Dynamic Pricing Raises Eyebrows as Disney Sing-Alongs Raise the Volume (Ep. 78)

Jim Hill and Lauren Hersey are back for a very seasonal edition of I Want That To - and Jim’s latest “project” involves tracking down tiny reindeer snowmobiles to complete his Cars holiday display (because apparently Santa’s sleigh rules apply to Radiator Springs too). From there, the conversation jumps into Disney’s new “Find Merchandise” test inside My Disney Experience, the company’s eye-popping $1 billion investment in OpenAI, and why dynamic pricing is suddenly giving everyone Instacart flashbacks. Then Jim takes Lauren (and all of us) on a deep-dive into the origin story of Disney’s Sing-Along VHS line - including how a Max Fleischer Rudolph short ended up inside Disney’s Very Merry Christmas Songs tape.

NEWS
• Disney is testing a new “Find Merchandise” feature in the My Disney Experience app to help guests search for specific items and check availability at select locations (including World of Disney at Disney Springs).
• Disney’s reported $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI sparks a debate about guardrails, character usage, and curation, especially as AI-generated content gets easier to make (and easier to misuse).
• The latest Instacart dynamic pricing controversy raises alarms about different customers seeing different prices, prompting the big question: is Disney heading down a similar road with ticket pricing?
• Disney’s CFO signals dynamic pricing for domestic parks in 2026, with Jim and Lauren weighing the business upside against the guest-side pain of budgeting and “reading the room.”

FEATURE
• A surprisingly twisty history lesson on how Disney’s early VHS strategy helped create the Sing-Along Songs phenomenon - and why making kids sing along was (possibly) the point.
• The story behind Very Merry Christmas Songs (1988), including how it had to be assembled on a brutal retail timeline to hit shelves in early October.
• How Disney licensed (cheaply) a hand-drawn Max Fleischer Rudolph (1948) short originally made for Montgomery Ward store Santa lines - and why it looks better on YouTube than it did on VHS.
• Why this tape became a yearly tradition: the “one remaining VHS player” holiday background classic for tree-decorating season.

HOSTS
• Jim Hill - IG: @JimHillMedia | X: @JimHillMedia | Website: JimHillMedia.com
• Lauren Hersey - IG: @lauren_hersey_ | X: @laurenhersey2

FOLLOW
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SUPPORT
Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at Patreon.com/JimHillMedia.

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Edited by Dave Grey
Produced by Eric Hersey - Strong Minded Agency

SPONSOR
This episode of I Want That To is brought to you by our friends at UnlockedMagic.com, the same trusted team behind DVC Rental Store and the DVC Resale Market. If you’re planning a Disney trip, they’ve got the best deals on Walt Disney World tickets - visit UnlockedMagic.com to grab the best ticket deals and make your next Disney trip just a little bit more magical.

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