Disneyland show?

That’s a fair point some of its wishful and I also have throughly enjoyed John and Kevin’s trip reports on trips I will never take.
This is being billed as a planning show. Only a handful of people a day do the VIP tour out of the 18.3 million visitors a year to DL.
A better use of time would be discussing the Good Neighbor hotels which haven’t even hardly been mentioned in several weeks. DL has 3 hotels but 48 GNHs! DLR has fewer rooms then Pop at about 2500, even if they sold out every room every night, they would only put a dent in the annual 18.3 mil visitors to DL and 9.5 mil visitors to DCA.
The old cast discussed the GNHs often, keeping the 5 Best Westerns straight easily or comparing the Tropicana and the Candy Cane Inn.
How this is being billed as a better planning show discussing an experience truly for the 1% is well, just silliness.
 
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That’s a fair point some of its wishful and I also have throughly enjoyed John and Kevin’s trip reports on trips I will never take.
This is being billed as a planning show. Only a handful of people a day do the VIP tour out of the 18.3 million visitors a year to DL.
A better use of time would be discussing the Good Neighbor hotels which haven’t even hardly been mentioned in several weeks. DL has 3 hotels but 48 GNHs! DLR has fewer rooms then Pop at about 2500, even if they sold out every room every night, they would only put a dent in the annual 18.3 mil visitors to DL and 9.5 mil visitors to DCA.
The old cast discussed the GNHs often, keeping the 5 Best Westerns straight easily or comparing the Tropicana and the Candy Cane Inn.
How this is being billed as a better planning show discussing an experience truly for the 1% is well, just silliness.

To that point - I could understand if they discussed a VIP tour about a year into this new format as they would have addressed many topics by that time. For this to be done and reported on within the first month of new episodes makes me believe this is what we will see going forward. Yesterday's show again felt more like a target to the 1% based on the discussion of the concierge guests being affected by construction and the VIP tour. Yes I miss the old format with the old team but I would be more accepting of the changes if this truly was a planning show for real people. This show may have an adverse affect and make the non-local, first time visitors reluctant to plan a trip as it sounds like well beyond the budget of most of the audience here on the Dis.

GNHs should be discussed and often - I consider those the value/moderate resorts of DL and they have value to those who cannot afford to pay the onsite prices. The same case goes for some of the restaurants/food locations out on harbor blvd (and beyond). I'm a non-local and have used some of the old teams' recommendations for restaurants to not only save money but sometimes have a better meal than the park offerings.
 
Disneyland doesn't have Liberty Square...I think you mean New Orleans Square.

I agree with a lot of you. $4800 is a lot of money to throw into 8 hours of a Disneyland day. On a typical day to Disneyland for me...If I rope drop...I will hit about 25 rides + parade, fireworks, and World of Color/Fantasmic. That was also pre-MaxPass days. I really haven't calculated how many rides I have gone on when using MaxPass.

For $4800, I think I would rather go on a Disney Cruise than spend it on a park where I can basically do everything that the DIS was able to accomplish in one day EASILY.
 
OMG .. yes definitely meant New Orleans Square... it’s actually my favorite land in DL... but I wish they still served the French Onion soup at Cafe Orleans.
 


Ok, here’s what I hate about the shift the most:

- I NEVER want to see Tyler chewing food again. NEVER. If you do a food review, follow how Magic Journeys does their edits. It’s not single camera watching someone chewing.

What I’d add:

-hey, how much does Uber cost to go to Safeway from my hotel on Harbor Blvd. and back?

-Pizza Press moved. How can I get a pie when leaving the parks when they close?

-I’ve arrived late morning/midday in Aneheim, and don’t want to burn a day of my Park Hopper ticket. What can I do in the meantime? (Hint: Orange Market. Wait, is that what it’s called?)

“Hey, the economy is improving - but not for me. What are the best lodging + transportation options for me in Aneheim/Orange County?”

That would be cool.


You would never hear any of that because there is no profit for Pete in any of that info, STAY, EAT and PLAY only on property and they can help you. Otherwise, your on your own.
 
So clarification, while I was very much enjoying Tom's weekly article , ( and chuckled when someone tried to school him in the comments, instead of just realizing Tom always knows his stuff) I noticed an ad pop up about a 4th Night free offer at DL GNHs, and I clicked it..And the link went to a Dreams page.

https://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/disneyland/specials.htm

So they do book GNHs so even more reason for them to discuss and do updates on amenities and remodels at the GNHs. I think I completely forgot because they been so onsite focused since the hiatus.

It's really no wonder we had two hour shows before the hiatus, it's seems like DL is baby size in comparison but really, we 86 attractions, 79 restaurants and 48 GNHs plus all the offsite restaurants that go with those, so there is a lot of reviews and updates on construction that genuinely impact peoples' planning.

#friendsdontletfriendsgotocaptainkidds
 


Listened to the show and if I’m honest, I think your mad to do a VIP tour. A bit of planning and you can experience the way it should be.

Even paying for an extra night is a lot less and spending a day in each park

I do have friends that booked a VIP tour at WDW the opening day of Toy a Story Land and they were able to get right in in right on the new rides while others were waiting ~5 hours

Obviously a lot of money but in that type of setting I can see some value - and wonder if it would work for opening of Galaxy’s Edge. I mean $4,800 split 10 ways is probably less than the hard ticket events will be for that land
 
It will be extremely interesting to see what they ask for a hard ticket event for SW, especially since DL will open almost 6 months ahead of WDW and draw from fans who don’t want to wait.
But who knows, the fan base is still rolling in laughter over the $299 tickets for Pixar Pier. That might reign them in a smudge.
I am thinking $499 in light of the reaction to PP tickets but they will try to add something really intangible, you know something more then free cookies and parking.
 
So clarification, while I was very much enjoying Tom's weekly article , ( and chuckled when someone tried to school him in the comments, instead of just realizing Tom always knows his stuff) I noticed an ad pop up about a 4th Night free offer at DL GNHs, and I clicked it..And the link went to a Dreams page.

https://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/disneyland/specials.htm

So they do book GNHs so even more reason for them to discuss and do updates on amenities and remodels at the GNHs. I think I completely forgot because they been so onsite focused since the hiatus.

It's really no wonder we had two hour shows before the hiatus, it's seems like DL is baby size in comparison but really, we 86 attractions, 79 restaurants and 48 GNHs plus all the offsite restaurants that go with those, so there is a lot of reviews and updates on construction that genuinely impact peoples' planning.

#friendsdontletfriendsgotocaptainkidds

The Good Neighbor Reviews Tom did were fantastic! We're Tropicana fans. They'd just finished a renovation of all the rooms when we were there in January, and I don't know that the podcast had a chance to cover it before they went off air. The rooms are SO much nicer now. (Not that they weren't nice before, they were...but the updates are very well done). I would point new DLR visitors to those reviews in a heartbeat. But to a $4800 VIP tour review? Yeah, not so much...We got more than 16 attractions done in a day, with a 5 year old with us, and didn't need to pay $4800 to do it.
 
I have listened to the new show and will continue to give it a chance but as others have mentioned I am not sure it is really serving the purpose as avenue to help people plan a vacation. While the old version could be locals-centric it did provide a lot of good information on upcoming events, changes to the parks and reviews of things like the Good Neighbor Hotels that I thought we very valuable for being able to plan our trips there. Because Disneyland is very much a locals park they change things up more often the WDW does and even if you are not a local it is good to know what is going on at the resort (festivals, menu changes, etc.) when trying to trip plan. So far there doesn't seem to be as much research into the topics being discussed on the new version of he show (for example as someone mentioned their discussion of the new hotel was very much lacking in information compared to the discussion the old team had last year). I enjoy the WDW show and always thought of the DL show as a companion piece that provided the same type of information for the West Coast resort. The new show seems to be lacking something in that regard so far and seems less like a DL version of the DIS Unplugged and more like a show like the Best and Worst show. It seems more like getting advice from your friend who just got back from their first trip to DL than getting advice from your friend who is an AP holder and knows everything about the resort. I understand the desire to have less of a locals focus and more on trip planning but I think thus far the new version isn't meeting that goal yet. I will keep giving it a shot though, like I said I like the hosts and hopefully they can find the right mix.
 
I like the new Disneyland show, but I agree with this. You're talking about dropping 5k between the tour, tickets, food, etc. Ryno was the voice of the people though!

I thought it was a really good episode. Yeah, sure, I'll never be in the demographic to do a VIP tour; but it is something offered at Disneyland and it's interesting to hear what that experience is like. Just like I'll never be able to do most of the things they discuss on the Dreams show, but it's fun to listen to others share their experiences. It didn't make me hate life or Pete because I can't do it.

I would think there are many who listen to the show who CAN afford VIP tours so why not discuss it?

I realize it's my personal opinion, but I think they are getting better each week. If I didn't like it, I just wouldn't watch it. :confused3

I enjoyed the show this week (finally watched it), and so glad Louella was on. She used to work at Disneyland when she was in college, goes all the time and she knows so much! Happy to call her friend.

Re: the VIP tours... I actually went on one about 10 years ago, during a ladies weekend at Disneyland (we call them Diva trips). There were 30 of us broken up in groups of 10, and we got a 3-hour VIP tour, I believe, for a total of $300, so $30/pp. Boy have things changed!! Through the years if we ever saw a plaid (what we call the cast members in the plaid vests) out in the parks it was because they were almost certainly escorting a celebrity. In recent years I've seen plaids out with groups of people who I don't believe are celebrities. On 4th of July I saw probably three VIP tours going on, and on Disneyland's birthday (Tuesday) I saw at least five or more (one plaid was definitely with celebrities, but I couldn't identify them - young guy with green hair and young girl with pink hair - and people were taking pics with them :) ). Although I'm with Ryno and wouldn't do a VIP tour, I'm pretty sure that there are people that watch the show that would do them. My 2 cents.

btw - thank you for the kind words about me. I appreciate them (as well as the constructive criticism).
 
Is the Disneyland show now YouTube only? It hasn't shown up in any of my podcast feeds this week
 
Frankly, I think the DL iTunes feed falls to the bottom of the priorities list now, and it’s free content so I have also felt funny asking over and over why it’s not being updated.
But man, it really makes you appreciate how awesome we had it for so long. For years it went up without a hiccup. I wish I would have offered more recognition for small things like that at the time.
 
The VIP tours are just not my style, not about affordability, jusy not how I like doing a theme park.
 
Frankly, I think the DL iTunes feed falls to the bottom of the priorities list now, and it’s free content so I have also felt funny asking over and over why it’s not being updated.
But man, it really makes you appreciate how awesome we had it for so long. For years it went up without a hiccup. I wish I would have offered more recognition for small things like that at the time.
The good news is Tom is still on here somewhere and you two can keep reliving the glory days all you want!

As for the feed, Tyler was on vacation this week and probably didn't follow up to see if it posted correctly, and if any messages were sent his way regarding it they probably weren't seen because he no longer looks at comments and feedback thanks to a lot of people in this thread. Meanwhile, it's been on YouTube and DISUnplugged.com where it could've been downloaded manually. I know it's not directly into a podcast feed, but there were other options if anyone out there was really craving it.
 
I do think they should have someone review the Walk in Walt’s footstep tour. At $109 minus AP/DVC/Visa discounts it has a lot of appealing things - three hours of DL history, 2-3 attractions, lunch at Jolly Holiday, visiting Walt’s apt and a exclusive pin.
I suppose Walt’s apartment is not considered a guarantee but all the recent trip reports I’ve read say it is happening and they have been allowed 1 photo while inside.
 
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I enjoyed the show this week (finally watched it), and so glad Louella was on. She used to work at Disneyland when she was in college, goes all the time and she knows so much! Happy to call her friend.

Re: the VIP tours... I actually went on one about 10 years ago, during a ladies weekend at Disneyland (we call them Diva trips). There were 30 of us broken up in groups of 10, and we got a 3-hour VIP tour, I believe, for a total of $300, so $30/pp. Boy have things changed!! Through the years if we ever saw a plaid (what we call the cast members in the plaid vests) out in the parks it was because they were almost certainly escorting a celebrity. In recent years I've seen plaids out with groups of people who I don't believe are celebrities. On 4th of July I saw probably three VIP tours going on, and on Disneyland's birthday (Tuesday) I saw at least five or more (one plaid was definitely with celebrities, but I couldn't identify them - young guy with green hair and young girl with pink hair - and people were taking pics with them :) ). Although I'm with Ryno and wouldn't do a VIP tour, I'm pretty sure that there are people that watch the show that would do them. My 2 cents.

btw - thank you for the kind words about me. I appreciate them (as well as the constructive criticism).

That's a fair point and I appreciate your perspective. :) I really do love the show; I hate posting anything that isn't positive. I love and appreciate all of the advice and ideas that you give!
 

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