't talk about that dark. Yeah, we don't talk about that dark place, no more. But anyways, express Pass at Universal is worth every single penny. You can stay at a is it premier resort to carry it a premier resort and you get it included with your hotel stay, or you can purchase it separate. I can tell you from us booking these vacations all the time, it is cheaper to upgrade resorts than to purchase it outright.
Speaker 3:It would have been. Do I need to say the price, what it would have been for us? Yes 800, 850.
Speaker 1:Yikes for the three of you for three of us. Well, we bought it.
Speaker 3:I didn't pay that for it, so I don't know how he got it.
Speaker 1:We got, we got for 500 somehow, and I'm not going to ask you how you get it.
Speaker 3:Don't matter, ok, so whatever, so anyways they didn't charge for one of us.
Speaker 2:Let's just say that.
Speaker 1:OK, perfect. So, anyways, express Pass is the way to go on a universal vacation period, because you can get done with your day, probably by lunch, to be honest. Go hang out at the pool, have some lunch, play around the resort what not? And then go back that night and do it again, because it's just eliminating the line for you. So, on the last of us, had we not had Express Pass, that we would have spent the majority of our evening standing in line here. Oh yeah, mm, hmm. So we went through that. I was a little bit more familiar with this story because Mike and Aaron played the game, and talk about all the time Aaron plays the game.
Speaker 3:I just watched him play it.
Speaker 1:And then an Aaron was talking through the whole thing. It was really the detail in what you were seeing was really really good. Yeah, you go in and that dude, rick, is in the garage. Rick, what's his name?
Speaker 3:Well, crap, I can't remember his name.
Speaker 1:But it's not Rick. It's not Do Little, it's Do Little.
Speaker 3:And they looked just like the actors in the game.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and one of these really big blobs of. I'm not going to tell you what it made me think of, but Ew, like a hemorrhoid, but that's what it looked like, just this giant hemorrhoid puffy swollen.
Speaker 4:I was going to say a marshmallow. I know I have to go hemorrhoid.
Speaker 1:It did not look like a marshmallow. We're talking about a human being who has deteriorated to the point that they're about to explode and that's what they are in that game or something. But it like leaned way in, like it like the scare actor thought if they leaned in on me they'd get a reaction.
Speaker 3:They're really close.
Speaker 1:They get very close. But I am going to say that there's something about me that those things don't scare me. Maybe it's because we grew up doing haunted houses in Tennessee, which were scary as all can get out, and these don't seem scary to us at all, nothing about this event is scary to me.
Speaker 3:It's predictable Every house. But even the corner and there's that person. But even before, it becomes predictable.
Speaker 1:this is not scary to me at all. However, I've got two people sitting across the table from me who will leave each other bruised after each house. Gosh, that's so true and I'm so sorry.
Speaker 3:I had a random stranger grabbing me. He did, and I was like I would have been that random stranger if I had not.
Speaker 1:But her husband was with her and I then got to a point it was aggravating. It's not out of my can. I said do you want to switch places? Because she's not going to touch me like that, right?
Speaker 3:No, I think she would have.
Speaker 1:And I would have reacted to that.
Speaker 3:Don't touch me.
Speaker 1:Get behind your husband, don't get behind me, right, but that's what she was doing, but to me these are not at all scary.
Speaker 3:And I'm going to be real honest, so close they broke through these things.
Speaker 4:So you're talking about getting a group together and doing Halloween Horror Nights next year. I have a proposition for you. Ok, because a couple agents here we're talking about going to California next year and doing a boogie bash and doing Disneyland, because a lot of them haven't experienced Disneyland yet. I would say, if you want to be scared, you absolutely have to go to Knott's Berry Farm and do not scary farm, because that is one of that is the one that scarred me for life and that's the way it's the reason why I am the way I am when it comes to scary things. I've legit been chased through that park by clowns that glow in 3D, or I'm not black light.
Speaker 1:But, erica, if you don't run, they won't chase you. They get. They are not going to chase somebody who's going to stand there and look at them like they're stupid.
Speaker 4:They pop out of bushes with pads on and stuff and they will scoot right in front of you and like slide on the ground. I'm telling you that is the one that you want to go to. And Universal Studios, hollywood, their Horror Nights.
Speaker 3:I don't want to do the stairs.
Speaker 4:So much better.
Speaker 1:The land of escalators. Yes, the escalators. So honestly, Erica, nothing you described. I think that's cool. I have my phone out recording it Like slide.
Speaker 2:Do it again.
Speaker 1:I'd be like, hey, change, do it again, do it again, but also be like change. Chase her, chase her.
Speaker 3:She'll run from you. We also live on a bunch of acreage and we'll walk around at midnight one o'clock.
Speaker 1:Nope, there's nothing around except coyotes. And I don't care who's listening. You can call me crazy if you want to, but our house is absolutely haunted. There is something happening there. It's been like that since my family moved into these homes in the 70s. We're just not scared of it. We're not scared type people. So I think it would be a good change and I think it'd be fun to see it. But, Erica, I learned as a teenager if you don't run, they don't change.
Speaker 2:It's hard not to no.
Speaker 1:you stand there and they're looking at you like, oh well, she's not going to be scared by me. Let me go find somebody who's going to run and they'll move right along If I'm going to stand there I'm going to be standing in a puddle.
Speaker 4:Let's be honest.
Speaker 1:When I was a teenager down here at the old Sears building in Madison, tennessee, they had turned that into a haunted house one year and we're walking out the end of the haunted house and it was neat, like they'd send you through pitch black rooms and they hang like a fishing line down from the ceiling. So it feels like spider webs and stuff.
Speaker 3:They had a lot of that down there too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they did. But these in Tennessee people were crazy. These Southern people down here are crazy.
Speaker 3:Only cut off goat heads and put them on the steaks outside.
Speaker 1:They did, they did, and, like my grandma, that's right down the road from your house. My grandma and her family, my mom and all and her family. They used to make it a sport to try to scare the crap out of. There was non-brothers and sisters and this was a game they played, so I grew up in that. I'm not sure that there's anything today, unless it was real which none of this is that would actually scare me. But in that old Sears building, Madison, Tennessee, back in like 1992, 93 or so, right, we're walking out the exit of this haunted house and there's a chainsaw man and he decided I was his target. Well, I don't run, I don't You're. It's silly to run. So she shot him Well he was expecting me to run and I didn't, and thank goodness they're required to pull their the knife part. What's the chain?
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Off of the chainsaw because his chainsaw hit the bottom of my brand new white tennis shoes and left a black mark from the front, from the heel to the toe on those shoes. It made me so mad, so now I was chasing the chainsaw man telling him he was gonna give me 80 bucks for my brand new shoes he just ruined and he was running from me.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, you go through a haunted house. You're gonna get your shoes stepped on Only Jana.
Speaker 1:They weren't stepped on. His chainsaw touched my shoe and went all the way up heel to toe, this huge black mark. It never came off that shoe. At least you still have a foot, well. But, erica, that's the deal. It's fake, it's not real, you don't know that, but it could have been real. It could have been real. What if it had been? Oh my God.
Speaker 2:What if he?
Speaker 4:didn't take the blade off.
Speaker 3:He's a tree worker and he forgot to take the blade off when he went on his night job.
Speaker 4:What if he's standing here? He's just a disgruntled.
Speaker 1:Okay, so, anyways, we spent more time exiting these lines than we did getting to the haunted house. Some of them were a long walk, and they were long walks but these people would just meander and mosey through. It's like get out of the way and it's a one lane it is, and there was a lot of people they move people through these houses very quickly and what we would do is we would kind of slow down because we wanted to be surprised by the scare actors and the jumps that came, versus watching the person in front of you and it ruins it.
Speaker 3:They were yelling at us.
Speaker 1:You need to move on, you need to move on, you need to move on Every single little phase.
Speaker 3:every time you turn, there's a worker there with the haunted guy. So every time they're pushing you, pushing. You. Just keep going, go, go, you gotta catch up, you gotta catch up.
Speaker 1:No, no, we're not catching up. So we did not follow those instructions. We kept our pace because we wanted to be surprised and enamored with what was about to happen. Next, right After the last of us which, by the way, was cool we did Universal Monsters and this was one of my favorite ones. The Universal Monsters is an unmasked I'm sorry that's unmasked Phantom of the Opera, but there was a few things. You kind of walked into old London and you went to the underside of London because apparently there's a London under London and you saw the Phantom of the Opera with no mask on the hunchback of Notre Dame, which was cool what they had him do. I can see where Yalty would have just absolutely crumbled to the ground in this part, but it was so cool. It's almost over. I can go ahead and talk about this, don't you think? Sure, you were about to go to Halloween Horror Nights. Stop listening, jump forward for about 10 seconds. Ready set, go 10, 15 seconds, okay. He was up above a doorway and they had like a bungee cord attached to him and he would lean over the top of you and just like get right here at the top of your head and then he would jerk back real quick. It was the coolest effect.
Speaker 3:I think there was a second person up there pulling. They had to be. He would just like go. He was gone, but then I was gonna be right back in your face. It was so cool.
Speaker 1:I got goosebumps and Mike had walked through just before he came over the top of me and Aaron and me and Aaron were like oh that was awesome.
Speaker 3:I could see him when I turned around.
Speaker 1:And these people behind us. It was a bunch of little girls. They were freaking out and I'm like, okay, that was awesome. It also had Dr Jekyll, mr Hyde and Dr Jack Griffin, who is the invisible man, so that was one of my favorites. I have two favorites and that was one of them. Then, at that point, my friend, who happens to be the director of travel agency sales at Universal these days, came to the park and joined us. So we went over to Duff Beer and Mike was getting his Duff Beer and whatnot, and Tom Valley came, he says that's a really good beer. Yeah, and Tom Valley came at that point and met up with us because he had still he'd been working late, had events with people in the parks and what's not, so he came over. Well then, we did some of these houses with him. So that was super fun. We did. Did we do Stranger Things? For I don't remember this house if we did it.
Speaker 3:I don't think we did Stranger Things. Okay, the main one we didn't do.
Speaker 1:The first one we did with him was the exorcist that was.
Speaker 3:Oh Okay.
Speaker 1:It was okay. There were some effects in it that were super cool. So there was one where y'all were pointing at the ground.
Speaker 3:Oh, you could see. Yeah light, that's when, but the worker messed that up. Yeah, cause we're pointing and trying to figure out why the ground is lighting up underneath us and it's like spreading. You can see the cracks in the floor.
Speaker 1:Like the floor is going to open. The floor is going to open and eat you in.
Speaker 3:So I was pointing to Erin, like to look at the floor, and then all of a sudden, here's the worker right in front of us. What do you point that? What do you point that? The floor, moron, it's just a party, y'all seen. I mean, we were just looking at what.
Speaker 1:You've got red lights coming out from under the floor. It's part of the effect. What do you think I'm looking at? Yeah, why?
Speaker 3:It was like a cracked floor, like like You're in Reagan's bedroom, yeah, like the basement's underneath you and there's stuff underneath with shining through, so you could and we were just I don't know. Sorry, it was neat and it caught our attention. There's a lot of things. Apparently, we were the only ones because the cast member didn't.
Speaker 1:Right, didn't even get it, no, no, no. Well, gore does not bother me at all and I get incredibly bored with Gore and there's tend to be a lot of Goren's in most of these houses, except for the Yeti, which was amazing. Yeah, that was cool. So I'm walking past a lot of these like whatever Exorcist was very loud, lots of jump scares, but you literally walk through. It was like it's almost like they push you through these houses so close together there's no distance between you and the party, you just walk in line. It's almost like you're going into a line, a queue, to ride a ride, and you know how close you are on those lines. You keep up with the party in front of you. That's how it is going through. The haunt haunt, halloween Horror Night, the Universal it ruins it. There's nothing to be scared of because the person in front of you is gonna scream and you know exactly where the next jump actor's coming from. It's not gonna scare you. If you saw her scream and then the man turns and looks at you, you're probably not gonna scream because you just saw her scream. I disagree, lord. I did all kinds of screaming, yeah, and arm squeezing, bruising Last year on the show. So the next house we did, by the way, we had, tom Valley, was fine. We had a great time hanging out with him and just he's one of my favorite people. Like he's probably one of my like when you have a friend who lives distance and you've met him through a certain organization it's not like I grew up with him or whatnot, but when I met him years ago, we've been friends ever since and every time we go to Orlando I don't like being around Joe.
Speaker 3:Their brains start working Like he's got ideas, like she's got ideas, and they just start talking about these ideas and how they're gonna implement these ideas. And it's just while watching it work and you just feel stupid.
Speaker 1:You did, but like, not in the house, I just stayed in for Orlando. We're gonna go hang out and have dinner with him or something, so if he were to hear this podcast, just so you know. Thank you so much. We had a great, great time. The next house we did was Yeti Campground.
Speaker 3:Kills. The opening of this was the best.
Speaker 1:This was all about the visual, because you were walking in the woods, you walk into this building and then you're outside. You're outside and you got all these old timey campers and these people sitting around campfires with the Yeti in the background. I'm for his next dinner and you walk through. This was my favorite one, much like the pirate ship last year. For me, the visual in this was really cool and this was my favorite one because of the visual. My favorite house, because of the story, was the monsters universal monsters. So those were the two houses I actually really enjoyed, versus going through these others and it's just a bunch of blood and guts and hemorrhoids. So no marshmallows. Okay, mike, let's talk about the last one we did. This is probably the one where, like, okay, we're done.
Speaker 3:There's too much, too much. Chucky, chucky is in every single scene, chucky. They had big Chuckies, little Chuckies. They had a big, tall Chuckie. They had a tall as us running around.
Speaker 1:This one guy in his normal clothes was just this little plastic mask that we used to wear in the 80s as kids.
Speaker 2:For our Halloween costume.
Speaker 1:Oh, the gold age, and it was just it was a Chuckie and there was nothing about it at all. That was in the least bit scary. I really wish we had done this one first, or not at all. Or done Stranger Things after that Cause, I forgot about Stranger Things, yeah because when we got out of this, I was like are you kidding me? I'm ready to go. And Erin was like yeah, let's go. And we left after this. This was not good.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was not good and that was one of the main houses.
Speaker 4:Was it just like poorly executed? Yes, okay, the decoration part was pitiful.
Speaker 1:I could have done that in my garage. It wasn't good in guys, I love. Universal.
Speaker 3:And I don't want to Chuckie's not really good, anyway he's not, and we grew up with the Chuckie story or whatnot, but the thing that was over at Cabana Bay was better than the Haunted.
Speaker 1:House. It was the Cabana Bay. Setup was better than how this Haunted House looked.
Speaker 3:Cabana Bay was not scary. It was just. You walk into a room and it's just scenes.
Speaker 1:Right, and none of it was really scary. But Cabana Bay, there's nobody jumping out, it's just like a little museum you're walking through. It's kind of quiet.
Speaker 3:There's no workers in there.
Speaker 1:There's no workers in there, but I was so disappointed in this and you know I love Universal. These parks are fantastic, halloween Horror Nights is super fun and whatnot. They can do better than this. I was disappointed in the Chuckie thing, so I'll tell you what amazes me.
Speaker 3:It was how, where these houses are all behind the scenes, behind the scenes, most of them, how much land they have back there. The floats, the Mardi Gras floats, were just parked like on the open. All the big black boxes I guess they're their studios and every one of these is in a different one up.
Speaker 1:Well, you know what I would love to see like a future Halloween Horror Night is older, just ghost story movies represented here and there. So do you remember? A few weeks ago I made you watch the changeling with George C Scott with me. That's such a good, so stupid. It's a good old fashioned ghost story. Y'all would probably be scared by it. I saw that for the first time in fifth grade. Like the very first time I saw this movie was in fifth grade, right, right, so it is. I'll go ahead and tell you the story, but you have to see the changeling. With George C Scott there are additional movies called the changeling, and it's not that movie, but it's about this man whose wife and daughter got killed in a car accident and he's just sad and forlorn and he has to leave the house he lives in because he just can't be there anymore. So his friend at the Historical Society puts him in this huge, huge old house and he's like sure, I'll move in, I'll live here this is cool where he is a composer, he writes music on the piano and of course this is set, I believe in the seventies and the tape recorders. Then it was, like you know, the film role and it was this big square box and it had this button you would turn right or left to make the film go forward and backwards, so he would play and record, and then he turned that thing and rewind it back and then he'd hit play and he could listen to what he just wrote, so he could continue on and make the notes on his music sheet. Like he's writing the music on the music sheet. Well, one of the times he plays this back and he hears a disembodied voice. So now he realizes his house is haunted and there's a whole story that goes to it and I won't get into all that. But what I like about this movie is it's ghostly, jump, scary. So things happen that you can't see. At one scene his daughter's ball that was in one of his boxes just randomly comes rolling down the stairs and he's not using any part of the upstairs, so he puts it up and then he turns around and goes back. Well, here that same ball comes down the stairs again. So at this point it's making a little crazy. So he gets in his car, he drives out, he throws this ball in the river. He goes back home, he opens the front door, shuts it and here comes this ball down the stairs again and it's wet. So you see what I mean. It's that type of creepy. You have no idea what this is Scary.
Speaker 3:The reason why this don't bother her is because this happens in our house. Yeah, this is normal. This is normal, hi Steve. This is just a house story, right.
Speaker 1:But it's scary, it's suspenseful. There is no blood and gore and there are no monsters. It's a true ghost story, and I'd like to see Universal go back through their years of movies that are scary like that.
Speaker 3:Is that a Universal movie?
Speaker 1:I don't know if that one was or not, but it would be cool to see them recreate that big, scary house, because you eventually go up to the very top room in the attic where this ghost, when he was alive, lived and he was like paralyzed from the waist down, so he was in a wheelchair and he goes up and he discovers this room that's been boarded up for years and he walks in and just cobwebs everywhere and then that little chair that because it was like a little bitty kid that little chair just turns around and faces him like it was. See, that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2:I think it's funny watching their faces yes, they're like. I'm so glad it's not recording.
Speaker 3:It's like turning away.
Speaker 1:So my request, universal, is do something old fashioned, be more scary, ghost spirit, scary versus monsters, and I don't know how they would do it. I have ideas if you want to call me, but I was going to say hello, universal people. Yeah, I would love to do that because clearly, chucky, not all your houses were in the least bit scary to y'all, they are To me. I'm like do something. I want to be excited here. So next year let's stay away from Chucky and his broad and let's go to something historic and a fashion really creepy and creepy. Yes, I like it, let's do it. So, anyways, we're going to have some of our kids on a podcast here soon, but I'm sure Aaron is going to want to kind of touch back on his time there and whatnot. So next time, one of these days, we'll get them all on here and we'll have. We'll have Aaron tell you all his opinions. But that was Halloween Horror Nights. Thank you so much, tom Valley, for hanging out with us. We had a great time. We'll do it again soon, next time we're down there. But for the most part, guys, if you have not done Halloween Horror Nights, I encourage you to go, regardless of how chicken you are, and just go experience. It's super fun. So Dana also spent the past couple of weeks in scary lands around Orlando theme parks, so we had to tell people you were not locked in the garage this whole time If you were not with us.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it is not becoming a horror movie?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:I think we recorded what for three, three or four, I don't know, I don't remember. I think it was three at least.
Speaker 1:But Dana is polar opposite of Janna. I prefer we're working on her, Dana Right. Well, I prefer the not so scary Halloween things. So I went to Mickey's not so scary Halloween party with two girlfriends. We took a girls trip like a long weekend and we did Mickey's not so scary Halloween party. Have you ever done the not so scary? It's been years, but yes, I think the last time we did it Erin was third fourth grade. Oh yeah, it's been a long time. Have you done it, Erica?
Speaker 4:I did it with you last year. Remember last year is when I got condon going to Halloween Horror. Nights because Janna said all buy a ticket to Mickey's. Not so scary If you buy a ticket to Halloween Horror.
Speaker 2:Nights and I got my ticket and she didn't.
Speaker 4:They were sold out. I couldn't get one. Well, you waited too long.
Speaker 1:Whatever, Whatever, but these girls trips for Mickey's, not so scary, and even Universal Halloween Horror Nights, that is such a fun trip and a good idea. You know how girls are always talking about oh I need to get away, oh I need a break. Yes, just do it. Yes, but it's a trip you will not regret it.
Speaker 2:You will not regret it.
Speaker 1:Maybe we should head up a small group of girls for next year going down.
Speaker 3:I'm for it. It's better to go without kids.
Speaker 1:We could do whoever wants to go with Universal and then do a girls trip in the same weekend. That would be fun, okay. So y'all listen and be on the lookout for that. Yeah, if you want to go, let us know we're going to do it. Hey, head to the Facebook group ltedpodcastcom and y'all comment. If you're interested, write some stuff, let us know. Yeah, so, and I know I guess I really don't remember too much about Halloween Horror Nights last year because I wasn't feeling so hot that day. We had toured so much, my back was literally a wreck, and so I came to Halloween Horror Nights last year late, so I don't really remember seeing if people truly dress up in costumes there.
Speaker 3:The Halloween Horror.
Speaker 1:Nights.
Speaker 3:People, that's, the visitors, not the workers the no, no Okay.
Speaker 1:You'll have. You'll see people kind of what do they call it at Disney when you bounding. Disney bounding so you'll see people, for the lack of a better term, doing something like that They'll have on our black or some spider, spider web type like festive dark makeup. So, yes, more festive, but nobody is in costume. Okay, because that's like the exact opposite of what you see at Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween Party is. That's part of the fun of it is deciding what you're going to wear, what's your costume going to be, and theming your family or your travel group. So it was me and two girlfriends, and I'm an annual pass holder, so I have the privilege of going to Walt Disney World more frequently than the majority of my friends.
Speaker 3:Majority of the world. Okay.
Speaker 1:Whatever. And so I said to them hey, y'all decide whatever you, whatever you think. And it didn't take long until Tiffany said I think we should be the three Caballeros. I love it. And I was like Fine.
Speaker 2:Okay, sign me up.
Speaker 1:Wait, how are we doing that? We're going to be duck and a parrot and a rooster. Okay, yeah, sure, sign me up. So they started looking up ideas and y'all now picture this We've got a tall blonde that's not me. We've got a medium height redhead that's not me either. And then you've got the short brunette that would be me. So obviously I said y'all decide who we're going to be. Well, tiffany, the tall blonde, decided she was going to be the short parrot, jose. Okay, fine, whatever Jen's like, I love Donald duck, I want to be Donald duck. So Jen's Donald duck. So guess who was the tall rooster? Me, I was pancita. I think that's appropriate and perfect. It was so cute though. So we looked up how do you Disney bound as the three Caballeros, Because you know we weren't going to obviously. Well, I guess you could have dressed up like birds, but we did not. And y'all, it was so cute. The cutest part of the costume was the hat that we wore. They all wear a version of a sombrero, and Jennifer had seen in Walmart these little tiny dog sombreros.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:Right and we put them on headbands and that was our hat, and then we just dressed in the colors of our character and it was so great to walk around and have people look at you and go, and then to have the people go are y'all the three? Cabiarras, oh my gosh that's so good. Cast members loved our costumes because we weren't truly in costume more bounding. But that was fun too to see people watch you because it wasn't glaringly obvious. But if you know some of the older, more classic Disney movies and characters then you got it. So that was fun to watch the reactions to us and it was easy to party in our outfits because we weren't completely covered and decked out in an actual costume. And another part about Mickey's Not so Scary, that's super fun is trick-or-treating. When you walk in it's a backup. It's a separate ticketed event so you have to buy a separate party ticket to attend. The party officially kicks off at 7 pm. You can get in as early as 4 pm. There are cast members that are wearing their party outfits and they direct you how to get in. If you're going in before Magic Kingdom closes to the day, standard ticket guests. So when you go in you get a treat bag so you don't have to worry about bringing anything. If you have little kids or whatever, they can bring their special something. But everybody, no matter your age, if you have a party ticket, you get a treat bag. They go in and give you your first little treat as you're walking in and if you're there before the party actually starts, you can do whatever you want to do in the park. So we kind of took advantage of what do we want to ride, what do we want to do, what do we want to see? We got something to eat first. Go ahead and tackle that, because during the party a lot of the restaurants close and you wouldn't want to waste your time eating dinner during the party anyway. So we kind of highlighted a few things that would be closed while the party was going on, got something to eat and then about that time it was like all right, what are we going to tackle party first? And we weren't necessarily. I mean, we're adults, so we knew we didn't have to trick or treat. We're like, if we pass a trick or treat station, trick or treat place, we'll go ahead and do it. But we definitely wanted to do some of the rides that had Halloween theming and Halloween overlays, like Pirates of the Caribbean, which has special characters, pirate characters in the queue and in the ride itself. So that's always super fun to find them and, like you never know what they're going to be saying or what they're going to be doing. Jack Jack Sparrow is usually hidden somewhere and are not hidden, but he's kind of tucked away somewhere in the queue and, like you never know where he's going to be, and then you can interact with him verbally, he can talk to you from behind where he is, and so that's always neat because you don't get that chance just on a regular park day. Space Mountain is super cool because it is completely pitch black, so it's like a totally different experience, because you cannot see a blooming thing.
Speaker 3:So there's not. What is it like? Normally like black lights. That's in there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then there's like the projections on the ceiling of planet stars, whatnot?
Speaker 3:Oh wait, which one do you say Space Mountain?
Speaker 1:Space.
Speaker 3:Mountain, okay, never mind.
Speaker 1:We didn't. We went to meet Mickey and Minnie because, hello, they're my favorites, but we didn't stand in line for any other characters. But that's another fun thing about Mickey's not so scary Halloween party is there's special character meet and greets and like, for instance, if you were to stand in line to me, winnie the Pooh and Tigger, they're wearing their Halloween costumes. They're so stinking cute. So that's just an extra special thing. That's not going to happen every single day. And like, for instance, pooh and Tigger were there, but then you also can meet Piglet and Eeyore and they're not typically out and about. Like you can always see Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. So there's special character meet and greets as well. And for instance, like, jack Sparrow is there on the little stage area that's outside of the pirates of the Caribbean ride. So the special character meet and greets always have long lines. Like, my advice is pick your favorite, pick what. I really would be so upset if I didn't see this one. Go get in that line. You can't do them all in the one night. Rip, jack and Sally.
Speaker 4:That was so sad.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Take them out.
Speaker 1:No, it's just.
Speaker 2:I don't know how it's impossible.
Speaker 1:You'll pay your Halloween party ticket just to stand in line to see them. Correct, and then in the night's over. It's how long the line is.
Speaker 4:Four hours wait to meet Jack and Sally.
Speaker 1:Why that's unfortunate.
Speaker 4:Because they're just so rare. You never see those characters ever anywhere.
Speaker 1:There's just got to be a better way. We can talk about that another day. So another thing that gets the most huge crowd is going to be the fireworks, the Disney's not so spooky spectacular and even the stage shows, the Hocus Pocus villain stage show with the Sanderson sisters. Now, that's fun. I love to hear them sing and they and we're never super close to the castle and to the stage we just don't usually end up making it that close. But like, even from where you're standing it looks just like them and I love that, like their costumes and everything. I love watching that. And then my favorite Well, and this year they had Minnie Mouse, daisy Duck and Clara Bell.
Speaker 2:How in Sanderson's system costumes y'all.
Speaker 1:I would have so cute if I went. That's what it'd be like. I want to go see them on get pictures, so so stinking cute. But my favorite quote unquote event at Mickey's not so scary Halloween party is the Boo to you Halloween parade. You know just, I guess it's iconic. Like I can, I can sing that music right now. I won't do it I mean, I could. It's really not so scary. Um but I love how it starts and, unfortunately for us, because it had rained a little bit earlier before the parade you know where I'm going, I do. Yeah, the headless horseman didn't get to ride, oh, I know. So that was a real want one, and you just have to take time and get over it, because the rest of the parade was fantastic. Um, you're basically going to see the majority of your favorite characters, um, dressed up either in their Halloween outfits or doing something super great. My favorite section and this is kind of funny because it's not my favorite ride, um, and I'm not real, obviously, I'm a not so scary kind of girl, but my favorite section of the parade.
Speaker 2:We're working on that mansion section.
Speaker 1:I love those grave diggers. Oh, the shovels I love those grave diggers and the scraping the shovel on that and you wouldn't think I would like that. Obviously, I like when Mickey comes by, don't get your own. It's the Dana coming out of you, I guess it is because that that and the very end where all the villains are out.
Speaker 4:That's my favorite, and Jana closes the parade.
Speaker 2:You're welcome.
Speaker 1:Every, every party, and I it's me every time.
Speaker 2:You're welcome.
Speaker 1:I'm going to say what I'm going to say. I'm not really a Halloween girl, like that's not my favorite holiday of the year. You know, don't go all out. Whatever, christmas is my thing that's. I start decorating for Christmas in the beginning of November. So I just got this thought don't lose your track. I kind of thought there as a kid Halloween, I was all about it and Christmas was great, but as a kid it was all about Halloween. As an adult, that has totally flipped and then crazy Were you the same. Well, I think we all we're in a very similar age bracket and, like Halloween, like my parents stayed home and quiet. My parents stayed home and gave out candy and we walked around with our friends Like maybe one friend's dad would walk with us, but now you have to basically go with your child. Yeah, to make sure they don't get trafficked, and so Halloween was fun Even back in the day, and it was almost not so scary, except for like going to a haunted house. You know what I mean. But you could trick or trick. Anyway, those were the good old days.
Speaker 3:You didn't have to check your candy.
Speaker 1:You didn't, didn't have to worry about it. There was commercials telling you to do it, but we never did it. I think those things happen in California Probably the kids.
Speaker 3:We were the test dummies. Yeah, we were the test Basically, if we were the ones, the small ones running around with pillowcases as our bags, dump them off at home and go get another one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and then we would hand out full size candy bars or that crappy little orange and black wrapped chewy candy.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:Oh, we got some mad at people do that, like they would become targets on our TP nights.
Speaker 3:Oh well, I was the one that was cleaning up the TP because I liked them. I would destroy it and I was happy.
Speaker 1:No, we were doing the ones to the houses. Who was handing that crap candy out?
Speaker 3:I know, and I was cleaning up the toilet paper that y'all did because I liked their candy.
Speaker 1:Did your house hand out those candies?
Speaker 4:No, he would not have been a target. He just went in candy.
Speaker 2:He cleaned up toilet paper for candy.
Speaker 3:No, I liked their candy, so much I would help them clean up the toilet, oh sure.
Speaker 1:Now we know what to go buy mine, yeah.
Speaker 3:You can't find them no more.
Speaker 1:I didn't see them, I know. Well, that's because nobody really likes them.
Speaker 4:But they would pull your teeth out. They would pull your teeth out. Yeah, that's how I feel about milk duds they just pull your teeth out.
Speaker 1:Milk duds are delicious, but that, and Jolly Ranchers, you're not supposed to bite Jolly Ranchers.
Speaker 4:Well, I do Well she gets jaw breakers. She gets a different breed.
Speaker 1:That's because they're jaw breakers, okay. Let's go back to this before I forget because I will forget, because I didn't write it on a post-it note. Halloween's the party is amazing, the not so scary Halloween party and I love that parade. Christmas is my favorite holiday. Christmas is my favorite time to visit the Disney parks. Christmas is my favorite time to be in the Magic Kingdom specifically. Yeah, I agree, and I have been to the Mickey's very merry Christmas party several times. Adorable parade. I love Christmas. I love all things holiday Red and green, christmas trees, ornaments, all the stuff. The Boo to you. Halloween parade is the best parade that Walt Disney World does. I started to realize where you're going with that and I completely agree. The Halloween party as a whole is 10 times better.
Speaker 2:You know what it?
Speaker 4:is Than the.
Speaker 1:Christmas party.
Speaker 4:It's way more, better Really.
Speaker 1:It's way more better. It is way more better.
Speaker 4:Really.
Speaker 1:Yes. Now okay, let me say this Lane, my son, who got it from his mama. He's a huge Disney nut. He is going to Walt Disney World the week after Thanksgiving. He is doing Jollywood Nights party at Hollywood Studios and he's also doing Mickey's very merry. Christmas party the boy yeah, I mean the boys at the goal. See, we're thinking about doing the same that first weekend of December. Yeah, oh, I wanna go. It's already booked. I just gotta get those tickets. But I'm waiting to hear on something else that might be popping up? Yes, and we're getting so close to these travel dates Like I'm about to just make a decision and be like, sorry, Make it. So he's doing both of the new party at Disney Hollywood Studios and he's doing the Magic Kingdom Mickey's very merry Christmas party. And he and I chatted a little bit about it last night and I said, well, mommy will talk more about it, Cause he's only done Mickey's very, very one time and that was years ago. At the Halloween party you get Trick or Treat Candy and that's fine. You know you could go buy that at the store where the Christmas party has. The advantage in that part is the cookies and the special drinks that they give out in different areas of the park and it's way more better than it was the first time we went to Mickey's very merry Christmas party, because you got standard sugar cookies and snicker doodles and standard hot chocolate and hot cider and that was it, it was yummy. But that was it. And now they're themed in different areas. You can get like that snowman pretzel that we got where paired with a certain drink and then a certain themed cookie. And so I told Lane, I was like let's look and see if they're showing any of those special treats, because you'll like those. I like that. It's just a little bit extra. And I saw Mike's gears turning when you're talking about the snowman pretzel. Yes, we were with her Cause. Remember Peter Pan had his little Christmas scarf on and stuff. And he came running down and he came running up the street and he hung out with us. He did. I did a whole video with him, so that's another cool thing about the parties. Yeah, and you can see that sometimes, when they're in transition, the characters are walking from place to place. But I find that there's more of that at the Christmas party than there's at the. I don't think I've ever seen anybody just walk up on me at the Halloween party. Now at Disneyland characters free roam period, that is a whole nother wonderful story. At Disney World they don't, but they do at the Christmas party. But I've never seen them free roam at the Halloween party and you're exactly right. And let me throw this into everybody keep talking about Turtleneck and all the candy Disney has.
Speaker 2:allergy friendly candy yes, they do.
Speaker 1:And cookies and treats as that they're handing out for free. They offer allergy friendly as well Cause my best friend's daughter and her one of her sons also have nut allergies, and so one of the reasons well, of course they're Disney fans as well, but they the Halloween party by far is their favorite thing period about Walt Disney World and to go along with that is because they do cater to allergy needs restaurants. But even at the Halloween party you can get your special candy, so it's not even in your bag. You wouldn't even have to worry what your kids are getting, because they're getting their candy that you know they can eat safely. So it was glorious.
Speaker 3:Christmas is over. It's, it's a note.
Speaker 1:No, like November 1st, I think, is the last party this year.
Speaker 4:I thought it was November 4th, I know it's later than it's the first.
Speaker 2:It's usually October 31st, it's over, and by November 4th Christmas is starting to go up.
Speaker 1:I know it's after November, whether it's the first or the fourth. I know that it's a little bit later this year, but whichever date, it is literally overnight that park's going to transform from Halloween to Christmas. It is so impressive how they do that, literally overnight.
Speaker 3:I've seen pictures of it, but I want to stay those two nights.
Speaker 1:It's funny you say my aunt and uncle.
Speaker 2:You could do a Halloween party, then do a Christmas party.
Speaker 1:My aunt and uncle are DVC and until they got at an age where it's just harder to go and do trips like that, they would go every year and stay the week of Halloween into. And that's exactly what her point was. She wanted to see both. I want to do that one year too. That is neat. So how about on the next show we detail the Christmas party at Disney, and then we'll talk about what Universal does with the Grinch?
Speaker 2:Because that's something I'm wanting to add on.
Speaker 1:When we go in December, I want to go meet the Grinch. I want to hand him an onion with a red bow on it.
Speaker 2:That's what I want to do, because I hear that interaction is still fantastic and I want to have him sit there and insult the mess out of me and we giggle and I have a great time right.
Speaker 1:So I probably laughed so hard I don't think I could go back and forth with him. I don't know if y'all have seen videos. Oh yeah, whoever these people are who are portraying the Grinch. Perfect, oh my gosh, perfect. How quick witted and clever do you have to be? Yeah, to be in a role like that, it's just incredible. So let's do that next week. Ok, erica, we're going to assign you Jollywood because it's new and it's fun and nobody has ever done it before, so we're only going to be able to go by. What's online about it? Yeah, you do Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween Party, or a very merry.
Speaker 2:Christmas party. Yeah, sorry, you're Lord.
Speaker 1:And then I'm going to talk about what universal day at Christmas. Oh, that's perfect, ok, yay, I don't know, I think that'll be fun. Speaking of universal at Christmas time, we have an idea for next year that's going to include some dancers, so we'll have some information for that for you. But today, before we go, are you, do you have more to talk about? You know, we didn't. We didn't close the park down. Basically, we decided to get what time is closing Midnight. We decided to get ice cream super late and sit at the Plaza. I know, listen, mike likes to make fun of me and my ice cream obsession. Yes, ice cream can be a meal, Mike. It really really, really can. Anyway, yeah, we watched the parade, we watched the fireworks, we watched the stage show. So check, check, check. We didn't ride a whole lot, but we rode. You know, if we pass something, because the other thing about the Halloween party is a lot of people with young kids will leave after and then eliminates the lines. After that first parade and the fireworks, they head out. I mean, you could just see them leaving in droves and so if you're able to and you're able to stay the whole time, you can ride a lot of the rides with basically no wait time at all. You know, I totally forgot about that. At Halloween Horror Nights, me and Erin rode. We only rode one ride that night because we were doing some of the other things At Halloween Horror Nights. You don't think about riding the rides. Maybe if you do it a lot, you do, but for the most part you're going through the houses, right, but with the Express Pass it applied to the rides as well. So we did Rip Rocket that night. So just know that. That's an offering there that I forgot to mention as well. And speaking of something I didn't know, you could get the virtual Q for Tron during the Halloween party. We didn't do it, but you can, so I like that they added that in too. And something else we didn't do at Universal is what she's telling us. She's saying stuff that I totally didn't think about. We didn't do the show there which I hear is excellent. Because Kendall and Charlie did it on their honeymoon and they loved it. That was their favorite part. Where is it At that big stage? Yes, ok. It's in the very back of it, like we just didn't think to go do it, and I hate that because I really wanted to go do that.
Speaker 3:Well, we were going to.
Speaker 1:We just got wrapped up doing everything else we were going to do the Yeti or something.
Speaker 3:We were going to do one of them and we passed right by. We could hear it playing, ok, but so that meant we were going to have to wait for that one to finish and then go for it but we should have done it.
Speaker 1:Next time, next time. That's why you play more trips, like seriously, and I know you've heard this before because you've been doing Disney for a long time, just like I've been going to Disney for a long time People ask me all the time you're going again, like haven't you done all that? And all I can say is every single trip is different. It's different because of who you go with, it's different because it's a different time of year. It's different because you have different priorities and you other things are important or take the lead, and so I'm going to go next year I'm going to insert a disagreement, ok, specifically regarding Mickey's Not so Scary Mickey's, very Merry. It is predictable.
Speaker 2:They really are. Every year it's the same Exactly right.
Speaker 1:So you know to stand in line for three hours, four hours for Jack and Sally. You know there's going to be trick or treat trails. You know what the parade is going to be.
Speaker 2:Not much has changed at all. You know what?
Speaker 1:the stage shows is going to be, so that could get very repetitive. Now going with different people, especially if you're taking people who has never been before, it adds a different dynamic for you. I'm gonna say Universal's got it here. Yeah because Halloween Horror Nights is different every single year. It's something new for me to go do experience because I tell you what wild if they did this exact thing next year I wouldn't be going just like I haven't been to a Christmas party since Aaron was eight, nine years old. Because it's the exact same thing nothing has changed.
Speaker 3:We know last year's was so much better than this year's and and all they have to do is just it's just the theming, it's just the different houses.
Speaker 1:So next year could be better than that, yeah but literally the only thing at Disney that has changed since we did that last Christmas party with Is this Peter Pan, and then the Halloween party with Aaron dressed as Pokemon, which you know he was. He was a you do. What he does Is is how they adjusted those snacks, yeah, those those free drinks, free cookies, and then the candy one year.
Speaker 3:I don't know if there's a Halloween party or Christmas party.
Speaker 1:It was a Halloween party.
Speaker 3:We got Werther's. That's it. Everybody's got Werther's. They had squishy words. Yes, so I had fruit where.
Speaker 1:I will say that if and I think this is why Michael and JR love it so much- Is there something new every year that they can get excited for they haven't done before. The show is different, everything is different at Halloween Horror nights year over, year over year.
Speaker 3:So, disney, get your act together.
Speaker 4:Hey, you know where it changes every year for Halloween, where Erica, disney Land and they're constantly adding characters to the tree trails.
Speaker 1:They now that change every single year. I have the opportunity to do you, but that's when I was going to Alaska, but I chose, you chose not to go. Sled dogs and Stand on Denali and standing on, but I didn't know I was gonna stand on the light. I really chose the sled dogs over oogie-googie bash and I do not regret that well, I disagree. Y'all know what Next year, but that's what you know. I think an episode or so we all can go to Disneyland.
Speaker 3:We'll go to Denali.
Speaker 1:Okay, like no. I just don't know how to say this in a way that too. I don't know how to say this in a way to get through to people who have your Disney mindset.
Speaker 4:There's more out there.
Speaker 1:We know I used to be y'all, I used to be the all-knowing. Nobody except for Lumangello knew more about Disney World Parks, disney World Park specifically, than I did. I was in it, I lived it, breathed it daily. I listened to podcasts, I read books, I read the internet. It's different, all the things, and we would go over and over and over and over and over. But with my job, it forced me to go elsewhere. Yeah, and thank goodness, yeah, because y'all have no clue what you missed if you chose and I know two people who invited me to oogie boogie, who chose oogie boogie Over that Alaska experience, that first half where we did Denali the flight, the job once in a lifetime thing.
Speaker 3:I don't, I don't think they understand what they were missing.
Speaker 1:Well.
Speaker 3:I don't think they understood that you were gonna do that.
Speaker 1:They. It was very detailed as we got to use yeah, from four different pre-conference Activities, yeah well then, they're just idiots. I mean clearly.
Speaker 3:Mike, did you hear that?
Speaker 1:pretty sure they don't listen to this, and that's your saving. Well, the one thing needs to be worried about is is Jen. So Mary will get in, but Jen a messing around, and we're gonna see her on December 14th, by the way. So, but no, just kidding. But gosh y'all. It's their fantastic, but please Do something more. And if you want to do something more where you know you're gonna need to know you better get this right, jana, or we're going back to Disney forever. Guys, call us, we have so many options and ideas for you. I. Not kidding, I am Still working because it's kind of slow going going back and forth with all these various tour operators in Alaska. We are actively working on a 20 person group cap Adults only two people per room, 20 people period. That's it to Alaska for next year. Either late August or early September Is what we're looking at. I gotta get the hair. Oh, I don't want that hair, okay, no you don't so Sometimes these little, great. But if you're interested, guys, this is going to be a trip of a lifetime. It is not going to be inexpensive, it's not gonna be a $10,000 trip, but it's going to be incredible and I would encourage you guys to go. But if you have a choice to do oogie, boogie or Mickey's not so scary over Something like Alaska you better be choosing Alaska, europe, hawaii it'll be there next, whatever I would you choose oogie boogie over Hawaii? No. Would you choose not so scary over Hawaii?
Speaker 3:No would you have done it before you went to Hawaii?
Speaker 1:No, I mean no, if you're gonna give me those two, yeah, yeah, because to me Hawaii was always like oh one day, oh one day, oh one day, and Janice Smith gave me the opportunity to go, mm-hmm.
Speaker 3:So yep, and then about kill Jenna G.
Speaker 1:That was so fun. We're gonna talk about that Hawaii trip.
Speaker 2:I think we did a little bit, but we could always.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that other road to Hanna, that other road to Hanna.
Speaker 2:That was my favorite part.
Speaker 4:That's what I think I talked about. Hanna, that was. That was really.
Speaker 2:Halloween horror nights right there.
Speaker 1:what we didn't know is most people don't go that way, because it floods so frequently and easily that we could have got stuck back there. There's no roads, there's no hotels, there was no restaurants.
Speaker 4:We don't need roads.
Speaker 1:There was no gas stations there was. Well, you can't even gas, you need gas.
Speaker 3:I had them on life 360 and Jenna would show up here and then two and a half like hours later She'd be like maybe 20 miles down the road, yeah, but Let me just tell you something, and I don't know how we got to Hawaii.
Speaker 1:I know but I just have to say this the views on the other road to Hanna. Holy crap, if you do the road to Hanna, you do need to do it. It's fantastic, wow. There's little stops to get gas and food and whatnot in between. But if you choose to do the other road to Hanna, they, the locals, actually tell you don't do it, because it does flood easily. This side and this side, and if you're in the middle, there's no getting out until the waters recede. Right, absolutely 100% dirt roads. There was no real road and except for that one part, we're going through that green like a green.
Speaker 2:That's where I felt like I was in Scotland.
Speaker 1:Yes, oh my gosh, there were. There were no restaurants, no gas stations, there was nothing you know what there was cows. Yes, and we could reach out from the side of the Jeep and pedal and some of us try to not me obviously, but yeah so. But then when you come part on that road to pass another car, there's not enough space. Thank goodness we had a Jeep, because my tires had to go up on some some, some, some mountain yeah, off off the little Gravel road, but anyways, so we won't go into.
Speaker 4:Hawaii.
Speaker 1:Let's just stop, if you made it this far.
Speaker 2:We can we congratulate you?
Speaker 3:Yes, thank you so much. One thing I'm curious about this is before you close all this out, are you about to close it out? Yeah okay, are the? Our podcast software does all the show notes. It writes them all on itself. I don't mess with it. It does the naming of the episode and everything. I'll let it do it.
Speaker 2:I'm just so curious how it's gonna do this.
Speaker 1:When y'all are reading the show notes, just know that we are not writing those. Some of them are just absolutely. It's almost like a movie, a description like a movie, like a TV commercial for a movie. It's, and you hear this man's big voice, yeah, read our show like, read our show notes in that man's notes and that's what you're gonna get. So this is gonna be all over the place for sure. It's so funny. We went around the world. Well, I was gonna say this at the top of the show and I went right past it after the voicemails I missed it. But we want to let you guys know. If you have a dancer age 10 and up 10 and up 10 to 18, specific 10 to 18, specifically if you are in college in 18, that is okay. But we are having a. We're hosting a mini Celebration dance festival event at Walt Disney World June 8th through 11th 2024. It is open to any dancer and a mom who would like to attend. Now, if you want to bring mom, dad and brother, we we're gonna have rooms, but the room sleep for are gonna be staying at Disney's pop centry resort, but we are going to Participate in a super fun Disney's imagination campus dance themed workshop and then there is going to be a performance for all dancers on the stage at Disney Springs. We do have a dance director who works with us specifically on our dance groups, because it's so it's not easy for a new director to go to Disney and work with Disney on these events. They have so many rules. So we've got a dance director who's gonna do everything for you. You do not have to think she's going to help put your Portion of the dance on the stage. So if, if you come and it's you and your mom, or mom it's you and your daughter, your daughter's going to be included in the Performance and they're gonna help you choreograph that, get the music to you so you can do it. But these are Absolutely fantastic things. Now this is something where Disney does very, very, very well. I really agree youth Opportunities for education and experience down there. And you got to think about it. When your dancer is on the stage at Disney Springs, there are people from all over the world, literally literally, who stand there. And it's funny because Disney has to instruct these young dancers when they go when they go to the stage and from the stage to stay in line and don't stop. People will ask for your autograph and they do, and that way the girls just have to keep going. They can't stop. They're not allowed to do that. So they really become a celebrity for the day, especially on that performance day. But you're also at the happiest place in the world, so it becomes somewhat of a mini vacation. But the focus at these events is the education and the Performance experience that your dancer is going to get from this. When you put a dancer on stage or even it's just one of the educational workshops at Disney World that carries weight on a college application- that's exactly what I was gonna say carries weights in a job application on your resume? Absolutely. This dance director who works for us is actually a previous customer of mine and she came to us and did this for her dance studio that year. She had a dancer with her and Whitney Nicole. There you go. It's Whitney Nicole. So Whitney was a senior, she was 18 years old on that trip. Yes, and she did that, and in the workshop portion they talked to these girls about creating a profile and a resume and I remember Whitney asked that girl several questions that day and from there Whitney went to work for Disney. She sure did. And then you know more of the history than I do. Kind of walk us through what this Experience did for Whitney. Correct now? granted, whitney is a very talented dancer, but she trained with this dance director that Jana is speaking about and she applied and auditioned because obviously you have to audition to perform in any of the roles at Walt Disney World but she started off as a character Actor. If you will, and that's sort of you could sort of have to pay your dues a little bit. And then she danced in the Festival of the Lion King, nice, yeah, and she did. She also was in the Festival of Fantasy Parade. In fact there are some beautiful photos of her in some of those costumes. Yeah, she was in the very short lived jungle book show. That was an animal kingdom fact. She was the like Premier cast member, like you know, to start the show, but it didn't last very long it was. I loved that show anyway. So she spent her years at Disney World dancing in various roles and Then she decided, you know, that was a good stepping stone to bigger and better things. So she is For it. Since then has lived in the Los Angeles California area and has done modeling, has done dancing in music videos, she was on the Grammys. She's living her best dance life, all because she number one. She had excellent dance education at her home studio, but then she also realized that the Walt Disney Company has amazing cast members that Also can help in your dance education, basically. And then your career Education, because Whitney chose not to stay at Walt Disney World, which you can. You can become, you know, a professional there and that can be your career. But she chose to take what she learned there and Build on it and do something different, and for her Building meant leaving right so, and she'll come back and work with our dance director. She works with celebration dance the sell, some celebration dance workshops and Y'all. My daughter Was a baby baby dancer. She was when Whitney was at our studio and now my baby dancer, who is 17, gets to take workshops from Whitney and it's just. It's amazing to know where Whitney started. Where she is now. She's a big deal, but she still gives back mm-hmm, she absolutely doesn't. I don't know if you guys caught what she said. This girl who went and experienced this one year we did one workshop and one stage performance that year and outside of that she moved on. She got hired at Disney right after that. But that one workshop experience where she was being so intuitive with that particular cast member, the girl danced on the Grammys. I don't know if you heard that she danced on the Grammys. That's a big deal and that's the difference in going to an event that is there for competition in trophies or if it's gonna be an education that you can instill into your dancers that they carry forward into their entire future and their career Right. So there is a difference between celebration dance and pretty much any other event that's out there. This is all about performance education and turning this into a future Opportunity. That's the difference for your, for your student and the dance director that Brought Whitney up through her through her young years, who is now working with us. We've partnered with her. Celebration dance festival is hers. We've partnered with her. That is her goal and if anybody is going to advise you and prepare you for that, it is her and it's this event. I want you guys to look up celebration dance fest comm. However, for this very specific June 8th mini, I do want you to reach out to celebration dance festival for details in pricing. If you decide you want to go, she's gonna lead you to the registration link will get you signed up. I encourage you to give this a try to taste what we're offering. I'm very proud of celebration dance festival and I'm very, very proud to be the, the preferred travel agency, absolutely partnered with it. I am not a dancer. My kids were absolutely not dancers. They still are not.
Speaker 2:Your dancer will not regret you're not gonna read at all credit.
Speaker 1:But but you know I cannot begin to tell you how impressed I am With this event and what it's, what it's doing to change the quality of these of these dancers and moving forward. So anyways. I think we've been on here for probably a very, very long time. Again, if you, if you made it this far, we appreciate you, but we're gonna cut it right now. I know we're gonna cut it right there and we're gonna leave. I will talk about this again next week at the top. So anybody who didn't make this far has the opportunity. Guys voicemails 615 246 5823. 615 246 5823. We want to hear from you. We want to hear your voicemails. We want to hear the good, bad, me ugly. Um, if you think that Erica is sweet and Dana is unsweet, we will take anything you got to say. All right, you have a great weekend.
Speaker 2:You.