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The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

The Great Movie Ride, Carthay Circle, and the Cheesecake That Stole the Show (Ep. 574)

The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Tv & Film, Places & Travel, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 9 March 2026

⏱️ 42 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Jim Hill and Len Testa discuss Villains Land expansion permits, Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster’s refurbishment timeline, and how negotiations over the Chinese Theatre helped shape Disney’s use of Carthay Circle as a park icon. Plus, listener questions, MuppetVision’s future on Apple Vision Pro, and a standout cheesecake discovery at Walt Disney World.  NEWS • Updated permits show Villains Land attractions expanding, with both the dark ride and coaster buildings increasing in size. • Infrastructure work for Piston Peak and Villains Land is currently scheduled to be completed by December 2027. • Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith has closed for refurbishment, with a possible Memorial Day reopening target. • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad’s refurbishment permit has been extended through August 31, 2026. • Brian Henson says MuppetVision 3D is coming to Apple Vision Pro with selectable viewing seats. • Len shares a rave review of the brulée Basque cheesecake at Bourbon Steak in the Walt Disney World Dolphin. FEATURE • Jim continues the history of The Great Movie Ride and Disney’s negotiations with theater owner Tedd Mann. • The story explains why Disney insisted on calling the building simply the Chinese Theatre. • Jim also details how the Carthay Circle Theatre eventually became the icon of Disney California Adventure. • Early plans for the building included a ride, stage show, film attraction, and museum before it became a restaurant. For this episode’s full show notes, click here. HOSTS • Jim Hill - IG: https://www.instagram.com/JimHillMedia | X: https://twitter.com/JimHillMedia | Website: https://JimHillMedia.com • Len Testa - IG: https://www.instagram.com/len.testa | Website: https://touringplans.com FOLLOW • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JimHillMediaNews• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/JimHillMedia• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@JimHillMedia SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at https://www.patreon.com/jimhillmedia. PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited by Dave GreyProduced by Eric Hersey - https://strongmindedagency.com SPONSOR The Disney Dish news is sponsored by our friends at Unlocked Magic. Looking for discounted Walt Disney World theme park tickets - including hard-to-find 1- and 2-day options? Head to unlockedmagic.com to find deals that can beat Disney’s direct pricing. 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 another edition of the Disney Dish podcast with Jim Hill. It's me, Lentesta. And this is our show for the week of Shmurs Day, March 9th, 2026 on the show today. News, listener questions, and the greatest cheesecake in the history of custards. Then in our main segment, Jim continues the history of the great movie ride. Let's get started by bringing a man who wants to know how ice cream is produced in Zootopia. It's Mr. Jim Hill. Jim, how's it going?

0:24.4

It's going. of the great movie ride. Let's get started by bringing in the man who wants to know how ice cream

0:21.1

is produced in Zootopia. It's Mr. Jim Hill. Jim, how's it going? It's going well, Len,

0:25.5

but let's be honest, there are certain questions you really don't want the answers to. I mean,

0:31.3

okay, mammals create milk to feed their young, and that dairy product is crucial to the creation

0:37.4

of ice cream.

0:38.2

And Judy Hops's boss, Chief Bogo at the Zutopia Police, is a mammal, a water buffalo, to be exact, which is kind of a cow, right, Lynn?

0:51.9

Sure, Jim.

0:53.2

All right, if I go to Jumbo's Cafe, which is that ice cream parlor we saw in the original Zootopia

0:59.3

film back in 2016, the one that was run by some rather unhygienic elephants, can I get a

1:07.0

scoop of Chief Bogo ripple?

1:15.0

And by the way, Len, Shanghai Disneyland in its Utopia Land, actually has a jumbo cafe. I'm just saying the stores just create themselves

1:22.1

out of nowhere, yeah. All right. All right, but just a quick note here, they have a chocolate

1:26.7

rice crispy bar, which is supposed to look like that jumbo pop that Nick Wilde buys in the first Sotopia film. There's also a big donut, which is evidently Officer Kla Hauser's favorite, but no mention of ice cream. And maybe, Len, that's for the best. Yeah, maybe there are some things that you just don't want to know. Like when you go to Waffle House and your food arrives, the process by which that food got to you is best left unexamined, right? And I love a Waffle House. Don't get me wrong. Well, Waffle House is an American institution. Absolutely. I just don't want to know a lot about it, you know?

2:02.8

Yeah, I mean, just bring me my smash, crash, hash, you know, hash browns. And don't tell me how we got here. Exactly, exactly. And speaking of food, Jim, let's do a quick shout out to our subscribers. thanks to everyone who subscribe to the show over to patreon.com slash Jim Hill Media,

2:17.9

including Michael and Lisa Siorachi, Rich Garing, Mark Lucas, Michael Fitz, Catherine Lusby, and Selver Hagen.

2:25.3

Jim, this is the Disney Food and Bev team working on a restaurant idea for Galaxy's Edge called Fries of the Resistance.

2:32.9

It'll also feature handheld snacks like Sithkabs and Hoth Dogs with Endoritos.

2:38.3

And the team says you won't want to miss their special dessert, Obi-Wan Canoli.

2:42.1

True story.

2:45.4

Okay.

2:48.8

On to the news.

...

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