Join Jim and me as we discuss the history of Tokyo Disneyland, from its conception through opening day and its reception by the Japanese people.  While the Oriental Land Company had long wanted a Disneyland of its own, it wasn’t until the late 1970′s when Disney finally took the idea seriously. Hear what it was like to be in those negotiations and how future projects, such as Tokyo DisneySea, also happened. And Jim has a surprisingly not disturbing discussion on Tokyo secretaries.

Here’s the link to listen in iTunes. Here’s the direct MP3 file.

New Disney Dish Podcast w/ Jim Hill: Tokyo Disneyland’s 30th Birthday is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Join Jim and me as we review the new Habit Heroes and IBM Think! attractions at Epcot’s Innoventions. Jim also talks about the challenges in maintaining the “future” part of Future World. Here’s the link to listen in iTunes. Here’s the direct MP3 file.

One of the ideas discussed for keeping Future World “future-y” is to invite college and university R&D labs to exhibit their ideas. In 2008, for example, the folks at MIT’s User Innovation Lab were working with 3-D printers – three or four years before they became relatively common. Showing ideas such as those, while still in their infant stages, would give Epcot an element of “here’s the future” it’s (mostly) lacking.

How would you suggest Epcot bring back its future-looking perspective?

New Disney Dish Podcast w/ Jim Hill: Epcot’s Habit Heroes and IBM Think! is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Episode 36 of the Unofficial Guide’s Disney Dish podcast is out. Recorded last week at the Magic Kingdom, Jim Hill and I cover the history of Disney’s Hall of Presidents. From early demos using the head of Confucius, to then state-of-the-art animatronics for Abe Lincoln, Jim tells the story of how Walt got the idea for a patriotic show, then iterated through its design to its current form.

Links: iTunes / RSS / Direct MP3 download

New UG Podcast with Jim Hill: The Hall of Presidents is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Episode 32 in the Unofficial Guide Disney Dish series is available. iTunes link / Direct MP3

In this show, Jim and I walk through Disneyland’s Toontown and discuss how it came to be built.  As soon as the early 1960′s, Disney realized that guests wanted to interact more with their favorite characters.  Things really took off in the early 1980′s, though, when inexpensive videotape recorders began to replace 8 mm film recorders for home movies, and families no longer had to worry about the cost of filming longer and longer interactions with the characters.

Toontown is also one of the rare Disney theme park features that moved west from Disney World, instead of the other way around.  Jim talks about how Mickey’s 60th birthday party finally kickstarted the development of Toontown, and how the success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit gave Disneyland it’s own version of the land.

Please rate the podcast on iTunes and leave feedback on what episodes you’d like to see next!  Here’s a link to the RSS feed to subscribe.

Links to Recent Episodes

Disneyland’s Toontown, with Jim Hill (Episode 32) — iTunes / Direct MP3

A History of Walt Disney World’s Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights (Bonus Episode) — iTunes / Direct MP3

Disneyland’s Fantasyland, with Jim Hill (Episode 31) — iTunes / Direct MP3

Disneyland’s Critter Country, with Jim Hill (Episode 30) — iTunes / Direct MP3

Disneyland’s Frontierland, with Jim Hill (Episode 29) — iTunes / Direct MP3

Disneyland’s New Orleans Square, with Jim Hill (Episode 28) — iTunes / Direct MP3

Disneyland’s Adventureland, with Jim Hill (Episode 27) — iTunes / Direct MP3

Disneyland’s Main Street, with Jim Hill (Episode 26) — iTunes / Direct MP3

How Disneyland Really Got Built, with Jim Hill (Episode 25) — iTunes / Direct MP3

New Unofficial Guide Podcast Episode: Disneyland’s Toontown, With Jim Hill is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Episode 26 of the Unofficial Guide’s podcast is out. Join Jim and me as we walk through what Disneyland’s Main Street USA was like when it opened, and what Walt had planned for that part of the park. Recorded live on Main Street in Disneyland.

iTunes link here. MP3 link here. RSS feed here. And here’s an iTunes link to Warren Zevon’s song “Lawyers, Guns and Money,” which inspired this podcast’s title. It’s funny. Buy it.

Don’t forget to rate the podcast on iTunes and let us know what other topics you’d like to see covered. We’re planning our early 2013 schedule soon. Thanks!

New Unofficial Guide Podcast: Guns, Alcohol and Money on Disneyland’s Main Street USA is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Episode #24 (iTunes link / MP3 link) details the steps Disney went through to boost attendance at DCA. Jim covers Disney’s introduction of “quick fix” live shows, through the development of Little Mermaid, World of Color and Cars Land. Recorded live in DCA in October 2012.

New Unofficial Guide Disney Dish Podcast Available – Saving Disney’s California Adventure is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Episode 23 of the Unofficial Guide’s Disney Dish podcast with Jim Hill is available via iTunes and direct MP3 download! Here’s the RSS feed to subscribe to future episodes.

This show continues with the history of Disney’s California Adventure as it existed from 2001 to 2005. Jim jumps in the Wayback Machine to walk through DCA as it existed back then, and goes through extinct attraction after extinct attraction, telling the story of how Disney tried to fix the park after its lackluster opening.

As with the other shows, we recorded live in DCA. One thing that surprised me in DCA was how loud the live performances are – you can really hear the volume from those shows as we walk through the park. But hopefully it adds a little ambiance to the talk.

Please leave us feedback on iTunes and tell us what other episodes you’d like us to record. Thanks for listening!

Disney’s California Adventure from 2001 to 2005: The Unofficial Guide Disney Dish Podcast with Jim Hill Episode 23 is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Episode 22 of the Unofficial Guide’s Disney Dish podcast with Jim Hill is available via iTunes and direct MP3 download! Here’s the RSS feed to subscribe to future episodes.

Jim and I were in California a couple of weeks ago, recording an all-new set of shows on Disneyland and DCA. In the series’ first episode, we walk around Disneyland Resort’s Downtown Disney as Jim explains how DCA and DTD got built. It’s a tale as old as time, involving one of the great press conference errors of all time, crafty legal maneuvers, and highway elves.

Please leave us feedback on iTunes and tell us what other episodes you’d like us to record. Thanks for listening!

Building Disney’s California Adventure – New Unofficial Guide Podcast Episode with Jim Hill is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Episode 20 of the Unofficial Guide’s Disney Dish podcast with Jim Hill is available via iTunes and direct MP3 download!

Join Jim and me as we walk into and around Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, discussing the Lodge’s inspiration, the process of building it, and how it all turned out. We also stop by the Wilderness Lodge Villas, where Jim explains that DVC resort’s backstory as housing for the workers who were constructing the Wilderness Lodge. This episode was recorded on location earlier this month at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.

Update: Here’s the RSS feed for anyone who’d like to follow upcoming episodes.

New Unofficial Guide Disney Dish Podcast – Disney’s Wilderness Lodge is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.