DisLove Podcast with Vanessa and Kris
The DisLove Podcast with Vanessa and Kris was created to share their love of all things Disney in 2018. They feature vendors, crafters and travel agents who can help make your next Disney trip or your everyday life even more magical.
They had their Disney Fairy Tale Wedding at Epcot in 2008 (American Adventure Rotunda) and a vow renewal at Epcot in 2018 (Italy Pavilion). They love sharing tips from their trips to Walt Disney World, Disneyland and on the Disney Cruise Line.
Check out their shows to find unique vendors who can help bring Disney magic to you at home or on your next Disney vacation!
DisLove Podcast with Vanessa and Kris
Dislove E154 : Unveiling Moonlight Magic: Our 48-Hour Disney Adventure at Hollywood Studios
Ever wondered what it’s like to experience the magic of Disney after dark? Join us as we recount our unforgettable 48-hour adventure to the Moonlight Magic exclusive Disney Vacation Club event at Hollywood Studios on August 27th! Alongside our friends, we navigated through a night filled with thrilling rides, delicious snack vouchers, and enchanting character appearances. Learn how we secured our tickets through our DVC membership and get a glimpse of the special perks that made this event standout. Plus, hear our thoughts on how Hollywood Studios compares to a previous Moonlight Magic at Epcot, and why the characters at Epcot still hold a special place in our hearts.
Ready to plan your own magical Disney evening? We’ve got you covered with all the logistical tips and strategic insights you’ll need. From the advantages of annual passes to the genius of early planning, we unpack everything that made our night smooth and enjoyable. Discover why visiting during cooler night hours can enhance your experience and how shorter ride wait times added to the fun. We even share the best travel routes, like flying into Sanford Airport with Allegiant for a hassle-free trip. And as we close, a touching quote from Walt Disney himself perfectly sums up our love for these magical experiences. Don’t miss out—follow us on YouTube and our social media channels for more Disney magic. We’re Vanessa and Chris, and we’re excited to bring you along on this delightful journey.
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For all the latest news about our episodes follow us on Instagram @dislovewithvanessaandkris or on YouTube.
Welcome to the Diz Love Podcast with Vanessa and Chris. I'm Vanessa Ferguson.
Speaker 2:And I'm Chris Johns.
Speaker 1:We would like to welcome you to show number 144. And for any listeners joining us for the first time, our show features things we love at Disney and in each episode, we typically have a guest who creates Disney magic for our listeners at home or on their Disney vacations. From vacation planners to product producers, our guests can bring Disney magic into your life. And as a reminder to our listeners, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or any other platform where you listen. That helps more people find the show and, of course, helps us grow and I know we've mentioned this on another recent episode, but you can also subscribe to us now on YouTube, so if you prefer to listen to your shows through there, you can download them there as well. And before we get started with our main show, chris, we have a message.
Speaker 2:We sure do. Our friends Eric and Alexa want to help you have an awesome trip to Disney World. They are exclusive Baby Quip independent quality providers. What does that mean? It means all the stuff that you need for your little one who's not quite walking ready at Disney. They can help you with it and more, but the main thing is strollers, bassinets, cribs. What else do they do, Vanessa? Tell me, because you're a mom.
Speaker 1:Car seats, anything like high chairs if you're're staying in a villa all kinds of stuff.
Speaker 2:Yes, and actually we have folks in our subdivision who are going to be going to Disney next week. We've already told them about Eric and Alexa, because it's one less thing for them to have to take. But the main thing is that there's two things they do. Number one provide awesome customer service. And number two they provide an excellent product for you. So, number one they provide an excellent product for you. So, number one they're going to bring it to you with a smile on your face and what they bring you is going to be top quality for your baby. So again, that is Eric and Alexa, and they are your baby. Quip, independent quality provider serving Orlando.
Speaker 1:And I will have a link in the show notes for you to be able to book right with them Now, on today's show it's going to be one of our special episodes and if you've listened for a while you know periodically if we get a chance to attend an event at the parks we will try to cover it, or if we go on a cruise or something. So recently we did a very fast whirlwind trip. It was 48 hours. It was quite an adventure.
Speaker 2:It was awesome.
Speaker 1:It was very cool and we went to one of the Moonlight Magic exclusive Disney Vacation Club events and we talked about one that we did at Epcot earlier this year. That just happened to be at the same time. We were on a trip, so we went. We loved it so much we planned this whole trip around it. It was at Hollywood Studios this time and it was on Tuesday, august 27th, so just a couple weeks ago our friends Shane and Charlie flew in from Dallas and met up with us and we had our friends Nan and Morris, which we met on our Alaskan cruise. They joined us while we were at the event too.
Speaker 1:And these events are so much fun if you are a DVC owner or if you have a friend who's an owner, and have them get tickets and invite you along. Each person who is a DVC owner is able to get up to five tickets. And how it works is they open the reservations just a few weeks before the event. So we actually planned our trip on the hope that we would get tickets. So how it works and I know we talked about this a little bit with the Epcot one if you have a resort reservation for the same time as when the event is taking place. So we had a night at the Boardwalk and a night at Grand Floridian Villas. You get first options to be able to book, and we had I don't know I think we had like six devices open, didn't we?
Speaker 2:We sure did.
Speaker 1:And there's a certain time that they open up reservations. You get in a queue just like you do for everything else at Disney, and we did manage to get the tickets. So you are able to get up to five tickets, so this time we only used four. Our friend Ann wasn't able to join us that night, but Shane and Charlie and Chris and I went, and because it was such a short trip, our daughter stayed home.
Speaker 1:And one of the things that this is nice is it's no cost to DVC members, which that was something when we first signed up for the one at Epcot, I thought we were going to have to pay for it and it was a nice. I guess technically they make you pay for it in your dues, right, correct so. But in theory it's not an additional cost above anything else that you're going to already pay. So this is great, because what happens is they close the park to day guests and you're able to ride the rides. You get some snack vouchers, which we're going to talk about in a few minutes. They will have special characters out. They also, at that evening they did a special viewing of Fantasmic. When we were at Epcot they did a special viewing of the fireworks there as well. And so there's, I think, the first thing. Let's talk about the characters. I will say I like the characters at Epcot better than the Hollywood Studios. What do you say?
Speaker 2:Agreed.
Speaker 1:Now here's an interesting fact, chris Guess what, out of the Moonlight Magics Hollywood Studios is the most difficult to get tickets for.
Speaker 2:That is ironic.
Speaker 1:Do you know why? What characters?
Speaker 2:are there that people love.
Speaker 1:Unfortunately, star wars yes, so for any of our fans out there that love star wars, this would definitely be the night for you. And there were characters that I honestly didn't know for sure. There was sabine wren, there was chopper harris and doula. There was the jawas. So there was Sabine Wren. There was Chopper Harris and Doola. There was the Jawas. So there was a lot of Star Wars characters and we had friends that stood in line for them. We didn't see any of the Star Wars characters. Now we did go and see they had some Pixar characters, so they had from. Okay, I'm going to quiz you, chris. So we saw Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc. Yes, do you know who the third character was? I have to admit I didn't know his name the orange guy.
Speaker 2:No clue.
Speaker 1:George Sanderson Good luck. So we saw George Sanderson, mike Wazowski and James P Sullivan or Sully. They were together in Pixar Place and then we also got to see Joy and Sadness together. So that was fun. And then they had Moon Girl from the one animated series. I had no clue who Moon Girl was. I actually had to ask our friend Nan who she was, and I guess it is from the one animated series on Disney+, but I guess that's kind of one animated series on Disney Plus. But I guess that's kind of the neat thing, like that's an odd character and if you like that show, that's kind of a neat thing to be able to do.
Speaker 2:Sure is.
Speaker 1:And another thing they had is they had a dance party which if you've been to the Halloween parties or the Christmas parties or just like during the day to Hollywood Studios, like they have the Disney Junior Dance Party. They had Mickey and Minnie Pluto and Goofy and then I heard in a second rotation they had Donald, daisy, chip and Dale. But I cannot confirm that because we only saw Mickey, minnie Pluto and Goofy and they were dressed in their tuxedos and like in their Sunday well, I guess I would say their formal wear. They were dressed in their formal wear and it was fun because they had the DJ going and they were dancing and you could dance with them or you could catch like some selfies. I thought that was fun to be able to see the characters dressed up. It was very nice, and so that was kind of rounded out all of your characters. If you go back and look at previous years of Moonlight Magic, it has rotated characters. If you go back and look at previous years of Moonlight Magic, it has rotated. Like one year they had like more unique characters from Rescue Rangers that you don't get to see during the day and they'll rotate other Star Wars characters out. There's been other Pixar characters. So you it's kind of the luck of the draw you don't really know who's going to be there until you go that night. And, as I mentioned, there was a little bit more of the Fab Five, just in different outfits, at Epcot. I'll put a link in the show notes to that show as well if you want to check that out and learn about that.
Speaker 1:Now, one thing that is nice about Moonlight Magic is that you get food vouchers. So you get like these are snack vouchers, so you can use them for the equivalent of a snack. Then, besides these three food vouchers, you also they have ice cream that they give away. So if you've ever been to the after hours, you can get popcorn and ice cream at these, as well as pop and water At these. They just give away the ice cream. Plus you have the. So the ice cream bars, the fruit bars, plus you have the snack credits. I will say the snack credits were a little bit of a downer at Hollywood Studios. What do you think, chris?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it just it did not meet the Disney aesthetic. In terms of just expectations, I don't expect a lot, but it seems like for in terms of just the price and the preparation and everything that you do that comes along with it, it could have been a little bit better.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So what he's talking about is mostly you had the options of, you know, nicer ice creams or french fries, and there were a few other places where if you went to Woody's Lunchbox you could get, like the Pop-Tarts and Tater Tots, but mostly there was a lot of french fries, and so when we were at Epcot, our friend Nan had given us a tip about going to the stalls for food, or that was during Flower and Garden, so we were able to utilize them there. At Hollywood Studios there's just not as much depth of food anyways, so I think that is what impacts the snacks there. Now they had a few of the like specialty desserts. Like I got a Mickey brownie sundae, I know our friends got a Wookie cookie. So there were some options that were a little bit different, but mostly sweet stuff or fried stuff.
Speaker 1:So if you're going for like when we were at Epcot, you got lobster tail as one of the credits I did, yeah, so keep that in mind. If you're going to, I've also heard from our friends, like if you go to the Typhoon Lagoon one, or also Animal Kingdom, that one those have less snack options. The best ones are at epcot. So it's something to keep in mind. Now, one thing too that we mentioned is that you get access to the rides. So we rode toy story, I think. At least did we write it three times?
Speaker 1:I think, yes, we did and then we rode uh, at the very end of the night our friends were good at timing stuff we went and rode mickey's runaway railway. Our friends, our other friends rode tower of terror like very short lines on the rides, even like the star wars rides there weren't that? I think people were in line for the characters, not for the rides per se. So that was really great. We also went and did the special showing of phantasmic. They do you typically when you go to these events. If there's a nighttime show, they only have one special viewing of it. So we went and saw the phantasmic showing at 10 30 and we were like row six or something we were.
Speaker 2:It was when the fire comes out. You, it was almost too hot yeah.
Speaker 1:So, and I didn't take our regular camera this trip, I just had my phone and I got great pictures, even though you can't zoom in a lot on a phone because we were so close. So that was super cool. Now there was something that was a little special, that was happening at this time, and what did we get to do?
Speaker 2:special at this event was happening at this time and what did we get to do special at this event? We had the chance to be interviewed by a production company for a DVC commercial. We don't know if we'll make it or where it'll be shown, but I know, can tell you this Vanessa did an awesome job. She hit all the main points. What was neat is that the producers had roughly three questions for everybody that I could tell that were just pre-written, but then they asked us at least two additional questions. We did some B-roll. Vanessa did a phenomenal job.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we'll see where that goes. I know they were filming for several days over at some of the resorts as well as at this event, so it could be just in a promo. It could be just on social media, we'll see. So it could be just in a promo. It could be just on social media, we'll see. So it would be exciting to see. That, I think, was probably a super cool highlight from the evening for the night, and so that was something neat to be able to experience and it just so happened it was when we were there. They had sent out an email and we got a chance to find them in the park, so that was super cool.
Speaker 1:Now, one of the things that I think is nice with these is that they offer them throughout the year. They just added, I think, three additional dates for animal kingdom this year and they released the 2025 ones actually earlier this week. So if you are planning a trip, I will say you are gambling if you just plan a trip around this, like we did, because you have to hopefully get those tickets. But from what I've read, people who have the reservations at a hotel where you get that early registration have much higher odds than the general admission tickets. Now, one thing that is also nice. There's a couple of tips that I'd like to talk about.
Speaker 1:Number one making sure that you go inside the park to get your band. So we all had annual passes, all of us in our group so instead of waiting outside the park in the long line, we were able to go inside the park and get our wristbands and our vouchers, because they have a distribution site inside. If we had a couple of guests that didn't have tickets, they'd be able to come to the event with us, but you'd have to wait until they let you in, and so there was quite a long line outside the park gates. So that's something to keep in mind. And then, also, you also want to be mindful of the fact that you want to use your food vouchers early. The later it got in the evening, when more places were closed, there were a lot less options and you had longer waits for the different stalls that you might go to to get food. So that's something to remember. So, chris, I have a couple of questions I'm going to ask both of us. So the first one is what was your best overall memory from the night?
Speaker 2:I think, number one being with our friends Shane and Charlie. It was just a great night to enjoy with them. And again, Nana Morris, we know them well from the Disney cruise, but in terms of Shane and Charlie, we're just simpatico.
Speaker 1:The the four of us travel well you know we all like the same rides, the same food. It was just really fun kind of experiencing the night with them. Now I would say ditto to that, just seeing our friends and hanging out with them at our favorite place for all of us. And I will say it was super cool to be able to record, be a part of that recording. Who knows where it will go, but I I think that will be a top Disney memory for sure. Now here's your next question, now that we've done two of them would you do Epcot or Hollywood Studios?
Speaker 2:Epcot.
Speaker 1:Yeah, me too. I would do Epcot. And, as I mentioned earlier, I've read on quite a few things that Hollywood Studios is the harder one to get. Earlier I've read on quite a few things that Hollywood Studios is the harder one to get. I do want to try Animal Kingdom because I'm interested to see what characters they might bring out at Animal Kingdom, as well as the fact that I'd be curious to see what they have open in the evening. I haven't looked to see. Should have asked our friends who've been to the other ones, but I would like to try an Animal Kingdom one at some point.
Speaker 1:They do not do these at Magic Kingdom. They do them at Epcot, hollywood Studios, animal Kingdom, as well as Typhoon Lagoon. Our friends did say Nan had went to one of those. She said that one, though as it gets later gets a little chillier and you might not want to be in the water as much. She said they did a lot of eating at that one. But that's something to keep in mind. And here's another question Chris, would you go to a Moonlight Magic event again?
Speaker 2:Of course.
Speaker 1:Even if it was Hollywood Studios.
Speaker 2:Yes, I mean I will say this From the characters, I would give it an F minus. I mean, I'm not a big Monsters U person, nor Inside Out, definitely not Star Wars. I mean the names, I didn't even know who they were, I don't care. But as part of it I think it's just. What's nice is that it's at night, which is helpful with the Florida weather, because we're from Michigan. It was hot, we're cold weather people. And then I think the main thing is just being able to ride. I mean, some of the rides had like 45 minute wait signs, but when I timed it it was less than 25 and I'll take that all day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and same thing for me. As I mentioned, I would like to try an Animal Kingdom one, just because we've not been to that. But, hands down, if I had a chance to go to Epcot I would definitely do it again. Hollywood Studios would be a. I mean, I think probably my favorite thing about just the evening was being so close for Fantasmic. That was super cool and I think our daughter would love that even more than we enjoyed it, because we were so close to the characters. So that, I think, was the highlight of the night in terms of just attractions. So, overall, I mean I give kudos to the DVC team because these are really great events and, like I said, even if you don't own DVC, just ask a DVC friend to get you in for sure.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Now that kind of wraps up our experience there. We had, as we mentioned, a very quick whirlwind trip. We flew into our favorite airport, sanford, on our favorite airline, allegiant. And no, they're not paying us to say that. We just really like going into Sanford, it's so easy made our trip easy, especially for such a short amount of time. It takes a lot of time and effort to get in and out of MCO and Sanford's just so much easier, even though you're a little bit further drive. We always get a great deal on a car rental so it's super easy to get around.
Speaker 1:We were able to get in and do some the late night hours for the deluxe guests. On Monday night when we arrived we went to Disney Springs. We saw the drone show had. Tuesday we spent some time at Epcot. We're able to get a little bit of rest before we went to the event Tuesday night. Then Wednesday we did a character meal, hit up Magic Kingdom for a few hours and then we were on our way. But would you do a 48, like would you do a very quick trip for one of these again?
Speaker 2:I prefer this. I just my critique with Vanessa and vacations that things are usually one day too long, and I think the nice thing about this is that when you're going for an experience, you can be at Disney during the day for three days and really not experience what we did in an afternoon for an evening. So as part of that, you get to see more. You get to do more. It's also at night which I prefer, and I love Disney, but I love coming home as well.
Speaker 1:That's true, and I think when you've been enough times, you don't have to go for a week at a time.
Speaker 1:It's nice to go for these shorter bits and be able to experience some of these extra events and things like that, and I would do the same thing for a Halloween party, for one of the Christmas parties just have a quick getaway. Now I will say it's different when you have an annual pass versus not having an annual pass, and I think we're going to be at a point where, because we're going to Disneyland, we might not renew our passes for a while. But that's something that you also want to keep in mind too, because ticket costs could have an impact on those decisions as well. So, overall, great experience. I will link to our Epcot one as well, so you can check that out, and that kind of wraps up everything about the Moonlight Magic. Hopefully we'll be able to go to another one and report out to you as well, but before we move on to, we have our two-minute trivia and we are going to do our trivia and our Wisdom from Walt quote and we will have Chris up with trivia.
Speaker 2:So we talked about characters and it's actually kind of hard to pin down like rare characters because some are not really retired per se, they're just not out. But who is the oldest continuing Disney character having In the parks In general? I didn't say in the parks who is the oldest continuing Disney character having first debuted in 1925?
Speaker 1:Clarabelle.
Speaker 2:Wrong. One more guess.
Speaker 1:I have no clue, pete. Oh, that's why I couldn't remember his name, okay, yeah, I couldn't remember his name, okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So initially he bore the appearance of an anthropomorphic bear, but with the advent of Mickey in 1928, three years later, he was defined as a cat.
Speaker 1:Wow, I didn't realize that.
Speaker 2:And that's according to the internet.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's very interesting. I didn't know that at all. Well, and before we wrap up with our wisdom from Walt, quote Chris, we have another message for our listeners we sure do.
Speaker 2:Our friends Kevin and Amanda with when in the Park, make scavenger hunt game packs. They're fun and challenging for anybody who thinks they know the park like the back of their hand and for complete newbies hoping to get a better appreciation for all the detail that Disney puts into creating an immersive experience for everyone. The great thing is they're good for all ages, so you could have somebody who is the younger one in the park as well as somebody who's a more senior, experienced person. So with that, not only do they have Disney parks on both coasts, they also carry packs for Universal Parks and we'll have more coming soon for including Dollywood and King's Dominion. Use the code DISLOVE10, d-i-s-l-o-v-e 1-0 through the link in the show notes to save 10% off your next order and to have a challenge the next time you visit Disney World.
Speaker 1:And we did do one of the Epcot packs when we were down there and it was so much fun and actually, chris, I think, now that I think about it, we have a pack. Maybe we'll do a giveaway shortly, because we had a lot of fun doing our pack.
Speaker 2:That would be awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so thank you so much again for joining us today. Let's close out with our quote from Walt Disney, and in honor of all the fun and excitement that we always get when we go to these special events like Moonlight Magic, I thought this was a great quote. It's no secret that we were sticking just about every nickel we had on the chance that people would really be interested in something totally new and unique in the field of entertainment, and isn't that really what gets us all going back? What gets us all going back? We love all the special events, the new rides, the attractions, anything that's different and new, as well as, of course, we hold on to those nostalgic things that we remember from our past visits as well. So don't forget to check us out on our socials on YouTube, as I mentioned on our website and follow us on social media for even more Disney magic. Thank you so much for joining us on this episode of the Dislove Podcast with Vanessa and Chris. I'm Vanessa.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 1:I'm Chris.
Speaker 2:This podcast is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company or its holdings, and it is intended for entertainment purposes only.