MuggleCast 93 Transcript
Show Intro
[Audio]: Hey there, MuggleCast listeners. I am back to inform you of some excellent news. GoDaddy.com is having better deals than ever. For only $3.59 a month for 12 months, you can get GoDaddy.com’s economy package. With 250 gigs of bandwith, five gigs of storage and up to 500 e-mail accounts, you can get your own website up and running with success. And as usual, enter code Muggle- that’s M-U-G-G-L-E- when you check out and save an additional 10 percent on any order. Some restrictions apply, see site for details. Get your piece of the internet at GoDaddy.com.
[Intro music begins to play]
Andrew: Because we gots a mini show, this is Mugglecast Episode 93 for June 4th, 2007.
[Intro music continues to play]
Andrew: Okay, well, last week we opened up the show by saying we were having a rough week, and not to complain some more, but it’s been another busy week…
[Laura and Micah laugh]
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: …in our lives.
Micah: I don’t think…
Andrew: So we’re going to…
Micah: Last week doesn’t compare to this week, because I don’t think this show wants to come out.
Andrew: If you take last week, and how busy we were last week, multiply it by a thousand times more busy-ness, raise that to the 50th power, multiply that by infinity’s – infinity brought to the infinity, and that is one-tenth of how busy we’ve been this past week.
Laura: Yeah, basically it’s just been a lot of busy.
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: It’s been bad.
Andrew: A whole lot of busy. But yeah, enough about us. So we’re – this week we’re going to be doing a mini show, because we’re coming up a little short on the co-host bank here this week, and so it’s the only three people that actually do stuff anymore for the show.
[Laura and Micah laugh]
New Harry Potter Theme Park
Andrew: So, I mean, heck, we could still call it a full show. That’s just my opinion, I don’t know how everyone else feels. Anyway, so we wanted to definitely do some sort of a show this week, because we had some big news this week, right guys?
Laura: That we did.
Micah: I think so.
Laura: I haven’t really…
Andrew: Anyone care to say?
Laura: I haven’t really paid attention to the news. I’ve been so busy with school.
Andrew: It was…
Micah: Well, I’ll say what happened.
Andrew: Okay.
Micah: You want me to? Because I was recording something called a Blickle on Wednesday night, and I get this IM, and I get another IM, and another IM, and another IM, saying, “Micah, I need a thumbnail to use, a generic thumbnail to use for this post I need to make right now. Please, please, please get me a thumbnail.”
[Andrew laughs]
Micah: “I need one now.”
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Micah: And, Andrew, what were you IMing me about? [laughs]
Andrew: Well, what happened was a few days prior to that, WB had emailed me and said, “Can you be on Tuesday – are you going to be able to check your email Tuesday morning?” I was like, “yeah.” And then she said, “Are you going to be available Wednesday at midnight your time?” And I was like, “Yeah, what is this about?” So I thought it was something else for a bit, so I told all of you guys.
Laura: Yep.
Andrew: I was like, “I think it’s going to be this.” I don’t want to say what I thought it was going to be…
Laura: Got us all hyped up.
Andrew: …because I’ll look like an idiot. So, it wasn’t that. So, then we find out – I get this e-mail saying, “You are invited to this thing,” and it had my name, and I was like, “Huh?” And then they spelled my name wrong, two “M”s, but that’s beside the point. So then we get onto this thing, and – this website, this special website for this special announcement that we were all supposed to be taking a part of. By all, I mean me and then a few other fan sites, and I’m sitting there with Jenna from DanRadcliffe.com on GoogleTalk, and we’re like, “What the heck, what could it be? [laughs] God bless, Jenna from DanRadcliffe.com. She looks at the copyright at the bottom of the page, and it says, “Copyright 2007, Warner Brothers Pictures and Universal Studios.” And we’re like, “Oh my god! This must be about the theme park.” Because why else would they be putting Universal in their copyright, and sure enough they made the announcement live over the internet in a video web chat. A representative from Universal Studios and also Stuart Craig made the announcement with this guy from Universal Studios about the theme park. The rumors are actually true. Can you guys believe it?
Laura: I was a little shocked…
Andrew: Because I couldn’t… Yeah
Laura: To be honest. It kind of caught me off guard. I was sitting there actually working on school work and you IMed me asking me to put the picture up in the gallery, and of course I put it up in the wrong gallery.
[Micah and Andrew laugh]
Laura: So, we spent…
Micah: Because those things are so easy to navigate through, by the way.
Laura: Thank you, Micah.
Andrew: Yeah, I meant to tell you guys…
Laura: Thank you.
Andrew: I meant to tell you guys, you were a great help that night. Thanks a lot.
[Laura laughs]
Micah: I didn’t even do anything.
Andrew: And Micah not responding to my IMs, and Laura putting the picture in the wrong spot. You guys were just…
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: Yeah, I did find that thumbnail of the Islands of Adventure, but it proved to be worthless. So…
Andrew: Yeah, but yeah the rumors have been going on for so long that when you see the new one spark up, it sort of just like, “Oh, whatever. We’ve heard this a million times. It’s never going to happen.” But then, I don’t want to say it’s a dream come true because it’s really cool, but it’s almost surreal because oh my gosh, it’s actually happening.
Laura: Yeah. I really didn’t expect it to happen- I just didn’t see it really going forward or at least not so soon, I guess. I kind of figured if something like that was going to happen it would be at least after the movies were, but apparently not.
Andrew: Yeah, you say that, but it’s actually been in development for a few years.
Laura: I know. Oh my gosh, it’s crazy.
Andrew: No one ever said it was.
Micah: Which is why we would probably have the rumors. People were sort of leaking it, but nobody would believe it.
Andrew: There was no authoritative source saying, “Yes, it is actually in development, behind the scenes right now.” But actually it was interesting because I had seen on WizardNews.com a couple of hours prior to the real announcement they had an article out from the tabloid and it actually had one piece of concert dart, it was of Hogsmeade and I saw it, and I thought it might have just a picture that they pulled off Google Images. I couldn’t understand where they had actually got it from. They even had that quote from Jo. So, somehow they got the press release early and they had to first credit to The Sun, but it’s all very exciting. I thought we could discuss a few details. Laura? You’re pretty close to Florida.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Will you be one of the first people in line?
Laura: I go to Universal Studios fairly regularly because I’m from Orlando…
Andrew: Do you? Oh, good.
Laura: [laughs] I’ve got family down there.
Where They Going To Put It?
Andrew: One of the first things you said to me was do they room.
Laura: Yeah!
Andrew: I don’t know where are they going to put.
Laura: Well, the thing is, I mean, when you look at the way the theme park is constructed right now the Islands of Adventures is sort of set up in a circular type shape, like each little area leads into another. So, I wasn’t quite sure how they were going to set it up. Then I was reading that they are actually going to get rid of half of one of the other ones and using that and some additional space to build the Harry Potter one, which is pretty cool because the one they are getting rid of sucked anyway.
[Andrew laughs]
Andrew: Which is it? Do you know?”
Laura: It’s called “The Lost Continent’ I think? I think it’s basically
got a hole bunch of stuff about like, Sinbad, and Posiedon, and stupid stuff. All the stuff there is really stupid.
Andrew: Okay, because one of the papers down in Orlando actually had a sketch of the park and where it is going to be placed, but then they said they are also going to be taking out a little part of that is reserved for the staff right now? I think it was just a little parking lot for them, or whatever.
Laura: Oh, god, Harry Potter slashing staff benefits.
Andrew: Yeah. [laughs] Well, I’m sure they’re going to build elsewhere for those guys. But there were quite a few details announced in the little video that went on. They’re going to be building Hogsmeade, Hogwarts Castle, and the Forbidden Forest. Those are three areas. That’s good, I guess. I mean…
Laura: That was something that kind of floored me. Because-have you been there? Or, you’ve only been to Disney?
Andrew: No. I’ve never… Micah, have you?
Micah: Yeah, a long time ago.
Laura: Because when you look at all these different areas, they’re not very big. And whenever I think about them building Hogwarts, the Forbidden Forest and Hogsmeade, those are three areas that, in the books you imagine them as being huge. So you kind of wonder how much they’re going to scale them down. Or how much they’re going to leave out to kind of make it fit in with the rest of the park.
Andrew: Yeah. I know.
Micah: Well these drawings look absolutely massive, to begin with.
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: I mean the amount of space they look like they’re going to take up and- are you saying because Hogwarts has the grounds that exist? Is that what you’re saying, Laura?
Laura: Well, what I’m saying is that…
Micah: That you’re afraid they’re going to leave stuff out?
Laura: Well, no. I’m saying that – I don’t know. I’m just wondering how detailed it’s going to be. Because when I was there I think I noticed that the one that was the biggest was the Jurassic Park area. And what they had was they had the whole museum area that you could go in. And then they had a food court and then they had rides. And that was pretty much it. And that was the biggest one out of all the areas. And it had, I would say, the most detail from the story that it comes from. So, I’m just kind of wondering how they’re going to fit all of this into this one area, since they’re saying that it’s going to be relatively the same size as all of the others.
Andrew: Right. Yeah. Do you think Universal can pull this off, Laura? I mean this is jumping the gun. But…
Laura: Oh, I think they can. Because anybody who has been to Universal knows that they know how to do a set up. They’re very, very good with that. I mean, even when you’re in line on rides, it’s not cheap. I mean, waiting in the line is half the fun there. Because they’ve got so much stuff up for you to look at. Just so much cool stuff going on. So, I think that they can definitely do it, it’s just a matter of if they actually do it right, which I hope they do.
Andrew: Yeah. Now, they seem to be really dedicated to this. Both Warner Brothers and Universal Studios. They have a good 20 – 30 people working on the project right now. And of course, that’s sure to expand once construction actually starts. But they seem to be really dedicated to this. Especially Universal, they want to get this down to suit the Harry Potter fan. Because they’re going to be under pressure. This is one part that fans, you know, they have to appeal to the serious fans of the books.
Laura: Yeah. Well it’s also definitely going to, I think, sell them more tickets. I mean, the first thing that I thought of was people are going to buy tickets to go here just to go [laughs] to the Harry Potter island. I mean, that’s going to be a priority for so many people. I mean, and I can just think of people going there and spending their whole day there. You know, not really caring about the rest of it.
Andrew: Exactly, exactly. I mean, I don’t even think that they’re trying to make it that big, where you would have to spend the whole day there.
Laura: No.
Andrew: I mean, because…
Laura: None of those areas are big enough to where you’d spend the whole day in them.
Andrew: Right. Maybe a couple of hours, I mean, waiting in line, of course.
Laura: Yeah.
The Concept Art
Andrew: That’s always a factor. Did you look at the concept art?
Laura: I did.
Andrew: They have the one shot of the- they call it the Owl Looking Over Hogwarts or Looking Over.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Now, I think that’s the entire park. Or the entire area.
Laura: Oh, the entire area. Yeah, with Hogwarts in the middle.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: Yeah, I can see that.
How Big Will Hogwarts Be?
Andrew: Which is interesting. I think the biggest question right now, at least for me, is how big is Hogwarts actually going to be?
Laura: Yeah, that’s what I was wondering. That was really what I was kind of concerned about. And how are they going to have everything set up in relation to one another? You know? Are they going to have…
Andrew: Like, the castle?
Laura: Yeah. I mean, how is it going to be all set up?
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: I mean, is it going to be like the books? Or I don’t know.
Andrew: I mean…
Laura: I don’t know.
Andrew: They have to have the Great Hall – I would think they would have the Great Hall, the Gryffindor common room, Dumbledore’s office.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: I’m just thinking like the main movie sets…
Laura: Room of Requirement.
Andrew: …that they already have designed. Yeah, well, do you think so? The Room, I mean…
Laura: I think, I mean, it could be kind of lame…
Micah: Only when…
Laura: …if they…
Micah: …you need to find it, Laura.
[Laura laughs]
Micah: [laughs sarcastically] Sorry.
Laura: He said, “Only when we need to find it.”
Micah: It was a dumb joke.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Oh. [laughs] I get it.
The Rides and Characters
Andrew: I mean, just looking at this concept art, it doesn’t look like there are a ton of rides. I mean, I could pick out maybe three or four in this…
Laura: Well…
Andrew: …drawing.
Laura: …that’s how those areas are all set up, though. Each of those areas has maybe five rides maximum. Most of them are three or four.
Micah: Would you guys think we’d have something in Hogwarts and then maybe something in the Forbidden Forest, or do you think the rides will be spread out sort of around that area?
Andrew: Well, I would say at least one ride in each area.
Laura: Yeah, I would think so as well.
Andrew: And then I mean, Diagon Alley, it just has to be filled with – I would think that’s just dedicated to the shops.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: And eating areas. I mean, that’s probably one of the things I’m looking forward to the most; being able to eat in like, say, The Leaky Cauldron.
Laura: I know. Oh, that’s so exciting. [laughs]
Andrew: [laughs] Or get, I mean, like butterbeers, like the first thing you would think of…
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: …when they’re trying to sell something at one of these places.
Laura: But then, you know, I was thinking about some of the lame things that could go on with this, like I immediately had a visual of a guy running around in a Hagrid costume taking pictures with kids, and so… [laughs]
Andrew: That’s funny, because someone e-mailed in saying that same thing.
Laura: I mean, that was one of the first things…
Andrew: Did you read that e-mail?
Laura: No.
Andrew: [laughs] Oh.
Laura: [laughs] I haven’t read my e-mail in like…
Andrew: Because…
Laura: …three days, but it was just one of the first thoughts that came to my mind, like are they going to have the characters running around, you know, in costume and stuff? Because they do that with all the other places.
Andrew: But they would have to look just like the movies’ characters, wouldn’t they? Because otherwise, we would be like, “Who’s this?” Because – don’t you think so?
Micah: It’s not like, a Disney place, where you can actually have people in costumes, I guess. Like, I agree with what Andrew’s saying, it’d almost have to be a replicate of the actors in the films because it’s not like…
Laura: Well…
Micah: …in Looney Toons, you have, you know, Bugs Bunny. There’s no…
Andrew: It’s a cartoon.
Micah: Yeah, there’s no real cartoon, that’s what I meant to say.
Laura: Yeah, but they do have that at Universal Studios. They have people come out dressed up as random characters from movies and stuff. So…
Andrew: I do hear that – a rumor is right now, not sure how true this is, but after Equus, Dan is looking for a new role, so he might be doing – might be walking around this theme park.
Laura: Wow, that’s a step up.
Andrew: As Harry Potter, you know?
[Laura and Andrew laugh]
Laura: Not to downgrade the job of any person who does that [laughs], but…
Why The Park in The U.S.?
Andrew: No. [laughs] Let’s see. What other details are there to talk about here? Oh, one thing I found interesting in the release was someone sent in the question, “Why in the United States? Why isn’t the park in the United Kingdom since the books were written in the UK?” And Stuart Craig actually said [laughs] he thought that an American theme park could do it better. He thought the UK people wouldn’t be able to pull it off, and I thought – I wasn’t sure whether or not to put that in the news post because I didn’t want to upset [laughs] any of the people in the UK that read that.
Laura: You know what? I think he’s right, though, because there’s something very unique about American theme parks. I mean, there’s really nothing quite like them. People travel from all over the world to go to Orlando. I mean, you meet people of all walks of life in these theme parks, and I think that it’s a great central location to have it, because you know, A. you’ve got the fact that those theme parks don’t have to close at all and if they do it’s not very long because it’s always warm there. The weather’s not great year round in Britain, so you can’t constantly have something like that open.
Andrew: That’s true.
Laura: It’s got to be an attraction that’s, you know…
Andrew: That’s actually very true.
Micah: Yeah, that’s a great point.
Laura: Able to be reached by a lot of people.
Micah: And I don’t think Warner Brothers would open a strictly Harry Potter theme park in, say, London or some other area of England. It wouldn’t make sense.
Laura: No, because Warner Brother is an American based company. Why would they want to do something like that?
Andrew: Plus, there are more Harry Potter fans in the US, right?
Laura: Hmmm, I guess if you – I mean, I guess if you want to say that we have a bigger population, and the chances are that we more fans, but just be careful how you word that.
Micah: Yeah.
Laura: Because people get upset.
Andrew: Yeah, well, all right. So, maybe that’s not a proven point, but arguably there are more Harry Potter fans in the United States.
Jo Touring The Park
Andrew: So WB does seem to be very dedicated to this. J.K. Rowling has been reportedly involved since the very beginning of the project, and she’s also supportive and encouraging. My question is, will she be going there privately? Because I don’t think she’s going to want to be waiting in line with fans.
Micah: Oh, I’m sure for the opening they’ll invite her, and she’ll probably go.
Laura: Gosh, that would be surreal, I would think.
Micah: Well, couldn’t you see her getting her own private tour of it before it opened?
Andrew: Oh, definitely. Yeah, definitely. With jer kids.
Laura: Oh, sure. Can you imagine? She’s already seen her books made into movies, and can you image riding a roller coaster with Harry’s face plastered to it or something? That’s just so weird.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: Or walking through Hogsmeade and Hogwarts.
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: And the way that they’re going to construct it? She can actually sit right out on that road there, and pull up a desk and sign books the whole entire day when people walk by.
Andrew: Yeah. That would be very cool. So Jo has said she’s incredibly excited, and I think there’s nothing but good things to come out of this.
Hype Over by 2010?
Andrew: Not until 2010, though. A little disappointing, because, I don’t know, is it just me or is the hype going to be over by 2010? [laughs]
Laura: Yeah, well, by 2010 we’ll have the sixth movie, right?
Andrew: We could have the seventh.
Laura: Really? I thought the sixth was coming out in ’09.
Andrew: 2008.
Laura: Oh.
Andrew: November 2008, and I think in the press release, or in the announcement video, one of the guys said it would be right around the time when the seventh film comes out. So…
Laura: Oh, that’s crazy.
Andrew: I guess there still will be movie hype.
Micah: So I guess we know where the premiere for the seventh movie’s going to be.
Andrew: Yeah! Yeah, you know what? They could.
Laura: Oh my gosh, that’s weird.
Andrew: They could have some sort of press event there,
Laura: We should go. We should go do a show there.
Andrew: Yeah. Yeah, that’s what Micah said to me, I think. [laughs]
Cost of Building
Andrew: And then all the Orlando newspapers are getting the juicy details, since they’re right next door to Universal. The project is going to be costing upwards of $265 million.
Micah: That’s kind of cheap.
Laura: Micah! [laughs]
Andrew: Is it?
Micah: It just sounds, I don’t know. It doesn’t sound like it’s a lot.
Laura: I realize that’s chump change compared to your salary that you get from MuggleCast, Micah.
[Andrew and Micah laugh]
Laura: But you didn’t have to be that blunt about it.
Andrew: Yeah, please. How much does it cost to build a Hogwarts, that’s what I want to know.
Micah: My point was, though, when you hear about stadiums being built in – around the country, you always hear, oh, it costs x amount, and you’re always like, “Why does a stadium cost that much?” so I guess, in comparison, it just doesn’t seem like it’s a whole lot of money.
Laura: So are you afraid…
Micah: They have it. It’s not like they don’t have the money.
Laura: Are you afraid they’re going to cheap out on it, or…
Micah: No, no, not at all. I’m just saying it doesn’t seem like a whole lot.
Andrew: Well, I mean – I guess once we see the final picture we’ll be able to be like, “Does this look like $265 million spent?” You know, we don’t claim to know how much building materials cost for Hogwarts and…
Laura: Well, you also have to consider that our taking, you know – they are using part of a pre existing area of the park, and I’m sure that they are going to use some materials from that towards building it. Once of the first things I thought of was in that area that they’re talking about taking down, there’s this one ride, that’s not really so much a ride as much as a big walk-through, tour type thing. But it’s essentially a huge castle, like it’s supposed to be, I think, Atlantis or something, and I mean it’s enormous, and I was kind of thinking that they might just remodel that to be Hogwarts, or at least add on to it. Because, you know, it’s a pre-existing structure.
MuggleCast 93 Transcript (continued)
Theme Park Reports
Andrew: Right. Yeah, well good question. My question for you Laura is will you be able to provide us with some updates since this is you are so close. Next year.
Laura: Ummm, well, seeing as…
Andrew: Head down there, take some pictures.
Laura: Yeah, seeing as next year I’m going to be in Maryland, ummm…
Andrew: Oh shoot, that’s right.
Laura: And seeing as I live seven hours away in my current location, but…
Micah: What’s your…
Andrew: Well, I’m sure…
Micah: What’s your mom doing?
Laura: Yeah, she has nothing better to do. [laughs]
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: I’ll tell her, “you have to go down to Orlando once a month, Mom.”
[Andrew laughs]
Andrew: I’m sure we will be able to get plenty of people taking pictures and sending them in. Because there’s like – I’ve been on… After I went to Disney for the first time, I became like obsessed with how Disney’s like run and stuff that kind of stuff fascinates me.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: So, there’s these websites where people will like provide weekly reports on forums that take pictures and do like a photo report of “Okay so this ride closed.”
Laura: Yeah. On my gosh, yeah.
Andrew: “This ride is getting renovations made,” and it’s like so hardcore.
Laura: Have you ever seen these sites…
Andrew: So I’m hoping people do that with this.
Laura: Have you seen these sites, and this might have nothing to do with our show at all, but have you seen these sites where they have all the different injuries that have happened at these theme parks [laughs] all the people who have gotten hurt on rides?
Andrew: My god! Why would you want read that?
Laura: Okay, I’m going to tell you this, when we were at Universal [laughs] they had these plaques up on the rides that they hadn’t had up before, like in front of all the roller coasters and all the big rides and stuff [laughs] that said, “Please remove all prosthetic limbs before boarding the ride.”
[Micah laughs]
Laura: And we were like…
Andrew: Oh my god.
Laura: …what the heck is this?
Micah: Wow.
Laura: Why are they saying this? And so we get back to the hotel and I’m just sort of running around on Google and I find this article from 2004, that this guy’s prosthetic leg flew off on one of the roller coasters.
Andrew: Oh my gosh!
Laura: [laughs] It was so funny…
Andrew: Wow.
Laura: It was so mean though. Okay.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Andrew: That guy is now listening; he is a MuggleCast listener now. So…
Laura: Oh great.
Warner Brothers and Universal in 10-Year Deal
Andrew: Shout out to him. But, okay so Warner Brothers is in a 10-year deal with Universal for this. So we’re going to have it until at least 2020. [laughs] Which seems so far off. And then there’s the – they have two options for a five-year extension, so – then by 2020 if there’s still interest in the Harry Potter theme park they can go for another five years. And then after that if they want five more they can take it. And then after that, I guess they can extend it if they wanted to.
Laura: Yeah. It just depends on how long people stay interested in it, I guess. I mean I…
Andrew: Yeah,
Laura: …think 10 years is definitely doable. I mean, I think people will…
Andrew: Definitely, I mean how long has Universal been opened?
Laura: Ummm, it opened when I was very, very little. I mean, and when it first opened there wasn’t much there.
Andrew: That’s it.
Laura: It hasn’t been that long, but the Islands of Adventures area is fairly new it’s like…
Andrew: Oh is it?
Laura: Six or seven years old. So…
Andrew: Because you get – Disney’s been open for…
Laura: A lot longer.
Andrew: …how long? 30, 40? 30 or 40?
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: I mean how can they – it makes me wonder what they think about when they are designing these parks and rides in terms of how long they’ill last. Because, like, Disney, you know – 50 years from now, what’s Walt Disney World going to be like? Or 100 years from now?
Laura: Oh, well, they’ll definitely…
Andrew: I mean…
Laura: …have to keep updating it. I mean, there’s no question about it. These theme parks are constantly having to update. When I was down there recently they were getting rid of the Back to the Future ride because…
Micah: Oh, here we go…
Laura: Most people don’t know what Back to the Future is anymore.
Andrew: [laughs] Right!
Laura: No, I mean, a lot of kids don’t.
Andrew: No, they don’t.
Micah: Universal Studios in Florida opened in 1990.
Andrew: 1990. So, seventeen years are coming on and already they’re willing to go 20 years with Harry Potter. So, it’s interesting.
Micah: By then, they’ll be redoing the movies over, so they’ll have more reason to keep it running.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Andrew: Right, right. You know, in 50 years, I could really see that happening.
Laura: Me too, I think so as well. That’d be weird.
Andrew: We’d all go see it.
Micah: And Disney World opened in 1971.
Andrew: Can we enter into an agreement right now that if they decide to remake the Harry Potter movies, we’ll start up the podcast again?
Laura: [laughs] When we’re all, like, in Depends with our dentures.
Micah: And when they cast Americans to play the roles, that we’re all going to try out?
Andrew: [laughs] Mhm.
Laura: No, we should all try out for lead roles. When we’re, like, 50. [laughs]
Andrew: Yeah. “And what’s your claim to fame, sir? What credentials do you have?” “Well, I used to host a podcast back in the early 2000s, 2005-2006.” “Oh, good, you’re in!”
[Micah laughs]
Laura: Can you see us, like, 50 and meeting up again [laughs] for like a movie release? That’d be so….
Andrew: Maybe…not.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: [attempts old man voice] Heyyyy! [laughs] I used to be able to do a good old person’s voice, but I can’t anymore, especially not at this late hour. So, overall, I think we’re all very excited for the theme park.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Yes. We’ll get everyone else’s feedback next week, if they decide to show up or not. Anything else to bring up about it?
Micah: Yeah, there is.
Andrew: What? What?
What Kind of Rides?
Micah: What kind of rides are there going to be?
Andrew: Oh! [laughs] Well, we sort of talked about it, a little bit.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: I mean…
Micah: We didn’t get specific, though. Really?
Andrew: No, we didn’t, we didn’t.
Laura: They have tons of – there’s so many potential ideas, I mean you have all the various magical creatures that Harry has flown on. I mean you can have a thestral ride, you could have a hippogriff ride.
Micah: Quidditch.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: You could do a Quidditch simulation
Laura: Quidditch. Yeah, definitely Quidditch.
Micah: Wouldn’t you say?
Laura: What else?
Micah: I was going to say, what about doing a ride that takes you through the tasks of the Triwizard Tournament?
Andrew: Yeah, that’d be cool.
Laura: I don’t know, I see it as being a little bit too specific, as something they might do.
Andrew: Mmmm.
Laura: Because just – just from riding some…
Micah: You think they’re going to stay basic?
Andrew: Yeah, I did think…
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: …they said they wanted to capture it as a whole.
Laura: Yeah, because…
Andrew: Rather than a specific book.
Laura: …when you look at some the other rides they have in that park, it’s all very generic ideas from, you know, the different genres and stories and stuff. They didn’t pick specific events, they just sort of threw stuff together. So…
Andrew: Are you guys big roller coaster fans?
Laura: Yes! Oh my gosh.
Micah: No.
Laura: I am a junkie.
Andrew: No, Micah. Neither am I.
Laura: I am.
Andrew: Really? So, I guess you’re expecting at least one good roller coaster ride.
Laura: Oh, they better, they better, or I’ll be upset.
Andrew: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I ride them, but not to the extent, you know, probably not…
Laura: I ride them ’till I puke.
Andrew: I…I…I don’t know, I have a weak stomach.
Laura: No joke.
Andrew: Oh. Cool. I guess.
[Laura and Andrew laugh]
Andrew: Yeah, I wouldn’t mind a couple walk-through rides or some simple, like – sit and it takes you through like a tour or something like that. Virtual reality is always cool.
Laura: Yeah, they’re definitely going to have to have something to appeal to children, though, something that’s lame.
Micah: Well, isn’t Islands of Adventure, isn’t it more…
Andrew: [laughs] Lame like?
Micah: Isn’t it more on the adult side of the park or am I wrong about that?
Laura: No, not – I would honestly say that the Universal side is more adult because there aren’t as many rides, and the stuff is older. The stuff on Island of Adventures – I mean, you’ve got Seussland, which is for all the little kids, and then you’ve got certain rides in areas that are like mini roller coasters and all that kind of thing for little kids. It’s definitely varied. But, I think that they would definitely have to have at least one ride geared toward the little kids in this area just because, you know, it’s based on a children’s book and a lot of kids really like Harry Potter, so you can’t have all scary rides, you know?
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: So, I’m actually reading another article right now. It says the theme park’s going to span 20 acres of the 85 in the Islands of Adventures.
Laura: Wow. That’s pretty good.
Andrew: So, there you go. You have a little under a fourth there for Harry Potter.
Laura: I mean, when you say it like that it sounds huge, but I don’t know. Just, I don’t know, just comparing it to the sizes of some of the other ones, it doesn’t seem that big.
Bad News For Disney?
Andrew: Yeah. Good news or bad news for Disney? I mean…
Laura: I honestly think Universal has been bad news for Disney since day one.
Andrew: Really?
Laura: Yeah, I mean, I used to live in Orlando, and everybody favors Universal Studios over Disney, because Disney’s problem…
Andrew: Really?
Laura: Yeah. Disney is…
Andrew: Disney’s for tourists, isn’t it?
Laura: It is. Disney – and no offense, Andrew, but [laughs] everybody makes jokes about…
Andrew: It’s not magical?
Laura: No, no, everybody makes jokes about Jersey people and Disney. Like, how all the Jersey people come down to go to Disney World. So, yeah.
Andrew: That’s – yeah, it’s true. I mean… [laughs]
Laura: It is true. [laughs]
Andrew: But screw all of them. I really like Disney, and I’ve never been to Universal.
Laura: Disney’s kind of outdated. That’s the problem with it.
Andrew: I like the kiddish stuff, though. I like all of that. I like the trains, I like the – I like their transportation systems, I like their rides. I’ve only been there twice, but I do like all of this.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Micah: Please stand clear of the closing train doors. Sorry.
Andrew: I don’t think they say that, Micah.
Micah: On the monorail, they do.
Andrew: No, you’re wrong. Yeah, you’re right, they do. [laughs]
Micah: And then they say it in Spanish.
Andrew: Yeah. I mean…
Micah: And then it gets stuck in your head for the next two months.
Andrew: [laughs] Yeah. Yeah. I don’t – I’m just not into the Spiderman or the Superman rides. I’m just a Disney
Laura: Yeah, see, I’m more into thrill rides and all that kind of stuff. So, Disney just…
Discussing Old Universal Rides
Micah: Do they still have King Kong?
Laura: No, they got rid of it. They replaced it with The Mummy.
Micah: You know, I’ll tell you, I was very hesitant when I was in high school to go on all those rides, and then I got on one of them – I think it was Earthquake was the first one I went on, or something like that.
Laura: Yeah, that one’s really lame.
Micah: They’re all lame. King Kong is terrible.
Laura: Yeah. [laughs]
Micah: You see him coming up to shake the car that you’re in and you’re like, “Are you serious? This is the ride?”
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Laura: No, the one they replaced it with is pretty cool, though. Yeah.
Micah: Jaws still there?
Laura: Oh Jaws. Yeah, Jaws is still there, Jaws is still lame.
Micah: Back to the Future, awesome.
Laura: No, they got rid of it.
Micah: Really?
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: There’s one with Warner Brothers characters in it. All the guys from – Bugs Bunny, and Daffy – or, no, with all the Scooby-Doo characters. I forget what it’s called.
Laura: Geez, I don’t remember that.
Micah: It was another virtual reality one.
Theme Park Too Much For Franchise?
Andrew: On the other hand of all this positive news about the theme park, a lot of people – not a lot – but some people have been criticizing the fact that Harry Potter – the Harry Potter franchise is being spread out even further. Do you guys think a theme park is pushing it or what?
Laura: I don’t really have much feeling on that one way or the other. I think that something like this was eventually bound to happen just because, when you’ve got something this big, people are going to try to make as much money off of it as they can. I mean, there’s no doubt about it. But, as long as they do the books and the movies justice, I don’t see a problem with it.
Andrew: Yeah. Micah?
Micah: I agree with what Laura’s saying. I think that for certain people who are involved in it, it’s a financial – it’s a revenue issue. And by building this, you’re saying that theirs spending – what, $265 million to make this? They will easily make that back…
Andrew: Oh, yeah.
Micah: …without any trouble whatsoever and I just – I don’t see a problem with them going ahead and building the park. I don’t understand necessarily the issues that – you’re taking something that has been popular now for so long and you’re building on it and you’re allowing the fans to go out and experience something they otherwise wouldn’t have if it wasn’t built in the first place.
Andrew: I agree. I just think that it may, it may hurt a tad in 2010 when the books have been done for three years and it’s just so hard to say. It’s hard to predict where the fandom is going to be going after the book. Especially with the online community.
Micah: I think for a lot of people, though, this brings – aside from the movies – this brings the whole series to life. Where you can actually go and experience it for yourself.
Andrew: Yeah, it really does do that, yeah. And I’m just trying to think how we’re going to be feeling about Harry Potter in three years from now. Because three years from now – none of us – Laura, I don’t think you were – three years ago, none of us were involved to the extent that we are now. And it’s just like, there years from now, where are we going to be with – three years from now, this park should be open. It said late 2009/early 2010. So, I don’t know, it’s just…
Laura: Well, I mean, I know that I will…
Andrew: I still want to go of course.
Laura: I mean, I always have been and I always will be a fan. But this is definitely, you know, this whole – this right now, what we’re doing right now, is definitely the height of my fan experience.
Andrew: Absolutely.
Laura: Just because I’ve gotten so involved. And I mean, I’m not saying that I won’t go to this theme park. I absolutely will. [laughs]
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: But I’m not going to be there camping outside the night before it opens.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Andrew: Well, you don’t know that. I mean, come on.
Laura: You know some people will. You know they will.
Andrew: No, absolutely, there’s going to be a ton of hype when this park is opened. Almost – probably as much as the book – book release.
Laura: Yeah. I honestly think that…
Andrew: It’s going to be a midnight park release. [laughs]
Laura: Yeah, I honestly think that people might get more excited about this than the movies just because it does bring it to life.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: You can actually walk the halls of Hogwarts. It’s crazy.
Andrew: That’s true actually. I mean, why do people like the movies so much? To see Harry Potter. Now you’re going to be able to be in Harry Potter.
Laura: It’s so weird.
Andrew: You know what I’m saying?
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: The rest of that park is going to be empty when it opens – seriously.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Laura: We should get them to take an overhead shot of the day that that opens…
Andrew: Oh, yeah.
Laura: …so that you can see the cluster of people.
Andrew: You know, overheard shots are always so disappointing because it makes the park look so small and unexciting.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Like, when I look at Disney on Google Maps and you see an above shot, you’re like, “That’s it? It doesn’t look that cool from high above.”
Laura: It’s because it’s not.
Andrew: [laughs] I knew you were going to say that.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: So, I think that’s about it for that.
Laura: Yeah.
MuggleCast 93 Transcript (continued)
Back to Rides
Andrew: I’m sure there’s going to be plenty more to discuss over the coming three years [laughs] since being developed. I just really – I really – we need to hear more. We need to hear more about the rides, because they’ve got to have those down by now if they’re going to be starting construction next year.
Laura: Yeah, they’ve got to have some idea as to what they’re doing.
Micah: Well, it might be not able to be mentioned depending on if it includes any elements of Book 7. So, they may have to wait.
Andrew: I don’t think Jo would be… See, in the article it said that – in the press release – they want to get the theme of Books 1 through 7, not just one book. So, I mean, when you are getting places like Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, that – those aren’t book-specific. They’ve been in every book, give or take. So…
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: So, you know? They probably will be general. I mean, think about…
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Think about rides in – I hate to go Disney again, but Disney. Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s just a general theme. And – what are some other rides that – you know, like the Superman rollercoaster. Laura is that movie-specific? There’s been a few Supermans.
Laura: Yeah, well, I mean, you just – they don’t look into specifics when they are making these rides. They are just looking to make something entertaining and something that encompasses a general theme.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: So, I think talking about, you know, having a Quidditch ride, that is definitely a huge possibility just because everybody associates Quidditch withHarry Potter. So, even if you don’t read Harry Potter, you probably know what Quidditch is, or at least have some sort of idea.
Andrew: Right, and people will still want to go into this park. I mean, I don’t think the snow theme…
Laura: Except Laura Mallory.
Andrew: Yeah!
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Micah: Speaking of her…
Andrew: Someone has got to pay her to get in. What?
Micah: She lost again, this week…
Andrew: She did lose again. Let’s not talk about that right now.
Laura: [says, sarcastic] Darn!
Andrew: Who cares about her anymore?
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: She thinks she is going to have to start over, according to reports.
Andrew: Yeah, but again, who cares about her, anymore?
[Laura laughs]
Hogsmeade Snow Theme
Andrew: Ummm, Hogsmeade, I don’t think the snow theme is very good for a park down in Florida. Is that going to look interesting?
Laura: Ahhh…
Micah: It’s going to melt. It’s going to flood.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Andrew: Well, it’s obviously not real. It’s not real snow.
Laura: They might – they might not do snow. I mean, that might just be part of the concept.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: I mean…
Andrew: They do have the Hogwarts Express, though.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: That is going to be probably one of the big photo-op spots.
Laura: I imagine what they’ll do – if they want to incorporate snow, they’ll do it during the winter months.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: Yeah, and not during the summer. That would look really stupid. [laughs]
Andrew: Yeah. Oh, can you imagine? In Universal do they sort of theme-up the park around Christmas time?
Laura: They do.
Andrew: Do they?
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Oh. Oh, that will look awesome around Christmas time.
Micah: That’s when we’re going to go. That’s when we have to go…
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: …if we do go.
Andrew: Yeah, definitely.
Micah: That’d be fun.
Hogwarts
Andrew: I also like how Hogwarts is all the way in the back, so you have to walk to it. It’s not just…
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: …right in the front where you just go, “Hey! Cheesy Hogwarts, right there. Right in front of you.”
Laura: We can all spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Hogwarts.
Andrew: Yay!
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Micah: Ha ha. Well it’s set up kind of how it would be in the books. You know, the train pulls into Hogsmeade, you go through. The forest is there, so is the school.
Andrew: Yeah. I’m looking at the concept art of Hogwarts, and it’s hard to tell the scale of it, because you see the Great Hall, and you see a couple towers, but then it’s all up on this hill. And if you try to scale it to the people that you see walking below on the sidewalk, it’s hard to tell actually how big this is. It doesn’t look like…
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: …there’s going to be much to Hogwarts besides the Great Hall.
Laura: Yeah, I think they’re definitely just going to take some of the rooms that we’ve associated most with the books, and just sort of throw them in there.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: Do you think Hogwarts…
Laura: Give you a couple of hallways…
Andrew: Mhm.
Laura: …and that kind of thing.
Micah: Is it going to be more of a walkthrough area, do you think?
Laura: I think so…
Andrew: I would think so. Cause I was just thinking, what are you going to do in the Great Hall? Like, there’ll probably be music and…
Micah: Food.
Laura: They will probably…
Andrew: Food?
Laura: …serve food in the Great Hall.
Andrew: Ohh. That’s – that would be a very good idea. [laughs]
Micah: You can probably get sorted.
Laura: [laughs] Oh, that would be cool!
Andrew: Maybe.
Laura: Yeah. Get sorted.
Andrew: Sorting Hat? I don’t know, that’d be kind of – well, I don’t know. I guess it would be cool. It’d be a long line if it’s just one Sorting Hat, though. You know how in Disney one of the things they’ve been doing lately? They have this ride called the Monster’s Inc. Laugh Factory, and you go in – it’s a live audience – you’re part of a live audience, and on the screen you’ll see Mikey. Not our Mikey B, but Mikey from Monster’s Inc. And he talks to the audience, and he puts on this little comedy show. And he also puts it on with these other characters, and they will actually interact with you. Obviously there’s live people behind the scenes that are doing this – that are doing the voices, but they’re improv comedians, and the show’s actually hilarious because they’re interacting with people and their actually making really funny jokes with these guys. And I actually went to it three times to see – figure out how they did it, and see how much it varies from show to show, and these guys who are doing the voices are actually really good improv people. They’ll pick up on stuff right away when they interview these kids right in the audience. So, it’d be cool to have something like that in Hogwarts with the Sorting Hat.
Laura: So that it could kind of…
Andrew: Interact with you.
Laura: Yeah. Oh, that’d be cool. Maybe they’d ask you some questions, or something?
Andrew: Right. Right.
Laura: Oh, that’d be pretty cool!
Andrew: Yeah, you’d just have to hire some British guy, and…
Laura: Yeah. [laughs]
Andrew: …you know, hire a few, because when I went to a couple of different shows, I went to two right after each other, and the voices changed. So…
Laura: Mhm.
Andrew: …you know, they’re obviously getting different people in there, because they can’t do it all day, but it pretty much runs all day, I think. So, something like that would be pretty neat. There’s one of my ideas for a ride. You guys got anything else you want to discuss? This is actually 41 minutes long, so this could almost be a…
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: …full show.
Laura: Almost. No, I think we pretty much…
Micah: Did you want to go through the…
Laura: …beat it with a stick.
Jamie’s Return
Micah: Didn’t you want to go through those announcements about…
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: …next week?
Andrew: Yeah. Yeah, so, I mean, this is a smaller show. We didn’t really have time to put together a full one because, honestly, we have been busy trying to finish up school, and stuff like that, before the summer starts. So we do want to just bring up a couple of announcements. Jamie is going to be back next week and Micah already knows why, because of the rehearsals. But, Micah [laughs] I guess we can’t really make the joke again, can we? Jamie…
Micah: Uhhh, yeah, because they didn’t hear the joke the first time.
Andrew: Okay, so we’ll just pretend like, Micah, you’re clueless. Micah, why – do you know why Jamie has to be on next week no matter what?
Micah: I do.
[Andrew laughs]
Micah: Because he’s going to be in your house.
Andrew: [laughs] That is correct. He will have no choice, whatsoever. Unless you guys don’t want him on, then just e-mail me, andrew at staff dot mugglenet dot com, and he will not be on. But, he’ll be back in the States next week to hang out with me for a couple of weeks. So, that’ll be fun, and he’ll definitely be on next week, along with Laura, Micah and I, and whoever else decides to show up. If they feel like it. Apparently nobody does, anymore.
Laura: Awww, you know that’s not true.
Andrew: [laughs] I’m just kidding. Sort of.
Laura: I was devastated when I thought I couldn’t do the show this week.
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: Devastated.
Andrew: Well at least you gave me fair warning [laughs]. That was nice of you.
Laura: I did.
National Wear Your MuggleCast T-Shirt Day
Andrew: Yeah. Also, what was today, guys?
Laura: It was June 2nd.
Andrew: No kidding. [laughs]
Laura: National Wear Your MuggleCast T-Shirt Day.
Andrew: Yeah. I checked the MuggleCast inbox just before we recorded, and there are 10 of people who already sent in pictures of themselves wearing their t-shirts today, so we will be posting those on MuggleCast.com sometime during the week. Laura and Micah, you guys wear your t-shirts today? I know I did.
Micah: Yes, we did.
Laura: Yep.
Laura: Mhm.
Andrew: Sweet, and we’ll…
Micah: And we took pictures, too, so…
Andrew: Perfect.
Micah: …we’ll post those.
[Laura laughs]
Pickle Pack
Andrew: Perfect. [laughs] So we’ll put those online later this week. Also – let’s see what else. Don’t forget Pickle – time is running out to sign up for Pickle Pack, the official membership thingy of MuggleCast, as I’ve been calling it. We will be taking sign-ups until June 16th, and then they will be closed probably forever. At least it won’t be open until June 16th, 2008, if we decide to reopen it. So, definitely sign up today. It costs $30.00. If you’re a big MuggleCast fan and looking for a good way to support the show, this is definitely the way to do it. All the proceeds from the sign-ups will be going to covering expenses for the summer and any future events that we do, so we thank everyone for signing up. A lot of people have been enjoying it. Right guys? What’s some of the things…
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: …that we’ve been putting in lately?
Laura: Oh, well, I mean, we have bonus audio content. You know? We all have our daily video blogs. Oh, yeah, you can see Andrew when he was 13.
Andrew: Yeah. [laughs]
Laura: That was amusing.
Andrew: I posted a video of when I was 13 years old, hosting my middle school news program.
Laura: You looked so little.
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: I saw that and was I like, “Are you kidding me? Oh my gosh, he’s, like, 10.”
Andrew: You know, I thought I was really good.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: I was realty impressed with myself for being in seventh grade and being able to read that well.
Laura: Yeah. It’s very impressive.
Andrew: Read a PowerPoint slide that well. And, also this week, we released a piece of audio from last week’s show – a 13-minute clip of Eric going on a spiel about the movies, and how Warner Bros should be…
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: …and the length on them.
Micah: And various hosts trying to calm him down…
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Micah: …to no avail whatsoever.
Andrew: And Micah bringing up a good point about Snape that Eric also went off about. [laughs] So, it’s actually a pretty funny clip, but…
Micah: Yeah. We can talk about that in some future show, though.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: Because it is big news and it is a relevant point to bring up concerning the movies.
Andrew: Yeah. So, visit PicklePack.com for more information. We do promise that you will get your money’s worth big time. There’s a lot of stuff going in there every week. So, PicklePack.com, sign up today.
Andrew’s Wizard Rock Single
Andrew: Let’s see, what else? I regret to inform everyone that my wizard rock single will be coming out next week, not this week, because, like I’ve said…
Laura: Oh no.
Andrew: …we’ve been busy this week. I promise you it will be next week. I am so sorry. I hate when I say that something is coming out next week and then it doesn’t.
Exciting MuggleCast Changes to Come
However, on a positive note, we are working on a couple things for MuggleCast, for this summer – don’t want to say what yet, but we should have some announcements within the next few weeks. We’re all very excited about what’s coming up. Again, don’t want to say much, visit PicklePack.com and see my latest Blickle for a little teaser about one of those things. [lauhs] And next week we’ll also be continuing the Road to Deathly Hallows, and we’ll be having a dueling club up and the wizard rock premiere.
Andrew: So, I think that is it for this week’s show. A pretty easy show to do at that, as we try to catch up with our real lives, we will see…
Laura: We have real lives?
Andrew: Some of us do, Laura. I do. I guess you don’t…
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: …apparently. That’s okay, though, we still love you. Some of us.
[Laura laughs]
P.O. Box Update
Andrew: So, we do want to remind everyone about our contact information. Laura, what’s the P.O. Box, and do you have a little P.O. Box update for us, maybe?
Laura: Oh yeah, I do have a P.O. Box update, I can’t believe I didn’t think of it. Okay, yeah, we did get several items in our P.O. Box this week, and I’m sure some other stuff has come in since I got this, but something else – something that we got that I didn’t open, because it was not addressed to me. It was – looks like a birthday card for Andrew from Laurie. So, there you go, Andrew.
Andrew: Ah, thanks, Laurie.
Laura: We did get a really nice little drawing from Rachael P., who actually lives in Alpharetta, Georgia, and it says: “I love MuggleCast.” And it has a pickle drawn on it – and it says: “Pickles love MuggleCast.” So, that’s really great. I actually have that hanging up in my closest right now. Also the first piece of mail that we got – I know that we promised a t-shirt to the first person who wrote to us and that would be Kirsten from Suwanee, Georgia. Actually, most of the mail we got was from Georgia. So…
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: …that’s pretty cool. So, congratulations, Kirsten, we’ll get your contact information and all that.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: I also got a nice little letter from a girl who got out her calligraphy set and actually wrote me an acceptance letter to Hogwarts, so that was pretty cool. That was from Karen, who is in Athens, Georgia. And then possibly my favorite thing that we got was from – I don’t know how to say her name, Wafa? [laughs] W-A-F-A. So, I’m so sorry if I butchered that, but she actually made puppets out of all of us, like, stick puppets.
Andrew: Oh, wow. That’s awesome.
Laura: [laughs] So yeah. Yeah. It’s like they’ve got all of our faces on them and…and…
Andrew: You should take a picture of this.
Laura: …it’s pretty cool. Yeah, I should. I was actually going to use them – have them in my Blickle this week, but yeah. I was going to take some pictures of those and put them up on the site, so thank you for that!
Show Close
Andrew: Also, if you would like to call the MuggleCast hotline, you could always dial 1-218-20-MAGIC. That’s 1-218-206-2442. If you’re in the United Kingdom, you can dial 020-8144-0677. If you’re in Australia, you can dial 02-8003-5668. You can also Skype the username MuggleCast. If you’re contacting us in any of those ways just be sure to keep your message under 60 seconds and take out as much background noise as possible. We’ll try to get to some voicemails next week.
You can also contact us via the handy MuggleCast feedback form located on the lovely MuggleCast.com created by Greg Porter of XalerStudios.com. That’s X-A-L-E-R Studios.com. That’s “relax” backwards Studios.com.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: I don’t know why he made it – called it that, but it’s a cool name, if you ask me.
Laura: Very cool.
Andrew: Let’s see. We also have the MySpace. We’ve got the
Facebook, the YouTube, the Frappr, Last.fm, Fanlisting and Forums. I just want to do a quick check here to see the popular bands over on Last.FM.
[Show music begins playing]
Andrew: Right now, it’s looking like – top artists right now, besides us, number two is Fall Out Boy, number three is The Beatles, four is Muse, and five is Death Cab for Cutie. See the rest of the list over at MuggleCast.com. Just click on the Last.FM link, then click on “Charts,” which is pretty cool. Last.fm does a great job handling everyone’s music.
Laura: We’ve got to fix that Fall Out Boy problem.
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: I’m serious. Come on, guys.
Andrew: [sings] This ain’t a scene. It’s a god darn MuggleCast, yeah…
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: I like that song.
Laura: Oh my god, it’s so stupid. But anyway…
Andrew: You’re stupid. Okay, well, thank you, everyone, for joining us.
Laura: My god.
Andrew: We will be back next week with a lazy Brit and a silly Georgian, and a guy who has a really…
Laura: You’re having Laura Mallory on?
Andrew: …low voice that’s from New York. That’s funny, Laura.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Once again, I’m Andrew Sims.
Laura: I’m Laura Thompson.
Micah: And I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Andrew: We’ll see everyone next week for Episode 94. Heck, let’s call this one 93. I don’t think we…
Micah: Yeah, why not? The trio.
Andrew: I think this is a full episode.
Laura: Yeah, let’s do it.
Micah: The trio do 93.
Andrew: The MuggleCast Trio. [laughs]
Micah: You’re Ron.
Andrew: Okay. No, I’m not.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: I’m hairy!
[Laura keeps laughing]
Andrew: And I’m also Harry Potter. All right, we’ll see everyone next week.
Micah: [laughs] Wow.
Laura: [laughs] Okay.
Micah: Bye.
Laura: Bye.
Micah: Did we ever intro the show?
[Show music concludes]
Bloopers
Andrew: Let’s see, what else? Next week we’ll have more of a discussion on the theme-park, we’ll have a little favorites segment, Road to Deathly Ha… Okay, every time I change how I pronounce it I get an e-mail saying I’m doing it wrong.
Laura: Yeah, “Hallows.”
Andrew: Hallows.
Laura: Hallows.
Andrew: Hallows.
Laura: Not “hollows.” Not “hollow”…
Andrew: Hallows.
Laura: …like a hollow in a tree.
Andrew: I don’t – I never say, “hollow.”
Laura: Yeah, you do.
Andrew: I say, “hallow,” I say, “hallow.”
Laura: Hallow. But that’s still a hollow in the tree. Hallow.
Andrew: Hallow.
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: “Deathly Hallows.”
Andrew: Hallow. Okay. [laughs] I’ll never get it right, I’m telling you.
Micah: I just say, “Deathly Hallows.”
Laura: [laughs] You should just say it that way from now on. Hallow.
Andrew: Yeah. [laughs] Next week we’ll also be doing the Road to Deathly Hallows. See, but then it sounds unnatural, because I’m, like, trying too hard.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Haaaallows.
[Bloopers repeated]
———————–
Written by: Micah, Briana, Christina, Cindy, Eloise, Haley, Hannah, Jessalyn, Jessica, Jessie, Karen, Laura, Leah, Luke, Margaret, Marya, Rebeca, Sapna, Shannon, Shelly, and Tina