The Great Disneyland Ticket Caper (Ep. 584)

The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Tv & Film, Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 18 May 2026

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Len Testa and Jim Hill break down a busy week in theme park news, from Bluey crowd control at Animal Kingdom to Universal’s possible drone-show ambitions. Len also crunches the numbers on the best days to visit Magic Kingdom, because nothing says vacation like 22 million wait times and a spreadsheet with emotional damage. Then Jim digs into Disneyland’s opening-day ticket scandal and why Walt Disney may have had very good reasons to sour on Western Publishing. NEWS • Disney’s Animal Kingdom prepares for Bluey with a virtual queue and some serious toddler-capacity math. • Len explains why Sundays may be your best Magic Kingdom bet from January through July, while party season flips the calendar. • Disneyland’s Autopia goes electric in 2027, raising questions about batteries, car design, and Tomorrowland’s long-overdue tune-up. • Universal Orlando surveys guests about pets, which may hint at Secret Life of Pets possibilities in Florida. • A new Universal patent features an onboard animated figure, possibly a frog, possibly a nightmare with wheels. FEATURE • Jim revisits Disneyland’s chaotic 1955 opening day and the mysterious flood of “legitimate” invitations. • The story points toward Western Publishing, one of Disneyland’s earliest investors and official printers. • Walt’s later decision to buy out Western may have had more behind it than simple business strategy. • Also discussed: C.V. Wood, Black Sunday, Bob Gurr, Richard Nixon, and why the Secret Service probably hated the monorail. For this episode’s full show notes, click here. HOSTS • Jim Hill - X/Twitter: @JimHillMedia, Instagram: @JimHillMedia, Website: jimhillmedia.com • Len Testa - Bluesky: @lentesta.bsky.social, Instagram: @len.testa, Website: touringplans.com 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 The Disney Dish is sponsored by UnlockedMagic.com, from the team at DVC Rental Store. Visit UnlockedMagic.com for great deals on Disney theme park admission. 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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0:58.1	Welcome back to another edition of the Disney Dish podcast with jim hill it's me lent tester and this is our show for the week of schmars day may 18th twenty 26 on the show today in
1:03.8	news why is disney buying electric car batteries is universal prepping a new drone show and what's the
1:09.6	best day of the week to visit the Magic Kingdom?
1:11.6	Plus surveys and listener questions. Then in our main segment, Jim tells us the story of a Disneyland
1:16.7	ticket scandal. Let's get started by bringing in the man who says counting to 10 only makes your
1:21.7	response premeditated. It's Mr. Jim. Hill. Jim, how's he going?
1:25.3	Who counts to 10 anymore, Len?
1:27.8	Hell, when I was growing up with my dad, it was always, I'm going to give you to the count of three.
1:33.8	So, I don't know, what does that tell you?
	...

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