Losing interest in the main show

[Penmac]

I also notice that cruises are getting a ton of discussion time lately. They’ve mentioned many times that the 2021 itineraries are being released this week and it makes sense that they would want to cover this topic in the weeks leading up to it. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will die down because it’s simply not an area of interest for me as a Disney fan.

As someone who is not a cruise person, it’s hard for me to stay focused on the episode when they launch into DCL talk. And most especially when Pete isn’t hosting. No offense to the rest because they are all great & I love what they individually bring to the show, but Pete is the anchor!

I think of cruise ships as floating vats of norovirus. I don’t care how many wipes you hand out at the door to the dining room.... the thought of spending thousands of dollars so I can spend my whole week trying to avoid the contamination of all those humans on one vessel at sea— no thank you. I’ve had enough norovirus to last a lifetime living with my own kids. And I know, I know- DCL is a high end cruise liner and they are above all this and are consistently rated at the top of their industry. I have no doubt. But, there has just been too many horror stories in general for me to ever get behind cruising. I know we only hear about the bad stuff and millions of people cruise and don’t get sick.... I get it. I’m probably not being reasonable but fears are generally not reasonable, right?

Add my propensity for sea-sickness into it all and that basically means that listening to them talk about state rooms and ports has me wanting to quickly switch to Spotify music. I can’t deal with the DCL talk anymore. Please make it stop!!

 

[SeanWM48]

caught up with this week's episode. it was excellent.

one of the most common criticisms, including from me, in this thread is that Pete takes a week off and the show gets messy. it's true. but this particular episode, run by Rhino and Craig with Corey and Jackie joining, was sharp. everybody was to the point, chatty but professional, and on-topic.

excellent job by all

 

[tinks_mom]

I loved this week's episode. The crew had me laughing and really enjoying spending time with them.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

caught up with this week's episode. it was excellent.

one of the most common criticisms, including from me, in this thread is that Pete takes a week off and the show gets messy. it's true. but this particular episode, run by Rhino and Craig with Corey and Jackie joining, was sharp. everybody was to the point, chatty but professional, and on-topic.

excellent job by all

I loved this week's episode. The crew had me laughing and really enjoying spending time with them.

I agree. This weeks show was great. Having Ryno as the host was an excellent choice.

 

[disneyworldsk]

maybe they listened to the OP and the comments people made after. I think this thread has been wonderful where someone like the OP got to express himself/herself and no one became angry or poisonous. Just allowed to politely say how you feel without people jumping all over you. It's nice someone can say "I don't like something..." in a polite way and not be bashed. It's ok to lose interest in something or evolve or outgrow a group, it happens to everyone.

 

[SaintsManiac]

caught up with this week's episode. it was excellent.

one of the most common criticisms, including from me, in this thread is that Pete takes a week off and the show gets messy. it's true. but this particular episode, run by Rhino and Craig with Corey and Jackie joining, was sharp. everybody was to the point, chatty but professional, and on-topic.

excellent job by all

I'll give it a listen in the carpool line today.

Jackie is a pro and it is always a pleasure to hear her on the show!

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I’m not so sure it’s unplugged anymore Ryan really pushed those Dreams plugs hard today.

Still makes Tuesday special, but without Pete it’s missing something.

 

[afwdwfan]

I enjoy it, although I don't watch, I just listen to the podcast when it is convenient. It isn't uncommon for me to get a few weeks behind and listen to 2 or 3 back to back doing yardwork in the summer or doing odd jobs around the house. I rarely completely skip an episode though. I enjoy it no matter who is hosting, although it can take some detours time to time, regardless of the host as well. I enjoy Craig, or whoever might be filling in for Pete as a host. It is a change of pace, but it isn't always a bad thing.

However, I can't wait to hear Pete's take on the change at the top of the Disney company now. I'm salivating for that discussion on the podcast.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

However, I can't wait to hear Pete's take on the change at the top of the Disney company now. I'm salivating for that discussion on the podcast.

I was thinking the same thing!! Unfortunately, ryno said no show next week because they will all be at the opening of MMRR

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I go through phases. Sometimes I watch consistently and sometimes life happens or other things capture my attention. I am more likely to tune in if something big is going on or I have something trip related in my life that ties in to Disney. I do sometimes catch up on missed shows that seem more interesting when I get a chance, although some of it is just listening during a run. There is some content in their new shows that I don't bother with...i.e. I have no plans to buy DVC, I'm not into cruises, anything ABD isn't of interest, and I left FL in 1997 and don't plan to move back. Beyond that, while I generally enjoy the dining shows, food is subjective. There are restaurants that they love that I've hated and vice versa. All in all, I'm still thankful for the content, even though my viewing habits have changed.

 

[ATCDisney]

Show was great today, but the thing that annoys me most about the show these days is the constant talk about Disney Cruises. I don't understand why... it has nothing to do with Walt Disney World. There aren't segments of the show dedicated to the other Disney parks or Aulani.... why do cruises get such prominent placement in the podcast?

This is spot on. If the title of the podcast is going to be called “A Weekly Roundtable Discussion about all things Disney World” , then the first 20 minutes of it should not be devoted to Cruises.
I get many people love DCL, and that’s why they created its own show. I don’t listen to the DCL show, but do they promote WDW? I’m guessing they don’t. The main show at this point should end and just be renamed to have a separate WDW Show. There’s no reason to have a “main show”. That said, content is still great.

 

[YesterDark]

I've written about this in several threads on these boards over the last year or so. Personally, I agree with a lot of the original poster's thoughts. I have experience with content creation in my day, and I've hosted a few pet project podcasts too and know what it takes to make one on a weekly basis consistently over time (it's tough, so I appreciate their work).

I only give this criticism because I love the team and the content they provide me and I'd like to see it be even better.

Format
The format is pretty bad if you ask me, it's all wrong. It's like they are doing everything backwards.

Current format:
Sponsors
Housekeeping
News
Rapid Fire
Discussion Topic (opinion)

The sponsors section is fine, it needs to be read from paper and not ad-libed. When you adlib it, it gets too drawn out.

Housekeeping needs to be faster too. It's ok to be at the top of the show, but when you go around the table and you talk about a bunch of random stuff like Cruises, ABD or other project it gets dull. You're already 10-20 minutes into the show and you haven't gotten into any content. Other popular podcasts (non Disney) that I listen to, the Housekeeping section gets skipped by me. I really don't care about what you're promoting. Sometimes Kevin can do a Housekeeping about ABD thats quick and to the point, and sometime it lasts way too long.

I'd limit housekeeping to 1-2 announcements and that's it.

The news section is fine but I don't think you should lead the show with it unless it's a major news announcement (Like a CEO change or a pricing change or whatever) because it invokes discussion and conversation. You can tell ahead of time if a news item will invoke interesting conversation. If you don't think it will, DON'T report it.

Rapid Fire is useless. No one cares about cupcakes and other stuff. Don't waste my time on the show with it. If you think it's important enough, it should be discussed fully with everyone.

Discussion Topic - This is the best part of the show most of the time and should be the main bulk of every show. It should be at least 30 minutes every week. People want to watch a show where you're talking about the parks, talking about planning, talking about depression or divorce or some other controversial topic. I don't listen to this show for someone to read off the news items on their phone that John emailed them. I read it for Pete's response to >insert rant topic<. I read it for Ryno disagreeing with Craig on whatever topic. I want a lively debate.

New Format:
Sponsors/Housekeeping
News/Discussion

Start off the top of the show with sponsors and announcements. If you have multiple sponsors, take a break during the show to announce them. Then do a quick run down on housekeeping, keep it tight and simple.

Then mix in News and Discussions together.

The Team
Everyone loves Pete, he's excellent at hosting the show. The rest of the crew has their strengths and weaknesses. Personally if Pete's not there, Deni should be hosting or Ryno. Ryno has gotten a million times better since he started hosting Best or Worst. Craig is hopeless (sorry bro!).

Deni, imo, would be a great host as she can keep time and let her personality shine a bit more. She's great on a lot of the reviews she does because she's more center stage on those verse the Tuesday show.

--

Dang this was a long post and if you got this far, thanks for reading.

 

[YesterDark]

Forgot to add:

Personally, I've been daydreaming about doing a podcast again because I love creating content. I'm willing to bet I could have a great weekly show just by discussing the top 3 threads on these board for an hour with random people from the boards and then having @rteetz come on once a month to do a Rumor Roundup show.

That's what the Dis show should probably be imo.

 

[hertamaniac]

Forgot to add:

Personally, I've been daydreaming about doing a podcast again because I love creating content. I'm willing to bet I could have a great weekly show just by discussing the top 3 threads on these board for an hour with random people from the boards and then having @rteetz come on once a month to do a Rumor Roundup show.

That's what the Dis show should probably be imo.

I agree that the rumor roundup should be much more frequently showcased; I am not sure why it hasn't been previously. Adding an open discussion with top threads would make for an interesting podcast provided it stays focused, PG and allows equal time for the contributors (or as close as can be).

 

[limitdis]

I usually skip all the [insert name of cupcake, candy, ice cream, dish name] reviews and I skip most of the restaurant reviews. The only thing I watch is best and worst (relating to attractions) and occasionally skip around the main podcast.

 

[Halpis]

I agree YesterDark. My suggestion is make Housekeeping really Housekeeping. For instance...there will be no show next week or we want to correct what we said last week.

As I posted earlier I think the rapid fire is ok but there is no reason to read word for word a Disney press release. Just share your point and move on. I can find more info on my own or post links so people can find them if they want to.

The news is okay as long as it doesn't start going all over the map. I think some of the best stuff happens when a topic or story is discussed. And I always love when Pete feels passionately about something. Sean's Hoop Dee Doo story was fascinating. But I agree with all your points.

 

[YesterDark]

My point is that some episodes, the news is read by someone and it's just them reading an article to us about something uninteresting at worse and then you go on. News should be something that is newsworthy, not just read for the sake of putting something in to the "News" section.

 

[jbish]

Just going to throw my two cents here on the extended Housekeeping segments. Since most listeners are regulars, why not rotate through the advertisements. Meaning, the first week of the month, they do the extended Dreams plug (they should mention Dreams every week, the scripted version, since this is their primary source of revenue). Second week, they plug their other shows. Once a month, highlight a sponsor - like the candles. "Housekeeping" should be a few minutes (3-5 mins) at the top of the show - not 1/3 of the week's content. I don't mind it being all up at the top of the show vs. sprinkled in throughout. I usually fwd through those on other podcasts so I like that we're getting them out of the way early. I do appreciate the personal updates, too - think those are important as the people on the show are what makes it. (Glad Corey is on the mend and sending good thoughts out to Michael!)

Also, I'm one of those that zone out during cruise talk. Not my thing and I find myself tuning it out. I'm there for the WDW content.

 

[limitdis]

News should be something that is newsworthy, not just read for the sake of putting something in to the "News" section.

Exactly. What we want to hear from them, more than anything else, is their OPINIONS. They're knowledgeable.

 

[disneysteve]

Exactly. What we want to hear from them, more than anything else, is their OPINIONS. They're knowledgeable.

This has been mentioned a lot. I think if the team is reading this and takes away anything from this thread, this is it.

The landscape has changed since the show started over a decade ago. There are far more sources of Disney news now. My Twitter and Facebook feeds are filled with multiple people and sites posting the same news and updates. If the DIS were to disappear tomorrow (hopefully not), I would be no less informed about what's happening.

I listen to the DIS because of the people and their expertise and experience. I don't need them to read me the press releases. I want to hear what they think about the press releases. How do they think it will impact guests? How does it change how people need to plan their trips? That sort of thing.