The Great Disneyland Ticket Caper (Ep. 584)

The Disney Dish with Jim Hill

Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Places & Travel, Leisure, Society & Culture

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 18 May 2026

⏱️ 53 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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0:00.0	Inspired by jet engine silences.
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0:28.5	Bushjet, powerful, compact purification, that's quiet.
0:34.1	Welcome back to another edition of the Disney Dish podcast with Jim Hill. It's me,
0:55.3	Len Tester. And this is our show for the week of Schmer's Day, May 18th, 2026 on the show today. In News, why is Disney buying electric car batteries? Is Universal prepping a new drone show? And what's the best day of the week to visit the Magic Kingdom? Plus surveys and listener questions. Then in our main segment, Jim tells us the story of a Disneyland ticket scandal. Let's get started by bringing in the man who says, counting to 10 only makes your response premeditated. It's Mr. Jim. Hill. Jim,
1:00.2	how's he going? Who counts to 10 anymore, Len? Hell, when I was growing up with my dad, it was always,
1:07.4	I'm going to give you to the count of three. So, I don't know. What does that tell you? Either my father was not very patient, or he had very little faith in my math-related skills. Your attention would wander after you get to about six. There we go. There we go. Look, a big dog with a fluffy tail. Squirrel. All right, before we get started, let's do a quick shout out to our subscribers. Thanks to everyone who subscribed server to patreon.com slash jim Hill Media, including Michael Perimsky, Sally Wallace, Ben Aij, Rachel Hamillers, Scott Gillespie, and Taylor Graff. Jim, this is the team planning a surprise July 4th start to Mickey's not-so-scarried Halloween party.
1:46.9	The combined event will feature a random hall of president's characters swapped in with the hitchhacking ghosts,
1:52.1	country bear jamboree playing the monster mash on repeat, and a new parade theme, Mickey's Boo S.A.
1:58.2	With the headless horsemen carrying sparklers down Main Street. True story. I'm not going to lie, Lynn. This sounds very appealing. Mickey's BOOSA is kind of clever. I mean, come on. I enjoy that. I really enjoy that. All right. Jim, let's do the news. Folks, the Disney edition news is sponsored by Unlockedmagic.com from our friends at DVCrental store.com.
2:18.1	What's better than two pounds of Halloween candy from the Magic Kingdom?
2:21.0	Two pounds of candy, you got it a discount from Unlockedmagic.com, which has better prices than Disney and all kinds of theme park tickets.
2:27.9	So get your pillowcases ready for all the treats.
2:30.5	And visit Unlockedmagic.com now for great deals on Disney theme park admission.
2:34.9	All right, Jim, start with the news in Walt Disney World.
2:37.0	First thing that we heard of this week, a new snack cart is coming to the Rock and Roller Coaster Plaza.
2:43.8	This one is called Food with Lines Through the O's because it's by Swedish chef.
2:48.4	And so it'll have a new menu and new snacks out soon.
2:51.7	Jim, you got to love the theming on this one.
2:53.5	Food.
	...

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