What's Happening over at The Reluctant Disney Adult

First off, the Andor newsletter is coming, I promise! It will be out next Thursday, in fact. I'm almost done with my rewatch and am figuring out exactly what I want to write about one of my favorite Star Wars things ever created, and one of my favorite TV shows to be released in recent years.

But until then, I'd like to share all of the work I've been doing over on my YouTube channel, The Reluctant Disney Adult!

2025 Introduction Video

This video is intended to be a intoduction teaser to the channel. It replaces the original one that is still relevant, but less directly relevant to the 2025 season of videos. Of course, that's Anya on the thumbnail, who has been promoted to Chief Creative Officer for The Reluctant Disney Adult here in 2025.

Amy on the Parks: Disney World's Magic Kingdom

Over the past three weeks I've been putting out a video series called "Amy on the Parks". Eventually this will cover every land of every park at Disney World, and hopefully other Disney parks as well. But the first season focused on Magic Kingdom park. The first episode is about the park itself, and is kind of an overview. This video uses a structure that I abandoned in the next episode, in favor of just sharing my own thoughts or around a specific theme.

(Yes, I know all of these videos have me photoshopped in doing silly or skeptical looks. Blame the algorithm for that. Or not, because I enjoy most of the thumbnails!)

Amy on the Parks – Magic Kingdom: Main Street, USA

This is the first of the series of videos about the lands, and what better way to start than with the entrance land? I had to double check this was the right video, because the thumbnail picture is the same as the Magic Kingdom one. Some of you will recognize what town I use as a stand in for a "generic" small town partway through this one!

FastCast 2025.1 – "My Solo Trip to Disney World!"

In addition to all of the "Amy on the Parks" videos, I've also been recording "FastCasts". FastCasts are just the name I use for Podcasts, being a play on the old Disney World "FastPass" skip the line feature.

The first FastCast was about my solo trip in 2024 to Disney World. I had a blast on the trip, and a blast talking about it, so I recommend giving it a listen.

Amy on the Parks – Magic Kingdom: Adventureland

Okay...so...somehow between the trip my wife Cora and I took in 2023 and the one I took by myself in 2024, I somehow went to Magic Kingdom three times and didn't get a single picture of Adventureland! So I tried something different with this video and just drew some pictures instead. Some of them aren't terrible! By that, I mean in some of them you can at least understand what I was trying to show with my drawings! I had so much fun, I'd like to do more of this at some point.

Amy on the Parks – Magic Kingdom: Frontierland

Here is where I start to up my game with the thumbnail business. I'm like 95% certain this is one of my better performing videos because of including the Bears Country there, although I don't know why I picked Golden Oak Outpost of all things for the background! Also, take note of Lari the Armadillo, who will be joining me on the thumbnails for these episodes from here on out.

As for the video, I took a break from the narration and let my good friend and citizen of Frontierland, Jessica T. Rattlesnake, do the honors. She talks a bit about her thoughts on the upcoming major reworking of the land to add Piston Peak National Park where the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island were.

FastCast 2025.2 – "Amy goes to the Movies: Saving Mr. Banks"

This has been a Disney World heavy season of videos, so I thought it was time to focus on the other side of Disney's business with the first episode of the subseries "Amy Goes to the Movies". And, since Disneyland has just unveiled their big 70th anniversary show including the Walt Disney animatronic, what better film to discuss than the 2013 "brand deposit" film Saving Mr. Banks?

In this episode, I talk a lot about how much I love (and hate) this movie, and marvel at the fact that it exists. I also get somewhat into how Disney has often tried to tie their current business to Walt Disney in a way to legitimize the company. Also, I go off on a whole long tangent about Michael Eisner, who has nothing to do with the film. In other words, its pure Amy, and you should check it out!

Amy on the Parks – Magic Kingdom: Liberty Square

I feel like this is another step up in terms of sharpness of the thumbnail, as I rediscover Photoshop layer styles.

As for the video, I lean into the...complicated feelings I have about this land here in the year 2025. I'm glad I was able to pull a couple of my favorite gags from the Strange World review episode for this one, and I think I used them better here.

Something I don't have complicated feelings about is the meal at Liberty Tree Tavern. That's amazing and worth having sometime and I'd recommend doing it when it's not 95 degrees out unless you absolutely have nowhere to go besides sit in the shade for a few hours.

Amy on the Parks – Magic Kingdom: Fantasyland

It took a lot of work to put all of the princesses together for this thumbnail, and I think I did a pretty decent job. Even if they are all about three times the size of the people I just noticed in the photo I used as the background.

Anyway, this video says exactly what it is. It's Princesses, and power rankings. What do you need, a map? It also has a gag that I'm pretty sure is entirely for me and me alone.

Finally, I need to show you the thumbnail YouTube originally generated for the video, which I don't think quite captures the gist of the video:

FastCast 2025.3 – "The Food of Disney World"

In the most recent FastCast, I head back to Disney World and talk about the food for an hour or so. I come down on some of the biggest food debates, and I might even let it slip that I think the Beverly at Club Cool is great and all of the haters are wrong. Give it a listen, and let me know how wrong I am in the comments!

Amy on the Parks – Magic Kingdom: Tomorrowland

Almost a quickly as it began, the first season of "Amy on the Parks" ends with this video about Tomorrowland. In it, I talk about the "Tomorrowland Conundrum" and also about the greatest attraction ever (TTA PeopleMover) and its runner up (Carousel of Progress). Yep, I've got my finger on the pulse of the public with those opinions!

My ongoing feud with Sonny Eclipse remains unresolved.

And that's it for now! I'm going to be making a bunch of great videos throughout the rest of the year, and every Saturday I release a new FastCast, sometimes with special guests. So if you haven't already, go subscribe to the channel, so you don't miss a thing.

As always, thanks for reading and watching and listening!

Amy