93. Carlye Wisel on Rise of the Resistance and Becoming a Theme Park Journalist

Journalist Carlye Wisel joins The Tomorrow Society Podcast to talk about her recent trip to Tokyo Disneyland.

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It’s a busy, chaotic time for the world of theme parks. More news updates keep arriving every day, and the pace rarely lags. Covering the parks as a journalist has become a full-time job, especially when you consider Disney’s rapid expansion in the next few years. One of the ambassadors of theme parks in the mainstream press is Carlye Wisel, who writes for numerous publications about theme parks. She’s immersed in the Disney fan community but also finds a way to present her stories to casual fans and first-time guests.

Carlye joins me on this episode of The Tomorrow Society Podcast to talk about how she got started as a theme park journalist. A bachelorette party at Walt Disney World inspired a passion for the parks that hasn’t subsided. She writes a weekly column on theme park news for SYFY and has contributed articles to Travel + Leisure, Eater, Glamour, TIME, and many more publications. She’s also the co-author of the new DK Eyewitness Florida 2020 guidebook. It’s clear from her work and this interview that Carlye has become a super fan of the parks.

Our conversation starts with a non-spoiler discussion of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, which recently opened at Disneyland in January 17th. Carlye explains why it’s such a game changer and helps explain the complicated boarding pass process for the attraction. We talked about her recent vacation at Tokyo Disneyland, which included some fun at the Country Bear Christmas Special and a frigid trip to Universal Studios Japan. Also, Carlye described her articles on adult women that love Disney and her rankings of all the attractions at Walt Disney World. It was great to learn more about Carlye’s background and her thoughts about covering the parks.