This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] David Alpert: Welcome to E-Ticket to Broadway, where Broadway meets Main Street. Here's your host, my pal, David Alpert.

[0:25] David Alpert: Hello and welcome to this episode of E-Ticket to Broadway, where your favorite Broadway stars share which Disney theme park attractions make them queasy. I'm sure if you're listening to this podcast, you're looking to add some magic to your life. So check out the official E-Ticket to Broadway merchandise shop. We have a lot of fun designs on a variety of products which make a perfect park uniform. Head to www.eticketpodcast.com today. On our Instagram page, at E-Ticket to Broadway, we share memes, photos of our guests at the parks, games, trivia, and more. Be sure to give us a follow and join in on the fun. This episode's guest recorded his interview just after finishing an amazing eight-year run in Broadway's Aladdin.

His other credits include Wicked, Jersey Boys, and the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Grab a dole whip and please welcome to the podcast, Mr. Brad Weinstock. Brad, welcome to the podcast. I met you nearly 20 years ago, but today will be the first time we ever nerd out about Disney. Are you prepared for this?

[1:36] Brad Weinstock: I cannot wait. I've been waiting two decades for this moment to let our Disney flags fly.

[1:42] David Alpert: I know because I met you when you were doing Spelling Bee in Chicago with our dear mutual friend Christine Warney. Even though I was very much a Disney kid because I worked at Disneyland in 2005, I probably met you in 2006, I don't think Disney ever came up.

[1:57] Brad Weinstock: I don't think so, too. I don't have a memory of us geeking out on this topic at the time. As you've shared wonderful photos, make sure you're following on Instagram, you've been going to Disney for quite some time.

[2:07] Brad Weinstock: Yeah. The first time I went and the only time I went to Disneyland, I think I was maybe three or four. Those were what some of those early photos were, but my parents were really lovely and took me, I think I was maybe seven. Then again, when I was maybe 10 or so from those photos, so I got to go a decent amount to Disney World mostly growing up.

[2:26] David Alpert: Well, we'll get into that. I usually begin these interviews by going back in time, but you, my friend, just finished a spectacular eight and a half year run with Aladdin, the musical, literally yesterday.

[2:36] Brad Weinstock: Literally hot off the presses, yes.

[2:38] David Alpert: Hot off the presses. Aladdin has been a Disney property that you have loved your whole life. We're going to get more into that, but how are you feeling right now about being able to share the story of Aladdin for eight and a half years with audiences?

[2:51] Brad Weinstock: I feel completely crazy on a lot of levels. I feel really grateful it was eight and a half years. I've been saying I feel like I went to Agrabah University because it was essentially four years of high school, four years of college, and then a little time for being a super senior or maybe a summer class. I learned so much there and just getting to share that story. And Aladdin was, I feel like this is going to be the Aladdin Memorial podcast for me because it was my absolute favorite Disney movie growing up. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I watched that clamshell VHS a hundred times growing up. I mean, that was my movie. That was Robin Williams, I think, kind of changed my life in that movie with his performance as the genie, and maybe made me want to go into acting.

So the fact that the show got to be my Broadway debut and then that I got to do it for eight and a half years, well over 2,500, probably closer to 3,000 times is surreal and a beautiful full circle moment. And I couldn't have asked for a more emotional, but just happy final show last night. And what is it about the story of Aladdin that resonates so deeply with you?

[3:54] Brad Weinstock: I think, well, from a personal level, the part that I played with was Omar and we're part of a trio of Aladdin's best friends. I always said that we're sort of the human incarnation of Abu, the monkey. Monkeys are famously difficult to work with, so they got us three humans. So I play Omar, then there's another character, Kasim and Babkak, and we're sort of the three elements of what Abu would be. I'm the sweet but nervous one, Babkak's kind of sarcastic, and Kasim's the alpha. So the three of us, when we combine, we're Captain Planet, we're also Aladdin's best friends. So it's really about friendship. The show is completely about, I think our friendship with Aladdin starts it. And then the friendship with Genie and Aladdin is really the heart of the show.

Of course, there's Princess Jasmine, we love Princess Jasmine. But it's really about this beautiful friendship between Aladdin and the Genie and what the Genie helps Aladdin to accomplish in his own life. And then in turn, what Aladdin does, spoiler alert, by setting the Genie free, who is his first flying in 10,000 years to make that decision.

[5:03] David Alpert: That's really nice. That's all the questions I have for you. That was so beautiful. Wonderful. I had a great time doing it again in 20 years.

[5:07] Brad Weinstock: Yeah, exactly. And so you've mentioned this already, you love the Genie and that you've shared that he changed your life. Tell me more about that. I mean, Robin Williams is of course iconic across so many films, but the Genie is one of those few voice characters that you're like, that's Robin Williams.

[5:21] Brad Weinstock: That is, I think that was, I mean, maybe not the first example of a major celebrity doing a voice in a Disney film, because of course, there's celebrities within the Disney world. You know, everybody knows Jonathan Freeman or, you know, some of the earlier voices. But that was a mega star doing a voice. And I remember I was such a little movie nerd growing up that I asked my mom, I was like, he's gonna get an Oscar nomination for this performance. It was just remarkable. I mean, what he did with just the motor mouthness and the stream of consciousness, and also it wound up being a gateway for me, I became a huge movie nerd and cinema buff. And he goes through these rapid fire impressions of like Jack Nicholson and Ed Sullivan, who, you know, the average, I guess I was probably eight when this movie came out, the average eight year old didn't know who these references were.

And I, you know, my mom's yucking it up next to me with what Robin Williams is doing. So then it kind of became a gateway for me to explore in a pre-internet age. So I had to actually go to, you know, a library or a blockbuster for VHSs of these references, but it unlocked this whole world of cinema for me too, with it. And also just as an only child, I spent a lot of time alone doing voices myself. So having Robin Williams kind of go through all these rapid fire impressions, you know, just unlock my imagination.

[6:38] Brad Weinstock: As we're talking through this, I really, I think I'm going to say that Robin Williams, giving the voice to the genie is the most famous, you know, voice actor tied to a Disney role. It's one of the few roles you could say to the average American, like, Hey, who was the voice of the genie? They're going to say Robin Williams.

[6:47] Brad Weinstock: I think so too. I'm not sure if we could do that with other, I don't know. I'm going through my mental Rolodex and I really can't think of anybody that's quite at that level or that had the seismic impact that him doing the genie.

[7:03] David Alpert: I know. I mean, of course, like in our circles would be like, well, of course it's Jodie Benson and Susan Egan and Idina Menzel. But I think, you know, for the average American, it's Robin Williams as the genie is the most famous combination of voice actor and Disney character.

[7:19] Brad Weinstock: Right. I mean, I wish that Pat Carroll was more of a household name. She should be, of course, but no, I agree with you about Robin Williams. That was a special moment. If you're listening to this and you think of other ones, please let us know because I think.

[7:30] David Alpert: Yes, absolutely. I'm sure we're missing somebody huge. I mean, of course, James Earl Jones, Mufasa, there's a ton of them, but I agree that Robin Williams is special.

[7:37] Brad Weinstock: But I think if you say James Earl Jones, they'd be like Darth Vader first.

[7:40] David Alpert: Or this is CNN, you know?

[7:42] Brad Weinstock: Yes. Wow. I can't believe I finally got James Earl Jones on my podcast. That was so exciting.

[7:47] David Alpert: Incredible.

[7:49] Brad Weinstock: I love the genie as well. And I remember as a kid, we grew up around the same time.

[7:53] David Alpert: Oh, I think in lockstep. Yeah.

[7:55] Brad Weinstock: There were so many, so many great impressions. Do you have a favorite impression that the genie makes in the movie?

[8:01] Brad Weinstock: I mean, I just remember the Jack Nicholson one.

[8:03] David Alpert: Yeah.

[8:04] Brad Weinstock: Loving it with like, hey, Sparky, you know, him doing that.

[8:08] David Alpert: Which terrified me because I saw the Batman movie where he was the Joker.

[8:13] Brad Weinstock: Oh, yeah.

[8:13] David Alpert: It really scared me. And I remember that impression getting a little scared by it.

[8:17] Brad Weinstock: So I'm glad you chose my most favorite.

[8:18] David Alpert: That's a whole other podcast is the Tim Burton world and how terrified I was by both Jack Nicholson as the Joker and Danny DeVito as the penguin biting people's noses off and spitting penguin ink or whatever he had at the end there.

[8:33] Brad Weinstock: I will say I'm terrified of bees, but his be yourself moment.

[8:37] David Alpert: Oh, yeah.

[8:38] Brad Weinstock: Is always was very funny to me.

[8:40] David Alpert: Oh, and also just yucking it up doing the parade commentators like the Thanksgiving Day Parade during Prince of Lea.

[8:45] Brad Weinstock: That was another great moment. Don't they look lovely, Joan?

[8:48] David Alpert: Yeah. And at the end of the movie, he's wearing a it's a goofy hat or a Donald.

[8:52] Brad Weinstock: It's goofy.

[8:53] David Alpert: I think it's a goofy hat. Yeah.

[8:54] Brad Weinstock: With a Hawaiian shirt.

[8:56] David Alpert: Yeah. I was like, oh, my God, that's a theme park reference.

[8:58] Brad Weinstock: I was very totally. And that was the other thing, too, is just the references that really launched this whole web of cross references. And I feel like that's what Shrek then did so famously all these years later. But I feel like it was kind of the first movie to be a little bit meta and reference things within the Disney universe and be a little cheeky. And the genie kind of could step outside of the time and space of Agrabah and reference our modern pop culture and go back to the setting itself.

[9:19] David Alpert: So I feel like this conversation has come up with Susan Egan because Hercules also had some anachronistic points.

[9:25] Brad Weinstock: Oh, yeah, that's true.

[9:26] David Alpert: It is rare that I think I agree with you. I think like in the renaissance of Disney, clearly Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast didn't really go there.

[9:31] Brad Weinstock: Right. Or all of their time.

[9:33] David Alpert: But Aladdin definitely did.

[9:37] Brad Weinstock: Yeah, the musical does, too. I mean, that's so much fun to watching. James McGregor was there when I got there, which was such an honor. And he's become a friend and is the best. And Michael James Scott's been doing it the last several years. And he's also, of course, incredible. They all are. But the genie can make a current reference, whether it's something that's trending on TikTok or which I'm not on. But the kids really laugh at those lines. Let me tell you. Or, you know, any cinematic reference or making a joke that he's from Wakanda, you know, the other characters in the show can't really do that. But the genie can say whatever he wants. Do you have a favorite song from Aladdin?

[10:12] Brad Weinstock: Yeah, I guess this is just Brad Weinstock talks about the genie. But my favorite thing to watch and actually I went upstairs. There's a little perch that we can watch actually called the Mary's Bridge, because that's where Mary Poppins would fly out to at the end of the show. And you can get a great bird's eye view of the New Amsterdam Theater, which is one of the most gorgeous theaters in New York. So I went upstairs and I watched Friend Like Me for one last time. And it just gets me every time. It's a wonderful kind of iconic Broadway production number, but it's just so funny. And of course, you know, I love references. And the cast was just on fire. And the number that I love to do the most is High Adventure.

This is not in the movie, but actually it was written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken back in the day. It just didn't make the movie. And it's just a big swashbuckling sword fight with the three best friends storming the palace trying to save Aladdin. Of course, they promptly get caught by the guards and thrown in jail. So they're not of that much use. But we do have a great six to seven minute number where we get to sword fight and do shtick and I limbo under a spear. And it's just so much fun to do. And it's a really robust kind of soaring melody to sing as well.

[11:19] David Alpert: That's fun. I love that you said that Aladdin is about friendship and you chose two songs, one literally with friend in the title. Yeah. And the other one is about three friends.

[11:28] Brad Weinstock: Yeah. And then the final song that we sing with the Genie and Aladdin, the five of us, is called Somebody's Got Your Back, which I think I wrote 12 handwritten cards last night as goodbye notes that said, you know, something to the effect of never had a friend like you or somebody's got you. It's always great to know somebody who's got your back. So yeah, friendship is definitely woven through the story of Aladdin a lot.

[11:47] David Alpert: You know, you mentioned James Earl Egelhart and Michael James Scott, who've been on the podcast, also read from Aladdin. Yes. But Jonathan Freeman, what was it like to work with, you know, the voice of Jafar from your childhood now on stage with you?

[12:00] Brad Weinstock: That was surreal. And I was honestly so intimidated the first time I met him because I was like, it's Jafar. And then you get up close to him and you're like, that's the nose. Like that's this is they drew Jafar because of this man's face. And then, of course, he is lovely and and as our people would say. But I have this this kind of core memory. I had just joined the show in late February and Passover fell early that year. And I was still kind of scared of Jonathan, who has now become a lovely friend. And we used to chat before Act Two and he was in his full beat, full Jafar drag. And it is drag that makeup job is is intense. And he kind of came up to me and in full costume just said, Aziz and peace, which means happy Passover.

And I was like, if you had told eight year old Brad that one day the Jafar would come up to him and Jafar, you know, get up and wish him a happy Passover. I mean, you can't write that stuff. But he's he's so lovely. And he he's, of course, a Disney legend. He's also probably legend. But he makes everyone feel so welcome. I mean, I actually wore his shirt last night. The first day of anybody joining the show, no matter what, he gives you a T-shirt with Jafar on it. He's always bringing treats from his favorite deli, you know, as little gifts. And he's just a very thoughtful, generous, kind soul with amazing Disney stories. I mean, your podcast with him was a fantastic Disney time capsule of just Disney history, Broadway history, animation history. He's chock full of incredible.

[13:30] Brad Weinstock: As a kid, what did Disney mean to you? I still love theming everything. I love to read a book that takes place where I'm visiting, or watch a movie that takes place where I'm going, or listen to music that's connected to it. And Disney is the ultimate theme dream. There is not an inch of that park that has not been attended to or a detail that has been overlooked when you go there. And I think everyone winds up loving the castles. And of course, I love Cinderella's Castle and Sleeping Beauty's, but I was a nerd. So I was a big Epcot kid. I just loved the World Showcase. It was kind of trivia heavy, which I, you know, love to study trivia things in general. And Spaceship Earth was just such an iconic site.

I love Magic Kingdom too. I mean, there's pictures of me like the veins coming out of my neck. I'm laughing so hard with Donald Duck. But um, yeah, it was just a great, it was just a great escape in another world. And like I said, I was an only child and I don't know if I had the most friends, but you know, here we go. And this is also I guess a friend, a podcast about friendship today. But it made me feel like, you know, like I had friends or a place. And I get like, I remember as a kid, you know, when you're kind of piecing things together, and you're like, I love this movie. Like I loved Snow White as a kid. And I love Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella and Peter Pan. And you go to the parks, and you would see it and you started to connect.

Oh, this is Disney. It's different than when I saw like an American tale. I was like, this isn't it doesn't hit the magical core of me like the other ones did. No, you can't. Sorry. No, you can't. You can't bottle that. I think that nostalgia. And that's, I think why when people come back to Disney, even as an adult, they still get kind of, you know, clumped when they when they meet the characters, because it just taps into something so deep and intrinsic to who we are growing up. I mean, that cake is like baked with Disney for so many of us. You know, for me, it was the the renaissance or the second golden age of, you know, that back to back to back punch of Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Lion King, right when I was kind of coming of age, or, you know, eight, nine, 10, 11. So that was just that was just in me so intrinsically in my DNA. And when you go see there, see the park, it's incredible.

[16:12] David Alpert: For sure. And like, for me, same thing, like, I was about four years old when Mermaid came out, and it hit me at a time. But I was already being exposed to the true to me, the true golden age of Disney, like, you know, from Snow White in 37.

[16:29] Brad Weinstock: Absolutely. All the way. And so for me, as a kid, I was like, isn't this just what always happens? There's always new Disney movies. And as I got older, I was like, Oh, no, it really was quiet for a bit. Yeah. I mean, I know you've seen that documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty. But yeah, I would you know, the 80s were, you know, I'm sure there's some some Black Cauldron stands out there. But it's a quiet time for this. I mean, and you bring up Sleeping Beauty, you shared that you love Disney princesses, specifically Aurora and Ariel.

[16:50] David Alpert: Yes, I love those two. What about them? Do you love?

[16:58] Brad Weinstock: Honestly, I think the songs were so pretty. I just think I mean, I know that Once Upon a Dream is essentially a Tchaikovsky melody, but that that song is just so swooningly beautiful. And of course, I mean, what little kid did not pretend to be Ariel in the pool, or with a red towel over their heads? Yeah, I'm singing part of your world. I mean, this was something that I did constantly in childhood. And not not all of us needed the red towel. I mean, listen, not all of us are genetically lucky enough to not have to wear a wig for Ariel. For those of you that don't know what I look like, I am a redhead. But also, I mean, I love both of those movies. But those movies also have two of the absolute most iconic villains of all time.

I mean, probably the two greatest in my book. I was telling David earlier, this is an audio medium, but I do have my coffee table book of villains from, you know, 1994 that I would leave on my bedside table and read a different chapter every night. Just cycling through this book for years. And what's cool about that book is because I remember on the front is like a I'm going to say this wrong. It's a hologram of the magic mirror. And then you shift it and it turns into evil queen and back to the magic mirror. So I mean, this was it's just a beautiful book. I think it stopped getting updated. And my copy stops 1994, but it could obviously keep going.

[18:21] David Alpert: Yeah. But the Disney villains are always so great. And I true story for my birthday party a few years ago, I did a PowerPoint party and I talked about why I thought the evil queen was the best Disney villain. And I'll share with you a presentation. But truly, the villains are always like people love the villains as well. We just found out that Disney World, of course, is going to get a villain's land coming. But I love that within the same movie, you love both Ariel and Ursula. Like that's a lot of inner drama.

[18:47] Brad Weinstock: It was a lot of turmoil. I yeah, I love both of those characters. I mean, poor unfortunate souls. Who did you root for? But who did you read question? Vanessa?

[18:59] Brad Weinstock: I was the Vanessa Hive for sure. I think I just always I love the villains. I don't think I was actively rooting for Ursula. But I think I mean, that was a delicious character. And you meet her and she's, you know, put it on her lipstick with a shrimp. And, you know, she's so bawdy and bawdy language. And Pat Carroll does such an iconic, my gosh, vocal performance. So I love Dariel. But I, I would always wait for the scenes with the villains and the songs that I would do over and over and over in my mirror. I've been part of your world or the villain songs was a be prepared was a poor unfortunate souls. Maleficent doesn't have a song. Alas, but another delicious villain.

[19:38] David Alpert: I know. Your Aladdin co star Jonathan Freeman was on the podcast who we love. And really, we got into just how fabulous a lot of these villains are. And truly like, from Ursula based on a drag queen to Jafar, clearly having some queer background, like they were a lot of times the outcasts of society. And I think, you know, as a young gay person, we could absolutely I mean, I think there's so many people in the queer community that relate to villains or feel like they feel like they're an outsider and can relate to that. So I think that's a huge part of it is. And then, you know, we're in this in this current renaissance now of wickets now also 20 years old, but spinning, you know, spinning the perspective around to get the villains point of view, whether it's a Maleficent or, you know, a movie, or musical, I guess I should say, like wicked to kind of see, maybe they're just misunderstood. I mean, some of the villains are, of course, full sociopaths and psychopaths, but there's a few of them that, you know, you can maybe make the case that, well, they have a point a little bit.

[20:34] Brad Weinstock: Yeah, I'm not, I'd have to, we'd have to have this is a separate presentation from David. That's a different one. But yeah, yeah. You'll show up with your coffee table book.

[20:43] David Alpert: Exactly. We're ready to go.

[20:45] Brad Weinstock: You also love WALL-E.

[20:47] David Alpert: I love WALL-E.

[20:48] Brad Weinstock: Which is like, tell me, tell me about WALL-E.

[20:51] Brad Weinstock: The whole movie is great, but I think of that first hour is a masterpiece from Pixar, where he's just sort of taking out, you know, doing trash in this, this desolate, you know, dystopian earthscape that we left behind for WALL-E. But I just think he's so sweet. WALL-E just, he's alone in the universe or thinks he is. And he just wants love. He just adores Eva. And that scene where he has the VHS of Hello Dolly and holds her hand and makes her watch it. I mean, I'm a hopeless romantic at heart. So like that just melts my heart, that feeling of wanting to share something with somebody that you love and having them think it's great. It's sort of that, that element of showing your partner, maybe your favorite movie in your kind of, or dog and watching them the whole time to see if they're seeing what you see or having this going through the same emotions you are.

So I think of that element of WALL-E and that, that's maybe in minutes into the movie, it just had, I was all aboard, just, just completely melted my heart. It's just such a sweet character and also just beautiful animation. And, you know, kind of a frightening state that it starts in, but it ends on a hopeful note.

[21:57] David Alpert: It's so funny, clearly with this podcast, it's musical theater and Broadway meeting Disney. And like, there's an example of a true intersection with Hello Dolly playing in that movie. The first notes in that movie is out there. It's Michael Crawford singing out there, I believe.

[22:11] Brad Weinstock: Oh yeah. Do you think that when people go to the Disney parks and they're on Main Street and they hear like, put on your Sunday clothes on Main Street, do you think everyone's like, oh, that's from WALL-E?

[22:20] David Alpert: I'm sure. I'm sure there's an entire generation that thinks that that's, that's the WALL-E song. It's like when a cover comes out and they think it's, you know.

[22:26] Brad Weinstock: Yeah. And I would just turn to be like, do you not know what Hello Dolly is? How dare you, sir?

[22:30] David Alpert: And this other song is Meredith Wilson's The Music Man. Okay. You also give honorable mention of favorite characters too. And I have to look this up. Frank from The Rescuers Down Under, who's a green frilled lizard.

[22:42] Brad Weinstock: I mean, Frank is, yeah, it's sort of, if you picture the, the dinosaur, the Dilophosaurus that spits ink in Jurassic Park, but shrunk him down to kind of palm sized, he's just a nervous Nelly. I think actually I probably pulled a lot of my character Omar in Aladdin from Frank because he is just in a perpetual tizzy. He's in this little jail that they throw the main character of Cody in. I love Rescuers Down Under. This is getting into deep eighties, you know, content.

[23:07] David Alpert: You really do. This is what's crazy is, I think it was my, I don't know, maybe like second grade for my birthday party. We got a little Caesar's pizza and watched Rescuers Down Under. Because it was like, well, I didn't want to watch that. I really wanted to watch Snow White, but I thought Rescuers Down Under was going to be like the cooler version.

[23:22] Brad Weinstock: The people's princess, you know, you want it to make everybody happy. But really I was like, but I just, I, I, I don't think I've ever seen the Rescuers proper. Like my Disney fandom is so Disneyland that there's some Disney movies that I haven't actually seen. I did not see The Rescuers, the original until years after The Rescuers Down Under. Rescuers Down Under was strongly in my, my VHS rotation as well. I know that movie pretty well, but yeah, Frank just is in a tizzy trying to get these keys. And he's just a sweet, nervous character. And I think, I can't imagine why, but I think I related to him as well.

[24:56] David Alpert: Yeah. What's funny is like, I mean, I always ask this, like you've mentioned loving Aurora and Ariel and Ursula, Wally, and now Frank. With those characters, is Frank the one you relate to? Like, I'm always curious when people say a favorite Disney character, it's like, do you relate to them? Do you see yourselves in them? Or do you just love them?

[24:58] David Alpert: Brad, you sent in so many wonderful photos of you at the parks. And again, reminder, follow us on Instagram. Do you remember your first memories of going, I know you mentioned going like six or seven, but like, what do you remember from those trips of those early days of going to Disney?

[25:11] Brad Weinstock: I think I definitely relate to Frank. You know, it's funny as we're talking about all these characters, I feel like I'm making a Venn diagram of my personality a little bit. You know, the genie is maybe the showy part of me, but Frank is, he's anxious for sure. He's neurotic. He's frantic about these keys that he's trying to get. So I think that I definitely, there's characters that are maybe reflective and then there's characters that are maybe aspirational and Frank would be one of the characters that I feel like is me on, maybe not my promised day.

[25:11] Brad Weinstock: I mean, I think the thing that I most remember, um, it's funny, I'm, I'm, I'm a Jewish gentleman, so I'm not the tallest. I could probably play a hobbit. Um, I, and my parents are short as well, but my mom's sister's partner, my uncle Patrick was six foot five and kind of kept me on his shoulders the whole day when I was three. So I got a real bird's eye view of the park that I never would get normally. So I have a memory of being on my uncle Patrick shoulders for a lot of that day at that park, um, and seeing the world through a perspective I wasn't used to. And also I was really car obsessed. So I was really excited about the grand pre raceway and my sweet parents and my aunt and uncle sort of staggered themselves along the line.

Um, in the days way before a flash pass or a genie pass, and I would do the ride get off. And then one of them would just be getting close to the queue. So I think, I think I did that grand pre raceway on loop for hours that first time that I went to Disneyland. Um, and then just the characters, I mean, yeah, there's some of these pictures you could see. I was a little timid around Mickey, but Donald duck was my person, um, was my character of choice. I mean, I'm just ackling in these pictures as, as a three-year-old, um, and years later and talking about characters that kind of reflect who you are. I feel like I'm a Donald at heart because I, when Disney plus was, was, um, launching, I went back and watched a lot of the old shorts and Donald duck, just, he just wants nice things and peace and quiet.

Like all those, all those shorts are about him trying to bake a cake, make a garden, go to bed early at a reasonable hour. And then he's just foiled by nonsense, whether it's his nephews or outside forces. So, and then he gets kind of cranky about it. So I, when I'm trying to just read on the bus and there's, you know, a screaming couple next to me, I it's my Donald moment.

[27:31] Brad Weinstock: But it's not my favorite. If I have a Pixar night, it's probably not gonna be in the top five of movies that are in the running to get watched. I think they're totally, totally fun. Cars Land at Disney California Adventure is super fun.

[27:44] David Alpert: I've heard it's incredible. I've not been to Disneyland since I was probably three or four, so I might have to remedy that. But I've heard that entire area is incredible.

[27:51] Brad Weinstock: It's really cool. And some of it's now going to Frontierland, the Magic Kingdom they announced. An interesting choice.

[27:59] David Alpert: So you mentioned you love Pirates of the Caribbean.

[28:01] Brad Weinstock: I love Pirates of the Caribbean. It's a great ride. It's a classic. Do you have a favorite part of that ride?

[28:06] Brad Weinstock: Honestly, I am a sucker for like a sea shanty. Like all my favorite songs, not all my favorite songs, but many of my favorite songs in the Disney movies is like A Fathom Below is the Virginia Company. It's like the opening number and the villagers or the pirates or, you know, the sailors are like, this is what we do. And we're going to sing a baritone bass song about it. For some reason, I love those songs. The Bells of Notre Dame has a little bit of that going on. But so I and honestly, the Hans Zimmer score for Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the most glorious, rollicking, you know, talking about high adventure, swashbuckling scores that they have. So I really do. I do love the music. I love the yo-ho-ho.

And I love I did that ride within the last year and I was like, this is just really beautiful. I love history. So I think that they really beautifully captured that seafaring time of that Pirates of the Caribbean would have been taking place in. And it's just so lovingly done as everything is in Disney. But I just think it's a really beautiful ride.

[29:07] David Alpert: It is. And like, considering that it was supposed to be a walkthrough and then became a water ride, you know, have you watched Behind the Attraction on Disney Plus?

[29:14] Brad Weinstock: Of course, yes. That episode of Pirates is so cool and just showing the differences. And but like, do you have a favorite audio animatronic from the ride?

[29:23] Brad Weinstock: Oh, yes. It's the it's the going back to getting keys. This is another recurring theme. This is really turned into therapy is, of course, the the guy's trying to coax the dog to give him to get some keys to get out of their jail cell, which is truly their ring of keys moment. It is the ring of keys to the Jeanine Tesorian and Alison Bechdel.

[29:40] David Alpert: Yeah, that's something that only we can send a ticket to Broadway. We can talk about Pirates of the Caribbean and exactly the deepest of cuts of Fun Home and Pirates of the Caribbean.

[29:49] Brad Weinstock: Oh, yeah, I get that. That makes a lot of sense. Now, have you compared like the Disneyland version of Pirates to Walt Disney World?

[29:56] David Alpert: Probably not. If you haven't, I haven't. I need to go in and, you know, take notes to make a PowerPoint. But I have not gotten to compare them in person.

[30:02] Brad Weinstock: Really? Because like, fiercely, I'm a Disneyland person. But I will say, like, I think the Pirates is more enjoyable in Disneyland. But I think Haunted Mansion is actually stronger in Florida.

[30:13] David Alpert: Oh, interesting. I didn't get to go the last time because the queue is really long, but I need to go again. There's subtle differences. And then, of course, like the Shanghai Pirates is incredible with all the movie screens. And I think it's just a really cool. I love seeing the differences of the different parks.

[30:29] Brad Weinstock: Oh, I'm fascinated by this. I have not been, but I'm dying to go to Tokyo, Disney and Shanghai and Hong Kong, you know, take those off one by one. I'm very intrigued.

[30:40] David Alpert: I know. You can do that one giant trip. That's like $100,000 to just do the problem.

[30:46] Brad Weinstock: Yeah, I'll take all my savings and just, you know, go to Disneyland.

[30:58] David Alpert: So Brad, you love the classic Pirates of the Caribbean, but you also love the very contemporary Rise of the Resistance.

[31:02] Brad Weinstock: Yes.

[31:04] David Alpert: Which on this podcast, I've talked a lot about my thoughts of Galaxy's Edge. I'm not always a fan. I feel like it's a lot of architecture over story or character. I think like, especially in California, like Disneyland is about nostalgia often. And I want to see, you know, the characters from episodes four, five and six, like those kind of things. And with Rise as a non Star Wars fan, I always found like it's a thrilling attraction, but I had some dramaturgical notes on it. You love it.

[31:35] Brad Weinstock: I do love it. I mean, so another really nerdy side of my personality is I'm a deep Star Wars fan. So for me, this was like going to the motherland. I mean, I just-

[31:46] David Alpert: You loved it.

[31:47] Brad Weinstock: I have a memory of just walking through those gates that they set up on the way into Galaxy's Edge and just truly getting choked up with just what they created and how lovingly, as with everything Disney, every detail was seen to. I mean, I think when Phantom Menace came out in 1999, my mother let me take a half day of school to go with my friends to see the movie. So this is the kind of Star Wars fan you're talking about. I mean, I could bore you with, you know, my favorite creature, Salacious Grump. So I was very excited about going to Galaxy's Edge. And that's the first stop I usually make when I get to Disney World.

[32:21] Brad Weinstock: I mean, it's fun. I mean, like the first time I went on it, I was like, where this direction is so big, like, where does it actually land? How does that all work? But I don't know. Getting into it is like, I felt like if my objective as- because, you know, I'm a director. I'm all about the story. It's like, if my job is to literally escape, right? That's the thing you have to get off. And then I get intercepted and I actually end up in the same place I began. I was like, I wish that there was a payoff.

[32:51] David Alpert: Wow.

[32:53] Brad Weinstock: Right?

[32:53] David Alpert: I've only gone- you know what? I have not even stopped to think through the story beats of it. I think I've only gone as a voracious Star Wars fanboy, but I have not put on a directorial hat to go through it.

[33:03] Brad Weinstock: I know. And again, like, I don't mean to discredit all the fun, but like, there were some- even like when we were lining up after the first part of it, and I was like, I didn't know I was being put in a jail cell. There was no signage. I think for people who love Star Wars, they understand what that is. But I was like, I don't know where I am. And I say that as a critique because so many other attractions, it's so clear.

[33:23] David Alpert: That's true.

[33:24] Brad Weinstock: And I, as someone that was against changing Walt's original park, when I saw the beginning of Galaxy's Edge and seeing how excited people were, as you spoke about, I was like, I get it. I'm thrilled to have this here because I do get the Disney of it all. And I loved seeing how it affected others.

[33:40] David Alpert: Yeah. I mean, it's definitely a catnip for Star Wars fans.

[33:43] Brad Weinstock: Yeah. And again, like, I don't want everything in Disneyland to be my favorite thing. I want everyone to have their own things, but I just wish I could go to Imagineering and be like, let me just give you a few dramaturgical thoughts.

[33:51] David Alpert: Please. Another PowerPoint.

[33:56] Brad Weinstock: Yeah. Another PowerPoint. Do you have a favorite moment from that attraction?

[34:02] Brad Weinstock: Honestly, it's from before the ride, but it's when you walk into that massive room and there's just the lines and lines of the stormtroopers. I mean, that is just a shocking visual. And then my head goes to where am I? How did they do this? Am I underground? Am I in some airplane hangar behind the park that they've disguised under a bunch of cliffs and stuff like that? I mean, it's just such an arresting visual. And I love when Kylo Ren comes out with his famous three-pronged sword. I mean, that's another great moment. But seeing that wall of stormtroopers in that massive kind of airplane hangar.

[34:34] David Alpert: Again. Yeah. And you're like, where does this exist?

[34:38] Brad Weinstock: Yeah. I'm literally in the center of the Earth right now. I do not know where I am, but I'm amazed.

[34:43] Brad Weinstock: I mean, I remember even as a kid, my mom would say, when you go on the attractions, you always look behind you to see how they did it. I want to see how it resets. I want to learn more. And the more I go on, I was like, okay, when you get on your individual vehicles and you leave kind of the loading area, what you're seeing are a bunch of empty ones that just came in from outside, I think. And that's where they switch it. And I was like, okay, so I'm curious. I just want to tour because I think it's such an incredibly designed, huge experience. Engineering, Imagineering, design, architecture, incredible experience.

[35:19] David Alpert: It's crazy. Are there any attractions that you're like, I'm not going to go on this one? It's not for me.

[35:23] Brad Weinstock: Oh, of course. Mission Space in Epcot. I can do any drops. I'll do a flip. I'll do rollercoasters. I did that. I cannot do centripetal things. Even the teacups is really pushing my luck in Magic Kingdom. So the centripetal G-forces that that ride in Epcot put me through I was like David after the dentist to quote an old YouTube video. I was like, this is real life. That ride messed me up. I don't get motion sick or anything like that. But that ride, I was like, never again. It's not going to happen. And this is 15 years ago. So I can't even imagine going at my current age. I think you'd be at my funeral.

[36:07] David Alpert: There's worse places for a funeral than Epcot.

[36:11] Brad Weinstock: That's true. That's true. For me, it's Tower of Terror. Or I can't do it anymore. I really can. That's a real thing.

[36:17] David Alpert: That's us coming at this answer as an anxious like, what if I get hurt? I want to throw up. Are there any attractions that you're like, I'm fine on it, but I don't want to go on it?

[36:27] Brad Weinstock: I have not been on It's a Small World and several visits to Disney. I think it's lovely. We love the message. Maybe I'm just afraid of getting the song in my head for the rest of my life. But it's not one of the rides that thrilled me. I know it's really special and nostalgic for a lot of people, but it's not one that I'm racing to necessarily when I first get to the parks.

[36:48] David Alpert: Okay, that's fair. What are some components of a perfect park day for you?

[36:53] Brad Weinstock: Oh, definitely a park hopper because I love to kind of amazing race my way through life. I'm not somebody who is a leisurely stroller. So I have an agenda. I probably have a Google doc. I have, you know, the timetable of what we're going to hit. So a perfect day would probably be a Magic Kingdom, followed by Hollywood Studios, followed by night at Epcot for the fireworks and to, you know, do the world showcase at the end of the day. But I have to hit rise of the resistance. I must get a dole whip. I'm sure you've heard this from just about every guest you've ever had in this podcast. But that's essential. And I'll have it for breakfast. I don't care if you know, if it's at Magic Kingdom at 10 a.m., I'm getting a dole whip. I need to do Tron. I recently really loved. I want to see a show in Magic Kingdom. I really like the Snow White ride. Oh, gosh, what's it called? Now I'm blanking out on that. The Mine Train, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

[37:47] David Alpert: Oh, your favorite, Dopey, famously.

[37:50] Brad Weinstock: Yeah, I love the Mine Train specifically because Dopey's in it. I think it's a fun ride though.

[37:55] David Alpert: Yeah. It's one of the few attractions that I will wait in line for.

[38:02] Brad Weinstock: I waited a long time the last time I went. I think I went this past February, but it was my first time going on it. But I was like, that was worth it. I loved it. Especially if you go on it during the fireworks. That's another level of amazing.

[38:13] David Alpert: Oh, yeah. It's funny because as a villain kid, I did miss that there wasn't quite as much of the evil queen snow hag, as they would call her, or the peddler woman.

[38:20] Brad Weinstock: The evil hag.

[38:27] David Alpert: The evil hag. I missed the evil hag.

[38:29] Brad Weinstock: I know. I mean, I've literally been on a podcast talking specifically about the evolution of Snow White attractions and the Disney theme parks. It's something that I'm actually an expert in.

[38:40] Brad Weinstock: But how over the years, that is so scary. And this will bring you back to the PowerPoint. That villain is just evil.

[38:45] David Alpert: Terrifying. I know that they did re-release the movie in 1987. And I wanted to go because, of course, I saw the ads. I was very young. But my mom thought it would be too perilous or too scary for me. She's a terrifying villain. I mean, it's a grisly end. And I loved it when I finally got to see it. I was like, oh, this is great. This is my favorite.

[39:10] Brad Weinstock: I mean, I will. This is going off the tracks. But she's the only villain, I believe, to get what she wants, she becomes the total opposite. For instance, she wants to be the most beautiful person in all the land. And to get what she wants, she turns herself into the ugliest person. I don't think we see another villain do that.

[39:29] David Alpert: Now I'm wracking my brain, but I can't think of another one.

[39:32] Brad Weinstock: We're like, Ursula wants to be in control. But she doesn't say, I'm going to become one of the worm people to get what I want. She has a different tactic.

[39:42] David Alpert: You're correct. Wow, that's good.

[39:44] Brad Weinstock: I know. This is what I think about.

[39:45] David Alpert: At 4 a.m. tonight, I'm going to shoot up out of my bed and maybe think of one.

[39:51] Brad Weinstock: I mean, that all sounds like a wonderful day at the parks. I love the idea of all that. If you were to get a job at the parks, and let's say it's not performing, what would it be?

[40:03] Brad Weinstock: Well, would you consider like a tour guide in the Jungle Cruise performative?

[40:09] David Alpert: No, that's an attraction.

[40:10] Brad Weinstock: Okay. So I mean, the real, real, real answer, and this kind of goes back to my love of the genie and movie references. There used to be the great movie ride at then MGM Studios, which also unlocked me. I would do that ride when I was seven. I had no idea what these movies were. But then I would ask my parents, what's this? Oh, that's from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Go to the library, go to Blockbuster, watch it, become obsessed with Indiana Jones.

[40:32] Brad Weinstock: And also that tour guide and that ride got to like, I think they ran into the Indiana Jones attraction and, you know, swapped out with somebody. It was very perilous. So I always wanted that. I think there's probably a second grade paper that I wrote about wanting to be that as my occupation, you know, the tour guide at that. So something like that, or the Jungle Cruise tour guide is also fun because I do love a pun. It's an attractions cast member with an emphasis on performing. Yeah, because also I think my love language is like, I love making travel docs for people. I love I love being like a tour guide in life. I love making book recommendations. So I think that suits my nature of kind of wanting to create the best experience for people in general.

[41:11] David Alpert: That's wonderful. One of I always joke like, I love like on Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, which in Florida replaced, you know, the great movie ride, but there's still some interaction. And I always want to be like, I would love to get a job as an acting coach for my cast members at Disney Parks.

[41:24] Brad Weinstock: Just measuring with tour guides.

[41:31] David Alpert: Yeah, exactly. You can see Goofy. Goofy has long ears. Goofy has long ears.

[41:35] Brad Weinstock: Yeah. Oh, silly. We'll be right back. Oh, what's the big idea of this commercial?

[41:42] David Alpert: Yeah.

[41:59] David Alpert: Brad, it is time to play Fast Pass answers. I can't wait. Are you so excited?

[42:06] Brad Weinstock: Yes, I'm so excited.

[42:08] David Alpert: And many people are nervous about this, but you're really excited. So basically, I'm going to put 30 seconds on the clock to answer as many questions as possible. Are you ready?

[42:13] Brad Weinstock: Oh, my gosh. I think so. Yes, I'm ready.

[42:15] David Alpert: I feel like I'm going to run out of questions with you.

[42:17] Brad Weinstock: Well, that's very flattering. I don't know about that.

[42:20] David Alpert: If the last one becomes like, what are the order of Shakespearean plays? You'll know that I'm just vamping.

[42:25] Brad Weinstock: Okay, great. It won't be that. You're ready, Brad Weinstock?

[42:29] Brad Weinstock: Yes, I'm ready.

[42:31] David Alpert: Name any song from The Little Mermaid.

[42:34] Brad Weinstock: Um, Fortune and Souls.

[42:35] David Alpert: Favorite snack in the parks.

[42:37] Brad Weinstock: Dole Whip.

[42:38] David Alpert: Name a ride in Tomorrowland.

[42:40] Brad Weinstock: Um, Tron.

[42:42] David Alpert: Name a song from Aladdin.

[42:44] Brad Weinstock: Friend Like Me.

[42:45] David Alpert: Besides Chip, name a character from Spelling Bee.

[42:48] Brad Weinstock: Oh, Leaf Coney Bear.

[42:50] David Alpert: Who is your favorite dwarf?

[42:52] Brad Weinstock: Oh, it's Dopey.

[42:53] David Alpert: Name a country in Epcot.

[42:55] Brad Weinstock: Um, Japan.

[42:57] David Alpert: Favorite Disney villain.

[42:58] Brad Weinstock: Ursula.

[43:00] David Alpert: Favorite Toy Story character.

[43:01] Brad Weinstock: Oh, um, Rex.

[43:04] David Alpert: Rex. Will we accept Rex?

[43:08] Brad Weinstock: Yes, we will accept Rex.

[43:09] David Alpert: The judges have accepted Rex. Brad, that was very well done.

[43:11] Brad Weinstock: Thank you so much.

[43:12] David Alpert: Very calm. I got nervous.

[43:14] Brad Weinstock: My heart is, I'm surprised the mic's not picking it up. It's beating out of my chest.

[43:18] David Alpert: Um, yeah.

[43:20] Brad Weinstock: Um, you just, you did so well.

[43:23] David Alpert: Thank you so much. I mean, that's, that's, that's, it's what I do. It's what I live for.

[43:27] Brad Weinstock: Um, I don't, I don't know if you know, but I, I've been on a game show too in my day. So this is like my sweet spot.

[43:31] David Alpert: Yeah. And truly the fact that you said Dopey was your favorite dwarf is like,

[43:35] Brad Weinstock: Oh, I mean, I used to, I know you love Dopey. I love Dopey.

[43:40] Brad Weinstock: I used to literally, cause I'm such a mama's boy would like reenact Dopey leaving the house. Um, you know, when I would be going to school in like second grade and, you know, kind of do a lap and make my mom say goodbye to me again, like Dopey and, you know, she's a Jewish mother. She was in heaven with this, you know, needy mama's boy, but, but I love Dopey.

[44:01] David Alpert: But on your thinking ears, it's trivia time.

[44:08] David Alpert: Brad, this is your moment of trivia. Okay. Opening shortly after Walt Disney's death in March of 1967, the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction is now an iconic part of the Disney parks and even inspired a very successful movie franchise. The attraction is a fan favorite and the song Yoho, a pirate's life for me has been seen in pop culture ever since the song was sung by the mellow men, which was founded by thorough Ravenscroft. His voice can be heard in many Disney movies and attractions, but also gave voice to this very famous non-Disney song created for a Christmas TV special in 1966. What is the name of that song?

[44:53] Brad Weinstock: My gosh, you're asking a nice Jewish boy Christmas question. Oh man. 1966. You said was the year of the special. And his voice is iconic. We hear it in Haunted Mansion. We call it pirates. Is it Frosty the Snowman?

[45:06] David Alpert: It's not Frosty the Snowman, but you're close. Is it Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?

[45:10] Brad Weinstock: Nope. You're in the, you're in the world. It's simply having a wonderful Christmas time.

[45:15] David Alpert: No, I, I, it's not. I'm going to give you a hint.

[45:18] Brad Weinstock: Okay.

[45:20] David Alpert: Oh no. It's a Dr. Seuss story.

[45:21] Brad Weinstock: Oh, how the Grinch stole Christmas.

[45:27] David Alpert: I'm your amigo, Mr. Grinch.

[45:30] Brad Weinstock: That's right.

[45:31] David Alpert: Oh, that crazy. I was two years old when I learned that.

[45:36] Brad Weinstock: That's incredible. I love that. That, and now that you're saying it, I can hear it. Absolutely. Listen to e-ticket to Broadway where two Jews talk about Christmas songs.

[45:41] David Alpert: Yes, exactly.

[45:47] David Alpert: Brad, you are the very first e-ticket to Broadway guest to have been a contestant on Jeopardy.

[45:52] Brad Weinstock: That's true. It only makes sense to play Disney Jeopardy on this episode.

[45:56] David Alpert: I love it. It's just going to be one category, but I will need you to ask for the clue beginning at 100.

[46:02] Brad Weinstock: Great. Okay. So again, I will give you the clue. I need you to answer in the form of a question.

[46:19] David Alpert: Of course. I'm having flashbacks to Ken Jennings. Yes, I'm ready.

[46:23] Brad Weinstock: I'll take Disney Jeopardy for 100.

[46:29] David Alpert: Anastasia and Drizella are related to this Disney princess.

[46:33] Brad Weinstock: With Cinderella.

[46:35] David Alpert: That's right.

[46:35] Brad Weinstock: Also the answer of a Daily Double I had on actual Jeopardy. So it's Kismet.

[46:40] David Alpert: Brad, your turn.

[46:41] Brad Weinstock: I will take Disney Jeopardy for 400.

[46:43] David Alpert: The centerpiece to Walt Disney World is Cinderella Castle. This international Disney park also has a castle dedicated to her.

[46:52] Brad Weinstock: Oh, gosh. I'm not great at this. Let's see. Just Cinderella, you said?

[46:59] David Alpert: Yes.

[47:00] Brad Weinstock: What is Disney Hong Kong?

[47:06] David Alpert: That is incorrect.

[47:07] Brad Weinstock: Oh, no.

[47:08] David Alpert: It is Tokyo Disneyland.

[47:11] Brad Weinstock: Oh, no. See, this entire podcast is just reminding me how much I need to go back to Japan to go to Disney Tokyo.

[47:15] David Alpert: So you're at negative 100.

[47:20] Brad Weinstock: Oh, my gosh.

[47:20] David Alpert: Wow, that sounds so negative on this podcast. It's always fairy dust and chocolate chip cookies. I'm like, you're negative 100.

[47:24] Brad Weinstock: I'm usually negative 100 by the time I get through a day at Disney anyway.

[47:30] David Alpert: Again, all we want you to get is $249.

[47:33] Brad Weinstock: Okay. I'll take Disney Jeopardy for 500.

[47:37] David Alpert: Jodi Benson, another e-ticket to Broadway guest, sang this Marvin Hamlisch and Howard Ashman song in her Broadway debut.

[47:45] Brad Weinstock: Oh, no. I do not know. If you don't tell me the show, I could probably think of it, but I have no idea.

[47:52] David Alpert: The musical was called Smile.

[47:53] Brad Weinstock: Oh, no. I don't know it.

[47:55] David Alpert: And her song was called Disneyland.

[47:59] Brad Weinstock: Oh, no. I know that song even.

[48:01] David Alpert: So you're at negative 600, but we're going to come back.

[48:04] Brad Weinstock: This is devastating.

[48:05] David Alpert: You have so much opportunity.

[48:07] Brad Weinstock: Okay. I'll take Disney Jeopardy for 200, please.

[48:10] David Alpert: This classic Disneyland attraction has two entrances and for cast members, a basketball court inside the structure.

[48:20] Brad Weinstock: Hmm.

[48:23] Brad Weinstock: And I feel like I know this. I've heard this piece of trivia before, but I can't.

[48:27] David Alpert: And this is unfair to ask you as someone that has mainly gone to Walt Disney World.

[48:32] Brad Weinstock: What is Space Mountain?

[48:34] David Alpert: That's incorrect. It is the Matterhorn.

[48:37] Brad Weinstock: Oh, no. I knew it was some mountainous thing.

[48:39] David Alpert: You're totally right. That was close. All you have to do is get the 800 one correct.

[48:43] Brad Weinstock: I guess you're right. Let me try to get back to zero. I'll do the 800.

[48:47] David Alpert: I'll take Disney Jeopardy for 800, please.

[48:49] David Alpert: Robin Williams' Genie gave tribute to these two Broadway legendary ladies in the film Aladdin, one as an admirer during Prince Ali and the other as a flight attendant.

[49:02] Brad Weinstock: Oh, my gosh. I mean, the flight attendants, they're here, here, here, here, here, here, here. But still, a Broadway legend? Was that a tribute to?

[49:11] David Alpert: I didn't think that was a character.

[49:14] Brad Weinstock: Oh, gosh, David, I'm not going to know this.

[49:16] David Alpert: Who is Bernadette Peters?

[49:19] Brad Weinstock: That's incorrect. There's two of them, though. There's two.

[49:22] David Alpert: And then in the parade, don't they look lovely down? Who is Angela Lansbury? I know it's wrong.

[49:30] Brad Weinstock: I don't know these.

[49:31] David Alpert: It is Ethel Merman and Carol Channing.

[49:34] Brad Weinstock: Oh, my gosh. I almost said Carol Channing. Ay-yi-yi. I never knew that that was an active impression of those two. Oh, this is wrong.

[49:41] Brad Weinstock: I mean, that's what the internet said. Who knows?

[49:44] David Alpert: I'm sure you're right. I'm sure the internet's right.

[49:46] David Alpert: It's actually Bernadette Peters and Angela Lansbury.

[49:48] Brad Weinstock: I know. No, that makes much more sense. I never once knew that was Carol Channing and Ethel Merman.

[49:53] David Alpert: Wow.

[49:53] Brad Weinstock: There will be a Daily Double, so we could come out of this.

[49:56] David Alpert: All right, I will take Disney Jeopardy for $300.

[49:59] Brad Weinstock: Jonathan Freeman, Broadway star, Disney legend, E-ticket to Broadway guest, was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in this musical.

[50:07] Brad Weinstock: What is She Loves Me?

[50:08] David Alpert: That is correct.

[50:09] Brad Weinstock: Oh, thank God.

[50:10] David Alpert: Okay, we're doing much better.

[50:12] Brad Weinstock: Much better.

[50:13] David Alpert: Only $1,300 in the hole.

[50:14] Brad Weinstock: Oh my gosh. Well...

[50:15] David Alpert: We can recover.

[50:17] Brad Weinstock: I will take Disney Jeopardy for $700.

[50:21] David Alpert: This is the Daily Double.

[50:23] Brad Weinstock: Sound effect, sound effect, sound effect.

[50:26] David Alpert: How much would you like to wager for this?

[50:28] Brad Weinstock: I think I have to make this a true Daily Double.

[50:31] David Alpert: I don't know what true Daily Double is, negative $1,300.

[50:33] Brad Weinstock: Sound effect, sound effect, sound effect.

[50:34] David Alpert: Wow.

[50:35] Brad Weinstock: Sound effect, sound effect, sound effect.

[50:37] David Alpert: Wow. Yo-Ho, A Pirate's Life for Me, was covered by this American girl group from Oakland, California on the 1996 Music from the Park album. And this group, they were so excited, and they just couldn't stand it.

[50:44] Brad Weinstock: Oh, who are the Pointer Sisters?

[50:56] David Alpert: That is correct.

[50:57] Brad Weinstock: So you just won $1,400, making you...

[51:00] David Alpert: Oh, my gosh.

[51:01] Brad Weinstock: You are now winning at $100.

[51:05] David Alpert: Last one is $600.

[51:07] David Alpert: The Enchanted Storybook Castle opened in 2016 and is the tallest castle at all of the Disney parks. It is located in this city.

[51:15] Brad Weinstock: What is Shanghai?

[51:20] David Alpert: That is correct.

[51:23] David Alpert: Wow. Brad, the category for Final Jeopardy is Disney Mountains.

[51:30] Brad Weinstock: Okay. I love a mountain.

[51:33] David Alpert: How much would you like to wager?

[51:34] Brad Weinstock: You're at $700.

[51:36] David Alpert: And how much is the Park Hopper?

[51:37] Brad Weinstock: $249.

[51:39] David Alpert: Okay.

[51:40] Brad Weinstock: Then I'm going to wager $451, David.

[51:46] David Alpert: So at best, I'll have a little over $1,000 of pocket change, and at worst, I'm going to the parks.

[51:50] Brad Weinstock: That's right.

[51:52] David Alpert: Okay. And here's your clue.

[51:54] Brad Weinstock: Okay.

[51:55] David Alpert: And remember, I went to school for theater, and some words are hard to pronounce.

[51:59] Brad Weinstock: Fair enough. No judgment.

[52:01] David Alpert: In the October 2016 Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, a paper entitled Validation of Functional Paleolocal Renal Model for the Evaluation of Renal Calculi Passage While Riding a Rollercoaster was published. And the paper's author, Dr. Wartinger, found that patients of his had passed kidney stones after riding this attraction featuring a goat at Walt Disney World.

[52:34] Brad Weinstock: Featuring a goat.

[52:37] David Alpert: And the category is Disney Mountains.

[52:39] Brad Weinstock: Yeah, I think I know it.

[52:41] David Alpert: What is Expedition Everest?

[52:44] Brad Weinstock: That is incorrect.

[52:45] David Alpert: We're looking for what is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad?

[52:49] Brad Weinstock: No!

[52:50] David Alpert: Oh my gosh.

[52:52] Brad Weinstock: Because of course, there's a goat there.

[52:55] David Alpert: I was picturing like a Himalayan mountain goat.

[52:57] Brad Weinstock: But that makes sense.

[52:58] David Alpert: Fair.

[52:59] Brad Weinstock: But this one, we were looking for that one.

[53:01] David Alpert: You're right.

[53:03] Brad Weinstock: To be fair, during 2016, I'm assuming you were in Agrabah, not reading papers on kidney stones.

[53:11] Brad Weinstock: You know what?

[53:12] David Alpert: And to also be fair, this is how actual Jeopardy! played out for me, because my nightmare came true. My final Jeopardy! category was sports.

[53:18] Brad Weinstock: So I did not get that one correct.

[53:20] David Alpert: But you led with a wonderful answer that made you more famous than if you had won.

[53:25] Brad Weinstock: That's honestly probably true.

[53:28] David Alpert: So you are walking away with $249, which is exactly the right amount for a park hopper, Disneyland Park. Congratulations, Brad.

[53:33] Brad Weinstock: I'm going to have a great day, and I'll splurge on a Dole Whip for myself.

[53:39] David Alpert: It's time for some tough choices. Let's play Tweedledee or Tweedledum.

[53:40] David Alpert: Brad, it's time for Tweedledee or Tweedledum. I'm going to give you two choices, and you're going to tell me which one you prefer.

[53:51] Brad Weinstock: I love it. I'm so excited.

[53:52] David Alpert: Okay, Tweedledee or Tweedledum. Sorin or Star Tours?

[53:57] Brad Weinstock: Oh, Sorin.

[53:58] David Alpert: Beautiful.

[53:59] David Alpert: Oh wow, you chose the non-Star Wars.

[54:00] Brad Weinstock: I love Sorin.

[54:02] Brad Weinstock: Geography is my other love.

[54:05] David Alpert: You love a lot of things.

[54:06] Brad Weinstock: I guess so. I have a lot of love to give, David.

[54:09] David Alpert: When you ask me, it's like, who's your favorite Disney character? I say, Dopey. For Brad, he's like, it's Aurora. It's Ariel. It's Ursula. Oh, WALL-E. Frank.

[54:17] David Alpert: You have a lot of varied interests.

[54:18] Brad Weinstock: Look at this list I wrote before this podcast. I have a lot of feelings.

[54:23] David Alpert: We love. Okay, Tweedledee or Tweedledum. I think I know this one. Churros or Dole Whips?

[54:28] Brad Weinstock: Dole Whips. Yeah. I feel like I can get a great churro a lot of places. Of course, at Disney being one of them, but the Dole Whip is just special there.

[54:36] David Alpert: Yeah. I don't like Dole Whips.

[54:39] Brad Weinstock: Oh, really?

[54:40] David Alpert: I love pineapple. I love ice cream, but together, it's just not great.

[54:42] Brad Weinstock: Not together. I get it.

[54:44] Brad Weinstock: I love it. I love my Mickey ice cream sandwiches. Okay. Tweedledee or Tweedledum. The Haunted Mansion or Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway.

[54:54] Brad Weinstock: Oh, I just did that for the first time in February. I did love it. I think it's beautiful, but Haunted Mansion is so classic. I love Halloween. It's my favorite holiday by far. I love the spooky nature of it.

[55:06] David Alpert: Have you been to Disneyland when they've done the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay of Haunted Mansion?

[55:10] Brad Weinstock: I have not. Not yet.

[55:12] David Alpert: I think it's a wonderful overlay. I wish it started November 1st. Okay. Tweedledee or Tweedledum. Snow White or Cinderella.

[55:22] Brad Weinstock: Oh, Cinderella. And if you happen to find my Instagram, I was Cinderella this past Halloween with a bunch of my workmates at Aladdin. Never felt more beautiful.

[55:34] David Alpert: And why didn't you choose Snow White? I'm wearing a Seven Dwarfs shirt. That was so rude.

[55:38] Brad Weinstock: I'm so sorry. Cinderella, I love the sisters and Lady Tremaine as well, so it was a package deal.

[55:43] David Alpert: Okay, but Snow White's the OG. Without her, if Snow White had bombed, we probably wouldn't be here today.

[55:49] Brad Weinstock: It's true. We wouldn't be having this conversation.

[55:50] Brad Weinstock: Cinderella's great. I think some of the music from Cinderella, "So This Is Love," is beautiful.

[55:56] David Alpert: Gorgeous.

[55:57] David Alpert: Okay, final Tweedledee or Tweedledum. Prince Ali or Friend Like Me.

[56:02] Brad Weinstock: You know my answer. It's Friend Like Me.

[56:04] David Alpert: Yeah, it's Friend Like Me.

[56:05] Brad Weinstock: I do love it so much. Still, both versions.

[56:08] David Alpert: But as a kid, you definitely sang Prince Ali with a parade with your stuffed animals.

[56:12] Brad Weinstock: Oh, 1000%. I mean, I love Prince Ali in a lot of the musical, but I do miss the, like, "Hey, clear the way in the old bazaar." You know, I do love that old kind of timpani drum march that they did in the animated movie, for sure. On Broadway, it's a little jazzier.

[56:31] David Alpert: Now, let's hear from some of you. Brad, we put it on our Instagram. Any questions for you? And here we go. Jennifer asks, if you could play any Disney character on stage, who would it be and why?

[56:48] Brad Weinstock: Wow. You know, this is crossing over into the Pixar universe a little bit, but I love Mike Wazowski. Kind of a genie adjacent that they both love Shtick. You know, they're like comics at heart. They like to make people laugh. So I feel like I would absolutely say Mike Wazowski.

[57:09] David Alpert: It's a great answer.

[57:11] Brad Weinstock: I feel, you know, my boyfriend always says, like, I'm like Mike Wazowski at bed, that I start to do, like, Shtick and jokes. And he's like, can we just go to bed?

[57:19] David Alpert: Alana wants to know, what makes a magical moment for you when you were at the parks?

[57:24] Brad Weinstock: Oh, I went to the parks this past February and, of course, loved Disney. But I wasn't anticipating having kind of an emotional reaction. And we were with some friends that, you know, know a lot of people at Disney. So we got a meeting arranged with all the kind of major characters, you know, Mickey, Minnie, Donald. And I was like, oh, that'll be fun. That's nice. And then these characters came out and I was beside myself, like embarrassingly, like I was like, what is wrong with me? It unlocked and tapped into something deep in my childhood that I didn't know needed to be expressed. And I'm hugging, you know, Mickey, who, you know, I don't know, might have been like a five foot two girl from Iowa.

And I was no, that was me. I was Mickey. I was hugging Mickey. And I was just like, why am I so emotional right now? So that was really I was not anticipating that. And it really just I don't know, maybe I needed a good cry or something like that. But it tapped into something very, very pure and, you know, childlike in myself.

[58:23] David Alpert: On behalf of everyone listening, there's no need to be embarrassed about that.

[58:28] Brad Weinstock: Yeah, no, it was it was a really lovely moment. Mickey is unconditional love. It's just like it really is. It's really wonderful. Yeah, there was there's a group of four of us. We all kind of had the same reaction. And even if like we we understand what's really going on, the fact that two humans are sharing an experience together. Yeah, that is magical.

[58:44] David Alpert: You know, like when people are like, well, you know, it's a costume. It's like, yes, but that is part of the magic.

[58:47] Brad Weinstock: Absolutely. Yeah, it's like it's a I don't know. It's like a not a responsibility of sorts, but that's like an important job at the parks. Like kids are waiting their whole there's that old commercial that was like, I've waited my whole life to meet you. You know, and it's true. I always love that. We say we meet Mickey, even though we've met him before. We all say I want to meet me.

[59:07] David Alpert: Right. That's so true. Emily asks, what piece of advice do you have for the next Omar?

[59:13] Brad Weinstock: Oh, you know, the next Omar's name is Nathan. And I would say he's just such a positive, nice character. You know, I used to say all my lines start with like, maybe we could do this or it might be nice to do that. It's always just a positive suggestion. So I think just to kind of keep the light and keep the positivity, he's, of course, a flippity jibbit a little bit and can be a little bit neurotic. But just remember that everything he does is really from a place of love for his friends and for Aladdin, especially. And he just wants everyone to get along.

[59:43] David Alpert: Did you just quote Sound of Music?

[59:49] Brad Weinstock: Did I? What's the term you use? A flippity jibbit?

[59:53] David Alpert: Oh, flippity jibbit. Is that a Sound of Music thing?

[59:57] Brad Weinstock: I was thinking my best friend from college always uses that word. Isn't it from "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria"? She's a real flippity jibbit.

[1:00:03] David Alpert: It might be. Moving on. Anna wrote, if you could have three Disney Parks wishes, what would they be?

[1:00:08] Brad Weinstock: Three Disney Park wishes. OK, so I've been twice in the last decade or so, and I've never gotten to do I haven't gotten to go to Animal Kingdom. So I'm dying to take Avatar Flight of Passage. That's definitely one. I'm so bummed that I didn't get to go this last February. I'm gonna have to go again soon, I think, to meet Donald, because he is my favorite of that batch of characters. And I just love the Epcot fireworks. So to go to that show. Not my freedom.

[1:00:39] David Alpert: Wow. Wow, Brad. I'm so sorry. You're right. Yeah. And for David to be free. I love that your three wishes are like all doable. Like my would've been like, I wish for a Club 33 member.

[1:00:52] Brad Weinstock: Oh, you're right. What a stupid thing. Of course. Yeah, I want to stay in like the secret, you know, the secret waltz room that allegedly exists in some of these palaces. No, you just chose. I was like, Brad, I think your wishes are going to come true.

[1:01:00] Brad Weinstock: I know I'm a practical girl to a fault. This next question comes from someone very close to you, I think. Skyler asks, if there is a Disney movie that hasn't yet made it to Broadway, but you think is a no brainer, what is it?

[1:01:14] Brad Weinstock: Oh, hi, Skyler. Um, thanks for writing in long time no see. Um, I would love a like sumptuous, epic version of Mulan. I think that that, um, the music is so beautiful. Like I love, of course, I'm talking about how I love opening numbers "Honored to Us All." It's a great opening, of course, "Reflection." We all have gone on the treadmill elliptical to "Make a Man Out of You." Great workout song. But I just want like a big, beautiful, sumptuous version leaning into the culture of the Chinese culture from that movie. Almost like Allah set wise what they did with the most recent revival of King and I was just these like soaring ceilings and silks. And I just think that would be a beautiful, a beautiful production. And, you know, it'll also be great for our presentation to to do Milan. But I think that that would be a glorious musical. I think it's a great movie. I love it.

[1:02:05] David Alpert: Me too. I love that one. Erica wants to know your favorite ride at the Magic Kingdom.

[1:02:09] Brad Weinstock: Oh, favorite ride at Magic Kingdom. You've mentioned pirates. You mentioned Tron.

[1:02:14] Brad Weinstock: Yeah, I think Tron is like glorious. It's about 90 seconds. But I had such a good time because it really did makes my love of space and Disney and sitting in that kind of motorcycle simulation position is really fun. And it's just thrilling. They have the score blasting. The lights are so cool. I love, you know, that neon mood lighting that they have. So I do love Tron. And yeah, I love Pirates of the Caribbean as well.

[1:02:40] David Alpert: Neuro Physic Creator asks, who is your favorite rare Disney character?

[1:02:45] Brad Weinstock: Oh, favorite rare Disney character. I think you might have talked about it already. I know it's going to say I mean, like favorite, like talk about a deep cut. I will say Frank again, but also from that movie, favorite Disney character, Joanna, the monitor lizard McLeish, the villain's sidekick is like comedy gold. There's a scene with the two of them look it up on YouTube that Joanna the lizard is stealing his eggs. And it's like out of Chaplin. It's brilliant. I love Joanna. She is like rotten to the core, but kind of sweet, like so many of the villain's sidekicks are. So yeah, some showing some love to Rescuers Down Under today. If you haven't seen it, it's a great one.

[1:03:12] David Alpert: And finally, and this one came with very specific pronunciation encouragement. Christine says, Bwad, how do you spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?

[1:03:24] Brad Weinstock: Well, Christine, if you were due for a phone catch up, I think this is Christine Wernie, who was Logan Schwartz and Grubenier in my professional theater debut of the 25th annual Platinum County Spelling Bee. And I love her dearly. Oh, gosh, that's tough. Can I have language of origin? Just kidding. Yes. Yeah. It comes from the language of Shermanitis.

[1:03:45] David Alpert: Oh, yes, exactly. From the territory of Peloponnese. Okay. Oh, gosh, I need a pencil.

[1:03:51] Brad Weinstock: Just use your magic foot.

[1:03:56] David Alpert: Magic foot. Yeah. Oh, that wasn't your character, though.

[1:03:59] Brad Weinstock: No, it was my character, but we don't want to talk about what was magical, but in a nutshell, I was s u p e r c a l i f r a. Oh, gosh. G. I l i s t i c. Is that right?

[1:04:25] David Alpert: Yep. Yep. So far, so good.

[1:04:29] Brad Weinstock: Oh, wait. What? Oh, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Oh, I got to do expialidocious, too.

[1:04:34] David Alpert: Yep.

[1:04:34] Brad Weinstock: Oh my gosh. I'm absolutely going to derail right now. E. X. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Oh, there's no way. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

[1:04:42] David Alpert: Yep.

[1:04:42] Brad Weinstock: E. X. P. E. There's no way. X. P. A. L. O. D. O. C. I. O. U. S.

[1:05:02] David Alpert: It's so close. Ah. E. X. P. I. A. L. I. D. O. C. I. O. U. S.

[1:05:08] Brad Weinstock: Oh, no. There's a lesson in there that I forgot about the I. I forgot about me. I overcomplicated it, dads. I overcomplicated it, dads.

[1:05:31] David Alpert: Brad, if you could describe the feelings you get when you look down Main Street and see the castle, what would you say?

[1:05:36] Brad Weinstock: Oh, just childlike wonder. That view never gets old. You know, the parks are so good about curating an iconic centripetal space ship Earth or the castle, but there is something about that castle like we were talking about earlier and those Disney movies and you and I both share a love for the original Golden Age that you just cannot replicate. So just wonder.

[1:05:59] David Alpert: And what's the first thing you're going to do the next time you go to a Disney theme park?

[1:06:03] Brad Weinstock: Oh, sprint to Avatar Flight of Passage. Yeah. And I get to do it. Get the Dole Whip like mobile order the Dole Whip so you can fly by, pick it up, get back there.

[1:06:14] David Alpert: Exactly.

[1:06:14] Brad Weinstock: Yeah. I love Animal Kingdom. I just haven't been the last two times I've been. So I'm very due to go back to that. I mean, truly in Florida, you really need a lot of time. There's so much to do. And the last two times I've gone, it's been like a true 36 hour, 48 hour blitz on a day off with some friends, which has been so much fun. But I need to go for like, you know, maybe not do three parks in a day.

[1:06:31] David Alpert: Now that you're not doing eight shows a week on Broadway, maybe not.

[1:06:36] Brad Weinstock: Now is the time to go to Disney. I mean, you won 249 e-ticket to Broadway dollars.

[1:06:44] David Alpert: Will they take that up the front?

[1:06:46] Brad Weinstock: Yes. Great. They will. Well, Brad, thank you for joining me on E-Ticket to Broadway for sharing your love of Aladdin and the Genie, Epcot, Frank, Rise of the Resistance, Ariel, Ursula, WALL-E, Dole Whips, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Spaceship Earth. I'm so glad after 20 years, we finally have gotten to talk about our love of Disney. This was perfect. Thank you for joining.

[1:07:08] Brad Weinstock: Thank you so much. My absolute pleasure. I loved it. And we will see you at the parks.

[1:07:12] David Alpert: I will see you at the parks. What's the big idea? Why am I not on Broadway?