Tales From The Jungle Crews

So, after 7 years of "Hey, you should come on my Podcast", and 7 years of "Who is this again? Kyle who?" We finally got Skipper Kevin Lively aboard. Famed as a Disneyland Skipper, Imagineer, and baby shampoo model, this chap has stories for years as we begin the first in our 10 episode series of 90 minute episodes, to be followed up with a 3 hour Marvel studios movie. It's amazing times to be a content.  But, seriously, Kevin is one of my best friends and he recently moved on from his role in Burbank. So, now he's slumming it with me and we chat about a ton of random things. (Including a 7 minute anti-tribute to Cincinnati to start off our episode...) We had a great time talking, and I hope he'll be back soon. 

Hey there Skips and Skipperettes! How ya doing? We hope you're well, and in the mood for some chatting about the Jungle Cruise movie. We've sort of been laying in wait for this big event, and to re-energize some of the great discussions about the movie and about our beloved ride. We are getting a lot of new listeners now, so it's time to get back into Jungle Mode. And what better way to do it than from the Red Carpet at the World Premiere?  Well, had they let me bring a microphone, I would have done that. Instead, I recap some of my thoughts (non-spoiler) about the movie, talk a couple of spoilers (timestamped), and talk about the "State of the Pod" and where we're going from here. Welcome to all the new adventurers... you've got a lot of catching up to do.

So this week (month, year... time is a meaningless construct during Covid times) on the podcast we welcome Skipper Joey to the pod. Joey hosts a fun postcast called Laugh it up Fuzzball, and was also a contemporary Skipper and my 3rd (4th?) Trainer on the Jungle Cruise boat ride. So, it was just time to have a friend on the show, get a little footloose, and chat about his time with Disney, but also some of the new changes on the ride. 

Hey there, Adventurers! Welcome back! So, 2020 was a challenging year, and it was particularly hard on Skippers. As performers and actors, we have a very different make up, and being away from our Jungle has caused a lot of mental health issues. This week we chat with Adrienne MacIain, the host of "That's Aloud", an excellent podcast on creating your own personal story, and getting your experiences out into the world. She is a fantastic author, and she has great experiences with mental health and the acting community. So we chat a bit about what you can do during the pandemic times to keep your boat afloat, mentally speaking. Her podcast is available everywhere fine podcasts can be consumed. I also spend a little time discussing the changes upcoming to the WFJC in the next few years, and address the news that has hit everywhere this week.

So, early on in the life of the podcast, I had this great idea. What if I did fictionalized radio serials of the adventures of some of the types of stories I would make up in my head... and I did. And the Jungle Crews Radio Plays were born. 8 episodes that are some of the proudest things I've done around the Jungle. Every year I take a few moments and replay the 8th and final episode, our Xmas episode. Skipper Gary London and Skippy get into some incredible holiday hijinx, and I love this episode. Skippers Trevor and Joey helped me out with this, and I think it's truly a Xmas miracle every year when it returns. So, enjoy, and let's burn the dumpster fire that was 2020 into the ground and head into 2021 with love, jokes about booze, and a sense of family with those around us we love and tell bad puns with.

Hey there, Adventurers! 2020 has been, well... you know. But we are now all set up with our new SkipCast Broadcasting Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, and we're putting together new content for you in this tumultuous time... This episode we get to meet and chat with Skipper John Rose, a Skip at Disneyland from 1991 to 1996, and a little extra bonus from 2001-2003. We had a fantastic time getting our wheels back on the ground and chatting about his time as Adventureland was going through the changes of the mid 90's. Super great discussion, and we really hope you enjoy it!

Hey there, Adventurers! This episode is a 20 minute "catch up" on what's been happening with the podcast, the ride, the merch, the pandemic, and Skipper Kyle. It's a non-interview episode where Kyle just chats at the microphone. So, be forewarned. Keep in touch with us, more episodes coming as we get them put together. (So, our normal thing we've been doing for 8 years)

Hey there, Adventurekateers! Your old pal Skipper Kyle here, with another episode of Skippertainment for you, to help keep you through these quarantined times... Today we are going to chat with a contemporary of mine, and someone I've been trying to get onto the show for a few years. Like 8. Skipper Jon Gruber! Jon was a Skipper, Trainer, and Lead in the late 00's to early Teens, and he was always a positive and energetic force on the docks. I loved working with him, and thought he would have some fun stories, and he did not disappoint. We know that this is a challenging time for everyone, and we appreciate the Skipper community and how supportive it has been. Thanks for all the kind Emails and words, and we are going to work on continuing to bring you episodes as often as we can.

Hey there, Quarantined Adventurers! We have something a little different for this week's episode. We took "calls" from Jungle Cruise Skips from around the world, and gave them a chance to tell their own stories. If you want to be part of the next round of this, send your 5-7 minute audio clip to [email protected]. We've got more Skippertainment coming to you in the weeks ahead, and we hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

Howdy, everyone! It's been a rough and wild holiday season and start to the new year. I forgot how working retail drains me during Thanksgiving/Xmas, and how no one wants to record podcasts during that time.  Well, we are back in the swing of things, and have interviews set for the next few weeks. This one is a special one that took us a solid 2.5 years to set up. Skipper Jeff Lessel has been on my "get list" since 2015 or so, and I was so happy when he became available to record with us. For those of you who are not WDW acquainted, Jeff was a Skip from 1989 for about 20 years, and then he moved over to the Hall of Presidents for 10 years. He was a MK fixture, and has taken as many trips as nearly any Skipper in WDW history.  Keep passing around the Podcast and Facebook links, and as always, drop into the Apple store and leave us a like and a review. It really helps us with the visibility.