Before D23: The Mouse Club Fans Who Changed Disney Forever (Ep. 98)

The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Tv & Film, Places & Travel, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 7 May 2026

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jim Hill and Lauren Hersey dive into a packed week of Disney merch and fandom news, from Burger King’s surprising Mandalorian and Grogu promotion to the return of toys inside cereal boxes for Toy Story 5. Along the way, Lauren shares how she finally became a Grogu fan after binge-watching The Mandalorian, while Jim unpacks Disney’s rumored “super app” plans and the surprising history behind Disney fan conventions that eventually inspired D23. NEWS • Lauren officially joins the Grogu fan club after binge-watching two seasons of The Mandalorian ahead of the upcoming movie release. • Burger King rolls out a Mandalorian and Grogu menu promotion complete with collectible cups and augmented reality features. • Jim explains why McDonald’s landed Toy Story 5 while Burger King secured the Star Wars promotion. • Kellogg’s brings toys back to cereal boxes with creepy Toy Story 5 spoon figures hidden inside select cereals. • Disneyland quietly phases out MagicBand sales as Disney leans harder into phone-based park technology. • Disney’s rumored “super app” sparks debate online as fans react to the idea of one app connecting parks, streaming, cruises, shopping, and rewards. FEATURE • Jim traces the origins of Disney fandom events from the exclusive Mouse Club conventions of the early 1980s to the creation of the NFFC. • The story behind Disney’s first official fan conventions and why the company originally abandoned them in the early 2000s. • Behind-the-scenes stories involving Imagineers, Disney Legends, Andreas Deja, and the early development of Hercules. • How fan-created convention ideas eventually helped shape what became D23. HOSTS • Jim Hill - X/Twitter: @JimHillMedia | Instagram: @JimHillMedia | Website: jimhillmedia.com • Lauren Hersey - X/Twitter: @laurenhersey2 | Instagram: @lauren_hersey_ FOLLOW • Facebook: @JimHillMediaNews • YouTube: @jimhillmedia • TikTok: @jimhillmedia • Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jimhillmedia/ SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at https://www.patreon.com/jimhillmedia. PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited by Dave Grey Produced by Eric Hersey - https://strongmindedagency.com SPONSOR UnlockedMagic.com - Save on your next Disney or Universal vacation with discounted theme park tickets and expert planning help at https://unlockedmagic.com/?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=iwantthat If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. https://www.jimhillmedia.com/sponsor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to I Want That Too, the podcast where Disney merch meets Disney history.
0:05.8	I'm entertainment writer Jim Hill, and as always, I'm joined by the lovely Lauren Hersey,
0:11.9	who's now a Grogu fan, right?
0:15.3	Yes, Grogu.
0:16.9	Okay, so I have to tell you, Jim, you inspired me.
0:21.5	On our last episode, we were talking about the fun new merch that's coming out for
0:27.3	Mandelaarine and Gros, Star Wars, the new movie.
0:30.7	And we just had May 4th by the time we're listening to this podcast.
0:34.1	So I've not really seen Star Wars.
0:36.0	I've seen the new, like, Ray movies.
0:39.9	I need to go back and, like, watch, watch the original. But I have been watching the
0:45.7	Mandalorian and Grogu. I mean, I've watched two full seasons since our last show.
0:52.0	And we were just talking off air about, you knew nothing going into these, right?
0:57.4	I mean, for example, when people were talking about baby Yoda, you had no idea what they
1:03.0	were talking about?
1:03.9	No, no clue.
1:04.8	Oh, I mean, obviously, like, I saw that I literally thought it was Yoda.
1:09.3	I thought that it was the baby version of Yoda, and it was like the multiverse where
1:15.0	there's just different timelines going on.
1:17.1	No clue.
1:18.1	No clue that he actually didn't have a name for like two seasons.
1:22.3	Is that right?
	...

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