[00:00:00] Speaker A: Yeah, it's, you know, trying to, like, try and be me and describe what I do to my family and friends. Like, what do you do? I'm an adventure guide. Well, what is that? I go, well, I work for Adventures by Disney. And then they go, what is that?
[00:00:23] Speaker B: Hello and welcome to another live bonus show of the DCL Duo podcast. As you can see, I am here without Brian tonight. Unfortunately, he's a little under the weather. He has laryngitis, so he really can't talk. So hosting the show would not really be helpful if he were here right now. But I'm super excited because obviously you can tell if you're watching live on YouTube. I am not alone. I am here with the one, the only adventure guide, Danny. Welcome to the show.
[00:00:53] Speaker A: Danny. Hi, how are you? Good to see you.
[00:00:56] Speaker B: It's so wonderful to see you. For those who don't know, we've talked about Danny before, but if you've been living under a rock and you don't know how we know Danny is. We went on an Adventures by Disney river cruise in 2023. In December, we went on the Danube River. We did the Christmas markets cruise. It was myself, Brian and Nathan, just the three of us. We actually did not sail with friends as we usually do. And Danny was one of our five adventure guides. I have to say he was our number one adventure guide. And I, I mean, I, I can't, I mean, I can't say about our other adventure guides, but we just had this connection with Danny that was different than our connection with the other adventure guides. And our connection with him, I think really stemmed from the way that he was with Nathan and how much of a connection he, he's so I, I just can't sing your praises enough, Danny. The way that you connect with kids and adults alike, but the way that you connect with kids and especially I think you have a special place in your heart for kids with special needs, kids with autism, and so, like, know how to talk to people in a way that is so warm and so welcoming and you just make people feel so good when they're around you and that just sort of makes people flock to you. So I, I, I don't, like, I don't, I don't always get sentimental on the show, but if not for you, I don't know that our, not to say our Adventures by Disney experience wouldn't be wonder have been wonderful regardless, but I don't know that it would have had the same impact that it did have on us because you were one of Our AM guides.
[00:02:40] Speaker A: Well, I really appreciate that and you know, everything. You know, it's funny because just coming off of the Easter holiday, spending Easter yesterday with my family and my youngest brother has a four year old who is diagnosed with autism. And there's a couple other nieces and nephews who are on the spectrum as well. And you know, I think I, I thought about this a long time. There's a lot of things going into being adventure guide. Hi everybody. By the way, I'm Danny. Nice to see you. And I apprec all the wonderful accolades and. But I would say this about.
And I appreciate what you said, Sam. I think that there's two factors that go into it. I've been a professional actor for 30 something years and a big part of what we do as actors is we study people and we, we investigate. I think it was Viola Davis said about Meryl Streep that she was a thief, that she, she steals stuff from people when she sees them. And I've even, you know, like I've been in restaurants and I hear somebody say something in a certain way at the table behind me and I appeat it remediate, I repeat it immediately because I'm so curious about how other people do things. You know, people that don't think like me, people that have a different belief system than me, people that come from or have a different immigration story than my family.
And. And so I think that sense of acting really goes into me being interested in people in general. It was a lifelong thing about studying people and finding what's interesting and human about everybody.
And then a couple years ago it dawned on me because the first couple years of adventures by Disney, I was really, I don't know, I was just trying to do the job, you know what I mean? And then I think a couple years in, it dawned on me, you already know how to do the job.
So, you know, you were, it's like. It was like I was meant to do it. And then I said, well then what I need to do and what I need to change is I need to guide with my heart first and keep this, you know, keep this open and how I, how I go into every aspect of what I do. And I think that that happens with. I've noticed a quite success of that approach with K, with adults and with travel, you know, and I don't, you know, Nathan is so special to me too. Like when he just started going over his whole like school program and this and the songs that he had been practicing and you know, we Sat in the lounge of the ship going, how many verses is he going to sing? Oh, he's going to sing the whole thing.
[00:05:30] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:05:31] Speaker A: So, so I think it, you know, like going in with an open heart and just really being interested in what people have to offer. You know, I, I want people to, I think we all have a sense of wanting to be understood, wanting to be heard, wanted to be seen.
I know as a guide, I want that.
And so, you know, it's just, it's, it's cyclical. It's, it's give what you want to receive.
[00:05:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:59] Speaker A: And I hope it's working. It appears to be working.
[00:06:02] Speaker B: So I appreciate that it's working well. I'm so thrilled to have you on this show.
As I mentioned, Brian's not here but I mean I got a co host and guest right here.
We never had a friend like Danny on the show so it's just perfect to have you on. I gotta give two shout outs before we do a deep dive which is the first shout. It is to our main sponsor, My Path Unwinding Travel. I know Karen Shelton is watching right now. Now she's going to pop on at the end of the show to talk about tipping on adventures by Disney. She says hi everyone. Thanks for taking the time tonight. Danny, I know she was one of your adventure guides back in the day as well. And I also got to give a shout out to our other show, our live show sponsor, the WDW magazine who are bringing to you the DCL magazine. Everybody knows we've talked about it before but the float out is out. Ryan wrote an article about parasailing and Castaway Key about Nathan's first time parasailing.
It is a heart felt, you know, heartstring tugging article but also informative about parasailing at Castaway Cay. Now before we dive into talking about your history with Disney because I really do want to talk about that. And of course being an adventure guide with abd, I do want to note that there is some news out that just came out yesterday about Disney Cruise Line implementing some testing on the wish. Starting today they're going to be testing booking some activities through the app through the Disney Navigator app. So I know there's been a lot of chatter in the community. What does this mean? We have no idea. Let me put this out there. We have no idea what this means except that Disney Cruise Line is going to be testing on the wish some features in the app where you booking some character experiences, booking some aquamouse rides and also booking a cake Decorating contest. It sounds like one of these things like they do on the Food Network. We're competing against other teams.
So some fun new stuff. And as I said, I said on social media, in our Facebook group, I could see this being testing for the adventure rather than being on for one of the American ships. Because the Adventure is going to be such a big new ship, we don't know how they're going to possibly deal with how to get priority for being on that roller coaster that's on the top deck or the other rides and some other activities, because you're gonna have 6,000 passengers, and Disney's never done that before. So any. I think it could be just testing for what's going to be happening in the Asian market. Then again, it could also be testing for what's going to be happening on maybe the Treasure, the Wish, or the Destiny. So I know that there are a few people out there. Tinfoil mouse ears. He's saying, I'm 10% worried.
We've got Wesley saying we want to push back hard on reservations for things like Aquamouse. I'm with you, Wesley, but I also know that the roller coaster on the adventure only puts fits, like two or four people at a time. And so that may be something you'd want a reservation for. So might be different in the US and the Asian markets. But with that, I want to return because I've got Danny here, and I don't want to waste any time by talking about Disney Cruise Line stuff, because we have a real Disney legend, let's say, with us.
Now, Dani, I know that your background is as an actor, and we have some huge fans of yours watching right now. Linda, Eve is on here, and she says she's been waiting 10,000 minutes for this interview.
You are her favorite genie when she would go see Aladdin at Disney's California Adventure. And she had the pleasure of meeting you and seeing you in she Loves Me. She lives in the LA area. Yeah.
[00:09:52] Speaker A: Okay. You saw me at South Coast Rep. That's amazing. And that was fun. That was right before the world shut down. That was the. Actually, that was the last thing I ever did on stage so far. I mean, that's till now. We'll see what happens.
[00:10:08] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:09] Speaker A: Everything's gonna be on camera from now on.
[00:10:12] Speaker B: Absolutely. Now, Danny, I wanna start, like, all the way back when you first got your first job at Disney. What was your first. Was your first job as Genie or was your. Did you have a job before that with Disney?
[00:10:24] Speaker A: No, I had a job before that. Should I tell you all the deep, dark, dirty secret of my beginnings with Disney.
[00:10:30] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:10:31] Speaker A: I was hired at the El Capitan Theater. They used to do live entertainment between movies or to, like, introduce a movie. And this is way back in, like, Tarzan days. So that kind of tells you how long I've been with the company.
So almost 30 years ago. And I was hired for that. And the director. It was my very first one. I was very stressed out.
I was in an amazing, amazing company with the people that I was hired in with some of the best singers in Los Angeles, studio singers. And so I was trying to, like, remember that I got hired with those people to remember the level that I was performing at, because it's like, well, you know, because, you know how you. It's just like imposter syndrome. And you're always thinking, well, it's a hobby, you know, but whatever. And then I go, wait a second.
[00:11:20] Speaker B: This.
[00:11:20] Speaker A: This. This one girl was like, she's now a background singer for Taylor Swift. So I wasn't in Back in Bad Company.
[00:11:28] Speaker B: You're not a hobby actor, D. You're a professional actor.
[00:11:31] Speaker A: No, it's very. It's very true. And I have to keep reminding myself that sometimes the many hats that I. That I have worn over the years, but I think that's been some of the most exciting things about it, is all the different identities and hats that I've got to wear. But I was hired for that show. The director was pretty hardcore, and she fired me because she kind of came for me in a rehearsal, and I was like, oh, my gosh, I'm not doing what I'm supposed to do.
And she fired me at lunch. And I had carpooled with somebody that was a dancer who did not get fired that day. And so I had to sit through the rest of the rehearsal and wait. And I talked to the director. I said, I just want to know what's going on. And she goes, well, you just don't have any sparkle.
[00:12:26] Speaker B: Boy, was she wrong about sparkle.
[00:12:28] Speaker A: I was like, what? And I go, well, you know, I think I've more than made up for the sparkle deficit since that conversation. And it was kind of funny because that happened. And I had also been hired or asked to be hired for a little show called An Amazement at the same time, which was at the Fantasyland Theater. And I had also auditioned for being a caroler on Main Street.
And the guy who wanted me for a killer on Main street, he and I had become friends. And he said, I go. I got let go from this El Capitan show. And he goes, why don't you come over to Disneyland? He goes, we want you here.
We like you here. And he goes, forget about that LA stuff. Come to the park. And I did. And I was a caroler on Main street. Back when we were wearing turn of the century costumes, singing on Main Street.
That was my first gig, I'll tell you. I can remember the impact that had on me still. So clearly there was nothing like. Because we rehearse everything in the middle of the night at Disneyland, because that is our stage and it's a public space.
And so we were rehearsing, it was probably two or three in the morning, and there we all were, eight part harmony, eight singers singing Silent night on the porch on Main Street. As the streets are wet and shiny and all the lights are on. It's like we're singing to nobody but ourselves. And. But it was so impactful. And.
[00:13:58] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:58] Speaker A: And I thought, wow, like, here I am at Disneyland, the place that I wanted to go every year for my birthday when I was a kid. And we never went because there was six kids. So of course, you know, it would have been too expensive for my parents. And there I was, like in the middle of the night, having the whole place to myself in a costume, singing with amazing singers again. And so that was my very first gig. And then I did that. And in the meantime, I rehearsed and learned an amazement which was a great musical, kind of like a.
Like when fairy tales get mixed up in Stephen Sondheim's into the woods sort of was reflected in what we did. So it was like aerial love, language, dance, Sondheim, baby.
So it was sort of like. It was like, you know, with Ariel met Aladdin. And if Aladdin ran into, you know, he was trying to escape. And one of the doors he went to escape was Hades from Hercules. It was a really fun show. High energy, lots of great Disney songs in it. And I got to sing a trio which was between Pocahontas, Hercules and Quasimodo.
[00:15:15] Speaker B: Is that what you're.
[00:15:17] Speaker A: I gotta sing. I gotta sing out there every day.
[00:15:21] Speaker B: Song that's literally the best song. Song. Why? I mean, that's.
[00:15:24] Speaker A: Yeah, that was then, that song. I'll tell you what, one thing about learning that song so fluently and singing it every day with great singers, people like Eden Espinosa, who is a Broadway legend now, she was Pocahontas in the show. And we got to sing that together.
And.
And it was this. I mean, if you. If you look up, an amazement Trio. I think you can find it on YouTube. It's probably not me, but I did that for a while, but I learned that song. And out there, such a beautiful, beautiful song. It's so actable. It's got so much emotion. It shows off, you know, beautiful range. And the win was after practicing, practicing it day after day after day on that stage. And the funny thing was the section that I sung by myself was pretty much a 32 bar cut. So I just took out there into every audition and nailed it every single time. So song, that's the beginnings of it.
[00:16:25] Speaker B: I love that. Now Linda is saying that West Beat actually does, which be. It's a wonderful acapella based in LA that they do with an amazement Trio song. And she says it's amazing. So for those looking for a YouTube version, I bet they have that. I bet that version's on YouTube. Even if you can't find the one of Danny doing it on YouTube. Because maybe YouTube wasn't really a thing back then, right?
[00:16:45] Speaker A: It wasn't? No.
[00:16:45] Speaker B: It would.
[00:16:46] Speaker A: No. Well, I mean, cell phones were like, I remember, right. Oh my gosh.
[00:16:51] Speaker B: Somebody might have had like a camcorder and recorded it and maybe saved it, right. For all posterity.
[00:16:57] Speaker A: But there's some, there's some recordings, but anything I've seen is not very high quality. You know what I mean? But. But yeah, West Beat. I've never sung with Westbeat, but they.
I think that's TJ Dawson, who used to do 3D theatricals, who I worked for as well.
But TJ's a dear friend. And the people that do West Beat, they're all. They've all been friends of mine. And they're kind of concept came out of another group that I worked with at Disney at California adventure park called Groove 66, which was an acapella sextet that we. We used to have. And we sang all these really cool arrangements. We had arrangement that was all about flight that we would sing over by Soarin. And we had one that was all about California that we would sing at the old Sunshine Plaza, which is now where Carthay Circle restaurant is. So I did a lot. I was there. I worked at Disneyland before Disney California Adventure even had a shovel in the dirt. So I was still parking in the big parking lot outside of Disneyland or parking over Disneyland Hotel and sneaking in over there because they weren't so strict about the parking. Riding the monorail into work, it was a big win. I was like, oh, this is cool.
[00:18:16] Speaker B: I love that. I love that. Well, I Feel like, you know, a lot of our audience knows you from your role as Jeannie at Disney's California Adventure. I'm curious how that sort of came to fruition because you were the original Jeannie, if I remember correctly. Or were you the second?
[00:18:33] Speaker A: Second. So here's, here's how it worked. There was a woman named Annie Hamburger. She was sort of over entertainment and she wanted to revolutionize what was going on at the parks. And in my opinion, it was very unpopular at the time. But in my opinion, I think she really did do just that because what Annie wanted is she wanted to.
She wanted a lot more inclusion in entertainment. So, you know, people of different backgrounds and a little more diversity.
But she also was like, well, we've got this gigantic theater. So the Hyperion Theater was built and it was built with a specific purpose. They wanted to have live events happen there, maybe television shows. It was sort of, you know, really kind of to fit in with this idea of Hollywood. So it was, it was all very high tech sound and, and the visuals and all this.
And they did the first show in there called Steps In Time.
Steps In Time? Yeah, Steps in Time was there and it was sort of done like an award show presentation, but with all Disney music, but all more hip hop or more updated, like a DJ had remixed it. But there was no story.
And. But there was a story there, but there was no narration. And so you went in and you saw the show and it looked beautiful and the dancing was great and the singers were great, but people didn't connect. So then they redid it, gave it a story and then people really didn't connect to it.
[00:20:07] Speaker B: Sometimes that happens.
[00:20:08] Speaker A: I mean, sometimes it happens. And so that show happened. And then they brought in Blast, which was the kind of color guard, marching band stage show. And they did that in there for a while. And I guess it was sort of unclear what was going to happen next because these were both kind of 20 minute shows that happened. But Annie said, no, let's do a book show and we'll have it be almost an hour long and we'll do the full retelling and let's do Aladdin. It was a huge budget, I think. Now don't quote me on this, but I think it was somewhere around $25 million production, quite, quite high.
And so when I guess, you know, having this much like doing something very new, they didn't bring anybody that was already working in the parks to come be part of that show. It was, they wanted Broadway caliber talent. I didn't have my credits yet. You know what I mean? Right. So they want a Broadway performers or television perform.
And so they brought a guy in, they brought, I think, three people in to do genie and they were all television actors. And one was going off to replace.
He was going to go take over the role of. Oh gosh, the lead role for the producers. Oh yeah, Bialystok and Bloom Bialystadt.
And so this guy gets his tour, the starter gets a television show and they don't have a genie. And this is within six months of the show opening, you know what I mean? Because these actors are like, oh, I'm going to go do this job. I'm going to get this great amount of money, you know, because they gave him great contracts and all of a sudden they're like, we don't have any more. We don't have any genies to cover all the days.
[00:21:57] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:21:57] Speaker A: And so they decided to have an audition and they had an internal audition and they were very clear. They're like, no, you're not what we're looking for.
And I think that one thing I've learned about being an actor and, and auditioning or going job interviews or doing podcasts, right.
The more, the more desperate you are to make it right or the more desperate you are to want the job, it takes away from your natural, just your presence and who you are. Of course you need to be mindful of like, okay, don't say this, say that. You know what I mean? Here's a smart way to answer things. But, but taking that desperation out of there really works. And I, I didn't think that I had any shot at getting this, but I had a great audition and I was like, I don't know where these jokes are coming from right now, but you know, thank you, God, or thank you whoever. But these jokes are showing up and they're laughing and they like, did they.
[00:22:59] Speaker B: Let you do your own, like, improvisation? Because that's a huge part of Jeannie, at least from what I've seen on Disney Cruise Line, because they have obviously their own version, which really, I think is, is they took it from DCA because it's only an hour, hour and 10 minute show, right? So it's, it's, it's really. But they really try and keep it, you know, live, meaning they, they really try and keep it current with the jokes. And, and it's really the genie, who's the only one who's improvising or telling jokes. And so it's, it's so interesting to see. I always Wonder how much freedom they. They give you for that.
[00:23:34] Speaker A: Well, there's a template, right? You know what I mean? There's, like a template in the audition they gave us.
And, you know, and. And there's. There's. They've written the original script, had jokes written, but there was always sort of where it's sort of whoever, I guess, in rehearsals, they. They figured out where this was a good place to insert a joke or. Or pop culture reference or current events reference or whatever. And, you know, that's great because the genie is a very special character and there's a reason why we all love him. And there's a reason.
And, you know, the original. In my conversations with Alan Menken, just drop that name. My conversation with Alan.
[00:24:21] Speaker B: Big deal. Yeah, I mean. I mean, you gotta. You're, like, trying to fill Robin Williams's shoes. Like, that's. I mean, that's. Let's be honest, like, that's the thing that, like, any genie has sort of working against them, right, Is this iconic performance in an animated film that you're constantly wanting to, you know, live up to, right? This amazing, you know, jokes and impressions and all of that. Even though it's done in animated, you don't see his face, but you can hear his voice the whole time.
[00:24:51] Speaker A: Right? I mean, come on, Mrs. Doubtfire, the genie, probably.
How do you. How do you beat either of those performances? You know? And so that was. I mean, initially I was like, okay, they were sort of testing to see if we could come up with the material in the audition, if it could we make what was written funny.
[00:25:11] Speaker B: Right?
[00:25:12] Speaker A: They go, so we did it sort of as is.
And I think I even said to them, I think I could make this line funnier in the audition. And they go, oh, you know, like. And so then we were in the audition, then we would. They go, okay, go back.
Go look at this again and see what else you can come up with. So they were kind of like, one guy would go in another guy would go in one other guy, and it just worked. The day that I went to the audition, it just worked. And like I said I was telling you about my conversation with Alan Menken was. He said that their initial thought. I mean, the whole concept they had of the gene initially was that they wanted him to be more Cab Calloway. Call and response, sort of like, you know. Yeah, if you hear, like, in front, like, me, you know, that's all call and response.
[00:26:02] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:26:02] Speaker A: And the only reason I found that out is because when they were getting ready to do Aladdin on Broadway.
I was in rehearsals with Alan Menken for either Sister act or Leap of Faith on Broadway way. And I said, well, hey, I would love to. I'd be interested. And he goes. He goes, you're not right. And I go, what are you going? He goes, because we want to go back to the origins of where we saw the character. And he goes, so, yeah, so that's going to be more Cab Calloway. That's, you know, going to be African American actor. He goes, so just by that, you don't qualify. He goes, I'm sure you could do it. He goes, but. But we want to sort of stick to a different kind of identity for the Genie on Broadway. And they had really stuck to that idea. And we're getting anywhere. When they were doing the movie and they said Robin Williams, and everybody's a little bit like. And Allan said, al, that Robin came in to do his, you know, his screen test.
[00:26:57] Speaker B: Right.
[00:26:59] Speaker A: And that it was. Everybody knew, and they were like, magic, absolute magic and panic. Because how do we reign this guy in? How do we animate? Like, what do we choose to animate? How do we animate after he's done. Done it? Can we do it? And then they're like. And then the animals like, no, this is fun. This is gonna push us and we're gonna have a great big hit on our hand. And of course, it was the mega hit for a long time, I think, until Almost Nemo was sort of, I think what dethroned Aladdin is one of the top grossing films of history.
[00:27:33] Speaker B: Gosh.
[00:27:34] Speaker A: So, yeah, so. So I, so I got it and then I went in and that was intimidating. And.
But I learned a lot. I did the role for 12 years.
[00:27:45] Speaker B: Yeah. It's amazing. It's. I mean, incred. And. And I honestly, you're, I think, the most well known genie from dca. I mean, people, people know, you know, people know you, Danny, and they're like, yeah, that he was the best, best genie by far.
[00:28:01] Speaker A: I would. They called me the loose cannon. This was what, this. Because people.
[00:28:05] Speaker B: It doesn't surprise me because you probably improvised a little more than they would have liked here and there. That would be just a little.
[00:28:12] Speaker A: I had. I spent a lot of time in note sessions with the stage managers and directors. Sure.
[00:28:19] Speaker B: But listen, like, here's the thing, though. People who know how to read, people also know where the limits are. Right. Of what the comedy can be and should be, especially in a family environment like Disneyland. So even if you're improvising, I'M sure you were always within the balance of appropriateness, you know, and so I'm sure they still, they still loved every minute. I'm sure everybody who saw you loved every minute of watching you. Danny, I gotta switch gears and dive into you being an adventure guide because I gotta. I want to know how that happened. And then I want to dive into talking about your experience. We'll talk a lot of favorites with. Because you've had many years now being an adventure guide. And I know we can't possibly talk about everything that you've done as an adventure guide, but how did that happen?
You know, how did, how did you find out about Adventures by Disney? How did the, you know, how did you become an adventure guide? And then I have a couple of questions from the audience. We're getting live questions as we're talking. I'm starring the ones that are, I think that, I think will be great, that people will want, you know, that more than one person will want the answer to. And then I'll dive into those. But let's start with how you became an adventure guide.
[00:29:26] Speaker A: It's a perfect segue from what I was already talking about. So I did the show for 12 years and still packing houses, you know, they were still packing the houses. And then they announced that the show would close. I mean, towards the end, there was a couple announcements that the show was going to close. Like it was sort of threatening to close. And then they said no, for sure. In a year. We got one more year of this show and then we'll close. I think it was the summer of 2000, September 2016, I believe it was.
And I was in the dressing room. I was working on a new show because it did many things. I had. I think my total show knowledge at Disneyland was 15 tracks, entertainment tracks at the same time, which is the record.
And that's crazy, by the way.
[00:30:16] Speaker B: That's a crazy number that there's even.
[00:30:19] Speaker A: 15 tracks for a Man, a Guy to do at Disneyland. But, you know that Acapella Sextet show that I did, I taught myself all the music. There was no rehearsals for me until after we got into it. But I was doing the Frozen Sing along as Eric the Historian.
And my friend Jason was doing it too. And we were like, oh, was it that I. I think it was that there was some show we're doing. I'm pretty sure it was Frozen.
And oh, yeah, it was. I, I have. I. My memory goes into dressing rooms, green rooms and stages. So I know was in a dressing room talking to Jason about this, but I'm going, well, but it was, it was the right place.
And he, he says, okay, well, he goes, so Aladdin's closing. And I go, yeah. And I'm like, I'm really sad because I character so much. And he goes, he says, have you ever thought about auditioning for Adventures by Disney? And I said, I mean, that would be amazing. Of course, I've been intrigued by it. He goes, he goes, I think you'd be a really good fit. He goes, you're, you're entertaining, you're a storyteller, you're easy to talk to people. And, And I go, yeah. And he goes, he goes, the applications are coming up. And he goes, I'll put in a good word for you. I said, thanks, Jason. So I applied as well as 3,000 other people.
Like, just like, it was very small. I, I applied.
I think I just thought about it. I started asking other people that I knew that had gotten into it as well, and they just said, just be smart, be smart. Follow the four keys, which is, you know, now the five key. They said, follow the four keys. Have good manners and be yourself. And, you know, just be aware of what that means. And so go to this audition, which was a full day at the Grand Californian, breakfast included. They had mixers. So getting to know people, finding out information about it. Now, I didn't realize that people like Heather and Craig and Katie and Leslie, all these people who had created Adventures by Disney were going to be there. Bruce, all these heavy hitters, they shut up, they're wearing their name tags and they were some of the people we were supposed to collect the information from. And they were the people that were sitting down at the breakfast table and the lunch table with us. And they said, you have a.
It was super intense. We had to also do a three minute presentation where it was one minute introducing ourselves and then two minutes talking about a current destination that's being offered by Adventures by Disney. And the two minutes basically was, you're an adventure guide. You're welcoming the guests to their trip and you're going to go through the trip with them. And that's sort of all they said. And I was like, I'm not even sure what these people do. Like, I'm going this job, what do these people do? And so my, my win was that I, I had it. I auditioned, did my presentation after lunch and I realized everybody was again, so desperate to do it right to fit in the mold. And I think I would, I would like to just say, because I'm an acting teacher, you know, and I always tell my students, celebrate your weirdness. And I celebrate my weirdness. And I celebrate my guests weirdness too.
I think you've seen that. You know what I mean? Like, you know, and so I'm sitting in this room and I'm going, I am bored. And everybody here, I mean, not that the people weren't doing great presentations, but it was like we'd had lunch. We're getting post lunch sleepies. And I had all my notes, right. All my. All my notes to like the thing. And I was like, forget it.
To talk about. About what's coming at the top of my head. And I just said, hey. And I. And I riled up the crowd. I got them to do call and response, which is sort of a funny tie back too.
And then I just said, hey, we're gonna. And I talked about the Danube river because that was the one reason why I wanted to audition because it was such a destination for my grandmother and my favorite aunt that they had always talked about wanting to go do a river cruise on the Danube. And when I saw offer, I said, I should go try and get that job for my grandmother and my aunt and how cool. And guess what? My aunt passed away. And the day that she passed away was the day that I got my phone call that I got. I got Adventures by Disney.
Yeah. And then when I was at training, you know, because they don't. Not training orientation, they don't tell you where you're assigned yet because they're still feeling you out.
My manager, Leslie, Leslie K. Combs, she was just hinted big. She's like, so for example, on river cruising, you know, we're gonna have to have a couple of adventure guides because somebody will have to be, you know, maybe a historian for the trip and somebody like, say, Danny would have to be in charge of the entertainment. And I was like, are you telling me what I think you're telling me? She goes, don't say anything.
[00:35:52] Speaker B: But that's so true. I mean, who's gonna be the enter if not you, Danny? I mean, I'm not. Not that there aren't other guides who are also, you know, big personalities and. And have an entertainment background. Right. I think there are definitely lots of guides who. Who do have that, but like very. Each guides who. Each guide sort of have their different strengths, right? Are they sort of a local and have, like deep historical knowledge and background in the particular location that you're guiding? Are they the most organized person who can divvy up People into groups and get things, sort of keep people on the storyteller. Are they the entertainer? Right. Like you sort of all have your own roles. I, and I don't like, I mean, you all have to sort of float across those lines, I think probably quite often, but you can definitely see that the way that they, they match you all up. There's, there are certain people who have certain strengths and certain people who have different trends. And then you, like I said, you have to maybe float into different roles depending upon what the trip is and what's going on. But I feel like as an adventure guide, you are like historian, entertainer, babysitter, therapist and tour guide all wrapped into one. Would you say that? That, I mean, am I right?
[00:37:10] Speaker A: Yeah, it's, you know, trying to like try and be me and describe what I do to my family and friends. Like, what do you do? I'm an adventure guide. Well, what is that? I go, well, I work for Adventures by Disney. And then they go, what is that? You know, so I mean I'm, I've been doing these, I've been doing like earmarked things at the park and in person and I really, it's so funny because, and this may, who knows, you know what I mean? For you too, Sam, and anybody listening to it, it's one urgency and then two. Like, how do you sell something if you don't know what it is? You know?
And so I think that I was sitting there and telling my mom because my mom always thought that I was on a cruise ship doing a show and I was like, no, I said she did what, what are you saying when you're on this, mom? Like I'm singing karaoke on Thursday nights on the Danube, you know, like, but, but I guess my brother in law sort of said it's, it's basically, it's a trip that has the confidence, the quality and the security that you want out of a Disney product. And you're the person facilitating that. That is maybe the best description of it I've ever heard. And I always just sort of say that I'm sort of like a travel concierge rather than just a tour leader because there's so much more that we do than just tour lead because we are making personal relationships with people. And I mean, even to, to you and I. When was that trip? Was that two years ago, three years ago?
[00:38:44] Speaker B: Two years? Well, it's, I guess a year and a half ago at this point. It was December 2023. Christmas 2023.
[00:38:51] Speaker A: Yeah, but look at, I mean you know, it's. When I see you, it's like, oh.
[00:38:54] Speaker B: It'S, you know, well, and I saw you. For. For those who saw the pictures I posted on social media, I. Two of the pictures that I posted on social media I took of Danny on the Treasure just five months ago. Not even five months ago on. On the Treasure because he and I were both on a preview. I was on with Karen Shelton from My Path Unwinding Travel. Danny was on with a friend of his who got an invite through their travel agency. And Danny happened to be on the Treasure, which has, you know, an Aladdin themed atrium with Aladdin and Jasmine on the carpet in the atrium and the genie's lamp. Look at the fireworks happening. Danny, behind you.
That was amazing. So I took this fantastic picture of Danny looking right at the lamp in the atrium and then another picture of. There's beautiful, beautiful. Both artwork and tapestries in. Throughout the ship that are Aladdin themed. There's a big painting of the genie and I have Danny on the stairs and I got this picture of him standing right in front of, you know, the cartoon version of Jeannie.
It's just, you know, incredible. So I did, of course, get to, as soon as I saw Danny in the atrium, ran over, you know, big hugs, all of that, because this is, it is. You're right. It's the way the connections you make make it. So this is not just like a, a tour guide who takes you on the tour of the Vatican. This is somebody who is with you for, you know, an entire week, maybe a few days, depending upon what the adventure is, but who is really the person holding your hand throughout this entire experience. And that's what I think you mean by the concierge, you know, travel concierge. It's not just a tour company that, you know, arranges where you're going to go and what you're going to do. It really is. They, they guide you through the entire experience. I want to ask about some of your favorites because people always want to know, like, okay, if I have only one adventure that I can do there, you know, we know they're expensive. I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. Adventures.
[00:41:01] Speaker A: They're not Groupon. They're not Groupon.
[00:41:03] Speaker B: No, there's no Groupons. There's. There's like very few discounts out there. There are some discounts, like sometimes early booking discounts for our podcast cruise, which is going to be an Adventures by Disney, Disney River Cruise on in Holland and Belgium next year in July of it's over 4th of July in 2026, there was an early booking discount. Apparently it might still even be available. So if you're interested, obviously reach out.
[00:41:28] Speaker C: Are you listening to our show because you want to make the most out of your next vacation? Great news. The fabulous team over at My Path Unwinding Travel can help guide you so you don't miss a thing. Their team of professional travel advisors are caring, knowledgeable and experienced. Experienced. It's why we use them to book our own travel. My Path Unwinding Travel is an authorized Disney vacation planner, which means they are recognized by Disney for their expertise and service. They have sailed on all the Disney ships, including in concierge, visited the theme parks, Adventured with Disney, Relaxed at Aulani and so much more. Whether it's a Disney cruise, a theme park vacation or adventures by Disney, or if you are looking to expand beyond the mouse, My Path Unwinding Travel will elevate your next vacation planning experience. Even you have already booked. Reach out for a complimentary consultation to make your vacation even more magical. Ready to talk to the experts? Head over to mypathunwinding.com DCLDUO or email DCLDUO mypathunwinding.com so they know we sent you their way. Thanks My Path Unwinding for sponsoring today's show. Now back to the episode.
[00:42:26] Speaker B: You know the if you had to say, you know, one or two that are your sort of top adventurers, it could be river cruise, it could be land based, it could be one of those expedition ones. I mean, what would you put, what would you put as your couple of, like couple of top adventures?
[00:42:44] Speaker A: That's a really hard question because right. I, I look into my trips that I guide.
I, I look at the way that I look at my guests. You know what I'm saying? Like as it's like I find the value in everything, in every place that we go and then on the trips. What I think is another great thing about it is that we can modify if we have to. If, you know, if we have, you know, a kid with special needs, we can modify trips or you know what I mean? Or adventures or excursions or, or what we do or if we have, you know, people that have mobility issues or you know, or food, food restrictions. We handle all that stuff and we really try and make it so that nobody feels left out, that nobody has less of a vacation that they would because they have certain restrictions or certain things that I get asked about, you know, I get asked about kids on the spectrum, all the Time, actually, I actually think we're a great vacation for families with kids on the spectrum because of things like the adventure guides who, we're not trained, but we're good with people and we're great problem solvers.
And as far as favorites, it's really hard, but I think, Sam, I'm just gonna say it. I, I, it's got to be that river cruise to the Christmas markets. I just, I don't know, I don't know how you can beat that experience because we don't have anything like that in the States. There, there's not a, a place where you get on this beautiful boutique hotel sh.
Every day at a new city that has its own vibe to it and the Christmas markets have their own vibe to them and different things at the Christmas. And you know me, I was a nut about what there was at the Christmas market. Like, go get this bread that's got cheese and bacon in it or, you know, or go to this place and they've got the best glue vine and they got the cutest souvenir cups and all that stuff. And Christmas is always a big deal. You know, my mom loved it.
But I think Christmas markets would be number one.
Number one.
And I always say my, my biggest phrase that I've been saying lately is get stuff off you out of your bucket list and put it in your calendar. Get it out of your bucket list and put in your calendar. Bucket list. You know, we also have another term with bucket and it's called kicking the bucket. And if you kick the bucket and it is full of your hopes and dreams, what a waste. You know what I mean? Like, there's such an urgency to life. I have like, you know, I had a, I have a friend who just discovered that his father, who's only in his 50s, is, has early onset dementia. So now their experiences in life are, are different, you know, and we've had guests who are early stages of, of dementia. And it's been such a, it's such a treasure to be able to share in a family's experience of creating some of the last memories that they'll make together too.
Or at least making some memories that at least for this little minute amount of time can be treasured. I would say anything. Italy is always top notch from Adventures by Disney. We have. I did Amalfi coast last year and I cannot stop thinking about a boat tour around the island of Capri. Capri, really? And burrata and pizza and pasta from Italy. You know, like, I didn't realize we were doing it all wrong until I went there.
And I'm going back to Germany this summer which is a really soft spot in my heart.
It was my first land based destination that I did after river cruising and doing the Disneyland Resort. I don't know. This is a hard question, Sam. I want to talk.
[00:46:47] Speaker B: No, I love it, I love this. But I, I know Disneyland is great.
[00:46:51] Speaker A: Too because it's five days. It's more affordable if, you know, if you're. A 10 day trip is going to be around, you know, it's going to be a lot.
[00:47:00] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:47:01] Speaker A: But a five day trip at Disneyland is going to be well worth what.
[00:47:04] Speaker B: You pay because you're getting that Henson Studios, I'm telling you, I, Yeah, I'm very.
[00:47:11] Speaker A: Let's hope we get it back. Let's hope we get it back. They haven't left a lot yet, but let's hope we get that back.
[00:47:15] Speaker B: Yeah. So I, I love this comment from from Tinfoil Mouse years. There's our friend ct. Love that. Off the bucket list and on the to do list, I think.
[00:47:24] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:47:24] Speaker B: You know, the theme of that is you'll never regret taking that vac with your family member. I had this lovely conversation just this past week with Ashley Norton who, you know, because she went on the Disneyland adventure with you and her, her family that we were, we were talking about their trip to Alaska that they did on Disney Cruise Line just, you know, a couple years ago and she came on the show to talk about it and it was the last trip they took with her dad. And every time we, we talked about it a couple times on our cruise and I'm tearing up just thinking about it as you're talking about, you know, just the experiences. You know, there comes a point where you might not be able to travel with that person any longer and so you won't regret having taken that trip, whether that's on Disney Cruise Line Adventures by Disney or really any trip. Right. Like, right that we, I will say as a family we have decided that the things we spend our money on are the experiences. Are those the trips whether they're on Disney Cruise Line or on Adventurous by Disney. Right. To us, like that's worth more than some material thing that I could buy. And so it's just, you know, I'm getting all the feels as you're talking because this is, I feel the exact same way as you do about this. Now I've got a couple more questions that I want to ask. There's. I have two different folks who are asking me about advice. You would have for somebody who wants to be an adventure guide? And is there something about, you know, some kind of resume that you would recommend or any experiences you would recommend for someone to do in order to maybe build that resume to become an adventure guide?
[00:49:03] Speaker A: Great question. I think that's. It's. And it doesn't have a single answer, to be quite honest. But I would say, you know, like, I would say that, like, adventure guides are kind of as they look at us. If you think about the origins of the company, there was a Walt personality and a Roy personality, and they were not the same men. They were brothers and they were close. But, you know, Walt was right brain. Roy was definitely left brain. Roy got the company out of the red many, many times, but they both did. And I think that's the thing, is that there is a place for both creative, childlike, you know, playtime, and then there's time for logistics and back a house and all that. And that's, I think one of the biggest challenges for adventure guides is we do all this work focusing on the guests, but there was a lot of logistics and back a house that has to get done so that the rest of the trip, the next day, even the evening, runs smoothly. And that what, your takeaway from it runs smoothly. Your 1000 photos that you have access to that we take of your trip or more or whoever it is, we have to do reports if anything happens, emergency reports or first aid things, anything like that. If something goes wrong with the vendor, we know we got to make notations of that or call the vendor beforehand and say, hey, we have a woman. True story.
We have a woman who's allergic to black pepper and she cannot have black pepper in any of her food. And they're like, the food's already made. And we're like, okay, well, we need you to make something else before tomorrow at 2, you know what I mean? So. So all that stuff. So, so getting a resume together I think is one, show that you're a good problem solver, to show that you really, like, love people.
And three, that you, you know, you've got a passion. A passion either for a play place or for a person. And then be authentic.
You know, you can't. This is not something. I can't fake this. And that was sort of. What, what, what sort of was the realization, like, just lead with your heart because this is impossible to fake. You. You know what I mean? I would have burnt out a long time ago if I was trying to do something that I didn't already naturally Kind of do automatically. So that's my answer for that.
[00:51:18] Speaker B: I love that. I have noticed that a lot of the folks who become adventure guides also start out in other parts or the world. When I say the company, I mean sort of worldwide. Walt Disney, all kinds of different roles, whether that's cruise line or in the parks, you know, or in the studios. Like there's a lot of folks come from other roles within the Walt Disney Company sort of as a whole. Any I wanted to know. Actually another question from somebody watching is asking how long are you away from home and how do you balance being away from home for, you know, big chunks of time?
[00:51:55] Speaker A: That's a challenging question to answer because the work life balance is, is hard. Last year I was gone for three months doing British Isles, which is a 10 day trip that goes from Ireland to Belfast to Edinburgh to London. Beautiful trip. Oh my gosh, what an amazing, amazing. We get a private viewing of the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.
[00:52:18] Speaker B: Oh, that's amazing.
[00:52:19] Speaker A: It. The clout of the Paddle of Power is phenomenal. But you know, I think it's a lot easier now that we've got things like FaceTime so you can face time at home.
You've got to make, if you care about home, you've got to make home a priority in your guiding as well. So I always say adventure guides should treat other adventure guides with the same respect, kindness as they do their guests and they should also treat their family the same way. So, you know, family is understanding. But, but you know, the worst thing that happens is that my whole vegetable garden is dead when I get home. So.
[00:53:01] Speaker B: Right, right.
[00:53:02] Speaker A: You know, but my, my dog survives, you know, my partner survives, everybody survives.
And, and have good friends, have good friends that are willing to be like they understand what you're doing. So I can have friends come over and watch the dog or, you know, or water the garden or whatever. But I think that's it's, it is hard. It is, that is a. Definitely a challenge finding the balance in life.
[00:53:30] Speaker B: Well, and I will say I think if you're somebody who is single, that maybe having a pet at home is not a feasible balance with being an adventure guide because you are away for chunks of time. Now I, I've got maybe time for one more question before I'm going to bring in Karen Shelton from my path Unwinding Travel because she is waiting in the wings because I know we had some questions when we had Rebecca, one of your colleagues from Adventures by Disney, who used to be a DCL entertainment cast Member, A lot of folks are asking about tipping so I want to bring Karen on to talk about that because I'm not going to ask you, Danny, to tell us what we should tip you.
[00:54:06] Speaker A: Because I'll tell you.
[00:54:10] Speaker B: You all are too nice. You're going to say whatever tip is fine. But like for those out there, river cruises, the tip is included. You can also, you can tip on top of that, but the tip is included. But land based adventures it is not. So tipping is sort of is expected for your adventure guides you'll typically have. Can't remember if it's two or three, Danny. You know, I don't know. In a land based adventure.
[00:54:36] Speaker A: Two, two.
[00:54:37] Speaker B: Okay. Because river cruises you is very different. It's typically five because you have way more guests in the group. But there's one more question I wanted to ask which is what's the one thing you wish every guest knew before they went on an Adventures by Disney adventure? Because I do think there's not as much information out there. That's why we've tried to. We're the DCL duo, Brian and I. But we have tried to cover Adventures by Disney as well because there really aren't a lot of resources out there covering and talking about Adventures by Disney. And we do think, think that Disney Cruise Line is the gateway drug to Adventures by Disney.
[00:55:14] Speaker A: Well, I, I agree and I would also take it a step further and say the gateway drug to Adventures by Disney. And I think Holly Liska is on this watching too and she's taken this trip a couple times. Hi Holly, my buddy. I love that have all these, these agency people that are now my buddies, which is amazing.
[00:55:34] Speaker B: Oh yeah, Holly's on. Kirsty Beckwith is on. Oh, she's saying you're her. Your fav abd guy from Christy and from Kirsty and Lee. Our Ratcliffe is saying Danny's great. We enjoyed our.
I've got Ashley Norton on here commenting as well. I mean I can't read through every single comment that's coming through, but we've got tons of fans watching.
[00:55:57] Speaker A: I'm tearing up. Honestly, I'm tearing up. I think, I think it's, I think the Disneyland trip is the gateway drug to Avengers by Disney. It's five days. It's five days. Well, the Christmas market too, right? I mean, come on. Like, but, but the, the land base is five days. You started Hollywood. You go to the Chinese Theater. We went to Henson Studios and we're hoping to get it back. We go to Imagineering and we go to Walt Disney Studios. And then we go to Disneyland and we spend three nights at the Grand Californian. We've got backstage access at different, different things that sort of has been changing. I'm not going to tip the hat too much about what's happening, but we have backstage California Adventure and Disneyland park.
And then we set the guests free to the parks, but we load their tickets up with Lightning Lanes. Like five Lightning Lanes. Or is it Lightning Lanes?
[00:56:50] Speaker B: Yeah, now they're.
[00:56:51] Speaker A: Yes, but these are multi experience passes that will work on any attraction. Even that doesn't have a lightning lane to it. Meals, you know, and then premier seating for fireworks, premier seating for parades. And then a couple people in the parade might stop and give your adventure guide a hug every now and then.
[00:57:11] Speaker B: You know, with you. I will tell you, Robbie Abney, who you know, Captain America dcl, he said he worked with you at Disneyland as well. I mean it's like our, I feel like our, well one, our communities have a lot of crossover, Danny. But also, I mean, you also just know everyone. So it's.
[00:57:30] Speaker A: I'm the mayor.
[00:57:31] Speaker B: The mayor of Disneyland. Well, I'm going to, I'm going to bring Karen in because I know she also adores you. Welcome to the show Karen Shelton of my Path Unwinding Travel. Hey, Karen.
[00:57:42] Speaker D: He, Danny.
[00:57:43] Speaker A: How are you?
[00:57:43] Speaker D: All good. Good to see you.
[00:57:45] Speaker B: We're so excited to have you on Karen with us. I know that, you know, Karen was, was commenting in the live chat that she found a video of you, Danny, introducing her husband Harv singing Sweet Caroline on board the Danube river cruise for karaoke night. And that Harv was voluntold to sing that.
[00:58:05] Speaker A: But he crushed it. But he crushed it. I knew he would crush it. That song is a no fail. We set you up for success.
[00:58:13] Speaker D: He, Danny, had I harp would never raise his hand, but he was sitting in a prime spot. And I think it was like, what do you call it? It was like gorilla.
[00:58:23] Speaker A: Yes. Gorilla karaoke.
[00:58:25] Speaker D: Gorilla karaoke. You did not sign up. You were pulled up.
[00:58:29] Speaker A: I love that.
[00:58:31] Speaker B: That's like in law school where you get the Socratic method where the professors just fire questions at you randomly and you have no idea it's coming. You're just voluntold to answer that question.
[00:58:41] Speaker A: Yeah, we did it easy. We did like a Sweet Caroline. We got a group of guys up to ymca, you know, or Macho Man. Hey, Balloons.
But we, we set it up, you know, we set it up for there to be songs that we knew everybody would join in. We just want to make sure everybody had the chance to get up on stage and be part of the show.
[00:59:02] Speaker B: So yeah, yeah.
[00:59:03] Speaker D: And I remember one of the, one of the teens on board crushed their song.
It was from Greatest Showman and she got up there and thought brought the house down. So it's just, just one of those moments that you think, how can Adventures by Disney bring so many people together on a river cruise? Because I started out doing the land based tours where you have a smaller group and you think when you're going to have this many people, can you have that same sense of like community? And that night I was like, yes. I mean we all, everybody that was there just, it was just a moment.
[00:59:46] Speaker A: That that night was, was a very special karaoke night. It really was.
[00:59:51] Speaker B: It really was.
[00:59:52] Speaker A: We were like, okay, this is, we need to do this all the time. We, let's do this all the time.
[00:59:58] Speaker B: I love that it was karaoke on ours. But Danny did do a special performance with one of the, one of the entertainers that came on board. I don't even remember what country we're in to sing. And Danny and she did a duet together and it, I don't even remember what song it was. But remember, minds were being blown everywhere across the country.
[01:00:17] Speaker A: I forgot all about that. But I sure did. I sure did.
[01:00:21] Speaker B: Well, you know, it's fabulous.
[01:00:24] Speaker A: My mother would be very disappointed if I refused to sing in public. So that's for mom.
[01:00:30] Speaker B: Well, Karen, I wanted to bring you on for two reasons. One, I wanted to make sure people know about our Adventures by Disney River Cruise that we're doing as the DCL Duo version 2.0 river cruise because it's obviously not, not a cruise on, on dcl. It's a cruise on abd. But tell folks like how to reach out to you if they're interested in hearing more and booking. And do we know if ABD still has those early booking discounts available?
[01:00:58] Speaker D: I think they do for a short while longer. They are limited per category per date. But I think we're, we may still have a few left for our DCL duo 2.0 day in July 2026 on the Holland and Belgium itinerary. We already have such a great group that's going to be joining Sam and Brian and Nathan.
So we have families, we have adults only. And I mean I think that's also one of the great things about this itinerary about river cruising is that everybody fits in and you know, there's times it's just kind of, kind of like anything with Disney. There's times where you know you're going to have your adult only time and the kids are going to be off doing something fun in one corner of the ship that's really not too far because it's a small intimate river ship.
[01:01:53] Speaker B: The ships are not that big.
[01:01:55] Speaker D: Yeah, but I mean it's going to be such a great group. But there's room for more.
And one of the great things about river cruising with Adventures by Disney is it really is all inclusive.
Every part of your adventure is included except your airfare and, and travel insurance. So you know by the moment you land, you're picked up. If you have a pre night with Adventures by Disney at the hotel, you're taken care of, you're taken to the ship and all of it is taken care of. So including as you mentioned, the gratuities for the adventure guides, Disney really says hey, this is all inclusive. The gratuities are part of that package. And but you may find when you see all the ways that the adventure guides go above and beyond and the way that they act as a concierge and an entertainment host and you know, just a problem solver, you may decide that you may want to, you know, add a little extra gratuity. But I have never felt that it's expected.
There is no formal, at least when I sail there's no formal procedure for like an envelope or anything like that, which is different than on the land tours. And so that's the question.
On the land tours you'll see on your itineraries that there's things that are not included. There's certain meals that are on your own, certain times that you're on your own to fill in the time as you wish. And then the gratuities for your two adventure guides are additional. As of today, Adventures by Disney recommends a gratuity of 10 to $12 per person per night per guide.
[01:04:00] Speaker B: Okay.
[01:04:01] Speaker D: So you will get envelopes in your pre departure box is typically when they're sent and it'll have a little, you know, some instructions and reminders for you so that you can those prepared and those are usually given to the adventure guides on the last night of, of your adventure. So you know, for each couple, let's say on a seven night adventure, we're going to go with the higher end. $12 per person per night.
[01:04:33] Speaker B: That would be Danny's giving thumbs up.
[01:04:37] Speaker D: That would be based on the recommendation from Disney. That would be $168 per couple, 336 per family of four per per guide.
So so you need to be prepared. Maybe Danny can add. I know there's been more recently the ability to pay guides by Venmo.
I think that might be an individual situation.
[01:05:11] Speaker A: It's either what Venmo is kind of great when you, you're not when you're overseas because carrying around, you know, I, I did six back to back Sunday trips and so you know, hotel safes aren't always safe. You know what I mean? And so it's to carry around this wad of cash with you throughout the summer. It's, it's stressful and then you know, then the other option is well, do I mail it home really quick and you know, in a thing, a bag of coffee or.
So Venmo and PayPal, they work for us. Our, our destination, our in destination guides they always like to be paid in cash. So as. And we do, I mean we do too. It's great. You know what I mean? But, but sometimes when there's bills to pay, a Venmo payment and a payment, PayPal payment is a nice thing to have. So yeah, it's always.
[01:06:08] Speaker D: That's great.
[01:06:09] Speaker A: We never have an awkward conversation. I mean it never feel like you're going to have to have an awkward conversation with your guides. I am very will tell people, hey, this is what the standard is through the company and I prefer to have Venmo because I've got bills to pay back at home. So I don't have any shame in talking about that. I work hard so I get paid. You know what I mean? Yeah, absolutely. As we all do.
[01:06:36] Speaker D: I never even thought about the guides having to carry around all that cash.
[01:06:39] Speaker B: Me neither. I'm glad that you both brought this up because I never even, it didn't even occur to me. But yeah, if you're, if you're in Europe for five weeks and you've got, you know you're on doing river cruises in or, or, or you're doing back to back land based cruises. Right. Like you're traveling and so you don't want to have that cash on you all the time and you can't go to like your local bank. It's just the European banks, you don't have any there. So Yeah, I mean you want obviously you might, some of the cash you might use as your own spending money but not all of that cash. Right.
[01:07:11] Speaker A: So. Right. We love, we love cash and it's kind of fun because you just have to go, oh, look what I made this year. You know what I mean? But.
[01:07:19] Speaker B: Like you could be like Scrooge McDuck swimming in it in the bed.
[01:07:26] Speaker A: But the minute, the minute you misplace it, you know, it's. Money is not replaceable.
[01:07:31] Speaker D: Yeah, that would be stressful I think to keep track of. And you have, you, you know, you have enough to keep track of. So, you know, but it's all, it's all clearly lined out, you know, I said as of today because, you know, Perhaps when the 2026 season comes along they'll increase the recommended gratuities.
[01:07:48] Speaker A: I don't know.
[01:07:49] Speaker D: I have no basis to said that everything is getting more expensive. So yeah, I would think that the recommendations probably should go up a little bit because I feel like it's been in this range for quite some time.
[01:08:01] Speaker A: It's been in the range a long time. You know, I think a good standard is just sort of consider, you know, if you're going to pay like say that okay, British Isles is about a $10,000 trip per person because it's 10 days. And I'm, and I, my thought is this, if, you know, I've never heard anybody at the end of one of my trips say that sure was an expensive vacation. You know what I mean? I've never heard that comment. It's more like that exceeded my expectations like beyond what I could imagine. And so I just sort of go like for a week. $100 Tip for your, for your guides is not unheard of and I don't think ridiculous either for like a seven day trip, you know? You know what I mean? So it's like, I mean I paid that to a restaurant for one meal, you know, before for gratuity, but you get a whole week of adventure and meals and things being taken care of. So I think, think of, think of it as gratuities that way. What in your everyday life are you going out and spending the gratuities and, and using them for? And it should make things make a little bit more sense for, you know, for guides.
[01:09:06] Speaker B: Yeah, it really does.
[01:09:07] Speaker D: And you know, under and during your vacation, you're not really opening your wallet for much of anything. So you know, I like to say about adventures by Disney, they're pricey, but priceless. And so, you know, it's kind of like when the vacation is over, you know, your question is, when do I see the photo? You're, it's never like, oh my gosh, I have to, you know, it's, it's, you're going to gladly pay those gratuities and, and, and, and want to do more and want to stay in touch with your guides and want to go on the next, next adventure with them. I saw, Danny, that there was a question about where you were guiding this summer.
[01:09:44] Speaker A: Yeah, well, it's, it's, I'm pretty excited. I kind of got to ask for what I wanted. I'm going back to Germany. I, I, I love that itinerary.
I had to learn itineraries for the past two or three seasons. But I'm also going to go co guide with one of my dearest friends in the world. Her name is Azusa. She is an adventure guide that she's the only adventure guide from Germany currently. I think we may have hired a couple. She is born in Poland, raised in Germany. She's a concert violist. She's got like five degrees and she is wickedly funny. And she and I are like a brother and sister team. And so I said, you know, I want to go see my sis. And so they said, please come back to Germany. So I'm back to Germany this year.
And of course, backstage magic, our Disneyland trip, which I'll always have that filtered in.
[01:10:40] Speaker B: Fantastic. So I've got one final question to end the show with today, which is our friend Chad Pennycuff from my DVC points podcast. He set a new bucket list goal abds to all the soaring over the world locations. Who's with me? That's not exactly clear question because, I mean, I'm with you, Chad, but we're.
[01:10:58] Speaker A: All, we're all in.
[01:10:59] Speaker B: We're all, we're all in. But the question for Danny is your bucket list destination? I mean, is I would your bucket list destination be doing that around the world Adventures by Disney? Or would it be is there someplace else in the world that you haven't been and you know, if so, you know, it has to be someplace you haven't been. What's your place?
[01:11:23] Speaker A: Does it have to be something Adventures by Disney offers?
[01:11:26] Speaker B: It doesn't have to be something Adventures by Disney offers, just someplace in the world you want to go, Danny.
[01:11:31] Speaker A: Okay, I want to say this is just like I have, okay, some see if I can wrap this up and make it, because I think it's a good point to kind of close on too.
Travel shrinks the world. So we can see it that we're, we're all here together, that we are all after the same things. I mean, going and meeting people who lived in communism for years and years, meeting people that lived on the other side of the Berlin Wall, you know, that's why I love going to Germany, like this story, their tricky history, and then, you know, and learning how they're coming back and healing from that and, and all these people that I was so afraid of when I was a kid.
I think that that's what the beauty of travel is. The other thing about travel that I think is important is our world is changing. We're seeing things, things in the, on our northern pole and our southern pole changing. We're seeing things changing in our oceans. This is not a pointing finger kind of conversation. This is just. I know things are changing. So I'm going to give you two answers. I didn't get to go to Antarctica and I would love to see Antarctica and I want to see the Maldives before they don't exist anymore.
[01:12:44] Speaker B: Those are my two. Absolutely. Those, those are amazing. So I gotta give special thanks to Karen and my Pat Unwinding Travel, of course, for sponsoring our show. I want to tell people, if you want to book your next adventure or DCL cruise or other vacation destination, make sure to reach out to mypathunwinding.com dcduo or email
[email protected] and if you want to find out about our river cruise, the DCL Duo Cruise 2.0, you can also reach out to Karen in that fashion. And then, of course, I absolutely must thank the amazing Dani for being here for talking with us. We have multiple requests in the chat asking for you to come back after this summer, Dani, and tell us all about your adventures in Germany and about obviously Disneyland, go more deep dive into some of these amazing destinations that you've been to. But I gotta say thank you for even coming on one time. And now then I have to ask you to come on a second time.
[01:13:46] Speaker A: I would be happy to come back. And you know, this has been such a nice thing for me to do forums I've done, you know, like I said, I've been doing things that are educational about the company and I love it and I love going to, you know, see old guests or former guests, I should say, along the road and, and just to, to hear the comments, to hear that people enjoyed their time. Oh, I get choked up about this. I'll read my reviews at the end of the season and I'll start crying when people give me good ones. The best bad ones I don't care about. It's the good ones I get all choked up about because you really feel a sense of, my gosh, I can't believe that all the hard work that we, we put into this really paid off and, and look at what this person's experiences and what they, what they say. So, oh, I'm totally, I'm such a, I'm such a crier. Sorry.
And then if anybody wants to like, you know, I'm just, if, if people have questions, if we have people that I haven't, reach out to me on my Instagram account at Adventure Guide Danny, I'm there. I'm trying to be much better about posting things. I've been doing reels lately for every trip that I've guided with sort of a slideshow of everything that I experienced when I was in these destinations to kind of hype you up about what there is to offer if you come on the trips not necessarily just with me, but with adventures by Disney in general. So, so check me out Adventure Guide Dan at Instagram.
[01:15:18] Speaker B: Well, thank you so much Danny. Thanks so much Karen. Thanks to everyone watching. We really appreciate it. We will be back at our regular time next week, 5:30pm Pacific, 8:30pm Eastern. Talking with guest Wesley about some firsts he experience as a Gold Cruiser on Disney Cruise Line. Hope to see you watching but thanks for everybody for watching and joining today.
[01:15:44] Speaker C: Well, thanks everyone out there for listening this week. We really, really appreciate it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast. You can keep getting great content from us every week. In fact, twice a week we publish shows. So be sure to hit the subscribe button to get all of those great episodes. And if you want to watch us live, we have a live show now every week, Monday nights, 5:30pm Pacific, 8:30pm Eastern over on YouTube.com DCLDUO so be sure to head over and check that out. If you want help support the show, be sure to hit those five stars on Apple Podcasts. And if you leave us a written review, a five star written review, we will read it at the top of one of our main episodes. So please head over there and hit those five stars. Of course you can also help support the show by supporting our fabulous show sponsor, My Path Unwinding Travel. You want to book your next Disney vacation? Head over to mypathunwinding.com dclduo or email them at dclduomypathunwinding.com so they know we sent you their way. If you've got questions or you'd like to connect with us, the best way to do that is to head over to DCLDuo.com it's got links to all of our things, full catalog of the podcast episodes, including a searchable catalog for the podcast links off to our vlog, a link to our Etsy store where we sell some fun fan inspired magnets Link to our Patreon if you'd like to help directly support the show each and every month, just head over to the website or patreon.com DCLDUO also has a way for you to sign up for our substack newsletter letter that we're hoping to start really pumping out monthly here at least, and a few blog articles that we've written, so DCLDUO.com is the best way to connect with us. You can also of course email
[email protected] or reach out to us on our voicemail line at 402-413-5590. That's 402-413-5590. The DCL Dual Podcast is not affiliated with Disney Cruise Line, the Disney Company or the Disney Family of theme parks. The views expressed on the show are solely those of the individuals on the podcast and in no way reflective views the Disney Company or Disney Cruise Line. If you have questions about a Disney Cruise or Disney Vacation, please contact the great folks over at My Path Unwinding Travel or Disney directly or your own travel agent. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you next time for another fabulous adventure with the DCL duo.
