CAROLINE, WHAT'S NEW? #31

Caroline and Conor discuss the latest and greatest in Disney news in this new mini-episode series.

Recorded: November 16, 2025

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Transcript

Caroline Aimetti: 0:43

Hello, and welcome to Poor Unfortunate Podcast, where Disney is what we do. It's what we live for. We're the two besties you never knew you needed. I'm Caroline Aimetti.

Conor Perkins: 0:53

And I'm Conor Perkins. This is a Disney podcast for grown ups because we believe magic gets better with age. Listener discretion is advised. Welcome to all of our returning listeners and viewers. Thank you so much for joining us. Make sure that you hit follow or subscribe wherever you're getting the podcast. And if you're on YouTube, opt in for notifications so you don't miss out on anything new. This is a brand new episode of our bi-weekly mini episode series, "Caroline, What's New?" where we go through all of the latest and greatest in Disney news. This episode is being recorded on Sunday, November 16th, 2025. So, Caroline, what's new?

Caroline Aimetti: 1:30

Let's talk about Disneyland. I think this is really it's such a simple thing, but something that I feel like will delight listeners and you and I equally. So the Storybook Land Canal Boats in Disneyland just reopened on November 14th after some, you know, refurb and work. And it now features a new Tangled scene featuring Rapunzel's Tower and a little boat dock that features like a miniature of Flynn and Rapunzel's boat and little twinkling lights. So here's the most magical part for me. So during the day, the scene will have "When Will My Life Begin?" playing. But then once dusk arrives, it changes to "I See the Light."

Conor Perkins: 2:08

I love that. I saw their little announcement for it with the lantern on social media and I was like so good. I'm a sucker for miniatures. Whenever I see the Storybook Land Canal Boats, I'm like, I want to go on that someday.

Caroline Aimetti: 2:21

That's such a that ride is so you coded. I mean, we have to get you there. It's okay. Yes. I mean, you go through like Monstro's mouth, it's just like, yeah, it's great. Yeah, it's for you. Let's hop over to Disney World. So the much discussed lobby bar at the Grand Floridian Hotel, the Perch, has officially opened. So located in the resort's newly refurbished lobby, the perch draws inspiration from the Grand Floridian's Victorian design and its former birdcage that was in the lobby. The menu features wine, beer, a non-alcoholic blueberry basil iced tea that looks so good, and signature cocktails like the Floridian 75. So I know a lot of people have like not been feeling, not been feeling this, being like, why do we have to have a bar in this beautiful lobby? I do feel like it very much fits with the aesthetic. We'll see. I I I've never stayed at the Grand Floridian, so I don't have that kind of attachment to it.

Conor Perkins: 3:12

But or that kind of money.

Caroline Aimetti: 3:13

Or that kind of money. So what does it matter?

Conor Perkins: 3:15

Yeah. Honestly, that blueberry basil iced tea, that sounds good as shit.

Caroline Aimetti: 3:18

It looked the picture makes it look, yeah. We would, we would, mm-hmm. Yeah. And that would be much more in our price range. Oh, yeah. I was gonna say to you, try to. I think the Floridian 75, what would you guess? How much do you think that would be?

Conor Perkins: 3:30

$75. No, I'm joking. Uh I'm gonna say $24.

Caroline Aimetti: 3:36

$22. Look at that. A little cheaper than you thought.

Conor Perkins: 3:40

That's me. We can't stop.

Caroline Aimetti: 3:41

If you haven't, if you haven't watched our last full-length episode, um, it won't cost much. You should totally watch. Let's move on. So, in other hotel dining news, Wai lulu Bar and Grill at the Polynesian Island Tower will begin taking advanced dining reservations beginning December 4th. So, this popular spot has been walk-up only up until now. It opened about a year ago. So, if you like me have really been wanting to go, this should make it a lot easier because you don't have to go and put your name down and wait for who knows how long. So, I think that's a lot of good news, especially because now you can kind of reserve around the time of the fireworks because it's such a great fireworks viewing spot. So, keep that in mind. A new store will be coming to Disney Springs on November 21st. So, just a few days away. The Disney Drop Shop will be coming to the Marketplace Co-op. It will feature merch centered around blind boxes, exclusive items, and collectible brands like Pop Mart, Cosbi, I think it's called, or unless it's Cosbi. I'm so sorry, I've actually never heard of it before. And Beast Kingdom. So all of the things that Conor, I think, would really enjoy.

Conor Perkins: 4:48

Damn it.

Caroline Aimetti: 4:50

And rumor has it, this has not been confirmed by Disney, but rumor has it that the shop will have dedicated areas for influencers who want to film or stream unboxing videos.

Conor Perkins: 5:01

That's wild that we live in that kind of a timeline.

Caroline Aimetti: 5:05

I know. Again, not confirmed. So let's let's see.

Conor Perkins: 5:10

Honestly, I kind of hope that it does happen. I'm curious.

Caroline Aimetti: 5:12

Let's just like lean into it, right? I mean, you and I will probably end up in there if that's the case. Yeah. Right. Um, I saw something, and I don't know if it was by Pop Mart or one of these other companies, but it's this line of little ewoks in different outfits. And they were very, very cute.

Conor Perkins: 5:30

I love me and ewok.

Caroline Aimetti: 5:31

I know. I know. And the last little piece, I feel like my my my parks news has been a little bit all over the place today. I don't know. Obviously, we know that all of the holiday parties are happening right now. We're in the full swing of that. Um, but this little tidbit is for all of us great movie ride lovers out there. And I know there are lots of us based on your reactions to our pilot episode. So if you've never listened to the pilot, go back and listen to the pilot episode because we talk about the great movie ride.

Conor Perkins: 6:00

Apologies for the audio.

Caroline Aimetti: 6:02

It was a long time ago. But the girlies featured in the opening footlight parade scene from the attraction can now be spotted in the window display of Keystone clothiers in Hollywood studios rocking some very Rockette-esque holiday outfits. And damn are these faces terrifying.

Conor Perkins: 6:23

There was a reason they were behind a scrim.

Caroline Aimetti: 6:26

They're horrifying. But we love to see them anyway. I'm glad that they're around and that we're I'm glad that they're doing it.

Conor Perkins: 6:33

We didn't throw them out.

Caroline Aimetti: 6:34

We didn't put them in the trash. But they're like fully like oh, yeah, no, no, no.

Conor Perkins: 6:40

Fully like arms are up.

Caroline Aimetti: 6:42

Definitely look up this picture. Um that was good to know that they're around and they didn't go into the trash. So that's what I have for parks right now.

Conor Perkins: 6:50

All right, let's talk Disney Plus news. I'm gonna start out with what's new and what aggravating thing the Disney company has decided to start doing now. Uh, and that is that on a fourth quarter and full earnings conference call, CEO Bob Iger announced that Generative AI is coming to Disney Plus. Insert groans and eye rolls here. He said in the call, quote, the other thing that we're really excited about that AI is going to give us the ability to do is to provide users of Disney Plus with a much more engaged experience, including the ability for them to create user-generated content and to consume user-generated content, mostly short form, from others. End quote. He said that Disney had productive conversations with unnamed AI companies, and he hopes that an agreement could be reached with them that would, quote, reflect our need to protect our IP, end quote. This has caused a wave of backlash on the company from artists, including Dana Terrace, who's the creator of the Disney Plus series The Owl House, who posted, quote, unsubscribe from Disney Plus, Pirate Owl House. I don't care. Fuck gen AI, end quote. Bad is so badass. This is quite the turnaround from the summertime when Disney was joining Universal to sue artificial intelligence for mid-journey over its image generator and a continuation of this entertainment industry flip-flopping around AI, very much wanting to have their cake and eat it too. And if it isn't clear where we stand, generative AI is not art and has a much better use in our world than that of plagiarizing artists and slopping up creative spaces. So listen, we're not the type of people who are gonna be like AI doesn't need to exist at all. Like, there are certainly great places for it to exist. Doesn't need to be in a creative space.

Caroline Aimetti: 8:47

So let's use it to help like cure diseases.

Conor Perkins: 8:49

Yeah. Clean up the ocean, some shit like that. So thanks for letting us down a little bit, Disney. Uh let's talk about what's now available on Disney Plus. So, now available, the new Christmas film, A Very Jonas Christmas, premiered on Disney Plus on November 14th and is now available to watch on Disney Plus. The official description of the film is the Jonas brothers close out their tour with a massive show in London, and all they want is to get back home to spend Christmas with their respective families. As Kevin, Joe, and Nick encounter a series of misconnections and escalating obstacles, their brotherly bond is tested. All three brothers have been grappling with their roles in the band. Kevin longs to try something new. Joe reconnects with someone from his past, and Nick feels the weight of decision-making responsibilities. As they encounter setback after setback trying to get home before the holiday, the brothers learn to tap into the Christmas spirit and reconnect with each other in this family movie featuring brand new original songs and special celebrity guests. I've heard from people online who have seen it that they're liking it, that they think it's a good idea.

Caroline Aimetti: 9:52

It sounds very it sounds like a holiday special. And at the in the holiday season, I will watch that, baby.

Conor Perkins: 9:58

Yeah.

Caroline Aimetti: 9:59

We love great. Honestly, I add it to the list.

Conor Perkins: 10:03

And as I mentioned in our previous news update, the Fantastic Four First Steps, Freakier Friday, and the Lindsay Lohan Masterpiece, Life Size, are all now streaming on Disney Plus.

Caroline Aimetti: 10:12

Yes.

Conor Perkins: 10:13

So you can watch them.

Caroline Aimetti: 10:15

Stay tuned for a future episode on Life Size. I'm not even afraid to say that. We have to talk about Life Size.

Conor Perkins: 10:20

I know we do. Things that are announced coming soon. So on Wednesday, November 26th, we get the three-episode premiere of the Beatles anthology with the next three episodes on November 27th, and the final three episodes the next day on November 28th. This is Apple Corps' landmark documentary series exploring the life and times of the most influential and beloved band of all time, as told by the Beatles themselves. Beautifully restored by Peter Jackson's Park Road Post and expanded from eight to nine episodes. The series offers an unprecedented and intimate view of the Beatles' legendary trajectory and inner workings. We also got the official trailer for the new holiday short prep and landing, the snowball protocol. This new special premieres on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 27th at 7 p.m. Eastern Pacific on Disney Channel and next day on Disney Plus. And then the special will then have its ABC Network premiere on Sunday, November 30th at 9 p.m. Eastern Pacific, following Encore airings of the previous specials, Prep and Landing and Prep and Landing: Naughty versus Nice, beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern Pacific. And then Prep and Landing The Snowball Protocol will also join Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas on December 13th. So lots of opportunities for you to see this new short. We also got the official trailer for season two of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which is based on book two of the series, The Sea of Monsters. The new season has its two-episode debut on Wednesday, December 10th on Disney Plus and Hulu, with new episodes rolling out every Wednesday after. And closing out the new trailers and upcoming premieres, we got a brand new trailer for The End of an Era, the six-part docuseries chronicling the development, impact, and inner workings of Taylor Swift, The Eras Tour. Two episodes will debut each week on Disney Plus starting on December 12th. Also, it was announced that there will be a special ABC preview event featuring episode one of The End of an Era and a one-hour presentation of Taylor Swift The Eras Tour, The Final Show. And that's going to air on ABC on December 12th at 8 p.m. Eastern. So now let's talk Disney Films. Stuff that's now available. Kind of two things really right now. Predator: Badlands from 20th Century Studios opened at number one at the Global and Domestic Box Office. It pulled in $80 million globally, making it the strongest box office opening in the franchise's history. The film is certified fresh at 86% on Rotten Tomatoes and an A minus cinema score. So if you're a Predator fan, seems like this is the one to go see. If you haven't seen it, but also if you're a Predator fan, you probably already saw it.

Caroline Aimetti: 12:56

Right.

Conor Perkins: 12:57

And then Zootopia 2 had its LA premiere at the El Capitan Theater on November 13th. The film hits theaters later this month on November 26th. For fans of the Disney trading card game Lorcana, if they attend a Cinemark theater to see the film opening weekend, they will receive an exclusive card.

Caroline Aimetti: 13:14

Cool.

Conor Perkins: 13:15

So I might try and make my way to Cinemark theater.

Caroline Aimetti: 13:18

I was gonna say.

Conor Perkins: 13:20

Listen, I'll take anything for free. And then Disney Films announced coming soon. This is the biggest thing. So on November 12th, Disney decide to drop two summer 2026 teasers on the same day. One for the Devil Wears Prada 2 and the second for Toy Story 5. In the first 24 hours, both films generated a combined 327 million views globally. So that's 185 million views for The Devil Wears Prada 2 and 142 million views for Toy Story 5. So, you know, it's happening, baby.

Caroline Aimetti: 13:54

2026 is gonna be a big movie year.

Conor Perkins: 13:57

It is, it is.

Caroline Aimetti: 13:58

We just got like pictures of the Odyssey too. There's just a lock coming up.

Conor Perkins: 14:01

Oh my god, Anne... Anne as Penelope.

Caroline Aimetti: 14:04

Oh my god, Anne in Devil Wears Prada 2, and then the Odyssey. Oh my god.

Conor Perkins: 14:08

She looks perfect in the Odyssey. She's got a killer year coming up because it's the Odyssey, it's Devil Wears Prada 2, and Verity, I think, is next year.

Caroline Aimetti: 14:17

Right. Wow.

Conor Perkins: 14:19

Yeah.

Caroline Aimetti: 14:20

I'm ready for Anne to have her era. I mean, she's always, she's just always been in an Anne for me. But yeah.

Conor Perkins: 14:26

Where Anne hath a will, Anne Hathaway.

Caroline Aimetti: 14:28

Anne Hath away.

Conor Perkins: 14:29

That's what I got.

Caroline Aimetti: 14:31

Okay. I love it. Those were good. That was good. I'm going to wrap it up with again some some bits and bobs. Okay. So I'll start off with some not-so-great news and then we'll move on to some better things. But Rob Lake Magic with special guest The Muppets, which began performances at the Broadhurst Theater on Broadway on October 28th, will end its limited holiday engagement early today. So the day we're recording November 16th. Um, it was originally slated to run through January 18th. Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, the great gonzo, Fozzie Bear, and more were all making their Broadway debuts in the show. So our hearts were working in that production. I know. I I have a lot of thoughts about like why this might be happening.

Conor Perkins: 15:11

Yeah.

Caroline Aimetti: 15:11

Yeah, there's a lot, maybe it's another story for another time. But for now, we just, you know, our hearts really go out to everyone who's expecting to have work through January. It's so, so difficult. But let's move on to some news that always makes me happy, which is about the Disney cruise line, specifically the Disney Destiny. So the Destiny is about to set sail on its inaugural voyage in a few days on November 20th. But first, it hosted a preview event that gave us some peeks at really exciting features of the ship. I mean, let's talk about the new musical production of Hercules, starring Corey J. Bradford, the Hydra, the muses, the costumes, the vocals. I mean, what the hell is going on?

Conor Perkins: 15:50

I have to say, this the show and the ship in general is one of the few times I have ever seen Disney produce concept art that was not as good as what the finished product ended up in.

Caroline Aimetti: 16:02

I totally agree with you. I totally agree with that.

Conor Perkins: 16:05

It's insane.

Caroline Aimetti: 16:06

For the Hercules production alone, let me on board. That alone. But then here's all the other things that we got peeks at. The Pride Lands Feast of the Lion King dinner show, DeVil's piano bar with appearances by Cruella herself.

Conor Perkins: 16:22

Yes. Also, did you see the sig-?

Caroline Aimetti: 16:25

Did you see the signature cocktail?

Conor Perkins: 16:26

No.

Caroline Aimetti: 16:26

Um, what is it called? I think it's called like perfectly wretched or something. You get a perfume bottle sprayer of like some sort of essence. You get glitter.

Conor Perkins: 16:34

I love essence.

Caroline Aimetti: 16:35

And then you get like an edible gelatin lipstick. It's just like it's too good.

Conor Perkins: 16:44

Why don't we get to go?

Caroline Aimetti: 16:46

I don't know.

Conor Perkins: 16:47

I wouldn't have said sale.

Caroline Aimetti: 16:49

I know. And then there's like the pirates-themed casket and cannon bar, moments with Dr. Facilier in his parlor, the adult-only Marvel comedy show, another haunted mansion parlor, and more. There's an Aquamouse that features Disney villains in the movie that plays.

Conor Perkins: 17:07

There's villains in the elevators. Like there's this giant, like maleficent dragon in the carpet.

Caroline Aimetti: 17:14

Yeah. Like Susan Egan is also the ship's godmother. I mean, it's like, it's like they made it for us.

Conor Perkins: 17:21

Speaking of Susan Egan, just another little thing to add in. Susan Egan surprised the cast of Beauty and the Beast National Tour.

Caroline Aimetti: 17:27

She and Kyra sang a duet and they were so beautiful.

Conor Perkins: 17:31

And she said Kyra is the perfect Belle. And I was like, You don't need another endorsement to go see this show when it comes back to it.

Caroline Aimetti: 17:38

That's what they should be slapping on the on the on the promos, baby.

Conor Perkins: 17:42

Truly. Yeah. Truly.

Caroline Aimetti: 17:43

That was so magical. I love it.

Conor Perkins: 17:44

It was. But this back to this ship. Yeah.

Caroline Aimetti: 17:48

This is the one for us. Like, I need you to go on the wish.

Conor Perkins: 17:51

Yeah.

Caroline Aimetti: 17:51

But this is the one for us.

Conor Perkins: 17:53

Yeah. I want to go on the treasure too. I want to go on, I want to collect them all too. But this one, the the megara lounge.

Caroline Aimetti: 18:01

The me- like I think you, I think you probably saw me comment. I was like, this is everything I've ever wanted.

Conor Perkins: 18:07

Everything you've ever wanted. This is everything I've ever wanted. What got me was the ship's horn, the "Go the Distance" horn.

Caroline Aimetti: 18:14

Yep. Yep. Yeah. I mean, I mean so good. Disney, please. Please. But it's probably too late. But yeah.

Conor Perkins: 18:23

The inaugural voyage invitations already happened.

Caroline Aimetti: 18:26

The prince is giving a ball, and we were not invited.

Conor Perkins: 18:28

No, not a bit. We'll crash it though.

Caroline Aimetti: 18:31

The best we're going to get is another piece of news related to this, which is that Disney Cruise Line is returning to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade with an all-new performance celebrating the destiny. So we can see that. Um, it will feature a cast of heroes and villains and the ship's anthem song, "This Is Your Destiny," which is also available for streaming now.

Conor Perkins: 18:49

So I wonder if it's very similar to the song "Destiny" that was the Mission: Space. I haven't listened to it yet. Not at all. It won't be at all. It won't be at all. But it just makes me think of that. And our destiny. I like that song. Through how space and time. The achievement of mankind.

Caroline Aimetti: 19:14

And then she like gets fancy with it. She's like, the achievement of mankind. Like, yeah. It's good. Yeah. This episode is crazy. Okay.

Conor Perkins: 19:25

Whatever.

Caroline Aimetti: 19:26

Um, and that's all I have Disney wise. And the last thing that I have to say is happy Wicked Week. Everybody.

Conor Perkins: 19:33

She will be with us all through Wicked Week, like hand prints on our hearts. Um, Caroline and I are doing three showings. We're doing an early access IMAX screening. We are doing Dolby. We are doing 4DX. And then I am headed to the drive-in to do a double feature of Wicked and Wicked: For Good on the largest screen in the United States. Um, and we will be back, and when we're back, uh we'll be doing a bonus episode for you all.

Caroline Aimetti: 20:04

So um because we can't we can't not see you on the other side of the war.

Conor Perkins: 20:10

I mean see you on the other side of the war. All right, that's gonna do it for us. Thank you all so much for listening. Thank you so much for watching. If you liked what you heard, hit follow, hit subscribe, leave a review, leave a comment. Uh, make sure that you find us on social media. We are at Poor Unfortunate Podcast everywhere. And like I said, we'll be back soon with Wicked.

Caroline Aimetti: 20:31

Wicked.

Conor Perkins: 20:32

Wicked. All right. So until then, Beluga Sevruga!