Podcast: The Ride - Universal Fan Fest Nights 2026

Episode Date: May 8, 2026

Universal Hollywood brings back Fan Fest Nights for a second fan-filled year! One Piece, Sailor Moon, Jurassic Park, and Scooby-Doo x Universal Monsters fill out the 2026 lineup. We take the ...trip and fan it up with all the other fans. If Jimmy Buffett were alive and at the event, he’d say, “Fans up!”"Alf's Music Career" episode is up at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/PodcastTheRide⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FOLLOW PODCAST: THE RIDE:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/PodcastTheRide⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/podcasttheride⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BUY PODCAST: THE RIDE MERCH:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.teepublic.com/stores/podcast-the-ride⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PODCAST THE RIDE IS A FOREVER DOG PODCAST⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foreverdogpodcasts.com/podcasts/podcast-the-ride⁠ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Starting point is 00:01:02 shocking bush entrance, Billy Joel music everywhere, and calves on fire. All that, plus, we peruse the offerings at Universal Studios Fan Fest Nights on today's podcast, The Ride. Welcome to Podcast The Ride, a theme park podcast where today we're going to talk
Starting point is 00:01:41 about Universal's Fan Fest Nights, where the fans are always hotter at night. Oh, shit, that's actually the tagline for Baywatch Nights. I'm so sorry. My name is Mike Carlson. and joining me as always, Scott Gerdinor. I was on pins and needles through that one where of like when will there be
Starting point is 00:01:57 the turn, like there were a few turns. Yeah. But I also thought, what if you just left it at the plain statement? Today we're talking about Universal Fanfest Nights. That's all we owe, but virtue of that we decided there'd be a joke at the beginning. I agree. We set ourselves up for failure. Yes,
Starting point is 00:02:13 not failure for work and effort. Right. And so, yeah, sometimes, I don't know, sometimes we miss the mark. I don't know. I like to what Jay Jason said that you should say at the beginning. Can you say that again? Oh, sure.
Starting point is 00:02:25 Yeah, I'm here too. I said, hey, we're all fans of something. And this is an option. Was that marketing at some point? I swear, I've either started writing marketing for limited run theme park events in my head, or it's actual marketing I read somewhere, and it just prurowed into my subconscious. Well, first of all, what a hobby. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:02:51 Just out of the kindness of your heart come up with taglines for limited time, nighttime events. If I really want to chill out, I'm thinking about the operating schedule and scheduling employee cast members and team members. We believe that. Everyone believes that that that listens to this podcast. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're managing an entire spreadsheet of employees who don't exist. Yeah, it's cut. Well, we got to get Karen out by 430. I know she works another job.
Starting point is 00:03:18 How are we going to, but that means we have to start her. But when did she take her lunch? God damn it. Well, it's called in a wrestling parlance, Living the Gimic, right, Mike? Well, you know what actually... I don't think this is a gimmick, though. No, I mean, Living the Gimic means like, say if you're the Undertaker, like, you start thinking you're like a zombie man.
Starting point is 00:03:38 You start sleeping in a coffin. You wear a scary hat to pick up your daughter from elementary school. I would think, though, there's another wrestling term that people will say they, They'll say, oh, you know, we were book in the territory, which means they were, like, saying what they would do when it comes to, like, putting a wrestling company together, what matches they would do. So that's another phrase I hear wrestlers say all the time. So I think it's actually closer to book in the territory is what you're doing versus living the gimmick. It's also helpful to have learned these wrestling phrases over the years. They actually all do in the way that there's, like, phrases in other languages that, like, encapsulate a feeling it's not quite in English.
Starting point is 00:04:18 There are all these wrestling phrases that are like, there's not really a term for that, is there? Yeah. But there isn't wrestling. There isn't wrestling. And yeah, you hear K-Fave, especially now just on the news. I did not used to hear it ever. You hear it all the time.
Starting point is 00:04:31 Right. Yes. It's very interesting. I should say that the tagline, I believe, the beach is hotter at night is the Baywatch Nights tagline. So that's where I got mixed up, of course. It was close. Yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:04:45 Yeah. You know what's funny is I still, despite my love of the French, I still just want pure good old-fashioned Baywatch. I'll dip into Baywatch Nights and go, you know, not for me. First of all, because it hasn't been as beautifully remastered as Baywatch remastered is on all the various streaming platforms and Svod platforms that it's on. But I don't, yeah, you know what, a little too jokey for me. Well, he, like, he fights, Hasselhoff fights vampires and stuff.
Starting point is 00:05:10 Yeah. Which is good. Yes, yeah. But you're kind of in that, you know, it's kind of in the way that the room was pure. and then he started making these kind of like vampire literally that. That's probably why I thought of it. And he's like, now I'll make a schlocky on-purpose vampire thing. Well, but now you're a little too aware.
Starting point is 00:05:30 Yeah, they're leaning into the silliness too much. Yeah. But what is ultimately impressive is that David Hasselhoff and the entire crew was making 24 episodes of one kind of show that was more pure and 24 episodes of one that was more purposefully schlocky at the exact same time laid on. He was living where Mitch Buchanan is. is a lifeguard during the day
Starting point is 00:05:50 and an ex-files by night. He Hasseloff himself was doing both jobs as well as being the biggest pop star in Germany. He did. Incredible. Like Marty, one for them, one for him, one for him. Which one was which? Baywatch was for them. Baywatch nights was for him.
Starting point is 00:06:07 Oh, okay. Right? I think so. And the music is for everyone. Looking for freedom. Who doesn't love? That's for East and West Germany. It's bringing everyone together. It would be funny if like Noah Wiley had like a pit spin-off where he fought vampires at night. Something that's just totally tonally different.
Starting point is 00:06:28 If, you know, I don't, I'm not, I've watched some of the pit, but not all of it and I don't. I feel like in my knee jerk is that you're more likely to see he does an all night shift. So would it have to be the inverse, like it's pit days? Oh, right, right, right, right. It's pit afternoon. Yeah, that's, yeah, you're right. Before he gets to the hospital, he rides his motorcycle. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:06:47 To Pennsylvania. Pitt Days, Philly nights. Now, they are hours, but they were like at least. Why do you mean Pittsburgh nights? Pittsburgh nights. But Philly now, maybe the days are in Philly. No, no, I think it's got to be the Pittsburgh Days, Philly nights. You're taking him out of Pittsburgh for the, but that's where he works.
Starting point is 00:07:10 Yeah, but he rides his motorcycle for his other part-time gig. Okay. Solving crimes in Philadelphia. Okay. Solving supernatural crimes. Yeah. Okay. Maybe he teams.
Starting point is 00:07:21 That's this day job, though. Maybe he teams up with hack. Remember hack? It was a Philly cab driver who went around dispensing justice. A real? Oh, was he a superhero? No, he was a real guy. That's what you're talking about?
Starting point is 00:07:37 A real guy? I mean, there was, I mean, there was hacky, and that was the guy who would just wing hacky, sacky, sex, like criminals he came across. I think that's a joke. It is. It is a joke. It is a joke. It is a joke.
Starting point is 00:07:50 That's another wrestling term. And it does. Oh, yeah. Selling it. Selling it. Yeah. And honestly, hack is the name of the Sandman when he was in WCW. H-A-K.
Starting point is 00:07:59 That was his name. Hardcore hack. So I didn't know if that's what you meant either. And Hacks is a more famous show. And on the tram to get to one of these events, we passed by the parking spaces of all of the writers. Oh, right. Hacks. Yes.
Starting point is 00:08:12 So it all ties together. Which is fun. Yeah. Now, that's if that's a good transition. If we wanted to talk about Universal Famination. We could talk about it. But we could also keep talking about Baywatch or hack. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:08:21 We're at a crucial juncture right now. I'm happy to talk about the Fan Fest nights. Yeah, I want to hear your book report. I want to hear your trip report, you know, because I stayed home. I didn't, I didn't get it. You stayed home. Seems like from some of the vibes I'm picking up from you guys and other videos I've watched, I may have made the correct call.
Starting point is 00:08:38 Whoa. Whoa. You're coming in with a lot of judge. Was that the, is that the takeaway? Huh? Was that, well, he's scared. No, I just didn't hear. what you said, Scott.
Starting point is 00:08:48 No, was that the takeaway? Yeah, I didn't see that either. It's interesting. People were not liking this. I feel like some videos I've watched, like, I think the crowd applause at the end of everything, but I feel like maybe ordinary events are not wild about this one. Oh. Although, I may have also dozed off and forgot.
Starting point is 00:09:09 You had a dream where you imagined negative reaction to a bandfest nights. You fell asleep watching a video about them at first. fan fest nights and then when you woke up they were it was the end of a video about how they got a flat tire in the desert and they were like so i got to say i hated it you're like oh i must have been all right i guess they didn't like the one-piece show then they didn't like the san gabriel valley flat tire i wish that yeah you guys said you couldn't get into that fan fest here's i'm remembering now there's a part in their video where they run into other vloggers and people are like why do we have to an activity book
Starting point is 00:09:48 in the middle of like the main thing. We have thoughts on that. That's what I'm thinking of. I think, you know, actually now I remember one negative thing I saw that would really upset you is that
Starting point is 00:10:00 people, there's a limited time food item, shaggy sandwich. Are we talking about the sandwich in the garbage bag? So there's multiple, you know, layers. It's a big one. It's like we talked about this Scott and I and Andrew Grissom who joined us, you know,
Starting point is 00:10:14 who's all these comic strip characters that or gluttonous oftentimes have a big stacked sandwich jughead, Shaggy, yeah, uh, uh, Dagwood or whatever. Sure, sure. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:10:24 This is all material from the 1930s. Right. They were getting around to in 2020. Yeah, finally. I know that's one of your favorite topics on podcast. The ride. Always.
Starting point is 00:10:32 Yeah. As far back and, uh, as close to 1900 as we can get. Yeah. So they're selling, like, big sandwich.
Starting point is 00:10:39 Shaggy's big sandwich. It looks like kind of just like a normal club sandwich. But to get it and we didn't get, we didn't get, we didn't I didn't try it. There were sampled. We got to go to a little event too. I don't want to make you jealous.
Starting point is 00:10:50 We got to go to a little event where they were giving out samples of things and full-sized desserts. So we got to try those for free. I see that baked upperware of over a week old, maybe a week old food you brought for me. You would eat it in two seconds if that was real. I mean, if it's refined sugar, I'm probably fine. Oh, yeah. You're fine.
Starting point is 00:11:10 The sack sandwich was pretty uncomfortable. So the six level sandwiches always. always taste better eight days later. Yeah. So there were pictures online of people getting the full sandwich and it looked like it was in a wet plastic bag. God.
Starting point is 00:11:25 I mean, they have to keep it contained. It's just the dressing of it, the presentation of it was lacking a little bit. So somebody's holding up. They don't just give it on a plate? They put it in a bag. No,
Starting point is 00:11:36 because it's like trash can nachos. It's tall. Okay. I mean, maybe I don't know if this, maybe this person misrepresented. I shouldn't spread before I've gone to my two sources a universal improve that they give it out in this plastic bag, but that was going around.
Starting point is 00:11:49 I feel like a picture of this sandwich in a plastic bag. Can we not develop a tall enough toothpick to hold all? I mean, you use a drumstick. Use a drumstick. Yeah, true. I know what you mean. We just make things in this country. I know.
Starting point is 00:12:04 Amen. Yeah, that's exactly what he was saying. It's the same idea behind like a giant matchstick. You just take off the flammable part. Yeah. Replace it with an olive. Sure. We can do it.
Starting point is 00:12:14 I believe we can do it. I could believe that you saw that and you were like, well, I will not support the Universal Studios company anymore. I and we have been tagged in this. On this in the sandwich issue? One line. Tagged about the sandwich. That's sweeping. To what shall say, you're not remembering your podcast lure audience.
Starting point is 00:12:36 I swore off theme park telly sandwiches after the debacle that was a 1999 false tagwood sandwich. at the Tune Lagoon Food Court. Oh, wow. I don't remember this lore either. An amount of lore as tall as the giant sandwiches themselves. It's the last time you're having deli meat purchased by Comcast. I had already been burned before by an Italian hoagy at Cosmic Race Starlight Cafe. Literally, literally burned?
Starting point is 00:13:06 No, it was too hot. It was just all onions. You couldn't taste anything else. I was like ate, and I was like, this is horrible. This is the only time you ever badmouthed cosmic rays. I know. Because you're usually a defender. Well, they usually have chicken tenders or toppings bar to fall back on, but not that day.
Starting point is 00:13:23 Wow. Well, this is, I don't know. I wanted to start off on a sour note here. No. I'd also like to say that I was once burned by a giant theme park Hogi. You'd be a great start to a blues song. I think, yeah, I think basically you got to write that. Lay it on, lay it all out with that.
Starting point is 00:13:39 You've got to figure out how to play the harmonica. Oh, that's weird. This new, this new blues brother. Sesame Street show at Japan just has one random American talking about a bad oaky. And it's sweet. And everyone loves it. And everyone
Starting point is 00:13:54 is going nuts for this guy's gin. Yeah. Yeah. So we got to go to Fan Fest. Thank you to Universal for inviting us out. They did a little thing. We always love it. We feel important when there's a little
Starting point is 00:14:08 party you get to go to and you see other people doing the same thing. Absolutely. And Mike loves it when the begging works. Yes, I do love it when the begging works The begging often works This is the situation here It works at home with your family Yes
Starting point is 00:14:21 It works if you're in financial dire straits And it works with the great theme park Operators of America So thank you for having us To the second pass of Fan Fest nights Yes, the second time We covered it last year And we were back for more
Starting point is 00:14:36 What is the succinct way to explain Fan Fest nights for people who've not Been to Fan Fest nights Who do not have it on their coast or middle of the country. It's horror nights but not scary stuff, really. Yeah. That's the closest thing you can say to it.
Starting point is 00:14:50 Temporary, which sounds boring, but it's just true. For a limited time, some of your favorite IPs come to life in surprising ways that are laid on top of the existing infrastructure of Universal Studios. They kind of take advantage of nooks and crannies of the park that you didn't know were there. They open up sound stages to create indoor experiences and different outdoor experiences. and different outdoor experiences and there's meet and greets with characters you don't usually get to meet and greet. Yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:15:19 It's like, I don't know, it's, I think is proving a fun way to invite in pop culture who maybe would not necessarily get a, like, full-time cement in the ground that you have a permanent home at Universal Studios. Yes. But that people love and want to come see
Starting point is 00:15:39 and take pictures with. Yeah, I assume there's testing happening, too like we know there's a Jurassic Park thing with there a bunch of characters people playing the characters from the original movie and it's like maybe we keep these around I'm sure there's some of that going to where they like test properties as well how popular was this show how popular was this meat and Greece see what the interest is for like more of it here in Hollywood more of it at a new park that we we might open or to replace something in Florida or
Starting point is 00:16:04 whatever yeah yeah you sense the other you're sort of it does feel like you're part of a living experiment yeah yeah these things and the whole thing is I'm sorry. We were going to say something? Oh, I was going to say, and calendar-wise, this has been falling between the end of spring break and the start of the busy summer season. It's like a month-long event, and they're... No, 12 nights. 12. Well, it lasts like a month, though, doesn't it? Oh. Like, it lasts from like... Spread over. Oh, maybe that... It's not every night. It's not every night. It's not every night. I mean, it might be it's maybe it's six weeks. Maybe I'm wrong. Because it's usually Thursday through Sunday nights. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:16:43 Okay. So, and there's still, I feel like we're trying to ramp this thing up a little bit. It's not as well attended as horror nights. There's not as many dates. There's not quite as many, like there's not as many mazes or anything either. Well, I think there's an onboarding process. They have kind of invented a new thing. I mean, horror nights and things like it have existed for a long time to where there's sort of a shorthand.
Starting point is 00:17:04 You kind of understand what it is that you are going at night. And night is when scary things happen. This is a new thing that is at night, but it is not necessarily scary things happening. So maybe you're kind of going, what does the night aspect have to do with it? But then you know that Disney does limited time night events that are like, you know, odd little parties that let you see the park in a new way. And it's similar to that, I'd say. Yes, for sure, it's similar to that. And that also, I think I'm stealing this observation from Carly Wiesel, who we ran into there, that she said something.
Starting point is 00:17:39 about it kind of having being in the park because you can stay till 2 a.m. Yeah. If that was your desire, if you are not attired with children. And if that you can sort of end up in in kind of a gleeful post-prong sort of like, wow, I'm staying up all night. I'm in the place that I know, but it's totally different. Oh, that's fun. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:18:01 Kind of punch drunk or literally drunk if you want. Sure. Yeah, I don't know. Like the fun after. Just the after hours nature of it. Yeah, and all the rides are open to, which is a thing. The regular rides, and it's a pretty good opportunity to go on regular rides without a ton of line, because people are there primarily for the limited time things that are just at fan fest nights.
Starting point is 00:18:24 And boy, to be the Simpsons ride during Fanfest nights, the lowly ignored Simpsons ride. I think you could have a full lovemaking session with your partner in the queue of the Simpsons. ride, and take your time. Explore every nook and cranny of their body, and nobody would come bother you. Yeah. It's deserted over there. You would not be arrested.
Starting point is 00:18:48 No, I don't think so. It could be fine. It could be long. It could be tantric. Who knows? Yeah, not that you want to do that just on the ground or next to stanchions, but if you want some of that public thrill and to hear like a little like faint Madonna or Billy Joel as you do. Every nook and cranny you say. Hey, relax.
Starting point is 00:19:07 Don't, uh, we, we have recent information about what crannies you're excited about. So we don't got to hear about it every week. I was playing around in the field of ambiguity, old boy. So I wasn't getting it anything. I don't know Oscar Wilde joined us today. I joined us. Professor Moriarty is here. No.
Starting point is 00:19:31 No, he died at the Rockenbach Falls. The Wreckonbach Falls. I swear, I saw him go over the Falls. Horny Moriarty is here. Horny Moriarty. Jay's a famous character. Horny Moriarty, part of your SNL, the three characters. Yeah, they replied with two words. Not interested.
Starting point is 00:19:55 So, yeah, I mean, it was exciting to get to go to this and that there was a little refreshment, a little party thing set up for us. And also that not. not only were we invited, but we got to, that they gave us what during the day is preferred parking in a Frankenstein parking lot, thus allowing us to be right next to the park and not have to walk all the way through city walk, which I say on your behalf, Mike, how dare you, Universal? You deprive Mike the opportunity to walk through his favorite place on Earth? I was only okay with that because I am aware of the construction happening, the future hotel being built, the changes to where they're putting security.
Starting point is 00:20:36 So I was happy to be part of this. I was happy to help and not have to walk through the whole thing. So I was happy to be there because I knew I was making an effort on their behalf. You're making that process more efficient by not being a body in the way. Right. See, correct operations relaxes us. Yes, that made me feel good. And, you know, you get to see the nice old sign.
Starting point is 00:20:58 A little less pressure on the, you know, on the test, on the crowd test. Yes. So I was happy to be of service. That's really how I felt. I'm glad you still got something you wanted, if not to see the glorious canes sign, which I imagine you already see the Keynes LED sign in your Instagram feed, given that it goes viral on the regular. Yes, it does.
Starting point is 00:21:20 This is being fed to you often, but... It is very funny to imagine you all walking out of Universal. Mike's seeing that Keynes sign and smiling and going, Hey, guys, I'll see you later. I'm going to take the long way. Just for a stroll through the wall It sounds romantic when you put it like that Yeah
Starting point is 00:21:40 I haven't been to the canes yet at Citywalk Gasp Yeah What? I know You haven't taken the opportunity To pay $2 more for chicken figures Than you would be able to pay closer to your house
Starting point is 00:21:52 I haven't done it yet Wow wow That's still I'm saving that for later I guess Potentially seizure at the blinding light of the sign Seizure with happiness Should we Let me go
Starting point is 00:22:02 Just let me die this way This is heaven. I see it. Should we go in by matching t-shirts? At the canes? Yeah. I mean, I guess, yeah. Okay.
Starting point is 00:22:11 That just say canes? I'm sure. What else would they say? They say like. Cain's sign. Fans numbers one and two. Yeah. I don't know.
Starting point is 00:22:19 Well, I mean, they have a lot. They have a robust merch section from the photos. Maybe it's a t-shirt with a picture of like the soda cup full of dipping sauce you can buy. Oh, yeah. That's true. You can get a big cup full of the cane sauce. The influencers love to dip. in the big cup.
Starting point is 00:22:35 Yeah, the car influencers dip in a big cup often. And Scott, I'm going to tell you, it is not pay off at all. It's disgusting. You don't like it when they have a big cup of sauce? It's kind of nasty to me. There's a whole trend where people are dipping
Starting point is 00:22:49 buttered chicken or dipping things in buttered chicken in their car. So they bring like a big pizza and they go, we're dipping this in buttered chicken today. And they eat it. Wait, your car is going to smell like buttered chicken forever. Why are you doing in the car?
Starting point is 00:23:02 A lot of people do it in the car. Yeah, a lot of people review stuff in cars. Here's another Mike and Jason viral spleen to Scott Moore. Yeah, look old man. You weren't in on the new trend. Everybody, everybody everywhere is talking about butter chicken dips and you're missing out. That's a little less, a little more obscure, but the in-car is very, been going on for a long time. Okay, okay.
Starting point is 00:23:25 So, yeah, for whatever reason. Is that why you do in-car videos? I feel like anything that you were, if you're promoting your wares or responding to some ongoing thread on the. show you are usually in car if i'm maybe i'm imitating some of my favorites like luke foods or dang it's wayne some of my favorite guys so perhaps and subconsciously i am imitating how much how much younger do you think dang it's wain is than you luke foods is definitely a lot younger he's definitely in his 20 early 20s probably early to mid 20s dang it's Wayne probably similar honestly so then they they'll team up once in a while to say that there should be an age barrier no
Starting point is 00:24:03 I follow some older folks, for sure. There's some older folks in the car. I like the guy who tries Facebook Marketplace food. Oh, I don't know this guy. Do you know that? What's his name? Because people have been doing, like, home cooks have been making, like, platters and you buy, like, you get a meat and three, you know, or you get, like, a drink.
Starting point is 00:24:23 Wait, what was that phrase? Meat in three. No further explanation needed. At a barbecue place. You mean when you pick three separate meats as a platter? Well, you get, uh, you get a, uh, you get a meat. You can make different meats, sure. But what's the three?
Starting point is 00:24:36 Sides. Oh, that's what I asked. Oh, he was right then. Yeah, yeah. I thought you meant meats. A meat and three is what? Meat and three. Not meat in three.
Starting point is 00:24:47 That's what I thought was. Meat and three. Okay, meat and three. I feel like that's like down set or a crack. That's cracker barrel terminology? The cracker barrel might use it, you know, a meat and three, like a barbecue place. Okay. Okay.
Starting point is 00:25:01 So, wait, so this guy tried. that you're saying? Or you'll try like a person that makes barbecue out of their apartment this guy will just go and try. He'll buy barbecue or like food you know from wherever the person is from like
Starting point is 00:25:14 I feel like he eats a lot of joloff rice. I don't know exactly. How old? How old is this guy? I would say 20s. Okay, young man as well. Okay.
Starting point is 00:25:25 Well now I'm learning the cool viral way to get your meals is via Facebook market place. This is, we pray that This job will still be open for our children to do Because it will be one of the only viable jobs in 15 years Facebook marketplace eater Food reviewer in a car
Starting point is 00:25:42 And they're going to have to find their avenue Of like what kind of food in the cars they review It's going to have to be inherited cars Because at this way with tariffs They're not going to be able to buy their own cars Well, they're not going to share my car They're not going to drive me able to afford it Yes, it's been gas shortage is straight-of-form moods
Starting point is 00:25:58 So I don't know what's I don't know where things are going to be at Autonomous vehicles The cars are going to drive them. How is it going to happen? I am not, you're not going to find me in one of those. You're never going to be in an autonomous vehicle? Not for a couple generations at least.
Starting point is 00:26:12 How old are you going to be when you? No, no, technology generation. Oh, okay. Not full generations of human beings. I was like, dude, you're not that young. Not anymore. You knew it when I was recently young. Unfortunately, you can't wait for like nine generations of human to pass.
Starting point is 00:26:31 When the Waymos make it to buries, make it to Burbank. The Waymos are everywhere except for Burbank right now. As soon as the Waymos make it to Burbank, I'm getting you in one of those Waymos. Oh, no. Yep. Shoving him in? I'm shoving you and I'm not going in with you and I'm programming it to take you somewhere and I won't tell you where. You're really playing with
Starting point is 00:26:46 fire because sometimes I don't know which direction I'm going to end up nowadays. So that shove. Oh, okay. So we're saying, okay, I will help you in gently to the Waymo. Slowly. Slowly. I'll make sure you're seated. The slowest resistance you've ever in. Then I will tell the Waymo to take you somewhere that you don't know, and I'll make sure there's a person there to ease you out of the Waymo.
Starting point is 00:27:09 And to say, while you're in the Waymo, I hear I bought you a butter chicken and three on Facebook Marketplace, eat it and review it and post a video by the end of the ride, or I put a bullet in your brain. Well, that would be a unique, you know, crossover, eating cooking and like barbecue, American-South barbecue. People really should be reviewing in Waymo's. That's actually a good idea. That's a good gimmick. It's a good, probably for a young person. Somebody's got to be doing it. You think?
Starting point is 00:27:36 Maybe they are. Yeah. I don't know. Well, we'll look. We'll see. There was no butter chicken at this event, but we get to try some other things. Or unusual styles of food. It's not unusual, but things that you don't normally see in universe.
Starting point is 00:27:48 I had a Sailor Moon bento box. Wow. This was very excited. Yeah, that is good. I mean, no, I just, that's a good savvy crossover. Oh, a good idea is what you're saying. Existence of it is good. I mean, you said it with such an authority.
Starting point is 00:28:05 He might have gotten it Facebook marketplace to him. Yeah. Can you postmates of Sailor Moon bentel box here right now? Postmates through, you do postmates and Facebook marketplace to put two apps together. Then you're getting that meal for a near $85. Right. And I will say this bento box is for a theme park bento box pretty good. Really?
Starting point is 00:28:27 I was like, oh, I would like eat this. What's going on in there? I mean, you got here. There was some, I would say, there's almost something that tasted like egg salad. I don't know exactly what it is. I guess I should look up online. Okay. There was a mystery egg.
Starting point is 00:28:42 Egg salad's big in Japan. So probably was that. There was some spicy pickles, which I liked. Nice. And then there's almost like some sort of a roll with some seaweed, big rice thing. And then it tasted like tuna in there. I should look this up to make sure I know what I'm talking about. But every part of it was pretty good.
Starting point is 00:29:00 And immediately, erased the memory of all the Star Trek food from last year. Okay, yeah, you were not satisfied by that. None of that was so... You feel like food was a better situation. It felt like the food was upgraded. That's good. That was the feel...
Starting point is 00:29:14 I didn't try everything, but it felt... If they're going to make a big deal out of the food, if that's going to be one of the draws of the event, then, yeah, they should keep the quality decently high. Yeah. And so I had that. I had a blind box sailor moon cupcake. So we know on this show, Jason and I are both fans of Blindbox, meaning we don't know exactly what's in the box until you purchase it.
Starting point is 00:29:37 Oh, yeah, I opened the one I got. What was it? It was a little, it was a popmarked toy. What is that the name of it? Salmon boy? No, I'm just describing that he looks like salmon. Oh, okay. Well, that's fine.
Starting point is 00:29:49 They all look like different food, I feel like. Sure. Are they sad, though? Some of them are happy. But not yours. Not your toy. God, even the fucking. And Pop-Mart toys are Duncan on me.
Starting point is 00:30:02 Well, if you don't like it, then sell it on Facebook marketplace along with that half-eaten sleeve of Ritzes you got there. You got a Pop-Mart toy and won. I'm not compromising on the Ritzes. If it's going to make the sale of the toy more, you can up the value by you throwing in the Ritzes. Yeah, fucking better. You can get it going. I'm throwing in the toy. What do you say throwing in the towel?
Starting point is 00:30:25 No, I'm throwing in the toy. The Ritzes are the prize. Oh, I see it. I see it. So I got this giant, you know, white and pink cupcake here. Great. Which I think we all had a piece of. It was the flavor was strawberry.
Starting point is 00:30:39 Flavor was strawberry. So it didn't strike out. It wasn't weird. It wasn't, uh, octopus. It was a good theme park cupcake. I'm not going to say it's like the greatest cupcake I've ever had, but it's like a good theme park cupcake. You know? Yeah, so I felt everything I had was, uh, good to fine.
Starting point is 00:30:54 What did you have again? I forget. Um, I had some bites of a Scooby snack. Oh, right. We had a little Scooby Snack. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I felt like that was Scooby-Doo being one of the properties here. Yes.
Starting point is 00:31:05 And that's something you got to do is try to represent what Scooby Snacks are. And to try to ride the line between something that is for people, but that could conceivably be a dog tree as well. Uh-huh. I think that via a gingerbread-like cookie substance, they represented the dog biscuit vibe, but then also put a chocolate paw print in there to kind of tie everything. I'm not saying, look, it wasn't dog food. I'm not saying that it was. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:31:37 But I thought that they did as it was, they made it as edible as it could be while feeling a little bit like dog food. It did feel a little like dog food and that is smart of them to do. I guess they figured it out. Yeah. I found what it is, a spicy tuna, it's potato salad, not egg salad, pickled cucumbers. And then I forgot that I did not eat the octopus-shaped sausage. I thought that was a little weird.
Starting point is 00:31:58 Okay. So I did not eat it. All right. Give it here. It's in my pocket. It's been there for a week. Yeah, the mystery box cupcake has five different colors you can get. You can get red, pink, light blue, green, and yellow.
Starting point is 00:32:12 And then there's a bunch of other fun. I mean, there's a lot of Jason Sheridan coded stuff. That eat at this event. At the Sailor Moon event? Well, all of it. I mean, the super shaggy sandwich, which we talked about before. but then the Universal Monster Hot Dog. That's real big.
Starting point is 00:32:30 It's 22 inches. With a lot of stuff. With a lot of stuff on it. We got up close and personal on an escalator with this hot dog. A man who was carrying it out for later. Now, this is something important to know. Mike, he said like it was going to clock out and then go eat it? Yeah, yeah, I think so.
Starting point is 00:32:47 It was late, but he was like going up the stairs with it. I was imagining, I believe, that he was going to go split up. up amongst his hungry children. I'm providing for my family, damn it. Perhaps. If you judge me, you say this is all for me. 22 inches, that's enough for a family. It's a $40 hot dog.
Starting point is 00:33:07 Now, just to say, you know, bringing it up on an escalator and taking it to a different area of the park seems like a lot of commitment to a big giant hot dog. But let me add the fact that he, this person bought the hot dog on a stop on the universal tram tour, which is the furthest possible location from where you load for the trip. Like, this experience takes place in the little Europe area, which is so far on the other side of Universal Studios. I said, like, we're going to be, like, next to my house. We're like, you're essentially, you're like in another city.
Starting point is 00:33:42 Yeah. By the time you get over there. So this was a lot of commitment from this person to, like, do the, like, a, how long is that? Was that a 10-minute ride? Is that a 15-minute ride on the tram? It feels a little shorter getting back, but it's still like, it feels like 10 minutes. Very long on video, because those machines go under five miles an hour. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:34:05 Pretty slow. Because you're stopping. It's definitely. You're in the pitch black or near pitch black. If you're a sleepy dad, it is a dangerous drive. Because I felt like I had the juice going into that tram ride. And then coming out at that tram, I was like, hmm. The energy has been zapped out of me a little bit.
Starting point is 00:34:26 It's very dark. It's very dark. Yeah, I can see how that would happen. But let's this, this dog. Yes. This is the universal monster 22-inch dog. And it very cleverly, and in a way that I think we completely clocked and understood, represents each and every classic universal monster with its toppings. I'll read from their copy, these titans of classic cinema represented in each and every bite.
Starting point is 00:34:52 Here, name the monster. represented by the item. Let's play, let's do this as a game. Jason should be able to do it. Okay, so this shareable handheld is top of it, which is a shareable, virulable handheld. All of them, because that's horrifying. Nothing more monstrous than the word shareable handled. It's topped with pulled pork.
Starting point is 00:35:15 What monster is pulled equal to pork? Is that the wolf man? Yes, you got it. That was my guess too. Because he tears apart beasts in the woods. Yeah. Because he would, if he found an animal. animal or human he would tear it to shreds like shredded pork i guess okay yeah it makes
Starting point is 00:35:29 sense uh kale cabbage slaw the creature wow you guys are this is the game you were born to play the creature from that was a tough one he's made of kale he's surrounded by uh stuff plant lights he's june and the one loves kale spicy pickles oh uh Frankenstein yes yes i was a little It's acing. Because why? Because green? I guess. And because it's a fiendish experiment
Starting point is 00:35:58 to make a pickle spicy. Yeah. Fried garlic chips. Oh, dry. Yulele. Try you like. Your anxiousness got you the point instead of Mike.
Starting point is 00:36:08 I believe you're tied. So we can break the tie with a streak of white barbecue sauce. Bride, bride, ride, ride. Fried, fried. She got the white street. He didn't want to lose the food contest. Well, here I was poking fun.
Starting point is 00:36:23 at how is this giant hot dog representative of five monsters and you guys prove me completely correct it kind of sounds delicious and i'm jealous of you guys lady and the tramping it while during your escalator trip you saw that other guy out of the corner up your eye that other guy correct me for wrong scott but that other we made a couple comments about the hot dog and that guy seemed like he was not amused did he hear that i think he was hearing the comments about the hot dog and he i looked at his face and he looked like he was sort of just like i'm staring straight ahead I'm not going to acknowledge. I mean, we were having, we didn't like say,
Starting point is 00:36:56 hey, loser, why do you have this big hot dog? I was like, I feel like, yeah, it wasn't directed at him. There were good nature, little.
Starting point is 00:37:01 I didn't do the family riff until he was out of your shot. I'm just trying to make sure that I was making fun of him behind his back. No, it seems fun. He was providing for him.
Starting point is 00:37:10 He was taking that to the Apollo 13 astronauts cutout. No, they're gone. And they're enjoying it together. The cutout is gone, Jason. We passed by it.
Starting point is 00:37:19 And of course it's been gone for a long time, but I, we did be moan, specifically Matt while going down the starway. Well, he's eating it himself mournfully to remember the good times. The heroism of the three men. Well, let's talk about some attractions.
Starting point is 00:37:37 I'm sure there's plenty more food we could discuss. But I don't know, do we do it sort of in order roughly, at least to start? Because the first thing we did was the One Piece Grand Pirate Show. Yes. Now, I went into it. If you're in L.A., maybe you've seen billboards for this event, and it's kind of like lightning that divides up photos of your favorite characters. Yoshi, Scooby-Doo, A Dinosaur, A Hippagriff, End of List, all your favorite characters.
Starting point is 00:38:13 And I knew that One Piece was one of the things. Was One Piece part of it last year in some way? Was it a mean greed? I forget. There was, like, some added anime series. stuff last year last second. I can't remember if One Piece was part of it. But I think I believe that was successful enough that they...
Starting point is 00:38:28 Chainsaw Man was in the theater that Taylor Moon is in this year. Right. Got a big chainsaw head. Sure. No, I know. I'm familiar. So, but they doubled down on that from last year. And One Piece guy...
Starting point is 00:38:44 Basically, I came into the event not knowing what the One Piece attraction was, was delighted to discover that it was taking over the water world. Live Sea Wars spectacular, stunt arena, and that this was an excuse, an opportunity, to see something using the mechanisms of water world, but with a whole new IP overlay. Yeah. That was exciting.
Starting point is 00:39:06 This to me is a venerable venue now, with its ties going back to Miami Vice. I got so much, I got reinvigorated about this place when we talked about this weird thing, spectra blast on the second gate, this bizarre, like, limited one summer only, night show involving a big complicated computer and Doc Brown and Bob Seeger and a lot of
Starting point is 00:39:30 lasers. So I was just amped to be and this is our first thing after you down a couple of drinks. Like that's just a good feeling like, oh, and now we're heading into here. Now we're heading in. Yes. So, you know, I came in as a fan of the venue and seats. I don't know anything about one piece and I don't feel like you do either. I don't. This is going to be a classic, one of my classic character things on the podcast. More classic than horny Moriarty? Well, that was Jason's. I mean, I made it up, but Jason's,
Starting point is 00:40:00 the Jason's character. I'm saying this is going to be, this is going to be a, what's the, I can't think, not Olivia Rodriguez album or something where it's like, boy, do I want to watch One Piece. Okay. I'm so excited to one day. Intended fandom.
Starting point is 00:40:14 Yes. This is a cleaner way to put that, but you have a lot of intended fan. I have a lot of intended fandoms. So this is on the list of attended fandoms. And I just, I vaguely know the characters and stuff and I hear about it. And I have friends who like it.
Starting point is 00:40:28 So yes, but I don't know a ton of it. I don't know that. I didn't know anybody. So, you know, as the heroes come out, I don't know who they are.
Starting point is 00:40:36 As the clown villain comes out and other villains, first of all, what's kind of exciting is that I don't know who is a hero or who is a villain. Yeah. So it's a little fun to be kind of like having to suss this out for the first time. But, I mean,
Starting point is 00:40:51 I assume that the clown, was a villain. He seemed scary. But it kind of, I was like, you know what? This works for me, though, because it was like just hearing the screams and approval from the audience. I was like, oh, clearly this is like, if I was a kid and I was seeing some kind of like generic Batman stunt show. And now the Riddler's here and Mr. Freed is here and Poison Ivy is here. And I'm like, well, good for this. This is great if you're a fan of this, that you get all the characters. And this is like a big.
Starting point is 00:41:20 Hugely popular. This, it was full. It was opening night of the whole thing, but this, the whole place was full. I think if you're going to do this event, this seems like you maybe need a plan or something you want to get early. There's a couple opportunities to see. As I was watching videos for this, everyone, the audience was screaming as characters came out. People were hyped. It's a long-running, very popular show.
Starting point is 00:41:42 Very passionate fan base. So, make sense. Watch. Make sense why they should and do more. And that sounded like, okay, so intentional fandom, that was, that from Jason sounded like a, that was like an approving scolding. Yeah. That sounded like, there was the tone of you were yelling at Universal, but you were saying something popping. Oh, no, I, yeah.
Starting point is 00:42:05 Makes sense. I thought on video it was also like, oh, I think they're trying to capture like some of the dialogue delivery style and movements of like the anime. For sure. And they were doing a lot of that. in a lot of the videos I watch from this event, it seemed like the lighting, whatever scrimms they have going, the lighting looked awesome.
Starting point is 00:42:27 Yeah, because you're using the set of Warworld. You're using the, what's the phrase of the atolls? You're looking at the atolls, of course, but they need to bring the atolls into the world of one piece. So, yeah, there's kind of this big, like, color splash, like, yeah, whatever they're throwing some kind of lighten design on there, which I'll, like, kind of shake intentionally at various times. And yeah, I mean, my thought watching this was if you'd never been to Universal Studios
Starting point is 00:42:54 and you weren't familiar with Waterworld before and you just took it on face value as a new one-piece stunt show and you're a big fan of one-piece, you would just go, this is the greatest thing that's ever happened. This is so cool. It's a little more loaded for us because we know these, we know the atolls. We know the boats. However, we don't know them with like neon strips. light on them. So that's new. Yeah, that's new. Yeah, I was trying to watch it. I'm like,
Starting point is 00:43:22 okay, what are they, they're going to use these tricks, these tricks. So if you, yeah, you know that, there's a little bit of like not as much surprise happening. But what does that really matter? Because you're there for the characters and the delivery and. Yeah. No, I'm, I'm pissed. I'm like, you know, they don't, you know, they're going to take these fly by night one piece characters and take away my precious characters, the deacon. Yeah. And the mariner and Helen. I mean, this is American scripture. I hate to say it, but I would not mind if they just replaced it with this. There's scuttle butt.
Starting point is 00:43:55 I have seen people online refer to the possibility. Some people said this as well. I don't know if that's just wishful thinking, if that's like they should do this. Someone shouted at us that Waterworld's going away when we were there. Wow. Someone we knew was a part of the longer conversation. Was it Kevin or Bob or another? No, not neither of Kevin.
Starting point is 00:44:17 either Kevin nor Bob, but somebody kept shouting and I go, do we know? We understood it even through minionese. I couldn't get a full, like, do we know that? Is there a source site? So I don't know. But that's what, yeah, that's what other rumors that night were, not that necessarily one piece is replacing it, but it wouldn't make sense if they,
Starting point is 00:44:30 and especially then you can modify this a little more. Or even if they're in permanent, yeah, yeah. This is the test and they'll do like a different property in the, I mean, maybe. It just felt like this is very popular. Yeah, it does really. There was a cool. they used
Starting point is 00:44:47 I forget which character it is so they do a teleport thing Oh yeah So they use some of the tricks For like different ideas For different Yeah Kind of cool moments where guy
Starting point is 00:44:57 You saw this, you watched the video I did Yeah falls through but he like teleports And he moves over somewhere else They grab his arms and stuff A guy's leg
Starting point is 00:45:05 Catches on fire He does flips And stunts And then jumps into the water At the end And it reduces the fire that way That is like potentially
Starting point is 00:45:16 in a cooler moment than things in Waterwell, but a notably cool thing as far as stuff you can do in that menu. To go back to, because I always think of things
Starting point is 00:45:25 in terms of wrestling and I'm trying to remember I think there's been, I've seen a guy light his foot on fire and then kick a guy and then I've also seen a guy kick and have like a firework
Starting point is 00:45:34 on his foot and he kicks a guy and it blows up on impact. So I was like, yeah, this is good. This is a good like wrestling spot as well. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:45:44 I'm like, I mean, I guess, I go back to what I was saying at the top of this discussion, which is that I'm a fan of the venue, and it kind of doesn't matter what the IP is, which I think, I do think that the, I think that is a little true.
Starting point is 00:45:57 I think that if Waterworld, if they ever decided Waterworld's days were numbered, I think they would find that people are okay with the deacon going away, but what you want are these stunt people and this team, and I think you could do kind of anything there. And, you know, as long as you got people flying in those little cages on the wires, and big cool boats and big explosions. Mine card, yeah.
Starting point is 00:46:19 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just give us the tricks. I feel like every time something is like circling the, I feel like there's a lot of weird celebrities photographed in this venue. Is that right? Like they would. What do you mean by that? When the Universal would take a VIP or something.
Starting point is 00:46:38 It's funny to see people photographed in this park. Sitting in the stands or sitting like? I think. just seeing different venues around this upper lot. Because all the famous people live in this park. So where if there's premieres. You mean like because it's in L.A? Yeah, because it's in L.A.
Starting point is 00:47:00 Okay. So I don't know if it's premieres going by. Are you just saying in general? Yeah, in general. Versus sitting in Waterworld? Yeah. Like, I mean, the famous people are out. Between this and like the Miami Vice here.
Starting point is 00:47:15 I mean, I don't know. I'd have to see a photo. I have a hard time thinking of an example. Have you seen like a venerable actress Holland Taylor with a golf ball in her mouth waiting for the deacon to give it a drive? I know. And now I'm thinking about it. Maybe it was just a weird alleyway on a set or so where it's an alley on the upper lot. What was the Sega?
Starting point is 00:47:45 like you sent us a clip from like the Sega video game day did maybe I sent that I forget recently it was you I don't know I'm not sure so you're thinking you're mixing that up with the Sega day yeah yeah I don't know I mean there's look there's too many famous people that have been at Universal Studios I don't I actually do you have to show me just an example yeah Hollywood is often is uh also sometimes referred to as famous town
Starting point is 00:48:11 it is where we live yeah It's where we live, famous podcasters. There's a reason for that. Mm-hmm. Yes. It's an Alley or Waterworld or Sega. If you're thinking of the Ninja Turtle's photo from the Miami Vice stunt show, yeah, we don't know what that is, but those guys are famous too. So maybe that's what you're thinking of.
Starting point is 00:48:29 Maybe that's what I'm thinking, though. Yeah. But we still don't know what that. The famous was Donna Tello. Yeah. Well, anything else about this? No, it's cool. I mean, this is one of my favorite things that night.
Starting point is 00:48:43 This may be my favorite thing. It was good. It was very good. Got me pumped up. Got me excited for the rest of the evening. Yeah. Did we then go to the tram from there? Believe we did, yes. The tram is your path to the experience Scooby-Doo meets the Universal Monsters' mystery on the back lot. Yes. Something I didn't know much about. I didn't know where it was going to take me. I didn't know what was going to occur. I didn't know if the Universal Monsters were the enemies of the Scooby-Doo gang or the friends.
Starting point is 00:49:14 But you're filled in as you are taken out from the tramloading area. You were filled in by a number of videos that kind of start conveying the plot to you. And there are a lot of videos because, as mentioned, you've got a long way to go. It really is like the furthest possible real estate on the back lot. And as you're doing the math, you're like, oh, it's little Europe. Oh, my God, that's going to take a long time to get over there. So they produced a lot of video material, which I commend them for doing. You are introduced at various times to the Scooby-Doo gang,
Starting point is 00:49:53 and you are introduced to various groundlings who play different characters who you are to be on the lookout for as part of the mystery that you're going to solve. You're really, you're throwing a lot of backstory. There's a, yes, a ton of explanation. because they're doing, I mean, last year, if you know anything about this last year, they did a whole back to the future sort of basically like an hour long
Starting point is 00:50:18 immersive performance of highlights of the movie. And it was a similar thing. You got on the tram. There was a little backstory. You got there and then you could sort of choose your own adventure. This time I feel like they even got a little more ambitious with the idea and maybe because of that they have to
Starting point is 00:50:34 give more explanation, more backstory, more like direction of what you can or can't do. Yeah. Well, and because, you know, I guess they need to flesh out the characters because some of the characters they've picked are monsters who cannot speak. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:50:49 So you can't interact with them super well. So they have to like flesh out this. And in very Scooby-Doo fashion, it's all these like possibilities of who could be the masked criminal. So you're going to a film set and there's various people who are named like film sety things. Joke names. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:51:10 like Tommy clipboard and Max Strip and Brenda Boom and Krista Craft Service. And you see a lot of monologues that kill a lot of time and require the tour guide to do less. My kudos to the tour guides. I know from doing that job how much like it's not, it's a tall aura. They have to like be funny and do regular tour stuff, but also everything's dark so they can't like point out what the things on the lot and do the things that you would normally. do. There's also a part towards the end when you're about to get dropped off where the tour guide says,
Starting point is 00:51:48 now just so you know, if you don't, if you want to solve the mystery, then go get a book and a pen. If you don't want to solve the mystery, that's okay. You can wander around and just take in the environment and as those were laid out, I was like, interesting,
Starting point is 00:52:04 interesting that there is that option. I know which way I'm leaning. But let me be open. mind at this juncture. Yeah. Then we were dropped off. Not to shoot past, you know, it was a cool thing. I'm not sure that in the whole month of Subtranber, I don't know that we ever talked
Starting point is 00:52:23 about the big mural of the giant. Oh, yeah. The sort of new feature on the tour, a kind of boring nothing wall is filled up by these amazing, gigantic murals, you know, each like panel of it depicting a different universal monster. and just to get you acquainted with these are the monsters you're going to be meeting they just like you stop there for a second
Starting point is 00:52:46 and they flash that thing up with just big primary lights just big bold colors you get just a good basic little light show there yeah that's really it's pretty cool yeah yeah yeah even just watching all of the attractions at this night the lighting department is really like
Starting point is 00:53:05 upping their game yeah lighting is really killer Yeah, for a lot of the Perry Potter thing, especially, which we'll get to. Anyways, so you see that, this wasn't part of the experience, but we did pass by a poster for Lorne. Oh, we got excited about that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yes. We did, yeah. I tried to take a picture.
Starting point is 00:53:22 I have a blurry photo of you looking at it. Yes, you know, I checked it, and it did come out, and I'm thankful that it did. I did see the film Lorne. I saw Lorne in theaters, the Lorne Michael's documentary. And let me just say, if you haven't gone to see it with an audience, when you hear, When you get to be with a crowd of Lorne heads and you hear him say the show doesn't go on because it's ready. It goes on because it's 1130. That feels like everybody's saying it by the end.
Starting point is 00:53:49 It's like hearing May the Force be with you in a Star Wars movie better in many ways. They should do fan fest nights in Orlando and take the Jimmy Fallon ride queue and make it into 30 Rocks, SNL offices. And it's your meeting with Lorne. It's your meeting with Lorne. But it could be any era, too, so you could have all the other people playing characters. Oh, like when you're meeting Mickey Mouse and so is it Sorcer's Apprentice, ooh, and then you've got to suss it out by based on what posters are on his wall and what his hair looks like. Is the 70s Lorne?
Starting point is 00:54:20 He's a little more chill. He's more your peer. Or is it kind of like a more distant, is it Lauren when the show's falling apart or is it very confident? Yeah. Show stability, Lauren. The secret one you can see the other people in the hallways is the Mark, Mark Merrin storming out after his meeting. Oh, yeah, right.
Starting point is 00:54:39 It's a little Easter egg for the heads. There was meeting. I said something about monkeys. Jeez, boy, I'm going to be thinking about this for 25 years. So, I mean, I'm just giving them free ideas here. They own the IP of Lorne. To smell the popcorn. Right.
Starting point is 00:54:54 I get to smell. I didn't, you don't eat. I'm not going to ask for popcorn. No, no. I'm smart enough going into that meeting. I don't know to do that. Anyways, then you, then you are dropped off in little Europe. And you're there because, if you don't know or don't recall from our many tram episodes,
Starting point is 00:55:11 Little Europe is where all of Hollywood's greatest monsters come to life. It's where they filmed all the... I was trying to refresh my memory because that was a question Grissom had. He's like, I've heard that, but what, though, was? Yeah. And I checked just to be sure, like the big basic originals, Frankenstein, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dracula, Bride of Frankenstein, all filmed in that area. However, that area all got lit on fire in 1967, so you're not really looking at, but it was all there.
Starting point is 00:55:40 Sure. You're standing on the ground walked by Lawn Cheney. Similar to the Back to the Future thing. You know, it's not all exactly the same. Yeah, yeah, I'm not all. But the clock tower never burnt down. That's true. Maybe the fountain is the fountain original or a replica?
Starting point is 00:55:58 That's a good question. I don't know. The fountain's cool. Yeah, the fountain's cool. Yeah, well, that's the court. You know what I was wrong? Little Europe isn't where the court of miracles. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:56:07 Well, Hollywood's great. It's my like, um, fist pump moment. That's your show doesn't go on because it's ready. I also, it was also obviously an incredible honor to be walking around the kingdom of Genovia from the Princess Diaries to a royal engagement. That's my only disappointment that you didn't run into. It could have been, yeah. Some real, some authentic Genovians.
Starting point is 00:56:30 Get to stamp a Genovian. passport. Right. But anyway, when you are dropped off, then you, then like there's kind of a rush to a bunch of tables with these books and pens, which we all went and got. I think we're all like, well, we got to get the books and pens. We're here with the mystery gang. We got to solve the mystery. How long before, how long into looking at the book, when did you make your decision? I, if I'm being honest, I think it was before the book. I made like 70% of my decision.
Starting point is 00:57:03 I'm not saying I wouldn't have changed my mind if it presented itself as something more like easier. But I was like, uh-oh, books, writing things down. This is just not, we've said this before on the show. This is just not what I like to do in general. And I, yeah, and no shade to anybody. There were plenty of people doing it. People love this stuff. And I like seeing them love it.
Starting point is 00:57:27 But it's not quite what I like to do. and I hate to keep comparing but the back to the future thing last year is exactly the amount of of like immersion I want truly like I don't want them to just copy the same thing every year so I'm not telling them that to like try some cool stuff out
Starting point is 00:57:39 but last year is like you can just hang out there the vibes were perfect last year you can interact you can do fun stuff you don't need to but you can truly just enjoy the show on the ground
Starting point is 00:57:51 why did they not do back to the future again maybe they're just testin's I don't know Maybe they want to do people, I would hope they do Back to Future 2 next year. That's my hope. That's cool.
Starting point is 00:58:03 But I don't know. At first, when I heard of it and heard exactly what it entailed, I thought maybe they were overestimating the audience's appetite for the mechanics of Scooby-Doo. Like, I feel like C-10 and then the park is, that it had just been universal monsters and you walked around the court of angels. Are you saying that the deductive powers? of the gang are not the main thing you're in it for. Just to watch their brains work.
Starting point is 00:58:36 And like interact with them. Because like really, yeah, it's a good point you're making here. I will say this. Some of that fun 70s music was playing. Some of the fun like Scooby-Doo style music was playing, which I really like. That's really good. Yes, yeah.
Starting point is 00:58:49 Because, yeah, Scooby-Doo is about the vibes. It's not necessarily about the crime-solving. It's not about the detective work. Yes, it's not the Benedict Cumberbatch. Sherlock or you're Right Seeing his vision The deducted vision
Starting point is 00:59:02 I feel like Saying hi to them in the park For a picture Is about the amount of Scooby do You're looking I don't think of it in You're looking to see Shaggy Eat something and be a coward
Starting point is 00:59:14 And hop into Scooby's arms And the running back and forth Between the doors Yeah yeah You're not looking for them To like actually Find clues and dust for Prince Well and some people
Starting point is 00:59:26 I'm not saying what people. Some people are in it to maybe check out some of these babes. And for and with that, I came in with a question. Go ahead. Which is, uh, Mike, when is it, or is it, uh, proper for, uh, a, someone to be attracted to Velma or is Velma your mom's friend? Well, okay, how old, okay, because this is an old cartoon as far as we're concerned. It was out before we were alive. So, and I mean, what are the mystery ink? Are they, how old are they teens? I don't know, but it's, I think it's, I think you're in a different area with.
Starting point is 01:00:05 They're like older teens. I guess you're in a different area with. So I'll, I'll allow any age, but I have to figure out what years I'm comfortable with a person being. Because if it's like someone, you need an ID on this. If somebody's born 1930, I think that's a little strange to be so attracted to Daphne in your Val- Okay, all right, that's a fair. But I'll give it to like, okay, because I don't think, they seem closer to our age. April was older.
Starting point is 01:00:32 She might have been in her late 20s, the 80s cartoon April. And that's, so that makes it worse? It makes it weirder to me because that's closer to my mom's age at the time. But these are closer, teenagers. But people have different ages and different moms. That's the thing. I guess you're right. I mean, honestly, send in how old you are and who you're attracted to.
Starting point is 01:00:54 I'll deem if it's acceptable or not. Age and your cartoon crush. And Mike will determine if it's okay or not or if it's mom's friend. I will say this. I was never attracted to Daph Daphne Daphne. Vellma or Daphne. But I almost feel like through sheer force of will of the public at large, now I am attracted to both of them.
Starting point is 01:01:20 But it was not something that I had a thought of as a child. It's a bigger idea. I guess it is. And it all gets, it becomes a confluence not necessarily of the original cartoon, but of like, you know, you've seen cosplayers. I guess that's what it is. You meld all the best Velmas into one Velma into the ideal Velma. I guess that's what it is. Delated scenes from the James Con.
Starting point is 01:01:43 The movies? The movies. Yeah. Did he make those movies? He wrote those movies, I believe. Yeah. But yeah, so I think, feel like the public has forced me to be attracted to these. cartoon characters.
Starting point is 01:01:55 Well, no one's forcing you. It feels like they are. It feels like that's what's happening. Who do you... If you had to name a name, who began, if it calls someone out for making you be a drag in. Jason. Jason.
Starting point is 01:02:07 You're just saying that because I'm right here. Well, probably blaming someone in the room. I feel like there was like a cultural push of like... There was a cultural push. He's correct. There was an agenda. It was in the zeitice. We've talked about the Zyko.
Starting point is 01:02:24 right we've talked about the we've talked about the zeitgeist you're familiar and at some point remember the episode about the zeitgeist at some point the type of guy like you know I'm actually more attracted to phone law I feel like as a type of guy yeah probably
Starting point is 01:02:39 I think I'm that type of guy I am that type of guy yeah yeah is there a problem with that type of guy yeah I don't that's fine or is it zeitgeist or is it mom's friend you just trying to figure out the rules here they're younger than mom you can't yeah they're younger than mom yeah
Starting point is 01:02:53 they're younger than But I'm not a big, I'll even say that, I like Scooby-Doo in general. It was never my favorite cartoon. It was never my old, like, it was not one I was like, it was not appointment television. It wasn't even something I liked as much as like Flintstones or the Jetsons. I liked it fine, but it wasn't something. I wouldn't have even listed it in the top 20 cartoons I liked as a kid. I think what hurts it ultimately is that it's bad.
Starting point is 01:03:16 It's very stiff and weird and made poorly. But why are we destined to remake it forever? every different media. I'm not sure. It's, I think it's, yeah, I think,
Starting point is 01:03:28 I don't know, I think it's like bigger than the sum of its parts. I guess. Don't worry. Yeah. There was a new movie coming. Is that right?
Starting point is 01:03:35 There's a new everything coming. Yeah, there's going to be a show, whatever. Wasn't there's, yeah, wasn't there was, Scub.
Starting point is 01:03:40 That was a movie. That was a film, Scoob. That was a pandemic. That was a pandemic. And then there was the VELMA cartoon. Yeah, we remember.
Starting point is 01:03:48 The iconography, I guess, of Scooby-Doo is so much more important than any of the actual, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yes, the products are not. The visual. I mean, much like Waterworld, the Live Sea War Spectacular has transcended the film, Waterworld, which seems like an iffy film. Right.
Starting point is 01:04:04 Yes, Scooby-Doo is just the idea, the gang, and the colors. You know, I'm holding the book that we were handed. Right. And just looking at the green and the purple and the yellow and the, it's just nice colors to see. Yeah. I like that it has like a baked in. Yeah, yeah, I like it. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:04:20 Just if you sample these, if you put these colors as swatches in your room. I think you'd be happy. But here's the kind of thing. I think we all probably took this out, flipped through it, got us. Okay, it's like it starts off soft. Like, jinkies, the Phantom Director unleashed the monsters on the backlaw. We've narrowed the culprit down to four suspects, got it. But then as you go, you just keep turning pages.
Starting point is 01:04:41 And then here's the one, here's one where I'm like, this might be the kind of thing. You skipped a page 10, and Shaggy is in charge of this page. Like the Phantom Director stole their favorite. specimen from the oddities of the sea shop. Good thing, Carla's studio bulletins at Lion's Head In show what should be there. Yeah. Sorry. Sorry.
Starting point is 01:05:05 Look, I'm going to look at lights. You projected things on the screen. Sometimes there's loud music. And then the bride of Frankenstein comes out. And I see this strip on her hair that is much like a strip of barbecue sauce on a giant hot dog. And I take it all in. I'm not complaining about this experience. It was the turquide was right.
Starting point is 01:05:23 It was completely rewarding and fun without doing one bit of this mystery. Okay. There was just a lot of stuff going on. It makes sense. And it was late. But there's plenty to like and look at and enjoy. And I'm not talking about Daphne and Velma.
Starting point is 01:05:38 I'm talking about lights. I'm talking about music. You're talking about Carlos Finn and June Steel. June Steel. I'm not talking about, I would not do that. I would not say that. But like the Phantom director is like an original character
Starting point is 01:05:49 and it looks very 70 Scooby-Doo. And he's projected on the wall. or maybe I don't know who. I think they may change, they may change who it is every night. That's what we heard. We heard a rumor. But there's like that's projecting.
Starting point is 01:06:01 I think if, if it is max flash one night, it may not always be max flash. Yeah, right. So you, and it all culminates in a reveal show. If you're off doing the mystery, it all culminates in a big reveal show,
Starting point is 01:06:16 uh, uh, that we saw a line four and said no and kept moving. We did skip the reveal show because, we got tired on that tram and we were like how much more stuff do we have to do tonight? Oh shit, okay.
Starting point is 01:06:27 All of it? All of it. So we made a decision that we had seen a lot already and we didn't. And like it's just there's a lot going on versus like last year back to future where it's just like you kind of happen upon things
Starting point is 01:06:40 and oh well that's fun. That's a little moment. We just got to ourselves or whatever. We didn't know whatever. This is like all the mystery in characters are stationed in their own little station and it's cold out and they all have jackets on because it's cold that night.
Starting point is 01:06:55 And they're like working with people in the workbooks. And they have like a nice little like backdrop or like a different like kind of part of a movie set. And that's all fun and decorated well. But it felt like, oh, I'm watching like the Scooby Doo Gang work very hard to discuss with the public different clues. Yeah. For this mystery that's happening.
Starting point is 01:07:17 And they weren't together. Maybe they, I'm sure they were together at the end. I'm not actually not sure. I think so. But I think so. Well, they kind of famously split up and then come back together. Hence the troubles. So.
Starting point is 01:07:30 Having jumping into each other's arms. It was just, there's a lot. I mean, there's just a lot going on. But I think a lot that might be rewarding if you. If you're this type of person, I bet it's really fun to wait till the end to see who it is. And if you guessed it right, it's just that especially at night, my brain is just fried. Yeah. And I'm just, I'm not going to scan.
Starting point is 01:07:52 a QR code and then talk to different performers and try to decipher the clues. That's all it is. I'm ripping this off maybe from some article. Could have been Todd Martens. Could have been some words. I saw somebody somewhere saying how, I mean, you're right that there are QR codes involved, but mostly this stuff is a book and a pen as opposed to stuff on the app. And I will give it credit for that, that it's all like tactile special.
Starting point is 01:08:22 experiences that are only here for a month or so. And I don't know. It's not just like feeding people into like gathering data so they can do a disappointing thing one day. It feels like they did this for this and this is neat and fun. Yeah. When I'm saying stuff, I'm just saying like my brain is this way. So I'm just saying for me. The stuff I like to seeing the little monster shows because it'd be like a little show and Dracula like makes water shoot
Starting point is 01:08:52 out of a fountain and there's lights and there's music and then the bride does a little dance in a different area and you'd catch some of this. That sounds a little more like what you described from back to the future. Yes. And so I admire the mashup of two things, putting it here and then putting a like scavenger hunt type thing on top of it. Yeah. That is a cool idea. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:09:15 But source material wise, it's hard to argue with a generational like hit, like a big. important movie for a lot of people like back to the future well sure yeah i mean and that's they should do back to the future too for next year that's what i was saying yeah yeah uh it would although is there let you know getting marty's parents together maybe has a little more emotional pull than like uh the hoverboard the almanac yeah yeah getting making her that that griff uh falls in the lake uh because hoverboards don't don't work on water well it doesn't also nicely like slot into that
Starting point is 01:09:56 location as well like all the important like they did like you know they fudge you with the under sea dance with the they had the band out and right that's where yeah but that's kind of the only major thing they kind of change locations on most of the rest of it makes sense being there I guess it would be difficult to rebuild
Starting point is 01:10:14 all those sets and yeah well and plus I it's too it's probably too expensive set wise yeah to build future back to the future in that area. And I'm guessing. Yeah, that's a pretty big overlay. And the jaws thing coming out.
Starting point is 01:10:27 With hydraulic form, Texaco station. And yes. Yeah. But if they could physical life, they could make that holograph. I mean, it'd be awesome. I'm sure. I'm sure someone's floated it.
Starting point is 01:10:36 I also thought when we were leaving on the tram, I was like, they could do jaws if we could walk around Amity. Oh, wow. That would be, I'm sure someone's pitched it because like it does feel like they're going to hop around the back. If they keep doing this,
Starting point is 01:10:49 they're going to hop around the back lot. Yeah. with famous move things that shot i mean jaws didn't shoot there but at least they have the infrastructure do one of those neighborhoods go on colonial street no do norbit sure or we got to stop rasputina from jumping on the crushing norbit on the bed all the desperate housewives right scott mr studio tour all those wonderful names uh-huh yeah you know all the desperate housewives like Daphne and Quinn and Rebecca and lilac
Starting point is 01:11:22 There they I just named them all There they are they So I would say Last year I would say like the reason to go Respect the Future And then if you're into this specific kind of thing This is probably what your highlight will be
Starting point is 01:11:36 These do feel like the biggest show pieces Of the event I think Well let me just use that to transition We could keep going in order But I think if we're going to devote Substantial Real Estate to anything I would say that probably the biggest what you'd be leaving out of that list is the
Starting point is 01:11:51 Harry Potter thing Forbidden Forest. Sure. Search for the Hifficole. Oh, that was not very excited. Sure. Sure. Wow. I'm not saying they didn't do a good job, I'm just saying. To me, and I'm coming at it. Yeah, I thought I thought this was fantastic and I'm coming at it not knowing Potter mythology, not being not particularly
Starting point is 01:12:10 caring about Potter, but like, but I thought this was a pretty neat experience. this if you don't know the kind of the little temporary Harry Potter thing that they put up you were going through the Harry Potter forest there's so much extra cue
Starting point is 01:12:29 in that land that they don't really use for the ride because that line is pretty smooth but there's so much extra forest and they take that over and do this really cool nighttime experience where you are like you get a guide who is
Starting point is 01:12:44 taking you on a search for a hippogriff. And a fleet wing, of course, fleet wing. I kept thinking they were saying Fleet Week. Yeah. I kept thinking it was Jason. I was like, Jason would love this. He loves Fleet Week. Because he wants to get that smooch like the... Yes, he wants to put the sailor
Starting point is 01:13:02 suit on and he wants to get the big smooch. They don't have... Surely, that's usually that long as part of the fun. Come this way. We must get to Fleet Week. The whole town turns up the the music and puts the lights out. It's a big thing.
Starting point is 01:13:19 It's a whole thing. I guess that, maybe that is cooler than this. But what you were saying, Jason, about lighting, I thought, like, minimal forest lighting and little fireflies going everywhere.
Starting point is 01:13:30 It was just like, I don't know, just, like, truly magical error to this thing. Lighting fantastic, sound fantastic. I liked that it was, you're kind of going from station to station
Starting point is 01:13:42 in a little intimate group with a guy. So I like that it is a, you know, performer-driven experience. And the guy we had was really fantastic. And he's triggering different gags. There's like, you know, there's a book that's creepy and alive. And, you know, just cue in different magic things all over. There's, I mean, to me, the peak of the whole night,
Starting point is 01:14:09 I think the coolest thing out of any of these temporary experiences is when, this fucking crazy thing slides out. I'll give that to you. Yeah, yeah. He's like, your guide points in a certain, or maybe he's not, I don't remember how it plays out,
Starting point is 01:14:23 but all of a sudden there's just this like, very odd fluid motion and there's this creature in front of you. And you go, what the hell are you? It's really upsetting. And you're wondering for a minute, is it an animatronic? And then it starts talking and like,
Starting point is 01:14:39 okay, no, that's a human. It's a guy. But like in a centaur body. A centaur. all of a sudden appears from the forest. Very shockingly. And close to you, too.
Starting point is 01:14:50 So, like, you're like, not an invade your personal space, but it's close enough for you to go, ah. Yes. Yeah. And he looks weird. Yeah, he looks really weird. And you really wonder, are they like, like, like, and I'm just like kind of shoving out an animatronic, like on a little wheelie track. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:15:05 Or, and I really don't. And once he talks, you realize it's a person with makeup, but I don't know where the human part begins. And the central part. I was trying to figure out, but I couldn't. I don't know. Wait, so there's a beautiful human centaur that just appears. It doesn't take you away from everything.
Starting point is 01:15:20 You don't get to ride home. What good is the centaur appearance? He doesn't take you back to centaur world with him. No, no, you're stuck here with boring humans. It's too bad. He's just so odd looking. I mean, you end up loving him. But for the first 10 seconds, you're like, Jesus Christ, this fucker is part of this that we get to, like, blow him up.
Starting point is 01:15:43 He's scary. But you come to, you realize he's a friend. You come to like him. I like just when we were walking out of there and I was pretty lit up by that. And I think I was recounting my feeling when he, I was, I think I was saying to Andrew, oh my God, what he came out, I was like, was that a person or a robot? And you said, I think it was a centaur. Which I understand the question.
Starting point is 01:16:06 But I thought it was funny. I heard you say robot. I think maybe I just heard you say, what was that? Oh, maybe. Yeah, yeah. Because I think in the context of a robot or human, I might have understood what your question actually was. You may not have heard every bit of that sentence. But I will say I was dead tired at this point during it.
Starting point is 01:16:24 So perhaps all of the magic was a little diminished. You really wanted to hop on his back and ride away from it. Well, I would have like cradle me in his hooves so I could take a nap. That's what I want. It's just to rock me like a baby. Yeah, this was very late. And if you're going to do this thing, I think it really might be you have to pay for Express. Yeah, because this is a crazy line.
Starting point is 01:16:49 This line is two hours long. Because you're in a group with no more than 10 people. Yeah. So, which it's cool, they figure it out an experience where you really are. Like, you're fully enveloped. And when you get deep into that forest, that's fully where you, and on one side of you is just, like, city lights and actual trees and stuff. So you feel, like, pretty removed from everything, even though, like, the restaurant is. right there.
Starting point is 01:17:12 Yeah, and I'm sure, it's impressive because there's, I'm sure if we looked at an overhead map, this does not take up very much room. Yeah, yeah. And it's like stuff I've said about even like, I know Disney's not going to ever like, or maybe not,
Starting point is 01:17:24 but like make mazes and stuff, but you're like, they have done little like, things for Mickey's not so scary on the Grizzly Challenge Trail and stuff, but you're like, this is a real economical use of space. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:17:37 And a cool little experience that other parks could do versions of this. A lot of places, probably. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. No, it was neat. Super neat.
Starting point is 01:17:47 And then the reveal of the actual hippogriff at the end, just a grand majestic beast who I don't quite know if it's puppet or animatronic or what's going on. It feels kind of live controlled or it's some mix of the two.
Starting point is 01:18:02 Probably mix. But, I mean, it's worth the weight. And what a note to go out. A two hour wait or a one hour wait? I don't know. Because we were lucky and we waited like 20 minutes. Yes, yeah, it's worth that weight.
Starting point is 01:18:13 It's certainly worth 20 minutes. I don't know. I don't know what's worth a two hour wait. Let me. Did you guys do the lower lot stuff? Yeah, yeah. Oh, you did do it. Oh, okay.
Starting point is 01:18:23 I don't know why I thought you were. No, I was just trying to give some, but are you, were you down on this? No, I don't think I was down on it. I think I was a little more tired. I guess, no, I guess what you're saying as far as like moment wise, maybe it is much more impactful than the Scooby-Doo. So because there's a couple like the reveals,
Starting point is 01:18:39 the two reveals in it. Yeah. are a little more strong. Peak experiences that you only get if you're there. And surprising, because I didn't know anything about this, and I'm not a Harry Potter guy. So it's like the centaur man coming out of the pushes. I don't know what.
Starting point is 01:18:54 It's the most genuine surprise I had all night. I don't know what's in Harry Potter. So I didn't know it was possible for a centaur to show up. Yeah. So it's like that felt like a, that felt like a horror night's style reveal or a scare in a different way. Yeah. And I don't know if that's what they should go for more of.
Starting point is 01:19:12 It's interesting because the feelings just to talk in general about what the feelings this is supposed to inspire. Because horror nights is basically the same feeling over and over again. Ah! You're supposed to feel that over and over again. But like, yeah, like a more like a scared wonder is sort of a new feeling. I mean, you feel on a rides, but to go to a like limited time experience and have these different feelings is interesting. I think that's a harder thing for them to market because do people know they want that? I think horror nights you understand.
Starting point is 01:19:41 I am going to get this shit scared out of me all night. Yeah. It's going to be like an agro night. Sure. I don't, yeah, odd wonder, whatever, you said something that was a little scarier. I don't remember what I just said. I'm still tired from this. Listeners go back and go back and rewind.
Starting point is 01:19:57 I said something smart though. But whatever Mike's phrase was that was good, but we're both just forgetting due to tiredness. Yeah. Yeah. It's hard to convey that in a billboard. I think this. Scared wonder?
Starting point is 01:20:08 What did I say? Might have been. surprise a little spooky uh yeah i i don't know if uh it's hard to convey it in a billboard i don't know if this event is in it for the long haul but i think it's there's some it's work i i i feel like there
Starting point is 01:20:25 and a lot of aspects of this were better than than the previous year and i like the previous year too so they they got something here yeah the dungeon and dragons thing was very similar to last year so we don't necessarily need to repeat it they have the same awesome puppet thing at the end this big monster. And it felt like they had like kind of made that whole experience like a little streamlined and simpler and maybe a bit faster. But yeah,
Starting point is 01:20:47 the Dungeon Dragons thing is really cool. It's just pretty similar to what it was last year. Yeah, I don't think they changed that really. Yeah, it just felt, I don't know, it felt like more streamlined to me.
Starting point is 01:20:58 Yeah, that might not be true. Performers in that great. Yeah. Yeah, giant animatronic puppet, I guess puppet. I don't know.
Starting point is 01:21:06 The fact that I don't know. I'm assuming puppet. Because also like with the Harry Potter thing where I'm like, it's not covered. So they can't just put a robot out here. Yeah, yeah, that's true. I mean, I guess they could tarp it. But like, you know, it rains once in a while. Sure.
Starting point is 01:21:21 It would be fine. I mean, yeah, just destroying robots every time it drizzles. Be a bad use of money. But, yeah, Dungeon Dragons on the lower lot. No Star Trek this year, which is a bummer to me, even though that was a little disappointing last year, primarily because they didn't have people playing the characters. but they did have people playing the Jurassic Park characters on the lower lot. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:21:45 Yeah, that's fun. I don't know. Yeah. That's something they've been doing in the parks. characters from the good movies and from the other movies. And, I don't know. I mean, like, yeah, you know, Nedri, you got Nedri and his yellow slicker. No idea what's coming for him.
Starting point is 01:22:21 I mean, that's fun. You get Ian Malcolm. And the guy they got, at least on the videos I saw, was just a really good Goldblum, too. Yeah. So they, like, really got a performer that could do. And the Nedri pre-calf. It was pretty good one of the ones I saw. Does he do a thing?
Starting point is 01:22:41 He does the like, he's just very enthusiastic and screaming. Okay, sure. Like he does. We discussed in an episode you weren't on about the possibility of you auditioning for Ian Malcolm. I was trying to recall if this was ever discussed, if this was an idea that anyone had, that I had, that it was this ever said out loud. I don't. I honestly, I don't know. Do you think that that's something you might have considered doing?
Starting point is 01:23:08 Uh, what age? Now. Yeah. Uh, I don't feel like I have a good gold bloom, so I would probably be lacking in that. I guess I could work at it. And it's like, yeah. Well, just, I don't know. I'm tall.
Starting point is 01:23:20 Just talk at a weird pace and maybe it'll turn into gold bloom. You know, you might be, I don't know, you're not Jurassic World, uh, dominion gold bloom yet, but you know. You mean age wise? Yeah, age wise, he's really pretty young in Jurassic Park. Yeah, which, Malcolm are we talking? Are we talking about that? Are we talking about Super Bowl ad creepily de-aged? Yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 01:23:42 Deage to a degree that looks far, far worse than the current human beings look. No, no, that's what people want. You've got to give the people what they want. People don't want the disgusting face of gracefully aging Sam Neal. They want a bizarre blur that looks like no human being on Earth looks. He didn't see this. Doll-face spectral man. My God, what are we doing?
Starting point is 01:24:03 Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yes, they didn't do that. Luckily for these, they didn't make the performers wear doll faces. Luckily. There was Vaseline on your face until you don't look like a human. There's, yeah, there's like, so wait, who else? There's Beattie Wong's character.
Starting point is 01:24:21 I always forget. I know we were discussing. The doctor's name. Doctor, yeah. Doctor, we call him. And John Hammond is outside, like a hunkier John Hammond. Yeah, I had a nice chat with John Hammond. Yeah, you did.
Starting point is 01:24:32 I think I have a little video of that maybe. John Hammond, yeah, yeah. I just, it was just nice. I was just like, I know. you've been working at this for a while and I'm just I'm just psyched for you that's all I'm just I'm just I know it's been a lot very complicated so I'm really glad you've got to see it opening yeah yeah he was he was very good it was nice to be just like casual conversational with him and he said like I think he said what could go wrong that's great and then he just listed thing you know I thought of everything
Starting point is 01:24:58 you know we got the fences and we got the uh it's they're all females so the DNA is set and I think I think everything is going to be great. This is good. This is a character. I'm very happy to be talking to. I feel like Universal right now, at least Hollywood, maybe Orlando too,
Starting point is 01:25:14 but Universal Hollywood is really like on the ball with casting and doing like people playing famous characters. Like it feels like the last couple years, those are the clips that have gone viral. Yeah. Maybe I'm comparing it to the Star Wars land character versions. Yeah. You know, it's just since the last time we talked about it.
Starting point is 01:25:33 Now we've seen these Star Wars characters. characters pretty exciting stuff eh still pretty perfect eh the idea that they're there is making me happy and the music in there makes me happy i'm not saying there couldn't have been a different take on the material yeah but get you know like actually and i choke up as i said getting to meet princess lea and to see her famously heavily rouged face you're going to see the bright bright clown as scrooge that we all know that's a take okay i have even experienced it firsthand. I'm not going to judge it
Starting point is 01:26:07 until I'm speaking to Rouge Princess Leia or as I say, Rouge 1, Princess Leia. They're all, all these characters, if you haven't seen this, yeah, now that the original Star Wars characters are in the parks, and they're just all kind of oddly
Starting point is 01:26:20 wigged. Not that every, I bet the Jurassic Park characters are too, but you just kind of expect something. Yes. I don't know what I'm expecting. But you're just looking at these wigged people.
Starting point is 01:26:32 It's just weird. And my buddy, Charles Ingram, we were making fun of it in a text thread, and he sent back a photo that was the three of them. And then R2D2 is next of them also in a giant R2D2 sized wig. So yeah, this is very accurate. This is, look, we did it. Here he is. That's funny.
Starting point is 01:26:55 So, yeah, I feel like universal with the character, I mean, the characters, the people that have cast, I should say, are doing a really good job. And those other people might be doing a good job, too. Maybe it's just the decisions from the company. And everyone can live their dream of joining Owen Grady in a Jurassic World Raptor teaming. Yes, that's true. That's an aspect of this. We did not see, really. I think it's supposed to be Owen Grady or one of his helpers.
Starting point is 01:27:21 I don't know if it's supposed to be Owen Grady. Someone knows his own Grady. The rest of this experience, though, I will say on like, obviously, the back of the future is that this almost felt like you were in, like, an abstraction of Jurassic Park because of the weird placement. You were in, like, the Jurassic Park Park. part of the wax museum except the characters were alive but the dinosaurs weren't other than the baby of your baby
Starting point is 01:27:41 aquilops. Let me ask was there a walk around Claire Deering? I don't believe so. It just not a big like theme parky character I was just thinking oh white jacket heels easy costume. True
Starting point is 01:27:57 They should have just thought about costuming ease and castors yeah they must have not a thought. Head of the goodwill and link. Right. for that. Yeah, that's right. Or maybe even the, the back lot itself.
Starting point is 01:28:09 I mean, they have costumes there. That's a working movie studio, as far as I know, as far as I'm concerned, they make movies there. But a white suit, somebody, an overzealous Claire Deering fan walks up with a 22-inch hot dog, spills that all over.
Starting point is 01:28:23 Now we need a second one. The Jurassic Park thing, because it was not really announced ahead of time that this was happening, too. I almost feel like this was something like last second thing. We're like, oh, shit, we need something like.
Starting point is 01:28:33 that back to the future. Yeah, yeah. They're like, just cram it over in that area. The fucking millennials are going to complain. Millennial cranks will light us up on X. We built that wall. We got to get the lighting.
Starting point is 01:28:46 Put them by the big wall. Just put it by the big wall. Just put a static dinosaur by the big wall. Are you seen the movies? A bunch of big walls. It's a big wall. Wall's the movie. The walls keep the dinosaurs out.
Starting point is 01:28:57 Call that movie the wall. And then, yeah, they just kind of quietly put it in. That might not be the case, but it did feel like they were like, Yeah, I guess this thing is part of it now too. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I think we owe a little bit of time as well to the Yoshi experience.
Starting point is 01:29:12 Yes. You're offered the opportunity to see different colors of Yoshi. Yeah. They're all there, purple, blue, pink, yellow. And I mean all of them. Not one in that list was not there. And when you see them kind of turning slightly... Uh-huh.
Starting point is 01:29:28 Doing their best. Yeah, yeah. There is something, right? I don't know. Yeah. And then you're a real. Your reward for you get, you're like asked to get a stamp or something from all the different color of yoshies. And your reward is to meet regular Yoshi.
Starting point is 01:29:42 Like, oh, this is the one that I know. Both, I mean, I don't, we didn't do too much of this last year. But I feel like both years, the Nintendo stuff is just like you're going to see some different color yoshies. And that's about it. Yeah. There's no like maze. I mean, there's no room in there, but there's no like weird new maze or there's new, you know, like, Wario pops out and scares you or something.
Starting point is 01:30:03 would be a thrill for me. They should have all the princesses. We're both in the territory. They should have Daisy and Rosalita. They have more than one. Am I making that up? Or have I just seen that on another day? I just meant like a bigger thing.
Starting point is 01:30:18 They can make a thing out of it. Like, oh, it's Yoshi. And then, oh, it's the princesses. They're all here. I would like to see a Yoshitong steel shaggy sandwich. That'd be a nice thing. But there's a lot of mechanics involved in that. Let me ask, did you guys see full name,
Starting point is 01:30:37 Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, the Miracle, colon, moon palace chapter deluxe? No. No, we got tired. We got too tired. Which gives me just one more question. DreamWorks Theater featuring Kung Fu Panda 4D. What's the plan here? That's weird.
Starting point is 01:30:56 I thought the idea of the DreamWorks Theater is that you could change out different things. I know you want to turn it into. the Lorne experience. Yeah, yeah, I know. I know that's what you're getting to. I want to smell the popcorn. I want to smell the orzo or whatever restaurant. Do you think maybe that's potentially for next fan fest, Lorne?
Starting point is 01:31:17 Not as an analogy. I think they were waiting to see how many people pointed at the. And it's, yeah, and more basically if you're a fan of the documentary. If you, yeah, to have the experience of going to dinner with Steve Martin. The Steve Martin is really good Yeah, look, wow, I'm pretty excited I'm very excited.
Starting point is 01:31:39 That's a good picture of showing everyone. I want to see him under the bleachers Being concerned that Ryan Gosling is going to lose his voice. We're all fans of something. There's a mission. As Jason said at the beginning, we're all fans of something. Isn't that true?
Starting point is 01:31:54 It is. Except I guess for Sailor Moon, which we left for. We should have done that earlier. Yeah. And then last year we did, we skipped the movie too, and I feel like it was like part of it. Last year we were in line and it was taking forever. It's a tradition now. And it felt like, oh, it's like midnight.
Starting point is 01:32:10 It's like midnight. And it's again, sleepy. Yeah. So it might be cool. It just felt like I'm going to fall asleep in that theater if I go in there. Yeah, I like Sailor Moon, but I don't really know the new stuff. CCG or there's other princesses. Mike, when is it appropriate to like Sailor Moon or Mom's friend?
Starting point is 01:32:30 Sailor Moon is definitely like a teen, right? Well, when we, yeah, we were, would have been like preteens when they started showing their two. So you were saying it would be appropriate. Yeah, so. At the time, aspirational, it depends on age range. Yeah, similar. I think it's similar rules. Once again, put it in the comments, favorite character, year of birth, and Mike will determine all of these in a collect-em-all type experience, much like meeting the ocean.
Starting point is 01:32:55 we'll get a you know Ewan McGregor Christopher Robin-esque what is Sailor Moon doing now oh you've got to come back to the Sailor soldiers Sailor Moon
Starting point is 01:33:07 she's working a boring off his job in London I guess we'll get that Yeah They're working on I guess she's working on it in Tokyo Yeah I don't think of Sailor Moon and Pooh Bear being similar
Starting point is 01:33:22 But maybe you're right I don't know I don't know it She marries Tuxedo mask And you know he's putting on a few pounds It's basically like the lockhorns At that point
Starting point is 01:33:36 Yeah Reference another thing from 80 years ago They gotta get back to the moon palace If they stop squabbling If they look at Fan Fest next year Could have an immersive lockhorns experience for Jason Holy shit Yeah
Starting point is 01:33:48 Holy shit Wow the lines for Lockhorns live surprisingly short And it's the farthest point on the lot from the tram loading. It's in, it's all, it's just off the lot in the smokehouse steak house. Technically not.
Starting point is 01:34:03 Actually, Universal did not want it anywhere near their property. Two old people yelling at each other at the smokehouse. They hate each other. What else is new? Yeah, well that's what it's for. The zone of many and angry dinner. Anyways, but for more
Starting point is 01:34:19 current fandoms, this event is still going for a sec and we like it and we're supporting it. I want to expand even further. Yeah, and make us park further away next time, please. You survive podcast The Ride. For three bonus episodes every month, check out Podcast the Red the Second
Starting point is 01:34:35 Gate or get one more bonus episode in our VIP Tier Club 3. You'll find all of that at patreon.com slash podcast The Ride. List your characters. When is it okay to like Winnie the Pooh? In that way? Yeah. That feels wrong, and I'm upset by the question. Was it okay in the 1800s when he was written?
Starting point is 01:34:59 Maybe. Maybe. I look. Check the UK statutes. There's got to be slash fiction, but I'm not going to check. No, me neither. Jason is looking at that. It's not me.
Starting point is 01:35:06 I'm just saying somebody else. Jason's looking with a little evil looking at his eye, like he knows. Johnny Deft, J.M. Berry would have something to say. Okay, bye. Forever. This has been a Forever Dog production. Executive produced by Mike Carlson, Jason Sheridan, Scott Gairdner, Brett Boehm, Joe Sillio, and Alex Ramsey.
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