The Vanishing Act: David Copperfield’s Lost Disney-MGM Studios Attraction (with Chris Cox) (Ep. 546)

The Disney Dish with Jim Hill

Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Leisure, Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.8 • 979 Ratings

🗓️ 25 August 2025

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Len Testa and Jim Hill welcome award-winning mind reader and performer Chris Cox (BBC and Broadway) for a deep dive into one of Disney’s most fascinating “what could have been” stories. The ambitious plans for David Copperfield’s Magic Underground restaurant How the New York flagship nearly opened before money troubles pulled the plug Michael Eisner’s enthusiasm for magic and themed dining in the 1990s Why Disney-MGM Studios was slated to host Copperfield’s magical dining experience How timing, costs, and the decline of themed restaurants caused the project to vanish From collapsing billboards in Times Square to a restaurant where your table might levitate, this is the story of the Disney dining experience that almost was — and why it disappeared. SHOW NOTES Support Our Sponsors 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

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	When you have a pixel 10, you may get asked a few questions.
0:05.0	Like, what is that?
0:07.0	How did you do that?
0:09.0	And can we use your camera instead?
0:14.0	Ask more of your phone.
0:16.0	Google Pixel 10.
0:20.0	Welcome back to another edition of the Disney Dish podcast with Jim Hill.
0:23.9	It's me, Len Testa, and this is our show for the week of Shmurs Day, August 25th, 2025.
0:29.0	On the show today, Disney shares more details on the upcoming Big Thunder and Muppets Rock and Roller Coaster attractions.
0:35.6	And early entry is ending at Disneyland. In surveys,
0:39.1	a great new survey from Disney has potential changes to the Disney dining plan. Then in our main
0:43.8	segment, mine reader Chris Cox joins us to talk about Disney MGM Studios' never built David
0:49.3	Copperfield attraction. Let's get started by bringing in the man whose ducks are not in a row.
0:54.8	In fact, they're not even in the same pond. Also, they're squirrels. It's get started by bringing in the man whose ducks are not in a row. In fact,
0:59.3	they're not even in the same pond. Also, they're squirrels. It's Mr. Jim Hill. Jim, how's it going?
1:06.4	Fine, Len. And by the way, squirrels, you know what legendary comic Robert Klein said about squirrels, right? That if you take away the bushy tail, you have a rat. I mean, you have the species of rodent, but that has excellent public relations for some reason.
1:16.5	It's a rat with a better makeup artist.
1:18.5	There we go. There we go.
1:20.5	Mr. Cox, do we have any rat, or to me squirrel-related choice to share?
1:26.3	You know what? Squirrel is my favorite go-to.
1:29.7	There's a little phrase which I think sounds the most English.
1:32.9	Well, there's two phrases which sound the most English one in America.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 20 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Jim Hill Media Podcast Network and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.