Fantasyland Draft League

EarzUp! Podcast

The ultimate Disney-themed debate show! Join Ryan and his band of rotating co-hosts as they use a fantasy-sports-style draft format to debate the best things across the entire Disney universe. From park lands to snacks, iconic Disney moments to the latest Marvel and Star Wars films, Fantasyland Draft League blends Disney nostalgia with hot takes, and a bit of friendly competition on the side!

Episodes

  1. The Perfect Park Day Draft

    1 day ago

    The Perfect Park Day Draft

    If you had to build your perfect Disney park day from scratch, five specific slots to fill... what would you actually pick, and could you defend it in front of four other very opinionated park people? This is a special all-hosts edition of Fantasyland Draft League, and the topic is the perfect park day. Six episodes in, Ryan brings back every voice the show has featured so far: co-hosts David and Erik (@ErikPodd), along with returning drafters Olivia (@liv_the_magic) and Brian (@EnchantedTikiTravel), for FLDL's first-ever positional draft. Each drafter fills five specific slots: snack, ride, show or nighttime spectacular, meal, and wildcard. Erik is the only drafter building in Walt Disney World, and his team announces that immediately. While the rest of the room defaults west, Erik goes deep on Epcot: from a nighttime experience so emotionally loaded it made him cry the first time he encountered it, to a dining room tucked in a corner of the Japan Pavilion that barely feels like it belongs inside a theme park. His case for the east coast is specific, passionate, and borderline evangelical. Brian came with a list, and his team reflects it. His ride pick is a love letter to one of the most temperamental attractions at Disneyland: the entire argument is that a truly perfect day means it's actually running. The rest of his roster carries the same energy: considered, experienced, and built by someone who knows exactly where the churro carts smell the best. Olivia opened by spending her wildcard slot first, immediately, and without apology, and the room gasped. The rest of her team is a mix of crowd favorites and genuine strong opinions, including a snack she would never personally eat, a ride she endorses under very specific conditions, and a parade she believes has been given the wrong time slot its entire run. She also delivered the episode's harshest restaurant review, waited the entire runtime to do it, and aimed it directly at Ryan's meal pick. David knows what he wants. What he wants may or may not legally qualify as a snack. His show pick is niche enough to stop a Disneyland regular mid-sentence, but he makes the case with the conviction of someone who experienced it in full Star Wars costume, in 95-degree heat, while recording every second on his phone. His wildcard is the most committed "adult who secretly loves Halloween" selection this show has ever produced. Ryan walked in with no plan. He will tell you that himself. His picks came together in real time, and his meal choice triggered an immediate four-person rebuttal from the rest of the table. He did land on a reliable snack and a ride he loves partly because it doesn't always feel like a ride. Whether that holds up against four more deliberate teams is your call. Does your perfect park day have to be geographically possible, or can you pull from any park on earth? Does a beverage count as a snack? And is Epcot secretly the most complete single-day Disney destination in the system, or is one drafter just very committed to justifying a cross-country flight? At over two and a half hours, this is the longest episode in FLDL history. The first-ever positional format forced everyone into five specific slots, and the constraints produced both the most creative picks and the most spirited arguments the show has seen so far. Listen, choose your winner, and join the conversation. New episodes drop the second Thursday of every month. ---------------- Themes by J.R. Trimpe: https://trimpe.org/ ---------------- Support the Show 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 🗳 Join the Earz Up Discord & vote on this week's winner 🎙 Start your own podcast with Zencastr

    2h 21m
  2. Disneyland Resort Sit-Down Restaurants Draft

    11 Jun

    Disneyland Resort Sit-Down Restaurants Draft

    36 restaurants. Four drafters. One very opinionated group of people who have definitely eaten their feelings at a Disney park before. This episode of Fantasyland Draft League, Ryan and co-host Erik (@ericpodd) are joined by two guests who know their way around a Disneyland menu: Shelby, ConciEars travel advisor (@secondstarinsider), and Janelle, Disneyland regular, mom content creator, and self-described professional over-planner of Disney trips (@janelle.alston). The topic: sit-down restaurants at the Disneyland Resort. The competition: very real. Shelby goes first and does not waste it. Janelle sneaks in a pick most people would never think of — and makes a strong case for it. Erik's team raises the question of whether a lounge counts as a restaurant and then immediately answers it by picking another lounge. And Ryan builds a team that prompted exactly one observation from his co-host at the end of the episode. Does Pym Test Kitchen count as sit-down? Is Club 33 a fair pick if it's not even on the app? And whose team is giving the best overall Disneyland dining experience — vibes, food, and all? The picks are personal, the debates are genuine, and Erik has stories from the Hearthstone Lounge that nobody was ready for. Listen, choose your winner, and join the conversation. New episodes drop the second Thursday of every month. ---------------- Themes by J.R. Trimpe: https://trimpe.org/ ---------------- Support the Show 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 🗳 Join the Earz Up Discord & vote on this week's winner 🎙 Start your own podcast with Zencastr

    1hr 33min
  3. Star Wars Characters, not in the Skywalker Family

    14 May

    Star Wars Characters, not in the Skywalker Family

    Who builds the ultimate team from a galaxy far, far away — when Skywalkers are off the table? This is a special May edition of Fantasyland Draft League, and the topic is Star Wars characters — non-Skywalker family only. Ryan is joined by co-host David and by the two hosts of Bantha Milk Podcast, Rob (@banthamilkpodcast) and James (@banthamilkpodcast), for five rounds of serpentine drafting, rules arguments, and some very Ryan picks. James builds a team of charismatic scoundrels. Rob — Star Wars podcast co-host and first repeat guest in FDL history — goes deep into the galaxy for a fifth-round sleeper that nobody else even considered. David puts together an efficient, category-spanning roster. And Ryan drafts a video game character, a cat's name and a character with the best name — and somehow still stumbles into two picks that even his co-drafters have to respect. Is Palpatine too close to the Skywalker family to be eligible? Does being a backpack count as family? And how did one of the most iconic Jedi in the saga make it all the way to the fifth round? The picks are eccentric, the debates are nerdy, and the draft order was determined entirely by facial hair. This is exactly what this podcast is supposed to be. Listen, choose your winner, and join the conversation. New episodes drop the second Thursday of every month. ---------------- Themes by J.R. Trimpe: https://trimpe.org/ ---------------- Support the Show 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 🗳 Join the Earz Up Discord & vote on this week's winner 🎙 Start your own podcast with Zencastr

    54 min

About

The ultimate Disney-themed debate show! Join Ryan and his band of rotating co-hosts as they use a fantasy-sports-style draft format to debate the best things across the entire Disney universe. From park lands to snacks, iconic Disney moments to the latest Marvel and Star Wars films, Fantasyland Draft League blends Disney nostalgia with hot takes, and a bit of friendly competition on the side!

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