The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Jim and Eric kick off this week’s show with a very on-brand travel mishap from Jim’s latest Hallmark-fueled road trip, then pivot back to the stuff you came for - Universal news, theme park weirdness, and one surprisingly deep dive into how Frankenstein’s Monster became the pop culture template we all still recognize today. Along the way: Epic Universe breadcrumbs, a Vegas horror venue that might be scarier for its empty queue than its monsters, and why Boris Karloff’s dentures deserve their own credit line. NEWS • Universal’s proposed UK theme park clears another hurdle, with the project advancing in the approvals process and still targeting a 2031 opening • Universal Horror Unleashed in Las Vegas adds a holiday horror overlay, but reports suggest the venue can feel eerily empty even during a supposedly busy week • A new “Galactic Expo” mural lands inside the Men in Black Alien Attack gift shop, packed with sci-fi Easter eggs • A new Men in Black film is reportedly in development - and Jim has thoughts on what that could mean for the long-running attraction • Universal’s latest “Whatever Makes You Happy” merch drop leans hard into 1980s nostalgia, mashing up brands that make Eric do a double-take FEATURE • Why Universal rushed Frankenstein (1931) into production after Dracula hit big - and how it helped the studio dig out of debt • The behind-the-scenes moment when director James Whale spots Boris Karloff in the commissary and decides his face has “startling possibilities” • The unglamorous reality of monster-making: punishing makeup sessions, 65 pounds of costume, and the physical toll that followed Karloff for years • The lost-but-legendary Technicolor Frankenstein footage from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty that fans have been hunting for decades HOSTS • Jim Hill - IG: @JimHillMedia | X: @JimHillMedia | Website: JimHillMedia.com • Eric Hersey - IG: @erichersey | X: @erichersey FOLLOW • Facebook: JimHillMediaNews • Instagram: JimHillMedia • TikTok: JimHillMedia SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at Patreon.com/JimHillMedia. PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited by Dave Grey Produced by Eric Hersey - Strong Minded Agency SPONSOR Be Our Guest Vacations - plan your next adventure with a platinum-level, earmarked travel agency offering concierge service for Universal Orlando, Universal Hollywood, Disney parks, cruises, and more. Get started at beourguestvacations.com. If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim Hill and Lauren Hersey are back for a very seasonal edition of I Want That To - and Jim’s latest “project” involves tracking down tiny reindeer snowmobiles to complete his Cars holiday display (because apparently Santa’s sleigh rules apply to Radiator Springs too). From there, the conversation jumps into Disney’s new “Find Merchandise” test inside My Disney Experience, the company’s eye-popping $1 billion investment in OpenAI, and why dynamic pricing is suddenly giving everyone Instacart flashbacks. Then Jim takes Lauren (and all of us) on a deep-dive into the origin story of Disney’s Sing-Along VHS line - including how a Max Fleischer Rudolph short ended up inside Disney’s Very Merry Christmas Songs tape. NEWS• Disney is testing a new “Find Merchandise” feature in the My Disney Experience app to help guests search for specific items and check availability at select locations (including World of Disney at Disney Springs). • Disney’s reported $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI sparks a debate about guardrails, character usage, and curation, especially as AI-generated content gets easier to make (and easier to misuse). • The latest Instacart dynamic pricing controversy raises alarms about different customers seeing different prices, prompting the big question: is Disney heading down a similar road with ticket pricing? • Disney’s CFO signals dynamic pricing for domestic parks in 2026, with Jim and Lauren weighing the business upside against the guest-side pain of budgeting and “reading the room.” FEATURE• A surprisingly twisty history lesson on how Disney’s early VHS strategy helped create the Sing-Along Songs phenomenon - and why making kids sing along was (possibly) the point. • The story behind Very Merry Christmas Songs (1988), including how it had to be assembled on a brutal retail timeline to hit shelves in early October. • How Disney licensed (cheaply) a hand-drawn Max Fleischer Rudolph (1948) short originally made for Montgomery Ward store Santa lines - and why it looks better on YouTube than it did on VHS. • Why this tape became a yearly tradition: the “one remaining VHS player” holiday background classic for tree-decorating season. HOSTS• Jim Hill - IG: @JimHillMedia | X: @JimHillMedia | Website: JimHillMedia.com • Lauren Hersey - IG: @lauren_hersey_ | X: @laurenhersey2 FOLLOW• Facebook: JimHillMediaNews • Instagram: JimHillMedia • TikTok: JimHillMedia SUPPORTSupport the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at Patreon.com/JimHillMedia. PRODUCTION CREDITSEdited by Dave GreyProduced by Eric Hersey - Strong Minded Agency SPONSORThis episode of I Want That To is brought to you by our friends at UnlockedMagic.com, the same trusted team behind DVC Rental Store and the DVC Resale Market. If you’re planning a Disney trip, they’ve got the best deals on Walt Disney World tickets - visit UnlockedMagic.com to grab the best ticket deals and make your next Disney trip just a little bit more magical. If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Snack credits are either the best little “vacation cheat code” Disney ever slipped into the Dining Plan - or a spreadsheet-powered trap that turns your family trip into a competitive sport. This week in the Court of the Disney World Resort, Len Testa and Chris Cox argue whether snack credits are a smart way to stretch your Walt Disney World dollars, or just a confusing system that rewards the deeply committed and mildly deranged. Along the way, there is Starbucks math, Epcot festival strategy, and at least one Easy-Bake oven-related conflict of interest. HIGHLIGHTS • Why snack credits can be a secret weapon at EPCOT festivals - especially when you know which items creep up toward that $10 “sweet spot.” • The maddening part of the Dining Plan - there is no consistent rule for what counts as a snack, so you’re stuck hunting for the logo like it’s a scavenger hunt. • The “snack credit endgame” - realizing on your last day you have a pile of credits left, and suddenly you’re importing Rice Krispies treats through customs. • Using snack credits for “breakfast” (because apparently cheesecake counts as dairy and eggs) and other vacation logic that only makes sense inside the Disney bubble. • The philosophical divide - gaming the system for maximum value vs. enjoying the feeling that “past you paid for this,” so present you can just say yes and keep moving. For this episode’s full show notes, click here. HOSTS • Jim Hill - IG: @JimHillMedia | X: @JimHillMedia | Website: JimHillMedia.com • Len Testa - IG: @len.testa | Website: TouringPlans.com • Chris Cox - IG: @magiccox | X: @bigcox | Website: magiccox.com FOLLOW • Facebook: JimHillMediaNews • Instagram: JimHillMedia • TikTok: JimHillMedia SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at Patreon.com/JimHillMedia. PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited by Dave Grey Produced by Eric Hersey - Strong Minded Agency If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor and Jim Hill kick off this week’s show with a genuinely wild media landscape where holiday releases, awards season, and corporate maneuvering are all colliding at once. From a brewing battle over Warner Bros. Discovery to Disney’s latest tech-flavored swing, the first half is a rapid tour through what’s breaking (and what might be breaking next). Then Jim takes the wheel solo for a longer, history-packed trip over the rainbow, tracing how animation veterans, studio deals, and a certain pair of feuding cartoon animals keep finding their way back to Oz. NEWS • Netflix and Paramount Skydance are reportedly lining up competing bids for Warner Bros. Discovery, with the situation edging into hostile takeover territory • Disney signs a three-year OpenAI licensing and investment deal, reportedly tied to short-form character content and platform experimentation • Zootopia 2 clears the $1 billion worldwide mark, adding to a renewed “WDAS is back” narrative after recent holiday stumbles • The trailer drops for Andy Serkis’ Animal Farm, with Seth Rogen voicing Napoleon and Angel Studios handling distribution • A quick remembrance of animator Tony Benedict, whose career path traced the industry’s mid-century churn from Disney to TV animation FEATURE • Why Chuck Jones left Termite Terrace, briefly detoured to Disney, then later set up shop at MGM • How Disney’s MGM licensing deal and the later Turner-Time Warner corporate shuffle complicated who “owned” what in the Oz rights maze • The surprisingly effective mash-up of MGM legacies in Tom & Jerry and the Wizard of Oz (and why it was successful enough to inspire a return trip) • A lightning round of other animated Oz side-quests, including costly misfires and international oddities HOSTS • Jim Hill - IG: @JimHillMedia | X: @JimHillMedia | Website: JimHillMedia.com • Drew Taylor - IG: @drewtailored | X: @DrewTailored | Website: drewtaylor.work FOLLOW • Facebook: JimHillMediaNews • Instagram: JimHillMedia • TikTok: JimHillMedia SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at Patreon.com/JimHillMedia. PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited by Dave Grey Produced by Eric Hersey - Strong Minded Agency SPONSOR Unlocked Magic - Get real savings on Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando tickets, sometimes up to 12% off. Unlocked Magic is run by the same team behind the DVC Rental Store and the DVC Resale Market, so you can pick your dates, grab your tickets, and go. Visit UnlockedMagic.com and let them know Drew and Jim sent you. If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Construction at Animal Kingdom’s upcoming Encanto attraction is finally starting to pop above the fence line, and Jim and Len do what they do best - stare at aerial photos until they start seeing ride-height changes and possible “big thing” anchors. Then the show veers into a surprisingly tight math problem: is it actually cheaper for an American couple to fly to Japan and do Tokyo Disney than it is to do a weekend at Walt Disney World? (Spoiler: the internet is almost right, which is somehow worse.) NEWS• Aerial photos suggest the Encanto ride site at Animal Kingdom may include a ride-height change (and at least one very suspicious hole in the ground).• Orange County tourist tax collections hit a new record for October, up 15 percent year over year - yes, people are still going to Orlando.• Disney Cruise Line Port Canaveral numbers show strong October sailings - Disney Magic at 81 percent occupancy, Treasure and Wish at 89 percent.• Hallmark and Disney team up for the first in-park holiday movie, “Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True,” arriving in 2026.• Disney’s surprise AI headline: a reported $1 billion OpenAI investment tied to Disney characters appearing in Sora, and what Disney might really be building toward. FEATURE• Why Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure (and its Paris counterpart) reportedly switched from 3D to 2D - guest comfort, visibility, and the ongoing cost of 3D glasses.• The long history of Disney’s ever-changing 3D eyewear “story names,” from MuppetVision safety goggles to opera glasses and beyond.• The wild near-miss: Avatar: Flight of Passage allegedly came close to becoming 2D, and how producer Jon Landau pushed back. For this episode’s full show notes, click here. HOSTS• Jim Hill - IG: @JimHillMedia | X: @JimHillMedia | Website: JimHillMedia.com• Len Testa - IG: @len.testa | Website: TouringPlans.com FOLLOW• Facebook: JimHillMediaNews• Instagram: JimHillMedia• TikTok: JimHillMedia PRODUCTION CREDITSEdited by Dave GreyProduced by Eric Hersey - Strong Minded Agency SPONSORThis episode’s Disney-ish News is sponsored by UnlockedMagic.com - from our friends at DVCRentalStore.com. If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices