1206 – Avant-Garde Autumnal Awesome Evening | Universal Orlando 2022
Scooter gets seasonal and sleepy with this silly celebration of fall fun.
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Seasonal
Muppets Songs
https://screenrant.com/muppets-movies-best-songs/
https://americansongwriter.com/6-songs-you-didnt-know-paul-williams-wrote-for-the-muppets/
https://nerdist.com/article/ranking-the-songs-in-the-muppet-movie/
The Weeknd’s Halloween Horror Night’s Event
https://wdwnt.com/2022/10/the-weeknd-after-hours-nightmare-hhn-2022/
https://www.insideuniversal.net/2022/09/review-halloween-horror-nights-31-at-universal-orlando/
Toronto’s Underground Tunnels
https://www.thetravel.com/underground-tunnels-in-toronto-where-to-find/
https://www.heritagetoronto.org/explore-learn/toronto-tunnels-mystery-history/
https://www.blogto.com/city/2014/01/a_guide_to_secret_tunnels_in_toronto/
Abbott & Costello Meet Monsters
https://movieweb.com/how-abbott-and-costello-created-horror-comedy/
https://collider.com/abbott-and-costello-meet-frankenstein-horror-comedy/
DOWN TO BUSINESS
Past Autumnal Joy
Universal Orlando’s Autumnal Celebration
Deep Dark Night United
Mira, Dominic (Merch Store); Cece, Yael (SleepPhones); Coco (Trevor Project)
PLUGS
SAG-AFTRA Strike Support; The Midnight Mission; Trevor Project; Patreon; SleepPhones; Emily Tat Artwork; NAPAWF; Anti-Racism Resources; Ukraine Relief; Crisis Textline
SPONSORS
Hello Fresh; Odoo; Helix Sleep; Air Doctor Pro; Zocdoc; Progressive
INTRO
Thoughts that you’re thinking
As Kermit said, it’s not easy
Ms. Piggy’s song “It’s Not Easy Being Kermit’s Partner”
Putting myself in Ms. Piggy’s (nice) shoes
What Kermit would admit in private…
Kermit doesn’t strike me as a gossip
How did we get this far afield this quickly
Speculative Muppet Fiction Speculating About Muppets
Speculating about speculating
I’ve gotta get off of this subject
No Listening Needed Here
Whole-Hearted Listening
I assume Kermit is a whole-hearted listener
Wait, Kermit’s a piece of felt??
My brain just laid some truth on me
This morning I woke up twice earlier than I wanted to
I’m glad my bed was comfortable
Most people that don’t like the show don’t check out sleepwithmepodcast.com/NoThankYou
(Though they should)
Oh, you’re trying to sleep in a bed? That’s mistake number one
Unsolicited Sleep Advice from people that sleep easily
Deptacles, speculative spectacles
Whaddup, fishes and other pets
Autumnal Fun at Universal Orlando
STORY
Ray did this last year, but I want to do it this year
Avant-Garde Autumnals
Autumnal Avant-Garde Evenings of Awesome at Universal
I planned this whole trip around using points
A pumpkin mascot named Lil Boo
A mix of original creations and some licensed ones
The Weeknd’s Autumnal After Hours – this was awesome
One about the carving of Jack-o-lantern’s
Common Pumpkin Carvers
The Hidden Voice
Autumnal by Blum
It goes until very early in the morning
Tips: Come Early and Stay Late
2 shows to check out – I forgot about these
Lagoon show was cancelled
Start in the back and move towards the front
Ride Wait Times are shorter
If you’re going to the park during the day, know that it’s a separate event
Stay and Have Fun for Au-Tumn
We slept at the airport hotel and had a leisurely morning
Breakfast at the airport hotel
Off to Universal
Universal Studios, not Islands of Adventure
Houses of Avant Garde Autumn Awesomeness
Some people are imbibing heavily, be forewarned
We didn’t have to wait in line too long
We were there on a Saturday night
Wifi and Cell Service can be under duress because all the tickets are on people’s phones
I should’ve taken a picture of the tickets
3 zones for early entrance
I only wish I had gotten a snack beforehand
You get slightly early access to some of the houses
The famous Game Shows about pumpkin carving
We did at maybe even 4 houses before it got really busy
We didn’t get the express pass
They also have Orlando-local offers
I was unbelievably impressed with everything
I can’t necessarily speak to the foods
Ice cream sandwich
Cheese dog
Twisted Taters
Fried Chicken
I’ve opened the map
9 Houses of Autumnal Awesomeness
There’s also street zones
C: The Common Carving Contest
The movies are about the person that created the game show
It’s like a Technical Challenge for pumpkin carving
It came from ideas of their childhood
Michaela Meyer loves Halloween
Mass Market Halloween Costumes were huge in the 70s
Michaela’s story of wearing the same costume as someone else
Jack o lantern Popcorn Sculptures?
Michaela starts the first lemonade / pumpkin carving station
Free lemonade if you correctly guess the pumpkin carver
Getting lost reading this Map Key of Houses
D and E were next
D was a Day of the Dead celebration
Sound Effects, baking smells, cool little villages
We went through it twice, I think
Fireworks, sound effects, great design elements
Winter’s Wake – pretty well hyped
This was in a soundstage
A winterstorm has interrupted Autumnal Joy Time
The town bonds together
Some Sort of Supernatural Storm
Elevation Changes
This town won’t let this snowstorm get them down
This violinist must be battling this magical storm through song
Indoor Connections so they don’t have to trick or treat outside
They have to improvise based on what you say you’re dressed on
Some attendees were already costumed
I think we went on Winter’s Wake twice in a row
A line for B
The park still wasn’t formally open
Or was I in line for A?
This was similar to Knott’s
Knott’s a 1920’s Speakeasy Zone
A house with some spell casters
Universal had Spirits of the Coven
Flapper Spellcasters
Was the 20s during Prohibition?
It’s slowly revealed that they’re spell casters
My daughter might’ve watched the walkthroughs before going to this
It was a cool mashup of things
The Largest Cauldron You’ve Ever Seen
A giant speech about tea, King George, and the amendments
I guess this was historical fiction?
Intergalactic Planetary Pet Shop
They’ve never heard of Autumn in outer space
The only pet shop for this part of the galaxy
Was there ever a Tom and Jerry halloween episode?
I just saw a bird-specific pet shop in Berkeley
Independent Pet Shop Mall Bazaar
A huge halloween celebration where they dress up pets
Dedicated to Intergalactic Pet Commerce
Universal Film Universe Friends
Abbott & Costello meeting various friends
A&C have acquired some sort of magical gem
The Person Wrapped in Cloth
Wolfy-Poo
Ol’ I’ll Never Have Garlic Breath
Devolving into comedy in a good way
Even some acrobatic amazingness
The Weeknd House
Autumnal Awesome Adventure Based on a Concept Album
Going into the Weeknd’s imagination
Based on After Hours
Surreal and Imaginary, I don’t know how else to describe it
Autumnal Ant Farm
A little bit more of a challenge
Giant candy corns you can carry
It’s like a treasure hunt
Public Transit Based House
NYC Subway-Based
Plenty of Public Transit Fun
Conceptually similar to Winter’s Wake
Walking in the subway tunnels
And you got real candy
The show: dance, pyro, and magic
It’s about a guy that’s dreaming
An incredibly high level of dance
Different Fun Zones
Pumpkin Surprise
Major Sweets, kind of a Willy Wonka-esque character
They had actual floats for this zone
Conjuring Autumnal Fun
Farm Town Autumnal Fun
Costumes out of Corn Husks
Friends on the Rainbow Bridge
Their version of a Big Farm
On the rainbow bridge, you can celebrate Autumn all year round
I’m glad I could share this autumnal joy with my daughter
GENERAL SUPPORT THANKS
Michael, Michelle, Amanda, Molly, Patty, David, Rebecca, Savannah, Rachel, Marylou, Abby-Anne, Sandy, April, Rosenberg, Martha, Chris, Jake, Katie, Tovah, Leila, Faith
SUMMARY:
Episode: 1,206
Title: Avant-Garde Autumnal Awesome Evening | Universal Orlando 2022
Deep Dark Night United: Mira, Dominic (Merch Store); Cece, Yael (SleepPhones); Coco (Trevor Project)
Plugs: SAG-AFTRA Strike Support; The Midnight Mission; Trevor Project; Patreon; SleepPhones; Emily Tat Artwork; NAPAWF; Anti-Racism Resources; Ukraine Relief; Crisis Textline
Sponsors: Hello Fresh; Odoo; Helix Sleep; Air Doctor Pro; Zocdoc; Progressive
General Support Thanks: Michael, Michelle, Amanda, Molly, Patty, David, Rebecca, Savannah, Rachel, Marylou, Abby-Anne, Sandy, April, Rosenberg, Martha, Chris, Jake, Katie, Tovah, Leila, Faith
Notable Language:
- Past Autumnal Joy
- Speculative Muppet Fiction Speculating About Muppets
- Speculating about Speculoos
- Whole-Hearted Listening
- Scoutful or Depacles
- Avant-Garde Autumnals
- Stay and Have Fun for Au-Tumn
- Jack o lantern Popcorn Sculptures
- Some Sort of Supernatural Storm
- Cauldron
- Intergalactic Planetary Pet Shop
- Pet-Based Economy (PBE)
Notable Culture:
- Halloween
- The Weeknd
- Universal Studios
- Everything Everywhere All At Once
- “It’s Not Easy Being Green” / Kermit / The Muppets
- “It’s Not Easy Being Kermit’s Partner”, a song by Ms. Piggy
- John Denver
- Liza Minelli
- Deptacles, a new eyeglass brand
- The Voice
- Blumhouse
- Great British Bakeoff
- Prohibition
- Tom & Jerry
- Abbott & Costello
- After Hours – The Weeknd
- NYC MTA
Notable Talking Points:
- Thoughts that you’re thinking
- As Kermit said, it’s not easy
- Ms. Piggy’s song “It’s Not Easy Being Kermit’s Partner”
- Putting myself in Ms. Piggy’s (nice) shoes
- What Kermit would admit in private…
- Kermit doesn’t strike me as a gossip
- How did we get this far afield this quickly
- Speculative Muppet Fiction Speculating About Muppets
- Speculating about speculating
- I’ve gotta get off of this subject
- No Listening Needed Here
- Whole-Hearted Listening
- I assume Kermit is a whole-hearted listener
- Wait, Kermit’s a piece of felt??
- My brain just laid some truth on me
- This morning I woke up twice earlier than I wanted to
- I’m glad my bed was comfortable
- Most people that don’t like the show don’t check out sleepwithmepodcast.com/NoThankYou
- (Though they should)
- Oh, you’re trying to sleep in a bed? That’s mistake number one
- Unsolicited Sleep Advice from people that sleep easily
- Deptacles, speculative spectacles
- Whaddup, fishes and other pets
- Autumnal Fun at Universal Orlando
- Ray did this last year, but I want to do it this year
- Avant-Garde Autumnals
- Autumnal Avant-Garde Evenings of Awesome at Universal
- I planned this whole trip around using points
- A pumpkin mascot named Lil Boo
- A mix of original creations and some licensed ones
- The Weeknd’s Autumnal After Hours – this was awesome
- One about the carving of Jack-o-lantern’s
- Common Pumpkin Carvers
- The Hidden Voice
- Autumnal by Blum
- It goes until very early in the morning
- Tips: Come Early and Stay Late
- 2 shows to check out – I forgot about these
- Lagoon show was cancelled
- Start in the back and move towards the front
- Ride Wait Times are shorter
- If you’re going to the park during the day, know that it’s a separate event
- Stay and Have Fun for Au-Tumn
- We slept at the airport hotel and had a leisurely morning
- Breakfast at the airport hotel
- Off to Universal
- Universal Studios, not Islands of Adventure
- Houses of Avant Garde Autumn Awesomeness
- Some people are imbibing heavily, be forewarned
- We didn’t have to wait in line too long
- We were there on a Saturday night
- Wifi and Cell Service can be under duress because all the tickets are on people’s phones
- I should’ve taken a picture of the tickets
- 3 zones for early entrance
- I only wish I had gotten a snack beforehand
- You get slightly early access to some of the houses
- The famous Game Shows about pumpkin carving
- We did at maybe even 4 houses before it got really busy
- We didn’t get the express pass
- They also have Orlando-local offers
- I was unbelievably impressed with everything
- I can’t necessarily speak to the foods
- Ice cream sandwich
- Cheese dog
- Twisted Taters
- Fried Chicken
- I’ve opened the map
- 9 Houses of Autumnal Awesomeness
- There’s also street zones
- C: The Common Carving Contest
- The movies are about the person that created the game show
- It’s like a Technical Challenge for pumpkin carving
- It came from ideas of their childhood
- Michaela Meyer loves Halloween
- Mass Market Halloween Costumes were huge in the 70s
- Michaela’s story of wearing the same costume as someone else
- Jack o lantern Popcorn Sculptures?
- Michaela starts the first lemonade / pumpkin carving station
- Free lemonade if you correctly guess the pumpkin carver
- Getting lost reading this Map Key of Houses
- D and E were next
- D was a Day of the Dead celebration
- Sound Effects, baking smells, cool little villages
- We went through it twice, I think
- Fireworks, sound effects, great design elements
- Winter’s Wake – pretty well hyped
- This was in a soundstage
- A winterstorm has interrupted Autumnal Joy Time
- The town bonds together
- Some Sort of Supernatural Storm
- Elevation Changes
- This town won’t let this snowstorm get them down
- This violinist must be battling this magical storm through song
- Indoor Connections so they don’t have to trick or treat outside
- They have to improvise based on what you say you’re dressed on
- Some attendees were already costumed
- I think we went on Winter’s Wake twice in a row
- A line for B
- The park still wasn’t formally open
- Or was I in line for A?
- This was similar to Knott’s
- Knott’s a 1920’s Speakeasy Zone
- A house with some spell casters
- Universal had Spirits of the Coven
- Flapper Spellcasters
- Was the 20s during Prohibition?
- It’s slowly revealed that they’re spell casters
- My daughter might’ve watched the walkthroughs before going to this
- It was a cool mashup of things
- The Largest Cauldron You’ve Ever Seen
- A giant speech about tea, King George, and the amendments
- I guess this was historical fiction?
- Intergalactic Planetary Pet Shop
- They’ve never heard of Autumn in outer space
- The only pet shop for this part of the galaxy
- Was there ever a Tom and Jerry halloween episode?
- I just saw a bird-specific pet shop in Berkeley
- Independent Pet Shop Mall Bazaar
- A huge halloween celebration where they dress up pets
- Dedicated to Intergalactic Pet Commerce
- Universal Film Universe Friends
- Abbott & Costello meeting various friends
- A&C have acquired some sort of magical gem
- The Person Wrapped in Cloth
- Wolfy-Poo
- Ol’ I’ll Never Have Garlic Breath
- Devolving into comedy in a good way
- Even some acrobatic amazingness
- The Weeknd House
- Autumnal Awesome Adventure Based on a Concept Album
- Going into the Weeknd’s imagination
- Based on After Hours
- Surreal and Imaginary, I don’t know how else to describe it
- Autumnal Ant Farm
- A little bit more of a challenge
- Giant candy corns you can carry
- It’s like a treasure hunt
- Public Transit Based House
- NYC Subway-Based
- Plenty of Public Transit Fun
- Conceptually similar to Winter’s Wake
- Walking in the subway tunnels
- And you got real candy
- The show: dance, pyro, and magic
- It’s about a guy that’s dreaming
- An incredibly high level of dance
- Different Fun Zones
- Pumpkin Surprise
- Major Sweets, kind of a Willy Wonka-esque character
- They had actual floats for this zone
- Conjuring Autumnal Fun
- Farm Town Autumnal Fun
- Costumes out of Corn Husks
- Friends on the Rainbow Bridge
- Their version of a Big Farm
- On the rainbow bridge, you can celebrate Autumn all year round
- I’m glad I could share this autumnal joy with my daughter
-
Episode 1206 – Avant-Garde Autumnal Awesome Evening | Universal Orlando 2022
[START OF RECORDING]
SCOOTER: Friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s time to take a trip into the past, into the past autumnal…that’s just so funny. I thought there was only one was to pronounce ‘autumnal’, but apparently my brain feels like there’s multiple ways. Autumnal…autumnal. I don't know what I was even saying. I could just hear it in my brain, not in my voice. But we’re heading to Universal Orlando for some past autumnal joy, with The Weeknd and so many more…so much more. This will be Scoots-voiced and not Ray-voiced. I’ll be walking through a trip from a year or two ago to Universal Orlando for their celebration of autumn. So fun, so snoozy and sleepy.
So, if you’ve ever wanted to see a concept based on a concept album conceptually presented in a sleepy way, you’re in luck 'cause it’s time for Sleep With Me, the podcast that’s here…it’s not…it’s here to put you to sleep, but the way we do it is I keep you company, let you know you deserve a good night’s sleep. You do. You deserve a bedtime you could look forward to or at least feel neutral about, a bedtime you don’t have to dread. While this podcast doesn’t work for everybody, I’m here to be your friend in the deep, dark night and keep you company while you fall asleep, to take your mind off of stuff. Now, I’m the kind of friend…it does take some getting used to. We don’t become friends right away. Most listeners say…most reviewers…it takes two or three tries.
But I’m here to help. I’m here to be…give me a call. It’s like you’re giving me a call. You already called. Thanks for calling, by the way. So good…from here on out, I’ll just be talking for your benefit. But thanks for calling me up. It’s time for Sleep With Me, the podcast…oh, what’s gonna happen is first there’s…after this…this is like a warm-up here, then there’s gonna be some support — that’s how we get the show out free twice a week — then there will be a long, meandering intro to ease you into bedtime, and then later on we’ll be talking about Lil' Boo and everybody over at the Autumnal Joy of Adventure or whatever they call it at Universal. AAJ or whatever. It has three initials. But it’s time for Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. Thanks for making it possible, my patron peeps.
INTRO: [INTRO MUSIC] Hey, are you up all night tossing, turning, mind racing? Trouble getting to sleep? Trouble staying asleep? Well, welcome. This is Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. We do it with a bedtime story. Alls you need to do is get in bed, turn out the lights, and press Play. I’ll do the rest. What I’m going to attempt to do is create a safe place where you could set aside whatever’s keeping you awake, whether it’s thoughts, things on your mind that you’re thinking about, thoughts, thoughts that you’re thinking. So, thoughts about the past, the present, the future, everything, everywhere all at once, but mostly in my bed in my…with…between my ears.
So, yeah, thoughts, it could be feelings, anything coming up for you emotionally, it could be changes in time or temperature or routine, you could be anticipating something, going through something, or getting over something. Whatever it is…and the reason I go through all that is because I want you to know you’re not alone. Even though this is digital or whatever and you can download it and listen to it out of order, there’s other people listening right now, and myself and a lot of other listeners…while we might not know exactly what you’re going through, while I might not have been through it before, I could probably relate to how it feels, if not that I’ve felt those feelings myself. That’s why I call it the deep, dark night, 'cause it’s not easy.
As Kermit once said…but maybe…Kermit may have been…it’s not easy being green, Kermit said. There was…I don't know if there was ever a song by Miss Piggy who said, it’s not easy being Kermit the Frog’s girlfriend or partner, because…and I mean, that could be a duet. Was that ever a thing where she came…? Excuse me, frog, I’m here…I know you’re duetting with John Denver or whomever. I know you’re…you and Liza Minnelli are about to do a number about being green, but I’d like to propose I sing a song about our…I don't know. I don't know a lot about their relationship, honestly, other than it seems like it has its ups and its downs. I’m not taking anyone’s side. I’d say that…but I’m just saying…this is when I put myself in Miss Piggy’s shoes. She usually has pretty nice shoes on.
I’d say from her perspective, she would say it’s not easy being in a long-term relationship with Kermit. I think if we were in a public setting, Kermit would not say the same thing, but if we were in private…say, come on, frog. I know what you’re saying when you say it’s not easy being green. Kermit says, oh, well, yes, it’s a exploration…I say, oh, no, no, I mean, is it…? Kermit would probably just pat me gently, 'cause I don't know if Kermit…Kermit the Frog does not strike me as a gossip. Oh, where…how did we get so far afield? Oh, 'cause it’s not easy being not able…trouble getting asleep, trouble staying asleep, waking up early. Sorry, I went on a tangent before I told you about…that was a superfluous tangent. Speculation…speculative Muppet fiction speculating about Muppets.
It’s another thing I’ll never write. I’ll speculate. I’ll speculate on the speculation. Well, it’s speculative, speculative, speculative…it’s fiction I’m speculating about. Speculating about speculating. That sounds more like the cookies they give you on a airplane, anyway, when you say it too many times. Oh, but so, if you’re new, it’s not easy…now I can’t stop thinking about…I gotta change…I gotta get off of this subject. But so, we can relate to how it feels in the deep, dark night, and you also…as I said earlier, you deserve a good night’s sleep. That’s really why I make the show. You deserve the rest you need to make your life more manageable and so eventually you could be getting the rest you need on a regular basis and you could be out there flourishing…but not a bedtime you have to dread. I’ve done that.
I’ve been through that on and off and on and off. So, I really hope I can help with that. Now, this show does take a few tries. I said it earlier, too; it just takes some tries getting used to. One, because it’s a podcast you don’t really listen to, and that’s different. It’s a podcast you just kinda barely listen. Some people listen to me at a mumble. Some people are listening or they’re kind of listening; they’re listening with…and here’s the thing; this is…no wholehearted listening needed. That’s too much pressure, wholehearted listening. I don't know if I’ve heard that before 'cause it’s hard to say, but I would assume…and I guess that’s making an ass out of a frog and me, but that Kermit is a whole-heart listener. They say, Kermit’s a piece of felt, man. I’d say, wait a second. I’d say, okay, did you really have to bring…?
I thought I was building some momentum there. Some other part of my voice decided to lay some truth on me. I think it was…there was some sort of hidden metaphor in the truth myself just laid on me, but it also went over my head. So, I’ll just keep…I’ll just move on. So, however you listen, it’s a podcast that keeps you company but that you don’t really have to pay attention to. Also, there’s no pressure to fall asleep. There’s a reason these shows are over an hour, so there’s no pressure to fall asleep. There’s a reason there’s over 500 shows for free you could listen to. So, you could listen to as many or whichever ones you want. There’s no pressure to fall asleep. There’s people that are listening that aren’t able to sleep, and I’m here to keep them company to the very end.
I’m here to keep you company to the very end whether you’re awake or asleep. So, just listen, chill out, get comfortable. I can actually speak to that technique. This morning I woke up twice earlier than I wanted to get up. I went to bed later than I normally would. I really said, hey, let’s just lay here. Maybe we’ll fall back asleep. Maybe we won't, but let’s…and I said, man, this bed is really comfortable. I said, didn’t…weren’t we just talking about that to ourselves the other day? Yeah. Let’s just…all these pillows are nice, huh? It’s a good temperature in here. We were dreaming about some cool stuff. Let’s just lie here and relax. Then I did drift in and out of sleep for an hour, hour-and-a-half.
But anyway, the podcast is here to keep you company and take your mind off of stuff, to be your bore-friend, your bore-bae, your bore-sib, your bore-bestie, your bore-bor, your neigh-bore, your bore-bud, your bore-bruh. I’m here to keep you company, not to put you to sleep, really. That’s the weird thing about this show. The way I do it is I send my voice across the deep, dark night. I use lulling, soothing, creaky, dulcet tones, pointless meanders, and superfluous tangents. If you don’t like the show or it doesn’t work for you, just so you know, there’s a website I have; sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou. It has other sleep podcasts and sleepy stuff on there, 'cause the reality is this show just doesn’t work for everybody. But do give it a try, unless you’re 100% sure.
But most of those people have already reached out to me. For some reason, not many of those people check out sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou, but they’re…the cool thing is there’s really good podcasts and other sleepy stuff on there that’s a different style and sound than Sleep With Me. But do give Sleep With Me a couple tries, because if you came here skeptical or doubtful or frustrated, that’s how most people get here and that’s something we share. We’ve tried and spent a lot of money, a lot of time, heard a lot of advice about…that you’re doing it…sleep? You’re doing it wrong. That’s something I’ve heard multiple, multiple times. I say, well, okay, well, I’m just trying to get some rest, here. Oh boy, in a bed? You’re trying to sleep in a bed, huh? Oh boy, you’re never…that’ll never work.
How many pillows you got in that bed? Well, why are you asking? Just 'cause…just trying to give you some free advice. Well, no, you were actually asking me how many pillows…you said I was doing it…you said…I said, well, okay, if you don’t want my opinion. I’m just telling you, I sleep…those are always the people that say, I sleep…as soon as my head hits the pillow, I fall asleep. So, we’re so happy for those people, really. Well, that particular person, yeah, we gotta be happy for them. Maybe they’ll get…maybe one day they’ll get enough sleep that they’ll say, wow, that’s…instead of saying that…sleeping in a bed? Yeah, how many blankets you got on…? Oh boy, that’s not right. I’d say, oh wow, that’s tough. Not able to sleep, huh? Okay. Well, is there anything I can do to help? So, okay, what was I talking about?
A podcast you don’t really need to…oh, just give it a few tries and see how it goes. A million plus people have said, took two or three tries or at first I couldn’t stand you, and then eventually I realized, oh, this podcast is never going anywhere. Just here to help, but never starts…never…kinda peters out but…you know. It says you know a lot, gets mixed up, that’s…oh, okay, I get it; it is a podcast that doesn’t put you to sleep, or you don’t…you kinda fall asleep, you kinda listen. So, that’s what you…those are a couple things you need to know, usually, if you’re new, 'cause those are things that throw people off. But if you’re scout…oh, scoutful or deptical or doubtful or skeptical…deptical…that’s my new eyewear brand; Deptical. They’re glasses that you’ll be skeptic…you’re doubtful and skeptical about them 'cause they don’t exist.
Depticals; they’re spectacles for…they’re speculative spectacles. They’re the spectacles I wear when I’m writing speculative fiction about the Muppets. Okay, so…oh boy, where was I? Oh, structure of the show also throws new people off, so let me just tell you why, 'cause it is very intentional the way we structure the show. So, the show starts off with a greeting; friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, so you feel seen and welcome. You feel greeted, like, hey, you’re important and your sleep is important. Come on in and check it out and see if this helps. That’s an important part of the show. You say, well, you could look at it, you could come in and check it out, or you could look at it from the outside. Whatever you’re more comfortable with, but we’re glad you’re here.
Then there’s support so the show could be free versus just doing it for a company and you’d have to pay for it or whatever. So, that’s how we’re able to do that twice a week and have all the archived episodes. Then there’s support for listeners in there, then there’s an intro which is separate from the support. For some reason, when people don’t like the fact that the show needs support or whatever, they lump the intro in with that, and I don't want you to miss out on the intro unless you realize, oh, the show works better for me without the intro. That’s about 2% of listeners that skip the intro, and some people listen to story-only episodes on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. But for most part, the intro is meant to ease you into bedtime. It introduces the podcast to a new listener, but my regular listeners…what up regular listeners and all their pets?
What up, fishes and other pets? For them, the intro is a slow wind down whether you’re doing some sort of other relaxing activity, you’re getting ready for bed, you’re in bed getting comfortable, you’re falling asleep. The intro is a slow lowering of the volume, a transition from evening time to bedtime. That’s what many, many, many studies show; having a wind down is one of the things that actually does work. So, that’s what the intro is part of. Then there will be some support again between the intro and the story, and then tonight it’ll be our coverage of Autumnal Fun at Universal Orlando. Then there’s some thank-yous at the end. So, that’s the structure of the show. That’s why I make the show. I’m really glad you’re here. Thank you so much for coming by. I really hope I can help you fall asleep, and here’s a couple ways we’re able to do it for you for free twice a week.
Alright everybody, this is Scoots here, and I think last year Ray did this episode, but I’m feeling like I want to do it this year. This is kinda dated material. We do it a year or two after, but I have the flyer in my hand. My daughter and I went to…we love these autumnal events. What are they called? Avant-garde autumnals, where a theme park…or there’s a lot of local things, and they put on these autumnal events where they interpret in a artistic way people’s enjoyment of the autumnal season. Or Halloween, sometimes, is particularly a focus. We went not when…I’m recording this after we went but well…it’ll come out well after we went to this, a year, maybe, or plus. But we went to Universal Orlando’s Autumnal…Avant-garde Autumnal Awesomeness…Evenings of Awesomeness. Is that what it’s called?
Avant-garde…Autumnal Avant-garde Evenings of Awesome. Maybe it’s just Evenings of Awesome? I don't know, it’s…I don't know, but it’s cool. They’re actually doing one in Las Vegas in the future, like, a year-round one. This was our first time going to this. We went to that…Knott’s Autumnal Farm, and probably when you’re hearing this, we’ll be going to some…I don't know where; California or Florida. Like Ray talks about, this was one of those ones where I was able to max…use…this whole trip was made possible with planning around points and stuff. So, I don't know, should this be a full travel thing? We used points; we stayed two nights at the Orlando Hotel. There’s a hotel…or, there’s a hotel in the Orlando Airport, and it was great. It was actually — for the points we used — really cool.
But yeah, we went to this…I’ll go through everything. I don't know how long it’s gonna take here. This is definitely something you want to check out. They have themed food. They also have merch; we didn’t do any merch. We did look at some merch 'cause they have their tribute store, and one of the main characters is a pumpkin called Lil' Boo, kind of a icon. It’s not on the front page of it. Oh yeah, let’s start with the front page. They do have…usually it’s a mix of ones they design and then…Universal…original creations by the team at Universal and then…and I listen to podcasts about this and stuff like that. We went on the daylight tour, but that’s not…none of this…that’s…maybe it’ll come up during it. I didn’t take notes, though.
But yeah, so this one had three different…on the cover it has The Weeknd in the center. Yeah, The Weeknd, Canadian’s finest. Canada’s finest? The Weeknd After Hours. Autumnal After Hours. That one, talk about genius. That was one of the better…they were all excellent, but I would put The Weeknd one up there. I was only able to go through it once because it was so popular, but it was awesome. Then there was one from…I’m trying to think how to explain it. But it’s about jack…carving of jack-o-lanterns, which is a popular thing in these autumnal ones. But this one, it was one of these competitions…well, we’ll explain it, but that was another popular one. Oh, it’s called Common Pumpkin Carvers because everybody dresses the same.
So, kinda like in Great British Bake Off, you don’t know who’s or whom’s…who’s…or whatever that show is with the dancers in disguise. What’s that called, Nobody’s Voice? Oh, it’s singers. The Hidden Voice or something like that? Then the third one was from films by…like Autumnal…Blum…? Autumn by Blum, it’s called. It starts at 6:30. It goes until very early in the morning. So, we were very tired. I remember that part. Okay, so we’re gonna open the flyer. I mean, this isn’t the flyer; this is the map and stuff. So, they say…oh, and I could talk about tips, actually, just in case anybody is going, though things change. They have their tips here; come early, stay late. Wait times are longest during the middle of the evening event. Check out original content first, then catch the show. There’s two shows. Well, one was canceled, though.
Forgot about this show. There’s a dance…a dance/magic performance. It was excellent. Then the IP…the Movie Music Themed Houses, they call them. Then they had a lagoon show, but that was canceled 'cause of the weather. Then head to the back of the park first. Work your way towards the front. Wait times on rides are much shorter. I don't think we went on any rides at all. So, those are some tips. I’ll give you my tips, though. So, if you’re going to the park during the day…we have annual passes for Universal. But so, we were able to get in before the even started. It is a separate ticketed event, but you can scan your ticket…well, I’ll explain it, because I went…it was a very Scoots-like moment. But they call it ‘stay and have fun’. Stay and have fun for autumn. So, whatever, it starts at 6:30.
I think the ‘stay and have fun’ starts…I don't know what time the park closed. Maybe at 5:00? Maybe even 4:30? So, you do have to read about this on the internet 'cause it changes every year, how this early stuff works. Or you could buy a early pass where you can get into the park two hours before it closes and then you could stay there and then scan in for this Autumnal Fun night. So, okay…so, that’s the first thing. We did that, but…let’s see. So, what we did was we slept at the airport hotel and had breakfast. So, we kinda took it leisurely 'cause we got in late at night. So, we kinda slept in but not too far in 'cause we were kind of excited. Then we ate breakfast at the airport hotel and then headed over to Universal. I don't know if we ever took a break. I’m trying to remember. I think 'cause we had such a late start?
I honestly don’t know. But so, we went to…so, whatever, we got into the park, we did some stuff, and then we got…so, we got in line. This is all at Universal Studios, not Islands of Adventure. So, there’s a couple places you can get in line. You get in line to get…to scan your ticket, and then you get in line again to start getting in line for these autumnal homes, these houses of autumn…avant-garde autumn awesomeness. This is where things went a little bit awry. Now, there’s a lot of people imbibing heavily at this event, so just be prepared for that. My daughter’s like, fifteen at the time, but it was still a little bit weird in line, and…but I can relate. I’ve been there, throwing them down.
But if you are…if you think maybe…fifteen’s probably a good age 'cause you say, hey, yeah, this is how…your dad would behave that way a little bit. Not even anything extraordinary, I’m sure. Just people talking loud or…you know what I’m saying. So, we were in line with…oh, people that think…introverts that suddenly become super-friendly and talkative; that was what we had. This one guy was talking our ear off. So, we were in line and we were in line near the waterfront, like near San Francisco and the Transformers ride and the New York area. This was in the big…where it didn’t go well. The waiting-in-line part was fine, and we were pretty far back. I don't know, we didn’t line up too early. Our timing ended out…working out pretty good.
So, what happened was…and I cannot recommend this enough because it ended up really paying off, because the wait times do get pretty busy. Especially, this was a Saturday night. So, we’re in line, but the problem is…and I don't…so many…every ticket now is on your phone, right? With that many people having to scan their tickets, it puts both the Wi-Fi and even the cell service under a bit of duress. I don't know if there’s great service there. So, looking back on it, I should have taken screenshots of our tickets, which I did not do. So, of course when we got to the front of the line, I had no service. I couldn’t get service and I had to…we had to get out of line. I had to walk around. Luckily my daughter did hold our spot, like, where people were going by.
So, then we got back in line and we got in, but we did lose not just a second of time, but probably a few hundred people got in front of us. But the thing is they let people in to a closed-off area where there’s a bar and then there’s food stands that are…and bars that are opening or getting ready to open. Then there’s…I don't know if there was two lines or three lines. There’s three of these zones that you can get into early, and then you can line up for one or two Autumnal Awesomenesses ahead of time. So, what we did was we went right to the line, the next line. This is actually not that bad because it worked out really well. The only thing I would change differently is maybe having a snack with us or buying a snack right as we got ready to get in line, and a drink. But other than that, it was gold.
So, then you get let into a temporary queue, and they’re kinda cycling the queues, but it’s a bit of a holding queue because they’re still getting people out of the park and there’s one-way traffic. But then you can sit down at least on the…I mean, you sit on the ground or the curb or whatever and then you wait. So, this…I don't know what time this is. Let me see…I don't know if they have it in here. But let’s just say they…then…now, they don’t guarantee what time the houses are gonna open, but if…we were going in the middle of the season, so we kinda had a general idea that one of the houses there was gonna open at…I think the whole event opens at 6:30. I don't know if they start letting you into a house at like, 5:30 or 6:00, but you do get in early.
Eventually what happened is…and then they took us in a line for one of the houses, and it was one of the more popular houses 'cause they start those lines…I think The Weeknd was another house. Maybe not, though. But The Weeknd opened, according to the internet…again, this isn’t official…this is information you had to gather on other people’s experiences and triple-check it. But this was the one with…the pumpkin-carving contest one that was based on a very famous series of movies and games, those movies about the game shows about pumpkin-carving that everybody knows about, of course. So, eventually they let us in line for that, and then we waited again. But again, that’s fine. Then we were kinda keeping an eye on time, and we didn’t know…was it gonna be fifteen…? Was it…?
I don't know, and I don't know, looking back on it, if it was 5:15, 5:30, 5:45, 6:00, or 6:15. But eventually they opened that Autumnal Awesome House, and then we got into that, and I’ll talk more about that when I go through the guide here. But then when we got out of that one, we were able to get in line for another one. This is still before 6:30 or even…maybe even 6:00. So, we were able to do…I can’t remember now. I don't know if…I don't think we wrote it down, either, but at least three houses if not four houses…I think we were able to get that side of the park done before it got really busy. So, that really, really worked out well. So, I highly recommend it, and you could kinda go by what houses you’re most interested in going to, what’s most popular, 'cause that changes year to year. Okay, what else do you need to know?
There is an express pass; we did get that, and there is…if you live in Orlando, they have different passes where you could go seventeen…go to the first seventeen nights, go to every Sunday through Thursday event plus the first weekend, all the Saturday through Friday events plus the last Saturday night event, all the Sunday through Friday events. That’s thirty-six nights…or every single night with free parking after 5:00 PM. Okay, so…and they do have on the app the wait times. So, they do have…and this…I gotta tell you, I was unbelievably impressed with how…with everything. You get to go backstage, but they have…the theming of stuff was cool, but they also have foods. Now, we didn’t…we were not super hungry, so I’m gonna have to go through what foods we tried.
This doesn’t have everything, but they have a ice cream sandwich, a cheese dog, twisted taters, fried chicken…okay, so, let’s open it up here. Okay, so, they don’t have a lot. I may have to look up other stuff here to see what other stuff…but we can kinda go through this. Okay, so, this is the map and it has…there’s one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine houses of Autumnal Awesomeness, but then there’s street zones where they’re celebrating autumnal awesomeness, which were really amazing. Again, it’s…this is…we went before the time had changed, so it was light out for a while. So, we did experience a lot of these street fun…fun in the streets during the day when the sun was out and then at night. They were setting them up before…as the park was closing.
Okay, so, let’s just take a look and see if I can guess the order we did stuff in. So, first up was C, part…the Common Carving Contest. So, this one was cool; it was themed…and according to this, those movies and show…go back to 1978 where it all began. The movies are an interpretation of the game show. They’re about the person that created the game show. So, it’s a fictional thing based on…well, it’s…first it was a fictional game show, but then if you watch that reality channel or whatever it is, 841…you know, they put those repeats on now. There’s Light Up Your House, Decorate That Cake, and Common Carving. There’s other pumpkin-carving shows, but this is one where everybody dresses the same. So, the judges are watching them carve pumpkins and then voting on it, just like I said, like Great British Bake Off where they don’t know who made the stuff and they’re all supposed to make the same thing.
Now, this one is a little bit different 'cause it’s themed to…this house was more themed to the person creating the show, and what was cool is they kinda lay it out, because they were…it came from ideas from their childhood. So, you’re going through their childhood home and seeing their love of carving pumpkins and of Halloween and trick-or-treating, right? The person that invented it is McKayla Mire, and McKayla, she…so, she loves Halloween, loves pumpkin-carving, then realizes that she had got…'cause again, this takes place in ‘76, so I don't even know in ‘76 what was the popular…but that was I think the era of…where we got into these mass-market Halloween costumes that we covered years ago.
Or maybe it wasn’t. But so, McKayla goes to school for a Halloween costume, and she’s…she was so into pumpkin-carving that she wasn’t into making her own costume, and nobody in her family was. So, what’s…ends up happening is McKayla gets…the costume McKayla gets ends up…she goes to school…this is all fiction, by the way, but so, it plays out more. Not only…I think five or six kids have the same costume as her on, and at first the kids are upset, but then they pretend they’re twins. So, this is all shown as you go through…first you’re in her house, then you’re walking to school and you kinda see kids, then you go into the classroom.
Then you see the kids tricking the teacher, then McKayla comes up with the idea in class, and everybody loves it 'cause they actually ended up having extra time 'cause their Halloween party…now, in this one they were doing popcorn sculptures. They were making Jack-o-lanterns out of popcorn…I don't know, with corn syrup or something. I’ve never done it before. But that’s where…then McKayla actually…it’s actually in the movie; it’s…shows…then this…somehow hiding in the anonymity helps McKayla come out of her shell to connect with the other kids. So, then they even start a pumpkin…instead of a lemonade stand…you probably already know all this history. It’s pretty well-known, the film and then the game show or the reality show. But she starts the first pumpkin-carving stand, like a lemonade stand.
Her and her friends dress the same and they even do…now, this was fictionalized 'cause obviously it would take too long, but they would do something where if you could guess which kid carved the Jack-o-lantern, you would get it for free. So anyway, so that…just a great house overall. Really fun. Our first one, full of fun surprises. Then…okay, let’s see. So, that was C. Those are…oh, those are the exits…the entrances. So, C, D, or E…D or E or B. Huh. What are we not…? B, D, or E? Okay, so, I think we went on B next. What is A? No. No, I don't know what we did next. I mean, I know…okay, so, I think we did D and E back-to-back, because…at some point we did B, but I think B we had to wait in a different line. So, yeah, that sounds right. Okay, let’s kinda go through this. So, we went on D and E next.
Now, D was a fiesta…a Day of the Dead celebration, and it was very well-themed. It had…and it had sound effects, it had…it smelled like bake…people were baking and stuff like that. There was these really cool villages that were set there. So, it was very immersive. Like, you’re going there to celebrate that day. So, there’s a lot of papel picado, sugar skulls, all that kind of stuff. It’s just kind of an immersive experience. I’ll be honest; we went through it twice, I’m pretty sure, not in a row, but…or maybe we…no, okay, so, we switched back-and-forth. But so, yeah, we went…anyway, I’m not exactly sure. But…and I’m not sure of the order of these two, 'cause…but the next one is the highest tier, the highest of the highest tiers. So, it was just cool. It was very good set design, pretty cool, good sound design.
Oh, there was even fireworks sound effects and images, so you felt like…and it just felt cool 'cause you’re just in a sound stage and you’re just…and some of them were inside tents, but you feel like you’re really immersed. But I don't remember much more about it. But the next one was called Winter’s Wake, and this one was pretty well-hyped, but the set design and the storytelling…this…and it gets…it got talked about a lot. I don't know if they will ever reuse it. But this one, it was a unique idea. I guess it’s a part of a story that was told at other events, but this was my first one. So, this takes place in…so, this is, again, in a sound stage, just so you know. It’s wintertime, so a winter storm has come in to interrupt the autumnal season, an early winter.
It’s a New England fishing village on Halloween, when people want to be trick-or-treating. It’s really, really cold, and so…it’s tough to explain the concept, but basically, the town bonds together. So, some sort of supernatural storm, and…that’s kind of fantastical. They do have sound effects, rain and wind, and fake snow effects, and they have this violinist playing. There’s a lighthouse. This is multi-story walkthrough, or at least the elevation changes, so you’re going up and down…and indoors and outdoors, but the goal of the story is that the town bonded together because the town was just one of those towns that loved Halloween. I think Halloween’s pretty popular in New England.
They said, we’re not…and all the kids were like…it was like…there was wind chill and everything, so the kids were like, we won't be able to trick-or-treat? This is devastating. ‘Cause this was…they didn’t know it was a super…well, they suspected it was a supernatural storm, but they didn’t know because there’s a violinist playing, kind of like…she’s playing against this winter storm. So, if you read subtextually, maybe she’s some sort of positive supernatural being battling whatever force is creating this storm on the town. But anyway, they go to the plot…is basically the town bonds together and tries to interlink…so, it’s a pretty…one of those towns out of the movies, 'cause I guess it’s fictional, right, where it’s not a Western town, but there’s a downtown with shops.
But not everything’s connected, but they build connections so that you could stay warm and go from building to building. So, they have indoor trick-or-treating. They cut holes in walls so you could go from the saloon to the barber shop to Miss Hannigan’s Dance Studio to storage for the people that…'cause there’s even a sea-diving company, boat repair, an old boat…they take everything they can and build passageways and stuff so the kids don’t have to be exposed to the elements and they can still trick-or-treat. You were a kid trick-or-treating, so you put yourself in that same thing. Now, they don’t actually have candy because they’re trying to maintain this…they keep it clean and so many people are passing through. But so, you pretend, and they’re pretending to see…oh, welcome to the…oh, what are you?
They have to improve, so like, oh, a kitty cat, oh…and you could say what you are. But I don't think you’re allowed…you can’t…some people dress up for the whole event, so then they’re dressed up, so it makes it easy. But you can’t cover your face anyway, 'cause obviously people are…or maybe you just can wear outfits? I don't know. But it really feels like you’re a kid trick-or-treating, and there’s a lot of…I don't know what year it’s set in, but it’s not set in the present day. So, it just feels so cool because you’re trick-or-treating…I don't know, and there’s wind and storms and things are rattling, and cold air, and the violinist and the rain. Then there’s just this lighthouse…you can see from different parts of this walkthrough. So, it’s just…it was absolutely probably one of the most immersive things I’ve been in.
So, that was cool. So, that was one, two, three…thought there was a third one. Oh, C, D, and E. Okay, no; C was the pumpkin, Jack-o-lantern. D; okay. E…so, those three we went on. I think we probably went on Winter’s Wake twice in a row 'cause there was no waits at this point. Then we ran over to get in line for B, and there was a line forming, but…so, the park had still not opened formally, and we got in a static line for B which was opening…I’m pretty sure this is what happened. But yeah, so, B…what’s A, though? Huh, maybe that…you think that line was for A? Huh, maybe. Okay, so, I don't actually know, but we went on both these…B and A next. One of them may have had no wait. Maybe B had no wait and we went on that fast, and then we went and got in line for A?
But whatever; we got in a static line and we were able to do B and A. On the map I’m just looking at…sorry, I’ll name them now. The first one was called…this was a interesting concept, and there was a different style of concept…so, I feel like this is one that I could compare to Knott’s and say that the one at Knott’s was a little bit…so, Knott’s had both these concepts separately, where Universal had both of them combined together. So, Knott’s had a speakeasy zone where people were…where it was like the 1920s, like a autumnal fun zone, and then they had a house with spell-casters. Toil, toil, boil, and bubble. So, Universal had a house called Spirits of the Coven, and it was very high-concept. They even called it Flapper Spell-caster.
So, imagine Lady Witchbeard as a flapper, and it’s a 1920’s speakeasy and…I don't know, I guess that’s during prohibition, right? Because…so, they’re having their Halloween speakeasy party, but you go through…but they’re also kind of…the teetotalers. So, it’s like you’re caught in the middle of a play, basically, of…they’re trying to run their business and have their Halloween party, which also happens to be the anniversary. I don't know if anyone…I think it slowly gets revealed that they’re spell-casters like Lady Witchbeard. It’s not revealed right away but you know it going in anyway, which is hard, that…you can’t really go into any of these not knowing anything. I guess my daughter knew very little, but maybe not. But I think she actually watched all the walkthroughs first to…I don't know if she did.
Well, it doesn’t matter. So, it’s a pretty cool story. It’s just, for some reason, laying over the 1920’s bootlegger on top of spell-casters…I don't know, there’s just something about it. But it was really cool. So, you go through their whole production area, you go through that, then they get…they come in, they say, this…and then they’re like, we gotta throw all this away. But then it slowly gets revealed that they have powers, you know, and…but in the end, the moral is…but we mostly have the power to change your mind. You could have fun with us whether you’re a teetotaler or not. They mostly do that by actually making tea, 'cause that’s the big sequence at the end, is this largest cauldron you’ve ever seen. Or, is that what it’s called? Cauldron? Whatever the thing is where they toil, toil, boil, and bubble.
You’re watching as the teetotalers, along with the feds or whatever…this part was a little bit Sleep With Me 'cause they go in and they’re…and they say, what is this? They say, here, have a glass; it’s tea. Then the person makes a speech from the overhang, and she’s making a speech about tea and King George, and then, whatever, amendments. I don't know, it kinda lost me. But it was more historical fiction. I don't know, when you don’t drink anymore, I guess maybe that’s…I say, okay, maybe I took that out on that. Okay, so, the next one is called…this one was cool; it was Intergalactic Planetary Pet Shop. Intergalactic Planetary Pet Shop; A. This was the last one on this side of the park. Again, we’re going through these…by 6:30, we were either in line for this one or going through it, these…getting these two done.
I’m pretty sure we had gone on repeats of at least E, but if…Winter’s Wake. But this one…so, the Intergalactic Planetary Pet Shop is exactly what you would do, except that there, they’ve never heard of Halloween or autumn because they’re in outer space where there’s no seasons. What happens…this is a pre…they actually have a little bit as you’re waiting in line and stuff which is cool, because they have rights to all these specials, like animated specials. What happened was there was some sort of, I don't know, something similar to a solar flare that jammed…so, this is…in intergalactic planetary stuff, this is the only pet shop for this part of the galaxy. But some sort of thing has happened where they can only…their systems are jammed and the only thing they can watch are autumnal special…animated specials.
But this is everything. When you’re streaming, you say, I wonder; was there ever a Tom and Jerry Halloween episode? They say, yeah, there was. ‘Cause I found a Superfriends one. It was kind of…on HBO Max, I think? By accident, even, I think. But, whatever. So, that’s all they can consume, so they’ve decided…and again, this is…the scale of it is hard to imagine as an Earthling 'cause…once upon a time, there was mall pet shops. Now there’s genre ones. I just passed a bird shop on a walk the other day. I mean, this was in a specific part of Berkeley, so it’s very specific, but nowadays there’s only big brand pet shops, for the most part. Actually, this is not just one pet shop, which is cool. Each…it’s different. It’s kind of like a pet shop mall for the galaxy, but it’s independent pet shops within…'cause you say, oh, I’m looking for a klaxon.
They’d say, a feathered klaxon or a feather-less klaxon? You say, oh boy, you…? Oh yeah, go down to Klaxon’s. Say, okay, great. So, this whole, whatever you want to call it, Intergalactic Planetary Pet Shop, has been consuming this Halloween stuff and they know the Earth date of Halloween, so they’ve decided to have a huge Halloween celebration, mostly dressing up pets. So, kind of like a pet…because that’s their lives, right, is pets, and a lot of pet training goes on there. It’s a whole pet culture, you know? It’s a pet-based…PBE, pet-based economy. So, they’re having this huge autumnal festival, and they do have…there are children and stuff, but most of these people…their lives are dedicated to, yeah, pet-based commerce.
So, they’re putting on…that’s it; you just go through this space station and you see all these cute…different space…imaginary creatures dressed up in costumes. Amazing. So, that was that one. Next I know we went to the Universal Friends…Universal Famous Friends from Films, because that and Weeknd were the next two most popular. So, we went to that one, and that was…it was cool because one of the…we didn’t watch it this year. And it’s not Laurel and Hardy; it’s Abbott and Costello. So, this one kinda follows that basic theme of Abbott and Costello meeting these famous film friends from Universal Films. So, you see them and the concede is that Abbott and Costello have accidentally acquired some sort of gem that has all this power, and they’re going through this exploration site.
The person wrapped in cloth, Wolfy-Poo, and I’ll Never Have Garlic Breath, they all are trying to get it from…convince…so, they’re all trying to get them, talk to them, give them gifts, or have dance-offs. It ends up kinda devolving into basic humor in a good way, where first Abbott says, well, I want you to do this. So, they each have a grand buffet. Then Costello says, well, I’d rather see you do this. Then there’s another scene where they’re like, tell me a joke, so you go into a comedy club. There’s even acrobatics in this one. I think there was one or two other ones where there’s acrobatics, which was amazing. So, that was that one. Then we had The Weeknd which we went on later, but that’s over on that side, so I’ll just go through it.
I can’t…I don't think I could…it’s based…it’s a concept album and then it’s an autumnal awesome adventure based on a concept album based on…so, basically, it’s cool. I guess the simple thing is you’re going into The Weeknd’s imagination, and everything’s…and everything…I wish I could have gone through this ten times, 'cause everything’s synced to the songs. I love After Hours, love The Weeknd, I love pop music. I love…so, this one is very surreal and very imaginary. So, I don't even know too much about how they broke the ideas for this and stuff, other than to say there’s probably videos on it. If they ever put it anywhere else again, definitely go to it because it is absolutely amazing. It’s just called Autumnal After Hours, but it’s fully immersive.
I just can’t put it to description other than to say it was number one or number two. Winter’s Wake and The Weeknd, and then the Abbott and Costello with the Universal…I mean, all of them were really good, but The Weeknd one was just…and maybe it was also that I could only…definitely could only do it once. You could have waited, but I think the wait…at the end of the night, I think we…yeah, we waited to go on it. Okay, what else do we have here? I think we only have two left, then we gotta go through the street fun. Okay, so, let’s see. The next one was called Autumnal Ant Farm, and this one was interesting in the sense that this one was a little bit more like a challenge, a little bit more where you take a active role. But it’s also where you’re finding your way.
So, you’re basically pretending you’re an ant in an autumnal ant farm, but you’re in there, so you’re kinda going through the things. Don't worry; it feels totally spacious. You can even…there’s giant candy corns that you could carry, and it’s kind of like a treasure hunt. You can find stuff that give you a little guide. You’re saying, what can you find in this autumnal ant farm, or can you get…there’s different…and there’s enough stuff that everybody going through could have stuff to do. So, that was cool. Then there was…I would have never thought of this one, but this one…the next one is a public-transit-based…particularly New York city sub…well, it doesn’t say New York 'cause it…well, in this one it does, but actually there, they said, we can’t say it’s New York City. Or maybe they just couldn’t name the actual trains.
Like, the D train wins again and again. But this one is called…I don't know what…I’m trying to think of the way to describe what it was called. Public Transit Autumn Fun? It had a different name that I forgot, and I can’t read it on this. But so, basically, again, it has a story to it. So, you’re starting off…there’s a bus you enter through. Kids are waiting on the bus to go to different places to go trick-or-treating. But then what happens is…it’s kind of a similar but a little bit…it’s totally different than Winter’s Wake but conceptually it’s a little bit similar because there’s…what happens is you’re…everybody’s on the subway, but the subways aren’t running, so they have…on the subway trains and in-between them…you could walk and they’re well-lit and everything.
So, you’d walk…'cause I don't know if you’ve ever thought about that; be like, man, I would like to walk from one station to the other and just see how long it is. They have trick-or-treat stations set up. Now, this one actually did have real candy, but you keep it in this…they give you a bag with…a Ziploc back. So, you kinda just go through that. That was a really cool one ‘cause they built all that stuff from scratch, so it really feels like…the subway trains look so real. Okay, then there was the show. At some point in there we went to the show, which was dance, pyro, and some really cool magic. It was about a guy dreaming, and he’s dreaming of all this dance, and it’s very…that one was very surreal and set to music. The level of dancing was absolutely incredible. Let’s see, the last few minutes I’ll give you some of the fun zones.
So, the different zones…there was Pumpkin Surprise, which had…which was just when you walk in and there’s someone making a speech, the Queen of Pumpkins, and she’s making a speech about everything you can do about pumpkins. That’s where you could find a hidden Lil’ Boo. Then there was Major Sweets, which…that was the best one in my opinion, but it was very themed to…maybe the 1950s? Major Sweets is sponsoring…so, they had actual floats just for this fun zone. So, it’s a…Major Sweets is a character who runs a candy company. So, Willy Wonka, and it’s…they’re sponsoring a whole festival. This was with kids…before there was mass-market costumes, so the kids have these giant paper-machete costumes or homemade stuff. Absolutely…and just very rich in character.
Major Sweets gets an award from the major. There’s candy, there’s food booths with stuff themed to it. Everything’s branded, so it just feels like you’re immersed in a Willy-Wonka-type of situation. Then there was one; Conjuring Autumnal Fun, and that one was pretty cool because it’s…there was a lot of fog and a whole set where there was a magician conjuring autumnal fun, so, making stuff disappear, making pieces of candy corn go from small to gigantic, and then it starts dancing. But again, you had to see it to…you were like, I see it; I still don’t believe it, it’s so amazing. Then on the other side of the park…was called Farm Town Autumnal Fun.
So, it was a farm, and you get…you even go through their barn, and people are making costumes out of corn husks, and there’s very…a lot of farm smells, but not…like fun farm smells. There’s square dancers and friendly scarecrows, and just a really immersive set. That was cool. Then there was another one towards the entrance on one side that we went through a few times, and that was called…actually, interesting; it was called Friends On the Rainbow Bridge. Now, 'cause they already had a farm, I guess they couldn’t do big farm in the sky. So, it was a rainbow bridge, and there was an actual…there was people and they’re enjoying their…selves on the Rainbow Bridge, and you get to go over it 'cause it goes towards the entrance.
So, whether you’re coming in that way or you’re exiting, they’re saying goodbye or they’re saying, welcome, welcome to our celebration. Take the Rainbow Bridge to eternal autumnal fun. They say, don't worry about us; we’ll be enjoying Halloween when we want to all the time. So, there’s just a cool one, but the Rainbow Bridge is really well-designed. It was a lot of fun. Yeah, that was the last thing on there. Amazing. I highly recommend it if you plan it out for next year, I guess. Really immersive. You could always go in your imagination like I do, but I go to these…but it’s cool to have a co-pilot, at least one person that’s really into it, with you, too. So, I appreciate that my daughter’s into it and that we could go together and share it, share in the autumnal joy. I’m really looking forward to what they have next or some of these other parks have next. Goodnight, everybody.
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(Transcription performed by LeahTranscribes)
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