Ten Thousand Workers, One Deadline: EPCOT’s Craziest Year (Ep. 568)

The Disney Dish with Jim Hill

Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Places & Travel, Leisure, Society & Culture

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 26 January 2026

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week on the Disney Dish Podcast, Jim Hill and Len Testa cover a wide range of park news before diving headfirst into one of the most intense construction stories Disney has ever lived through. From Haunted Mansion permits and Animal Kingdom surveys to Hallmark cameras rolling at Walt Disney World, the first half sets the stage for a jaw-dropping look at how EPCOT was nearly derailed before it ever opened. Then Jim walks through the chaotic final year of EPCOT construction, when Disney threw manpower, money, and sanity at the calendar to make an October 1 deadline happen. NEWS • New construction permits near the Haunted Mansion spark speculation about queue changes and future guest flow into Villains Land • Universal confirms a Fast & Furious spinning coaster will replace Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit • Disney surveys reveal how much a re-themed attraction like Zootopia Better Zoo-Gether actually drives intent to visit • Animal Kingdom questions hint at how Disney expects families to split up as thrill rides expand • A Hallmark holiday movie films on location at Walt Disney World, including a surprise Jodi Benson cameo FEATURE • Inside EPCOT’s final year of construction, when the project ballooned to 10,000 workers on site • How endangered woodpeckers, sinkholes, and shifting plans pushed EPCOT dangerously behind schedule • Why Disney was forced to spend billions to meet a non-negotiable opening date • Stories from the worksite that explain why veterans still describe it as chaotic, dangerous, and unforgettable For this episode’s full show notes, click here. HOSTS • Jim Hill - IG: @JimHillMedia | X: @JimHillMedia | Website: JimHillMedia.com • Len Testa - IG: @len.testa | Website: TouringPlans.com FOLLOW • Facebook: JimHillMediaNews • Instagram: JimHillMedia • TikTok: JimHillMedia SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at Patreon.com/JimHillMedia. PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited by Dave Grey Produced by Eric Hersey - Strong Minded Agency SPONSOR This episode is sponsored by DVC Resale Market - get expert help buying or selling Disney Vacation Club points at DVCResaleMarket.com. Also sponsored by DVC Rental Store - save on your next Disney vacation by renting points at DVCRentalStore.com. Planning your next trip? Let Be Our Guest Vacations handle the details at BeOurGuestVacations.com. And by Unlocked Magic, offering concierge-level Disney planning services at UnlockedMagic.com. If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:29.6	Welcome back to another edition of the Disney Dish podcast with Jim Hill.
0:33.6	It's me, Lentusta, and this is our show for the week of Shmursday, January 26th,
0:38.0	2026 on the show today. In news, is the haunted mansion line moving? In surveys, what's a re-themed
0:45.2	attraction worth? Plus, listener questions. Then in our main segment, Jim reviews what
0:50.1	Epcot construction was like in the hectic months before it opened. Let's get started by
0:55.1	bringing in the man who says, you ever listen to a homeless guy talk about when everything went
0:59.2	wrong, and it sounds a lot like what you've been going through the last few days? It's Mr. Jim Hill.
1:04.2	Jim, has it going. It's going well, then. But I have to say, what I find challenging about the age
1:10.0	we live in today, when I was growing up back in the Paleozoic era, if you saw a person walking around talking to themselves, you automatically thought, crazy person, stay away.
1:20.2	Whereas today, if you see someone walking around who appears to be in deep conversation with someone who isn't there, you can no longer
1:27.9	jump to that conclusion.
1:29.2	In fact, it's quite likely that person is in fact talking to someone else somewhere on
1:34.0	the planet, thanks to a teeny tiny microphone that's connected to their iPhone in some way
1:39.0	that you can't see.
1:40.0	And what I always find awkward, Len, is, well, when I'm out in public and I then think that one of these people who's been talking to me, I say, excuse me.
1:49.0	And then, you know, every time they do this day with a point emphatically at their head as if to say, excuse me, but I'm having a private conversation with a teeny tiny man who lives behind my nasal cavity,
	...

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