Is trip planning the MAIN reason you watch/listen to the DIS Unplugged?

[disneysteve]

I’ve been following the “what would you like to see” thread. Lots of great suggestions have been made. Many of them are contradictory but I think that at least partly comes from people tuning in for different reasons.

Personally, I don’t listen to the show primarily to help plan our trips. We’re never going to do 90% of what they talk about. It’s not how we do our Disney trips. I tune in because I enjoy staying up to date with Disney news, hearing the team's views on that news, hearing what they're all up to in their lives, and generally staying informed on all things Disney - parks, streaming, movies, merchandise, etc. A lot of people come to me when they have questions about Disney and planning their own trips so I like to know what's new and different even if it doesn't directly impact us.

How about you? Is trip planning the main reason you watch or listen to the shows? I think it may be beneficial to the team to know why most of their audience tunes in. I suspect I'm in the minority here, which is fine. Lots of the suggestions made in the other thread are things that wouldn't entice me to listen at all.

 

[Cramden]

Originally when I first discovered the Podcast back in 2014 it was all about trip planning. Since about 2018 though when we became Annual Passholders it's a combination of watching to get my Disney fix between trips, learning about new happenings and for the entertainment factor of the shows. I miss them and hope they appear back in some form sooner than later.

 

[disneyland_is_magic]

I don’t know if I would say hardcore type A trip planning but valuable information, yes.

I shared this in the other thread but I just learned about the new secret Little Mermaid Rooms at Caribbean Beach. These have been around for months! It is annoying to me that I hadn’t heard about this on any of the three Disney World based podcasts I listen to. I make an effort to stay up on the Disney news, and then one day I was scrolling and was like…wait. What?

I loved the old DL show which provided meaningful information and I still am looking to replace that.

 

[auntfrannie]

When I first started listening it was basically for Disney World information. Back then they were pretty much the only online source I could find. Now the market is saturated with everyone thinking it's so easy to do.

However, I think the Dis team makes it look easy because I still watch their YT stuff. Craig, Ryno, Erica and others do their research and aren't stumbling through the parks learning as they go.

I also like that they DON'T livestream as they're walking through the parks. I find that so annoying. I think Craig tried it a few times and was thankfully abandoned.

 

[yorkieteacher]

I do like some trip planning tips, especially as it pertains to changes like Genie+, but I also to hear the varied opinions. To be honest, I think Touring Plans (don’t know if citing them is allowed , mods delete if not) helps me with trip planning after I decide what I want to ride, buy and eat and where I want to stay based on Disunplugged opinions.

 

[disneysteve]

I'm honestly surprised by the replies so far. I guess I'm not as much a minority as I thought. 85% "No" to mainly trip planning. Only 20 votes but still. If the results stay that lopsided, I hope the team keeps that in mind moving forward.

 

[CuteAsMinnie]

I’ve been following the “what would you like to see” thread. Lots of great suggestions have been made. Many of them are contradictory but I think that at least partly comes from people tuning in for different reasons.

Personally, I don’t listen to the show primarily to help plan our trips. We’re never going to do 90% of what they talk about. It’s not how we do our Disney trips. I tune in because I enjoy staying up to date with Disney news, hearing the team's views on that news, hearing what they're all up to in their lives, and generally staying informed on all things Disney - parks, streaming, movies, merchandise, etc. A lot of people come to me when they have questions about Disney and planning their own trips so I like to know what's new and different even if it doesn't directly impact us.

How about you? Is trip planning the main reason you watch or listen to the shows? I think it may be beneficial to the team to know why most of their audience tunes in. I suspect I'm in the minority here, which is fine. Lots of the suggestions made in the other thread are things that wouldn't entice me to listen at all.

There hasn’t been any trip planning talk/info/advice from anyone on the show in years!!! And luckily, I haven’t needed any in years.

They need to completely reinvent any type of show if they want to succeed and they can only do that, if PW is truly disinvested.

 

[disneysteve]

There hasn’t been any trip planning talk/info/advice from anyone on the show in years!!!

I think a lot of stuff they cover is trip planning and many suggestions in the other thread indicate a lot of people would like to see them do more of that. I was curious how many people actually looked to this show for that purpose. So far it looks like not many.

 

[dachsie]

I think maybe no one looks to it for planning because it hasn’t been about planning. They were playing to an “audience of one” who probably didn’t want it

 

[backformore]

I watch the shows on YouTube because I LOVE WDW. I don't get to visit very often, so I enjoy living vicariously through others. Watching the shows feels like having a conversation about WDW with people who share my enthusiasm. I enjoy hearing about new attractions and restaurants, but also discussions of those that aren't new.
Is it trip planning? Yes and no. I might make a point of going to a restaurant based on what I hear on the show, or I might consider an attraction or event because they talked about it. The Halloween party never really appealed to me until the recent show I saw with Craig, Ryno and Erica at the party.
Craig and Ryno are my favorite, if they weren't on I don't think I'd watch.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Basic trip planning? No...with a child with disabilities, honestly most podcasts don't really help with that much anyway, so we've had to figure it out for ourselves.

Now getting news about what's being updated in the parks? Yes, that's helpful. What's closing, what's opening, what new things to try are arriving and where, etc. I also enjoy listening to the Disney business news when it's relevant and there's good discussion from the panel (incl the DeSantis issue currently).

 

[Hubalorian]

My primarily reason for listening is to be entertained while learning about Disney. I want to know what is going on with the company and the parks. However, if I’m not entertained I’ll skip and go elsewhere

 

[SeanWM48]

it's definitely not why i tuned in every week. I've planned 4 trips in the last 10 years and the DIS has had plenty of great ideas and tips. but what kept me coming back was because it was entertaining.

i think like many members on the boards here I don't have too many people in real life who want to sit down and actually debate disney restaurants, the updates to Fort Wilderness, the good and bad of Genie+, etc. but this channel has that. and for the most part the personalities stood out.

PW's a monster but he was, objectively, an immensely entertaining host. I hate to compliment the guy right now but that was part of why I stayed up to date with the shows.

However, I'm definitely digging the Erica-Craig-Ryno videos that have been coming out. They're a solid team for reviews. I'm going to continue to check in and see how it goes.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

I’ve been following the “what would you like to see” thread. Lots of great suggestions have been made. Many of them are contradictory but I think that at least partly comes from people tuning in for different reasons.

Personally, I don’t listen to the show primarily to help plan our trips. We’re never going to do 90% of what they talk about. It’s not how we do our Disney trips. I tune in because I enjoy staying up to date with Disney news, hearing the team's views on that news, hearing what they're all up to in their lives, and generally staying informed on all things Disney - parks, streaming, movies, merchandise, etc. A lot of people come to me when they have questions about Disney and planning their own trips so I like to know what's new and different even if it doesn't directly impact us.

How about you? Is trip planning the main reason you watch or listen to the shows? I think it may be beneficial to the team to know why most of their audience tunes in. I suspect I'm in the minority here, which is fine. Lots of the suggestions made in the other thread are things that wouldn't entice me to listen at all.

I like to watch it for Disney news and updates, and the podcasters take on everything. "Planning" not so much, as I've been going to Disney for 13 years and have it mostly down, but it is helpful to be in the know with all the changes like Genie+ and new restaurants.

 

[disneyseniors]

I also don't tune in to hear about trip planning only.
Lately the Disunplugged spent way too much time on DCL, which I am not interested in at all.
I hope that the new Dis will be varied and not a TR on DCL. I realize that Pete loved DCL, but it got old after a while and I even quit watching. I usually watched faithfully every week. I love most of the suggestiosn for the show that are on this post and can't wait for the New DIS.

 

[Oscar_The_Grouch]

Years ago I loved the Dis Unplugged for the back and forth and great

I also don't tune in to hear about trip planning only.
Lately the Disunplugged spent way too much time on DCL, which I am not interested in at all.
I hope that the new Dis will be varied and not a TR on DCL. I realize that Pete loved DCL, but it got old after a while and I even quit watching. I usually watched faithfully every week. I love most of the suggestiosn for the show that are on this post and can't wait for the New DIS.

Yes indeed, during 2021 & 2022 the first half of each show was often about DCL and it did get boring, I turned off. I can imagine the rest of the crew screaming inside wanting to get onto another topic (like, hello, the Walt Disney World parks) but were too afraid to. Obviously DUT is a travel agency and has to promote what makes them money but what good is that if your viewers leave because they are not interested in or can't afford Disney Cruises. This wasn't the fault of Craig or Ryno who are employees after all and are told what to focus on. I'm glad they can now spread their wings.

 

[auntfrannie]

For the past several years it seemed like Pete would get really enthused about something then tire of it pretty quickly and move on to something else. For example, for a while the shows always seemed to have a big chunk of DVC stuff. Then he moved on to DCL and that was the majority of the Tuesday shows. But there were already a DVC and DCL shows so I hated that they used up so much of the Tuesday shows talking about things other than Disney World.

 

[fla4fun]

I wasn’t a frequent viewer. I wouldn’t say I tuned in specifically for trip planning, but the news and information I did tune in for, and they provided, did help with planning trips. I think there is a difference in the vacation planning a first timer needs vs. a seasoned Disney traveler. A first timer needs the basic info that a seasoned traveler knows by heart, and some of the news may go over their heads. The seasoned traveler needs the updated info to see if it will affect their planning in any way, which it may or may not do, and they may be bored with basic content.

I don’t know if the solution is to do separate content for the newbies and the knowledgeable, or to mix both types of content together. Either way, both sides may have times when they are bored or find the info unnecessary. Doing the dining shows separate from the news with updated restaurant reviews is a good example of a show that both sides can relate to. Doing a show with updated room reviews and resort experiences would be another good example, as the info can benefit both. Perhaps shorter, more specifically targeted news shows which are only about news could be created alongside separate dining, resort, entertainment review type shows to make it easier for people to find the planning content they need.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

Kind of a hard question to answer because while I don't listen for basic trip planning stuff, the information I get from the podcast does inform my planning. Closures, new rides coming, restaurant reviews, etc. all influence how we plan our trips... but I don't need someone to hold my hand either.

I also don't tune in to hear about trip planning only.
Lately the Disunplugged spent way too much time on DCL, which I am not interested in at all.
I hope that the new Dis will be varied and not a TR on DCL. I realize that Pete loved DCL, but it got old after a while and I even quit watching. I usually watched faithfully every week. I love most of the suggestiosn for the show that are on this post and can't wait for the New DIS.

Same regarding DCL. We didn't have kids at the time and even as a Disney lover, there was no way were paying DCL rates when you compare them to what we can get on other cruise lines. We did a 7 night on MSC during that time period and it was less than 1k... for a balcony with a drinks package.

I don’t know if the solution is to do separate content for the newbies and the knowledgeable, or to mix both types of content together. Either way, both sides may have times when they are bored or find the info unnecessary.

Another podcast I listen to did a few "basics" episodes and now they refer back to those episode numbers whenever they discuss more advanced topics related to them. For example, they could do a full how-to episode on Genie+ and then reference back to that episode if they do a segment on changes to lightning lanes. That system works pretty well to not bog down the new content with 100 level stuff that most listeners know (and I assume it gets the older podcasts some additional downloads).

 

[disneysteve]

Another podcast I listen to did a few "basics" episodes and now they refer back to those episode numbers whenever they discuss more advanced topics related to them. For example, they could do a full how-to episode on Genie+ and then reference back to that episode if they do a segment on changes to lightning lanes. That system works pretty well to not bog down the new content with 100 level stuff that most listeners know (and I assume it gets the older podcasts some additional downloads).

That's exactly how it should be done. If a beginner finds the show, point them toward the beginner content they need, but keep the shows fresh and up to date, not rehashing the same info over and over again. That gets old really fast.