Lilo and Stitch: Why Family Beats Fame | James Yon

0:00 here's how i know i'm supposed to be with her she said if you really want to try comedy because i know how much you've always loved comedy try it because of that wonderful woman believing in me she didn't have to do that being pregnant with our third kid she could have said no but now comedy led me to having two television shows, a nationally syndicated radio show. It's afforded me a great life. I put four kids through college with comedy, and now it's the only job that I do. I mean, when we look at Leto and Stitch and the idea of family, and one of the famous quotes from there is ohana, which means family, and that no one... gets left behind there's a reason i love the movie lilo and stitch because ohana i do believe without the people around me who love me and support me i wouldn't be successful i wouldn't be the james that you see here sitting today money is great fame is awesome but when you touch someone's life doing something that you love there is no better reward than that welcome to yes and land where we say yes to the reality of yesterday and today and we say and to the possibility growth and imagination of tomorrow welcome back to our next episode of yes and land very excited today to talk to a guest that we've been very excited to talk to for a while his name is james yawn he is part of theme park comedians uh which has really I'm

1:33 going to say exploded onto the scene. James has been a comedian for a while, used to work at Disney, was a catering director at Disney, so he's very infused into the Disney world. And then he and his good, good friend, Devin Sebold, have created about seven months ago, right, James? Seven months ago, you guys started this thing? Seven months ago, absolutely. It's crazy how big and fast it grew. I still can't believe it that people like two grown men just being silly. And it's the best. It's the best. I really think there must be a clamoring in today's society for good, uplifting, clean humor because you see people like Nate Bargatze, right, who's just exploded onto the scene. There's some other folks like John B. Crist who has done that as well.

2:25 There's just a number of other really clean comedians that are just bringing like wholesome stuff. And so to me, it's like, OK, it makes total sense that people are connecting with your content because it is that way. And James is also known for with this theme park comedians. He's also known as one half of the. Divorce attorneys, Colton and Jamal, for the pass holders, I believe, is what they are. So there's some great skits they do. So anybody listening, you got to go and go find their Colton and Jamal videos for the pass holders. They got some great stuff there. And as a divorce attorney myself, I find it to be absolutely hilarious. You're an actual licensed divorce attorney. We are not, by the way. And one of my favorite things is when we're walking through the parks, because we're there so much, about four times a week, there will be men who will come up to us with their wives and will complain that they're going to enlist our services if their wives don't stop beating them at Buzz Lightyear. I think she is cheating. I'm like, you could be owed compensation, my friend. So yeah, I love the fact that people will reference our characters and stuff like that. Call me Colton, call Deb and Jamal. And it just makes us feel good that people like us doing all the silly things that we do and they appreciate it. So thank you everybody. Like my wife, I know I'm

3:58 doing a good job in our videos when she'll be there with us and I'll do something in the video and she'll just look at us and go. what's wrong with you that's what i know we got gold you're like mission accomplished thank you that's exactly what i was going for honey just looks at me like why why i'm like we don't know we don't know yeah we don't know but it's here this is us this is us so so james what we like to do at the beginning of each episode is we kind of like to get a little bit of a background for our guests so I referenced or I alluded to the fact that you were director of catering for Disney for a number of years. I think you worked for Disney for 15 years, I think, something to that effect. Absolutely.

4:41 Take us all the way back, though. Take us back to Little James, right, when you were growing up. What was Little James like? What was growing up like? You're a native Floridian, I think. Maybe when you were three you moved to Florida. Well, first off, thank you. But I will say this. If you've ever seen me in a video, there's no such thing ever as a little James. Like, no matter how young I was, I was never described as little. But, yeah, thank you very much. But, no, I'm a natal Floridian. I was born in Tallahassee, and I moved to the Orlando area when I was about three years old. Here's the thing, the great thing about Disney for me, my early childhood, and I'll walk you through kind of my whole experience with Disney and where it comes from. I was growing up in a single parent home. My mom was my everything.

5:35 She was our hero. She played mom, she played dad, and she always did a great job. Like, we didn't have a lot of money, but we never felt poor, if that makes sense. because my mom always made sure we had the things that we needed and also would provide so many different trips and entertainment and taking us places to just make us feel like, you know what, life's going to be okay. I give my mom a lot of credit for that. And I give credit to some of the people that she met. She met some really good people who were in turn very good to me. Like one of my friends, Mike, I had met him through my mom's friend, Miss Clara, God rest her soul. And Bruce was, his name his father's name and he actually worked at disney so as a young man we could never really afford to go to disney but i went quite a bit because bruce would take me and my friend mike to disney all the time so i always was just just amazed when i would go there at this wonderful place that was created to make little kids feel like they could do anything that's what disney was for me it was where dreams do come true magnificent rides and shows and make you feel like you're really in a different world somewhere so I fell in love with Disney at a very early age and I always said and thank you Bruce for taking me so many years ago one day I would work at disney that was my little dream i would tell myself i'm one day i'm going to work here fast forward after high school i graduated uh and i was a

7:06 manager at a pizzeria a very famous one that everyone knows but i won't give them a free shout out and the opportunity came Where I could actually be a manager at Disney, and I immediately jumped at the chance to do it. And I was a young man at the time. I think I was around 19. And I actually got the job, and I worked my way up from being in the kitchen, doing my chefing, to actually being a catering director. And before I knew it, I looked up, man, 15 years had gone by. And the reason I bring that all up, because I remember Bruce, that wonderful, kind man who would take me to Disney all the time. When I became a cast member and I started having kids about eight years later, I got to raise my kids going to Disney and they became Disney kids and they now are Disney adults as well. So that's kind of how it started for me and my love of Disney and my appreciation of it and just. showing my kids all the movies. I remember we'd all get together whenever a new Disney movie would drop and we would get in the old grand caravan and head down to the movie theater. And we still do that even though my kids are older and we'll go see Disney movies together, which I think is just an amazing tradition that Disney's allowed me to have. All the bonding that I got because of Disney, I wouldn't trade that for the world, man. It's fun to take your family to things like that, right? And it's even as you start getting older and your kids are older, there's still a joy and a nostalgia to doing that together. I always think there's

8:38 something special about going to the movies too, right? For me, that'll never go away. Yeah, I can have movies at home and I've got a little nice home theater and it's great and all, but it's not the experience of going to the movies and the fresh popcorn and the drinks and being there with other people experiencing it with you, right? Yes. I would liken it to going to Disney. When you go to Disney, you know you're there with a bunch of like -minded people who all are there to have a good time. And movies are the same thing. That kind of experience where... These group of people, we all saw the trailer. We all wanted to see this movie. We're all sitting down, and we come together, and we watch something that we know we can experience and enjoy together. So I definitely get that communion part of movies.

9:18 I own that one pass where I can go to all the movies, me and my wife, and that is our jam. We see every movie in the theater. We love it, man. Yeah, absolutely. Love it. Yeah, that's the way to do it, man. That is absolutely the way to do it. So let me take you back to when you were younger and you're growing up and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you were raised by a single mom. Is that right? Single mom, God bless her. We still talk almost every day, even though I'm a 50 -year -old man. So love you, mom. And so what was that experience like for you to... Be raised by a single mom, see the kind of hard work that she had to put into raising you and trying to provide a good life for you.

10:02 It changed my life, actually. And if things were different, if I had a two -parent household, I don't think I would be the same James. And allow me to tell you why. My mother, when I was young, at a very young age, taught me some life lessons. She taught me that... you know look it's not ideal that i raise you guys by myself but your father made a choice and in life there life's not promised to ever be easy so i i got to actually understand that very early on in life seeing my mother and seeing how hard she works so she can move us to a good neighborhood actually a great neighborhood put us in good schools and what she had to sacrifice for us to do that it always taught me work ethic, seeing my mom work three jobs at one time to provide a good life for us. So learning that from my mom. It's helped me so much in my own progression as an adult, as a professional. Me moving up to catering director was definitely a direct thing that happened because my mom instilled in me work ethic, being honest, integrity, treating people right. So as I became in charge of other people, they would actually respect me because I respected them. I learned so many valuable lessons from my mother. I can't give her enough credit. She's the reason I am the way I am now.

11:27 And she taught me self -reliance also because she was a single mom. She said, look, you're going to find a girl one day, James, like you're going to get married, but I don't want you ever to have to depend on someone else to take care of yourself. So my mom taught me how to cook at a very young age. I had to be like eight years old, standing on some kind of stool, watching her cook and helping her do things. And I loved cooking. Like when she showed me how to do things, I'm like. Cooking's like magic. I can take these things, these things, put it in a pot and voila, I have a whole dinner. So yeah, my mom at a very early age taught me how to cook and I've never lost that love of cooking. That's why I became a chef and that's why I became a catering director.

12:07 And also my mom is very much a Virgo. If you've ever lived or talked with a Virgo, those people are very serious about the things they're serious about. And my mom was very serious about. a house being cleaned so at a very young age i learned to clean a house from top to bottom i'm talking toilets to moving an oven out to clean behind So I never lost that. My wife will tell you, I did all the cooking for my kids growing up. We actually would sit down at a table together. No one would just go off into their room and I would cook and I still clean. And that's what I did. So all that was attributed to my mom and her being a single parent and having to teach me those lessons early on in life. So with cooking, here's a question. What is your like, like, what is your. best dish that you are most known for that like it's your go -to someone wants a good dish you're like i got it here it is okay that's hard because i had okay let me tell you why that's hard for me to tell you what the best thing i can cook is um when my son jack was around i want to say 14 he got diagnosed with celiac disease celiac you can't digest wheat you can't have certain you know you just can't um so that means breads certain spices so i had to learn As a chef that already had learned to cook, I had to learn to cook for someone who couldn't have wheat. So I pride myself on finding ways to cook

13:38 food that my son could still enjoy and the whole family could eat and nobody feels like they're being robbed of taste or flavor or normal foods, quote unquote. So one of the things I make really good, one of the hard things about celiac is you can't use regular flour. And there are so many dishes, especially from the South, where you use regular flour. Like my son, before he got diagnosed, loved pizza. and chicken wings so I had to learn how to make my own gluten -free dough make it trial and error wasn't great in the very beginning had to learn how to make dough to where it would have that same feel that Christmas on the bottom but still be kind of doughy in the middle you know what I mean and I learned how to make the best fried chicken wings that are a hundred percent gluten free I found a way to season them. I found a way to make that skin, that crispness, that crispness you bite into.

14:34 There's still juicy and moist inside. So I would say I make the best fried chicken wings you'll ever have. And you would never be able to tell that it's not a regular flour fried chicken. Okay, so I'm booking a flight to Orlando and I'm coming to your house because I actually have to be gluten -free, James. I don't have celiacs, but I've got a... pretty bad gluten intolerance. And man, I have not had a good chicken wing or chicken fingers that are gluten -free. So I'm there, man. I'm coming to your house. Ryan, bro, when you get to town, I promise you, man, I make you a vow. I will make you the best fried chicken wings that you'll enjoy, not feel sick. You'll just sit back and rub your belly and be happy.

15:21 I got you, bro. Oh, man, because fried chicken is absolutely delicious. I mean, obviously, in the South, it's huge, right? But, like, I mean, I grew up eating KFC, man, and I love KFC. That stuff's delicious. Like, I love it. So, okay, I'm here for it, man. I'm glad I asked that. I'm glad I asked that. That is challenging, though, right? When you have to make adjustments to what everybody else eats, I always feel guilty because I don't like being the person that makes everybody else have to do something different. And so I just. I always feel bad saying I'm gluten -free somewhere, like, you know, when I'm going to be with other people and then feeling like they've got to accommodate. And my mother -in -law is very, very kind. We go to her house every other week for Sunday dinner, and she's always got something separate for me. Like, if it's pasta or something, she's got the gluten -free pasta, or if she's got something that has rolls, she'll have some gluten -free rolls. Very, very kind, but also makes me feel horrible because I hate being the one that puts somebody out, you know?

16:18 And so I'm just always like, oh, it's so hard. Like, I want everybody else to eat what they want to eat. It is hard. And let me tell you, I have a very selfless family, my four children, my wife, because when we explain at a very young age to our kids what celiac disease was and what it meant and how we'd have to change the entire house, because not only can the person with celiac not eat those things, but they can't come into contact with them as well. So that means. if we were eating toast and you put it in the toaster my son could no longer use that toaster because cross -contamination it we had to educate the entire house and not once did any of my kids make my son jack feel less than or it was a bother my kids jumped head first like feet first and said yeah we got you jack we're going to change this house so you can be safe and comfortable so it everyone changed how we ate and we learned so much about the disease and everybody was on board to do it so i i'm just telling you man we life gets hard but i believe family comes together and we do what's right to make make that person you know feel good and make them feel welcome and make them feel whole because it could be hard because jack would have to explain when he would go out with his friends to like the movies or a restaurant all the things he couldn't eat and it was foreign and we never wanted jack to feel that that he was different you know what i mean yes he is different but we didn't want to feel like that made him um less than so everybody was on board in my house

17:51 and i thank god for it every day day because it could have been an entire mess, but everybody came together and here we are, man. Well, I mean, and that's the perfect tie into Lilo and Stitch, right? I mean, when, when we look at Lilo and Stitch and the idea of family and one of the famous quotes from there is Ohana, which means family and that no one gets left behind. No. And it sounds to me like it's exactly what your family did. Like, and that's a credit to. to your kids too for doing that because that's as a kid that's hard right that's hard to to be that selfless as a kid like we all have this selfishness this pridefulness this ego inside of us and when we're younger it's really strong right and so let's do credit to them uh as well as your whole family that they were like hey we're not leaving jack behind we're gonna embrace it not at all man i i you bringing a smile to my face because it's i hadn't thought of it in a long time because it's been so many years since Jack was first diagnosed. But man, I have a special family. I really do. And they're amazing. And I'm very appreciative of them. And I take stock in my life and say all the things that are good instead of waking up and saying, here's all the things that are wrong. And I've led a really blessed life. So thank you. I really feel good about that. Not everywhere can be the happiest place on earth. And at RCG Law Group, my job outside of our podcast, we get that. Life throws curveballs, legal stuff, family stuff, the things you didn't see coming. That's what we're here for. If you're dealing with something and don't

19:22 know where to turn, give RCG a call. Yeah. So you've got this great family. You are doing this. catering director stuff for disney how does the comedy thing end up coming to life how do you end up as a stand -up comic as a comedian doing content creation tell me about that journey okay here's the crazy thing um we we started having kids fairly young like we we had three kids um and in three years we had a kid every year for three years straight and we thought we were done and I got a vasectomy. And the day I got my vasectomy, we found out she was already two weeks pregnant.

20:04 So you talk about, you know, things are meant to be in the universe. My son Isaiah, my youngest, was meant to be here. Here's what was going on. I was young when we started having kids, so I would work. a lot because i wanted my wife to be home with our children i didn't want daycare to raise our kids i wanted someone to be there so i work day and night but i've always loved comedy right and i was always the guy cracking jokes at disney and one of my friends i'll never forget him jamie ryan from new york what's up jamie he said james you're so funny you should do stand -up comedy and i was like jamie how do you just do stand -up comedy and he introduced me to something called an open mic where amateurs would go to a location and a bunch of us would get on stage five minutes at a time and we would practice our little jokes and at the time five minutes seemed like forever like oh my god how does anyone get up there and make jokes for five whole minutes so he convinced me to write some material and he would come to my house religiously i gave him so much credit he would come to my house and make me say those five minutes ten times in a row every day until i was ready to go on stage so by the time i hit that stage for the first time i knew my routine from front to back and i thought I'm just going to go up one time in my life. I'm going to have a great story to tell my kids one day that dad did stand up.

21:30 But that first time changed my life, man. I got on that stage. I told my jokes. People laughed. And that feeling I got from people actually enjoying what I was doing, biggest rush I've ever had. I couldn't drink. There's no drug I could take to make me feel that same rush of people laughing at my jokes. And I was hooked. but but here's the bad part i started doing open mics where i was i was not making any money and i would have to go there and it's late night when you do these things it's not you know just in the afternoon so i was working i'm not making this up and during the day working at disney at night working at universal Then I would go open mic after my second shift. So I told my wife, hey, sweetie, I really want to do stand up comedy.

22:22 And I'm going to go to this thing called an open mic. And she's like, oh, you're going to go somewhere after your second job. Well, how much does that pay? And I'm like, good news. It doesn't. I get paid with laughter. Maybe they give me a soda. Yes. And here's the other part. My wife was pregnant with our third kid at the time when I started doing standup. So I told my wife, not only am I, you're not going to see me during the day because I work and at night, you're not going to see me for the rest of the night because I'm going to be going to this open mic once a week. To my wife's credit, here's how I know I'm supposed to be with her. She said, if you really want to try comedy, because I know how much you've always loved comedy, try it. Try it. Just go and see if you love it. And it's so funny because years later, because of that wonderful woman believing in me, she didn't have to do that being pregnant with our third kid. She could have said no, but now comedy. led me to having two television shows, a nationally syndicated radio show, performing with some of the biggest names in comedy. It's afforded me a great life. I put four kids through college with comedy, and now it's the only job that I do. So that's how I got started doing comedy, brother. It was... It was comedy in itself, me telling my wife, I'm going to do comedy while you're pregnant with our third kid. Bye. Well, there's something great when you find something

23:52 that brings you that level of excitement, joy, and happiness. I've never done stand -up. I certainly don't have those skills. In my younger years, before I went to law school, i did i did do some acting in like local theater right like very low level local theater my favorite was comedies and when when i could be in a comedy and either deliver the line that was already pre -written in a way that gets the audience to laugh or even better when i could improv something based off of the feel of what was happening at the time and that got laughter it was that feeling that you described right you're just like oh my gosh this is this is better than any drug like it's keep me coming back like there's just something about it that's just like bringing joy and laughter to people oh man it is amazing brother you totally get it can i tell you one of the the best compliments i i love when i do a comedy show when someone will come up to me after this show and they will say this they'll say thank you so much um I am going through something really, really hard right now. I have a loved one that just passed away.

25:04 I have cancer that I'm fighting right now. Or I'm getting a divorce. Or I have a sick child in the hospital. And I needed a good laugh. And this is exactly what I needed. Let me tell you, money is great. Fame is awesome. But when you touch someone's life doing something that you love, there is no... better reward than that. The feeling I get knowing that laughter truly is it for a lot of people, it's medicine, it's therapeutic, it's therapy for a lot of folks, man. And the fact I get to be involved in that is an amazing blessing. And I don't take it for granted. I really don't. To me, what I, what I hear when you're describing that is something that, that I, I talked to, to my firm about, I, I coach other business owners about, which is, that when when you're doing something especially something that you're getting paid for the goal is to bring more in value than you receive in payment and that's not easy to do but when when you're describing that it's exactly what you're doing yeah you now thankful you're getting paid for these gigs you're doing but the value that you're bringing to somebody going through something so hard and so difficult that helps them it's going to make me emotional james this is supposed to be a funny episode But what that brings to somebody going through a death, going through a divorce, is it's just immeasurable of the impact that you can bring to somebody's life because it's so needed, right? That's why we as creatures,

26:35 we need humor more in our lives because it brings us a little bit more of that joy and takes us through difficult times. I really do. And I believe you wholeheartedly. You nailed it. And what I tell people, my only little soapbox message when I'm doing comedy at the very end, I tell people, I want you to look at what we got to do here tonight. And they'll look at me like, what do you mean? I'm telling the audience, look around. Look, there's everybody. represented in this room, from every walk of life, every culture is here. You know what we did tonight, people? Nobody cared who we voted for. Nobody cared how much each of you make annually as a salary. All we cared about was having a good time as a group, and we got to achieve that. I said, that feels kind of good, doesn't it? And they'll be like, yeah. I said, so don't forget that when you walk out of those doors and go back to real life.

27:29 Keep that joy in your heart and understand. Sometimes people aren't going to agree, but that does not mean that we have to hate or not be friends with them. Then they're like, oh, yeah, that makes sense. I'm like, yes, something that simple does make sense. But sometimes we got to say it out loud so the rest of the world can get it. Yeah. So related to that, let me ask you this. So our podcast is called Yes And Land. Yes And is something pulled from improv comedy. Have you ever done improv comedy, James? A little bit, so I totally get that. If someone asks you a question, you have to answer it. Why is that a core principle in improv comedy? Because it is. It's like one of the core principles of improv comedy is yes and. So maybe share with our audience, from your perspective as an actual comedian, why that's important. Well, I believe it's like playing basketball. The ball can't stop bouncing. You know what I mean? You have to keep the ball going.

28:32 So that's what improv is to me. And it keeps you thinking and it keeps you in the moment as an entertainer. Okay, this is happening. I'm going to bring this scenario up. So I have to answer, okay, and I'm going to add this to it. So it keeps your creativity going. And that's what I got when I did a little bit of improv, not a lot. There's a guy here in Orlando, his name is Ross Pageant. He's one of the leaders when it comes to improv. His mind, he's like an alien. The way he's so creative and on his feet. That's what I got from improv when I did it. It kept me in the moment to where if something happens in the actual audience, I can react to it, respond, make a joke really quick, and then intertwine back to my planned material. So I love improv. I'm not one of those comedians that hates on improv because there's been a lot of tension between our two camps, I think. Sure, sure. off i know that it's a real skill i know it's not easy so i tip my hats to people that actually do it like it's it's hard Very hard.

29:34 Yes. And one of the things that I heard in you describing what you're talking to your audience about is honestly a yes. And because when we look at this principle of like, you've got to keep the entertainment going. If you, if you don't, if you don't say yes and build on the next thing, then you really shut it down. And I think that's what sometimes happens for people in, in discourse in life, right? Instead of acknowledging somebody else's perspective, instead of acknowledging that people can have different opinions. and then building on it we tear it down we we use a yes but right where we're really trying to invalidate what's going on and it does it stops it and when it stops it then we stop having that sense of community And we let that divide ourselves instead of creating better connections and better relationships, even when we have different views and opinions at times. And so I love what we can learn from improv comedy on keeping things going, but with relationships in life. That's well put. Very poignant, man. I totally agree with that. I think the best way to run, because I'm married 32 years and you're going to fight sometimes. There's certain couples out there who say, we don't fight. Those people are liars.

30:48 Because yes, yes, you will fight. I agree, right? There's no way that somebody doesn't ever fight. No, we never fight. I'm like, okay. All right, but you do lie. I always say the best way to win an argument most of the time is by listening. Because you're going to learn more. You're going to understand more. Maybe see the other side. So I try to keep that in mind. I'll be honest with you. If we were keeping track of arguments like it was an actual boxing match, I am 0 -88 with my wife. That woman is much smarter than me. She's good at what she does. Shout out to her, man. When you are having maybe a disagreement about something, are you able to bring in humor in a way that brings levity as opposed to humor that brings in disparity or disparagement, right?

31:49 Are you able to do that? Does that ever play a role in the way that you guys sometimes, if you have a little bit of disagreement, but you can bring in the levity, then suddenly it brings you guys together? That's my wife. People don't know this. People think I'm funny. I'm really good at stand -up comedy. I will say that. My wife's ten times funnier than I am. Hands down. My wife's hilarious, my friend. She just doesn't want to ever perform. I would love to see her on stage. She'll snap me out of it. If I'm being a grumpy bear and I'm grumpy about something silly, she'll snap me out of it. I'm like, oh, you're right. You're right. Again, you're right. I'm 80, oh, and 89 now. But yeah, my wife uses humor a lot. Like it snaps me out of it because I'm a comedian. I love humor. So she knows exactly after 32 years how to get me in the better mood.

32:38 So yeah, she'll use it. If we're arguing, I'm like, yeah, you're right. That was just, it doesn't even matter. That's so silly. I, yeah. So yeah. Smart. Yeah. It definitely helps us. If we didn't have humor in my relationship, it would have never worked. My wife. That's how we deal with a lot of stuff. When things happen, you have to laugh at it and just, all right, let's tackle it. Yes, and, and let's go. Yeah, brilliant. Okay, so I got a couple of questions for you about, let's get our minds opening up here and let's see what you've got, okay? So what is, because you're in the parks a lot, right? Four times a week, I think you said. What is your biggest pet peeve of people in the parks? This is easy. We don't stop in a walkway. We don't abruptly come to a stop on a walkway when there's a thousand people literally walking behind you because accidents are going to happen. I love, man, the excitement of seeing someone brand new in the parks because you understand what they're feeling for that first time. But there's some etiquette, some rules to being in the theme park.

33:46 If you're walking and you're on a main thoroughfare, you can't just stop. There's always going to be someone behind you. There just is when you go to the theme park. And if we could all walk the same speed, maybe, that would be great. I'm just putting it out there. That would be helpful. That would be nice. Some of us have to have a ride to get to. Okay, so let me throw this or that. Would you rather have, say, a big group of, say, 15 people all wearing matching shirts in front of you suddenly stop? Or the rope dropper, you know, dad with a stroller behind you that keeps hitting you in the back of the heels as he's going because he's trying to go faster and faster and you can't go any faster. You're stuck.

34:34 Which would you rather have? Oh, that's a great one. I'm going to say the dad hitting me with the stroller. Here's why. I might need a little help sometimes. Like, help me along. It's a reminder, right? Can I get in the stroller with your kid? I'm going to go jump right in. I don't know what it's rated for, but adults are fine, right? I'm getting on this stroller. I meet the weight requirement, right? Oh, I love it. It's going to take you so long to get. I've been there. The 15 people with the matching T -shirts, they're going to block everything. It's going to take a while to get around them. So I've been there. I love your family reunion, people. Enjoy yourselves.

35:27 But get out of the way. Go off to the side. Not in the middle of Main Street, okay? Let's go. everybody stops it's oh my gosh god bless you yeah so here's an anecdotal story so when i was maybe i was probably 10 years old um and back then so i'm i'm the son of a school teacher dad taught elementary school my my mom was a lunch lady but by golly they saved and scrimped and made it happen so we could go to disneyland just about every summer disneyland's closed out here out west um and so i can remember Walking in, I was so excited because we loved Disney. So I remember walking in, and when you first walk into Disneyland, I don't think you've ever been to Disneyland, right? Have you ever been to Disneyland?

36:09 I have. Oh, you have? Okay, so you know. Okay, so you first walk in, you walk underneath the little tunnel where the train's at, right? And you kind of go to that roundabout right before you go up Main Street. And so I'm there, I'm 10 and I am soaking it in and I didn't stop. All right. I'm still walking and I'm soaking in the sounds and the smells and the view. And I'm totally lost in this magical world that Walt has created, right? Doing exactly what he tried to do, right? Where he's creating all of these experiences for you. And as I'm walking along, not paying attention at all. And one of those posts that you have all the ropes for, for the parades was up and I ran. right into that, in the family jewels, James, and I was dead. Like, it was the perfect height to take me out, and take me out it did, and oh my goodness, I remember that so vividly like it was yesterday, because I was not going to stop, right? I was on a pathway.

37:10 You were. Every man, when we hear a story like that, we instantly feel that. that pain we go back to the time we felt that same thing and i'm sorry brother that is you can literally hear like that's exactly the sound it would have been right yeah if it was a movie that's the sound they would have made right when that part happens yes oh man oh it's perfect Here's my pet peeve. I don't know why it is, but it's my pet peeve. And it's not just the parks. It's pretty much in general. My pet peeve is when you go into a men's bathroom and you go to the urinal and somebody starts at the urinal and in the 15 to 30 seconds they're at the urinal, they can't stay off their phone long enough that they've got to pull out their phone and look at their phone while they're at the urinal. Like, that's my pet peeve. I can't do it. I can't do it, James.

38:10 If you pull out a phone while you're using the bathroom, you're a serial killer. There's etiquette to using a cell phone when you're using the bathroom. The only time it is okay when you're doing the other thing, sitting down. That is the only time. I agree with that. But the urinal? I'm like, I don't get it. I don't get it. We're so addicted to the phone that 15 seconds, we can't be away for 15 seconds. I'm just like, I can't do it. And it's an epidemic. It happens so frequently. I see it happen all the time. And now you just gave me a visual because, you know, we've used other people's phones before in a pinch. I put that same phone next to my face. It's on my face.

38:56 It's right here. Oh, my goodness. Oh, wow. Okay. Okay. That's a visual. Here's the next question I got for you. Obviously, you must have done a lot of stand -up, right, over the years. What's like the nightmare gig that was just like the worst or the worst audience member you've ever encountered? Well, the worst comedy gig, because we talk about this a lot between us comedians, is the surprise show. that you'll do and let me let me tell you what it is normally it's a bar show meaning you're going to be doing stand -up comedy at a bar a place that's not set up for comedy but it's the only place that will let you start doing comedy in your early days of you know trying to be a stand -up comedian and you need to get to stage time but when it's a surprise show meaning all the people there are drinking watching the game all of a sudden the owner turns the tvs off and a nervous pimply kid says all right guys it's time for comedy and people are looking at you like it's a mob hit they're going They're watching the game.

40:15 They're drinking beer to the bar and you're going to surprise them with a comedy show that they didn't sign up to be a part of, man. It's those are the worst gigs when the surprise comedy show that no one knew they were coming to. Yeah. Before we jump back in, can I ask you a quick favor? If you're enjoying the journey so far, will you like rate? and subscribe to our show it helps us reach more people like you we can design and create and build the most wonderful place in the world but it takes people to make the dream a reality what what do you do in those moments and they they don't want to be there or they're wanting you to fail and you're trying to deliver these jokes and it's not landing at all i mean you had to have had that you you can be the best committee in the world you will still have times where jokes do not land like what is that experience like because i think that's what people are afraid of right that's why people don't want to do stuff like that because like what is that like Because you're by yourself. There's nobody on stage with you. There's no help. There's no friend you can call. There's no lifesaver coming, right? They're going to throw to you and pull you into the boat.

41:24 No, no. It's just you facing those people and they're not laughing. It's happened to the best of us. You have to learn to bomb. That's what we call it when you're not doing well on stage. We have to learn to bomb while still smiling and being pleasant. That's something else, man. Imagine, it's like working. customer service when you have the rudest person in front of you you still have to smile listen and nod that's what it's like being a stand -up comedy and that's part of the process of being a great one is learning in that adversity to not let see people see you sweat because they can smell nervousness they can smell fear the audience they know and if they smell a little bit they're like a a shark that smells blood there it's going to be a blood bath so you have to learn to take it you have to learn to be okay in that silence of them just staring at you and keep doing your act like they're all still laughing and get better at it and at some point if you do it and you keep at it they'll start laughing when you do these shows even when it's a surprise one and that's how you know you're a good comic if you can do a surprise show and those angry people turn into an actual an actual comedy audience bro you're on your way you're gonna make it how do you differentiate with certain jokes that you tell between what's just a dead audience or what's just a dead joke like this joke just is not going to work like it it's it's i shouldn't have written it it's out of my set next time like how do you differentiate between

42:56 those well it's kind of easy if you do a joke that normally works all the time and you do it a gig and no one laughs you're like it's probably the audience but if you tell this joke everywhere like it like five different shows and they're not laughing It's probably the joke. Like, you should stop telling that joke at some point. When you try it multiple times at multiple shows and people are just like, nah, that's the difference. That's how you know this ain't working. Okay, so you're going to give it a shot. Like, if the joke bombs once, you're not going to quit there. You're going to keep going. No, that's the beauty of doing standup. You're going to take that same bombing and that feeling of dread. You're going to go do that some more. You're going to keep doing it. Bring it on. And there's no safe word in comedy. You just keep going. There's no safe word. No one coming to bail you out. Totally fair. Nope. Nope. Okay. So. Let me ask you maybe a question that might make you think a little bit. If you had to, say, create or since let's say to send somebody to a ride in any of the Disney parks where you would send terrible guests, right, that they were being terrible. So as a punishment, they have to go to that ride. What's the ride you're sending people to? Oh, this is very easy. This ride has been known to send people to a chiropractor. Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom.

44:28 Bro. Oh, really? Oh, yeah. It's a wonderful ride, but it's rough. Bro, it is. That's a ride, an attraction that needs a safe word. It's rough. You will come out. Actually, they now hire Disney a chiropractor that's at the end of the ride now. The gift shop has a chiropractor office. They'll line you up, you know. That's right. They put you in that little chair they have that has the face thing. Like, here, we got these chairs lined up. Just get on that. We're going to. That's the way I feel about Matterhorn. That's the way I feel about Matterhorn at Disneyland.

45:08 It's the rickiest. I get that when it came out, it was unbelievable. Nothing like it ever. The style of track with the tube had never been done before. I get all of that. I still hate it. My kids want to go on it, but I'm always sitting like this the whole time. Don't jerk me too much. Don't break my neck, please. And the kids are like, Dad, isn't this fun? You're like, yep, sure is. It's great. It's so great. Glad you wanted to go on this. Glad I spent my lightning lane for this. Like, oh, good gravy. Yeah, so if anybody was a horrible guest, I'm sitting in Space Mountain. They're going to come off feeling different. Yeah, no doubt about it. Okay, so what is a Disney Parks hot take you have?

45:59 Parks just in general? Disney hot takes. Anything. Disney, Disney, Disney Parks, Disney movies. Maybe it's just a hot take you got. Give us a hot take. People are going to kill me for this because I know this is a Disney tradition. I never liked eating on a trash can and using it as a table. I know. How dare you? But I came from the culinary world. That's, you know, there's a distinction that we make between trash and where it's kept and cleanliness of the food and whatnot. So just me putting my food down on a trash can never, never been my thing. I never wanted that. I never thought that was the best idea. That was always like, like worst case scenario, right? When they're all the tables are taken out and you would have to do that. I didn't, I wasn't looking. to go to the trash can. I never wanted to practice being homeless. Like I never wanted that. So I know, but haven't, haven't we all been there? Like I with you a hundred percent, James, it's the worst. And yet I have done it on multiple occasions. I know. I know.

47:09 And people, you know, you've heard this. People are losing their minds because the trash cans have changed in Epcot. You can no longer just put your tray on it. It'll fall off. It's rounded at the top, the new trash can. So people are going crazy right now. But they've done something along all the railings that they have in World Showcase. They started putting up these. Not boards, panels where you could stand and eat like you used to at the trash can. But now it's an actual clean surface that doesn't have, you know, trash and disposables inside of it. That's a little bit, you know, more cleanly for you.

47:50 So they're trying to make up for it. But yeah, I never liked eating on the Disney trash can. I'm sorry. People don't hate me. You're going to get so much hate for this. You're going to get all these comments blasting you, James. It's going to be wild. You better buckle up. Keep your hands and arms inside the vehicle because you better buckle up, my friend. I'm going to be sent on Space Mountain. I know. I get it. Oh, that's exactly right. Yeah, they're going to be like, hey, you're going to have to suffer the same punishment that you were trying to dole out to everybody else, James. This is going to happen. This is the reality. This is your new reality. Okay, so when you're out in the parks and you and Devin are filming. I think some of the stuff you guys do are just like riffing off the fly. And some of the things you guys have like written some jokes and stuff. So when you have, tell me this, who's the first person to break between you and Devin? It's funny. Cause I think it's Devin. Like, cause I'm so silly and animated. I'll do something. He'll just start laughing. Like one of the cool things about our videos is. The genuine laugh at the end of our videos is us truly cracking up because we're like, we can't believe how silly we're being.

49:00 And we leave those in on purpose on a lot of our videos. Like, I'll make Devin laugh. If I can make Devin break, that's my goal. He likes to make me scared to get on certain attractions. I like to see him break during an actual sketch. If I can do that, I know I'm doing a good job on this sketch, man. Yeah, that's what I love about doing these. Oh, I made Devin laugh. Oh, and Devin's like, oh, we got to stop. I knew I got him. Cut, cut, cut, cut. We got to refill. I can't do it. I can't do it. We were doing, we do these reviews of different toys and stuff that you can buy on property. We were at Animal Kingdom and they had this little squishy blob you could buy. And it was in the shape of a bao bun. And we had these little bao bun baskets that you would buy them in. So we were just reviewing it. And Devin's like, oh, this is a little bao bun basket. I'm like, hmm, funny thing. That was my nickname in college. And he's like, I was like, why wait? That's my favorite thing to make Devin break. You know what? I'm going to take that one because my kids are now going to know you as that because they love those Battle Bun things. Like, they are obsessed with them here. Oh, my gosh. Like, I don't know if it's to the same degree there where you're out in Florida, but here in Utah, it's like everybody wants them. You get to go to the Five Below store to get them, and you open them up to see what weird color it is. And so, like, my kids have just way too many of them, and they love them.

50:27 So that's going to be – I'm going to be like, guess who I talked to today? Battle Bun Basket. Oh, my gosh. That's funny. I did not know it was so popular out there. All right. Oh, it's huge. It's huge. These kids these days, they love it. They love it. Okay. So I'm going to take you to a quick this or that. Well, maybe it won't be so quick. The rapid fire will be quick. But we're going to do this or that for just a minute here if you're game for it. You ready for this or that? I'm ready. Now, I always tell people, if you've got some controversial opinions, James, I am not going to be afraid to call you out on it. Okay? So you better be ready. Okay. I'm ready. Okay. So Stitch or Abu?

51:09 Stitch. Stitch. I'm with you. I'm with you. If you know me – wait a minute. Wait, sir. Wait a second. Hold on. I'm about that life. Oh, there it is. You are about that life. I'm about – I'm telling you, man. You know that Stitch is my jam. I love Stitch, man. Yeah. That was a softball. You're like, yeah, boom. Well, yeah. Thank you for asking me that. So people know I have a love for Stitch, man. I really do. Are you excited for the Stitch 2 live action? I am. Here's why I thought the live action stitch worked because they didn't make the same movie frame by frame.

51:52 They changed some things, made some stuff different. So it was a new experience. Here's my hot take for people when it comes to Disney movies. If we're going to make a live action version five years later. it needs to be a new property because all we're doing is re -watching a cgi movie that's been turned into a cgi movie when we added a couple live actors in it i i think it's just i don't understand it but hey if it's your thing but for me my hot take it needs to be a different movie if you want me to go support it yeah so you're hoping that stitch 2 is a little different uh you're hoping that tangled live action's a little different Hopefully it is. Yes. Yes. Don't just give me the same movie frame by frame. I saw the movie. It was great. I saw it. I don't need a new updated version of it. That's the same. Yeah. Okay. How about this one? Stitch's plasma blaster or Aladdin's lamp. Oh, the plasma blaster. These are too easy for you. If it's going to be stitched, it's too easy. Let me tell you why, though, because if you shoot a plasma blaster at a theme park, people tend to move out of the way. It's all I'm saying. Like, I get exactly where I need to go. I'm just going to fire this thing off. Bro, you've heard of a lightning lane? Plasma gun lane. I'm telling you, bro. Way more effective. If Disney Imagineers

53:23 are listening, I'm just telling you. It's like Princess Bride, right? Andre the Giant. Everybody move. Right? Everybody just splits up. Plasma blaster. Yep. Everybody's out the way. I love it. I love it. Yeah. Yeah. What do you know? Okay. How about this? A 45 -minute stand -up set to a completely silent room, or it's a small world on loop for three hours. 45 minutes. 45 minutes to dead silence. Just people looking at me. That's a lot of Small World. Let me tell you something. If you ever rode Small World twice in a row, I did that. Because we had two of the kids with us in one part of Magic Kingdom. And my mother -in -law had the other two kids. And I'd just gotten off with two of the kids. And the other kids wanted to ride it. And the mother -in -law was like, my knees, I can't do this.

54:20 So I had to go on with them. Yeah. Woo. Two times in a row. That's a lot of small world. That is a lot. I almost jumped in the water. I'm just saying. You're ready to bail. Get me out of here. Pretty much. I'm like, I wish the world were bigger. Way too small. Way too small. That's one of the rides that I, again, for Disney lovers, it's. They love it. They nostalgia for it while themselves created it. And I get all of that. The only way I like going on that ride, James, is if it's the middle of the day and it's super hot and I need a break and I'm going to take a nap. Give me that 10 minute nap and it's fine.

55:01 I'll sleep. My kids will enjoy it. It's good. I've mastered the like taking a nap when you like fold your arms, kind of lay back and your head goes down, you know? Yeah. I can do that. I can do that. And then I can make it work. Other than that, I'm like, I'll pass. You guys go on that. I'll go eat a churro or something. But could you imagine three hours of that? That's a lot. It would be torture. It'd be like Chinese water torture, right? Where they're dripping the water on your head. Oh my God. No, no. Okay, so speaking of Disney food, how about this? Eat only turkey legs for a week or only Disney corn dogs for a week? I'm team corn dog. Corn dog all day. Disney got great corn dogs. And I know there's a lot of you who love the turkey legs.

55:55 I know my manatee friend out there, he loves those. This is going to be a hot take, and I tell people. i am not a fan of the disney turkey leg i am it's not my favorite at all out of all the wonderful delicious snacks and treats that they make that's on the bottom of my list i am not a turkey leg fan i really am not i know don't hate me people i'm just being honest i'm yeah really okay and it for me it goes back to that's actually not disney's fault but i remember it was I graduated law school. Some family and a friend came into town. We drove up to Dallas because I went to law school at Baylor, which is in Waco. We drove up to Dallas and went to Six Flags. We got a Six Flags there. And it was super hot. I had not hydrated well, and I was super hungry. And so I got a turkey leg they had there. and then i was so sick the rest of the day like i couldn't hardly go on a ride like my head was pounding i was other things and since then like i can't even hardly see the turkey legs i'm like nope fast that's not gonna be for me i'm not doing a turkey leg yeah i i don't hate them it's just not close to being my favorite.

57:14 I just think they're okay. And I know there's going to be people who hear this and they're going to lose their minds. I'm sorry. I'm just being honest with you. I'd rather have a corn dog. Yeah. I mean, cause the corn dogs are really good too. I mean, they're like delicious. A little bit of mustard, like corn dog, mustard. Oh man. I could, I could eat that right now. Oh yes. I'm going to go get one. I'm going to have the chef here on the ship, make a corn dog. Yeah. And what's, what's hard is, is I, Because I just in recent years have developed this gluten intolerance. I can take a gluten pill. I've tried a whole bunch. I've experimented with a whole bunch. I found some that won't make me as sick if I have some, but I have to really want it because I'm still not going to feel great. Disney churro, Disney corn dog, I will do it. Give me that pill.

58:05 Give me that gluten pill. I'm going to eat that corn dog. I'm going to eat that churro. It's worth it. I will totally do it. It's like Texas Roadhouse Rolls. I will do it. It's delicious. I'm making it happen. Texas Roadhouse Rolls, sir. Right? You took me to a happy place. You see me closing my eyes like you? So good. God bless you. It's embarrassing, James, how many rolls I'll eat when I go because we don't go that often. And I'm going to have to have a pill. So it's like if I'm in. man i'm all in seriously it's i probably eat 10 to 14 rolls when i go like that's embarrassing like it's ridiculous but i'm like brother bringing more bring in two two baskets don't give me one basket give me two baskets Brother, that's impressive that you can put that many down. I would stand up and give you a slow clap like, okay, yep, mm -hmm, yep. They're so good. They're so addicting. It's just like a Pringles. Once you pop, you can't stop, you know? There you go. That's how my wife was giving birth. Yeah, just one right after the other. She's just like, yeah, have another one. Let's have another one. Here we go. We thought of naming our kid Pringles the first one. You should have, right? You should have. Maybe that's the nickname. Okay, how about this one? This also might lead to a hot take. Tiana's Bayou

59:36 Adventure or Splash Mountain? Ooh, I see what you did there. Well, it's easy for James because remember how we talked about me, well, people seeing videos of me being terrified to get on Tower of Terror? Yes. What makes you think I feel anything different about going down a steep waterfall in a log? So you can keep both of them, okay? Pass. Neither. The answer is neither. Yeah. Bro. Have you never been on it? Once. And I was small. I took, I think, a 30 -year layoff, it feels like, 20 years at least. I did it one time and I thought, oh my gosh, I'm never doing this again. This is horrible. So I believe, the reason I bring it up, we did this whole campaign for St. Jude's, the good people there. If you donate a certain amount of money, our fans, I would get on Tower of Terror. And I thought it would take weeks or a month to get there because it was close to $5 ,000. was the goal. The next morning, the money was there. The next morning, so many of you wonderful people donated to St.

1:00:57 Jude's. And I want to believe it's because you really think it's a great cause, but a part of me believes you just wanted to see me cry because the money, we put the video out in the evening and the next morning. people had donated the full amount and went over i couldn't believe it so i i actually had to get on tower of terror and i am terrified of that ride like i was having heart palpitations i thought i wrote a will to my wife which was funny because she owns everything already so it was just it was that was that colton and jamal was it colton and jamal that did that That Colton is a handsome lawyer. But yeah, I actually got on the ride and it's the funniest thing. I had worked it up in my head that it was going to be the worst experience in my life riding that ride. I was so terrified. It was so ingrained in my memory how bad it would be to get on something that dropped. And I rode it the first time. and realized it wasn't bad not only was it not bad and it nearly wasn't as bad as i thought it would be but i actually enjoyed it so when i got off the ride all the cast members kind of knew who we were and they said well did you like it and i said actually i did and they're like you want to ride it again i'm like Okay. And I went on it again. I brought my wife the next day and we rode it together again. And now it's become one of my favorite

1:02:29 rides at Disney Hollywood Studios. And I just think about the fact that. I let that fear over time get to me and it made me afraid to try something that I now love. And I think about that life, like do the things that scare you in life because there are probably things you're gonna really enjoy and you don't give yourself enough credit or you don't give yourself enough, you don't think that you can do things and we put a mental block in our head. You gotta stop that. That's the one thing I'm learning in my old age now is you can do the things that you thought you couldn't do. if you just try to do them you can really do it you can accomplish anything in life i'm a firm believer in that now if i can ride roller coasters if i can get on tower of terror there's there's nothing that i can't do if i put my mind to it yeah and what i what i actually really love about this this particular story and why there is a real life lesson here too is not only is it that we we sometimes build it up too much we tell ourselves this narrative of what it's going to be that keeps us from doing it and also the value in the support that we have around us right and in in the community stepping up to donate for like for obviously an amazing cause i mean who who doesn't want to donate disney jude's right it's incredible and also like that support of like hey we're also here to like support you trying this thing and devin's there to support you trying this thing and you know what power support can we have to us And also what support we can have to other people when they're maybe keeping themselves

1:04:00 held back, when they're afraid to do something. Can we bring in some support to them? And honestly, I think a little bit of levity and humor is a great way to do it, right? A great cause to help people through difficult times. Help them when they're holding themselves back when they shouldn't because they're capable of a lot more than they think. I think there's a lot of lessons in that, James. There's so many. And yeah. i gotta say i got to be a part of something like saint jude's and the wonderful cause that they are and they were it's funny because when i made the little proclamation that i would get on the ride if they donated saint jude's actually commented and was like oh my gosh we love this like you know what i mean they're like this is a great way to bring awareness to what we do so i got to overcome my fear saint jude got got a great donation in fact devin became the number one donor and those brackets they were using for you know influencers he was number one because of all the great support that they showed us so it was a win -win most definitely man i was very happy to be a part of it okay so then i guess that that begs the question of when are you going to go on guardians of the galaxy in disney california adventure okay that's a great question because we're actually planning on a trip to go to disneyland to go to um um the california and when we do i just lost you for a second i just lost it for a second give me that again okay we actually made a plan me and devin are going to disneyland and i will be writing guardians of the galaxy over there and of course we're

1:05:32 going to It's coming up soon. I think the first of the year we're going to be going out there and it'll be a great trip. I think I'm bringing my son, Noah, who Noah's my all my kids love theme parks. But Noah has a special love of theme parks like his dad. And he wants to go with me. So I think that's going to be our trip. Me, him and Devin are going to go out there and I'm going to ride. guardians of the galaxy i'm gonna film it of course because if i don't it didn't really happen so you guys will see me get on that for the first and i'm gonna be nervous because it's a new attraction i'm always nervous no matter what new attraction i get on so i'll be doing that and i think the next thing we do to help out charity for for theme park comedians i think i'm gonna be riding Tiana's. I was going to ask exactly that thing, James. I was just going to say you've got to do another fundraiser for Tiana's Bayou Adventure. You have to. That is brilliant.

1:06:27 That is brilliant. Oh, gosh. I love how excited people get when I'm going to be terrified. You've got to do this, James. It's going to be great. But if it helps a good cause, I'm willing to do anything and be terrified, to be scared. And I'm scared of that ride. I really am. It's worked up in my head like Tower of Terror. So I think I know that's going to be the next one. So when you go out to Disneyland, are you going to meet up with the magical millennial? I think her name's Megan. I'm going to travel. Yes, absolutely. And I definitely want to meet my friend Biscuit. I want to meet, yes, Jeremy. Oh, yeah. He is so funny. They're amazing. Bro, he, oh my gosh. His energy, his love. It just seems boundless.

1:07:10 His energy doesn't stop. I'm just like, this guy has so much energy. I love it. It's infectious. Watching his videos where he just walks for no reason. Like, I'm going to see if I can walk 10 miles to Disney real quick and see if I can do it in an hour. I'm like, you can Uber. It'll be fine. It does exist. It does. I think you're going to love the Guardians ride. So when DCA first opened up. Tower of Terror became my favorite ride. I absolutely loved it. I loved the whole experience of it. I loved the throwback to Twilight Zone. It just made it so creepy and fun. And I was so nervous, James, when they said we're going to change it. I was like, oh, how can you do that to my beloved Tower of Terror? It can't be possible. And then they did it. and now it's my favorite ride at dca the dis the guardians version is so fun and and and i mean it's just so light -hearted obviously the guardians are hilarious right but they've created it in such a way that just brings so much joy i mean i just go on and i just laugh the whole time whereas before it's a little creepy right you're like scared but have to creepiness now just sit there and laugh it's like this laughing the whole time with this amazing music playing and this hilarious story they've created i think you're gonna love it I am excited. I'm a comic book geek. So I love Guardians of the Galaxy, of course. So I'm looking forward to that. But I'm not going to lie. I'm still going to be nervous. Oh, sure.

1:08:38 It's a new experience, man. But I'll do it for the people. I do it for you guys. Do it for the people. I'll do it for the people. The people, yeah. Hey, one more thing before we move on. There's a show I've gotten really into lately called The Wisdom of Walt. And I don't usually do this, but it's earned it. If our show is your kind of thing, I'll bet you'll enjoy that one too. So go give it a listen. All right, let's go to a little rapid fire. You ready for this? I think I am. Okay, favorite Disney movie? Lilo and Stitch. Easy one, right? Favorite Disney song? Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh. i'm just in my head there's so many i love them oh my gosh um you're gonna colors of the wind oh it's a lovely song really is yeah that's a great one that's a really good choice i haven't gotten that one much and i really i like that song too it's great it brings you back yeah favorite disney princess snow white snow white okay you're going throwback all the way to the beginning I remember, it's my very first cartoon crush. I remember watching that movie going, huh, I think I like brunettes. I get your blondes and all that, but yeah, something about this one. Bro, for me, that was Jasmine.

1:10:09 I remember, I was like, Jasmine, girl. Gotcha, yeah. Because I was like, yeah. I'm old. So, yeah. That was Snow White was for me. But Jasmine's a good one. Jasmine's a good one. Because she comes with a very, like, different aesthetic than what we were used to as far as princesses. So, I definitely understand that. I thought she was the beastie, man. Yeah. Favorite Disney hero? Wow. 626. Okay, let's go. Let's go. I love that. Favorite ride in all of Disney. Guardians of the Galaxy. Guardians of the Galaxy. Cosmic Rewind.

1:10:57 Cosmic Rewind. It's so innovative. Everything that happens on that ride was new as far as experiencing for me. And I've been on all kinds of attractions. The storyline, great, funny. Love the Guardians. Just the pre -show is amazing. Just the whole experience of being teleported. You feel like you're actually going somewhere new. And when you get on the actual ride, the fact you're like, yeah, we do launches when it comes to roller coasters, but let's do it backwards. Come on! Let's have your car spinning the whole time, right? Like, this way, going down the track. Yeah. Let's have huge LED screens where you're watching an actual movie as you're riding this thrill ride going by at 60 miles per hour. What an amazing attraction, man. There's nothing like it. It's a thrill every single time. Yeah. Yeah, it is absolutely phenomenal. That's why for me in Disney World anyways. epcot's gotta be my favorite land because i love that ride i love ratatouille i love yeah the frozen ride right like it's just yes test track is fantastic oh man it's just like bangers after bangers after bangers there it's just like i enjoy so many of the things i've got epcot's so great um mission phase yeah yeah you're a big fan especially when you get stuck on it right oh my gosh i break

1:12:28 everything Everything I get on at Epcot, I break. And I'm sorry, guys. I don't know why. I broke Ratatouille twice in one week. I broke Spaceship Earth. I don't know. I'm sorry. They just see you coming like, shut it down. Shut it down. Shut it down, number one. I'm going to go Beverly Machine for everybody. That's what I'm going to do. Use my powers for good. Did you say Beverly Machine? Yes. I'm going to go break it. You know, the famous Beverly drink. The terrible drink. Yes. I'm going to go break that. Go break that. Like nobody wants that. How do they still have that there? Like it's terrible. Well, I think it's a rite of passage. I think certain women will marry a man if he actually drinks it. He has to drink the cup of Beverly to be able to pass and to marry me. And there's guys who are like, you know what? Let's just be friends. Not worth it. I'm out. Yeah. Yeah. I'm out. Yeah.

1:13:29 How about for you, your favorite land to visit or your park to visit? What's your favorite park of all the parks? Epcot. Epcot. Simple. Epcot. And there's so much to do. So much great food. The festivals, the drinks. It's Epcot, man. Nothing comes close to me. Yeah, I love it. Favorite Disney park treat? Ooh, the ice cream sandwich at Animal Kingdom. Okay. It's a cookie. It's square. Ice cream and a brownie on the bottom. Ooh. Bro. That sounds pretty good. It's good.

1:14:12 Followed closely by Dole Whip because come on. Come on. That's good. It's hard for me to not go to the tiki room and not get Dole Whip. Like if I'm going to be going to the tiki room, which that is a nostalgia one I actually like. Now I want a Dole Whip. I want to be eating that Dole Whip while I'm waiting for the show to start. I want to like, yes, give me some Dole Whip. Love it. yes what's your favorite disney food so non like dessert what's your favorite disney food oh that's hard i love all of it oh i know you're a culinary guy this one was gonna be challenging they had at goose um um little shack during the festival they had one of the best things i've ever eaten in my life and it was so simply done it was a slider but it was a blackened catfish slider with a garlic aioli on it. It was me and Devin would go back numerous times. It was one of those special things that you can't get all the time. So it just made it that special. Oh, my gosh. It was so good. Oh, my God. It was so good. And I will say one other thing. Epcot's so great during the festivals. During food and wine. They have this Irish nachos. They have these kettle chips. They fry fresh. They have shredded corned beef. And they have a beer white cheese that goes over it. It is one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life. Oh, my. I'm tearing up right now. Oh, my gosh. It's so good.

1:15:41 You got to try it. You got to come for wine. yeah the food the food and wine festival at dca isn't quite what it is there but they do some good stuff and i remember a couple years ago the food and wine festival there they had a snickers macaron shaped like mickey it was so because i love macarons in general like i eat those up they're so good yes but then they had a snickers and it was bigger because it was a mickey head like oh man i still dream about that one of the things that disney does better than any theme park i've ever been at is the food they're just great at making good food man oh my god yeah and it didn't used to be that way because look when we were growing up it was mediocre but they have really made concerted effort to take that to the next level and i think they have knocked it out of the park i think it's terrific they really have and being that my son jack has celiac what i love Every Disney park, every restaurant has gluten -free options. The chef will come out and personally make the food for you to make sure there's no cross -contamination, that you're going to be safe. And I love that Disney takes that extra step where a lot of theme parks are very far behind that. So shout out to Disney as always. Yeah, they definitely do a great job.

1:17:00 Okay, how about this then? Favorite Disney restaurant? Ooh, Yak and the Yeti. yak and yeti at animal kingdom if you've never been and i'm not this is not an advertiser they do not pay devin and i it is one of the best restaurants i've ever been to period not at a theme park period it is that good we went in there and the owner said james you guys have to try something and i said what he goes we make a very special appetizer it's a ahi tuna nacho i said they take mounds and mounds of ahi tuna and i'm not just saying that i mean mounds of it cut it into beautiful squares and instead of using tortilla chips they use wonton chips that they fry fresh they put it over a bed of shredded lettuce the wontons then all the ahi tuna shredded lettuce a sweet ginger sauce a sour cream oh my we're not It's so good that they make shirts that says ahi tuna nachos. If you know, you know. And I know. People, let me tell you, that was just the appetizer.

1:18:19 Then it's an Asian blend place, an Asian fusion. They have, oh my gosh, so much. They have pho. They have all these different rice dishes with fresh chicken. And the flavors are amazing. Yak and Yeti is absolutely one of the best restaurants. And then I ate their, oh my God, butter cake for dessert. i literally drove to tallahassee and slapped my mama when i ate it it's that good Write it down. And I used to say Victoria and Albers. That's the fine dining restaurant that wins awards. It's a beautiful seven -course meal.

1:18:59 But that Yak and Yeti, the value for what you pay and what you get, the experience, the ambiance of looking out into Animal Kingdom while you eat, Yak and Yeti, hands down. Yeah, sounds awesome. That's definitely going to be on my list. I'm going to make sure I do that because I actually really like Animal Kingdom. I think it's terrific. Gross. Amazing. Okay, how about this is the last rapid fire question. Name a Disney villain who would actually be great as a stand -up comedian. Ursula. Yep. Ursula. She'd be so good. She'd be so good. Ursula is wonderful. I think she's just a misunderstood villain. I don't think Ursula did anything wrong, by the way. This is my hot take. She made a contract with a young lady and she didn't live up to it. Where I come from in the legal field, that's breach of contract. Yeah, Colton and Jamal got that one locked in. That is a breach of contract. Now we're going to execute on what the consequences were for breaching that contract. Yeah, I'm just going to. What we have here, Your Honor, is a failure to communicate.

1:20:07 Literally, she couldn't talk. I'm just saying. Ursula is so in your face, so herself and okay with being that, I think that would shine through as a stand -up comic. I think she would be absolutely hilarious. Like, she would be someone's... She looks like everybody's favorite auntie on stage. You know what I mean? Yeah. She'd be funny. And she delivers stuff with a smile, too. She's like, hey, it's okay. You don't got your voice. You got your looks. You got your pretty face. And don't underestimate the power of body language. You're like, girl, all right. She's not messing around. She delivers some truth with a smile. I like it, Ursula. She got material. She's already ready, man. I'm telling you, Ursula would absolutely kill it as a stand -up, man. Yeah, she would slay. Well, James, it's been such a pleasure visiting with you and learning about your background, the things that you're doing to bring so much joy and happiness to people. I love everything that you're about. I love the reasons that you do it. I love the content that you guys have that just has me rolling. And I just hope you guys continue to do it and kill it. So as we end every episode, what we like to do is throw it to our guest for. Some actionable takeaways.

1:21:23 And so, James, based off of kind of the overall things we talked about or just advice you have for people maybe to have a little bit more humor in their life, advice about family and not leaving people behind or trying things that they're maybe scared of, what would three actionable takeaways be that you could give to people that they could put into action in their life this week? Fear is the enemy of joy. When we work up in our head to be afraid of something where it just keeps us from even trying, that is going to rob you of so many opportunities and so much happiness in your life if you let it. So fear is the enemy of joy. So try things. Don't let fear get the best of you. Try it. Because at least you tried something and it didn't work. But you never know unless you try it. And another thing would be for me. Family is everything. There's a reason I love the movie Lilo and Stitch because Ohana, I do believe without my family, without the people around me who love me and support me, I wouldn't be successful. I wouldn't be the James that you see here sitting today. So family is one of those things that's very important to me. And the last thing is leave the world a little bit better than when you found it. I would say that. Do some good in this world. And that can be anything.

1:22:45 So many different facets. I think what I do is I try to spread joy. I really do in the world. I think I touch people's lives. I think I try to give them something to look forward to. I think laughter is medicine. So that would be my third thing is just leave the world a little bit better than how you found it. Yeah, I love it. Those are terrific, James. Again, what a pleasure to have you on. Looking forward to seeing some videos of you. riding Guardians of the Galaxy in Disney California Adventure. Can't wait to see that. Can't wait to see whatever other fundraisers you do. And as you do, we want to share those out too. Anything that we can do or our community can do to promote and contribute to the wonderful charitable things that you guys are doing, bringing so much good to things that need it, right? St.

1:23:35 Jude's is one of those places. So really appreciate your time, man. No, no. Thank you, first off, for inviting me. I get excited and bewildered every time somebody wants me to be anywhere. So thank you. Really, man. It means a lot to me, man. I appreciate it. As you leave this conversation, remember that, yes, the past can hurt. And you can either run from it or you can learn from it. So here's to learning and finding joy in the journey. See you real soon.