How Disney Built Cars Land and What It Means for Piston Peak (Ep. 550)

The Disney Dish with Jim Hill

Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Places & Travel, Leisure, Society & Culture

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 22 September 2025

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week, Imagineer Jim Shull joins Jim Hill and Len Testa to finish the wild story of how Cars Land was built at Disney California Adventure. Along the way, the guys cover everything from gorillas and Muppets to a scuba diver who robbed Paddlefish. Tomorrowland’s Cool Ship replacement that looks suspiciously like a McDonald’s drive-thru The life of Gino the gorilla and why Animal Kingdom will never be the same A Florida man in scuba gear robs Paddlefish and swims away with the cash Sabrina Carpenter, Seth Rogen, and the Muppets’ big 50th anniversary comeback How Disney pulled off Cars Land’s massive rockwork and what it means for Piston Peak at Magic Kingdom From new construction projects to classic park traditions, this episode looks at the details shaping Disney’s past, present, and future. SHOW NOTES Unlocked Magic Unlocked Magic, powered by DVC Rental Store and DVC Resale Market, offers exclusive Disney & Universal ticket savings with TRUSTED service and authenticity. With over $10 MILLION in ticket sales, use Unlocked Magic to get the BIGGEST SAVINGS. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn More⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to another edition of the Disney Dish podcast with Jim Hill.
0:03.7	It's me, Land Testa, and this is our show for the week of Shmurs Day, September 22nd, 2025.
0:08.8	On the show today, we asked Jim Hill when he learned to scuba dive and explore the origin of the southern phrase, fix your face.
0:16.3	Plus new surveys and listener questions.
0:18.4	Then on our main segment, Imagineer Jim Shul joins us to wrap up the story of how Disney California adventure brought Carsland to life. Let's get started
0:26.7	by bringing in the man who turned subtitles on for everything one day and never looked back.
0:31.6	It's Mr. Jim Hill. Jim has it going? It's going well, Len, and clearly you've tapped into the
0:36.7	home security system here at Nase
0:38.8	my place, which, given that we're entering those crisp fall months, I have to get back in the
0:45.0	habit of wearing pants, especially going down to get the mail.
0:48.6	Oh, too much information.
0:50.6	Yeah.
0:51.6	Yeah. I've been wearing shirts all summer, but like every time I, I think I've said this in the
0:54.9	show before, but like in the mornings during the fall and the winter, when I go to get dressed
0:59.5	every morning, I will ask Laurel, Laurel, what am I wearing today? And she'll be like,
1:04.4	pants. I'm like, yeah, like a sucker. And she will respond to chump pants.
1:12.6	Anyway.
1:13.2	All right, folks, and let's do a quick shout-out to our subscribers.
1:15.9	Thanks to everyone who subscribes to the show over at patreon.com slash Jim Hill Media,
1:20.0	including Clay Benton, John Hernandez, Neil Polarski, Michael Toppy, and Alicia McCallan.
1:25.4	Jim and Jim, these are their imaginers looking to boost holiday occupancy at some Disney Valley Resorts
1:31.1	by applying the Not So Scary Holiday Idea from the parks.
	...

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