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All About CHOC Walk in the Park
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Jul 19, 2025
The CHOC Walk in the Park this year is on August 3, 2025. Ahead of this annual event, Mr. Daps takes a look at the origins, the history, and the cause that people walk for with this 5K. He also shares about why there is a Team Daps Magic and why they continue to walk year after year through Disneyland and Disney California Adventure before the parks open!
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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Welcome to Daps Magic the podcast. I'm
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Mr. DAPS. Since 2004, DAPS Magic has
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been a place for people to celebrate
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Disney and positive stuff. We have a
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blast doing that. We love Disney. We
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love people. And we love making new
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friends in the realm of Disney and
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positive stuff. That's what this podcast
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is all about. We have conversations that
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we hope will lead to deeper
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conversations with you, our friend and
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our listener. We'd love to continue
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these conversations on our social media,
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our Patreon, or even our Facebook group.
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We recognize that these conversations
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are so much more fun when we have them
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with our friends and we hope that you
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will join them. We also hope that you
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will take a moment to leave us a
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positive review wherever you happen to
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be listening to DAP's Magic the podcast.
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[Music]
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On August 3rd, 2025, the Chalkwalk in
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the Park will take place at the
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Disneyland Resort. Thousands of
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supporters of the Children's Hospital of
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Orange County will walk through
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Disneyland and Disney California
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Adventure to raise money and awareness
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for this very important local
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organization. This is an organization
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that has its roots with the visionaries
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of people like Walt Disney or his friend
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Walter not and other local leaders who
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wanted to make sure that the Orange
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County took care of its younger
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citizens. On this episode of Daps Magic,
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the podcast, we take a look at the
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history of the Chalkwalk and also share
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how you can support this organization
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that's so near and dear to my heart.
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[Music]
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The Chalkwalk has a history that dates
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back to 1990. On November 10th of that
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year, patients and staff moved through
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the halls and tunnels from the original
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Chalk building to a new patient care
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tower. The original building had been
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built in 1964 through the efforts of
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local business leaders and
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philanthropists, including Walt Disney.
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While the patients and staff moved
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locations inside, outside, nearly 1,000
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community members made their way past
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the hospital as they walked in the
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inaugural Chalk/Dland
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Community Walk. The first Chalkwalk was
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over 5 mi long and began at the Main
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Place Mall in Santa Ana, made its way
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past the Chalk, through the surrounding
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neighborhoods, and eventually ended in
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the parking lot at Disneyland. Within 3
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years, the event had outgrown the route
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and was moved to South Coast Plaza. This
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is where it would be for the foreseeable
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future. Well, for the next 9 years until
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2002 when all of this changed.
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In 2002, the Chalkwalk became the
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Chalkwalk in the Park, what we know it
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as today. And this was when it moved to
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the Disneyland Resort. The new version
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of the walk was a 5K walk with
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fundraisers walking through Disneyland
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Disney California Adventure and then
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generally it ended at Downtown Disney
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District. The event took place before
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the parks opened and gave walkers a
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unique look at the parks which were also
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packed full of Disney magic and
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experiences. This was the first of its
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kind event to take place at the
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Disneyland Resort. It also began a new
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level of collaboration between the
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Disneyland Resort and Chalk that has
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made such a huge difference. The first
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year raised a record amount of money for
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the hospital. This was $550,000.
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Through the years, the Chalkwalk has
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continued to reach more milestones of
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support. In 2004, it reached a million
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dollars that was raised through this
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event for the very first time.
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[Music]
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Through the decades, the Chalkwalk
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continued to make a difference as it
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raised funds and awareness in the
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community. When the pandemic came, the
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Chalkwalk obviously couldn't happen in
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the park. So instead, a virtual chalk
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was held. This was followed by a chalk
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adventure, which was a party that took
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place after hours at Disney California
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Adventure. and it was a lot of fun.
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On August 20, 2023, the Chalkwalk
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returned to the parks. For this walk,
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there were between 350 and 400 teams
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approximately that came together for
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this special event. There were walkers
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from around the world that were
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participating, including from places
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throughout the United States along with
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Canada, Mexico, Australia, and even
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Japan. This also happened to be a very
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memorable year as it took place during
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the remnants of Hurricane Hillary.
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Everyone was soaked, but lots of
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memories were made and a good time was
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had by all. And some of my favorite
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pictures from Chalk come from this year.
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The following year, the sun returned.
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And since before the pandemic, the
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chalkwalk really did feel like the
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chalkwalk we've known and loved for so
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many years. That sense of normaly
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returned and uh kind of we're back, I
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guess you could say.
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[Music]
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Since its inception, the Chalkwalk has
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raised over $46 million for the
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Children's Hospital of Orange County.
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Each year, the community comes together,
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generally raises about $2 million
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through the course of the event.
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[Music]
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The DAP's magic team has been
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participating in the Chalkwalk for well
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over a decade. Well, probably longer,
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but I haven't actually gone back and
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figured it out. Maybe someday I'll do
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that. Each year, we find ourselves
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waking up really early on a very special
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Sunday to support Chalk and have a great
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time doing it. At the end of the day,
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well, really, it's the beginning of it.
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It isn't just about the magical
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experience that will be had during this
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walk through the parks. It isn't just
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about the characters. It isn't about
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getting to walk backstage. What it is
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about is helping those who can't help
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themselves.
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[Music]
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There's a quote that something to the
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effect of the true measure of a society
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can be found in how it treats its most
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vulnerable members. At Dabs Magic, we
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strive to help use whatever we have to
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make the world a little bit better. It
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seems to be a no-brainer that a way to
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make the world a better place is to help
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the children of the world. It also makes
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sense to me at least to do that in our
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own community. After all, who are more
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vulnerable than the children? Well,
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really, who are more vulnerable than the
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sick children in our community? And
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Chalk comes in and helps those kids who
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can't help themselves. Chalk also
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supports the families who are facing
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terrifying times. I don't have kids. I
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can only imagine how heartbreaking and
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how helpless it feels, how terrifying it
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feels to have a sick child. And there's
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nothing that can be done except go to
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chalk. I can also imagine how much it
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means to have the support of a place
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like Chalk and the people who work
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there, who volunteer there, all of them
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coming in to offer not just medical
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care, but kindness. The kindness and the
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care from the people at Chock don't just
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help heal medical ailments. It also
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helps with the wounded hearts of people
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facing perhaps the most terrifying times
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in their lives.
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When we walk with Chalkwalk, we're
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casting a very strong vote and a
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statement for the world that we want to
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live in. This is a world where people
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help others in the community, even if
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they don't know them. This is a world
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where kindness comes before cruelty.
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This is a world where we come together
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to take one step at a time to make
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tomorrow better than today.
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[Music]
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Disneyland has just updated it's a Small
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World with a third and final verse. It
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was written by Richard Sherman and then
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shared to Bob Iger, the CEO of the Walt
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Disney Company before Sherman passed.
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Uh, we heard it first at D23, the
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Ultimate Disney fan event, during a very
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special tribute to the Sherman brothers,
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and now we can hear it in It's a Small
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World. I had the opportunity to
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experience the attraction just a few
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minutes after it opened on Disneyland's
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70th birthday, and the lyrics really
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jumped out at me. These lyrics say,
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"Mother Earth unites us in heart and
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mind, and the love we give makes us
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humankind.
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Through our vast, wondrous land, when we
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stand hand in hand, it's a small world
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after all."
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[Music]
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As I listened to this third verse of
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It's a Small World on Disneyland's 70th
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birthday, I couldn't help but think,
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this is what the Chalkwalk is all about.
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It's about the love we give makes us
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humankind. It's about coming hand in
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hand to make it a small world. And in my
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mind, that makes everyone neighbors with
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each other. Perhaps no song could be a
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greater theme song for the efforts that
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so many people make to support Chalk
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each year.
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I don't know. I I do know. I was moved
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by it and it made me think of Chalk.
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The 2025 Chalkwalk is almost here. At
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this point, it's all about getting the
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word out, generating more support, and
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raising more funds. The DAPSMA Magic
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team is continuing to do all of these
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things. If you'd like to support this
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team, visit chalkwalk.org/dapsmagic.
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We would love any type of support that
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you can give. Some people can walk, some
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people can support financially, and
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others can share about the efforts we
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are making to support Chock. Whatever
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you do, we hope you will help us make a
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difference. I know I'm thankful for
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every walker, every person who donates,
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and every person who shares about this
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cause. I want whatever influence I have
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or DAPs Magic has to make a positive
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difference in the world. This is one of
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the ways I feel we can really do this
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and I hope that you will join us in any
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way that you can.
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[Music]
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Thank you for listening to this episode
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of DAPS Magic the podcast. It's never
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too late to make a positive influence
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for Chalk. Throughout the year there are
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opportunities to help out. Also, if you
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can't join the team for whatever this
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year, we hope that maybe next year
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you'll keep your eyes on DAPS Magic so
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that you can see when the date is and
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join team Dap's Magic for Chalkwalk.
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It's really a lot of fun. We have a
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blast walking through the parks before
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it opens. And I'm not even a morning
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person. I still have a blast. As we wrap
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up this episode, I'd like to remind you
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that there are other ways to connect
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with us in the community. It is more fun
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to celebrate Disney and positive stuff
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with our friends. You can find our
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Facebook group, our Patreon, or just
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join us live on Tuesday nights for Geeks
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Corner. There's also a Patreon exclusive
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pre-show for Geeks Corner called Behind
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the Scenes. That's you can find on our
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Patreon.
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We have a blast discussing the things we
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love in a positive environment in all of
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these places. We hope you'll join us.
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[Music]
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Thank you again for listening to DAPS
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Magic the podcast. I appreciate you,
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your friendship, and your support. Make
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it a great week everybody and keep kind
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[Music]
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[Applause]