Podcast Episode 292 – This or That –
Disney Fan Culture and Etiquette
Matching shirts, Mickey ears and Disneybounding, oh my!
In Round 4 of our ‘This or That’ series, Fran and Carrie take on 10 debates about Disney fan culture and etiquette. Are matching family shirts adorable or cringe? Do you camp out early for fireworks or watch from wherever? Are strollers essential or a menace? And is a solo Disney trip pure freedom, or just too lonely? We agree on almost everything… except one.
Next up… our trip report!
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Transcript
Fran and Carrie are back with Round 4 of their AI-powered This or That debates, and this time it’s all about fan culture and etiquette: matching family shirts, ears, Disneybounding, strollers, solo trips and more. Plus, Carrie signs up for her first speed puzzling world series, and Fran’s long-awaited Texas barbecue spot is finally opening up the street.
This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.
Welcome back
Fran: Hello, Carrie! Hi, how are you today?
Carrie: Great.
Fran: Excited about our topic?
Carrie: Sure. Yeah.
Fran: You don’t even know what it is?
Carrie: It’s another one of those dang This or That lists.
Fran: These have been fun to do.
Carrie: They were fine. It was a good list. Your AI partner there did a good job.
Fran: Yeah, it’s pretty good. I think it sparked some very good discussions. We’ve had some good feedback on them. So this one is round four. Can you believe we’re on round four already?
Carrie: I can’t believe we’ve done them all.
Fran: I know, it’s crazy. It’s not like us to finish something.
Carrie: Like, do this little series of things.
Fran: Yeah, we did pretty good. This one is called Fan Culture and Etiquette, which is kind of interesting. I’m excited to talk about some of these things with you. Are you ready?
Carrie: I am, I am. Now what’s to expect?
This or That: Fan Culture and Etiquette
Fran: All right, so there’s 10, and some of these topics we have talked about before. But it’s always good to revisit, because I find the more we go, the more our opinions evolve. They do change.
Carrie: They do. That’s true.
1. Matching family shirts: adorable or cringe?
Fran: So, number one. Número uno.
Carrie: Número uno?
Fran: Matching family shirts. Adorable or cringe?
Carrie: I don’t think that. Like, I don’t really
Fran: Well, you wouldn’t say anything is cringe. You’re not a negative person. You would never be.
Carrie: I don’t wanna be walking around with my family all in matching shirts, but I don’t think it’s horrible. I think it’s fun.
Fran: You think it’s fun for other people.
Carrie: Yeah. I don’t know, I just was never into it. I really wasn’t even into Disney merch in the beginning with all this theme park stuff. For the first many years, when I started to go to Disney more regularly, I had one of those owner’s lockers, and I literally had, I don’t know, the four or five or however many Disney t-shirts I owned in that locker, and that’s what I wore every single trip. I washed them at the end of the trip, because I had DVC.
Fran: Put them back in the little
Carrie: In the purple box. And then the next time I came, I wore the same shirts over again. I think I retired them. I had this really cool Tigger shirt that had a T on it. They’re just like the shirts that they’re making now again, all those shirts that look like they’re from the late ’90s. I just wore those things. So I wasn’t Disney fashion forward. I just was like, how do I keep all my stuff in a carry-on and have a little bit of Disney to wear? Those were Disney Store t-shirts back in the day. So I never really thought too much about it. But I do get families who like to dress up and wear the same shirt. I say all the power to them. I think it’s kind of expensive nowadays, though, for the whole family to have a licensed Walt Disney World t-shirt. It’s one thing if you’re going to go to the Super Target and buy the cheap ones, but
Fran: Or if you have a Cricut and you can make your own.
Carrie: Yeah, I guess that’s probably what most people do. They get customized ones.
Fran: But it is expensive. You figure a family of five, and you all gotta have the same shirts for five days, or
Carrie: Well, I don’t even know. Is that what they do? It’s not just one day where they wear the shirts? You think there’s some people that have their matching shirts for every day?
Fran: I think so. I think that’s a thing that families do. And then they theme the t-shirts to the park that they’re in.
Carrie: I never really thought that deep about it before. I just thought that maybe they picked a day.
Fran: No, I think they do it for each of their park days.
Carrie: I say all the power to you, and good for you if you wanna. It makes it easy. If you’re looking for your family, you just look for someone dressed the same as you.
Fran: It’s hard to lose each other in a crowd. Yeah, I don’t think it’s cringe. But it’s not something that I’ve done with my family.
Carrie: All those years and all those vacations, you guys never
Fran: No, we never coordinated anything like that. But I will say, on our last trip, or was it the last two trips? You and I have been matchy-matchy.
Carrie: Yeah, well, that was fun. That was just to be silly, of course.
Fran: Because we’re not normally matchy-matchy people. But it was fun. You had bought us shirts that said best friends, and we wore those. But then we also separately purchased the same shirt. Two other shirts. One was the same shirt in different colors, and the other one we both bought at D23. So on our last trip, I believe there were three days where we were wearing the same shirt.
Carrie: A little matchy-matchy, but that’s just silly and fun. It’s not like
Fran: We didn’t plan it before the trip.
Carrie: Like coordinating a family of 12, where the shirts have Nana, Papa, Auntie, you know.
Fran: That’s serious coordination.
2. Ears all day or just for photos?
Fran: All right. Okay, number two. Ears all day or just for photos?
Carrie: Neither.
Fran: Neither. You don’t wear ears at all.
Carrie: Yeah. I definitely would wear them all day, ’cause I wouldn’t be carrying them around just to put them on for a photo. If I was wearing ears, I’d be all ears, or I’d be no ears.
Fran: That’s a good point. I have multiple pairs of ears, but they hurt my head if I wear them for longer than a photo.
Carrie: Well, that’s the thing. I wouldn’t even buy them then, and that’s why I don’t think I buy them anymore. A couple of years ago I had a little weak moment at Disneyland, and I bought a pair of red ones because I was there for Christmas, the ones all covered in sequins. But I don’t think I would buy them at all, because I don’t like wearing them.
Fran: Same. Although I do really want to buy the custom ones. I always look at those, the ones where you buy the band and then you can put the little baubles on top, because I could get Judy Hopps or things like that on it.
Carrie: Well, maybe you need to turn over a new leaf and give the ears a whirl.
Fran: I don’t know, man, ’cause it just hurts my head.
Carrie: But maybe, you know, it’s been a long time. Maybe they’re more comfortable now.
Fran: How do people wear them?
Carrie: Tens of thousands of people walk around the theme parks all day wearing them.
Fran: I know, I don’t get it. Or maybe I just have a sensitive scalp?
Carrie: Maybe. Maybe you should try to wear some.
Fran: And see if it works.
Carrie: Maybe that’s what we should do on the next trip. Let’s pack some ears.
Fran: Yeah, we’ll pack some ears and see if we can do it. We’ll try.
Carrie: We’ll report back. Keep them on all day, for the photos and non-photos. Only take them off when we’re on the wildest ride in the wilderness. We’d best remove them.
Fran: We’ll report back.
3. Pull the kids out of school for Disney: yes or no?
Fran: All right, number three. Now, neither one of us has kids, but we can still have opinions. Number three is: pull the kids out of school for Disney? Yes or no.
Carrie: Oh yeah, of course.
Fran: Yes. I would say absolutely. My parents pulled me out every year for our Florida trips, because we didn’t just do Disney. We would drive down, and we would stay in Myrtle Beach and different places. It was a three-week trip every year, and they would pull me out of school every year for it. And then I would just have homework or whatever I had to do. And we pulled Andrew out. Of course you pull the kids out. It’s a learning opportunity. They’re exploring the world.
Carrie: That’s right. Yeah, for sure.
Fran: They can learn so much more than they do in a classroom.
Carrie: Yeah, for sure.
Fran: I think these days the parents get in trouble for it, maybe.
Carrie: I’m sure it varies. I usually hear people are okay with taking them out of school ’til they go to high school, and then it’s a different story, because of the way the semesters are and the exams. When they get to the higher grades, things matter a little bit more for their next step. But when the kids are little, like, what are they learning anyways? I know education’s a lot different than when we were
Fran: What we, you know
Carrie: The stuff we learned in grade three. The kids are probably learning to engineer something, and we were eating blue colouring probably. Singing songs.
Fran: Oh, yes. I am in support of pulling them out of school.
4. Camp out early for fireworks, or watch from wherever?
Fran: Okay, number four. This is interesting. Camp out early for fireworks, or watch from wherever?
Carrie: That’s a tough one.
Fran: I think it depends how many times you’ve been.
Carrie: I guess, and I feel different. I would camp out at Disneyland every night to watch the fireworks, but at Walt Disney World, I might just watch them from wherever you are. I think it depends on who you’re with.
Fran: I think so. I used to tell people to camp out, because if it’s your first visit, or you’ve only been a couple times, seeing the fireworks from the middle of Main Street is completely different than if you’re standing behind the castle. It’s not the same. However, I can guarantee you that you’re gonna camp out on Main Street, and you’re gonna have a perfect spot with a perfect view of the castle, and three seconds after that show starts, someone’s going to come and stand in front of you and put their phone, their iPad or their kid in front of your face.
Carrie: Yeah, that’s true.
Fran: So to avoid the anxiety and the frustration of “I’ve staked out this spot for 30 minutes and now you’re going to stand in front of me,” just accept that that’s going to happen. For me, I would say watch further back down Main Street if you can, because people stand in front of you more the closer you are to the castle. And because I’ve seen the fireworks so many times, I just watch them from wherever. I’ve watched them from outside the Magic Kingdom, behind the castle, Frontierland, wherever.
Carrie: I don’t know, they’re still best viewed from in front of the castle. I think it depends on how busy the park is, and the park’s always busy now, it seems. But if it’s not so busy, then I would want to be at the front of the park. I like watching them from behind, and it’s neat sometimes, but it’s not the same.
Fran: No, when they’re not centered behind the castle.
Carrie: Yeah. I think I would always pick watching them from the spot where they were originally meant to be enjoyed. Although it’s a neat experience from being on a ride, like being on the PeopleMover, or on Tiana’s or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train when the fireworks are going. That’s a neat experience for sure, from those vistas.
Fran: Yeah, for sure. And if you can see it from Main Street, it is pretty spectacular.
Carrie: Yeah, but you’re right, it can be pretty chaotic.
Fran: It’s chaotic, and there’s always someone that’s gonna stand right in front of you, no matter how long you staked out your spot. And then their kid’s not going to be able to see, and they’re going to put them on their shoulders, and you’re not going to be able to see either.
Carrie: It’s more the phones at this point. Well, I’m short, so there’s always someone standing in front of me and messing up my view. But it’s more the phones. They’re really annoying. Everybody records it, so you look up and everybody’s phone is in your way.
Fran: Yeah, you’re watching them through somebody else’s phone screen. I’m with you.
5. Pin trading: fun hobby or dangerous obsession?
Fran: All right, Carrie. Now this one, it’s not like we haven’t talked about this topic. Pin trading: fun hobby or dangerous obsession?
Carrie: I think both, really. I think it depends on who you are. Are you someone who goes to Walt Disney World multiple times a year, every year? Or are you just a family that kind of plans to do pin trading, and it’s a little added bonus? It’s an enhancement to your experience.
Fran: Oh, I like that. It’s an enhancement to your vacation.
Carrie: It’s an enhancement.
Fran: I think it can be a dangerous obsession, though.
Carrie: Yeah, for sure, for people that take it to the next level. But if you just dabble in pin trading when you go on your vacation every year or two, it’s a fun thing. Lots of people collect pins from the hotels they stay at, so every time they stay at a hotel, they get a new pin. Or maybe they get a different attraction every time. And then they can pin trade here and there. I like it for little kids. With all the scrappers and all that stuff, little kids can just trade for fun.
Fran: It’s just for fun for them.
Carrie: They don’t need to know about any of that stuff. They just trade pins and have fun and learn some lessons and enjoy it.
Fran: At this point, they’re on a mission to find things that they love.
Carrie: That’s all that it is. They just look for characters and trade, and learn how all that works.
Fran: I would agree. I would agree.
6. Big merch haul, or just here for the rides?
Fran: All right, number six. Big merch haul, or “I’m just here for the rides”?
Carrie: Well, I don’t know that we do big merch hauls anymore. There were times when we definitely spent an exorbitant amount of money when we would visit, buying everything that we saw and wanted.
Fran: Yes. I think that’s true.
Carrie: And we’re not known for going on all the rides. So when you say “we’re here for the rides,” it’s like, we’re there for the vibes. That’s kind of my substitution. Not the rides, the vibes. That’s what we’re there for now.
Fran: I don’t know, the merch is very important to me. I’m not necessarily buying it all, but I’m invested in seeing it all.
Carrie: It’s very enjoyable when there’s new merch. It is, definitely. And it gets tiring when you’re just seeing the same stuff over and over again. But I guess Disney does a good job of refreshing the merchandise all the time.
Fran: They do. It’s our fault that we go so often that the merch is the same. And I’m telling you, my next trip, they better have some new Zootopia stuff. I better be seeing some good Judy Hopps.
Carrie: I thought that there was some the last time, but
Fran: Not for adults. They had one shirt, and it was one of those box shirts. You know, the ones that are really boxy and really men’s, and you put them on and you look like a potato. So fingers crossed for a big merch haul of Zootopia. We’ll see.
7. Autograph book, or just photos with the characters?
Fran: Okay, number seven. I know what you’re going to say to this one. Autograph book, or just photos with the characters?
Carrie: Neither.
Fran: I knew you were gonna say that.
Carrie: Although those autograph books, right now, with everybody loving junk journaling, it’s like a renaissance of scrapbooking. People are literally making them how we would scrapbook back in 1985. You could use those autograph books to journal. You could put in your little stubs and your wristbands from your Halloween party and some autographs, and you could do one mean mixed media journal with that little autograph book now. But I’m gonna say neither. I don’t want to collect autographs, unless I’m gonna meet, like, a puppeteer in the parks while they’re on vacation. Like Adam Sandler at Disneyland, which he wouldn’t sign an autograph anyways. I’m good waving to the characters from afar.
Fran: See, I don’t do the autograph book. I still have my autograph book from when I was a kid. I think I was six. But I love the photos with the characters. I love them. I think it’s fun. If the line’s not long, I’ll go and wait.
Carrie: You like the fluffy ones. You don’t like the face characters.
Fran: I like them all. I do them by myself too. I always find the face characters are a bit awkward when you’re by yourself, because it’s a whole conversation and they definitely go out of their way to engage you. When I met Anna and Elsa, I was by myself, and they were very chatty, and there were kids waiting, and I’m like, I just want a picture.
Carrie: No need to talk. Let’s just do the picture.
Fran: Yeah. I’m just here for the picture.
Carrie: I can assume we had a conversation first.
Fran: Yeah. But you know what? I love that they do take the time for everyone. I like those.
8. Disneybounding or regular park clothes?
Fran: Okay, number eight. I know what you’re gonna say to this one, and we’re both on the same page, I’m sure. Disneybounding or regular park clothes?
Carrie: Again, just regular park clothes.
Fran: Disneybounding is too much.
Carrie: You gotta go out and be like, oh, I need to find a pink shirt, and I gotta find purple shorts and a white belt or whatever so I can be Daisy. Who’s got time for that? I know I shouldn’t say that. I know lots of people have time for that and they love doing it. But I think it stems from me not really caring about clothes very much, and I never shopped for clothes. I guess if you did, you would keep an eye open for some of these bounding pieces. But every time I’ve thought to do it, or I was with people and they want you to do it, I just think, do I start looking now for next year? Do I start going to thrift stores? I guess everybody orders their stuff on Amazon.
Fran: That’s what I do. But it’s just so much effort and planning. And then you gotta plan it in advance and make sure it’s in your suitcase.
Carrie: The pieces are not always available.
Fran: We did bound once.
Carrie: Yeah. Sort of.
Fran: Oh, we went as Dalmatians, didn’t we? You found us black and white t-shirts. That was our bound. We had polka dot t-shirts and said we were Dalmatians. That was the extent of our bounding.
Carrie: But kudos to the people that do it and love to do it, and it’s their passion. People put their passions into different things. I’m passionate about lots of other things that many people would think are wonky, or wouldn’t spend a minute on. For people that love to do that, and it’s a creative outlet for them, that’s totally awesome. I love it. Do I want to do it? No, but I appreciate what everybody else does. I think it’s pretty cool.
Fran: Well, you’ve seen Holly, from Crawfords on the Go. She bounds wherever, and she always has the best coordinated outfits, and her friends and her do it together, and then they’re a whole theme. And it’s not just for Halloween, it’s regular park visits. And I’m like, oh my gosh, it’s so fabulous.
Carrie: I would need someone to bring me the outfits and just hand me some Ziploc baggies and be like, here’s your outfit for day one.
Fran: Here’s your outfit for day one.
Carrie: Yeah, and that’s probably the only way that it would happen. But also, I don’t like to wear dresses. I don’t wear skirts. I don’t really get dressed up. I would probably feel uncomfortable anyways if I did it.
9. Strollers in the parks: essential or a menace?
Fran: All right, we’re on number nine, Carrie. Already? We’re answering all these things very well. Strollers in the parks: essential or a menace?
Carrie: Oh, I think they’re essential, for the sake of those little legs. I wouldn’t say it’s a menace, for the sake of the children.
Fran: No, I agree. I think strollers are essential. However, I will say some of those big ones are a menace.
Carrie: Well, there’s so much real estate allocated to stroller parking.
Fran: The stroller parking lots.
Carrie: But for the sake of the kiddos.
Fran: Yeah, for their little legs. Believe me, there have been nights where I’ve seen those kids in their strollers and wished I could just say, scootch over, I’m coming in.
Carrie: They’re totally passed out, having the best sleep of the day.
Fran: That used to be one of my favorite things to do at the end of the night: just plant myself on the side of Main Street and watch the parents leaving with their kids, and watch the kids in the strollers. The contortions that these kids’ bodies are in, because they’re so exhausted. They just fall asleep with popcorn in their mouth, or their legs hanging out. It is the funniest thing in the world to watch these kids in their strollers when they’re getting wheeled out of the parks at the end of the night and they’re just zonked. They were mid-sentence and passed out because they were so tired. And then the poor kids have to get woken up when they get to the bus.
Carrie: And then they sleep on the bus, yeah. But I guess those little naps probably help them manage the next day, when they get up early and do it all over again.
10. Solo Disney trip: freedom or too lonely?
Fran: Absolutely. Okay, Carrie, we’re on number ten, and I know we’re gonna disagree on this one.
Carrie: Oh. Number 10.
Fran: Solo Disney trip: freedom, or too lonely?
Carrie: Too lonely. Yeah. I don’t wanna go alone.
Fran: Yeah, you don’t like being there alone.
Carrie: For a day or two, but that’s it. I wanna have somebody there to not talk to. While we’re waiting for the parade for 45 minutes, I want to be sitting beside someone and not have to talk to them. That’s what I want. I want to experience things with people. So yeah, I don’t like being by myself. But you love it. You go for like a month by yourself.
Fran: I know, I’m okay there by myself. I like it. It is freedom. But you know what? It depends on the trip. When you and I go, and you’re saying you want someone to sit beside and not talk to, but we do talk. We’re so in sync that I like being there with you, because we do the same thing and it’s just easy. But solo for me is just, then I can do what I want when I want. The difference is, when I’m there with you, you always want to do the same stuff anyway. So essentially I get to do what I want when I want, because you want to do the same thing. Which is nothing. We’re usually pretty in sync. We get to the Magic Kingdom, we buy a t-shirt, and then I’m like, it’s a little hot here today. And you’re like, yeah, you want to go? And I’m like, yeah, I was thinking the same. Let’s blow this joint. So yeah, we’re usually on the same page that way.
What’s next
Fran: Well, that was the end of our Fan Culture and Etiquette section, Carrie.
Carrie: Yeah, it wasn’t too earth-shattering on our part, I don’t think.
Fran: No, but I think it evolves over time. Merch and character photos and things, I don’t know that we’ve really delved into some of those, so it was interesting to talk about those. Our next episode is going to be a trip report, and then we do have round five and round six available. But our next one is going to be our trip report. And it’s a long trip, so it may be two episodes. Who knows?
Carrie: We may or may not have a lot to say.
Fran: We may have a lot to say or nothing to say. I don’t know.
Carrie: Stay tuned.
Fran: Carrie, we never have nothing to say.
Carrie: We don’t. Who are we kidding here?
Our Pixie Dust
Fran: Who are we kidding? But it is that time of the podcast where we share something that brought us joy. What is your Pixie Dust this week, Carrie?
Carrie: I have it queued up.
Fran: You have it queued up? Ooh, she’s prepared this week.
Carrie: So this week, Glenda and I signed up for a new puzzle competition. We weren’t going to sign up for it, because we thought it was a little too much. And then one of our friends messaged us and said, are you gonna try? And we were like, nah. And then we were like, should we? So we did. It’s called the Speed Puzzle World Series, and it’s in Toronto, Ontario, which is just in our backyard. It’s next June, I think, at the start of June. And it’s something we’ve never done before, and that’s why we weren’t sure we wanted to do it. I think this is only the second year, and I think it was in Europe somewhere last time. Last year they just had individual puzzling. Probably because it’s so popular, this year they’re doing an individual championship, a pairs championship and a teams championship. We only signed up for the pairs. The individuals is two days of puzzling. The pairs is a one-day championship.
And how this is different is that usually we puzzle, and if we’re in the top 20 or 40 or 50, then you move on to the next round. So we’re lucky if we puzzle two rounds, and then we’re done. Our goal is just to always try to finish. This competition starts at 11 o’clock and it ends at 5 o’clock. The first challenge is a 500-piece Speedmaster puzzle with a repetition image. The second challenge is a 500-piece Speedmaster puzzle with a detailed image. And challenge one and challenge two, we do back to back. So we do the challenge one puzzle, we take it apart right away, and we start working on the next puzzle right after. We have an hour and a half to do two 500-piece puzzles.
Fran: Oh my gosh.
Carrie: When Glenda and I puzzle the fastest we can, we can do it in like 45 minutes. But lots of times when we puzzle, we don’t do it that fast. So we have to practice to get faster, so that we can try to hit our goal of actually finishing within the time frame. So that’s number one and number two. Then number three and number four are also back to back, an hour and a half. There’s maybe an hour break in between, so people can recoup and go to the bathroom. Three is a Boardwalk puzzle, a random cut puzzle, and four is a wooden puzzle. So we have to do the Boardwalk 500 and a 250 wooden puzzle, same thing, back to back within an hour and a half. And then the fifth challenge, the last challenge, is a 500-piece Buffalo puzzle, and that one they don’t give you the picture. They pretty much just fling a bag of puzzle pieces at you.
Fran: Oh my gosh, Carrie, this is intense.
Carrie: So you do them all, and they keep track of all of your times. Whoever does all of the challenges in the least amount of time is the winner.
Fran: So it’s your cumulative
Carrie: Times for the whole day is what determines the winner. You could get through the first ones really quickly, but if the second ones take you the full time, and the third ones, you know.
Fran: So you need to work on your puzzle stamina too, because you can’t be guns blazing in one and two.
Carrie: I think we’re gonna be okay for that, because we love puzzling so much. We’re so excited to puzzle. We just have to get faster. The chance of us doing four puzzles in a row and doing our best time is not, you know.
Fran: But everybody else is in the same boat, right? They’re all gonna have the same challenges.
Carrie: Well, there’s 350 teams in pairs, so I’m sure some very, very fast worldwide and Canadian puzzlers are going to be there. There will be people that will easily do both those puzzles in the hour and a half. They might do them in an hour. They might do them in 50 minutes. There’s people out there that can do puzzles in 20 and 30 minutes, and we take 45 minutes, right? So there’ll definitely be people that are gonna excel.
Fran: But that’s exciting.
Carrie: So yeah, we’re pretty excited. We’re kind of nervous. The puzzles are Speedmaster and Boardwalk, and I don’t know that we can easily find them in Canada, so I had to order some to get delivered to Florida for when we’re there, so I can bring home some practice ones.
Fran: Good job you have a huge suitcase.
Carrie: Yeah. You need to practice. Glenda’s basement has turned into a puzzle library. I don’t even know how many Ravensburger puzzles we have.
Fran: I couldn’t even guess. But this is different, right? You have to practice with these.
Carrie: You need to practice the brand that you’re going to be puzzling.
Fran: Okay. So it’s very exciting. The World Series.
Carrie: Yeah, the World Series. I think they just called it that, because they do have the big world puzzle competition, and that’s different. This is probably someone that was like, yeah, let’s switch it up and do something crazy and call it the World Series.
Fran: I love it. That’s exciting. You’re gonna have to keep us posted on your progress and how you guys are practicing.
Carrie: Well, I don’t know about progress reports. We just have to practice.
Fran: Yeah, and you gotta do two back to back and see how quick you can get through it.
Carrie: Yeah, it’s more being faster. When we do the puzzle comp weekend, we puzzle for two days straight, pretty much, and we love that. So I think the excitement will be there, because you get a bit of an adrenaline rush. We just have to try to figure out how to be quicker. Maybe these puzzles will be easier for us. We’re pretty used to Ravensburger pieces. But we also don’t practice very much. When we first started doing this, we were practicing every single week. I went over to her house to puzzle. And last year we probably practiced like five times before the competition.
Fran: You’ve got all this time now. Don’t squander it.
Carrie: I know, I know.
Fran: Take your training seriously.
Carrie: I know, I know. So that was my Pixie Dust. What’s your Pixie Dust?
Fran: Well, mine’s hardly as exciting as yours.
Carrie: It’s hard to beat that. A Speed Puzzle World Series held in your own backyard.
Fran: I can’t beat it. So my Pixie Dust is, you know, it really ticks me off when places near me have big “coming soon” signs for like eight months, and you’re waiting and waiting. When are they going to open? When are they going to open? And finally, the new barbecue place near my house has done a soft opening, because I saw the social media people were there. And it’s brisket. Oh my gosh, Carrie, it looks so good.
Carrie: What is it called? Do you know the name of it?
Fran: I can’t remember the name of it now. Now I gotta find it. But apparently it’s a barbecue place that does pop-ups all over Toronto, and it’s been very, very popular. It has some kind of cult following, where people follow them to all their pop-ups. So they finally have an actual physical location, and it’s literally up the street from me.
Carrie: Up the street from you.
Fran: It’s up the street from me. You know what? I don’t know what it’s called. But the YouTube video that Andrew sent me calls it the best Texas barbecue in Toronto. So it opens while we’re in Florida. So when I come home, guess what I’m having for dinner?
Carrie: That’s awesome. I can’t wait for that review.
Fran: Yeah, I’ll do a trip report. Because I think one week my Pixie Dust was the Greek place that opened up the street, and then you finally came and I got to introduce you to it. It’s really good Greek food, right?
Carrie: Well, no, the best part of it was the orange soda that I got.
Fran: Oh, you and your orange soda.
Carrie: The food was amazing, but they had this Greek soda, and it’s just like orange. It’s like Italian Fanta or European Fanta.
Fran: Yeah, so you were pretty happy with the soda.
Carrie: And it cost like two dollars and twenty-five cents for this can of soda. It’s way cheaper than flying to Italy
Fran: To bring home a suitcase of it.
Thanks for listening
Fran: So I’ll have a full review of the barbecue place when I get home. But yeah, when this episode goes live, you and I will be in Walt Disney World. So super excited for that, and we’ll have a full trip report when we get back. And keep the feedback coming. I love getting the messages, and I do screenshot them and send them to Carrie when they come in, so that she sees what people are saying as well. And if you made it to the end of the podcast, make sure you leave us a rating and review, and tell your friends, anybody you think might enjoy the podcast. Tell them about it.
Carrie: Take a listen to these crazy gals.
Fran: Yes. Well, thanks for listening, and we’ll see you in a couple of weeks.
