Disney Afternoon Is Trending, “Real” Star Wars Returns, & #EpcotFArts (Ep. 1)

Jan 22, 2026

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Eric and Lauren break down the Disney stories fans are reacting to online this week, starting with a surprise blast of 90s nostalgia as the Disney Afternoon games creep back into the conversation. From there, they dig into Galaxy’s Edge loosening up its timeline rules to bring back original trilogy characters, plus the viral Evil Queen controversy that sparked a much bigger debate about character interactions. And because the internet cannot help itself, they close things out with the Festival of the Arts nickname that absolutely should not work, but somehow does.

HIGHLIGHTS

An ESRB listing sparks chatter that the Disney Afternoon Collection could be headed to Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, and why Disney adults are clearly the target audience
Why Disney continues to lean hard into nostalgia and how search trends and fan buzz often telegraph bigger strategy
Galaxy’s Edge expands beyond a single timeline at Disneyland, bringing back original trilogy characters like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker
The viral Evil Queen performer story and why Disney draws a hard line when a character interaction becomes bigger than the role itself
The rise of “#EpcotFarts”, the #FOA vs. #FArts debate, and why Disney seems perfectly fine letting the internet run with it

For this episode’s full show notes, click here.

HOSTS

Eric Hersey – X: ⁠@erichersey⁠ | Instagram: ⁠@erichersey⁠
Lauren Hersey – X: ⁠@laurenhersey2⁠ | Instagram: ⁠@lauren_hersey_⁠

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