The Retail Giant That Almost Sponsored The Great Movie Ride (Ep. 68)

The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Places & Travel, Society & Culture, Tv & Film

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 9 October 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Jim Hill and Lauren Hersey unwrap a holiday-sized story about Disney’s long, complicated relationship with Sears—from Mickey Mouse watches in the 1930s to the retail giant’s near-sponsorship of the Great Movie Ride at Disney-MGM Studios. Plus, the duo dives into the rare blue Disney name tag, Wicked-branded cleaning products, and the Jim Henson Company’s upcoming auction filled with Muppet history. The secret history behind Disney’s partnership with Sears—and how it fell apart months before MGM Studios opened How Mickey Mouse watches and Winnie the Pooh merch made Sears a Disney powerhouse The story behind the ultra-rare blue name tag that only 1% of Disney employees earn Wicked’s latest merch crossover with Gain and Cascade Jim Henson Company’s first-ever auction featuring pieces from Labyrinth and Fraggle Rock From rare collectibles to lost sponsorships, Jim and Lauren remind us that Disney history is filled with what-ifs, forgotten deals, and magical mementos worth remembering. 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 I Want That Too, the podcast where Disney merch meets Disney history.
0:05.4	I'm entertainment writer Jim Hill.
0:07.8	And as always, I'm joined by the lovely Lauren Hersey, who you're feeling better, right?
0:13.9	A little better?
0:15.2	Yeah, a little better.
0:16.8	We're dealing in West Virginia, we're dealing with change of seasons.
0:21.6	And so my sinuses, it got me down, down and out.
0:25.4	But lots better today.
0:26.5	Thank you for asking.
0:27.9	How are you on this fall, Eve?
0:30.5	Well, I mean, again, it seriously fall up here in New England.
0:35.0	In fact, I look in my backyard and it's like, oh, man,
0:38.3	that is too many leaves. You know, and that means I'm going to have to break out a rake at some point.
0:45.1	Just don't forget to wear your Orange Bird Spirit jersey so you don't get shot. It is probably
0:49.6	hunting season. Oh, very much so. Very much so. But anyway, and speaking of seasons,
0:55.8	again, Lord and I, we were pre-gaming Tonight Show, and I mentioned that I was over at
1:00.5	Disneystore.com. I figured, okay, do my due diligence. And it's just sort of like,
1:05.8	okay, and again, we're recording this on October 6th. And it's just sort of like, it's Christmas at Disney Store.com.
1:14.0	I mean, it is seriously Christmas.
1:16.2	I had to go three quarters of the way down the page before I finally found some Halloween stuff.
1:22.5	And even then, it was, what, 30% off?
1:27.3	So, yeah, the mouse is moving on.
	...

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