Skywalking Through Neverland: A Star Wars / Disney Podcast

Weird Al Yankovic joins us on this episode!!! We talk his Star Wars fandom, his latest tour - Strings Attached - and he answers questions we’ve had for decades. Ironically the only subject we didn’t cover was his tour with The Monkees! I guess we’ll have to have him on again. Big thanks to Shamim Dana, the STN Bounty Hunter, for making that happen and connecting us to the right people. During Weird Al concerts, he brings up to 8 Stormtroopers and Darth Vader on stage for his encore. David Braun was one of those stormtroopers for several concerts, and shares his stories.  Disney+ is Moving In More Disney+ news! What’s the first thing you’ll watch? We share our thoughts. Also, have you seen this brilliant Twitter thread in which all the official Twitter accounts "move in" to @disneyplus?   https://twitter.com/Disney/status/1163436396113100801 Click on the tweet above to see all the replies! We also have shout-outs and Joshua Jordan shares his thoughts on his recent visit to Galaxy’s Edge. NEW Galaxy's E

Welcome Foolish Skywalkers to our 50th Anniversary Celebration of Disneyland’s HAUNTED MANSION! This episode features Haunted Mansion aficionado and author Jeff Baham (Mousetalgia / Doombuggies.com) joining us for a discussion on this famous attraction and his fandom. We also discuss the special “Soiree from Regions Beyond” event he co-hosted in a Haunted Mansion celebration. We also speak with our good friend and 501st member, Marcus Dohring and Lisa Daniel (Disney Parks Live Entertainment) about their adventures at Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida.  In Things We Want To Share, we discuss the crowd levels in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Bob Iger’s comments on the subject. This turned into a heated discussion with several comments from all of you Skywalkers who tuned in to our live recording. Check out these SKYwalking NETwork shows: Sabers & Spells - a Geek Pop Culture Podcast The Culture POPCast - Interview-based Pop Culture Podcast Small World Vacations Small World Vacationsis

Classic Marvel Star Wars Comics #18 "The Empire Strikes!" is the beginning of a new story arc featuring our favorite heroes - Luke, Leia, Han, the droids and Chewbacca. Luke passes out, Han and Leia bicker, and C-3PO buffs up and becomes a superhero! We also see a new location that reminds us very much of LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures location - the Wheel! Only in Classic Marvel Star Wars Comics, The Wheel is a floating Casino in space, free of Imperial occupation.  Show Notes: Title: "THE EMPIRE STRIKES!" Release Date: September 26, 1978 Writer: Archie Goodwin Artwork: Carmine Infantino and Gene Day Lettering: Rick Parker Cover Art: Carmine Infantino / Bob Wiacek Synopsis: Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, 3Po and R2 are in the millenium falcon when Luke Skywalker suddenly passes out during a Jedi training exercise. They drop out of lightspeed to get him medical help, but run into Imperials, who chase the Falcon to a brand new location - The Wheel - a huge gambling center in space. The rebels scatter o

It’s the 50th Anniversary of San Diego Comic-Con! We share our experiences at SDCC 2019 and our thoughts on the big Hall H Marvel Studios Phase 4 Reveal Panel, the Her Universe Fashion Show, and some fun offsite experiences - you can have a blast at Comic-Con even without a badge! Didn't go but want to check it out? Here's a video of the Lucasfilm Pavilion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ3TL5Ykyek&t=3s Also on this episode, we share our reaction to Jon Favreau’s THE LION KING, as well as some mind-blowing behind-the-scenes facts on how this movie was made. We learned a lot at the press conference, so check out our article on that, as well as our LION KING review. Pop culture suffered a loss on July 24th when Rutger Hauer passed away at 75 years old. He was most notable as Roy Batty in 1982’s BLADE RUNNER with Harrison Ford. He was also in BATMAN BEGINS, Smallville, SIN CITY, THE HITCHER and NIGHTHAWKS with Billy Dee Williams!  SDCC 2019 YouTube Videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q62iuD

Spider-Man - Far From Home is the final film in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe Phase 3. We talk about the film, our reactions, and what this means for the continuation of the MCU. Warning: there are spoilers for Spider-Man - Far From Home! Since this is a finale of sorts, we look back at Phase 3 of the MCU with a rundown of all 11 films. Then we look ahead to Phase 4 and what we know so far, as there’s been no formal announcements from Marvel Studios.  Rise of the Resistance attraction at Galaxy’s Edge has an opening date! The attraction will be opening at Walt Disney World on December 5, 2019; and at Disneyland on January 17, 2020.  We will be at SDCC!! We share where we will be and what we will be covering. Our Latest YouTube Videos https://youtu.be/173JgM5h3pU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfol5WypCxM Check out these SKYwalking NETwork shows: Sabers & Spells - a Geek Pop Culture Podcast The Culture POPCast - Interview-based Pop Culture Podcast Small World Vacations Small World Vacations is

Special guest Miki Herman joins us for an amazing discussion about working on the OT Star Wars films. She is one of very few females who worked in production for A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi... and the Star Wars Holiday Special! She also donned the C-3PO outfit for a short span of time, but long enough to find out she couldn’t, well, visit the refresher without a LOT of hassle! Get to know Galaxy's Edge Cast Members! Did you know that each Cast Member in Batuu has their own backstory? To enhance the immersive feel, each local has created their own story as to why they are working at Black Spire Outpost, as well as how they feel about the Resistance and First Order occupation, and what they know about the legend of Luke Skywalker. We will hear some of these stories. Galaxy's Edge Trip Report! Mike Sanders and his son Owen share their first visit to Galaxy’s Edge. Galaxy's Edge Videos   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfol5WypCxM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeWHnS3AeOA ht

To Infinity and...TOY STORY 4! We get into a fun review and discussion of this final(??) installment in the Toy Story saga that began in 1995. Where were you in ‘95? Sarah was in middle school and Richard had already graduated college. Along with TOY STORY 4, we also talk our favorite and first vintage toys, including Evil Knieval and MEGO Batman toys. TOY STORY 4 has lots of awesome characters, Easter eggs and music - this is a spoiler-filled discussion so make sure you’ve seen the film before tuning in. Bryn MacKinnon (Window To The Magic) shares her thoughts on the film as well, and brings a mom's perspective. Skywalking To Batuu As of this recording we’ve logged a total of 5 visits to Galaxy’s Edge, and are excited to share more stories with you, and more videos! Here’s a few of our latest videos, with more to come. Teresa Delgado (Fangirls Going Rogue / Sabers & Spells) joined us to build her own droid! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3yiawIQrgc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2axHZ9bwlc0

May 31st, 2019 - Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened to all of us eager Star Wars and Disney fans who have been looking forward to this day since its announcement in August 2015, and we were there!! This is our entire Galaxy’s Edge opening day experience! What we were able to do, how we got lucky with lightsabers and how the drama llama creeped in when we met the successor to Secret Squirrel! Check out these SKYwalking NETwork shows: Sabers & Spells - a Geek Pop Culture Podcast The Culture POPCast - Interview-based Pop Culture Podcast Small World Vacations Small World Vacations is an official sponsor of Skywalking Through Neverland. Small World Vacations is a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation planner travel agency helping guests plan special Disney Vacations for over 20 years! Their agents are your best resource for Disney Vacation discounts, news and, most importantly, Galaxy's Edge updates. Best of all, their Magical vacation-planning Service is free of charge. Contact them for a no obligation

Disney’s ALADDIN soared into theaters on May 24th. Bryn MacKinnon (Window To The Magic) joins us to review the film, the music and share details from the Global Press Conference which she attended. This episode is chock full of Alan Menken’s gorgeous music, sound clips and our opinions of Disney’s latest live action adaptation. Do we need this version? Let’s find out! Learn more about this new ALADDIN with these articles: A Whole New Trip Back To Agrabah Music and Merchandise at Aladdin Global Press Conference Check out these SKYwalking NETwork shows: Sabers & Spells - a Geek Pop Culture Podcast The Culture POPCast - Interview-based Pop Culture Podcast Small World Vacations Small World Vacations is now an official sponsor of Skywalking Through Neverland. Small World Vacations is a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation planner travel agency helping guests plan special Disney Vacations for over 20 years! Their agents are your best resource for Disney Vacation discounts, news and, most importa

Dora Speck is visually impaired, but do you think that slows her down? Nope! Her blindness does not mean she’s disabled, she just does things in a different way. We talk about her Star Wars and Disney fandom, how she watches movies, what kinds of collectibles, how she navigates Disneyland and interacts with our fan community. It’s a fascinating and enlightening conversation. Check out these SKYwalking NETwork shows: Sabers & Spells - a Geek Pop Culture Podcast The Culture POPCast - Interview-based Pop Culture Podcast Small World Vacations Small World Vacations is now an official sponsor of Skywalking Through Neverland. Small World Vacations is a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation planner travel agency helping guests plan special Disney Vacations for over 20 years! Their agents are your best resource for Disney Vacation discounts, news and, most importantly, Galaxy's Edge updates. Best of all, their Magical vacation-planning Service is free of charge. Contact them for a no obligation price qu

ON THIS EPISODE: Composers Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson (Cobra Kai, Ant-Man, Muppets Most Wanted) share their process behind creating themes and music for YouTube Premium's hugely popular series Cobra Kai. Cobra Kai is a continuation of The Karate Kid film series. It takes place 34 years after the original film with the reopening of the Cobra Kai karate dojo. Returning cast members include Ralph Macchio as Daniel Larusso, William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence and Martin Kove as the original Cobra Kai instructor - John Kreese. Since Cobra Kai is a sequel to the original Karate Kid film series, we also share Film Fun Facts.  This is the Culture POPCast where we have conversations, interviews and games revolving around pop culture from the vintage era to today. Today is the third in a series of episodes focusing on one-on-one interviews. We recorded these at Wondercon 2019 with several creators working in the TV and film industry. SUPPORT THE SHOW Our fourth Skywalking Force Exclusive episode is all about WonderCo

Want an incredible spoiler-free sneak peak of Galaxy's Edge?? Skywalker Jeff Long takes us on his journey through the Black Spire Outpost in Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland. Thanks to his Cast Member daughter, he was able to attend the very first Galaxy’s Edge Cast Member Preview Day! Do you want to know the prices of those Build-Your-Own-Lightsabers? Do you want a tease of how awesome Smuggler’s Run with the Millenium Falcon is?? How about just a sense of the Land? This is it. A Spoiler-Free Review that only entices you more. After listening to Jeff for nearly an hour, WE CAN’T WAIT! Check out these SKYwalking NETwork shows: Sabers & Spells - a Geek Pop Culture Podcast The Culture POPCast - Interview-based Pop Culture Podcast Small World Vacations Small World Vacations is now an official sponsor of Skywalking Through Neverland. Small World Vacations is a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation planner travel agency helping guests plan special Disney Vacations for over 20 years! Their agents are your

Puppeteer / Muppeteer Mike Quinn joins us for an exciting discussion about Nien Nunb, his puppet alter ego in Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi! He also talks about his Muppet adventures, working on The Dark Crystal and... The Tale of the Bunny Picnic! Mike is also promoting his upcoming autobiography, Talk To the Hand: My Incredible Magical Puppeteer Journey To The Stars! (Now that’s our kind of title!) You will really be inspired by our conversation when you hear about the "Mike Quinn Motor" which has been fast-tracking his career since he was a teenager. Galaxy’s Edge Updates We go over exactly how Disneyland plans to sweep guests after their 4-hour Reservation window is up. Plus, how will Galaxy’s Edge crowds fare on June 24th and beyond? You will need a “Boarding Pass” in the Disneyland App. Listen for details on how all this works. Sabers & Spells - a NEW Geek Pop Culture Podcast NEW SkyNet Announcements! Sabers and Spells is a NEW Podcast on our network hosted by Teresa D

ON THIS EPISODE: Composer Ryan Shore (Star Wars: Forces of Destiny, Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures, Julie’s Greenroom) shares his process working in the Star Wars universe, as well as composing with Julie Andrews! These stories are priceless. This is the Culture POPCast where we have conversations, interviews and games revolving around pop culture from the vintage era to today. Today is the second in a series of episodes focusing on one-on-one interviews we were able to record at Wondercon 2019 with several creators working in the TV and film industry. Ryan Shore was particularly happy to talk about Julie’s Greenroom, which is a Netflix Original series that is basically Julie Andrews with muppets! Ms. Julie teaches performing arts workshops to kid puppets of every shape and color, with the help of her assistant Gus at the Wellspring Center for the Performing Arts. The goal of the show is for all the “kid puppets” to put on their own musical performance by the end of the series. Ryan was able to work with Jul

Join us for a tribute to Peter Mayhew, the man who gave life to Chewbacca with those big blue eyes. Though he passed away on April 30th 2019, Peter lives on in the memories and stories we all share on this episode. We also curated several messages from his Star Wars co-stars, and go over his body of work. Chewbacca was not his only film role! https://twitter.com/TheWookieeRoars/status/1124077256240967681 Peter Mayhew was scheduled to appear at Fan Expo Dallas that weekend, May 3-5. Teresa Delgado was there and witnessed the touching tribute to him. Fan Expo Dallas turned his signing table into a memorial with books to sign and set it up for donations for the Peter Mayhew Foundation. His Q&A Panel turned into a Tribute panel.   SUPPORT THE SHOW Find out how you can become a part of the Skywalking Force and unlock this content right here.     Shop Star Wars Shoes at Po-Zu! Shop Oppo Suits NEW Skywalking Through Neverland T-Shirts at TeePublic! Check them out HERE. CONTACT US Instagram: http://i

Welcome to the newest addition to the Skywalking Network - the Culture POPCast! This NEW podcast will go beyond the scope of the Disney umbrella of Star Wars, Marvel and Disney itself. We’ll have conversations, interviews and games revolving around pop culture from the vintage era to today.  We won’t have a regular schedule for now, we’ll just put them up whenever we have content. On this episode: Go behind the score with the Emmy-winning Dynamic Music Partners! Michael McCuistion, Kristopher Carter and Lolita Ritmanis have 25 years experience composing scores for animated DC and Marvel TV series. They are best known for ‘Batman Beyond’, 'Marvel’s Avengers Assemble,' 'Justice League,' and 'Teen Titans.’ At WonderCon 2019, I had the opportunity to speak with Michael and Kristopher about their process and some of their new projects. I recommend listening to the entire interview here, as it contains musical examples as we talk about them. You can follow the Dynamic Music Partners at @dynmuspartners and learn mo

This is it. Our AVENGERS: ENDGAME deep dive discussion with Steve Houston (Owner, Torpedo Comics / Advisor, Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide) Whereas Richard and I are very familiar with the MCU films, Steve knows every Marvel comic inside and out, and lends a great perspective to this talk. A proper discussion of this film requires revealing major plot points and spoilers, so you’ve been warned!  DO NOT listen if you haven’t seen the movie! Also on this episode: ENDGAME Homework! Which MCU films should you see to get more out of ENDGAME? NEW “Skywalkers Rise” TeePublic design. We were so inspired by the new title for Star Wars: Episode IX - THE RISE OF SKYWALKER and the implications of this title and trailer.  Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Merchandise Videos - Have you seen all the cool merchandise you'll be able to buy in Galaxy's Edge at the Disney Parks?? Lightsabers, Holocrons, Build-Your-Own-Droids, Build-Your-Own-Lightsabers. All of these videos showcase the fantastic merchandise. SUPPORT THE SH

Since the Podcast Stage began at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2015, we’ve been a part of the fun. This year marks our third appearance on the Podcast Stage, so we call it our Interactive Fandom Adventure III! We invited Skywalkers to come up and discuss the Episode IX Trailer and name “The Rise of Skywalker” which had just released that morning. Din, lead singer of the band F-105, rocked the roof off the place with a new song, “Song For Celebration”. He was accompanied by Chris Macht. And we had our Blast Shields game and giveaways! Everyone who attended also received our SWCC button. We can’t thank all of the Skywalker volunteers enough for their assistance with another great Interactive Fandom Adventure stage show. Brian Sims, Teresa Delgado Lutha, Matt Clifton, Daniel Berry, Joey Pittman, David Braun, Aaron Curto, Jess Walz, John Zancanaro, Gary Oransky, Tati Perez, Daniel Carlton, and Bryce Eller as the voice of Darth Vader.

Star Wars Celebration Chicago wouldn’t be complete without a Roundtable of Skywalkers! During the last day of the convention, several of us met up for our now-legendary Roundtable recaps. We talked about our favorite moments, dissected the trailers and title to Episode IX and more. Skywalkers: Chris Alexander (author of Star Wars Origami) Matt Clifton - (Fandom Podcast Network) @FloridaFulcrum Gabriel Colbaugh (Saber Guild) Nitzan Harrell Daniel Berry (The ForceCast) Din (F-105 Lead Singer) Jason and Gabe of Blast Points Raynald Gobeil - @RayGob James Burns (Jedi News) Richard Woloski Sarah Woloski The Rise of Skywalker - who knew a “the” and its placement could be so important? Who is excited for The Mandalorian? How about that Clone Wars Season 7 Trailer?? And finally - all our personal favorite moments that make this convention so special. These stories are a priceless account of our collective adventure through fandom. What We Talked About: Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Merchandise Revealed SUPPORT

On this power packed episode, Mark Newbold (Fantha Tracks) and Tom Spina (Regal Robot / Tom Spina Designs) join us to discuss Star Wars Celebration preparations and EXCLUSIVE merchandise. As the podcast stage host, Mark has a great behind-the-scenes perspective, and we discuss the pros and cons of the panel lottery system. Tom Spina is an Exhibitor and shares some NEW and EXCLUSIVE exciting information on all the exclusives they are bringing to Celebration. The #1 movie at the domestic box office this week is Tim Burton’s live-action reimagining of Disney’s DUMBO. We discuss, review and then share fun audio from the Press Conference, in which Richard asked Tim Burton a question and Sarah met Danny Elfman on her birthday! Also on this episode: Meet The Skywalkers at Star Wars Celebration Our Favorite Celebration Exclusive Merchandise Skywalker and Skywalking Force Shout-Outs WINNER ANNOUNCED of our Apple Podcast Review Contest Where We Will Be: Skywalking Through Neverland will be on the official Sta