Oh! Yes! Hi Sara 
The infamous top snacks article which started the crazy best snacks thread. 
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LOL…yes!
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Brian is so great. That’s so sad. I hope he’s leaving for a better opportunity and not…
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Yeah unfortunately it does not appear that way, here is his tweet
Hi all. For those who know me for the theme-parky stuff, December 31 will be my last day at TouringPlans. It’s sure been an interesting (dear gods) decade, but I am looking forward to doing something different, once I figure out what that is.
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He also added:
Uh, related to that… if anyone knows of any remote-work positions in field like operations, project management, training, business consulting, etc. the DMs are open
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This does not sound good as at all. Maybe they are only going to focus on the app and being a technology provider and leave the media to all the other vlogger/bloggers out there.
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Yes should have added that as well
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One of my all time favorite podcasts was Pardon the Pixie Dust. Plus, as I have admitted many time, Brian wrote one of my all time favorite books (Walt Disney World Bars and Lounges). This is hitting me hard.
I will also admit that I panicked and checked Derek’s Twitter account.
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I would kind of like someone official to step in and make some kind of statement. Julia and Brian are as much TP as Len is.
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I did the same and he made no mention of it that I could find. He is probably driving enough traffic to justify keeping him on.
It’s really tough to keep a blog going with so many writers, especially in this age where people browse Twitter and don’t venture much into actual websites. That call for guest writers earlier this year was probably a Hail Mary attempt to drive up readership, but it appears to have failed.
Thankfully the job market is hot (maybe not theme parks blogging, but in general) so I’m hopeful everyone will find a new home. Julia said she received lots of offers for project work.
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My thought as well.
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Can someone help me understand the finances of a podcast? I am thinking about the My DVC Points Community. I believe Chad has been slowly making it a career?
TP was in podcasts once: Pardon the Pixie Dust was one (Mighty Men of the Mouse and rates PG version of the Disney Hipster among others were included). Is that a viable career these days ? I think TP either had the wrong model (although I loved most of what they had on). These days with sponsorships and patreon, can you make a living?
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Podcasts can be profitable through a combination of ads/sponsorships, merchandise/ancillary product sales, and Patreon. It all depends on listenership and how much listeners contribute or spend. My impression is that you need something like 100,000 listeners to be self sustaining, though it can be a viable side gig at like 10,000 or even 1,000 listeners.
For TP, they have a subscription service (and now travel agency), so if the blog or podcast drives more people to that, it could be worth it. My guess is that they have been doing analysis and determined they aren’t getting enough new business through those avenues to justify the number of writers they employ. Not sure how their podcast was doing when it dropped off.
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I loved Brian’s videos. His voice was so calming.
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I was referring to when TP had a podcast network but I was wondering if @Brian and @derekburgan brought back Pardon the Pixie Dust on their own (they continued it for a while) in this new market that actually can generate profit, if it would be something they would consider- and yes I I did tag them because they are talented and I think it was that good- especially today. Film yourselves and put it in YouTube too.
They can both ignore my desperate ramblings….
I am not talking about the TP podcast Brian did. That was for a different audience.
Nope- I was wrong! They always did it on their own! It was not part of the network!
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That is suck.
While I’ve enjoyed the Unofficial Guides for decades, over the last couple of years leading up to my current trip plans, Brian’s videos about resorts were a staple of vacation dreaming and for me the face of TP.
Im sure he’ll do great in his next venture.
But this is suck
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Typically podcasting is not profitable on its own, especially in the beginning. It is usually used to feed into the main income source. You tube on the other hand can be very profitable on its own. But it takes a while to build subscribers. It’s my sincere hope that for both of them this becomes a blessing in disguise upon reflection. I will miss seeing Brian in the you tube videos. I still follow Angie on IG. Do Brian or Derek have IG or only Twitter? What are their Twitter handles? I’m not on their much, but if that’s where they are, I’ll gladly add it to my social circulation.
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Derek is still with Touring Plans as far as I can see. He was posting about this week’s Saturday 6.
I just asked about the podcast because I believe they had a good following (that would return) and could be built on at a time that the financials seem to have shift . Of course you are right- YouTube has to be part of that and then it becomes a major project.
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Maybe I’m too paranoid, but should we come up with a “plan of migration” in case this forum ever gets shut down? It would be devastating to me if I suddenly lost this community. I know how to set up and admin Discourse, the forum software used here. With the help of some other tech savvy people we could create a backup plan. Again, maybe I’m just paranoid and this probably won’t ever happen.
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