We're back at the Hangar Bar after a little vacation break, and while our latest adventure didn't take us to a Disney park, we still managed to find a little Disney magic along the way!

This week, Scott and Candice are sharing stories from their recent trip through Austria and Germany and exploring all the ways their travels reminded them of Disney. From a projection mapping show in a beautiful Vienna church that felt a little like Happily Ever After, to visiting Neuschwanstein Castle, the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle, there were plenty of unexpected Disney connections.

Along the way, we're talking about the sights and sounds of Europe, Oktoberfest crowds, incredible German pretzels, the importance of comfortable walking shoes, and why some experiences reminded us of wandering through EPCOT's World Showcase.

But beyond the castles, music, and food, this trip reminded us of something we often talk about when visiting Disney: sometimes the best vacation moments happen when you stop planning every minute and simply let the magic happen.

And we might have discovered something else along the way. Is Disney still our favorite way to vacation? That's a conversation for next week's episode!

Question of the week: What's your favorite Disney-like experience you've had on a non-Disney vacation? We'd love to hear your stories!

Come hang out with us on social media:

• Instagram: @hanginatthehangarbar

• Facebook: Hangin' at the Hangar Bar

Thanks for hanging out with us, and remember, there's always a great big beautiful tomorrow!

Hangin' at the Hangar Bar – A Disney Adults Podcast

We love Disney. We really do.

But sometimes the people at Disney? Well…we have some thoughts.

This week, Scott and Candice are talking about the things that make us cringe in the Disney parks—from people who stop dead in the middle of a crowded walkway and families trying to squeeze every penny of “value” out of their vacation, to marathon photo shoots, matching outfits gone too far, phones blocking the fireworks, and guests who seem to be experiencing their very first day on Earth.

Then we enter dangerous territory: Disney influencers.

We’re talking staged “candid” moments, 37-take food reviews, secret Disney “hacks” everyone already knows, exaggerated reactions, endless narration, clickbait, and the content creators who seem to forget that everyone around them also paid to be there.

But because we’re nothing if not self-aware, we finish by turning the criticism back on ourselves. What Disney behaviors are Scott and Candice guilty of? Too many pictures? Strong opinions about snacks? Riding Living with the Land four times in one day? (We regret nothing.)

Plus, a quick bit of mousekeeping: Hangin’ at the Hangar Bar is taking a short 2–3 week break while we do a little traveling. We aren’t going anywhere—we’ll be back soon with plenty of stories to tell.

So grab a drink, grab a snack, and come hang out with us. Then tell us: What’s your biggest Disney vacation pet peeve—and what do YOU do at Disney that probably makes someone else cringe?

Follow along and join the conversation:
Instagram: @hanginatthehangarbar
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What does a “perfect day” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios look like when Scott gets to make all the rules?

This week, we’re continuing our Perfect Day series with a full day at Hollywood Studios! Scott has planned the day from morning to night, and his goal is ambitious: can he create a Hollywood Studios itinerary good enough to change Candice’s less-than-enthusiastic opinion of the park?

Before we get there, though, we tackle an important Disney debate: Halloween or Christmas? We talk about why Christmas at Walt Disney World feels extra magical, the questionable timing of Florida’s Halloween season, and why fake snow on a warm Florida evening somehow works better than it has any right to.

Then it’s time to head to Hollywood Studios!

We’re staying at Disney’s Beach Club Resort, sleeping in just a little, and taking the Skyliner over to the park. From there, Scott’s perfect day includes:

• Breakfast from Woody’s Lunch Box
• Slinky Dog Dash, Alien Swirling Saucers and Toy Story Mania
• A big lunch at 50’s Prime Time Café
• Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster featuring The Muppets
• An afternoon beer break at BaseLine Tap House
• Walt Disney Presents
• Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage (with The Little Mermaid as a backup!)
• Waiting until DARK to experience Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
• Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run — preferably in Chewie Mode
• Nighttime wandering, shopping and photos in Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land
• A casual dinner around Echo Lake
• Fantasmic! to close out the night
• A relaxing boat ride back to Beach Club

Along the way, we debate whether Tower of Terror is still a must-do, why Scott doesn’t need a $250 lightsaber living in a closet, whether Disney should offer a “build it but don’t keep it” lightsaber experience, and just how much backtracking Candice will tolerate before abandoning Scott on a park bench.

And somehow we end up imagining ourselves still recording this podcast in 2042, complaining about attractions Disney removed while riding around the parks on scooters. AARP, please don’t cancel us.

Would this perfect day change YOUR opinion of Hollywood Studios? What would you add, skip or rearrange?

Come hang out with us!

Follow Hangin’ at the Hangar Bar on Instagram @hanginatthehangarbar and find us on Facebook. And if you enjoy the show, follow the podcast, leave us a review, and share the episode with another Disney adult!

Remember, there’s always a great big beautiful tomorrow — and we’ll see you real soon!

What happens when you take Disney movie magic off the screen and put it on a mannequin?

This week on Hangin’ at the Hangar Bar, we’re taking you along on our birthday-weekend road trip to Omaha, Nebraska, where we visited The Walt Disney Archives presents Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume at The Durham Museum.

We went in expecting incredible costumes, Disney storytelling, and maybe a little of the immersive experience we remembered from Disney100. What we found was a little different — but it gave us plenty to talk about.

We discuss what it’s like to stand inches away from costumes actually worn on screen and whether seeing how the magic is created makes it feel less magical — or makes you appreciate the work behind it even more.

Some of our favorite and most surprising costumes included:

• Johnny Depp’s incredibly detailed Wolf costume from Into the Woods

• Captain Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa from Pirates of the Caribbean — including Candice sniffing Jack Sparrow’s costume. For science.

• Meryl Streep’s Witch costume from Into the Woods

• Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent

• Helena Bonham Carter’s Queen of Hearts

• Costumes from Mary Poppins Returns

• Jafar from the live-action Aladdin

• Oprah Winfrey’s gorgeous costume from A Wrinkle in Time

• Danny DeVito’s surprisingly tiny costume from Dumbo

• Belle’s yellow dress from Beauty and the Beast, which looked very different standing in a museum than we expected from seeing it on screen

We also talk about how much costumes contribute to creating a character. Fabric, texture, color, accessories, fit and even something as simple as Barbossa’s hat can completely change how we perceive someone before the actor says a word.

Then we turn our attention to The Durham Museum itself. We enjoyed our visit, but it led to an interesting realization: Have years of visiting Disney parks completely ruined us for traditional museums?

We’re accustomed to Disney telling us why every object matters and surrounding it with story. At the Durham, we sometimes found ourselves asking, “Okay…but what are we supposed to be getting from this?”

Is that a museum storytelling problem — or a Disney adult problem? We think the answer may be a little of both.

Ultimately, the exhibit also connects back to a question we’ve been exploring recently: Are we losing the Disney magic?

Maybe understanding how the illusion is created doesn’t diminish the magic. Seeing the craftsmanship and work behind these movies might simply give us another, deeper way to connect with stories we already love.

If you’re near Omaha and enjoy Disney, movies, theater, costuming or filmmaking, we think the exhibit is worth a visit. Our advice: slow down, read the placards and look at the details. There’s a lot hiding in plain sight.

We Want to Hear From You!D23 brought some big Disney announcements, but Hangin’ at the Hangar Bar isn’t really a Disney news podcast. So what would you rather hear?

Should we do a full episode with our D23 reactions, or weave our thoughts into cold opens and future episodes when they’re relevant?

Come tell us on Facebook, Instagram or Discord — and check out our social channels for photos from the costume exhibit!

Grab a drink, grab a snack, and come hang out with us.

There’s always a great big beautiful tomorrow — and we’ll see you real soon!

What does Scott’s perfect day at EPCOT look like? We’re finally finding out!

But first, we kick things off with a little Disney news that couldn’t be more perfectly timed. Disney has ordered a pilot for a new Disney+ series inspired by Spaceship Earth. We talk about what we know so far, why Candice was initially VERY excited about the idea (until Scott explained what kind of show it might actually be), and whether we like Disney taking original theme park ideas and turning them into new stories instead of always bringing existing movie IP into the parks.

And yes, if they make a show about Spaceship Earth and nobody thanks the Phoenicians, we may have a problem.

Then it’s time to officially begin Scott’s Perfect Day series!

We’re starting at EPCOT, but before we can enter the park, Scott has some decisions to make. What time of year are we visiting? Where are we staying? And after debating Old Key West, the monorail resorts and Beach Club, Scott makes a potentially dangerous discovery: if this is his perfect vacation, there’s absolutely nothing stopping him from planning a split stay.

With Beach Club chosen as our starting point, we head into EPCOT for Scott’s perfect day — and surprisingly, he starts by slowing things down.

We’re talking an early Garden Grill breakfast, Living with the Land, Soarin’, time actually exploring the aquarium at The Seas, Figment, Journey of Water, Spaceship Earth, Guardians of the Galaxy and plenty of time to wander instead of racing from attraction to attraction.

Then, of course, there’s the food and drink.

A brat and beer in Germany. A tequila experience at La Cava del Tequila. Wandering World Showcase without over-planning every stop. Bread and cheese from France to enjoy with a beer in the UK. And somehow Scott manages to temporarily forget about one of his favorite EPCOT treats — much to Candice’s disbelief.

As evening arrives, Scott starts repeating a few attractions for a very specific reason: he wants to experience EPCOT after dark. That means another ride on Living with the Land, another walk through Journey of Water, and eventually settling into GEO-82 for drinks, food and a view of the nighttime spectacular — followed by one of Scott’s favorite Disney experiences: letting everybody else leave first.

This isn’t about squeezing every attraction into a single day. Scott skips Mission: SPACE, Space 220 and Test Track, and he’s not willing to call the newest version of Frozen Ever After part of his “perfect day” until he’s actually experienced it.

It’s about building the EPCOT day that feels perfect to him — good food, favorite attractions, drinks, plenty of wandering, and enough breathing room to actually enjoy being there.

Now we want to hear from you:

Go back and listen to Candice’s Perfect EPCOT Day and tell us — whose perfect day would you rather join?

And what would you change about Scott’s day? Which attraction did he leave out? Where would you eat? What’s an absolute must-do on YOUR perfect EPCOT day?

Come hang out with us on Facebook, Instagram and Discord and let us know!

Thanks for hanging out with us at the Hangar Bar. Grab a drink, get comfy, and remember: there’s always a great big beautiful tomorrow!