Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard XX
[0] I'm David Farrier, a New Zealander who ended up accidentally marooned in America, and I want to grasp what makes this country tick.
[1] Now, back in episode three, I took a deep dive into Disneyland and Disney World, and more specifically, into the world of Disney adults.
[2] There I met Yuliana, who's been to Disneyland hundreds of times as an adult.
[3] Go follow your instinct, go find those little adventures, and let the magic find you.
[4] The trouble was, the magic hadn't found me because I'd never been to Disneyland.
[5] Dax and Monica insisted that needed to change.
[6] So in this episode, like a couple of parents taking their oversized sun out for a trip, Daxa Monica take me to Disneyland.
[7] Along the way, I dig deeper into Disney, going so deep I find myself immersed in the world of Disney gangs.
[8] So grab those Mickey Mouse ears, or maybe that gang patch, because this is the Disney Part 2 episode.
[9] Flyless, flightless bird touchdown in America.
[10] I'm a flightless bird touchdown in America.
[11] See, I don't know if it's too soon in this series to do a part two of a thing, but this seemed important.
[12] I want to justify my cynicism about Disney because in New Zealand, I guess Disney's scene is this big corporation that, like, gives you entertainment.
[13] How dare they?
[14] Yeah, how dare they try and entertain us?
[15] That's how stance.
[16] Every New Zealander is like, impress me. At a comedy club in New Zealand or a show, inevitably, the attitude is like crossed arms, dead silence, and a musician or a comedian, which is awful.
[17] I don't support it.
[18] Has to impress us.
[19] That's interesting.
[20] I would not have expected that because I feel like the stereotype about you guys is that you're really nice and friendly.
[21] We're nice.
[22] One on one we're nice.
[23] But in a group.
[24] You're mean as hell.
[25] We're mean.
[26] We're mean spirited.
[27] With Disney, we're skeptical of it.
[28] And also, we don't have any big theme park experiences in New Zealand like it.
[29] Like we have Rainbow's End, which is this tiny little park which you kind of get over after you're 10 years old.
[30] And so it's just foreign to us, I think.
[31] Okay.
[32] So on the last episode, Dax said, We should go to Disneyland or we're going.
[33] And then it was like, yay, we're going to do it.
[34] There's a group email that goes out about planning dates, a really good email, lots of back and forths.
[35] Lots of eggs.
[36] So many eggs.
[37] I could go without a few of us.
[38] But then, BTS, I ran into you and Rob at Maru, the coffee line.
[39] And you looked perturbed.
[40] I was like, what's going on?
[41] And you were like, oh, nothing.
[42] We're just talking about the Disney trip.
[43] Like, I just really don't like roller coasters.
[44] And then Rob was like, me either.
[45] You guys were like sweating and you looked actually very nervous about this upcoming trip.
[46] It was a hot day.
[47] And so we were sweating from the sun.
[48] But also, yeah, we both have a lot of anxiety.
[49] I know Dax is like an adventure man. And I get the feeling you're sort of quite adventurous.
[50] And you were making jokes about the roller coasters.
[51] And we didn't want to disappoint mom and dad.
[52] You'd never want to disappoint your parents.
[53] And, you know, I'm here thanks to you guys.
[54] I'm worried if I disappoint you.
[55] Okay.
[56] Well, I'm a nice mom.
[57] So when you guys told me that, I was like, oh, no. But I also don't want to disappoint dad or make him angry.
[58] So I could also not tell him.
[59] So I'm just walking around with this secret of like, oh, God, they're nervous.
[60] Yeah, well, Rob was doing research.
[61] he was texting friends and messaging them who'd been on different rides assessing how scary they were and there's also reviews of the rides as well that indicate how terrifying they are watching YouTube videos of how they go.
[62] So we were going deep and we were coming up with strategies of like okay if we're in Disneyland with these two like how do we play it cool and like avoid getting on this ride because you also don't want to be a party pooper of course I know I know I felt immediately codependent about you guys You were kind, and you actually did allay some of our fears.
[63] I said you don't have to go on any roller coaster.
[64] It was only one.
[65] It wasn't one scene, as you said.
[66] Well, and to be fair, Dax said it too.
[67] We told Dax eventually.
[68] And he said, you don't have to do any.
[69] I had less trust.
[70] Because the thing is, with people that love adventure, they always say, oh, no, we won't do it.
[71] And then internally, they're going, ha, ha, ha.
[72] Of course we're going to do it.
[73] Because part of the joy for them is watching people be terrified.
[74] So look, let's just hit go on our trip.
[75] We recorded the experience.
[76] for you to enjoy.
[77] Check, check, check.
[78] We're not sure if we're allowed to record at Disneyland, so we've quickly hidden some microphones on us so we can document the experience.
[79] I'm nervous at being undercover, but mostly I'm nervous about heights.
[80] I hate heights, and I see a sign in front of us for something called soaring over California.
[81] Okay, so we're about to go on our first ride, and it's a very, very, very calm and nice, kind ride, but you are feeling already a little bit.
[82] I just saw the word soren.
[83] And that indicates height.
[84] It's not even spelled correctly.
[85] Like, it's not soaring.
[86] And then also, what else is it saying there?
[87] It says, you've got to be seven.
[88] Yeah, Monica pointed out, children under seven must be.
[89] Yeah, that makes it feel better.
[90] What it makes me feel is like I am Dax and Monica's child.
[91] That 39 -year -old baby.
[92] I just feel lucky that producer Rob is also here, and he also hates heights.
[93] I'm glad to have another coward by my side.
[94] to have a fear of heights are prone to motion sickness should not ride.
[95] Right.
[96] And then does it say the seven -year -old can ride, actually, if they are just joined by a 14 -year -old.
[97] It also says that it could include dramatic drops, turns, swoops, and lifts.
[98] But by the way, I've ridden this ride, and I don't think any of those things happen to.
[99] Well, that's what someone that doesn't mind heights would say.
[100] Or swoops.
[101] Or swoops.
[102] Or flips.
[103] Whereas all those words, to me, are terrifying.
[104] Okay.
[105] Well, this is great because I can't wait to record your absolute glee and...
[106] sparkle after the experience.
[107] I'm just deeply cynical about this place.
[108] So cynical.
[109] This is basically I'm an ambassador mission.
[110] Yeah, and you will be deeply converted.
[111] So I stepped through the door, take a seat, and take my first ever Disneyland ride.
[112] I'm swept up into the sky and dangled over a screen, which seems to fill out my entire field of view, and off we saw over high -definition images of Los Angeles.
[113] We ooh and we are and we laugh As we saw over fields and mountains and waterfalls Dare I say it, that it's really nice Like VR without the glasses Here's what I think is neat about this place It's the only place you could go to Where everyone that's here has chosen to have a great day Yeah, I feel like everyone here is like on a day off You never enter a place where everyone's like You know what, no matter what, today's going to be a great day It's like almost an example of the power of positive thinking And also no one's on their phone Everyone's just actually looking around them No one's glued to their phone But don't you think it's palpable?
[114] Oh yeah Like everyone here's like We're gonna have a great day today Next we're on a hectic ride Shooting Toy Story targets with guns Which is so intense It's more gym routine than ride I feel great Actually I don't I feel defeated because I only got 87 ,000 And my new goal is 200 Are your arms tired?
[115] Yeah oh yeah Yeah that's a bigger workout than I've done in like a year Then it's Indiana Jones.
[116] Monica takes the wheel of a Jeep, and we cruise around the Temple of Doom.
[117] There's fireballs and explosions and lots of action.
[118] It's so louder, audio is unusable.
[119] And I don't want to get sued by Disney for pirating their ride.
[120] That's my favorite so far, Indiana Jones.
[121] Oh good, I'm glad you agree.
[122] The production value of that one is so great.
[123] And then the little vehicle is so fun, right?
[124] Yeah, but you're right, it's production video.
[125] It's like everything is amazing.
[126] It's like you're on a big, giant, beautiful set.
[127] You have no greedy little money pig in you, right?
[128] I was thinking, fuck, this ride paid for itself, like, by the second year.
[129] And there's really very little maintenance to do.
[130] It just exists as a cash machine.
[131] It's a money printing machine.
[132] You set it up, it goes on an eternal loop, and it just brings the money in.
[133] What a thing to have.
[134] Dax is right.
[135] The rides are expensive to make.
[136] It's thought the Indiana Jones ride we just took cost about $50 million to make when it opened in 1995.
[137] But in the preceding 27 years since, it's been a money -making machine, an eternal loop of cash for Disney.
[138] Is this one of your favorite rides?
[139] I would say it's right now in a two -way tie with Indiana Jones, but this is probably better.
[140] This is cars, and they built the entire world.
[141] It's so colossal.
[142] Oh, we're up there.
[143] Okay, okay, okay.
[144] Sometimes I forget that I'm with a man more obsessed with cars than any other man I know.
[145] So, of course, head -like cars.
[146] the Pixar franchise about cars.
[147] It's a strange franchise when you think about it.
[148] In the movies, there's no explanation on where the sentient cars came from.
[149] There are some cars that are old and some that are young.
[150] But there are no baby cars.
[151] How are they breeding?
[152] They never tell us.
[153] Anyway, the ride's great.
[154] We drive a car through the world of cars and there's a roller coaster -esque car race at the end.
[155] We did it three times and we all felt ill, so cool off by going to It's a Small World, which is either designed for kids or adults who have taken a lot of drugs.
[156] That horrific song was written by the Sherman Brothers in 1963 in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which apparently influenced the lyrics.
[157] Choirs of kids were recorded in studios all over the planet to create a song which is the only Disney creation to never be copyrighted, very generous.
[158] David, I think people would be interested in knowing and it's a small world after all.
[159] There's humans of all ethnicities from all over the world, and I think the listeners would want to know who you found most attractive.
[160] I really liked, of course, the New Zealand section.
[161] It was small, but it was beautiful.
[162] There was two Kiwis with two Kiwis.
[163] I just felt like I was back home again briefly.
[164] You know, it was a bit of a reprieve.
[165] It was very sweet.
[166] It was very sweet.
[167] Now it's time for the big one, The Mother Lode, Star Wars.
[168] Galaxy's Edge covers almost 15 acres and costs about a billion dollars to make.
[169] I'd like to note for the record I said acres just then, not square kilometers.
[170] I really am becoming more American.
[171] So we're about to go into Star Wars.
[172] Have you done this one before, Dax?
[173] No, I'm so excited because we're all going to share something for the first time.
[174] And Monica, have you done this one before?
[175] Never, and I've never seen Star Wars.
[176] Sorry, what?
[177] This revelation Monica Padman has never seen Star Wars?
[178] I think this makes me more American than her.
[179] Never.
[180] That's a real wildlife achievement to avoid those films.
[181] Well, you know, to the point where we play this game when we're in a group where you have to say a movie that everyone in the group has seen, and everyone goes Star Wars thinking, well, duh, that'll, and then she always messes it up.
[182] Here we go.
[183] I don't want to spoil the finer details of the Galaxy Edge experience, but it's really good.
[184] immersive.
[185] We took a train to some alien planet.
[186] We piloted a Millennium Falcon.
[187] And Disney really has gone all in on Star Wars.
[188] The ride is big.
[189] And in my mind drifts to stories I've heard about Disney World's new galactic star cruiser experience.
[190] It's like the ultimate live action role -playing thing.
[191] You learn how to assemble your own lightsaber and spend two nights on a galactic star cruiser.
[192] For two people, it costs just under $5 ,000.
[193] Disney really is just printing money.
[194] this point.
[195] I am Lieutenant Beck.
[196] As you heard from Ray, I have been tasked with getting you to the horror.
[197] We emerge into daylight.
[198] The Star Wars ride has been a 10 out of 10.
[199] And it reminded me of a lead I'd been meaning to chase up.
[200] I'd heard there were Disney adults who'd taken things up another notch, forming what they called social clubs, wearing specific Disney patches and getting Disney tattoos, the media labelled them Disney gangs.
[201] I'd gotten a hold of a number.
[202] I stepped away from my friends and out of the noise, and I called him.
[203] Hello.
[204] Hey, Trent.
[205] How are you?
[206] I am well.
[207] Trent is a member of the sons of Anakin.
[208] I am a Midwest born and raised kid from Michigan.
[209] And I always had this fantasy of growing up in California by the beach and going to Disneyland whenever he wanted.
[210] Trent tells me he left Michigan for California in 2006.
[211] And one of the first things he did after getting his driver's life, license was to go to Disneyland and get an annual pass.
[212] And sometime after that, he started to notice people in denim and leather with patches and tattoos.
[213] The Main Street Elite, the Neverlanders, they were like the Neverland Mermaids.
[214] And I was like, that is so cool.
[215] I want to be a part of that.
[216] And then I saw the patch and I saw the name.
[217] I was like, oh my God, that is so fucking cool.
[218] That's the one I want to join.
[219] And the club is the Sons of Anakin, which.
[220] which is a play on the Sons of Anarchy that show about the motorcycle gang.
[221] Just to be super clear, they're not gangs, right?
[222] It's a separate thing.
[223] You're looking like gangs, but it's not a gang thing.
[224] On the surface, you see these vests, you think motorcycle gangs, because the imagery on the back definitely mimics motorcycle, quote -unquote, gangs.
[225] We don't ride bikes.
[226] We don't do anything other than hang out at Disney, and we have, for lack of a better term, their own little Mickey Mouse Club.
[227] Look, I get it.
[228] people will be like, I don't want to see gangs at Disneyland, but these are the same people who also don't want to see people with piercings or people with green hair or brown people.
[229] I mean, like, people who have preconceived judgments about seeing someone what they're wearing or what they look like, I think that plays into their gangs.
[230] They're all up to no good or whatever.
[231] And, of course, there are some people that are going to be unruly, but you don't have to be wearing a vest or you don't have to be of a certain persuasion to be unruly, like anyone can get drunk, Anyone can get loud.
[232] Anyone can be a Karen.
[233] Anyone can be an asshole.
[234] Totally.
[235] There was a lawsuit filed four years ago by members of the Main Street Fire Station 55 social club against the White Rabbits.
[236] The White Rabbits is one of the biggest social clubs at Disneyland.
[237] The Main Street Fire Station 55 club accused the White Rabbits of approaching them for protection money while on Disney grounds.
[238] I called another contact, Shy, the president of another club, to find out what was going on.
[239] Um, yeah, these are all allegations.
[240] And those of us that were around at the time, other club members in the social club community, not just the white rabbits, know the backstory about that.
[241] Oh, so what happened?
[242] Can you say?
[243] I mean, I don't know.
[244] I think it's still going on.
[245] I think it's like, it's still an ongoing lawsuit.
[246] Oh, so there's still some weird beak between the Main Street Fire Station and the white rabbits?
[247] Right.
[248] I mean, off the record, I could probably tell you what I know.
[249] But on the record, I don't know if I could say much.
[250] I didn't want to start a new beef, a new turf war, so I let it slide.
[251] It's estimated there are about a hundred Disney gangs, sorry, Disney clubs at Disneyland.
[252] Some are big with hundreds of members.
[253] Others have far less.
[254] There's a relatively new one that's doing quite well.
[255] It's called a Tune Town Fight Club, which is a riff off of like this fight that broke out in Tune Town.
[256] And the president of Tuntown Fight Club, he's also a graphic designer.
[257] he decided to make shirts to poke fun at the event like oh there's a fight club in tune town but it actually took off pretty nicely as a social club i look up the original fight in tune town and it is really intense it happened about three years ago there's a lot of swearing about five people involved and a lot of punches are thrown the funny thing about the tune town fight club is that it's entirely peaceful just like the sons of anakin disney social clubs from what i can tell you tell are mostly just safe spaces for Disney adults to be Disney adults, patched and proud.
[258] I put my cell phone away and look for my friends.
[259] I spot Dax and Rob, but Monica's nowhere in sight.
[260] I hope a Disney gang hasn't kidnapped her or something.
[261] Oh good, here's Monica.
[262] She's fresh out of pooping.
[263] I didn't poop.
[264] I wanted to, but I couldn't.
[265] Okay.
[266] How long did you try?
[267] For a second.
[268] Do you want some more time?
[269] No. Maybe I was to blame.
[270] My piloting skills had stressed her out too much.
[271] I'd crash the Millennium Falcon multiple times.
[272] We went on one horrible ride in which you tried to steer us, and I had to close my eyes because you were going to make us all throw up.
[273] Yeah, the Millennium Falcon, I wasn't particularly good at piloting.
[274] Did that make you want to see Star Wars?
[275] I really liked the ride.
[276] It makes you want to go on the ride again, but I don't need to know any backstory.
[277] There was a big drop, and that was cool.
[278] I love that you loved everything despite not having seen the films.
[279] I knew nothing.
[280] Now I've turned into a taskmaster, haven't I?
[281] You have a little bit.
[282] Yeah.
[283] Keeping us on track because we're all, we're pretty dead, right?
[284] We're pretty exhausted.
[285] It gets tiring in here.
[286] I don't know why, because we're just sort of doing some slow walking and a lot of sitting down, but it's tiring.
[287] Sure, being happy can be exhausting.
[288] People don't realize how laborious smiling is.
[289] Is that what this emotion is that I've been feeling?
[290] Yes, it's a fatigue, fatigue from happiness.
[291] Happiness fatigue, they call it medically.
[292] But looking around at all the children here, it's so nice to be here without children just as adults wandering around it's really good absolutely because you can just see all the cute kids and then you don't have to tend to any of their issues which is heavenly Rob can we get an update how far we've walked we've been about 13 ,000 steps and six miles six miles five point eight miles we're being dead on us well get to six that's the certainty I was hoping to hit 10 what did you think yeah I thought at least 10 okay so we fail short the day is nearly behind us at this point right How late are they open?
[293] We can still get there.
[294] You just start picking up the pace.
[295] How late are they?
[296] Midnight.
[297] Okay, midnight.
[298] We weren't going to stage your midnight.
[299] We were toast.
[300] Stay tuned for more Flightless Bird.
[301] We'll be right back after a word from our sponsors.
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[318] It was time to get food.
[319] I shoved a corn dog down my gullet.
[320] And then another corn dog and some Coke.
[321] Monica had a cheese stick.
[322] We never got an update on whether or not you liked the corn dog.
[323] Oh, I really love the corn dog.
[324] It's not sitting great in me right now, but I love the experience of eating it.
[325] Okay, good.
[326] That's what it's meant to do.
[327] How's your dog feeling?
[328] My cheese stick was fantastic.
[329] It was truly feral food.
[330] This was no Club 33.
[331] And as we ate, we wander.
[332] There's some great people watching, including one family who looked truly miserable.
[333] Eight hours in, and for some, the cracks were showing.
[334] Not us, though.
[335] Monika and Dax run off to the scary rides.
[336] Too scary for me. Monica and Dax have just come off Space Mountain, and I'm very curious how I went for them.
[337] I just saw the photo of Monica and Dax.
[338] Dax looks very excited on the roller coaster.
[339] Monica, terrified.
[340] But I'm wrong.
[341] Apparently Monica Padman looking terrified is Monica Padman having fun.
[342] It was a 10.
[343] It was so fun.
[344] I wasn't going to go.
[345] And then last minute I just jumped in because I'm a winner.
[346] I'm really proud of you.
[347] Thank you.
[348] Was it dark in there?
[349] Was it dark and scary?
[350] Yeah, it's completely dark.
[351] You can't see anything, but then there's like lights and stuff.
[352] There was a strobe at the end.
[353] so I covered my face so I didn't have a seizure.
[354] Yeah, that's good.
[355] That would be an awful end to the ride.
[356] You're just coming out and seizing up.
[357] But then I would have still enjoyed myself, so, you know, risk reward.
[358] There's all these moments, like Monica expresses all these fears in real life.
[359] But when it comes down to it, the threshold's high.
[360] The state champion's always there.
[361] It's always in or just waiting to wake up.
[362] And that's kind of what we saw back there on Space Mountain.
[363] She's brave.
[364] Yeah, she would have went into the mouth of a lion.
[365] And I would just add that I think we're on the climb back up.
[366] We bottomed out after Star Wars Land.
[367] And then we needed a nice meal, a sit -down, six shots of espresso.
[368] You bought some merch, and now we're kind of back.
[369] The day rolls on.
[370] We have a blast.
[371] We do so many rides, it all just turns into a blur.
[372] To be honest, my guts don't feel great, but it's a small price to pay.
[373] What's been your favorite so far, Monica, just of all the rides?
[374] Cars.
[375] Cars was so fun.
[376] We accidentally rode it three times, and I liked this.
[377] outdoor roller coaster portion.
[378] Probably the highlight of my day was hearing Dax doing his best Star Wars impression.
[379] Can I hear your chewy, please?
[380] The other highlight comes as we're about to walk out the gates.
[381] I just bought a big pink helium balloon.
[382] And then I spot her.
[383] She's beautiful.
[384] One of Disneyland's majestic feral cats.
[385] Seeing an outdoor cat made me feel like I was back in New Zealand.
[386] where pet cats roam free.
[387] Here in America, if you let your cat out, it'll immediately be bitten by a snake or torn apart by a mountain lion.
[388] But Disneyland is a safe space for cats.
[389] Ever since Walt Disney himself found some strays in the sleeping beauty castle back in the 1950s, they've been here ever since, keeping rats under control and patrolling the park at night.
[390] It was a wonderful way to end my first time to Disneyland with my friends.
[391] But as Dax drove us home, something I'd said earlier that day troubled me. It played over and over and over again in my head, sending shivers down my spine every time.
[392] It's so nice to be here without children, just as adults wandering around.
[393] So nice to be here without children, just adults wandering around.
[394] That sounds remarkably like something a Disney adult would say.
[395] That night, I tossed and turned.
[396] It's so nice to be here without children.
[397] I couldn't sleep.
[398] So I picked up the phone, and I rang Yulean.
[399] The Disney adult I'd interviewed in an earlier episode, but I didn't get Yuliana.
[400] I got her mum.
[401] Who's this?
[402] Oh, hi, it's David Fariah calling.
[403] Oh my goodness, hello.
[404] Hi.
[405] This is Yuliana's mom, Audrey.
[406] I told her about my day, the corn dogs and the rides and crashing the Millennium Falcon and seeing that feral cat.
[407] And I tell her about my worry I might be turning into a Disney adult.
[408] As the mother of a Disney adult, I hope she'd have advice.
[409] I'll be honest with you.
[410] I also didn't really understand these adult people.
[411] I'm like, is this a Peter Pan complex or what's going on here, you know, and people have all kinds of hobbies.
[412] God knows, people spend a lot of time doing a passion thing, whether it be collecting, car racing, raves, and this is hers.
[413] Audrey says she's had years to observe her Disney adult daughter and her Disney adult friends and assures me there's nothing.
[414] nothing to worry about.
[415] I've met her friends, and I tell you, they are lovely people who hold regular jobs and have serious lives, but they get such a kick out of dressing up and just being completely happy with one another for the time that they get together at Disneyland.
[416] They're joyful, and I can't see anything wrong with that.
[417] I would take Yuliana to Disneyland.
[418] She was under a certain age, so she got in for free, and I would just push her around the stroller.
[419] It was safe.
[420] There was food.
[421] She could rest.
[422] I would just watch people with their families interacting.
[423] I loved it.
[424] You see what families are about.
[425] You know, mom and dad wrestling with kids, kids going in a thousand different directions.
[426] Somebody's laughing.
[427] Somebody's crying.
[428] To see the whole group under duress is fun.
[429] Yeah, I know what you mean.
[430] There are a lot of emotions that you see.
[431] Exactly.
[432] Exactly.
[433] And it's like, oh yeah, that's what real families are doing.
[434] And they're doing it here trying to have a little time together.
[435] And it's heartwarming, frankly.
[436] It's just very sweet.
[437] I think of that miserable family I saw earlier in the day.
[438] And all the happy people, too.
[439] I guess I'm in the happy camp.
[440] And so was Audrey and her Disney adult child.
[441] Oh, her dad used to take her all the time when I was in culinary school, any chance he got.
[442] And he loved it too because he was a storyteller with film.
[443] And there's a lot of visual things for him.
[444] And she's very much like her father.
[445] She sees large pictures.
[446] she actually can take the whole thing in and comprehend it.
[447] She sees things as a whole like he did.
[448] It just so happens that Yuliana's dad, Audrey's husband, was Laslo Kovacs, the cinematographer that shot films like Ghostbusters and Easy Rider.
[449] Unfortunately, he passed in 2007.
[450] She lost him early, but they had a lot of good time together.
[451] It occurred to me that if Disneyland was okay with Laslo, I think it's probably okay with me too.
[452] I still like going with her, and she's still legs dragging.
[453] mom around, so I'm grateful for that.
[454] That's sweet.
[455] I slept really well after talking to Audrey.
[456] By the way, of course she's a Disney adult.
[457] She connects it to her dad.
[458] It's really cute, right?
[459] That's adorable.
[460] Yes, I think it was like a family thing and a really important bonding thing.
[461] And you've got one of the most amazing cinematographers in Hollywood who loves storytelling and taking his daughter there and having these moments.
[462] It's pretty neat.
[463] Listen, you left out an important part.
[464] Did you leave it out on it?
[465] I was torn.
[466] I started to write about this when I was writing my script and I didn't know how to describe it.
[467] And I think you should do the honor.
[468] Okay.
[469] Because it was unusual.
[470] We did have one disturbing moment.
[471] We were coming off of haunted mansion.
[472] We got off the ride.
[473] We had a guide and she was awesome and she was standing there talking to a boy who looked around, let's say.
[474] He was tall.
[475] I think he was tall for his age, but he looked like 11.
[476] 10, 11.
[477] She looked a bit sort of worried.
[478] little distressed.
[479] We didn't worry too much because it just looked like, oh no, he's like lost his parents or something.
[480] He needed an adult.
[481] He was disorientated and our wonderful guide who knows everything about Disney was helping this kid.
[482] Yes.
[483] And actually, then some parents did come up and kind of take him away.
[484] So it was like, oh, that's resolved.
[485] And then she came to us and her face was stricken.
[486] We were like, what's going on?
[487] And she said, that boy just came up to me and said, I want to eat some dirty stuff.
[488] He was really upset.
[489] He had one want and one need.
[490] And that was to eat some dirty stuff.
[491] Wow, did she handle that well?
[492] I mean, for one thing, she didn't know how to answer that, because what do you say to someone that wants to eat dirty stuff?
[493] And then, you know, it opens up the question.
[494] It's like, what do you mean?
[495] Do you mean, like, dirt on the ground?
[496] Do you mean, like, pornography?
[497] Because the kids are getting into that these days.
[498] I hear they're getting into porn.
[499] Oh, my gosh.
[500] He ran to the first adult he saw and said that.
[501] For a second, I was like, oh, no, is this one of those situations, like that family who was trapped in the house, those kids, for a lot?
[502] Ritzels, the underground, yeah, and a bunker, they escape.
[503] They escape.
[504] And I was like, oh, my God, is this the boy trying to tell us that he's been trapped?
[505] Yeah, he doesn't have the ability to use words.
[506] He's only learned a few words he's heard through the wall from the TV.
[507] And it's like eat dirty and stuff.
[508] And that's his way to communicate with the outside world.
[509] It was really intense.
[510] Also later, there was a huge ding, ding, ding, ding, not duck, goose.
[511] We were walking into our last ride of the day, cars.
[512] We decided to end with cars.
[513] We wrote it four times.
[514] Yeah, we did it four.
[515] Yeah, we did it four times.
[516] When we were walking up, there was a bin that said dirty stuff.
[517] It literally said dirty stuff.
[518] It was like a cage that was for an animal.
[519] Yeah.
[520] Maybe Disney's feral cats that they round up or something.
[521] And it literally had a printed out sign that just said dirty stuff.
[522] Yes.
[523] That was my dad winking at us.
[524] I mean, that was probably the cage that the kid had escaped from, like earlier.
[525] He wanted to eat whatever was in there That was so weird But you can see why I didn't quite know how to write that into the documentary In a succinct way It was much better to be able to talk it through with you As like recalling this very weird time But yeah I was really excited to learn about Disney gangs Because I'd heard about these things And I'd heard the warfights There has been reports of turf war There is that lawsuit which is ongoing It's alleged that someone wanted protection money But I think really what it is It's just I think a personal beef That's gotten out of control between some people And you know what Americans do We learned that in the suing episode People sue Yeah, exactly I kind of love the Disney gangs It's really endearing I mean what Trent told me Is that essentially it's for Disney adults That maybe they can't be bothered Like calling friends to go They can just like go to Disneyland And have like a chat group And be like I'm going And there's 50 adults that can like I'll be there in 10 minutes.
[526] Meet you there.
[527] It's a sweet community.
[528] I like the way it was spun into kind of a pro -social cause.
[529] Like, don't judge people by the way they look.
[530] Totally.
[531] Like a lot of people judge gangs by how they look.
[532] And there's some gangs out there doing some really good stuff as well, you know?
[533] It's not all terrible.
[534] Since you're our kid, it felt like our right to be able to name you.
[535] So we decided to name you cinnamon.
[536] And you really embodied that name so perfectly.
[537] Like every time we looked at you and you were kind of looking around like you didn't know what was going on like a little two -year -old.
[538] Yeah.
[539] Come stand by us, cinnamon.
[540] And my short shorts on bounding around.
[541] And you had your cute little bag with the Japanese face on it.
[542] God, you were cinnamon.
[543] My little Shibu dog.
[544] Yeah, cinnamon.
[545] The annoying thing is I started to respond to it during the day, which is so annoying.
[546] I wanted to know as well something I learned while I was researching this other episode.
[547] There are a lot of conspiracy theories around Disney, which are too complicated to get into now.
[548] But just know that QAnon theories do line up with Disney.
[549] There's people out there analyzing the Disney logo with that big castle and the Disney logo.
[550] They've sort of drawn geometric shapes in it.
[551] They looked at what stars are in the sky, how they all line up, what they're trying to tell us about the deep state.
[552] Oh, so can we do it armchair and dangerous on that?
[553] And I think we absolutely should.
[554] And another thing I learned is that Walt Disney, when he designed Disney land, he was aware that the best thing in California was the ocean.
[555] And he thought like the ocean will outstage this thing.
[556] So no one can know the ocean's there.
[557] So a big part of Disney is having these big walls.
[558] And so you're essentially trapped in this wonderful place, but nothing can outstage it.
[559] Nothing can up the experience.
[560] I also really liked a bit of feedback I got up to the last one.
[561] I just thought it was really sweet.
[562] This is from Laura.
[563] I just finished the Disney Adult podcast.
[564] Really enjoyed it.
[565] I'm a 68 -year -old total Disney adult.
[566] I've been one my whole life.
[567] My memories of watching the Mickey Mouse Club as a child.
[568] My children and now grandchildren all visit Disney.
[569] We retired to Celebration, Florida a few years ago.
[570] What you said about celebration may have been true at the beginning with all its problems, but it's no longer run by Disney and it's a great place to be living.
[571] I even got myself a part -time Disney job this year, a dream come true.
[572] Oh, a dream come true.
[573] I thought that was kind of nice.
[574] A dream is a wish your heart makes.
[575] That's a ding, ding, ding.
[576] It's beautiful.
[577] Someone also wrote in and said Club 33's food isn't quite as good as you'd expect for the price tag.
[578] I've heard.
[579] I was really happy with the corn dogs.
[580] Okay, didn't sound like it.
[581] Sometimes you tell us stuff, I guess you tell your mom and dad's stuff, but then the truth comes out in these dogs.
[582] And it sounds like you hated the corn dog.
[583] No, no, I like the taste.
[584] I forget that I'm about to play the documentary in front of you.
[585] I haven't quite lined that logic up.
[586] Yeah, no, I really like the taste is just sitting in the stomach was less good as you're going on all those rides.
[587] Like the fourth car's ride when it's like going up and down, you've got a couple of corns sitting in your couple of dogs in your stomach.
[588] It's not hot, is it?
[589] God, I was blown away by the cheese stick, though.
[590] I really liked it.
[591] I didn't know that was a thing.
[592] I didn't know it existed.
[593] And there's only a couple stands.
[594] that have the cheese stick.
[595] So we had to get the intel.
[596] We had lunch with our guide.
[597] And I'm pretty sure we've said how much the guides cost, which is $700 an hour.
[598] Which is bonkers.
[599] Yes.
[600] And we found out later how much these guides.
[601] They do an incredible job.
[602] Earn.
[603] So we found out that they make under $20 an hour.
[604] We were pretty shook by that Yeah, we were And then of course, I think what happens is they get tipped But some people don't tip them No, they think all that money that they've laid down For the experience, most of it's going to them This wonderful guide is so happy Because they're being paid so much money Not the case That's a mean thing to do at the happiest place on earth So yeah, we're all shocked And then we're looking on some message boards And essentially found a lot of stories of people not tipping or barely tipping anything because they think all these thousands of dollars are going to the guides, not the case.
[605] Some are just getting tipped like, in one case, a dollar.
[606] One dollar.
[607] They put in so much effort, they know everything.
[608] They get you everywhere.
[609] It's an entire day.
[610] And when you consider that those thousands of dollars are not going to them, and they're not getting tipped, it's pretty bad.
[611] It's bad.
[612] So you tip your guides if you are lucky enough to be in that position.
[613] Thank you, Dax.
[614] It was a really fun day.
[615] It was such a fun day.
[616] It was a 10 out of 10.
[617] Yeah, and I am on that slide to being potentially a Disney adult.
[618] I'm literally, I did that night clock what I said.
[619] I love not being here with kids just on my own.
[620] You said it.
[621] You said it.
[622] You can never take that back.
[623] I can never take that back.
[624] So, yeah, I'm much less skeptical and cynical about Disney.
[625] I like to think I've become a lot more American in this.
[626] You did.
[627] Star Wars.
[628] Corn dogs.
[629] Corn dogs.
[630] Get them in me. Cinnamon wants another corn dog